/n/jackal-among-snakes-1520/c-545
chapter-546

Argrave had never been on a boat for an extended period of time. That didn’t change, really, because Lira had installed a feature to his boat that allowed him to go back to land whenever he wanted. It did somewhat undermine the purity of such a thing, but that was already thoroughly marred by the underlying purpose of the Sea Dragon’s long voyage across the sea. The constant vigilance of the accompanying gods ensured they would not be accosted by enemies without warning.

Admiral Tan Shu guided them most of the time. She was a fierce fighter, but her true talent was hinted at by her title. She could read the stars far better than any other sailor. Her skill was such that she could often estimate how far they’d travelled just by looking at the stars each night. She had a great ability to predict weather, wind, and how both might affect the voyage. Perhaps these abilities were supernatural.

But both Admiral Tan Shu and Emperor Ji Meng were tightly watched by countless guards. The reason for that was Sophia. Argrave felt he needed to be near the Sea Dragon to keep watch on things, and at the same time he felt Sophia needed to be far, far away from civilization when they tested her power in case it truly was as dangerous as the Alchemist said.

But progress was not immediate. As a matter of fact, to call it ‘progress’ implied some had been made. Argrave and Anneliese gave the best tips they could to help Sophia grasp her power. Argrave once again borrowed the lens that bestowed [Minor Truesight] when empowered by magic, showing Sophia the turbulent forces that lie within her… yet nothing proved easy stimulation. This sent Sophia into a little bit of a depression. That depression helped her act more like Elenore, but hurt her everywhere else.

She never gave up, though, to her credit. Argrave and Anneliese tried countless different angles to help her grasp her power during the long voyage. They tried to teach her magic to give her a basis of the supernatural. Sophia was magically blessed, and managed to complete a simple F-rank matrix after a few days… but that proved more a distraction than a help. Visualization techniques caused nothing more than a headache for Argrave and Sophia both. For all the countless experience Anneliese and Argrave had calling upon powers other than their own, this was proving beyond them.

Until one peculiar night, that was.