ã€ŠHoly Empireã€‹


 Prologue

    It was a dark, cold night. The thundering storm could be heard outside. The rain poured down incessantly, but could only be heard softly in the inner rooms.

    So where were we? In a pitch-black room. A few candles were the only source of light. A young woman was sitting in an armchair, her face covered by a hood. She was holding a baby on her lap, gently rocking it back and forth. It looked at her with wide eyes, unsure of what was happening around it. Almost equally unsure, she returned its gaze and held out her finger to it, which it grasped with the whole of its small hand. A man was standing next to her. He put his hand on her shoulder. It was quiet in this dark little room. Apart from the flickering candles, nothing could be heard. Long, dark curtains hung along the walls. At one end of the room was a wooden door, at the opposite end the woman sat next to a small table covered with a pile of books and glasses.

    The lady waited for quite a while until the door finally opened inwards. In stepped a hooded figure completely wrapped in a cloak. She was followed by two others. When the last person entered the room, they closed the door behind them and locked it. The lady with the baby stood up.

    Lady: "We are here."

    Hooded figure: "I am glad that you have decided in favour of this. What we''re going to do here is this."

    The figure pulled something out of its coat pocket and held it out to the lady. It was a necklace with a sparkling red stone as a pendant. Engraved on its frame were the letters M.R.. Apart from the fact that it looked particularly mesmerising in the candlelight, there was nothing that stood out about the object.

    "Is that it?" the lady asked. Immediately afterwards, however, she found herself looking intently at the stone once more. It wasn''t its appearance that captivated her. It was the strange feeling it gave her. For a brief moment, a shiver ran down her spine.

    The cloaked person in front of her pulled the pendant back towards them and clasped it in their hand.

    "I believe you have already sensed why this is the object." The person removed their hood with their free hand. It revealed the face of a middle-aged lady, pale, large eyes. The others did the same and took their hoods off their heads. The other two were young boys. The lady with the child on her lap unveiled her golden-locked hair, while the tall man next to her, seemed to have thick eyebrows and a pale look on his face.

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    The lady and her companion nodded. So the lady took a glass with a red liquid in it from the table, opened it and began to draw a circle and other shapes on the floor. Everyone watched her in silence. The man raised his voice:

    "And it won''t hurt him, right? You promised us that it wouldn''t harm my child, Gabriela." Without turning away from her drawing, the woman replied:

    "It''s just like I said. It won''t cause any physical harm to the boy." She paused briefly. "As for the mental state, I can''t give you any information. The child¡®s not normal anyway, I''d say. We wouldn''t be able to predict how the dev¡­¡­. cursed child would have developed anyway."

    Everyone present remained silent after that, while she finished drawing the magic circle. The smaller of the two boys stared mesmerised at everything she drew. When she had finished, she stood up, walked over to the table and picked up the top book from the pile. It was a thick, leather-bound book with yellowed pages. Gabriela tried her best to prevent anyone but herself from seeing what was written in the book. She skimmed through a few pages until she finally seemed to have found what she was looking for.

    Then she stepped into the centre of the circle and asked the two parents to join her, but without blurring what she had drawn. The mother, however hesitated. Her husband looked at her and recognised the worry written all over her face.

    "Everything will be fine. If we want to help him, this has to be done. You know that." He took her in his arms and kissed her. She looked into his eyes and then nodded. With a single, decisive step, they entered the circle, their son in her arms. To begin the ritual, she put the pendant on the child.

    The lady began to read something aloud in an unknown language:

    "Soma kai psyche. Kante dyo xechorista. Syndete ta metaxy tous. Anthropos kai kosmema."

    Everyone in the room suddenly began to feel a strange pressure. Warmth began to rise. The candles began to flicker. The woman took out a small needle and, with the parents'' consent, pricked the baby''s finger. She took a single drop of blood and let it fall onto the jewel on the necklace.

    "Anaireste te moira. Desmeumenos gia te aionioteta. Allaxte to mellon."

    Suddenly, the circle and the symbols on the floor below them began to glow. A gust of wind blew out all the candles in the room and yet a bright blue light illuminated the room. Slowly, however, this light began to fade again and before it could go completely dark, the candles lit up again. The strange feeling and the pressure had disappeared. Everyone stared around cluelessly.

    It was done. At that moment, the child suddenly began to scream and wail loudly.

    "This is only part of the solution," Gabriela noted coolly.

    "We know," the man replied bluntly.

    "Well then, I bid you farewell for the time being." Gabriela gestured towards the door while the lady tried to calm the child. The man glared at her and said, ?I think you forgot your good manners. ¡° She only stared back with a blank look. ?This is not a public setting my lord. ¡°

    "Come on, darling. We''re leaving." - "Yes, I''m coming," said the woman in a very subdued voice.

 001.1 The Cursed Child (Part 1)

    It was a somewhat chilly morning. It had rained outside overnight, but now the sun was shining through the gap in the curtains again. The cock outside began to crow.

    That noise woke Wenzel. He always was a very light sleeper anyway, if he fell asleep at all that was. Unfortunately, there were often whole nights when he didn''t get a wink of sleep. That was normal for him, though. So Wenzel got up and opened the curtains and the window, to air out the room briefly. He leaned out of the window just a little to get some fresh air and looked down onto the courtyard, several storeys below him. Aurel got up from bed at the same time.

    "Good morning," Wenzel said to his brother. "Mornin¡®!" he replied. The two of them began to get dressed in their school uniforms and would soon be heading to breakfast in the dining hall. It was a few hundred metres away, in another building. As they were walking out the door, Aurel paused for a moment. "Wait." He patted down his pockets, then went back to his bedside table and reached for an object wrapped in a small cloth. "I almost forgot," Aurel noted briefly. Wenzel just looked at him emotionlessly or, to be precise, looked at the object he was pocketing. Aurel gave him a sinister eye and slapped Wenzel on the forehead with the palm of his hand. "Come on, let''s go," he hissed and pushed himself out the door.

    As always, they had porridge for breakfast. In general, they almost always had porridge, unless it was a public holiday or some kind of celebration. Well, then. Wenzel took his bowl, sat down at the end of the long table and began to eat. As usual, he didn''t speak to anyone and ate his porridge without distraction. Not that he was able to talk to someone, anyway. No one was sitting next to him and even if he had sat down with others....no, Wenzel didn''t even want to think about that. Everyone avoided him. Nobody liked him. Why should he even try to sit with a friend group, who he didn¡¯t even know? That¡¯s what Wenzel¡¯s reasoning behind that was.

    In contrast to him, it was relatively loud in the rest of the dining hall. All the students were chatting with each other, some joking and laughing. Wenzel only glanced at them occasionally, perhaps trying to make out what was so funny. The thought always hovered in the back of his mind that perhaps they were laughing at him, although he knew for a fact that this wasn¡®t the case. Nobody thought of him as "funny". The pupils avoided him because they didn''t like him. Why was that? Because Wenzel was supposedly cursed, or so the rumours went. If only they knew.....

    Aurel sat away from Wenzel. His brother also didn''t keep Wenzel company. He liked him just as little...., in fact he liked him even less than the other pupils did. But Aurel was still his big brother. He was his guardian, who Wenzel had to listen to. He was responsible for "the most important thing". After Aurel had finished eating, he stood up, came over to his brother and pulled him by the arm. "Time to go, Wimpel!" Wenzel hated this stupid nickname of his, but he followed without argument.

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    After breakfast, it was time for class. The main school building was in the same compound as the students'' accommodation. What all the buildings had in common, however, was that they were old and venerable. The pupils, including Wenzel, walked in a long stream along the carefully laid out and well-kept paths of the park towards the school. The corridors of said building were long and wide. The classrooms were also large and had very high ceilings. If one tilted their head back and looked up vertically, intricate stucco work and often even pictures by painters could be seen up there. In short, it was a very elitist boarding school for the upper class. This was also reflected in the students'' clothing. There was a school uniform and it was compulsory. For boys it was a white shirt, a dark blue jacket, an equally dark blue tie and long trousers. It was the same for girls, except they had to wear a blazer, which had a slightly different look from the jacket, and a skirt. All quite noble.

    Today was a long day at school. First there was a writing lesson, then they had maths and in the third lesson they had history. Wenzel had to pay particular attention here. He didn''t like history, but the last time the teacher checked Wenzel¡¯s notes, he was found out. He often didn''t take notes in class, so he was made to rewrite all the missing stuff! That''s why he would be writing down everything he was told now¡­..at least with this teacher. The date was being written on the blackboard:

    <u>12.4.461</u> It was the year 461 of "God¡¯s mandation".

    Wenzel hurriedly began to copy with quill and ink. His hand was already tired because of the exhausting writing lesson he¡¯s had earlier today. But there was no helping it. His fingers would be hurting today.

    Today''s topic was the overthrow of the Melgarions 80 years ago and the accession of power by the current ruling house. The Melgarions were the descendants of Melgar the Great, who founded the Ordanian Empire. His seizure of power marked the beginning, the year zero of the current era, that''s how important he was! Today our country is called the "Ordanian Confederacy". The teacher went on to explain that the fall of the Melgarions meant "the end of tyranny" and that the current rulers of Ordania no longer oppressed the people with "diabolical witchcraft".

    The teacher patrolled the aisle to make sure that everyone was properly taking notes. He went to the back row, where Wenzel was sitting alone on his own table, to check on him, too. This gave Wenzel at least a brief moment to take the pressure off his fingers, which had been plagued by the pain of constant writing. But the writing continued for the whole hour. Wenzel hated it!

    Finally, the lesson ended and he was allowed to leave.

 001.2 The Cursed Child (Part 2)

    His tiredness was already starting to set in, even though Camenian and etiquette lessons, as well as P.E. were still on the programme for him today. He was also beginning to suffer from a slight headache. Well, there was no helping it anyway. Wenzel packed his things and followed the rest of class to the next lesson.

    He always did well in Camenian lessons. Many of the words were not that different from Ordanian. Only the way of expressing oneself was different, but even that was more a matter of getting a feel for the language than logic. Others probably didn''t agree with him on this. Today they were practising grammar. First, they all repeated the past tenses together, then they had to fill them into the gaps on a worksheet correctly. Disheartened groans could be heard from somewhere. Nobody liked grammar. Even Wenzel wasn''t necessarily a fan of it, but he didn''t mind doing a few simple gap-filling tasks.

    Whilst completing the assignment, Wenzel suddenly felt something smack against the side of his head. He reached over and felt something wet. Giggling could be heard from next to him. He turned his head over to see who had shot spit balls at him and immediately found out who it was: Bert and his stupid seat neighbour! He briefly looked over to Wenzel and laughed again, covering his mouth with his hand so that the teacher didn''t hear him right away.

    Wenzel ignored him and turned back to his sheet. Less than two minutes later, he got the next paper ball. He tried to speak quietly to Bert to tell him to stop, but the teacher only admonished him to get back to work. This would happen a few more times during the rest of the lesson. Some other pupils saw what was happening and laughed about it, too. But nobody helped Wenzel! That made him really angry, but he swallowed all the anger. Fighting them would only cause him more problems.

    Then it was time for the lunch break. Today herring fillet with rice was on the menu. It might have been a normal meal for Wenzel, but it was something reserved for the upper classes. Especially the rice, which had to be imported from Camenia because it didn''t grow in these latitudes, was something high-class. As always, Wenzel was eating alone.

    As he sat at the table, however, he glanced over at the girl clique from his parallel class. They were sitting somewhere else than usual today. His gaze lingered on Amalie. Normally, Wenzel always tried to avoid eye contact with others, as they would only judge him even more than they already did. This time, however, he couldn''t take his eyes off her. Her beautiful face mesmerised him. When she raised her head, apparently chatting with the others, her eyes met his. Shortly afterwards, she lowered it again, but Wenzel kept staring for a moment longer before turning back to his food. What a strange feeling. But Wenzel knew exactly what it was. He was sure, that he had a crush on Amalie.

    Be that as it may, the lunch break didn''t last long and everyone made their way back to the school building. On the way there, which led through the park, the sun peeked through the clouds again. Wenzel paused for a moment. Holding his hand to his forehead, he looked towards the light and the nature that presented itself in front of him. Time stood still for a moment. Last night''s rain had finally washed away the last remnants of snow and the first flowers were beginning to sprout. The first birdsongs of the year could also be heard. In the distance the high wall that enclosed the school grounds could be seen.

    Wenzel soon realised that he was standing here all alone. "Damn it!", it slipped out of his mouth. He had to get to class as quickly as possible. He turned out to be only a minute late. But he still got a scolding from the teacher. The rest of the lesson was boring. In "etiquette" their were taught about how to behave in high society. Wenzel didn''t listen half the time. It wasn''t because he wasn''t interested, but because his headache had worsened a lot. And it would get worse and worse as the lesson went on. Wenzel felt nauseous and dizzy. He felt really bad, so bad in fact, that he was relatively indifferent when the lesson ended. He couldn''t go on like this.

    When the class left the room, he informed the teacher of his condition. The teacher sent him to Mrs Adele. Of course he did. Mrs Adele wasn¡®t a nurse, but whenever something like today happened, she would help him. How did she do that? The answer is, she didn''t do anything. IT was the answer.

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    When Wenzel entered her office, he had to sit down and wait. Mrs Adele, a tall lady with long black hair, small round glasses and a stern look, called for Aurel. Soon afterwards, he came traipsing in at the door with a lax gait.

    "Are you trying to cheat your way out of class again, pipsqueak? Huh?"

    Wenzel replied quietly: "No, I just can''t bear it anymore. I..." - "Stupid excuse, as always!" Aurel fished something out of his pocket and handed it to Mrs Adele. It was the cloth from this morning.

    "Young man, that''s no acceptable way to behave!" Mrs Adele admonished him. "Besides, how many times have I told you that we lift our feet properly when we walk! - "Sorry," Aurel replied half-heartedly.

    She gestured for him to leave. He left the room. "All right!" said the lady. "I''ll give you an hour, as usual. Tell me how you''re doing afterwards." Wenzel nodded and replied with a short "Yes".

    From the cloth, Mrs Adele took out a pendant with a sparkling red stone embedded in it. She took great care not to touch it directly with her fingers, but only through the cloth. Wenzel accepted it ¡­without the cloth. He sat down in an armchair and looked out of the window. Meanwhile, Mrs Adele "supervised" him, doing paperwork on her desk.

    Wenzel immediately started to feel better. Much, much better. His headache was swept away in an instant and a deep sense of relaxation set in very quickly. Outside, he could see the branches of the trees, whose very first buds were already visible, swaying in the wind. Further back, he saw the compound¡¯s boundary wall again. How he wished he could fly over it and see the world beyond. Away from this oppressive ..... prison. Yes, the boarding school was like a prison to him. He just wanted to get away, that was his innermost wish. Out through the clouds, to see the fields, forests and cities of the world.

    Wenzel saw his brother walking next to him in the corridor. "When we get back to the room, you''ll start your homework straight away. Is that clear? No shirking your lessons! Your grades are bad as is!" he said in a stern voice. Then Wenzel heard a soft voice calling his name. "Wenzel!" It grew louder and louder. It was Mrs Adele''s voice. Suddenly, Wenzel snapped back into consciousness. He had obviously dozed off. When he opened his eyes, he could see Mrs Adele from above. She had turned her head up towards him. Wenzel was floating on the ceiling! "Damn!" he thought to himself, "Once again I''ve failed!"

    "How many times have I told you that we want to prevent this from happening, Wenzel! If you fall down, there''s nothing I could do!", he got scolded by his overseer. Wenzel immediately lowered himself slowly from the ceiling again. He had a good enough feel for it, so that nothing could go wrong with the landing here. But unfortunately, Mrs Adele didn''t understand this. He apologised and sat down again. He had no idea how much time had passed, but obviously the hour was not yet up. He had held the stone firmly in his hand the whole time. He opened it and looked at the glimmering red object. On its frame one could make out the letters M.R.

    He wouldn''t be able to hang on without this stone. But that was only logical. It contained his soul! Wenzel was a sorcerer, a devil, as many would say. That meant he had magical powers that were considered dangerous and ''diabolical''. To prevent him from being burned at the stake, Wenzel¡®s soul was separated from his body. The magic he possessed was bound to his soul. Therefore, Wenzel would pose no danger as long as he didn¡®t have the pendant, as his soul and ,therefore, his magical powers were separated from him. The only problem was, that his body needed his soul and began to suffer without it. This was the cause of his frequent headaches, nausea, tiredness and insomnia. But it had to be this way, because Wenzel was not like the others. He was cursed, cursed by the magic he possessed! But he couldn''t be completely without his soul, so when his condition became overwhelming, he would get his soul back for an hour to recover. The result was what had just happened. Total relaxation.

    When the hour had passed, Aurel returned and was handed back the pendant. The two said their farewells and left Mrs Adele''s room. Aurel, as the older brother, was essentially Wenzel''s guardian and, therefore, also had responsibility for the pendant. That was what their parents had decided.

    "When we get back to the room, you''ll start your homework straight away. Is that clear?" Aurel ordered him right off the bat. "No shirking your lessons! Your grades are bad as it is!" Wenzel hesitated for a moment. He had foreseen this scene earlier. Deja-vu indeed. He then answered,"But I only missed gym class. It wasn''t anything important."-"Shut up! You won''t amount to anything anyway! But at least try to make an effort. If your grades are bad, mum will scold me again!"

    "Yes, I will," Wenzel simply replied. He hated his brother, but didn¡¯t dare to oppose him.

 002.1 The Stone (Part 1)

    Day after day passed in the same monotony: getting up, eating breakfast, school lessons, lunch, more lessons, going home, homework, studying, going to bed and every now and then he was allowed one short hour with the pendant. Wenzel hated this daily routine and he had no one to talk to about it. He did change one thing about himself, though. He worked on his self-control when he had time with his pendant. In the future, he would no longer allow his mind to wander off into cloud cuckoo land while who-knows-what was happening around him, just because he was too drunk on his own magic. That time had been the last time. He had vowed to himself to do this in the past, but now he had actually done it. What Aurel had once done to him would never happen to him again.

    Today, everything went ahead as usual. He got up and ventilated the room. Aurel still seemed too tired to get out of bed. As Wenzel stretched his limbs after another sleepless night to at least somehow get going, his gaze fell over to his soul, which for once lay uncovered on Aurel''s bedside table. As always, he was gripped by the desire to snatch it, to take it for himself, where it belonged. Then his common sense kicked in again and he dismissed the stupid thought.

    However, Aurel had seen this brief moment of wavering with the eyes he had only just opened. Instantly, his right hand shot out from under the blanket and snatched the pendant. "Don''t you think you can try anything stupid!" Aurel hissed. He immediately wrapped the stone in his blanket so that he didn''t have to touch it directly. He was afraid of the "dark power" contained in the thing, which is why he always avoided touching it with his bare hands. "Don''t worry, I won''t do anything," replied Wenzel. Aurel looked at him, half sleepily, half angrily. Then Wenzel added: "But you also should understand, that I''m always drawn to something, that is part of myself. I just can''t help it."

    "No, you should understand that the more you use witchery, the more you¡¯ll harm your own body. You still don''t seem to understand that." Aurel had told him that many times before. In the past, he had always believed everything his big brother told him, but Wenzel couldn''t for the life of him understand why his body should suffer from magic, when it obviously STOPPED to suffer when he was reunited with the stone. He did, however, not want to challenge his brother and kept his doubts to himself. A wicked grin came over Aurels face then and he said, "You know exactly what will happen when you get the pendant from me anyway. In the end, I''ll always be the one who keeps it."-"I wouldn¡¯t be so sure about that!", Wenzel thought to himself.

    Apart from that, today''s routine was quite normal, until school lessons finally began. At the beginning of the first lesson, someone new suddenly entered the classroom. The teacher introduced him to everyone as "Peter Rubellio". Without being asked, he introduced himself to the class again. What happened next surprised everyone, including Wenzel: Peter saw that there was an empty seat next to Wenzel and sat down right there. Quiet mumbling could be heard coming from the other pupils. Peter had no idea. He merely had sat down in an free seat. He didn''t know anyone here yet, so of course he hadn''t heard the rumours about Wenzel.

    "Hello, nice to meet you," he said politely to Wenzel. He in turn tried to come across as "normal" as possible and introduced himself briefly, too. Wenzel could immediately tell from his strong accent that the boy was from Camenia. The teacher hadn''t mentioned it, but it was obvious. His surname also made this clear at once. The two of them gossiped a little during the lesson. At least, they did this as best they could, without the teacher noticing it.

    Peter seemed to be a nice guy. He was also clearly a straight-A student. He always had his things well-prepared, did everything he was told to and obviously always knew the answer to everything he was asked. Of course, that didn''t stop him from chitchatting at every opportunity. During break, Bert came up to him and said: "Hey, wouldn''t you like to sit somewhere else? You can sit next to me, but at Wenzel''s .....you don¡¯t wanna sit next to him." This statement made Peter really angry. "I know exactly where I want to sit and where I don''t! I don''t need you for knowing that!" When Wenzel heard this, he started to laugh on the inside, but tried not to show it.

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    Later, at lunch, the two of them sat together as well and told each other a little about themselves. It was the first time, that Wenzel had someone he could talk to. Wenzel started by talking about himself. He told him about how his parents lived in Meglarsbruck, how his brother, in their absence, was virtually his guardian, how he hated school, but still had to study hard and so on. He tried his best not to say anything, that people weren¡¯t allowed to know about him. On the part of Peter nothing that had been said was questioned, but he was somewhat fascinated by Wenzel''s red hair. He had never seen anything like it before. "Well, it is pretty rare," was the only thing Wenzel could say in reply. He didn''t dare mention that this was probably due to his "curse". His parents didn''t have red hair either.

    And just as Wenzel had thought, Peter came from Camenia. His parents had now moved here "for some work-related reason", as Peter put it. His Ordanian was broken and sometimes he couldn''t find the right words to express what he wanted to say. Wenzel then suggested that he could switch to Camenian, if he didn''t know how to say something in Ordanian. Wenzel would be able to understand him that way, as well. This brought a small spark of joy to Peter''s eyes. Most of the other pupils couldn''t understand him, when he spoke in his mother tongue.

    Ironically, they had a Camenian lesson directly after the lunch break. For Peter, everything they did was child''s play. Of course it was. The only thing that mattered to Wenzel was that he had a real work partner for the first time. He didn''t really care about learning. In the next lesson they had religious education. Something unusual was going to happen here. As always, the lesson began with a prayer, after which everyone sat down. Today''s topic was "God''s mandation". "Oof!" Wenzel and probably the rest of the class thought to themselves. Only Peter seemed to be listening intently.

    The teacher began to rattle away: "The king is chosen by God. His word is right and just. His authority is not of man, therefore man cannot remove him from power. This is the concept of "God¡¯s mandation". Another word for this would be divine right. However, this concept was abused by previous rulers of Ordania to oppress the people and plant false ideas in their minds. It was not so long ago that the dynasty of the diabolical Melgarions, which had lasted for almost 400 years, was finally overthrown. They used witchcraft to manipulate people''s minds and stay in power. They referred to the first witch-emperor Melgar or "Melgarus" as the "One Chosen by God". A devil made himself emperor and even changed the calendar of his empire to begin with his seizure of power. What a dark stain in our history! But the truth is only with God and God alone. And the truth always wins out in the end. This happened eighty years ago, when the now ruling house of Sorenstein finally put an end to unjust rule. But the problems are not over yet. There are still some who believe in the false teachings of the Melgarists and their mendacious so-called church. It will take many more decades to eliminate them."

    Peter raised his hand. The teacher let him ask his question: "But wasn''t the church that Melgar brought to the country the first? Before that, there was just some polytheistic faith in Ordania, wasn''t there?"

    "Before Teleiotism, there were only some absurd polytheistic beliefs here, yes. But our current church, the Alethic Church, has always existed, since the first advent of Teleiotism. It spread in Ordania at the same time as the other, false Melgarist church, which then had everything but itself banned and persecuted," the teacher replied.

    Peter pondered for a moment and before the teacher could continue, he raised his hand again. Annoyed, the teacher picked him to speak again. "But isn''t the veneration of saints also part of the ''Melgarist Church'', as you call it? Wouldn''t that mean that what the believers in Camenia, for example, do is also heretical? In our country, saints are worshipped everywhere."

    Peter seemed to have angered our teacher with this. It was clearly recognisable from his posture and his expression. He composed himself and then replied: "This ancient practice of venerating saints is condemned as heretical by the Alethic Church, yes. And rightfully so! These so-called saints were almost all witches of the house of the Melgarions. The issue is, that this practice has been ingrained for so long, that it can''t be removed overnight."

    Peter replied, that he couldn''t see how it would ever be possible to remove these things from the churches in Camenia. "Give it time," was all the teacher said in return. None of this was known to Wenzel. He wasn''t really interested in this either, but Peter seemed to have taken offence at the teacher for what he had said. Apparently, religion was something very important to the Camenians. And not only them. Here in Ordania, too, you heard about these things ALL the time. Wenzel was sick of it. "Just let everyone believe what they want!"

 002.2 The Stone (Part 2)

    From that day onwards, Wenzel and Peter spent more and more time together. They always sat together in class and chatted during the breaks. Wenzel was interested in hearing from him what life in Camenia was like. Apparently, the summers there were super-hot and there was no snow in winter. Even palm trees grew there! Wenzel would have loved to see that, too! Peter talked about the summers he used to spend with his aunt, who owned a vineyard, and how he used to chase her geese around the yard for fun as a child. Wenzel, on the other hand, didn''t want to talk about his childhood at all. He had always played second fiddle in the eyes of his parents anyway...

    After school, the two of them wanted to sit together and chat some more. But in order to return "home" to his room later than usual, Wenzel had to ask his brother for permission. So, he went to Aurel and asked, if he could stay at school with a friend after class to "do homework and study".

    Aurel raised an eyebrow when he heard this. "With a friend? Wimpel has a friend?" he asked in a puzzled tone. He pondered for a moment and then consequently said: "It''s the new kid, isn''t it? The one with: black hair, side parting, glasses. Doesn''t properly speak Ordanese." - "Yes, that''s him. His name is Peter," Wenzel replied. "Seems like you found a loser-friend just like yourself!", Aurel uttered. Wenzel held back his anger and didn''t show it. Peter was no loser, he was a good student¡­.unlike himself. At first, Aurel was not exactly in favour of the idea. But he eventually allowed it on the condition that Wenzel came home before five o''clock. And he would personally stop by from time to time to check, if Wenzel was actually doing his homework and not something else. When Wenzel heard this, he was both pleased and a little disappointed at the same time. He had thought he could use the time to get away from all the horrible schoolwork. Well, at least he no longer had to be sitting alone in his room.

    Now he actually had a friend. And for him, Peter was his best....well, also his only friend, if one excluded Mr Albrecht. Mr Albrecht was the only teacher who was nice to him and who listened to him, but of course he wasn''t a "friend" in the sense of him being able to share everything with him. An adult wouldn''t understand him, but Peter would. For Peter, on the other hand, Wenzel was not his only friend. There also was a girl from a class below them, one who had Camenian roots, too, with whom he could talk. Nevertheless, Wenzel clearly came to be Peter¡®s most important friend. Overall, however, Peter hardly had any friends and was almost as much an outcast as Wenzel in class. But, and this is the important thing here, he would protect Wenzel from the bullying of others in the future.

    One day when they were sitting at lunch, Peter moved over, closer to him and quietly whispered in his ear: "What about Amalie? Why don¡¯t you try speaking to her?" Almost shocked, Wenzel didn''t know what to say and just stammered incomprehensibly. Yes. That''s how it was. Peter had recognised Wenzel''s feelings just from the way he looked at her. Now he was trying to persuade Wenzel to talk to her, but he persistently refused. "Come on! You just have to take the first step. It''s really not that difficult," he tried to encourage him. But Wenzel was as stubborn as a mule.... or rather he was a coward. With his reputation at school, it was all doom and gloom for such an endeavour anyway. At least that¡®s what Wenzel had convinced himself of.

    Peter begged to differ. He tried to pull Wenzel away from his table, to force him to his feet and get him to act. Wenzel tried to resist, holding on to the table with all his might. "No!" he shouted loudly. When the other pupils began to look over at them, Peter gave up his attempt. He soon thought of something else.

    Instead, he suggested that Wenzel write her a letter and slip it into her bag when they were moving classrooms during the break. No public "display" would be necessary. After a moment''s consideration, Wenzel agreed. He sat down and wrote Amalie a love letter. He wasn¡¯t a fan of the term "love letter" and he was terrible at putting his feelings into words, but he tried as best as he could. Then, at the end of a lesson, when everyone was packing up their things, Wenzel did so faster than the others for once, so that he could inconspicuously place the letter in Amalie''s open bag as he was leaving the classroom. It was a success. Now he just had to wait and see how Amalie would react. "Let''s wait and see", he thought to himself. But there was one thing he couldn¡¯t have known:

    There¡¯d be no reply.

    Just a few days later, the class would do a geography test. Wenzel''s current grade in this subject was ..... concerning. That''s why he and Peter sat down together two days beforehand to study for the test. At first, they just finished their homework quickly, a process that took the following form: Peter did the homework and Wenzel copied off of him, slightly modifying what Peter wrote. Then they took to studying a few things together for the test. Peter kept emphasising how "easy" they actually were. "Easy to say, if you''re clever," Wenzel thought to himself. The aim was to be able to name the most important countries, cities, bodies of water and mountains in Kaphkos. On the continent of Kaphkos, which was almost entirely taken over by the Ordanian Confederacy, there were five important countries: the cold Corakia in the north, the stormy Zeemark in the west, the warm Camenia in the south, the rugged, mountainous Kasharovar in the east and north-east, and in the centre Ordania with its vast plains and four-season climate.

    Wenzel had no trouble memorising the big countries and where they were, but when it came to reading maps and finding rivers, mountains and towns, he had a hard time. There was only one town he could always locate reliably: his hometown, or rather the town he grew up in, Meglarsbruck and the river it was situated on, the Duhn. For that reason, he spent hours practising with Peter to name the places and landscapes correctly. To Wenzel it was an ordeal. The Isara Mountains, the highest mountain range in Kaphkos, was in Kasharovar, but because there were so many mountains there, Wenzel always pointed to the wrong ones on the map. What he also got wrong time and time again, were the exact locations of the capitals of the respective countries. At the end of the day, he was at least able to correctly name a few places in Ordania and Camenia, because their names stayed best in his memory.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Tired from all his studying, Wenzel looked at his watch to realise, that it was only four o''clock. They still had an hour to go. Then, out of nowhere, Peter suddenly asked him the most important question he had ever asked him: "Hey, Wenzel! On some afternoons, when you''re just totally exhausted from school, you go somewhere and afterwards you look like you¡¯re feeling a thousand times better. What''s going on there? Do you have some kind of condition?" Wenzel, clearly caught off guard by what Peter had just asked, stared blankly into his eyes, but immediately turned his gaze away again. What excuse could he come up with so quickly? There was nothing but a gaping void in Wenzel''s head. He was definitely tired from studying for so long. His gaze wandered out the window, where one could see all the flowers being in full bloom outside, as well as the lush green of the sprouting plants. "Wenzel?" he addressed him in a somewhat worried tone. There was no answer. While his gaze remained fixed on the nature outside, he didn¡¯t utter a word. The songbirds¡® chirping could be heard in the background.

    ..........

    "You believe in magic, don''t you?" Wenzel started his response. Yes, this was indeed happening. Wenzel continued to tell him about his magic and the pendant. The main reason for this was simply, because he trusted Peter. Unconsciously, in the back of his mind, of course, his awareness that Peter seemed to have no aversion to the worship of saints, that is, the worship of magicians, had also contributed to this. To say that Peter was surprised by what he had now learnt would be a massive understatement. Nevertheless, he didn¡®t believe Wenzel completely. He did, however, give him the benefit of the doubt and he treated everything Wenzel said as if it were true. Moreover, he promised not to tell anyone else.

    "So, your magic is in a pendant?"

    "Yes."

    "And why don''t you just steal it back, at least in a way, that Aurel doesn¡¯t get wind of it missing?"

    "I ..... I haven''t been able to do that, yet. I even made a wager with Aurel once, that I''d get it back permanently, if I could beat him in a long throw contest.

    "Seriously? Then why didn''t you accept it?"

    "I did! I even won it. Although, I''m sure, Aurel actually just let me win. When I got the stone, I keeled over like I always do and, when I was unconscious, Aurel took the stone away from me again!"

    "So, you don¡¯t have any control at all?"

    "I do have control! At least, now I do. I just wasn''t used to being in my ''normal'' state. But I''ve been practising for a long time now and I can pull myself together."

    Peter pondered for a moment, but then advised Wenzel not to steal the pendant. It would only cause problems with everyone around him.

    "If you''re not planning to run away, then I wouldn''t do it. You''ll just get yourself into trouble."

    Wenzel had no intention of running away. He wouldn''t even know where to go. "Yes, you''re right," he agreed with his best friend.

    Wenzel passed the test they had two days later. He had just made it by a hair''s breadth, but the few places in Ordania and Camenia that he could name correctly had made all the difference! His teacher in the subject was also Mr Albrecht, who had (most likely) been gracious enough to let him pass, but it was a small victory for him, nonetheless. Wenzel took what he could get.

    Soon, however, Wenzel would actually take the pendant from Aurel! No, he would not steal it permanently and he had no intention of running away, even though he hated it here. It was late at night and Aurel was so sound asleep, that his snoring sounded like he was sawing the wood of an entire forest. Wenzel slowly crept over to him and nicked his soul from the top drawer of his bedside cabinet. He just wanted the relaxation of being whole again, at least for a few hours. That was definitely risky! If he fell asleep, which was very much possible, because it currently was blackest night, Aurel would catch him red-handed with the stone in his hands come morning. There was no way that he could let that happen! So, Wenzel tried very hard not to fall asleep. He was as tired as it gets, but managed to stay awake with great effort. He still achieved the desired effect of making his usually constant headache and feebleness disappear.

    Suddenly, Wenzel felt as light as a feather. Hovering above the ground, he looked around him: He was surrounded by black shards, a countless number of them. Wenzel turned round and glanced at what was beside him and behind him. There was a huge sea of shards all around him. No matter where he looked, an endless sea of shards stretched out in all directions. Some of the large, man-sized shards were covered in purple tatters. To take a closer look at them Wenzel moved closer to one. A light breeze caught the rag, which looked like it used to be a cape, and blew it away. At that moment, the shards abruptly turned to stone, but not just any kind of stone. There were a lot of bricks and other stones, but also wooden beams, sticks, tools, furniture and other things that were suddenly scattered everywhere. Wenzel was standing in the middle of ruined houses. Screams and whimpers could be heard in the distance. With his left foot Wenzel stepped into a puddle, as he turned around to orient himself. All around him was destruction. Wenzel had a very bad feeling about this. This scene was as real as, if he was actually standing in this place.

    But all of a sudden, he was jolted out of the moment and opened his eyes. Wenzel was looking up at the dark ceiling of his room. When he looked over, he saw Aurel sleeping in the neighbouring bed. He was still snoring. Yes, Wenzel had lost consciousness again, but he had apparently only been out for a short time. There was only one thing, he was sure of: This had been a vision of the future. He didn''t know what to do with this knowledge. He spent another hour with his soul, but had no more visions. Then he returned the pendant unnoticed.

 Summary for volume 1

    Wenzel is a quiet, shy boy who harbors a secret. Said secret is, that he is a ¡°sorcerer¡±, i.e. he can use magic, which would normally land him at the stake. To prevent this, his soul (to which his magical power is also bound) was separated from his body and sealed in a mysterious pendant. His older brother Aurel has the task of keeping it safe. Wenzel, whose body always longs for his soul, occasionally steals the pendant, which gives him visions of the future. Wenzel hates his dominant brother, who is always mean to him.

    Our protagonist makes his first friend in Peter, who is the only person he tells his secret to. Peter urges him to write a love letter to Amalie, a girl he has a crush on, but in the end she never replies. During a visit to their parents, where we get an impression of their strictness, the two brothers have an argument in the course of which Aurel inadvertently reveals to his younger brother that he has only been adopted.

    The aforementioned parents soon urge Peter to have less and less contact with Wenzel. As a result, Wenzel sneaks out of the boarding school more often and visits Mr. Albrecht, the only one of his teachers who likes him and who he trusts. During one of his visits to him, he also witnesses a witch burning in the town, which shakes him to the core.

    At the same time, there is an organized resistance by the Ordanian people against the current ruling regime, which adheres to Alethism, an ideology that is strongly hostile to the ¡°Old Believers¡±, which is the majority denomination in Ordania. The Old Believers worships Melgar, the first emperor of the Ordanian Empire, as their ¡° Chosen One¡±, a messianic figure. The so-called Martyrs'' Brigades, led by Theodor, offer armed resistance from the shadows and seem to be gaining more and more support from the common people.

    One day, Wenzel is spotted by members of this organization as he unwisely practices magic in public. As a result, he is kidnapped by them, but they immediately release him as they recognize him as their new Chosen One. He does not want to join them. Soon afterwards, however, Wenzel catches his brother in flagrante delicto with Amalie. This enrages him so much that he loses control of his magical powers and unintentionally kills Aurel. This forces him to flee and he seeks refuge with the Martyrs'' Brigades.

    He joins them and is introduced to Theodor and the intelligent and crafty August as his right-hand man. The Teleiotic Church (=¡°Old Believers Church¡±) recognizes him as the new Chosen One and Wenzel learns from them that there are actually no other magicians apart from him and that the witch hunts in Ordania primarily serve the purpose of destroying all opponents/critics of the regime.

    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Wenzel also gets 2 bodyguards: Brahm and Isidor. He learns sword fighting from them. However, Isidor soon betrays them and tries to steal Wenzel''s pendant. This attempt fails, however, and the thief is killed while trying to deliver it to the royal house. Wenzel is now very unsettled, especially as he had learned from August that the leader of the organization, Theodor, supposedly has his own agenda and is not trustworthy. Consequently, Wenzel visits him, reads his mind and can thus assure himself that he is indeed trustworthy.

    Meanwhile, the current King of Ordania succumbs to illness and his wife succeeds him as regent. Queen Katharina now wants to enter into negotiations with the increasingly powerful rebels. This is unacceptable to the rest of the influential people at court. After they also learn from the royal advisor Gabriela that Wenzel, a devil''s child with magic and the new Chosen One of the rebels, is the biological son of the current regent, they organize a coup. As a result, Catherine and her eldest son die and Gabriela is installed as regent for her son Lucius.

    All these things cause great discord in Ordania and beyond, whereupon the Martyrs'' Brigades take their big leap with ¡°Operation Evenfall¡±. They take the old capital Meglarsbruck. There, Wenzel is once again confronted with his ¡°parents¡±, whose thoughts he reads, through which he learns his true parentage. This upsets him so emotionally that he has another outburst of his magic, which injures August''s leg. August would never forgive him for this.

    The revolution was now in full swing and the Martyrs'' Brigades mobilize the ¡°People''s Army¡± to besiege Greifenburg. Eventually they are able to take the fortified town, as Field Marshal Etzel fails to stop them. They proclaim the ¡°Holy Ordanian Empire¡±, while the Old Regime gathers all its forces to fight the great decisive battle at Archfeld.However, Theodor''s army also wins this battle brilliantly. Afterwards, they even fend off an invasion by the Kashar Hordes from the east, during which Theodor loses a hand.

    While all this is going on, Wenzel rescues the girl Amalie, who has been taken hostage by Gabriela. In the process, however, his pendant is destroyed and he is reunited with his soul. Amalie now stays in the palace in Meglarsbruck for a while and she and Wenzel grow closer and eventually fall in love. Wenzel is soon crowned emperor, although he has relatively little actual power.

    Prior to this, the main character''s parents had died in prison, with Wenzel suspecting that August was behind it. Wenzel has a vision of his assassination by August, something he KNOWS will eventually occur. They thus prophylactically frame August with false accusations and have him executed for treason. However, Petra, who is pregnant with August''s child, is able to escape from the palace.

 1. 01 Welcome to the Empire

    Slowly but steadily, the ground disgorged the sun again. Its rays hit a bunch of sweaty men who were working the mountain in front of them with pickaxes, chisels and large hammers. When this happened, a few of them turned round to briefly look at the rising sun. "Don''t let up! Come on, lads, keep going!", someone called out to them. They immediately turned back to their work. So, what exactly was this work now? The miners of Szinesbanya were busily quarrying the marble from the open-cast mine in the largest possible pieces and transporting them away for further processing. Strong arms lifted the tools into the air and once they had reached the highest point, they were swung back down to hit the rock with as much force as possible. This was one of the largest marble deposits in Kaphkos. It was known for the fact that the stone here took on many different colours and shades. There was white, black, blue and red marble. Often there were also sections in the rock faces where the colours mixed and took on fascinating patterns and hues. At other open-cast mines, different colours could also be found, ranging from yellow to green. Most of these were to be found in the appropriately named "Rainbow Mountains" in Kasharovar. In any case, the vast majority of this natural resource was to be found in the eastern kingdom.

    The material was now needed in large quantities. In recent years, a gigantic number of new buildings had been commissioned, but above all an immense amount of statues, which were of course to be made from the precious raw material known as marble. All the defaced and destroyed statues of saints in all the towns and churches of Kaphkos were now systematically replaced or restored, causing an explosion in demand for this rare earth. In short, the miners had their hands full. The clashing of their metal tools against the hard rock could be heard continuously, so that it basically became an omnipresent background noise for the miners.

    After many hours of hard labour, it was time for the lunch break. The work colleagues sat down and ate their modest meal together. The midday heat was now beating down with full force and the men could certainly feel it. "And how is your house looking now, Gy?rg? It should be finished by now, shouldn''t it?" The addressee turned to his colleague and replied with his mouth full, "The walls are up and the roof is on, that''s the most important thing. I''ll always be working on additional things, new rooms and so on anyway. My wife is always coming up with new ideas. You know how she is." The others had to laugh for a moment. His colleague then said, "I''ve finally got my head above water for once. Luckily, things have been getting better and better over the last few years." The group unanimously agreed with him. "Since my house was destroyed by the hordes the last time, I haven''t seen or heard anything at all from them anymore," Gy?rg stated unprompted.

    But his friend immediately added, "They''re still there, believe me! But as far as I''ve noticed, they''re getting weaker and weaker. In the past they used to have a reason to fight. But now that we have our own parliament and the old customs are dying out, more and more of them have decided to lay down their arms and simply lead a peaceful life." His statement was met with some discomfort from the others. They preferred to leave this subject alone. After a moment of silence, however, Gy?rg himself said, "Those who are left have no chance anyway and will simply die off at some point. The march of time cannot be stopped." The group of men silently agreed with him. The break was finally over and it was back to work. After all, the marble didn''t mine itself and their salaries wouldn¡¯t get paid for doing nothing.

    Many years had now passed since the end of the revolution. Peace had returned everywhere, even if a few still put up hopeless resistance to the empire''s rule on the fringes. Law and order had come back to almost all towns and villages and the healing of all the deep wounds caused by the war and the oppression that had preceded it was in full swing. But even if everything got better again, nothing would return to the old, neither to the time of the Melgarions nor to the brief interlude of Alethic rule. There was now an Imperial Diet and several national diets, which dealt with matters of varying relevance. Gone were the days when the ruler alone decided the ministers, politics and, well, basically everything in the state. A new era had dawned, one that had been given birth to by the revolution. A new dawn had broken over the empire. A huge number of people of all kinds were here witnessing it.

    In the first two years immediately after the revolution, there was little to eat. Many farmers had died in the war and many had also moved elsewhere in the turmoil. Moreover, an epidemic went through the country at the time, that also carried off a number of people. Fewer fields were being cultivated and, therefore, there was less grain to eat. In times of need, many people resorted to a bag of tricks. Baker Fritz, for example, often mixed sawdust into his bread. Everyone soon noticed this, and he was gossiped about everywhere. He earned the nickname "Mr Drybread", a name, which he has not been able to shed to this day. Even though he was certainly not the only baker who "stretched" his bread. Unfortunately, he was the one who got noticed it the most for it. The problems steadily decreased over the following years until everything was back to normal. If one could call it a return to the old, at all. Normal life remained the same, but the witch craze was now history.

    Dietrich, who was himself a journeyman baker, was now on his way to work early in the morning. He briefly got goose bumps when he felt the still icy cold morning air as he walked along the streets. Neureut, a small town to the east of the Karantian Forests, had essentially remained the same sleepy place. Even at this time of day, there was already a lot going on. The craftsmen set to work and the merchants began setting up their stalls, while a few soldiers wandered about or simply stood around to keep an eye on things. They also gave Dietrich a cursory glance as he strolled past them. He walked along Courtyard Alley and crossed the so-called Martyrs¡¯ Square. This square, relatively close to the city centre, had only been renamed last year. In its centre was still the fountain after which the square was originally named. Now a small statue of a warrior had been erected on a pedestal next to it. As one can imagine, this was a memorial to those who died in the revolution.

    This was of little interest to our journeyman as he walked past the monument, which he now saw every day. His mind was already on his work anyway. Kneading the dough for the bread was hard, strenuous work. Anyone who did this job knew that. Just round the corner in the alley was the small Utz bakery, named after its owner. The elderly master baker was already open when his assistant entered the shop. Dietrich immediately changed his clothes and set to work. By lunchtime, most of the work was already done. When the man stepped outside the bakery to get a breath of fresh air as a change from the flour dust, he realised that something was going on at Martyrs¡¯ Square. He quickly made his way there, as a few others had apparently done. When he got there, however, Dietrich realised that he had long since missed the events here. A few interested people were milling around, just like him, but otherwise there was no sign of what had happened. There was a large red stain on the ground a few metres from the statue, that was all. It was obviously blood, but the man had no idea what had happened, so he asked a lady who was also standing around.

    "Did I see what happened? Yes, I did. A guy tried to butcher the monument and the city guards intervened. He punched the blokes and you can imagine what happened next." Dietrich was surprised, but not particularly shocked. Then he looked over at the statue and saw that there was a black stain on the ground directly in front of it. It was the paint the vandal had tried to deface the monument with. "What a stupid reason to sacrifice yourself!", Dietrich thought to himself. "You should know that the soldiers here can''t take a joke." Of course, it was crystal clear to the journeyman baker that many of those who served in the city guard had also fought in the revolution. Their commander had even been in the Martyrs'' Brigades back then. These men wouldn¡¯t take a joke when it came to this sort of thing. After this incident, Dietrich went back to the bakery. The others would surely ask him what had happened in the square and he would tell them. Time and again you heard of people being cut a head shorter because they said or did the wrong thing. That was nothing new. Everyone knew it.

    Ludo was a very quiet boy. There were a lot of things that were always going through his mind, but he preferred to keep them to himself. This had less to do with the fact that he didn''t dare express himself in front of others and more to do with the fact that he simply didn''t feel the desire to share his thoughts with them. There was simply no reason for him to say much. The priests always interpreted his reticence as a sign that the loss of his parents at such a young age had traumatized the little Ludo. The boy was unaware of this and simply thought that the priests wanted to be as nice to him as possible. If he had been aware of their assumptions about him... ,well, actually it wouldn''t have changed anything. He probably wouldn''t have told them, that he didn''t even remember his parents'' deaths. The only thing he could remember was walking hungrily and aimlessly through a small town when the priests found him and took him away.

    The boy now lived in an orphanage with a number of other orphans. He certainly wasn''t alone here. But there were only boys, no girls. ¡°This is an institution for men, not women!¡±, was what Father Gregor had said to him when he once asked why there were only men here. That made sense to him. Everything had to stay nicely separated, as God wanted it! Every day the boys would do various jobs that had to do with maintenance and accomodation: growing vegetables, fruits and grains, repair work on the building, raising livestock, cleaning, and much more. However, time was always given for studying the Testament and praying. This was EXTREMELY important to the priests and caretakers. In the few months that he had been here, Ludo had already learnt how important worshipping God and adhering to his laws was. Nevertheless, the clerics relentlessly drilled the message into the boys; this was even more important to them than the work that had to be done in this self-sufficient facility. Ludo also knew all the prayers inside out.

    Hail, Melgar, sacred Chosen of God!

    Hail, precious treasure of creation!

    Hail, your never extinguishing light!

    Blessed be your progeny!

    Blessed be your glory!

    Praise be to God our lord!

    Melgar was the Chosen One of God. The Lord had given him the power to work miracles. It was he who had prepared the way for the kingdom of God on earth. There would only be one future for them, one in which Melgar''s will and the heavenly laws would be enforced in the earthly realm. These thoughts were actually running through young Ludo''s mind as he stood in the empty dining room. Broom in hand, he energetically swept between the old, worn-out wooden legs of the tables and chairs. He swiped up all the crumbs and other rubbish that accumulated here every day from eating and swept it into a larger pile. He was too lazy to move the tables and chairs aside, but picked up what he could so that the floor appeared clean to the eye. "The place is cleaned every day anyway. I don''t need to bust a gut here," were the boy''s thoughts. Wildly and with the intention of finishing work as quickly as possible, he swung the wooden stick with straw at the end around.

    Watching over all this was the picture of Wenzel hanging on the wall above. It was a very flattering depiction of the emperor, which hung in all the public and religious institutions of the empire. It was always to be found side by side with the icons of Melgar, although there was a huge difference between these two people. Emperor Wenzel didn¡¯t want to be an object of veneration; on the contrary, he personally had a strong aversion to such things. Nevertheless, his portrait and the icon of Melgar hung next to each other like Janus. Two faces of the same entity: The Chosen One. The child sweeping the communal dining hall had no idea of this, of course. He gathered all the dirt into a bigger pile again. Then Ludo fetched a shovel to see it off into the dustbin.

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    "En garde, you scoundrel!", it suddenly screeched as the double door swung open abruptly, crashing against the wall with far too much force to make a lot of noise. Nico came thundering in. Apparently, he had already finished his task of cleaning the corridor outside. When Ludo turned to him, he was holding his broom at the lower end above the bristles. The long handle protruded upwards at an angle and the boy now pointed it in the direction of his "opponent". "Wait, I''m still not ....!" Before the challenged boy could finish his sentence, his friend, who in this case was his enemy, was already swinging his "sword" at him. "Oh, God!" Ludo had no choice but to defend himself. He also changed his grip on his broom turning it into an imaginary sword. Then the duel began. It was a fiery exchange of blows and thrusts. Left, right...up? "Ow!", Ludo cried out as his opponent''s sword smashed him directly on the head. He then paused for a moment. But then Nico felt something on his shoulder. It was Father Gregor''s strong hand, as the boy immediately realised when he turned to look at his grim face.

    "Really? Really, you two?", he snapped at them in a judgemental tone. "Look at what you''re doing here!", the old man said as his wrinkled finger pointed at the ground next to them. The two boys looked over and saw that they had trampled over everything Ludo had swept up and had whirled it around. Nico and his friend immediately winced and apologised meekly. But that wasn''t enough for the priest. He told them to finally finish the work in here and as punishment for their stupid mucking about they would have to do something else afterwards. Dejectedly, they complied and together, under the supervision of Father Gregor, began to clean up the mess they had made. Secretly, however, the priest wasn''t really angry with them. He knew that boys were just like that, and that it was actually quite desirable that they were interested in fighting. All orphans in the empire were traditionally taken in and raised by an offshoot organisation of the church. They would and should even serve the Lord and the kingdom when they grew up. Therefore, religious education was very much in focus here. One day the broomsticks would become real swords and then it would be good, if they knew WHO they served.

    The meadow behind the stables was filled with the sound of a tremendous hubbub. Children''s laughter mingled with their loud cries. Stepping closer, one could see one of the lads indicating that he was going to throw a stick he was holding up in the air. He made three trial swings, all of which looked very funny and weird. Each time he swung his thin little arm upwards, whereupon it swung limply back again, his whole body went with it and swayed so much that one would think he would fall over at any moment. On the fourth time, he finally let go of the stick and threw it as high as he could into the air. Then he quickly tried to pick up a whole lot of sticks that were scattered all over the short-mown meadow in front of him. The game ended when the stick he threw up hit the ground again. That was the "stick game". And there it was. Unfortunately, Faramund had only managed to collect five sticks. The others thought that the sixth one no longer counted as the stick had already come down.

    "How do you know that so precisely? You didn''t even hear it hit the ground!", the boy was annoyedly proclaimed. He was right, because you could hardly hear the little stick touching the grass. But his playmates didn''t want to hear any of it. "No, the last one doesn''t count! You only had five. You can''t cheat here, Faramund!", Viktoria told him imperiously. He looked over at the girl and snorted: "You''re stupid! No wonder nobody likes you!" - "Stop it with that! You don''t need to get so angry about it. It''s just a game!", her friend Isolde tried to defuse the situation. The little hothead calmed down again straight away. Then it was Viktoria''s turn. She took a long swing, but also swung the stick from below in a strange way, just like the others had done before her. Only her throw was powerful, and the branch flew up impressively high. In a mad rush, the girl literally threw herself to the ground and gathered as many sticks as she could. The thrown object seemed to take an unusually long time to come down again. When it finally fell onto the meadow, Viktoria had picked up all the sticks.

    Gunna and Isolde were totally impressed, but of course Faramund had to complain again. "That''s not possible! You must have cheated!" - "How am I supposed to have cheated here, ha? It''s just a simple stick that all of us have thrown up." The boy, unsure how to rationalise his accusations, simply replied, "You know what they say about you!" - "Faramund! No!" it came from Isolde directly behind him. "But isn''t it true?" At this statement, the girl looked at him even more grimly than before. But when he turned his gaze back to Viktoria, he began to feel anxious. She was standing there in a dominant pose with her legs wide apart. Her penetrating gaze struck him sharply. A fire was burning in her eyes, a fire as hot and red as the crimson of her hair. "Wi...", before the boy could even finish the word, the girl gave him a good shove, making him fall on his bum. She actually wanted to smack him, everyone could see that. When someone made her angry, she became a fury that no one could tame. But the child held back this time and simply turned round.

    Suddenly, a couple of adults came around the corner of the stable. There weren''t just two of them, but several. "Gunna! What are you doing here!" Dumbfounded, the boy replied, "We''re playing the stick game. I..." His mother didn''t let the child finish his sentence, but simply grabbed him by the arm. "You never listen to me!", she scolded, casting a disdainful glance at the red-haired Viktoria. The parents of the other children were here too. One by one, they dragged their children back home with them. One of them, Isolde, looked back at her friend as she was being pulled away by the arm. Viktoria remained here alone. No one else was there. She knew exactly why. And she hated it. Angrily, she picked up one of the sticks they had been playing with and threw it against the wall of the shed, which was in the same direction her friends had disappeared in. Those stupid adults didn''t want their kids to play with her. Always the same! Viktoria was alone again, as she almost always was.

    Johann carefully put one foot in front of the other as he descended the bumpy path down into the valley. He had not been in "civilisation" for a very long time. He lived as a hermit far away from everyone and everything that could disturb him. Up there, it was just him, nature and the animals. He was actually self-sufficient. There was nothing he needed from the outside world. The hermit grew his own food and kept his own goats, whose produce he processed into appropriate dishes. He took care of the maintenance of his small hut and stable himself. He had always loved horticulture anyway and now he lived it every day. Apples, pears, carrots, cucumbers, onions, cereals, herbs of all kinds, everything grew in his garden. And it gave him great pleasure to be able to devote himself to it in peace every day.

    Here in Corakia, the cold season had only just ended, so he could now wander down into the valley. He had a friend there who had visited him time and again, but he hadn''t been back for five full years now. Johann was worried about him, because his friend was not yet old. Could something have happened to him? Possibly, but there was no way of knowing. Since he knew where his friend lived, he would pay him a visit. It was the first time in over twenty years that the hermit had been back in a populated area. As he was walking past the first houses into the village, he saw many familiar things from his past. What he also saw, however, was a massive change. There was a lot going on in the small village streets, more than he could ever remember. He could see from people''s clothes and the many renovated buildings that a new prosperity had arisen. Above the town hall flew a flag he had never seen before. A golden sun on a red background.

    He walked along the muddy paths to Oskar''s little house. A rather old, but sturdy, wooden door made of dark cherry wood prevented him from entering without resistance. It had apparently just been newly varnished. The man, who was already getting on in years, knocked loudly on the door three times. After a while, a voice could be heard from inside. "What do you want?" When Oskar heard that it was his old friend, he immediately asked him to come in. A lady, who also seemed a little older, let him in. He didn''t see him at first, but when the hermit stepped around the corner into the living room, he realised what was going on. Now he knew why his friend had stopped visiting him. Sitting in an armchair, a man stared at him with a cool gaze. His right leg was missing, with a simple wooden prosthesis serving as a meagre replacement. When he had recovered from the initial shock, he came to him and gave him a friendly hug. Without being asked how this had happened, Oskar began to talk about it of his own accord. And what he now learnt, living in isolation from the rest of the world, made him sit up and take notice.

    Apparently, there had been a major upheaval throughout Kaphkos, a revolution as Oskar called it. He too was forced to take part and was wounded in battle. Not only was a new dynasty now on the throne of Ordania, but the entire old Alethian Commune had been swept away and was now only operating underground. The witch burnings had now ceased, but a suffocating oppression remained. Only now the oppression was directed at different people than before. Full of frustration, the veteran told him all these things as he waited for his partner to bring them hot tea. There was great bitterness in his eyes. His friend from the mountains couldn''t understand that at all, because he was only interested in his own existence. It all felt very unpleasant for him. He felt sorry for all the fools who went about their lives like this. Politics and intrigue, religion and fanaticism, relationships and personal tragedies were all reasons why he had renounced society. He felt strangely vindicated, however unfair this might sound to Oskar.

    Abbondio adjusted his cap in an attempt to better protect his face from the sun. Unfortunately, it didn''t help. Once again, it was a scorching hot day. Although this was completely normal at this time of year in Camenia, the realisation of this did not make the circumstances any easier. But the man was used to it anyway. He just had to put up with it. Reins in hand, Abbondio drove slowly onto the bridge over the Seranzo. He couldn''t stop himself from stretching his head upwards and back and forth to admire the thing. The thick pylons of the new bridge were reaching high into the sky. This thing had only recently been built and it considerably shortened the distance he had to travel from the trading harbour towards the city. It was an impressively large structure that spanned a deep ravine. Deep below, one could hear the rushing waters of the Seranzo River. Their freshness was nevertheless carried up here by the air currents. What a pleasant smell and what a refreshment this produced, even if it only lasted for a short time.

    The merchant continued on his way. He had to deliver a new load of goods to one of his customers¡¯ shops. Fine silk that he had imported from across the Southern Sea. Very expensive. Trade had been flourishing in recent years and Abbondio was also enjoying this good business. A golden age had dawned for him. What his parents had bequeathed to him, he was now able to increase considerably. All his friends and colleagues felt the same way. As he thought about all this, his wagon rumbled over the small gap between the bridge and the road in the midday heat. "Badum!" it went. Then the driver was able to resume his journey at a higher speed. This bridge was just one example of the upswing in Camenia. Everywhere he had travelled so far, Abbondio could see a pile of building projects. A lot was now being invested in infrastructure, which of course helped traders like him. Roads, bridges, tunnels, harbours, but also baths and even new churches. The construction workers would not get bored so quickly.

    Curtly, he took his wallet out of his pocket. He emptied the coins it contained into the palm of his other hand and began to count. Thirty-five, no, thirty-six sesterces he counted. All with the face of Vincenzo I embossed on one side. Unfortunately, they were no longer worth that much, since his successor had reduced the gold content of the coins. But even that wasn''t all too bad a thing. At least that''s what the merchant thought. Then he briefly reconsidered how much he had paid the importer for the goods he now had with him. He let out an annoyed sigh when he realised that he couldn''t quite remember how much it had been. It was unusual to receive an invoice for something like this. That would only be the case with very large transactions. By God, he couldn''t remember exactly what he had paid.... "Damn!" he blurted out. Well, it couldn''t be helped. His blunder wasn''t THAT bad. These were good times now and he could draw from from an embarrassment of riches. He didn''t have to turn over every semi to make ends meet. Nevertheless, this certainly wouldn''t have happened to him, if he''d had his apprentice with him, but he''d given him something else to do today.

    His single carriage rolled on with a creak. To the left and right of the track was nothing but shrubbery withered by the summer heat. Every now and then there was an old, wild olive tree or an aloe, but otherwise it was rather barren here at the moment. Whenever he looked at this flora, he felt reminded of his youth, especially of the trips he and his parents had taken to the sea. A small breeze arose during the drive, which immediately whirled dust into the man''s eyes and snapped him out of his daydreaming.

    It was still a long way to one of Galadea''s suburbs. He had to make it today. Unfortunately. The customers had made the appointment. "Sheesh....," he breathed out. Abbondio would be home late again today.

 1. 02 Viktoria

    His Highness walked along the Cyclopean colonnades, constantly gazing at the impressive dimensions of this architectural masterpiece. The weight of the empire, the weight of the legacy he had inherited, expressing itself in them. Wenzel had walked along here so many times and yet he was always awestruck by the sight of the works of his predecessors. The building captured a piece of eternity, requiring, no, even demanding his respect. Even if he had already become accustomed to the sight of the columns, arches and domes, it was only because he saw them day after day, and because they had eaten into his subconscious. The monumental columns that stretched endlessly along the corridors, supporting the huge vault above them, could just as easily be interpreted as an allegory for the weight that now rested on Wenzel''s shoulders. He had come to realise this over the years.

    He moved swiftly across the colourful marble tiles towards his chambers. Wenzel had clearly changed. His shock of red hair was still short, but he now wore a beard. His imperial robes were noble, yet simultaneously radiated a kind of formality and had a few allusions to the soldiers'' military uniforms in their design. The colour scheme was red and white, with the cloak being entirely in imperial purple and additionally depicting the imperial coat of arms. He wore a few badges on his chest, the same ones he had worn at his coronation. His shoes were made of leather, and he had attached great importance to the shoemaker sizing them so that they were comfortable to wear. All of this might seem quite opulent to the uninformed observer.

    Evening had already fallen. His Majesty had been busy all day with everyday political business and studying. The latter in particular took up a great deal of Wenzel''s time and attention, as it had in recent years. There were many things that the emperor had missed out on from his school days or had never really understood. After all those years of studying with private tutors, this matter was now definitely history. His Highness had now acquired a basic level of knowledge in all kinds of disciplines. Contrary to his massive lack of interest during his youth, his Sturm und Drang phase had now passed, and he had developed an interest in understanding the world. Wenzel had become particularly fascinated by history. He would pore over huge chronicles and other records of the past, which most other people would have found incredibly boring.

    The lord had now also read the entirety of the Testament and had had a theologian help him understand its contents. He found the work uninspiring but read it anyway. It was a necessity if he wanted to be the ruler of nations for whom this scripture of faith was of such incredible importance, as he himself had experienced. Nevertheless, his reading of the text had certainly had an influence on him. Wenzel had changed considerably over the years. When he looked back at his old, na?ve self, he sometimes felt like laughing. Even if the circumstances were certainly not funny....

    Finally, Wenzel arrived at the door to his room. He could already smell the exotic perfume as he approached, which meant that Amalie was also in their room at the moment. He didn''t knock, but simply entered. When she heard him, his wife immediately turned to him. She was a lady of exceptional beauty. Her face looked flawless, and her brunette hair was so long that it almost reached her buttocks. Standing in front of the mirror, she had just tried on new clothes. ¡°Hello, darling! The tailor brought me the new dresses I had made earlier.¡± Her husband glanced quickly at the dress she was wearing. It was a pastel green, long dress with intricate embroidered floral patterns. ¡°Very nice!¡± Wenzel remarked with an obligatory but serious smile. She approached him and planted a kiss on him. You could immediately see his mood lift a little. ¡°You look exhausted again today,¡± his wife remarked. ¡°Lie down for an hour and get some rest.¡± - ¡°No,¡± Wenzel replied immediately. ¡°I can sleep when I''m dead.¡±

    Amalie was briefly taken aback by his somewhat morbid statement, but her husband immediately tried to reassure her that he hadn''t meant it that seriously. He immediately took his sweetheart to him and the two of them caressed each other for a brief moment. There was expensive furniture everywhere in the room. On the walls were fine wallpapers in a light orange colour and on one side of the bed was a tower of dresses, the ones that the lady had received earlier and would now try on one by one. Amalie enjoyed all the luxury of her position as the emperor''s wife. One could see it in her beaming smile whenever she received a new thing she had fancied. Wenzel didn''t need to ¡°give in¡± to all this, because he didn''t tell her what to do anyway. He was generally happy when his sweetheart was happy. This meant that he now took part in such a lifestyle, even if he didn''t really actively live it himself. In this respect, Wenzel''s behaviour had not changed over the years. He only needed the bare essentials and considered everything else superfluous. However, he would not try to transfer his way of life to Amalie. Everyone was different. Besides, they were the elite. How could you deny other people who were at the top of the state a dissolute lifestyle? Would this even make sense or make a difference. If asked, the church would probably have said it wasn''t moral, but, well, where there''s no plaintiff, there''s no judge.

    ¡°Tomorrow I''m meeting Flora and Emma. There''s a few things I need to discuss with them, so it might take longer. So, don''t be surprised if I''m not there when you get back,¡± she informed him. Wenzel just nodded and replied, ¡°Sure. No problem.¡± Amalie noticed that he was staring absentmindedly at her pearl necklace. ¡°Wenzel?¡±, she addressed him. He forced himself back to presence of mind and looked her in the eye. ¡°Yes?¡± She thought for a moment about how to approach the topic she was about to begin. Then she started:

    ¡°Well, darling, what''s the deal with the embassy now?¡± - ¡°Embassy?¡± Her husband was already quite tired today, but Amalie had only limited understanding for this at the moment. A little annoyed, she replied, ¡°You know, the Holy Embassy, the ones we sent out to find one.¡± - ¡°Oh, yes. Sorry, I''m pretty exhausted today.¡± - ¡°I can tell.¡± Wenzel thought for a moment and then answered, ¡°Still nothing, as far as I know. We don''t need to get our hopes up here. Public sentiment has only partially changed in this regard. That''s why the chances of finding one are probably one in a hundred million, at least if we believe what Marwin has told us. And I hardly think he''s lying to us here.¡±

    His wife dropped her gaze with a hint of resignation. Her body also slumped a little on the bed where she was sitting side by side with Wenzel. Her husband noticed this immediately and took her to him. ¡°Nothing will change between us. No matter what happens, you are mine and I am yours! Do you hear me!¡± - ¡°Yes, I do,¡± the lady responded. He had already told her several times that he would never push her aside. This time, too, he tried to reassure his beloved emphatically, ¡°I would never take another woman.¡± But Amalie answered: ¡°We both know that wouldn''t change anything either, my darling.¡± There wasn''t much he could have said in reply. Wenzel did the right thing and didn''t say anything back.

    As a result, the two of them now sat quietly next to each other on the edge of the bed. The man was almost about to start a new topic when suddenly there was a knock at the door. When the two allowed the person to enter, they immediately recognized from his uniform that it was a very special messenger. ¡°The Holy Embassy hereby informs Your Highnesses, that the wanted person has been found!¡±, the man in the taut uniform announced in a much too loud tone. ¡°Next time, please, be a little quieter if you can. We''re not deaf, okay?¡±, Wenzel informed him of his objections. ¡°Yes, my lord!¡±, it came back from him at a volume that was still too high. He handed them the letter. Then the man saluted like a good tin soldier and left. The news they had been waiting so long for, the message they thought might never come at all, had now arrived.

    Several figures in brown cowls walked along the village road. It was a relatively warm day, and they must have been quite hot in their robes. Nonetheless, they walked on. Up on their chests was a unique symbol, unknown to the locals, sewn onto their clothing. It depicted an open book alongside an olive branch. A few people gave them suspicious glances, but that was all. It was the so-called Holy Embassy. The delegation was led by the Chief Envoy Marwin. He was looking around attentively. They were obviously looking for something. One of the other men took out a roll of parchment and held it out to him. They then read through the document together, presumably yet again. Then they raised their eyes and one of them pointed with his index finger back towards the Moser farm. There followed a brief verbal exchange between the group, then they set off in that direction. The villagers had a very bad premonition about this, because everyone knew this family. The reason was a very bad one.

    There were a lot of things on Marwin''s mind now. The organization of which he was now the leader had been created by the emperor himself. It was an organization made up of the few men who had survived the persecution of the former inquisitors. Why? Marwin had also asked this question himself when he had been summoned to his Highness. He had given them the task of finding mages again. The moment the erstwhile inquisitor heard this, he could hardly believe his ears. But it would soon make sense to him. The Chosen One had a problem. It seemed that his wife could not provide him with an heir. Even Marwin, when he heard this from His Majesty Wenzel in person, had simply suggested arranging for a concubine. This seemed to enrage the emperor immensely, whereupon his counterpart immediately kept his mouth shut and did not broach the subject any further. He was sure that the lord had already been told something similar by someone else.

