《Beyond?》 1. ~Beyond the curtain.~
Author''s Comment: I was asked about reading my work on other sites. The answer is simple: Currently I am not active in any other networks than royalroadl.com. Only here, I correct mistakes and errors. If you read it anywhere else and have to pay for it, or have to deal with an annoying amount of advertisement, You Are Being Betrayed. You would do good if you make other people in that network aware of it. This is a free project of mine for the purpose of having fun. And if people try to make money with it you shouldn''t bother visiting their website. The only one whom I actually allowed to have my work on his website is Armaell who invested the time to compile them into pdf. (http://armaell-library.net/author/andur)
If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ***Somewhere*** ***Me*** My eyes flick open and I watch the ceiling of my lair for several long moments. The shallow breaths I take freeze upon contact with the icy atmosphere and the created crystals slowly float away. They are beautiful and forebode my death. I didn''t expect to wake up another time after I went to sleep. That means that this world gave me another chance to survive. I move and my bones creak as I stand up. How can it be that I feel so old? Ah, but I am old. Now I remember. A long time ago this world was warm and full of life. Then the sun dimmed and the ice came. My people hid deep inside the earth. But with time the cold followed us even there. I watched them slowly wither away. Some were taken by the ice, but most fell to time. There is no greater foe than time. Death can be defeated, but time keeps creeping forward regardless of what you do. And when you attempt to stop it, everything you achieve is that you stop together with it. I stand up from my resting place and a thin layer of white frost falls from the rags which are covering my body. They are the only thing which offers some protection against my environment. My eyes scan my small cave for one last time, but there is nothing left which could aid my survival. No food, nothing which could be burned. The last water reserve is frozen and useless. Small and silent steps take me to a wall where a fissure appeared. It''s small, but I feel cold air entering through it. It''s always like this. It follows you until the day comes when you won''t wake up from going to sleep. I turn and push the circular stone aside which sealed the entrance to my cave. It creates some unwanted noise, but it can''t be helped. The stone sealed my lair airtight against the outside. The corridor in front of my lair is clean and I can''t sense any presences. So I turn and walk the path which leads me upwards. Towards the cold. The urge to go deeper is strong. Down to the last remnants of warmth. But I know that down there are things... unspeakable terrors which are able to kill me. And there is a certain end to that path. A point at which you can''t go any deeper where the cold will eventually get to you. So I choose to flee upwards. One last time. I hobble forward while pulling my bad leg after me. It''s been useless since a long time ago. But I decided to keep it, thinking that there may come a time when I feel hungry enough to... A sound makes me stop. Something is coming down my path. I step into a nearby crevice to hide myself and concentrate, to regulate my breathing to a bare minimum. The entrance to my lair lies in this particular part of the cave system for exactly this reason. The walls are riddled with clefts and fissures which make it easy to hide. Three pale figures rush past me. A hunting group. They''ve been on my trail for weeks now. I don''t know when they first appeared, but they seem to be degenerated versions of my people. Though they have adapted to the cold. They are gone as fast as they came. But I keep lingering in my hiding spot. My senses tell me that there is another one. A slow one. I lick over my lips and wait. It passes by and my hand shoots out from my hiding place, grabbing the straggler at his windpipe and squeezing it shut. Not a sound escapes as I pull it into shadows inside the crevice. It struggles, but the limbs keep flailing around meaninglessly. My fingers dig into its flesh and eyes with a shred of intelligence flick towards mine. I read fear, hate and madness in them. A whole set of emotions. I don''t care about it as I drain the puny amount of life force from the thing. It''s eyes turn glassy and I drop the dead body to the ground. With a part of my strength restored I continue on my path. In the past I disposed of all dead bodies which were too close to my cave, but I don''t intend to return, so it doesn''t matter now. A little further ahead I choose the left path where the corridor splits. The cave gets narrower and narrower from that point on. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Finally it''s just a tiny mine shaft which leads steeply upwards. I get to my knees and start crawling and climbing with the practice of many years. The bad leg and the two missing fingers on my right hand are hindering me, but I''ve learned to cope with it. After a small eternity I reach my destination. It''s a flat dome close to the surface. The floor is perfectly smooth and riddled with small lines and symbols. They are filled with my frozen blood. I stay on all fours while I search the entire floor for any damage to my magical circle. But there is none. Just a few pebbles which fell from the ceiling. They are easily removed and I place myself in the centre of the circle. Then I start to meditate like the day before and the day before that... so many failures. I wish to escape this world, which is at the end of its lifespan. The will to survive has driven me to great lengths. I even tried to teleport away. Though I soon had to admit that there is no use in teleportation if you don''t know where you want to go. So I resorted to summoning magic. If the people of my world can summon servants from somewhere else, then there may be other places to which you can get summoned. The trick lies in answering to such a summoning ceremony. Or in intercepting one. So I clear my mind and start to listen to the tune which calls for beings from far away. I am looking for the same tune everyday. It''s strong and full of life, so I wish to go there. It calls out to the universe almost every day. But I never managed to synchronize myself with it. Today it''s all or nothing. Hours pass and nothing happens. When I try to move I realize that it isn''t possible. I reach for my feet and realize that they are frozen. The cold claims everything at one point or the other and I made up my mind on the path I''ll take. Seems like I won''t survive. So I close my eyes again and listen while I''m slowly drifting off to sleep. Somehow I know that I won''t wake up this time. *** A beat! I feel it! The strong beat of life is calling from far away! I release all my mana and pour it into the magic circle under my feet. With desperation and hope I reach for the tune of life which calls out to the universe! Though I feel something else answering the same call, I still cling to it with all my might. And then I feel myself floating! An old and wrinkled body is under me, it sinks down and a final breath escapes from its mouth. Is that me? Did I just die? I have no time to think. An unbelievable force pulls me away from my world and the stars blur as they pass by! Stars? How long has it been since I watched them? ***Between worlds*** ***Me*** I open my eyes and find myself on a rocky plain. Everything is grey and white. Is this the afterlife? So the summoning failed? Or did the other one manage to answer the summoning first? My wrinkled old hands and my body are still the same. I am even wearing the rags I am accustomed to. Didn''t I leave my body behind? Or is this some kind of dream world where you look like the image you have of yourself? Something snarls behind me and I turn. What I find there is a strange creature. It''s red and has two horns on its head. The face is a hideous mess and sharp teeth emerge from its mouth. The hands are too long and have four deadly looking claws. A long tail is curling behind it and its legs are bent backwards, ending in strange hooves. It''s naked and a uselessly large weapon is dangling between its legs. ¡°You! Intercepted! My! Summoning!¡± The thing barks at me. How pitiful. This mutant can''t even speak normally. ¡°I won''t! Let you steal! My prize away! From me! This world! Is mine! To take!¡± It barks again and jumps at me. So slow. Maybe I should end its pain? What point is there in life if you are that weak? My body jerks out of the path of the clawed hand which strikes at me. The poor thing is simply too slow. Back in the depths of my world were much faster hunters. One of my shaky hands reaches forward and grabs the claw to twist it. The finger snaps and the poor monster howls. My body moves past the thing and I reach for its tail. A fast jerk detaches the tail from its owner while I kick the monster''s shin. The thing falls while it continues to howl. The detached tail finds its way around the poor mutant''s neck and I step on one end while I pull with my right hand on the other. ¡°How? On this plane! Counts only! The will! Of the individual! How can you! Be that strong!¡± The thing continues to bark meaningless things while I''m reaching down and disarm it. An unbelievable howl with a high pitch pains my ears, so I stuff the monster''s weapon down it''s throat to shut it up. Finally the poor thing stops twitching. It lived longer than I expected from such a deformed creature. I wish I had been able to end its miserable life in a less painful way, but it attacked me. And I don''t like being attacked. Then I feel myself being pulled away before I am able to take a closer look at the thing. The world blurs around me as I am pulled to another place far away. . 2. ~Awakening.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ***Elsewhere*** ***Me*** PAIN! This agony! Why does it hurt so much? I open my eye. My eye? Why do I have just one eye? Fuck! It feels like something is crushing my body and rebuilding it from scratch! From far away I hear a scream. But then I realize that it''s my own. It doesn''t sound like a voice that belongs to a living being. Finally the pain subsides and leaves me lying on a hard stone floor while I''m gasping for air. It looks like I am in a dark room. The oil lamps on the walls provide just enough light for me to take a look at my surroundings. There is something like a magical circle on the ground around me. I am in the centre of a hexagon about ten metres in size. On each edge of the summoning circle lies a person with their throats cut. What a waste! Which butcher orchestrated this ritual? I turn my attention towards myself. Two chubby arms and legs. Two eyes, one nose, one mouth, two ears! At least I am symmetrical. Though the weapon between my chubby legs seems a little small. There is blood all over me, but my skin is unhurt and soft. I seem to be a child? Yeah, I think I remember now that small children are supposed to look like this. Why the fuck am I a child? A small whimpering voice draws my attention and I turn around. I am greeted by a guy in a black cloak. His eyes are completely black and a single black feathered wing sprouts from his right shoulder. Great, another freak! He has a bloody dagger in his right hand and a gleaming amulet in his left. The lines and circles of the amulet are forming the same magical circle as the one I am sitting in. I''ll call that guy Mr. Black for now. Behind him is a dirty altar with a crying woman on top. She is wailing and tries to get away, but invisible shackles hold her in place. There are cuts all over her body and her belly is a bloody mess. Did Mr. Black gut her? What strikes me as odd, though, is the swirling tail that''s attached to her and the black horns which crown her head. The strange dark metallic hair colour is just a small bonus compared to her other features. I am sorry Mrs. Sacrifice. I don''t think you are going to survive. Mr. Black steps forward while he looks baffled at me. Probably he expected something big and red, with claws? Ah, I think I killed the one Mr. Black wanted to call. He shakes his amulet at me. ¡°What''s this!? This failure! So many sacrifices! For a small child!?¡± His face turns red while he''s screaming at me, but I don''t understand his language. That''s a problem. Or not? I am not sure if I want to understand him. My eyes wander to another pile of bodies while Mr. Black continues screaming. Seems like that''s the reason why his summoning ritual felt so full of life. He killed a lot of people for this. Well, I don''t care. There are real people around me for once. I don''t remember how long it has been since I had company. It doesn''t matter if they are alive or dead. People are people. ¡°Make yourself at least useful and clean all this!¡± Mr. Black speaks with a commanding voice and his amulet pulses red. I feel something tugging at my mind. Enslavement magic? I don''t even understand what he wants. Is that guy an idiot? Now I feel lucky that I don''t understand his language. No commands, no enslavement. I grin at him in the most stupid manner I am capable of. He stomps onto the ground. ¡°Graaah! It''s stupid too! So that means that just simple commands work. UP!¡± He lifts his arms together with the command. Unfortunately the gesture alone isn''t hard to understand and I start moving before I can do anything against it. Crap! Just at this moment the heavy wooden door which leads into this room bursts open and several people storm inside. All of them carry weapons and have the same weird bodies as Mrs. Sacrifice. Though I notice that the men don''t have tails. Mr. Black waves his hand and the first group of attackers is thrown backwards by a pulse of telekinetic power. ¡°Kill!¡± Mr. Black points at the newcomers and looks at me while the amulet glows up. I waver for a second on what to do. It''s obvious that he wants me to do something to them. Long forgotten feelings of hate well up inside me as I look at the newcomers. Probably the amulet is the reason for these feelings. For one moment I waver. But then I raise my hand and infuse my mana into the blood all around the room. Another wave of my hand forces the blood under my will and a fine red mist forms between us and the newcomers. Then it solidifies into a transparent, shimmering red barrier. Somehow I don''t like to be ordered around by Mr. Black. So I intentionally misunderstood him. On the other hand my hesitance allowed three attackers to pass the barrier before it was fully formed. There is an old woman with a staff and a younger woman which looks similar to Mrs. Sacrifice. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. A man with a spear also managed to pass my barrier in time. ¡°Valda!¡± He screams in rage as he finds Mrs. Sacrifice on the altar. The locked out people are hammering in vain onto my blood seal. Though each of their blows creates small openings on the transparent film of blood. The holes close immediately after they are created. Strange. I seem to be very weak. They shouldn''t be able to do anything to my barrier. The three people who managed to pass the barrier attack without hesitation and Mr. Black forces them backwards with another surge of power. Mr. Black raises his amulet another time. ¡°K... Aargh!¡± The spear guy threw his spear at Mr. Black and hit his hand dead centre. The amulet flies through the room and lands close to the Altar. I try to move in order to destroy the accursed object, but I am bound to my position. The previous order is still in effect and retrieving the amulet for myself has nothing to do with keeping the attackers at bay. Spear guy charges at us together with the younger woman, but a swing of Mr. Black''s wing wipes him away like an annoying fly. ¡°Yoran!¡± The woman calls for the spear wielder. Then Mr. Black plucks the younger woman out of the air like catching a toy. A surge of life force ripples back and forth between them. But the woman is overwhelmed with ease. The girl screams while being held at her throat and Mr. Black is sucking something like a green mist out of her with his wing as a conductor. I shudder. Mr. Black seems to be a soul mage and I can''t oppose him while I am under the influence of that damn amulet! I survey the room and find the old woman standing again. ¡°Vile fiend! Begone!¡± She raises her staff and a ray of light shoots at Mr. Black. He deflects it with ease and sends the granny to the ground with another pulse of power. I suppose he didn''t use all of the sacrifices for my summoning ceremony. He used at least a few of them to strengthen himself. Mr. Black drops the girl to the ground and sneers at the dead body. Then something tugs at my mind and I snap to attention. Turning towards the altar, I find Mrs. Sacrifice on the ground. She is holding the amulet which was sent flying earlier with both hands. Her expression is desperate while she looks at me. ¡°Save us. Save us. Please!¡± I don''t understand what she wants, but I can guess it. Mr. Black''s attention turns towards Mrs. Sacrifice. ¡°No!¡± He steps forward, but I tug with telekinesis at his foot and trip him. The blood on the ground is still infused with my mana and a mere thought is enough to form a long spike where Mr. Black lands on the ground. It penetrates his chest and exits at his back. He looks at me with shocked eyes as I toddle towards him and touch his cheek, making contact with his mind. A scream erupts from him as I start draining his life force. Finally his control slips and all the souls which were contained within him escape. Dozens of lights exit him and I grab one of them. It has the right feeling to it. And it is in tune with the dead body of the young woman. The soul is in turmoil, so I open myself and force my own calm feelings onto it. I try very hard to hold back in order to not overwhelm her. It''s a young soul after all. It''s been a long time since I did this, but I think I got the right one. I walk on my chubby feet to the young woman''s corpse and sit down beside her. The soul enters her body with ease and I electrocute the woman. She gasps and opens her eyes. Good, it hasn''t been too long since her soul was taken. As long as it''s returned within a certain time frame, there should be no problems. I pat her forehead to reassure her, leaving a bloody hand print there. Ah, I forgot that I am still dirty. She is just looking at me, flabbergasted. That''s done. One more to go. The force of the amulet doesn''t let go of me and I head back to Mrs. Sacrifice as the young woman gets to her knees. The spear man is holding her with tears in his eyes. She is whispering some words to him. Probably her final ones. I grab her hand and start pouring the life force I robbed from Mr. Black into her. It feels nauseating to do so, but I continue anyway. The wound in her belly closes and the cuts disappear. Finally some colour returns to her face. Ah, I feel dizzy. This way of healing is bothersome, but it''s the most effective one I know. Both Mrs. Sacrifice and the spear man look at me in wonder. ¡°No!¡± Suddenly Mrs. Sacrifice shoots forward and grabs me, shielding me with her body against something. ¡°Get out of my way! We have to deal with this monster!¡± The voice of the old woman speaks, but I am too tired to listen. She sounds angry and dangerous. I have a hard time staying awake since I just cheated the grim reaper of two lives. ¡°My child is no monster!¡± The woman is crying above me. I reach up and wipe the tears away, not understanding what''s wrong. Didn''t I just save her? There is no need to spill water. Such a waste of resources. I close my eyes to sleep... . 3. ~Confirmation.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Yoran*** It''s morning and I haven''t slept since yesterday. My wife Valda was abducted during her trip through the city and her guards were killed. Luckily a random commoner saw what happened and since our clan has a good relationship with the common folk he immediately reported it. Of course I mobilized the entire family and all our resources to find my pregnant wife. But we were too late. I''ll never forgive myself for this. A user of the dark arts had gotten his hands on her. He cut the child out of her belly and used it as an offering for his mad summoning ceremony. I wish I could''ve killed him myself. At least I ordered his corpse being cut apart and displayed at all four main gates to our city. So why is my wife sitting there with a small boy on her lap? Even if this creature saved her, he can''t be our child. She was in her fourth month and that boy has to be at least seven months old. But his light hair shows my dark colour, while some strands shimmer with the dark blue metallic colour of my wife. The horns are just tiny knobs yet, but they still mark him as a member of our race. I cover my face with both hands and start to rub. The events down in that cavern feel so unreal. Where did that rogue magician come from? There were no indications of such a mighty practitioner of the dark arts in my city. As the governor of Tri I should have known of him. I wouldn''t have let my wife go outside with so few guards. Grandmother Quamar is keeping watch over Valda and the boy too. She would have slit the child''s throat right then and there if I hadn''t stepped in. She is a little chubby and sitting with a grim expression beside the healer who is examining the boy. She has her staff ready and her grey hair is messed up. One of her beautiful horns broke off during the fight, but otherwise she is well. Valda''s sister Jade is also with us in healer Laney''s office. She didn''t speak a word since... she was returned from the dead. Jade is just staring at her hands while sitting on a chair in the corner of the room. She doesn''t seem to care that her blonde hair is still dirtied with blood. My close advisor Daylen is leaning at the door to make sure that nobody disturbs us or listens in. He is Jade''s future husband. A heavy war axe is on his back and his expression is grim while he watches Jade. ¡°And I say that we should deal with the spawn of evil while we have the chance.¡± Quamar grumbles while she''s fixating the child with her eyes. ¡°No! Nobody will harm him even more than what that bastard already did!¡± Valda pulls the sleepy boy closer to her chest. Healer Laney drops her wooden stick in frustration. She used it to push the boy''s tongue aside. ¡°Normally I have to keep the children from moving! But he is so tired that he wouldn''t twitch if you dropped him to the ground. So keep still, Valda!¡± Laney belongs to our household and she is a trustworthy person with brown hair and a round face. ¡°Sorry.¡± Valda starts to caress the boy''s hair while looking at the ground. Laney grabs the boy''s jaw and spreads it apart while she lights his mouth with a glowing stick. The child doesn''t resist. I can''t help it. I feel uncomfortable while watching this. ¡°Are you sure that it''s okay to treat the boy like that? He killed that dark magician in the blink of an eye. Don''t agitate him.¡± Laney glares at me and selects a small glass marble from her tool set, which starts to glow in multiple colours as soon as it touches the boy. ¡°Maybe you should take a look at Jade or Valda instead?¡± Daylen grumbles. Valda shakes her head. ¡°I am fine! He healed me completely.¡± Laney points behind herself at Jade. ¡°That one is completely fine. Just a few bruises. And Valda is healthier than ever. I am more concerned for the boy. That means if he really was summoned like you said.¡± Valda shakes her head vehemently. ¡°He wasn''t summoned! Something went wrong and when the dark magician placed the embryo on the circle it simply started to grow until he was as he is now.¡± Laney pulls a big round glass from her devices and holds it in front of the boy. His insides are made visible by the glass and I look away. I saw enough gore down in that cavern. Quamar''s eyes focus the amulet around my wife''s neck. ¡°Then why can you control him with that?¡± Her eyes turn to Jade. ¡°And how did he revive her? Nobody ever came back after a dark magician took his soul. The child was touched by something that doesn''t belong to this world!¡± ¡°He isn''t evil.¡± Jade''s voice makes everyone stop and Daylen leaves his post to grab his fianc¨¦e''s hand. She continues. ¡°And I didn''t come back. He... stopped me from leaving. There were others with me. And when that mage died they were all relieved to be released. I wanted to go with them... But then there was this calm light. He said that it wasn''t too late and that I should never give up.