The key wouldn’t fit in the lock.

  No, that was inaccurate.

  My hand wouldn’t stop trembling. It was the first time in years that I couldn’t steady myself, and each time I pushed the key into the lock, my hand shook and the metal edge scratched against the steel.

  “Move, mayfly!” Selenia scolded, pushing me aside and pulling out a keyring. Her fingers briefly touched the engravings on each key, and then selected exactly one without looking at it. The key slid into the lock, turning with the satisfying click of the lock disengaging.

  Selenia pushed the door open, then moved to the side. “After you, Dr. Anise.”

  I forced myself to smile while I stepped through, but the expression I gave made Selenia’s face drop into a deep scowl. She hesitated, and then raised her hand and gently placed it atop of my shoulder.

  “Are you alright, Mayfly?” Her voice was soft and tender, losing that note of arrogance she usually sported.

  I jerked my shoulder forward, but Selenia didn’t let go. “I’m fine. Get off.”

  Her dainty fingers rested against my shoulderbone for a moment longer, before she slowly released. “You are not fine, Dr. Anise. I won’t pry since I understand you’re a private woman, but if you wish to speak…”

  “I said I’m fine! It’s not like you’d understand,” I repeated, and then stepped into Building 18. Selenia followed behind.

  “I’ve lived…” she began, but then stopped talking. My eyes were taking a moment to adjust to the darkness of the interior, so I couldn’t see her face. “You’re probably right. I wouldn’t. But understanding isn’t the same thing as listening.”

  “Do you know how to cast something like [Light]?” I tried to change the subject.

  Four balls of different colours appeared in her hand. Blue, Pink, Green, and Yellow. They weaved around the darkness, dispelling the shadows and tinting it with their shade.

  I wanted to look around, but my heart was still beating, and I could feel nothing but anger in my thoughts. “Well, Ms. Hadhwyn, have you ever been told by a friend that they never wanted to see you again?”

  Selenia’s eyes narrowed. “Fortunately, not. Saying something like that would be akin to excommunication.”

  “I know! And Addy said he doesn’t want to see me anymore because he thinks I’m lyin’ to him.”

  “And are you, Dr. Anise?” Selenia posed.

  I didn’t – couldn’t – respond. I huffed, and looked outwards to the now illuminated room.

  It was split in two; not physically, but just by organization and what was in the room. The left side was filled with flasks, alembics, burners, and dusty glass drawers that were bare. Spiderwebs and insects crawled over the abandoned laboratory desk, slipping over metal tools that had long been reclaimed by rust.

  The right side was a forge. A bellow fan connected to a furnace that was more soot than iron. An anvil was set in front of it, alongside several molds. Callipers, a trough that smelled like mold, and abandoned hammers laid haphazardly on the floor.

  “Blacksmithing? Why would Levan be interested in that?” I asked. Selenia still stared at me, before finally deciding to drop the piercing glare.

  “She was not. Her wife was a superb [Duelist] and [Knight], and in all ways, the doctor wished to support her.”

  “The Queen used to be a [Knight]?” I asked, moving away from Selenia towards the forge.

  “The queen..?” She repeated. Her eyes went skyward, staring at the ceiling while her tongue rolled. “I presume she is the queen now. Yes, she was a [Knight] as well, and Dr. Anise, ever loyal, crafted her the weapons she first used before she became a [Hero].”

  The anvil and wooden table beside the forge was covered in dust and ash. The furnace itself had no coal in its pit, but the encasing was stained powdery-black. My fingers slid over the table, the rough grain cracking and peeling backwards. Jagged splinters poked out, further suggesting this needed to be sanded down and fixed.

  “Why not just use bone?” I idly blurted out, my thoughts breaking before the taboo of it. “Or! Wood. I mean, I know a [Druid] can make sticks into weapons, and I’d think Dr. Anise could shape bones into something else…”

  Selenia’s eyes narrowed at me. “That’s twice now you’ve said something queer or brought up something strange.” She sucked in a breath, and both of us were subject to that piercing silence. My heartbeat quickened, as words tried to get to a convincing way to smooth this over.

  I wish Jazzy was here.

  “Doctor Anise; are you aware that your great grand-mother was a [Necromancer]?” Selenia finally broke the silence.

