#pierrehart

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(((part 2 out of ??? idk if im gonna finish this or if it's gonna die like a lot of my AU projects)))

While he was close to his goal, there was still so much to do ahead of him. First he'd need to proceed with human trials to see how efficient his thumb-sized stone would be on larger being, how long it would take to treat different wound types and how large or severe they are. Depending on the result he might have to produce larger stones or somehow enlarge the one he already had. After all the data gets solidified he would then have to mass produce the stones on size and ease of use of the stone. If the stone proves to be small and capable of direct application then every soldier could have one in their issued first aid kit but if the stones have to be larger than a fist or require advanced channeling then they would be distributed to the healing alchemist of the infantry as well as the high courts. In an ideal world where he wasn't on such a tight deadline He'd probably spend at least a full year testing out the stone on people to make sure there weren't any side effects from excessive use or to see if the stone might stop working entirely after a while. Sadly with conflict brewing at the border of the Hikarikagayaku nation and the remnant of the cold country time was of the essence. It meant a lot to him too.

Ikkioi Honda used to live in a small village that bordered the cold lands back when it was still called Sverkayusnia. Life was simple back then and for a while the two countries were in good terms. There was even a caravan passing through their town quite often and he became friend with one of the merchant's kids. They nicknamed him "Mika" because they couldn't pronounce his full name back then. And then Yakov came into power. Under his rule Sverkayusnia became a war-hungry nation desperate to expend their reach to as much land as they could get their hands on. During that war Professor Honda was still relatively young so he wasn't recruited as a soldier just yet but he became a protector for this village regardless. He wasn't able to do much however. His little town was completely erased by Sverkat forces and he had to flee to the inner lands of Hikarikagayaku for safety. With how small Hikarikagayaku was back then Sverkayusnia would have probably taken it over had the Huánguó nation not stepped in.

Sverkayusnia doesn't exist anymore, most of its territory has been colonized and force-pacified by Huánguó with a small portion of it having been gifted to Hikarikagayaku. The only part that somewhat remain and has been referred to as "the cold country" is the small most North part of the land that both Huánguó and Hikarikagayaku found too cold to capture. Rumor has it that in recent years the Sverkat living there have been trying to take back land by convincing their kins living in converted territories to rebel and with their war efforts mainly being targeted toward the Hikarikaguan lands. Honda has his doubts on the topic but if the rumors grants him the title and funding of a royal alchemist that allows him to created a stone capable of saving people in the future then so be it.

Taking notes and writing his report took him quite a while and was a tad bit tedious but it was necessary. If his writings were not clear enough for the emperor to understand it could mean losing his funding and position. To him using a Meredic Press to concentrate Opal essence infused with Aqua Vitae into a Gemmagica conduit was obvious, but for his superior it would probably best to rephrase this as 'compressing mixed gem compounds in a machine to make an elemental stone'. There was probably some things he wouldn't be able to simplify but nothing he wouldn't be able explain it in person if need be. With how things were moving he was almost certain he could get the papers finished by the next afternoon or the one after that.

The alchemist was so busy getting his work done with his assistant to notice his student enter the lab.

"Mr.Honda" flatly said the woman, her arms crossed and her face stern.

"Nora! What brings you down here?" replied Ikkioi

"I've heard news regarding your studies..."

"Your uncle told you, I suppose?" he rhetorically asked, dipping his quill before resuming writing "Do not worry about it. Everything is moving along at reasonable pace!"

"Are you positive?" Her tongue was sharp, there was no doubt she was very much upset "He gave you only a week"

"I'm sure It will be done in the next two days. Don't worry about it!"

"Hmm..."

"By next week we might even start the human trials and I want you involved!" cheerfully said the professor "You are still going to be the head of the infirmary but you will be the one overseeing the patient we will test the stone on while I'll be down here writing the bulk of the reports and doing stone adjustments whenever needed. Speaking of adjustments I think I'll try to put and extra coat of compound on the stone tomorrow to fix the big chip it got when I dropped it yesterday. As far as I can tell it's just an aesthetic issue but I'd rather get it patched up just in case."

"Noted... Looking... forward to it."

"Fantastic!"

As the woman left the lab Andrei couldn't help but feel the disgust emanating from her. If Nora and her uncle really wanted her to become the new royal alchemist this was the perfect opportunity, have the report delayed so the emperor would simply get Honda out of the picture. With how diligently she had been working in the medic quarters as of late and the fact that Professor Honda had personally taught her his most advanced alchemy she'd be the perfect candidate to replace him.

Mr.Alexeev patiently watched as the Alchemist nurse walked away until she finally vanish into the darkness of the hallway. He then made his way toward the Professor and tapped on his shoulder.

