[If he can reproduce such a violent potion, then I must grab hold of him. That alchemy is near impossible to disperse of quickly.]
Ashton was already preparing for war, his mind was already on the battlefield, picturing the moves each side will make. In his mind he was using weapons and means he doesn't currently possess, tools he is assembling in the shadows.
Because of his unexpected meet with Sir Galen, Ashton was late to a calendared meeting. And despite his tardiness he stepped through his home without urgency. As if the dealings of his family now moved not by the sun or clock, but by his time alone.
But as he walked, he noticed something he previously let drift.
[I can hear my footsteps...]
It was inversive of when he noticed they had no volume in the colosseum.
He began to walk faster in the hallways until he was in a full sprint and still, his winged tipped shoes echoed behind him. He assumed his situation was the work of his magical ascension, and surmised the ability required mana.
Just like in the colosseum, when he dashed to rescue his servants from the kitchen, he summoned his mana in enhancement and dashed through manor.
To the working servants he was just a blur followed by gusts of wind, but even still his feet tapping along the floor was audible.
[Was it just circumstance?] He thought, more like a scientist than a mage, [To figure this out I must recreate the situation... the fire, trapped workers...nighttime?]
"Congratulations Magic Ascension Pathway Passive Skill Realized
Silent Step - requires no mana or intent to use. Only active under the moon"
[No mana or even intention... complete rewriting of the world's laws...]
Ashton stood staring at the interface of the Aether System, lost, imagining what other skills and affects he would unlock. His mind drifted, he thought how easily he could take a life unnoticed now.
[The Aether System isn't cultivating godhood, I am becoming like some heavenly demon]
"Admiring your forefathers, Master Ashton?"
While losing himself in his imagination, the place Ashton stopped from his sprint and fell into thought was Infront of illustrations of his ancestors. The counts of the past, from Wheys founder up until his father, all of their images captured in paint and decorating the southern wing of the manor. It was luck he had spaced out from the Aether Systems notification in their presence.
"Chamberlain Olaf... I hadn't noticed your approach." [Arther System close]
"The way you were staring at Lord Vann Whey, I thought you might be seeking advice."
"He is the progenitor of my line. Anyways I didn't mean to keep you waiting, chamberlain."
"Thats alright, however, you can imagine my surprise when I woke up and a last minute meeting with you was on my schedule." Olaf glanced over, trying to covertly and subtly signal he is busy.
"It seems I owe you two apologies then, one for wasting your time, and another for dumping something menial on to you." Ashton squared his shoulders with Olaf, shifting the atmosphere from idle chat.
"Can I assume this is related to your budget and our preparation for war?"
"Sharp as ever, it is adjacent to both these things..."
"What can I do for you then Master Ashton?"
Ashton stepped off and Olaf followed him, as he explained his assignment the chamberlain grew weary.
"Has the count approved of this?" Olaf's voice grew, he thought Ashton's orders were dangerous and knew the count would too.
"My father told me this budget was my sole prerogative. To be used however I see fitting," Ashton stopped walking and looked up Olaf with fierce eyes. "Understand?"
[The look in his eyes, he is commanding...] "I understand Master Ashton."
Ashton had told Olaf he is founding his own order and put him charge of posting the notices across the lands along with screening the applicants.
Ashton's choice of an order, holding warriors of multiple practices, instead of a knightage or squad of mages was concerning enough. But beyond that, Ashton wanted young blood.
He was looking for 1-2 circle knights and mages under the age of 20, omitting sword dancers as they were more prone to have already taken in knowledge hard to escape from.
[Master Ashton isn't looking for proven warriors, he truly plans to cultivate his own theories into the open minded... It is reckless. It is impossible for others to see through another's eyes]
Olaf had reservations, he was teacher and master of his art, so he knew the difficulty of molding deeply rooted technique and refined theory into a person. And Ashton wanted to teach his own theories and technique despite never mentoring before.
But he couldn't voice his objections. he could only stare at Ashton's back as he walked away.
[How do I explain this to Shaun...] Olaf was left asking himself.
Ashton had a free afternoon in written schedule, but that didn't mean he was idle. Inside of his room, piles of magical texts were stacked atop his table. Gifts in a sense, but what he had requested from Charlotte.
Texts about wind, ice, earth, fire, and unproven theory about water magic. The books were thick, each subject had multiple volumes, it would take weeks to truly absorb the knowledge they hold.
But Ashton only skimmed through them. Each page only required a glance and the information within was stored inside of his mind. He absorbed the knowledge but hadn't comprehended most of it, the words leapt from the pages and burrowed in his mind awaiting to be explored.
[This is all what I asked for, even at a glance I can feel these written spells power. But it seems unimportant now. Now that I have four circles, I am more interested in spell combinations.]
As he closed the cover of the last grimoire, he tossed it back a top his table and looked through his remaining birthday gifts. Most boxes contained expensive clothes and accessories, each tie and watch he unpacked was a reminder. The heightened trial he sought out was supposed to be a celebration of his life, and the coming of a new.
Ashton didn't care much for the material possession, he believed they were only good for such a reminder. At a certain point he stopped opening his gifts, he could guess what they were and despite not truly reading the grimoires, skimming through them took hours.
He pushed all of the opened boxes and packaging into a pile for his people to clean up and placed the unopened into the back of his closet. As walked out from his closet and closed the door, he envisioned it as closing the door on his past life. A goodbye to almost every meaningful piece of a former self.
But the door wasn't truly closed as there was still the pile of letters that were written to him. He noticed them and thought they were fleeting as well. The time for his meet with his family's treasurer was near but he decided to skim the outside of the envelopes to see who sent to him.
He flipped through the stack of papers, only reading the senders name from the front before tossing them into the trash. Lords and Ladys from every nook of the empire had written to him, kings from countries that didn't even share borders with Harman, and letters with a dignitary's name attached from rulers too proud to attach their own.
The bulk of the letters were unmoving to him, they were almost certainly written by the servants of the senders. No true meaning in the words, they were empty congratulations, yet two had stood out to him.
One was fuzzy and embroidered with the logo he didn't expect.
[The Mayvivan Auction..]
Ashton ripped the envelopes seal and unfolded the papers inside. The letter was long and full of platitude that Ashton expected from all the previous ones. It was a disappointment, he assumed there would actually be something worthwhile in the message. But as he tossed the first page away, the second one revealed what he hoped. Daniel Mayvivan the wealthiest merchant in the empire had invited Ashton personally to attend his upcoming auction. He promised free room and food in his finest hotel and gold to shop at his upcoming auction.
Ashton saw through the invitation but respected it, the premium invitation along with an expenditure promised to him. Ashton thought this is how he would bait his former self into a meeting also. Especially given the fact his letter mentioned a precious magical item that is up for bidding.
[He is smart... Mentioning a precious item but not naming it for "fairness sake"]
He retrieved the first page from the trash and folded it inside of the second, then placed it back into the envelope. Along with the second letter he sat aside that read "Isebell Raine" across its front, he placed them into the drawer of his desk.
Ashton knew his next move, what he could do to fill the time it would take Olaf and his trusted to screen out his orders applicants.
[A trip to the capital seems in order] Ashton thought as he walked out of his room [But first I must see Treasurer Pike...]