It wasn’t just the trio and their steeds who found themselves as targets for the green projectile. It hardly counted as a projectile really, given that it didn’t move terribly fast, motivated by the intention to catch its target off guard.


    Besides, it had a shape unlike most projectiles. It might have been a thin, headless bird, judging by its design. It kept an erect set of flat little wings out on either side of its body while keeping a strangely steady trajectory. Plumes of something flatter than its wings sprang from its back end, no doubt to improve its stability.


    Several hundred such things were flying towards every vehicle moving along the road and every individual notable by the eye. Everyone Ginger could see received these ‘creatures’ – as he assumed – readily… and then unfolded them.


    The boy reeled when Fai unraveled the little thing as though it were paper.


    Wait. It was paper. The green sort that Ginger had never seen before.


    As the man with the grizzled hair unraveled it, some image, illusory but detailed, rose from the paper, along with a crisp feminine voice.


    “Good morning citizens of the Wester Region. This is Avarrel Moss, your ever-devoted bringer of brighter and darker omens. Hopefully, my voice is as sweet to your ears as always – if you happen to have those. Alas, as beautiful of a day as we have this Breather, I must dilute it with a bit of darkness. The Living Storm, Avi, has returned to Ravi, and our hardworking team of Meteorological Sorcerers has discerned its path for the next few Strides. Be sure to note the following cities, towns, and villages in case your residence falls within any of them.”


    Ginger gaped lightly. The voice alone would have staggered him – not unpleasantly, of course – but the image that swam from the green paper did more harm to his mental unpreparedness.


    It was a rather vivid and colorful image detailing Ravi – or part of it, as Ginger determined. A massive storm cloud, darker than he had known storm clouds to be able to get, was moving over this detailed landmass slowly, throbbing with tendrils of lightning. The image might have been very small, but Ginger knew that if it was ever drawn to scale…


    “What is that?” he asked.


    “Hold on,” said Fai, whipping up a hand between them.


    The voice from the green paper droned on:


    “…Mallion, Ever-Mount, Fort Barrion, West Acre, The Barnyard, Crescent Crown, Vermillion Valley, Fort Carrion. For specific details – concerning the exact dates and for which Strides – refer to the locations I have stated and their respective marks on the Horizon Glider.”


    “And this is the Horizon Glider, Ginger,” said Fai immediately after the voice of Avarrel Moss hit a pause. He gave the unfolded paper a quick shake. “It’s a messenger of sorts, a construct derived from Sorcery. It delivers all the important news from the Bureau to all registered citizens of Ravi above 100 years old. It was developed after an Eternal Mandate was passed to cater to non-dragons. Olarmanders don’t exactly work well as messengers if you’re anything other than a dragon. That’s why the Gliders exist.”


    Reiss had explained to Ginger in excruciating detail what the Bureau was. The boy’s father worked there, after all.


    It was a governing body established by the dragons during the rise of the Five Ancient Elders Cycles ago. As the Tallies progressed however, with prominent non-dragons fighting for the rights of their kind, many other species took on seats within the Bureau and were able to establish laws that countered the excessive authority of the dragons on society for the better.


    As Ginger donned a look of understanding, Shan and Fai’s attention remained pinned on the surface of the Horizon Glider. Avarrel had moved on to a different topic.


    “…thus Honorary Seat Holder, Antia Propyrgio Draggard-Phoenix, also known for her prestigious position as the Principal of Draggard-Phoenix Institute for the Cinder-Born; her designation as First Anchor of the Ravi Defence Order; her astounding title as three-time Champion of the Crescent Crown Tourney, among other titles, has been maintaining a steady stance against the Eternal Mandate, however much the Conservative Union have been pushing to have it approved. And of course, the news regarding the famed dragon continues to flare – as it has been for the last Tally. The Avecsalot Family has once again pushed for an investigation of the Draggard-Phoenix Family territory, claiming that a third of the lands belong to them as per the Scarlet Right supposedly left behind by their ancestor. Ooof! By Ebony, I’ll say they are reeeelentless!”