  My fingers stopped rubbing against the wood grain, and the beating of my heart deafened my ears. I slowly turned around, fingers twitching. Selenia’s eyes didn’t miss it.

  “So you are! Explains the curious question about bone… Well, Doctor Anise, bones – and wood per your example – can be magically molded into weaponry, but that would be the most basic version of a tool. It would have none of the benefits or craftsmanship that a properly made weapon would have – and it would be incomparable to one which was handmade, and not just System-crafted.”

  My fingers clenched the wood grain, nails digging down in frustration. “Two things! One, Levan is male! You even mentioned his wife! You have to be doing this on purpose! And second – “

  “Why are you yelling?” Selenia cut me off. She shook her head slowly, disappointed eyes staring me down. I grumbled, and then lowered my voice.

  “And second – why don’t you seem to care if he’s a [Necromancer]?”

  “Well… I did say she – sorry, he, if you keep insisting – was taught by the elvish wisewoman. A great deal of them are a form of [Necromancer], using the domain of Death to mend wounds. They also use herbal remedies and create medicine – all techniques taught down to your great grandma–grandfather.”

  Selenia walked beside me and looked at the forge. “Have you ever blacksmithed before, Doctor Anise?”

  “No!” I angrily stated, before shaking the question off. “I mean! Other conversation! I didn’t know the elves raised the dead? I was under the impression there were only 10 of u—uhh the–”

  “...Us,” Selenia finished for me. “We do not, Doctor Anise. Or, at least none that I am aware of, and I do go to my clan gatherings. Would you like to learn how to be a blacksmith?”

  I stared at Selenia, whose attention was focused on the forge. “...Sure. But you know that, I’m – “

  “Not fully a healer like the wisewoman would be, and Doctor Anise raised the dead? Quite aware; Grandmother Myrrh talked about it a lot. She was Elizabeth and Levan’s personal assistant, you know. However, Levan treated her better, and called her his constant companion. They were incredibly close.”

  I couldn’t think of anything to say. Selenia was surprisingly forthcoming, and even as she spoke, it felt like she was just disinterested in this line of questioning. “Why?” I finally asked.

  Selenia’s gaze broke away from the forge, and looked to the ceiling. She chewed on her cheek as she pondered the question.

  Finally, her eyes opened fully and she stared at me. “I don’t imagine you were asking why they were close, but why am I telling you any of this?” She didn’t give me a chance to even nod. “The contract that my family signed is not to Elizabeth, but to Levan. My service is to Levan, and by extension to his grand-daughter. I am well aware of who Levan was.”

  I let out a breath with her ‘reassurance’. “So, yeah, Addy asked me if I was hiding something from him, and I couldn’t tell him I was a [Necromancer], and now he doesn’t want to see me anymore.”

  Selina’s eyes fluttered, and she quickly turned to the side. Her hand waved over the furnace, and dark charcoal found its way to the pit. Her fingers snapped, and the burning flame ignited deep amber, before catching heat and becoming a steady, blazing blue.

  “This… Addy… is a boy you like?” Selenia finally asked.

  “Yes! I mean no! Whatever, but he’s also a [Paladin] and uh… something else too now. So, I obviously couldn’t tell him.”

  “Yes, I understand. Not too dissimilar to Levan then – did you know her wife killed her? Both times, in fact. The first time for her so-called ‘corruption’ of the healer’s arts, and the second when she had become a [Lich]. Unless you plan to follow step-by-step in your grand-mother's footsteps, I would count it as a blessing and separate.”

  Selenia’s attention turned towards the forge, and reached underneath to pull out a black, cast-iron mold. She placed it in the center, and then turned to face me.

  “It’s not that simple! He’d get suspicious, he’d check up on me!” I pouted, but Selenia had already grabbed my wrist.

  “I’m sure you are correct, Doctor Anise,” she flatly said, her tone bored and repetitive. She instead made me stare at the mould.

  The Cast-iron mould was of a small blade, about eight inches in length. I stared down at it, until Selenia handed me a mask. The mask was a thick sheet of metal with glass as a visor, with a leather strap that could be tightened around my head. I put it on first, and Selenia, without me asking, moved behind and tightened it. She then gave me two thick leather gloves.

  I was still trying to don them, but Selenia had put her entire ensemble up first – even getting the time to put on a heavy leather apron. She tossed a spare one at me, and flicked her masked face back to the mould.