¡± Her eyes wander to the sleeping boy who is hanging in Valda''s arms. ¡°Maybe I dreamed it.¡± Laney sighs and drops the vision glass onto the table with her instruments. ¡°He is fine. There is nothing more to say. A perfectly healthy child. Age between eight months and one year. And according to the blood test he is Valda''s and Yoran''s child. I don''t know of any way to cheat this test. And he has outstanding magical talent.¡± She places the marble in his hand again and it starts to shine once more. ¡°Congratulations. It''s probably better if we limit his mana pool until we are sure that he doesn''t have a nasty personality. Children shouldn''t run around with a weapon like that.¡± Quarma grumbles. ¡°Most adults I know shouldn''t have their powers. What would a child who was born by a dark ritual do with it?¡± Suddenly Valda''s expression changes. ¡°Shut up Quarma! I am the head of the clan. My child stays! If you don''t like it you can leave.¡± Quarma grips her staff tighter. ¡°Dear daughter, I don''t think that you have enough influence to expel the former clan leader.¡± Valda smiles at her. ¡°Do you want to test me?¡± After several moments of staring at each other Quarma looks away. Daylen steps forward. ¡°Valda, it''s good that you have recovered, but maybe you should sleep over this. I don''t believe that someone can go through such an experience without being affected.¡± Valda glares at him. ¡°I was affected! I got cut open like livestock and had the first few months with my child stolen from me! Go and speak to the others who saved me. Not a word to anyone! Make up a suitable story or persuade them to keep their mouth''s shut. If one word gets out I''ll see to it that some heads roll!¡± ¡°A... As you wish.¡± He bows. Valda turns to me. ¡°And you''ll use all your resources to sweep the entire incident under the carpet!¡± I nod. ¡°There is nothing I wouldn''t do for you.¡± In the meantime Laney mixed a bottle of a black substance and started to paint a set of runes onto the boy''s neck. ¡°I''ll teach you the seal later. This time I''ll apply the seal myself. Hahahaha. A cute boy with magical abilities. There is just one male magician for three females. And there may be only a few males that powerful in the entirety of Nict. The other families will try everything in their might to pair him off with their daughters. You could secure a valuable alliance with one of the other big clans.¡± Her eyes start to shine. ¡°Or we could keep him to ourselves to strengthen the bloodline. I think there is a branch family with a daughter of suitable age.¡± The healer starts drooling. ¡°Forget that. There hasn''t been a male of our blood with such a strong hereditary disposition for magic in a long time. We should milk him and freeze the prize to preserve it for later generations.¡± You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Valda forces a smile on her face. ¡°There is still time to think about the possibilities and their consequences.¡± I nod. Laney is definitely strange when it comes to themes like this. ¡°You guys should be more practical. Well, I am not the head of the family.¡± Laney purses her lips. ¡°There! Properly sealed! Please come back if there are any problems.¡± Valda yawns and stands up. ¡°I''ll go to sleep then. See you tomorrow.¡± *** ¡°I still need a few signatures from you dear.¡± I call out to Valda who is sitting on the veranda of our mansion. ¡°It took me the entire night to let the old documents about the incident disappear and have new ones forged. I even faked a certificate of birth and had it inserted into the royal library. The thief I paid for it thought I was stupid when I told him that he has to break into a high security building to place a document there instead of stealing something.¡± ¡°Aaaahh... open your mouth and eat!¡± Valda stabs the spoon at the boy like a dagger. She is trying to feed a wobbly white mass to the boy. It''s the liver of a grassland lizard. I frown. ¡°I didn''t want to eat that either when I was small. My mother told me that she had to persuade me with sweets.¡± Valda raises an eyebrow and grabs the boy''s jaw, forcing the spoon into his mouth. ¡°Laney said that little boys of his age have to eat that to stay healthy and grow properly.¡± The child pulls a grimace, but Valda shoves another spoon into his mouth without mercy. Five minutes later the bowl with the liver is empty. Then she places the boy in a playpen. ¡°Stay.¡± She signals him to stay put. I hand her a pen and she starts signing the documents. ¡°Ah, that''s right! We have to give him a name.¡± I blink. ¡°Yeah, sure. But isn''t there still more than enough time? Children and their names are officially recognized at the age of five.¡± ¡°Actually I have already thought of a whole set of possibilities. What do you think of Andur, Ascathon, Angrod, Auren, Acton, Asceron ...¡± Her list goes on and on, but I stop to listen halfway as the boy opens the door to his playpen with ease. It''s a complicated lock and I didn''t expect a child to be able to understand the mechanism. The boy toddles off through the garden and into the direction of the stables. I just stand there, unable to cope with what I just saw. ¡°... Arduin ...¡± ¡°Dear?¡± ¡°... Azir ...¡± ¡°DEAR!¡± ¡°Yes?¡± I point towards the stables. ¡°He ran off! Towards the stables! It''s dangerous there for a child.¡± Valda shrugs her shoulders. ¡°That''s no problem. Actually I chose this spot to set him free in order to teach him.¡± ¡°Teach him?¡± I frown. Valda signs another page. ¡°Yes. To follow my commands. That''s something he has to learn as early as possible.¡± I take the first stack of papers back. ¡°Why don''t you simply use the amulet to command him?¡± I point at the artefact around her neck. Valda shakes her head vehemently. ¡°That would defeat the point completely. Using the amulet would only create distrust between us. He has to realize that while my commands may inconvenience him, they are in his best interest. And he has to learn that his mother is a ~haven of safety~.¡± I try to smile. ¡°But in the stables...¡± ¡°~He is a smart one. He''ll survive.~¡± ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Me*** I got away from the scary woman! At first I thought that she had adopted me or something like that. But then she brought me to that other woman who tortured me the entire night with her devices! I simply fell unconscious at some point. And today I wake up and she is forcing that strange stuff down my throat! On top of that my magic is gone! What the hell did they do to me? At least I got away while she wasn''t paying attention. Maybe Mr. Black was the good guy and Mrs. Sacrifice was the evil one? Did I misunderstand something? But for some strange reason she didn''t use the amulet. That was her mistake. I go as fast as I can until I reach a paddock with black horses inside. At least they look like horses. I remember from my old world that you can ride on them. I walk closer until I reach the fence. Maybe I can use them to escape? Now that I look at them I get doubts. They are too big. I''ll never be able to flee on one of them. And they have broken horns at their foreheads. Are they unicorns? In the centre of the paddock is a pillar with bags. They are out of nets and filled with briquettes. Some kind of food? But it''s too high for the horses. Now that I think about it, isn''t the fence a little too high too? Then a big leathery bird lands on the pillar and starts picking on the briquettes. It''s something like a bat. So the food is meant for those birds? But why would you feed those things? The bird looks up and locks its eyes on me. They look hungry... and the bird is twice my size. It leaps into the air and glides towards me. Nonono! I am not food! I look around, but there is no way to outrun the thing and no opportunity to hide. Suddenly one of the horses jumps upwards and snatches the bird out of the sky. The mouth of the horse opened much wider than I remember them to be able to and revealed a set of sharp teeth. The big bird squeals and pecks at the horse, but without effect. The maw of the horse is holding the bird in a tight grip. Then the horse starts to chew slowly, not caring about the squeals of the bird. Soon the bird is silent and the horse looks at me while it continues to chew, blood running down its neck. A pair of red glowing eyes locks onto me. I turn and run as fast as I can back the way I came. After some metres I trip and fall flat on the ground, but I get up and start running again as fast as my chubby feet can carry me. What went through my head? I am less than a metre tall, have no magic and I move like a walking stick! Even the fucking birds here see me as food! No! Forget the bird! The horse ate the bird! The horse ate the fucking bird and it was bigger than me! And I don''t know this world. What other nightmares are out there? Finally I arrive back at the starting point of my adventure. The scary woman is still speaking to the man. Good! I sneak back into my fenced area and close the door behind me. That''s the moment when the woman turns her attention back towards me. ¡°You are so cute and well-behaved!¡± She lifts me out of the playpen and places me on her lap. ¡°And because you stayed put you''ll get a reward.¡± She shoves something on a stick into my mouth and I already expect the vile taste of something inedible. But it tastes sweet and the vile taste from earlier disappears from my mouth... ¡­ did I just get rewarded? . 4. ~Language.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Valda*** ¡°That is definitely strange.¡± Laney pulls on her lower lip while she looks at Azir who is playing on the floor. It has been a week since my abduction and I must admit that I am still shaken up. I thought that I would go insane down in that cavern. But then my child rescued us. I don''t care what he is. Azir is my son and that''s it. He opened up to me during the last week and I started to think that this whole story may have a good ending. Though I soon had to admit that Azir isn''t a normal child. He is very smart and doesn''t act like a child his age. The only problem seems to be that he doesn''t know our language. But he is working on that hurdle. I have to correct myself. He isn''t playing. He is scribbling notes on a notebook while he is flipping through the pages of a children''s book. It''s one of those which have pictures with the names of things beneath them. I gesture at Azir. ¡°He even taught the alphabet to himself. All I did was read some books to him while having him on my lap.¡± Laney nods. ¡°A normal child wouldn''t learn to speak and write at the same time. What he is doing looks more like an adult approach on learning an unknown language.¡± She tilts her head. ¡°Maybe it''s his ability?¡± I frown. All magicians in our world have an inborn ability which enables them to use a particular magic without chanting. That''s why the great clans came to be. Our clan has the power to manipulate mana freely. Others may be able to form water according to their will. From time to time some clan members develop different abilities. But the ability is normally inherited through the female line. That''s why the clan leaders are almost always women. Each clan protects their magical bloodline fiercely, always trying to get their hands on suitable children to secure the next generation. A child between a female magician and a non magician isn''t guaranteed to inherit magic ability. The ability to use magic can go dormant for many generations in that case. There are cases of bloodlines which were thought lost, reappearing in the child of a commoner who had an ancestor with magical power. Contrary to that, a child between two magicians is always a magician. I cross my legs and ponder over it for a moment. ¡°You think that he has improved memories and intelligence? But that''s the ability of the Siorda clan. I don''t think I have any of them in my family tree. And I thought his ability is to freely control blood?¡± ¡°Maybe it came from the male line? Too bad that we don''t have complete records of the husbands who married into our clan. Though I haven''t heard of a case of someone having two abilities.¡± Laney crosses her arms in front of her chest. Azir looks up and I turn my attention at him. He is holding a sheet of paper and waves it in the air, so I kneel down in front of him and smile. ¡°What do you have there? Show mommy what you wrote.¡± He shakes his head and points at Laney. ¡°She!¡± Laney steps closer and takes the sheet. ¡°Oh, you are so charming to think of me...¡± She takes a look and her smiling face turns immediately expressionless. Then she closes her eyes and smiles again while handing me the sheet. ¡°He isn''t just cute, he is also a real prince charming. I think you''ll have a lot of work if you want to pair him up with one of the finer ladies.¡± I take the sheet and frown upon reading the unrefined scribbled letters.
¡°Filth(Curse?) Moonfaceslut(Insult?). Woman, stop poke with your many sticks. May you slip and impale yourself with them.¡±
Laney''s expression turns vicious. ¡°I think you should double his weekly portion of liver.¡± She can''t deal with being reminded of her round face. It''s not like she is ugly, but she still has a little complex over that particular feature of hers. ¡°I think you are looking at this too narrow-mindedly.¡± I smile at Azir and stroke his hair. ¡°That was a good try Azir, but you made some mistakes.¡± Azir''s expression turns troubled. ¡°Mistake?¡± That''s a word he already understands. So I bend down and correct his sentence. ¡°Look. It''s supposed to be like this. This is Laney.¡± I point at Laney.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.¡°Hello my beautiful maiden, Laney. Please stop poking me with your instruments, thanks. Don''t trip and hurt yourself with them.¡±
Azir looks for several seconds at the new sentence, then he flips his notebook and starts scribbling again, correcting some of his notes. Laney frowns and gestures at him. ¡°You know that it won''t take long until he finds out?¡± I shrug my shoulders. ¡°Don''t fret over it. You mistreated us the entire night with your instruments. It''s understandable that he holds a small grudge.¡± ¡°Let me try something.¡± Laney kneels down and looks at Azir. ¡°Hi, I am Laney.¡± She points at herself. ¡°Who are you?¡± She gestures at him. Azir looks for a moment at her hands. Then he smiles. ¡°Azir.¡± I nod and pat his head. ¡°Good boy.¡± Laney mumbles something. Then points at herself. ¡°Laney is from here.¡± She gestures at the room. Then she points at Azir. ¡°Azir is from... ?¡± Azir tilts his head. Then he points upwards to the ceiling and continues his research on the children''s book. I sigh. ¡°I think he misunderstood that one.¡± Laney continues to look at Azir. ¡°I don''t think so. He was part of a summoning ceremony. So what if it''s not his body that got summoned, but his soul? I always asked myself from where those dark magicians conjure their monstrosities.¡± I hug Azir. ¡°But he isn''t a monster. Which monster could have a bright mind like him?¡± Laney takes a sheet of paper and draws a horizon with the sky and the earth and the sun. ¡°Laney is from here.¡± She points at the ground. ¡°Azir is from the sky?¡± She points at the sky. Azir furrows his eyebrows and points at the sun. ¡°From beyond.¡± He takes the sheet and makes a few dots into the sky. ¡°From beyond.¡± Laney takes the sheet back. ¡°There are theories that out there are other worlds. And that every light in the night sky is another sun like ours.¡± I shake my head. ¡°But he said that he is from beyond? Is there something farther away? Azir? How is beyond?¡± Azir pulls a pained grimace. ¡°Beyond is cold. Here is warm. Much better.¡± He hugs me. I can''t help it and hug him too. ¡°Azir? Never tell anyone that you are from beyond, ok?¡± I point at the paper. ¡°Azir no tell. Azir no from beyond.¡± He furrows his eyebrows, then he nods and smiles. ¡°Azir from here.¡± He pats on the ground and I let out a sigh. ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Azir*** I got a name! It has been a long time since I had one. And I decided to stay with the scary woman who seems to be my mother. No idea why she wants to be my mother, but I have no objections to having a protector. This world is beyond my reasoning. Why are these people keeping so many dangerous animals around them? There is a really scary cat strolling around on my parent''s property. I would probably be just right for dinner. At least Valda explained to me that the white stuff is something my new body needs. She wasn''t trying to poison me. And the mad doctor''s name is Laney. Right now they are discussing something between themselves. But they are speaking too fast for me, so I have no chance of understanding them. My mother wishes that I hide the fact that I am not a normal child. Probably there are some cultural issues I am unaware of. But for now all my attention is focused on learning the language. This fucking language drives me insane. There is no tense added to the verbs. Instead you indicate the tense by placing the verb either at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of the sentence. And depending on certain pointers which have no meaning of their own, you can change the meaning of a word completely. For example ¡°Rahuun¡± means moon. But ¡°aRahuun¡± is the dawn in the morning. I wish I had my magic and could simply suck the knowledge out of someone. Probably they wouldn''t react too well to that. Maybe it''s better to learn it the old fashioned way. I look up and listen to the mumblejumble between my mother and Laney. At least my self hypnosis techniques are still working. It''s said that the best way to learn a new language is to listen to it day and night. Even while sleeping. So I force my attention on their mouths and try to ignore the rest of the world. After a while I sigh and continue taking my notes to make sense of this mess. . 5. ~Stories.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Azir*** ¡°Uuuhhh...¡± My head hurts. It has been almost a year since I came to this world. I think I am able to hold a decent conversation by now. But reading all the books and scrolls in my parents'' library all day long still takes a toll on my mind. I massage my temples and try to recall everything of importance. This city is called Tri and it belongs to the Free City States of Nict. There are six cities like ours which are forming a hexagram. The names of the cities are from the top clockwise Mono, Di, Tri, Tetra, Penta and Hexa. The free cities are protecting the borders of Nict. All of them govern the smaller cities and villages around them. That''s why each city is practically its own nation. In the centre of the hexagram lies Nict, the capital. Each city is governed by one of the great clans. Mono is controlled by the Siorda who have the power of a perfect memory. Di is ruled by the Anja who are basically pyromancers. Tri belongs to my clan, the Zait. Apparently my father is the governor of the city. My clan can shape mana according to our wishes. If I understood my mother correctly, mana is nothing else than what I call life force. The people of this world seem to have a major misunderstanding about the nature of magic. Tetra is under the control of the Veit who can enchant artefacts and people with ease. Penta belongs to a group called Eddin. They can heal with a touch. Hexa is ruled by the Tinn who are able to move things with their minds. Finally there is the capital which is held by the current ruling house. The Gejene are the current rulers. The ruler of Nict switches accordingly to which house wields the most power at the moment. Though the Gejene have held their position for over five hundred years now. The Gejene have the inborn ability to transmute any matter from one state to another. There are smaller clans with other abilities too, but I don''t want to remember them. None of these abilities are unobtainable by magicians from other clans, but they are still something like a symbol for their power and their clan. All magicians are able to cast spells with incantations, runes or magic circles. There is a group which is called dark or rogue magicians. They perform magic which is seen as evil and therefore they are hunted. Summoning magic belongs to that category, as well as taking someone else''s soul or making blood sacrifices. The Free City States of Nict are located on a huge landmass. Nict lies on a fertile plain with many hills and good access to all kinds of resources. To our west is a great ocean and I found hints that there is another continent beyond the horizon. But the information I found about it is scarce. To the north is a long mountain range. The Dwemer Kingdom resides there. Its people look a little different from us and have a darker skin. They build their cities deep inside the mountains. We are on bad terms with them and neither of us lets the other pass through their territory. So we don''t know what lies behind the mountains. Eastwards are the Great Grasslands. They stretch on and on for many months of travel time. Behind them lies another big country called Quinn. But it''s hard to pass through them because the Nomads live there. They attack everyone without decent protection and act like savages. Southwards is a conglomerate of many small nations and kingdoms. None of them come even close to the power of Nict, so we don''t bother with them. Of course there is trading, but since our geographical location is very good we don''t need much. The power and safety of Nict comes from the ancient teleportation gates which link all seven cities with each other. So all cities are in fact one big city, even if they are hundreds of kilometres apart. Nobody remembers from where the Gates came. They are simply there. So if one of our neighbours attacks a city, we are always able to relocate food, water and reinforcements in the blink of an eye from any other city. Now that I think about it, isn''t this world very poorly explored? It''s hard to imagine that nobody ever tried to travel over the world. I sit up and look around. I think I''ve read all the books on history and geography by now. My mother is out of the house, so I can''t ask her. She wanted to buy clothes for the new addition to my family. Hmm. A little sister... I doubt that I''ll be a good big brother. Especially with the matriarchal social structure of Nict. I need to make sure that she doesn''t become too spoiled. Then that means that I can ask only my father. I don''t have the greatest relationship with him. He probably never really accepted me as his son, unlike mother. Maybe he''ll feel different about my little sister? But doesn''t that mean that I''ll be left out? I was alone in the ice for so long that I totally forgot how pleasant relationships with other beings can be. So when my sister arrives, he''ll probably be overjoyed and focus his attention on her. I have to build a decent relationship with him before that, or there will be a wall between us which will be hard to overcome. I get to my feet and toddle out of the library. His office is just two doors down the hallway. I arrive and peek inside to find him at his desk. He never closes the door to his office and stays there almost all day. Maybe it''s to avoid contact with me? Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. A few steps take me to his side, but he is too absorbed by his work. So I tug at his clothes. ¡°Dad? I have a question.¡± He looks down and blinks at me. ¡°Ehm, sure?¡± I keep holding onto his clothes to steady myself. ¡°I just thought about the geography of Nict. Why is the world so poorly explored? There are at least a thousand years of history in our library, but most of it just consists of uninteresting quarrels between the clans. Neither did I find anything on how Nict came to be.¡± Yoran frowns. ¡°That''s because the free city states of Nict were once the Empire of Nict. The people say that most of our great artefacts like our City Gates were created in that time. The emperor and his family ruled all of Nict. We even controlled our neighbours and it is said that we had settlements across the ocean. We even had contact with countries far away from here because our ships were strong and went on great voyages.