    Be that as it may, the imperial house needed someone to take over from him in the order of succession, and this successor could not be just anyone. It wasn¡¯t possible to adopt just any child, because the ruler of the Holy Ordanian Empire had to be ¡°holy¡±. This meant that the future sovereign, like the current one, had to possess magical powers. And this is where he and his subordinates came into play. The Holy Embassy, led by Marwin, was to track down sorcerers. The intention behind this was not to destroy them, but to find an heir for the imperial house! This brought the group here. They investigated rumours about ¡°demons¡± and ¡°bewitched children¡± in the hope of finding a magician. It was an ordeal. The men had been roaming the lands for over two years now but had found nothing so far. At best, the children they found were ¡°special¡±, but not magical.

    Slowly they were getting tired of it, and they extended the search from small children to slightly older ones. These events and circumstances had brought them here today. They didn''t get their hopes up too high. Most parents who gave birth to an obviously ¡°cursed¡± child were soon confronted with a lynch mob or similar developments that very quickly led to the baby''s death. The population was as superstitious as ever. The decades-long witch craze had also played its part in this. One way or another, the men would now check whether there was anything to the rumours going around about the Mosers. It was the task His Majesty had given them, and they did not dare oppose him.

    The envoys approached the farmhouse via a small path. In the window on the second floor, they could see a curtain moving and the face of a child looking down at them. Marwin approached the front door and knocked on its old wood. It took a while, but eventually they heard footsteps from inside and a person opened the door for them. It was a not quite middle-aged lady with golden blonde hair, which almost completely disappeared under a traditional peasant headscarf. She looked at the new arrivals in surprise. ¡°Can I help you?¡±, she asked in an uncertain tone. ¡°Indeed you can,¡± the man replied curtly. ¡°I am the Chief Envoy of the Holy Embassy and we have a few questions for you.¡± The woman seemed intimidated and let the guests into her house.

    After everyone had sat down at the table in the parlour, Marwin began to explain to the farmer''s wife that they were looking for ¡°special¡± children. When she heard this, the woman, as expected, reacted reflexively with denial, ¡°You must have made a mistake about our house. My daughter is perfectly normal.¡± By now the men had played this game far too often. So, while they made the usual guarantees that they meant no harm to the child, the history of witch hunts in the country meant that no one usually believed them. That was understandable, of course. When asked where the girl was, the mother replied, ¡°She''s not here. She''s helping with the work in the fields. You''ll have to look for her out there.¡± It was a lie, one that would instantly shatter in front of her. A moment later, a rumble could be heard from the upper floor. One of the visitors immediately asked, ¡°And who is that then?¡± - ¡°Uh, my cat! We have lots of cats, you know. Sometimes things get knocked onto the floor. You know how animals are,¡± the farmer''s wife quickly tried to make an excuse. This didn''t help either, as immediately afterwards a person stepped to the top of the stairs and climbed down a few steps to curiously listen in to those who had come to visit.

    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    When her mother noticed this, she literally froze in place. ¡°Hello, young lady!¡± Marwin called out to her. ¡°We''re here because of you. Why don¡¯t you come down to us?¡± A few wild stomps immediately thundered down the stairs. The one, who presented herself to the men, was a surprise for them. A girl, who they estimated to be around ten years old, stood confidently in front of them with her legs apart. Her round face literally leapt out at them with the enthusiasm she had because she was going to meet some new people. She was wearing a beige, embroidered dress that had a few dirt stains on it. ¡°Hello, I''m Viktoria!¡±, she introduced herself to them without being asked. At the sight of the child, the men immediately realized that they had found what they had been looking for. The child had long, crimson hair, a red so utterly unnatural that you wouldn¡¯t find a single person in all of Ordania, who had ever seen anything like it. Red hair had always been a sign of special powers. Melgar and his descendants had it, and the current emperor had it too, albeit in a much less intense shade.

    A fire was glistening from her eyes and her very presence in the room exuded a palpable aura. There was no doubt in the men''s minds. They would do the tests they usually did, but they already knew the results. Viktoria was obviously a magician. The woman who had let them in now looked nervously at the envoy, then back at her daughter and then snapped at her, ¡°Viktoria! What did I tell you? You never listen to what anyone tells you!¡± The mother now turned hesitantly to the Chief Envoy, ¡°Are you going to take her with you now? But I must warn you. The little one will put up a good fight!¡± She didn''t seem to understand quite yet. Therefore, the men sat down again as calmly and orderly as possible and began to explain the matter again, but this time in more detail. The mother''s behaviour had certainly puzzled the men. Why had she given up her own child so quickly and not offered more resistance? It was a curious incident.

    And with that, the delegation had fulfilled its task. They would inform the imperial family and soon His Highness would come to visit here in person.

    Amalie and Wenzel each sat on their own chairs, which had armrests. They were just plain, banal wooden chairs. The family whose house they were visiting had just risen from their kneeling position and with their lord¡¯s and lady¡¯s permission sat down opposite them. It was a simple home they lived in. The widow, dressed all in black, now told them about her husband and the incident that had taken place. ¡°He really had nothing to do with the heretic church. He was just friends with one of those former Alethics, that''s all it was! I know that for a fact. The soldiers searched everything here at the time and found no forbidden texts or any other evidence. He was never guilty of anything. My dear Sigmund was unjustly executed!¡± The imperial couple listened intently and as sympathetically as possible. The rest of the family, who were also dressed in black, just sat there and remained silent.

    Then, when the former blacksmith''s wife had finished speaking, Wenzel tried to answer properly. He collected his thoughts for a moment and then spoke, ¡°I am aware of the circumstances, and I agree with you. There is far too much injustice in this country. I''m working to change that, but I can''t be everywhere.¡± The woman and her eldest son nodded in affirmation to the ruler. ¡°I''ve brought you a little compensation here. As far as I''ve worked out, it will make up for the loss financially. But it won''t heal the pain, I''m fully aware of that. My condolences for your loss! May God protect you!¡± The emperor handed them a pouch filled with gold coins. ¡°Thank you, my lord!¡±, his subjects paid him the expected and appropriate deference and dropped to their knees again. Wenzel''s face briefly showed a hint of unease, which then immediately disappeared again.

    The two left the humble abode. They had come here to Ilmhagen on Wenzel''s initiative. He constantly heard from his couriers about what was going on in the kingdom. He was not particularly pleased about it. To set an example, he had now used his journey to the southwest to make a stop here too and make the victims of oppression heard. It wouldn¡¯t be more than a symbolic act in the grand scheme of things, but it was still important to him. Amalie also agreed with him. The two stepped out of the house, in front of which two Crown Guards had been standing guard. Then they walked over to their carriage and continued their journey.

    So, where exactly were they heading? Althain was the name of the cow village they had set as their destination. It was the place the Holy Envoy had told him about. Apparently, they had found a child who possessed magic there. The carriage rolled off. The entourage included the Holy Embassy and a handful of guards for protection. Brahm, the commander of the guard, had also come along and rode beside the carriage. Wenzel looked over at his beloved. She was wearing a light blue dress with ruffles, far too elegant for their undertaking here. When she noticed his gaze, Amalie began to speak: ¡°I''m sorry that I forced you to ride in the carriage when you would have preferred to fly. It''s just safer this way. We have to look after our own safety too.¡±

    ¡°No, you were right. Once again, I was only thinking about myself. I know that you really wanted to come with us and since we''re paying an official visit, actually several official visits, it makes sense to use the traditional method here,¡± he admitted to her. She responded, ¡°Surely, even the Melgarions, who were also magicians like you, adhered to such formalities and didn''t just fly in.¡± Wenzel wasn''t so sure, but left it at that. ¡°Are you that excited already?¡±, he asked his wife, whose excited trembling he had been able to observe for a while. ¡°Is it that obvious?¡±, Amalie wanted to know. ¡°Yes, it is. I can see it in your eyes too. A mixture of joy and nervousness.¡± She didn''t contradict him. By now, he knew her as well as she knew him. Then they both held hands for a while.

    Slowly, their vehicle moved towards their destination. They came to a crossroads south of the Karantian Forests, right where he had once ridden along with the Martyrs as they were moving to a new headquarters. As he looked through the window towards the north, the emperor patted his chest three times. An obeisance, so to speak. They did not arrive in Althain until the next day. It was still relatively cool when they pulled up early in the morning. Wenzel stepped out first and then helped his lady exit. When they looked around, they saw a tiny village with poor wooden huts, in which the people lived. As expected. The smell of animal dung filled their nostrils. It didn''t move him much, but Amalie was seemingly irritated by it.

    Before the two of them could go anywhere, a vanguard of the Holy Embassy went to the Mosers'' house for them. They followed them at quite a distance, accompanied by the ever-watchful Brahm and three other guardsmen. There was hardly anyone to be seen on the streets, which was definitely fine by Wenzel, who didn''t like being watched ¡°in full gear¡± by onlookers. He hated people¡¯s attention. Amalie was well aware of this. She was the one who had ordered, that ¡°as few people as possible should be on the streets¡± when they showed up.

    When they reached the farmhouse, Amalie saw blue hydrangeas planted in the flowerbed in the front garden. They reminded her of her childhood in Olemar. Her parents had always had beautiful hydrangeas growing in their garden. Some of them were covered by leaves, that had fallen from the trees. There was no need to knock. The residents of the house greeted the distinguished visitors at the door. All three, Getrude, Hans and Viktoria Moser, presented themselves in their best clothes. After the necessary formalities, the emperor and his wife entered, followed by the other attendants. They sat down on specially prepared chairs with cushions.

    Like the household they had visited before, this was a poor home. However, the hosts had also spread a carpet on the floor, which normally wasn¡¯t here. On top of it was a low table on which sweet fruit cakes had been placed on plates for the guests. Unfortunately, they couldn''t provide much more of a ¡°proper welcome¡±. It was also clear why. The child, like her mother, was wearing a red dress that matched her hair colour and also what appeared to be a brand-new headband. The father, Hans, wore a suit with a traditional rural design. His posture, as well as his leathery, work-scuffed skin, showed the hardships of his daily life. The family did not dare to speak first and only looked over at the distinguished visitors. The imperial couple, for their part, initially also only looked over at the three of them. Upon seeing the girl, it became immediately clear to them, that she was indeed a magician.

    Then Her Highness, the Empress, raised her voice and didn''t beat about the bush, ¡°The imperial house is looking for an heir. We would, therefore, be interested in adopting your daughter. I am sure you are aware that this is due to her ''specialness''.¡± Their astonishment was clear to see, and Hans replied, ¡°If we had expected many things, but not this.¡± Unsure how to respond, Amalie just shrugged her shoulders and said, ¡°Well. The world is full of surprises.¡±

    Meanwhile, the words of those conversing passed over Wenzel''s head. He didn¡¯t even register them. Something else captivated him. It was Viktoria''s eyes, which he was intently staring into. He was fascinated by the fire that was flickering in them. It was a fire so hot and blazing that it burned into his soul. But the girl was also staring back. Having stopped to nervously dangle her feet, she was now looking into Wenzel''s eyes. She recognized the small twinkling star in his pupils. Relatively soon, the others present noticed the unusual behaviour of the two and stopped talking. Into the silence of the room, the little girl asked the emperor, ¡°You''re a demon too, aren''t you?¡± - ¡°No,¡± replied Wenzel, ¡°I''m a magician.¡± A childish grin formed on Viktoria''s face. As if stung by a tarantula, she suddenly jumped up and used telekinesis to send one of the plates on the table between them flying towards Wenzel! The man brought it to a halt just a centimetre from his body. While the piece of tableware continued to float in the air in front of him, the girl let out an impressed ¡°Ohh¡±.

    Her father immediately grabbed her by the arm and began to reprimand her severely. However, at that moment the sovereign raised his hand. The father understood the signal and immediately refrained from his action. ¡°It''s okay. She just wanted to test whether I was really telling the truth,¡± Wenzel explained the situation. The parents'' indignation dissipated again. They saw that Wenzel understood Viktoria''s behaviour. The young lady then tore herself away from her father and stepped directly in front of the emperor. ¡°Do you also have dreams of things that will happen in the future?¡±, she asked him. Briefly he returned: ¡°Yes, I do.¡±

    Wenzel carefully lowered the plate back onto the tabletop. The sensitive control of his telekinesis seemed to make an impression on the child. Finally, Amalie tried to steer the conversation in the right direction again. ¡°And what do you think of our proposal?¡±, she now addressed the two parents. Gertrude and Hans looked at each other and then whispered something to each other. It took a while, but the petitioners were in no hurry. When they had finished their conversation, the father replied to Amalie, ¡°It''s a difficult matter. The child is already too old for something like this.¡± The ruling couple were of course aware of this. However, the man''s words showed that he assumed he had no say in the matter anyway, as it was the imperial family who had made the request. He continued, ¡°Viktoria is..... a demanding child. You''ll see what I mean by that.¡± He paused for a moment and then looked over at his wife. She nodded reassuringly at him, whereupon he resumed, ¡°She''s a devil! We''ve always loved her, but the little one is cursed and nothing good can come from that.¡±

    Viktoria rebelliously contradicted him and said, ¡°You only ever say mean things about me, Dad! What am I supposed to do?¡± There was a hint of anger in Hans, but he refrained from responding to her statement. Everyone in the room was surprised by the girl''s audacity, but also her fearlessness. Wenzel and Amalie paid no attention to the couple''s opinion. For them, this attitude was only a result of their ignorance of magic. As a result, a few formal matters were discussed with the parents. Then Wenzel approached the little girl. He bent his knees to get down to her eye level and then asked her the question, ¡°Would you like to come with us, Viktoria? We would take good care of you, and you would never have to worry about your future again.¡± Uncertain, she looked over at her parents. They gestured for her to accept the offer. ¡°Okay,¡± was all she uttered to Wenzel.

    This was the day Viktoria was adopted. On the way back to the palace, the child eventually had a few questions after all. She wanted to know why exactly she was adopted, a question to which she really should have known the answer to by herself. She also wanted to know whether she would be allowed to see her parents again. ¡°If the opportunity arises, yes. But not all the time. You will live with us now and we will be your parents, Viktoria,¡± Wenzel had replied. The girl had not understood this at all. But she made no attempt to resist. For most of the journey, she would just sit quietly next to Amalie and look out of the window.

    It was a clear autumn day and once again you could see all kinds of people slaving away in the fields. If one or two people cast a curious glance at her, she tried to hide behind the wooden panelling of the car. She wasn''t shy. She had probably been taught that it was better not to be seen. This made Wenzel and Amalie a little sad. In the future, the little girl would have no more reason to hide. A new life had begun. For all of them.

 1. 03 Legacy

    It was a brilliantly beautiful day as they crossed the southern city gate of the capital, with only a few fleecy clouds drifting leisurely across the sky. Viktoria had already pressed her nose against the window as they approached and had excitedly called out, ¡°Is that it? Is that it?¡± Now they drove through the dark cave formed by the thick old gate. The gatekeepers saluted as the Chosen One passed through. Then, as they came back under the rays of the sun, the imperial city presented itself in all its splendour. Open-mouthed, the child gazed out of the window, then ran over to the other one to see what could be seen on that side. A smile crossed Wenzel''s lips. It reminded him of himself. When he had returned home to his parents here at a young age, he too had always admired the impressive architecture of the city.

    And the amazement of their newly adopted daughter was indeed great. She couldn''t get her mouth shut, so amazed was she by the huge, monumental buildings with their characteristic golden roofs. They were in the metropolis often referred to as the ¡°Golden City¡±, after all. They drove between the columns crowned with statues of saints, that lined the so-called Imperial Road, passed the large representative buildings and the Cathedral of Annunciation until they finally arrived at the Melgarion Palace. Its enormous domes left Viktoria speechless. Amalie was very much entertained by and delighted with the girl''s behaviour. As they left their carriage, Wenzel then said to her, ¡°We''re here. This is your new home! Do you like it?¡± The child was so flabbergasted that she didn''t answer. Her adoptive father left it at that.

    Amalie wanted to take the little girl by the hand, but she pulled it back in surprise. Slightly disappointed, the empress then simply walked up the stairs beside the child, leaving Wenzel on Victoria''s other flank. As they accessed the entrance hall, she looked around again with wide eyes. She seemed to be particularly taken with the colourful mosaic patterns of the marble tiles on the floor. ¡°My lord, I will now have to take my leave here,¡± Brahm, who had accompanied them until now, informed him. He struck a formal tone, as they were still in an official setting. In private, he still spoke to him like a friend, but over the years, formality and etiquette had been brought back to a large degree. His boss bid him a quick farewell. Then the new family continued to show their daughter some important things in the palace.

    First of all, the way led over to her chambers. There were several large rooms, including a wide double bed with its own canopy, a spacious closet for the empress''s wife and living rooms lavishly furnished mostly with pieces which had already been here before they moved in. Viktoria would stay here with them for the first few nights. The reason for this was that her own room, which she would get, was not yet ready for moving in. It would be a comparatively medium-sized room a little further down the corridor with a good view of the busy streets outside. The children''s room would be the very room that had once been Wenzel''s office and where, according to the vision he had had many years ago, he would be poisoned in by August. That¡¯s why he had moved his office somewhere else. The emperor was very keen on this vision never coming true, as he had clearly demonstrated with his past, reprehensible actions against the former chancellor.

    The girl had never seen such large rooms. She ran around everywhere and looked at everything. Viktoria jumped onto divans, whose wooden backrests were decorated with fine scrollwork, she walked into the closet, which was a whole room in itself, and looked at and fondled the clothes in it. Then she whizzed over to the other rooms like a whirlwind and took a close look at everything there too. Meanwhile, her adoptive parents sat down at a table and had a servant bring them tea. While the little girl scurried around everywhere, Wenzel kept a close eye on her. She was a very different child from what he had been. Not quiet and withdrawn, but curious, cheeky and full of energy. She was still a complete stranger here and yet she combed through the rooms as if they already belonged to her.

    After Amalie and her husband had finished their teas, they showed their daughter a few other places that were important to her in the palace. They took her down to the dining room, where they would have three meals a day. Around the clock there were also bowls there, filled with things one could eat in between meals. Local fruit such as apples, pears and plums could be found here, as well as bananas and oranges, fruit that had to be imported from the south. Nuts and boiled sweets were also available. The latter attracted Viktoria''s attention. The colourful, soft, fruit-flavoured sugar bombs enchanted the girl. ¡°Can I have some?¡±, she asked. But before Wenzel could answer her, Amalie spoke up, ¡°We say please here.¡± Once Viktoria had asked the question correctly, she was, of course, allowed to have some sweets. ¡°Wow! They''re delicious!¡±, the little girl exclaimed. She had never eaten anything like it before.

    The imperial couple were really pleased to see the girl so happy. After that, they only showed her a few more rooms and then they called it a day. In the following days, they would introduce her to the most important servants and her bodyguard. For the time being, however, it was enough. It had already been an exhausting day for Viktoria.

    His Highness was sitting bent over his large desk in the study. Around him were piles of books and papers that had once been organized stacks before they had toppled over. There was so much material here that it was already blocking access to the bookshelves along the wall behind it. Wenzel really needed a few extra shelves. He had just finished jotting down his observations and findings from his experiments with magic. He wrote them down on notepads and would later transfer the content in revised form to his ¡°De Arte Magica¡±. This was his main work, and he did not want it to consist of scribbles and constant revisions.

    When he had finished, he walked over the jumble of books and documents to the second door in the room. Through it he entered another room, which was a small library. In the emperor¡¯s private library sat a small lady with jet-black hair. She was also absorbed in her writing and only noticed relatively late that the emperor was approaching her. She sat up and turned her gaze towards him but did not get up from her chair. ¡°Can I help you, my lord?¡± Wenzel stepped a little closer and cast a cursory glance over her writing. ¡°What are you doing at the moment?¡±, he inquired. I''m transcribing the book that was found in the secret cellar,¡± she replied. ¡°Excellent.¡±

    Recently, an old secret cellar had been discovered in the palace of Greifenburg, which had apparently been used by the usurpers to hide forbidden knowledge about magic. Although only a single book and a few other small notebooks relating to the art of magic had been found, it was still a sensational discovery. Wenzel had been searching in vain for any knowledge of magic for so long that he was positively jubilant when the good news reached him. Now they were in the process of translating and analysing the book. Like the inscription in the basement of the palace, it was written in the ¡°secret language¡± of Ostrisul, which was actually just a dead language. The lady here was currently devoting herself to this task.

    She stood up and walked across the room. One could now see her dark blue uniform with a sun emblem on the front, which was the emblem of the Crown Guard. It was a completely unique uniform for a person in a unique position. Because the woman was only formally part of the Crown Guard. Actually, Silke was the emperor''s ¡°Personal Assistant for the Study of Magic¡±. An unnecessarily long title, but one that was very well paid, as one can imagine. Silke was a luminary. She had been top of her class at the Academy of Historical Studies, was fluent in several languages and had a passionate interest in archival lore.... for whatever reason. She was also the daughter of a strictly Teleiotic, aka Old Believer family, which was very important for reasons of trust. And from his conversations with her, Wenzel realized that she was just as fascinated by magic and its workings as he was. She was the ideal person for the job.

    Silke moved over to a cupboard, which when opened, was revealed to be full of huge rolls of parchment. But before she could pull out even one of them, the man behind her said, ¡°Let''s leave the magic circles alone for today. I''d very much rather you continued working on our great find.¡± She was clearly already tired, but had enough enthusiasm to utter a committed, ¡°As you wish!¡± Over the past two years, they had spent a lot of time together researching the workings of magic circles. The results were mixed. The very young lady immediately walked past Wenzel and back to her table. The emperor paid no attention to her physical attractiveness.

    But before she could get back to work, Wenzel reached for the book. It was a thick, apparently ancient book, at least two hundred years old. Its leather binding was dark and worn. There was no author listed. The two assumed that it had been written by several of the Melgarions, who had continued writing in it from their predecessors. This was evident from the different handwritings. The current ruler of Ordania was in no way able to read the book. Nevertheless, he leafed through it and glanced with interest at some of the magic circles it contained. Finally, he handed it back to his assistant. ¡°This thing is our key to a breakthrough, I''m quite sure of it,¡± he announced. Silke nodded in agreement.

    Dining room, at lunchtime. Four people were sitting at a long table, that was far too big: Emperor Wenzel, his wife Amalie, their daughter Viktoria and Ylva, the new bodyguard. The sun was shining through the windows, but not directly, as it was midday, and its rays were currently coming down vertically from the sky. Nevertheless, it was abundantly bright in the room, since there was a row of countless windows here, almost like a gallery.

    The table was lined with a myriad of platters and bowls presenting different dishes. Amalie and her husband sat quietly and demurely, eating with knife and fork. Their daughter sat next to them. Unfortunately, the little girl did not behave like them. Unlike the two of them, she immediately reached for ¡°the big chicken¡± and tore off one of its legs with her bare hands. ¡°Viktoria?¡±, it came from Amalie in a slightly warning tone. The girl looked at her, puzzled. ¡°We don''t use our hands here, we use cutlery,¡± she then explained. Viktoria awkwardly looked next to her plate, where the cutlery was placed. She quickly grabbed the knife and used it to cut the piece of meat that was already on her plate. But she held it with the fingers of her left hand.

    Her new mother scratched her face and exhaled in a strangely exasperated manner. Ylva, who was sitting next to the little girl, couldn''t help but laugh. The bodyguard asked, ¡°May I help her, Your Highness?¡± Amalie seemed to be in a mental void for a moment, but then replied, ¡°No. Leave it for the time being. We''ll teach her next time. She''ll be getting lessons in etiquette anyway.¡± Wenzel just thought to himself, ¡°They''ll really be necessary!¡± Consequently, the child began to eat her food in a relatively wild manner. Lacking table manners, she literally wolfed it down and immediately took some more. Her parents couldn''t even look.

    Meanwhile, Ylva was still sitting there eating nothing. She had been appointed the princess''s bodyguard. Ylva was a tall woman, with a strong build but a lovely face. Her chestnut brown hair was tied in a tight bun so as not to get in the way during work. The lady waited her turn. She was of lower rank here at the table and according to custom, those of higher rank got to eat first. Only the food they refused would be given to those next in rank. This meant that Ylva was the last to eat. She knew that the sovereign was a gentle man, who didn''t take these old customs too seriously, but she didn''t dare make a potential mistake of her own accord.

    All kinds of interesting dishes were served on the table. The ¡°chicken¡±, as their new daughter called it, was actually a peacock. Of course, she had never seen such a creature before. There was also a fish at the table, which was probably a fried trout, parsnip puree, a side dish that Empress Amalie particularly liked, bread and a few other side dishes. The young princess tried a piece of the fish, but then spat it out with a loud, ¡°Yuck! What''s that?¡± She had never eaten fish before in her life and, therefore, refused it for the time being. Hence, Ylva took the piece of fish that Viktoria didn''t like.

    It was a surreal scene. Three adults of high nobility were eating in a civilized manner at the table, while next to them a child was champing loudly and shoveling large quantities of food into her mouth. She knew no restraint. Wenzel was just happy that she liked it. He was fully aware that it was the first time the girl had been given such well-prepared food. The peasants of Ordania lived mainly on bread, porridge, vegetables and lentils. They rarely ate meat and spices were a luxury good.

    It took much less time than he had expected for his assistant to translate the entire volume. That day, Silke was so excited that she literally stumbled through the door of her workplace and fell to the floor. Wenzel, who had already been there earlier, immediately turned around and asked her if she was alright. ¡°Everything''s okay. I''m just a klutz!¡±, she put herself down and hastily gathered up the books she had brought with her. ¡°I''m sorry it took so long, my lord. The main library is a few blocks away from here after all. When I realized how late I was, I hurried to get here as quickly as possible. Well, that''s what I get for it now.¡± - ¡°Don''t worry about it. You''re here now,¡± her boss replied with a calm demeanour. They then sat down together and discussed the contents of the translated book.

    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    ¡°I haven''t been able to translate everything one hundred percent yet. Some words are simply hard to decipher because of the handwriting. Nevertheless, I was able to find some interesting things in it. It seems to be primarily a book about magic circles. That''s very fitting, as we were..¡­and are also involved in this field.¡± Now Wenzel asked, ¡°And does it also contain general rules or is it just a collection of magic circles, the rules of which we would then have to deduce ourselves?¡± - ¡°Fortunately, a few basic rules are mentioned in some footnotes, but in general it''s more of a catalogue of different circles.¡± It could have been better, but it was still a good thing, so the mage couldn''t complain about, still.

    She continued, ¡°We have already found out one of the most essential rules ourselves, namely that the circles have to be drawn with some kind of liquid, like ink or even blood. Furthermore, they only seem to work if they are written in the Ostrisul script. All spells and symbols must also be in the curve, the inside of the circle must always remain empty. All magic circles require a spell to be recited in order to be activated.¡± Her listener looked at her for a moment, then raised his voice, ¡°You forgot one more thing.¡± Before she could answer, he spoke, ¡°Magic circles need magic to be activated. Either the magical power of a wizard or magic that is sealed in an object is needed.¡±

    Very uncharacteristically, Silke almost began to sulk and responded, ¡°My lord, you took the words right out of my mouth. I was just about to say that!¡± - ¡°Oh, then I''m sorry!¡± Wenzel apologized immediately. It was perfectly possible to create objects that contained magic. They did not yet know exactly how this was could be done, but the ruler''s former soul pendant was undeniable proof of this. This way, it was also possible for ¡°normal¡± people to work magic or at least activate magic circles. Then his assistant continued:

    ¡°I''ve also taken the trouble to list the different magic circles and their effects here.¡± Wenzel gratefully accepted her list. As he read through it, one entry in particular jumped out at him. ¡°A healing ritual,¡± he said unintentionally and audibly to Silke. The lady was immediately spurred on. ¡°Do you want to try this out?¡±, she asked in an unmistakably eager tone. Wenzel almost wanted to hesitate, but immediately gave in. There was no reason to be hesitant here. This had most probably been the healing ritual that Elisabeth had spoken about back then. If he had known about it at the time, he might have been able to save her. Perhaps the Melgarian imperial house would have survived and the history of the whole of Kaphkos would have taken a completely different course. Well, there is no use crying over spilt milk. Nevertheless, the emperor, who had been brought here by the revolution, remembered this fateful day with a sober affect. ¡°What if¡± was a question better left unasked.

    While he pondered all this, Silke took out a large roll of parchment and prepared an inkwell. Wenzel insisted on drawing the circle himself. Meanwhile, she held his bow taut, as it refused to lie flat from having been rolled up for so long. There were some complicated symbols that the wizard had to draw as correctly as possible. He wasn''t the most gifted when it came to finger dexterity, but that was exactly why he wanted to practise it here. After he had finished his work, his assistant touched up two small drawing mistakes and then the magic circle was finished. To activate it, they still needed bone powder and black sand.

    They actually had both at hand, as they had been experimenting here for the last two years. Silke tipped a little of both ingredients into Wenzel''s left hand. With his right hand, he held the book whose text he now was to read aloud. ¡°Just a moment!¡±, she reminded him to wait one further moment. ¡°We need something that can be healed to test whether the ritual is effective.¡± The emperor didn''t beat around the bush and cut his own finger with the small knife he always had with him for self-defence. The woman didn''t seem too shocked by this. As the first warm drops fell to the ground, Wenzel began to recite the spell from the book with a loud voice.

    ¡°Osto me kokalo, haima me haima. Gia na therapeuthoun xana. Pare auti ti dynami apo mena kai kane to xana olokliro.¡°

    Slowly, the circle at his feet began to glow bluish. ¡°Drip, drip,¡± the blood continued to come from his finger. Finally, he read the last verse, after which he threw the powder in his left hand down onto the magic circle. For a short time, it began to shine brightly and the person standing in it felt the mana flowing out of him. Then its light suddenly went out. After this, the mage checked his finger. There was no longer a cut to be seen. The wound had healed. ¡°Yes!¡±, Silke began to shout enthusiastically. Wenzel was also delighted, so much so that he hugged his assistant in his exuberance. ¡°Please, my lord, I don''t think....,¡± she began, but didn''t finish her sentence.

    The reason for this was the lady who was now standing in the doorway. When Wenzel turned his head over, he was met by Amalie. With an icy cold stare. He immediately stepped back from Silke, but it was already too late. ¡°I erm,....It was just an experiment with magic that worked out for us, darling. There''s nothing for you to worry about.¡± His consort raised an eyebrow and looked sharply at him and the lady next to him. ¡°Sure there isn¡¯t, dearest.¡± She should actually have known that she meant everything to Wenzel, but when it comes to jealousy, it¡¯s such a thing¡­.

    Viktoria joyfully stormed ahead down the corridor, so far that Amalie had to shout for her to please wait up. Ylva saw no danger in the palace at the moment and walked next to the empress, with whom she was having a conversation. Today they had arranged a meeting with Irnfrid''s daughters, Marzia and Eleonore. Marzia was about Victoria''s age, Eleonore was two years younger than her. At the end of the corridor, where it branched off to the left and right, the red-haired bundle of energy was waiting impatiently. ¡°If you always run ahead this far, I won''t be able to look after you, young lady!¡±, the bodyguard addressed the girl when they had finally caught up with her. ¡°But waiting is always so boring!¡±, the little one complained and ran ahead again as soon as she saw which way to go.

    They then met Irnfrid, the wife of the Supreme Marshal, in a room that had been adapted as a playroom. Her two daughters were already busy. They were sitting on the carpeted floor playing with their dolls. Both children had thick black hair, like their father, but the pretty, feminine features of their mother. ¡°Here, Viktoria! You can go over to the two girls and play with them.¡± - ¡°Okay!¡±, she replied briefly and ran straight over to them. ¡°Hello, I''m Viktoria. What are you playing?¡± The child hadn''t even asked for the names of the other two. ¡°We''re playing with dolls at the moment,¡± Marzia answered her somewhat timidly.

    Meanwhile, Irnfrid and Amalie sat down to talk while keeping an eye on their little ones. They also offered Ylva to join them in the meantime. ¡°And how is your husband? Lately, I haven''t been seeing him that often,¡± the emperor''s wife enquired about Theodor. Her friend simply responded, ¡°He''s doing fine, actually. He''s just always quite busy. At the moment Theodor¡¯s spending a lot of time with Alexander. He always tries to drill the boy far too much because he really wants him to be like himself. I''ve already told him far too often that it can''t be forced, but you know how he is. He doesn''t listen to me anyway.¡±

    Amalie could only agree with her. All the years of war had hardened and dulled the man. They both knew that and yet it wasn''t easy to deal with. Then Irnfrid turned to Amalie, ¡°You look so happy, you know?¡± - ¡°Do I?¡±, asked the addressee, who immediately drew a parallel with what Flora had said to her. That woman had literally said the same thing about her. ¡°I understand. I was also overjoyed when I had my first child. Even if it''s not quite the same for you, it''s probably a very similar feeling,¡± the lady noted. Amalie, a little embarrassed, simply replied, ¡°Yes, I''m sure you''re right.¡± Her cheeks reddened slightly, which amused Irnfrid. She had also visibly grown older. Irnfrid didn''t have many wrinkles yet, but the crow''s feet around her eyes were beginning to form and she was no longer quite as slim as she had once been.

    Out of nowhere, however, the two of them were jolted out of their cozy conversation. The carpet, on which the girls were playing, was suddenly on fire! What had happened? Viktoria refused to play dolls with the other two. ¡°It''s boring!¡±, she had said. Instead, she wanted her playmates to join her in playing with the building blocks. But the other two didn''t want to. She had gone to them several times because she didn''t want to play alone. She hated playing alone! For her, this brought back memories of the parents in the village who kept their children away from her. When she was rejected yet again, Viktoria finally got angry. The mage gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. Then she jumped around and shouted at the two of them. Her emotions caused the magic to pour out of her, recognizable to the naked eye. Eventually, the little girl''s rage incinerated the play carpet!

    As a result, the mothers of the three had to take them away from there straight away. The bodyguard quickly played firefighter. The fire was quickly extinguished, though, and the problem was solved. Only the carpet was ruined. Of course, Amalie immediately scolded her daughter. The two others preferred to get out of the way and Eleonore even wanted to hide behind her mom. Viktoria scared her. The playdate was ruined.

    The sorcerer looked down at his work. ¡°De Arte Magica¡± was written on it. Green cover. He opened it and read the third chapter. It was entitled ¡°Holy Artifacts¡±.

    Normally, magic is bound to the soul, i.e. something living. Now it seems that it is possible to bind magic to objects. However, these are not just any objects. Each of the items that appear to have magical properties have a gemstone set into them. It is also significant to note here, that so far, all such artifacts, that have been found, date back to the time of Melgar the Great. It can be assumed that the original Chosen One created them himself. The method is unknown. However, the rule can be deduced that the binding of magic to an object can only be carried out with gemstones. A plausible theory would be that a part of the soul itself is enclosed in the gemstone to hold the magic inside. Further tests are necessary in this regard.

    Objects created in this way will from here on out be referred to as ¡°Holy Artifacts¡±, in line with the Teleiotic definition of holiness and its connection to magic. The Holy Artifacts documented so far are the following:

    <ul>

    <li>The imperial crown of Melgar</li>

    <li>The imperial scepter</li>

    <li>The imperial orb</li>

    <li>The pendant of Melgar</li>

    <li>The ceremonial coronation sword</li>

    </ul>

    These are the five crown jewels, that were traditionally used at the coronation of all previous emperors of the Holy Empire. It seems to have been of great importance to Melgar that these very objects were given additional relevance, on top of their already symbolic one. It has not yet been possible to determine the exact reason for this. However, the inscription in the cellar of the imperial palace in Meglarsbruck gives us a further clue.

    ¡°Five precious treasures. Five keys to eternity. United in one hand, they pass on fate into the future.¡±

    This leads to the conclusion that His Holiness the Chosen One sought a method of preserving magical power through objects. Magic could be understood here as a ¡°key to eternity¡±, as it doesn¡¯t seem to run out over time, instead staying conserved in the object.

    The man closed the book again. There was still so much he needed to find out about magic, and he would record it all, explain it rationally and put it down on paper. It would become his magnum opus, his legacy. He turned and looked towards the wall to his left. Behind the shelf that stood here was a secret compartment set into the wall. He had hidden the five crown jewels in it. The chosen one had kept them here with him as he had examined them closely and had been carrying out experiments with them. On the other side of the room, Silke was tidying up the terrible mess that her boss had created here. ¡°Everything is all over the place, my lord! I would certainly have helped you if you had informed me of this earlier.¡±

    Wenzel ignored her obviously wrong conclusion, that he was the cause of this mess, and not just the fact, that his piles of books had fallen over. He had everything in order, and he knew where he had put what. He just didn''t have enough storage space for it, that was all. All he did, was to point at one of the piles and telling her, ¡°Please, leave me that pile here. You can put the other things somewhere else, but these are my historical documents, which I''m still working on at the moment.¡± His assistant almost wanted to roll her eyes, but then didn''t dare and simply agreed with him.

    Now Wenzel went over to the secret compartment and took out the four Holy Artifacts. Yes, you read that right: four! As the emperor and his assistant had discovered, the orb was a fake, whose gemstone had no magical properties. He was convinced that the real one must still be somewhere, in a place where no one could find it. Finding it was now another one of his tasks. Until then, the fake would remain here to give the impression of everything being as it should be.

    Wenzel floated the artifacts over to his table to begin experimenting with them once again. Now laid out before him were: Melgar''s sword with a light violet-red jewel in it, the sceptre with an azure gemstone, the (false) imperial orb with a yellow one, the crown with a green one and finally the pendant with a shattered, fire-red stone. When he touched them and channelled mana into them, they began to glow. He had already learned what the sword could do from Theodor, though he had also ascertained that himself again. The crown allowed him to understand the language of animals. The day he had found this out was the day a couple of sparrows had been sitting on his window sill, while he was handling the crown. The properties of the other Holy Artifacts were unknown to him. Curiously, the sceptre shone stronger one time and weaker at another time when he infused it with magic. Its light immediately became brighter or dimmer, depending on where he pointed it. He had not yet figured out why.

    But that was precisely why he was now ¡°playing¡± with the imperial sceptre again. He held it vertically upwards, and it only lit up halfway. Then he pointed its tip at the other Holy Artifacts, and it lit up a little more, but not completely. Turned slightly to the right and it became a little brighter still. Strange. Silke only glanced over at him occasionally. She still didn''t know what the object did exactly, but it was probably like some kind of divining rod. But what was the divining rod looking for? They would soon find out. ¡°Oh, yes, Silke, just so you know! I''m going to take some of our bone meal and the black sand,¡± he informed her forthrightly. ¡°Certainly, my lord,¡± was all the woman said in reply. In the future, Wenzel would carry a tiny vial containing these ingredients with him, so that he could perform a healing ritual in an emergency. In the meantime, he had practiced the magic circle and could now draw it from memory.

 1. 04 Stability and Security

    There was a knock at the door. ¡°Come in!¡±, shouted Wenzel shortly afterwards, having been interrupted from his concentrated work. The main door opened with a slight squeak and two figures entered. One of them was Ferenc, a man who needed no introduction. He still wore his typically full Kasharian hair long and still refused to trim his beard. He was accompanied by a man who, like him, wore a red and white uniform with a checked pattern, that of the Crown Guard. Almost as if he wanted to be the opposite of Ferenc, he had a bald head and an equally clean-shaven face. Balduin was his name and his expressive facial features and prominent cheekbones radiated strength, but also a certain emotionality. The emperor was not yet too familiar with him, which was why he had paired him up with Ferenc.

    ¡°Reporting back from conducting the survey, my lord. The results are in the report here,¡± Ferenc explained himself, holding out a folder to Wenzel. Said person accepted it, of course, and thanked him. Then, unexpectedly, he noted: ¡°The report does have its proper purpose. However, for myself I will verify the information in a different way.¡± His old companion was now somewhat confused by the Chosen One¡¯s words. However, this was soon to change, as Wenzel now asked his colleague, Balduin, to come closer to him. The man obeyed. The ruler then placed a hand on the top of his head and concentrated briefly.

    Images of all kinds of people now flooded into his mind. He saw farmers, craftsmen, merchants, people of lower nobility. They all described their experiences in recent years. And they all, despite each of them of course having a different perspective, painted a very similar picture with their claims: Anyone who contradicted the dogmas of the Teleiotic Commune or who did not adhere to some pretty strict social and religious rules could expect draconian punishments. Prison sentences were rare here; instead, corporal punishment or even the death penalty was the rule, depending on the supposed severity of the crime. One ropemaker, for example, talked about the general suspicion of those who ¡°didn¡¯t show enough respect¡± for the statues of the saints, whatever that meant.

    Wenzel finished reading his thoughts. He wasn¡¯t happy. ¡°Still nothing has changed,¡± he huffed openly. Ferenc''s expression became a touch more serious, while Balduin continued to look at the emperor with a reverent gaze. The guardsman then spoke, ¡°We know that things are not being handled as you would like, God¡¯s Chosen. Just say the word and we will arrange things the way you wish!¡± In response, Balduin earned a contemptuous look from Wenzel, although he actually tried to not be mean and push him away. His body had simply reacted to what he had said of its own accord. The ruler then responded, ¡°It''s not that simple. Not even close! The army is eager to maintain this harshness towards the people. But they don''t report directly to me. If I say something, they won''t change anything. Believe me, I''ve been trying to do that for years. Apart from promises that they don''t keep in the end, I never get anything!¡±

    His two subordinates had to concur. Although Balduin always agreed with him on everything anyway, he now understood this, too. The man had been accepted into the Crown Guard precisely because he was honest and his loyalty to his Chosen One was unshakeable. In his eyes, Wenzel could see the blind obedience and fanatical faith that had been the reason for his acceptance into his bodyguard. It disgusted him! He knew that this mindset had been the driving force behind the Martyrs¡¯ Brigades, that these monolithic beliefs had created the new empire, and were what had brought him here in the first place. And yet he could not understand these people. They just made themselves into puppets, whose strings could be pulled at will.

    His Majesty walked along the wide corridors. There was a certain tension in the air. Perhaps it was only due to the fact, that the staff had just cleaned the place half an hour ago and it still smelled quite refreshing. Be that as it may, Wenzel had a very important meeting today with none other than the Imperial Chancellor. The emperor, who arrived on time, entered the meeting room, and found the person he had an appointment with already waiting for him. On one of the chairs in front of him, dressed in fine official robes, sat Peter, the Imperial Chancellor Peter Rubellio. As only the two of them were present, they immediately greeted each other in a friendly and highly informal manner.

    ¡°How''s the family?¡±, his old school friend inquired. ¡°Very well! Viktoria is a real whirlwind. Amalie coddles her far too much.¡± - ¡°And are you sure you aren¡¯t doing the same?¡±, Peter jokingly jibed at him. His old friend recognized this, of course, and replied, ¡°Guilty!¡± They both laughed at this. Unprompted, Peter told him about his family, ¡°Unfortunately, things aren''t all sunshine and roses for me. My father still isn¡¯t doing better, and my dear wife is at home with my parents to help them out with the situation.¡± Wenzel just nodded, signalling understanding. Once the mood had dampened again, they both took a seat in their chairs.

    His Majesty tapped his finger on the documents lying on the table in front of them. ¡°I assume you have read the report of mine.¡± - ¡°I have.¡± - ¡°Then you''ll understand why I''m not in a good mood,¡± Wenzel noted dryly. The Imperial Chancellor glanced at him and then looked at his notes again. He made an equally dissatisfied but also slightly resigned impression. Then he said, ¡°There is also good news. The expansion of the imperial highways is progressing well. Many other major projects are also already underway. The work that has already been completed has contributed to the economic upturn. They are one of the reasons for the significant increase in prosperity in Ordania. And this can be felt by the population. People are slowly getting better and there have been no famines for a long time.¡±

    However, this did not calm Wenzel''s anger and he replied, ¡°And what use is all this to us! I wanted the people to have a better future. Yes, of course, that also has to do with trade, the economy and the general standard of living. But what''s the point, if only some of my ideas are implemented? The people are still enslaved and forced to slave for their masters!¡± - ¡°But we were finally able to enforce the ban on slavery last year,¡± Peter interjected. ¡°And? Serfdom still exists. What is it but slavery with a few small advantages? Being tied to your land, having to do socage, and so on and so forth!¡± His old friend visibly took a step back from him. The images Wenzel had seen in his courier¡¯s memories were not so different from those he had seen at the time of the revolution. The half-starved people in rags he had seen in Soldach back then still lived on in his consciousness.

    Imperial Chancellor Peter had to collect himself for a moment, then he answered, ¡°I understand your frustration, Wenzel, I really do. But the Imperial Council blocks every one of my laws in this direction. With all the conservative Old Believer... er, Teleiotic deputies, I have no chance of getting anything like this passed.¡± The Sovereign tried to calm down again. He knew this wasn''t Peter''s fault. He was his ally. Wenzel then explained, ¡°They are all either former Martyrs, meaning ideologues, or they are servile lackeys. The former don''t want to oppose the dogmas out of conviction, the latter don''t dare to go against the will of the army.¡±

    Peter soberly agreed with him and then added, ¡°The only realistic way is through the army. In my earlier meetings with him, however, the Supreme Marshal did not show the slightest interest in coming to a compromise in any way. The Emperor let out a long sigh. Then he said, ¡°So many years and nothing has changed. ..... I will talk to Theodor personally.¡± With that, the meeting already ended.

    When the Supreme Marshal entered the large audience hall, it was already clear to him that something important was at stake. The very location of the meeting had symbolically communicated this. Theodor entered and met a Wenzel with his back turned to him, looking out of the window. The leaden sky outside also brought a gloom the heart. The man closed the door. Then he walked over to the table, on which a few documents were neatly laid out, and sat down. The emperor seemed to be looking out of the window, still lost in thought. So, the head of the army cleared his throat and raised his voice, ¡°Good afternoon, Wenzel! I have arrived.¡± The addressee turned to him with an intent stare. You could see how much Theodor had aged. He had gotten a number of wrinkles and his hair had already started to turn gray. As always, the ¡°Hero of the Revolution¡± wore his highly polished armour, proudly displaying the sun emblem of the empire.

    Wenzel now replied, ¡°Why the informality? Is that the way to speak to the sovereign?¡± Theodor, with a stern and emotionless look, responded, ¡°We have always spoken to each other like this, Wenzel. There has been no reason to change that so far, and besides, I do observe the necessary formalities when we are in public.¡± That was not a good start to their conversation. The emperor''s facial expression distorted a little and he did not continue the discussion that he had begun. He sat down next to the Marshal and pushed the top document over to him. It was a summary of the report that Ferenc and Balduin had given him. Wenzel knew that his counterpart would at least think about his old friend Ferenc''s assessment.

    ¡°Here. Read it. We''ll talk about it afterwards.¡± And so Theodor did. When he had finished, Wenzel began to introduce the topic, ¡°It has been more than ten years since we failed to keep the great promises we made. The end of serfdom, in other words the achievement of a new freedom for the people, was one of them. This idea seems to be repugnant to you all. But what is even worse is the continued oppression of the people! Wasn''t the revolution born out of rebellion against tyranny? So, what was it good for? What will be its legacy? To have replaced one tyranny with another? Tell me!¡±

    As always, it was impossible to tell what Theodor was thinking. The military man stroked his graying beard and gave the mage a serious look as he always did by default. The tension was palpable. Then the Supreme Marshal spoke, ¡°And to everyone he gave his place. So that the fisherman may fish, the shepherd may tend his animals and the ruler may reign.¡± Wenzel tried to keep his anger in check. It was predictable, of course, that Theodor would be quoting the Holy Testament to him here, and yet his interlocutor had not foreseen it. When the emperor did not say anything in response, the chief of the army continued:

    ¡°For the most part, the people accept their role in this country. Except for those who deny the sanctity of the Chosen One. How can it be that YOU, who are the freest here, the one at the head of the state, are the most concerned about freedom?¡± - ¡°The freest? I can''t even end this cruel oppression. If I were to sign decrees contrary to the Imperial Diet or the army, you would simply ignore them or override them with sophistry! I am free..... free from doing anything!¡± Wenzel was literally fuming, but his counterpart added, ¡°It''s just as I''ve always said. Everyone has their God-given place in the world, whether they like it or not. Freedom is just an illusion. Everyone will always be limited in what they can do. That''s what reality dictates.¡±

    ¡°You think you have to treat me like a child, that you know what''s good for me or my country better than I do! I''m no devout enough for you, am I?¡± Theodor remained silent and his eyes gave away no information, no emotion. The wizard was about to continue, but then noticed that the Supreme Marshal wanted to say something. He let him go first. ¡°There is still great hatred of the ¡®new demon emperor¡¯ in some parts of the country. The blame for this lies in the propaganda of the previous usurpers and their heretical hatred of all that is holy! I and the army only want to protect you from them and drive this hatred out of the people. But that will take a long time.¡±

    ¡°Excuses! I am well aware of the way some people think. They are not the majority and will never be the majority. You think you have to protect me from my self-inflicted immaturity. Isn''t that true?¡± Theodor remained silent, but for the first time he briefly turned his gaze away from Wenzel. The emperor now reacted to this in a completely exaggerated manner. He began to shout loudly, ¡°I knew it! You''re not taking me seriously! I have read the Testament. I have read it in its entirety! I know very well what you are talking about and what you believe. I order you to lessen the draconian punishments in the country! If the army supports this, it will pass the Imperial Diet and the Imperial Chamber Court.¡±

    The old revolutionary leader rose from his chair. He was still a giant and clearly towered over Wenzel. The black bear radiated his well-known dominance. He now looked down at the Chosen One with a serious but not an angry gaze, looking him straight in the eye. ¡°No,¡± was all he said. Then he pushed past the emperor, said goodbye and left the meeting of his own accord. Furious, Wenzel kicked his chair over. But with all the mental fortitude he could muster, he immediately tried to keep his temper under control again. Under no circumstances was he to explode here. The man, who was metaphorically left standing in the rain, leaned against the table, deeply breathing in and out, in and out. The realization of what had just happened slowly seeped in. He had failed. Achieving his goals now seemed hopeless.

    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    A fly was sitting on top of the wall on the orange wallpaper. With its compound eyes, it looked down at the imperial couple, who were walking from room to room and discussing. The mage had just informed his wife about the incident with Theodor. ¡°And he just took off like that?¡± - ¡°Yes, he did.¡± - ¡°That''s because you never earned yourself respect. And now it¡¯s too late for that.¡± Bringing the matter up again, Wenzel''s latent anger immediately came back to life. He turned away from Amalie briefly so as not to give her the feeling that he was angry with her. After all, it wasn¡¯t her fault. The emperor nervously paced back and forth between the divan and the closet. He stopped and realized:

    ¡°You''re right. I never had the respect of the other Martyrs.¡± She was indeed right, as was so often the case. But this did not help the fact that this realization annoyed and upset him. His wife said, ¡°That''s partly because you weren''t with the revolutionaries from the start, but also because you were always too weak and cowardly to take any influence on any decision at all. They''re just used to bypassing you.¡± - ¡°Weak!¡±, Wenzel repeated her words indignantly. ¡°Yes, weak! You''ve always been a weak emperor. We all know that.¡±

    This offended Wenzel, although he knew it was true. He hated this situation. There was nothing he could do to change the circumstances. The man slumped down on the divan, his fist still clenched. This raised a few doubts in Amalie''s mind as to whether she had spoken too bluntly to her beloved and should perhaps have chosen softer words. She moved next to him and gave him a hug. ¡°You''re a good-natured person who has everyone''s best interests at heart. That''s a good thing. It''s just that being kind is not an ideal quality for running a country.¡± After saying this, Amalie felt her husband''s tense muscles relax a little. He replied:

    ¡°I have also always avoided any conflict with the others, including Theodor. I was never cut out to be a ruler. But August already knew that, too. It was the reason why he believed he could betray me back then and the reason why he had not given the emperor the right of veto in the Imperial Diet. Everyone knew that I was weak. And that I was. I was always shy. But I can''t change that easily.¡± - ¡°And you don''t have to,¡± his wife tried to comfort him. ¡°I love you just the way you are!¡±, Wenzel let out a long breath through his nose, then replied: ¡°But that doesn''t help me to create a better future for the people either.¡± There was nothing she could say in response.

    The two then sat together quietly for a while, trying to let the melancholic emotions settle. Then they changed the subject. ¡°Viktoria doesn''t get on well with the other children. What could we do about this?¡±, the mother asked him. ¡°Nothing, I guess. She needs to learn how to deal with others, even if that means, that we have to reprimand her every time she misbehaves,¡± her husband answered. He had no idea about parenting either and the fact that Viktoria had such a completely different personality to him or Amalie, was an additional obstacle. His sweetheart then commented, ¡°I think you''re right. But that''s not all. Viktoria''s magical abilities sometimes do wild things and I have no idea how to deal with them. Could you please help her with her magic?¡± - ¡°To learn to control it? Sure, I can do that. Our little one needs to learn how to handle this responsibility too. I''ll spend some time with her over the next few days.¡± - ¡°Good,¡± was all his sweetheart said in reply.

    A huge number of mounted fighters charged at a gallop towards enemy lines. The sun was beating down and it seemed to be a hot, dry day. This was also indicated by the huge clouds of dust, that got whirled up by the turmoil of battle. Shouting, bellowing, blood, sweat, metal clanging. One man''s horse, on which he was riding, was killed under him and he dismounted from its body, which had fallen to the ground. ¡°Belesar! Commander Belesar!¡±, someone shouted behind him. The man in a golden yellow uniform turned to the one who had called out to him, revealing a sun emblem on his back. It looked like a strangely distorted, alternative version of today''s imperial coat of arms. Then the vision ended. Wenzel was aware that it was one as he slipped into the next dream.

    In this one, he was now walking through the forest. A pure coniferous forest stretched out before him. It was cool and dusk was already falling. Nevertheless, the birdsong could be clearly heard. When he had passed a few trees, he suddenly saw a person in front of him. With his back turned to him, a man with long, brown hair stood there. Wenzel''s breath got caught in his throat. For a moment, he didn''t know what to do, so shocked was he. ¡°August? Is that you, August?¡± There was no answer from him. He moved closer. Fear dominated him. Then, as he reached out to grab the shoulder of the person in front of him, he was abruptly jolted out of his sleep.

    The jumpy awakening had also startled Amalie. ¡°Is everything okay?¡±, she inquired. ¡°Yes. I just had a nightmare, that''s all,¡± replied her husband. She asked, ¡°Another vision?¡± - ¡°Yes. It was scenes of some battle, with people I''ve never seen before.¡± - ¡°Do you want to...¡± - ¡°Not necessary. It''s no use anyway.¡± What did the emperor mean by that? Well, his spouse had just been about to suggest that he write down his prophetic visions in a dream journal. A few years ago, he had started writing down everything he saw in his ¡°vivid¡± dreams. However, this note-taking did not achieve much, as the magician discovered. ¡°Ninety-nine percent of what I see is just useless information, that I can''t do anything with anyway. Even if it were useful to me, I can hardly ever make anything of it,¡± Wenzel had argued at the time.

    That''s why he had stopped keeping such a journal. The prophecies could show absolutely anything, which is why they were mostly useless. What exactly they showed was quite correct, but as with a large jigsaw puzzle of which you only had a single piece, it was difficult to make out what would happen and what you had to do to forestall it. But he could prevent the visions from happening. He had already proven this.

    He lay down again and asked his sweetheart to do the same. Though, he couldn''t quite get the dream out of his head. Not the one about August, a ghost that would probably haunt him for a long time to come, but the one about the foreign warriors. ¡°They looked like they were from a different era, with different insignia and armour. But I believe that this scene was in Camenia,¡± the Chosen One now thought to himself. Could it have been a vision from the past? Probably, because he had frequently been seeing events from the distant past in his dreams in recent years. He didn''t know why exactly. Some people would think that there was no point in questioning the supernatural, but for Wenzel it was different. He wanted to find out about magic and how it worked. He just couldn''t see any system behind it. It all seemed completely random to him. Images of the past AND the future. How and why?

    In a recently refurbished, newly furnished room, two people sat on a fine carpet in the middle of the room. The place was brightly lit by two large windows. The cream-colored walls, still quite freshly painted, were in part lined with a wardrobe, a shelf and a desk. There were blankets and pillows with pink covers on the bed. They were girly colours, that had been chosen for her new daughter. There was also an unreasonable amount of stuffed animals. All of this was Amalie''s doing, as Wenzel did not interfere.

    The aforementioned wizard was now sitting on the floor with his child. The girl, who was wearing a very fine dress, now took the floor, ¡°Can I have some more sweets, Sir?¡± - ¡°No, not right now. We''re going to do something important first. When we''ve finished, you can have some as a reward.¡± - ¡°But I want some now!¡±, the little girl grumbled. Wenzel rolled his eyes and said, ¡°Viktoria! Business before pleasure. That''s how the world works. Do you understand me?¡± The girl pouted and played coy. But a few seconds later she replied, ¡°Yes, Sir.¡±

    He could live with that. Amalie coddled the child far too much. Wenzel would have to talk to his wife about the matter of the sweets. It couldn''t be that Viktoria only ate boilded sweets and other sweet stuff all the time. She had to learn moderation, just as she had to learn the right behaviour. There was so much for her to learn. She would have to catch up on all the things she hadn''t come to know or hadn¡¯t needed in her simple country life. But today they were here for something else.

    ¡°You and I are going to practice using magic a little today, okay?¡± When the girl heard that, her mood immediately did a 180-degree turn. ¡°Great! No silly etiquette stuff!¡± Her father didn''t comment on that further, but simply enjoyed her interest in wizardry. He explained to her, ¡°Like everything else in the world, magic is something you have to learn slowly, step by step, and practise over and over again to get good at it. We¡¯ll start with the basics and only later do we move on to the more complicated things.¡± - ¡°Mhm,¡± the little girl simply responded, her gaze eagerly fixed on him.

    Viktoria seemed to be paying attention but was already drumming her feet nervously. Her magic teacher continued, ¡°Your magical power is tied to your emotions. That means, that if you get angry, all sorts of bad things can happen. Do you understand that?¡± - ¡®Yes,¡¯ she replied without further ado. ¡°That''s why we have to learn to control our emotions and keep them in check so that we don''t do anything bad.¡± His pupil stood up again. Folding her arms in front of her, she asked directly, ¡°And how am I supposed to do that? I just feel the way I feel! If somebody makes me mad, then they deserve what happens next!¡± - ¡°No, no, Viktoria. We hold ourselves back, no matter how hard it is. Just remember: the wiser head gives in,¡± Wenzel intervened immediately and tried to appeal to her reason.

    ¡°That sounds stupid!¡±, the little one snapped back. ¡°Viktoria! We restrain ourselves. Are we doing this?¡± - ¡°Yes, Sir,¡± the girl grumbled and then sat down next to her adoptive father, who had indicated that she should come to him. Then he said, ¡°Concentrate on yourself first. Close your eyes and look deep inside yourself. Can you feel the flow of magic?¡± - ¡°Yes, I can.¡± - ¡°Very good. Now try not to let it leak out.¡± The child strained. Her aura diminished but did not disappear completely. ¡°Well done. You''re on the right track,¡± Wenzel praised her and added, ¡°Block out all your emotions. Concentrate only on the one fixed pole of calm within you. If you practise it long enough, you''ll soon be able to do it.¡± Her aura decreased a little more.

    Then they took a break from it by moving on to doing the opposite. This time, they practiced emitting as much magical power as possible. When the emperor said this to his daughter, she started immediately. Victoria''s aura shot upwards like a jet of flame. At that moment, Wenzel could not hide his amazement at its strength. Viktoria had much more magical power than he did. When she saw his reaction, a cheeky grin crossed her lips. Immediately afterwards, Ylva, who had been standing guard outside, threw the door open. ¡°Is everything all right?¡± - ¡°Don''t worry about it. I''ve got everything under control,¡± he reassured her. Even the bodyguard had felt the sheer pressure emanating from the girl¡¯s aura. This only made the ruler all the more aware of how important it was to train the child properly.

    <u>Day of Blessing, 24.10.453 M.G.</u>

    It was damp and dark, and the icy cold had crept deep into his bones. The prisoner leaned against the stone wall of his cell like a sack of potatoes. His long, unkempt hair and much shorter but no less scruffy beard hung down to the floor. He had been here too long to have any sense of time at all. If he had been told that he had been here for sixty years, he would have believed it. Suddenly, however, a metallic clanging sound could be heard. The heavy gate to the dungeon opened and the guard stepped inside. It was probably dinnertime again.

    Or was it? No, it wasn''t the usual prison guard who came in, and it wasn''t one person, but several. Between his long, matted villi, the prisoner glanced out through the bars and at the new arrivals. They wore garments with a red and white check pattern and a sun on their tunics. A deep, masculine voice now thundered loudly through this hellhole, ¡°Congratulations, miscreants! On the occasion of the Day of Blessing, His Majesty has issued a general amnesty. You are all free!¡± There was no reaction from any of the convicts. It was such bizarre news that none of them could ever have imagined hearing it. Many of them probably thought they were dreaming, while others, like our guy, simply took a while to actually realize what they had just been told.

    ¡°Free? Isn''t this too cruel a joke here?¡±, thought Lucius, who had finally awoken from his dreamlike state and sat up. But it was no joke. The guards began unlocking the cells one by one and leading the prisoners out one after the other. The boy, who had not yet realized, that he had already become a man over the years, could not believe it. While he waited his turn, two of the Crown Guards, who were keeping watch down here for safety''s sake, were conversing:

    ¡°His Highness is far too generous. These bastards deserve no mercy!¡± - ¡°Fool! Haven''t you heard that there''s been a dispute between His Holiness and the Supreme Marshal? Apparently, it has something to do with the prison sentences, but the Supreme Marshal is putting his foot down.¡± The other then said, ¡°And what does that have to do with......Oh, that¡¯s what you mean! You think he''s releasing the prisoners in protest against him.¡± - ¡°Exactly.¡± Lucius still didn''t want to believe it. All those years in chains.....

    Then it was his turn. The guards unshackled him and led him out of the dark dungeon. When he reached the surface, he was overwhelmed by the blinding light of the sun. The man held his hands in front of his eyes. It took a while for them to adjust to the brightness. ¡°You only have His Highness''s magnanimity to thank for that. Be grateful, scum!¡±, the two guardsmen jeered at him. The young man said nothing and literally let himself be thrown out at the palace gates. After the stairs, they gave him a shove so that Lucius immediately fell onto the dirty street. He stood up, looked around and then back at the guards. They were already on their way to get the next one out of the dungeons.

    ¡°Grateful? Ha!¡±, the man gasped in a weak and raspy voice. ¡°For what? For the death of my mother? Or for all the years in this hellhole? Let him go to hell, this demon! One day, I''ll pay you back, if it''s the last thing I do!¡± They were brave words for such a weak, destitute man. Dressed only in rags, he slipped away into the streets of Meglarsbruck. With no idea what to do or where to go, he would be left with nothing but a beggar''s existence for the time being. But the bitterness had eaten deep into his heart. His childhood was over.

 1. 05 So much to learn

    <u>Several months later</u>

    The first rays of dawn lit up the tops of the church towers. It was a clear morning, and the trumpeter was climbing the long spiral staircase to the highest tower of the Cathedral of Annunciation to play the morning fanfare. When he reached the top, a strong gust of wind blew towards him, causing him to hesitate briefly. Then he put the trumpet to his lips and took a deep breath. Suddenly, however, he was jolted out of his routine and his instrument almost fell out of his hands, so startled was he. A person was standing on one of the countless pinnacles! Blown about by strong winds, her crimson hair was swirling around wildly. When Viktoria caught sight of the priest, she waved to him. He quickly realized that the person was the princess but was still too shocked to return her greeting.

    ¡°Hmm! Then don''t!¡±, the girl defiantly uttered, hands on her hips. She turned south and glanced far into the distance. In the city quarter beyond the Duhn, there was a large building complex amidst the golden roofs. It was hard to make out, but on the roof of the large building, which had once been the headquarters of the Inquisition, and which now served as the meeting place of the Imperial Diet, the figure of a man could be recognized. From here he looked like an ant, but it was the emperor. Standing on the roof of this building, Wenzel did the same and peered over at his daughter.

    He then levitated the ball he had brought with him in front of him and fired it with strong telekinetic force towards where Viktoria had positioned herself. While the princess was waiting for the object, a strong squall came and caused her to lose her balance. When the trumpeter, who was still watching her, saw this, he shouted, ¡°Watch out!¡± His concern was in vain as, before she could fall down, she simply made herself hover in the air and then stood up vertically again. All of a sudden, the ball came shooting at her. It missed Viktoria by more than ten meters. She slowed down its momentum and brought it over to her with telekinesis. Then she tried to pass it back to her father as accurately as possible.

    At that distance, it was a great challenge. To make sure it didn''t fly too short, she packed a lot of power into her shot. ¡°Whoosh!¡± The ball flew away with such immense force, that a loud bang resounded throughout the capital. It clearly missed Wenzel, who could only watch as the thing, like a cannonball, crashed into the house next to him, bringing down a wall. ¡°Oh, God! Maybe that wasn''t such a good idea after all!¡±, Wenzel realized with his ¡°superpower¡± of retrospection. He immediately flew down to check that no one had been injured. Fortunately, nothing had happened apart from the damage to the property. The ruler immediately assured those present that he would, of course, pay for the damage. Just then, Viktoria came flying in. ¡°I''m sorry. I must have missed a bit.¡± - ¡°A bit sounds awfully optimistic! Well, you can be glad that nothing else happened,¡± the wizard admonished her.

    That was the end of her magic training for today. The two of them flew back to the palace. During the flight, Wenzel said to his daughter, ¡°You''ve already made great progress. Your sense of magic is excellent. The only problem is that you have too much power. Reduce it even more.¡± - ¡°I''ll try, father.¡± The little girl was a natural. But that was something her magic teacher couldn''t tell her. Nevertheless, after only a few months, she had already mastered most of what Wenzel could do. Therefore, he had decided to let her in on some secrets.

    Like a wild boar, the princess threw open the door to the emperor¡¯s private library and then also stormed in like one. Silke immediately jumped up in shock. ¡°By the saints! You''re going to give me a heart attack, young lady!¡±, the research assistant announced. Wenzel entered the room immediately after her. ¡°This is a library, Viktoria. We are to be quiet here, please!¡±, he admonished his child. ¡°I''m sorry, she''s always so brash,¡± he apologized to Silke immediately afterwards. The lady in question only confirmed him and said, ¡°That''s all right. She''s not familiar with this kind of thing yet.¡± The emperor scratched behind his ear in embarrassment when he heard this.

    Then he moved on to what they had come here for. ¡°This is my personal collection of knowledge. Its purpose is to gather everything possible about magic, even if it''s only remotely related. The books and other writings you can see here have been brought from all over the realm. We are far from finished searching and analysing everything that can be found.¡± His daughter looked at the bookshelves, that reached high up onto the ceiling, but she didn''t seem to be particularly igneous about all this. Meanwhile, her father continued unabated, ¡°History, geography, medicine, theology. We''ve collected works from all kinds of disciplines in the hope of finding clues and information about magic.¡±

    ¡°So, you don''t know exactly how magic works?¡±, the girl asked. ¡°Yes, to some extent. But unfortunately, the knowledge about it was almost completely destroyed by the usurpers who murdered the Melgarions. Now I have to find or rediscover a lot of things.¡± Viktoria simply nodded. ¡°It is my task as the Chosen One, as THE mage, to gather this knowledge, write it down and pass it on to posterity. That is also a task that you will inherit from me, Viktoria.¡± - ¡°Hahhhh, really?¡±, the little girl sighed. The Sovereign laughed and said, ¡°Yes, really. When you''re older, you''ll learn to appreciate what I¡¯m doing here.¡±

    He gestured for her to follow him. The two of them made their way over to one of several large desks. There were all kinds of notes, inkwells, quills, books and folders lying around on it. But the most important thing was right in the middle in front of the seat. A book with a green cover, that read ¡°De Arte Magica¡±. ¡°This is my .... will be my great work, my legacy,¡± the emperor began his remarks. He picked up the book and placed it in Victoria''s hands. ¡°In here, I summarize my knowledge of magic in an orderly and concise manner. The more I learn about it, the fuller the book will become.¡± The girl flicked through the pages and only stopped briefly at the pictures of magic circles. Then she closed the book again.

    She said nothing, a sign that she had relatively little interest in ¡°boring¡± book knowledge. In response, Wenzel noted, ¡°I know all of this is stodgy for you. I know how you feel. I was just like you once. Learning bored me and I wanted to go out into the world and have adventures. When you''re a bit more mature, you''ll understand why these ''bland things'' are so important.¡± Now the child asked, ¡°Do I have to learn all this too?¡± - ¡°We''ll go through it slowly, bit by bit. I won''t give you a timetable for magic.¡± She made a dissatisfied face. Her father didn''t know how he could help her here. Thinking back to himself, his conclusion was that he should simply give her the time and space to develop an interest and learn to understand for herself. But that could take a long time....