  “I know I’m correct, Mrs. Hadhwyn! But, I just want Addy to still be my friend.”

  Selenia nodded, and her gloved hand went to the mould. “This, Doctor Anise, is called a mould. After we make one dagger together, I am sure you will unlock the basics of blacksmithing. I can tutor you to my level.”

  I said nothing. My stare remained fixed on Selenia’s mask, trying to peer through the green glass to catch her eyes.

  I couldn’t.

  Selenia sighed. “Doctor Anise, your issue with the boy sounds much like Doctor Anise’s issue with the girl. I am sure people are tired of telling you this, but stop inviting trouble. Your life is complicated enough – do not make the same mistakes that your parents did. Swallow your damn pride and accept you have no control over it, and move on.”

  Her voice grew stern. Selenia never shouted, but her last sentence felt pointed and spiteful. I sighed, and then looked down at the mould.

  “I know what a mould is, Mrs. Hadhwyn. I’ve seen Nathaniel use one.” I redirected the topic.

  Selenia’s hand pushed against my back and gave my shoulder a squeeze. “I can understand the pain of losing a friend or someone you hoped to love. That is just part of life.” She took a breath, and continued.

  “But it is a childish notion that you are owed someone because of a shared history – what matters is who you are and what you stand for. I get the impression you are doing the exact thing your grand-father did, but as someone who knew him, and hopes to get to know his grand-daughter better as well, I would urge you to accept my counsel. Your family already has one person killed by their object of affection, you don’t need to be the second.”

  I growled at the touch, but couldn't respond. I just lowered my head, and turned back to the mould. “...Thanks, Mrs. Hadhwyn. What do I do with this?”

  Selenia observed me for a moment longer, and gave a quick nod of her head. “We’ll be crafting you a dagger. Am I wrong to assume you’ve made some of your own?”

  I inhaled slowly, letting the concept of work come into my head. I hated thinking, it made me obsess over singular details. What If I just showed him? Maybe if I spent more…

  “Doctor Anise! Focus!” Selenia chided, elbowing my hips. “Your daggers?”

  “Oh, right…” I mumbled out, before going to my pouch.

  I took out the bone daggers I had made out of the ribcage of a wolf and splayed them across the table. Selenia leaned down to inspect them, her eyes becoming level with the table. She lifted one up with two fingers, carefully to make sure as little of her hand touched my knives. She leaned in once more, before running her finger over the blade.

  She turned her finger around and inspected it. Her hand turned around and showed me the finger. “See?”

  I focused my attention on her hand. It was rather smooth, and elongated, as typical of elves. Far too slender and smooth, with a few inches too long and short, but in a hauntingly beautiful sort of way. Her bone structure would be noticeably lithe and thin, and possibly hollow.

  Could elven bones be used to make more agile workers?

  She snapped her fingers.

  I jerked backwards, shaking my head quickly from the thoughts! “Oh! Oh, I see nothing, nothing at all!”

  Selenia angrily nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s what you were inspecting, Mayfly. But no, that’s the point! Your knives are dull!”

  “Well, you’re not using any force!”

  “That’s the point!” she again huffed, before dropping the bone daggers on the table.

  “Well, I do have one more, but I didn’t make it. Do you want to see it?”

  The Bone-Dagger clacked against the wood, shimmering green at the moment of impact. It dented the wood, making Selenia shift her attention again. “Fascinating. Strong material, but made with no intent or care. A convincing facsimile.” Her hand reached out, fingers beckoning me over. “Hand the other one over.”

  I flicked my wrist, and that odd weight returned against my hand once more. My arms dipped, before correcting myself. Selenia’s waiting fingers beckoned, and I placed the hilt right against her palm. Her fingers grasped the hilt and I released it.

  Her arm immediately wobbled and then slammed into the ground. Selenia yelped, losing her refined poise as her legs fluttered upwards in frenzied kicks. Her hand flailed open, before frantically tugging against her arm.

  I quickly dived down to pick up the Abyssal Dagger, preparing myself to lift. To my surprise and lack of balance, the dagger wasn’t any heavier than it usually was! I flung myself backwards, striking my back against the blacksmith’s bench. Selenia angrily got up, wiping the dirt and dust off her frock.

  “Artifacts do not count! No one can create those! Wait, why do you have an artifact?”

