There’s a lot to unpack there. First of all, Nicholas has just confirmed that he’s aware our Class is capable of Binding humans – and that others know about it too. I’d wondered about that, though Sarran’s reactions when I pulled him into the Battle of Wills space were an indication too – he was fearful but not surprised. Moreover, Nicholas is indicating that the practice of doing so is a tradition in certain contexts. But there’s one issue there.

  “Sarran isn’t Bound to you,” I say, narrowing my eyes at Nicholas.

  “Sarran proved himself willing to exchange his life for mine before ever being offered the position of manservant.” Nicholas explains neutrally. “A Bond was deemed unnecessary. Additionally, he would not have been an acceptable target as he is not, and has never been, a slave.”

  I nod slowly. I suppose that answer makes sense: why settle for manufactured loyalty through a Bond when you can have the real deal? But then why would Nicholas’ ancestors have a practice of doing that rather than encouraging loyalty between a servant and the heir from a young age? Was it just easier to buy a person to Bind for their heir’s eighteenth birthday or something?

  “You mentioned that restriction – given by the king, I think you said. Care to explain more about that?” Though I’m not exactly planning on walking out and Binding people, I have a history of doing so to those who attack me when they’re more useful to me alive than dead. I need to know if I’m going to get into trouble for that here, whether I’m Nicholas’ heir or not.

  Nicholas gestures at the room behind me.

  “Perhaps we could sit down and have this discussion?” he suggests. I blink and remember that we’ve been standing in the entrance way for the last few minutes of conversation.

  “Fine,” I sigh. We might as well make ourselves more comfortable. I step aside and Nicholas walks in, heading straight for the group of five sofas arranged in a rough circle in the middle of the room.

  Before I go to join him, I turn and crouch next to Loran. I see him twitch a little in surprise, but he doesn’t leave his careful pose. I hesitate and then put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

  “Look, make yourself comfortable, alright?” I tell him quietly. “If that means staying here kneeling, that’s fine. Or you can stand up. Or, heck, if you want, I have no objections to you having a seat on one of these sofas.” His eyes fly up to look at me in clear startlement.

  “I couldn’t do that, sir!” he exclaims, but quietly – he doesn’t want to draw Nicholas’ attention, I’d bet.

  “I suspected not,” I say with a slightly wry smile. “But I’m telling you that it’s fine by me. Please stay in the room, though. I want to speak to you after Nicholas has gone.”

  “Of course, sir,” he answers immediately. I pat his shoulder and then straighten, walking over to the couches.

  Nicholas is hesitating next to one of the sofas, and when I get closer, I see why. It appears that all of my Bound have discovered how comfortable the sofas are – far more so than the cold tile floors. They’re packed. Even Noir and Ivor have managed to sprawl over a couch each. I can only hope that the sofas are structurally strong enough to bear their weight. At least Lathani doesn’t seem to be testing their load-bearing capacities – a quick touch to the Bond reveals that she’s outside with her mother. Fair enough.

  The couch nearest to where Nicholas is hovering is currently packed with four raptorcats.

  “Clear some space, you lot,” I tell them affectionately. Ninja opens an eye and yawns. Trouble also eyes me speculatively, as if wondering how far he can push it. Blaze and Spot eye me more warily – we haven’t had the time to build trust between us. I touch the Bonds between me and the young raptorcats and push the sense that I’m serious at the four of them – and that I don’t want to ask again.

  Ninja, Blaze, and Spot shift closer to the other end of the sofa without further complaint. Trouble, however, sends me the image of Bastet lying on a sofa which she’s only sharing with Happy, accompanying it with a sense of complaint.

  “She’s got seniority,” I tell him, raising my eyebrows at him expectantly. He grumble-growls a little under his breath but shifts enough to allow Nicholas just enough space to sit down.

  “Sorry about that,” I apologise to Nicholas with some amusement.

  “It is no problem,” he dismisses, sitting in the space I’ve cleared for him with apparently no concerns about the deadly predator less than a hands’ width away from him. I’ll say this for him – he has balls of steel.

  I head over to the couch with Bastet and Happy. The raptorcat matriarch cedes some space happily and then proceeds to half-lie across my lap. I take the hint and begin scratching at the skin beneath her feather-fur the way she likes it. Moving almost silently, Loran comes to stand behind the corner of my sofa. I’m not sure I like how he’s just out of my eyesight, but trust that there are plenty of eyes on him in case he tries anything.