    ¡°Oh, that''s right! I almost forgot!¡±, Wenzel exclaimed, confusing the other two people present. ¡°The nice lady here is Silke and she''s my assistant. Please introduce yourself to her!¡± - ¡°Hello, my name is Viktoria Althun,¡± she complied with his request. His assistant also introduced herself to the little girl with a friendly smile. Then the gentleman explained, ¡°She is a very clever woman and is the one who knows her way around here best. If you have any questions, you can always go to her. She''ll always be here. At least if I have my way, she will also be at your service one day.¡± As a result, Silke bowed politely to him. This was a gesture that the emperor did not like at all and immediately put a stop to. ¡°Please, don''t do that, my dear. I want to work together with you here, not be worshipped!¡±

    ¡°As you wish...¡±, the lady was about to return when the child suddenly interrupted her. ¡°Bow, subject!¡±, she blurted out, puffing herself up. ¡°Viktoria!¡±, Wenzel snapped sharply at her. It was the first time he had ever struck such a tone with her. His daughter just looked at him in astonishment but didn''t seem to be afraid. ¡°I''m sorry, it was actually just a joke,¡± she then conceded. She had understood what an emotional issue this was for her adoptive father. But she didn''t realize why this was the case.

    After tempers had calmed down again, the man asked the girl to wait here for a moment. He quickly scurried over to an adjoining room. Three minutes later, he returned with four objects, which he placed on the table. ¡°These are the four Holy Artifacts. They go back to Melgar himself. Even the usually disinterested Viktoria took notice, since absolutely everyone knew the Chosen One of God, the Messiah. His Majesty then delegated the explanation to Silke so that his child could get an idea of how educated she was.

    The woman began to explain: ¡°This here is the imperial crown and with it you can understand the language of animals. Then we have the sceptre, which, as we recently found out, can be used to track things and people. Unfortunately, the amulet here is broken, so it can''t do anything anymore.¡± And so on and so forth. For once, Viktoria was attentive.

    ¡°Her young Highness is .... a challenge,¡± an older gentleman with a half bald head reported to the Chosen One. ¡°She often doesn''t pay attention, only does the tasks she''s supposed to do on her own sloppily and sometimes even defies my orders! To be honest, I don''t really know how to handle her.¡± Consequently, Wenzel replied to her teacher, ¡°I''m aware of what she''s like. It''s difficult. I''ll have a serious talk with her about it.¡± - ¡°Apart from that, she''s not untalented at all. She understands things quite quickly, once she pays attention and actually works. Her Highness is not a stupid child. She''s just behind because she wasn''t educated from an early age.¡± The emperor was pleased to hear that at least. He thanked the man and bade him farewell.

    Her other private tutors had told him similar things. In the afternoon, he tried to explain to the girl why this matter was so important. ¡°But it''s all so exhausting and I don''t want to study! Can''t we do more with magic instead?¡±, she responded. Her father tried to be understanding. He remembered his own father, Bertold, and how pointless his pressure and punishments for poor performance had been. He didn''t want to do that to his daughter. Even if others might describe her as a ¡°spoiled brat¡±, he didn''t want her to be afraid of him. Hence, he explained to her, ¡°It took me a while to see the light, too. You don''t have to love studying, just try to do what your teachers tell you, okay?¡± The princess nodded at him very unconvincingly and replied, ¡°Mhm.¡±

    Amalie also had something to say about this matter. It was just something completely different from what her husband would have expected. Later that afternoon, the two of them sat down to discuss Viktoria''s behaviour. ¡°She''s rebellious and doesn''t listen to what she''s told,¡± Amalie noted. ¡°I''m aware of that,¡± Wenzel countered. ¡°I''ve heard from some people, including the servants, that she sometimes has one of her ¡®moments¡¯, when she just snaps, throwing things on the floor and breaking them! That''s completely unacceptable!¡±, the woman now told her beloved, who made a surprised face.

    ¡°Have you already reprimanded her for that?¡± - ¡°Yes, of course. But I can''t even punish her properly. Grounding her doesn''t make sense either, as she still doesn''t have any friends anyway. Couldn''t you just....¡± - ¡°No, I can''t,¡± Wenzel retorted immediately. ¡°I''m not going to chastise our daughter!¡± - ¡°That¡¯s not what I wanted to say,¡± his wife justified herself. But he knew exactly that this was what she wanted to say. So, he declared, ¡°She will learn how to behave based on the reactions of others to her actions.¡± Amalie just shook her head.

    Suddenly they were torn from their discussion by the room¡¯s door swinging open. ¡°Fire! There''s a fire in Viktoria''s room! Help me, please!¡± Both parents immediately jumped up and rushed over to the nearby room. As they entered, they could already see the window frame being on fire. The flames flickered upwards towards the ceiling, threatening to set everything ablaze! Wenzel reacted immediately. He destroyed the window pane with a blast wave. He then flew out into the open and down to a fountain a short distance away on the other side of the street.

    The little girl, who had been standing rooted to the spot until now, now looked out to see what her father was doing. The magician was using telekinesis to bring up a large amount of water from the fountain, which he gathered in a bubble floating above him. He then flew over with it to extinguish the fire with a large gush of liquid. When Viktoria saw this, she also flew out of the window to the fountain to do the same. Wenzel''s first pour was not quite enough anyway. Immediately afterwards, the girl came along with another bubble of water. They used it to put an end to the remaining embers.

    It was done. The two of them floated back in and put their feet back on the ground. What followed was a long tirade of well-deserved scolding for Viktoria. Her bodyguard, Ylva, just stood by and remained silent. She preferred to keep to herself the fact, that Viktoria had shouted, ¡°Burn, burn brightly!¡±, when the woman had discovered the fire upon entering the room. The little girl was a terrifying creature.

    It was a warm spring day, and the bees were busy collecting their nectar from bushes, that were completely covered in flowers. A delegation that was far too large for the size of the relatively narrow corridors, which had been swept clean as a whistle, walked along them anyway. The emperor, followed by a line of guards, priests and other school staff, walked forward along the hallway to finally be ushered into a room through one of the doors. All the finely dressed students rose from their seats at the same time as His Majesty entered the classroom. ¡°Hail Melgar!¡±, they all shouted dutifully, just as they had been taught. The teacher also joined in. It was Father Dimitrios, who was currently giving them writing lessons. Wenzel greeted him and looked around the room. The intricate ceiling still looked exactly as he remembered it. Only then did he introduce himself to the class.

    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    ¡°I''m Wenzel, as I''m sure you all know.¡± It was an unnecessary introduction. His portrait hung on the wall behind him. Then he went up to a student in the second row and asked, ¡°And what is your name?¡± - ¡°Hadmar, your Highness.¡± - ¡°Good, and what have you been learning here in the last few months?¡± The boy was very nervous and only gave snatchy answers. ¡°It¡¯s all right. I won''t bite your head off,¡± the wizard tried to reassure him. It hardly helped. Then he went over to some of the other children and talked to them about the things they were being taught here in class. While this was going on, the rest of the people he had in tow just stood around in the doorway, looking stupid.

    It didn''t take too long before he was on his way again. ¡°Thank you very much, everyone! I wish you great success!¡± Wenzel walked out again and then went up to the headmaster¡¯s office with all those people. There, everyone took a seat on the benches and chairs that had already been prepared. The sun was leaning in so strongly that the curtains were immediately drawn, or at least those, that blocked out the light that directly was hitting His Majesty. The room was extremely spacious and, like most of the rooms here, had a ceiling with beautiful stucco work and paintings.

    The new headmaster wore the long black robes of a clergyman. The Chosen One let his gaze wander briefly over the assembled people until his eyes widened in surprise at the sight of one of those present. It was a woman, the only woman who had stayed since he had gone to school at this place. His old teacher, Mrs. Adele, was still here. She was now wearing long, black, decidedly more chaste robes, but she still had a post here. The now elderly lady naturally returned his intense gaze, whereupon he addressed her, ¡°I haven''t seen you for a long time, Mrs. Adele. How are you?¡± - ¡°I''m doing well. You seem to be doing alright too, as I can see. That is pleasing.¡± The emperor had to laugh at her answer. ¡°Haha! Better than you would have guessed at the time, after all the things that have happened.¡±

    Eventually, however, they got down to business. His Highness cleared his throat, then spoke up once more, ¡°From what I have heard from the students, there is a very strong focus on religious education and the study of the Holy Scriptures. I expected nothing less from our education system since the Commune has taken it over again.¡± - ¡°Thank you very much, my lord,¡± the headmaster responded. Wenzel raised an eyebrow and explained, ¡°That wasn''t a compliment! Instead of real skills, the focus is on dogma and indoctrination. What is to become of this generation? I''ll tell you: Good little sheep who do everything they''re told but don''t understand what they''re doing and how the world works!¡±

    The teaching staff were completely flabbergasted. They stood there for a moment, just dumbfounded. Adele tried not to show any emotion, but her former pupil still knew her well enough to see that she was amused by his confrontation of the priests. After collecting his thoughts from the previous blow, the head of school finally answered, ¡°But don''t the teachings of Teleiotism legitimize the authority of the Chosen One? Is this not useful to you, my lord?¡± - ¡°Oh, it is,¡± replied Wenzel, adding, ¡°if I wanted to educate the people to be good tin soldiers and wipe out all those who stand in my way. But tell me: would that be a good world? Is that the world we want to live in one day?¡±

    The headmaster blushed and thought for a moment. Then he replied, ¡°Yes, indeed, Your Holiness!¡± Of course, the emperor had expected this answer. It was the same one that the heads of the other schools, he had already visited, had given him. ¡°When I say something anticlerical like that, they assume it''s a test of their loyalty. It''s always the same. The answer for them will always be the Testament. Their logic doesn''t allow for anything else,¡± it went through the ruler¡¯s head. Everyone was now solely staring at Wenzel, who was sitting enthroned in his large armchair. No one dared to say anything. ¡°None of these cowards are man enough to ask me whether I actually believe in the Holy Scriptures!¡±, he thought to himself. Finally, he began to speak once more, ¡°I would like you to pay more attention to other disciplines outside the faith. In principle, I have nothing against your practices,¡± he emphasized out of necessity, ¡°but there are other things than praying, that a student of this academy should be able to do when he leaves.¡±

    ¡°It will be done this way, Your Highness!¡±, they returned as expected. Afterwards, Wenzel''s servants took care of some administrative, bureaucratic necessities with the school administration, things he wouldn''t deal with personally. He signed his name in the guest book, said goodbye and quickly made his way back. On the way out, however, he walked through the beautifully landscaped park, which had hardly changed in all those years. The ruler paused for a moment and looked at the red flowers, whose names he still did not know. Then his gaze wandered over to the old wall, on the other side of which were the wide fields and a little way further lay Olemar.

    In the end, however, his eye fell on the building where the dormitories were. As if hypnotized, he wandered over and stopped in front of the small courtyard. He looked at the cobblestones and then up to the balcony on the 3rd floor. For a while, he just stood there. In the meantime, those present, who were keeping a little distance from him, began to mumble quietly amongst themselves. One of the guards now approached him and asked, ¡°Is everything alright, my lord?¡± Wenzel shook his head in reply. He then spoke in a heavy voice, ¡°Once I could not have imagined that I would ever return here. This is the place where the revolution began. A place, a moment, that left me with only two options: death or revolution.¡± Awestruck, the guard fell silent, as did the others who had been standing behind him and who had also heard his words.

    The wizard was aware that there were all kinds of rumours about those events here at the boarding school. They didn''t interest him in the slightest. ¡°Ferenc!¡±, he called out to his bodyguard. ¡°Yes, Your Majesty?¡±, he returned. ¡°We are making our way back to the capital. My inspections are over now.¡± As they made their way to the carriages for the return journey, he took an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to his old brother-in-arms. ¡°Please have this letter delivered to my parents-in-law. Since we''re already here, it won''t be too much trouble.¡± - ¡°Don''t you want to visit them in person?¡± - ¡°I wouldn''t have a problem with that, but as my wife didn''t come with me, I don''t see much point paying them a visit on my own.¡± - ¡°Whatever you say, my lord.¡±

    ¡°Cling! Clang!¡±, the blades clashed with one another. In the middle of one of the palace''s smaller courtyards, two swordsmen were locked in a heated duel. Two men who had been brought forth by the revolution were facing each other on the green lawn: Brahm, the commander of the Crown Guard, and Wenzel, the Holy Ordanian Emperor. Wenzel took a step back to get some air for his next attack. Brahm tried to take advantage of this to make an attack from above from the Ochs position himself. Like his mirror image, the Chosen One swung upwards from below. The two sword blows met exactly in the middle. Then they both made sideways leaps, turning clockwise around each other as if in a dance.

    ¡°I really don''t know what to do anymore. Theodor won''t cooperate with me and the church representatives with their tunnel vision aren''t helping me either, even if they are, according to their own convictions, on my side,¡± Wenzel made his frustration heard. The commander of his guard continued to circle him and replied, ¡°This is a really tricky business!¡± He parried a horizontal blow from his adversary. ¡°Yeah, I don''t know a solution to that. Do you have any ideas?¡±, the emperor now asked his opponent. He made a lightning-fast thrust forwards, which his challenger skilfully dodged to the left. Then he answered: ¡°Hmmm. Difficult.¡±

    While he was distracted for a moment, Wenzel swung wide from above, but his adversary immediately held out the broadside of his sword. The blow hit it, but the emperor then somersaulted over Brahms'' head and delivered a strike in the back. ¡°Really?¡±, exclaimed the exasperated Brahm. ¡°I thought we said that magic is considered cheating here. You''re literally stabbing me in the back here, Wenzel!¡± His challenger snickered in an almost childlike manner and said, ¡°I''m sorry. I couldn''t quite stop myself. We don''t get to compete against each other as often as we used to.¡± His old friend had to grin a little. They then both put their swords down on the grass and sat down.

    Consequently, Brahm said: ¡°I have an idea.¡± - ¡°What would that be?¡± - ¡°Why don''t you just expand the Crown Guard, develop it into something more significant.¡± Wenzel looked at him in surprise and then thought for a moment. Eventually, he replied, ¡°That''s a really good idea, actually. But I don''t think I could take powers away from the army and give them to my guard instead.¡± - ¡°No. I don''t think that would be such a good idea either. But you can ask Peter what the legally defined areas of responsibility of the military are. Anything that isn''t explicitly illegal could also be included in the Crown Guard''s remit.¡± Like a rocking horse, Wenzel''s body along with his head rocked back and forth in agreement. Then he said, ¡°Thanks, buddy! I knew I could rely on you.¡±

    <u>A few weeks later</u>

    The weather was gloomy and only in the morning had a few scattered rays of sunshine managed to break through the thick cloud cover. On the square directly in front of the Melgarion Palace, an entire regiment of over a thousand soldiers was lined up in formation. A brisk wind was blowing, causing the flags, which included both the imperial flag and the emperor¡¯s standard, to flap about violently. They were all splendidly dressed in the check uniform of the former Crown Guard. Only the coat of arms on their tunics was now different, namely one, that depicted a sickle, which seemed to be harvesting ears of corn, above which a triquetra was emblazoned. It was an unusual symbol that had never been seen before and whose meaning was a mystery.

    His Majesty, Wenzel Althun, stepped in front of the troops. ¡°Saluuuute!¡±, it boomed from Commander Duenitz''s throat, whereupon all the men followed his command. A very short passage from the Holy Testament was then read out. To the sound of loud, rhythmic drumming they consequently raised their hands to take the oath. All the men recited the oath formula that they had previously memorized:

    ¡°We do solemnly swear to God Almighty, His Teleiotic Majesty, Our Most Serene Lord, Wenzel Althun, the One Chosen by the grace of God, Emperor of Ordania, King of Zeemark and Corakia, Lord Protector of Camenia and the Kashar Land, to be faithful and obedient, to obey all our superiors and higher-ups, to protect and honour them, to obey their commands and orders in all duties, to fight against every enemy and wherever His Majesty''s will may require it, by day and by night, in battles, storms, campaigns and undertakings of every kind, in a word, to fight bravely and manfully in every place, at all times and on all occasions, never to abandon our troops, flags and standards, never to enter into the slightest understanding with the enemy, and to live and die with honour. So help us God.¡±

    Having sworn allegiance to their emperor, they would now serve him as members of the new Imperial Guard, which would henceforth replace the Crown Guard. As they recited the oath of allegiance, everyone could see a small star light up in the eyes of the Chosen One. The guardsmen took this as a sign from God. After all, they were the most pious the recruiters could find. This ceremony was a moment that seemed grand, but it would not change the balance of power in the empire. However, with this His Highness had sent a strong signal of his determination. The Supreme Marshal deliberately paid no attention to the event and had demonstratively carried out an inspection of the city garrison, which was located in a different part of the city, on the same day. In the end, it was nothing more than symbolic politics on both sides. For now.

    Everything was dark. In this darkness, however, outlines and shapes slowly began to form until the place where she was finally revealed itself to its full extent. There was nothing but rubble and ruins everywhere. Viktoria turned to the left. Here she could see a huge, round, stained-glass window. Its colourful depictions of flowers and angels were half broken off and the countless shards lay on the ground below. Viktoria turned to the right. Here she could see down the nave. Many of the pillars had fallen over and the ceiling it had supported had crashed down and lay in huge pieces scattered across the once beautifully tiled floor of the cathedral. The front of the church had also partially collapsed. What on earth had happened here?

    The girl flew up into the air to get a better view. When she was high enough, she had an outlook over the city. It was a city in flames and marked by destruction. Shocked, she now realized that she knew this view. This was Meglarsbruck and the church here was the Cathedral of Annunciation! What could she do? She didn''t know. But somehow, she had the feeling that she should wait here. Someone would come. She let herself float back down to the ground. Once she had touched down on solid ground, the dream ended.

    Viktoria opened her eyes. Unable to see anything she sat up. She was lying in her bed, which was in her room. Everything was completely normal. Should she perhaps talk to her father about these dreams? ..... ¡°Meh! Whatever,¡± was her conclusion. Who knew if that would actually happen? The child got out of bed and paced back and forth around the room. It was impossible to find her bearings in this darkness, so she created a small flame in the palm of her hand. Somehow, she didn''t want to go back to sleep. So, she wandered around her room. She stared into the flame again and again. Fire fascinated the girl. Even her parents, her real parents, had always told her that a fire was burning in her eyes, not figuratively, but literally.

    Her new father was the only one in whose eyes also something was glistening. That gave her the feeling that he was the only person who could at least somehow understand her. But that wasn''t quite true. He could comprehend her circumstances but had no idea how she felt. Nevertheless, in her opinion, he was a good man. He always tried to be nice to her. Unfortunately, like everyone else here, he was eager for her to learn a lot. Other children her age were often afraid of her, though. For her, this was because they were simply too weak and too cowardly to stand up to her! Her adoptive mother had already tried to tell her several times that she should be ¡°nice¡± to the other girls. In Viktoria''s eyes, that was just hogwash! They were the ones who often made her mad in the first place.

    While all these things were going through her mind, she was scuttling up and down on her soft carpet. The light from her ¡°magic lamp¡± illuminated the fine furniture in the children''s room. It was still like a dream for her here. She could never have imagined such wealth, not in her wildest dreams. But now she lived here. She got everything she wanted. The food here was good and she was allowed to eat as much as she could manage. Despite all the really strenuous studying she had to do all the time, it was nice here. She wouldn''t want to leave. And she didn''t miss her real parents too much either. Dad had only ever punished her when she did something he didn''t like.

 1. 06 Brash

    Five years had passed since then. On her soft bed, there now a sixteen-year-old Viktoria could be found. She had tied her exceedingly long hair into a ponytail. As she sat cross-legged, she was stroking a small animal that she let sit on her lap. The little spaniel, Wanja, enjoyed being stroked by the girl and nudged her with its nose every time Viktoria stopped. ¡°Oh, Wanja. You really are my only friend,¡± came from the moping princess. ¡°That''s almost a reason for me to be offended, Your Highness!¡±, announced Ylva, who had entered the room seemingly without Viktoria noticing.

    Her dog immediately jumped down from the young lady and greeted the bodyguard with exuberant tail wagging. While the brown-haired lady briefly stroked the pet in greeting, the future heiress to the throne replied to what had just been said, ¡°Of course you''re my friend too. That''s obvious anyway!¡± However, this did not make the expression on the woman''s face more content in any way. She said, ¡°I know that something is bothering you and I''m pretty sure what that something is.¡± A few short seconds passed before Viktoria responded, ¡°You know, at the very beginning, when we first met, your Zeemarkian dialect always irritated me a little. Over time, I got used to it and came to see it as part of your personality. But in the beginning, your way of talking always jarred me.¡±

    The girl had immediately changed the subject. Before her bodyguard returned to the original topic of conversation, she couldn''t stop herself from responding to the claim first. ¡°I have always tried to express myself with you as well as possible in the standard language. It''s just that my pronunciation of some words is a little different, but I can''t change that.¡± - ¡°I think that''s a good thing. You wouldn''t be Ylva without it!¡± The lady had to smile at least a little at that. Her Majesty really liked her. Ylva let the moment linger for a while until she finally began with what she had intended before. ¡°You are always too pushy and, as some would say, dominant. Marzia, but especially Eleonore, are intimidated by your demeanour.¡± Her bodyguard preferred to leave out the fact that it was even worse with the younger of the two Kuhn sisters, who was genuinely afraid of the mage.

    ¡°I''m not! Neither of them ever wants anything of their own. That''s why I always have to set the tone!¡±, Viktoria hissed in her typical domineering manner. However, she then pressed her lips together and turned her face away from her conversation partner, who had briefly caught a glimpse of her worried expression. ¡°So why.....¡±, Viktoria did not finish the sentence she had started. Ylva could already sense what was about to happen. Suddenly, the first tears began to run down the teenager''s cheeks. The other person present didn''t know exactly how to deal with this. She moved a little closer to the girl. The thought briefly crossed her mind as to what impact these emotions might have with the sorceress. As she knew from His Majesty, strong emotions could manifest themselves physically in a destructive way among those with magical powers. But the young lady was sad, not really angry. What the effect of this would be, Ylva didn''t really know.

    By now the girl had started sobbing. ¡°Nobody likes me! Why doesn''t anyone like me?¡± The woman standing next to her felt like she was about to cry too. She spoke to Viktoria, ¡°That''s not true. Your parents love you, Wanja definitely loves you too, and you''re a good friend to me too. Don''t put yourself down like that!¡± With reddened eyes, the girl looked at her briefly, but then turned away again. Then she said, ¡°You''re a good friend, but you''re not my age. So, it doesn''t count.¡± Ylva replied, ¡°That''s really mean, Princess! What does age matter if you want to be friends?¡± Now the addressed waved around nervously, almost perplexedly even, and responded, ¡°No, that''s not what I meant! Believe me, I really appreciate you! I, I...¡± - ¡°It''s okay, Your Highness. I appreciate you too!¡±

    Once tempers had calmed down a little, the bodyguard tried to explain the situation to her even better. ¡°You''re used to always setting the tone. That intimidates other people. There''s also the matter of your abilities.¡± - ¡°You mean my magic scares them?¡± - ¡°More likely the things you might do with it,¡± came the reply. While they were sitting on the bed talking like this, they didn''t notice that the sky, which had been bright and clear a moment before, was now covered by rainclouds.

    A lady with relatively short, black hair was, as so often, busy preparing various materials for her experiments with magic. An open book lay on her worktable, next to which several glass ampoules were lined up. Silke now took part of their contents out of these containers, which were filled with a wide variety of materials, that were useful for the arcane, to mix them with other materials she had here. She then filled them into other ampoules, which were marked with tiny magic circles. Ivory, ¡°dragon scales¡±, bat wings, incense, cardamom, various other herbs, bone meal, different crystals and gemstones and much more she had available here. A protocol was already set and ready on a small writing desk, which she would fill out when His Highness, the Chosen One, carried out the experiments. The lady was incredibly motivated, and you could clearly see it in the cheerful expression on her face. ¡°What will we find out today about the magical effects of these substances?¡±, she asked herself full of enthusiasm.

    Meanwhile, the aforementioned man was sitting in his study next door. Wenzel''s attention was currently focused on something completely different. He was engrossed in a thick book, that looked truly antique. And indeed, it was. It was an ancient record from Camenian archives, which fortunately had not been burned by madmen, as had happened here during the revolution. The ancient script and language were a great challenge, but the now much more educated Wenzel was able to understand quite a lot of it. After all, the work was written in the Camenian script, the same script that was used throughout Kaphkos, due to the expansion of the empire.

    But these were records from the time before the first empire, and thus from the time before Melgar. This was significant, very significant indeed. What information the emperor now received, he noted down in passing in keywords on a separate sheet of paper. Why was this so important? Well, the situation in Kaphkos was such that there were almost no original written records from this period. The people in charge said that the cultures that had preceded the empire were ¡°barbaric¡± and had, therefore, left hardly any records. What Wenzel was reading here was diametrically opposed to this. What he was able to glean from these pages was the history of a lost advanced civilization, that of the Ostrisulians to be precise.

    It spoke of huge temple complexes, a ¡°modern¡± road network, advanced technologies and construction techniques such as aqueducts, public baths and a complex political system. If one asked a historian today, he would tell you, that all these achievements were only made under Melgar and his descendants. So, what was true? What was the actual truth? The mage doubted that this document was a forgery, and thus spreading lies. It was more likely that the conquerors had portrayed those they had conquered as uncivilized, in order to justify their superiority, and hence their rule over them, as well as the destruction of their culture. From the Ostrisulians in Camenia, the Gordomans in Ordania, to the Kashars in Kasharovar, with whom this had lasted right up to the present day. They were all ¡°uncivilized barbarians¡± who first had to be shown how to live. It had always been the same excuse.

    When there was a knock at the door, his assistant let herself in. ¡°Everything is ready, my lord.¡± - ¡°I see,¡± he simply replied and followed her over to the library, which had basically also become her ¡°laboratory¡±. Wenzel glanced briefly at the containers, the contents of which Silke tried to explain to him. ¡°This ampoule contains marsh mallow, unicorn powder....¡± She noticed that His Majesty wasn''t really listening. When her glance fell on him, he suddenly said, ¡°You believe that science should write down and pass on knowledge and expertise rationally and without judgment, don''t you?¡± - ¡°Of course I do!¡±, returned the lady, who had studied archival science herself. Her boss then asked, ¡°What would you do if it turned out, that everything you had always believed was a lie?¡±

    This question caught the lady completely off guard. Unsure how to react, she remained silent in front of him for a while. Eventually she brought herself to inquire, ¡°What exactly do you mean by that, my lord?¡± The Chosen One looked at her for a moment with a pensive expression. Then he spoke, ¡°Nothing. Forget it.¡± After that, they went back to their magic research. During all this, however, Wenzel couldn''t get the matter out of his head. ¡°All man-made things are just lies! How are you supposed to make any progress without first tearing down these constructs and rebuilding everything from scratch? But you can''t do that either!¡±, it flashed through his mind. ¡°History is also just a tool for control. What you don''t like is erased from it.¡±

    It was pitch-black night. A restless Viktoria sat up after tossing and turning from her completely rumpled bedding. She immediately started to walk around her room again. Shortly after she had started this routine, however, she paused. ¡°No. That doesn''t help me sleep either. I just don''t want to sleep. But I can''t stand it in here either,¡± she murmured quietly to herself. But she was also aware that she couldn''t just go out into the corridor or wander around through the palace at such a late hour. The guards, especially Ylva, wouldn''t allow her to do that. ¡°Screw them all!¡±, the brash girl said now, her voice getting almost too loud. She stepped up to her window and opened it. As the cold night air flooded in, she climbed up onto the ledge. Then she flew out.

    She didn''t want to run away or anything. All she had in mind was to clear her head a little by getting some distance. The dark streets of the imperial city passed below her, lit only in some places by streetlights. She simply flew blindly into the dark mouth that lay beyond the city walls. Some time passed and the girl was sure that she had already flown very far away. She couldn''t tell for sure, as there was almost nothing, she could make out on the stretches of land below her. However, she knew that she could fly much faster than her father, and therefore, had already covered a fair distance. The chill up here gave her goose bumps. In the end, the journey got too long for her, and she began to slowly approach the surface.

    She then saw treetops rising up in front of her, causing her to come to a complete stop and descend the remaining distance to the ground vertically. Having completed the landing, she now found herself in a rustic grove. It was damp, cool, smelled of must and, not too far away, the spooky ¡°hoo-hoo-hoo¡± of a tawny owl could be heard. In the glow of the fire, which she quickly created in the palm of her hand, she wandered a little way across the mossy forest floor until she found a small clearing. Here she quickly gathered a few sticks and branches with her telekinesis and built a fire. The wood, which wasn¡¯t quite dry, began to steam and crackle. The wizard loved it, and her gaze was lost in the dance of the flame once again for a minute or two.

    Then the girl looked around in its light. ¡°If I''m already here, where no one can disturb me, I might as well practise my magic,¡± she realized. No sooner said than done. As a result, she at some distance approached one of the larger trees here and stretched her hand forward. She gathered some strength, but not too much, and then immediately released it in the form of a telekinetic shockwave. As expected, a loud bang followed. The mighty trunk in front of Viktoria splintered and burst. With an ominous creaking sound, it began to topple slowly at first, but then got quite quick, falling over to its left side. Its high crown came crashing down, taking several other trees with it. As it lay on the ground, the girl floated over to the middle of the tree trunk and tried to lift it with her magic. It was very heavy, but she succeeded. Then she lowered it to the ground again.

    This was how the young girl spent her night in the forest. She took great pleasure in not having to restrain herself with her strength and being able to do what she wanted. This offered Viktoria a great opportunity to let out all her frustration. As a result, there was plenty of noise out here for the next two hours. The woodland creatures would not be thanking her for it. Soon, however, she put out the campfire and made her way back. She had memorized the approximate direction she had come from. Now that it seemed to be getting a teensy-weensy bit brighter, she could finally make out where she was. Over the canopy of leaves, she flew, crossing a gigantic forest. This was followed by the vast fields and plains of Central Ordania, which she was very familiar with. And finally, the first spires of the capital appeared on the horizon. Lucky for her, she had not lost her way. Finally, she passed through her window, which was still open, and closed it as quietly as possible.

    The morning had already dawned. No one had noticed her little excursion, so she simply lay down in her bed and pretended, that she had been here the whole time. Although, she had really enjoyed this excursion. She would probably do this more often in the future. Dog-tired, she nodded off in her bed for a moment, but was woken up a little later by a servant. ¡°Buzz off! Let me get some more sleep!¡±, she grumbled rudely at the woman. It wasn¡¯t a good start to the day.

    The emperor''s wife entered her husband''s study and closed the door behind her. ¡°Ever heard of knocking?¡±, the man asked snappishly. After turning around, he immediately realized that it was his sweetheart he had just been talking to. ¡°I''m sorry! I didn''t know it was you!¡±, he immediately said in a pleading tone. Her angry grimace immediately calmed down and responded, ¡°Let''s just forget about it. I really didn''t knock, and it could have been who-knows-who.¡±

    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    The lady came closer to Wenzel and then said: ¡°I''m worried about Viktoria.¡± - ¡°Is it because of the fits she throws?¡±, the father inquired. ¡°I mean, yes, but not only. We''ve often discussed her outbursts of blind destruction anyway. According to Ylva, nothing has improved at all.¡± The emperor made a thoughtful expression. Meanwhile, his wife kept explaining, ¡°This matter has to do with her personal relationships. In a way, she has friends now, but these girls only spend time with her, because they have to. From what I''ve been told, they''re afraid of her.¡± - ¡°I really imagined that Wanja would make a difference here,¡± Wenzel stated soberly.

    ¡°Oh, she does love Wanja. The dog definitely is making a difference,¡± Amalie replied and continued, ¡°But a pet simply isn¡¯t a person.¡± - ¡°I don''t know how I can help our little one either. I''ve told her a thousand times to be considerate of others. And you can''t even say that it''s just a phase. She''s always been so capricious. In combination with the actual power she has, it''s a nasty mix.¡± Amalie could only agree with her husband. But then, to his surprise, she struck an optimistic note. ¡°I think it¡¯ll subside with her going through puberty now. When she develops an interest in boys soon, then it''s quite possible that the girl will grow out of it and blossom out.¡± The emperor simply returned, ¡°Let''s hope so. So far, even the boys her age have tended to respectfully avoid her.¡± There was nothing his wife wanted to say in reply to this.

    At that moment, Silke suddenly came in through the doorway to the library. When she caught sight of Her Highnesses, she immediately slowed down and staggered back in an almost comical manner. The empress cast a sharp glance at her. The assistant was wearing her usual dark blue uniform with the Imperial Guard''s sickle crest on it. Her beautifully combed short hair and slender figure made her an attractive woman, who on top of that was still single. Amalie was well aware of this. ¡°You may volatilise, dear lady! I and my husband have something private to discuss here!¡±, she hissed at the woman, who immediately obeyed. While her husband found this somewhat excessive and mean towards Silke, he naturally understood the reason for his beloved''s behaviour. There was nothing he could do. His wife wouldn''t buy the fact that Mrs. Silke was a very conscientious, professional employee anyway, if only to err on the side of caution.

    So, he changed the subject. ¡°The banquet for the sixteenth anniversary of my coronation is in a few days'' time. Has everything been prepared?¡± - ¡°As far as the servants have let me know, yes,¡± it came back from Amalie. ¡°I''ve also had Viktoria try on her dress for it already. Additionally, I''ve made it VERY clear to her how important this event is, and that she should behave herself.¡± - ¡°If she has promised, then she''ll keep that promise,¡± her husband claimed. She, on the other hand, wasn''t quite so sure about that....

    It was a grand spectacle with lots of pomp and everything that goes with it. Dressed in their finest robes, all the invited guests were called out before they entered the banquet hall. Princes, counts, barons and everyone else was there and they all carried out the same bow as they made their entrance. That alone took what felt like an eternity. And even worse was the fact that Viktoria (and her parents too, of course) had to stay in their seats and endure all this without being allowed to stand up. It was pure torture. Her scratchy dress and the unbearably tight corset, that the servant had forced on her, were unbearable. Yet, she wasn''t allowed to say or do anything. Terrible! Nevertheless, the magician wanted to behave properly on this occasion. It was very important to her adoptive mother. Her father had hardly said anything about it. The girl knew that he didn''t think much of all the fuss and pomp.

    The three of them now sat there as if strung together and let the new arrivals greet them one by one. Wenzel was wearing his usual imperial attire, with cloak and all. Only his footwear was different today, as he was wearing nice boots for once. His little daughter had put on a long, fine, snow-white dress with a matching white headband. Possibly to match Viktoria¡¯s hair colour, Amalie had opted for a bright red dress. Imperial Chancellor Peter Rubellio showed up, then the Prince of Dohnakeled, then the Count of Kuenstriter and many other high nobles and ministers of the empire. Lastly, the Supreme Marshal Theodor and his right-hand man, General Ulrich, together with their families only dropped in relatively late. Naturally, they both were wearing their armour proudly and displayed the sun emblem on their tunics.

    The Emperor then gave a short speech to the assembled crowd to mark the occasion. He talked about something to do with battles, achievements, reconstruction and the revolution. Things like that. Viktoria didn''t care much when she was in such a distress due to her clothes. ¡°Just put on a brave face! Keep smiling and stay calm, Viktoria. It will soon be over,¡± she told herself. But she wasn''t very good at lying to herself. This evening would last a very long time....

    ¡°I would, therefore, like to thank all those present once more for attending. To the empire!¡±. The Sovereign then proposed a toast and raised his glass. Everyone did the same and repeated his words. ¡°Hail Melgar!¡±, he added, and the others echoed these words. Then Theodor suddenly rose from his chair and announced, ¡°Long live Emperor Wenzel!¡± The crowd joined in, ¡°Long live Emperor Wenzel!¡± And with that, the feast would begin.

    There was a huge roast wild boar in sauce with cranberries, which was presented in the middle of the table. There were also smaller dishes and side dishes all around, but it was clear that the wild boar was the ¡°star¡± of this ¡°show¡±. All kinds of desserts were arranged on a separate table. Naturally, this was the first thing to attract Victoria''s attention. But there were only various cakes and tarts, and no other types of sweet treats, specifically those, which Viktoria was so keen of. One should actually eat the main course first. ¡°Oh, what the heck,¡± said the heiress to the throne to herself and headed straight for the dessert buffet. When her adoptive mother saw this, she immediately rushed over to her. ¡°What do you think you''re doing here?¡±, she whispered in a warning tone. ¡°Stop that!¡± Then she forced the girl to leave her plate there and join everyone else at the table to eat the main course.

    That alone annoyed the young lady to no end. But as they sat at the table and ate their meal in as civilized a manner as possible, Amalie watched her closely the entire time. Viktoria hated this so much that she began to tense up angrily. ¡°No, I mustn''t get angry. My magic could do all sorts of terrible things if I don''t keep myself under control!¡±, the wizard reminded herself. There were countless courtiers running around everywhere, carrying things the guests requested and removing dishes. Their robes, most of which were white, had different coloured braids on them, which probably indicated their areas of responsibility.

    At the same time as the Chosen One was eating, one of the guests sitting next to him was having a conversation with him. ¡°The upswing in Lower Duhnia is continuing. In the years before that, things were already on the rise, although this was also due to population growth and the end of the war. However, the large number of imperial construction projects continues to keep our building industry on its toes,¡± the Count of Kuenstriter informed His Majesty about local developments in his district. The Emperor swallowed his mouthful for a moment and then replied, ¡°That is most gratifying, Count. I have explicitly ordered my government to pay particular attention to this. We want to build something, so that future generations will be better off.¡± His conversational partner agreed with him.

    This rather informal exchange was overheard by a gentleman sitting nearby. He was wearing traditional light green pantaloons, which made him immediately recognizable as someone from Camenia. Occasionally, he exchanged a few words with the lady sitting on his other side, but above all, his gaze often wandered over to the young Princess Victoria. Whenever someone looked at him, he turned back to His Majesty and listened in on their conversation. Perhaps he was only doing this for show. It was also possible that the throne heiress''s conspicuously forced behaviour caught his eye and perhaps even irritated him. Or the intense red of her hair, which stood out among all the other guests, attracted his attention. It was impossible to say for sure. Fulco II di Alduino was his name. He was a nobleman from Translimesia, a country of Camenia on the border with Ordania.

    Meanwhile, a little further down the dining table, Ferenc, Theodor and Ulrich were engaged in their conversation. ¡°I''ve heard that you''re supposedly considering returning to Kasharovar. Is that true, Ferenc?¡±, Theodor wanted to know. His friend responded: ¡°I''m still weighting my options. After all these years here, I''ve lost a lot of contact with my homeland. At the same time, I''m getting older and older and, when the time comes, I''d rather spend my last days where my roots are. My clan is still there, waiting for me.¡± - ¡°I see,¡± replied the marshal and added, ¡°It''s different with me. I can''t remember exactly where in Kasharovar I actually originate from. My parents came from somewhere around the area of Linna. But it doesn''t matter to me anymore. Now I belong here and that''s it.¡±

    ¡°And how''s your big boy''s training going? Not so good, I''ve been told?¡±, Ferenc inquired. Theodor just shrugged his shoulders. Then they both looked over at Alexander, who was sitting on the opposite side of the table. When he realized that he had become the topic of conversation, he turned to his friend Wendelin and started chatting with him. He didn''t want to be confronted with the fact that he couldn''t live up to his father''s high expectations when it came to combat training. The boy was only seventeen and yet his old man expected him to be a ¡°master of all things¡±. At least that''s how the boy felt.

    Ulrich, who was one of his trainers, stepped in and turned the men''s attention to another topic. ¡°So, what''s the idea with the Imperial Guard now? It''s too big to be just a bodyguard for the emperor, but it can''t take the place of the army either.¡± The Supreme Marshal immediately had an answer ready, which he shared with everyone: ¡°A failed venture. Nothing else.¡± Ferenc scratched his nose nervously. The Kashar then replied: ¡°His Highness is not trying to do anything reckless or violent. His focus is on stability and economic recovery in the empire. Hence, he prefers slow, gradual change, also in terms of the balance of power.¡±

    Theodor almost had to laugh at this but didn''t show it. With him, there wouldn''t even be the slightest shift in power. However, a retort came from Ulrich, ¡°Change? Recovery? Whatever you say! All I can see is a ruler rummaging through archives and doing research all day. Wenzel, the book emperor, you should call him.¡± It was intended as an insult, as His Majesty was not involved in day-to-day political business, or rather, he was prevented from doing so in many places. However, Wenzel would certainly have taken the term ¡°book emperor¡± as a compliment.

    In the meantime, the emperor''s daughter was sitting at dinner, exasperated. Many people had already finished their meal now and made their way to the dessert buffet. Our redhead was also busy eating a slice of cream cake. However, eating this increased the pressure on her corset even more and made her feel nauseous. The two Kuhn sisters, who had been seated right next to her, didn''t say a word to her. They both wore pale pink silk dresses, but in different sizes, as they were two years apart in age. Marzia only occasionally glanced at the visibly irritated princess out of the corner of her eye. This also made her uncomfortable and she preferred not to speak to the otherwise quick-tempered girl.

    In the end, however, the moment had come. Viktoria had reached the limit of her stomach due to her overeating. She actually felt so sick that she threw up. On the spot. ¡°Viktoria!¡±, her outraged mother shrieked at her. ¡°I''m so sorry, I....¡±, the teenager had to suppress her nausea once again. For the time being, Amalie just stood there, obviously overwhelmed by this embarrassing situation. Then Viktoria''s patience snapped. ¡°You know what, ... fuck it!¡±, the princess spouted. Before anyone else could even be shocked by what she had just said, the teenager tore open the corset from underneath her dress with her magic! In frustration, she then flung the horribly constricting thing onto the floor in front of her. ¡°That¡¯s more than flesh and blood can stand!¡±, she yelled. Meanwhile, the empress was in a state of shock and just stood there silently, her face flushed from the embarrassment.

    Now Wenzel stepped onto the scene. ¡°Young lady! What in God''s name are you doing here!¡±, thundered the voice of the emperor, to whom all eyes were now turned. However, his daughter was already past her limit, and she shouted back, ¡°I can''t stand all these rules and all this la-di-da behaviour! You of all people should understand that!¡± - ¡°No, I don''t! Your behaviour is completely unacceptable!¡± The mage clenched her fists in anger. The fire in her eyes was burning wildly! Then she announced, ¡°I''ll show you what I think of your fine dining!¡± Using her telekinesis, she flipped over the entire table, sending all the food, cutlery and crockery on it flying, with most of it landing on the floor. Wenzel stopped the table in mid-air, but couldn''t prevent the giant mess that all the other flying things that had been on its surface were now causing. All the guests stood there speechless. Only Alexander Kuhn suddenly began to laugh uproariously at this absurd situation. But he quickly swallowed his laughter when his father grabbed him firmly on the shoulder with the one hand he still had.

    The still fuming Viktoria stomped out of the hall alone. Only then did His Majesty, who was also momentarily paralyzed by what had happened, fly after her. Most of those present were initially perplexed. Amalie would have wished for the ground to open and swallow her up. The heiress to the throne had made complete fools of her parents.

    Completely unrelated to this, His Majesty had a dream this night. It was one of those dreams that he always remembered very vividly when he woke up again. He was wandering through his study, a familiar place for him. Unexpectedly, a blue light shone at him through the gap in his desk drawer. He cautiously approached the well-kept wood of the desk and gripped the knob of the drawer with his fingers. Briefly, he hesitated as he realized that he was once again in one of his visions. Only then did he pull it out. Now he was confronted with a less bright glow than he had imagined. It was his old pendant. Instead of the old, broken stone, which was red in colour, an azure stone was now set into it.

    But that was not all. Next to it were three more pendants, all of which looked exactly the same. However, only one of the four emitted a light. The others were without such light. ¡°What a curious display!¡±, the emperor remarked upon seeing this. This marked the end of the prophecy. He walked on through the darkness of the dream world, only to soon enter the next scene.

    The man found himself on a very badly worn tiled floor. All around him, the scenery was blurred, almost as if someone didn''t want to reveal to him exactly where this place was......or would be. He only spotted a single object a few steps away from him. With no other option, he walked over to it and picked it up. It was a simple piece of metal that someone had bent into a round shape. Sharp points protruded from the top, which with a little imagination roughly imitated the features of a crown. ¡°What on earth is that? What does it mean? Another parable?¡±, wondered the recipient of this strange message from God. Once again, he would not be able to do anything with this information until it was too late.

 1. 07 The Fancy Ball

    A gentle breeze carried along the mild air from the not-so-distant southern sea. From the chimney of an old inn, which had been run by the same family for many generations, rose dark clouds of spruce wood burning in the fireplace. Its walls were made of round stones, often stacked seemingly without order, held together mainly by the cement between them. A sign reading ¡°Ye Olde Fish Tavern¡± hung above the gate. A hooded figure now walked under the flag depicting the Camenian eagle, which was flown next to the entrance to the house. In the light of dusk, the man with a dark brown hood and light green pantaloons entered the establishment, deliberately turning his back to the setting sun to better conceal his face.

    The gentleman purposefully walked past the bar counter and weaved his way in between the guests to reach one of the back rooms. There he went down a steep staircase at the end of which was a locked door. He knocked five times. Shortly afterwards, the following could be heard from the other side: ¡°The carp is swimming in the big pond.¡± He immediately replied, ¡°But it will drown soon.¡± As a result, the key turned in the lock and he was let in. Only when the door was locked again did the lady greet him. ¡°Good evening, Your Serene Highness,¡± it came from a relatively short woman with shoulder-length hair. She didn''t seem to be quite the youngest anymore, but she definitely couldn''t be described as geriatric. ¡°Good evening to you too, Mrs. Vogt,¡± the newcomer replied. Then he let his gaze wander around the room. There were two other men and a youngling sitting together at a table.

    One of the men, an old veteran who had seen it all, stared out of his deep eye sockets at the newcomer. The former Field Marshal Etzel radiated all the toughness that the world had thrown at him. He took a puff of his cigar, whose smoke filled the entire room right up to the beautiful brick vaulted cellar and puffed it out again. The other gentleman was considerably narrower and significantly less solidly built than Etzel. He was Petra''s current partner. His quiet, timid nature meant that he momentarily was just sitting there, not having a conversation with his counterpart. And then there was the boy. He had medium-length brown hair and very handsome features. He was a little short for a man, but that still could possibly change with a growth spurt. After all, he was only sixteen. Achaz was his name, and he was the son of Petra. ¡°He looks very much like his father,¡± is what an observer would have thought, if he had known August.

    Now the visitor removed the hood from his head. Underneath, a heavily curled mop of hair was revealed, which left no doubt as to his Camenian ancestry, if his traditional clothing had not already made this clear. ¡°I''m sorry we had to ask you to come here so early, dear baron,¡± noted Etzel, who had examined him from top to bottom to make sure he was indeed the Baron of Alduino he knew and not an impostor. The nobleman replied, ¡°I really wasn''t happy about it, as you can imagine! It is a considerable risk to meet your kind here. Of course, I would have preferred a later, darker hour.¡± - ¡°Anyway, you''re here now. Let''s get down to business. The longer we take here, the more we run the risk of being tracked down.¡± The innkeeper was one of their allies, but one could never be too careful.

    The noble lord sat down on one of the free chairs and immediately began to report. ¡°What my brother, who was present at the imperial palace, has told me is that the princess seems to be incredibly quick-tempered and rebellious. Her parents don''t seem to be able to control her. She also seems to have very few friends.¡± Hearing this, a sly grin crept across Petra''s lips. The woman, who was the only one who hadn''t sat down but preferred to stand, now began to walk up and down the cellar room. Weighing up the situation, she said, ¡°Good, that''s very good! We can exploit such great weaknesses!¡± Then she looked over at her son, who immediately asked her, ¡°What do you have in mind, mother?¡± - ¡°What do I have in mind? Avenging your father''s heinous betrayal, of course! Isn''t that what you want, too?¡±, she asked her counter-question. The boy immediately replied, ¡°Yes, I do want that, too!¡± But his voice had a somewhat uncertain tone. He wasn''t good at hiding his true feelings.

    ¡°Ahem!¡±, her ally of nobility now cleared his throat. ¡°I have more things to tell you, if you don''t mind.¡± - ¡°Excuse me! Of course I do,¡± August''s widow returned to the man who felt ignored. He continued, ¡°This is less of a secret now, but cracks also seem to have formed between the military leadership and the imperial house in recent years. The ruler has apparently massively expanded the size of his own troops and continues to do so. A power struggle could be looming here. However, it would be premature to actually speak of such a thing.¡± Etzel responded with a satisfied nod. The old warhorse was now the first to address what had been said, ¡°We shouldn''t bet on such developments. I''m not even going to start with ''could'' and ''possibly''. We have no influence over these two factions. Especially since this diabolical system is steeped in heretical ideology, it is unlikely that we will be able to exert any real influence here in the foreseeable future. No! We have to build up our own strength.¡±

    ¡°Haven''t you already done that in recent years with your free lancers?¡±, the baron inquired. ¡°Yes, but I could only get the ones with the highest conviction to join us. They are still a small, insignificant troop.¡± Di Alduino stroked his short beard. After a moment''s consideration, he responded, ¡°It is also in my interest that this demon is destroyed. Show me your men sometime. I might be willing to finance the project.¡± This was very good news for the former field marshal. While all this was going on, Petra''s man just sat at the table and drank from his cup. Achaz also remained silent for the time being.

    But then his mother approached him and said, ¡°The two of us are going to do something great, do all of humanity a favour! But you have to do exactly what I tell you, do you understand?¡± - ¡°Yes, mother!¡±, the boy replied with compulsion. ¡°Excellent. But I need someone else''s help for that,¡± spoke the lady, nervously turning towards the door. ¡°Where the heck is that guy again?¡± For a while, Etzel and the baron discussed the matter of recruiting. But then there was a knock at the door. There were six knocks in total, one too many as had been agreed. Nevertheless, the impatient woman asked her ¡°carp question¡±. The gruff male voice from the other side responded slyly, ¡°You know exactly who I am! Open up, old hag!¡± Somewhat offended, she opened the gate for the man, who was obviously the right person.

    In stepped a clean-shaven figure with short, dishevelled hair, wearing only tattered rags. It was Lucius Cornel and he shook the lady''s hand solely to conform to etiquette. He only greeted the others present with a half-hearted wave of the hand. With his worn-out sandals, he immediately stepped in front of the boy and eyed him up. From this a shiver ran down Achaz¡¯ spine and he then addressed a question to his mother: ¡°Mother, who is this man?¡± - ¡°Someone who has joined us because he has the same goals as we do. We can be sure that he hates the Demon Emperor at least as much as .... no, actually even more than we do.¡±

    The unkempt man now turned to Petra and uttered, ¡°And what do you want to do now? What plan do you have?¡± The widow replied, ¡°I already have an idea. But we''ll have to plan it very carefully and we¡¯ll need the help of our ally, the Most Serene Baron of Alduino here.¡± - ¡°Okay....?¡±, it came back from Lucius in a questioning tone. ¡°Though, we won''t need you at the beginning, Cornel.¡± - ¡°What? Then why am I here?¡±, the man asked justifiably. ¡°To get to know everyone involved and to also be in the know. Why else?¡± Then they began to discuss their further course of action.

    ¡°Come on! You can do it! Aren¡¯t you a really strong doggy? Yes, you are!¡± The red-haired girl snatched a small stuffed toy, which was supposed to be a pig, from her dog''s mouth and threw it to the other end of the room. Full of enthusiasm, the animal ran after its favourite toy and brought it right back to its owner. ¡°Good girl!¡±, Viktoria praised Wanja and stroked her head. Although her pet still wanted to continue playing, the girl now stopped. With a long sigh, she let herself sink completely onto the floor where she had been sitting. ¡°It''s so boring here!¡±, she whined to her dog. It ran straight over to her and licked her face. The young lady then pushed her Wanja away from her a little, while trying to be as gentle as possible with her, though.

    ¡°Still a week left in here! Not even Ylva is talking to me!¡± The boredom and loneliness were crushing for her in house arrest. She hated it, which meant the punishment was doing the trick. However, much to her parents'' discomfort, it wouldn''t do much to change Viktoria''s attitude. ¡°I have no regrets!¡±, she said to herself in reference to the events at her father''s jubilee. The princess had definitely brought shame on the imperial house with her behaviour. She also knew that what she had done was wrong. And yet she also felt that her anger, which had exploded then, had been justified. Not a good thing! She had gotten a real earful from her adoptive parents after the incident. It was the first time she had ever seen her father truly angry.

    And she understood his feelings too, or at least she made herself believe she did. But since she didn''t admit that she ALONE was to blame for the whole thing, they had grounded her for a full month. Not even Ylva was allowed to talk to her beyond the bare minimum. It was absolutely unbearable for the usually energetic girl. Even spending time with Wanja wasn''t very helpful and quickly became monotonous and boring. Of course, she still had to study, but that was just an exhausting humdrum for her and didn¡¯t offer her any relief from boredom. ¡°Oh, God! I can''t take it anymore!¡±, she announced to everyone present, meaning just Wanja and herself. Tonight, she would definitely sneak out again!

    Meanwhile, the imperial couple had been thinking about other things, that would soon be coming up. There was a knock at the door to Viktoria''s room. ¡°Yes?¡±, it came back from her in an unfriendly tone. But she immediately stood up perfectly straight when she saw her mother enter. She informed her, ¡°You''re still grounded for another week, young lady.¡± - ¡°I know that, mother. Is that the only reason you''re here?¡± - ¡°Not at all. There''s another event coming up in a few weeks. It''s a traditional masked ball and we''ve decided to host it here in the palace''s grand ballroom.¡± Slightly confused, the princess tilted her head to one side in an inquisitive manner. ¡°Due to your age, you would normally be allowed to attend for the first time this year, but given your recent - ahem - behaviour, it was questionable whether you really should. I and your father have discussed the matter and ultimately came to the conclusion that you should be permitted to attend the festivities. Especially since it''s a masked ball, so no one can see who is who, we can allow it. But be aware that we will not accept any bad behaviour from you!¡±

    ¡°Yes, milady!¡±, the teenager replied. She had never intended to behave badly anyway. The last time it had just been forced on her by circumstances. ¡°Starting next week, you''ll also be taking a couple of dance lessons.¡± - ¡°Oh, geez!¡±, the teenager gave back. Amalie was irritated by her lack of respect, which she also demonstrated to her here on this occasion. After briefly inquiring about the girl¡¯s studies, she left her daughter again. The emperor¡¯s consort closed the door behind her and strolled back into her chambers. In her mind, it was not a good idea to keep Viktoria away from others. Hence the ball. She wanted the girl to be in contact with others. Regrettably, her dreadful conduct had left them no choice but to punish her.

    It was a balmy spring evening, which was very unusual. One carriage after another rolled up in front of the Melgarion Palace. Many high ladies and lords, as well as their sons and daughters, had accepted the invitation to the ball. No one was wearing traditional, meaning regionally specific, clothing that could give an indication of the identity of the person in question. And of course, they all were wearing masks. There were masks of all kinds, in various shapes, some of which imitated animals, and also in a wide variety of colours. Viktoria also entered the building via the main portal of the house where she actually lived. She was wearing a long red dress, a colour that she speculated no one would suspect her to be wearing, because of it being too similar to her hair colour. She also had her hair in a neat updo and had dyed it black, as otherwise it would have been completely obvious who she was. It was only a temporary hair dye that she would be able to wash out again within a few days. On top of that, she also had a mask that only made her recognizable to people who knew her somewhat better.

    A lot of people had come, which surprised her. The wizard naturally came with her parents, who were also dressed differently than usual. Walking up the high stairs and through the large halls, they reached the ballroom. It was a gigantic, magnificent hall with frescoes of angels on the ceiling and a huge crystal chandelier hanging down in its centre. There was a lot going on here and it was almost crowded in places. However, the dance floor remained orderly and free, at least for those who went dancing. Of course, only boring, upmarket music was played, but that was just the way it was in the upper echelons of society. However, even if everything here was ¡°controlled¡± to a considerable extent, the young people always found opportunities to chat on the sidelines or by ¡°having to leave¡± the hall quickly. Now the princess also mingled with them. The girl couldn''t recognize anyone... Wait!

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    She could clearly make out someone she knew who was chatting to another guy. Alexander Kuhn, the son of the Supreme Marshal, was wearing a dark green tabard with a belt that had a big golden buckle. They could clearly identify him by his angular facial features, his above-average height and his tendency to gesticulate a lot. She didn''t really like him much, but at least moved a bit closer to the person, who was currently leading a conversation.

    ¡°...and then I knocked the sword right out of his hand! Ulrich and the Major General,...um...I can''t remember his exact name, were all of a tizzy. So, they sent the recommendation of my promotion to major general to my father. I''ll soon be rising in rank again,¡± Alexander boasted in front of his friend. His conversation partner, who was most likely Wendelin, only replied with regular interjections of ¡°Great!¡±, ¡°Mhm¡± or ¡°Impressive!¡± His best friend was probably rolling his eyes behind his mask. He, just like everyone else, knew that the military chief''s son was only promoted because of his connections. As Viktoria stood near him, she was immediately reminded of why she didn''t like the guy. ¡°Meglarbruck''s number one chatterbox!¡±, she thought to herself with a sneer.

    But then he spotted her standing not far from the two of them and looking in their direction. ¡°Hello, beautiful! Come here, we won''t bite,¡± Alexander said. ¡°I¡¯d rather not,¡± the mage replied in her typical cheeky manner. He hadn''t realized it was Viktoria and now stood there like a poodle left out in the rain. Wendelin quickly turned to the side so as not to show off his smile. Meanwhile, the princess continued walking through the crowd.

    Drinking from a hemispherical wine glass, Irnfrid stood at one of the many bar tables. Opposite her was Amalie, whom she had also recognized very quickly. ¡°You''ve really hit it off with the weather.¡± - ¡°You probably mean we got lucky,¡± the empress corrected her in a manner, that was supposed to come across as amicable, and took a sip from her glass. The lady did the same and then said, ¡°I assume that your Viktoria is also here today.¡± Amalie only replied, ¡°Maybe.¡± But then she asked, ¡°And you''re here with both of your daughters?¡± - ¡°No, I only allowed Marzia to come. Eleonore is still too young.¡± - ¡°I see,¡± her conversation partner returned dryly.

    Eventually, Irnfrid opened up a new topic, ¡°I''m really worried about the relationship between our husbands.¡± - ¡°Wenzel and Theodor?¡± - ¡°Who else? Ever since they had an argument between them a few years ago, they''ve hardly spoken a word to each other. I see that as a problem. I know the reason for their quarrel, but I don''t think it''s a good thing if we keep letting it fester like this. I can''t change my stubborn mule¡¯s mind anyway. Couldn''t you talk to your own for once?¡± The emperor''s wife seemed annoyed by this request. First, she pressed her lips together and then she responded, ¡°To discuss what? I''ve already spoken with Wenzel about it many times. Theodor and the military are the ones blocking everything here. Do you think it''s right to oppose the ruler of the empire like this, thus exposing him?¡±

    The mother of three was a little affected by this. She countered, ¡°Does His Majesty want to risk his own safety by being softer on the heretics?¡± As a result, Amalie''s face showed a brief hint of ire, which she immediately suppressed. ¡°Let''s end this topic, dearest. I don''t want to start an argument with you!¡± Irnfrid agreed with her. Then they returned to less sensitive topics of conversation.

    All kinds of drinks were served on a table at free disposal. A swan sculpture carved out of ice was displayed in a large glass bowl in the middle of said table. Viktoria approached it and wondered where they had gotten the ice from and how it had been kept cold until the opening of the ball. Up until now, it had already melted considerably. At that moment, someone spoke to her from the side, ¡°It''s a really beautiful ice sculpture.¡± She turned to the person somewhat abruptly. It was a young man, about her height, wearing a good-looking, black cotte and a rather small mask that was quite simple in its design. On his head he wore a black beret with a silver bordure. ¡°Did you just read my mind?¡±, the girl asked, but then she answered her own question straight away, ¡°Of course not. You can''t.¡±

    She didn''t realize how strange and revealing her statement actually was. After a few seconds of silence, the boy replied, ¡°I like your sense of humour. And your dress is really nice, too.¡± - ¡°Thank you?¡±, came Victoria''s reply with a drawn-out final vowel. In response, the young man had to laugh. ¡°You''re probably not used to compliments.¡± - ¡°Not really,¡± the undercover princess replied curtly.¡± - ¡°I can''t understand that. You seem really nice to me.¡± He paused for a moment. The current piece of music had just finished. So, he asked her, ¡°May I ask you for a dance?¡±, and held his hand out to her. ¡°Okay,¡± she returned briefly. Then they went to the dance floor.

    Lucky for her, she had had dance lessons, otherwise she would have made a fool of herself. She was able to keep to the rhythm of the song that was being played, but frequently made the wrong steps. However, her dance partner was able to deal with her missteps and the dance worked quite well. ¡°You''re really good at this..... unlike me,¡± the girl remarked. As they were spinning around in circles, the young man responded, ¡°That''s not true. You can dance quite well, too; you just need a bit more practice.¡± - ¡°You''ve got flattery in spades!¡±, she replied cynically. ¡°I guess so,¡± he said in a slightly amused tone. The mage actually found his nonchalant manner quite charming. ¡°Are you here with your parents?¡±, she asked him. He returned, ¡°In a way. I''m trying to get lost in the crowd so they can''t watch me too closely.¡± - ¡°Same with me,¡± said the girl.

    In the meantime, Wenzel had already found some of his old friends here and was chatting happily with them about all sorts of things. The five men, specifically Brahm, Ferenc, Balduin, Peter and Wenzel, stood together and laughed at one of Brahm''s ¡°old men''s jokes¡±, with Ferenc, as always, cracking up the loudest. Peter didn''t even seem to care about the idea of the ball, which is why he wore his usual clothes and only the required face covering differed from his usual get-up. It was him in particular that the wizard talked to a lot. ¡°I remember when you couldn''t even find Greifenburg on a map. And look at you now!¡± his first friend teased the emperor. ¡°I was basically a completely different person back then. What the years can do to you,¡± Wenzel replied with slight nostalgia. Next to him, Brahm wanted to say something the whole time, but didn''t know exactly how he could tap into any of the topics. Balduin, by contrast, hung on the Chosen One''s every word and barely spoke at all.

    Amalie now approached the gentlemen in her cerulean dress. ¡°Would you care for a dance with your wife, my love?¡±, she whispered into his ear. With the ball having been her initiative, so she also wanted to do something fun here. He immediately took her by the hand and informed his friends that he was heading for the dance floor. The imperial couple had just joined the other dancers when the song that had just been played ended. Almost as if the whole thing had been planned, the musicians switched to a slower, more romantic song. Viktoria and her dance partner also began to dance to this very song, even if the young lady was a little embarrassed by it. However, she suddenly saw that her parents were also on the dance floor. ¡°No! They mustn''t see me!¡±, it flashed through her mind and, to the surprise of the person dancing with her, she immediately left this place. Her panic from her parents'' eyes had caused her to make a quick escape. She now felt sorry for the guy, who had certainly been given the wrong impression by this. He would probably think she didn''t want to dance to a romantic song with him.

    She grabbed him by the arm and hurried out of the hall. Over colourful floor mosaics depicting various sun symbols, she pulled him through the vast corridors of the palace. ¡°Where are you going?¡±, he wanted to know. But Viktoria didn''t answer. The young woman led him through a comparatively narrower side corridor and then around another corner. There was no one here now, and there also was no candlelight. However, the moonlight coming in through the windows was enough to see. ¡°I''m sorry. I didn''t want you to...um...because of the song. My parents were on the dance floor,¡± she stammered. He grinned and said, ¡°I understand. No need to get so nervous.¡± He paused and then continued, ¡°But you didn''t have to kidnap me to some secluded corridor.¡± A smile crossed his lips. Somehow, the girl felt something stirring inside her.

    ¡°May I see your face?¡±, she now asked him. ¡°Only if you show me yours, too,¡± the guy replied. ¡°Okay.¡± So, they took off their masks at the same time. The guy in front of her definitely had attractive features, as the girl felt. Her counterpart also seemed to think the same about her, as he looked intently at her cheeks and mouth. ¡°I think that''s enough now,¡± she told him, whereupon the boy averted his eyes from her again. Now they both looked out of the window in silence. ¡°Should I ask him? Yes, I should!¡±, was Viktoria''s train of thought. ¡°Will you tell me your name?¡±, she inquired in a tone that was unusually soft for her. In response, his facial muscles stiffened briefly. Then the boy returned, ¡°Achaz. .....And you?¡± It should have been clear to the princess that he would now also ask her name. She finally replied: ¡°My name is Marzia.¡± He seemed to suppress an emotion about this.

    After a moment of silence, Achaz changed the subject again. ¡°And what do you like to do in your free time? Believe it or not, I like to go riding on horseback.¡± - ¡°Well, I don''t mind riding. But most of the time I don''t need it,¡± Viktoria metaphorically bit her own tongue. She had better be careful what she said before she revealed too much about herself. Consequently, the thought crossed her mind as to why she wanted to keep her identity secret in this case. Did she want to remain unreachable? ¡°I guess it''s different for girls than for boys. Our fathers expect different things from us than they do from you,¡± Achaz rationalized her statement. She only agreed with him with a short ¡°Mhm¡±.

    He was a clever, charming and, in Victoria''s eyes, good-looking guy, quite unlike the fool Alexander with his stupid bowl cut. The young man pondered for a moment, then uttered, ¡°Why won''t you tell me your real name?¡± The girl was surprised by the intelligence he was demonstrating here. She hesitated for a moment. But then finally her conversation partner heard, ¡°You shouldn''t ask too many questions.¡± The voice had simply appeared in his head. The mage''s lips had not moved in order to do this. This only worked because he ¡°let her in¡±, as a magician could not usually enter someone else''s thoughts without touching the person. Hence, the situation became immediately clear to him, too.

    Afterwards, the two of them decided on a time and place where they would meet again. ¡°Are you really going to make it there?¡±, Achaz wanted to know. But Viktoria only replied, ¡°I can make it anywhere!¡± They then masked up again and returned to the ballroom. The rest of the evening, they spent having a good time. The first domino had fallen.

    ¡°And did you have fun yesterday?¡±, Wenzel tried to probe into his daughter. ¡°Yes, it was fun,¡± was all he could get out of her. His nature prevented him from questioning her further after she had clearly communicated with her short answer, that she didn''t want to talk to him about it. He turned around and was about to take his leave again when Viktoria stopped him. ¡°Wait!¡±, she blurted out and her father turned to her. ¡°I have something I want to know.¡± - ¡°And what would that be?¡±

    ¡°I had a strange dream the day before yesterday. I mean, I often have visions of the future, but this dream was particularly unusual.¡± Wenzel now sat down on the chair in front of her and looked intently into his little girl''s eyes. She continued, ¡°In it, men in check robes stood in the middle of wheat fields and harvested the crops. A huge number of weeds grew between the wheat, and they simply cut them down along with everything else. What could that mean? I mean, I know the symbols on the Imperial Guard uniforms were changed to sickles harvesting grain just a few years ago. Surely, it has something to do with that, right?¡± The emperor''s eyes widened when he heard this. He cleared his throat briefly and said, ¡°You''ll find out when the time is right. You can''t yet understand the path I''m carving out and wresting away from fate.¡± She felt somewhat offended by this and responded, ¡°So I was right!¡±

    ¡°The visions are right. Even if they can be mysterious, they''re usually correct,¡± the man replied. ¡°But they are not set in stone. You can change the future through your actions! But I still don''t fully understand it all. For example, I didn''t have visions of the past as a child, but I do now.¡± The princess looked at him, slightly confused. Then she uttered, ¡°I''ve never seen the past!¡± Wenzel stroked his beard thoughtfully. ¡°Curious, indeed¡±, was all he said. He hadn''t learned anything new from this, Viktoria, on the other hand, actually had.