"What is it?" asked the scholar, not lifting his eyes from his work

"Just make sure you keep your report where you can see it" the guard whispered, not wanting the assistant to hear in case Heikin would tattle.

"You really think she's that mad about all of this? Ikkioi whispered back

"It's my job as a guard to watch people for the smallest hints of scheming so I can intervene before shit happens" Andrei replied with a smirk as he stepped back a little "But maybe you're right, I'm reading too much into it… but better safe than sorry!"

"Ill keep that in mind. Thanks for keeping my work safe Mr Big Guard"

"First you flatter yourself, then you flatter me!" 

"Well, I think everyone is great and full of potential" Ikkioi warped his arm around his assistant who had kept quiet "We're all doing great work here, right Heikin?"

"I-I'm trying my best!"

It was clear Honda and Andrei had quite different views of the current situation: Ikkioi was optimistic and felt like everyone was doing a bagging job despite the occasional friction, Andrei meanwhile saw a much dire scenario where betrayal was afoot if not handled carefully. Perhaps both point of view could be somewhat correct with Nora was working just as hard as Ikkioi but it was her uncle scheming something. For now only time would tell. All they could do is do their job as flawlessly as possible. Professor Honda would be focused on tidying up his notes for the report and Mr.Alexeev need to make sure no one beside the Alchemist would touching those papers as long as he was on watch… He would have to hope whoever was on nightwatch did an equal job if the Royal Alchemist decided to leave his report in the lab at night. Hopefully the suggestion he had given him would knock some sense into him and Ikkioi would keep his papers safe under lock and key in his quarters or on himself whenever he left the lab.

If anything were to happen to Honda's report there wasn't much either of them could do. Not only was Nora just as competent of an alchemist as Ikkioi was, but her uncle had quite the power-pull. Mr.Katashi wasn't just anyone, he was one of the emperor's advisor and ranked far above the castle's medicine man. If Andrei or Ikkioi were to say anything merely implying that him or his niece had any involvement in that report going missing they would have much more to worry about that losing their title and jobs.

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actually finished those sketches

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All of Pierrehart so far

Alternative archives Toyhouse - Comicfury

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(((((part 9 out of ??? idk if im gonna finish this or if it's gonna die like a lot of my AU projects)))

The first day of travel was spent in a tense silence, the clopping of the horse's hooves being the only noise that could be heard. Not even the driver dared saying a word until they stopped for the evening. The sun was still up and they could technically go further for a couple more hours but it was best to stop at a village and rest there than risk sleeping on the side of the road and get ambushed by bandits.

"Town's a bit small." said the driver "Don't know if they have an sleep-in inn."

"We'll sleep in the carriage if needs be it's not an issue" replied the alchemist, stretching his arms and back as he exited the vehicle. "It wouldn't be a first for me."

"I've slept in worse spot as well." added the guard

"I hope we can at least find a spot to get a warm meal." said Ikkioi "I'd prefer we keep our food provisions for when we have to stop without a village or town in proximity."

"I could also use a cold glass of ale… Having a 'near death experience' was more than I ready to handle today."

"Ah, alcohol." The scientist whispered as he rubbed his chin "I wonder if it will react differently with the stone…"

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Nothing! I was just thinking outloud!" the long haired-man replied before turning to the carriage driver tying down his horse "Will you join us at the tavern or do you prefer doing your own thing until we get back on the road?"

"I can manage myself fine. I wouldn't want to intrude."

"Alright then." Ikkioi patted Andrei on the back "Let's find ourselves a table for two!"

The guard was a bit off put by the gesture. Ikkioi was never the most professional alchemist at the castle but this was a much more friendly and casual demeanor coming from him still. It didn't feel like a superior talking to his servant but much more like friends on equal footing.

Just as the carriage driver expected, there were no sleep-in inn to be found in this town but they did find a brewery that doubled as a restaurant in the evening. Well, the only meal they had were the soup of the day with a slice of bread but it was better than nothing. Before the duo walked in Ikkioi stopped to tighten the knot on Andrei's shirt. Nobody would have paid much attention but he wanted to hide the guard's chest scar just in case. Having the alchemist suddenly get close to his face made Andrei flinch a little which didn't go unnoticed but Ikkioi kept his mouth shut. They simply made their way into the tavern, sat down and waited for their plât-du-jour.

The town was small but the tavern was still quite full. Maybe it was tradition for most if not all of the town resident to come here and grab a bite or maybe they had a special event today that caused an exceptional turn out. Either way the two of them blended in the crowd without anyone pestering them allowing the two to bond over a crisp mug of ale and a warm bowl of soup.

"Hmm! That's some hearty soup!" exclaimed the blue-haired man, prompting his pair to nod "Is it better than Lando's?"