  “You are very affectionate with your Bonded,” Nicholas remarks with a tilt to his head. I stiffen a little – perhaps I should have communicated with them mentally. I’ve got in the habit of speaking to them out loud unless I’m specifically trying to be secretive – among the samurans, only those I’d Bound would understand me anyway. That’s not the case now and I’ll need to be careful of what even half a conversation can reveal to the casual eavesdropper.

  In this case, though, I figure that some honesty would be a good idea.

  “They are my friends, my companions, my family,” I say simply. “There are multiple bonds which tie us together beyond the obvious.”

  Nicholas nods slowly.

  “There are certainly advantages to that path,” he agrees. “Sometimes even enough to outweigh the disadvantages. As you might imagine, my family have tested different types of binding, both with our Class and without. Being loved by one’s subordinates is certainly a type of leadership, as is being feared. In my experience, a combination of both is the most effective, but that is something we can discuss at greater length in the future. I believe you had other questions?”

  He sounds rather Machiavellian, which probably tells me something about the noble society in which he operates. To my understanding, Italy was a mass of deadly politics at the time, composed of city states which were always hungering for more – more power, more land, more resources, more influence. It seems likely that the Houses Nicholas has mentioned are similar, based on everything he’s said so far.

  “Yes, you stated that the king limits you to only Binding slaves?”

  “In essence, the king’s ruling is that the members of my House who bear our family Class are not allowed to Bind Moriaxar citizens on pain of significant punishment up to and including execution, depending on the situation. There are exceptions. Slaves are one, since while their service contract is active, they are not considered to be Moriaxar citizens.”

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  “What about if one of them buys their freedom and you have a Bond with them? What then?”

  Nicholas makes an unfamiliar gesture with his hand, touching his thumb to the pad of his middle finger briefly.

  “In theory, they should be released from the Bond at the same time. However, in practice, it is a little loophole. My family has never been punished for maintaining a Bond with a slave who has been freed because we did not actively Bind a Moriaxar citizen. If we released the Bond and then reBound them after their service contract had been bought out, that would be cause for punishment. In practice, we tend to ask whether they would like to remain in our service, and if so, whether they would like to maintain the Bond or not. We find giving them options leads to better results.”

  I narrow my eyes at him.

  “Except that the Bond by nature twists their minds to put the Binder at the centre of their world and their loyalties,” I state with more of an accusing tone than I intended.

  “With beasts, yes. Not with humans,” Nicholas states simply. “At least,” he qualifies, “It has increasingly weaker effects on humans with a Willpower above ten or so. Which the majority of adults have unless they’re particularly weak-willed.”

  I very carefully do not reveal that my Willpower was a four when I first got my Class.

  “I see. You stated ‘exceptions’. What are the others?” I also notice how he’s been very careful to say ‘Moriaxar citizens’. He’s previously mentioned the Damayar – are they considered as Moriaxar citizens? If not, are they vulnerable? I suppose that it’s natural for the king of the Moriaxar, to protect his own citizens; protecting citizens of other countries probably isn’t his priority, but his commitment to it might say something about the state of diplomacy between the countries.

  “My family is allowed to protect themselves with any means necessary, as are all other Houses, not just Great Houses. Therefore, if someone attacks us, we are allowed to use whatever Skills we must to protect ourselves and our people. For my family, this includes our Binding Skills. Equally, in the event of someone attacking us and being captured during the battle, we usually have the right to enact our own justice – including giving a sentence of slavery which would open the attacker up to a Bond. If, however, the attacker is of noble blood, we do not have the right to sentence him or her directly. Instead, we must seek justice from the king. At this point, the king will often offer the solution of an honour duel to settle such matters of import.” Nicholas gives a thin smile. “All the Houses know that to lose an honour duel against the lord or heir of this house opens them up to a second duel – the Battle of Wills. Should they lose that as well, they and, if they are the lord of their House, their family, will be Bound to our House for a term of our choosing – within reason.”

  He falls silent and lets me have a little bit of time to think through the information he’s given me so far. I’m grateful for that as there are a lot of implications. Like how apparently justice is still settled by who is the strongest fighter – that sounds little more advanced than the samurans’ leadership battles. And actually, the samurans’ leadership battles were more arguably justified than settling justice by means of fighting – in their savage world, having a strong leader was necessary. What does it say about this place that it’s the same?

