Chương 1: The Snake and the Rectoress

I stood in a large cave in a pass connecting Ebbing and Etolia, far from my newfound homeland. A mound of mountain goat carcasses I had hunted in the past few hours stood in front of me along with a comatose snake. Adapting my spell to its reptilian biology had been tricky, but I couldn't have the creature waking up before I was done. In my right hand, I had my personal spellbook, page opened on a re-written version of Alzur's Double Cross.

I had transcribed the spell from a hidden diary of a madman by the name of Fregenal when I had been travelling through Mayenna many years ago. He had combined the spell with Triangle Within a Triangle, creating a Koschei, a powerful monster. I had left out all the deranged ramblings about world conquest though. Since the continent was still contested by a dozen kingdoms, I doubt he had succeeded. Fortunately, neither of the spells were invented by the likely mentally ill sorcerer.

As a precaution, I had gone over the instructions meticulously. The spells were authentic, though where the madman managed to find powerful and forbidden spells like that I had no idea. I had attempted to try and re-write them in a way suitable to numeromancy, but I had been forced to admit defeat eventually. Alzur was a genius and it'd be many years before I could match someone of his calibre in spell craft, if ever. For now, I was quite content with being able to cast his work.

My left hand was raised, pointing at the snake. On each finger, I wore a ring adorned with a precious gemstone. None were fake, either. Gone were the days when I could not afford for my decoys to be real foci. I begin whispering the spell chant. A soft glow started emanating from my rings and my voice gradually grew louder, even though I was still whispering. Drawing deep upon the power of the Earth, I finished the spell.

My breaths were ragged as the darkness of the cave grew more oppressive, the silence broken only by the cracking bones of the comatose animal. I calmed my breathing, turning my gaze to the animal. Slowly, the snake grew, the speed gradually increasing. Its flesh bubbled and its bones popped while its scales shifted and grew in number. The process was grotesque, to say the least, but when I spotted the vestiges of wings growing, I couldn't help but grin.

Soon, I was forced out of the cave as the creature kept growing, lest I be blocked in. That would have been both very awkward and inconvenient. A few minutes later, the process was done. What was once a snake was a behemoth of a monster, easily the size of a large truck, if still recognisably snake-like. Six leathery wings spouted from its back and venom dripped from its mouth, while midnight black scales hid it in the darkness. Mercifully, the beast was still unconscious. Not for long.

The pass I stood in was vital to Nilfgaards logistics. Men, food and weapons flowed through regularly as the empire's war machine continued its march. Not for long. Oh, they'd deal with my little surprise eventually. Nilfgaard made excellent use of sorcerers, much better than the backwards Northern Kingdoms I had been born in, but sorcerers were sorcerers everywhere. Prideful creatures, not so easily roused, empire or no empire. It'd take them a while to deal with my gift, but deal with it they would.

I wasn't going to stop with just one monster, though. I'd show those war-hungry cretins what irregular warfare really was. Ruin my cushy rear-echelon job, will they? A few years earlier - Year 1239"It's been a pleasure, Rectoress de Vries," I half-lied. I had enjoyed my time in Aretuza and Thanedd Island, but to say the place was stifling would be a major understatement. It was that way for good reasons, but ones that were not relevant to me. I was not an idiotic child liable to blow myself up with magic.

Unlike some of my deceased peers.

"So what is your secret Tanya?" The Rectoress spoke, her sharp eyes watching me impassively. I blinked in confusion, but before I could muster up a response, Tissaia de Vries spoke again, "Conduit moment at three years old, sporadic and safe use of magic after that as well, if your parents are to be believed. I imagine they missed a great deal regardless." My throat went dry.

When that hypocritical creature reincarnated me yet again, this time in an even greater shithole than the last, I had reached for my magic basically on instinct the moment I could properly think. I had thought my parents were just poor, not that I was born in the local equivalent of the Middle Ages, witch hunts and all. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

It wasn't my fault the magic of this world was both significantly more potent and less controllable than the magic of the last. In the end, it turned out well enough since the incident eventually attracted one of Aretuza's recruiters. My parents' eagerness to give me up still stung though. I had thought we had built up a decent rapport over the years, but I had been evidently mistaken. Losing two contacts was quite a pity, even if they were too near the bottom of the social strata to be that useful.

"Your thesis on this, numeromancy, is brilliant, if impractical. Certainly worthy of graduation, despite your young age. However, I do not think regular mages would ever be capable of making proper use of it. I certainly am not. Perhaps, if they started training, since, say, four years old?" I steeled my heart, "What are you implying, Rectoress?"