    “And as one might expect, Antia continues to deny the opposing Flame Seeker Family the right using her support from the Bureau. I imagine that some of you listening in have a stake in this matter, and frankly, I do too. My biased opinion is all but known by now, I think. Keep those petitions coming, dear friends. Let’s keep the Avecsalots at bay!”


    Avarrel continued to spew news after news, but Fai and Shan were suddenly disinterested. The former packed the Horizon Glider away and then turned to Ginger with a bright smile.


    “I assume you’re up to snuff about this bit of news,” he said.


    “Well, somewhat.” Ginger was quivering a little. He was filled to the brim with questions. He could have been boiling by now. “I know Principal Phoenix is a… scary dragon, and that she’s being given a hard time because of her connection to the Ebony Dragon. I didn’t know the details about this conflict with the Avecsalots. Well, I knew there was something there, but… I didn’t think it had anything to do with lands. What’s that all about? And does Principal Phoenix work for the Bureau?”


    Confidently, Ginger could admit that Reiss might have answered all these questions in the last few Strides, but he usually filtered out information he wasn’t interested in when the dwarfish dragonling began a sermon.


    Fai and Shan looked at each other. What was said in the delicate space between their eyes, Ginger would never know, but in the end, Shan was the one to soothe his boiling inquiries.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    “I think you heard much of it from Avarrel. Each of the Flame Seeker Families owns large masses of land in Ravi. The Wester Region, for instance – here – is largely the Draggard-Phoenix Family’s territory. However, somewhere north, near the Norther Region, there’s a portion of land the Avecsalot Family claims is theirs. They want Antia to relinquish it and are strangely adamant. The feud over that land began only a Tally ago, oddly enough. No one knows why the Avecsalot Family suddenly became interested in that land. It’s no different from any other.”


    Bwoon snorted right then, startling Ginger, who had been intimately focused on Shan’s account. He stroked the pony’s mane, still unsure if that would mean anything to her.


    “I see,” said the dragonling. Suddenly, what Ira had said to Vassilis made sense. When the boy had threatened to tell on Ginger because he mysteriously possessed information about the Perfect Execution, the gatekeeper had welcomed Vassilis to try and invoke his family’s authority if he was confident about encroaching on Principal Phoenix’s school.


    Back then, Ginger had thought he was merely referring to Antia’s powers as the Principal of the Institute, which gave her power over the school and the students. However, a part of him had been a little vexed. As far as he knew, each of the Five Ancient Elders had apparently contributed something to the Draggard-Phoenix Institute for the Cinder-Born.


    Sopphira, the Argent Dragon, for instance, had created the Rebounding Seether, the gold flame nestled in the great mountain behind the school.


    In a way, that would mean that even if Principal Phoenix was well, principal, her authority could be challenged by the other Flame Seeker Family Heads since their ancestors had a stake in the school.


    But this new information made everything make a little more sense.


    ‘He meant the Avecsalots can’t just do as they please in Principal Phoenix’s lands!’


    Curiously though, there seemed to be some disconnect between how people treated Antia and how they considered her.


    Apparently, she was the scariest dragon in the present time, but there were still some people – and quite a lot of them at that – ready to challenge her. Why was that?


    Was it because they believed in the Avecsalots’ prestige?


    But on the flip side…


    “Why is… Avarrel talking about supporting Principal Phoenix?” Ginger asked. “I mean, I get it. The Flame Seeking Families must have some form of control over everyone who lives in their territories. Are the Avecsalots much worse than Principal Phoenix’s Family?”


    The question must have meant a lot to Fai. He gave a heavy sigh.


    “Well…” He seemed to hesitate. “Here’s the thing Ginger. Because the Heads of each of the Flame Seeker Families and some of their Carrier Houses own such large masses of land – a result of old Rights left by the Ancient Elders – they all have Honorary Seats in the Bureau. They can even sway Eternal Mandates – fundamental policies applied by the Bureau to govern social standards for dragons and non-dragons.” He gave another sigh.


    “The Avecsalots are probably the better of the two Flame Seeker Families. They use their power to accelerate growth in their territories even if it means pressing the Bureau for benefits. They are quite strict but fair. Many in Ravi value that combination and choose to flock to their territory.”


    Ginger was a little disappointed to hear that. He had already conjured some exaggerated mascot in his mind with Vassilis’ face, marching chin up and nostrils flared in streets where non-dragons were groveling and begging for money.