    When he returned to his chambers, he met up with his wife, who happened to be returning at the same time. ¡°Darling, I have something important to tell you before I forget,¡± it came from Wenzel. ¡°What is it?¡± - ¡°I''m going on a trip, and I can''t tell you exactly how long I''ll be away,¡± he began his explanations, which demanded further details. Naturally, Amalie immediately wanted to know, ¡°Why? Where do you have to go?" - ¡°I don''t know exactly yet. All I know is that it''s south of here.¡± The lady continued to listen to him intently. ¡°I''ve been meaning to find the last of the Holy Artifacts for a long time. With the sceptre, I will manage that. It points in the direction where the item I''m looking for can be found. Unfortunately, I don''t know the exact location yet, because otherwise I wouldn''t have to make the journey at all.¡±

    His wife then wanted to know: ¡°Can''t you have a servant do it?¡± - ¡°No, unfortunately not,¡± he replied promptly. ¡°The sceptre only works if you use magic on it. That excludes everyone but me and Viktoria.¡± This actually was a lie. He simply didn''t want to trust anyone else with tracking down such an important artifact. ¡°So, yes. I don''t know how much time this will actually take. I''ve already informed Brahm and Peter. I''ll make sure it doesn''t take me too long.¡± Amalie looked at him briefly and then gave him her blessing. ¡°Take care of yourself, you hear! There''s still a great number of lunatics out there.¡± This made Wenzel laugh. He had overcome such feelings of fear since the days of the revolution.

 1. 08 The Holy City

    The Chosen One was flying over endless plains. He had already left the weather divide of the Limesian Mountains behind him. Although it should have been considerably warmer here in Camenia than in his homeland, he felt nothing of it up here in the higher layers of the atmosphere. A bitterly cold wind rushed around his ears and his limbs ached from the cold, but the sceptre continued to point south. ¡°Where are you going to take me?¡±, Wenzel asked himself as he flew over the hilly, parched landscapes of the Camenian Kingdom. Smaller and larger settlements passed beneath him. Every now and then he even crossed paths with a flock of birds. In the farthest distance, he could now even make out the endless blue of the South Sea. Where was the Imperial Orb?

    He crossed Galadea. Then the light in the blue stone of the sceptre, which he had stretched forward to show him the way, went out. ¡°At last, something¡¯s happening!¡±, the mage proclaimed. He turned around and realized that the Holy Artifact was pointing him to the Holy City of Galadea. At least, it was here, and not on the other side of the world or even in the depths of the ocean. That would have been a problem! As the man guided by the light of the stone set course for the capital of Camenia, he began to lose more and more altitude. He reduced his speed and, step by step, began to make out increasingly more details of the empire''s first capital.

    An ancient city, built on six hills. Wenzel came closer and closer and recognized the dilapidated-looking roofs of many of the old buildings. Much here seemed to be hewn from gray stone and took on more natural tones than the often snow-white or even brightly painted churches in Ordania. Eventually, he came down far enough to smell the floral scents of this foreign climate mixed with the salt of the sea air carried by the wind. It gave him a very special feeling and immediately transported him into a completely different world to the one he usually knew. But then a few thought processes began to take place in his mind. ¡°I don''t want to be recognized as the sovereign, otherwise I''ll be mobbed by hundreds of curious onlookers,¡± predicted His Highness.

    Consequently, Wenzel landed on the outskirts of the city in a place where he would remain as undetected as possible and went inside on foot. He was wearing a thick, gray coat anyway in order to avoid getting too cold during the flight. Now it would also serve as his inconspicuous camouflage. Although he was of course able to conceal his identity with the garment, it was incredibly hot underneath. It was almost summer and the sun in this subtropical latitude was absolutely searing during the day. The cloaked man made his way into the metropolis. On one side of the road were a few shabby homesteads, on the other, incredibly tall cypress trees lined the street. As expected, the closer he got to the city proper, the more people there were. From a side street, he finally turned onto the ¡°Via Sacra¡±, the main pilgrimage route that led into the city from the north. There was a lot of traffic and Wenzel simply joined a group that also seemed to be heading into the city centre. They were almost all men, and they all wore traditional white clothing on their pilgrimage to the Holy City.

    A quick check of the ¡°divining rod¡± hidden in his sleeve confirmed that he had to advance further towards the city centre. This path led him past a plethora of saint statues. Ultimately, he passed the city wall, which surrounded the part of the city now known as the old city, but which was also usually meant when people spoke of Galadea in a historical or religious context. This wall also appeared ancient and almost as if it had not been maintained for centuries. That was probably the case, actually. Entering the historic centre of the Holy City was a breathtaking experience, at least for the faithful. But it was also for the emperor, albeit for a different reason. The pilgrims marvelled at the countless temples, chapels and holy sites that were all clustered together in a small space here. Wenzel, on the other hand, stretched out his head towards the ruins of the old aqueducts, which were several storeys high.

    He separated himself from the travelling group, which was already getting lost in the tightly packed crowds here, and walked closer to the structural remains of the large aqueduct that ran through the city from the west. It was clearly made of much larger and differently cut stones than the houses that had been built between its pillars. All sorts of grasses and other weeds had grown out of the cracks and gullies of the ancient structure. It was clearly no longer in use. The ruler, who had now become an amateur historian, closely examined the cyclopean-sized stones in front of him. He was convinced that they dated back several centuries BEFORE the time of Melgar. ¡°Most definitely a different stratum,¡± Wenzel mumbled into his beard.

    Then he walked on, following the stream of people. Along the narrow alleyways, he passed countless buildings and smaller monuments that would have fascinated him to look at. However, the large crowds prevented him from stopping. There was a lot of chatter coming from those around him. Not only could the relatively well-known Galadean dialect be heard, but also other dialects of Camenian, as well as many other languages. Pilgrims were travelling here from all over. The procession of people moved slowly forward and with it our wizard. We passed countless merchants'' stalls selling all kinds of bric-a-brac, but of course also hot food and clothing. Everything you could imagine could be bought here. He passed hairdressers, butchers, drugstores and many, many churches.

    Finally, he reached a small square with an obelisk in the middle. Interested, he headed in its direction and was ultimately able to fight his way through the flood of people to its pedestal. Here he stopped and looked up vertically at the monument. There had once been inscriptions here, but they had obviously been ground away beyond recognition. At the very bottom of the obelisk, however, you could still make out a line that looked like Ostrisul. Wenzel knelt down and looked more closely. It was indeed Ostrisul. He stood up and looked over the square from his slightly elevated position. All the houses here definitely looked old, but that wasn''t what caught his eye. No, what struck him was that the foundations of all these buildings were made of a different material than their walls. Each of these houses here had been built on something that had been here prior. It was a structure that, according to its appearance, was built from the same stones and therefore, according to the rules of logic, in a similar time period as the aqueducts.

    This allowed only one conclusion to be drawn: the culture to which this stratum before the Melgarian era belonged, had built the aqueducts and many other large structures in this settlement. Here the emperor had tangible proof that the achievements and significance of the pre-Teleiotic culture had been erased from the historical record! Of course, he already knew this, but he was always looking for proof. He could not fall into the trap of believing everything he only had read and not checked for himself. But then he reminded himself of his actual mission here. ¡°I shouldn''t let myself be distracted by things like that!¡±, he reprimanded himself.

    He checked the direction in which his Holy Artifact was pointing once more, then he rejoined the slowly moving masses here. Gone now were the sweet scents of flowers, replaced by the fumes of the countless dishes offered by the many food stalls here. Again and again, he could see young boys offering to polish the shoes of passers-by for a single paltry sesterce. Wenzel went over and gave a child wearing only tatters a sesterce without asking for anything in return. But he had to be careful not to attract too much attention. In the flow of the crowd, he slowly saw himself approaching the hill in the heart of the city where the main sanctuary stood. Apparently, his path led him there.

    With loud voices, itinerant preachers on the side tried to attract the attention of the visitors. There were also women dressed in nuns'' robes asking for donations. Their signs read ¡°The Gracious Sisters of St. Elisabeth¡±. It was a large charity organization that was also known to our ruler. It operated all over the empire, so it must have had quarters here too, even if he didn''t know it. ¡°There is good in religion,¡± the emperor reflected. Despite all his discrepancies with the Commune, he had nothing against faith. He did not deny the existence of God or deny the positive aspects of the message of charity. Only the justification of cruelty and injustice in the name of religion displeased him to a considerable extent. He made a donation here too, hiding the fact that he had given a gold coin instead of a simple sesterce, like he had done with the young boy before.

    The road took a bend here and the man followed it. After this, the path went straight up to the Serapinal, the hill on which the Temple of the Holy Taphos stood. It was the spiritual centre not only of Galadea, but of all of Kaphkos! At the top of the hill was a place of worship, which was the only building in the city with a golden roof. Wenzel laboriously dragged himself up the climb alongside the countless pilgrims. To the left and right, the beautiful but old and gray buildings stretched past them. They had a completely different architectural style than anything he had ever seen in Meglarsbruck. The hill itself was surrounded by a wall with only four gates, one in each direction. As they passed through the gate to the most important shrine of Teleiotism, and the reflection of the sun''s rays were thrown back at them from the golden roof, the pilgrims increasingly began to shout religious slogans. Even Wenzel could not help but be moved by this. The crowds streamed past a neatly laid out park up to the highest point.

    On the way there, the magician stopped briefly at a drinking fountain, otherwise he would have collapsed from the scorching heat. Then he carried on. When he finally reached the top, however, he was a little surprised. As impressive as the Temple of the Holy Taphos might have been, it was unexpectedly small. Wenzel looked at it from top to bottom, but he couldn''t quite categorize the building. It seemed to combine various architectural aspects from different periods and styles. He was much less impressed by it than he had expected. The small plateau around it was full of people. The emperor waited a short while before turning his attention to the view over the city. It was a great feeling to be able to see everything from up here. His eyes wandered in fascination over the countless towers and buildings from bygone eras. A huge piece of world history was presented here in the Saeptasolio ward in a melange of different eras and strata that all seemed to exist side by side and on top of each other.

    Here he was in the centre, in the place where Teleiotism had begun and spread across the entire continent. The countless millions, probably more like billions of its followers, who multiplied endlessly and spread everywhere, saw this place as the navel of the world, the place of their origin. After walking around for a while and taking in the view, he finally set out to do what he had come here for. He got in line to get inside as well. There were guards at the entrance, bearing a quite unique crest. It was very different from the sun flag of the empire and the triquetra flag of the Teleiotic Commune. The crest basically depicted the Temple of the Holy Taphos on a dark blue background. Slowly, the crowd moved on, and Wenzel entered the building.

    The interior was unusually dark. A series of chapels were arranged in a circle around a central rotunda. In the middle of it stood a single, small structure, a kind of mini-temple within the larger temple. This so-called aedicula was surrounded by a sea of candles that illuminated the otherwise gloomy building. There was dead silence. Everyone moved thoughtfully and reverently through the premises. The vault above them was painted with a starry sky, one that frighteningly reminded Wenzel of Elizabeth''s eyes when he had held her in his arms in her last minutes. And of course, the icons of Melgar were also omnipresent. Unrecognized, the emperor walked into the aedicule, which led one down a staircase and a little deeper still. There was nothing here except a tiny, narrow room with candles burning in recesses in the walls. In front of him was a simple stone slab with the outline of a man carved into it. There was no inscription, no frippery on this grave. It was just as He would have wanted it. No explanation was necessary. It was the grave of Melgar, the Chosen One.

    Wenzel let the moment linger for a time. "I have taken over your title and your legacy. Never will I live up to it,¡± he spoke to the dead. He patted his chest three times. Only then did he take out his sceptre and activate it. The light shone only slightly as he pointed it down at Melgar''s grave. Further to the right, but still pointing downwards, the glow became a little stronger again. "It''s not here. It''s even further below this place!¡±, he stated. ¡°Why?¡±, the man asked himself, disappointed. The other believers who came down after him wondered what he was doing here and asked him about it. He ignored them, but soon noticed how the people''s whispers increased and then moved from one person to another up the corridor. They must have guessed correctly who he was.

    He pushed past the gawking visitors and made his way back upstairs. Then he went to one of the men dressed in priestly robes, who was leaning against one of the large pillars of the rotunda. The new Chosen One slipped off his cloak and unveiled the imperial uniform he was wearing underneath. Simultaneously, he now revealed his magical aura to leave no doubt as to his identity. "Good day! I have come here to take care of something important. I suspect that this will require the temporary closure of the shrine. "The clergyman was shaken for a moment and took a little while to react. Finally, however, he raised his voice and summoned one of his fellow brothers, ¡°Tell the Guardians to close the temple for the rest of the day! His Holiness is here!" And so, it happened.

    ¡°We are honoured to welcome you here to the Holy of Holies of Teleiotism, Your Highness!¡±, declared the commander of the so-called Order of the Guardians of the Holy Taphos. He spoke in an almost stilted-sounding High Camenian, as he probably presumed that Wenzel would otherwise not be able to understand his thick accent. The addressee immediately returned, ¡°Save yourself the formalities! I haven''t announced my arrival, so this is a circumstantial, that is, an unofficial visit.¡± He then went on to explain, ¡°My sceptre here can show me the direction in which the imperial orb is located. I have lost it. My search for it has led me here, but it now appears that it is not in Melgar''s tomb or in this building per se. It appears to be somewhere UNDER this temple.¡± The knights and priests listened to him attentively. He noticed that as he spoke to them, their gazes remained fixed on his eyes. The sparkle of the little star in the pupils of the Chosen One seemed to have a magical attraction for them.

    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    When he had finished speaking, his listeners looked at each other in puzzlement. A few of them mumbled something among themselves. Finally, one of the chief priests of the temple replied, ¡°Under the temple?....Hmmm. There have always been some rumours, but I doubt very much whether they have any substance. I am familiar with the ancient cisterns of the Serapinal. If Your Holiness is so inclined, I can take you to them." - ¡°Do so, please,¡± Wenzel ordered without thinking about it twice. The entourage walked out through the halls, which had just recently been emptied of people, and down the wide outside staircase towards the east. No one else was here, which immediately transformed the place into a pleasant idyll. As they descended, Wenzel could hear the clergy talking quietly to each other behind him. ¡°....stupid folk tales....shouldn''t believe.....onster¡±. Apparently, there were a few rumours about something being under the hill.

    The hill had several ¡°levels¡± and they only went down one. Then they turned immediately left and walked over to a small, paved square with benches. At its edge, a large stone was visible in the ground. The man who had led him here now said to His Majesty, ¡°Under this stone cover is the large cistern that once served as a water reservoir for the holy shrine many centuries ago. It has not been in use for a long time, and no one has looked into it for ages. There are no plans of it, and I''ve been told that it might lead deep into the mountain. Or it''s all just humbug, and the cave is only a few meters deep. I can''t say for sure."

    ¡°Thank you all the same!¡±, came from Wenzel. Then he approached the big thing and lifted it out of the ground with his telekinesis. Under the astonished gazes of those present, he placed the rock down as gently as possible. He leaned forward and looked down the pitch-black shaft, that he had just opened up. The mage exhaled deeply. "There''s no helping it. Whatever has to be, has to be,¡± he thought. ¡°Gentlemen, I''ll be back soon!¡±, he announced to the knights and clerics. Then he slowly let himself float down into the hole, legs first. Immediately afterwards, he created a small flame in his hand so that he could continue to see. The shaft went down a few meters, then opened up into a larger cavity.

    It was so big that all you could make out was a pitch-black, gaping void. The man flew in one direction and immediately arrived at a dark wall. He lowered himself further down, but at the same time moved in the other direction to find out where the next wall was. Nothing, nothing and still nothing. He moved downwards and sideways for a frighteningly long time without being able to make out anything. Eventually, however, he reached the bottom. He landed in a small puddle that at best moistened his soles a little. ¡°The capacity of this cistern must have been incredible,¡± thought the man turned cave explorer. But he still couldn''t see any side walls around him. So, he now shot a burst of flame forwards. This extended his field of vision just far enough for him to spot something in the distance.

    Wenzel went in that direction and hit a wall hewn out of the rock. He walked along it until he finally found an entrance. It was a tunnel that led further into the mountain. ¡°So, the rumours are true!¡±, he stated happily. A quick check of his Holy Artifact also confirmed that he had to go this way. Off he went. ¡°Wait a minute!¡±, he thought to himself and considered briefly. He wondered whether there might be things he hadn''t thought about, things he might still need to do or consider before moving forward. Nothing occurred to him. As a result, he now advanced into the bowels of the mountain. It couldn''t be that far....

    It was cool and damp down here. The long, oval corridor stretched out in front of him, bending once to the right, once to the left. Echoes of falling drops of water could be heard. Otherwise, silence prevailed here. Silence and loneliness. What was this place? And why had the orb been hidden here? All legitimate questions. Finally, he was able to observe something fascinating. The tunnel, which had previously looked more like a mole tunnel than an anthropogenic construct, now transitioned into a square corridor with ninety-degree angles. A few meters further on, tiny mosaic tiles began to adorn the floor. They formed abstract, angular patterns. Along one stretch of floor, however, there were inscriptions. They were written in the unmistakable writing system of the ancient Ostrisul.

    Wenzel then paused for a moment to look at the find. ¡°Probably an ancient site from pre-Teleiotic times,¡± he briefly noted to himself. He walked on. However, he soon began to notice a strange smell in the air. It was only very faint. ¡°Are those rotten eggs?¡±, he asked himself. As he pushed further and further into the catacomb, the smell became steadily stronger and his flame began to get ever more restless, so that he had to reduce its ¡°juice¡±. He came to a fork in the road, that lead in three different directions. The man decided to continue straight ahead. A hundred meters later, however, he ended up in a dead end. Annoyed, he turned around and when he got back to the crossing, he took the right turn. Soon there was another fork in the road, this time in two directions. This time he chose the left. This went on a few more times, which slowly made Wenzel worry that he wouldn''t be able to remember the way back.

    But then he witnessed a curious occurrence. A greenish smoke or haze drifted through the air. The stench also increased noticeably. It really smelled horrible! Now the wizard followed this smoke. It became increasingly thicker. Finally, Wenzel came to a ninety-degree bend. There was something on the other side, you could hear it clearly. Strange noises that sounded terrifying. They were quite unlike the sounds of any animal he had ever heard. A kind of mixture of hissing and screeching vibrated in his ears. By now, the stink here had become unbearable. Wenzel was somewhat awestruck and slowly crept up to the corner. He then carefully peered around it. A little further back in the corridor, he spotted it. Half snake and half cockerel, it was simply strolling through the catacombs. A basilisk!

    The man immediately moved back a few meters. He now had to weigh up the situation. He had heard stories of such creatures before. They were said to dwell in wells or cellars and their gaze was said to petrify those who return it! A dangerous thing, if it was true. But he had to assume that it was. "Perhaps the gas here also has its origins with this one. Who knows how it will react if I''m not careful with the flame in my hand,¡± he addressed the issue in a soliloquy. But, oho! That was it after all! He knew what he would do now.

    The emperor simply walked carefully towards the corner again. Then he quickly reassured himself with a swift glance. The basilisk was gone. ¡°Damn it!¡±, he shouted. But then the screeching of the animal could be heard again. It followed the source of the noise it had just heard. Wenzel ducked his head back behind the corner. The further approach of the monster was clearly audible. He was already getting a little nervous, but he stood firm. When it sounded as if the creature would come to the corner at any moment, he then reached his hand around it. He lit a fire, the biggest one he could manage. Then it happened, as he had suspected. The gas was flammable. From one moment to the next, there was a deafening explosion! It travelled the length of the corridor. Shortly afterwards, the Chosen One immediately snapped out of his state of shock. He patted his clothes to put out the embers on them.

    Only then did he look at his hand. It had definitely been caught by the flames and was badly burned! The first priority now, however, was to check the neutralization of the basilisk. There now was......nothing around the corner. This was extremely surprising. Put on high alert, the man continued on tiptoes. Much further back, he found the explanation for all this. A magic circle was glowing on the floor. A small rock crystal was placed in the middle of it. Now Wenzel realized what was going on here. The basilisk was an illusion created by this circle. The magician removed the crystal and pocketed it. Only now did he look after his wounded hand. He drew the magic circle he had learnt by heart a few meters away from here. It only took a few minutes, then the pain in his hand had disappeared and all the wounds had healed. On he went.

    Would there be more traps lurking here? He would soon get the answer to this, as he arrived at a large stone gate shortly afterwards. Ostrisul letters could be seen on it, although they were visibly abraded. Wenzel braced himself mentally and pushed the gate open. On the other side was a somewhat larger room. It had a high vault and was supported by a few pillars. Apart from a single object in the middle, it was completely empty. There was a stone coffin, nothing else. The explorer approached it with great caution. He stopped half a meter away from it. The following was engraved on a stone tablet in front of it:

    HINC UNA FIDES MUNDO REFULGET HINC SACERDOTII UNITAS EXORITUR

    The sentence was in Old Camenian and was also written in Camenian script. Wenzel didn''t quite understand it. Something about the world and priests, it said. Via telekinesis, Wenzel hesitantly lifted the lid of the coffin. He was unsure whether he should really look, but then he did. Old and dusty, a skeleton lay there. It wore a crown and also had a sceptre, a pendant, a sword and an orb. The latter was the only one of these objects that had a gemstone set into it! His Highness stretched out his hand, having been healed by his healing ritual. When he touched it and cast magic, he could see its stone light up. It was the original!

    Now things were beginning to make sense to him, at least in part. These catacombs, ruins of a place of worship that predated the Melgarian Era and its religion, had been adapted by the First Chosen One. Wenzel cast a glance at the ceiling. In the spot directly above the coffin was an image of a sun that looked as if it had always been here. ¡°A reinterpretation of the old,¡± the man noted. Now he examined the human remains in the stone sarcophagus more closely. After thinking about it a little, it made sense that Melgar would have preferred to be buried in secret. According to what he had read in the Testament about the God¡¯s Chosen, he hated anything that went beyond the worship of the one God and described it as superstition. The cult of personality surrounding him could no longer be eradicated, so he had hidden his actual remains and protected them with a magic circle to deter grave robbers. This had apparently been effective.

    The emperor now pondered for a moment what he should do with the relics of the Messiah. "I could reactivate the magic circle. I still have the stone for it. But why? What use is this? Melgarus Rex is worshipped anyway, real grave or not! People will find something to worship, you would have to stop them with all your might to prevent this. I won¡¯t do that. I will neither deny human nature nor work against it!" These were Wenzel''s thoughts. He, therefore, decided to take the whole coffin with him.

    Eventually he returned to the surface. A now worried-looking group of men greeted him with relief when he appeared. However, they were shocked when he lifted the sarcophagus out of the hole. ¡°I ask you to give His Holiness a proper burial,¡± was all he said. He did not give them any more information. He would not tell them what he had seen in the mountain. The gentlemen reacted with exuberant willingness and subservience; how could it be otherwise. The ruler immediately moved away from them, as this annoyed him. For a short time, he now let himself get lost in reverie. Over a few of the treetops here, he looked east over the city. Further down, the large gate caught his eye. It was walled up. He looked at it silently for a while, ignoring the hustle and bustle of the priests and knights around him. Eventually, however, he addressed one of them:

    ¡°Why is the east gate blocked in this way?¡± The clergyman did not have to think and answered immediately, ¡°This was once the gate of prophecy, the gate through which God''s Chosen One would walk to enter the house of God and begin a holy war that would change the whole world. But since there could only ever be ONE, this gate was walled up forever after his passing." Wenzel nodded to him that he had understood. He was acquainted with the augury from the Holy Scriptures. It had come true after Melgar''s troops had defeated the army of the Kingdom of Galadea in the legendary Battle of Seranzo in the year 30.

    Yet, he would not have guessed that it would be concocted and developed further in this way after the fact. There was only one Messiah, even if Wenzel had taken on his title, this was probably more out of tradition than for any other reason. The Holy War had spread Teleiotism throughout Kaphkos. The prophecy had been fulfilled. That¡¯s why the emperor did not quite understand why people were afraid that a new or false Chosen One might come along. Likewise, however, this knowledge now gave him a new perspective on his coronation as emperor and the Kingdom of Camenia''s initial resistance to the newly founded Holy Empire.

    A hot wind was still blowing through his hair, even though the sun was already setting. "Gentlemen, I must inform you that I will not be present for the lying-in-state and burial of Melgar''s relics. I have found what I came here for." Consequently, he held out the imperial orb to briefly show it to them. ¡°This is regrettable, my lord!¡±, it came from the commander of the guardians of the tomb.

    He spent the night in one of the rooms of the temple. Here he slept very poorly. It was chilly in the building and there was a constant breeze coming from some inexplicable direction. He was planning to set off on his return journey in the morning. This morning began for him when the trumpets'' fanfare, which sounded everywhere in the old town at roughly the same time, woke him from his half-sleep. It actually was several different fanfares being blown from the countless church towers here, overlapping each other to form a strange yet simultaneously captivating cacophony. This was very different from the imperial capital of Meglarsbruck, where only the one morning fanfare from the main cathedral was authorized. In any case, people there always went to their nearest churches and not just one. Someone brought him some tea, bread and a few figs when he got up. He soon went out into the morning sun, which was nestling horizontally against the hill. Down in Saeptasolio one could already hear the hustle and bustle.

    ¡°May God protect you!¡±, said Jacobo, the commander of the Guardians of the Holy Taphos, who had approached him. The emperor paid his respects and gave him a polite farewell. He was about to fly away when he remembered something else. "Please keep it to yourselves that I was here. It wasn''t planned in advance, and I don''t want your king to get the impression that I''ve snubbed him." The gentlemen assured him that they would not say a word about what had happened. So, he thanked them again and went on his way. The priests waved after him while the figure of the wizard in the sky grew tinier and tinier. What he would never know was that they would only transfer the relics of the Chosen One to the tomb in the aedicule, which had previously only been a cenotaph, in a secret ceremony. No one would ever be informed of this. Officially, Melgar had always been buried here. The myth counted more than the truth. That¡¯s the way it had always been.

    Wenzel had a lot of time on his flight home, which he used to mull over all sorts of things. Now that he had all five Holy Artifacts back, couldn''t he do something useful with them? Perhaps he could give them to his most loyal subordinates, as these objects could also be used by non-mages? He thought about it for a while. ¡°Better not,¡± was his final decision. "I shouldn''t undermine my power any more. I already have insufficient authority in the current state of affairs anyway!" While he was immersed in his thoughts like this, the landscape kept on passing by beneath him. It was still going to be a long journey to the ¡°golden seas¡± of Ordania, whose waves consisted of endless fields of grain.

 1. 09 Night in the Woods

    There was an unpleasant stuffiness in the air that drove the sweat from one¡¯s pores. It was hot and it had rained heavily the night before. A number of men were now standing on a training ground, all wearing training robes that were somewhat thicker to prevent any wounds from unlucky sword blows. It was another day of sword training for Alexander, as well as other young up-and-comers of the army elite. A flock of sparrows perched in the nearby bushes was providing a musical accompaniment to the scene. The Kuhn offspring wiped his soaking wet forehead. "Huh! What stifling weather!", he complained. The others didn''t feel much better, but they accepted the conditions without a word.

    "All right, girls!", Ulrich alongside a few other instructors began to address the boys in a childish manner. "Today we''re doing practice fights again. We''re going to rotate from where we''ve just fought to the next partner in a clockwise direction. Everyone who has been given a white ribbon is a "switcher", those who don''t have one stay where they are after each match. Is that clear so far?" The boys lined up in a row signaled their agreement. "All right! Let''s get started then. Ragnar, you go over there, Laszlo has the spot over there....." He divided everyone up. While this was going on, nobody noticed that a spectator had "snuck up" on them. To be fair, she was also in a place where you wouldn''t immediately look.

    A girl in a long beige dress was now sitting on top of the military barracks next door. Her hair was red, and she was trying not to skid on the slippery, old roof tiles, some of which were already covered in lichens. When she had somewhat found her footing, she looked curiously at what the young soldiers in training were doing here. She wasn''t allowed to do this, and she actually was supposed to be devoting herself to her studies at this point in time, but the princess had once again given herself the freedom to slip out through the window. She peered over at the boys as they began their first sword swings.

    Very soon, however, a few of the trainees noticed the unsanctioned spectator. Alexander saw her too. He recognized immediately who she was, of course, as he knew the girl. Now he was especially spurred on. He had to show what he could do! With all his strength, he struck his opponent from the left and right, but the guy always blocked his blows skilfully. Finally, his challenger parried him and hit the young major general on the wrist. "Hey, watch out!", the young man growled angrily. With the urge to prove himself, he then made a bold leap forward. A big mistake. The damp grass under his soles caused him to slip and he fell forwards directly onto his face.

    The young Kuhn got up again in an instant, but it had already happened. Not only was his counterpart laughing at him, but Viktoria could also be seen laughing on the roof. He was humiliated. He almost wanted to throw an angry statement at his opponent''s head, but then held back. After all, it wasn''t his fault. Alexander had only himself to blame for this. He wasn''t a good fighter and deep down he knew that himself. But now the instructors here were also taking notice of the girl on the roof. "What are you doing there? You''re not allowed to be here! Get out of here! Leave!", one of them shouted loudly at her. The young lady was startled for a moment and then immediately flew away.

    Ulrich now approached his prot¨¦g¨¦ and said to him, "You always act too rashly. Think before you act." - "If I''m quick enough and take my enemy by surprise, it''ll work! Fighting is not a science!" Alexander refused to accept the advice of the Vice Supreme Marshal. "No! A fight is not a game of chance in which you risk everything just because you think you can catch someone on the wrong foot!", Ulrich explained to him in a slightly irate tone. The lad didn''t seem to be listening to him. In the background, the other warriors were whispering to each other, "He just doesn''t get it! Kuhn''s always been a stick-in-the-mud! Shhhh! Shut up! You don''t want to get into trouble with his father."

    Young Alexander hated that everyone looked down on him like that. He was a real man! But he had to prove it to these guys. No, he had to prove it to everyone.

    It was at a late hour. A waxing gibbous moon shone down from the starry sky. Its brightness made it easier for Viktoria to see where she was going. The rendezvous point she had chosen was a place where no one would find her so easily, but which she herself could also find somewhat easily. That was why she was now on the lookout for the landmark on the basis of which she had chosen the location of her meet-up. She flew over a dense, dark canopy of leaves. Then she finally saw it. A high stone peak rose out of the forest in the distance and the girl set course for it. As she approached, the forest opened up beneath her, revealing a small number of houses. A tiny settlement in the middle of the Karantian Forests. The mage flew on towards her target and then landed slowly and carefully in front of it on the ground paved with cobblestones.

    A large obelisk stood vertically in front of her. At its base, a warrior statue was integrated into the monument and a metal triquetra was attached to its top. The statue held a sign in its hands that read:

    In memory of those who died in the Holy Revolution

    Freedom or death

    Praised be the Martyrs

    Even though she understood the message of the memorial, the princess did not grasp its significance or context. The monument stood on a small, paved square in the middle of an abandoned settlement. But it was still ¡°relatively¡± new. Viktoria couldn''t say why such a monument had been erected in a ghost town, but she didn''t give it a second thought.

    She had been here many times before. Not only could one be alone here and have peace and quiet, but this former settlement was also fairly easy to find. Nowadays at least.... The girl now walked to the southern edge of the village, where there was a fairly new sign reading ¡°Lagersdorf¡±. A few meters away from it, he now was waiting. Leaning against an old, rotten fence, a person in dark clothing, illuminated by the moonlight, looked over at the princess.

    "Hello, here I am. I''m glad you came!¡±, he addressed her in a deliberately softer voice so as not to frighten her in this place devoid of people. When the girl turned to the side and spotted him, a smile crossed her lips. ¡°Hello there, how are you?¡±, she asked in an exaggeratedly eager tone. Her joy and nervousness somewhat got the better of her and came out like this. He returned, ¡°I¡¯m fine, but it took me a while to find this village out here in this no man''s land.¡± He was fibbing a little there. Firstly, there was one path leading here from Soldach that was still good to use and secondly, Lucius had led him here, as he would most likely have gotten lost on his own. Incidentally, the aforementioned man was still present. He was just hiding in the nearby bushes.

    Then he returned the question, ¡°And you?¡± She didn''t answer but pointed with her index finger into the forest to the south of them. "Let''s go a little further. Sometimes people pass by here. It happens quite seldomly, especially at this time of day, but let''s not push our luck."- ¡°Um, okay,¡± was all that came back from him. Then, the two of them walked a little way through the forest, which wasn''t too dense here. Achaz couldn''t think of much to say and remained silent for the time being. Viktoria, on the other hand, blabbered on about her journey here and how annoyed she was that the wind always messed up her previously well-combed hair. ¡°My hair doesn''t look terrible now, does it?¡±, she asked him bluntly. The young man was surprised that she spoke so nonchalantly to him, as if she had known him for a long time.

    "I can''t say for sure. I can''t see it very well,¡± he replied. Shortly afterwards, however, they reached a place where the light of the moon could shine down. It was a large pond in the middle of a small clearing. Viktoria stopped in front of it and turned to the boy. ¡°So?¡± Confused, he asked, ¡°What?¡± But then he realized that she was referring to the question she had asked earlier. He looked at her hair. It had already been visibly messed up. "It''s somewhat okay, I guess. You can definitely see the effect of the wind, though." Disappointed, she said, ¡°Really? Geez..." She looked annoyed. The fact that she couldn''t go on her date with her hair arranged the way she wanted it, annoyed her immensely. Even a blind person could have seen her state of mind at that moment.

    Meanwhile, Achaz''s overseer, who had been following them inconspicuously, had caught up again and had hidden in some distant undergrowth. Unfortunately, it was quite prickly in there, but he had to refrain from making any noise whatsoever. Viktoria didn''t notice anything. Achaz walked closer to the edge of the pond and looked at its surface, where a few closed water lilies could be seen. He then turned to the girl standing right next to him, "Why did someone of your rank agree to have a date with me? You don''t even know what estate I¡¯m from." This question irritated the princess. She replied, "What does it matter? Rank? Wealth? Pshaw!" The boy was instantly surprised by her direct and downright rude manner, which he, since the ball, had almost forgotten was one of her personality traits.

    He asked the counter question, "And what about your parents'' opinion?" That seemed to hit Viktoria unexpectedly and she slightly swayed back in response. "My parents don''t know anything. It''s better if I don''t tell them everything." The young man added, "Mine don''t know that I''m here either. I think it''s better that way." - "You said it!" Then they paused their conversation briefly. A cool night breeze caused ripples to glide across the surface of the pond and the two of them watched this in silence. "It''s really nice here. I can see why you like this place," Achaz noted. She agreed with him, but also said, "I mainly come here because I can be alone. Nobody bothers me here when I''m practising my magic."

    This interested the young man and he asked, "Magic? So, what things do you do there?" The question was deliberately vague, as he wanted to know what she was able to do with her powers, but he didn''t dare to ask it directly. Unfortunately, Viktoria replied with an equally vague answer: "Especially things that involve strength. Out here, I don''t have to worry about causing damage like I do in the city." - " Erm... okay," was all that came back from the lad. But then he pulled himself together and asked, "What exactly are you doing? Knocking down trees? Or...I don''t know what else?" Carefree, she replied, "Yes, I mainly use trees as test targets. Their wood splinters from my telekinesis. I can even fell the really big, ancient oaks in one fell swoop. I often practise lifting the fallen trunks, as they are very heavy. That also works without any problems, actually."

    Jokingly, Achaz then said, "You could almost start a career as a lumberjack!" - "Haha! Maybe. I don''t think the menials the forester has for this would be too grateful," the girl commented amusedly. "You''re probably right there," he confirmed her. "I think it''s really amazing that you can fly. That must be an incredible feeling," he then remarked. A smile came over the wizard''s face and she asked him, "Do you want to try it out too?" Without hesitation, he replied, "Yes. That would be really great!"

    So, they took each other by the hand and Viktoria let them both float a few meters over the pond. "We can go higher if you want." - "Mhm," he agreed. Then they flew over the treetops and quite a distance over the moonlit forest. The girl''s magic sent them hurtling away with surprising speed. The strong breeze made his robes flutter wildly. But Achaz was not afraid. This flight through the skies of Ordania made the adrenaline flow through his veins and had an almost intoxicating effect on him. After a short time, however, they returned, and the princess set them down exactly where they had taken off. "That was the most exciting thing I''ve ever done!", the boy claimed with a delighted expression on his face. The girl couldn''t prevent his enthusiasm from rubbing off on her.

    After that, they talked some more for a while. Achaz had obviously found a fascination for her magic now. "I wish I could do things like that as well," he revealed to her then. "Unfortunately, you have to be born with such abilities. There''s no other way," Viktoria had to take him down a peg. Of course, her conversation partner was fully conscious of this. He simply interjected offhandedly, "No wonder you''re so self-confident. You can probably do pretty much anything!" This wasn''t a lie. He was expressing how he actually perceived her. Viktoria seemed to take his statement as a compliment and joy beamed from her face. A little after that, however, she returned something unexpected, "There''s a lot I can do. But I think you''re overestimating me here. A magician is only human. In many ways, being a mage actually alienates you from others." That made sense to the boy, but he couldn''t immediately think of what to say next. He fell silent again for a while. The princess also remained quiet for some time.

    Under the moonlight, they looked at each other. The girl let her gaze wander over the young man''s features and clothes and vice versa. When their eyes met, Viktoria turned away, blushing slightly. He was handsome after all. Now the boy wanted to find out something important: "Can I see you again? I like you and I don''t want this to be the last time we meet." This made his counterpart visibly flustered, something very unusual for her. She thought about it for a moment and then responded, "Yes. I want to see you again, too." So, they arranged their next date.

    A short lady in a monochrome dark blue uniform was quite literally leaning into her work. Spread out on the floor were several huge sheets of parchment on which she was drawing. One was already finished and depicted an intricate magic circle that still had to dry fully. The black head was now bent over another one, carefully applying stroke after stroke. But then there was a knock on the door, and she spilled a little of the ink that was dripping from her brush. " For God''s sake!", she huffed. "Come in!"

    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    Her boss entered the library. When he saw what she was busy with, he felt a little remorse. Although he had knocked as gently as possible, his intrusion was, of course, a disturbance. Silke immediately stood up and greeted him, "Good afternoon, my lord! I''m pleased to see you again, and I''m glad to see you safe and sound." - "Did you think I was going to be eaten by monsters on my journey?" His Majesty quipped, adding, "A simple basilisk is nothing to me." This seemed to cause some confusion with his assistant. He would explain later what exactly he had meant by this statement.

    "We need to discuss a few things," Wenzel pointed out to her. He had only returned from his trip to Camenia a few hours ago. Now it was important to fill his assistant in on what had happened and what he had found. As a result, the two sat down together and he shared with her everything that was important for her to know. While he was talking, he placed an object wrapped in cloth on the table next to him. The lady listened attentively, of course, but kept peeking over at the object, as she already knew what it was.

    As he concluded his explanations, he then unveiled the Holy Artifact. The lady promptly snatched it up and examined it meticulously. The yellow stone set into it somehow seemed to glow, in spite of the fact that it gave off no light. There was not the slightest doubt that this was the original. "Ahem!", Wenzel cleared his throat to draw her attention back to him and then continued, "We''ll have plenty of time to inspect the artifact later. But I would like to show you another find I have made." - "Do you mean the crystal that was feeding the magic circle?" He nodded at her and pulled it out of his pocket.

    It was a transparent rock crystal, about the length and width of a thumb. Silke was immediately fired up and wanted to start exploring the two objects straight away. "I have plans for today, but I can help you a little with the analysis," His Highness then claimed. He was actually just as excited and full of enthusiasm to investigate his new discoveries. As a result, it became a long afternoon and eventually evening. In the end, Wenzel stayed and let his appointment fall through. But it had not been in vain. What they discovered was exceptionally interesting from the point of view of the two magic enthusiasts.

    It turned out that in fact, the rock crystal had no inherent magical effect. It simply stored magical power. If the Chosen One performed magic while holding it in his hand, his output increased considerably. In other words, the stone significantly increased his magical power. "Should we destroy the stone to test what happens to the magic it contains?", his assistant suggested to him. The wizard thought about it for a while. Then he replied, "I don''t think that will be necessary. I already know what would happen anyway. The magical power of the object would bind itself to the next best thing that can hold it. So, probably to me or to one of the other Holy Artifacts. To be honest, I don''t want to get any more grey strands. The one from back then is actually enough for me."

    The woman almost reflexively started staring at the ruler''s hair for a moment. A single grey strand adorned his otherwise red mop of hair. His Majesty had already told her the story of how it had come about. She understood his feelings on the matter and would not pressure him into doing anything he did not want to do. Thus, the stone from the magic circle, even if it was not a Holy Artifact, would also be kept here.

    A young man with a short haircut and attractively masculine, albeit not yet fully matured, features was grooming his horse''s coat. He was brushing against the grain with the currycomb to remove the coarse dirt and bring out the beautiful brown and white spotted coat of his stallion Figaro. His work was painstaking and progress was very slow. Achaz''s mind was simply somewhere else today. Time and again he gazed fixedly into the distance or simply at Figaro''s coat without continuing with the brushing. What was the matter with him?

    All he could see before his inner eye was the face of the girl with the crimson hair. Her voice, the way she talked, her pretty eyes and her bold manner never left him. Even when he closed his eyes, he could still see her beautiful face in front of him. She was all he could think about at the moment. He hadn''t felt this at their first meeting, but this had changed since the last time. Already after the first few days, he realized what this feeling inside his stomach was all about. Viktoria meant something to him. That was a very bad thing! He was afraid because he knew what things his mother had planned and what she would ask him to do in relation to the princess. He absolutely had to talk to his mother about the matter again. But she wasn''t here at the moment anyway. Yet another problem.

    In the late afternoon, when the sun was already beginning to flood the area with its golden yellow light, he was finally finished with his work. He quickly climbed over the wooden fence of the small paddock and went back into the small hut where they were currently living. When he entered, he only saw Fabio, his mother''s current partner, sitting on a small three-legged stool. No one else was there at the moment. The man didn''t even look up when Achaz entered the dwelling, so preoccupied was he with repairing his boots. The light blazed in through the window. It was dizzyingly hot today. Without saying anything, the lad watched the gentleman go about his task for a while. He needed someone to talk to about that, which was occupying his thoughts so intensely. But Fabio? Was he the right person for this? He only knew him a little. All he really knew about the guy was that he gave in to his mother in everything and basically never defied her. Was he really someone he could discuss this with? On the other hand, it was just the two of them here now, an ideal opportunity to broach such an intimate subject. It was probably better to seize this opportunity.

    "Excuse me, Fabio?", he opened the conversation. "Yes?", he returned. The man looked up from his work, meeting his stepson with a weary but otherwise rather emotionless glance. This made Achaz pause for a moment, but then he pushed himself to continue. "Do.....Do you know if Mother''s plan will actually work?" Fabio gave him a questioning look and then said, "You mean the thing with the princess, don''t you? Why wouldn''t it work?" The boy now had to answer in a cunning manner. "Because it''s based on a false assumption. Viktoria is not as hot-headed or even as susceptible to manipulation as you assumed.....as that Di Alduino''s report claimed. She deliberately restrains her assertiveness and even apologizes when she has behaved too inappropriately!"

    His counterpart simply replied, "And how does that make her less susceptible to manipulation? Sounds to me as if it means the exact opposite, that the princess demonstrably adapts her behaviour for you if you just get close enough." - "Damn!", Achaz thought to himself. Fabio was right.

    "Of course she''s manipulable. Just like every human being!" it sounded in from the front door. It was the unmistakable, raspy voice of Lucius. The man who had once even been officially considered heir to the Ordanian throne pierced the young lad with his ice-cold eyes as he turned to face him. This made Achaz freeze immediately. "You will follow our plan and not ask stupid questions! Is that clear?" The boy flinched but gave him no answer. But when the vengeful man stepped closer to him, he squeezed out a soft "Yes".

    Now his overseer leaned down over to him a little and said, "Good. Don''t forget that the regime wouldn''t hesitate to destroy you, if they found out whose descendant you are! This matter also concerns you. Besides, they''re all just compliant servants of demons anyway! There is not a single reason to waver here or to doubt the rightness of our mission. Or is there?" The man, consumed by hatred, had asked him another question. It was as rhetorical as it was non-rhetorical. The lad replied with a simple, "Of course it is."

    He didn''t have the courage to reveal his feelings for Viktoria, especially now that Mr. Cornel was back. Achaz didn''t even know how to deal with it himself. What a mess! So, what could he do now? What SHOULD he do now? The lad had no answer. He would continue to see the girl with the intention of ensnaring her. That was what his mother, Lucius and Fabio wanted, and especially the first two mentioned. He was forced to play a nasty game he didn''t want to play, and Lucius would watch his every move very closely. There was no escape for him!

    Light brown dust was kicked up from the trampled soil of the training ground in the centre of the camp. Strong men with sunburnt skin were practicing with spears and lances. They were competing against each other, but also were training on straw men and wooden practice targets. Those who were learning to use the lance on horseback in particular used simple wooden disks or straw-filled sacks as practice targets.

    We were still in the early hours of the morning, but it was already relatively warm, which was partly due to the location but also to the time of year. One could see the Limesian Mountains towering not so far in the distance. Some of the men here were Camenians, but most of them were Ordanian-born. The reprisals of the empire had forced the majority of them to go into exile here. As one might have guessed, they were mostly Alethics, but not exclusively. A small woman accompanied by a man rode up to the sidelines of the action. Her name was Petra and she had been led by the Baron Di Alduino to this secret training camp, which was located in his lands.

    The two stopped in front of the commander''s tent and got out of the saddle. Purposefully, they promptly strode into the tent. Once their eyes had adjusted to the darkness of the interior, they could already see him: Etzel. He was sitting on a small table and above him hung a yellow coat of arms with three red lances across it. "Good morning, Your Serene Highnesses!", the former field marshal greeted them. For the sake of simplicity, he included Petra in his greeting, even though she was not a noblewoman. "''God''s blessing upon you!", the Baron returned briefly. Then he said, "I''m primarily here to deliver the lady to you. Of course, I will also use this opportunity to see how the build-up and training of your fighters is progressing."

    Etzel nodded to his patron and commented, "Building up the Free Lancers is a long and tough process. Many do not have what it takes to be a steadfast resistance fighter. Nevertheless, as you can probably see for yourself, my lord, the creation of our alethic organization is progressing steadily." - "And this is where I come in," Petra joined the conversation and continued, "A simple cell of resistance, or even several, will never be able to change the status quo in Ordania. For that, we need another indispensable component: My plan!"

    That was indeed a correct assessment, due to the fact, that most Ordanians, but also Camenians, Zeemarkians and Corakians adhered to the main denomination of Teleiotism, the one, that not so long ago was referred to as ¡°the Old Believers¡¯ Faith¡±. They had remained the majority even under Alethic rule, so there was no simple way for this anti-Melgarian movement to turn back the hands of time. "I assume that''s why you came to me, to inform me of the progress of your machinations, Petra," said the military man. She responded, " You''ve got it!" Etzel then pointed to a small chair on the side. She quickly fetched it and then they sat down together to discuss the progress of their respective undertakings.

    Meanwhile, the nobleman in his green pantaloons left the tent again and made an inspection tour of the camp. As he wandered around seemingly aimlessly, he saw the recruits and fighters doing all sorts of exercises as well as necessary tasks and chores. A tall, muscular man, who could easily have joined the grenadiers of the Holy Ordanian Army, was brandishing a greatsword. This particularly impressed the passer-by as it had a curved blade akin to a flame. Accordingly, it was also known as a Flammberge. It had been one of the iconic weapons of the Boskettian Company before it was disbanded by decree of the Camenian king.

    However, Etzel''s Free Lancers had now adopted their organization and method of warfare as their model. It was no coincidence that Etzel knew the former leader of the now banned mercenary organization, and that a good number of these former mercenaries had now joined here. Still, the structure and fighting tactics of this new organization of resistance fighters would not simply be the same. As the name implied, the types of weapons they prioritized here would be quite lance-heavy. Overall, there were many hundreds of fighters, that one could make out here alone.

    At the edge of the camp, he also saw sutlers, who were mainly female. The baron was well aware of what such an existence entailed for them. As he stood there lost in thought for a moment, a strong gust of wind came along, causing the tall pine trees that were everywhere to shake violently. This caused a few pinecones to fall from the trees, one of which hit the nobleman directly on the crown of his head. Di Alduino took this as a sign to turn back. In any case, he had now been able to see for himself that his "investment" of his had not come to nothing. However, this did not mean at all, that their plans had been successful either.

    At lunchtime, her mother had already noticed her lack of appetite. Sitting in front of an almost full plate of omelette, she had been asked by Amalie, ¡°Is everything okay?¡± At first, the girl hadn''t reacted at all and had just pushed her food from one side of the plate to the other. ¡°What?¡±, she then had returned timidly. ¡°I''m just not hungry today.¡± It should be clear that this had immediately struck both her parents as something uncharacteristic.

    Later that day, the couple had a conversation about it. ¡°Do you think there''s something wrong with her?¡±, the father inquired. Shaking her head, his wife, who was currently sitting on the divan next to Wanja and stroking her, replied, ¡°Not necessarily. Her behaviour is just .... unusual.¡± -¡±Indeed. Yesterday, she walked past me, looking like she was on top of the world, and greeted me in an overly friendly manner. She never does that. In general, she seems so absent-minded lately,¡± Wenzel laid out his observations. His sweetheart added, ¡°Recently, she''s also been using my perfume without asking me. You can clearly smell it on her.¡± That made her smirk a little. The Chosen One just looked at her blankly. She asked, ¡°Can''t you see it?¡± - ¡°What?¡± - ¡°Dearest, I think our daughter has a crush on someone,¡± she now stated for her unsuspecting husband. Wenzel blinked a few times. Then he spoke, ¡°A crush? On a boy?¡± He was visibly unable to deal with the situation. After two minutes of his typical pondering, he finally announced, ¡°I''ll just ask her!¡± Amalie put her hand to her forehead but did nothing to stop her husband.

    Without knocking, he simply walked in through her room¡¯s door. The girl sitting on the desk looked up from it and at her father. ¡°Who is it?¡±, he demanded to know immediately. The teenager looked confused and replied, ¡°What do you...?¡± - ¡°Your mother has the crazy suspicion that you have a crush,¡± Wenzel said, emphasizing the word "crush" in a peculiar way. Her pupils visibly widened when she heard that. ¡°That''s not true, is it?¡± Wenzel didn''t even give her time to say anything. Only then did she reply with an expression, that was as inconspicuous as possible, ¡°No. There''s no one.¡± - ¡°Oh, that''s reassuring. It''s still a bit too early for you. You still have a lot to learn before you should think about something like that,¡± the adoptive father thoughtlessly laid bare his inner concerns. ¡°

    You''re probably right. Haha,¡± Viktoria responded awkwardly, while scratching the back of her head suspiciously. Her old man, who had no experience with such situations, immediately said goodbye and closed the door behind him. Directly afterwards, the girl who had just been confronted breathed a sigh of relief. She had not expected this. She understood that from now on she would have to be more careful when sneaking off to her dates with Achaz. However, in her naivety, it still didn''t occur to her to have an excuse ready just in case. Though, she would henceforth also be more cautious in the presence of Ylva.

 1. 10 The Drama

    Leaves were rustling in the gentle wind. The air was damp and cool. We were in a murky forest. Two people seemed to be prowling around in the undergrowth. It was difficult to make out who they were. When a cloud that had been blocking the moonlight moved away again, its incidence revealed one of the two people. She was young, pretty, red-haired and with a dreamy expression on her face. It was Viktoria who was being presented to us here. The other person now also approached. But then it was already over. The dream ended and Wenzel woke up.

    He stared up at the baldachin of his marital bed with his eyes only partially open. "Viktoria in the forest? What does this mean?", he asked himself. He really wanted to just forget about it and go straight back to sleep, but something was bugging him, and he didn''t know what. What could it be? As he thought about it in his drowsy state, it finally came to him: His daughter''s appearance in the vision matched exactly with how she currently looked. She was even wearing the dress she could often be seen in at the moment. This meant that he had seen something that could only be a few weeks in the past or into the future! Was she sneaking off at night without asking permission? That would not be acceptable. Wenzel would have to get to the bottom of this.

    After a few moments of deliberation, he came to the conclusion that this had to be right now. He touched Amalie''s shoulder lightly, so as to gently wake her up. Then he spoke to her, "Something very important has come to my mind. So don''t be surprised. I''ll get up now." Dazed, his sweetheart simply replied, "Uh-huh, all right." Wenzel got out of bed and went to his study. He already had a clear idea of what he wanted to do. It would be child''s play to track down his little girl! He reached into the secret compartment in the wall and took out the sceptre. Then he directed his thoughts to his daughter, creating an image of her in his mind. The magical artifact began to glow. Its blue radiance was strongest when he held it towards the west. "Just you wait and see, young lady! You''re in for a treat!", he thought to himself. Opening the window, he took off into the sky and after his daughter. Off he went!

    Meanwhile, the two youngsters were already together in the forest. Both Viktoria and Achaz were practically lounging in the grass of the clearing directly in front of Lagersdorf. The guy had a straw of grass sticking out of the corner of his mouth, which he had stuck between his teeth for whatever reason. Viktoria leaned to the side and was chatting with him. "Address people with the appropriate titles, always conduct yourself with dignity," she said in a mimicking tone, "walk upright, always be gentle and quiet, and so on and so forth. Do you also have so many rules to follow at home?" - "I have to follow rules too, yes. But certainly not as many as you do." The girl looked over at him with intensity when he gave that back.

    "But your parents aren''t as bad as you''d have me believe. I''m sure it''s all to do with the earlier incidents you told me about," he added. She didn''t say anything in response. It annoyed her, but he was right. It was quite an idyllic atmosphere here today. The crickets were chirping and occasionally the usual cry of the owl could be heard in the forest. Achaz looked over at the princess with a slightly dozy expression. At first, she thought he was looking at her lovely green and white dress. However, it quickly became apparent that he was actually captivated by her magical aura, which she simply let out freely and without inhibition. So, she jokingly noted,

    "My eyes are up here." The boy shook his head and immediately apologized. He always tried to please her and not provoke her. She now addressed this: "Never mind, it¡¯s not an issue. I know that you were actually just watching my magic, which always fascinates you so much." He froze. "What I''d be much more interested in is why you''re always so cautious with me. I don''t need special treatment!" Achaz now seemed to be struck in a strangely unexpected way by what had been said. He thought a little. Then he replied, "I just think you''re special. I don''t mean that in a negative way. You''re clever, strong and ....," he hesitated briefly, but then continued, "pretty."

    Viktoria was a little abashed by this, but it wasn''t obvious from the look on her face. So as not to show it, she went straight for the "counter-strike" and asked, "What do you find pretty about me?" Without thinking twice, her counterpart replied, "Your hair is something very uniquely special. Your eyes, in particular, are truly enchanting. Maybe they are literally enchanting me." Upon hearing this, the girl could no longer completely hide her embarrassment. He looked her in the eyes he had just spoken of. He moved a little closer to get an even better view. The flames in her pupils began to flare up a bit more wildly. To avoid direct eye contact with him, they wandered over and along his medium-length brown hair. But then they fell on his face, which seemed to become more attractive each and every time.

    Finally, she allowed their gazes to meet. She, too, was now lost in the young man''s eyes. "I think you''re good-looking too," she finally admitted to him. She also moved closer to him. Then it happened. The two of them kissed. Well, first the girl pulled the stupid blade of grass out of the corner of his mouth and then it happened. Still, it was their first kiss for both of them. It only lasted a very short time, then they parted their lips again.

    "Well....what can I say now?", Achaz wondered. His girlfriend simply said, "Just don''t say anything. It''ll only ruin the moment." A gentle breeze came up and the leaves of the woods began to rustle a little. At the same time, the moon peeked out from behind the clouds again. The boy turned his head up to it and, a little lost in thought, stared at it. Meanwhile, the princess got up from the grass to stretch her limbs. The youngling''s heart was still beating frantically. Very slowly it calmed down again, but every throb still reverberated through his entire body. This was something special. He had actually fallen in love with Viktoria. And she returned this love.

    None of this eased the fear that had been plaguing him for a while now. Just a couple of rods away from them, a man was hiding in the thicket who embodied all his fears and worries: Lucius. The devious fellow had definitely been watching what had just happened. He would be pleased with the "progress of the plan". Achaz, on the other hand, was now confused and torn. He was attracted to the girl but knew that the more this happened the more he would play into the hands of his mother and especially those of this evil man.

    He looked up at the almost full moon. His breath caught in his throat! "What? Who is that?", it flashed through his mind without him being able to say it out loud. At first, the distraught boy just pointed his finger upwards, but then he managed to get over himself and called out to Viktoria, "Watch out!" The young lady turned and saw it as well. The figure of a man had now appeared in front of the bright white disk. His eyes shone a light blue and in his right hand he held a golden staff with a Schwurhand, a hand with three fingers raised for an oath, at the top. On his billowing cloak, the moonlight illuminated a coat of arms, of which the young Vogt was particularly struck by the red diamond and the sun emblazoned above it. Emperor Wenzel had found them!

    He spoke to his daughter in a serious voice, "What in the name of God are you doing here?" The girl didn''t seem intimidated or afraid at all. Quite the opposite! She answered her father by saying the following in a defiant tone, "I might as well ask the same! How did you even find me?" Only directly afterwards, did she remember what the sceptre could do. She tried to deflect the blame away from herself and now asked her adoptive father a question, "Isn''t it a bit strange to stalk your daughter late at night, sir?" His Highness did not answer. He turned his gaze in the direction of Achaz. This immediately elicited a strong reaction from Viktoria, who placed herself demonstratively in front of the boy. Slowly, almost reverently, the Chosen One lowered himself down until he landed on the ground directly in front of the young lady.

    "Step aside, Viktoria! There''s something I would like to know," he ordered her, but she didn''t listen. While the glow in Wenzel''s eyes gradually faded, it began to increasingly brighten in those of his adopted daughter. The man knew that this signalled her current strong feelings and irritability. Nevertheless, he simply approached the guy she was trying to protect. He spoke loudly and in an angry tone as he couldn''t quite contain his own rage. "Who are you, boy? What''s your name?" His girlfriend turned to him and gestured for him not to answer. But the frightened boy responded, "My name is Achaz." The name meant nothing to Wenzel. How could it be otherwise? So, the sovereign asked another question, "How do you know my daughter?" This made the boy shudder, but he tried not to show it. "I''m afraid I cannot give you the answer to that, my lord," he said in an unusually refined tone.

    Wenzel didn''t seem to care about this one bit. The only thing that influenced his actions in any way at that moment was Viktoria''s state of mind, at which he repeatedly cast his glance. Her magical aura emanated from her with such intensity that even a layman could detect it with the naked eye. Therefore, the top priority now was to nip any further "brash" action by the girl in the bud. Wenzel knew from experience that this was more likely to be effective with a poignancy in the manner in which she was approached. He considered the matter briefly. Then he turned his gaze back to Achaz and said, "What is your full name?" The boy''s lips were sealed. "I demand that you answer me! Come on!", His Highness prodded vehemently. After several repeated attempts, he finally received a truthful answer. Achaz''s reckless blunder would have grave consequences.

    When the emperor heard the name "Vogt", he stood motionless for an instant. It took a moment for his brain to truly register the information. Subsequently, Wenzel''s face contorted into an angry, hate-filled grimace. "Unbelievable! How dare you! Get the hell out of here! Bugger off! Now!" The sounds that left the emperor''s mouth had lost all reverence and restraint. Only pure emotion sounded from his loud cries, an absolute rarity for anyone who knew the man.

    Even Viktoria was shaken by this and even she took a frightened step back from her old man. Jumping at it like that was not what Wenzel had intended, but the realization of who the one who was meeting his little girl was, overwhelmed any self-restraint the emperor had. Meanwhile, a highly tense Lucius was still crouching in his hiding spot near them. He knew how dangerous this situation was but was equally aware that there was nothing he could do to change it. He didn''t dare come out and stayed right where he was. The person he hated from the bottom of his heart was standing over there within reach, and yet he was so far away and unreachable to him. He would not be able to destroy the demon emperor by his own hands, that much was certain. No matter how much he wished it were otherwise.

    In the meantime, the words literally gushed out of Wenzel, "You and especially your mother were lucky that the empire didn''t bother with her any further back then and didn''t try to persecute her! Traitors and their kin are not welcome here in my lands!" The ruler''s voice almost broke from the loud yelling. All of this came hailing down onto the boy, who just stood there rooted to the spot by the terror. He didn''t know what to say, let alone do, or what would happen next. He took the emperor''s bluster in silence. "I never want to see you anywhere near my family again, you scoundrel! Is that clear?" - "Yes," it came back in a squeak. The princess stood by and looked thoroughly confused and uncertain. ¡°Quickly, she chipped in, that, ¡°he isn¡¯t a scoundrel¡±. But His Majesty followed up with a warning, "If I ever see you anywhere near my daughter again, you and your mother, the traitor, will share August''s fate!"

    This threat was deliberately worded in such a way that Viktoria did not fully understand it. She had no idea who August was. Now Wenzel let himself hover a little above the ground again. At the same time, he rather symbolically held out his left hand to Viktoria and urged her, "Come on. Let''s go." His tone was noticeably softer here. The girl looked back at Achaz, who said nothing and was still in a stupor of fear. Then she turned her head back to her custodian. She hesitated. Finally, however, she uttered in a suppressed voice, "I''m sorry." Reluctantly, she took off and flew away with her father. Behind her, she could hear a very faint, "Me too". Then the two of them disappeared into the night sky. "There''s a lot we need to talk about, young lady," Wenzel now announced to her. She had never seen him like this before, not even after the incident at his throne jubilee.

    Indignation, that¡¯s what the worry lines on the emperor''s wife''s forehead suggested. However, they quickly gave way to the ire that arose from it. At this point, though, her daughter had already lost some of her previous discouragement. Yet, she still didn''t seem particularly confident. "I expressly forbid you to ever see this guy again!", Amalie gave her strict instructions. The noble lady was, therefore, no antithesis to her husband''s previous sharpness in tone. Viktoria now had to inquire something, "Why? I thought you wanted me to make friends!" - "But not that kind!", it came back immediately. "But what''s so bad about Achaz? Why is he a problem for you? I don''t understand." Wenzel cast a quick glance over at his wife, then replied, "It is impossible for us to allow the offspring of traitors to the empire to associate with you. Please, understand that." The lass had heard her father say this before in the forest, but it had slipped her mind again due to the heated situation. However, she could not simply accept this. "No, I don''t understand!", she declared. "Why is he so ''awful''? Achaz is a decent guy. He would never mean any harm. Surely this is just about something his parents did, isn''t it? What did they do that was so terrible?"

    Both parents sighed. Eventually, Amalie answered her, "Something that can''t be forgiven. Be that as it may, this isn''t about the boy on a personal level anyway. Those to whom he belongs, from whom he descends, are too problematic. We can''t allow that. And that''s that! You will not contradict me any further!" These words now echoed in the princess''s head. "Those from whom he descends are too problematic." This reminded her of the question Achaz had once asked her. He, too, was of the opinion that he was too low class for Viktoria. The girl, who had grown up in great poverty, interpreted her adoptive parents'' explanations as a snobbish rejection of a friend of hers who had simply not been born into the right status. Of course, this was not true, but this misunderstanding was the result of the couple not wanting to reveal to their fosterling what had actually happened with August back then. The past disgrace was to be kept under wraps.

    The mage snorted defiantly, "You are so unfair and arrogant! You wouldn''t be where you are today, if things had been different in the past." At this her mother raised an eyebrow and retorted, "That''s a completely different story, young lady." She obviously didn''t understand what exactly the girl had said here. "I hate you!", the teenager shouted at them. Then she simply ran off to her room. Amalie didn''t say anything further and just let her go. However, her father really struggled with this.

    A few minutes later, he knocked gently on her door and entered the girl''s room. Sitting on the bed, she pulled away from him and simply said, "Go away!" But the man moved closer anyway. Then he said, "I''m sorry for getting so riled up at that clearing earlier." A little curious, she turned her reddened and tear-stained face towards him. He continued, "I could have been nicer and more thoughtful. It doesn''t change the decision that I and your mother have made, but I could have approached the matter differently. Forgive me for that, please!" The little girl said nothing in response. Nevertheless, it was something Wenzel had to do. He felt remorse for having reacted so impulsively and so unacceptably tyrannically. The girl cared little for such an apology, as it showed her that her father had little strength of character.

    A full-bearded man was traversing the corridors of the palace at a brisk pace. The red and white check pattern of his uniform clashed with the colourful mosaics over which his sturdy boots were uncaringly trampling. He finally came to a halt in front of the door to the chambers of the Chosen One and banged on it with a force far too great, in order to attract attention. A little later, his old companion, whom he had always addressed as "boss", opened the door for him. Wenzel knew who it was as soon as he heard the knock. It was so very characteristic of his friend. This time, for once, he had come alone. Usually, he was always accompanied by his right-hand man, Balduin. Why he wasn''t with him today would soon become clear.

    "There is a matter I would need to discuss with you in private, my lord," Ferenc let him know. The wizard waved him in at the door and told him to take a seat on the divan in the reception room. The vice-commander of the Imperial Guard did precisely that. Casually, the hardened veteran eyed the illustrious furnishings while impatiently tapping his soldier''s boots on the floor. A minute later, Wenzel was already back. He took one of the armchairs and moved it so that he could position himself directly across from his guest. Then he sat down as well. A serious look sprang from Ferenc''s eyes. His already aging arms were still muscular and criss-crossed with thick veins on the surface. He stroked his beard. Only then did he begin to speak:

    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    "I''ve been mulling it over for a while now, but it would be close to my heart to be able to return to my old home. I''ve had visitors from there every now and then over the last few years, but there are important things to do. My parents have now reached an age that makes everyday life difficult for them. It is not the only reason for my request but helping them is one of the bigger factors why I want to return to Aszbereny, where I come from."

    The ruler did not immediately know what to say to this and allowed silence to reign for a while. His old bodyguard and comrade had become an almost indispensable part of his guard. In general, Ferenc had taken on more of the role of the actual commander of the new Imperial Guard than the nominal head of it, as Brahm was mostly preoccupied with the personal protection of the emperor. Could Wenzel let him go just like that? He would prefer not to dismiss such an experienced ally just like that. But the feelings of his comrades-in-arms were of importance to him. After considering all this, he addressed the petitioner:

    "You are very important to me, old friend. Are you sure there is no other way to handle this? Couldn''t your parents just move here into the palace?" - "Unfortunately not, my lord. I have already spoken to them about the matter. They would never want to leave their home again. You don''t replant an old tree, as the saying goes." The Chosen One had to agree with him. Before he could say anything else, however, Ferenc took the floor again: "I have served you faithfully all these years. And I would have continued doing that for as long as I could, if circumstances didn''t force me into something else. But things are the way they are. There is, however, a suitable substitute. Balduin can certainly take over my duties to an appropriate degree, I''m sure of that."

    Balduin. The emperor was always aware that he had been chosen and prepared to replace his superior, Ferenc, one day. He was devoted to the core. But that was exactly what left a nasty tasty in Wenzel''s mouth at the thought of him. Submissiveness and blind obedience were what led mankind into slavery. Despite all this, the man sitting opposite him was right that Balduin was the right choice for the post. "You know what," the Sovereign said in a hushed voice, ", I need to weigh things up a bit more. Two days. Give me two days and I''ll give you an answer." - "I understand. Thank you, my lord, for taking the time to consider my request!" - "You''re welcome," replied Wenzel somewhat uncertainly.

    When his visitor had left him again and the door had been closed behind him, he pondered the matter for a while. Could he or would he really want to force his faithful companion to stay? No, he couldn''t. But was there any other way out of this? He couldn''t find one. In the end, the answer would be that Ferenc would take his leave of the imperial court and be succeeded by Balduin. Soon the first of the old generation would give way to someone of the newer generation. It wasn''t a big change overall, but one that upset Wenzel personally. He had already grown very fond of this ever-optimistic character. But farewells were always difficult, and of course the emperor was aware of that. Over the years, he had simply become a tad more sentimental. That was all.

    "Come on! I''m not planning on doing anything bad. Can''t you turn a blind eye for once?" Ylva shook her head without saying a word. Viktoria then continued her attempts to badger her. "You don''t even have to do anything. If you don''t notice anything, Father won''t notice anything either! The window doesn''t make much noise. No one would know, if you don''t tell on me. Please Ylva, I''m begging you! Is our friendship not worth anything to you?" This question rattled the lady a little. The princess''s bodyguard practically radiated anger and indignation in response. She retorted, "Excuse me? This has absolutely nothing to do with our relationship! I have my orders from His Majesty, and I must obey them unconditionally, without any ifs or buts. You have defied the rules and now you will bear the consequences." This wasn''t quite right, because Ylva and everyone else now had to bear the consequences too, as they were now tasked with monitoring the young mage even more strictly. "I see it as an insult that you would question our friendship based on the fulfilment of my duties."

    As a result, the girl huffed, "Hmph! Well, I guess, then you''re just not my friend anymore!" There was a brief glimpse of sadness on the brown-haired woman''s face before it disappeared again. Ylva instantly gathered that the teenager didn''t really mean what she was saying, and that it was just an expression of her annoyance at not being able to get her way in this matter. It was fairly typical behaviour for the stubborn teenager, which her bodyguard was already familiar with.

