Chapter 36 - [Scutum]

Minutes later, we were walking through the forest. Our pace was slow, so I could walk comfortably with my cane. As we walked side by side, I was struck by how much larger Beltane was. He couldn’t have been more than 180 centimeters tall, yet he towered above me.

Looking at Beltane, I was struck by a strange feeling of foreboding. Underneath the friendly exterior, there was something wild and dangerous. Even when bathed and well-dressed, Beltane had the bearing of someone who would never fully acclimate to civilized society. He seemed much more comfortable in the woods than in a castle.

I suspected that King Theophrastus had appointed Beltane to be our Court Mage because of the relationship between him and Armond. If you were to ask me, I would say that the King’s decision was a mistake. Beltane was a good mage - my Observation gave me significant evidence of that - but he was a poor court officiary. A man like him would inevitably start to chafe against the gilded chains of courtly intrigue and soon break away.

“Before our first lesson starts,” Beltane began to say, “I need to determine what kind of student you are, so I have ask you a few questions. What do you know?”

“Well…” I thought for a moment, “not much. I know basic sorcery, intermediate…”

“That’s not what I mean.” Beltane cut me off. “You are a… unique student to say the least. I need to know the extent of your intellectual gifts if I’m going to be an effective teacher.”

“Hmm…” I was taken aback. That wasn’t the kind of question I thought I would have to answer. “Well, that could take a while. Do you mind if we sit down for this?”

----------------------------------------

I spent the next hour talking. By the time I had started winding down, I had drawn a map of Ferrum in the dirt, and I was using it as a diagram to help organize my lecture.

Broadly, the map of the world I drew included the three continents of Ferrum: Rubigo, Saxum, and Caligo. Rubigo and Saxum were vaguely rectangular and connected via a narrow passage at the top, giving the two continents an appearance reminiscent of a pair of lungs. Caligo, on the other hand, was far south-east of the twin continents, and it was much more circular than the other two. Perhaps it was just the way I had drawn the diagram, but the continents together looked like the organs of some immense creature. Rubigo and Saxum were the lungs, and Caligo was a kidney.

“Rubigo and Saxum connect here, in the Barren Wastes. The passage is only traversable during the winter, and it’s named ‘Halvar’s Pass’ after High Chief Halvar, the outlander who briefly united the many outlander tribes.” I paused for a moment, trying to move on to my next point.

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

“Halvar’s Pass connects Etronia to Sondrith in the west. South of Sondrith are about a dozen smaller nations, most notable of which is Yomotsu, which is the homeland of the samurai. Beyond that, I know that there are many other intelligent races in the world. A handful of these other species are afforded certain rights; they are colloquially called ‘demi humans.’

“I know that elves, beastfolk, and some fiends fall under the demi human umbrella. Goblins, orcs, ogres, and about a hundred other intelligent life-forms are typically killed on sight. They are considered ‘monsters’ as far as the laws of Ferrum are concerned.” I finished my spiel and waited for Beltane to speak once more.

Beltane scratched his chin, frowning. “Well… that’s a lot. You sound like a human library. Everything there is to glean from a book, you seem to understand it. Your life experience is a little lacking, though. You’re not a ᚡᛩᚪᛝᚫ (varelse), are you?”

The word Beltane used in that question was not translatable to English. The word could refer to the many soulless spirits of knowledge that wandered Ferrum, silently hoarding information on instinct alone. It could also refer to a type of greater demon native to Saxum that spent its entire immortal existence gaining information and perfecting its ability to utilize magic. The closest word in English would be “daemon.” Generally, the word meant “neutral or malevolent knowledge entity.”

“No, I’m not a daemon,” I said with a slight chuckle. As I spoke, I looked up at Beltane. It was only after I was done speaking that I noticed the intense look in Beltane’s eyes. Without realizing it, I had given too much away.

As soon as I finished my statement, Beltane’s expression returned to a friendly smile. I suspected he had used [Lie Detection] on me, but I couldn’t be sure. “Of course, of course,” he said. “Daemons are incapable of showing emotions, anyway.”

I opened my mouth with the intent to mock Beltane for his foolish assumption, but the lingering concern in his eyes stopped me. Instead, I asked, “How, exactly, am I lacking in life experience? I’d say I’m pretty sophisticated for a nine-year-old, thank you very much.”

“You mentioned that orcs and goblins are ‘considered’ monsters,” Beltane said without batting an eye at my remark. “They’re not ‘considered’ anything. They are monsters. If you had ever met a goblin, your tone would be very different.”

I was about to give a retort but stopped short. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’ve never met a goblin. What are they like?”

While I had certainly never met a goblin in person, I had killed thousands of them in [Ferrum Online]. They were your typical low-level mob unit that attacked you on sight and died en masse. There were no goblin NPCs, despite them supposedly being a sapient race.

“Monsters operate differently than humans or animals,” Beltane said seriously. “They’re smart enough to create and use weapons, but they never evolved the pro-social behaviors that allow other intelligent species to form a society. Even the friendliest goblin will kill and eat you with absolutely zero thought. They exist outside of our understanding of good or evil, because they simply never invented morality. If you see a monster, kill it on sight. That’s the only way to stay alive in this world.”