¡± He scratches his cheek. ¡°All this ended when the emperor''s wife bore him twins. They looked and acted exactly the same, so nobody could keep them apart. That created a division inside the empire on who should ascend to the throne. Both brothers fought each other and drove the Empire into a civil war like none before. We don''t know much about that time and what I tell you is just hearsay, but at the end of this war our Empire had lost its former glory. The City States of Nict formed out of what was left. We are still recovering from the war and even after a thousand years of rebuilding we don''t understand many of the artefacts which were left behind by our ancestors. The war is also the reason why we are on bad terms with our neighbours.¡± ¡°The reason for the unity of Nict are the Gates. Without them we would be just seven independent countries. Well. To make the long story short. After the civil war nothing was left. No records, most of our knowledge lost and the people caring mostly for themselves. The emperor''s line was extinct. Either they fell during the fights, or to assassination. Who knows. Their unique trait was that they could master all magic after a single look at it. Did you ever take a closer look at the peoples eyes?¡± I purse my lips. ¡°They are slit. Mine are a silvery grey like yours, mom''s are blue.¡± Yoran nods. ¡°And it is said about the emperor''s line that their eyes shone in all colours, depending on the angle you were looking at them. Anyway. The emperor''s line is gone. There are no people like that in Nict, or it would create an uproar. Some factions would surely try to get such a person back into a position of power.¡± While he was speaking I climbed onto his lap and took a look at his work. It''s just taxes and reports. I take one of the sheets. ¡°How did you and mom meet?¡± ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Yoran*** I chuckle upon Azir''s question. ¡°In the academy for magical studies. My former clanspeople were the Anja. I was allowed to study there despite my small magical abilities. I am only able to conjure small flames and I tire very easily. My strong points are my abilities with the spear and my talent for leadership. When I met your mother it was love at first sight. Though she wasn''t interested in me at first, I tried everything to get her attention.¡± ¡°I even beat up a guy who made a move on her. He was very proud of his magical power, but I simply pummeled him into submission with my fists. There is no point in magic if you aren''t fast enough to cast a spell before the enemy plants his fist in your face.¡± I chuckle. ¡°In the end I managed to impress your mother and we married. So I became the governor of Tri to assist her.¡± Azir points at a column of numbers on my tax report. ¡°There is a mistake there.¡± I squint my eyes and look at the report. ¡°Hrm. Well, I didn''t have time to check them...¡± Azir pulls the next sheet from the pile. ¡°That''s wrong too! There are too many mistakes for just two sheets!¡± ¡°Well, that''s...¡± I erase the numbers and try to calculate them again. ¡°... like I said. I am not done yet. How about you go back into the library and I do my work.¡± But Azir doesn''t move and watches me while I try to correct my calculations. ¡°Dad? Could it be that you are really bad with numbers?¡± He takes the pen from me and starts adding up the tables like someone who has already years of experience. I feel my face turning red. My son shouldn''t see this side of mine! So embarrassing! It''s already hard enough to be a good role model for a genius like him. ¡°It''s not like I am bad! I just need longer than other people. The numbers and letters tend to move around when I focus on them. It''s frustrating.¡± Azir looks at me with pity in his eyes. ¡°Dad. There are eyeglasses for cases like this... go to healer Laney and let her make some glasses with lines in them for your problem. It''s easier to focus like that.¡± I frown. ¡°Where did you learn that? I don''t think that I ever heard of this before.¡± Azir freezes. ¡°Not? I don''t know. Maybe I read it somewhere? I spend a lot of time in the library. Just get the eyeglasses and we can modify them together. And when you get done with your work faster, you can teach me the spear!¡± I slump down and sneakily wipe a tear out of my eye. My image as a father took a serious dent today. I pat his head. Hopefully he won''t spend too much time with me to find my other flaws. ¡°Maybe when you are a little bigger.¡± . 6. ~Inspection.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Azir*** It''s the day! My little sister is to be born. Mother has been in Laney¡¯s workroom for more than an hour. Dad is relatively relaxed while he is reading a book. ¡°I don''t understand why you are so cool dad. Your daughter is about to be born and it takes so long!¡± Father shrugs his shoulders. ¡°Stuff like this takes time. And believe me, you don''t want to be near a woman at a time like this.¡± Huh? ¡°What do you mean, Father? Aren''t you at least a little nervous?¡± Yoran smiles and strokes my hair while avoiding the growing horns which are beginning to bend backwards around my head. ¡°You will learn about this soon enough. Haven''t you read any books about biology? Well you''ll learn it anyway when you go to school. Laney is the best healer in our city. Valda will be up and walking around again as soon as the business is finished.¡± Huh? Biology? Why should I? There was enough to catch up to in regards to common knowledge. And I had to spend time with him, that old fart! I did the annual tax calculation for him to increase our time together! I judged by the size of mother''s belly that I don''t have much time left to build a proper relationship with my father. So I followed Dad on his heels wherever he went. It became really tiring to stick to him like that! But then my concern is blown away as Mother enters the waiting room proudly with a bundle in her hands. Laney is following on her heels. She places the bundle on the table in the middle of the room while I am climbing onto a chair to take a look at my little sister. Valda pulls the blanket aside and reveals... a big speckled egg. Huh? ¡°What''s this? Dinner? Where''s sister?¡± I knock twice on the egg and am answered by two knocks. My shocked gaze switches to Valda and Laney who look at me like I just said something blasphemous. Then Valda smiles. ¡°That''s your sister.¡± The gears in my head stop. Then they start turning in the other direction. ¡°I see! So we lay eggs.¡± I nod. Of course. ¡°Are we birds?¡± I knock another time and the egg answers. Laney grabs my hand. ¡°That''s a reflex you shouldn''t trigger too often. And of course we lay eggs. Like most other animals on this planet! Our ancestors were big lizards who flew through the skies. There are old bones which prove that.¡± ¡°Great. We are featherless birds! When will it hatch?¡± I am still trying to wrap my head around this new development. Valda purses her lips. ¡°Two to three months from now. Depends on the temperature and the moisture.¡± ARRGH! I invested so much time into being with my father when it wasn''t urgent at all! And my nervousness level was at ninety nine percent when Mother was just laying an egg! My mother pulls me from the chair. ¡°You look a little tired. No need to be nervous about it. It''s still some time till you can see your little sister.¡± Her tail entangles the egg and lifts it effortlessly. Then she leads me out of the room while holding my hand. ¡°Actually I need to talk to you about something.¡± Father follows us and I look expectantly up to Valda. After a while she continues. ¡°In two weeks we''ll have a visitor. It''s the head of the Tinn and her name is Ingrid. It''s possible that she wants to take a look at you. So you will have to pretend to be a normal child.¡± That doesn''t sound pleasant. ¡°That probably means that I can''t stay in the library during that time?¡± Valda nods. ¡°Probably she''ll bring her daughter too.¡± ¡°Nononono! That''s a no! I won''t play with her or something like that. And I won''t let myself being paired up with a spoiled little princess!¡± I refuse! ¡°I am not fond of this arranged marriage bullshit.¡± Mother stops abruptly and her beautiful blue dress sways a little. Then she turns towards me, grabbing me at both shoulders with an iron grip. It hurts, but my struggling only makes it worse as I am lifted to her eye level. ¡°~Azir?~¡± ¡°Yes, mother?¡± ¡°You are a member of this clan and my son?¡± ¡°I think so?¡± ¡°I never used the amulet against you.¡± ¡°No? Would you? Where is it anyway? Haven''t seen it for a long time.¡± ¡°~It''s destroyed.~ I have seen to it and I never would''ve used it against you.¡± I let out a sigh. Her grip gets tighter. ¡°~But!~ As my son you have certain responsibilities. We are on bad terms with the Tinn and I hate their clan head Ingrid. Despite that we have to keep up appearances and when they pay us a visit to take a look at a future asset in the power struggle between the clans, we have to play the generous host.¡± I nod eagerly. ¡°I''ll be a stupid little child and play with the girl like children play with each other.¡± Valda pulls me to her chest and hugs me tightly. ¡°I am glad that you understand the situation.¡± Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. *** I hear them coming. This is my great scene! One last check on the room. Seems to be fine. The toys are lying around without order, check. No books, check. No tools, check. Now the mirror. Mouth open, eyes slightly upturned, a little drool down my chin, check! The door opens and I do my best to play my role. Valda enters with a woman who has to be Ingrid. A small blonde haired girl is with them. She is holding onto Ingrid''s skirt while looking slightly confused. I get up and stomp towards them. ¡°Mom!¡± Valda smiles and kneels down to hug me. ¡°Azir, how are you doing? Look! We have brought a little friend for you.¡± She points at the girl. Ingrid frowns. ¡°So that''s your first-born.¡± She bends down and looks at me. Valda smiles. ¡°That''s Ingrid. Say hi.¡± I wave my hand while pretending to be shy. ¡°Hi.¡± Then Ingrid reaches for my face and forces my jaw apart, taking a look at my teeth. It happened faster than I could react to the situation. She turns me three hundred and sixty degrees while she inspects my whole body. What? What the fuck? Who does she think she is? I am not some kind of cattle! You are on my black list from now on! Ingrid Tinn! I''ve noted it down! Wait until I have my magic back! I''ll bring you down! No! Your whole clan is going to fall! I''ll see to the erasure of your bloodline! This humiliation! My gaze turns to Valda who wears a forced smile and clenches her fists. Ingrid presses one of the test marbles on my hand and it starts shining. She gets up again. ¡°Everything looks fine. How about talking somewhere else and letting the children play on their own?¡± She pushes her daughter towards the wooden toys and building blocks on the ground. ¡°Play!¡± She orders. I return to my previous position and pat the ground. As the girl comes closer, I offer her a wooden horse which is accepted without problems. Valda smiles at me and leaves the room. ¡°It looks like they will be fine...¡± The door closes behind them and I turn my attention to the girl. She is still inspecting the wooden horse. I place one of the building blocks on the floor in front of me and offer her another one. But the girl drops the horse, all childish interest gone from her expression. She turns and runs to the door, pressing her ear against it. I keep sitting flabbergasted at my position. ¡°Tch! To be forced to do such stupid secret missions. Stealing other people''s bloodlines to avoid troublesome relationships is just in poor taste.¡± She turns around and walks back towards me, pulling a syringe with a long nasty needle from her pink dress. Holy shit! What the heck is this girl? Someone like me? A reincarnated soul? Is she possessed by something? No. There was a clan ability which grants perfect memory. Maybe she has that? It would allow a child''s mind to grow rapidly. Should I run and tell mom? But then the girl and Ingrid would find out about me. How can I solve this? ¡°This will prick a little, so be a man and deal with it.¡± She reaches for my hand and I move on reflex. I hit her hand away, causing her to drop the syringe. Three fast hits with the building block in my hand shatter the syringe to tiny pieces. The girl is just standing there, looking shocked at her shattered device. I lose no time and giggle, while I look with my most stupid expression at the girl. ¡°You!¡± She reaches for me, but I slap her hand away. A second and a third try end with the same result, so I focus my attention on building a tower with the building blocks around me. The girl steps back and walks three circles around me, eyeing me from all sides. ¡°You! Who are you?¡± I clap my hands. ¡°Azir! Azir build high!¡± The girl kicks my tower and it crumbles. ¡°Don''t play games! I know that you are pretending!¡± ¡°Play?¡± I put my thumb into my mouth and suck on it while I am sorting the building blocks. The girl turns red with anger, but then she realizes that the new order of the building blocks has a certain method to it. Luckily there are letters engraved into them. ¡° F u c k y o u ! ¡± Then she starts to chuckle. ¡°Oh I am beginning to understand. Mother spoke of those guys who were hard to control, but very skilful. I am beginning to think of this as a challenge. Just wait, I''ll make you mine! You are going to be my man!¡± She points at me, but then I hear the voices of our returning mothers. She drops to her knees and picks up the shards of the broken syringe, cutting herself while doing so. I just grin as I watch her. Never pick up broken glass in haste. Then she kicks my message to destroy the evidence. Ingrid takes a look into my room. ¡°Come. The negotiations failed. We are going.¡± . 7. ~Pecking order.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Azir*** I yawn while walking down the corridor. My mother didn''t react very well to my news. Apparently Ingrid''s daughter has the inborn ability of the Siorda. Some of her blood was left behind on the carpet and Laney analysed it. I am a little freaked out by the scientific knowledge of this world. In some areas they are a super high tech civilisation and in others they are living under a rock. Magic makes everything possible I guess? The troublesome thing is that neither her father, nor her grandparents are related to the Siorda. So that means that she is either a genetic regression of a distant ancestor, or she is genetically altered, or her official father isn''t her real one. Something which isn''t exactly forbidden in this world, but still not well looked upon. The point is that she is far ahead of her age and tried to take a sample of my blood. Mother was enraged. She even thought about to mobilizing our army to burn Hexa to the ground, but dad stopped her. In the end it was concluded that we should keep our mouths shut about the incident. As long as the Tinn don''t reveal that I am not normal it''s better to keep silent. If we announce that Ingrid''s daughter Annice is some kind of freak it would surely backlash on us. The Tinn would have no reason to keep silent about me either. As long as both families say nothing nobody gets into trouble. At least Mother gave a week''s ration of candy to me as an apology for being treated like a stud horse. She explained that the people in Hexa were more extreme in terms of the gender gap. Having more magicians of one gender seems to influence the social order that way. I am not a fan of gender equity. There are simply things which men do better than women and on the other hand there are things which women do better than men. It isn''t just a case of who bears the children... or lays the eggs. Everyone who denies that is escaping reality. You can''t judge all members of a race with two different genders with the same laws. You would always create a situation which is unfair to at least half of the population. But the thing Ingrid did to me went a step too far. Turning around the corner, I freeze. My sister''s egg is broken, and little sister is gone! ¡°Waaa!¡± I run up to the opened egg and look inside. No little sister. Crap. I visited every morning to take a look at it. I hoped that my little sister would be similar to a bird. If I am the first thing she sees, she may adore me and I would have an easier time dealing with her. I turn the egg and shake it. Crap. Mom must have been faster. Don''t underestimate the instincts of a mother. That probably means that she is with dad, showing off her newest creation. I leave the temperature regulated chamber and dash towards dad''s office. Arriving there I find dad with a baby on his lap. Her skin is a little wrinkled and her hair is a light metallic blue. Mother is patting her head. So I come closer to have a better look. ¡°Greet your little sister, Valeria.¡± Mother is all smiles. I reach for her chubby hand. ¡°Whoa, you are ugly. I wish for you that it gets better with time. Hopefully you inherited more from Mother''s side than from Dad''s.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Yoran looks hurt. ¡°I''ll teach you that your father is still someone to look up to! Get a stick! I''ll train your body until you bleed!¡± Valda smacks Yoran on the back of his head. ¡°He is still too young. His body won''t develop the right way if he starts to train now!¡± I nod. Yes, training until you bleed doesn''t sound like the right way to do it. Valda squints her eyes and looks at me. ¡°But we can start his magic instructions. Then he has more time to concentrate on his body once he is old enough.¡± Tilting my head, I raise a finger to protest. ¡°Yeah, erm. We have to talk ab...¡± ¡°No objections! I''ll teach you myself. We''ll begin ASAP!¡± Valda grabs my hand while her tail snatches Valeria from Yoran''s lap. ¡°Actually I already waited too long to find out what you are really capable of. We''ll remove your seal and start with the basics.¡± *** ¡°~Hmmhmm.~¡± I have my magic back! ¡°Hahahaha. Finally! It was like I lost a limb!¡± I raise my hands while ten glowing orbs of mana are circling around me. One thought and one of them forms a magic circle under my feet. The magical formation activates and the gravitation magic causes me to float upwards. A wave of my hand causes another orb of mana to form a zodiac rune of flame, which ignites and a flame surge blasts one of the training dummies apart. Another thought turns the next orb into an arcane missile and it impales the second dummy. The ability of my clan is simply overpowered! I was always good at magic, but this is a new level of control! And it took my mother just one hour to teach me the basics! Normally I would have to use the mana of my own body to cast a spell. Or I would need to absorb it from my surroundings and then use it. But with this I can simply command the latent mana which is all around me. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. I rotate my hands and my body starts to spin because of the centrifugal force. ¡°This inborn ability to control mana makes casting spells much easier!¡± How powerful must the abilities of the other clans be to keep up with this? ¡°Aha...¡± Mother is sitting with a deadpan expression on the floor while she clucks Valeria. We are inside the big training hall on our clan''s property. Yoran is standing with crossed arms at her side while he watches my display. ¡°Are you supposed to use your control over mana like that? Normally our clan members would just infuse mana into something to take control of it. Or they blast the enemy to pieces with a burst of pure mana.¡± Valda shakes her head and a single tear runs down her cheek. ¡°That''s not how it was supposed to turn out. I thought I could teach him all my skills, but he is better at fine mana manipulation than me! He created a gravitational spell without any effort at all.¡± Yoran shrugs his shoulders. ¡°So battle practice then? And spear training?¡± ¡°Fufufufu...¡± Valda shoves Valeria into Yoran''s arms. ¡°I''ll teach him to respect the feelings of his elders instead of showing off with his otherworldly knowledge!¡± A surge of power almost dispels my flying magic and all the mana in the vicinity starts to gather around Valda. ¡°I''ll show you why I am the head of this clan.¡± ¡°What?¡± I struggle to keep my control over the orbs of mana which I gathered by using my ability. Then Valda lifts off. No spell, no magical circle, no runes, just pure power and her will lifts her to my height while the mana around her gets thicker and thicker! It''s like a bubble of water is gathering around her. So much mana! A tentacle of shimmering energy lashes out at me and I hurriedly erect a barrier. ¡°That''s dangerous, Mom!¡± The tentacle closes around my barrier and both forces oppose each other with a shower of sparks. ¡°~Fufufu.~ I''ll teach you the nature of magic. So do your best to survive.¡± Her grin turns vicious and I realise that the mana which holds up my barrier is being used up faster than expected. Is my barrier being absorbed by Valda''s tentacle? ¡°You are cheating!¡± I reach for the balls of collected mana and absorb them. If Valda can take over my spells I should try to protect my resources. Then I concentrate on a spot behind Valda and teleport. I reappear and point both of my opened palms at her. ¡°Drain!¡± A small channel of mana connects me and the bubble of power around her. My attempt at stealing her mana isn''t as effective as I hoped. I feel my mana pool increasing, but too slowly. It''s not stopping her from sending another tentacle at me and I evade. The tentacle crushes the floor instead. I gasp and evade the next one. Why isn''t she using more of them at once? Is she training me? ¡°This could take a while.¡± ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Valda*** I hum a happy tune as I walk with my hands behind my back towards Yoran who retreated to the entrance of the training hall with Valeria in his arms. Azir is entangled in my tail and gasping for air. He put up a good fight and I couldn''t recognize some of his spells. But in the end he lost the battle over the mana in our surroundings. A magical battle isn''t just a matter of weighing one mana pool against another. You also have to fight over the latent magical power all around you. Taking over this power is our clan''s strength. Azir has yet to realize how much power we can access with our ability. When he formed his mana orbs, he only concentrated the mana in his immediate surroundings. I on the other hand had the whole area of our property for myself. But Azir''s manipulative control over mana is outstanding. He''ll beat me with ease once he is old enough and gets a grip on his ability. I am tempted to keep him as the new head of our clan, even if it goes against our tradition. Yoran clicks his tongue as he surveys the training hall. ¡°You went all out. It''ll take a while to repair this.¡± ¡°~Hahahaha.~¡± I cross my arms in front of my chest. ¡°I had to educate the youngster on the full extent of our ability.¡± Azir hits weakly onto my tail, not giving up even now. ¡°That... was just... raw... force... if I... was older... and had... more... endurance...¡± I pat his his head. ¡°Don''t fret over it. We''ll get you into shape.¡± Yoran frowns. ¡°You just can''t stand it if someone is better than you, Valda.¡± Then he looks at Azir. ¡°And regarding the spear practice...¡± Azir looks up with a hopeful smile on his face. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°No magic during spear practice!¡± He points at the destroyed training hall. ¡°I can''t pay for the damage if we wreck our property every lesson.¡± . 8. ~Paradise.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°Dark magicians are those who undermine the social order. They are in pursuit of ever more power despite being granted the greatest of all gifts. In this pursuit they don''t care how many they have to sacrifice in order to reach new heights. Their arts are called the dark arts because only darkness can result from their use. All those with the gift of magic are therefore called upon to slay dark magicians on the spot, wherever they may be found, whoever they may be.¡± -First law, Regarding the Dark Book of laws. ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Azir*** This world is my paradise! There is no need to fear for your survival. The country is at peace and my parents are providing me with everything I want. Be it books or tools to build some interesting artefacts. My father plays with me from time to time and shows me spear techniques, but everything in a very light hearted manner. My body isn''t yet up to the task after all. Mother helps me everyday to train my ability. I am fine with it, even though her lessons are a little bit taxing. Then I invest an hour a day into being with my little sister, trying to teach her words and numbers. It''s best to start early and she is so cute. From time to time we get visited by my grandmother Quamar. That''s the only complaint I have about my life. Quamar seems to hate me. She is a real dragon. Luckily my mother can keep her at bay. The old hag even once tried to attach some kind of curse to me. Luckily I could counter the spell which baffled her. Afterwards she started to ramble something about dark magic and the spawn of evil. The other visitors to the household are some servants who only show up for cleaning and vanish again like a breeze of the wind. Oh, I almost forgot about Daylen, he is my father''s advisor. But he doesn''t concern himself with me at all. He just shows up to talk with my father about stuff regarding the city and that there are much more people who try to cheat with the taxes these days. Well, I think there aren''t more than before. The difference is just that the guy who is calculating the tax reports has changed. ¡°Haaa...¡± My aunt Jade joins him from time to time to do some small talk with my mother. I like her visits because she always brings me a present. She seems to be very grateful to me for saving her life. I blink and look at the wristwatch on the table in front of me. It''s a very delicate device. I used telekinesis to carve the nuts, bolts and gears out of metal. It''s a hobby of mine to build clocks in my free time. I am fascinated by these devices which are meant to measure time, but fail inevitably. Just one last gear. I take a forceps and try to insert the last gear into its place. Of course I could assemble the whole clock with telekinesis. But this task is like meditation to me. It would be boring to use... *BAM!* ¡°Azir!¡± ¡°Darn!¡± Valda kicked the door to my room open and stormed inside. I was so surprised that I flinched and deformed one of the gears. ¡°A week''s work! Mom, what is it?¡± I turn to my mother and look accusingly at her. ¡°Did you play through the entire night again? I told you that you have to sleep at night!¡± She snorts and holds a bag towards me. ¡°Whatever. I''ll have to take a look at your sleeping habits.¡± She holds a bag towards me. ¡°Take that and come. We can''t be late, or you have to wait another year.¡± I grab the bag which is made out of hard leather and take a look inside. All this stuff inside it looks strangely familiar, but I can''t place them in the right context. ¡°Late for what?¡± Valda grabs my hand and pulls me from my chair. ¡°School of course! You are five years old and a new semester is starting.¡± ¡°School?¡± My eyes turn big and round upon the dreaded word. ¡°But I am not five! I am a little less than four years in this world! And what could a school teach me? I probably know more about...¡± ¡°That''s not what the forged documents say.¡± Mother doesn''t care and pulls me forward. ¡°They may not be able to teach you anything new, but you''ll at least learn some common knowledge and common sense. And you''ll learn the ropes in dealing with your generation. Maybe you can manage to forge some important future connections with other clans.¡± I furrow my eyebrows while we leave the house. ¡°How does school in this world even work?¡± Mother smacks her head. ¡°You are so smart in most areas. I always forget that you are a complete dunce in some things. Listen. Since you are talented in magic you have to enter the great academy in central city at the age of five. Don''t worry, it''s just a short trip through the City Gate with a carriage. Then you get a standard education until the age of fifteen. If you prove worthy, you can choose a higher education which lasts until you are twenty five. This also allows you access to the great Bibliotheca des Patres. It''s a library with all the remaining knowledge of our forefathers. You may deem this price worthy to spend some time in a classroom.¡± Maybe. Maybe not. But access to a famous library would be cool. Playing a student could be also interesting. I would have more than enough time to search for a suitable girl which is easy to manipulate. Or I could go for multiple ones. *Smack!* ¡°Don''t go down that route!¡± ¡°Ow! What was that for, Mother?¡± I rub the back of my head as we enter a carriage. Maybe I could go with one girl on every finger? One girl for each night as soon as I am old enough? Or even better, try all of them! If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. *Smack!* ¡°Think about the reputation of our clan! It has to be a good match! I won''t allow just anyone.¡± I gasp. ¡°How... How the hell do you know what I am thinking!¡± Valda snorts as the carriage starts moving. ¡°I am your mother. I know you best.¡± I place the leather bag protectively between me and her. ¡°You''ve known me only for a little less than four years!¡± She smiles with closed eyes and place one hand on her cheek. ¡°~But to me it''s like I''ve known you for all your life.~¡± I look out of the window to avoid eye contact with her and watch the passing streets. The houses are made out of red bricks and the streets are neatly arranged. Tri doesn''t look like a city which grew over time, but like it was designed at the drawing board and built accordingly. The people who have no magic are all commoners, but according to my information they live a surprisingly good life. People with magic are something like protectors to them and the clans are almost worshipped. Magic makes their lives easier and the artefacts, which are created by magicians, are helping in all aspects of daily life. Of course the clans are always working hard on their image to achieve this. There are rigorous penalties for anyone who harms a non-magician. I watch the streets with people. Some of them are even bowing to the carriage. Then we arrive at the Gate. It''s a simple huge ring with the broad street leading through it. The Gate seems to be made out of silver and the sun is being reflected on the surface which is covered with runes. A steady stream of carriages is passing through it in both directions and we enter the row of waiting carriages. The row is moving steadily and it doesn''t take long until we pass through. The capital Nict on the other side isn''t any different from Tri. The only change I can recognize, is that the sun is at a slightly different position in the sky. ¡°What do you say to the Gate?¡± Mom smirks at me. ¡°Neat device, but a bit clunky. I could build it smaller if I had the materials.¡± I continue to watch the streets until I realize that my mother is staring at me with a blank expression. Then she sighs. ¡°Don''t tell that to anyone. It would create an uproar. Why am I even surprised about it?¡± She mumbles while she looks at the ceiling of the carriage. I frown. ¡°When I attempted to escape my dying world I built a similar teleportation device.¡± She lifts an eyebrow. ¡°What went wrong?¡± I clear my throat. ¡°That erm... when I was done, I activated it and teleported a test subject far, far away. I could clearly tell that everything worked properly. It was when I stepped onto the platform that I realized something... and that was that I had no idea where I should teleport to. Space is vast and most of it is empty. And I had just one try.¡± Valda smirks. ¡°That sounds like you. Ah, it seems like we arrived.¡± The carriage stops and we step outside onto a huge plaza. There are bigger buildings than I saw earlier throughout the city. It''s clearly the campus of the school. Valda leads me to one of the bigger buildings. ¡°The campus is safe, but you shouldn''t walk alone in the streets. The carriage will bring you here every morning and get you in the evening, just look for the sign of our clan on the carriage.¡± I nod and we head towards a big building where we find a secretary waiting for us. Valda fills out some documents which are handed to her. Afterwards she hugs me and we say our goodbyes. A servant leads me to a classroom. The door is marked as 1C. From there on I am left to my own devices. Without another choice I enter the room and find it in utter chaos. Children of my age are running left and right while playing with each other and screaming. This is hell! I count eleven boys, including me, and twenty nine girls. Quite a big class. Forty students? The teacher''s table is in front of a big chalkboard while the ranks of tables for the students are a little elevated. The classroom looks like a stadium. ¡°Move it!¡± Suddenly I am shoved into the classroom. I glance behind me and find a man in his forties who makes shooing motions. He walks to the teacher''s desk and slams his suitcase onto it. Then he turns to the class. ¡°SILENCE! Everyone who hasn''t found a seat within ten seconds has to write ten pages with all letters of the alphabet until morning!¡± Everyone scrambles to get a seat, but because I am still close to the exit there is no way for me to get up to the students'' tables in time. The ranks are quickly filled. Only a few seats are left open in the farthest right corner at the back of the classroom. A small girl is sitting there. Her hair is black and turns gradually white at the tips. That strikes me as a little odd. I never before saw someone with two hair-colours in this world. The free seats are arranged around her and I don''t have much time left. I throw myself into the chair right beside her. In the meantime the teacher starts unpacking his stuff. So I turn to the girl, grinning. First impressions are important. ¡°Hi! My name is Azir. What''s yours?¡± The girl looks at me with a confused expression while pressing her lips together, turning them white. She doesn''t answer and looks out of the window instead. How rude! But then I hear the whispers. ¡°He sits beside the demon!¡± ¡°Mother said that I shouldn''t talk to the regression.¡± ¡°Doesn''t he know fear?¡± ¡°You shouldn''t mingle with someone without a clan.¡± . 9. ~School.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°The Galith is said to hide in the dark and may take many forms, always using the most plain appearance to give its prey a false sense of security. But there is one feature at which you are always able to recognize it. And that is its black and white hair. It lurks in the shadows and searches for meat. Children who aren''t fast enough to get home before the sun sets disappear without being seen again. So be always at home at the right time.¡± -Folklore, Tale to frighten little children. ***Free City States of Nict, Nict*** ***Azir*** I''ve seen and learned many things on my previous world. As an archmage I didn''t concern myself much with my people and spent most of my time on my studies. I thought that I had seen everything of the world and its cruelty. Warlords, slavers, kings and murderers, they all pale compared to children! A week has passed since this school business started and I am witness to something that can be called bullying. Stella, who is sitting right beside me, is shunned by the class. Apparently because her hair is unusual and her social background isn''t up to their standards. Stella is the daughter of two commoners, non-magicians. Apparently they had a magician in their line of ancestors. She was gifted with the talent and it was found out. It doesn''t happen often, but it happens from time to time. That also means that Stella has no clan, nobody of political power who could back her up. And since she is a magician, she has to visit this school and learn to control her powers. All magicians have to. Otherwise they would be declared as rogue magicians and that''s not much better than being a dark magician. As long as Stella stays affiliated with the school she is safe. I hum while I scribble the correct answers onto my test sheet. I am not sure why I am even here. At least there are others like me. We have four girls from the Siorda clan in our class and they seem to be bored too. Up until now we just learned reading, writing and a little general education. Another downside is that Ingrid''s daughter Annice Tinn is at this school. Luckily she is in another class, but that doesn''t keep her from showing up from time to time. Thanks to that I became quite skilled at disappearing from the classroom during breaks. Luckily the other girls aren''t yet interested in the opposite gender and I guess that Annice is annoying me only because she was influenced by her parents. I don''t think that this hag Ingrid would give her child a proper education. I peek at Stella''s test. All of her answers are correct. At least she isn''t an idiot. Maybe she''ll survive her school life and find a proper purpose later on. The bell rings and we give our sheets to the teacher. Mr. Pendragon is our tutor and my impression of him is that he is a strict and bad mouthed fellow. But at least he seems to be fair. I place the paper on his desk and turn to return to my seat. But Mr. Pendragon stops me. ¡°Azir? I have noticed that you are done with your tests quite fast. Could it be that you aren''t challenged enough? I could give you a Siorda test if you want to try yourself.¡± I smile at Pendragon and shake my head. ¡°I think that''s not necessary. It''s just that my parents hired a home tutor to prepare me. I would fail a test for a Siorda miserably.¡± Mr. Pendragon nods. ¡°I see.¡± He resumes collecting the tests. Puh. I have to be more careful in the future. Back at my desk I turn my gaze towards Stella who is studying her textbook. ¡°They will keep ignoring you if you don''t attempt to break the status quo.¡± I don''t really expect an answer because Stella hasn''t spoken to me for the entire week. But unexpectedly she closes her book and looks at me. ¡°Why are you always speaking to me. They''ll start to ignore you too and hide your stuff.¡± ¡°You are sitting next to me and the one who is supposed to sit to my right is three seats away. I don''t want to shout during class, so that leaves only you.¡± That''s logical, or is it not? Stella''s eyes wander to the boy who is sitting three seats to my left. ¡°Then why aren''t you sitting over there?¡± ¡°Because I don''t want to change seats? I am closer to the window here.¡± It''s obvious isn''t it? Mr Pendragon claps his hands and smiles at the class. ¡°That''s enough idle talk. We''ll have our first magical lesson now...¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. He continues to talk, but my mind is already somewhere far away. Do I really have to endure this until I am fifteen? My eyes wander to the trees behind the window while Stella attempts to cast a light globe according to Pendragon''s instructions. *** Why did it come to this? Let me recapitulate on what happened. The lesson on magic finally ended and I ran out of the classroom to enjoy my lunch in this park area. So why am I surrounded by four girls and two boys from my class? One of the girls is a Siorda... Penneliu? Liu? Lulu? I can''t remember her name, I never spoke to her. And I never spoke to the others either. Yet why did they follow me? ¡°You should stop concerning yourself with that commoner.¡± Lulu points at me with a stern expression. ¡°You are a member of one of the great clans. It''s making the great clans look bad.¡± I smile at her. ¡°Hahaha. I am sorry, but I don''t know about the complicated stuff you are talking about. Are you saying that I can''t speak with Stella?¡± Lulu sighs. ¡°It''s so hard to speak with children from other clans. Simply stop speaking with her.¡± ¡°But I want to. The rest of the class is so high and mighty about them being members of a clan. It feels really refreshing to speak with someone who isn''t burdened by all that.¡± I take a bite from my lunch bread and start chewing. Lulu steps forward and slaps the bread out of my hand, sending it into the dirt. ¡°A guy shouldn''t talk back to a woman! You''ll do as ordered, or we''ll see to it that your school life goes down the gutter.¡± My eyes keep sticking to my bread. ¡°My mother said that I should protect our clan''s reputation if someone ever showed disrespect towards me... and I guess this counts as self defence.¡± ¡°What?¡± *** ¡°Hmm... Hmm...¡± I hum while I am waiting in the office of the school''s director. The director is an old hag. Her name is Clara Veit and right now she is reading a report with her right index finger on her temple. From time to time her eyes flick towards me and then back to the sheet. I was called here after classes had ended. Nobody said a word. I was just led here to the office and put into this chair. If I hadn''t read the sign on the door, I wouldn''t even know where I am. Probably it''s about the incident in the park. Finally she puts the sheet down and places her hands in a praying position while she looks at me. ¡°Do you know why you are here?¡± ¡°My mother said that I shouldn''t speak to strangers who are older than me.¡± I try to put on my most innocent expression. Clara''s face distorts into an expression which could be a smile, or something completely else. ¡°I am Clara Veit and the director of this school. Do I need to get your mother to talk about this?¡± ¡°Um. No. I am Azir Zait. Pleased to meet you.¡± I bow to her. Clara leans forward which makes her come a little too close. ¡°Today six students from your class didn''t show up for their lessons, so we started a search. We found them in the park.¡± I nod. ¡°Yeah, those guys. They weren''t there during class. Mr. Pendragon was very mad.¡± Clara inches closer yet again. ¡°They were found. Someone bound them with their clothes, heels over head, to one of the bigger sculptures in the park. Leaving them naked and gagged.¡± I make my eyes big and round while forming an ''o'' with my mouth. ¡°Who would do such a thing?¡± Clara is now entirely too close and I can smell the breath of someone who should already rest in peace under the earth. ¡°A student from the higher classes saw you skipping away from the scene, humming a strange melody. That made her curious, so she remembered it when we started the search.¡± Tch! I start fiddling with my fingers and try to mimic a nervous child. Which child wouldn''t be intimidated if he is treated like that? ¡°I am sorry, but I only ate my lunch there. I didn''t come across the scene you are talking about.¡± Clara leans back again and scribbles something onto her document. ¡°Too bad that the victims refuse to talk about what happened. No complaint, no redress. And since you''ve seen nothing... you may go.¡± Eh? Eh? That''s it? Ok? ¡°Then goodbye, Mrs. Clara.¡± I get out of my chair and leave the office. Probably I should lay low for a while. The old hag will surely have a closer eye on me from now on. . 10. ~Clique.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°The Southern countries are a conglomerate of small nations and kingdoms which are in constant quarrel with each other. Some of them rise and fall within a commoners lifetime. There is no sense in trying to create a lasting treaty with them. It''s questionable if their situation is their own fault, or simply the natural state of things. We don''t know if Nict''s unity is only upheld by the Gates, or a result of our favourable geographic location.¡± -Natum Tinn, Emissary of Nict. ***Free City States of Nict, Nict*** ***Azir*** Another week passed and there weren''t any more assaults. It seems like the group which attacked me consisted of the main perpetrators behind the bad rumours about Stella. I didn''t even hear a word from her that more of her stuff went missing. My special friend Lulu is even making a big circle around me and bows properly when I walk past her on the corridor. The same goes for her friends. But there is another problem. As of today all of our work will be conducted within a group of five people. It''s to teach us to work in a team. ¡°So? Now your refusal to stay away from me will finally lead to your downfall.¡± Stella grumbles in her seat beside me. ¡°The whole group will get an overall score. Since I am who I am and you are in the same pit as me. We''ll surely get the worst team mates possible with whom nobody else wants to team up with. They''ll pull down our score.¡± I smile and nod. ¡°But only if we don''t search for suitable team mates beforehand. It''s still early in the morning and the class will not start for another twenty minutes.¡± Stella slams her head onto her desk. ¡°And how are we going to persuade someone to join hands with us?¡± ¡°Isn''t it obvious?¡± I grin and pat Stella''s back who flinches a little upon the unexpected contact. ¡°Misuse of authority!¡± I get up and walk over to a certain girl who is talking with a boy. She has dark brown hair and looks a little thin. The boy at her side has blonde hair and is of normal build. ¡°Talia Zaitus?¡± The girl looks at me like I am a ghost. The Zaitus are a branch family who belong to my clan. Everyone with a direct blood relation to the clan head bears the name Zait. Relatives with a more distant relationship have an additional syllable behind their family name. So the longer your family name is, the farther down you are in the pecking order. That means that even though I am a guy, I can still command members of my clan''s branch families around as I please. ¡°Yes?¡± The girl answers stiffly. I decide to explain the situation to her. ¡°I need you for the upcoming group work. So you''ll join us. Luckily there are more than enough free seats around us. So you can immediately pack your things and come over.¡± ¡°Why should...¡± ¡°Your name is Zaitus?¡± ¡°Yes, but...¡± ¡°What do your parents do when a Zait giv...¡± ¡°I already promised Karsen to work with him.¡± She grabs the boy''s arm. ¡°Perfect, he can come too.¡± The girl starts pulling on Karsen''s arm and he doesn''t seem to be pleased at all. ¡°Hey, I don''t want to be pulled into this!¡± She grabs his bag while not giving a shit about his complaints. ¡°I won''t go alone! You''ll follow me to exile!¡± I turn and walk into the middle of the classroom while I ignore the curious glances all around me. Hmm. One more person. Unfortunately there aren''t any more members of my clan here. Nobody whom I could command. So I''ll have to intimidate someone. That''s actually a little hard to do in front of the entire class. I don''t want bad rumours about me. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Unless... my eyes wander to a certain Siorda girl. ¡°Lulu!¡± Lulu ignores me while she is sitting with her back towards me and converses with one of her female minions. ¡°Lulu!¡± I tap on the back of her head and she finally takes notice of me, turning pale. ¡°Lulu. We need one last member for our group. You''ll fill that spot.¡± I point towards Stella who is being joined by Taila and Karsen. They are taking the seats in front of her. Lulu gasps twice. ¡°Why should I? AND MY NAME ISN''T LULU!¡± ¡°Oh, does that mean that you refuse? And your name is Lulu until I decide otherwise.¡± I try to make my voice as intimidating as possible which isn''t easy at my age. ¡°Do you want another training session?¡± Lulu grabs her bag and runs over to Stella''s corner, taking the seat to my right. I nod and walk back to my seat and sit down. All eyes of the group are on me and I smile to defuse the situation. ¡°My name is Azir Zait, pleased to meet you. I hope that we can work together from now on.¡± I point at Taila. ¡°Your turn.¡± ¡°Taila Zaitus, pleased to meet you.¡± Taila answers. My eyes wander to Karsen. ¡°Karsen Anja, Hi.¡± Karsen grumbles. I point at Lulu. ¡°And that''s Lulu.¡± ¡°I am Louise Siorda!¡± I furrow my eyebrows. ¡°... but Lulu is my nickname. Call me as you like.¡± I smile at Stella who eyed the scene while her forehead got more and more wrinkles added to it with each spoken word. She finally decides to introduce herself. ¡°My name is Stella Sable. Thanks for working with me.¡± I clap my hands together. ¡°And now that the tense introductions are done, we can finally work on the real purpose of this group and become friends!¡± *** I skip while I am on my way back to my carriage through one of the school''s hallways. My skills with people are simply fantastic. Who would have thought that it was that easy to find three people for my group. Our work with each other also went smoothly. I didn''t care much about their skills because I thought that randomly choosing people is better than ending up with some leftovers. ¡°~Azir!