  “Rhyvesta gave it to me!” I blurted out. I immediately realized my mistake.

  “...Rhyvesta?” Selenia repeated.

  She leaned in to inspect the dagger once more, inspecting the black coating. She reached behind to pick up one of the bone daggers, and then brought it up to the blade. Her arm whipped back, slicing the bone dagger into the Abyssal Blade.

  The bone dagger cleanly split in two. Selenia held the split apart parts, and then took a chunk of iron. She slowly pushed it against the blade edge, and watched the iron spread like soft dirt.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  “Hmm… Interesting deity for a [Necromancer] to worship, but alas. No, we won’t be making anything this sharp, Doctor Anise. Just something that would pass as ‘masterwork’ for your kind.” Selenia pivoted, pushing the bone daggers away and showing me the mould.

  I put the Abyssal Dagger away, and came towards the block as well. “Masterwork? Isn’t that the highest level of craftsmanship? I’m barely making Masterwork crops…”

  Selenia shook her head. “For commoners, yes. Unless they devote themselves to their craft fully and become a.. [Master Farmer] in your case, the next tier – [Legendary], isn’t able to be made.” A soft smile crept on her face. “Unless, of course, you’ve studied it for more than 50 some years…”

  “I might be interested in farming that long… but not this,” I admitted.

  “Or… you find a tutor and be a [Hero]. That limit is removed for hero-types, but then, most aren’t able to make it since they rely on the System to craft.”

  “And.. this?” I said, showing the Abyssal dagger.

  “Artifacts are made by Deities or by an Act of Legend. It’s curious that a temporal weapon is in your hands, but no matter. I’ve studied blacksmithing, enchanting, all those mundane arts for long enough to be passable by elven standards.”

  I tilted my head to the side. I mulled her words over in my head for a moment. I had seen Selenia cast spells… and she’s fairly educated. Surely, she could at least be some sort of [Wizard], or [Sorceress]?

  “...But you’re a [House Keeper]?” I finally asked.

  Selenia’s smile dropped. “I was never given approval to practise Aeromancy like I had wanted by the Matriarch. Said that until Great-Great-Great-Grandmother Kimash’s debt was paid off, I was expected to maintain the abodes.”

  One generation was mother, two was grandmother, and then there were three greats. Five generations ago? “Wait… if I assume you had children when you could, that’d be at least… 100 years ago?”

  “Do you think elves have children when we’re 20? No, Kimash's death was over 1200 years ago.”

  “How much do you owe?!”

  “A debt of honor, not gold. Which means more for the Matriarch.”

  “...And the way that debt is being paid is being a housekeeper?” I questioned.

  Selenia frowned again, and pointed to the mould. “Stop distracting me with your inane questions, Doctor Anise,” but I could sense the confusion and hurt in her voice. I frowned too, since for once, I could relate to her frustration.

  The dagger mould was cast iron, and only showed the blade. I… didn't know much about moulds, so I inspected it for a moment, and turned to Selenia.

  “Have you worked with any of the metals yet, Doctor Anise? And bone is not a metal,” Selenia asked, her body turning towards the bag of ores.

  “Nope,” I admitted, watching her move. She said nothing, but pulled out an odd, blue looking rock.

  “This is copper,” she pushed the rock to my face.

  “Copper is orange?” I replied and raised my hand to take the rock from her grasp, but she pulled it away.

  “No! I mean, yes, purified copper is orange, but this is not purified. To make metal, you need to learn to smelt ore first, which means removing impurities. Do you know why it’s blue?”

  I crossed my arms. I was good at Agronomics, but geology wasn’t… THAT interesting. I knew the basics, at least. “Uh… copper, like all ores, probably has another mineral with it?”

  “Yes! In my homelands it's azurite, but here, the mixture is malachite. Regardless of it, most of the mineral imperfections make the ore weaker – except for when making steel and dragonite, but we won’t be there for a long time.” Selenia excitedly stated.

  She moved to the side and put the ore on the table. She then produced a massive looking mallet from the side, and motioned to me. “When smelting, the rocks need to be broken down into bits before being put into a basin with a flux and a reducer. Each ore and mixture has a level of flame you need to remember…”

  I pulled out the Mortis Agrariae and looked at it while Selenia talked. This wasn’t really for Blacksmithing, was it? But… neither was soul efficiency, and I needed new work.