"Eh… About the same I'd say?... I'd have preferred something solid though…"

"Nothing beats a nice chunk of meat~"

"Aye."

"I tell ya, once we're in Rafrella you'll eat good!" Ikkioi gulped half of his soup down "I have a friend there, Lady Himiko. Hopefully she'll let use stay at her place until I buy something of my own. She had a great cook… Hopefully he's still alive and working for her… He wasn't too young last time I saw him."

"Is she an alchemist too?"

"No, she's a standard doctor." he adjusted his glasses then patted his own chest "She helped me become the man I am is many ways!"

The gesture made Andrei notice Ikkioi's arms. He hadn't paid attention until now but it was the first time he saw the alchemist without his large fancy cloak and he wasn't nearly as thin and dainty as the guard expected. Ikkioi's arms were as thick and define as his own. He wondered how a man of science always busy juggling vials and powder could be as strong as someone who trains and fight for a living.

"Your face is getting all red" playfully pointed the noble

"Uh?!" Andrei was completely caught off guard "What?"

"The alcohol is getting to you already?"

"I...Yeah… We didn't eat much today. Beer's always stronger on an empty stomach."

Ikkioi laid back in his chair and took a big gulp of his pint. Looking at him it was almost like the stress of the previous day had fully dissipated already.

"Tell you what," he said "It would do me a lot of good to be out of the castle. The stuffiness and rigidity of protocols were getting on me a little. I was long overdue for a carefree vacation!"

"I… I don't know if we could really call our exile carefree…" replied Andrei looking away yet still partially transfixed on the alchemist's arms "We still have to be cautious, do we not?"

"I was more referring to having to constantly watch my words and my posture." the alchemist started making mocking gestures "Stand up straight, head always slightly tilted upward. Don't swing your arms, keep them in front of your body. Keep noise to a minimum, keep your voice down and your steps light."

"For me all I had to do is stay quiet and stand still."

"At least I gave you something interesting to look at while on post!"

"W-what?"

"Maybe my experiments were only interesting to me afterall~"

"Oh!" the guard couldn't quite tell if his superior previous words had an intended double meaning or if the alcohol made him read into things too much "No, no! Your experiments were interesting… I find gemmagica interesting even if I don't know much about the topic… Despite everybody saying they are the greatest thing alchemists have made, I never see any one them used beside those flaming swords used during the Sun parade…"

"You wont find gemmagica used just anywhere. We still rely on torches and candles for lighting because fire gemmagica just aren't really cost effective. It would cost a fortune to light up a single house with a few gems." explained the alchemist "Instead you'll find fire stones burning bright in the heart of furnaces of forgeries and boiler rooms of castles. Water stones will be embedded inside water tanks to make sure they are always full even in times of droughts. Wind stones will be mounted on windmill and turbines that power the gears of many contraptions."

"Ah… that makes sense."

"There are technically more types beside fire, water and air but they are mostly experimental. I've seen a couple thunderstones that look promising. Last I remember Professor Qiáo was working on them, aiming to make some sort of stun-batton out of them. I feel like thunder could be harnessed for non-combat ways but he wasn't interested in the idea… Maybe I could work on my own prototype at some point… There are also Earth gemmagica but they haven't been of much use so far, perhaps if scaled up and paired with water gems they could be used for terraforming. Who knows!" Ikkioi paused before putting his finger on Andrei's chest "And then there's my Healing stone…"

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(((((part 8 out of ??? idk if im gonna finish this or if it's gonna die like a lot of my AU projects)))

Eating such a simple meal took Ikkioi back to his childhood. Not from the time before the war but at it's start, back when he was barely a teen. Back when the Sverkat merchant no longer passed through town to trade vegetable but instead came to ravage the farms and take anything of use. Food was scarce then, people had to make due with the bare minimum. He wondered what Andrei was up to back then, was he a son of a soldier who happily feasted on stolen goods? Or was he one of those villager from one of the many nations Sverkayusnia had erased and forced to go to war on its behalf?

"I've been meaning to ask" hesitantly said the alchemist between bites "Where are you from? We've known each other for a while but we never really had the opportunity to know each other beyond our work duties at the castle."

"Hmm? I'm from Khushov… Well technically I was born and spent a few year somewhere else but I don't remember the name. I was too young back then and then my parents died and I was sent to live with my uncle in Khushov."

"Khushov?" The name sounded familiar but somehow not quite right "Do you mean Khashof?"

"Ah, yeah… That's what it was officially renamed to… People in town still called it Khushov tho."

"Reclaimed territory?"

"Hmhmm." Andrei nodded "But don't ask me what the name of the country was before then… Sverkayusnia was able to erase it just like the other countries decades before I was born. The only reasons so many town names remained is that because there were just too many to erase, they tried changing things slightly by swapping a few letters but traces still remained."