    Emphatically, she reiterated to Viktoria that there was nothing to shake or make her budge in her position. But she didn''t realize what kind of beast she was dealing with here! As the tough lady was about to leave the room, the one she had just spoken to threw one of her typical temper tantrums. The lady paused for a moment, but then stepped out. She listened to the youngster''s rage from the other side, standing in the corridor, fully tensed and ready to intervene if things escalated too much. Fortunately, this was not necessary in the end. She threw a few of her belongings and writing materials against the wall in a frenzy but didn''t resort to anything more. Slowly, the wizard''s fury subsided again. Nevertheless, it would turn out that Ylva had massively underestimated the girl.

    Leutold was scurrying through a side street of the Duhn metropolis as unnoticed as possible. He was wearing clothes that were customary for the common people. He did not normally do this. After all, he was a valet at the imperial court. But for this smaller task, it was necessary to remain unrecognized in public. The man roved over the pavement, then paused briefly for him to listen, if he could hear other people nearby. Nothing. It was an almost eerie silence that prevailed here. He turned into Dyer¡¯s Row and hurried as quickly as possible to where he needed to go. House number 13 was his destination. An unlucky number, as he only now discovered. In any case, it didn''t change the fact that he was going to deliver the message. He took another quick look to the left and right, far too conspicuously, as some would think, and then took the letter out of the side pocket of his outer garment, which was plain grey. There was no letterbox, so he simply slipped the item through the door slot as quickly as possible.

    "That''s it! My work here is done," he rejoiced in his thoughts and almost symbolically wanted to rub his hands together. Then he was on his way again. He knew that the letter was addressed to a certain "Achaz¡°, but had not read the message it contained. Her Highness, the princess, had paid him handsomely to deliver the letter. This was done contrary to the emperor''s wishes. If anyone found out that a simple servant at court had taken a bribe to subvert the sovereign''s will in this way, he would probably be thrown out immediately, in the best-case scenario. However, an additional penalty would probably be imposed to deter anyone from imitating him. Nevertheless, Leutold simply convinced himself that nobody would find out. All he had seen was the glint of the gold coins, and all the things he could buy with them were dominating his thoughts.

    This man had made it possible for Viktoria to contact her boyfriend again. She had during their previous dates found out from him what address he had in Meglarsbruck. However, the house at Dyer¡¯s Row 13 was not the residence of the young man she was looking for. The property in question belonged to an ally of Etzel''s who was in constant contact with the Vogts. This meant that the document sent would definitely reach the person addressed. In it, Achaz would then be informed of the time of their next meeting. The mage had also decided on a slightly different meeting place this time. Although, it would still be in the Karantian Forests. She would see him again soon. Meanwhile, the girl sat at her window and was staring out with a vacant look. She could hardly wait to see him again.

    Then came the long-awaited night. Viktoria took to the skies above Ordania. The waning moon was enthroned above her in the middle of a cloudless canopy of stars, which meant that it would probably be much cooler tonight. For a brief moment, she looked back behind her at the palace she had left, then flew off to meet her heartthrob.

    She had already taken all the necessary precautions. With the help of cushions, blankets and a wig, she had made a doll that would imitate the shape of her sleeping body as closely as possible. She had carefully placed it in her bed so that when Ylva came to take an unannounced look into the princess''s room, she would be under the impression that everything was as it should be. Furthermore, after levitating out the window, the girl had closed said window from the outside with her telekinesis again, so that there was no obvious indication of her absence. Of course, she had to be back before her wake-up time, but that was obvious anyway. It was a good plan, especially from the girl''s point of view. And it would work. Ylva would fall for the trick with the doll, at least for now.

    But then there was another factor that would have been fatal to ignore: the sceptre. It was capable of tracking the girl. If her father used it, he would instantly find out that she was not at home. So how would she solve this problem? The answer was through sorcery. In the days before, Viktoria had practiced creating a shield of magic that would prevent the inherent magical power of the Holy Artifact from reaching her. She would be practically invisible to it. She knew that this worked, as she had been able to convince Silke, when she had visited the emperor¡¯s private library, where that woman was very busy at work again, to quickly hand over the Holy Artifacts and let her ¡°examine¡± them. This way, she had created an opportunity to test her resistance to the effect of the artifact. The test had been successful. So, the young lady had again cast off her shackles and escaped once more.

    On Figaro''s back, Achaz was trotting through the partially impermeable forest, closely followed by the grim-looking Lucius. They would soon arrive at the agreed place. There was no anticipation on the boy''s face. On the contrary, there only were uncertainty, fear and anxiety to be seen. The reason for this was not just the usual. His mother, Petra, had recently returned from her trip to Camenia. As a result, the supervisor of Achaz had reported to her on everything that had happened. This had delighted the lady immensely and she had then proclaimed, ¡°Excellent! The time has come to reap the fruits of our labour! I will also inform Etzel and the Baron immediately.¡±

    She had made up her mind that it was time to manipulate Viktoria in order to steer their fortunes and those of the realm in a new direction. ¡°I agree. The relationship between the girl and her father seems to have been affected enough for us to be able to sow more discord and finally exert influence,¡± Lucius had stated at the time. Together, they had then begun to vehemently work on the unwilling Achaz so that he would play his intended role in this. The young man had quickly given in.

    This was the reason why he felt so sick, nauseatingly sick, to be precise. They wanted him to get Viktoria on their side and make her do the unspeakable. Something suddenly rustled in the bushes next to him. The lad almost jumped in panic and almost let his own horse bolt. ¡°Pull yourself together!¡±, his guard squawked from behind. ¡°That was just a boar. There are other, more dangerous animals here, such as mountain lions, but we don''t even need to be afraid of them. After all, I''m here.¡± The last sentence was exactly what worried the teenager more than it gave him peace of mind.

    On they went. The two of them made a short reversal to circumvent a thicket of thorns that was too dense for their horses. Then it was just one last little downhill stretch. They had finally made it! A steep cliff now jutted out in front of them. It was a famous cliff that had formed at the confluence of two smaller rivers. Directly above the rock face was a chapel dedicated to St. Balthasar. It was, therefore, an easy place to find, especially if you were coming from the air.

    The sun was already setting and Lucius and his ¡°prot¨¦g¨¦¡± settled down on the forest floor covered in soft leaves. As they were munching on their snacks, the guilt-ridden Achaz was literally consumed by nervousness. What could he do to get himself out of this jam? The suspicious man next to him repeatedly looked over at the boy with a sharp glare. He knew exactly what was going through Achaz''s mind at the moment. In a warning tone, he cautioned him: ¡°Don''t think you can screw things up for us here! You will do what we tell you or I will punish you in your mother''s stead!¡± Intimidated, the young man did not object. He simply submitted quietly.

    After the last light of day had faded, Cornel, still scowling, sought out his hiding place in the nearby bushes. In the meantime, the young Vogt was abiding by the recently lit campfire. He would have to wait quite a while longer. Well over an hour had already passed when the girl finally found her way here, guided by the ¡°beacon¡¯s¡± light. She decelerated and gingerly set down on the slightly damp ground. Full of joyful anticipation, she approached her friend. But then she immediately stopped in her tracks. The expression he gave her was completely different from what she had expected.

    ¡°What''s going on?¡±, she asked him straight away. The light from the crackling fire was dancing in his face, which was marked by uncertainty. He took a step closer to Viktoria and looked directly into her oh-so unique eyes. ¡°There''s something I need to tell you.¡± His voice was trembling. His obvious emotion now rubbed off a little on the princess and she responded to him with a tense, serious expression. She said nothing, however, letting her counterpart continue.

    ¡°My mother also found out that I was sneaking off at night to meet you.¡± He paused briefly, but his listener showed no reaction to what he had uttered. Briefly, the sound of the river was all that could be heard. He swallowed once, then continued, ¡°I don''t know how exactly, but she also knows that you are the princess. She doesn''t believe that I should see you anymore.¡± Something seemed to have slipped his mind. But he quickly amended, ¡°My mother is an Alethic. That''s why she hates the current emperor. She will never be able to accept him, that much is clear.¡±

    For a moment, he gave the impression of wanting to look behind him, but then stopped himself and turned back towards Viktoria. His face began to turn redder and his eyes started to glaze over. ¡°She insisted that I should never meet you again. I begged her to allow it after all. After a lot of back and forth, I finally managed to wrest a permission from her. But there was a condition.¡± At first, Viktoria was still taken by surprise and stood there petrified, not knowing how to deal with the situation. Now she slowly began to mentally process the boy''s words. She frowned. Something wasn''t right here. Achaz was under such strain that not even these circumstances right here could explain it. When the first tears began to run down his cheeks, her suspicion only grew further.

    Finally, he delivered the key sentence: ¡°She thinks that your father is standing in the way of our love. If you could...¡±, he struggled for a moment with what he was going to say, but then continued. ¡°If only you could get rid of him, our relationship would be made possible.¡± At this point, he actually wanted to add something else, but couldn''t manage it. This scene now set alarm bells ringing aloud in Viktoria''s head. She may have been na?ve, but not that na?ve. Something about this stank to high heaven. Of course, she knew nothing of Petra''s plans for revenge, which were primarily aimed at Wenzel. That lady knew about the difficulties, that had arisen for the heiress to the throne in her relationship with her adoptive father after he had caught her in the forest with Achaz. And Viktoria was indeed a very rebellious brat. However, the assumption, that she could be persuaded to commit deeds of such sinister nature as those that had just been suggested to her, was a mistake.

    A deeply sorrowful, shivering Achaz was now standing in front of her, avoiding eye contact out of feeling shame. ¡°Don''t be afraid! Even if you can''t speak freely, your thoughts are free,¡± Viktoria''s voice now seemed to emanate from an ethereal plane. Achaz''s mouth hung open for a moment until he realized what this meant. He, just like Lucius and Petra, had by no means factored the possibilities offered by the girl''s magical powers into the plan. They weren''t aware of them either. Only the boy had witnessed her telepathy so far, but fortunately, as it turned out, he had forgotten to inform those, who had used him as bait, about them.

    ¡°Are you being watched?¡± his girlfriend now asked via thought transfer. Only in his mind, did he immediately reply, ¡°Yes. Lucius, my watchdog, is hiding nearby and is spying on us. He''s checking on whether I''m following the plan.¡± - ¡°And the plan is to dupe me and use me as a tool for their purposes.¡± - ¡°Pretty much, yes.¡± Now that it had slowly filtered through to him that a way out of his impasse had just opened up for him, the teenager was about to start smiling with relief. ¡°No, don''t do that,¡± she told him. ¡°You have to keep looking sad and full of despair. Otherwise, he won''t buy it!¡± Achaz nodded his head in the slightest possible gesture to signal his agreement. Now the drama the two of them performed began.

    ¡°You know what, I think you really are more important to me than my so-called father, who isn''t even my real father at all!¡±, blurted out the young lady with her rather mediocre acting skills. Her counterpart tried not to appear too enthusiastic but couldn''t hide the visible brightening of his mood. He replied, ¡°Wow! Now, that really does surprise me. I would have expected you to think something of your old man.¡± His expression sounded somewhat exaggerated and contrived. To this, the mage then returned, ¡°Well, I do think something of him. But it''s not quite enough to call it love.¡± It was an unusually well-formulated, convincing statement that the princess was able to come up with here. Only her stilted delivery somewhat thwarted it a little.

    ¡°All right then,¡± Achaz said,¡± let¡¯s see to it that the matter is done. Let''s arrange a new date for us to meet again.¡± - ¡°Agreed! I''ll think about a course of action until next time and then we''ll discuss how to go about it.¡± In closing, the boy then said, ¡°Once this matter is behind us, nothing can stand in the way of our relationship.¡± - ¡°Exactly!¡± Viktoria simply gave back.

    That was the end of their performance to try and trick Lucius. Achaz would only find out whether it had worked after she had left. It was a good attempt by both of them, even if they were bad improvisers and even worse actors. By the time she departed, however, Viktoria was convinced that the two lovers had succeeded in their endeavour. She left the crackling of the campfire, which by now had burned down quite a bit, behind her and returned home. Under no circumstances was she to come back too late.

 1. 11 Turning Point

    The stove was bubbling, steaming and hissing. For once, Petra was cooking something today. She had obviously decided to prepare something elaborate this time. The reason for this? She was in an incredibly good mood. Her accomplice in the scheme with the princess had given her the best possible news when he had updated her on the progress of her plot. Because of this, she was over the moon. The meat, which she had specifically gone to a farmer for to buy, was sizzling in the pan. Only Achaz sat behind her at the table, no one else. Fabio and Lucius were outside tending to the animals. The hearty smell of meat and spices reached the youngster¡¯s nostrils and made him even hungrier.

    ¡°You do realize how important you are to me, Achaz, right? I love you.¡± - ¡°I love you too, Mother,¡± he replied, still in a polite manner. She immediately returned, ¡°You don''t have to speak to me in such an elevated manner in this situation. It only creates distance between us. It''s just the two of us here. Call me mom.¡± - ¡°Okay...., mom.¡± The boy had hesitated a little. He understood that his mother was only approaching him like this today, because he was now of quintessential utility to her. Usually, she was always cool and distant to him. He knew that she cared for her son, but so far, she had rather denied him true love that came from the heart.

    Nevertheless, he would join in playing this game with them. He was now also trying to increase the level of niceness in his interaction with his mother. She should feel reassured as well. Because what she didn''t realize was the fact, that he and Viktoria would now be able to double-cross them. Petra and Lucius would not get their way. The boy had gained new confidence now. ¡°I love you too, Mom,¡± he soft-soaped. ¡°You''re the only family I care about.¡± Perhaps he was laying it on a little too thick here, but Petra still seemed to fall for it. Out of the corner of one eye, you could see her smile as she reached for the caraway seeds to season the roast potatoes that would be served as a side dish. That was splendid. Then he asked, ¡°What do we want to do next against the imperial house?¡± The lady, who was marked with far too many wrinkles for her age, responded, ¡°We''ll wait for the girl''s letter before we decide.¡± - ¡°But we''ve already arranged a new meeting at the same place as last time. I don''t think there will be any message at all.¡± - ¡°Let''s see. We''ll just have to wait.¡± This reasoning made sense to him. Even if he didn''t think a letter would be sent this time, he had no objections here.

    But the letter arrived just two days later. Di Alduino''s cousin rode up and unceremoniously handed it over to Mr. Cornel. He accepted it without saying any thanks and immediately retreated back to the small wooden hut where they were currently residing. He was alone at the moment and would not wait for his co-conspirators to return, as he knew that they would not be back for several more hours. The curmudgeon, who had apparently just recently shaved his beard again, sat down on one of their three chairs. His hair was still dishevelled and unkempt. He placed the letter he had received on the dark tabletop, which had such a rough surface that it was difficult to write anything on it without ruining one''s entire document from the grooves in the wood grain. With his bare hands, he immediately tore open the envelope and pulled out the contents. Apparently, this time the piece of bumph consisted of two sheets of parchment.

    He immediately began to read the first one. He finished it relatively quickly. It was nothing special. Just a few childish, imprudent ideas, which the girl had come up with, that came close to the trivial. He and Petra had already gathered much more sophisticated, promising ideas. Although, he had not imagined that the sorceress could be able to come up with much more anyway. Then he moved on to the next sheet of parchment. Upon seeing it, however, he was a little puzzled. ¡°What is that?¡±, he said to himself. In front of him was an almost blank sheet with the following written at the top: ¡°My fire burns for you.¡± There was a little heart painted right next to it.

    The guy had immediately understood what she was trying to do here. ¡°This child probably thinks she can trick me. But she''d have to wake up much earlier for that!¡±, he declared. He immediately lit a candle and held the writing over it. Soon the first letters began to darken in the heat, revealing a hidden text written in invisible ink. It was exactly as Lucius had assumed. Then he began to read the actual, secret message that the princess had addressed to her lover. After he had gotten through the first two sentences, he already had to interrupt himself again. He mulled it over. Then he read through the rest of the message in one go. When he had finished, he pushed himself away from the table to get some distance, not only mentally but also physically, from what he had just learned.

    The son of the former regent was shocked. It was fortunate that no one was here to witness this. He broke out in a cold sweat, which began to run down his forehead and back. He pondered on what he had just read for a while longer. Yes, now, he was sure. He had unravelled the mystery. In her actual message, Viktoria had told the boy how she imagined they could manipulate him and Petra. They weren¡¯t the cleverest of ideas, but this was still very worrying. The way she spoke about telling him things now led Lucius to conclude that the teenager could communicate with him by telepathic means. Had the two of them been fooling them from the start? The thought drove him to fury and the man pounded his fist on the tabletop. The candle fell over, went out and from the table rolled down onto the floor.

    ¡°Goddamn it!¡±, he fumed. ¡°Tricked by a couple of brats!¡± He couldn''t just sit back and let this go, oh no! Lucius leaned back in his chair and began to think up something new. He ran his hands through his tousled hair. Then he pensively stared at one of the walls while fiddling with the old signet ring in his trouser pocket to keep his nervousness at bay. ¡°That damn devil! I''ll destroy him, and if it''s the last thing I do!¡± Revenge against Wenzel and against Teleiotism in general was now all he had left to live for. He had chosen this as the purpose of his life, as terrible and pitiful as that may sound. Still, Lucius really was the last person anyone should feel pity for. His mind now thought up a perfidious intrigue.

    The bastard would compose a new letter, which he would pen as accurately as possible in Victoria''s handwriting. He would present it to the others as the girl''s actual letter and make the real one disappear. For Lucius, everything was at stake here. That included his life. He wouldn''t let two brats bring him in a hell of a mess. The stakes were simply too high here. Therefore, he had to keep Petra in the dark about what was really happening here and what he would do next. The stage was set. Soon the play would start.

    A woman, namely the sister of the Chosen One, stood opposite the despotic praetor with her index finger raised in lamentation. Luzeica¡¯s long robes were fluttering in the wind. Around her stood her companions and a crowd of local shepherds. Their sheep could be seen in the background, as well as the Southerly vegetation that made Camenia so unmistakable. This depiction of a well-known passage in the Holy Testament was definitely appealing to the viewer. It was dynamic, vibrant and drawn in bold colours. Ylva now brought her upwardly stretched neck back into a normal position. She couldn''t keep endlessly admiring the beautiful frescoes, that were all over the palace¡¯s ceilings. She had a duty to attend to.

    Then the doors she was guarding swung wide open and an elegantly dressed couple left the imperial chambers. They were the parents of the emperor''s spouse, who had been visiting today and were now on their way back to the not-too-distant Olemar. Those two were then followed by Amalie and Viktoria, who bid her grandparents another friendly farewell. The princess was once again dressed extraordinarily beautifully and was flaunting a long, vanilla-coloured dress that definitely her mother had made her wear. As soon as the visitors had disappeared, the young lady immediately retired to her room. The emperor''s wife, however, remained in the corridor as she had something to tell Ylva:

    ¡°Our little girl behaved properly today and there were no troubles. She has demonstrated dignity and politeness towards her grandparents. I''ll make sure to praise her for her good conduct. But I need to know something from you first. Have you noticed anything negative about her behaviour in the last few days? Has she improved or has she perhaps even snuck away again?¡±

    The bodyguard immediately provided her with the relevant information: ¡°I have not observed any overly rebellious behaviour during this period, mistress. There has been no further attempt to sneak away. And I regularly check her room at night, so she can''t possibly have escaped at some point. Similarly, none of her usually groundless ¡®episodes¡¯ have occurred¡± - ¡°Very good! Then let''s have another quick word with her.¡± The empress was pleased for a change. There, His Highness the Chosen One was already scurrying past the two ladies again without showing any interest in their conversation. He went straight back to his study to pursue his usual activities with his assistant. Ylva followed his wife into the teenager''s room.

    By uttering, ¡°Viktoria?¡±, her mother tried to attract her attention. The girl, who was presently lying on the bed, seemed to have been caught by surprise and picked herself up immediately. She was in the process of changing her clothes. ¡°Geez! Mother, I''ve only just gotten back here. Could I at least get a little time to change my clothes?¡± Immediately afterwards, she moved behind a thin screen in the corner of the room to continue with her undressing. Her Majesty ignored the girl''s remarks and replied, ¡°I was pleased with your conduct today. I just wanted to tell you that.¡± At first, nothing came back from the young lady. But she quickly thought of something she wanted to get off her chest: ¡°I still don''t like all these rules of etiquette. I''ll never like them.¡± - ¡°And yet they are necessary,¡± her adoptive mother promptly retorted.

    ¡°We are not doing this to torment you, rather because there are certain things that society and the world demand of you. I love you and your father loves you too. He has told you that many times, though, and shown it even more through his actions.¡± A slight grumble could be heard from the girl. She knew this was the truth, and yet she felt like a thrall, constantly being dictated every single little movement and every word she spoke. ¡°Once I take over from you and am in charge, I will change all that,¡± she boldly announced to her. ¡°You will experience the same thing that Wenzel experienced so painfully. One person alone cannot turn heaven and earth on its head. What we can do is limited by a multitude of factors: Tradition, conviction, self-interest, the power structure. All of these are limitations to which everyone is subject,¡± was the empress''s reply.

    The little girl didn''t answer. She was still wet behind the ears and had never thought too hard about such topics. Amalie strutted through the room in tiny steps and looked around as she had done so many times before. She was content with the elegant furnishings. This was something she set great store by, unlike her husband who, in her opinion, would keep everything here terribly minimalist, which would not be very presentable. The magician had finally finished and came out in much more casual clothes. Her face radiated a certain amount of joy. This stemmed from her awareness that she had everything under control in regard to the events with Achaz. Her mother noticed her good mood and consequently made another interjection, ¡°If you behave well in your studies, I can give you more than just my praise as a reward. But that requires you to really pull yourself together now. So don''t send my best wishes to your friend, if you don''t see him again.¡±

    The lady thought to herself that she had made a witty, sarcastic remark to tease her daughter a little. It had a completely different effect, as Viktoria now assumed that they were onto her for sneaking out. She looked at her guardian with wide eyes and fell silent. Amalie concluded that the girl had probably taken her humour a little too seriously and simply left the room without further ado. It was a bizarre end to the conversation.

    The summer heat was beating down on their heads. Nevertheless, the leaves on the trees flaunted their lush green colour. In the distance, the cry of a falcon could be heard as two riders were heading across a pasture side by side. Achaz was exuding optimism, while his overseer was in a comparatively subdued mood, yet seemed in much better spirits than usual. Their destination was, of course, the meeting point with Viktoria, which would be the same one as last time. That was what they had agreed upon, and she had also emphasized this again in the letter she had sent him after all. Accompanied by the concert of chirping crickets, he went over her message in his head once more. Almost all of the suggestions she had made in it had been too clueless and half-baked for his mother and Lucius. Unfortunately, he had to agree with both of them in this assessment. None of Viktoria''s ideas were really realistically workable. They would be presenting her with other suggestions. He was really curious to see how they would manage to set Petra and her henchman up here.

    ¡°It''s good that you''ve understood the need to fight evil, sonny,¡± Lucius said after far too long a period of silence, knowing full well that the boy was only trying to fool him. Petra''s scion responded, ¡°There are things that are bigger than me. I''ve finally understood that. No one should have to grow up without their father like I did.¡± The lies the youngster was telling certainly were audacious, especially since he had hardly made any impression so far that he thought anything of their deceitful machinations. This made his companion cough all of a sudden. He almost flew into a rage at such a stupid statement from the boy. ¡°I never had a father either! What does that runt know about true suffering? I''ll throw him in a dark dungeon for ten years, maybe then he''ll have an idea!¡±, it buzzed through his mind. He was silent for a minute, then he moved on to another topic:

    ¡°You know, the Melgarists are dedicated to the worship of magicians, meaning devils. That can only be considered evil. Whoever deifies man will suffer a severe punishment for it! God alone should be worshipped.¡± He paused briefly, but continued right after, ¡°But the other side are not automatically the good guys either, just because they are against the evil ones. My mother, God rest her soul, was also guilty of blasphemy. She had this weird demon idol that she regularly prayed to! What a load of nonsense!¡± This revelation shocked Achaz. Baffled, he looked over at Mr. Cornel and asked, ¡°Why are you telling me something like that?¡±

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    Dourly, the man replied, ¡°Don''t you think this is going to become a common occurrence now. It could be the last time I confide in you like this, if you tell anyone else. Is that clear?¡± - ¡°Crystal clear!¡±, came the reply without hesitation. Nevertheless, it was very uncharacteristic behaviour, that Lucius was displaying here today. Perhaps he was feeling a little more sentimental than usual, who knew for sure.

    ¡°The Alethic Commune has its rightful place; it stands for the right path. My only fear is that under the constant pressure of the heretical majority it will either be completely crushed at some point, or it will adapt and make concessions to the Melgarists. If that happens, all bets are off! We are already fighting an almost hopeless battle. Nevertheless, there is a way for us to win, even if it is highly unlikely. You can be of great help to us here, lad,¡± the vengeful man explained to him.

    Achaz only ever replied with a simple ¡°yeah¡± or ¡°mhm¡±. In the end, however, he asked, ¡°You''ve never talked to me so much or so openly. Is there a reason for that?¡± Without even paying the boy a single glance, Lucius simply replied, ¡°You''ll see.¡±

    Now the night of the date had arrived. The wizard flew over the Ordanian lands, while at the same time straining her mind to think through what kind of act she and her boyfriend would put on today in order to deceive Achaz''s mother and her co-conspirators, and to slowly manipulate the situation to their own advantage. It was inevitable that this would be a difficult undertaking. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained, as the saying goes. But above all, she was already in eager anticipation of meeting her crush again.

    The huge, gloomy forest stretched out below her. From a certain distance, however, the light of the prepared campfire finally reached the field of her visual perception. Full of nervousness, she now accelerated her flight. The fire came closer and closer until she finally got close enough to slow down and land in front of the flames that lit up this lonely and almost spooky patch of earth. There still was a large log lying in the fire. No one was here. Not a soul was to be found in the area illuminated by the light. Inquisitively, the girl cast a glimpse to her left and right. Then even behind her. Nobody there. What was going on here?

    ¡°Achaz? Are you here?¡±, she called out. But no-one reacted. ¡°Come on, say something! I know you''re here,¡± she called out in a slightly louder voice. There was still no answer, no nothing. That really unsettled her. A bit of fear began to rise up inside her. One thing was absolutely certain: someone must have lit the fire here and there was hardly any other possibility than it being either Achaz or his watcher, who always was keeping an eye on their meetings. Were they simply trying to scare her? But this had gone on too long for that. Or was it an ambush? Realizing this contingency, her senses immediately jumped into a state of high alert. The princess''s muscles tensed feverishly. She took another look around. Nothing could be made out. At the moment, not even a sound could be heard from the forest. There was only the rushing of the water from behind her.

    She took a few steps forward until she had reached the edge of the cone of light. In front of her were only the trunks of the trees. Further back, where it was already considerably darker, a light, a reflection of the flames, very briefly flashed up. Something or someone was there! This situation was truly terrifying, but she was a magician. She was Viktoria and no one could even touch her! So, she summoned up all her courage and continued in the direction of what she had seen. Once again, she called out to him, ¡°Achaz! Achaaaz!¡± It was getting really dark here now, but visual orientation was still possible. A short distance away, there was something larger on the ground, that looked a little different from the forest floor and the moss in this place. Gradually, her eyes adjusted to the lower brightness here and she began to see better.

    Then it was revealed. There was a person lying on the ground. Without any hesitation, she immediately rushed over to them. She quickly recognized from the clothes that it was Achaz. Had he fallen down and fainted? She took him by the shoulders and tried to shake him awake. Then she saw it. When the girl realized it, a shock ran through her, which quickly turned into pure horror. Her hands and subsequently her whole body began to tremble uncontrollably. Only then did she let out a panicked scream. A deep cut could be seen on the boy''s throat. His eyes were open but stared lifelessly into space.

    ¡°What? Why? How did this happen? Who did this?¡±, all good questions that were frantically flashing through her mind. As the realization of what was here in front of her slowly sank in and got through to her, Viktoria fell to her knees and began to cry bitterly. This atrocity shook her so much that she was simply overwhelmed by her feelings at first. After a period of sobbing, however, she looked up and spotted a single object that had been purposefully placed on the corpse''s chest. It was the thing that had previously reflected the light. With a shaky hand, she reached for it and fetched it. Under the light of her gleaming eyes, she turned it to and fro examining it from all sides. In that moment, it was all over for her. Now she had understood. Oh yes, she had understood everything! She knew who had done this and why he had done it. He would pay for it!

    The entire family was roused from their sleep by a murderously loud clanging noise. Theodor abruptly got up and jumped out of bed as if stung by an adder. The girls all took a little longer. One could now see heavy rain coming in through the window and the man immediately went to investigate what had happened. It was fairly obvious. It was storming outside, and the window hadn''t withstood the weather. ¡°Oh, God, what''s that?¡±, he could hear Irnfrid complain behind him. It was absolutely bucketing down, and gale-force winds were blowing away everything that wasn''t nailed down in the streets outside. ¡°Eleonore, Marzia! Come on, get away from the window,¡± the mother immediately ordered them. She saw that it was raining in so hard, that within such a short time a puddle had already formed on the floor.

    Meanwhile, Theodor continued to stare out into the open, listening to the deafening cracks and rumbles of thunder, which could now be heard over and over again at very short intervals. It was one hell of a thunderstorm! The elderly army man just wondered where it had come from so quickly. Before they went to sleep, the sky had still been starry and clear. How strange. When he heard, ¡°Darling, what are we going to do now?¡±, behind him, he turned his attention back to his ladies. Alexander was sleeping in his own room by now, and was, therefore, not here with them. ¡°Grab the blankets and cushions. We''re staying at Alexander''s for tonight,¡± he immediately sprang into action. Eleonore naturally asked straight away, ¡°Does that mean we have to sleep on the floor?¡± - ¡°Haaah!¡±, her father exasperatedly sighed. ¡°I''ll also lug the mattresses over with me, at least the ones that aren''t soaked yet.¡± At that, the little girl seemed satisfied for the time being.

    The relocation went very quickly. Then the guy ran down to the first floor to inform the guards that their window should be repaired as fast as possible or at a minimum barricaded for the time being. Back up the stairs, he was a little slower. Their temporary night quarters were now at the very end of the corridor and Theodor was no longer rushing to get there. Apparently, more than just his window had been broken and there was a lot of activity to be overheard from some of the rooms. But then he was struck by something completely different. A sound like an explosion literally reverberated throughout the expansive building! This promptly spurred him into action to find out what it was.

    Gordomanni moltum ab hac consoetodine differunt. Nam neque sacerdutii habent, qui rebos divinis praesint, neque sacrificiis student.

    By the faint candlelight, Wenzel was reading the ancient text in front of him. From time to time, he cast a quick glance over at the window, which the storm was repeatedly rattling violently. It was difficult to concentrate under these circumstances, especially when trying to translate ancient records, for which he often needed the help of his assistant anyway. He put his translation of the sentence down on parchment. Then he gently put the quill aside, right next to the inkwell. Perhaps it was better to finish tonight''s ¡°night shift¡± early and go to bed. The weather was extremely disconcerting.

    ¡°Boom! Clang! Whoosh!¡± Suddenly, a shockwave burst through the window, not only shattering the pane into a thousand pieces, but also breaking off parts of the surrounding masonry. This detonation also instantly swept the emperor away and several feet backwards until he regained his feet. The wild thunderstorm from outside now penetrated in here with all its destructive force. The first thing that came to the mage''s mind were his books, and that he had to protect them from the forces of nature. But when he raised his head and looked at the hole in the wall, he put all these thoughts on hold for the time being. Hovering in the gap in front of him was his daughter, drenched by the rain and looking down at him.

    Before he could even notice the pained look on her face, she threw something small over to him. It bounced on the ground a few times and then came to rest right in front of him. ¡°I''ve found it. This is yours, isn''t it?¡±, her voice rang out in a strangely harsh, yet muffled tone. He immediately noticed that there was something terribly wrong with her. Wenzel picked up the object and examined it closely. It was a signet ring with ¡°M.R.¡± engraved on it. It was the imperial seal of the Melgarions. He had never seen this object before, but as the successor to their dynasty and inheritor of their authority, it must logically have belonged to him. So, the emperor answered, ¡°I suppose so.¡±

    He didn''t have the slightest idea what he had just conveyed with this. In response, the girl clenched her fists and strained all the muscles in her body, so much so that she let out a groan. From her point of view, it all made sense now. Her father had found out that she had been defying his orders and meeting Achaz in secret again. As a result, he had made a move to put an end to it once and for all. She was now convinced that Wenzel had killed her boyfriend! And his words had only just confirmed it for her.

    ¡°You monster! How could you!¡±, she screamed at him at the top of her lungs. Absolute confusion then spread across the ruler''s face, who had no idea what a grave mistake he had just made. ¡°What on earth has gotten into you? I don''t understand what you''re....¡± Wenzel couldn''t get any further. Before he could finish his sentence, the sorceress unleashed another telekinetic blast at him! He tried to block it, but the force of the attack was too great and catapulted him backwards, sending him crashing into the wall with his back. A crazed, manic Viktoria now produced a huge flame in her hands.

    ¡°I''ll show you what it feels like to lose things that are irreplaceable to you!¡±, were the truly despicable words that left her mouth. Her adoptive father had only just recovered from the previous attack. Pieces of the wall plaster were still crumbling off his shoulders and the rest of his clothes when she already moved on to the next step. Before the eyes of the man who was so obsessed with the study of magic, she let out a torrent of flames in all directions, instantly turning his library into an inferno of fire! At the sight of this, the sovereign''s heart sank. He stretched his arm forward to quench the flames right away with his magic, but the girl immediately attacked him again to stop him from doing so.

    Yet again, she flung him away like a rag doll. Her magical powers were much stronger than his, a fact that Wenzel was now being made painfully aware of, even though he had already known it. What should he do now? He didn''t want to hurt his daughter, but the better question was whether he even could! The little girl landed on the ground a few steps in front of him. The Chosen One promptly got up again. Mentally, he prepared himself to evade her next attack. But it did not come. She stared at her ¡°father¡± with a hate-filled face. Wenzel wondered what was going through her mind at that moment, but even before he could open his mouth to ask her about it, to possibly talk some sense into her, he began sensing it. There was a strange tension in the air that seemed to be steadily increasing, causing the hair on his forearms and then on his head to stand up.

    With her index and middle fingers outstretched, the mage brought her phalanges into a position reminiscent of the countless images of His Holiness, Melgar the Great. An electrical voltage now seemed to build up in the area, concentrating around Viktoria. Overwhelmed by the situation, the emperor just stood there motionlessly, and did nothing to put a stop to this. The whole time he only beheld the lifelike face of Melgar, with his large nose, unlike the icons often depicted, and his determined expression, burning itself deep into his subconscious. Then the young lady pointed her fingers at him. His moment of destiny had arrived! The energy was released, and a dazzling light flooded the entire room, accompanied by a deafening crack. Just before she had released her lightning bolt, however, someone had been heard calling out, ¡°Wenzel!¡±

    Both sorcerers had now been thoroughly blinded. Their visual senses first had to recover from the overexposure. When the world slowly became perceptible again, they were presented with something completely unexpected. Wenzel was unharmed. Lying on the tiled floor in front of him was the body of a man he knew well. He had stepped into this scene and had tried to protect the life of the Chosen One at the last second. He had succeeded. But unfortunately, Theodor had had to sacrifice his own life for it! When father and daughter realized what had just happened, they stood there in shock. Viktoria had not wanted this! The Supreme Marshal had nothing to do with any of this. In fact, she hadn''t even wanted to hurt her adoptive father. She had just absolutely gotten carried away by her emotions.

    Dismayed and confused, she turned away. She didn''t want to watch this any longer and simply made off. His Highness, however, immediately took up the chase. He flew after her out into the pouring rain. ¡°Viktoria! Stop right there, Viktoria!¡±, he bellowed after her as literal deluges of water gushed towards him. She didn''t listen to him and shook him off very quickly. Wenzel swiftly realized that he was flying much slower than his daughter, no matter how hard he tried. Devastated, he came to a halt and looked back at the palace, which was now in the process of catching fire. After a second''s thought, he turned around and returned to his private library.

    Human lives were always the top priority. He immediately went to Theodor, quickly moved him out into the corridor with telekinesis and tried to save him with a healing ritual. It was pointless. The man was already dead and no magic in the world could bring back the dead. Nonetheless, the magician went through the futile trouble of drawing the magic circle. Meanwhile, more and more servants, guards and other inhabitants of the palace began to converge here. The ruler drew line after line with great haste, while he was forced to watch through the open door as the accumulated knowledge, he had gathered over all these years, was being consumed by the flames before his eyes. The book with the green cover, lying on the desk, could also be seen going up in smoke. All that work for naught!

    Soon the first people arrived with buckets of water to fight the blaze, but it had already become far too powerful. At the same time, the rain abruptly stopped. The person whose emotions had caused it had now gotten out of reach. The flames spread more and more, and the order was given to evacuate the building. The guards, together with the fire brigade, would continue trying to contain the fire as best they could. This was truly a dark day in the life of Wenzel, but also in the history of the country!

 1. 12 Consequences

    A new morning dawned. The streets of the imperial capital were still damp from the almost torrential rains of the preceding night. The large gates of the city garrison swung open, and a large regiment imposingly marched out of them. They were sealing off the city. It was probably a little too late for that, but they wouldn''t want to be accused of not even trying to find her.

    "Stand at attention!", the commander gave the order, and all the men immediately halted yet stayed in formation. " Here I have a simple sketch of the person we''re looking for. She is to be arrested ALIVE, if at all possible! Get in line and take a good look at the face. I want you to memorize it. After that, teams of four will be formed to comb the city. We''ll search absolutely everything, every house, every cellar, every room, every cupboard; don''t leave a single thing out! We''re going to leave no stone unturned to catch this culprit. Have I made myself clear?" - "Yes, Vice Marshal!", the soldiers gave back. Ulrich immediately corrected them, "From now on, that is Supreme Marshal to you. Well then, let''s go. Salute!"

    The men followed the order and then lined up to take a look at the wanted poster. It was a lady with short, black hair and a rather narrow, oval face who was depicted on it. Even though she had far fewer wrinkles in this depiction than was actually the case, it was very clear that this was supposed to be Petra Vogt. Yes, the lady would now be hunted all throughout the city and soon throughout the whole empire. The emperor had ordered this because, according to him, she was behind the events of the previous night. Many of the inhabitants of Meglarsbruck had not even gotten out of bed and had not yet heard about the dramatic events of the last couple of hours.

    It was a shocking event for many. The Melgarion Palace, which had even survived the Holy Revolution unscathed, now lay largely in ruins. According to His Majesty, saboteurs had infiltrated the complex and set fire to it. "It was definitely the Alethics'' fault again!", was what most of the military thought. They had never gotten over their bitterness over their loss of power as a result of the revolution. The army was working around the clock to show them "their place", but this latest act of political violence would only lead to more oppression.

    "We will destroy these disgusting heretics! They obviously didn''t want it any other way!", said Ulrich, after he had swung himself into the saddle of his horse. Although his orders had been to search all the houses without discrimination, he himself was one hundred percent aware that the soldiers would be applying double standards here.

    Wham! The door was forcefully yanked open after the occupants had opened it a notch to see who had knocked at such an early hour. Immediately afterwards, the troop stormed in. Major General Alexander Kuhn remained standing near the front gate and, as the commanding officer, had to deal with the questions and complaints of the residents who had been caught off guard. "We have nothing to hide. It was completely inappropriate of you to push my son down like that! There is absolutely nothing we are guilty of." - "That''s what they all say until we find out what ''skeletons'' they are actually hiding in their closets," the young man replied bluntly and with an implacable tone in his voice as he rolled his eyes. He had no sympathy or even pity for these Alethics. They had his father on their conscience! He would never forgive them for that! That was also the reason why he had immediately volunteered to help with the search operation.

    In the meantime, the soldiers searched the whole house. They went into every nook and cranny, rummaged through the attic and cellar, and even ransacked all the cupboards and drawers. The lady of the house was about to go up to them and say something, but her husband grabbed her by the arm and stopped her from making such a foolish mistake. When she turned to him, a shake of the head and a serious look was all he gave her. She certainly had understood him. Standing up against injustice here wasn''t worth risking her family''s safety. In the end, nothing was found. A single ¡°suspicious¡± book could be discovered under the stairs. It was, of course, confiscated. That was it. The men left again without showing even a modicum of decency, as they didn''t even say their goodbyes. They immediately moved on to the next house.

    And so, the day dragged on for an impossibly long time. Several women who looked similar to the hastily drawn mugshot had been arrested, but every single one of those detainees had to be set free again as they had been unjustly accused. After what felt like an eternity, Alexander returned to his mentor to report on the lack of success in their mission. As he approached him, however, he saw Ulrich talking to a man he did know by appearance, but who he couldn''t really identify in a hurry. He had short, well-combed black hair and wore glasses. His robes were very lofty, which indicated that he was a person of great authority. Clothes make people. However, in his ignorance, Alexander had not even been able to recognize the Imperial Chancellor by his rather distinctive appearance.

    "The funeral will, of course, take place on a befitting scale. I have already been notified about the appropriate preparations being made," came from His Excellency in the most refined diction. Also in formal language, but a little less highbrow, Ulrich then said, "I''m only sorry for the widow he''s leaving behind. She was barely even responsive as it was." With a slight nod of his head and a cool expression, Peter signalled his understanding, whereupon the military man continued, "Unfortunately, I don''t have time to deal with such sentimentalities here. My mission is clear: to ensure the stability of the country and to track down and root out traitors and assassins! Basically, just business as usual."

    The head of government now had something to add. He drew a touch closer to his interlocutor and began speaking in a low voice, "You hold the position of Supreme Marshal on an interim basis. In the current situation, your skills are useful to the empire. But do not think that this means you can circumvent the proper procedures! There is a prescribed order of succession in the army, but there are also laws. And the law states that the Supreme Marshal must be approved by the Sovereign." The tone in his voice was firm and refined.

    Ulrich replied in an equally animated tone, "At the moment, I''m the only one here who can fill the shoes of the hero of the revolution! Your political games are of no interest to me whatsoever. And neither will they interest the army!" The man was quite self-confident, this was not a bluff. Nevertheless, one thing was clear to him: it had been stipulated in the founding documents of the empire that the head of the army was appointed by the emperor. Even the members of the Imperial Diet would not dare to violate those documents, which they themselves had signed by mutual agreement at the time. With his actions here, the intermediate Supreme Marshal was merely trying to show that he had the army''s backing until His Highness''s return in order to present Wenzel with what appeared to be a fait accompli, giving him the feeling that he could only agree to this, if he did not want any more disorder in the country. Of course, this was all just speculation on Ulrich''s part. He did not know exactly how things would turn out or when His Majesty would actually return to the capital.

    Peter had a very sour reaction to this. "From what I''ve heard, you only joined the revolution very late, and at a time when the tide already seemed to be turning. Opportunists are not the ones who can guarantee a glowing future for a country." The words thrown at the veteran were harsh. The anger they aroused was obvious from the addressee¡¯s face. At that moment, the son of the man who had been martyred tonight suddenly came stumbling into the scene. The Imperial Chancellor immediately moved away from his counterpart and spoke at a normal volume again, "The court''s relocation is proceeding without a hitch. Rest assured that the Imperial Guard has this matter perfectly under control. Well then, I must be on my way again. We shall be seeing each other again soon, Honourable Marshal!" He made the appropriate farewell gesture and strode off. Only then did the clueless Alexander step up to deliver his report.

    Amoroso Di Alduino took an oblong object the size of a finger from his breast pocket, put it in his mouth and lit it at the tip. He inhaled the smoke and then skilfully puffed it out again. As grumpy as he almost always was, Lucius stood next to him, staring at him in displeasure. "Don''t you pollute my air with your stinking stuff here!", he rudely hissed at the curly-haired man. Fulco''s cousin only responded with a slight shrug of his shoulders. He didn''t care too much about this poison dwarf''s opinion. He suspected that the accomplice of Petra''s was just jealous, because he couldn''t afford such luxury goods, which had to be shipped in from across the South Sea at sinfully high prices. He was wrong in this assumption, but that didn''t matter anyway. In any case, Lucius would certainly have found a reason to show off his typically surly mood.

    Then a cloaked lady suddenly appeared, coming down over the hilltop. "Well, at last! I was beginning to think I wouldn''t find you at all!", she announced. On the back of her emaciated nag of a horse, she speedily clambered down the steep slope zigzagging towards them. The two gentlemen knew, of course, that she was Petra. Di Alduino replied, "My apologies, but there was no other way. The city was sealed off until today and I have learned that you have been declared an outlaw. It would be foolish for you to enter the capital under the current circumstances." The woman immediately responded "What? Outlawed? Really? What do they think I''ve done?" She now looked at Mr Cornel and directly addressed him, "In your letter, you wrote me that something had happened in the Imperial Palace. What makes the regime think that I have got anything to do with this? Oh, never mind. You''d better tell me what really happened first!"

    "When I wrote the message, I didn''t know exactly what had happened. That''s why I could only pass on rumours that I had heard. Shortly afterwards, the soldiers sealed off the city and searched intensively for you, yes, you. They also paid a visit to me and the, er..." he hesitated briefly, as he couldn''t remember his first name, "the Sir Di Alduino here. Logically, there was nothing to be found in our place. Later, when I was finally in a position to leave the house again, I was able to see for myself what had happened. The Melgarion Palace has burnt down. Apparently, our puppet masterminding with the princess has borne fruit. I know that she is the one who caused this."

    When Petra heard this, she burst into almost ecstatic joy. Her resulting laughter was shrill and disconcerting for the two who witnessed it. But they said nothing. Her exuberant glee drowned out any critical consideration of the dubious story her co-conspirator had served up to her. How had he been able to send the letter to her BEFORE it was made impossible to leave the city? Why did Lucius not know that the palace had been destroyed while he was putting this to paper, even though the fact that Viktoria had been the perpetrator was immediately clear to him? Such discrepancies were now swept away by the exhilaration generated by the lady''s delight over this event.

    Finally, however, a single sober thought occurred to her: "Where is Achaz?" Her supposed ally immediately replied, "He came to the metropolis with me because we were able to convince the young witch to take action against her father. But a large crowd of people formed and, unfortunately, I lost him amidst all the clamour and tumult. I''m sure he''s somewhere with his, ahem, girlfriend. We''ll find him eventually." Incredibly, Petra readily accepted his explanation at face value.

    In the meantime, Amoroso just stood by and listened to the two of them without comment. He had never seen the boy they were talking about, but obviously wasn''t interested enough in the matter to comment on it. The deceitful man, who was the only one who knew what had actually happened to Achaz, was internally cracking up about this. "They''re making it too easy for me!", he thought to himself. "Well then, what should we do next?", he then asked. To this Petra said, "We must carry on with the plan, just as it has been drawn up. The next step is to gather our troops in Camenia and lead them to Ordania."

    This finally prompted a question from the gentleman Di Alduino: "I assume that the emperor is still alive. Does his condition not have any bearing on your plans?" Lucius responded, "Yes and no. We can''t take him out, only his adopted daughter can. And I assume that she will do this very thing. In the meantime, we are concentrating on what we are capable of, which is the introduction of a new Alethic armed force that will assert our interests in Ordania." - "That was the plan anyway," Petra interjected and continued, "Achaz is also in the loop on this. He knows where the Free Lancers'' camp is. If we go there, he''ll find us."

    This rationale was very much to Cornel''s satisfaction. Which is why he agreed with her and added, "The boy is good when it comes to orienting himself. I''m convinced he''ll be able to locate us. Provided he''s with the girl, there''s even less reason to worry. Even if he doesn''t show up right away, he at least knows where to find us."

    Petra was unaware of the perfidy in these words. Nevertheless, her seemingly complete lack of concern for her own flesh and blood was a little surprising even for Lucius. She simply agreed with him on all of this and even by herself urged to congregate with Etzel as soon as possible and proceed with their plans without delay. "Makes sense," the man noted and then gave her the argument he had actually intended in order to persuade her to head south. "As there will soon be wanted posters of you all over the place, it''s probably better to get out of the country anyway."

    So, it was unanimously agreed. They would move to Camenia and from there they would begin to destabilize the empire even further. Chaos had already been sown. Evidently, Lucius had succeeded in his diabolical stratagem without suffering any harm himself. It was a masterstroke that no one would or could ever find out about.

    The imperial retinue pushed forward, past vast fields on rolling hills. The call of the buzzard was carried along by the wind. The horses trotted along at a leisurely pace, while the men sitting on them were sweating out rivers due to the midsummer heat and their thick armour and jerkins. "Where''s Paul?", one of the guardsmen asked his colleague. He replied, "He''s in the vanguard. His Highness has sent them ahead to lock up and secure Greifenburg in advance." - "Ah, I see," returned the guy, who obviously hadn''t been paying much attention to what had been going on.

    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    The guy riding next to him then said, "From what I''ve heard, messenger birds have been sent out all over the empire to start crackdowns everywhere. Apparently, this is primarily about one person." - "Sounds pretty excessive, if you ask me," his counterpart replied to that. But the other countered straight away, " Not at all! Did you see what happened to the Imperial Palace, dude! His Majesty is definitely right here!" The addressee could only agree. In their minds, it was impossible for the Chosen One to be mistaken. Because of these "wrong" thoughts that had just occurred to him, the man would now be beating himself up for a while. Doubting his Holiness was a sin!

    Meanwhile, the imperial couple were in their carriage, accompanied by a larger number of guards than usual. Amalie had already been looking out of the window for some time now, without saying a word. She just watched the landscape slowly drift by in silence. Her daughter was all she could think about at the moment. Worried, her husband took a close look at her weary-looking face. She didn''t make a pretty sight, but was still relatively composed given the circumstances. Wenzel was also nervous, but not nearly as shaken as his darling was. He had seen and experienced far worse things during the war. Thinking back to the sight of the innumerable lifeless bodies strewn across the battlefield outside Greifenburg only made him realize again the reason for his callousness. Nevertheless, inwardly he was extremely worried about Viktoria, of that there was no doubt. Witnessing terrible things that happened to some stranger was one thing, but with your own family it was a completely different story. Occasionally, his hands began to tremble unprompted. "Hmm. Maybe there''s a lot more emotion left in me than I''m trying to make myself believe," he thought. "No. I can''t soften up here! I''m the one who has to stay strong and focussed in this situation."

    Eventually he addressed his wife again, "I have already issued my instructions that in the event of my death, you would become regent and the role of finding a new emperor would fall to the Imperial Guard." Amalie only answered him with a quiet, "Mhm." She understood very well that this was a testimony to his great distrust of the army and the Imperial Diet. He only really trusted his most loyal subordinates to find a worthy successor, i.e. a person with magical powers. This of course implied that Viktoria was no longer seen as a successor, which no one had yet decided, not even Wenzel. Nevertheless, this terrible thought was now eating its way into Amalie''s mind. Her husband continued for the time being:

    "So much has gone wrong. I believe that a new system is needed to integrate magicians into the societal and power system in the future. But I really don''t know how. The country and the way its inhabitants think are so contradictory. On the one hand, the ruler is revered, almost deified by some, but on the other, children who are different from the rest are seen as possessed by the devil and are made to disappear. How could I possibly solve this?" He sighed briefly and looked over at his sweetheart, who was now listening to him attentively. Then he spoke, "How can I help Viktoria? What exactly did I do wrong? Was I too strict?"

    At that point, a single tear began to run down his wife''s cheek, and he embraced her. "It''s definitely not your fault, believe me," she let out tearfully. "She''s just been fooled by those villains. The sooner we find them, the better. I want you to destroy the traitor and her son! Back then she managed to escape and look at what damage that has done!" These were extraordinarily heinous words from his wife, but the emperor knew that she was right. The boy and his mother, the traitor and her offspring, were behind Viktoria''s inconceivable deeds. They had manipulated their daughter, and he would have to make sure they paid the ultimate price!

    "I promise," Wenzel replied, "I will find that bitch and her offspring and get rid of them!" It was clear to both spouses that their little girl could only be with these two. If they found the Vogts, they would also find Viktoria. They both quietly settled back again and let time drift by for a while as the carriage rolled on.

    Amalie remembered her friend Flora, who was not part of the court and therefore did not accompany her on the move to another city. Her thoughts also wandered over to Irnfrid. She also had stayed behind, firstly to attend her husband''s funeral, but also because she really was in no position to travel at the moment. The emperor''s wife had always considered the lady to be quite tough, but the state in which she had seen her after the incident had also made Amalie very worried about her. She would get over it, that she was sure of. After all, Irnfrid still had the rest of her family. Nevertheless, she would have to have an intimate conversation with her about the events in the foreseeable future. It had all been a terrible accident, at least that was what her husband had told her. And he most definitely would not have made that up.

    In the meantime, Wenzel, sitting next to his beloved, was brooding over something else. When Viktoria had so senselessly attacked him, she had done something he had never seen or even heard of before. She had created a lightning bolt. It was just another reminder of how little he actually knew about magic. The loss of his many years of work pained him greatly, but he would get over it. Viktoria was his priority now. Still, he couldn''t get the position of her fingers out of his mind so quickly. It was certainly yet another aspect of the art of magic that he simply did not yet understand. The girl, all on her own, had discovered a new application of magic. This was not only owed to the huge mana reserves that the sorceress possessed. No, the position of her fingers, possibly even her body posture, certainly played a role in it too. In what felt like his last moment on earth, he had also seen the image of Melgar in front of him. He wondered what that had been all about?

    Her chest was as heavy as a millstone. She cramped up again and again until her limbs sagged from exhaustion. From a soaked pillow, she looked up a little. Next to her, she then stared at her old dresser, covered in dust. The rest of the room was also dirty, and a mustiness hung in the air. How long had she been crying into her pillow? She didn''t know. Probably hours. Somehow the pain wasn''t getting any better. It was raining outside. That was also her fault, because she couldn''t control herself. She couldn''t keep her emotions in check, just as her adoptive father had tried to hammer into her over and over again.

    Her thoughts became a little clearer now. It only made her recall what had happened again. It was just so terrible! How could Wenzel have done that! Immediately, tears began to run down her face once more. She buried her face in her pillow again and began to cry and sob bitterly. She had already cried so much that she shouldn''t have any more water to spare, and yet she continued to weep and weep. It was impossible for her to think a single rational thought in this state. Everything just floated by for her.

    But eventually there was a knock at the door. ¡°Are you feeling any better?¡±, her birth mother asked in a troubled tone. As always, she was wearing a headscarf and very modest clothes with flowers embroidered on them. ¡°No. Go away now!¡±, she mumbled barely audibly from her pillow. The corners of Gertrude''s mouth turned down at that. She replied, ¡°I don''t know what''s wrong with you either. But something serious must have happened, otherwise you wouldn''t be here. If you don''t talk to me, I can''t help you.¡± Nothing came back from the depressed girl. The lady was now really worried for her. She had only visited her once in all those years. Now she had come out of nowhere and was just cowering away in her former room.

    ¡°Well, go on crying then,¡± she finally commented gruffly and disappeared again. After hearing the door slam shut, Viktoria looked over at it briefly. Some fresh clothes had been placed on the small drawer next to the entrance for her. She didn''t know exactly how to deal with this at the moment. Her parents obviously still loved her. ¡°As much as it can be called love when you sell your own child in exchange for release from serfdom!¡± the girl thought to herself cynically. She lay down again.

    There was nothing but despair in her. What should she do now? She couldn''t go back to the palace. But she couldn''t and wouldn''t stay with her real parents either. Her adoptive father would surely come looking for her soon. She had to avoid being found at all costs. So where would she go? She had no idea. The events that had happened played over and over again in her head, as if in an endless loop. ¡°Staying here for a few days will be fine,¡± she finally said. Just for a few days. I need time to think about what I''m going to do. She stared up at the ceiling. Her whole world had come crashing down. She was faced with nothing, and that scared her immensely.

    Sometime later, the wizard finally showed herself again. As she descended the creaky wooden staircase, she saw Hans and Gertrude sitting at dinner. The two of them only looked up briefly when they heard the girl''s footsteps. They immediately noticed that Viktoria had put on the dress her mother had brought her earlier. The lady stood up briefly to pour some of the dish, which was obviously some kind of bean stew, into a plate for the adolescent. Then she placed it in front of her. At minimum volume, her daughter uttered a ¡°thank you¡±. She just stared at the food and didn''t eat any of it. Then she let her eyes wander over to her biological parents. Both of them had grown noticeably older. They weren''t really old yet, but in Viktoria''s eyes they were.

    After some time of silence, her father finally asked her, ¡°So, have you calmed down again? Are you alright now?¡± The teenager just shook her head in response to his brusque remark. In the end, however, she did open her mouth, ¡°I don''t want to talk about what happened. Don''t worry, I won''t bother you for long. I''ll be out of here in a few days at the latest.¡± In response, the spouses both looked at each other. Her mother was just about to say something when the girl interrupted her. ¡°Thank you for the fresh clothes. That was very thoughtful of you.¡± Gertrude was taken aback. She was not used to such humility and politeness from her little girl. ¡°Your time in the imperial palace has changed you a lot,¡± she noted. Viktoria replied with a pained expression on her face. What was wrong with the kid?

    ¡°If they''ve allowed you to stay here for a few days, perhaps you can pay Isolde a visit. I''m sure she''ll be pleased to see you again after all this time,¡± said the man at the table. At this, the princess pressed her lips together almost shamefacedly. ¡°No! I don''t want to see anyone!¡±, she then barked at him. Silence followed again. There was a hint of mischief on Hans'' face and he spoke, ¡°Whatever you say. The neighbours definitely have noticed that you have come for a visit.¡±

    After the couple had finished eating, they saw that Viktoria hadn''t even touched her food. ¡°Aren''t you going to eat anything?¡±, her father asked. ¡°I''m not hungry,¡± she replied curtly. But then she wanted to find out something else. ¡°How are you doing? What has been going on over the last few years?¡± It was the first question that seemed to cheer Gertrude up. ¡°We''re doing well, on the whole.¡± In a bright mood, she consequently told her everything that had happened in the village and what they had done and rebuilt at the homestead. Never before had the girl been interested in them or listened to them for so long. She still didn''t open up about herself, but it was clear to those two that she was looking for some form of closeness with them. After that, though, she crawled back to her ¡°cave¡±, and went to sleep. Slowly the rain started to subside.

    It was a balmy morning and the whole travelling party had been on the road again since shortly before sunrise. They had already passed Freistadt and were slowly approaching the Kashar Lands. The famous fingers of the ¡°Giant''s Hand¡± could already be seen in the distance. It would not be long before they reached their old homeland. Already, some imagined the smell of salt from the Ge?chtetenpfann getting into their nostrils.

    Amidst his clan rode one of their most important, if not the most important of their members: Ferenc. Dressed in simple leather armour without much finery, in other words, without the garb of the Imperial Guard that he had always been wearing all these years, he sat astride and trotted ahead with his kinsmen towards his homeland. For him, the years of wild adventures and great undertakings were now over. He would retire to where he came from and devote himself solely to his private life. .....Or so, he thought!

    At breakneck speed and in a hurry as if death itself was chasing him, a messenger suddenly came rushing up. He was a scrawny, tall youth with brunette hair. ¡°The commander of the Imperial Guard! I''m looking for the commander of the Imperial Guard!¡±, he announced. The long-bearded Kashar in question turned and approached him. ¡°You mean the former one. And he''s standing in front of you. What is it, lad?¡±, he said in a somewhat dull tone. But what he was about to hear immediately woke him from his stupor and made him prick up his ears.

    ¡°There''s been a raid on the Melgarion Palace! Most of it has been burnt down. There is great turmoil in the capital and the court, as a precaution, has been moved to Greifenburg.¡± A debilitating shock ran through the audience. Many of Ferenc''s equally bearded kinsmen immediately lost their breath. However, the old companion of the Chosen One reacted straight away and inquired, ¡°Are all members of the imperial household safe?¡± For a brief moment, the bearer of the bad news seemed overwhelmed by the question. Finally, however, he replied, ¡°According to my information, the imperial family is safe and unharmed. However, I cannot say the same for every important man in the empire. The Supreme Marshal has been martyred in the attack.¡±

    Ferenc''s eyes widened when he learned this. It took a few minutes to digest such bad news. While the young man stood by and waited, the veteran and his relatives and family members conferred. It wasn''t long before he addressed him again, ¡°You can turn around right now and ride back to Meglarsbruck, lad. Be sure to make haste, or I''ll catch up with you on the way there! Without further ado, he had simply decided that he could not yet retire with a clear conscience. The Holy Empire still needed his service. The group turned around and headed back to the capital.

    He tossed and turned. It was an unfamiliar bed, the mattress and pillows of which were different, and which also felt different. He tried with all his might to keep his eyes closed, even though he couldn''t fall asleep at all. The unfamiliar surroundings of the Greifenburg Palace, as well as his never-ending worries about Viktoria, made it impossible for him to find any rest. Again and again, he rolled from right to left, from left to right. He almost started to believe that he wouldn''t get even the tiniest wink of sleep until the new day dawned. At some point, however, he finally slipped away into the world of dreams.

    A single man was walking along a narrow path under an open sky. It seemed to be a very odd type. His body had an almost grotesque, round, plump shape, reminiscent of an apple. He had medium-length blond hair and a plump face beaming with joy and with red cheeks. His clothes were a patchwork of different pieces of fabric with various patterns, which he had obviously sewn together in a makeshift manner. Who in the world was this weird character? In his right hand he held the reins of a donkey that was standing next to him. The blanket spread over the animal''s back suggested that it was his mount. At the moment, however, he was not riding, but talking to a man who had short brown hair and wore a long coat. As an outside observer, Wenzel could not see his face, as only his back was turned to him. He could barely hear what the two were talking about.

    ¡°....special. We all are in one way or another,¡± was the small snippet he could hear before the wind became too strong again drowning out his words. After having said a few more things, he let out a heart-warming laugh. Then he merrily gestured goodbye to him. And with that, the strange vision ended. Once again, it was one of those visions that were particularly bizarre and almost impossible to interpret.

 1. 13 A New Head of the Army

    The sunshine was streaming in through the window and its warm rays directly fell onto Viktoria''s face. She stirred and initially turned away. The dreams she had experienced tonight were being played back in front of her inner eye once more. She had been at the village pond. In the dream, however, it had been dark and there had been no ducks to feed. When she was little, she had often gone swimming in this place. She had also dreamed of a few of her neighbours'' houses, all from Althain. And she had even seen the big mill again, which had always impressed her so much when she had been a child. It was a well-known landmark of the whole surrounding area, which stood in the neighbouring village of Zieslingen. In her dream, it had looked almost exactly as it had in her memories.

    Then she finally opened her eyes and got up immediately afterwards. It had already cooled down considerably during the night, a sign that it had become late summer. She went over and opened both wings of the window. Then she looked down briefly at the meadow behind the house. Hardly anything had changed here in all these years. The ancient, huge chequer tree, whose leaves she could almost touch with an outstretched arm from here, still looked exactly as she remembered it. Completely blank, she stared at the flowery meadow and remembered her childhood, which now seemed so distant to her already. When they had played the stick game here and the other children had been dragged away by their parents because they considered Viktoria to be ¡°cursed¡±.... It had hurt her. Only Isolde had never judged her and seen her as a friend despite everything. ¡°Maybe I should pay her a visit after all,¡± she mused. After reminiscing about the past like this, she turned around and walked down the stairs.

    As she had expected, her parents were already up. Hans was already in the middle of preparing for today''s work. When he noticed Viktoria''s presence, he momentarily stared at her out of his deep green eyes. He scrutinized her from top to bottom, only to turn away wordlessly and walk towards the door. On the way there, however, he stopped abruptly and said to his wife, ¡°The carpets have become rather dirty by now. Maybe you should clean them again sometime.¡± His wife seemed very displeased by this and snapped at him. ¡°Don''t tell me what to do and what not to do! Better go and do your work! The house is my responsibility, the fields are yours!¡± A short grumble could be heard from him in response, then he disappeared out the front gate.

    Gertrude immediately beckoned her child to the table. ¡°Come on, eat something!¡± The girl complied and sat down at the small, old table, where her mother then served her a plate with a piece of bread and butter. ¡°Thank you!¡±, the little girl said, still quite reservedly. ¡°You''re always so thoughtful, even though I''ll only be with you for a few days.¡± - ¡°Oh, come on! You''re my daughter and you always will be, no matter what happens,¡± the lady gave back. She didn''t realize how much she would hit Viktoria right in the heart with this. When she noticed her little one''s reaction shortly afterwards, she fell silent for a moment. Then she changed the subject.

    ¡°All that rain has finally come to an end. Thank goodness. I was beginning to think we''d soon be going under here.¡± After a moment''s thought, Viktoria replied, ¡°That was all my fault. My emotions can cause such phenomena.¡± This seemed to surprise her mother a little. ¡°If I had my emotions under better control, this wouldn''t have happened. I''m sorry.¡± - ¡°You don''t have to apologize to me for that. I''m just glad you''re feeling better now.¡± The woman then paused briefly and wondered whether she should ask the teenager what had happened. But then she decided against it. She figured that the girl would open up to her when she was ready.

    So, she addressed another occurrence. ¡°You know, it''s really surprising.¡± - ¡°What?¡± - ¡°The rain only stopped last night, but that very night a fire broke out in Zieslingen.¡± This caught Viktoria''s attention, and she wanted to know more about it. ¡°Really? What has burnt down?¡± - ¡°The old mill. Of all the things that could have gone up in flames, it had to be the landmark of the area. Well, what can you do.¡± This revelation now startled and confused the sorceress. She stopped eating for a moment and withdrew into her thoughts. ¡°I dreamt about the mill last night. Could I have actually been there? In the past, it sometimes used to occur, that I would wander around somewhere in my sleep, as if I had been possessed. Could it have been me?¡± Denying the truth, the child shook her head letting her crimson hair fly back and forth while her mother looked at her with a little worry.

    ¡°Is everything okay, Viktoria?¡± she enquired. ¡°Yes, everything''s fine,¡± the little girl replied. Then she continued, ¡°I''ll be going back up to my room. Thank you for your loving care for me. But I just need time alone. That''s all.¡± The lady replied, ¡°That''s okay. You know that we love you.¡± The small smile on her lips, that followed, slightly softened the girl''s heart. She ate the rest of her breakfast and then slipped back into her room on the upper floor.

    A messenger bird arrived from the imperial city. Balduin had just finished his morning prayer when he got a knock at the door. Facing the sun in prayer, he made the Signum, meaning he patted his heart three times, and then stood up from his kneeling position. One of his subordinates delivered to him a written message addressed to His Holiness. The commander of the guard wasted no time. As quickly as he could, he slipped into his boots and gathered everything up. Then he hurried over to His Majesty as fast as possible. It was still relatively early, but he was sure that his master was already on his feet.

    He descended the long staircase to the parlour, where he assumed Their Majesties were still having breakfast. Her Highness, the Empress, was known to often take a long time to eat. As he headed towards his destination, Balduin, through the glass pane of the wide parlour doors, could see two finely dressed ladies talking, while sitting at a small table. Moving a little closer, he could finally make out that it was the emperor''s wife and one of her friends.

    ¡°I''m sorry, I really don''t know Irnfrid that well. At least not nearly as well as you know her,¡± said a pretty woman with long blonde hair who seemed to be of a similar age to Amalie¡¯s. ¡°I already know that, Emma. But I still need someone to be able to talk to about this,¡± Amalie responded. ¡°And I definitely can''t ask my husband about this. A male simply has no idea what makes us women tick. He would probably just suggest that I comfort her gently and maybe give her some flowers to express my condolences. That''s definitely not going to work!¡± - ¡°Yes, it definitely won''t,¡± Emma confirmed her. Then she suggested, ¡°But showing her that you feel remorse about what happened to her husband in some way certainly is important.¡± - ¡°Yes, that''s exactly why.¡± But then she stopped talking. From the residential wing, she saw a tall, bald man enter the dining hall. It was Balduin, the commander of the Imperial Guard.

    He approached the two elegant ladies without hesitation. When he came to a halt in front of them, they almost felt a little intimidated by his size and imposing presence. Emma even seemed to recoil a little from him. ¡°Forgive the intrusion, Your Majesty. I am looking for my lord.¡± While Emma seemed to be taken in by the warrior''s muscular physique, Amalie paid no heed to it. She looked him straight in the eye and replied, ¡°My husband is at the back on the terrace. All you have to do is turn the corner back there on the left.¡± She spoke in a dismissive tone, obviously displeased at the interruption to her conversation with her friend. Balduin thanked her and left immediately. Following her simple directions, he promptly reached the emperor.

