Let me start by saying that this works quite well; very well, in fact! Anyway, I haven't really critiqued anything before, so please bear with me...

There was only one nitpick that stood out to me, where Ryouji says:

"I am a criminal in the Shogunate. You do yourself no favors by associating with him."

Shouldn't it be 'associating with me', not 'associating with him'?
The only other nitpick I have is that I haven't gotten a good feel for Steinar just yet; however, I'm just chalking that up to his being a (relatively) new character. I'm certain that I'll get a better feel as the story progresses!

As for the time spans...I think they work. They certainly don't detract in any way.

The other thing, is that while action is definitely good to have, it's nice to take a break from it once in a while. I like that you stopped to focus more on the characters and their backstory, though I feel that Steinar may need to have a little more explained about him; that can be worked in later though, so I wouldn't worry about it.

Also, would it be safe for me to say that I smell a diabolical plot on its way?

Far more diabolical than you could imagine.

That typo looks like a slip of the brain, I'll go fix it.

Steinar is quickly becoming a pain in my side. :| No one's gotten a good feel for him yet, and I'm not sure how to change that. He should be making a splash in the next chapter, though. What more would you like to see about him?

I dunno; a bit more of his history might help to establish his character some more. In any event, he's your character, so you have a better idea than I do.

In stories like this, I always wonder...how do the people with extraordinary talents get that way? And what's it like to live in a world like that if you've got nothing?

Glad you asked, chum, glad you asked!

To my understanding of my own world (and this is of course subject to change), the various magics in this world are typically learned skills. As Ryouji explains in his monologue, they can be trained individually or passed down from family members. As we'll see in later episodes, some Archers truly cherish the techniques passed down their family line.

However, not all magic users are created equal. Some have a greater affinity with magic; some have greater affinity with certain elements or types of spells (offensive, defensive, healing, etc.), the elemental affinities tending to follow genetic/regional paths. So while your family might have a long tradition of summoning wind storms, and your father gained fame and power through his impressive hurricane technique, you may only be able to conjure weak dust devils, and thus your path will no doubt tend toward a profession where magical skill is not a must (which is practically everything but military and education).

To expand a bit further, and mention something that I now realized I've been meaning to include in this story and could have in this chapter... Well, I'll just outright say it. Ryouji, Carmel and Steinar aren't meant to form a triad simply because they're from different lands, or control different elements. If you notice Ryouji's techniques, even with the Whitefire, they've all been offensive. Carmel's specialty is illusion, and she also has some healing capability. Steinar's technique you didn't see much of, but he can turn his skin to stone, a defensive maneuver. These 'type affinities' are all determined by ki, as they term it in the Shogunate (related to the word 'kihou', n'est-ce pas?), and there are three types: Ryouji's ki runs north-south, and that powers his immense offensive capabilities; Steinar's runs east-west, and offers him pure defensive capability; and Carmel's runs northeast-southwest, and she is therefore capable of practically anything. Northeast-southwest is generally considered to be an 'other effects' category, but the truth is that someone who trains properly can open up the powers of any ki line 'next to' theirs. Therefore, north-south and east-west can potentially access the 'other effects' of northeast-southwest, but the latter can access the techniques of the other two (and Carmel does have one offensive spell, akin to D&D's Shillelagh, if you're familiar with it).

One other note (good lord, this got long!) is the way in which magical traditions work in the different Lands. In the Shogunate and Kingdom, kihou and ars are usually trained alone or with family. A mentor can assist in unlocking one's potential, but the final form is up to the individual's desires and affinities. The Empire, however, does things a little differently. They devote their studies solely to manipulating mana threads in order to create effects in the physical world, and the three schools do so differently. Sorcerers are those who can manipulate threads without training; they are fewest in number, but tend to be very powerful, specializing in only a few spells. Wizards are pretty much anyone else. Mana thread use can be taught, and though everyone learns at different rates, it's a point of pride in the Empire that anyone and everyone can use magic. Finally, the Magi (sing. Magus) specialize in offensive spells and are pulled from the other two schools for battle training. They form the vanguard of the Imperial army. The only difference Carmel's bardic family tradition has from the three schools is that they use music as a focus for manipulating threads, as well as creating a few other unique effects, which is why the Empress has always viewed them as 'suspicious'.

...Gee, I hope I actually answered your question. And that it wasn't, say, rhetorical.

No, that explained it pretty well.

Do you agree that I could fit a (slightly watered-down) version of that discussion on ki into Master Shinpen's talk of the triad? I did just kind of forget to put it there...

Nah, I'd put it into its own story..like a flashback, when someone says "Waah, why can't *I* do that neat thing too?" Then the wise old person says "Ah, don't you understand anything?" and can launch into the explanation.

Hmm... Well, that's definitely something to think about, flashbacks... :3

Took me forever and a year, but I finally got a chance to read it! ^.^

Great plot development...helps to know everyone's background and what the hell they're fighting for. Two questions:

1) Why did you share Steinar's father's last words? First of all, we don't really know anything about his mother, so the fact he wants to be reunited with her after death is sweet but...*shrugs* seems unneeded. Also, if you are going to keep his last words, I would do a direct quote, not Steinar's summary.

2) Why was Ryouji marked across his shoulders and his mother across the face? I would assume, since its a great mark of shame, both would be marked somewhere rather prominent so anyone could tell what they were at first glance. Why is he able to hide it and his mother cannot?

That's all. Like I said, excellent story, I think it all flows quite well. ^.^ Sorry it took me so long to read!

To #2, I can only answer: because it's cool. :P

If you can't accept that, then I would say it's something symbolic, a difference between how wife and son would bear a man's shame. To be fair, Ryouji's tattoo goes all the way across his shoulders; if he's not wearing a shirt, there's no way you'd miss it.

As for #1, thank you, I'll take a look at that when I edit. :D So glad you read it!

Lol I think I can accept your first answer to #2, I'm usually guilty of the same things when I write ^.^