  I copied down Selenia’s words and looked up at her, who was smiling. Her body puffed with pride, but then pointed at the rocks.

  I picked up the mallet and lurched over; the heavy iron head wasn’t the greatest experience with my lack of muscles, and I often just moved my tools with [Skeletal Grasp] anyway. I paused for a moment, and raised my hand over the hammer.

  It did not move at all.

  “Darn,” I muttered, causing Selenia to glance up at me.

  “What are you trying to do?”

  “Well… I ain’t that strong, and this looks tirin’. Was hoping that I could use [Skeletal Grasp] on it and just hammer it away like that.”

  She chuckled and pointed to the other side of the room. “Not unless you enchant it with Necrotic energy, or coat it in an Alchemist’s potion. But I don’t want you to get started on Enchanting till you understand how to smith your own weapons and make your own potions, Doctor Anise.”

  I nodded, and then looked at the bone daggers – and my Abyssal one. I reached out to the Abyssal dagger – and it just appeared in my hand. I tried to use [Skeletal Grasp] on it, since it reeked of Necrotic flare, but the dagger just refused.

  Again, Selenia laughed. “Not getting out of this that way. Artifacts are very, very, ornery – a prized racehorse that will only be ridden in the way it wants to be ridden.”

  I glared at Selenia, and sighed. I liked my wolfbone daggers, but…

  The twenty-four daggers flew together, remolding themselves into a heavy, pallid bone hammer. I immediately used [Advance] to make it of Ghost-Iron, and then stuck my tongue at Selenia. She rolled her eyes, but her hand gave me permission to go ahead.

  I concentrated my will, and the massive hammer began to slam down against the rock. My brain started to feel soggy; I wasn’t on blighted land to have infinite Animus anymore, and the Symphony composition I was doing was taxing.

  Like the first time I farmed, it was labour that cost my mind, not my body. I should start exercising.

  “Ghost-Iron is a composite ore. Equipment made of it naturally has [Ghost-Touch], [Armor Phase], and is obviously necrotic. It can only be made by someone who knows [Soul Magic].” Selenia commented, watching the bone hammer shimmer green with each thud over the ore.

  “I know how to manipulate Anima! Wait, does that mean I’ll be able to make it?” I said, my concentration slipping and causing the hammer to slam into the table instead. Selenia frowned at me, again making me think of disappointing one of those school marms.

  “Eventually, but I doubt it’ll be when you’re an apprentice,” Selenia said nothing for a moment. “A question for you, Doctor Anise. Is making things something you enjoy doing?”

  Chunks of copper and malachite spread over the table, and the smelting bin had to be filled with the rocks. I kept smashing ores into pieces, discovering that it took five pieces of ore to fill the bin. My attention, when I found a pattern so I wouldn’t miss, turned to Selenia.

  “I reckon! This feels like progress, y’know? I can see what I’m doin’ with my hands, and I have a clear goal. Academy life is fun and all, but it’s so… vague and undefined. I just want to plant a seed and see it grow, not have some vague idea that a tree might grow in 200 years.”

  Selenia nodded. “Trees don’t take that long to reach maturity, but I know what you mean. Why not be an actual traveling type?”

  I tilted my head. “I don’ wanna? I mean… I fought goblins before, and a wolf tore out my guts… and I think I killed a few people, and it just… doesn’t suit me. I like this stuff, making things, selling it, and maintaining it. Say! You think Addy would like it if I made him a Silver Longsword?”

  Selenia sighed, and raised her hand to rub her face. “Yes, your.. ‘Addy’, who told you to leave him alone and excommunicated you, would absolutely adore a Silver Longsword crafted by you.”

  My face brightened. “Then I have a go–”

  “Danu’s Breath…! NO! Focus on the work and get lost in learning it, Doctor Anise! I can assure you that it will be a disaster. It did not work for Doctor Anise, and it will not work for her grand-daughter!’ She immediately chided. “I was asking because if I had your freedom, I would love to explore the world like my mother is doing now.”

  “She’s allowed to be a [Hero]?” I asked.

  “Plains No!” Selenia laughed. “She called Matriarch Ultama an old sack of bones, and went off with her husband. She got excommunicated, but I was already born when that happened.”

  “So, you don’t see your mother often?”

