Inheritor Of Magic: The Magi King

Wolfe tried to understand just how things worked on the other continents. They used a small group of powerful magical beasts to do their awakening before the Curse could fully take hold, but it left a limitation on them, thanks to the nature of their awakening.

Yet, they judged the Witches here who had awakened naturally for being cursed.

They said that they represented a united force that ruled every continent in the world, but they were still worried about outsiders coming here to the Frozen Wastes.

There was definitely more that they were hiding, but Wolfe suspected that the only one who might know anything at all about it beyond the government propaganda was the General.

She was old enough now that she should be able to see through the nonsense and the lies to some aspects of the truth, but she would be incredibly unlikely to spill any of those secrets in front of her subordinates.

Given that they had both threatened to kill everyone living on this continent and expected it to have been done the last time they ordered it after the war, Wolfe didn't think that there would be any good outcomes for the junior soldiers if they did happen to overhear any of the truths behind their world.

So, he decided to prod them for things that they could tell him.

"Are the Monsters there much more powerful? That might be the cause. The Familiar tends to be on the same level of potential as the Witch. If she is too weak, her Familiar will be a weak creature. If she is strong, with good potential, she might get something amazing, but that comes with its own dangers." Wolfe suggested.

"What sort of danger?" The young soldier asked.

"Well, if you get a strong magical creature and it grows more powerful than the Witch, there is a chance it could break the Familiar Bond. Not many good things happen after a monstrous Familiar goes feral inside a populated area." Wolfe explained, leaving out the bit about how a more intelligent one could reverse the bond.

"I heard about that happening once when I was a kid. A giant Ape reached Rank Four and broke loose of his witch inside the market square. It was a massacre before the army got there." The Sergeant replied with a grim tone.

Everyone on Wolfe's side nodded in understanding.

"Yes, that's about the usual outcome. Everyone is careful not to let that happen if they have a strong Familiar, but sometimes it's unavoidable near the start of their career." Wolfe agreed.

"How so?" The Sergeant asked.

"Well, if you're on the weaker side of Rank One, and your Familiar is on the very high side or breaks through to Rank Two only days after summoning, you might be able to regain control and keep using the bond to grow. But what if it's like the Jackalope, which can use deadly Wind Magic, or a Faerie, who has an incredibly versatile skillset?" He explained.

Wolfe saw the Faeries preening at the praise while the Wind Rabbit only looked up for a split second when it was mentioned.

"So what you're saying is, they're too powerful for the witch that they broke free from to stop them, so if there isn't someone else around, they could kill their witch." The Sergeant asked.

"Exactly. Or drag her off to Faerie or torture her for the insult of enslaving them. Happy Familiars wouldn't even try to break free. So, the ones that do can be quite dangerous."

The General nodded at that one. "I have seen it before. One of the witches back when I was a young soldier got a monstrous Raccoon as her Familiar. It was already at Rank Two, so the Lieutenant ordered it caged and held until they could work a spell to pacify it and help it get along with its Witch.

But that night, it picked the lock on the cage using a piece torn from its water bowl and killed her in her sleep before fleeing the barracks."

The Sergeant considered the implications for a moment. "So you're saying that we should be grateful not to get magical beasts because of the danger?"

Cassie shook her head. "No, we're saying that there might not be any Magical Beasts in the area that are weak enough for you to summon. If they're a bit stronger, they might break free. If they're a lot stronger, then they might not be summoned at all. So, if there are no Rank One and Rank Two magical beasts near your cities, then you might lack the power to summon any of the ones that are there."

The Sergeant snorted in laughter. "Things are very different here, aren't they? We don't even grow magical gardens like the one I can sense underneath us because there are so many magical beasts. Rank One, Rank four, there are magical beasts everywhere outside the cities."

Wolfe smirked. "You know, it's the same thing here, but possibly with a lower power density. Our soldiers spend most of their time out culling the magical beasts so that they don't grow in numbers and power to the point where everyone is overrun.

During the winter, when they're more active, we put defensive lines at the border of the Frozen Wastes to deal with their attempts to get at the Covens."

He had intended it as a warning that they would be able to mobilize the army on short notice, but it looked more like the General was considering how large of a force would be necessary, not whether they should leave things alone.

"So, they don't clear the War Memorial?" The Sergeant asked.

Cassie shook her head. "No, their territory stops at the edge of the Frozen Wastes. They protect their own, and those of us who live here in the Frozen Wastes protect ourselves. But we don't do a mass culling; we only hunt the ones that taste good."

"Taste good?" The General asked with a hint of confusion.

"Don't tell me that you've never considered eating them? It's meat, like any other meat. But higher in mana and energy content, with many essential nutrients. Monster meat is a delicacy. Should we bring some out? We've got some meat pies ready, I think." Wolfe suggested.

"Since we are here, and it doesn't seem that we will be leaving in a hurry, why not? A good meal never hurt anything. I will be sure no notes about violations of the vegetarian diet order make it to central command." She agreed.

Vegetarian diet? But they had already said that they didn't grow magical plants. How did these witches not starve?