The Unicorn Legion

Mage Rowenna

“Excuse me, Teacher,” Rowenna suddenly spoke. “This matter should be handled by the Mage Academy alone. There is no need for outside a.s.sistance- especially from a paladin of the church.” She looked at Cain with cold eyes.

“Good grief, how many times will I have to explain this?” Cain shook his head. “Ms. Silva, I have separated from the church entirely. I just haven’t been able to replace all my equipment, so I’m still using some of the things I used as a paladin.”

“In that case, I apologize for my misunderstanding,” Rowenna replied indifferently. “However-”

“Rowenna.” The Grand Mage smiled and interrupted her protest. “I hope you will work alongside the Unicorn Legion for the time being.”

“Well …”

“Please consider it,” the Grand Mage spoke gently. “After all, Mr. Dawntracker is also Teacher Yang’s old friend.”

Rowenna’s gaze fell on Ellen, and she nodded slightly before standing and offering her hand to the elf.

“Amy- the queen thinks highly of you, Captain. I trust her judgement. On behalf of the Mage’s Academy, I thank you for your help.”

“It’s our honor to help,” Ellen shook her hand. “Welcome to the team.”

“Now we have two humans,” Sh.e.l.ly smiled. “Cain, aren’t you happy?”

Hearing this, the knight was about to answer, but Rowenna spoke first.

“Sorry, but you’re about to be disappointed.”

She took off the hood of her cloak. Her brown hair was swept back behind a pair of slightly pointed ears- not as obvious as an elf’s, but clearly not human.

“Please allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Rowenna Silva, a half-elf mage.”

Ellen’s eyes widened, and he smiled.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he spoke in Elvish.

“The stars have aligned for our encounter,” the mage softly replied in the same language.

“One last thing,” the Grand Mage smiled. “I wanted the Unicorn Legion’s a.s.sistance with this matter because some of the magical constructs(1) are immune to magic. It would be difficult for a mage to defeat them alone.”

“I understand, teacher,” Rowenna replied. “This is a priority for the Mage’s Academy.”

“Alright, then,” the Grand Mage nodded. As he got up to leave the room, he stopped short and said, “Ah, Rowenna. There was something else. Leo(2) wrote a letter, would you like to send one back?”

“No.”

“So, I should write ‘Rowenna declines to send greetings’?” The Grand Master said helplessly.

“Replace ‘declines to send greetings’ with ‘despises you’ and you’ve got it.”

The half-elf’s master sighed and said, “… Nevermind. If he offers to help, please treat him civilly, for my sake.” The Grand Mage left the room, leaving Rowenna sitting at the table with the members of the Unicorn Legion.

“When would you like to set out? I’m prepared to leave immediately.”

“Currently, I don’t fully understand the situation in the forest,” Ellen explained. “I would like to know what you advise.”

“It depends on how many people you want to bring,” Rowenna replied. “From what my master told me, your team consists of you, Captain; the paladin over there …” She looked hesitantly at Julian. “… and you, Mr. Mageless?”

The dwarf flushed slightly red. “Oh, no, I- I just joined the team recently, I’m not really …”

“What is your preferred weapon?”

Julian thought for a moment, and quietly said, “I, um, don’t have one.”(3)

“I see,” Rowenna nodded. “This will take some time to prepare. There is a town two days north of here, where we can also purchase light armor.”

“I can handle that, actually,” Julian said meekly.

“Oh?” She replied. “What materials will you need?”

“Hey, what about me?” Sh.e.l.ly pouted. “Don’t forget about me, Rowenna!”

“This is what I meant when I mentioned the number of people,” the mage said. “I don’t yet understand everyone’s strengths and abilities, or your weaknesses. It may be more convenient for you to stay behind.“

“It won’t be a problem! I can even beat Cain!” Sh.e.l.ly grinned proudly. The knight silently looked away.

“Well, I can at least use this time to teach you how to strengthen your magical defenses.” Rowenna smiled. “As for whether or not you can come, that would be up to the Captain to decide.”

With some hesitation, Ellen glanced over at Julian, who sat huddled in his chair with his head down, awaiting the elf’s verdict.

“If it’s possible, I want everyone to partic.i.p.ate.” Ellen decided. “If it becomes too troublesome, it’s not too late to change the plan.”

“I understand.” Rowenna nodded. “Mr. Mageless, how long would it take you to finish the equipment?”

“Probably about two or three days,” the dwarf straightened up.

“Ah, there’s another thing,” the mage looked embarra.s.sed. “My light element is rather … mediocre. More accurately, it’s nonexistent. Frankly, it’s a good thing my master is still around to help with the post-war recovery efforts …”

“That shouldn’t be an issue,” Cain spoke up. “It doesn’t matter how powerful your magic is; it will still be useful.”

“I specialize in herbal medicine.” The mage spat, glaring bitterly at the knight.

Watching helplessly as the tension rose, Ellen shook his head. “Then, it’s decided. We will depart in three days.”

“Very well,” Rowenna stood up. “Mr. Mageless, please come with me.”

After watching them leave, the knight sank into his chair with a groan. “I’m really starting to hate that woman … I mean, I’ve only just gotten Sh.e.l.ly to stop hating me for being human, and now that we’ve finally got another human- well, half-human- teammate, she hates my guts too?”

“Don’t take it too hard,” Ellen said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I heard that the church used to burn mages at the stake; given that you still look like a paladin, her misunderstanding is only natural.”

“Thank you for your kind words of comfort, Ellen …”

“I’m sure she’ll understand once she gets to know you,” the elf smiled. “Sh.e.l.ly approves of you now, doesn’t he? Even when I first met you, I was pretty sure you hated me.”

“Ugh,” the knight buried his head in his arms. “I get it now, this is punishment. Don’t comfort me anymore, Ellen, I don’t deserve it.”

One of the cats jumped onto the table and patted his head with a small paw.

I knew I’d seen Rowenna’s name before! It was actually in the t.i.tle of this chapter; I only added an ‘n’ in my version, so I’m not too far off.

I changed the format of the chapters a bit. I think it looks nice, but a little crowded … let me know if it’s difficult to read!

          ~ ~ ~          Chapter 17 >>