    As he approached, he could already hear the sound of swords clashing against each other. Outside on the terrace, Wenzel and his bodyguard Brahm were engaged in a duel. As always, it was a friendly match between the two. Behind them stretched the fine lawns of the extensive park of this old palace, where they were now temporarily staying. Balduin did not know it, but this scene carried a touch of nostalgia for the Chosen One. After the victory in the Battle of Greifenburg, he and Brahm had practised one-on-one combat against each other in this exact place. This situation took Wenzel back to another time, to a moment he fondly remembered. Brahm lunged out to strike at lightning speed as he leapt at his opponent. The iron swung down from the upper left. But Wenzel skilfully parried his blow and then put some distance between himself and his attacker with a backwards sidestep.

    Then Balduin stepped out into the fresh morning air, stopped a few cubits away from the duelists and bowed deeply. ¡°Sire, we have received pressing news from Meglarsbruck. The Imperial Chancellor has personally written an urgent letter to you.¡± He rose again from his lowered pose and held the letter out to him with an extended arm. Only now did he notice how unkempt His Highness''s beard was, which from the looks of it had not been shaved or trimmed for at least a week. On top of that, he had dark rings under his eyes. Wenzel immediately paused his activity, put his sword aside and picked up the message. ¡°Thank you, commander!¡±, he briefly told him. ¡°Always at your service,¡± the man addressed gave back.

    Quite clumsily, he fumbled with the envelope, which bore the government seal, until he finally managed to open it. Then His Majesty quickly skimmed what had been written inside. He paused and, as was typical of him, pondered for a while without saying anything. Thus, Brahm approached him and asked, ¡°What is it? Is there trouble in the capital?¡± Wenzel looked him in the face and replied, ¡°You could say that. It seems that Vice Marshal Ulrich is trying to position himself as the new head of the army. Peter asks me to return as quickly as possible and appoint another man as the new Supreme Marshal.¡±

    Brahm immediately understood the gravity of the situation. He saw the fatigue on the emperor''s face and decided to ask him the most important question straight away, ¡°And who would that be? Balduin is now the new Imperial Guard commander. So, he''s out of the question.¡± - ¡°What about you? Would you like to fill the role?¡± Wenzel suggested straightforwardly and bluntly. At this, his faithful friend shook his head in an almost exaggerated manner. ¡°With all due respect, but I don''t feel up to such a task. I would much rather stay here to protect you and your wife. That suits me, and besides, there''s no one you could trust as much as me on this anyway.¡± Brahm''s arguments made sense to His Highness. Unfortunately, he had to agree with him.

    ¡°Hmm,¡± Wenzel now contemplated intensely. ¡°Perhaps there is a way to appoint Balduin as Supreme Marshal after all. I could name him as both Commander of the Imperial Guard and Supreme Marshal,¡± he speculated aloud to the two of them. However, Balduin interjected, ¡°I am honoured by your trust in me, my lord, but I do not believe it would be possible for me to fulfil the full range of duties in both roles simultaneously.¡± The Chosen One cast a disappointed glance over at his subordinate. He knew that he was right.

    ¡°Surely a solution will be found. There are more people than just you in the military,¡± he then said. Still, it had to be someone he could trust one hundred percent. There really weren''t that many of this kind around. ¡°Let''s go to the Imperial Chancellor first. He''ll definitely know someone,¡± Wenzel then added. Following this, he turned to Balduin and said, ¡°You and I, we will return to Meglarsbruck without delay.¡± Next, he looked at Brahm and stated, ¡°In the meantime, you stay here with Amalie.¡± - ¡°As my duty demands,¡± their bodyguard declared. After a quick consultation with Amalie and a notification of the servants, they already embarked on their journey.

    Light brown dust mingled with the smells of the pungent herbs that grew here. This strange combination of scents now reached the nostrils of the journeying duo as their nags dragged lamely along the narrow path. Their spirits lifted when they finally heard the sounds from the secret encampment. A babble of voices from both men and women, knocking, hammering, grinding, sawing, whinnying, all this could be heard on arrival here. Petra and Lucius wasted no time and headed straight for the commander''s tent in the sparse shade of the pine trees. Amoroso had been sent to inform Petra''s partner, Fabio, of their departure for Camenia. Neither of those two would follow them to the southern climes. While Fabio was not really up for such perilous adventures anyway and preferred to wait for the return of his significant other, Fulco''s cousin would return to attend to his business in the capital.

    They tethered their mounts at the watering trough and walked over to Etzel''s large ridge tent. As they entered, they saw him discussing with a group of two men and a woman. But when he spotted them in the middle of his war leader''s tent, he quickly ended his conversation and turned his attention to the new arrivals. ¡°You''re back already? I''d be lying if I said I wasn''t surprised.¡± - ¡°Save your strange remarks!¡±, Lucius interjected rudely and continued, ¡°Entirely new things have come to pass in Ordania since last time.¡± Petra intervened immediately and took over the rest of the explanations from her companion, fearing that his inappropriate manner could sow discord in their group.

    While remaining standing, she brought the grey-haired man up to date on what had happened. He listened intently to her, his facial muscles beginning to twitch at some of the details. When she had finished her account, the man immediately turned around and sat down in his chair across. Now Petra commented, ¡°I believe the time has come to lead our resistance fighters to Ordania to begin the fight against the regime there.¡± The dismissive look Etzel gave her in response was all she needed to know what he thought of her proposal.

    ¡°But why not?¡± she nagged him. ¡°The right time is NOW. Are you just going to let this window of opportunity pass?¡± - ¡°No,¡± he replied composedly, ¡°The situation is somewhat different from what you are aware of.¡± This left both Petra and Lucius stumped. ¡°We have also made contact with the Kashar Hordes, or what is left of them anyway. They also want to stage an uprising against the Holy Empire while they still can. In their messages to me, they have expressed a willingness to coordinate with us. Last time, the Hordes had no agreement with us, which allowed the Melgarists to deal with our forces and theirs separately. That was certainly to our disadvantage. If we joined forces this time, it would significantly increase our chances of success.¡±

    ¡°But can we really trust these barbarians?¡±, Mr. Cornel commented. The former Field Marshal responded as follows: ¡°Their trustworthiness is of no relevance to us. They may be heathens, but they will not win the battle for their ''old Kasharovar''. Their pagan customs are dying out, anyone with eyes in their skull can see that clearly. They just refuse to acknowledge reality. However, we could care less about that. What matters is the benefit we can gain from them.¡± - ¡°I like the way you think, old Sir,¡± Lucius had to admit to him after all. This man was as cunning as he was himself. Petra also liked this plan. Hence, she then asked,

    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°So, we''ll wait until we''ve come to an agreement with them to enter Ordania at the same time?¡± - ¡°No!¡±, the former knight of the Confederacy brusquely denied her. ¡°The barbarians want us and all our fighters to meet them in their homeland to discuss the matter face to face, so that we can then attack together.¡± This provoked indignation from the dark-haired lady. ¡°What? Traveling such a long distance through Ordania at great risk just to meet up with the Kashars is crazy! If you''re going to attempt such a suicidal venture, you might as well march straight into the empire and challenge them on the battlefield. That probably has a similar likelihood of success.¡±

    ¡°But we need their help. Unfortunately. We don''t have the strength we need, and we won''t have it any time soon.¡± Lucius stood by during all this, weighing up their arguments. Then Petra nudged him and spoke, ¡°You''re on my side, aren''t you? Come on, tell him that such an approach is counterproductive.¡± For once, Mr. Cornel was silent for a short moment, until he raised his voice a little after, ¡°The matter is difficult. Even you should know how mighty the Melgarist forces are. It will be impossible for us alone to defeat them, even if we chose the most underhanded tactics.¡± - ¡°You see!¡±, Etzel now said in Petra''s direction. The woman snorted angrily. ¡°But Mrs. Vogt has a valid point here too,¡± Lucius tried to smooth things over a little.

    At this point, however, the old warhorse in front of them made a most important remark: ¡°We can''t make a final decision yet anyway. The Baron isn''t here yet and he definitely has a say in the matter. I suggest we wait for him to arrive and then discuss the matter with him again. Then we''ll make a decision.¡± The two could not contradict him here. The decision had to be postponed until Di Alduino joined them.

    Mid-morning, they crossed the city limits. It was a mixed day, with alternating clouds and sunshine. Almost resembling a small flock of birds, Wenzel, Balduin and a handful of guardsmen flew over the city walls of the old Imperial City. Out of habit, he initially headed for the Melgarion Palace, until the sight of it from afar reminded him that he was probably better off at the building of the Imperial Diet on the other side of the Duhn if he wanted to find Peter. The wizard immediately turned his thoughts into action, flew over the river that dissected the city and gently lowered himself and his escorts onto the square in front of the former headquarters of the Inquisition. Its architectural style was considerably simpler than that of the Imperial Palace. Less frippery on the walls and windows, fewer columns and no domes. This made the building in the Lafoglia style look less regal and a lot more functional.

    His guards lined up behind and around His Majesty. Then they walked forward together to the main entrance of the institution. When the soldiers at the entrance saw the Chosen One and his entourage approaching in their red uniforms with white diamonds on them, they gave them a military salute and allowed them to pass through unhindered. The interior of the building, which Wenzel had only seen once before, was altogether plainer and above all more profane than the architecture from Melgar''s time, although it still boasted many paintings on the walls. Walking along the well-lit corridor, they finally came across a person.

    A noble, long coat in yellow with a stand-up collar and dozens upon dozens of golden buttons, as well as the coat of arms of his noble house on it, underneath a fine linen shirt, dyed red and on his head a matching, large, equally yellow chaperon. This was the attire the man they happened to meet here displayed. It was the kind of clothing in which one was recognized as a member of the Imperial Diet. The gentleman froze for a moment, but then immediately bowed to duly pay his respects to His Highness. ¡°Greetings, Your Most Serene Highness! Eugen von Rauttenstein is my name; in my capacity I act as Speaker of the Imperial Council.¡± - ¡°God''s blessing upon you!¡±, replied Wenzel. He was delighted to have met a bigwig at the first attempt. But the feeling was not mutual. No matter how hard he tried, the Lord Speaker''s dislike of the Emperor was clear to see. The reason for this was not evident. This was the first time the two were meeting.

    ¡°His Serene Highness ....¡± - ¡°Duke, my lord!¡±- ¡°Ah, I see. His Most Serene Highness the Duke, would you perhaps know where His Excellency the Chancellor could be found?¡±, Wenzel inquired. ¡°I''m afraid I do not have the exact details. However, I can confirm that His Excellency is currently frequenting this complex, having temporary accommodation here as well. You would probably be better advised to ask a servant about this.¡± Apparently, the high-ranking nobleman could not help him. But that was all right. How was everyone supposed to be in the know about everything? Just as four more men in the same robes as the speaker were strutting up from behind, His Majesty thanked the respondent and immediately bade him farewell. The gentlemen, who had intended to introduce themselves properly to the emperor, looked after him in confusion as the sovereign and his bodyguards quickly left. They could still be heard mumbling amongst themselves from a distance. The echo of the spacious building carried their distorted whispers to the ears of the departing visitors.

    On he went. He was bound to find someone who could tell him the way to his first ever friend. Around a corner further back, however, he encountered someone completely different. She was dressed in all black, mourning colours and had a gugel pulled up to over her eyes, which caused her to almost overlook the men. But then she stopped abruptly and raised her head, so that the Chosen One could see her face. ¡°Irnfrid! I''m glad to see you here. How do...¡± He interrupted himself as he remembered what had happened to her husband, and that he probably came across as a little irreverent. The pallor on her face was a clear sign of her weariness.

    ¡°Once again, my most sincere condolences, dearest!¡± That was all he said. The widow just looked at him, seemingly waiting for Wenzel to make further comments. But nothing came, and she just gave him a barely perceptible nod. Now the commander of the Imperial Guard approached from the side and asked, ¡°Do you know where we can find Chancellor Peter?¡± Irnfrid just stared, transfixed, but a maid accompanying her answered him. ¡°His Excellency is quartered in the south wing. Room 452.¡± - ¡°Thank you! That''s a great help to us,¡± replied the military man. Thereupon, His Holiness already bade them farewell, ¡°Well then, I wish you....¡± - ¡°Don''t you have anything else to tell me, Wenzel?¡±, his old friend interrupted him in a disrespectful tone.

    He stopped dead in his tracks. He didn''t know what to say. Therefore, the lady eventually raised her voice, ¡°You''re probably only in town to do some necessary business. Then you''ll presumably go away again, away from here, because the court has no alternative accommodation in Meglarsbruck. You''ll probably just want to get away from here again as quickly as possible, just like the day my husband died! How could his death have affected you at all, if you left immediately afterwards without even attending his funeral?¡± She took a short breath for what she was about to say. ¡°Be honest with me. His death was convenient for you! He was a thorn in your side for a long time because he was the hero of the revolution, and you were just the little boy who always stood in his shadow!¡±

    This statement made the veins on Balduin''s forehead pop out. Full of rage, he stepped forward and snapped sharply at Irnfrid, ¡°How dare you speak to His Majesty like that, woman! If it...¡± He was about to give her a lecture with a raised finger when his master intervened. He thrust his hand in front of the commander and pushed him backwards with his palm. ¡°That''s enough, Balduin!¡±, he said in a calm and collected tone. ¡°Nothing else is to be expected from the Diamonds. Your whole life you''ve only had your brains scrambled!¡±, the woman then doubled down.

    The emperor did not respond. He saw her expressions of sorrow and anguish. And he understood them. He himself was still affected by the things that had happened. In person, he had tried to save Theodor. He had even prioritized his life over putting out the blaze. Perhaps he could have been able to contain the spread of the fire, if he hadn''t done so, but instead he had preferred trying to save the man who had sacrificed so much for the country. But Irnfrid knew that. So why did she speak such malicious, untruthful words now?

    Hence, he simply replied, ¡°If you really want to believe what you said about me, then we have nothing to say to each other!¡± And with these words, they went their separate ways.

    Volmar von Kosen, Konrad zu Niederstett, Hartmann von Herchtenau. They were all respected warriors, young and, most importantly, from the circles of those who had been instrumental in the Holy Revolution. Not a single one of them was known to the sovereign. He sat opposite Chancellor Peter at a huge, elaborately crafted office table perusing through the documents which Peter had compiled for him. His old school friend was nervously tapping his fingers on the tabletop, eagerly awaiting Wenzel''s answer.

    ¡°I don''t know, if I can agree with any of these suggestions,¡± he finally announced. ¡°I''ve never even heard of any of these men. Only one of them I know the father of, but even that one only in passing. I''m really not sure about these people, and I have to be ABSOLUTELY sure about the appointment to such a quintessential post.¡± At this the head of government made a serious face. ¡°I have picked out the most trustworthy, capable men who come into question. At such short notice, I may not have been able to make them appear here in person, but you can believe me when I say that they are not the sort who would betray us,¡± he replied, justifying his narrow selection. In response, the emperor said, ¡°How much time have you really spent with these people for you to vouch for them in front of me with these kinds of guarantees? Do you know how they behave in private when no one is looking?¡±

    The chancellor decided it was best not to answer here. That was all Wenzel needed to see his doubts confirmed. As a result, however, his counterpart urgently pleaded with him to change his mind. ¡°What else are we supposed to do? We need a new Supreme Marshal, and it definitely can''t be Ulrich! You can''t always put people you are intimately acquainted with in important positions. Sometimes you just have to take the word of others and rely on their honour and integrity.¡± His interlocutor snorted in exasperation and then uttered, ¡°No.¡± After that, Peter lowered his face into his hands and closed his eyes, disheartened. ¡°What am I supposed to do with you?¡±, he said.

    A little behind them, Balduin sat and listened to the two in total silence. He had nothing to contribute to all this, but also felt that it was not in keeping with his status to interject anything here. But then it happened. There was a knock on the door. It wasn''t a normal knock, but a mighty thump. The Chosen One was immediately startled, because he knew this sound. He turned around and invited the person in. As he had already guessed correctly, the ex-commander of the Imperial Guard now entered the room. ¡°Ferenc! What are you doing back here? Haven''t you returned to your homeland?¡±

    Without hesitation, the guy with the long, scraggly beard replied, ¡°When I heard what happened to the palace, I thought to myself, ¡®Kasharovar can wait.¡¯ I can''t leave the empire in a state like this. My conscience would never allow me to do that.¡± There is no doubt that Wenzel''s and Peter''s mood instantly brightened. They now saw a solution to their dilemma before them. ¡°You''re a lifesaver, you know that, you old hound!¡±. the emperor joked in a visibly more cheerful manner. ¡°Why is that?¡±, he naturally had to ask. The Imperial Chancellor answered for his friend, ¡°We are looking for someone who can become the next Supreme Marshal. Unfortunately, Theodor Kuhn passed away from us that unfortunate night.¡±

    Ferenc patted his heart three times. He looked Peter and then Wenzel in the eye. He knew exactly what they were thinking. ¡°If you want me to take on the role, I''d be willing. For the time being.¡± - ¡°Thank you! The realm still needs someone to give it stability. You are certainly such a person. I will see to it that you do not have to perform this duty for too long. I know what you actually wanted to do,¡± said Wenzel with relief. ¡°A long-time companion and close friend of Theodor''s and someone who is highly respected by the troops. You are certainly beyond reproach as the new Supreme Marshal. No one will have a problem with you,¡± Peter plainly stated. ¡°Thank you very much! I''ll do my best,¡± the Kashar warrior gave as his reply. So, it was decided. As fate would have it, a perfect solution to His Majesty''s problem had been found.

    Surrounded by soldiers, workers were clearing away the rubble and other remains of the Melgarion Palace. Silke stood nearby and carefully inspected what they were unearthing. Every single scrap of writing that could somehow be salvaged counted. She had already gotten over her dismay over what had happened. But of course, it was still regrettable. ¡°Be careful with this! I don''t want you to ruin anything that might still be salvageable due to your rough handling!¡±, she cautioned the men, who had been assigned to her.

    But then completely unexpectedly, her boss appeared. ¡°Hello! What are you doing here, Your Highness?¡± Only when he had approached close enough, did she notice how tired and sallow he looked. His assistant knew that this was connected to the events concerning Viktoria. She was one of the few who had been informed about what had actually happened. Wenzel answered her, ¡°I''m sorry that I have entrusted you with such an onerous task. I''m here for my artifacts. Have you recovered all of them yet?¡± - ¡°Indeed, I have, my lord!¡±

    He let his gaze roam over the ruins and remembered what a magnificent edifice had once stood here. It filled him with melancholy and regret. All the beautiful frescoes, the skywards reaching turrets, which crowned the domes, the breathtaking porticoes and the ornate mosaic floors, all were now destroyed or badly damaged. All the efforts that previous generations had made to create this masterpiece had been for nigh. But at least nothing else in the city had been lost to the flames. Together, they immediately made their way over to a small work shed where she was keeping the enchanted objects. ¡°So, you want to take them back with you to Greifenburg, in order to keep them close at hand?¡± - ¡°No, not quite,¡± the mage disputed her conjecture. ¡°I will take them all with me, yes, but I''m actually here because I need the sceptre.¡± - ¡°To track down your daughter?¡± - ¡° Precisely.¡±

    Instantly, he grabbed the object he had just mentioned. He concentrated and pictured Victoria''s face. But when he looked at the blue stone in the Holy Artifact, there was no glow. ¡°Excuse me? What''s going on here?¡±, he loudly professed his astonishment. He tried again. Once more, the imperial sceptre didn''t seem to be doing anything at all. It didn''t show him any direction, even after the third and fourth attempt. The emperor mulled over this peculiarity for a while. In the end, however, he could not figure out why the sceptre was unable to locate the girl.

    With the item in his hand, he stepped outside the door. The wizard had come here to find his adoptive daughter. How could he do this despite this unexpected obstacle? The seeker already had an idea. He concentrated again and lo and behold, the jewel of the artifact began to gleam. ¡°Good,¡± commented Wenzel with a little nervousness in his voice.

    Then suddenly he was torn out of his mental isolation. A bunch of people now approached and began making a huge racket. Cries of ¡°Long live the emperor!¡± and ¡°Hail Melgar!¡± rang out from the crowd. They sounded joyful, even hopeful. The guardsmen who had accompanied him to this place immediately formed a circle around the Chosen One, so that they could protect him. It seemed as if a large mob would soon be gathering here. ¡°My lord, it would be better if we moved away from here!¡±, one of his bodyguards advised him. He was right, of course, but the emperor stood still for a while, as if spellbound, and let the cheerful, eager welcome from his people wash over him. It made him happy to see that the people recognized and appreciated his efforts for their welfare. It was all the major construction projects he had ordered in his name in recent years, but also the visits to those who had experienced injustice and oppression, which the people had seen, and which they gave him such great credit for.

    Ultimately, however, he wanted to fly off again with his men, as the crowds here seemed to be swelling ever more. Just as he was about to take off, a soldier galloped up on a jet-black stallion. It was a major general with a simple pot cut. ¡°Praise the martyrs!¡±, he declared after coming to a halt in front of His Majesty. Wenzel briefly thought about what the scion of Theodor had been called, but then he promptly remembered. ¡°Alexander, is it?¡± - ¡°That''s right, Your Highness,¡± the boy replied.

    ¡°I''m about to depart again. What do you need from me, lad?¡± - ¡°Help you, that''s what I want.¡± This made the ruler listen up. Theodor''s son explained himself: ¡°If there is any way I can help you fight the enemies of Ordania, please let me know. I want to avenge my father!¡± The wizard went up to him and patted him on the shoulder. He then replied to the young man, ¡°You know, I have something you could help me with.¡± At this, one could see the zeal starting to show on Alexander''s face.

 1. 14 Got you

    For the first time in a long time, Viktoria was able to sleep deeply. Her worries and fears had by no means diminished, but at least she had been able to push them further back into the torture chamber at the back of her mind. Finally, she could sleep for once. Now a raucous clattering and banging woke her from her so long coveted slumber. Woozily, she forced herself up from her mattress, staggering towards the door, and rubbing her eyes. Who would be making such a ruckus at this time of night?

    It was dark in the room, but the moonlight, that found its way in through the tiny window, made it much easier to find her way around. As the girl gripped the door handle to go down and see what was going on, she suddenly heard voices from downstairs. They were unfamiliar to her. This immediately startled and alarmed her. Confident as she was, she immediately headed out into the corridor and then down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, she was presented with a scene that she would not soon forget. Countless men, but also a few women, had invaded her parents'' house. Three of them had torches in their hands, while many others had brought simple farming tools such as knives, scythes or pitchforks.

    Viktoria immediately understood what this was: a lynch mob! When the first of the intruders spotted her, he immediately shouted, ¡°There''s the witch! Get her!¡± A little overwhelmed and still a bit dizzy as she had only just gotten up, Viktoria tried to approach the situation with reason. She addressed the mob, ¡°What do you want from me? I don''t wish to harm anyone. Just leave and we''ll forget about this!¡± Her appeal to reason fell on deaf ears. The nearest guy jumped at her, but she simply knocked him down with her telekinesis and pinned him to the ground. For a second the mage touched him, looking into his mind. This told her that the people here were convinced that she was the one who had set the mill in Zieslingen alight, causing the demise of the miller and his family. Not even she herself knew whether this was actually true.

    With a pressure wave, she pushed the mob away from her to create some distance. It was only now, that her still drowsy mind remembered what she should have thought of straight away: ¡°Where are my parents?¡± Anxiously, she levitated over the heads of the housebreakers. Any attempts they made to attack her with their tools were easily fended off, but she couldn''t make out Getrude and Hans anywhere. Next, she flew into the kitchen.

    This is where she found them. The mother was lying slain on the floor, while her husband was still groaning and wrestling with the intruders as he was backed into a corner. In her momentary shock, the sorceress was unable to do anything. Hans, meanwhile, was fighting for his life, already bleeding from his body.

    But she quickly overcame her stupor and came to her parent''s aid by brutally hurling the attackers away. Intimidated, the mob then stood by and stopped. ¡°How are you, dad? Are you hurt?¡±, she asked a superfluous question. One of the lowlives behind her tried to get close to her again, but was instantly catapulted against the wall by Viktoria''s powers, causing him to let out a groan. Only then did Hans reply, ¡°No, I''m bleeding out!¡± The child was now in utter dismay. ¡°Listen to me carefully, Viktoria,¡± he then said in a feeble voice. ¡°We''ve always loved you. Even this won''t change that.¡± - ¡°Wait, I''m sure I can help you somehow!¡±, the adolescent said in her panic. Of course, she knew she couldn''t. Although her adoptive father had taught her the healing ritual, she didn''t have any of the ingredients at hand.

    In her desperation, she pulled up the man''s outer garment and placed her hand on the deep, gaping flesh wound in his abdomen. She hoped that perhaps she could somehow miraculously heal his injury. The Testament often described the miracles, that the first Chosen One had performed. They were often things that he himself didn''t even know he was capable of, until God made them happen. At least that''s what the Holy Scripture said. Viktoria didn''t believe it, but tried anyway. A while passed, but nothing happened. Her biological father became weaker and weaker and now seemed to be slowly losing consciousness.

    ¡°Dad! Please, stay with me, Dad! Look at me!¡± Tears began to run down his daughter''s cheeks. He responded to her plea and stared into her eyes. In a wheezy voice, he spoke, ¡°Go back to the imperial palace. That''s where we sent you, so you could have a better life. Go! Go and live your life!¡± Then he slumped to the ground and didn¡¯t make any further sound.

    This was the straw that broke the camel''s back. Viktoria''s racing heartbeat rang in her ears. She could no longer think clearly. All that dominated her in this moment was hopelessness and fury, yes, incandescent fury! She turned around to those who were to blame for this. None of them would leave this house alive!

    After the deed was done, she flew away, leaving her old home behind her. ¡°Back to the imperial palace,¡± she thought. That was impossible now. Completely impossible! Bursting into bitter tears, she departed. This terrible anguish seemed like it would never end. On the contrary, it had become much worse! She knew no way out. There was no future for her!

    High brow, dark, curly hair, black and grey clothing. The Baron''s head was resting on his folded hands as he weighed up his options while sitting at the table. The others were there too, of course. Petra, Lucius and Etzel were sitting at the table with him. The room was once again filled with Etzel''s cigar smoke, which in turn was trapped in here by the vaulted ceiling above them. The Camenian noble was not sure what to do, now that he had received a full report of the situation. Finally, he spoke up:

    ¡°I am well aware that the Free Lancers alone are not capable of overthrowing the regime. But I am really not keen on cooperating with the Kashars.¡± - ¡°Neither are they,¡± Etzel argued. ¡°It can be assumed that the Hordes have a similar aversion to us as they do to the Melgarists. It would be the same reasoning for them as for us: the more forces unite against the Holy Empire, the higher the chances of success.¡± To this, the lord replied, ¡°I do understand that, but we must also think about what would follow a successful uprising. Do we really want to let heathens take control of such a large part of Kaphkos?¡± There the ex-military officer immediately drew breath to retort, but his counterpart continued without delay. ¡°And before you say anything, yes, I am aware that these superstitious practices in Kasharovar are also on the decline. Still, I don''t know if your calculation will work out the way you think it will.¡±

    This statement seemed to outrage the former Field Marshal. Nevertheless, he did not answer straight away. Consequently, Lucius made an interjection, ¡°I agree with the Most Serene Baron. We must think about the time after a victory, should we achieve one, however unlikely that may be. What ramifications would there be? Who would rule over Ordania? And what would become of the other kingdoms of Kaphkos?¡± - ¡°All good questions,¡± the nobleman returned, and then added, ¡°I''m guessing you already have some ideas. As I was told yesterday by one of my confidants, the emperor is still alive. Shouldn''t we deal with that first? After all, he is a sorcerer! And besides, the whereabouts of his heir to the throne are also unknown. She is a major source of uncertainty, because she is so unpredictable. Simply relying on the assumption that she will somehow eliminate him, is almost tantamount to gambling, don''t you think?¡±

    Lucius gave this as a reply: ¡°What do you know! The demon will most certainly come looking for his daughter, making it only a question of time until they clash. The girl, we can wrap around our finger. It may be a game of chance, yes, but one in which we have calculated our odds and made the strategically smart moves. In the end, our whole endeavour here is just one big gamble, if you look at the position we are in! Nothing ventured, nothing gained. It is necessary, that we venture something.¡± Di Alduino did not deny what had been said. But he asked a further question:

    ¡°And what direction do you think we should take as far as the more long-term future of Ordania is concerned?¡± This question brought a sardonic smile over Lucius'' lips. He then declared, ¡°As the rightful heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Ordania and the Ordanian Confederacy, I desire to have back what is mine! I do not demand great authority. The powers that were once granted to the Royal Council may be retained. Anything else would legitimize the changes brought about by the Melgarist coup.¡± His audience was stunned. No one had expected anything like this from Lucius. All of them had already mentally suppressed his provenance. The Baron cleared his throat briefly and simply said, ¡°It would probably be appropriate to discuss this in more detail when we have a greater position of power. Otherwise, we''re just building castles in the sky.¡±

    This suited Mr. Cornel just fine. For him personally, only his revenge was important. This also meant ending the tyranny of magic and ensuring such a policy in the long term. In his mind, of course, only he himself could do that, as there was no one else he trusted. He hated all these people here! To him, they were just pawns that he could sacrifice in his great chess game, if it became necessary. All of a sudden, he started coughing due to the increasingly thick smoke down here. ¡°Excuse me for a minute. I need to get some fresh air,¡± he told the others and left the cellar room. He closed the door behind him, climbed the steps, pushed aside the board covering the narrow downward staircase and emerged from the small hatch hidden behind a couple of barrels. Next, he quickly checked to make sure no one had seen him and covered the opening in the floor again. Then he went out into the open in front of the old fish tavern.

    The patron of the Free Lancers, who had just exchanged ideas with Lucius, was also thinking about some of the things that had been discussed. He was of an entirely different opinion to the latter. ¡°That boorish git hasn''t got the slightest bit of decency or manners! If he wants to indulge in the fantasy that any of us, let alone anybody else, will help him achieve his goal, then he''s a fool. But let''s just leave him in the belief that we will stand by his side. Let him feel at ease. He has no connections or influence that he could use to turn his dream into reality anyway.¡± That was what the Baron really thought of him. He was smart enough not to vocalize it.

    Soon after they noticed a rumbling and banging that appeared to be coming from above. Etzel had noticed it before, but he had assumed that they were the usual noises made by the establishment during business hours. This, however, had been far too loud to have been normal. It gave the whole group a sense of unease.

    Darkness had fallen. Occasionally stronger, then once again weaker gusts of wind carried along the increasingly crisp, late evening air, which almost made one shiver. A fully cloaked figure was trudging up. It stopped briefly in the lamplight in front of an inn, the walls of which were made of round stones. The flags that were being flown here seemed to attract the character''s attention for a moment. On the one hand, there was the national flag of Camenia, but there also was the one of the Holy Empire. The latter was drooping all the way down to the ground, a serious faux pas if it had happened by mistake. Though, this was unlikely....

    The newcomer promptly turned around and entered the tavern. Upon entry, they were greeted by bursts of laughter and the ubiquitous noise of numerous conversations. With a determined step, the new guest pushed forward towards the bar counter. Their sturdy boots stomped over the squeaky floorboards until they came to a halt next to one of the chestnut-coloured bar stools. As expected, it was warm and hazy in here. They scanned the place for a moment, apparently looking for something. Quickly, a sturdy man with brown hair and a twirled moustache walked up. ¡°How can I help you?¡±, he asked the customer. The person did not show their face, instead doing their best to hide it under their hood. They replied, ¡°Vagrant that I am, I''m looking for a place to stay for the night. After that, I''ll be on my way again. Could you offer me such accommodation?¡± It was a male voice.

    The gentleman cast a sceptical glance at the mysterious man who had appeared before him. But then he responded, ¡°We''re not a hospice, but theoretically we still have a room available that we could offer to you.¡± The figure could see the owner''s fickleness and said, ¡°I have more than enough money, if that''s your concern.¡± He then immediately handed him ten sesterces, a sum that was clearly far too high for a single night''s stay. This seemed to change the host''s mind immediately and he allowed him to spend the night here. ¡°I''ll show you to your room later, when it''s closing time, if that''s alright with you.¡± - ¡°Yes, that''s fine,¡± the guest replied without further ado.

    He then ordered a pint of beer. As he was already standing at the bar, the boss simply proceeded to tap his beer right away. While the golden-brown liquid was pouring into the glass, the cloaked man started another topic: ¡°I have a question. Have you seen a lady with shoulder-length black hair here recently? She''s relatively short and should be of an older age by now.¡± The addressee finished drawing the last drops of beer and after which he placed it on the counter. Only then did he look at him with a bit of uncertainty. ¡°Perhaps. We have a lot of guests here and I can usually only remember my regulars. Why do you want to know that?¡± - ¡°I did business with her not so long ago and the lady still owes me money.¡± You couldn''t tell by looking at him, but the man at the bar didn''t believe him. He simply replied, ¡°I don''t know of such a woman. Maybe she visited this inn, and I just didn''t notice her, or she just didn''t make an impression on me. As I said, lots of people go in and out here every day.¡± - ¡°I see. Thanks anyway!¡±, the strange individual simply stated, took his drink and went elsewhere, over to one of the tables for the guests.

    He chose one that had another person already sitting on it. He seemed to be a relatively pleasant fellow and, on request, allowed the guy to join him. The lad sitting opposite the visitor was also drinking beer, but a whole Mass. His well-trained body gave the impression that he was a warrior. But he didn''t have a sword with him, a weapon reserved for soldiers, which unfortunately punched a hole in the theory of his profession. ¡°Are you serving in the army?¡±, the hooded figure then asked, speaking the Ordanian tongue. ¡°No, I used to serve, but now I work as a woodcutter,¡± it came back from the man, also in Ordanian.

    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    However, this occurrence prompted another question: ¡°How do you know Ordanian?¡± The man who was addressed faltered briefly. Then he replied, ¡°My cousin lives on the other side of the border. That''s not far from here. We''re still in contact from time to time, so I can speak the language quite well.¡± - ¡°Makes sense,¡± his inquisitive counterpart replied and then added, ¡°I hear there have been quite a few immigrants from Ordania in this area in recent years. That''s true, isn''t it?¡± - ¡°Yes, it is,¡± his seat neighbour responded a little sheepishly. He gave the impression that something was bothering him. Of course, it was the curious questions of this stranger, who apparently was trying to find something out.

    The aforementioned man now took a closer look around the inn once more. It was bustling with activity and a bunch of guests, who were mainly men, were chatting in a relaxed atmosphere. Nothing out of the ordinary. Well, then again, there maybe was something. He slowly noticed that most of the people here were wearing almost identical clothes. What''s more, they all seemed quite, how shall we say, battle-hardened. Could they perhaps all belong together? That would make sense.

    After a while of silently consuming their drinks and only casually chatting about the weather, the still cloaked man wanted to find out something else. ¡°Do you know a woman called Petra? She has medium-length black hair and is rather short.¡± The interviewee shook his head. Once again, no useful information. Should he just carry on like this? What were the chances of success, if he asked one person after another like this? Probably rather low.

    ¡°What is that?¡±, it came from behind him. The man who was hiding his identity turned around and saw one of the guests holding a golden staff in his hand. It had been stolen from his coat when he hadn''t been paying attention. ¡°Give that back this instant!¡±, he shouted at him and immediately snatched the object from him. But it was already too late. This action had attracted the attention of a few others here. Several people were now staring at him as he made the thing disappear back into his coat. But then he concluded that this was probably the end of the line. He let out a short sigh. Then he threw his hood back in front of everyone present.

    Wenzel revealed himself to the inn. Within a very short time, it became quiet, and all eyes were on him. There was clearly a great deal of tension among the people here. The emperor raised his voice, ¡°I''m looking for a woman named Petra Vogt. I know she is here. Take me to her and you have my guarantee that nothing will happen to you! Don''t do it, and you will suffer the consequences!¡± Immediately, a jolt went through the crowd. A wild uproar broke out and the first few began to throw themselves at the magician. He repelled them with his magic. Then he locked the doors. No one would escape.

    What followed was a full-scale massacre. With great clamour, the rebels tried to attack His Majesty, but they were powerless against him. Most of them drew crude knives, trying to slash him with them, but in the entire circumference of the wizard, to both his front and back, he simply catapulted them off with a shockwave. He was merciless and his unfettered arcane power squashed his enemies. Neither the softer body tissue nor the bones of them could withstand this harrowing witchcraft!

    In the end, only one was left standing and that was Wenzel. The walls of the entire room had now been repainted in red. The dye having been used here was a macabre one indeed. In front of His Highness, the last man left alive lay at his feet. ¡°So, are you going to tell me where she is?¡±, his angry voice rang out. ¡°Mrs Vogt is in the...¡± - ¡°Keep talking!¡±, the emperor commanded impatiently, until he realized why the man had stopped. Behind him, a person had come up from the well-hidden cellar passage. He was a tall military man whose first name was Etzel. Despite being up to all the dodges, even he was not able to hide his shock at what he was witnessing right here before him. The game was over.

    Bound and gagged, he locked the defeated Etzel and a man in pantaloons, who seemingly was his ally, in a tiny closet. He then led the woman he had been searching for into one of the back rooms of the inn. The Chosen One untied the shackles with which he had bound her hands and instructed her to take a seat on a chair that stood here. They were in the kitchen. All sorts of dirty glasses and plates were piled high all over the place, since the staff had all left in a hurry. That was perfectly understandable. Wenzel quickly grabbed a chair, that ironically had a few heart shapes carved into its backrest, positioned it opposite Petra and sat down just like her.

    Her eyes peered over at him with a defiant expression. She said nothing. Not a word left her mouth as she was looking at the target of her vengeful desires. His crude black coat was covered in bloodstains. It wasn''t his own blood. Finally, she decided to be the one to start the conversation: ¡°How did you find me?¡±

    ¡°How did you find me, YOUR HIGHNESS!¡±, Wenzel corrected her. She grimaced at him. But when she realized that he was deliberately not answering her, unless she addressed him properly, she finally relented and asked her question the way he wanted her to. In his facial expression, one could not make out any change of emotion that her concession might have caused. He simply replied to her, ¡°With a divining rod.¡± This information was of no help whatsoever. When she tried to ask what he had meant by that, he just returned, ¡°It''s not that important. Especially you shouldn''t know about it.¡± So, she left the matter alone and moved on to the next topic.

    ¡°And are you happy now that you''ve caught me?¡±, she asked. The wizard seemed displeased by this statement and grimly responded, ¡°Only when I have found Viktoria, will I be happy again. Because then I can start to mend the damage you have done.¡± In response, Petra played dumb and said, ¡°Viktoria? I suppose that''s your mother-in-law or your daughter. What does that have to do with me?¡± Naturally, she tried to convey her lie by putting on an appropriate act. It was worth a try, in spite of the fact that it was unclear whether he actually bought it.

    In reaction, His Majesty wiped across his forehead. ¡°Do you have no idea where she is?¡± The interviewee shook her head. As a consequence, he concluded, ¡°If you really don''t know, then I''ll tell you what happened.¡± Thus, he continued to tell her not only about the incident of that fateful night, but also about the preceding events in the Karantian Forests. After he had finished his account, the lady was quite surprised, and that was for a number of reasons. Firstly, she had fully convinced herself that she was in for a violent, agonizing ¡°interrogation¡±. The revelation that Wenzel was in fact only questioning her and talking in a relatively calm manner, came as a huge relief to her. Although this state of affairs was also insofar surprising, as the pale look he was giving her suggested, that he was under great stress. Actually, one would have to assume that he would be more volatile than usual.

    The second reason, which had caught her by surprise, was now beginning to let an insecurity of titanic proportions well up inside her. According to Wenzel, his adoptive daughter, deeply disturbed and manic, had launched an attack on him for no apparent reason. However, she had previously confronted him with a ring depicting the seal of Melgar. Unfortunately, the man had not been able to recognize this object. When Mrs. Vogt heard about it, however, she was able to draw a connection to someone! She remembered that Lucius had occasionally played around with such a ring in his hand! Hence, she concluded that her accomplice had used a ruse here which he had not told her about. This meant that he had lied to her, at least in part, about what had happened in the imperial palace!

    The original plan would have been to get Viktoria to murder her father in his sleep. That last thing she definitely couldn''t tell the person opposite her, but she now told him everything else she had been mulling. Why? She was distraught and frightened, because Lucius had hidden the truth from her. ¡°Please believe me when I tell you that I didn¡¯t know anything about the ring. It was definitely the one Lucius always had with him. He was the one who orchestrated this whole thing. I don''t know anything about all this! Achaz frequently went with Lucius on ¡°hunting trips¡±, as they called them, which lasted all night. That''s my actual level of information.¡±

    Wenzel listened to all this, while continually stroking his beard. He stared into space for a while, intensively contemplating the tangle of contradictory claims. He also had to consider that Petra might be trying to mislead him with false information. What was true and what was not? ¡°The boy...,¡± he could be heard mumbling at one point. Finally, however, he addressed her again, ¡°Where is your son now?¡± - ¡°I don''t know. He disappeared the day the big events went down in the palace.¡± The magician seemed almost delighted at this statement. Immediately afterwards, it also occurred to the mother that there was something very fishy going on here.

    His Highness now noted, ¡°I have a theory. It goes like this: Viktoria was in such an upset state, that I have never seen anything like it from her. Her hatred was directed specifically towards me, and I had no idea as to why that was the case. She was in love with Achaz. And she came to me with a ring that she thought was mine.¡± As he spoke, Petra''s eyes began to widen in horror. Slowly, she put the pieces of the puzzle together herself. ¡°The only thing I could think of, that could have put my child in such a frame of mind, would probably be something terribly distressing that might have happened with her ¡®crush¡¯. Could it be that she found her boyfriend dead, and someone who always accompanied him on his ''outings'' wanted to cast suspicion on me by leaving an object related to the Empire at the scene of the crime? In this way, he could have tried to create the ultimate conflict between the ruler and his heiress to the throne. Could that be?¡±

    His listener peered in shock at the little stars that were now glowing in Wenzel''s pupils. With all her might, she tried to suppress her feelings, but the very act of doing so made it quite easy for the emperor to see just how viscerally upset she was by what he had speculated here. ¡°Wenzel is probably right in his suspicions,¡± she thought. She buried her flushed face in her hands. Wenzel paused and waited in silence. The outer facade crumbled only marginally, and she was able to stop herself from crying.

    Nevertheless, the woman now started wailing, ¡°How could I have been so stupid! I just believed him, that he had lost sight of him. I simply accepted such a stupid excuse! And I didn''t question anything.¡± Meanwhile, the Chosen One had been caught off guard by this emotional outburst. It now made him re-evaluate her earlier words and recognize, that they were probably mostly true. He thought to himself, ¡°Apparently, this was all Lucius'' fault. I don''t think it''s likely that Petra didn''t know about Viktoria at all, but it looks like she was the victim of some kind of intrigue herself. Or, well.... maybe she really was completely in the dark about what her son was being exploited for. Maybe. The likelihood of the very lad whose mother is feuding with us starting a relationship with my daughter behind her back, a relationship that was set up, and was intended as a revenge against us, is probably vanishingly small. Hmmm.¡±

    After she had finished her thinking aloud, the sovereign finally addressed her, ¡°If this Lucius has played such a big part in all this, would you mind telling me where he is?¡± The woman looked hesitantly to the side, but then replied, ¡°I have no idea where he is. The last time I saw him was in Ordania. But he is also familiar with the two gentlemen you have detained here. He may also be on his way over here, but I don''t know.¡± - ¡°Are you sure about that? Don''t you know anything else about him?¡±, he enquired. Yet, she insisted on this untruth and added, ¡°There''s a good chance that he''ll come to this very area at some point, if someone waits for him here.¡±

    Wenzel wasn''t sure whether he should buy this. Petra, Etzel and the third person, who appeared to be a nobleman, were the only ones he had extracted from the secret cellar chamber. There was, of course, the possibility of the person in question having been among the other guests here, which could have inadvertently sent him to the afterlife. Then the whole thing would be moot anyway. For now, however, he would try to track this man down. ¡°And what are you going to do with me?¡±, Mrs. Vogt then wanted to know. His Majesty simply answered her, ¡°I''ll think about it. Being quiet and not provoking me will certainly help you here!¡± She took his advice to heart.

    While the lady took another look at all of the dead to confirm for her captor, that Lucius indeed was not among them, Wenzel went outside the door. He looked down the dusty road tapping his foot on the ground impatiently. ¡°Where is this good-for-nothing!¡±, he said. Beside him, he saw that two of the inn''s windows had been broken. A few people had apparently managed to escape in the confusion. The person Petra had spoken of could potentially be one of them. High above him, a cold, bluish light was shining down on the surroundings, coming from an orb of pure energy. The wizard had positioned it there as a beacon for the troops.

    He went back inside. When Mrs. Vogt confirmed that the man he was looking for was not among the fallen, Wenzel brought the last two men still alive out of the closet. But before the emperor could even say anything, the army commander of the old regime spat right in his face. In response, he dryly remarked, ¡°Are you that mad at me for merely defeating you with my sword and not even needing to use my magic?¡± What followed was a lengthy interrogation, during which Etzel in particular was wholly uncooperative. Wenzel was unaffected by all this. He questioned the men in a calm and collected manner, even though both sides truly abhorred each other. This was the first moment in which Petra began to understand how much the emperor was actually restraining himself. His mental fortitude and self-control impressed her, and she finally realized how much he had matured.

    In the end, he also found out from these people where the camp of their so-called resistance fighters was located. The Baron would probably have given in at some point, but it was the lady who revealed it to Wenzel first. As a consequence, her allies were furious, but His Highness didn''t care. At the very end, he attempted to read their minds. Placing his hand on the crown of Etzel''s head, he concentrated. After just one minute he gave up and tried again, but this time with Petra. He got the same result and finally threw in the towel. As expected, the outcome for him was, that he could not penetrate the consciousness and memories of others, if they resisted him. It¡¯s not as if he hadn¡¯t already known that, but it was still worth a try.

    Eventually, after far too long a wait, the cavalry arrived. Shortly before dawn, an entire regiment rode up, led by a man who was far too young. Alexander enthusiastically swung himself out of the saddle and hurried over to His Holiness. The latter met him with a disgruntled expression and said, ¡°You are late. Very late in fact!¡± - ¡°Forgive me, Your Highness,¡± the lad apologized immediately. ¡°We didn''t see your signal light straight away and I''m not familiar with the paths and roads in this mountainous land.¡± Wenzel didn''t seem to give a fig about this. He simply replied, ¡°Be that as it may. You have a mission anyway. There is an insurgent camp not far from here. His Most Serene Highness Lord Alduino here will lead you to it and you are to wipe it out. Do you understand?¡± - ¡°Yes, my lord!¡±, the young Kuhn returned without any ifs or buts.

    Then they already set off. The massive, mounted force that had arrived immediately grabbed the nobleman and had him show them the way to the would-be rebels that he himself had had built up. What irony. But unfortunately, the Baron had no choice. It was either this or the charge of high treason, which he was understandably not keen on. Etzel would not escape such a fate. That same evening, the emperor had him transferred to Meglarsbruck to be publicly executed. And what would become of Petra now? Well.....

 1. 15 Trickeries

    Of a great rebellion they had dreamt. Many of them had given in to the illusion, even though they knew how limited their powers actually were. But this night had brought a rude awakening. Now haste was the order of the day. Lucius and a few of the men who had survived the demon emperor''s attack were not just getting a move on now, no, they were literally racing to get back to camp as quickly as possible. The hooves of their horses thundered wildly over the rough tracks that led through this wooded area, the cold wind of a cloudless night blowing up against them. Lucius had been lucky today, unbelievably lucky. By pure chance, he had been standing outside the tavern when the devil Wenzel revealed himself inside. After that, he had hidden himself nearby, inconspicuously gathered some of the remaining escapees and made his way back to their headquarters with them.

    The earth had already birthed the sun, and all sorts of activity could be observed throughout the camp. Suddenly, a small group of their men came galloping out of the forest. Among them was one that the fighters had always seen next to their leader lately. Lucius, however, looked stricken and harried. Sweat dripped down from him, and he was struggling for air. Eventually, however, he was able to draw a breath deep enough to call out and summon everyone over. The other soldiers immediately rushed through the crowd and in between the tents like hunted animals to call all the men together. What would it be? Would they finally, after all this time of training, make a push into Ordania?

    ¡°Quiet! Quiet!¡±, squealed the short man with messy hair. It took a little while, but relatively quickly the assembled people had been made as quiet as mice. Then came the announcement: ¡°Free Lancers! The forces of the Holy Empire have tracked us down! They will probably be here fairly soon.¡±

    Consequently, a loud groan went through the crowd and cries of, ¡°Great God!¡±, could be heard. ¡°But there''s no need to panic. In this rugged country, it will probably take them a while to get to this exact place. So, let''s not waste any time. We have a long march ahead of us. Our destination is Kasharovar. There we will join forces with the Kashar resistance to challenge the regime together. Pack up as quickly as possible! We are leaving!¡±

    Many of the audience had felt a great deal of doubt when they learned that they were going to join those who were in fact also their enemies. Nevertheless, they obeyed and hurriedly began to dismantle the tents, load the wagons and prepare everything for their departure. The survivors of the previous night were putting a lot of pressure on them. ¡°Leave everything behind that isn''t absolutely essential! Come on, hurry up!¡±, the orders resounded. It still took a while. But when they were mostly finished, it happened.

    From a distance, an ominous roar reached them, which seemed to steadily grow louder. Many of the drudges here were now overcome with great fear, including Lucius himself. Then, like a lightning strike, they suddenly were there! Akin to a raging torrent, the fourth regiment of the Holy Ordanian Army burst out of the thicket of the forest, as if not bothered by it at all, and charged the insurgents. Caught off guard, many of them began to flee, while others held their ground, drawing their weapons. Unfortunately, however, an ever-increasing number of mostly young soldiers poured in, seemingly with no end in sight. Full of energy, they let out their battle cries and attacked the Alethic forces on horseback and with spears. To all sides men were falling. Some of the attackers also took hits, of course, but things really didn''t look so rosy for the rebels. Their own were dropping like flies.

    In the meantime, there was no sign of the provisional commander, Lucius. It was almost as if he had been swallowed up by the earth. The number of enemy forces soon reached critical levels. Those who had stayed behind to stand up to the attackers no longer stood a chance and were cut down, while the remaining men from their side scrambled to escape. But Alexander''s forces gave them no respite. They were immediately hot on their heels and would not let them go until they had either captured or otherwise defeated the pursued men. It was undoubtedly a resounding victory for this regiment of the Holy Army, but there were also a considerable number who managed to escape. They scattered in the wild, untrodden pine forests of Translimesia where they disappeared never to be seen again.

    However, a man named Lucius Cornel was neither among the prisoners, nor would he be found among the fallen. After all the chaos, though, this fact would take some time to become known to the commander, Major General Kuhn. Meanwhile, said man rode up smugly, trudged across the battlefield and boasted to his companions how much this success was due to his good leadership. The Baron, who was standing nearby at the time, preferred not to say anything, instead rolling his eyes.

    The brainchild, which had arisen from his own deliberations, left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth. In self-doubt, Wenzel still sat on one of the ¡°heart chairs¡±, ruminating. ¡°No, I''m going to do it like this!¡±, he finally reached the decision. Mrs. Vogt was still nearby, guarded by a couple of Imperial Guardsmen, who had accompanied the troops on their mission here, in order to be able to stand by His Majesty''s side. The prisoner Etzel, on the other hand, was already en route to the capital. The uncertainty about what awaited her now was killing Petra, and she sat there like on pins and needles, now and then trembling, with her hands folded. What would Wenzel do to her now? Was this really her demise? It would stand to reason, that this would be the case.

    Thus, she pushed herself to speak to him: ¡°Can I ask you what you intend to do with me now?¡± The Chosen One was a little puzzled, as she once again did not address him with the required courtesy. He then, nonetheless, gave her an answer, ¡°I don''t feel the slightest bit of sympathy for you. Having said that, there is no crime that I can prove you committed, and frankly, I believe that you are innocent in this matter.¡± Upon hearing this, the lady had to make an insane effort not to reveal her snide amusement over the emperor''s conclusions.

    ¡°Consequently, I have decided to let you go.¡± This came as a huge surprise to her, and although it might have been counterproductive, she HAD to ask a follow-up question. ¡°Don''t you.... Doesn¡¯t His Highness harbour any hatred towards me at all? Back then you framed August to get rid of him, after all!¡± - ¡°I suppose, that''s more of a personal matter on your part. As far as I''m concerned, something that happened in the year dot, is over and done,¡± her dialogue partner explained to her. His poignant statement had an exceptionally provocative effect on Petra, given how contemptuously he had just dismissed her feelings with it. She swallowed her anger over this, as she didn''t want to jeopardize her position here, and preferred to feather her own nest for the time being. ¡°Calm down! I can''t allow myself to freak out here now,¡± she reminded herself in her thoughts.

    But after that, already something new transpired. One of the guards came in and informed them, ¡°God''s Chosen, Major General Kuhn has returned!¡± - ¡°So, have him summoned here!¡± The youngster stomped into the room at a brisk pace and stepped in front of His Holiness. For a moment, he seemed distracted by the ravages and the nasty traces of battle that could still be seen here. But then he immediately turned his attention back to Wenzel. Said person looked at him relatively emotionlessly and immediately asked him to report on their operation against the rebels. Alexander took a moment to collect himself and then made the following statement:

    ¡°We absolutely crushed the rebels. Most of them turned tail and tried to flee when they saw my men, with me personally leading them in the fore, charging at them! A few escaped, but all in all it was a devastating blow against the Alethics.¡± At this, the emperor once again ran his fingers through his beard. He contemplated the boy''s words. His Highness quickly understood that this was probably a lot of self-laudation. But did it at least have some basis? ¡°Come here a second!¡±, he ordered the Kuhn offspring. This was obediently followed, and the mage took a quick look at his memories. ¡°Let me in, please,¡± Wenzel requested, and the boy complied. What was revealed to him here was, that Alexander had exaggerated his role in the battle -he hadn''t led the troops in the front - but the claim that this pocket of resistance had been crushed was definitely correct. Although, untold numbers had also escaped them.

    A little ashamed since he felt like he had been caught fibbing, the youth turned away. Then the Chosen One, however, wanted to ascertain something important: ¡°And what about Lucius Cornel?¡± - ¡°We''ve had all the bodies inspected. No one has seen him or been able to identify him,¡± the youngster answered in a flash. As was to be expected, His Majesty was not particularly pleased with such news. During all this, Petra was still sitting by and listening to everything the two of them were conversing about. Finally, Wenzel turned to her and said, ¡°Are you still here? Didn''t you hear what I told you before? You are dismissed. Leave!¡±

    The lady was stunned for a moment, but then picked herself up and walked out the entrance. In disbelief, the young major general gawped after her, then back at his ruler. ¡°Huh? You''re just going to let the criminal go? Why?¡± Wenzel seemed annoyed by his question and gruffly retorted, ¡°Because I''ve made that decision. And now hold your tongue! I''m certainly not going to discuss this matter with children!¡± After this, Alexander did not dare to speak back. The wizard then ordered him to get the soldiers ready for the return journey to Ordania as soon as possible. He said, ¡°The Camenian Kingdom will not be happy, if we simply stay on their territory without asking first. And the population here would certainly not approve of this either. So, get a move on! Make sure you get back home!¡±

    When the young soldier was about to set off again, he brought a last request to His Highness, ¡°Are we actually already at the end of our undertaking with this, Your Majesty? The heretics surely are still hidden in many places. When I return home to Meglarsbruck, Ulrich will continue my fighting lessons, instead of letting me return to real combat. Please, let me keep fighting!¡± Wenzel did understand his supplicant''s train of thought. ¡°I actually don''t need him here anymore, but....well, who cares! If he''s looking for a purpose in life, I can offer him one.¡± Consequently, he replied to him, ¡°There is one more thing that I could offer you to do for me." When he heard this, the boy''s mood instantly brightened up.

    At first, she had strolled away slowly, but when she got out of sight, she significantly picked up the pace. Although it would have been ridiculous to assume that Wenzel would suddenly change his mind and chase after her to recapture her once more, a small remnant of the fear, that had embedded itself inside her mind, still lingered. Minute after minute passed and she moved further and further away from the Ye Olde Fish Tavern. Then she reached the one-hour mark. Still, no one had tried to come for her. It seemed that the emperor was genuinely being earnest about her release.

    ¡°What an idiot!¡±, Petra began to vent about him in self-talk. ¡°I was actually able to trick him. Phew! What a stroke of luck that was! If they had caught Lucius, I would have been in for it. Fortunately, Etzel and Fulco di Alduino''s brother were clever enough to only divulge minimal information to the witcher, which was a lifesaver for me regarding the situation with Lucius. It didn''t save Etzel''s life, but at least it saved mine.¡± Then her nose itched, and she scratched it. Something still seemed to be bothering her. What could it possibly be?

    ¡°If the demon emperor has bought my lies, which it looks like he has at the moment, he might even stick around for a while to wait out the one who''s to blame for the situation with his daughter. Ha, so, he can wait a long time! That''s exactly what my trickery was intended to do.¡± It had been a wise decision on her part to acquiesce to the Chosen One and not act hostile towards him. Her joy at the positive outcome of this dramatic predicament for her, however, was again dampened by one major factor: the matter with Achaz. Now that she knew that her supposed accomplice had double-crossed her, she was keen to repay him for his deceit. He had taken her only son from her. Or let''s put it this way, the probability that this had been the case was quite high.

    She had loved her Achaz..... sort of, at least. Her reaction to Wenzel''s conclusions concerning him had perhaps been a little contrived, but she had indeed been shocked by the revelations the ruler had discovered with his intellect. Mr. Cornel, on the other hand, had betrayed her trust, and he would pay for it! Her journey would take her to the Kashar Lands. If there was anywhere, she could find Lucius, it would be there. Hence, she continued onwards. Her horse had vanished in all the confusion, and it was probably pointless to start looking for it. On foot, she headed in a north-easterly direction. A long way lay ahead of her.

    An hour later, calm had descended on this place. Only the emperor and his guard were still to be found in the devastated inn. Taciturn and lost in thought, Wenzel trundled over to the bar, poured himself a glass of water, as he usually didn''t drink alcohol, and continued to ponder. ¡°I suspect she''s taken the bait,¡± he thought to himself. He continued to stare at the wooden wall panelling and fixtures, on shelves of which countless bottles of various spirits were on display. The Imperial Guards just stood idly by and didn''t really know what was going on. But they didn''t dare ask their master either.

    ¡°These scoundrels have actually managed to build up a whole army of irregulars right under our noses without anyone even suspecting a thing. They had simply wandered to the other side of the border to evade the strong arm of the Empire. Could the king of Camenia have allowed this, or at least turned a blind eye to it? No, probably not. It can be assumed that the largely autonomous Camenia is not particularly vindictive towards the heartland of the Holy Empire, and rather prefers peaceful coexistence with its overwhelmingly superior neighbour. This project can more likely be attributed to the reactionary remnants of the brief Alethian Interregnum.

    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    It is probably better to deal with its ringleaders individually and in a crafty manner. Etzel von Gellingen, the Field Marshal of the old regime, shall receive the death penalty. As for Lord Di Alduino, it is probably more advisable to be merciful with him, as a feud with a great Camenian noble house would inevitably have a destabilizing effect.¡±

    Wisdom before emotion, that was the credo here. And the mage was dead serious about this. He had taken the same attitude towards Mrs. Vogt. He hated her so much, oh, how abominable his hatred for this woman was! And yet, he had controlled himself and suppressed all his surging feelings when talking to her.

    ¡°I have done all this to steer her where I want her, in order to achieve my goal. Followers of the Alethic tyranny have surely not only been recruited and trained here; I am one hundred percent sure of that. We can assume that they are gathering further forces in other countries outside of Ordania. And Petra certainly knows about it. In the belief of having pulled the wool over my eyes, she will now go and join her allies. And I will find her. There''s no way I won''t find her, regardless of what unfolds here.¡± As this was passing through his mind, he contentedly tapped the rucksack in which he had stowed all of his Holy Artifacts.

    ¡°I didn''t let her get away, because she can''t get away from me anyhow. I will use her to unwittingly lead me to more traitors and perhaps even to Lucius, or even to my little Victoria. Then, when she is no longer of any use to me, she''ll die!¡±

    His Highness was still sitting alone at the bar with a slight smirk on his face. That, however, was only of a fleeting nature, since he promptly recalled that he didn''t have what really mattered to him: his daughter. Only afterwards did he instruct his guards, to stay with him in this place for at least a few days. According to His Majesty, they were waiting to see, if a man named Lucius Cornel might show up. He was supposedly a short man with unkempt black hair. It was a very vacuous personal description. Well, what good did it do them? His Holiness had decided on something, and he was beyond reproach. Hence, they settled down here for the time being. Soon, however, they began cleaning the premises of their own accord, as their disgusting condition was intolerable.

    A vast, flat wasteland, whose sometimes snow-white, then dirty, greyish plains stretched out to the horizon. It was a patch of earth where nothing flourished, and which was unbelievably arid and hopeless: the Ge?chtetenpfann. Named after those on whom the imperial ban had been imposed and who, according to rumour, had often been driven out or abandoned here to meet their end. There were countless folk tales and horror stories about the spirits of those who had died in this inhospitable salt flat, but who still haunted all those who traversed it. Presumably, this was all just humbug.....yes, that''s it! Almost ironically, this barren land was located directly on the South Sea, which should have meant that there was enough moisture there. Nevertheless, any precipitation soon evaporated in the endless salt pans of this landscape.

    At the time of the snowmelt, which means in spring, a few drybed rivers and streams fed the pan with meltwater, which, as their name implies, carried no further water for the rest of the year. The source of this were, of course, the colossal glaciers of the Kashar highlands, which delimited this landscape from the north-east. Apart from a few adventurers or nomads, no one lived here. The imperial highway, which ran through the region in an east-west direction and ultimately led to Nargyosh, the capital of Kasharovar, was the only transport artery here and the only place where people could be found on a regular basis. Even on this road, however, it was an arduous journey through this desert.

    A group of men were now gazing down on this very wasteland in sombre awe. They had just crested a small mound on which stood a well-known local landmark. It was the ¡°Giant''s Hand¡±, which was not too far from Freiburg, and in its shadow a number of travellers were now slowly making their way towards the "Outlaw''s Pan". It was a rock formation made up of five basalt columns that solitarily jutted out of the area, and which resembled the shape of a larger than life-sized hand. There were several myths about its supposed origins, including one that told of a stone giant from the mountains who once tried to make his way into Ordania, but couldn''t quite make it through the Ge?chtetenpfann, so his spirit left his body here at its very edge. Therefore, his hand traditionally marked the beginning of the salt desert.

    Lucius and the survivors who had not given up after the raid on their camp had, without coordination and very much by happenstance, found each other and were now walking together towards their destination: The secret quarters of the Kashar Hordes beyond this wasteland. They were a meagre bunch. The dry, alienating smell of the salt reached their noses. Lucius only hoped that the water they had previously loaded onto their pack animals in the largest possible quantity would last them to the end. Whatever was in the air irritated his conk and he soon had to sneeze hard. As he wiped his sniffer with a handkerchief, he noticed how the sun''s rays, which were falling on his back, cast a shadow on the ground in front of him. It was not that of the Giant''s Hand, however, for it was moving!

    With trepidation, he turned around promptly and looked up to see what he was dealing with here. But the bright star almost blinded him, and he turned away in a daze. Apart from some black outlines, he hadn''t been able to make out anything. When Lucius'' visual perception had halfway recovered, he took another look. The thing had grown considerably larger as it had come closer, and now they could see that it was a person. Its distance from them decreased even more and finally it got very close to them. Only now did the tousle-head see who it was. It turned out to be the girl with crimson hair. Mr. Cornel was filled with abject horror! All the other members of these leftovers of the Free Lancers also came to an immediate halt and, fitting with their surroundings, turned into pillars of salt.

    For some inexplicable reason, Viktoria was wearing a dress embroidered with traditional rural motifs. The girl''s sight was squarely fixed on Lucius. He didn''t move, but he had a bad premonition. ¡°Is she here for me? No, that''s not possible. She doesn''t even know my physical appearance. .....Or does she?¡± No less unsettling was the face she was making. With little red veins in the whites of her eyes, she looked frazzled and irritable. The young lady lowered herself down and landed on the ground in front of the one who had Achaz on his conscience. She looked at the man for a moment, but then turned and glanced at the Giant''s Hand. After that, she spoke:

    ¡°I have seen this place here and this very moment right now in a dream. That''s why I came here, to see what it''s all about.¡± This immediately set Lucius'' brain into overdrive. ¡°So, she doesn''t know who I am! Thank God!¡±, it immediately crossed the guy''s mind. He instantly tried to come up with a new ploy to take advantage of the situation. So, after a short pause, he replied to her, ¡°It''s probably divine providence that we''re meeting here, young lady. May I know your name?¡± The redhead turned towards him. The look on her face made one''s blood run cold. ¡°Just look at me. My hair colour alone should make it clear to you who I am,¡± she simply stated. The addressee pretended to realize this only now and gave her this response: ¡°Oh, a magician! Wait, then you are, are you the princess?¡± - ¡°If you want to look at it that way, yes.¡±

    It so happened that Gabriela''s son instantaneously read the correct thing out of the statement that had just been made. He returned the following, ¡°I''m sure this will surprise you, but I''ve heard a bit more about you already.¡± Curious, Viktoria stared at him with a face that was still an emotional wreck. He elaborated, ¡°My nephew has mentioned you to me on a few occasions. Achaz is his name. He has a lot of nice things to say about you. I''m called Bertram. Nice to meet you!¡± Her reaction to his extended hand was somewhat delayed, as she was obviously afflicted by his statements. In the end, however, she gave him a handshake and introduced herself using only her first name.

    ¡°There''s something I want to tell you, but I don''t know how to do it yet. Please, give me some time,¡± she said melancholically, almost in a whisper. Her counterpart immediately accommodated her there and said, ¡°Of course. But we have to get going now, because we have somewhere to be. You can just accompany us through the salt desert, if you want.¡± Thus, she temporarily joined this band. As the girl was walking alongside Lucius, there was a huge sense of unease and fear in the ranks of the men here. This teenager terrified them.

    It was a hot day, and the group of travellers was only making slow progress. After all, they had to take on the additional hardship of treading the gruelling trails through the Ge?chtetenpfann, since they, as anti-regime forces, were logically unable to simply take the main road. The little devil child also dragged herself forward, seemingly slowing down. For the entire time she was quiet, but then, from one moment to the next, something suddenly burst out of her that she had apparently not been able to express before: ¡°Your nephew is dead. My father killed him. I''m really sorry.¡±

    Aghast, ¡°Bertram¡± returned, ¡°What? Achaz is...dead? Is that true?¡± To which the girl gave only a barely perceptible nod of her head in reply. ¡°Oh, pity me! He was still so young!¡±, the impostor said in a far too theatrical fashion. However, Viktoria''s lack of any relevant reaction led him to conclude that she was buying his feigned dismay. Otherwise, she would probably have treated him with some form of enmity. Nevertheless, the man was very anxious. He had to be extremely careful with every statement, every countenance and gesture, if he wanted to manipulate events here in his favour. ¡°Nothing less than my very life is at stake here!¡± Why did he believe such a thing? The impression the princess gave him was one of utmost tension, which was to such an extent, that one could be forgiven for thinking that at any moment her nerves would be getting the better of her.

    Nevertheless, he continued to speak to her, but in an explicitly softer, more low-key tone. His aim now was to sway the teenager to his side, so that he could take advantage of her! This was a bold plan, considering that he was putting himself with one foot over the precipice. Lucius knew that very well, however. In his mind, he had been living on the edge for his entire existence anyway.

    He knew how to get the child around. The only thing he needed to do was to take advantage of Viktoria''s badly damaged relationship with her father to get her to do the things he wanted. On their journey through the wasteland, he would now have time to talk to her and slowly build up some trust in him. And then, when the right moment came, he would strike. ¡°Is that why you''re out here in this no man''s land instead of a palace?¡±, the person pretending to be named Bertram then asked. After a short speaking pause, he then made this further point: ¡°I can understand someone having disagreements with their own family, I really can. But your case seems a little..... out of proportion to me.¡± Viktoria''s lips, concerning this, continued to be sealed. Mr. Cornel should have expected this.

    Consequently, he preferred to move on to another topic and told her about nicer things for a while, such as a few pleasant stories from his childhood. Of course, these were all made up and hadn''t actually happened. Evening slowly fell and they set up camp for the night. Here the first small success of his persistent work on the girl showed itself, as in the light of the campfire she told him about how she always liked to go and feed the ducks at the pond. It wasn''t until the next day that he risked the step of informing her about the nature of their ¡°travelling party¡± here. ¡°At the risk of bringing about my own ruin here, I have to tell you something more about us. We are anti-Melgarist fighters. This means, we are enemies of the regime of which your father is the figurehead.¡± When the youth responded, ¡°It''s alright. I won''t hurt you people,¡± the man was overjoyed. He had now overcome the first major obstacle with her.