~¡± Someone bulldozes into my side, but the voice alone is enough to recognize her. I try to pull myself free while Annice keeps holding onto my arm. ¡°Stop that! What do you want?¡± She doesn''t let go, even though I have my hand on her cheek and push with all my might. ¡°But we haven''t seen each other for so long and you keep avoiding me.¡± Finally she lets go. ¡°I don''t know what you are talking about. And I am not interested in that kind of relationship.¡± I keep walking. ¡°But my mother said that it is better to start early.¡± She follows me. ¡°We are five! Learn some common sense!¡± This is really ridiculous. ¡°What did your mother teach you?¡± ¡°That some men can be acquired with a command and others have to be swayed.¡± She answers with a sweet voice. I shake my head. ¡°Look. I don''t know how you got this idea...¡± ¡°You were the first man ever who opposed me.¡± She plays with the tips of her index fingers while she is looking away. I grumble. ¡°That''s not hard! I doubt that you had any contact with men besides me up until now.¡± Annice blinks. ¡°That''s actually a valid point. I''ve to eliminate this shortcoming of mine.¡± She turns and is gone. I watch her disappear around a corner while being baffled. What will this little girl do to increase her experience with men? What did I do? What if... NO! Not my business! I continue on my way without looking back. . 11. ~From day to day.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°The Dwemer aren''t a race of many words. Some say that they have the same ancestors as us and changed due to their environment, but during my time with them I started to doubt that. It isn''t just their skin colour that''s different. They are two to three heads smaller than us and their eyes have round pupils, which are able to enlarge until their eyes are almost completely black. And they have no horns. They have also less magicians than us and their magic system relies on shamanistic rituals. That increases the cast time of their spells, but grants them vastly more power. I''ve seen them move unbelievable amounts of earth and dig large tunnels within minutes. It would have taken a workforce of commoners months to accomplish the same task.¡± -Sonja Gejene, Emissary of Nict. ***Free City States of Nict, Nict*** ***Azir*** Time went by so quickly. It''s already been two years since I adopted Stella, Karsen, Talia and Louise. Louise managed to be promoted from Lulu to her real name after one year of acceptable behaviour. I am a generous person after all. She actually cried tears of joy when I called her Louise for the first time, thus a true bond of friendship was formed between us. As for why am I saying that I adopted the four of them? After two month''s on the brink of insanity I decided to become a teacher. So instead of sitting lazily around and indulging in self pity, I invested my time into tutoring my four friends. Although Stella and Louise didn''t need much help from me. It was mostly only Talia and Karsen who struggled to keep up. As for Annice... she still shows up from time to time, but it got much better after she decided to study about men. Having a perfect memory can be a blessing and a curse at the same time. It turned out that she didn''t have the slightest idea of what would happen after she got a hold on the guy of her dreams. Ingrid is the worst parent in existence. So the next day after her insane declaration, she came to me with her whole head turning red and informed me that the matter is postponed until we are both of a proper age. That''s something she once again one-sidedly decided. Unfortunately another fatal development took place during my time at school. Due to the fact that the academy is an all-day school, I had much less time to spend with my little sister. I tutored and played with her as much as possible until I had to enter school. She was such a nice kid before. I hoped that she would turn out to be a good character, but just within two years she made a complete personality change. She became a little version of Valda! Oh, why am I now cursed with two women of that character. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that brother?¡± Valeria asks me while she is correcting her light blue hair. Her horns became a little bigger, but are still those of a child. Like mine. It''s her first schoolday and we are on our way to the academy. Valda is accompanying us. She is sitting beside Valeria while I am sitting across from them. I wave my hand dismissively. ¡°Ah. It''s nothing. I was just deep in thought. You''ll be fine right? I''ll go directly to my class then.¡± Valeria forms a fist and strikes upwards. ¡°Don''t worry, Brother! Mother trained me well. I am confident that I can fulfil my role as the future clan head! Just come to me if there is a problem. I''ll protect you from those vixens.¡± ¡°Pardon me?¡± I feel a strange itching in my left eye. ¡°Mother! Which instructions did you give to my cute little sister!¡± ¡°~Hahaha.~¡± Valda laughs strangely and pets Valeria''s head. ¡°Dear, please recite the three iron rules.¡± Valeria nods. ¡°Bring no shame to the house of Zait. Keep the whores away from brother. Inform Mother about all of Brother''s misadventures.¡± ¡°S... Sister! There is no need at all to...¡± But Valeria doesn''t let me speak. ¡°It''s nice that you care for me, but I am confident that I can deal with all girls up to four years older than me. If an older one shows interest in you we''ll need to call mother in order to protect your virginity.¡± Valeria nods and snorts through her nose. Mother! What did you create! That''s not my little sister any more! The carriage stops and we get outside, where I am awaited by Talia, Stella, Louise and Karsen. Damn! I forgot that we always walk together to class! I should have told them to go on without me. Stella waves her hand and smiles. ¡°Azir! How were the holidays?¡± I raise my hand and force a smile onto my face. ¡°Great. How were you guys doing?¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Who is that brother?¡± Valeria places herself between me and my friends. I pat her head. ¡°Hahaha. Don''t worry. Those four are my classmates. Stella, Talia, Louise and Karsen.¡± I point at Valeria. ¡°This is my little sister. Please take good care of her, its her first day. And that''s my mother, Valda.¡± ¡°Oho?¡± Stella touches her lower lip and smiles at Valeria. ¡°She is cute! I want to cuddle her!¡± Stella''s tail curls up behind her. Valeria turns with a questioning gaze to her mother. ¡°Is that a Vixen mother?¡± Valda shakes her head. ¡°I explained to you that it isn''t that easy. You have to take all aspects into account before you judge.¡± ¡°~Azir!~¡± My expression drops. That voice. I grab my little sister and place her between me and Annice who appeared out of the crowd of people around us. ¡°~Ahn.~ How cold. And we haven''t seen each other since the last semester. Nobody allowed me entry to your property.¡± Annice crosses her arms in front of her chest. Valeria turns around. ¡°Who is that, Brother?¡± ¡°I am Annice Tinn. Your brother''s future wife. Nice to meet you, sister in law.¡± Annice grabs Valeria''s hand. Valeria''s expression turns cold. ¡°Ah... I think brother told me about you.¡± Annice''s eyes start glowing. ¡°Really? What did he say? To think that our relationship already bloomed to such an extent!¡± Valeria tilts her head. ¡°Let me see. When he is in a bad mood he calls you just ''The Bitch!'' and when he is in a good mood he says ''The poor misguided girl''.¡± Annice freezes and Valeria turns around to give Valda a thumbs up, which is returned by her. Valda steps forward and grabs Annice at her tail, pulling Annice with her. ¡°Owowow!¡± Annice tries to resist, but my mother''s grip is like a vice. Valda mumbles. ¡°I think I need to have a proper word with Ingrid about her education. And I even went through the trouble of placing that child in another class. Come Valeria, we are late.¡± She glances at my four friends. ¡°Please keep an eye on my son. And feel free to visit him from time to time. He is too much of a loner to invite you on his own.¡± Finally she marches off while pulling Annice with her. Valeria is following them. *** ¡°Your family is funny.¡± Stella grins while she hands me a screwdriver. We are currently in our class, having a lesson about rune-magic and artefacts. For that purpose we have to repair an old device which heats up something you place on top of it. To me it''s just a good old boilerplate combined with a little magic. ¡°You think so? Actually they can be very scary when they want to.¡± I finish assembling the magical circuit while Louise and Karsen make the encasing ready. ¡°The clan head seems nicer than I thought. Maybe I should visit you from time to time.¡± Talia grins at me. I nod. ¡°Sure. That means of course if you get past my sister. She seems to be a little jealous.¡± Or should I say that she was corrupted by my mother? We continue to work in silence on our project. Only Talia and Karsen indulge themselves in a little small talk between the two of them. While we work, the light outside starts dimming. Then the class finally ends. I pack up my stuff and attempt to leave the classroom when Stella holds me back by gripping my sleeve. ¡°I have to tell you something.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± But she gives no answer while the other students leave the room. Looking at her questioningly, I point out of the window at the disappearing sun. ¡°It''s getting late.¡± ¡°Actually, I wanted to thank you.¡± Stella looks at me with unwavering eyes. ¡°Recently I thought about how the last two years could have turned out if you hadn''t stayed my seatmate.¡± I attempt to speak, but she holds up a hand. ¡°I know. And I learned enough about you to know that you probably really only wanted to sit close to the window. Nevertheless, I want to give you a present as thanks. But you have to close your eyes until I say that you can open them.¡± She grabs her bag and looks at me. I frown. ¡°That''s childish.¡± Stella''s tail droops. ¡°You say such strange things from time to time. Do you want it or not?¡± ¡°Okay, Okay.¡± I close my eyes ...and feel something soft on my cheek while a small box is pressed into my hand. I hear Stella''s steps disappearing in the distance. I open my eyes and turn around while touching my cheek and notice that I am the only one left behind in the classroom. ¡°Eh? Did she just kiss me?¡± ¡°She ran away...¡± . 12. ~Test.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°The people who live in the grasslands are bigger than the normal citizen of Nict. Their nomadic lifestyle seems to be the reason for that. They form caravans with up to a hundred people and travel the grasslands. We don''t know much about them because they avoid contact with outsiders. But we know that everyone who travels through their territory is attacked fiercely and without warning. Your only chance is to avoid detection, or to travel with a large enough group to repel any attacks. But even that isn''t enough in some cases. It''s told that multiple nomadic caravans joined hands to take down a diplomatic mission from Quinn. They had three hundred guards with them.¡± -Unknown traveller ***Free City States of Nict, Nict*** ***Azir*** ¡°There is no need to worry. This test will be easy.¡± I nod while I take a look over the obstacle course which was assembled to test our skills. We are in our fifth year and this test is open to the public. Many people from different clans are sitting on stands which are placed in the best position to watch the entire length of the course. They came here to watch the next generation. Making a good impression during this test is actually very important for our future and it''ll influence the reputation of our clans. Karsen looks in dismay at a set of ten training dolls. ¡°You say it like that, but I am not sure on how to destroy the dolls in the middle of the course. They are fireproof.¡± ¡°Don''t joke around.¡± Louise huffs and crosses her arms in front of her chest. ¡°We trained your skills with the wind-fist spell especially for that purpose.¡± Karsen looks at the ground and kicks a pebble away. ¡°I know, but it doesn''t look cool. I mean... it just goes ''poof'' and something is blasted to pieces! That''s no fun! My flames go ''WOOSH!'' and ''ROAR!'' ! You get it?¡± Louise smacks her head and snarls at Karsen. ¡°Do you want to fail the test? Because THAT would be uncool! So just crush the stupid dummies with the wind-fist. Coat the wind fist in flames and make a fireball that explodes if you are keen on wasting mana.¡± Karsen''s eyes become wide and he smiles. ¡°That''s actually a good idea!¡± Stella sighs and gestures at the course. ¡°I am actually not very keen on making a show in front of so many people. Especially because nobody from my family is watching me. They didn''t want to sit between all those mages.¡± ¡°What are you saying? We are watching you. So go out there and show them that talent isn''t everything! You are the one who has to prove herself the most. If you shine here they make fools of themselves if they talk bad about you.¡± I point at the course. Well, it''s a lie. Stella is very talented and smart. Probably more so than many other kids here. ¡°I am actually the one with the most pressure here. My mother told me to do something that makes their jaws drop. She wants me to show off to increase the reputation of our clan.¡± I take a better look at the course. First there is a twenty metre long pool of mud. You have to get past it without losing too much time. Then you have to cover fifty metres of flat ground as fast as possible. A ten metre high pillar with a platform on top is the next hurdle. You have to climb on top of it somehow. While standing on the platform you have to destroy ten training dummies. They are placed on the ground around the pillar. That done, you just have to jump down and move a big boulder, which is blocking a gate, out of the way. Afterwards you step through the gate and you are done. ¡°Have you decided on what to do?¡± Talia invests her time into some warm up exercises. She is the first one to take the test in our group. Louise nods. ¡°It''ll be hard to match Annice''s show. Telekinesis is just boring in that regard. She flew onto the platform, turned around in a circle and blasted the dummies away, then she flew down and moved the boulder aside. It was really anticlimactic.¡± Stella purses her lips. ¡°But if you are that good at telekinesis there isn''t much more to do.¡± I nod. ¡°Though I am interested in that rumoured prodigy from the Veit. It interests me to see what an enchanter can do. Especially on how she is going to deal with the dummies.¡± ¡°Then your question is about to be answered.¡± Louise points at a small girl who readies herself at the start of the course. Her hair is of a dark orange and reaches down to her thighs. A teacher signals her to start and a magical circle with several layers appears under her. Then she jumps! It''s a huge leap which carries her over the mud. Landing on the other side she starts to run, her legs moving like a machine gun. The pillar is taken with another jump. From the platform she points her hands at the dolls, magical circles appear under them and the dolls are crushed like toys. From there the girl jumps off the platform and touches the boulder. The boulder simply floats aside with a light push and the girl steps through the gate, bowing to the audience. ¡°She is skilful. To enchant something with gravity magic to increase or decrease its weight is actually not that easy. And she even managed to do it from a distance.¡± I nod. Karsen shakes his head. ¡°But why didn''t she use it float up to the platform like Annice?¡± Stella answers his question. ¡°It looks like she can just increase or decrease weight. If she had made herself weightless and propelled herself to the platform, she would have needed an astounding amount of physical control to actually hit her target. Apparently she doesn''t have that, so she chose to run.¡± ¡°Who cares! My turn!¡± Talia runs up to the teacher who signals her to wait until the course is repaired. But there is an army of workers and adult magicians for exactly that purpose waiting at the sidelines. Within moments the obstacle course is repaired and Talia can start her show. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. With the signal of the teacher a bubble of mana forms around her. It''s the trademark move of our clan. The mana takes physical shape and Talia encases herself in a blue shimmering sphere. The sphere starts to spin while Talia is floating within it. Like being inside a wheel, Talia drives through the swamp and across the empty segment of the course. Reaching the pillar, a tentacle whips out of her bubble and catapults her onto the platform. Turning around once in a circle, Talia points at each doll and it is blasted to pieces by a sphere of condensed mana. Then she jumps down and and slices the boulder into two pieces with a thin mana tentacle. Afterwards she walks relaxedly through the gate. ¡°Tch! She had to show off with that sphere of hers.¡± Karsen looks unhappy while he walks to the starting point. The teacher signals Karsen to wait until one of the older magicians fused the boulder back together. Then it''s his turn. Karsen simply starts to run towards the mud. He stretches one hand out and a jet of flames bakes a bridge of dried dirt for Karsen. Reaching the end of the mud, Karsen keeps running normally while creating a trail of fire behind him. At the pillar he summons two jets of flames from his feet and catapults himself onto the platform. The dolls are dealt with by using the wind-fist. Of course Karsen adds some flames to sugar-coat the spell. The area under the pillar is bathed in a sea of fire while Karsen jumps down and places his hands on the boulder, melting his way right through. ¡°It just has to burn and be hot. He doesn''t care as long as those requirements are fulfilled.¡± Louise mumbles as she walks to the start. It takes the repair crew a while to clean up Karsen''s mess, but finally it''s Louise''s turn. At the teacher''s signal she forms a complicated symbol with her hands and disappears in a flash of light, reappearing on top of the platform. Then she slices the empty air with her hands, summoning blades of energy which shoot out and slice apart the dolls and the boulder below. Another flash of light takes her to the finish. I nod approvingly. A perfect memory is surely helpful in learning high level spells like teleport and light cutter. I breath out between my teeth. ¡°They are all so flashy. How can I make it a big show if everyone stands out like that?¡± ¡°Muh. I am sure you''ll find a way.¡± Stella runs to the teacher and can immediately start her test. Louise didn''t destroy anything beside the dolls and the boulder after all. Stella takes a meditation stance and glowing runes start appearing all over her skin, shining even through her clothes. Rune magic became her speciality after all. Then she leaps over the mud and onto the platform, empowered by the assist magic of the runes. On top of the platform she draws with her finger a complicated set of runes into the air. A glowing trail of mana is created and a set of glowing lances appears above her, nailing all dolls at once in the next moment. She jumps down and draws another set of runes onto the rock, reducing it to dust in the blink of and eye. Then she walks through the gate. I sigh and walk to the starting line. How can I impress these people? The kids here are already doing stuff that''s destroying the equipment. Probably it will do if I simply go with the stuff my mother taught to me... nah... I''ll show them a real spell. The teacher nods. I place my hands in a praying position and meditate for several seconds. There should still be enough mana around. So I close my eyes to sense the power all around me and force it under my will. Glowing spheres of light start appearing, but instead of forcing them into a protective sphere around me, I image a big magical circle under my feet. It should create a space time bubble, speeding up the passing of time around me. In short it makes me super fast! I raise one hand and release the spell. ¡°Activate!¡± The world around me turns grey and silent while everything stops. I pull a pen out of my pocket and scribble ¡°SLOW!¡± onto the teacher''s forehead. Then I add some good visible whiskers to his cheeks. Finally I decide to start the race and walk over the mud. While I am in this time frame the mud is as hard as rock. On my way over the clear part of the course I decide to use a stick to scrape some childish drawings and messages into the otherwise smooth and dusty ground. ¡°How did it get late so soon?¡± ¡°Time is the longest distance between two places.¡± ¡°Time is an illusion.¡± ¡°There is never enough time to do all you want. Unless you stop it.¡± ¡°Time is what keeps everything from happening at once.¡± Well. I think that''s enough. So I walk up to the platform and jump smoothly onto it by using levitation magic. From the top of the platform I cast an arcane lance for every doll. The spells actually freeze upon leaving my time frame and turn grey, hanging still in the air. Well. I only have enough mana to accelerate myself after all. Combined with the spacial magic to shift the air around me while I am moving it takes a lot of mana to sustain the spell. Even doing something a simple as scraping something into the ground takes a heavy burden on me. I wouldn''t have been able to cast such a spell without my clan ability. Speaking of time, I should get going. There isn''t much left according to my wristwatch. I place a curse on the boulder which should split it as soon as the time starts moving again. Or more accurately, when I slow down again. Then I walk around the boulder and give the teacher there a similar treatment as the one at the starting point. Afterwards I wait for my spell to run out. The world returns to its colourful state, I hear the calls of the people and my arcane lances start moving while the boulder splits. The teacher who should announce the end of the test beside me is still looking at the starting point while straining his neck to find out what happened. I decide to help him. ¡°Ahem!¡± He turns around and ogles me with big eyes. The enhanced eyebrows I painted onto him do their part in making him look really stupid. . 13. ~Opened Eyes.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°Quinn is a wondrous country. Their culture is vastly different from ours. I couldn''t avert my eyes from their buildings while I travelled their streets. Every single house of theirs is a work of art with paintings all over it. And the people are dressed in so many different clothes that I always had the impression that some kind of festivity was taking place. But even a place like that can cast a shadow onto the people who live there. The people of Quinn despise all magic like we despise the dark arts. All those who bear magic are forced to join the temples and serve the country. None of them are allowed to possess anything of their own, nor are they allowed to have relationships. This is a state of things which will meet its own bitter end in time. That I am sure of.¡± -Mile Riverick, Merchant ***Free City States of Nict, Nict*** ***Azir*** ¡°Um, why is everyone staring at me like that? Hey, say something!¡± I wave my hand in front of the teacher''s face. There is a heavy silence all over the training field. ¡°Did... Did you just form the gathered mana into a magical circle to cast a spell?¡± The teacher gasps. I smile and nod. ¡°But runes work just fine too. What did you think of my space time magic? Deserves a perfect score doesn''t it?¡± The teacher grabs me by my shoulders and shakes me. ¡°That''s unheard of! Since when can the Zait do something like that! To cast spells from natural mana without absorbing it first! Do you know how powerful that is!?¡± I twist myself free and step back. ¡°Duh! Don''t be so shocked. Isn''t that a basic thing to do when you can shape mana according to your will?¡± The teacher drops to his knees with a dead expression on his face. ¡°You pass. All of you pass.¡± ¡°~Hohoho!~¡± I hear the mad laughter of my mother and turn to face her. Seems like she came down from the stands to congratulate me. ¡°That was wonderful Azir. You blew their minds away. I am sure that they see the Zait in another light now.¡± She bends down and hugs me. ¡°And we can surely use this to our advantage!¡± Valda whispers into my ear. She lets go, but keeps kneeling in front of me. ¡°The Veit intended to make a big show out of this event, but you stole the spotlight from their prodigy.