  She shook her head. “It’s not pleasant being a free elf. And it’s not pleasant pretending you don’t know one.”

  I didn’t have a leg to stand on. I didn’t even come for my parent’s funeral. I just slowly nodded, and pushed the filled smelting box towards the preparation station. I coated the box with sand, and then grounded up charcoal. I then pushed the box into the furnace, which roared in delight.

  “Do you want to be an adventurer, Mrs…” I was about to call her by her last name, but… everything Selenia had been telling felt fairly personal. “Sel..en..ia. Sel,” I tried. It felt wrong coming out of me, like I was stating that we were friends.

  I looked up at her to see her rebuke, to tell me to call her by her proper title.

  No such rebuke came. Just answers.

  “I would love to learn Aeromancy when this damn honour debt is over!” She finally shouted. “Take no offense, Doctor Anise, I am honoured to aid Levan’s Daughter since my family’s contract with your family was entirely voluntary, and I am able to leave at any time if I wish – Levan did not want any ‘indentured servants’ in her medical practice. But the rest of it?”

  “Yeah, I don’t want someone else telling me what I should be or shouldn’t.”

  “So, it’s not your family tradition to be doctors and [Necromancer]-types, Doctor Anise?” she teased.

  I swallowed. Right, I would be directly related to Levan if I kept up this lie. I said nothing, mulling over the altered history in my head. Thankfully, the ore was done smelting.

  I opened the furnace and Selenia immediately slapped my hand. “Use tongs, Doctor Anise! Copper isn’t hot enough, but higher metals will quite literally melt the bones out of your body before your skin catches up.”

  She handed me a long pair of tongs and I slid the crate out. The molten liquid was spongy and soft, and Selenia stared at me. “How well do you think you can learn a new craft, Doctor Anise?”

  I looked at her and bit my lip. “Well.. if you’re willing to teach me, I’m sure I’ll be fine. Why?”

  Selenia nodded and put the dagger mould away. “This would be for beginners, and while it would work for copper, it functionally would only tell you how to smelt and not deal with impurities. If you did this with bronze, or – Mezadin Forbid – Iron, you would create what is known as Cast-Iron or Cast-Bronze. The actual way of creating quality crafts is manual labour, where we will be taking a smaller iron hammer and molding that sponge by hand. If you were to pour it into the mould, it would be at best common quality. If you do it by hand, your skill is what will determine it.”

  I eagerly nodded, having more information to write in my book! I always liked doing things the hard way, so I placed the molten copper sponge on the anvil. Selenia handed me a small blacksmithing hammer.

  “Do it properly, without your magic. A good craftswoman learns the art, and doesn’t turn to shortcuts.”

  “Yeah, otherwise you’d create a Balk,” I softly said.

  Selenia considered what I said for a moment. “Wise words from a Farmer, Doctor Anise,” she complimented. “Well reasoned.”

  Thanks, Pa.

  Selenia, for the next 45 minutes, explained the process of hammering out slag from the mixture till there was only pure copper left – a step that would be skipped in the mould. However, it also meant that I had to force the copper ingot I had made into a blade like shape, using the mould and images as reference.

  Selenia refused to accept it if it was crooked, and the first dagger I made was awkwardly shaped and bent. It still glowed molten red, and Selenia angrily shook her head. “No apprentice of mine is going to be allowed that. Do it again,” she said, waving her hand over the molten copper and reverting it back to the previous step - Slag and all. Her ability to scrap and recycle was impressive. I knew Jasmine could do a minor version of it when I was crafting with wood.

  I growled, but got back to work. This time, I knew about the slag process, and focused on removing the impurities first before getting a chance to shape it. Selenia nodded approvingly, but still was utterly disappointed at my inability to make a blade.

  Again, the copper was reverted, and again, I spent the next 45 minutes forging it properly. This time the blade was good!

  Selenia looked at the blunt, molten dagger-to-be. “Good enough! We will finish the grinding and sharpening of your dagger tomorrow AFTER we heat-treat and anneal it. I handled the furnace to get it to the first temperature, but this time…” she paused to think to herself. “No, you will learn how to do it with a spell later, maybe, but that’s not an appreciation for the craft. I want you to reduce the heat manually by 200 degrees. Use the furnace thermometer to be sure.”