    The foul smell of the morass was wafting through the air. It was already dark, and the young warrior had to pay very close attention. The dampness and mustiness penetrated Alexander''s nasal cavities as he brought his mount to a brief halt to light a torch. It was perhaps not the smartest idea, as his presence could be seen from afar that way, but what else could he do? He couldn''t, no, he wasn''t allowed to lose her. For some inscrutable reason, she hadn''t called it a night and gone to sleep like she usually did. She just kept on walking and walking.

    Was she not tired at all? What purpose did she pursue with something so pointless? Had she perhaps noticed that someone was stalking her? That might explain a change in her behaviour, but it still wouldn''t make it logically comprehensible. Pulling an all-nighter wouldn''t help her shake him off, that was for sure. What''s more, she didn''t even have a horse like he did. So, what was going on here now? The Kuhn offspring couldn''t make any sense of it.

    In the light of his torch, he continued trotting on. His Highness had tasked Alexander with the mission of chasing Petra Vogt, naturally without being discovered. She would lead him to another den of heretics, which the Holy Army would then be able to flush out. It was a good idea. But the young man was not very experienced in shadowing others. So far, he had found it extremely difficult not to lose the woman''s trail. But he was still hot on her heels. The imprints in the mud were unmistakable and following them was a simple task. Here, where the branching arms of the Duhn, which formed its delta further east, created a marshland, it was easy to follow someone''s tracks.

    Much like the fanning arms of the great river, time passed unnoticeably yet ceaselessly here in this lonely corner of the world. Nothing seemed to exist outside the sphere created by the flame''s cone of light, almost as if this was its own universe. The sound of frogs croaking reached him from quite close by. Alexander realized that he was getting slower in this monotony and then pushed onwards a little harder again. An indeterminate amount of time later, however, something startled him. Much too close in front of him, he suddenly made out a human figure to his left. ¡°Oh, no! Have I messed up, because I wasn''t paying close enough attention? Have I run into Mrs. Vogt now because she eventually decided on taking a break after all?¡±, he queried himself.

    That turned out to not be the case. The little bit of illumination that reached the figure in the shadows of the night unveiled a middle-aged gentleman with a bucket hat on his head. It was clear, however, that the tracks the lad had followed came from this person, the footprints of which ended here with this man. Now he had a bad feeling, and Alexander immediately rode up to the wayfarer. ¡°Good evening! Who are you and what are you doing here?¡±

    A face marked by age then turned towards him. Now one could also see a few fishing hooks stuck in the hat the man was wearing. Seemingly miffed, the man replied, ¡°I don''t have to justify myself here, sonny! I live here! Never heard of night fishing, have you? Bream and even carp bite better when it''s dark.¡± The young military man gritted his teeth. Without apologizing, he rode ahead first. When he saw that there were no further footprints in that direction, he turned around and rode back the same way, as if in a rush. It was a disaster! He had lost Petra''s scent. Now he had to hurry, because the longer it took him to pick up her trail once more, the less chance he had of finding her again.

    But unfortunately, it would be in vain. He spent the rest of the night and the next day trying to track down his target, but she had apparently vanished into thin air. Alexander was devastated. He was convinced that His Majesty would resent this failure of his. But most of all, it was himself who was affected by the matter. Once again, he had failed. He had not only disappointed others, but also himself. Why? Just why was he so useless!

 1. 16 Counterrevolution

    After the long traversal of the vegetationless salt pans, a steep ascent over equally desolate mountains followed, the roof of which, however, was covered by huge glaciers. It was an arduous journey over rough high-mountain passes. Then the route descended into a high-lying valley, that belonged to the southern Medye ¨C in Ordania it would be called a county - of Kascharvarosh. Up here in this inhospitable region was their meeting point with the Hordes. On the long march here, which Viktoria had covered partly on horseback and partly on foot, she had frequently had conversations with Bertram. He seemed fine to her but radiated a certain amount of nervousness in her presence. She could understand that, since her magic was something terrifying to others, especially if, like him, you were an Alethic and saw magic as something sinister.

    As they approached one of the larger farmsteads here, they could already see the countless woolly horses of the Kashar Hordes grazing on the wide highland pastures up here. Only farther down in the valley could forest be observed. Here they were still above the tree line. Over rocky paths and past all kinds of beautiful highland flowers in pink, yellow and even blue colour, the Alethic resistance fighters now slowly but steadily clambered down towards their destination. The large dwelling house of the mountain farm made an inconspicuous impression, especially as it was situated in what appeared to be such a picturesque location. The huge lodge, the lower storey of which was brick-built, and the upper storey made of timber, had a pitched roof on which, for whatever reason, a large number of stones had been laid at regular distances.

    Lucius was the first to arrive alongside Viktoria and came to a halt in front of a fence made of larch wood, that enclosed the relatively large area directly in front of the farmstead. Despite the extra layers of clothing he had put on, he was shivering. What a contrast this was to the oppressive heat of the Ge?chtetenpfann, which they had passed through not too long ago! The sorceress, on the other hand, didn''t seem to be feeling cold. Again and again, one could see her bending over her hands, out of which, as if from nowhere, small flames were suddenly flaring up. While the rest of her not-so-poor-in-numbers troop leisurely made their way down the hill, their leader gave instructions to tie the mounts to the pasture fence a little away from the farm, so as not to cause any trouble with the locals. He was apparently not yet aware that a huge number of woolly horses on the pastures here were those of the heathen rebels, with whom they had arranged to meet.

    Before they had even set foot on the meadow in front of the large farmstead, a few seemingly rough contemporaries came out to meet them. They were wearing very light clothing considering the temperatures, at least from the visitors'' point of view. However, they were not used to the clearly different climate of the Kashar Lands. What felt like late autumn temperatures to the outsiders was normal summer weather for these mountain people. A man with long brown hair - well, that description actually applied to at least half of the Kashars here - approached Lucius and extended his hand to him. After a quick greeting, they made their way inside the house. There would be a lot to discuss.

    The interior of the multi-storey building was definitely unexpected and fascinating for the guests. There was no fustiness hanging in the air, but the aromas of smoked sausages and wood were nonetheless all-pervasive. As soon as one entered, it was immediately apparent how, just like in a shoebox, many things were crammed into a very small space here. All the walls had been adapted in some way for one purpose or another, be it as a cupboard, to store clothes, to hold tools or simply to lean things up against or pile up on. Accordingly, the space available in the corridors here was extremely limited, leading them all to walk through the house in single file, one behind the other. Following the host, they passed a few doorways and then finally entered a room to their left.

    Only Lucius, Viktoria and another man from the Free Lancers would be joining the negotiations here. Everyone else would have to wait outside. The last man closed the door behind him, then all those invited took their seats on the simple wooden chairs, standing around here, which looked somewhat unprepared. In one of the far corners, a tiny house altar had been set up. It consisted mainly of two candles, a few sprigs of greenery from outside and a colourfully painted skull. It could be assumed that these were the remains of the master of the house''s forebear.

    On the way in, the princess had already taken off her headdress, as the temperature in here was sufficiently warm. Still, it was only now that the person who had led the three of them in noticed how strikingly red her mane was. In response, he momentarily shuddered for all to see. ¡°Calm down. This is not a trap. We have not betrayed you. Allow me to explain the circumstances as to why this young lady is here,¡± Lucius tried to calm the situation down on the spot and stem the rise of any animosity. That was the first thing he said. Only then did he introduce himself under his false name, Bertram, and claimed to be the new leader of the Alethic resistance. He was not entirely wrong, as Etzel, Di Alduino and Petra were now in the hands of the regime, but he nevertheless had simply appointed himself as such. His host replied, ¡°Lajosch. It''s an honour!¡± He seemed to have recovered very quickly from his shock at the wizards'' presence.

    Even Mr. Cornel knew his name. The Supreme Leader of the Hordes was meeting them here in person. Therefore, the honour was actually theirs and not the other way around. A folk talisman hung around his neck, its striking lapis lazuli blue particularly eye-catching. The man was staring at them with a penetrating gaze while his guest proceeded to explain how they came to have a witch with them. As hard as it was to believe, that the girl had simply dropped in on him, at the same time, finding an alternative explanation was nigh impossible. The dishevelled-looking Alethic tried to make the matter palatable to him in another way:

    ¡°Just imagine what a stroke of luck this is for us! What we couldn''t achieve with an ally like this!¡± Lajosch quickly relented and noted, ¡°Your arguments make sense to me, Ordanian. What surprises me more, though, is that you are bringing this up so openly in front of the child.¡± It now seemed as if the Kashar had no inherent aversion to witchcraft. After all, it did not contradict their traditional ancestral worship, but this conjuncture was not just self-evident either. At least the Ordanians present here had not been aware of it.

    So-called Bertram had already given a lot of thought to what the Supreme Leader of the Hordes had just said about Viktoria. As a result, he immediately proceeded to address the girl directly. ¡°We''ve had a few conversations recently. I know that there is deep pain inside you, Viktoria. In all of us who have left our old lives behind and taken up arms, there is such a pain. We share your burden. For us, there is only one way to get rid of the sorrow is to tackle the root of the problem. In our specific case here, the root of this evil is the regime in Meglarsbruck. If we join forces with the Kashars here and march on the Imperial City together, we would probably still have a very poor chance of success. YOU, however, can make the decisive difference here! Help us! Destroy the city, then we can stand victorious!¡±

    Viktoria looked sceptical, but did not utter a single word. So, the man urged her on, ¡°Wouldn''t it be the ultimate revenge on the one who is the source of your misfortune to cause destruction and chaos when, as is widely known, he loves order and reconstruction so much? You''d really get one over on him.¡± Sitting quietly, the teenager brooded over the matter. When Lucius was about to turn away, she finally gave an answer: ¡°All right. I''ll help you. But not for your sake. This has nothing to do with you or your beliefs.¡± When he heard this, Bertram almost wanted to burst out into malicious laughter, but just barely managed to control himself. ¡°That''s it! I have won! Hahaha!¡±, it went through his head. It really was ridiculously easy persuading a child to do something.

    He then addressed Lajosch as follows, ¡°Look, our goal is attainable. Let''s combine our strength and strike a blow against Meglarsbruck!¡± The man addressed only returned a stern look for the time being. He clenched his large, strong hands into fists as he stared into one of the corners of the room. Now and again, even if only fleetingly, his gaze wandered over to the sorceress. He didn''t say anything. What was going on here? Had Lucius expressed something wrong? But what was it then?

    ¡°I would rather we free our city of Nargyosh first. Our deepest desire, as Kashars, is to throw off the Ordanian yoke and make our homeland independent again. Therefore, our own capital comes first.¡± Somewhat confused, Mr. Cornel now made an effort to change the Supreme Leader''s mind. ¡°Remember that such an initiative can hardly last long. The empire would very quickly gather a large force for reconquest. This would only use up resources to no avail. It would be better for us to cut off the head of the snake!¡±

    Pacing around the room in his traditional fur boots, Lajosch only gave him the same refusal once more. The man tried again and again to get through to him, but it was no use. The once so young, boisterous upstart, who back then had replaced the Tibors, had grown wiser over the years. He remembered only too well the disastrous defeat they had suffered in their invasion of Ordania during the revolution. He was no fool. Before he would do something so foolhardy, these monotheists had to give him something in return. Nargyosh appeared to be a good pawn for him. Thus, he stubbornly stuck to his position. At the end of today''s negotiations, he politely bid farewell to the three invitees and had them escorted to their rooms. The last word had not yet been spoken, even if he wished this were the case.

    That night, Viktoria dreamed of nothing at all, because she couldn''t catch a wink of sleep. This was hardly any different to how she had been for the last few weeks. Nevertheless, there was a huge sense of unease festering within her. ¡°Do I really want to stand by these pagans? The subversives at least believe in God, but the others are really dubious. Their barbaric world view just repulses me!¡±

    As the sun illuminated the mountain peaks in a bright glint, Lajosch pushed aside the curtains of his room on the second floor to enjoy the ever so intoxicatingly beautiful view of the surrounding scenery. A crowd of foreigners were camped out on the pastureland below. These were, of course, the Ordanian dissidents. At the sight of them, the long-time resistance fighter now realized how much weaker the troops of these would-be revolutionaries actually were compared to his men. Barely three thousand men they had been able to drag here! Consequently, he concluded that it had been the right decision to insist on prioritizing the conquest of Nargyosh over these people¡¯s objectives. It may be that these were not all of their forces, but he still felt vindicated in his position.

    At around the same time, Lucius also peeked out of his window. What caught his eye, however, was something quite different from what the Supreme Leader of the Hordes had seen. In the early morning bustle of the young warriors, a person could be seen approaching down the steep trail from the mountain. The moment he recognized her, his jaw dropped to the floor. It was Petra Vogt, accompanied by a few stragglers of the Free Lancers! Like a whirlwind, he rushed out his door, down to the ground floor and out into the open in clothing that was clearly too light. As if impelled, he rushed towards the woman he had already written off.

    On her descent, the lady spotted her ¡°ally¡± rushing towards her from afar. She stopped and waited for him to come to her. Out of breath, the guy came to a halt in front of her. Nevertheless, he immediately addressed her, panting: ¡°You ....and your companions.... will henceforth only call me Bertram. That''s my name, do you understand?¡± - ¡°Well, good day to you too!¡±, she cynically replied. ¡°What''s the rush?¡± Of course, the man had to explain to her straight away why he was so hurriedly going like a bull at a gate. ¡°Something has come up that you don''t know about. The girl, I mean the witch, who is the princess, is with us. And I was able to ensnare her. But she thinks I''m Achaz''s uncle who goes by the name of Bertram. So, call me that name from now on, or we all could really be in big trouble.¡±

    Petra''s arrival carried the great risk of exposing him and his web of lies to Viktoria. That''s why he had to eliminate this danger as quickly as possible. He elaborated, ¡°She hadn''t seen me in person yet, which is why she doesn''t know that I''m Lucius. It would only confuse her, if she now found out that I was pretending to be someone else.¡± - ¡°I understand,¡± the lady replied offhandedly. ¡°I''ll try not to reveal your deceptions.¡± This immediately caused the man to relax markedly. Then he said to her, ¡°We''ll discuss the rest later. I''d better get back inside.¡± The morning air was clearly too brisk for his thin sleeping garments.

    While the short man, Mrs. Vogt and her handful of companions strolled down to the farm together, she had a little chat with one of the fighters. It was the one who had helped her escape from Alexander in the Duhnmarshes. For quite a while she had already noticed that someone was stalking her back then, but she had no idea what to do as he had always stayed out of reach and especially out of her sight. However, when she happened to run into one of their rebels, she had the idea to follow an already existing trail on the ground until the road branched off into different directions, whereupon she rode along on the back of the Free Lancer¡¯s horse. The young Kuhn had then simply continued to follow the other trail, as he did not anticipate that Petra''s trail could suddenly turn into hoofprints. It was a trick of passable cleverness. In any case, it had succeeded in shaking off the pursuer.

    She had already known the agreed meeting place with the Kashars. Since there were only two of them at that time, they were able to catch up with Lucius'' convoy. Or, well, they had almost caught up with them. Only a day after them did they arrive. But now Petra would really have to walk on eggshells. She couldn''t blow Lucius'' cover in front of Viktoria, but of course, she would also try her own manipulation on the girl. This traitor would get his just deserts, she would see to that. Perhaps she could even use the she-devil for this. All this continued to fester in her mind as they were entering the farmstead. This entire thing had become a huge poker game, and she had to play her cards RIGHT, then she would be able to win.

    ¡°Should I seriously go along with this? Am I actually prepared to do something so contradictory? None of these people, neither the Alethics nor the Kashars, think anything of wizards like me. I''m not afraid of them, no, that certainly not. And the act of rebellion against my homeland, does that bother me? No, that''s not the case either. I don''t give a damn about all those rich bimbos, snobs and highborns there. They can burn in the fires of hell for all I care! So, why am I so hesitant? What''s holding me back?¡±

    Lying on an uncomfortable straw mattress, Viktoria was staring at the ceiling and pondering the doubts that now plagued her. Very quickly, however, the images of her murdered parents reappeared in her mind. Deeply affected, she began to cry, as if out of nowhere. How many times had this happened to her now? She had never even begun to count. Though, it was clear that she shed tears for them every day. And mixed in with this deep melancholy was the loss of Achaz and the loss of her relationship with her adoptive parents. Her life was in shambles!

    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    As this was going through her mind, she remembered Wenzel again. It made anger well up inside her. ¡°All of this is his fault! He didn''t want to see me with Achaz, and so he did the unthinkable. If that hadn''t happened, the events with my parents wouldn''t have taken place either!¡± Of course, she overlooked the fact, that the consequences of her actions during her night-time sleepwalking could not possibly be Wenzel''s fault, and that blaming him for this was going a little too far. But she didn''t care. In her eyes, the origin and root of all her sadness was solely and exclusively Wenzel!

    ¡°No, I will inflict the greatest possible pain on him by destroying the stability and prosperity of Ordania! Therefore, helping these rebels is the right way to go about it,¡± was the conclusion she now drew from this. Blind emotionality caused by trauma. The girl was a most dangerous time bomb. And in an instant, this was demonstrated once again. As a manifestation of her irate temper, her mattress spontaneously caught on fire!

    In an instant, she jumped up, let the thing float into the air, opened her window with telekinesis and threw her sleeping pad out there. She didn''t see it fall onto the grass below, but she could hear the thud of it hitting the ground. The smoke quickly called the residents of the house to the scene, who rushed in at her door in concern. ¡°It''s all right. I''ve already solved the problem,¡± she simply informed them, without going into any detail. What followed, however, was very outlandish for the interlopers in her room. The magician spontaneously and without any apparent cause burst into laughter. This episode did not last long, and she swiftly regained her poise. Nevertheless, it was a strange incident for the involuntary witnesses of this.

    The situation soon calmed down again. Although the mattress below burned down, it quickly went out again. The flames did not spread to the surrounding meadow, as a few menials quickly rushed over with buckets of water and suppressed the source of the flames. Thankfully, apart from the brief shock the inhabitants had received, not much had happened. Yet, Viktoria didn''t offer them any apologies. She was far too angry with herself, as she hadn''t been able to keep her power in check. This affair, just like everything else that had happened recently, was eating away at her, quite literally driving her crazy.

    Later, she crossed paths with Bertram. Somewhere in one of the narrow corridors of this large house, she met the man she had been looking for. Right off the bat, the girl approached him. ¡°Hey, I''ve been thinking about this whole thing with the Hordes some more. I think we should help them reach their goal first. Then we could do what you wanted, and they would have no excuse not to support us. As the saying goes, you scratch my back, and I''ll scratch yours.¡± The person she was talking to stood there dumbfounded for a moment, not knowing what to say. The girl had obviously thought it over carefully beforehand.

    Eventually, however, he replied, ¡°You actually want to stand by them? I don''t think we can really trust these,¡± he demurred for a moment, but then continued in a quieter tone, ¡±barbarians. They probably just want to take advantage of us, and you in particular!¡± In a serious voice, the girl gave him her rebuttal, ¡°They won''t risk betraying me. Anyone who makes me angry will rue it bitterly! Please, tell that to their leader, too.¡± At that, even Lucius almost got intimidated. This was a wily approach the witch had taken here. It was not so dissimilar to his own. But being feared also entailed being unpredictable. And to the supposed Bertram, she was predictable. At least that''s what he thought.

    After this brief conversation, the man left the building and went for a short walk. He now had to think about everything that had happened in the past 24 hours alone. Earlier, he had had another conversation with Petra. There had been a couple of things he wanted to know from her. Her explanations, especially those concerning the fact that the Demon Emperor had simply set her free, surprised him greatly. ¡°I don''t believe her one bit! There''s something she is refraining from divulging to me, and I don''t know what it is,¡± he mused as he walked along a rutted path leading away from the farmstead.

    There was considerably more going on in his vicinity than one would ever imagine in such a place. Countless Kashar warriors, Lajosch''s loyal men, who were working as helpers for the mountain farmers for the duration of their stay here, were running around everywhere doing all kinds of work. Looking a little further up into the valley, one could spot the camp site that the Free Lancers had set up for themselves, or, well, those who had not made a run for it. A large number of those who had gotten away in the recent strike by the Melgarist forces in Camenia had in fact turned tail and had not made their way to their designated destination, which was this location right here. Probably without knowing it, the devil Wenzel had put a severe damper on the resistance.

    As he was leaning against the pasture fence, the second-in-command of their organization came up to him from behind. His name was Randolf, and he was the one who had been present at their meeting with the Supreme Leader of the Kashar Hordes. ¡°What are you doing out here?¡±, he wanted to know from him. The answer followed without delay, ¡°Devising our strategy, drawing up plans by myself.¡± Right away, the guy was all ears. ¡°It looks like we''ll have no choice but to help the Hordes accomplish their objectives before we can start the counterrevolution in our homeland. Perhaps Etzel had even foreseen such an outcome. That could also be the reason why he didn''t invite the remnants of the Alethic Commune to this, and indeed why he didn''t even contact them. Well, that and probably their current internal fragmentation in general.¡±

    The commander just nodded and continued listening to him. ¡°What he naturally could not have foreseen was the ¡®Unholy Army¡¯ finding us, and the she-devil coming to us and making herself our willing tool. A stroke of misfortune and a stroke of luck in close succession. No matter, we now must make do with what we have.¡± Then he finally turned directly to his listener, ¡°Go to Lajosch and tell him that we consent to following his plan. Unless, of course, you think we could go about this differently?¡± - ¡°No, it''s like you said. We hardly have any good options here.¡± Consequently, the fighter strode off and made his way to the Supreme Leader.

    Nighttime was falling. The living area of the building was filled with the smell of sausages and other fumes, and it felt like there was far too big a crowd of people crammed together, spending the night here. Viktoria, who had spent most of the day in her bedchamber, now followed Lucius, who led her to a private room where they could be alone. Most likely, this was about the issue of how their group would now proceed. When she arrived in a small room, however, she spotted a black-haired lady who had already been waiting for them there.

    ¡°Viktoria, may I introduce you to Petra,¡± he said, getting the two of them acquainted. Mrs. Vogt immediately stood up and held out her hand to greet her, but then stopped short when she noticed the princess''s eyes with their little red veins. Pulling herself together, she introduced herself to the teenager in a friendly manner. However, her first name alone had made it immediately clear to the youngster who the person in front of her was. As a result, she tensed up. Immediately afterwards, she turned to Lucius and asked him, ¡°Does she know about.....you know?¡± - ¡°No. I haven''t told her anything yet. But I do think we should approach the matter cautiously,¡± the man replied. Although he had expected such a question from her, he hadn''t anticipated her asking it outright in front of Mrs. Vogt. That was most definitely a problem!

    Petra understood perfectly well what this was all about, but played dumb by just looking at the two people opposite her quizzically. Bertram made a dismissive hand gesture and said, ¡°Let''s forget about that for now. What''s more important are the things I have to tell you.¡± He took a quick breath and then continued, ¡°I have informed Lajosch that we will first...ahem... ¡®free¡¯ Nargyosh. This should give our alliance a basis of trust, on the basis of which we can then prepare a blow against the heartland of the Empire.

    From what I understand, the Supreme Leader of the Kashar Hordes has already given the order for all available forces on their side to assemble. With the mage here at our side, we cannot lose this battle. The subsequent campaign against Ordania will probably be much more difficult. But I have high hopes in this regard.¡±

    Consequently, the older woman let him know that she was extremely unhappy about having been passed over in this decision. The deceitful Bertram only apologized to her rather lapidarily, which offended the one who had lodged the complaint. She just tried not to show it. After that, the two women took over the conversation, barely letting Bertram get a word in edgeways.

    ¡°I''ve heard of you once or twice. My son knows you. At the moment he isn''t here; he''s probably still in Ordania with Fabio, my partner.¡± She deliberately tried to come across as clueless as possible. After all, she did have to deceive the witch AND Lucius, neither of whom were allowed to catch wind that she was aware of Achaz''s passing. It seemed to work, because Viktoria only spoke to her in a fairly reserved manner, quietly and about more pleasant topics. She kept looking at the mother''s face, only to avert her gaze again instantly, whenever their eyes met.

    Very soon, however, it all seemed to become too much for the teenager. Less than an hour later, she got up from the table where they had been sitting, said her goodbyes and turned in for the evening. Petra and Lucius also called it a night. The lady had been only moderately successful in her attempts to get closer to the princess. She would still need a while to build up trust with her. And Lucius? In her eyes, he was an imbecile! He hadn''t even been able to put one and one together, that Wenzel had informed her about what had actually happened in the palace on that fateful day! It should have been in his own interest to keep her as far away from the sorceress as possible. But he was too naive even for that. This gave her confidence that she would be able to give him the runaround. Her revenge would come when he least expected it!

    Gingerly and on tip-toes, a person toddled through the hallways. It was already pitch black and you almost had to use your sense of touch to find your way around. Apart from the occasional squeaking of the floorboards when they were stepped on, or the occasional loud snoring coming from one of the nearby chambers, it was completely silent. The figure hurriedly crept on until they arrived at the door of a certain room. They pushed the door handle down very carefully so as to not make any noise, then slowly entered and closed it just as carefully behind themself again. The moonlight fell through the window onto the clandestine burglar. It was Viktoria. Lying in the bed in front of her, wrapped in a thick blanket, was Mrs. Vogt. Leerily, she looked down on her.

    ¡°Here I can get to the bottom of things undisturbed now. In front of Bertram, I wouldn''t have been able to look into her thoughts and memories without causing massive friction with him. I really don''t want that to happen.¡± The young lady soon had gotten a queasy feeling during her interactions with Petra. It wasn''t just the fate of that person''s son, which weighed heavily on the redhead, that was to blame for this. No, all the signals that Mrs. Vogt''s mannerisms, her facial expressions and gestures, had sent her had been suspicious. She sensed that this woman was hiding something from her. And she did not believe that it was simply the fact that Achaz''s mother had deliberately pressured her son into entering into a relationship with Viktoria in order to take advantage of her. Although Petra had concealed this from her too, the mage was convinced that there had to be more to it.

    She would uncover the mystery here and now with complete peace of mind. Even though she could get into her head at any time, because unlike her father, she was able to read the minds of others without them allowing her to do so, it would have caused her too much trouble in the presence of others and would have had consequences. This nocturnal operation was much smoother and less problematic. Besides, in this scenario she would offer no mental resistance to her intrusion, which of course made it much easier for the girl to penetrate her innermost recesses.

    She approached the dormant woman right up to the very edge of her bed. Then she reached down and tried touching her as gently as possible. She succeeded. Petra did not wake up. Next stop: her memories.

    ......

    An oppressive voice rang out from the gaping void: ¡°Lucius, wake up!¡±

    ¡°Huh? What?¡± He recognized the voice. Why was she disturbing him at such an hour? It wasn''t even light outside yet.

    ¡°Time for you to wake up, Lucius.¡± - ¡°Can''t this wait? It''s......¡± He abruptly stopped himself from uttering any further words. It had occurred to him, with which name he had been addressed. Gripped by pure horror, he jumped up, only to unexpectedly find himself gazing directly into her face. Two luminous spheres, in which flames wild like purgatory itself were blazing, lit up the room and were staring at him balefully.

    ¡°Where did you.....¡± - ¡°Shut up, you mother******!¡±, it thundered back. ¡°I will neither ask nor beg you for this!¡± Then she read his thoughts as well.

    Ice-cold air was whizzing around his ears. At a dizzying height, the Chosen One flew towards the horizon, which gradually revealed the distant summits of the Kasharian mountain ranges. ¡°This Alexander really is good for nothing!¡±, he fretted. A few weeks after the start of his mission to track Petra, the guy had come crawling back to him wistfully, only to inform him that he had lost her scent. His Majesty had obviously not been pleased with such news, but at the same time he hadn''t really been upset about it. ¡°Whatever might happen, she can''t get away from me,¡± he repeated his own earlier statement as he looked at the cerulean sparkle of the stone. The sceptre, of which it was a part, was lighting him the way to the woman.

    A barren desertscape passed beneath him and he crossed the first mountain. Right then, his wayfinder stirred and pointed him in the direction of one of the valleys in the immediate vicinity. Despite the thicker clothing he was wearing as a precaution, Wenzel was shivering from the freezing temperatures. He sank down and got closer and closer to his destination. Eventually, his sceptre guided him to the large ruins of a farmhouse, that had apparently burned down. Black and charred, it loomed before him, the smell of smoke and ash still in the air. It was obvious that it had only recently gone up in flames.

    Strewn all around were countless, seemingly lifeless corpses. When the emperor noticed this, he let his gaze wander in search of the perpetrator of this carnage. Nothing. Further away, he saw a few marauders dumping the deceased together into a heap, most likely after having stripped them of their still usable belongings. For some reason, they hadn''t picked up on the wizard''s arrival, so that''s probably why they didn''t run away from him right away. Wenzel would certainly question this lot about what had happened here. But first he had to find Petra. The scene which presented itself to him here gave him a bad feeling though.

    The Imperial Sceptre pointed in the direction of the destroyed farmhouse. He approached it step by step and then cleared away any rubble in his way using his telekinesis. In the end, he was piloted to a charred, pitch-black corpse. There were quite a few of them under here. It was essentially just a skeleton, which made it impossible to verify without the shadow of a doubt that it was indeed Petra Vogt. However, his magical artifact said that it was, so His Highness assumed this to be the case. ¡°Was she perhaps killed by the Kashars with whom she found refuge? That would be pretty absurd!¡±, he observed in a smug tone, followed by a laugh. He didn''t care about her undoing. All it meant, was that he no longer had any means of finding Viktoria.

    Next he moved on to what he assumed were the looters. He quickly floated over to the group, who only now realized who he was. They tried to run away, but he immediately restrained one of them. The poor guy was thrown to the ground and when he tried to get up again, the one above him grabbed him by the collar. ¡°Tell me what happened here!¡±, he ordered him. Somewhat hesitantly and obviously confused, the man, who was wearing simple clothes but seemed to have good fur shoes, replied: ¡°The witch did this! She killed them all!¡± Astonished, the mage let go of him for a moment. Viktoria''s involvement in things here caught him off guard. But he quickly regained his composure and asked the next question: ¡°Who? Who did she kill? Petra Vogt?¡± - ¡°All of them! The Supreme Leader, Bertram, Gandolf, the woman who had joined them, and then everyone she could catch from our fighters here,¡± the interrogated man answered head over heels. It seemed that Petra was unknown to him.

    Instead of joining in the poker game with these people, the princess had simply flipped over the whole table with all the cards on it. Thus, Empress Elisabeth''s curse, with which she had maledicted the Cornels all that time ago, had finally come true. ¡°And where is the girl now?¡±, he now was eager to learn. The guy simply responded by pointing his finger out into the distance. He indicated westwards. ¡°That''s the direction she made off in. From what I''ve heard, our leader has also discussed the possibility of attacking Meglarsbruck. Maybe...¡± His sentence remained unfinished. Wenzel let go of him and stomped away. But then he stopped again and thought about it. He was convinced that the man had deduced correctly. He would find her in the capital of the Empire. An ominous sense of foreboding overcame him.

 1. 17 Day of Prophecy

    Wenzel''s body sank down limply onto the highland meadow. He had no idea how to process all of this. What had his adopted child been doing in this place? How had she found herself with Petra? And why had she taken her out? Questions upon questions. ¡°No!¡± His Majesty jerked his head around to pull himself out of his stupor. ¡°I can''t concern myself with trivialities now! Petra is dead. All that matters now is Viktoria,¡± he tried to set his priorities straight.

    ¡°She will try to reduce the Imperial City to rubble. I have a strong feeling that this will be the fulfilment of my once so dreaded prophecy. Yes, I am absolutely certain that it is.¡± The memory of him seemingly having appeared as an old man in the past vision was simply repressed. The Sovereign was in intense soliloquy. He pondered what he could do now. But he didn''t have much leeway, because time was pressing. He had to return to Meglarsbruck as quickly as possible. Yet, he knew that he would not be able to speak with Viktoria in a civilized manner. She would attack him, and he wouldn''t stand a chance. At their last meeting, it had become undeniably evident how great the difference between the amount of magical power they had was. Wenzel was hopelessly outmatched.

    And to be able to talk to her, he would first have to be able to put his daughter in her place. Oh, how heavy these developments weighed on him, how much they pained him! But he had to stand firm. Who, if not him? He still held the sceptre in his hand, which did not light the way to Viktoria, as she was somehow able to circumvent its effect. As he stared briefly at the blue jewel inside it, an idea finally occurred to him. As always, he ran it through his head, but this time he kept it short, as he had no time to waste. ¡°All right, then. Let''s do it like this,¡± he commented while emptying all the Holy Artifacts, including the clunker from the labyrinth in Galadea, out of his backpack in front of him.

    He laid them out one by one in the grass and picked up a larger chunk of stone to break the colourful crystals. Yes, that was indeed what he had decided. He would destroy the Holy Artifacts to absorb the magic that lay dormant in them and hopefully become strong enough to stand up to Viktoria. That was all he was able to do at the moment. The child would not listen to him, unless she was physically curbed. Only the Chosen One was capable of such a thing. There was no one else. Besides, this was still a better utilization of these objects than they would have otherwise had in this context. Most of the artifacts were of fairly limited usefulness anyway - with the exception of the sceptre. It was still a pity to shed them, though.

    After some quick consideration, however, he decided to keep at least the sword. As a swordsman, flying sword strikes could be useful to him after all. So, he lifted the lump of stone over his head and first brought it down on the sceptre with full force. ¡°Crash!¡± It shattered. A dazzling light flashed forth. Wenzel was overcome with a searing hot sensation for a moment, then he dropped down. Immediately afterwards, he awoke again. He knew that hardly any time had passed as the sun was still in the same position in the sky. His head was spinning. He felt strange, so strange that he almost thought his inner consciousness was slipping away and escaping him. Still, the magician wasn¡¯t allowed to wait, but instead had to carry on. He grabbed the rock again and smashed it onto the next artifact.

    Candles lit up the otherwise gloomy cellar rooms. It was really dusty here, but in defence of the staff it must be said that these were normally only used to store outdated or no longer needed furniture or other such goods. No one had expected the officials to be accommodated here. And yet, that is exactly what was happening. Crammed into a small space, the high lords were now all gathered here. The windowless chamber barely let in any sound from outside. No one knew what was going on out there. Well, that''s not entirely true. They had been told that a magician with red hair had suddenly appeared in the city and started tearing down the bridges over the Duhn. When the first houses were set on fire, they decided to seek shelter in the basement of the Imperial Diet building. Here, so they assumed, they would be safe. God willing.

    Nonetheless, the fear was clearly written over the faces of most people here. They had no idea what was going on. The deputies with their garish yellow robes, their noble garb including expensive shoes and hats, they were all cowering here in the cramped underground, unsure of what would happen. A soldier entered, his armour still in pristine condition. ¡°Your Serene Highnesses, I am here to inform you that the Imperial Diet is yet undamaged. But the same can hardly be said of the rest of the city. It almost seems as if the vandal is deliberately sparing some buildings here. But I can''t see any real pattern behind it yet.¡± He paused shortly, but then something else came to his mind. ¡°The perpetrator is clearly Her Highness the Princess. We don''t know why she''s doing this, but for the sake of everyone''s safety, you should stay down here until this is over.¡±

    The nobles naturally agreed with him. But then Eugen von Rauttenstein, the Speaker of the Imperial Council, approached the bearer of the news and had one more question, ¡°His Excellency Elias II, has he been taken out of harm''s way?¡± - ¡°I''m afraid I can''t answer that question with absolute certainty, My Most Serene Highness. When the devastation began, the Patriarch was holding mass in the Cathedral of the Annunciation. The cathedral has already been knocked down by now. Therefore, I dare not speculate on the condition of His Excellency. It would probably be wiser to simply wait and see.¡±

    Eugen agreed with him. Sending out a search party for the head of the church under these circumstances was probably futile and irresponsible towards the soldiers who would have to do so. No, as sobering as it was, all they could do at the moment was wait and hold still. Only, it was a pity about Elias II, who was already very old. Although, he was still incredibly energetic and one might have thought that he was considerably less geriatric than he actually was, he had nevertheless been the patriarch of the Teleiotic Commune for nearly fifty years! Whether he had it in him to survive such a catastrophe was in doubt.

    After finishing the provision of information, the soldier saluted and left. With a brisk stride, he then climbed back up the winding staircase to his right, which he had also come down before. He crossed the numerous corridors at a running pace and finally left the large building complex through one of the side exits. The first thing he looked at was the sky. Like Judgment Day, it presented a nightmarish picture. The thick clouds that covered the whole firmament were so pitch black, that probably no one alive had ever seen anything like it. Lightning was flashing down from them ceaselessly and with unimaginable frequency. Everywhere the eye could see there was lightning, and the rumble of thunder had become an omnipresent background noise. And yet, there was no rain. Not a single drop of water came down.

    Despite all this, a tiny number of people were still on the streets. Some stopped in awe, threw their hands over their heads and called up to the heavens to their Lord: ¡°Oh, God Almighty! Have mercy on us! Oh, Chosen One, come forth and deliver us from evil!¡± In the howling of the wind, this was followed by a series of ejaculatory prayers, basically those that everyone was taught from childhood. High up on the Imperial Diet still flew the Sunflag. Wildly flung about by wuthering squalls, it was holding on for dear life. Even the commander could not help but succumb to the belief that he was witnessing the apocalypse.

    After all, there was huge destruction in the entirety of the Golden City. The flames had spread to large parts of the city, a conflagration that engulfed everything. At the same time, however, many buildings - he had no idea how many or which ones exactly - had been destroyed by the sorceress. Many of the pillars that lined the Imperial Road had been toppled, specifically to render the streets impassable. In addition to the main cathedral, the guildhalls had also been demolished. Everything to do with the economy, trade and transport, as well as the symbol of the institution that glorified and legitimized the emperor, had fallen victim to the attack. Those who were more of an obstacle to the ruler, like the Imperial Council, had been deliberately spared. This connection, however, was not clear to the commander, and the seemingly illogical selection of destroyed building objects remained a mystery to him.

    Swift as a hawk, he was soaring through the air. From a distance, he could already see the blight that had befallen the metropolis. He had to hurry. The Chosen One passed the city wall entering the inferno. Or rather, he witnessed what the inferno had already done. To the left and right, in front and behind, everywhere smaller and larger seats of fire could be seen. Most of the buildings that had caught fire had already burned down. The mage would not put them out. First, he had to find the source of this disaster. Unbeknownst to him, all the while hectic fire-fighting operations were underway in the north-eastern part of Meglarsbruck, carried out by the troops under Ferenc''s command.

    He walked between the ruined buildings and over piles of rubble, startling many of the crows, that had gathered here. There were many bodies scattered about, but he looked past them. The man accidentally stepped into a puddle and then looked into it. His reflection only showed a single remaining strand of red hair. The sword still was in its sheath at his hip. It was the last of the Artifacts. He walked on and finally reached the tumbled-down pillars on the main street. The Chosen One looked over at the distant backdrop of the collapsed Cathedral of the Annunciation. At the sight of it, a sigh escaped him. Then it happened. The voice rang out in his head:

    ¡°So, you''re here, old man. Do you like my work?¡±

    Although he had foreseen this scene in his vision, although he knew that this was what would happen here, he simply allowed things to take their course. He had accepted fate. Only now did he fly on. He landed on the square in front of the church in the centre of the city. Here stood a huge statue of Melgar the Great. It had been placed on the spot where an identical one had once stood, before the Alethic usurpers had replaced it with a different monument. The Chosen One was briefly taken in by the appearance of the sculpture and tarried for a moment in order to behold it. The facial features, smooth yet expressing a degree of rigour, had been sculpted by true master stonemasons, even if the nose was smaller than the original, as it always was with these depictions. Actually, he had something VERY important to attend to, but for almost a minute he was utterly enraptured. Finally, the girl who had noticed his arrival earlier came out of the sacral structure. She stopped just after emerging from the huge entrance portal. The aura she was exuding was both overwhelming and daunting.

    Viktoria had put on a broad grin. It looked disconcerting and dazed. When she saw Wenzel coming up the stairs, she immediately noticed his hair, which was shining in almost complete white. "Have you fallen into a pot of paint, sir?", she asked in a contemptuous tone. Addressing him politely as "sir" was part of the intended mockery. When Wenzel reached the top of the stairs about twelve cubits away from her, he looked her straight in the eye. The girl was startled and immediately retreated quite a distance. Two large stars were shining out of his eyes, one for each eyeball. There was no pupil to be found, just one large star that took up the entire field of vision.

    Only now did she realise that something was amiss. The aura emanating from the man standing opposite her created a completely different pressure, was of a completely different nature than the one she knew from her adoptive father. It was much stronger. "What is going on here?", Viktoria tried to ask in an as confident as possible manner, but the intonation and pitch of which slipped, unintentionally revealing her uncertainty. The man didn''t answer, and just stared at her with his big stars. It was impossible to tell what he was feeling, or if he could even see her. The absence of his pupils had added an air of aloofness to him. They both just stood there, staring down each other. Viktoria would not avert her gaze, signalling fear, because that would make her the one to have given in first, so to speak.

    Finally, it got too long for the impatient lady, and she began to speak, "Do you have nothing to say to me? Are you just going to stare at me, old man? Look what I''ve done! I have destroyed your beloved city, ruined your beautiful prosperity! Does this not bother you at all? " There was no reply. At this the girl only got angrier and she shouted wildly at him, "That''s what you get! It''s your fault that.... " She hesitated briefly when it occurred to her in her confusion, that Wenzel hadn''t actually killed Achaz. But then she continued, "Yes, you''re also to blame for what happened to Achaz. If it hadn''t been for you, if you hadn''t interfered, none of this would have happened!" Still silence from Wenzel. Viktoria became uncertain, but now this uncertainty made her think for the first time. She focussed her magic on her counterpart and looked into his thoughts.

    Once she had done so, she stared at him blankly. The penny had finally dropped. "You are......Melgar!" The wizard was still looking at her with a serious expression and without any emotion, almost as if he was trying to imitate Theodor. Finally, however, he opened his mouth. A different voice came out of it. An ancient baritone, that seemed unnatural for Wenzel''s body, emerged from within him. "¡¯Tis not thy fault." Viktoria''s eyes darted back and forth in confusion, her breathing shallow. "Wha...." The mage interrupted her, "And ¡®tis not Wenzel''s fault either. He could not have known how to deal with thee. Nor could he have known that being born a magician cometh with a strong tendency towards madness. This knowledge was lost even to the Inquisition. Regrettably so." - "It really is him!", was all Viktoria could manage to utter. Her face was bright red, her pupils dilated.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    "Just lookest at thee, child. What a tragedy! We should never have let it come to this. That was exactly why I had created the Inquisition. There can only be one." He paused briefly and then added, "I am that one!" Viktoria gritted her teeth angrily, but Melgar continued, "Your father, Wenzel, really loveth thee. He hath tried everything to help thee. Unfortunately, there is only one right thing to do here," quoth he. Melgar knew that demons had to be destroyed. But his words had now been what finally tipped Viktoria over the edge! The corona of her magic began to flare up like a solstice fire.

    From one moment to the next, she yanked her right arm forward, unleashing an explosive shockwave against him! Melgar was startled but managed to activate his telekinesis in the nick of time to avoid being hit directly by her attack. Nevertheless, the oncoming blast pushed him back and the man was hurtled backwards by more than twenty cubits. Hovering a good distance above the ground, he then came to a halt. A gust of wind made his red cape flutter around, as if to show off the emperor¡¯s coat of arms depicted on it. The imploring hands with the soul stone emblazoned above them could be seen on it. The stone, it was more than just a symbol, that now linked Wenzel and Melgar in multiple ways.

    The large paving stones at Victoria''s feet had now been shattered by her. ¡°Thou art leaving me no other choice anyway, child!¡±, the Chosen One called over to her. Furious, the young lady let out a scream. She pushed herself off the ground and flew towards her challenger to pounce on him. The fight had begun, the fight between two wizards! And what a pointless duel it was! No matter who triumphed, no one would win in the end. But the course of events could no longer be stopped, and Melgar knew this. As the out-of-control beast shot towards him like a lion on the prowl, the emperor went on the offensive. His palms produced flames, which he fired out ahead of him. The girl with the crimson hair was caught completely by surprise by these two huge fireballs. She was forced to fend them off with her telekinesis, which, however, caused her to lose all her momentum, bringing her to a standstill.

    Meanwhile, the Chosen One put more distance between himself and her, a mistake as it turned out. Because now she lifted a gargantuan chunk of rubble from the collapsed cathedral. On it were many of the still unrestored statues of saints, all of them descendants of Melgar the Great. Said person could not help but make a signum at the sight of it. All the grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren he had never met, of whom he knew nothing, their memory would once again be desecrated here. For him, there was no meaning, no ¡°sanctity¡± in the stone from which this memorial was carved, but it was still wrong to treat things that carried meaning for others so condescendingly.

    The girl used all her strength. Her face turned bright red as she aligned the rock and, hovering in front of her, began rotating it. The rotation picked up speed more and more, while her opponent simply watched from a distance, gathering his strength and waiting for her next move. It came quite quickly. When the block had built up a vast amount of kinetic energy from the violent spinning, Viktoria finally catapulted it at her opponent with all the force she could muster. Melgar calmly accepted the colossus. He drew his sword and enhanced its flying slash with as much mana as he could manage. A high-pitched whistle resounded from the sword strike, followed by a loud bang. Right before it would have come into contact with the mage, the solid sandstone suddenly parted from him. To his right and left it roared past, split down right the middle by the blow! The two halves crashed into the adjacent buildings behind him, kicking up huge clouds of dust.

    This left the little sorceress absolutely speechless and for a moment she just stood there with her mouth open. However, her astonishment immediately turned back into frenzied fury when her opponent unleashed a couple of sword swipes at her. She hauled up the next piece of debris - this time it wasn''t as big - and launched it at him. He dodged to the side, but immediately had to evade the next projectile that came from her, too. Then he used his magic to hold onto it, ducked under the next round that came his way and finally returned fire. It was a wild spectacle. Huge rocks were constantly crashing into all the surrounding buildings, causing enormous damage. But one thing soon became clear: the brat was firing at a far higher rate than Melgar was.

    ¡°I have to conserve my strength. Maybe if I go about this in the right way, I can force her to overexert herself,¡± he strategized in his mind. Then again, this could just have been his justification to himself, since the teenager was STILL able to muster more than he could. Whatever the truth of the matter, the battle continued to rage on. A piece of debris came with spin from the left - the Chosen One dodged upwards. Another came from the right and he deflected its trajectory slightly to the side. But then the next one reached him, and this one would hit him with pinpoint accuracy! He faced it with both palms directed forwards. ¡°RAahh!¡±, he let out a roar. A loud crash resounded across the square, as the stone block shattered into several smaller pieces.

    Melgar gasped, sweat dripping from his face. This time he hadn''t even had the chance to go for a counterattack. He could feel himself getting more and more tired. This fight was extremely draining. When he looked over at Viktoria, he could see that she was also panting, yet she was showing no signs of slowing down or giving in in any other way. The man''s body was now past its prime, but above all, he was no longer used to such crazy exertion, given that Wenzel mostly did desk work. But it was also obvious that the devil''s child''s anger was not calming down. She was still livid and continued firing stones at him.

    Boom, boom, boom! Three times he smashed the remains of the buildings here, that were sailing towards him. Then, all of a sudden, he made a sideways lunge. The sorceress immediately gave chase. Melgar created a strong gust of wind that whipped up the dirt and dust particles all around, generating a wall of disorienting grey. Of course, Viktoria simply passed through it unhindered, but then found herself directly in front of the crumbling ruins of the great guilds. Broken roof tiles, collapsed gables and turrets, shattered windows and all kinds of damaged furnishings presented themselves in front of her like a hidden picture puzzle. But no sign of Melgar! She tried to sense him, yet she couldn''t detect anything. His aura had completely disappeared. What¡¯s more, she couldn¡¯t hear him either, which meant that he had probably hidden somewhere around here. Slowly, she let herself float down into the skeleton of the former guild headquarters and set herself down on the floor littered with rubble.

    ¡°Is this the great messiah everyone''s been talking so much about! Come and show yourself, coward! Fight with me! Hit me!¡±, she screamed with seething anger. No answer. It really was a pain for her. Unlike her, the old man was able to control his emotions, and thus could completely prevent his magical energy from escaping. If she couldn''t perceive him with her five ¡°conventional¡± senses, it was as if he didn''t even exist for her. But she knew he was here. He had to be!

    She put one foot in front of the other and walked through the ruin. In her mind she knew that she should tread softly, and that was what she tried to do, but her insane tenseness, her rage, her hatred, taking their toll on her, made this impossible. The countless fragments and stones crunched under her soles as she crossed the mountains of rubble here in a decidedly precipitous manner, giving away her presence as a consequence. A thin veil of fine dust hung in the air; everywhere was total devastation. Apart from the distant sounds of continuously rolling thunder and of roaring fires, nothing could be heard in here. Melgar was dead silent. But then, around a corner, she surprisingly spied something moving. The witch created a flame from her hand and fired directly at what she had seen. When she rounded the corner to enter a dilapidated room, it turned out to be just a torn curtain that had been blown about by the wind.

    Viktoria only grew more impatient and continued her search. Meanwhile, the Chosen One was waiting with sealed lips behind a cracked wall close to her. Sword drawn, hand firmly on the hilt, he stood there under maximum tension. He would wait for just the right moment to strike. Power alone was not the ¡°silver bullet¡± to victory, it never had been. No, cunning, adaptability and creativity were at least as important, if not more so. He heard the girl''s footsteps approaching. His concentration was now at its highest level. He could not afford to make a mistake. This was his big chance to win here. He didn''t have forever. The man was standing next to a door frame, on the exact other side of which the other magician was now approaching. Only a thin wall was separating the two of them.

    The tension was palpable. Then a blade hissed through the placid ether filled with tiny dust particles. The young maiden was struck! But immediately a deafening banging sound followed, and the sword tumbled away. Torn from Melgar''s hand, it could be heard a little way off as it clattered onto the ground. But the emperor was also knocked back a little. Viktoria had been able to react at the very last second and had let his blow bounce off with a shock wave. Well, more or less. Her hand had received a cut, which was now bleeding, but it wasn''t a particularly severe wound.

    ¡°So, there you are!¡±, she screeched, immediately attacking him again. The wrong-footed guy flew off and back out under the open sky. His ambush had failed. The battle resumed. Under the canopy of menacingly dark clouds, the two ¡°blessed by God¡± flew over the city and fought each other to the last, while lightning was constantly crashing down around them. It was an uncanny spectacle. But no matter how many fireballs or blast waves they unleashed on each other, no matter how much additional damage they caused to the settlement, neither of them managed to land a decisive hit on the other. Melgar was completely worn out. He quickly tried to fly away again, but his adopted daughter was hot on his heels. Again and again, he dodged her attacks, but suddenly he noticed how they had stopped.

    He halted and turned around. There he saw Viktoria standing on one of the countless steeples. She seemed to be concentrating, and he could feel magical power building up in and around her. He quickly grasped what was going on. The little girl was raising her hand with a very specific position of her fingers and was now pointing it forward towards him. The lightning flashed; its thunder rumbled. It only just missed its target. The Chosen One had dodged to the side, but he would have been too late in doing so. If the youth''s lightning strike had been more precise, he would have been finished! He couldn''t take that lying down. Hovering above the wrecked cityscape, he did the same and gathered his mana for a counterstrike in the form of a lightning bolt. It took the girl a while to realize what he was doing here. She obviously was slow on the uptake.

    When it finally had percolated to her, she dashed forward to attack him first. Melgar remained cool-headed. He focused intensely on his big strike. Again, it was important to choose the right moment. The mage was almost upon him when he finally unleashed it. ¡°BOOM!¡± The lightning roared indescribably loud in the ears of both of them, its light shining so brightly that all sight vanished. ....

    She was still there; he had missed Immediately afterwards, however, something struck him like a punch in the face. He was catapulted backwards and before he knew it, he found himself on the roof of some random edifice. There was a gap in his mind as to what had happened in the last few seconds. Melgar looked down at himself and realized that his upper body was bleeding, and not too little! Evidently, he had crashed into the chimney here, which clearly also bore the marks of an impact. This time he seemed to have received a deeper wound. The girl had probably hit him with her telekinesis directly after his attack. But then he saw Viktoria moving towards him again. Only now did he realize how painful his wound was. The man immediately pulled himself together and dashed off. He had to flee. Melgar the Great was too gravely injured and saw no other way to win this fight! Of course, the sorceress chased after him again on the spot, but he dipped down closer to the ground and maneuvered between and through all kinds of destroyed, intact and partially burning houses. Smoke was billowing, visibility was poor and from one moment to the next he was gone. Again, the girl had lost him; again, he had been able to hide from her.

    Wenzel was now sitting in a charcoal-black, burnt-out room, by the window of which he had flown in. He hastily wiped away the soot and dirt to reveal the white tiled floor beneath. Then, without further ado, he simply used his own blood to write and began to draw the outer circle. By now he knew the magic circle inside out. While Viktoria''s search for him caused entire houses to collapse, she moved further and further away from the place where the person she was looking for actually was. When he had finished his drawing, he took out the vial of bone marrow and black sand. His Majesty was incredibly nervous. He knew that the moment he performed the healing ritual, his daughter would sense the magic from it and be able to locate him. He had no choice; the wound had to be healed. But then what? The battle would continue anew, despite him already being at the end of his tether. He could no longer prevail, and he knew it! The Chosen of God was too weak to get rid of the demons he had summoned himself, so to speak.

    But it didn''t help. So, he took the materials in his hand and recited the magic formula: ¡°Osto me osto, haima me haima. (...)¡±The arcane blue lit up the room and his wound healed up completely. Viktoria detected this immediately and desisted from the building she was currently ¡°working on¡±. ¡°Got you!¡±, she obsessively sputtered and made her way towards her enemy. Wenzel didn''t know what to do now. He simply remained where he was. Even if he wanted to, he couldn''t stop the girl. Was this really the end for him? He didn''t want that. It couldn''t be! In desperation, he dropped to his knees and did something he hadn''t done for many years. He prayed to God.

    ¡°Oh, Lord, protect me! Save me! Yours is not the present one, but the Kingdom Come.¡± Meanwhile, Viktoria was getting closer and closer. At a certain point, she suddenly began to perceive the aura of the Chosen One. It appeared to have given up on stealth. Consequently, she accelerated her flight towards him even more. He was on the lower floor of a residential building. ¡°I''ll get you!¡±, she thought to herself. But then something very peculiar happened. The texture, the quality of the magic that the man was radiating had somehow changed. All of a sudden, it spiked. Without a warning, Wenzel began to tremble. It overcame him and then .....................nothing!

    Now the witch entered the room he was in. ¡°Huh?!¡±, she voiced in utter confusion. Where was he? A magic circle drawn in blood, which had already been smudged, could be seen on the floor. But no sign of Melgar. No aura, no sound, no nothing, even though she had felt his presence just a moment ago. It was as if he had been vanished from the face of the earth! What was going on here? Fretting and fuming, she tore down the walls and proceeded to flatten the entire building for good. However, this did not reveal any sorcerer who might still have been hiding somewhere inside. The man would not reappear in front of her again.

 1. 18 Failure

    There was a cool, damp fug in the air. Sitting on a plain wooden chair, Her Highness, for a while, stared thoughtlessly at a long row of oaken wine barrels, which were stored down here. ¡°Drip, drop,¡± resounded a continuous, soft echo. From some inscrutable crack or cleft, water was seeping down into the old foundation. The jingling of the little bell on Wanja''s collar, which had been a bit crushed and, therefore, no longer rang properly, woke her from her short-lived daydream. The little yapper jumped at her, tail wagging, whereupon the lady picked her up and sat her on her lap to stroke her. Then she looked over at Ylva and the abbot, who had given them temporary accommodation here.

    The place they found themselves in was the deep cellar of a former underground church, far outside of Greifenburg. Why were they here? Well, a messenger bird had arrived from the capital, reporting about dramatic events in the metropolis. And even this wording was probably still very euphemistic. Though, what really had shocked Amalie were the news that her daughter was the perpetrator. It was hard to fathom! That¡¯s why she and the most important representatives of the court had been evacuated out of the big city and to various secret locations for security reasons.

    ¡°Why is Viktoria doing this? Just why?¡±, she asked herself. The emperor''s consort tried to distract herself a little from the terrible reality that had befallen her by cuddling her dog. It hardly helped. Ylva, who was also afflicted by all this, held a gentle conversation with her mistress in a soft tone of voice. She spoke kindly to her and gave her hope that things would get better. This helped Her Majesty at least somewhat more, even if it was only to a limited extent.

    Out of nowhere, however, the abbot was suddenly beset by a strange feeling of unease, immediately followed by the two ladies. They all felt something odd, that was difficult to put into words. Then the atmosphere in the old wine cellar seemed to change somehow. It was as if someone was taking a deep breath, which seemed to suck the air out of their surroundings. The people present looked around in bewilderment but could not see anyone or anything. The imaginary undertow then became even stronger, only to cease almost instantaneously. From one moment to the next, everything was back to normal. Or was it really? ¡°Huh! Look!¡±, resounded Ylva''s exclamation. The other two turned around to discover a person who had dropped to the ground right next to the barrels and who had obviously lost consciousness. They had appeared out of the blue without making any sound. Their cloak revealed who it was at once: Wenzel!

    An oppressive silence dominated the scene. Still unsettled by the latest developments, the guards stood lined up next to each other with visible tentativeness. ¡°Our task is this: We have to find the patriarch. As we have learned from Deacon Porphyros, his Excellency''s condition is currently unknown to the Commune. Now we march to the Cathedral of the Annunciation and search for Elias II. Understood?¡± - ¡°Yes, commander!¡±, the soldiers returned in unison. Then the soldiers of the city garrison stomped off. So far, many of them had been acting as firefighters. Now that most of the fires had been extinguished and they were able to pass through the streets (somewhat) freely again, they set out to find the head of the church. They had already learned from the Imperial Diet that almost all of its representatives had gotten away unscathed and that even their assembly building had been spared from the destruction.

    The demon that had haunted the city had now disappeared and calm had returned. Unfortunately, it was a very depressing calm. The air was heavy and there had been a light drizzle earlier. The men under Ferenc''s command now strode into the city centre. Moving past heaps of burnt-out ruins and gigantic devastation, many of them were shocked by the extent of the destruction. They circled or climbed over some piles of rubble, here and there spotting people desperately trying to rescue survivors out of said rubble. The warriors, who had themselves rescued a few people from the ruins during the fire-fighting operation, knew that the chances of finding them were not good. Nevertheless, it was necessary to at least make an attempt. In this case, however, they were not allowed to do anything. As much as the men wanted to help, they had been given a task and to help with salvage operations now would compromise their mission. The extent of the catastrophe here was simply too big for them to help with everything. They marched on.

    Finally, they arrived at the main square. Everything here had been smashed to bits and pieces. But this situation they now found themselves in seemed dire. There was only one thing that was still intact in this place: the statue of His Holiness Melgar the Great. Immediately they began to comb through the collapsed buildings here. ¡°Hello, is anyone there? We''re here to save you!¡±, the young men shouted over and over again. It seemed almost hopeless. After an hour, however, they managed to pull the church''s trumpeter out of a mountain of rubble and debris. He looked battered and his leg, which had been trapped, would probably not recover, but he was alive. After this small encouragement, they carried on without interruption.

    Hours passed. A young private put aside his worn shovel and briefly stepped away to go and drink some water. The man¡¯s hands, covered in dirt, wiped over his damp forehead. With this he only smeared more dirt across his face. Then he leaned against the well from which he had drawn water for a moment and looked around the site of the great face-off. They had all seen how His Majesty the Chosen One had come to put a stop to the calamity. He was fighting the demon that was laying waste to the beating heart of the Holy Empire. While they were trying to contain the fires, the Emperor himself had joined the fight to save Meglarsbruck. It was just as everyone had always told him: His Highness was one of them, one who personally stepped up and lent a hand, one who himself fought and struggled for Ordania.

    After pondering this for a while, the soldier stood up again, quickly brushed off some of the layers of dirt, which his clothes were caked in, and set off to continue his work. And that''s when he felt something. The guy stopped dead in his tracks and glanced over at the collapsed remnants of a guild hall. It was difficult to explain, but something seemed to be drawing him in, almost calling to him. The man hesitated at first, but then allowed his curiosity to get the better of him. He walked across the desolate square, taking step after step towards the thing that attracted him. The closer he got, the more clearly he sensed the presence of something befuddling. He climbed in at one of the destroyed windows of the unstable-looking remains of the building, which were still standing but could collapse at any moment. The private lumbered awkwardly through a room littered with wrecked furniture. Then he saw it.

    Right next to a fallen cupboard and a broken vase, he spotted a very specific implement on the floor. He immediately went over and carefully picked it up. In his hands he now held a sword with a sparkling red gemstone on the pommel. This stone seemed to attract him almost magically. He imagined seeing a glimmer in it, even though there was no such glimmer at all. Fascinating. The object held him spellbound for another minute or two until his superior finally called him. The soldier was startled and then returned to his unit. He handed the object to the commander before picking up his shovel again and continuing the recovery work. The commander was also unaware of what he had been handed, but he knew it was something special. The higher-ups would surely know.

    Not so long afterwards, they managed to uncover the rear section of the holy temple¡¯s right-hand side aisle, the ceiling of which had been caused to collapse by the falling main tower. When loud cries began to resound from several throats, all the other members of the team already had a good idea of what might have happened. The remains of the Patriarch were found under the caved-in ribbed vault, very close to the Prince Alster Altar. As many had suspected, he had not survived these apocalyptic events. Apart from pulling him out from under the rubble and handing him over to the Commune, there was not much they could do. The men all made the Signum and recovered him. No time to pray; that would come later.

    When the church representatives who were still alive learned of his death that same day, they were relatively composed. They seemed to have expected such an outcome. Ferenc had come to them personally to deliver the bad news along with the body. This wasn''t really anything special or worth mentioning, but the fact that the deacon and the priests of the smaller churches here were expressing their displeasure at the inaction of the political authorities of the Empire came as a great surprise to the Supreme Marshal. This was not only a rarity, it was unprecedented. In fact, Ferenc could not recall ever hearing any criticism from them.

    ¡°Esteemed Supreme Marshal, we thank you for your work and your assistance. It may have come too late, but we have at least received some from you. The same can hardly be said of the Most Serene Lords of the Reichstag!¡± - ¡°Oh? Why is that?¡±, the military man was eager to enquire. The answer was as follows: ¡°Unceasingly and with the utmost insistence, we petitioned the representatives of the Imperial Council, indeed quite literally begging them to spare a small part of their guard in order to come to the aid of His Excellency Elias II. All our pleas fell on deaf ears! The high lords seemed to be more concerned about themselves. The clergy, the bearers of the message from heaven, evidently aren''t worth a straw to them!¡±

    The Supreme Marshal didn''t know how to respond to this. He was better off holding back so as not to further inflame the obvious ire of the Commune. ¡°Once again, my heartfelt condolences,¡± he told them and then departed. He still had all sorts of things to take care of. Porphyros then turned to the other priests beside him to state, ¡°A council is to be held soon to appoint a successor to the head of Ordanian Teleiotism.¡± The recipients replied with acquiescent gestures of confirmation. Such a council would have been held in the not-too-distant future anyway, considering the advanced age of the head of the Teleiotic Commune. However, this did not diminish the indignation of the church representatives. They felt disregarded and betrayed.

    ¡°Nothing there. I can''t find any injuries,¡± it came from the bodyguard. Amalie breathed a sigh of relief. She looked down at her husband''s half-undressed body, which Ylva was now redressing in his red-stained robes. At that point, the wife pushed the lady aside to do the job herself. The Zeemarker immediately backed off. She understood how possessive Her Majesty tended to be. When she had finished, she sat back down on her chair next to the pallet on which the emperor had been temporarily bedded. Like the abbot and the other woman present, she wondered what had happened. From one moment to the next, Wenzel had suddenly popped up. Out of nowhere, he had appeared down here. It was wizardry. The only possible explanation for this was wizardry. None of them understood how it worked anyway. Only Wenzel, Viktoria and Silke had any idea of how magic functioned and what rules it was subject to, in spite of this only being the case to a limited extent even for those three.

    The lady stared transfixed at her beloved, watching his chest expand from inhaling and then contract again. Some more time passed. Finally, his eyelids opened. His Highness awoke and sat up, visibly disoriented. He glanced around the room until his eyes fell on his wife. From them, two yellow, five-pointed stars shone vividly, piercing through her. Neither of the two spoke a word. Nor was that necessary. Before anyone could utter anything at all, Amalie immediately sensed that there was something completely different about her darling. And, yes, there were the two stars, but she had been aware of those for a long time, even if others had rarely noticed them, because they had never stood out as intensely as they did now. No, something he radiated felt so completely different from what she was familiar with from him.

    ¡°Wenzel? What happened? Tell me,¡± she addressed him. As a result, a pained expression appeared on the man''s face. He stood up, only walked a few feet away and then slumped down on the floor with his back against the wine barrels. ¡°Please, give me a little time. I......need to think,¡± the wizard returned while covering his eyes with his left hand, as if he didn''t want to be seen. Ylva and the abbot just stood around quietly, like poodles left out in the rain, clueless as to what they could do here. Amalie also seemed at a loss and even Wanja had her tail between her legs, despite the fact that she usually greeted her master joyfully.

    The emperor''s wife lingered like this for a while and allowed silence to take hold. For the time being, the Chosen One just sat there silently until the lady finally joined him. She sat down right next to him and gently placed her hand in his. Tired, but at the same time profound eyes fell upon her. Captivated, she stared into them once again. She could feel him, but she didn''t know him. Not anymore. Who was this man who now seemed so different from her precious? ¡°What happened?¡±, she asked him a second time. He pressed his lips together. Then he replied, ¡°Many things.¡± After a short, almost dramatic pause, he continued, ¡°I failed. I couldn''t win Viktoria back. And in the end, I couldn''t stop her either. Even though I gave it my all, it still wasn''t enough. I let my daughter down and I also let the empire down.¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    His wife hugged him as he continued, ¡°Only I have the powers to solve this problem, but I failed. My failure could cost us everything. But most of all, it could cost the people everything!¡± The mage''s dismay and trepidation rang out in his wistful voice. ¡°If you did what you could, then there is nothing to hold against yourself,¡± his equally distraught, angst-ridden wife tried to comfort him. It had no effect. She continued, ¡°And don''t always tell yourself that only you can solve everything by yourself. You have to learn to rely on others sometimes, to believe in others. The fact that there is no one else who can match Victoria''s magical powers doesn''t mean that this is the only way to appease her. Who knows, maybe I could try something.¡±

    The man immediately responded by shaking his head frantically. It was a gut reaction. ¡°You don''t understand. You can''t reason with...... I want to spare you the confrontation with her.¡± The lady didn''t believe him. She would be able to persuade him in this respect, she reckoned. What followed, however, was an unexpected outburst of emotion from the empress, who now clung even tighter to her husband. He just sat on the side, continuing to suppress his emotions, while the other two people in the room turned away from their Majesties in accordance with etiquette and courtesy. Tradition had it that crying was a sign of weakness, which is why rulers were supposed to be above such things. If feelings of this kind were to be revealed, then only in private, where no one could or was allowed to see them. Ylva and the parson assumed that it wasn''t befitting, that it even was forbidden, to witness such behaviour from their Highnesses. Using hand gestures, they signalled to the sovereign that they would withdraw from the place for the time being and then quietly left. Meanwhile, they would head for Brahm and Co. who were guarding the church upstairs.

    The Chosen One, in the meantime, continued to let his thoughts drift off and brooded in silence, repeatedly holding his beloved''s hand and pressing her against him. When Amalie had calmed down a little, he then struck up a conversation on another topic. ¡°Could the usurper have been right after all?¡±, he muttered in a subdued voice. His partner naturally asked, ¡°Who?¡± - ¡°You know, Gabriela Cornel, the putschist who held you hostage back then.¡± - ¡°Oh, her!¡±, Amalie replied, still a little confused. ¡°What could that monster have been right about?¡± - ¡°That mages really are a problem for society, that they are a danger, possibly even for the whole of humanity. Our power is simply too great.¡± This train of thought seemed to infuriate his wife, and she countered him:

    ¡°Certainly not! It always depends on how you use your power, not on whether there should be powerful people at all. Otherwise, we would have to persecute everyone who is superior to other people in some way: the exceptionally strong, the exceptionally clever and the exceptionally imaginative. I don''t think that would be a good idea. We would be depriving society of those who can contribute most to it if they are treated right. But they must not be excluded. You yourself told me not all that long ago that we need to find a new way to integrate wizards into society. I believe that this is now only more of an impetus to pursue such a course of action.¡± Wenzel gave nothing in reply. Was he secretly agreeing with her? Who could truly say.