¡± I blink. ¡°Show? Spotlight?¡± Valda points at a group of adults. The orange haired enchanter girl from earlier is with them. The whole group is eyeing us with ill intent. ¡°This event is a little more than it seems. The clans are using it to show off their power and to compete with each other. If a clan can show that they have powerful heirs and a bright future it has influence on the political landscape.¡± She grumbles and stands up again. ¡°The Veit tried to persuade the Gejene to take away some of our clan''s landholdings within the capital. They are the current rulers of Nict and the capital is their territory, so it is within their rights to do so. Our clan is already seen as very powerful, though a display of power could have changed the Gejene''s mind about it. By showing them our full potential today, the Gejene will surely think twice about handing our holdings to the Veit. The Gejene will avoid getting on our bad side from now on. Even if they are the rulers.¡± Valda waves at the group while the grin on her face is turning vicious. ¡°Do you see that orange haired girl who looks like she wants to break off your horns and stab you with them? That''s Olivia Veit. They proclaim her to be the future of the clan because she can apply enchants from a distance.¡± I frown. ¡°But wasn''t revealing my ability really bad in that case? I am the only one in our clan who can use his ability like that.¡± ¡°Not for long.¡± Valda smiles while she forms a rune for fire above her hand. It ignites and turns into a flame. ¡°Don''t worry. Your mother isn''t the head of the clan for nothing. I''ve trained the new method of spell-casting since you first showed it to me a few years ago. Even though I am nowhere as good as you, I am good enough to give a little show. I also changed the training schedule for all of our younger children. Once they have control over the old style, they''ll learn the new one. Your sister isn''t the only one who''ll learn the new techniques.¡± Mother is surely a frightening existence. To train in secrecy in order to keep up with me. ¡°Dad was right when he said that you can''t stand it when someone is better than you. Is there anything else I should know about our political situation that you haven''t told me?¡± Valda pulls at her lower lip while thinking. ¡°Not that I know. We are on very good terms with the Anja, since your father is from their clan. We are at odds with the Tinn, but you know that already. And today we stepped onto the toes of the Veit. I think our relationship with the other clans can be called neutral.¡± My friends join us and Talia forms two fists while jumping in front of me with sparkling eyes. ¡°That was so cool! Can I learn that too?¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°S... sure.¡± I try to force a smile onto my face. Valda reprimands Talia with a raised finger. ¡°You''ll learn it once you can stop your sphere from going out of control. Spinning it like that could kill you.¡± Talia presses her lips into a thin line while she is thinking about an answer. ¡°I don''t know what you are talking about. Spinning the protective sphere is my trademark move. It''s best to move around, you don''t even need a carriage.¡± Valda raises an eyebrow. ¡°You clearly tried to get it back under control while it spun. Did I, the clan head, just hear a lie from a member of a branch family?¡± ¡°Forgive me! Forgive me! I''ll work on it! I lost control! I admit!¡± Talia prostrates herself onto all fours in front of my mother. ¡°Well, I think I''ll retreat for now. There is something I have to discuss with the Veit.¡± Valda leaves us behind and walks over to the group which is glaring at us. ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Louise*** We are back in our classroom. There is nothing to do at the moment, so we are just idling around. Azir busted the whole event with his show. I can''t believe that he had no idea how powerful this new technique of the Zait is. Using natural mana to cast your spells is like using a cheat. It means that the Zait can continue to cast spells as much as they want. The only restriction is the mana which is available in the area. A magician who has such an ability can keep casting spells long after everyone else has run out of mana. There is vastly more mana in the environment than any magician has in his personal mana pool. The only restriction is their own concentration and endurance. I eye Azir while he is lolling in his chair and watching the ceiling. Sometimes I really want to know what''s going on in his mind. He is trying to hide it, but I am sure that he is far ahead of everyone in his generation. When his mask slips from time to time he is just like an old grandfather who is teaching some youngsters a new trick. I went through great efforts to adapt my teleportation spell in order to being able to use it during combat. A normal teleportation would require long preparations and cast times. I worked hard to shorten the cast, but that meant increasing the complexity of the spell. He helped me to adapt the spell and even though he tried to make it look like he was just giving a helping hand, he couldn''t hide that the end result was probably known to him beforehand. The door to the classroom opens and a familiar orange haired girl enters the classroom. Her eyes lock onto Azir and she walks over to our group. ¡°Hey!¡± Azir''s eyes wander to her. ¡°Hi.¡± ¡°Don''t call me ''Hi''! I am Olivia Veit!¡± The orange head proclaims while touching her chest with a high and mighty demeanour. I think I was like her some time ago, before Azir made me join his group. Azir mumbles something and sits up straight. ¡°Then don''t call me ''Hey''. I am Azir Zait.¡± The girl ignores him and continues with a grand speech of her own. ¡°I, Olivia Veit, judged you to be a worthy opponent. From now on we are rivals! Prepare yourself!¡± She turns and walks towards the exit. I see Azir''s eyes twitch and immediately recognize that he is annoyed. He tends to do that before he does something nasty! Without thinking I jump forward and grab his left hand which was pointing at Olivia. His right hand is caught by Stella who is also good at judging his tempers. Our group got used to his outbreaks and we are trying everything in our might to stop him from doing unfortunate things which could affect our whole group. ¡°What do you guys think you are doing?¡± He looks left and right while we are both holding onto his hands. Stella calls out. ¡°You were about to attach a nasty curse to her! Think about what the teachers would say!¡± ¡°I don''t care! She came in here and declared war! Naughty children have to be educated while they are still able to learn! It''s too late once they are older.¡± He tries to pull himself free, but I don''t let go. ¡°Help us! Talia! Karsen! We have to restrain him! His mother surely doesn''t want an incident with the Veit right now!¡± All of us throw themselves onto Azir to restrain him. A wild scramble enfolds and all of us go to the ground. Only Karsen doesn''t help and stays out of it. ¡°B... B... B... Brother!¡± We turn and find Valeria in the entrance to the classroom. Then I realize what our current situation looks like. I am leeching on to his left hand with my legs around his waist while Stella is holding down his right. Stella''s tail is entangled around Azir''s legs. Talia is sitting on top of him to keep him from getting up. Then Valeria bulldozes into Talia. ¡°Don''t rape my brother! Not allowed! T... Too young!¡± Wait? Does that mean she is fine with it once we are older? . 14. ~Bad Omen.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°The Gejene''s power of transmutation is one of the most versatile ones. It''s said that their influence is based solely on their ability to transmute worthless materials into valuable ones. But their ability goes actually a step further. The talented individuals of this clan are actually able to transmute their bodies. Imagine someone being able to transmute their skin and clothing into steel. Or changing into a liquid form to negate physical attacks. Depending on its use, this ability can change the nature of a magical fight.¡± -Sam Eddins, Librarian ***Free City States of Nict, Nict*** ***Azir*** ¡°Karsen. I swear it. Those girls are confused in their heads!¡± I complain while I study an interesting book about alchemy. We are in our classroom and enjoying some free time from the lessons. We have just a few weeks left before we can choose our next path of education. And then I''ll finally get access to this rumoured library! ¡°Are you talking about Olivia or Annice?¡± He asks, looking bored while doing his homework. ¡°And are they the reason why you are hiding under the table?¡± I am helping Karsen by telling him the answers once he gets stuck. ¡°They don''t know when to give up. And I am not hiding! I am avoiding contact with the enemy! That''s something else. If you know that a fight doesn''t benefit you, you avoid it!¡± Karsen sighs. ¡°Just beat Olivia down like you always do. It''s not like she can offer a real challenge to you. As for Annice... no, you are actually right to hide from Annice.¡± I turn the page. ¡°But Olivia is like a fucking tumbler! No matter what I do to her, she always gets up and tries again. Yesterday I broke both her legs and left her lying in the hallway! I thought that had finally done the trick. But today I saw her searching for me in the canteen!¡± He clears his throat. ¡°Breaking her legs sounds a little extreme, but now that you mention it, I heard that one of Olivia''s friends is an Eddin. They can fix someone up in record time with their healing magic.¡± That''s cheating! What point is there in hurting her if she has her personal healer? ¡°She used deadly force against me. Didn''t you see the holes in the walls on our corridor? Those were made by her fists! If she hits my head like that it will simply go *pop*!¡± Karsen drums with his fingers onto the table. ¡°Then how about trying another route? Freak her out by doing something totally unexpected!¡± That might even work. I frown. ¡°Like?¡± ¡°Kiss her! I promise, she won''t come within ten metres of you again.¡± Karsen looks under the table and grins. ¡°Idiot! Annice''s advances are bad enough!¡± That''s an absolute no go. ¡°Haah. I wonder what you''ll do at the party then.¡± Karsen returns to doing his homework. I hear the scribbling sounds of his pen above me. ¡°Which party?¡± Party? I don''t remember anyone inviting me to a party. The scribbling sounds stop and Karsen''s face appears again. ¡°Don''t tell me that you don''t know.¡± I hit his leg. ¡°Tell me!¡± This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°The party at the end of the year? Our graduation ceremony? The dance all males on this academy fear!? The day when the hunt starts?¡± Karsen looks at me with an open mouth. I just look at him, understanding nothing at all. He sighs. ¡°You see. There is a dancing party afterwards. And who dances with whom? Boys with girls. And who is in the minority on this academy? You get it now?¡± I slowly close my book. ¡°You want to say that Annice will become even more annoying?¡± Karsen snickers. ¡°Not only Annice! All of them! Which girl doesn''t want to dance at least once before the real university life starts? And they''ll try to bond with you for other reasons. That means unless you find a shield until then...¡± What''s a shield? ¡°Shield?¡± He sits up straight again. ¡°Take me and Talia for example. I promised to spend the entire evening with her. So she''ll naturally repel all the annoying bugs who''ll surely try to sting me.¡± The gears in my head start turning. ¡°That''s fine. I''ll hide behind Stella.¡± Karsen snorts. ¡°Don''t do that to Stella! The girls at the school are already eyeing her with ill intent because she is close to you! And she has no backup from one of the big clans! They''ll tear her apart.¡± I purse my lips. ¡°Then Louise?¡± ¡°You could try to ask her.¡± The scribbling starts again. ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Annice*** ¡°~Hmhmhm.~¡± I step into the classroom. ¡°Hi, Karsen! Have you seen my destined one?¡± He should be here according to my informants. Karsen shakes his head. ¡°He just left. I think he has a special sense to detect your approach. It''s actually becoming a little freaky. Ten seconds before you appear, he jumps up like something bit him and then he teleports away without a word.¡± ¡°Tch! I am starting to believe so myself.¡± I look around, but there seems to be nobody else in the classroom. ¡°Why are you so focused on him? Aren''t your families enemies?¡± Karsen looks up from his work. ¡°That''s because we are bonded by fate! It was when we first met that I simply knew that he is the one!¡± I form a fist in front of me to emphasize my point. ¡°And I didn''t find a better guy up until now. So there is no reason to change my target.¡± ¡°That doesn''t sound like love.¡± Karsen states with an emotionless voice. I make a dismissive gesture. ¡°Who cares about love. It''s destiny! That''s wrong by the way. The Trebur¨¹ attacked our southern border in the year seven hundred and forty three.¡± I point at the page he is writing. ¡°Oh? Thanks. I don''t understand why we have to know about all these attacks on our borders. There is no point in it. And why are these small countries even trying?¡± He corrects his mistake. I frown. ¡°It''s to show us that reasoning with them isn''t possible. That''s why we have to learn the whole history. And they are attacking us frequently because every warlord who gains control over three or four small nations tries his luck with Nict once he becomes cocky. Then he dies and the next one takes his place.¡± It''s a never ending story of rising to might and experiencing their downfall. ¡°I''ll go then. The day is still young and I have some time left to search for Azir.¡± . 15. ~Party.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°I, Saudon, conquered my home country Fenes with ease. Then I attacked our neighbours. All of them had to bow their heads to me in time. The steps of my armies shake the ground and all I see from one horizon to another belongs to me. My fame will be eternal! So I march my armies against the only enemy left. The mysterious country of Nict. It''s said to be rich in treasures and people. So we travel through its lands, but there is no resistance. The few small villages we find are abandoned and void of people. Finally we arrive at the city Tetra. It is the first stepping stone to me becoming a legend. The walls of the city are high and strong. But my army of a hundred thousand will take it. We ground the walls of similar cities to dust. Now they are opening their gates. It seems like they realized that nothing can stop my advance. But I can''t let them capitulate. I need a glorious battle to increase my fame. My advisers tell me that an army is leaving from the gates. Seems like those fools intend to attack us. Even better. Just as I wanted them to.¡± -Saudon, The King of All There is no end to their numbers. They keep pouring out of the city like ants from their hill. A city of that size can''t hold an army that big! This is sorcery! My army was crushed by their spells and for every one we killed ten others took their place! They won''t let us retreat. The bridges were destroyed behind us and we are caught. This will be our last battle. -Captured document from a southern warlord. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** It''s done. My time as a normal schoolboy is over. Our group is standing in front of the big ballroom in which the farewell party is being held. In the end I didn''t dare to ask any of the girls to play my shield. Annice and Olivia are out of the question for obvious reasons. Karsen was right that it would be unfair to Stella if I asked her, so I didn''t involve her. And I didn''t ask Louise because she could''ve misunderstood my intentions. All of them are my friends, but I am not stupid enough to underestimate the power of hormones. And we are turning into adults after all. I''ll simply have to survive this evening somehow. It''s just one party for god''s sake. I survived the last ten years! From now on it can only get better! Student life, here I come! No more having to listen to the stupid preaching of our teachers. All my time in the ice didn''t prepare me for the hell I was going through these past ten years. ¡°It''s over...¡± It''s finally over. Can anyone imagine what it does to a sane adult mind if you have to listen all day long to stuff you already know? And you aren''t allowed to talk back or correct the idiot at the chalk board? It''s torture I tell you! ¡°It''s over...¡± Suddenly Stella wipes my face with a handkerchief. ¡°You don''t have to cry Azir! We''ll always stay together. Entering the university doesn''t mean that we can''t see each other any more!¡± ¡°Yes! No reason to have an emotional breakdown! Our friendship can''t be broken that easily.¡± Karsen pats onto my shoulder while Talia nods beside him. Louise gives me a thumb up. ¡°We''ll still have some classes together. This isn''t the end of the world.¡± NOOO! YOU ALL MISUNDERSTOOD ME! Whatever. ¡°Let''s do this.¡± We walk together into the ballroom where the other students are already celebrating. Upon entering the room, Louise grabs my hand and pulls me onto the dance floor. ¡°I''ll take the honour of the first dance!¡± I manage a wry smile while I look around at the glaring eyes on me. It feels like I just stepped into the den of a group of predators and I am the prey! Louise hugs me and we start dancing to the music. I simply close my eyes and let her take the lead. That way I don''t have to look at the glaring eyes around me. We spend half an hour on the dance floor. When we step down Louise presses my hand into the waiting hands of a girl I never saw before. ¡°That''s Amy. She helped me with something and asked me if I could introduce you two in return. Please dance with her at least once.¡± ¡°What?¡± My eyes wander back and forth between Louise and Amy. ¡°Did I just get sold?¡± Louise snickers and pushes me onto the dance floor while Amy pulls from the other side. ¡°See it as apology for what you did to me in our first year!¡± I try to resist, but Amy is really strong. No chance without using force! ¡°That was ten years ago!¡± Louise shows me her tongue. ¡°Nine years, three hundred and forty seven days and thirteen hours ago. It lasted for thirty seven minutes and I hung on the statue for two hours and eight minutes. I''ll remember it all my life.¡± She waves with her hand. ¡°~Perfect memories are a bitch.~¡± Damn! I turn around and force a smile onto my face while looking at Amy. No choice. I told myself at the beginning that I''ll simply have to endure it. *** My feet feel sore. After Amy was Annice, after that came Clarissa, then it was Curlyhair, Bigboobs, SmallCutie, Musclemonster, Beautydot, Flatchest, Lustyeyes and whatnot else. I don''t care about their names. At last I managed to sneak away thanks to the appearance of my little sister. After she danced with me for half an hour I managed to persuade her to distract the waiting crowd. Right now I am hiding on a balcony with a set of potted plants. They block the view from inside the building. ¡°You had a hard time?¡± I wince and turn to find Stella at the door of the balcony. ¡°Don''t sneak up on me like that! I already intended to jump in order to get away.¡± ¡°Hahahaha. Don''t do that. It''s the second floor.¡± She sits down beside me and hands me a plate with food. ¡°I thought you might be hungry.¡± Stolen story; please report. ¡°Oh, thanks! You are the best of all of them.¡± I take the food and start eating. Honestly, she is the only one who brought me food. I take a big bite from the pancake roll she brought me. ¡°R... really? Thanks.¡± She starts to fumble with her fingers. ¡°I don''t want to sound like them you know? And my standing doesn''t really allow it. But could we dance too?¡± Ehm. ¡°I don''t get what you mean by standing, but sure? How about going up onto the roof. There should be enough space there and nobody can disturb us.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Stella grabs my hand, runes glow up all over her body. I feel myself becoming light. Then she jumps! ¡°Wawawait! We could''ve used the stairs!¡± I activate levitation magic to soften our landing and we both touch the ground smoothly. I almost lost the precious food. ¡°Too dangerous. They''ve put up their watchdogs at all exits.¡± Stella shakes her head. ¡°W... watchdogs?¡± I stutter while I am eating the rest of the pancake. ¡°The other girls. They are obviously searching for you.¡± Stella takes my hands and we start dancing to the dulled music, which can be heard from the ballroom. ¡°Thanks for the good time. The years with you guys were great.¡± ¡°Was it that good?¡± I guess for her it was just a normal school life? ¡°It was infinitely better to what it could have been. You were the only one who treated me like a person.¡± She hugs me tighter and I feel her blossoming chest on me. Aaah... thanks for the treat. No! We are still youths. What am I thinking? I try to reassure her. ¡°It wasn''t a big deal. Didn''t you become good friends with Talia, Louise and Karsen?¡± ¡°But you kind of forced them to talk to me. You were the deciding factor. Misuse of authority, you called it?¡± She starts to giggle. ¡°If you weren''t there I would''ve had to sit in that class and endure their pranks for ten years. I would''ve had nobody to talk to except my parents in the evening.¡± ¡°I feel a little bad if you put it like that.¡± I take a look at her strange hair. After all my time in this world I really didn''t find a single other person with two hair colours. ¡°Now that you mention them, I really don''t know anything about you after all this time. I haven''t seen your parents even once. You never talk about your home at school.¡± Stella buries her face in my chest. ¡°Ah, that''s no wonder. There is nothing much to talk about. My father is a merchant and he is never at home. Only for short visits. My mother is a housewife and one of those commoners who worship magicians like gods. I''ve no siblings, so I will be glad if she doesn''t kneel to me once I get home from school.¡± I force a smile onto my face. ¡°Is it really that bad? I admit that I am a sheltered person who didn''t concern himself much with the ways of the world.¡± Stella sighs. ¡°They live good lives, but they still looked at me like I wasn''t their daughter when my magic was revealed.¡± ¡°Then how about visiting them with our friends and showing them that magicians are no different from other humans!¡± I announce. ¡°Haah... no. That won''t be necessary.¡± Stella shakes her head vehemently. ¡°No? Are you sure?¡± I am a little disappointed. ¡°You don''t like it?¡± Stella nods. ¡°I just want to spare them the awkward situation.¡± I look down into her eyes. ¡°So you like them.¡± Her eyes are of a dark brown in their centre with a ring of gold around the iris. Somehow they are fascinating. I didn''t look at them from so close before. Maybe I shouldn''t? But I want to. Just one innocent kiss. My head lowers itself like in a trance and our lips touch. Stella reaches up and holds my head between her hands while we kiss. Suddenly I feel something parting my lips! What!? What is going on? I try to pull back, but Stella''s tongue is inside my mouth and somehow I don''t want to stop this? Was her tongue always that long? We are still dancing and distracted by this sudden attack I trip over her feet and we both fall to the ground. ¡°MmmmMM!?¡± This was supposed to be an innocent kiss! Why is her tongue in my mouth and dancing Razzle-dazzle!? Finally I manage to free myself and gasp for air while rolling away from her. Is that really Stella? Did I get deceived by some kind of illusion magic!? I cover my mouth and turn around to face her. She is just sitting there and grinning at me with slightly flushed cheeks. Her tail waves, pleased, left and right. ¡°That was pure ecstasy!¡± ¡°What was that supposed to be?¡± That''s not the cute, shy Stella I know! Stella''s expression becomes flustered. ¡°Huh? Did I do something wrong? Didn''t it feel good? I put so much effort into it.¡± I crawl closer and look into her eyes. ¡°Where did you learn that? That''s supposed to be an advanced technique!¡± Her tail curls up behind her. ¡°It''s not supposed to be like that? But Louise said that you have to grab him tight and do it like this and that and it would feel really good if it''s the right guy.