"Still… I'm surprised there aren't any records…"

"There probably are somewhere, we just can't read what's written anymore and they made anyone who could read disappear so knowledge wouldn't spread" He stood up to clean his plate "The old folks who were still around and knew were just too scared to share. My great grandfather was taken. Great grandpa had an old family photo that apparently had pictures in front of an old monument with the old country's name written on a plaque in both the old tongue and in latin. His brother told the authorities about it as people were promised 10 gold for every 'info hazard' they reported."

"That's…"

"He didn't get that gold… He was taken as well. Just in case 'he knew too'. Meanwhile my grandpa who was like 14 was left to fend for himself. That's when he met my grandma apparently."

Ikkioi sat with the though for a while. Sverkayusnia really did a good job scrubbing reclaimed territory names from their archives and made it a life risk for the citizen to speak out. But Sverkayusnia had been reduced to just the cold country up north now, people should be able to speak out by now… Were there any left who remembered?

"Don't you guys have your own records anyway?" asked Andrei, completely interrupting Ikkioi's trains of thoughts "Sverkayusnia made the people within the country forget but shouldn't Huánguó and Hikarikagayaku have their own records of the world maps and everything?"

"Uh… Probably but…"

"Eh… considering both country let Sverkayusnia expend the way it did I wouldn't be surprised if the people in power back then simply agree to delete their own record to please Sverkayusnia and avoid a war… Until Sverkayusnia decided they would invade Hikarikagayaku too."

"You're… probably right…" said Honda, defeated "Governments love to play along until the problems are at their doorstep."

"In a ideal world, when Sverkayusnia got defeated we could have had our old countries back."

"You still could!"

"Ikkioi you're too naive." Andrei sighed "I know you like to see the best in people but that's just not how things are. Look at how the Emperor was handling the rumors of the cold country wanting to fight back. Rumors. If any of the people of the forgotten countries were to join and rally to get their old land back they would no-doubt be labelled as rebels of the cold country trying to rebuild Sverkayusnia. I can bet on it. Maybe that's exactly what the current rumors are about."

"Surely there-"

"Someday maybe, but not yet. From my point of view the war is still too fresh and the mind of the people in power are still to volatile. Saying anything now would just get use erased faster, not get us independence." the brunette smiled a little "I know people are still talking. Just like the true names of our cities are still spoken in the quiet streets of rural town, traditions and secrets are still passed down between people that stay close. We're not gone yet, just waiting for the right time to sing again."

It wasn't the first time Ikkioi though about the forgotten countries and how they deserved to be restored but being put so directly in front of the subject - in front of someone who belonged there - it made things different. It made thing more real. He wonder about when his job as a royal alchemist, could he have done something about it then? Probably not as only the word of the advisor like Katashi really mattered. But his old title had some weight still, right? That title was gone either way. He was still technically a noble but not one of any real interest when it came to political matters. He didn't know anything about the topic right now anyway. His expertise was in alchemy and health sciences, not international relations. He didn't even know the name of the people he wanted to root for, he didn't have an idea of how many nor exactly where these people were exactly beyond rough estimates of old vague records. Was it even his place to potentially step in and take charge? He wasn't sure. He wanted to help at the very least, but if Andrei said now wasn't the time then he'd wait. It was Andrei's people as well as a few others, he probably knew better.

The heroic though gnawed at the back of his head the whole time it took to pack up the food left overs, bagging the rest of Andrei's clothes and even as they made their way to the center of town. Looking for a travel service reminded him of the current situation they both were in: his current main objective was to get Andrei away from the capital and lay low so his current condition with the healing stone remained secret. Having him be at the center or just near any liberation movement would be the last thing they needed. For now at least. Maybe in the future when they're both older and the world is a bit kinder, then maybe they could do something about it. Maybe everyone who deserve freedom could stand up and get what is owed to them.

In the carriage on their way to Rafrella, Andrei's train of though was drastically different from Ikkioi. He wasn't thinking about the far future or the state of the world, he though about himself. He still didn't know what was in store for him now. On paper he was going to be Ikkioi's guard still, but in practice it was going to be something different. Ikkioi was going to care for him just as much as he would be as his guard, the alchemist would probably run some test on him due to the healing stone. He didn't know what to expect. Sure professor Honda promised nothing invasive, but was if the early test made him change his mind? No. Ikkioi was just too nice for that. Andrei though back about how he cared for both the mouse and the cat the doctor treated, he was kind and gentle with them. He had put them in nice and cozy cages too. He wasn't the type to push these types of limits even if it could made his research go further faster. Sitting snug in the carriage's cabin with four bags taking up most of the space he glanced at the other man briefly. Ikkioi was nice, his hair smelled nice