"There is something unnatural about you, Tanya. You will be our youngest graduate, you've used magic since a very early age, and you are a pioneer of an entirely new discipline. And von Degurechaff? I am the last person who will judge you for choosing a new name, but what region is it from?" She paused for a second but didn't give me time to think of a lie before continuing, "Worse, I've known you for long enough to know you are no genius.

When your peers frolicked, you studied, when they rested, you studied, when they studied, you did so as well, but twice as hard," She paused, looking me in the eyes, "Willpower is its own talent, but for a child to be this driven? Unnatural." I suppressed a grimace. On their own, each of her points were just curiosities, but taken together? It would have been stranger if she had not realised there was something strange about me. The question of what to do remained.

I had taken care to ingratiate myself to the Rectoress, even being taken on as one of her students, so I did not think it likely she'd do anything drastic, but then again, the woman was older than me, even with the years of my three lives combined. To think I understood her thoughts was the height of hubris. I played around with telling the truth in my head. Unfortunately, that had its own dangers. Being X, the cowardly cretin, had sent me to a world even worse off than the previous one.

Changelings, ghosts, vampires and many, many monstrous creatures roamed the land, making the locals paranoid, if understandably so. If Tissaia de Vries decided I was a danger, I'd be in deep shit. Even with the edge that utilising math for my magic gave me, I didn't have a computation orb nor the means to make one. I thought I'd at least have a chance against the ancient sorceress, if not a good one. Worse, even if I escaped, the Rectoress' direct power was far less impressive than her connections.

I wouldn't have spent so much effort getting her tutelage were that not the case. The woman oversaw the best magical university in the entirety of the North and was one of the five members of the Chapter of the Gift and the Art, the ruling body of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers, the premier mage organisation in the Northern Kingdoms. A disgustingly powerful organisation whose spread the local rulers were utterly foolish to have allowed, but there was little they could do about it now.

Much to my benefit, as graduating from Aretuza made me technically a member. Yet that was not the extent of Tissaia's influence. With two of her past direct students working as advisors to powerful kings, there were many strings she could pull. Yennefer of Vengerberg advised King Demavend of Aedirn, if informally, while Philippa Eilhart advised King Vizimir II of Redania and also sat on the council of Wizards, the second ruling body of the Brotherhood, if one lesser in standing compared to the Chapter.

And these were only her direct students. I had little doubt that she held much sway with most of Aretuza's graduates, none of which could be considered inconsequential. Triss Merigold was an excellent example of this, as she too sat on a monarch's council, even though she had only graduated a few years prior. She was hardly the only one, as having a sorceress as an advisor seemed to be quite the trend for northern monarchs, one I was supposed to join.

It was no exaggeration to say that a few letters from the Rectoress could make half the north come after me. Perhaps misunderstanding my expressionless face, Tissaia spoke again, breaking the silence, "Hm. I do not believe you are a bodysnatcher or a spirit, so no need to look so constipated. I'm merely curious, no need to answer if you are not ready." After a few more seconds of silence, Tissaia de Vries sighed with disappointment, "I suppose I've held you long enough. Go enjoy Cintra, Tanya.

I'll be here if you need to talk to someone." Were I less disciplined, I would have breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the Rectoress was as reluctant to push away a valuable ally as I was. Cintra was a powerful kingdom and as an advisor to its monarch, my future value was assured. Better, it was peaceful, its only hostile neighbour summarily whipped by the Lioness of Cintra seven years ago. I smiled, glad to see that my erstwhile teacher was another bastion of rationality like myself.

"Thank you, Rectoress. I will be sure to keep in touch." After all, there was much we could offer to each other. Tissaia offered me a sad nod. With that, I made my way out of her office and eventually out of the building, not sparing any glances at the garish decor. I might have gotten used to all the nude statues by now, but their presence at an institution half filled with children was still rather distasteful to my sensibilities. I would miss other parts of the academy though, like the Gallery of Glory.

That place was basically a museum, filled with historical paintings and artefacts and thus one of the more interesting places in the academy. Despite leaving my home for many years, I was eager for Cintra. My tuition debt was substantial and I was eager to start repaying it. A kingdom as prosperous and peaceful as Cintra was the perfect place for me. Better, the Capital city of Cintra, unimaginatively also named Cintra, stood on ancient elven ruins.

I had developed something of an interest in history, locked up on Thanned Island for so long with little to do but read and study. As one might expect, Aretuza did not boast much in the ways of entertainment, barring its libraries which were, of course, filled mostly with educational and historical texts. Unfortunately, the rest of this medieval world was not much better making the prospect of some ancient history to uncover quite appealing.

It would take some time for me to get to Cintra all the way from Thanned as the island was near the northern Temerian border, quite a ways away from my soon-to-be employers. Still, after the chaos of my second life and the stifling environment of Aretuza, I was more than ready to enjoy some well-deserved peace and freedom.