¡± She licks over her lips and smiles at me. LOUISSEE! She corrupted my pure, cute little childhood friend! Where did she even learn something like that!? I''ll give her another horrible memory she''ll never forget once I see her again. ¡°~Um, Azir?~¡± I return to reality and find Stella kneeling in front of me while playing with her fingers. ¡°What?¡± ¡°~Once more won''t hurt? It''s not like something bad can happen by doing just that.~¡± ¡°Just? I think the problem lies somewhere else!¡± ¡°~Just once!~¡± ¡°~We can return to our previous relationship afterwards!~¡± She pushes me onto my back and sits on top while kissing me like before. No, not like before. I think she actually got better! And what did she mean by returning to our previous relationship? That''s not possible! This is going too far! Our innocent childlike friendship is crushed! Nothing can bring it back! How can I explain this to my parents? What happens if my little sister finds out? I think I''ll have a headache for the strangest of all reasons tomorrow. . 16. ~University.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°The Anja''s ability to control Fire, although powerful, isn''t almighty. The thing that''s mostly misunderstood about their ability is that they can''t create fire from nothing. They have to use their own mana to fuel a fire spell in order to create a flame and keep it burning. An Anja without mana and fire is powerless. On the other hand they can control all existing fire within their vicinity. Their greatest battlemage set fire to a whole district of their own city to stop an enemy invasion. Several bands of Nomads had grouped together to attack Di. I wish I could''ve seen their grinning faces when they saw the sieged city go up in flames. And I wish even more that I had a painting of their expressions when those flames suddenly moved to incinerate them.¡± -Codex of Fire, unknown author ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** Aaah... university is simply enjoyable. I finally got access to the rumoured library and I have to admit that it is a treasure trove. The Empire of Nict was a highly advanced civilisation. I found books about quantum mechanics and their effects on space and time. Well. It had to be expected. They built the Gates after all. The only problem is that the library isn''t complete. This, of course, also had to be expected. The books I find there are a random assortment of different subjects. Much has been lost. The destruction back then must have been severe. The problem for the successors of this knowledge is that they don''t have the foundations to understand what they are holding in their hands. A book on quantum mechanics is like an obscure mythical text to you if you have no knowledge of the required physics and mathematics to understand it. There were books on basic physics and mathematics, but the essential link between the two was lost. I turn the page while I am enjoying the sun on a bench in the park, which is located in front of the library. Of course they don''t let me remove the original books from there, but the copies are just as good. ¡°Are you sure that you understand this cryptic stuff?¡± Stella takes a look at my book from beside me. We''ve always been together since that night on the roof and I have to admit that I have a thing for her. We haven''t yet officially named our relationship. Though it would be appropiate to call us boyfriend and girlfriend. ¡°It''s understandable. I am more concerned about your book?¡± I glance at the book about chemistry on her lap. I introduced her to medicine and chemistry by explaining some of the dusty old books to her. It wasn''t anything special. Just the basic stuff. Somehow she got hooked up on the subject and since then she read ever more complicated stuff about the matter. She adjusts a strand of her hair which fell onto her face and smiles. ¡°It''s ok. I sought out some teachers and one of them could help me. She suggested the right books and advised the best order in which I should read them.¡± Her horns are now fully grown. They are obsidian black and run backwards around her head, fanning out into multiple points. They look like they belong to a dragon. Her facial features became beautiful, but sharp and she wears her hair long nowadays. Unfortunately her hair colour doesn''t really match the dark blue robes she is wearing. Every student has to wear them, even me. If there wasn''t this stupid society we wouldn''t have to hide our relationship. But if it were to become official that Stella and I are anything more than friends, she would surely have to endure the scorn of the female students. I offered to talk to my mother in order to get her accepted into our clan, but she refused. Probably I could make a deal with my mother if I would confront her with cemented facts. Stella wasn''t happy about my suggestion. She is a stubborn one and since she already got this far on her own, she said that she wants to walk her path till the end. Her plan is to become someone famous enough that joining a clan would seem like an honour to the clan. Otherwise it would seem like the clan takes in a random orphan out of pity. So we hide our relationship as best as possible while we are in public. Not that there is much to hide. Stella didn''t give in to anything more than kissing. But wow, her kisses are something else. ¡°You are having strange fantasies...¡± Stella''s voice wakes me up. She grabs one of my horns and pulls, bringing me back to reality. My horns are bending backwards above my head, but they don''t fan out like Stella''s. My hair is dark and has a metallic shimmer like my mother''s, but I keep it short. ¡°Ahem. No. Never. I would never have illicit thoughts. We have a deal after all.¡± I look at her. ¡°But you could put more effort into becoming famous.¡± Stella puffs up her cheeks. ¡°Sorry. I am not a natural at everything I touch.¡± My eyes wander to her book. ¡°But you seem to be a natural at medicine.¡± I look down the path which leads to our bench and find Louise coming in our direction. ¡°Heyoo! Found you two. You are always together recently.¡± Louise waves at us. Her horns are forming a complicated web above her head and she wears her dark-brown hair short. She is also a full head taller than Stella and her chest became huge! I mean, Stella''s chest isn''t small, but it''s not huge either. Just right. Louise evolved simply too much if you take her age into account. It has been just half a year since we entered the university. Stella closes her book. ¡°Where have you left Karsen and Talia?¡± Louise covers her face with both hands. ¡°They are at the infirmary. I told them repeatedly to use contraceptives, but they wouldn''t listen. Now they have the mess.¡± I furrow my eyebrows. ¡°You are joking. If that''s true my mother will behead Talia.¡± Stella smirks at Louise. ¡°She is lying. Talia told me just yesterday that she won''t let Karsen close until he introduces her to his parents.¡± ¡°Tch. Well. They are in the infirmary because Karsen broke off one of his horns. He tried to use acceleration magic on himself and ran at full speed into a wall.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°That sounds more like him.¡± I return to studying my book. ¡°Have you heard of the recent disappearance?¡± Louise sits down on the bench beside Stella. Stella shakes her head. ¡°No?¡± ¡°A student from the second semester vanished. Apparently the university is fighting with a series of these cases. Every two or three months someone goes missing.¡± Louise leans back and crosses her legs. ¡°Some say that a dark magician is on the loose. Maybe you shouldn''t wander around where there aren''t many people.¡± Stella frowns. ¡°Isn''t the university investigating those cases? The clans of the missing people won''t let this go on.¡± Louise nods. ¡°They do, but there are no hints to follow. It was only said that the missing students were all highly talented magicians. But they''ve found nothing so far.¡± ¡°Sounds disturbing.¡± Stella has a troubled expression now. ¡°~Aziir! Hun!~¡± I close my eyes and whisper. ¡°Gods! Let the dark magicians take her away.¡± ¡°... cold.¡± Louise glares at me. ¡°Don''t wish for something like that... even if it''s her.¡± Stella grumbles at my side. Then Annice arrives and drops herself onto my lap. ¡°I am so happy that I found you so fast. Normally I have to search for a long time before I find you. It''s almost as if you are hiding from me.¡± ¡°I am hiding from you.¡± I attempt to push her off of me, but she is wisely holding onto my book, threatening to rip it should I use too much force. ¡°Azir, Azir. When will you finally accept my devotion.¡± She shakes her head, bobbing her curly blonde hair. Her horns are standing straight upwards from her head. They aren''t bent at all. Annice''s features became more alluring within the recent years. If it wasn''t for her personality. I stand up, intending to drop her to the ground by the action. ¡°I think I''ll go now. There is a lesson I have to attend to.¡± But Annice avoids her fall by graciously bringing around her feet and standing up herself. Annice sighs. ¡°I guess there is really no chance in trying it this way. Maybe I should go through other channels.¡± ¡°That won''t change anything. Search for another target.¡± This girl has a few screws loose if she thinks that sticking to me like that will accomplish anything. Louise raises a hand. ¡°If I might suggest. There is a guy in his third semester who might fulfil your requirements as a target.¡± Annice tilts her head. ¡°His name?¡± ¡°Alphonse.¡± Louise grabs Annice''s hand and leads her away. ¡°I heard he has a thing for...¡± I massage both of my temples while my eyes start twitching. ¡°I swear. One day I''ll go on a rampage. These headaches are killing me. Killing someone might be just the right thing to do.¡± ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Stella*** Azir turns away and walks down the narrow, cobbled path of the park in direction towards the research facilities. I hate to see him like that. Why can''t these idiots just stay away from him. It isn''t like he hasn''t told them that they should keep their distance. A gust of wind moves the leaves of the trees, while he is vanishing out of sight. I return my attention to my book, but somewhere in my mind the problem with Annice doesn''t let go of me. What if she uses her clan''s power to set up some kind of marriage contract between her and him? Maybe I should simply try to get things to the next stage with him? But it''s still too early. I enjoy our current life. We are happy if you don''t take Annice into account. ¡°Where is Azir?¡± Darn! I forgot about that one. I look up with half closed eyes and try to smile at Olivia. She wears her long, straight hair as a knot behind her head. Her horns turned into two blade-like appendages which are running across the entire length of her head. I shrug my shoulders. ¡°Haven''t seen him.¡± Olivia looks down at me in dismay. ¡°Listen commoner. I know that you are always with him. What are you? His concubine? It''s impossible that you don''t know where he is.¡± I keep my smiling mask. ¡°Even if I knew, I have no obligations to tell you. Just give up. You are too weak for him.¡± She kicks the bench, barely avoiding to hit me. The bench breaks and I am forced to stand up in order to avoid falling to the ground. ¡°Hey!¡± Olivia crosses her arms in front of her chest. ¡°Just so you know. I''ll show my parents that I am able to handle him. And then they will force the Zait to hand him over to us one way or the other.¡± My expression drops. ¡°What twisted way of thinking is that? Is that the reason for all your challenges?¡± Olivia blinks. Probably she didn''t expect me to speak up. ¡°Well of course. A woman has to be able to keep her men in check. There is no point in having them around if you can''t subjugate them.¡± She wants to take him away! My love! Why. That''s too soon. He is my... I still haven''t... Olivia attempts to walk away, but I block her path. ¡°I think we need to talk.¡± ¡°Out of the way, commoner.¡± She snarls and tries to shove me, but I grab her hand and activate the passive set of enhancement runes which I have always ready. They glow up all over my body. ¡°~I think we need to talk.~¡± She tries to pull away, but I don''t let go. ¡°Don''t get cocky filthy commoner! You stepped over your bounds this time!¡± She casts a set of enhancement enchants and I feel her pushing me back. My opponent is using her ability, there is no chance that I can do this with rune magic alone. A quick look at our surroundings confirms that there is nobody in sight. I activate my own ability and feel the muscles in my hand flex. A few cracking sounds can be heard from Olivia''s hand and her face distorts in pain. But she doesn''t yield or scream while I am forcing her to her knees. ¡°~I think we need to talk.~¡± Her eyes widen. ¡°What... Who are you!?¡± . 17. ~Suspicions.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°The Eddin, while not having much fighting power of their own, are the best healers in Nict. They are naturals at curing and healing magic. The most horrible wounds can be melded back together within minutes. Though it has to be said that they can''t bring back the dead. That''s the reason for their rise in power. Of course they don''t offer their exceptional skills for free and someone should always have enough money in his pockets if he intends to get hurt.¡± -Visor Ellenoy, Visitor of the great healing house in Penta ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** I yawn and step out of the research facility. It sucks that some classes still require the student''s presence. Taking only the tests is much more to my liking. ¡°One! Two! One! Two!¡± ¡°Run faster!¡± ¡°She is still breathing!¡± I blink. Just now a group from the healer''s faculty ran past me. Two of them were levitating a female student on a stretcher. The face was too beaten up to be recognizable, but I knew the orange hair. It had to be Olivia. One of Olivia''s horns was broken off and stuck in her chest instead. Her tail was bent in an unhealthy looking angle. My eyes wander to the ground and I inspect the trail of blood which was left behind by their passing. ¡°Azir?¡± The two who carried her were accompanied by three healers. One of them was carrying an arm and another had a bottle in his hands with an eyeball swimming inside. ¡°Azir?¡± Strange... Olivia didn''t challenge me to a duel. So why is she hurt? Did I do something while I was sleeping? Now that would be a frightening development. I know that I have a temper, but I didn''t think that it was that bad already. Uh... no. I am still sleepy. I shouldn''t overthink the situation. ¡°Azir?¡± I look up from the trail of blood and find Stella in front of me. ¡°I think, I just saw something strange. Was that Olivia?¡± Stella tilts her head. ¡°Yeah. I found her in the park. She was in a very bad state, so I called some healers.¡± ¡°Oooh. You are generous. I never call the healers after I beat her up.¡± I nod and smile. ¡°Wait, has this something to do with the missing people?¡± ¡°Errr... It just looked like she wouldn''t last much longer. So I decided to bite into the sour apple. And I just found her, so I don''t know anything.¡± Stella pulls a grimace. ¡°Actually I wanted to inform you that I''ll be gone for a day or two.¡± I arch an eyebrow. ¡°Well. It''s not like I want to intrude, but can I know what you''ll be doing?¡± Stella''s expression lights up into a dazzling smile. ¡°Family matters. My father is coming home after a long time and I want to spend some time with him.¡± ¡°Hmm. I could use this to introduce myself. You still didn''t tell me where you live.¡± I scratch my chin. ¡°It''s a little embarrassing that I don''t know where to find you, besides university.¡± Stella hugs me. ¡°I''ll show you some other time. I meant it when I said that I want to spend some time with my father. Alone.¡± ¡°You really don''t see him often? It''s okay. Have a nice time then.¡± I nod and Stella lets go of me. ¡°Thanks. I''ll be back.¡± She turns and leaves me behind. Hmm. Actually I still want to know where she lives. Is she too embarrassed to show me? I know that it''s stalking, but following her to find out may be interesting? Stella turns around a corner and I start moving, following her quickly. But upon arriving at the corner myself I find her gone. Gone? I look up into the sky. No, she didn''t fly. Then around the next corner? I walk with fast steps around the building, but no sign of Stella. ¡°Now that can''t be? How can someone vanish into thin air?¡± Casting levitation magic I glide upwards while I take a look over the entire area. Hm. Nothing I can do about it now. She must have been in a hurry. My thoughts return to Olivia. I don''t really care what happened to her, but I might as well investigate. If something dangerous is going on I want to know about it before something bad happens to my friends. Lets see. I think the healer''s faculty was in that direction. I fly there in a relaxed manner while I enjoy the view from above. A few other mages are also using one or the other method to fly from point A to point B. But there aren''t enough people, who are capable of such a feat, to cause traffic problems. I land in front of the big building, which is used by the healers, and step inside. A short talk with the receptionist at the entrance guides me to the right room. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Inside I find Olivia on a bed. Talia and Karsen, Mr. Pendragon and a guy in a very expensive looking dress are surrounding her. All of them turn towards me as I enter. Mr. Pendragon has a few classes at the university too, so his presence isn''t that strange. Though I still want to know why he is here? His greying hair looks a little messed up and his two straight horns look similar to Olivia. Don''t tell me that he is actually a relative? Talia wears her brown hair in a pigtail. Her horns form two crescents, which are pointing backwards from her forehead. She has the same height as me and her eyes always look a little sleepy because they are slightly angled. Nonetheless, it''s not making her look bad. It... fits her type. That''s the right way to say it. She waves her hand at me. Karsen wears his blonde hair a little longer than me. His facial features became harder with time, but there is still a childish touch to them. His horns run straight forward from his head and take a sharp turn backwards. He gives me a nod. I think Louise mentioned that they were here. Probably they saw Olivia carried in on a stretcher and became curious. Wasn''t Karsen''s horn supposed to be broken off? The healers did a fine job in reattaching it. ¡°Now, who have we here?¡± ExpensiveGuy looks expectantly at me while scribbling something into his notebook, he doesn''t even look down while doing so. He is about thirty and his face looks like he is an evildoer. I can''t describe it in any other way. His horns fan out into three staggered spikes above his head. ¡°I am Ryland, chief investigator for all strange events on university grounds. Don''t concern yourself with them. I just interviewed them because they seemed to know her.¡± He gestures at Karsen and Talia. I step closer. ¡°Azir Zait. I just wanted to take a look at my self proclaimed rival.¡± I take a peek at Olivia, who is just staring upwards at the ceiling while holding with both hands onto her bedsheets. ¡°Looks like they put her back together.¡± ¡°So you knew about what happened? Did you see something?¡± Ryland looks me over from head to toe. ¡°I heard that the two of you injured each other frequently?¡± Raising a finger, I correct his information. ¡°That''s wrong. The one who got injured was always her.¡± I point at Olivia, who is still staring at the ceiling. ¡°What''s wrong with her?¡± ¡°She doesn''t react. The healers don''t know what''s wrong.¡± Mr. Pendragon answers a little devastated. Ryland mumbles and takes a look at his notes. ¡°The healers said that someone brought her very skilfully to the brink of death while avoiding killing her. According to them, it had to be done by someone who is very knowledgeable in the field of anatomy.¡± I walk up to Olivia and poke her cheek with my finger. ¡°Shock? Someone mistook her for a puzzle after all.¡± No reaction. ¡°Should I wake her up?¡± ¡°You can?¡± Pendragon looks at me hopefully. Ryland''s expression is doubtful. ¡°Why should you succeed where the healers failed?¡± ¡°Why?¡± Because I am an evil practitioner of the dark arts? ¡°Because I am a prodigy?¡± Because I am an evil summoned demon from another world? ¡°And because I probably know more about magic than all my teachers together?¡± I wriggle my fingers in front of me. ¡°First step. Shock treatment. Just to confirm her status!¡± I concentrate mana in my fingertips and focus on creating two rotating poles of power. A spark starts to flicker between my index finger and my thumb. Without hesitation I ram my hand into Olivia''s side, who shudders under the electrical current. ¡°KYAAA!¡± She sits up, panting, looking left and right with wide eyes. I grumble. ¡°Aw... how boring. And I thought I could do some of the more advanced stuff to her.¡± ¡°Olivia!¡± Pendragon hugs Olivia from the side. So he really is a relative? Uncle? Too old to be her father. Ryland steps up to Olivia. ¡°Do you know what happened to you?¡± ¡°Of course! That bitch...¡± Her eyes widen and she holds both hands in front of her mouth. Then she looks around once again. Looking at Pendragon, Talia, Karsen, Ryland and me, her eyes widen for a second. ¡°... found me.¡± Then she seems to calm down and clears her throat. ¡°I don''t remember.¡± Ryland stops scribbling and looks up. ¡°What do you mean? You don''t remember.¡± ¡°What I said. I don''t remember. I was walking in the park and then I woke up here. What happened?¡± Olivia shakes her head. ¡°You just said that someone found you? So you remember at least something.¡± Ryland points with his pencil at Olivia. She tilts her head. ¡°Yes, I remember waking up and everything was hurting. That commoner bitch Stella was leaning above me. Then she ran off, calling for help.¡± Olivia nods while focusing on her bed sheets. ¡°Hmmm. I already talked to that one. Please refer to people by their names when speaking to me in future.¡± Ryland returns to his scribbling. ¡°You can all go now. The victim needs some rest and I don''t need you here.¡± . 18. ~Look the other way.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°The Veit aren''t known for their offensive abilities. Instead they are highly regarded for their support enchantments in large scale battles. An army which is supported by their enchants can easily take on an enemy twice its size. Of course it takes a while to apply all those enchants to the soldiers, but that weak point is negated by their duration. A good enchant can keep its effect up for three to four days. So once an army is enhanced there is enough time to reapply the spells at any moment of opportunity. With the proper amount of time and effort the Veit are even able to apply permanent enchants to equipment and artefacts. Like making them lighter or less affected by rust.¡± -Sahandra Veitares ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Azir*** I barely block my father''s thrust with his quarterstaff and try to counter attack, but his weapon is already blocking my line of attack. His staff and mine collide and we both retreat to get out of the other''s range. Stepping forward again, I start a series of stabs. Knee, face, chest, thigh, all of them get diverted or evaded. There is no opening in my father''s defence. It''s infuriating. Even though stabbing with a staff or spear is a very fast motion my father doesn''t seem bothered at all. Now he starts a series of swings which I block. I wish I was fast enough to get past his defence. If I was training with Stella, I could at least use some magic to even the odds. I wonder what she is doing right now. And that stupid Ryland got very annoying recently, I have to think about a way to divert his attention from me and Stella. Yoran moves in without hesitation and places his knee in my guts. The impact takes my breath away and I fall down. Father doesn''t know how to hold back. This is just training! I wish I hadn''t agreed on not using magic during his training lessons. But it would defeat the point of training my body to stay fit. But just once! I am itching to use magic just once to blow him away. It would be satisfying. Probably. My father isn''t a good magician. All he can do is conjure a small flame and other mediocre spells. ¡°I can tell that your thoughts are somewhere else today. Is there something that''s bothering you? You would block an attack like that easily on a good day.