Reincarnated! A Tale of the Sorceress Amaya

Adhira watched our exchange curiously. “They are right, you know.” She said, “Sometimes strangers want to harvest your wings for potions! Or put you into a cage. That is why you approach them in the cover of a storm. And always have a spell ready to strike them!”

That prompted an explanation from Josef. “Sprite wings are not really needed for potions. It is a sad misconception. The dust they are coated with has some uses but it can be obtained without hurting the creature. You can trade for it if you can find a willing sprite. Of course, if you are weak the sprite is likely to steal whatever you offer for trade. It’s important to have a certain strength while negotiating.”

Adhira was nodding. “If they are weak they will need to pay tribute first. But I am a nice sprite! I would not take everything and allow them to bargain with the remaining things they have!”

“Mom says it’s mean to take other people’s things.” Ben said.

“Not if you are a magnificent sprite! People worshipping us is normal.” She waved his concerns away.

“Your mom is right, you can’t just take other people's things.”

Ben seemed to think for a bit. “But big sis took the mean baron's carriage after slaughtering him. So if you want someone's stuff you just slaughter them first.” He concluded.

Lynn looked shocked. “Ben! You can’t say things like that!”

“You have a lot to learn young foxkin!” Adhira said. “You see, if you slaughter them you get all their stuff. But then they are gone. It’s better to just take a bit when they cross your forest. So you can keep getting stuff from the same person! You only slaughter hunters.”

I put my hand on my face and sighed. Maybe we needed to hire an ethics teacher. Then again, what were the common ethics of this world?

“Anyway, what are your plans, Adhira? Now that the storm is receding we will continue our journey.” I asked.

“Um… About those maid knights… Can… can anyone join?”

“We don’t really know you but you could become a recruit.” Lucy suggested.

“Sure. Lily is in charge of our maid knights and Iris currently handles the training.” I said.

“I shall introduce you to Iris and the other recruits, follow me.” Lily said.

Adhira looked really excited as she followed the demon.

Ben’s ears slumped as he saw a potential playmate leave. He had been inside the carriage for a while and was likely hoping for something fun. Especially since his parents used the ride to teach him writing.

“It looks like she will stick around. Maybe you will have someone to play with later.” I told him.

“She has to stop teaching him bad things though. Shani is already bad enough.” Lynn said.

“But Shani is nice!” Ben protested. “Can you summon her? Can I play with her? Pleeease!”

I looked at Lynn. “Fine.” She agreed. “The wagons are going to move slowly because of the mud. But you are not allowed to go far! And she will be responsible for his safety!”

I was surprised that she agreed. Shani was a terrible influence when it came to ethics. But she seemed to genuinely care. Ben did not have any playmates in the village. I was confused about that at first. But it turned out that there used to be two girls his age. The parents fled one night because they feared the baron. The other children were either too young to play, or too old to be interested. Too old meant ten, so four years older. Apparently that made them already too mature to hang out with Ben.

Anyway, I summoned Shani.

“Your DOOOOOM has arrived!” She shouted as she materialised, while waving her big scythe around. Shani had started to appear in more dramatic ways during the last days.

“Yay!” Ben cheered. “We met a tiny storm person!” He told her. “She is even smaller than me and has wings!”

“She is a storm sprite called Adhira and wants to join our maid knights.” I added.

“Storm sprite huh? Cute little things. They have really sharp teeth to tear meat easily. A joy to watch. We should give her a welcoming gift. How about blood! A tiny pool of blood!”

“No.” I said.

“Booo! Well, we will think of something! Onwards Ben, to the new maid!” Shani announced.

Both of them ran off.

“When you see Shani like that it’s hard to imagine that she is an ancient and powerful creature.” I observed.

“Ehm, no offence but she is much more normal than you are.” Josef said. “She is a storm elemental, which is a subtype of wind. They are known to be rather impulsive and… let’s just say unconstrained. They enjoy their existence and are rather carefree.” He paused and looked at me. “Archfey… they are known to be ruthless, manipulative and prideful. They take hierarchy very seriously. The casual way you interact with people? That is truly unheard of.”

“It’s fine. I am ok with being weird.” I said. “I am sure Lucy is not a normal kitsune either.”

She looked at me and stuck out her tongue.

“See?” I said, pointing at her. “Clearly very immature behaviour for such a refined creature.” I concluded.

Lucy playfully punched me in the arm and we both laughed.