    He had imagined the Avecsalots were the worst sort, but as it turned out, they were better?


    “What about Principal Phoenix?” he asked eagerly. He wished to preserve some semblance of the majestic, long-necked beauty he remembered from that one Assembly Strides ago.


    Shan pursed her lips.


    “The Draggard-Phoenix Family is not really concerned with progression. The borders to Antia’s territory are as lax as they can get and there’s rarely anyone who checks up on who is living where. The Bureau handles that on her behalf. They favor her Family because she isn’t always trying to pressure them with some Eternal Mandate or special favor she wants to pass,” the girl said. “But… the Draggard-Phoenix Family also doesn’t have Carrier Houses so they don’t have the manpower to distribute across their wide territory.”


    “Carrier Houses?”


    Ginger remembered that Fillys and Alcaeus Doukas were part of a Carrier House. These were loyal followers of Flame Seeker Families. They were practically bred to handle the affairs of Flame Seeker Families. That was why the two Doukas siblings were also following Vassilis.


    “Principal Phoenix has none at all?” Ginger asked.


    Shan shook her head.


    “She used to, but Antia’s reputation has declined so much over the Cycles that she lost her Carrier Houses to other Flame Seeker Families. There’s also a rumor that the other Families know some secret of hers that they used to steal her loyal followers, but no one knows if that’s true or not. The fact remains though: the only thing of Antia’s that remains constant and firm is her undeniable formidability. She’s very powerful, but in these times that doesn’t count for a whole lot when laws, Mandates, and rulings are the standards of power. The Heads of the other Flame Seeker Families are powerful too.”


    Ginger’s mood collapsed. He had taken a liking to Principal Phoenix after that Assembly when he saw her. His heart had leaped when she said she didn’t care for everyone’s backgrounds, and it was her saying that she preferred dragons not to cover their Cast that made the plump dragonling start wearing his scarf loose so his scales could be seen.


    The fact that Ira said she might have answers to what was happening with his second soul had also made Ginger favor the principal more. He had imagined that she had even more prestige than her supposed scariness but…


    Fai appraised the boy. It didn’t take more than a glance for him to notice that Ginger saw Antia favorably.


    “I settled here because I liked how loose everything is, you know? I wouldn’t have been able to own as many farms as I wanted in the Avecsalot Family’s territory. Sure, there’s a lot more crime here, but that means more employment for freelancers.” He grinned. “And of course, the Bureau is lax about development here in the Wester, however much authority they have because of Antia’s loose grip. A shame. Shan, Long, and I used to hate that fact, but now… it’s one of the reasons we are thriving. I know for certain I wouldn’t have been able to register a Hunting Limb anywhere else but here.”


    His grin revived some of Ginger’s hopeful embers.


    “I see.” He smiled. “I did always find you a little…”


    “A little what?” Fai raised a brow.


    “N-nothing,” Ginger said hurriedly.


    Over the next few minutes, he considered what this new information changed about his circumstances. Surely, even with a plummeting reputation and some supposed dark secret under her belt that was enough to make her lose followers, Principal Phoenix was still a knowledgeable dragon. Ginger could still count on her.


    But if the heat was still on her like this… would he really be able to talk to her soon? Apparently, some other Professor was currently handling Principal Phoenix’s duties in her absence.


    “Take a look at that,” Fai suddenly said when they were passing a rather noisy village called Oakboar – likely because of the huge oaken boar statue that welcomed anyone who turned from the main road towards the village. He gave Ginger a small telescope.


    Ginger knew what the thing was and its purpose, but it had taken him a moment. The type of telescope he was used to wasn’t quite so clean or refined. The Wild had geniuses, but they were all… scruffy.


    Fai pointed somewhere North-West, beyond the great mountains on the horizon and urged Ginger to tell him what he saw with the telescope. As he put the instrument to his eye, Ginger had not expected to see so far. Worse yet, he hadn’t expected to see something so…


    He paled.


    “Is that…?” he said with an unintentionally broken voice.


    “Indeed. That, my boy,” said Fai almost proudly, as though the thing were a second son of his, “is a Living Storm.”