    After a moment of tranquillity, Amalie looked at him again, an occurrence that even he now started noticing. He didn''t comment on it though. She now decided to do so, however. ¡°You''re so different, dear. All your mannerisms, the way you speak, are so different from the way they normally are. Have the events with Viktoria taken such a toll on you?¡± Consequently, Wenzel''s expression became more serious, and he responded, ¡°Even if I can fool everyone else, it probably won''t work with you. The slightest hint of deviation would probably already attract my wife''s attention, wouldn''t it? Hmm.¡± Thus, he went on to fill her in on what had transpired. ¡°You know, something did happen, or rather I did something that caused something unexpected to happen.........¡±

    By the end of his explanation, the confusion in his wife''s mind had only increased even further. ¡°I am yet to decide how I will deal with these new realities of mine. Whether the country is ready to know, will depend on how much they want to believe in Melgar and in God''s plan.¡± Discombobulated, she looked at Melgar. Then she went right back to staring at the cold stone floor, running her fingers through her hair. This surprised even the mage, as she was usually so particular about her hairstyle and her appearance in general.

    Finally, she asked him, ¡°How did you get here in the first place?¡± - ¡°Magic. I teleported here.¡± Amalie seemed to simply accept his matter-of-fact statement, and that he now had a new ability. She believed him, but how the whole thing had worked troubled her mind. ¡°Only my guard and Balduin knew where I was. How is it possible that you just teleported to exactly the right place when you didn''t even know it?¡± The Chosen One paused for a moment. He took a few steps up and down along the huge wine barrels. After a moment''s thought, he replied, ¡°God moves in mysterious ways. I called on him in my time of need and he answered my prayer. Just as He had done on previous occasions, He tore the fabric of reality apart for me and made the impossible come true in order to save me. It doesn''t make sense. It cannot make sense. You have to believe in it.¡±

    This left his wife speechless. Subsequently, he sat down next to her again and took her hand to reassure her. They sat beside each other for a while. No one knows exactly how much time passed. Ever so quiet, the muffled rumble of thunder could be heard from afar, even down here. The emperor knew what this meant, but resolutely stayed by his wife''s side. His aura was completely suppressed. He was undetectable. ¡°Perhaps we should ask the other two to join us again, what do you think?¡±, the man asked her. She gave him an estranged, cool look and then said, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°I already told you.¡±

    As she was flying onwards at breakneck speed, she could see the grey clouds in the distance in front of her turn to solid black. The storm moved on with her. It was her storm. Soaring over the expansive plains, the golden sea of Ordania, she could have beheld the fields, dimmed by the shadow her clouds cast on them, had her attention fallen on them. But it did not. Viktoria''s gaze was fixed on the horizon, which would soon reveal the first towers and roofs of Greifenburg. It was the second largest city in Ordania, the ¡°backup capital¡±. Soon, it too would go up in flames! The sorceress''s thoughts presently were dominated by this and this alone. If her revenge could not destroy Melgar, then at least it would destroy what mattered to him! And there it was already.

    The first spires appeared with the girl rushing towards them. The town''s fortifications, some of which still hadn''t been restored, appeared in the sunset before the approaching storm blocked out the sun immediately transforming the coming evening into pitch-black night. The witch drew nearer and would immediately change that yet again. Whoosh! She flew up and set fire to the first large building that caught her eye. It was a Teleiotic temple. Then the vandal moved on and smashed the city''s large south gate, which would of course block traffic and thereby also trade. She planned to do the same with all the other city gates. Before long, the bells, warning the inhabitants of the outbreak of a blaze, rang out.

    This almost amused the young lady. ¡°Let them try to put out my fires. They won''t succeed, those ants!¡± Then she ascended again and continued to wreak similar havoc to what she had previously done in Meglarsbruck. Her choice of targets followed the same logic as last time. Screams mingled with the ever- intensifying roar of the conflagrations here. Soon this metropolis, too, became one big inferno, one that replaced the darkness of the night sky with a hellish red, while yet again endless flashes of lightning were raining down. Viktoria rampaged on and on. She didn''t know how much time had actually passed, but at some point, the noise and the bustle in the city died down. Untold numbers had fled, untold numbers had perished in the flames, in the general chaos or under the rubble of collapsed buildings. It was another catastrophe, and it was another one whose dimensions were difficult to put into words.

    But despite all this terror, he did not appear. Melgar, no longer her father, Wenzel, no, MELGAR had not shown up. God''s Chosen had not come to put a stop to her. She was given free rein to lay waste to the second most important city of the country. It was simply unbelievable! Not even a hint of any magical aura other than hers could be felt here. Standing on the rooftop of the former royal palace of the Alethians, which she had already half demolished, the mage looked out over the apocalyptic cityscape. She couldn''t believe it either. ¡°What''s going on here? Is no one stopping me? Is he just going to let me destroy the whole empire unhindered? What the hell!¡±, she passionately blurted out.

    Once more she looked over towards the large library, which she didn''t know had only been restored a few years prior. Now the structure was ablaze again. At that moment, something bubbled up inside her. The girl''s anger and hatred, which had such a powerful grip on her, seemed to fade out for a brief moment. Drowned out by demented amusement, she suddenly began to laugh maniacally. Nothing, absolutely nothing was funny about this situation, not even for her. But her inner torment was so great that her mind wanted to protect itself from being overwhelmed by it. This protective reaction made her burst out laughing out of the blue. It was a terrifying picture she was making here.

    However, she soon came back to her senses. Well, it wasn''t really what one would call ¡°regaining one''s senses". The witch resumed the dismantling of the palace, which until a few hours ago had housed the imperial court. Now, however, there was hardly anyone left here. She was essentially demolishing an empty building. The luxurious chambers, wide, magnificent staircases, the impressive dining hall and the large patio; she tore everything to pieces with obsessive zeal and utter delight.

    After the deed was done, Viktoria sat down in the middle of the freshly vandalized dining hall of the former palace. All around her was a picture of devastation: furniture, tables and chairs tossed around and in disarray, smashed wooden floors which had boasted beautiful inlay work, shattered windows and tumbled-down lustres. The latter now caught her attention. She walked up to one of the chandeliers that had fallen to the floor and looked at it closely. She didn''t even know why; there was actually no reason for this. As her aura was leaking out of her body, flickering and flaring upwards like a torch, she looked down at the broken piece of furniture for a moment. It was a crystal chandelier. The frame of concentric, increasingly smaller metal circles supported both the candleholders as well as innumerable smaller, but also bigger, transparent decorative stones, that hung down from it. They were probably rock crystals.

    The girl was fascinated by the sparkling object and finally held out her hand towards it. Without physical strength, but using magic instead, she plucked one of the smaller rings from the structure and took it in her hands. She then placed it on her head as a test to see if it would fit. Her sense of proportion had not deceived her, the thing had the right dimensions for her. Therefore, she tried to somehow incorporate the crystals from the lustre into the object so that it had the functions and appearance of the end product she wanted. This process took what felt like an eternity, but didn''t seem to work out. The teenager, who had no idea whatsoever about craftsmanship, just fumbled around awkwardly, got irritated and finally gave up. Then she simply bent the metal ring with her telekinesis so that a few prongs were sticking out at the top. With a little imagination, one could see that her creation was supposed to resemble a crown.

    From her vantage point, she could still overlook the burning city. Almost proudly, she put on her ¡°monstrosity¡± of a crown and took in the view for a while. Then she eventually started laughing hysterically again. She was queen of her own kingdom, her kingdom of ruins.

    ¡°I have accomplished what I wanted. My retribution is complete. I have won!¡±, it went through her thoughts as she continued to dementedly hoot. Viktoria had finally given in to the madness. But then something unexpected happened. The mood of the girl with crimson hair abruptly changed. A shock ran through her body. She dropped to her knees and began trembling violently. ¡°Have I won? Do I actually have won? What kind of victory is this?¡±, it finally began to dawn on her. ¡°I have brought devastation to Meglarsbruck and Greifenburg. I have destroyed the prosperity and development that my ''father'' values so highly. I got my revenge, but what did I achieve in the end? Am I happier now? No!¡± The wizard was now overcome with a completely different set of emotions as she asked herself the question that her immature mind had not been able to consider in advance: ¡°And now what?¡±

    It was apparently only at this moment that she realized the implications of her megalomaniacal actions. ¡°There''s nothing left for me. I have destroyed everything: the relationship with my parents, the trust of the country''s population, all options for a peaceful life. No one will want to have me anymore, will want to believe me or even talk to me. No one will want to have me around or live with me anymore! What should I do now? Where should I go now? To the ends of the earth? Where is that anyway? And what would I do there? I can''t survive on my own. I don''t know how to cook or do any other kind of craft. What am I supposed to do now?¡±

    Viktoria lowered her face into her hands and began to cry bitterly. She had begun to realize that she had destroyed everything, especially her own existence. However, it was too late now. She could no longer undo what she had done. No magic in the world could bring back the dead, and no magic in the world could repair her broken relationships. In a most cruel way, she was taught the lesson that magic was not almighty.

    The rumbling of thunder stopped, and the storm clouds started to rain down. It was certainly a blessing for the townspeople, who it helped to keep the fires at bay. For the mage, it wasn¡¯t much of a help that she was now getting soaked. Despair took hold of her, started consuming her. ¡°I am a demon. Melgar was right after all. Will he.... could I maybe talk to him? No, I would prefer Wenzel. But does he even exist anymore, or has the so-called Messiah completely replaced him, pushed him out of his own mind? I have no idea! Who else could I talk to? Who else could I turn to? There is no one, absolutely no one!¡± Her magical aura fluctuated wildly as the precipitation was pouring down heavily. Her face was bright red, the veins in her eyes more reddened than ever.

    Viktoria was at the end of her tether. Actually, she had been for a long time, but her recognition of the reality she had now created for herself brought her to a whole new state that she had never been in before. The young lady was on the edge of the abyss. She could no longer move forward, but there was no way back either. There was only the steep fall down into a precipice, the bottom of which she couldn¡¯t see. Only the sheer blackness, the empty void opened up before her. Her world was shattered and had come to an end.

 1. 19 With Tears in their Eyes

    Wax melted, light extinguished,

    Shards of black are everywhere,

    After thunder¡¯s echos there,

    Rises from ruins, bursting with vigour,

    The new old, full of rigour,

    Empire gilded, hope unrelinquished

    The Imperial Guard, led by Brahm at the front, marched up and entered the city. They came in through the gate of the south-western Zeer Bastion, the transit of which had been made possible by the emperor¡¯s magical removal of the rubble that lay in the way. The last smoulders and simmers of the fires still lingered deep inside the ruins, which they were now passing. A burnt stench was in the air, although there also were other, even more pungent ¡°scents¡±. Everywhere one looked, only destruction. The eyes of the first company of the Imperial Guard fell on this sad outcome of the preceding day. The soldiers were clearly affected by what they saw here, but tried not to show it, just like their ruler, who was now leading them through the streets here.

    As they made their way towards the centre of the town, more and more people began to emerge from its remains, presumably from cellars where many had sought shelter. While there were only a few at first, they gradually became more numerous as the army train was heading towards the municipal administration. Not long before they would have arrived there, however, the mayor and his retainers rode out to meet them. ¡°Hail, Melgar!¡±, proclaimed His Excellency, without realizing how appropriate this age-old greeting now actually had become. His Holiness only acknowledged the man with a terse wave of the hand. In his place, Brahm took over the conversation with the gentlemen.

    ¡°Good morning, Your Excellency! I will have to apologize in advance. His Majesty is not here to be informed about the state of Greifenburg. As urgent and serious as this matter may be, His Highness''s concern is limited to one thing at the moment: The whereabouts of the originator of this chaos. Could you tell me where she is?¡± The men questioned conversed briefly and at a low volume with each other. Then they replied to the commander of the guard, ¡°The one you are looking for was last seen at the palace. We do not know if she is still there. No one has dared to go there yet. It would probably be advisable to exercise a great measure of caution in that regard.¡± - ¡°His Majesty is well aware of this. Rest assured that our Emperor fears nothing but God!¡±

    After he had made such a strong statement, the other gentlemen fell silent for the time being. Brahm approached his sovereign to tell him the information he had received, but he didn''t get far as he realized that his lord had overheard what had been said anyway. While the men all were standing around like that, larger and larger crowds of people began to flock towards them. From every hole, survivors seemed to crawl out just to get closer to his Holiness, to catch a glimpse of him. But was that really the reason for this? There was fear and uncertainty in the eyes of the people gathering around the Chosen One. The devastation of their city had shaken them all to the core. It was definitely fear that dominated them, but something else was about to show itself right then and there.

    Entirely unprompted, the first ones began to shout, ¡°Long live the emperor!¡±, ¡°Hail, Melgar!¡±, as well as other slogans from the revolution, which at this point dated back 17 years. Although quiet at first, they became louder and louder. His Highness looked on with interest, but gave no reaction to what the crowd was chanting. The people obviously still had great faith in their ruler. No one held him responsible for these recent events. Immediately afterwards, the Imperial Guard was ordered to slowly head towards the destroyed Greifenburg Palace. Right after that, however, the Chosen One took off and flew ahead alone in the direction of the aforementioned destination. Incensed, his wife could be heard shouting after him, but this was drowned out by the increasingly noisy chanting of the masses. Without consulting her, he had simply set off and left her behind. Commander Duenitz noticed her anger, but didn''t know how to calm it down in the moment. Together they all set off towards their destination, dragging a huge tail of people in their wake.

    Wenzel wanted to prevent a possible confrontation between his beloved and Viktoria. That''s why he was now getting a head start on the others. He would be the very first to speak to his daughter. But what would he say to her? How could he approach the young lady, whose mental state was already as far gone as hers? All kinds of lines he could speak were now going through his head. As he crossed the sky on his way to her, he sensed nothing. It was only when he had almost arrived, that it had wormed its way through the convolutions of his brain, which seemed to be operating unusually slowly today, that he could not detect the girl''s aura. She was unable to suppress her aura, though. This fact made him feel nervous, even though he was already in a state of high tension. He caught sight of the disastrously battered grand building and lowered himself down right in front of it. What a disgrace how ruined this edifice was, however, did not occur to him at the time. For now, all that mattered was Viktoria.

    He walked through the former palace. A collapsed roof, countless toppled walls and smashed windows. Its condition was within the realm of expectations, unfortunately. As he traversed the corridors and rooms in danger of collapse, he began calling out her name repeatedly, ¡°Viktoria! Viktoria!¡± He couldn''t help himself at the moment, as he still wasn''t able to sense her magic. There was no reply. He walked on. Finally, he reached the dining hall. Its doors had been blown off their hinges and everything in here seemed to be completely ruined. At his feet, he then suddenly found a strange object, which he immediately picked up with curiosity. It was a ring with a few spikes on it, which presumably were supposed to give it the appearance of a crown. Next to it was a large table that had fallen over, blocking part of his view. Wenzel took a few steps forward, only to stop once more. He came to a complete standstill.

    Behind the piece of furniture that had prevented him from seeing the entirety of the floor here, it now revealed itself to him. He looked at it, but instantly looked away again. The eyes did not see it. No, they didn''t see it! His mind grasped it, but at the same time it didn''t grasp it. It didn''t want to grasp it. The wizard did not move. He continued to stand there, without any motion. Some time passed, then the Guard, including his wife and Brahm, could be heard approaching. They too would see it and not see it, grasp it and not grasp it.

    A dark grey cloud cover loomed ponderously over the sky, manifesting the elegy of the occasion. The remnants of the Melgarion Palace around them looked almost ghostly in their abandoned state, yet they protected those present from unwelcome spectators'' eyes. All of them were dressed in black, the women wearing the customary full veil. The very small number of mourners stood in front of a grave, which was currently being filled in. The priest had just finished speaking and the ceremony was already over. There was an oppressive, melancholy silence. At the very front stood the imperial couple and close behind them Ylva and Brahm, followed by Irnfrid, Marzia, Eleonore, Peter and Amalie''s parents. It was, therefore, a very intimate funeral in the closest circle of Their Highnesses. Shovel after shovel of soil material was deposited into the pit by the gravediggers and onto the roses, which had been thrown down after, while everyone just stood there silently.

    ¡°Viktoria von Althun - True love is unconditional¡±

    Such read the inscription on the gravestone. It stood all by itself in a former courtyard of the once magnificent building. There was only one other gravestone right next to it, on which the names of Wenzel''s adoptive parents were engraved. Unlike Victoria''s, their remains had never been found, which is why this was only a cenotaph. All this was weighing heavily on all of them. Ylva, the woman who was always supposed to look after the princess, was visibly grieving. One could also plainly hear the emperor''s wife weeping, even sobbing, behind her black veil. Her husband had his arm tightly around her. Nothing could be heard from him.

    His Majesty just continued to watch as the grave, which lay under a tree that had been torched in the palace fire, was being filled in. He seemed to be the only one to remain steadfast. But then something unexpected happened. Suddenly, the magician approached the gravestone and fell to his knees in front of it. He had turned his back to the other people present, so no one could see his face. However, the man could be seen bringing his hand up to his face. Everyone knew what was going on. Then everybody present felt how the atmosphere seemed to change. The two young girls, as well as Peter, looked around a little confused until they realized that the Chosen One was the cause of this strange sensation in the air. The first drops fell from the sky, and they quickly became more and more.

    Next, the empress came closer to her beloved to be by his side. Even Irnfrid and others who did not know how magic worked recognized that the emotions of his Holiness, which he could no longer contain, were the cause of this weather. In deep sorrow, everyone waited. Even if outsiders may not fully have comprehended the gravity of these events, at least the mourners here did. It was a terrible tragedy. Actually, it were multiple tragedies that had taken place here at the same time. Both the empire and the imperial house had suffered heavy blows. It was a deeply personal crisis, as well as a political one.

    The latter was probably more on Chancellor Rubellio''s mind at the moment. Everyone else was dominated by their grief over the emperor''s daughter. Nonetheless, he was already pondering all these other things while they were all getting wetter and wetter from the steadily increasing rain. Water also flowed down from the emperor. In various ways. It was a day of great tribulation, which marked the end of something major. What that was would only become clear to them later.

    ¡°The budgetary hearings have not even begun, and it is already clear that they will devolve into a mudslinging contest between the princes and the representatives of the army. The apocalypse that has befallen the country due to the visitation of that angel of death is a huge problem. Our tax revenues have plummeted, but we need a lot more money to finance the reconstruction. Who is going to pay for all this? Raising taxes in such a situation is impossible, because it would create great discomfort among the wealthier classes. And you can only work the peasants up to a certain degree, you know? It is, therefore, completely unclear how we can proceed here.¡±

    A man in bright yellow robes was sharing his concerns with a man dressed in identical attire. The other one was leaning against a pillar in the corridor, twirling his moustache almost smugly as he listened to what his counterpart had to say. The curly hair of this member of the Imperial Diet peeked out from under his chaperon and the house crest of Di Alduino was displayed on his chest. Finally, Fulco replied to his interlocutor, ¡°I know that all these things always require negotiation. Nevertheless, I wonder how the matter should be viewed now that the army under the new Supreme Marshal will be nothing more than His Majesty''s lapdog. Does the military still have a voice of its own, or has it already turned into a mere instrument?¡±

    ¡°You see, I understand that your resentment over the revelations in Translimesia, which have brought your brother into disgrace, is also resounding in this. The Holy Army has always been officially subordinate to the Sovereign as the Commander-in-Chief. The fact that it asserted its own will against the Chosen One was solely due to the unshakeable authority of Theodor Kuhn, who has now become a martyr. This was not a normal state of affairs.¡±

    Not particularly pleased with such a riposte, Fulco retorted, ¡°Resentment you say? Yes, I am angry, but the exposure of my house has nothing to do with it!¡± This was an obvious lie, but his listener simply left it at that and did not contradict him. ¡°The great noble houses of Ordania, nay, of the whole empire, have always been able to come to an agreement with the armed forces in the post-revolutionary period. With Lord Ferenc, this seems to have become considerably more difficult, if not almost impossible. Something has changed. And both you and I know what that something is: the newly appointed Supreme Marshal is merely a puppet of the Emperor. That is why the princes, counts and barons of all lands will have a very difficult time from now on.¡±

    As he listened to this, his conversation partner kept turning around to make sure that nobody was eavesdropping on them. No one there. The statements that the head of the Di Alduino dynasty had now made were true. The wind in the empire had turned and the great houses now had to worry about their future power and privileges. He also shared this concern. Thus, he then returned to the lord:

    ¡°It would be advisable to confer with the Lord Speaker on this matter. With the changes of the last few weeks, a new era seems to have dawned and we, the nobility, will probably have to reorient ourselves.¡± - ¡°I will sit down with him, yes. But that certainly won''t be enough. First, we should consult with as many other members here as possible,¡± the Camenian replied. Then he brought up one further idea, ¡°I have been told that the widow of the late Supreme Marshal does not speak well of His Highness. Making contact with her could also be of use to us here. However, I do not have the personal connections to do so.¡± The other gentleman immediately understood what he was getting at and said, ¡°I know someone. Leave the matter to me. I''ll see what I can do¡± ¨C ¡°Very good!¡±

    Private residence of Ulrich von Lohr, early afternoon

    Four people sat together in a room with a high ceiling. The wallpaper, on which a pastel pink pattern with lots of flourishes was constantly repeated, was a real eye-catcher. The other fine pieces of furniture, such as the large pendulum clock near the window as well as the exquisite leather armchairs arranged around a tiny table, also made quite the impression. The general''s sumptuous home had obviously been spared the destruction; a fate not shared by more than half the building stock in the metropolis.

    Four important people had now gathered in the seats here for a meeting. They were Irnfrid Kuhn, the widow of the martyred Supreme Marshal, Fulco II. di Alduino, the prince of Translimesia, whose reputation had now been tarnished by the disgrace that his brother had brought upon the whole house by attempting to raise an insurgent army, Ulrich von Lohr, a general of the Holy Army, who had been booted out with the appointment of Ferenc as Theodor''s successor, and finally Xaver von Duenitz, the eldest son of the Duenitz dynasty, the territorial lords of Cislimesia, who was known not to be on good terms with his brother, Brahm.

    ¡°Von Rauttenstein is on our side, I could ascertain that personally. He has an exceptional reputation among the members of the Imperial Council. He is guaranteed to be followed by a large number of deputies,¡± Fulco explained to those gathered. The black-robed woman, signalling that her mourning period had not yet come to an end, nodded reservedly and made no comment for the time being. However, it seemed that a little more emotion had returned to her face, which of course did not mean that her opinion had changed. Xaver, a proud man with strong masculine features, then took the floor, ¡°My house also has many connections in all the southern lands of Ordania. These people can definitely be described as allies and I''m sure I will be able to convince them to vote en bloc with us.¡±

    This seemed to sweeten the mood for both Fulco and Ulrich. Either had been sceptical of this heir of the Duenitz at first. This was no wonder, since he was closely related to the Chosen One''s personal bodyguard. They soon found out, however, that he thought nothing of his younger sibling. They didn¡¯t know the exact reason for this, as it was a best-kept secret that had been buried during the days of heretical Alethian rule. The answer to this didn''t matter regardless. The one thing that was certain was, that this man, just like them, advocated the privileges and power of the upper nobility.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    ¡°I am delighted at the ease with which our new coalition is being formed here. It seems almost too easy to me,¡± the Camenian shared his feelings with the other conspirators here as he took a large sip of his tea, which he then placed back onto the table. Irnfrid responded, ¡°Simple? I wouldn''t quite call it that. We had to meet here in secret because the walls in the Reichstag building seem to have grown more and more ears.¡± - ¡°It''s only got to do with the Emperor''s temporary accommodation in its premises. The additional presence of the Diamonds has simply made you suspicious and put you on edge, that is all,¡± Fulco said in response. But the lady immediately countered, ¡°No, that''s not true. The way they''re suspiciously creeping through the corridors, they''re probably snooping around and spying on us.¡± The nobleman let out a breath through his nose and did not continue the conversation on this topic.

    Finally, Ulrich saw that his moment had come, and he raised his voice, ¡°I think that the fair lady here is not unfounded in her concerns. Over the years, His Highness has increased the size of the Imperial Guard and tried to transfer more and more authority to them. With our strong man, Theodor, the Emperor''s attempt to expand his power fortunately failed, but all that may indeed change under the current circumstances. Of all of us here, I know best what the Holy Army is capable of and that it is willing to carry out any order! We should not underestimate what His Majesty can do, and we should not allow ourselves to be deceived into thinking that he is ''a kind man'' that would never take revenge on his political enemies, who have been blocking his plans in the Imperial Council all these years!¡± The others quickly realized that Ulrich was just trying to instil fear in them.

    ¡°And what are you suggesting here? A coup d''¨¦tat against the Chosen One?¡±, the Prince Di Alduino asked him in a snide tone. ¡°Against the one who was appointed by God to rule over Kaphkos, against the one who stood up to the demon in Meglarsbruck and who devastated the entire city in the process? Do you dare challenge such power?¡± The man said what everyone here was well aware of. They had all learned a new form of respect for the emperor after the events of the day prophesied by Wenzel. Or rather, it was fear more so than respect. Nevertheless, the mention of this fact now silenced the resentful, indignant general. He knew that Fulco was right. They all knew it. On top of that, there was the fact that none of them knew what kinds of things he could do with his magic. Even Irnfrid no longer presumed to have such knowledge, given the events they had all witnessed during the destruction of the capital. In his younger years, she had been able to witness a little of Wenzel''s wizardry with her own eyes, but that had been a long time ago and the former apprentice of magic was clearly no longer a rookie.

    ¡°No coup. That is doomed to fail,¡± Xaver stated, then adding, ¡±We should concentrate on what we can do with the utmost certainty. Blocking any measures that could diminish our power is within our capabilities.¡± Irnfrid and the Camenian agreed with the guy on this. Ulrich hesitated, but then also conceded his point. What else could he do? Everyone here was fully aware that Wenzel, but above all Ferenc, who was under his command, would never do anything as reckless as resorting to violence against the elites. Simply going on the defensive here was surely the strategically soundest option, even if it meant political deadlock.

    After their meeting, the ladies and gentlemen said goodbye to each other and then went their separate ways. Irnfrid and Xaver went back to the Imperial Diet, while Fulco would pay his cousin another visit. Mister Duenitz strode ahead at a brisk pace and soon left the lady far behind him. He walked through the streets and along wide promenades towards his destination. It had become warmer than it had been in the morning. Nevertheless, it had taken quite a while for the early morning mists to clear up completely. Beneath the rows of lime trees he passed, from which the first leaves were already beginning to fall. Autumn had tangibly set in.

    Unfortunately, many of the trees had not survived the fires here. Everywhere he looked there was nothing but devastation. Even if the streets were already cleared, to all sides, one could see workers toiling, hauling away the rubble to begin reconstruction. In some parts of the city, this had already begun. Countless day labourers, but above all serfs doing their socage work, were swarming through the streets to bring the imperial capital back to life. While strolling along the pavement, Xaver slowed down as he became distracted by the things he was watching. The omnipresent smell of horse dung filled his nostrils, the droppings of the animals, which trotted along the avenues in huge numbers to transport people and goods.

    To his right, he spotted a stall run by the ¡°Gracious Sisters of St. Elisabeth¡±, where a line of bedraggled-looking people was queuing up to get a bowl of hot food. He could often see the same organization handing out clothes and providing spiritual care. These women did none of this for their own benefit. They simply wanted to help the victims of the disaster, of which there were still many at the present time. Religion was not just an ideology to mobilize the masses against or for something, there was also good in it. When the nobleman became aware of these circumstances, the wish arose in him that such charity would also come from the rich and powerful in Ordania. A pipe dream.

    Before long, he reached the government building and strode inside. Past the guards and up the stairs he went. However, he did not take a turn in the direction of his chambers, instead climbing another flight of stairs. There was someone he had to share something of great importance with. ¡°Knock, knock!¡±, it came from the door. After a few seconds of waiting, a voice sounded from the other side, ¡°Come in!¡± Xaver followed the invitation and then closed the door behind him. In front of him sat a man at his desk, wearing glasses, short black hair and a posh outfit. Imperial Chancellor Peter welcomed the visitor right off the bat.

    ¡°Mr. Duenitz, what is your business?¡± The addressed person collected his thoughts for a moment and then replied, ¡°Your Most Serene Excellency, I have news of the most explosive nature for you!¡± - ¡°Oh? And what would that be?¡± He then went on to tell him about his conversation with the circle of conspirators. ¡°It seems that the Reichstag and the elites are very unhappy with recent events, which is why they are now plotting in the background. The Imperial Diet, led by Speaker von Rauttenstein, is planning to oppose any political initiative by the emperor out of concern for its privileges. The former Vice Marshal is also among them. I was able to deceive them into believing that they can count on my support along with my allies. Of course, I will not take their side! House Duenitz was the first great noble house to join the Holy Revolution. We are loyal allies of the Chosen One.¡±

    This information made Peter Rubellio visibly nervous, and he started tapping his feet on the floor and scratching his face. ¡°Thank you for the tip-off!¡±, he thanked the nobleman. Then he voiced his concerns, ¡°If they are planning something illegal or violent, I will have to inform the military immediately to put a stop to it!¡± - ¡°Hold on there, my lord! The people concerned have explicitly and clearly discussed this among themselves and have come to the conclusion that they do not want to, or cannot, stage a coup. They still have too much reverence for his Holiness, in order to do that,¡± Xaver intervened instantly to prevent hasty overreactions.

    To this, Peter replied, ¡°Phew, that''s a relief! If it''s just an intransigent stance in the Imperial Council, we''ll survive it.¡± Secretly, however, he was also very happy about this clarification from the Cislimesian, because he could not be sure whether the army would actually have taken action against the Reichstag. He knew Ferenc. Not as well as Wenzel, but well enough to know that the man was loyal; but he still considered the stability of the empire to be his top priority. Such a destabilizing act would probably be very much against his sentiments. In addition, there was also the Imperial Guard, but Peter knew that Wenzel would never order his soldiers to do something so problematic, even if they would carry out his orders without batting an eyelid. Fortunately, such a sticky situation had not arisen anyway.

    The chancellor stood up, and in his state of agitation, walked over to his bookshelf and back to his desk, where he rested his hands on its surface, while remaining standing. ¡°Large parts of today''s high nobility are just opportunists anyway, who submissively sided with the new masters in Meglarsbruck after the revolution. They had and still have no true convictions and simply converted back to true Teleiotism. All that mattered to them was their own subsistence. That hasn''t changed. They don''t want confrontation; they just don''t want the privileges they got after the overthrow of the old regime to be taken away. This runs counter to the goals of His Highness, but I know our sovereign well enough to assure you, that he will not do anything foolhardy here. Nothing will change. Everything will remain the same.¡±

    What he had heard now reassured Xaver to a considerable extent. Both gentlemen then talked for a while longer, slowly coming down from their initial discomposure. ¡°I will inform His Majesty about what you have shared with me,¡± the head of government noted. ¡°You are kindly requested to do so,¡± Mr. Duenitz returned. Finally, he thanked him and left the Chancellor''s office. Although there still seemed to be tension in the air, it appeared as if a crisis, ultimately rooted in the destruction of two of the empire¡¯s major cities, had been averted for the time being.

    Lonely and dejected, the Chosen One was sitting in his dim room, curtains drawn. In his gloom, he contemplated everything that had befallen him recently, as he had been doing for many days now. ¡°I wanted to help her. I really did want to help her, but in the end, I wasn''t up to it. Could I have done it at all? I don''t think so. Yes, I believe that I have now finally understood that things had developed which were beyond my control. Viktoria was blessed with all the power in the world and yet she was so terribly cursed! She was suffering from all of this; I could see it too. But in my wishful thinking, I was probably lying to myself about the true situation. I couldn''t help her. There is far too much I don''t know about the human soul, about the world, and that I probably never will know.¡±

    Amalie entered the room discreetly. With deliberation, she approached her darling and then sat down right next to him on the edge of the bed. He was still deeply affected by his daughter''s death, just as she was. But because he was usually the one to remain steadfast, the emperor''s melancholy worried his wife to a considerable extent. For a few minutes they just sat quietly beside each other without talking. Eventually, however, he spoke up:

    ¡°You know, so many scenes from the hoary past are playing out in my mind''s eye. The great revolt of the Kaloportian plebs, the images of which replay over and over in my head all throughout the whole night. The fervent screams, the ghastly stench of blood, the savage battles between the lynch mobs and the forces of that heretical minor kingdom. There is no end to it. Everything is coming back into my consciousness. Melgar''s memories, they have become part of me, he has become part of me. No, it''s probably more than that. I am becoming more and more like him, until perhaps one day there will be nothing left of me.¡±

    Every day now he had told her about this process, that night after night more of Melgar''s memories were returning to him, ever since he had been possessed by him on the day of prophecy, when their souls had fused. All of this weighed on him as an additional burden to the events with his adopted daughter. His wife reassured him, ¡°Don''t worry! You are Wenzel, my Wenzel, and you will always remain that, no matter what memories may enter your mind.¡± Although, she didn''t really believe this statement herself. Her husband had undergone a massive change, and by God she couldn''t tell whether it was due to Wenzel''s growing possession by the spirit of Melgar or whether it was simply owed to the plethora of appalling events that were now chipping away at him. ¡°Let''s hope so,¡± he simply returned. ¡°I don¡¯t even know myself who I actually am anymore.¡± Afterwards, they spent a bit more time together, tenderly and quietly. A little later, Amalie departed again, leaving the wizard in his sleeping chambers.

    Having carefully closed the plush white door behind her, she turned around to walk away. From a distance, however, she could already see Balduin, the baldy, approaching. She moved up towards him and then positioned herself directly in front of him, demonstratively blocking his passage. In a hushed voice, she conveyed to him, ¡°What do you want here? Leave my husband alone! He doesn''t need marplots like you at the moment. Whatever your troubles are, you can tell him about them later. Now go!¡± In response, the military man wrinkled his nose in annoyance. But he didn''t raise any objection and obeyed Her Majesty''s orders.

    Now all alone, Wenzel continued to ruminate about various matters. This time he deliberately tried to not concern himself with the past, which was currently haunting him on a constant basis. In the present, he had also received all kinds of news that were extremely alarming. Peter had sent a messenger to relay to him, that the incidents with Victoria had created great political tensions, which were now causing the high nobility to scheme against him. While his friend strongly emphasized to the emperor that the elites were not planning an uprising against him, he was not at all convinced by this. ¡°With the death of my daughter, my bloodline appears to have gone extinct. This will give these people a good reason and attest, that I can be deposed. They would probably be able to cope with the consequences of that, as there is no one, not a single sorcerer in existence, who could take over my role. Many of these turncoats were already part of the power system in the days of the Ordanian Confederacy. They only do what is beneficial to them, these thugs!¡±

    Eventually, he let his gaze wander over to his bedside table. The sword with a fiery red stone in its pommel rested on the top. The men of the city garrison had found it and delivered it back to him. Now he reached for the object, then waving it back and forth a little. Of course, his eyes immediately fell on the sparkling jewel again. It concerned him very much. ¡°The last piece is still missing,¡± the magician uttered cautiously. Soon dusk fell and it was time for him to go to sleep. As expected, visions came to him in his dreams once again. Though this time, they were visions of a different nature than usual.

    The dark receded and he found himself in the middle of a city. It was an urban settlement so strange and different from the ones he was familiar with, that he didn''t quite know what to make of it all. He was looking at a street that was not paved with cobblestones, but had a continuous stone surface, as if it had been cast in one piece. He didn''t understand how this was possible. Large residential buildings towered on either side, nothing special, even if they were very tall. There were all kinds of vehicles on the road, which, however, were odd and even downright disturbing. All sorts of what appeared to be carriages of iron moved past him, squeaking and roaring. Incredibly, they were not pulled by horses!

    This fascinated Wenzel so much that he stepped closer to a carriage parked at the side of the road and took a closer look. Evidently, these were not even intended to be moved forward by draft animals. What propelled them instead was a mystery to him. Now he began to understand. This was the distant future. Had ways been found here to run vehicles with magic? Probably..... well, or perhaps not. The wizard admitted that he understood none of this. People walking past him in this dream were dressed in strange clothes. This scene was both peculiar and intriguing. As he took the first step to explore this extraordinary place even further, he was suddenly torn away. The vision was over.

    Not too long thereafter:

    Blown around by autumn winds that swirled up the colourful foliage, the walls of Auersbach Abbey stretched tall and lofty towards the sky. It was one of the most important monasteries in Ordania, which was also reflected in its expansiveness and the height of its protective wall, which surrounded the entire monastery grounds. There was much going on inside, where a considerable number of bishops, cardinals and other church representatives had gathered. The occasion: the conclave to elect the new patriarch. There was a lot of young blood mixed in with the countless old faces today. A new generation had come of age and Damianos was one of them. That was the name he had chosen for himself; his real, civil name was of no importance here. He was in his early twenties, and yet he had already managed to rise to the rank of bishop.

    He had straight, black hair, which disappeared completely under the tall hat he wore in this role. His heart was full of ardour and a thirst for action. The cleric was one of the young men who had experienced the revolution as a child and had been shaped by it. He had seen for himself how powerful the belief in Teleiotism was, how it had inspired the people to create a new world, a new empire. In his light blue robes with yellow decorations, he now strode forward and into the voting hall. At the start of the conclave, it would be locked and only reopened once a new head of the church had been elected! The dark corridors here, which had little to offer architecturally but were partly occupied by vivid paintings, stretched on for a quite a while. Soon the bishop entered the hall together with a large crowd of other electors.

    ¡°I swear to select the most suitable candidate for the office to the best of my knowledge and belief and without outside influence or interest,¡± they all swore in unison. The assembly concluded the oath with, ¡°So help me God!¡± Then it was time to cast their votes. Damianos entered the race as one of the leading candidates. He had the strength and drive to usher in a new era and perhaps even initiate important reforms. It only took two rounds of voting to decide the winner. It was the frontrunner, Damianos, who then took to the podium, thanking the Commune for its trust and briefly summarizing an ambitious programme in his inaugural speech.

    As everyone present clapped at the end of the speech, however, something absolutely unbelievable happened. From behind a curtain and from one of the smaller side rooms, a gentleman, who no one had expected, entered out of nowhere. This person...... they couldn''t even be here, not necessarily because they weren''t allowed here, but because it didn''t make any sense that they were here now in the first place. The door was sealed. Besides, this person had to have been somewhere else at the moment. How was this even possible?¡±

 1. 20.1 Hail Melgar! (PART 1)

    So, when he is in need of separating the wheat from the tares, he shall wait until it ripens to reap it all together. Only thereafter, will he winnow it and sort it out, just as he willed it. ¨C George 28:11

    Three middle-aged men were sitting together in a small chamber. They all wore robes in earthy tones, albeit each in a different style. ¡°What do you think, Father Hartmut?¡± - ¡°Not much, Your Holiness. The situation seems unchanged. Well, it has been exacerbated by the mass deaths in Meglarsbruck and Greifenburg, but that won''t change the general trend. After the purges that followed the Melgarist recapture of power were completed, the number of our members has leveled off again ...... somewhat at least. We are certainly not growing, but our Alethic Commune won''t go extinct either, at least not in the foreseeable future.

    The Patriarch of the Alethic Church sat opposite him, sobered and thoughtful, pulling at a few hairs in his long beard. Zwenterfeld had grown old and tired, even though he was only about forty. The ceaseless persecution of his like-minded brothers and the constant hiding, like they were doing at that moment in order to be able to congregate at all, was wearing him down. After that, he listened to a few more of their reports, for example about the looting of one of their underground churches, where they had also been duplicating the Alethic Testament to pass it on to their fellow believers, as well as other events concerning the Commune. Almost none of these were positive. But they would get through this dark time, they had to. It was all in God''s hands now. He would choose the right moment for their salvation, not them.

    Suddenly there was a knock on the crude wooden door of their small chamber. Who could it be? There was hardly anyone else who knew of their meeting here. The patriarch somewhat timidly uttered, ¡°Who is it?¡± For a short while, there was silence. But then a deep voice gave him an answer, ¡°Someone who has something historic to discuss with you. The only one who can.¡± At this, the clergymen looked at each other in puzzlement. They chatted quietly amongst themselves for a moment and then allowed the visitor to enter. However, when the gate swung open and they saw who was stepping through their doorway, their mood abruptly changed. It was the Demon Emperor himself!

    The men were completely taken aback by his arrival and immediately fell into a state of shock. Just how had he found them? Nevertheless, the Chosen One simply approached the gentlemen and joined them at the table. He quickly pulled out the fourth chair, which stood on one of its sides, and sat down on this rather simple seating option, crossing one leg over the other. As he was loitering almost mockingly in front of them, the three of them just stared in disbelief, even bewilderment, at the large stars shining out of his eyes. He raised his voice, ¡°Don''t worry, I''m only here to talk to you. There is a lot that needs to be addressed and finally resolved.¡± Father Hartmut eventually replied, ¡°What do you want to talk about?¡± This question apparently lightened His Highness''s mood, and he responded,

    ¡°You may not consider me to be holy, but I am willing to grant you that freedom. All I ask is that you do not deny me the right to exist, then I will not deny you yours. Our differences in opinion are irreconcilable but, for the sake of humanity and peace, I would ask that we at least tolerate each other. We do not have to agree with each other, we don''t even have to like each other. The only thing I want is for us to bury the hatchet. And I am well aware that this will take a lot out of all of us, after all the things that have happened. But neither I nor you can undo the past. I didn''t start the conditions and the vicious circle of hatred and neither did you. But it''s time we put an end to it! We have all been swept away by all this. There is no point in looking for culprits or seeking revenge. I want to reach out to you to bring the madness to an end slowly, step by step.

    The ideology of ¡®Melgarism¡¯, as you call it, is deeply rooted in the minds of many, just as Alethism is deeply rooted in the minds of quite a number of people. It will take a long time to fill in the deep rifts that exist in our society. I don''t have the power to change people''s mindsets. But what I can do is take the first step towards improvement. That is within my power. I hereby offer you to officially recognize the Alethic Denomination and tolerate it in my realm by edict. Not to promote or approve of it, to tolerate it. Nothing more is realistically possible at this time.¡±

    The emperor''s long monologue came to a close. The addressees were left utterly dumbfounded by it. Without waiting for their potential rebuttal, or any reaction at all, His Majesty then rose from his seat and informed the gentlemen that he would leave them alone for a moment to discuss the matter. He then immediately left the room and closed the door behind him to ensure their privacy. In the meantime, he wandered back and forth a few feet outside while he looked at the two guards lying on the ground here, who he had incapacitated.

    ¡°And what do you think of this proposal?¡±, was the trite question that the Alethic church father, for lack of suitable terms for this almost inconceivable development, finally put to his colleagues, after having pondered for a while. The other two''s mood darkened and Hartmut replied to his Holiness, ¡°I would say we can''t trust this devil''s words even one iota. These creatures are the spawns of hell! Just look at what they''ve done to the capital! It''s impossible, just absolutely impossible! I''m telling you.¡± The other cleric next to him nodded with conviction at what his brother in faith was saying.

    The patriarch, whose real name was Zwenterfeld, was obviously not so sure, and he pulled on the longer ends of his beard again, while deliberating intensely over the situation. Consequently, his counterpart added, ¡°Come on! It''s not complicated. We''ll trick him by pretending to accept the offer and then disappear at the first available opportunity. You can''t make deals with the devil!¡± Then the other man further commented, ¡°Let the twisted Melgarists accept the destruction of their own imperial capital by the mad demon, who was the emperor''s own daughter, without acknowledging the diabolical nature of witches, but certainly not us! We must stand firm here, Your Holiness.¡±

    In the end, their church leader gave them his answer, ¡°I have been lied to and deceived many times in my life. I know these kinds of people. The Demon Emperor does not seem to me to be a person of such kind.¡± As a result, the other two were appalled by what he had just said. ¡°Our faith is in serious trouble. I believe that taking a pragmatic step is the better option here,¡± Zwenterfeld then concluded. ¡°Are you crazy? That''s exactly why the Alethian resistance is so weak and why so many insurgents want nothing to do with us!¡±, Father Hartmut raved. But his superior was not to be deterred. He simply didn''t offer any rebuttal. The two bishops immediately realized that he would not be swayed, especially since they had known him for a long time.

    ¡°Well, then we''ve got nothing more to say to each other!¡±, the cleric proclaimed before stepping out of the room with his colleague, and subsequently scarpering. The Chosen One just looked after them emotionlessly. He did not stop them. Then he turned and glanced in the direction of the hideout where the patriarch was still holding out. As was to be expected, the pig-headed ones, just as he was familiar with from the Imperial Council, had put their foot down. However, here and now he had found someone very important who was prepared to talk to him. The possibility of a schism in the Alethic Church on the basis of this seemed quite obvious.

    ¡°Order! Order in the chamber!¡±, it came from the throat of the Lord Speaker of the Imperial Diet. The preceding din quickly subsided to become an ever quieter murmur, which soon disappeared almost entirely. Today the Imperial Council was fully assembled. Not a single person was absent, a rare exception. The reason for this would soon become clear. The sun was flooding in through gigantic window,s that stretched almost thirty feet up to the ceiling, providing the assembly hall with more than adequate lighting. The lectern, which was the visual focal point of the semi-circular seating arrangement here, bore the sun emblem of the Empire. It was located on a slightly raised platform, and right next to it the flags of the kingdoms and territories of the Empire were displayed in order. In the front two large portraits hung on the wall behind the podium. Like Janus, they depicted Melgar the Great on the left and Emperor Wenzel on the right.

    ¡°Honourable members, I hereby welcome you to the thirty-fourth session of the Imperial Council. The agenda this time is considerably more extensive than it has been in many years. Accordingly, a large number of motions have been tabled in advance, which we will have to deal with today. First and foremost, His Most Serene Highness the Emperor has passed a series of decrees that we must consider.¡± In this case Eugen von Rauttenstein was speaking of issues of great importance, however blandly he may have been presenting the subject matter on this occasion. The Sovereign had passed a decree to massively expand the powers of the Imperial Guard, a step he had never dared to take before. Yet, this was still within the realm of the expected. What left everyone here stunned, however, was the edict of toleration for Alethism that His Highness had signed in parallel with this! In view of the realities that had prevailed since the Holy Revolution, this was not only an unheard-of, but rather an unthinkable move on the part of the Chosen One. NOBODY would approve of this.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    As the Speaker continued to rattle off his remarks, the entire Council sat there in the same bright yellow attire, listening intently. They were all convinced that they would nip His Majesty''s overconfident moves in the bud. Almost every one of them would vote against his far too excessive attempts to seize power. And Xaver von Duenitz, who was of course also present, was preparing to teach them a lesson together with his allies and the army loyalists in the Imperial Council, one that they would not soon forget! Right at the beginning, a vote on the two most important points was held. The votes were counted and.....

    Oh, no! The decree to strengthen the Imperial Guard had most definitely failed. However, it also had received a significant number of votes in favour, which caused quite an uproar in the assembly hall. Everyone wondered who had voted against the interests of the high nobility. Xaver was aware that they would soon find out who it was! He felt like disappearing into the ground when, immediately afterwards, the Edict of Toleration also received a clear rebuff. It was over. They had lost and the Chosen One would remain a powerless figurehead forevermore. Mr. Duenitz had thought that he had pulled off a clever political intrigue, but now found himself the loser in a confrontation with the unyielding egoism of the imperial elites. A delighted smile briefly crossed Von Rauttenstein''s lips. He then moved on to the next item on the agenda. It would............

    ¡°BOOM!¡± The large double door leading into the hall was yanked open with a loud bang. ¡°What on earth is going on here? Get ou....¡± Eugen was cut off. None other than Balduin, the commander of the Imperial Guard, stomped in with a thunderous step and simply drowned him out with his booming vocals. ¡°Most Serene Highnesses, in the name of His Majesty, Emperor Melgar, the Imperial Council is dissolved with immediate effect! You are requested to remain calm and obey all instructions from the Imperial Guard!¡± After these words had filled the hall, utter disbelief set in. Everyone froze because they first had to let this surreal message sink in, in order to realize its true meaning.

    However, the Speaker quickly regained his composure. He practically jumped at the hairless musclehead and aggressively ordered him to leave the premises again, even though the commander''s sword was flashing at him from his waist. Balduin just looked at him with a stern expression. ¡°Get out of here! Scram!¡±, Eugen consequently yelled at him, while the rest of those present simply looked on in largely silent perplexity. Then the physically not particularly strong man began shoving the leader of the Imperial Guard; a mistake, as it would turn out. The guy proceeded to grab him by the forearm with an iron grip and threw him to the ground. ¡°Get all this riff-raff out of here!¡±, Balduin then bellowed. Only now did pandemonium break out in the Imperial Diet. While the commander was handcuffing, or in other words arresting, the man who had been wrestled down, indignant jeering began to permeate the entire hall.

    At that exact moment, the rest of the guardsmen burst in, and loud cries of a phrase, that made everyone shudder, sounded. ¡°It''s the Diamonds! The Diamonds are staging a coup!¡°, ''You filthy traitors!¡±, and a series of other exclamations now echoed all throughout. From the door, which was the only entrance and exit, an ever-increasing number of guardsmen was pouring in to turn their master''s order into action. From one moment to the next, complete chaos broke out in the assembly hall. Wild roaring, desperate scuffling, hopeless resistance. A few people even tried to escape through the windows! This was not a wise idea, because they were not on the first floor, and it would be difficult to survive a fall from this height unscathed. A heated, overwhelming scuffle ensued, with the lawmakers gradually getting arrested and being escorted out of the hall.

    Only when they were outside, when they had left the crazy clamour behind them, did they, to their surprise, hear the sound of trumpets. There were many of them, not just the trumpets that usually sounded from the Cathedral of the Annunciation. No, from every steeple in the city the fanfare seemed to be blown, despite it being the wrong time of day for that. The men became anxious. They were justifiably afraid of what all this meant and what would happen now. The Chosen One had basically declared war on the country''s elites!

    A few days prior:

    An astonished gasp ran through the entire conclave. His Holiness had appeared here for their patriarchal election in person. No one knew how he had made this happen, as it was widely known that he had been in seclusion since the great fateful day. But now he stood before them in the flesh. Self-confident and unwavering, he immediately strode over to the speaker, the new patriarch. His Excellency immediately bowed, as custom demanded, and stepped back a little to make room for the ruler at the rostrum. In an instant, it was quiet again, and His Highness began to speak:

    ¡°My dear Damianos! My dear brethren! I congratulate you and all others here on the election of the new head of the Commune, and such a young and energetic one at that!¡± The audience gave him a brief round of applause. He then continued, ¡°The signs are pointing towards change and a new future. But unfortunately, I have to dispel your hopes in this regard! There will be no change, because there CAN be no change. Why is that, you might ask? Because the infidels and the traitors are blocking everything in order to keep things in the realm going only in their favour! This will not change, because they occupy even the highest offices! The revolution cannot be considered complete until its original goals have been achieved. Therefore, it is not over yet!

    Many of these parasites, who have taken up positions everywhere in the system and who have indulged themselves in it, are the very same people who had supported the previous regime of injustice. We have accepted these realities for many years and decades, because it was simply unavoidable for practical reasons. But things cannot go on like this indefinitely! Perpetual deadlock is not the credo of our civilization! The voice of God hereby commands me to continue the revolution, to continue the Holy War until its goals are achieved. So that the peoples of the Holy Empire may find salvation, I call upon all of you here and now to follow me on this path, my Teleiotic brethren in faith! It is God''s will!

    He then concluded the proclamation with an ancient Camenian phrase that could best be translated as ¡°God wills it¡±. It carried great historical and theological meaning. The call of the Chosen One was followed very quickly and with little hesitation by many, increasingly louder and louder repetitions of the slogan he had just recited. The Church had had enough of being ignored, even trampled on, by the high nobility, who in their eyes were largely indifferent to the faith. Over and over the ancient phrase was resounding through the hall. The Holy War had begun once more!

    Incidentally, within a few days there was a wave of apparitions of His Majesty in all parts of the country. Princes, kings, generals, cardinals, countless people were visited by the emperor completely unannounced and as if out of nowhere, to discuss matters with them and give them instructions. Then he disappeared into nothingness again.

    There was a downright electric tension in the air. Chancellor Rubellio was holding an emotionally charged conversation with Her Highness Amalie Althun. Even these two seemed to have been caught off guard by today''s events. Now an Imperial Guardsman marched up to them. ¡°Most Serene Lords and Ladies! I have been sent to inform you that God''s Chosen will be giving a speech at the Grain Market at four o''clock today. Everyone is invited to attend.¡± Grain Market was the name given to the square in front of the Reichstag, which obviously indicated its past purpose. The two simply replied to the messenger, ¡°All right, you may go.¡± The soldier immediately saluted and left.

    What in God''s name was going on here? The events in the Imperial Council just a few hours ago had now spread like wildfire. The entire government and, of course, the nobility in particular were in an uproar. They had observed a high noblewoman running up and down the building several times now, frantically asking everyone if they had seen her husband. It was extremely unsettling. Not even the Chancellor knew where Balduin and his men, who had ridden off after arresting the Imperial Council, had taken the prisoners.

    Next, Brahm came rushing up. ¡°Mistress, I was able to gather some relevant information. The Patriarch''s nuncio has notified me, that the unusual trumpet fanfare this morning was no mistake. The Commune has confirmed to me, that the Emperor has declared Holy War and that they will support it!¡± If it had been possible, the shock on Peter''s face would have gotten even more pronounced, but he was already beside himself. ¡°Oh, my God! What was he thinking with all that?¡±, he blurted out as a result, while Amalie remained outwardly more composed than him, managing to keep herself under control. But then her bodyguard continued,

    ¡°Besides, I became aware of the Alethic Patriarch''s arrival here at the Reichstag earlier. Yes, you did hear that one right! It seems that our emperor has granted him protection, as he arrived here surrounded by a considerable number of Diamonds.¡± Peter evidently didn''t know how to deal with the situation. It was as if everything was happening at once, a veritable bursting of the dam. Given the circumstances, there was probably not much they could do but wait for the next three hours until Wenzel''s address was due to begin. They didn''t know where he was either. Confusion and commotion were prevailing all around. The Sovereign would be well advised to have good answers ready for all of this!

 1. 20.2 Hail Melgar! (PART 2)

    High up on the Imperial Diet the flag was flown. It was the one that depicted an upwardly stretched fist entwined with thorny vines on a red background. Gone was the flag depicting a golden sun with curved rays, the imperial flag that had withstood even the fierce gales on the day of Meglarsbruck''s devastation. In its stead, the banner of revolution had now been raised. The emperor''s men knew of the importance and the power of symbols. And they made good use of them.

    Everyone was here: The Emperor''s wife, the Imperial Chancellor, the ministers of the government, less important underlings in the government apparatus, family members of the missing deputies of the Imperial Diet, the Teleiotic Patriarch and even the Alethic Patriarch. On top of that, a large crowd of ordinary townspeople began to gather in the square out of curiosity as to what was going on. The guards did their best to keep them away from the high lords and ladies who were eagerly awaiting the Chosen One''s arrival. From far down the road, the Imperial Guard regiment, led by Balduin, could already be seen approaching. The red and white check pattern of their uniforms was unmistakeable. They marched up in rank and file, stopping right on the margin of the so-called Grain Market. Their commander ordered them to remain there and then joined the other high-profile guests here.

    As soon as he had positioned himself next to Peter Rubellio, the latter immediately asked him, ¡°What on earth have you been up to! Where is Wenzel? He should be here at this very moment, so why didn''t he come here with you?¡± - ¡°Your Serene Highness the Chancellor, please bear with it for one more minute. His Highness will answer any questions that are pressing you.¡± As soon as he had finished saying this, the first people shouted and pointed their fingers up at him. On the balcony above, the wizard had suddenly appeared from one moment to the next. Only Amalie, Silke, Ylva and Brahm knew how he had done this.

    Two radiant stars peered down from the Reichstag building. His aura was flickering skywards like the flame of a candle, a phenomenon that almost no one here had ever witnessed. It was much stronger than the magical aura of his, that Amalie remembered from the last time she had seen it. Finally, the radiant entity began addressing the crowd from up above,

    ¡°Dear friends! Dear subjects! This address is to the whole empire and all its peoples! I have summoned you here today to make an announcement of seminal magnitude. Your former ruler, the one known as Wenzel Althun, is no more! Believe it or not, but it is the truth: before you stands Melgar, the Chosen of God!¡±

    The crowd stirred and frantic mumbling engulfed the square. His Majesty immediately continued his speech, ¡°Returned I am, resurrected from the dead, to set the world aright once more. For this purpose, I have taken over this new vessel here, whose body I now inhabit. Do not doubt it, for it is the truth. I am the One Chosen by God of whom your holy texts speak!

    Now then! Now you will probably wonder why I gave orders for the things that happened this morning. Do not despair, the Imperial Diet has not been permanently abolished. I have merely postponed the session. When it resumes in a few days'' time, however, the House will have to accept that the ruler will have a veto right in it in the future! I demand no more than the authority that I am entitled to in my role as sovereign, and I will, from now on, enforce it against all opposition! In any case, those who have steered the fate of the empire in recent years have been completely inadequate. They truly understand nothing about the country and its people.

    What do they know about what it means to lose everything, to stand before the wreckage of your own existence! What do they know about picking yourself up again and saying: ''I will live!'' Nothing! They know nothing! But I do. I was persecuted and oppressed in the days of the Testament as well as in this new life! Yet, I shall not falter! The Chosen One will not be stopped by such things. We will fulfil the once broken promises, that remained unfulfilled. Only with me this will happen. FOR I AM THE REVOLUTION!¡±

    The astonishment of the audience now drowned out any other emotion they might have had. At the end of His Holiness''s speech, a pin could have been dropped, and one would have heard its thud, so quiet had the whole place become. Balduin stomped back over to his horse with his clanking armour, on whose saddle he promptly swung himself. Down the long promenade, as far as the eye could see, a column of infantry and cavalry could suddenly be made out. The regiments of the Holy Ordanian Army had lined up directly behind the Imperial Guard. At their head was the Supreme Marshal! The Imperial Chancellor concluded that Ferenc had apparently accepted the Emperor''s decisions, even if he had probably not been in the loop with regards to them either. Yet already from a distance, Amalie could see from his face how divided the military man was over what had happened. The crestfallen expression he made reminded her strongly of the day he had confronted Theodor with the forged letter of August.

    Not until now did the first of the innumerable onlookers here begin to shout the usual ¡°Hail Melgar¡±, albeit cautiously for the time being. The assembled elites, with the exception of the church representatives, still remained silent. On Command, no military horns, but rather those specific trumpets, which actually were sacred instruments, were then blown by the soldiers. They blared loudly all along the street to announce the start of the parade. Together with the drums, they played an aggressive rhythm, to which the Diamonds now began singing:

    My heart burns for the true and the holy way,

    My head tells me, to never be led astray,

    My sword points at the Chosen One¡¯s enemy,

    My arm shall strike him without any remedy,

    Let¡¯s go on to an auspicious golden age,

    One that our offspring can belaud someday,

    Even if the great streams of Kaphkos shall run red,

    On our path to salvation we won¡¯t lose our head.

    The uniformed young men crossed the square in formation and then marched on along the wide avenues through the city. Enthusiasm was beaming from the faces of those in the Imperial Guard and you could almost see their conviction sparkling in their eyes. ¡°We will establish God''s kingdom on earth,¡± they thought to themselves. The drums banged and the trumpets blared through the metropolis, proclaiming the new Holy War. It attracted many inhabitants who were interested in what was going on here. Their parade route went past all the important sites and monuments of the ruin city, or at least what was left of them.

    From the balcony, His Highness watched the procession slowly move along until it had passed him entirely, crossed the temporary wooden replacement bridge over the Duhn and continued through the other parts of the city to the north. Melgar then went back into the government building through the balcony door behind him. This prompted everyone else here to rush back into the Reichstag building all at once.

    A boisterous crowd of ministers, church representatives, nobles, their bodyguards and the Imperial Guard was jostling through the corridors. Under the watchful eye of her protector, Brahm, Amalie also found herself among them. However, said person whispered something in Her Majesty''s ear and then, surprisingly, parted from her. Vehemently and purposefully, he dashed through the emotionally charged crowd to reach the stairs and climb them quickly. He soon left the spectators of the parade behind him and hurried to where he wanted to go. Where was that? Well, he could already be seen further down the corridor of the upper floor: Emperor Melgar.

    His old buddy approached the emperor. Looking tense, he then addressed him: ¡°Let me get straight to the point, Your Highness! I''m very sorry, but I can no longer support your current actions in the realm. It is no longer reconcilable with my conscience. I want nothing more to do with such a coercive rule that uses violence against all those who do not obey the autocrat at the top of the empire! I, therefore, ask to be relieved of your service.¡± As a result, the Chosen One squinted his eyes in scepticism and replied, ¡°And yet you had no problem with it all these years and decades, when I wasn''t the one who could be blamed for such things! Don''t think you can convince me that all this is my fault! Again and again, I have tried to steer society in a different direction, all in vain! The nobility, but likewise the Church, they never listened to me. Now they are reaping the fruits of the seeds they have sown themselves! The young men they indoctrinated are now marching in my ranks and dancing to my tune. And why? Because I was given no choice. So, it''s either them or me, and if we''re playing this game, it will be me.¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    He spoke with inflections and aspirations that almost gave the impression that he had only learned Ordanian as a foreign language on the side, but his arguments still hit Brahm hard. The man had no idea how to respond to the accusations made against him. ¡°The Imperial Council had no plans to go against you!¡± In response to this statement, His Majesty explained to him, ¡°What do you know! I know what will happen. I see the future.¡± Then he briefly made an effort to come down again, and finally continued, ¡°Be it so! A healthy body rejects everything that is harmful to it and only accepts that which strengthens and sustains it.¡± Having understood his allusion, his former bodyguard could not let what had been said go so easily. He gave the following rebuttal, ¡°I would rather compare the empire to a fish. And we all know where a fish starts to rot!¡± Melgar seemed amused by his clever retort and let out a short laugh. Then he turned his back on him and left. And this is how it came to be, that the old hand, Brahm, took his leave from the imperial house.

    Sporadic, little fleecy clouds covered the firmament in seemingly complete stillness, almost as if the whole earth had stopped moving. Sitting on the roof, he did, however, not observe them. He was engrossed in what he was reading. ¡°What are you doing?¡±, Peter''s voice reached him from behind. He had apparently entered the roof terrace unnoticed. Patently, the guards had let him past. The Chosen One responded, ¡°I''m just indulging in reminiscences again.¡± Over his shoulder, the man was then able to catch a glimpse of what his reading material consisted of. It was the Holy Testament, laying in his lap.

    ¡°It is pleasant to note that nothing about it has changed in the last five centuries. At least one constant.¡± His Ordanian now sounded more foreign than that of Peter. When he looked the enquirer in the face, he immediately noticed the scatterbrained, worn-down expression in it. In view of today''s events, it was probably safe to assume that Wenzel''s first friend would have quite a number of further questions for him. So, he immediately spoke to him, ¡°What do you want from me?¡±

    ¡°Are you seriously going to keep up this charade in front of me too, Wenzel? I understand that you needed a justification, that would get the Commune on your side and that could be presented publicly. It was bold nonetheless - Golly gosh, it was - but there are probably enough people in Ordania who genuinely believe in such miracles. Still, you don''t need to fool me here, Wenzel!¡± His Highness, subsequently, stared at him impassively, but a hint of disappointment also revealed itself on his face. He unsheathed the sword of his, which was not exclusively ceremonial, and held it out to the man. Then, he replied to his friend,

    ¡°This was one of the five Holy Artifacts. In them, I had conserved my soul for centuries.¡± But before he could continue his explanation, Peter pointed out that his spouse had already informed him of the nature of these objects. ¡°I still don''t believe it,¡± he commented on this matter. Melgar hadn''t had that on the cards. He looked at the crack in the cloudy, red jewel of the sword and wondered what had caused his counterpart to regard the reality presented before him as untrue. Wasn''t it blatantly obvious how different he was now, how his entire head of hair was now resplendent in snow-white? Finally, he said, ¡°Sit with me. Let''s talk a little more. You''ll realize that I''ve told you the truth.¡± The Chancellor complied and joined him.

    ¡°Are you really going to abolish the draconian punishments? I mean, recognizing Alethism is probably the most courageous step anyone could have taken. And I mean courageous in many ways...¡± The wizard now elucidated, ¡°In general, I will lower the penalties for blasphemy. Tolerating those who do not consider the Chosen One holy will significantly reduce the convictions in this area anyway. At the same time, though, a large number of schismatics who do not recognize the decision of the Alethic Patriarch will still have to be dealt with as harshly as before. Overall, though, I estimate that it will reduce the oppression of the country''s population at large.¡±

    Peter expressed scepticism about this. He also noted, ¡°Is that your excuse for destabilizing the entire empire? How are we supposed to achieve development and growth under such circumstances?¡± - ¡°Well, on the first point: no, it''s not. And secondly, everything is already broken and ruined anyway. Either way, we''ll have to start from the bottom again.¡± His interlocutor had to agree with him there, even if it displeased him. ¡°And the possibility of a revolt of the nobility doesn''t worry you at all? Not even the slightest bit? Because it sure does me!¡± The ruler didn''t even have to think about this, shook his head and instantly gave him the following answer: ¡°No, it doesn''t. They won''t accomplish more than a few minor uprisings, and they wouldn''t and won''t stand a chance and will be crushed with ease!¡±

    ¡°I''d love to have your confidence!¡±, his counterpart then uttered. But the mage countered, ¡°It''s not so much self-confidence than it is the ability of observation and logical deduction. The forces that the rebels had gathered in Camenia and Kasharovar have only recently been crushed. There is hardly any potential left that could be mobilized for resistance. Furthermore, the major noble houses will probably think twice about rising up against me, given that I have some of their more important lords in my custody.¡±

    After he had made that statement, one of the guards brought over bowls with a selection of dried fruit, which His Majesty apparently had requested. There were figs, dates, apples, raisins and apricots. ¡°Here, help yourself,¡± the emperor said to his friend. Initially hesitant, he just gazed, but eventually he sampled some of the dates. Only now did he really begin to question his perspective. ¡°Could he actually have become Melgar? Wenzel has never eaten anything like this before. His behaviour has changed noticeably, but so far, I''ve put that down to the shock of what happened with Viktoria. He''s not completely different from before. Somehow Wenzel is still in him, ....... but somehow he also isn¡¯t.¡±

    As they sat there eating, the native Camenian couldn''t help but repeatedly glance over at the sovereign. That was, of course, very noticeable. ¡°I know you''re looking for something....for someone who''s no longer there. It''s all right. I understand if you still don''t want to believe it. His memories are still up here,¡± he pointed at his head, ¡±and I know Wenzel always held you in high regard. I''ll try to make sure nothing changes between us. Although that''s a childish thought, of course. Everything is in constant flux and can never stay the same.¡± Peter sensed that there were genuine, earnest emotions coming through to him from the person who was talking with him here.

    But one thing was still bothering him: ¡°And Amalie? Why haven''t you discussed the whole issue with her yet? She is your wife, after all.¡± Melgar took a rather sizeable raisin and popped it into his mouth before replying, ¡°I came up here to avoid her. In my mind, I still haven''t worked out the right words to tell my darling about the matter with the necessary tact. It has to be just right for her. She''s been through enough as it is.¡± - ¡°I understand. Well, I''m not going to interfere with that. Good luck!¡±, was all Peter said. After that, it wasn''t long before he took his leave. The sun certainly was already very low, and there were a myriad of things to take care of, especially now.

    After the first friend he¡¯d ever had had disappeared, the Chosen One still tarried here. He would be watching the sunset. He spent a while contemplating on his own. ¡°Nothing has changed in the last five hundred years... Ha!¡±, he now mocked his own words from earlier. ¡°That he would simply accept such drivel without question!¡± What he was not aware of was the fact, that his old friend was still very sceptical of him, and that it would be a long time before he would accept the true circumstances of the emperor''s identity.

    The day was drawing to a close. Melancholy overcame the mage, as he reflected on everything that had transpired. He looked straight into the setting sun, getting blinded by its bright rays. What did the future hold? He had some ideas there, even if ultimately only God knew. An empire as golden as the sun itself was what he wanted to leave behind. He would now use all the strength he had to make this dream come true. Slowly but surely, the celestial body disappeared from the horizon. Its light began to redden more and more, dipping the ruins of the city in a deep crimson. Slowly, very slowly, it became darker and darker until it finally disappeared completely behind the horizon. Tomorrow would be another new day. A new day would always dawn. Come what may.