  It’s also very clear that there are different rules for nobles and for commoners. That’s something that I’ll need to bear in mind when deciding whether or not to accept the jurisdiction of the Goddess of Binding over our agreement – if I agree, I’ll be a noble heir and evidently more protected. If I go, I’ll just be another commoner and open to receiving a sentence of slavery if I accidentally get on the bad side of a noble house. I swallow hard at the thought.

  And that’s even if I’d be considered a ‘Moriaxar citizen’ which I can’t say for sure would be the case. I’m an alien in all meanings of the word, and I have no idea what kind of records they have of Moriaxar citizens, or what kind of ID documents they need. But I’m definitely getting the impression that non-citizens are not treated the same as citizens.

  More and more, it’s looking like taking Nicholas up on his offer is my best bet, perhaps only real option, despite the need to call on a goddess to witness the agreement – and best for my companions too. But that might just be my tiredness and overwhelmed emotions talking. I need to sleep on it before making any sort of important decisions.

  A thought comes to mind and I focus on Nicholas again.

  “You said that your House was unpopular. Is this the reason why?” After all, having a Skill that can essentially enslave others – including nobles who, it seems, wouldn’t usually need to face that possibility – must make people fearful. And what people fear, they often start to hate as well.

  Then again, what do I know – perhaps half the country has a similar Skill.

  Nicholas grimaces.

  “It is part of it,” he admits. “Though it’s not the full picture. I mentioned that Moriax is populated by descendants of refugees from the Lost Continent. What I didn’t say at the time is that my ancestor arrived significantly later than the others. And with him, he brought a variation of the Tamer Class that none others on Moriax had – or have been able to develop since, not for want of trying, mind. Tamers typically build Bonds with animals one way or another. Some contract with beasts, tempting them with advantages of the Bond. Others break beasts, forcing the Bond on them regardless of their desires. Still others mix the approaches. But none have been able to do the same with other humans. Except for our Class.”

  So it’s not a common Skill. In fact, from the sounds of it, it’s a very rare Skill, though clearly they manage to do slavery though other means. I guess that they keep slaves in line here in the same way as it used to be on Earth – guards, chains, draconian punishments for disobedience and attempts to escape, and a society which would more readily return a slave to their fate than help them escape. Though from Nicholas’ question about whether I’m an ‘abolitionist’, clearly not everyone agrees with it. I idly wonder whether there’s a group who actively work to free people, or if the idea that everyone given the sentence of slavery is an unrepentant criminal is enough to stop that from developing. I push the thought aside for later.

  “Why does that make your House unpopular, though?” I ask him, returning to the topic at hand. “If slavery is already something common?”

  Nicholas grimaces again.

  “It is not the only reason, though it leads to other Houses being keen to ensure we do not gain too much power. A large part of the animosity my House faces, however, is due to how my ancestor gained power in the first place. Though he arrived with only a single ship’s worth of companions, he quickly gained control over a large territory by Binding any leader who attempted to resist. This in itself caused ructions as many of those leaders were powerful in their own right, but were rendered helpless in the face of his will. Moreover, it was quickly discovered that even if it was possible to forcibly break the Bonds, in doing so, there would be some sort of significant damage created; the only way to save those people was to negotiate with my ancestor to release them willingly. In the face of a force which seemed poised to run riot across the whole of Moriax, and indeed, perhaps Iseria, the King of the time offered to recognise my ancestor as a sixth Great House, if only he submitted to the authority of the king and agreed not to take any more territory.”

  “And he agreed?” I ask, a little surprised. After all, sure, it was an official recognition, but if Nicholas’s ancestor had a taste for conquering, why would he be willing to accept only a small portion of what he might be able to take?

  “He did.” Perhaps Nicholas understands the source of my surprise as he continues. “Family records do not clarify exactly why, but reading between the lines, I suspect that my ancestor realised that it was better to keep his kill than to lose it to a scavenger while hunting for another.” So, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush? Or perhaps the ancestor ran into the issue that I did with the samurans – there are only so many Bonds I can hold at any time, and to hold more I must increase my Willpower. Perhaps he realised he was approaching his upper limit or something and preferred to quit while he was ahead.

  “I see,” I sigh, leaning back in my chair. “So, other nobles dislike how your family got its territory in the first place, but they fear the consequences if they try to take it back and fail.”

  “Indeed. It has been a delicate balance of power for almost three thousand years. Which is why it is so imperative that my House does not fall behind the others as they will be quick to capitalise on any opportunity to wipe us off the map once more.”

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