  Surprisingly, reducing the temperature wasn’t actually about the amount of charcoal in the pit, but the amount of air allowed inside. The hottest temperature was at the core, but I also found out I could move it against the burning coals away from the center to adjust the heat needed.

  This process repeated three times, before the cooled copper sizzled in the air. Selenia dunked it into a bag of lime, and nodded at me. “Tommorow morning, we will file and grind it, Doctor Anise.”

  I already lied to Addy about who I was, and Selenia was eagerly helping me. “My name is uh.. Ms. Hart. Ashley Hart. I didn’t know Levan, and I’m not related to the Anise’s at all.”

  Selenia glanced at me. “Yes? But she is your master, is she not?”

  I raised my head, blinking my eyes. “Yes? But… I mean, if it’s with Levan’s family, I’m not part of that.”

  She shook her head. “Being a named protege of the woman would invite you to her family by tradition; it is one of the few ways any elf could belong to a different family, and not the one she hails from.”

  “I’m not an elf…?” I stated.

  “I am quite aware. If you were directly related to Levan, you would have been half-elven, or still have some elvish blood within you. Even if it’s miniscule at this point… wait, do you think they sired more children recently?”

  I was still utterly confused. “Levan’s not an elf?”

  Selenia stared at me. I could feel my head turning, and my brain playing catch up.

  “Levan married an elf? Wait, the queen is an elf?” I stated, linking the two thoughts together at once.

  Selenia nodded. “Exactly! If you were actually related to Doctor Anise, I feel like a lot of people would know. Well, maybe not humans. You call her Queen Anisium, right? Not an uncommon last name, I’ve seen a few Pendragons around too.”

  My frown deepened. “I feel like if the queen was an elf, I would know.”

  Selenia tilted her head. “You’re 20 years old. What reason do you have to go check the race and look at a person you’ve never met? If she was a dwarf, an orc, or Danu Forbid a Dark Elf, would it change anything about who you pay taxes to?”

  “Not particularly,” I admitted, “But she is the queen of the Phoenix Empire! A human Empire!”

  “Who, your kind believes, is immortal. Well she is now, but I figure I must look immortal to you if I’m to live 700 years!”

  I rubbed my head. “Is that why I’m in an elvish house with two elven maids?”

  “...Two?” Selenia said. “Wait, are you talking about that skeleton up in your abode? I would highly request you do not animate my kin, until I can find out who that is – delicately.”

  I looked into Selenia’s eyes. She wasn’t making a joke, I think. So, did she not know about Myrrh? Weird.

  “Okay, one!” I defensively sidestepped, accepting the rebuke.

  “Yes! But Levan was from a human noble house, and was given a chance at the throne during the Unification Wars as well. Elizabeth and her succeeded, and because of misunderstanding the dynamics – a woman [Paladin], let alone an elf! - Elizabeth and the Anisium line was selected to be the noble family, under a human heraldry. Levan took Elizabeth’s last name. I’d have to ask someone from around that time if I wanted to discover her maiden name, but I had no desire..”

  “Levan is male!” I angrily shouted, trying to correct some of Selenia’s confused truths. “I feel like some people would know about this.”

  “They probably do, it’s just not relevant. Communication is from messengers and missives and scribes in long distances. I don’t know many people who are interested in paying however much it is to send a letter to someone asking to go confirm if the queen is human.”

  That made sense to me, and I just nodded. “Well.. sorry for lying to you, Sel.”

  “I didn’t think you were lying, but human cultures are fascinating! After all, no elf would willingly say their aligned with a family line that’s excommunicated!”

  “...Levan’s Wife is excommunicated? For what, marrying a human?”

  “Yes! And being a [Hero] when she wasn’t allowed too. And then there's a few other grievances that affected her relationship with the family. Though, the biggest one was when Levan’s research came out, and the undead she was creating. That one caused Elizabeth to disown her wife as well, which was Levan’s first death. Pity that didn't earn Elizabeth a place back home.”

  I rubbed my head. “I’m just going to bring Levan back and let him deal with this. I don’t see how any of this is going to help me with my farm.”

  Selenia smiled, “I’m just going to let Elizabeth handle this when she’s back. I don’t see how any of this is going to help me with my research.” Her recital was a bit ‘deeper’ in voice, but just as rehearsed. “I’ll see you for breakfast, Doctor Anise.”