I folded my arms. “That sounds good from a conceptual standpoint, but what happens when any ordinary person who has a bad day can wipe out a city?”
Tristan nodded. “Giving everyone exactly the same capabilities as a visage would be a mistake, of course. We do not need every human being to have that degree of offensive power. But imagine if every human had a Guardian attunement, at a level higher than Emerald, and bodies as resilient as a serpent’s.
“Imagine if no one had to die from malnutrition, disease, or accidents. And if an outside force chose to invade our continent? Every citizen could break swords with their bare hands. Bullets would deflect from their shrouds.”
I’d considered much the same, though on a smaller scale, when I first thought about the potential ramifications of artificial attunements. Widespread Wayfarer attunements for rapid transportation. Elementalists who simply manipulated the weather to improve crop yields. Menders on every street in case someone was injured.
It was an appealing prospect, but it seemed almost too good to be true.
A part of me tried to fabricate reasons in my mind why it was too dangerous, or why it couldn’t be possible.
But I knew the truth — there was a part of me that was just afraid of change. And another part that was afraid of losing what made me special.
I’d risked my life for that attunement. Was it really fair for others to get them for free? Perhaps even any attunement of their choice?
But that was an inherently selfish line of thinking.
If there was a way that everyone could have attunements, in a way that didn’t cause great harm, that was a goal worth striving toward.
But if that really was Tristan’s goal, it still raised further questions. “If your goal is widespread attunements for humanity, why did you sabotage Vera’s test?”
“That was Orden’s work, not mine. And while I could have opposed her, I would have failed. She was one of very few Whispers who had enough trust from the visages to work outside of the spires. I’m sure she had a brand to prevent her from talking about certain things, but she had freedom, and that freedom gave her power and influence.” He turned his head toward the room he’d exited from.
“But Orden is out of the picture now, and I have access to excellent sources of research. Moreover, artificial attunement research continues unimpeded within Caelford. While Vera’s team was important, they were only one group of several.”
I turned toward the doors he’d come from and pointed. “That room — that’s where you’re keeping Tenjin? And those other researchers?”
Tristan shook his head. “I won’t answer that. I wanted you to know why I’m doing what I’m doing, but you’re not working with me. I’d like you to, and I’ll make you that offer here and now. But it would take time and trust before I would give you a secret as great as Tenjin’s location.”
I could respect that. I was getting used to having secrets of my own. “Okay. I do have to ask one more thing, though.”
“Of course. I’m sure you have many questions.”
“When you first were admitting who you were in the book… Why’d you send me a villain monologue?”
Tristan broke into laughter. “I was a bit over the top, wasn’t I? In truth, I didn’t know what to say to you. I would have told you the truth earlier, but I couldn’t risk the possibility that Orden was going to find your book. Until she was out of the picture, I couldn’t write my name in there. If she’d known I had ways of communicating with the outside world, she could have used that against me. Had me executed, even.” He shook his head. “But aside from that? There’s a part of me that wanted to motivate you.”
“In what way? I already was looking for you.”
“Of course. And…” He looked pained for a moment. “Thank you, Corin. Like Mother, you never stopped believing that I might be alive. You even asked about me during your Judgment. I’m grateful for that. You’ve always asked questions — that’s something I respect about you.”
“But?”
“But I needed you to dig deeper. I needed you to consider the possibility that anyone could be a threat. Even me. You need to internalize that. It will help you survive the things to come.”
“And those things are?”
“I’m working on it.” Tristan sighed. “I have plans, of course, but the attack on the ball injured or killed many of my key allies. It’s going to take me some time to—”
There was a loud snap as the door behind me flew off its hinges.
I spun, drawing my sword.
I heard the sound of metal sliding against leather from behind me as Tristan did the same.
In front of us, in the open doorway, was my sister. Sera.
How is she—
A figure behind her pushed her forward.
Sera stumbled, then broke into a run toward me.
“Go ahead and run, Summoner.”
Mizuchi smiled as she stepped into the room, glancing from side to side. She was in her human form, with the long purple hair. “I’d be glad to have you all in one place. It’s easier to kill you at the same time that way.”
I ran to Sera, stopping when she was near me. “What happened? How are you here?”
Sera stopped running when she reached me. “She summoned me.”
“…what?”
Mizuchi laughed. “You humans are so arrogant. You forget that we serpents are superior beings. And that we can learn your little ‘attunement’ arts, too.”
I glanced at Sera. “But without a contract…”
Sera let out a nervous chuckle, stepping behind me. She was unarmed, and had a long gash along her right arm. “I cast a binding on her during the fight in the ball.”
“And what your sister didn’t realize is that when you have a binding or a contact with another Summoner, they go both ways.” Mizuchi clasped her hands together. “Of course, normally I would have ignored a little girl trying to bind me, as insolent of a gesture as it was. But imagine my surprise when I learned that she was the sister of the legendary Tristan Cadence. Blood of his blood.”
I glanced at Sera’s injury and realized what had happened at the same time Tristan explained it.
“A tracking spell.” Tristan stepped forward next to the two of us, assuming a traditional dueling stance. “But I know your abilities, Mizuchi. Summoning is among them, but Divination is not.”
“Ah, yes, quite right.” Mizuchi turned back toward the doorway. “Come along, darling. Don’t be shy.”
Researcher stepped into the room after her, her head bowed in shame. “I…”
“I didn’t tell you to speak, dear. I’m just showing you so they understand their mistake.”
And I did.
I remembered where I’d seen Mizuchi before — stepping out of the restricted section of the Divinatory.
When I’d helped Mara during her test, she’d told me that serpents could learn attunement abilities. She’d also told me that they could assume a human form, but often with some distinguishing characteristics. Like purple hair, for example. The same color as Mizuchi’s scales.
That hadn’t been enough for me to consider the possibility that Researcher’s Summoner had been someone who wasn’t human.
While I could conceptualize the idea of a serpent living in human society in disguise, the thought that one of them might have already been doing something like that so close to me… it had never even occurred to me.
How long had Mizuchi been monitoring the academy? It was right outside the spire, so she could have summoned Researcher and left her at the academy at any time she’d been outside. It could have been years before.