¡± He walks back into his half of the training circle. His dark hair is wet from his sweat and sticks to his long horns which are pointing backwards from his forehead. We are training inside our property''s training hall. The fighting circle is six metres in diameter and whoever steps outside loses the fight. ¡°Nah. It''s nothing.¡± I sit up while applying healing magic to myself. ¡°It''s not nothing, Son. So tell me. Or I''ll beat it out of you, so that we can continue with our training. There is no point in training if your mind is somewhere else.¡± Yoran pokes me with his quarterstaff. Should I tell him? Can I tell him that I suspect that Stella was the one who beat up Olivia like that? I think she has the required medical knowledge. But I didn''t know that she had the strength to do something like that to Olivia. And she was the one who found her. What I don''t get is why Olivia is covering for her now. Or my suspicions are completely incorrect. But Stella acted strange and disappeared for three whole days. Ryland sought me out a second time and interviewed me regarding Stella''s skills. It was very clear that he wanted to know if Stella was capable of defeating Olivia and intimidating her into keeping her mouth shut. I lied. I listed him a whole set of reasons why Stella couldn''t be the offender. My greatest point of defence was that Stella might be able to defeat Olivia, but not without getting hurt herself. Though by that time, I wasn''t sure of that. Being a suspicious man, I bugged Stella when she returned from her little vacation. But all of my bugs were disposed of without fail. She is really good at turning around corners and disappearing. I always found the bugs on the ground where I lost sight of her. It''s a little disturbing to say the least. ¡°It''s just. I am not good with people. And I have reason to believe that one of my friends hurt someone at the university very badly.¡± I mutter. Yoran raises an eyebrow and looks at the ceiling. ¡°Ah, that case.¡± Shit. ¡°So you know about it?¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Yoran raises his nose high into the air. ¡°My son seems to forget that his father is the governor of Tri! But don''t fear, I have no reason to interfere in the affairs of the capital. So you have reason to believe that your friend is that mysterious person. And?¡± I look up. ¡°What ''and''? Isn''t that bad? I had no idea that my friend is capable of doing something like that.¡± ¡°But the victim was someone who offended you several times. And isn''t it also true that your friend called the healers in time. It doesn''t look like she intended to do permanent harm.¡± Yoran shrugs his shoulders and grins at me. I freeze up. ¡°How?¡± Yoran chuckles. ¡°Your father may be bad at reading and doing calculations, but he is no idiot." He holds four fingers up. "You have just four friends at the university. So it isn''t hard to guess whom you are talking about. But like I said, it''s not my business.¡± I try to smile. ¡°You seem awfully relaxed. There is a real investigation going on you know?¡± He frowns. ¡°Look. Your friend isn''t telling you everything for a reason. Of course there is always the chance that you misjudged her. Do you want to tell me now that you aren''t sure of your friend''s character? After knowing her for more than ten years? In that case...¡± I interrupt him. ¡°I am sure of her character. She must have had a reason!¡± Yoran pokes me again with his quarterstaff. ¡°Then let it go and don''t stick your nose into other people''s business. If she wants you to know, she''ll tell you. Can we continue with our training now?¡± Frowning, I take up my staff again. ¡°This time I''ll beat you up.¡± ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Stella*** ¡°You are so nice to take me out on a date.¡± I take another bite from the honeyed bread while I let my feet dangle from the bridge we are sitting on. Azir nods. ¡°I would take you out on more occasions. It''s just really hard to find some casual clothings and sneak away. And even then we have to disguise ourselves as normal townsfolk.¡± I snicker. ¡°But that makes it really exciting. The two of us being alone is the best. And I actually find this more relaxing than having a date in high society.¡± I lean myself against him and enjoy the warmth of his body. ¡°I heard that there is a circus in town. Maybe we should go there next. I heard they have some strange beasts from far away with them.¡± Azir suggests. I place my tail around him. ¡°Or we could find a quiet place and kiss each other.¡± Azir grabs my tail and inspects the scales on it. ¡°Actually that sounds quite nice too. Hoh. Those scales are fascinating. They change their colour if you tilt them.¡± Placing both hands in front of my mouth, I try to keep myself from crying out loud. ¡°Azir... grabbing my tail. So bold!¡± He looks at me without the slightest hint of understanding. ¡°Is there some kind of taboo against grabbing your girlfriend''s tail?¡± I recover my tail by yanking it forcefully out of his hands. ¡°Sometimes you still amaze me with your non-existent social skills. Listen, grabbing a girl''s tail is equivalent to inviting her to bed.¡± Unfortunately I am very sure that he had no idea of what he was doing. He is simply that kind of character. Sometimes he says or does strange things. If I hadn''t known him for so long I would come to the conclusion that he is some kind of foreigner who is travelling through a foreign country. ¡°Honestly. You should really try to work on your basic knowledge. Someday you will trip over it.¡± He shrugs. ¡°I guess, I''ll stay uneducated as long as nobody tells me about stuff like this. Is this something you learned from your parents?¡± I arch an eyebrow. ¡°Huh? No, I think Louise said that?¡± ¡°Airhead.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Louise is Louise.¡± ¡°She is my friend.¡± ¡°A pervert.¡± ¡°A nice girl!¡± ¡°Who taught you to tongue kiss as a sign of gratitude.¡± I blush. ¡°Fine. She is a pervert.¡± ¡°Can I have that tail now to take a look at the scales?¡± I place my tail in his waiting hands and look away, pouting. . 19. ~Just a part.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°Nict is a strange place compared to Quinn. It''s confusing to see that the people who once ruled a vast empire are now focused on their own business, not caring for anything outside their country. Don''t misunderstand, they were friendly and tolerated my presence on their streets. Though I always felt that I didn''t belong there. The people of Nict seem very cold and calculating compared to what I am accustomed to. Their clothes differ only slightly from city to city. Plain trousers and shirts for men and dresses with long skirts for women are a common sight. Their buildings are all made out of red bricks. There are only very few decorations and the streets are all straight without curves, looking all the same to me. I walked their cities for weeks, even using their Gates. By now I have to say that the big cities of Nict are just one big city in reality. The Gates blur the differences between their cities and since their use is free, going from one city to the next takes just a step. When I entered this country I still believed in the rumours of the evil magicians who suppress the people without magic. But I''ve been travelling Nict for over a month now and I have to say I have yet to meet a single practitioner of magic. I saw no poverty or slums and even the poorest seemed well fed. The only contact I had with magicians was when an expensive looking carriage drove past me and everyone on the streets suddenly knelt down. This startled me and when I asked for information I got the answer that it was one of the protectors of peace. So despite the rumours I heard in Quinn, I have to admit that the rule of the magicians in Nict is by no means evil. I even asked what would happen if a magician attacked someone without magic. All I got was a stupid expression and the answer that the offender would be severely punished by his clan head.¡± -Touri, Citizen of Quinn. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** ¡°So how does the magic circle for teleportation magic look like?¡± Professor Agate Eddin asks me with knitted eyebrows. She points at the chalkboard while she watches the rows of students inside the auditorium. I sigh and take a piece of chalk to draw the answer onto the chalkboard. This stupid hag is the only teacher who still insists on my presence during lessons. She even tests me regularly, making her questions more and more complicated. Agate is in her thirties and has a staggered set of horns on her head. She wears her red hair at shoulder length and always has a set of spectacles around her neck. I already deduced that the colour of the spectacles she wears on her nose represents her mood . Sometimes I have the feeling that she wishes for me to fail. Hopefully the time will come when she asks me a question she herself doesn''t know the answer to. Then I''ll simply return the ball to her and ask if she can give me the answer. I am eighteen now and my chosen field of study is to be an artificer. Karsen and Talia chose to join the military, so they are going down a different path than me. Louise is studying the mysteries of magic and Stella is now completely committed to her research in medicine and chemistry. Finishing the magic circle, I turn towards Agate and wait. She continues to look at the board for several seconds. Finally she turns to the table and ticks off my name from her list. ¡°Fine, you won. You are free to go.¡± I bow to her and skip out of the auditorium while the other students glare at me. It became a daily ritual to bet my knowledge against hers. If I succeed to answer her question, I am free to go for the rest of the day. Outside it''s already dark. Whoever thought that it is a good idea to hold classes that late in the evening should be shot. No wonder that there are still people going missing. There were seven new cases of missing students. All of them happened at night, right before a favourable star constellation to hold a summoning ceremony. So it is reasonable to assume that someone is dabbling in something that''s forbidden. I don''t have any hopes to find the missing people alive. It''s not like I care for them, but since my friends are also at risk I''ve been trying to stop it. For that reason I''ll patrol the streets again tonight. I''ve been doing this for quite some time now. Unfortunately I never encountered the abductor. I close my eyes and use my skill to sense the mana all around me. There are street lights in this world, but their light is by no means sufficient. Someone could hide in the shadows of dark corners or off the streets. I start walking while staying away from the lights. Whoever caught those students was skilful enough to make them disappear without a trace. So he either had their trust, or he completely overpowered them. Taking off into the air I widen my search area while I drift there. Levitation magic is the most convenient form of travelling from one point to another. Of course I could also teleport, but the general belief behind teleportation magic is that it is too dangerous to do so without a line of sight. The magicians of this world simply haven''t found an algorithm to shift the exit point to an empty area. I watch the streets and buildings under me. My clan''s ability to control mana requires one to be able to sense it. Using this special sense, everything looks like a picture with different shades of blue. The deeper the blue colour, the more mana an object possesses. Plants, animals and people look like bright blue silhouettes. Strong mages have an aura around them. I suppose that''s mana which is leaking out of their bodies. Dead objects are almost white. My watch lasts for over an hour until I finally find something of interest. I sense a single bright aura walking down a street to my east. Another strong person is following that aura, but in a very suspicious manner. Far enough away to keep out of sight, while staying close enough to keep following. I change my direction to observe closer. If it is my target I want concrete proof before I act. So I suppose I''ll wait until he strikes. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.The game of cat and mouse continues for several more minutes until the following aura finally catches up to the bright one. I stay out of sight in a height of about thirty metres. After a while both auras start moving again, though they are very close to each other and look almost like a single aura. So one of them is being carried. I descend slowly into the dark alleyway. There is no chance to hide here, so I cut off the path of the attacker and set up an illusion to stay unnoticed for as long as possible. Then I place a clone of myself on the ground to attract my target''s attention. If I cast something big or gather too much mana from my surroundings my target might sense that something is amiss and escapes. So I wait. Revealing the enemy''s identity should be good enough. The magical community is too small to hide inside it once your face is known. One would have to be an extraordinary individual to accomplish something like that. Finally I am able to distinguish one person carrying another one on his shoulders. At least I think that it''s a man. He is tall and has broad shoulders. A hood is covering his head. The victim seems to be a female student, wearing the universities robes. I got a glimpse of her robe''s colour when they passed a lighted window. He finally sees my illusion image and stops. I will my phantom forward and it walks towards the hooded figure. The hooded man reacts without warning. He raises one hand and a red spark of energy dispels my illusion. But I deactivated my levitation magic at the same time and dropped to the ground behind him. Covering my hand in magical energy I strike at his spine, intending to paralyse him from the legs upwards. My fist hits something hard and I feel the skin on my knuckles rupture. The mana I concentrated on my hand bursts outwards and adds to the force of my attack. This isn''t the desired effect. Is that guy wearing armour? But he isn''t completely unaffected. I hear a deep grunt while he stumbles forward and drops his victim. Wasting no time I follow and get a hand on his back, placing a curse on him. It''s a simple one which drains his mana and destabilizes his control. He doesn''t give me a chance to do more. His leg shoots out at my head and I duck away, striking at his supporting leg. This time I feel flesh when my magically enhanced hand digs into his leg. He grunts in pain. I try to create a connection to drain him of his mana, feeling multiple souls inside him. A faint memory comes to my mind. I already dealt with a person like this once. A short mental duel takes place, but this time my opponent seems to be skilled at this art. He literally sacrifices the control over one of his souls to use it as a diversion against me. Someone else''s memories flicker through my mind and I feel a fist connecting with my jaw. The contact is broken and the hooded man steps back. Both of us thrust our hands at each other. A small blue orb and a red ball of fire shoot past each other. My blue orb hits the man at his shoulder, breaking some kind of barrier spell and blasting his arm off. The fireball hits me directly in my chest while I force all available mana into a thin layer around my body. An explosion lights the alleyway and I am blown away like a doll, striking a house¡¯s wall and punching right through it. The wall crumbles above me and I feel myself being buried under bricks while dust fills my lungs. Only my shield protects me from being crushed. I stay calm and concentrate on my surroundings. I just have to keep breathing now. If I lose control I''ll be crushed! This time I''ll take my time to gather mana. The mana in my environment flows towards me and I feel my power being replenished. Slowly I push the pile of bricks above me upwards until I have cleared a nice little cavity. A bubble of mana is surrounding me now. My mother''s technique may be crude, but it''s still the best method for defence I know. It takes a while to set it up and you alert everyone within a hundred yards, but once it''s up you are like a tank. I walk out of the pile of bricks, parting it in front of me. Outside I find four people in a protective stance against me. My opponent is gone. I raise both of my hands and let go of the mana around me. ¡°I come in peace! Don''t harm me!¡± ¡°Azir?¡± Inspector Ryland steps closer, but doesn''t lower his sword. ¡°You realize how this looks?¡± What? Don''t tell me that you think that I am the offender? My attention wanders towards the other three people behind the inspector. I know them. Karsen is holding the unconscious victim from earlier in a princess carry. Talia is holding a bow with an arrow ready, but she stopped aiming at me when I called out to them. Both of them are taking military classes and they are helping Ryland as assistants. So it''s not strange for them to be here. The third person is grandmother Quarma... great. The only member of my family who hates me. She is still pointing at me with her staff. ¡°I just happened to stumble upon someone who was carrying that girl on his shoulders. When I approached to ask what''s wrong, he attacked without a word. We fought and he sent me flying into that wall.¡± I point behind me. Ryland grumbles. ¡°Can you prove your story somehow.¡± I furrow my eyebrows while I am thinking about the problem. ¡°Ah! I wounded him! Is that good enough? That''s his blood.¡± I point at the bloody hand which I dug into my opponent''s leg. ¡°And I blew off his arm, maybe it''s still lying around somewhere.¡± Finally Ryland lowers his sword a little and signals Talia to search the vicinity. I sit down on the ground while enduring my grandmother''s evil stare. Ryland steps closer and takes a few samples from the blood on my hand. Talia returns shortly afterwards with a bloody arm, holding it as far away from her as possible. I doubt that she made the right choice when she went for a military education. Ryland grabs the arm like a holy object. ¡°That''s the closest I''ve been to the bastard in many, many years! Finally a clue. Remains only one question...¡± He stops for a moment. ¡°Where is the rest of him?¡± . 20. ~Going back.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°First acknowledge your past, then plan your future.¡± -Andur the Wise. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** ¡°So he is weakened by your curse? And he''ll probably attack again because the stars are in a beneficial constellation to practice summoning magic?¡± Ryland looks at me with a doubtful expression while he is resting his legs on the table in his office. The room is fairly large with a table for Ryland and a couch in the middle of the room. The walls are littered with shelves. All of them are filled with documents of one sort or the other. I nod eagerly while I survey the room. Quarma is sitting in a comfy chair, wearing a grumpy expression. It seems like she is assisting Ryland. According to what I heard she has a long history with hunting black magicians. Karsen and Talia are guarding the door while leaning against the walls, looking bored. ¡°That raises the question why you know so much about summoning magic?¡± Ryland looks at me with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Errm.¡± I scratch my chest. ¡°I like reading books about summoning magic.¡± ¡°Books? Where did you get them?¡± Ryland squints his eyes. ¡°The library!¡± That''s a good excuse. The library has tons of books. They don''t even know what they have in their hands for the most part, since nobody understands the books. ¡°The library has books about a forbidden art?¡± Ryland keeps digging. ¡°I think you can let this go Ryland. He is my daughter''s son after all. Every clan has at least some knowledge about the forbidden arts. You can''t fight what you don''t understand.¡± Quarma grumbles from her chair. Ooh. Thanks old hag, though I am quite sure that she did it for the clan and not for me. In that moment the door flies open and Stella rushes in. ¡°Azir? Are you okay?¡± I turn around and smile. ¡°No injuries. I just ran into a dark magician. Why are you even here? It''s late at night, you should be at home.¡± ¡°The entire campus is talking about the explosion! And that you were involved.¡± Stella waves her arms. Another person enters the room. ¡°Brother!¡± I sigh as my little sister flies to my side and hugs me. She entered the university herself recently and she matured quite a lot. She is still a head shorter than me and wears her light blue hair as a braid. Her horns became similar to an elongated turned omega, running backwards above her head. They are a little curved too. If it wasn''t for the horns I would think that she is a younger version of my mother. In a few years she''ll have the same beautiful, but sharp eyes as her. Though at this point she still looks a little childish. ¡°It''s okay, nothing happened. You can let go.¡± I try to get her off, but she doesn''t let go. My mother created a monster when she ordered her to keep an eye on me. ¡°But I wouldn''t know what to do if something happened to my brother! Mother would kill me.¡± Finally, she lets go of me. ¡°Grandmother! What happened? How could you let my brother get involved.¡± The old granny doesn''t answer and smiles instead. I stand up. ¡°Okay? How about we all go home for today? The search is on and we can only wait for its conclusion anyway?¡± As if to mock my words the whole room vibrates a little. It''s like a minor earthquake, so I doubt that another explosion is the reason. ¡°Okay? I take that back. Undo the earthquake, I want to go to sleep.¡± But my prayer isn''t heard. A moment later the door opens and one of Ryland''s helpers steps inside. ¡°The floor of one of the auditoriums caved in!¡± Ryland stands up. ¡°Casualties?¡± He runs out of the room, Karsen and Talia on his heels. Quarma follows with my little sister right behind her. Stella follows them too. I am left behind alone. ¡°Guys? Isn''t something on that scale the army''s job?¡± *** Goodbye, Professor Agate Eddin. I''ll keep you in my memory. Our group was led to the room where I should have had my lesson about artifice. But instead of the auditorium, there is just a big deep hole where the floor should be. ¡°There should have been thirty four students in that lesson.¡± One of Ryland''s subordinates supplies him with information while others light up the hole with spells, but there is just a pitch black tunnel. It leads down into the earth at a steep angle. There are about thirty of Ryland''s agents searching the area. ¡°Thirty three! I am here!¡± I lift a helping hand to correct the guy who informed Ryland. ¡°This is big. To think that they would take such measures.¡± Ryland grumbles and jumps down into the hole. Quarma follows him with a bitter expression. ¡°It seems like they were using the old basement vaults of the university. I thought they were properly sealed!¡± ¡°Twenty with me! The rest guards the entrance!¡± Ryland calls up from down in the pit. Fourteen women and six men follow his command without question. Even Karsen and Talia jump down into the hole. My little sister steps forward too and I grab her at her tail. ¡°Hey! Hey! What do you think you are doing?¡± ¡°Following the law. If someone uses magic for dark purposes, everyone who can has to stop them. Since we are members of one of the great clans, we can''t hide from this responsibility.¡± She slaps my hand away and jumps down into the pit. Stella smirks at me. ¡°A chance to gain fame!¡± She follows them. I watch them disappear in the dark hole, which leads down into the earth. Memories of dark tunnels and confined spaces well up inside my mind. ¡°Aw! I hate this idea. Can''t we wait for them to come out?¡± Fighting against my instinct, I jump down into the hole and follow them through the tunnel. It narrows after a few feet to a width of about three metres. I summon a light globe and make haste to catch up to the leading group. At first the walls of the tunnel look like something clawed its way through the stone, but then we reach a section which is stabilized with bricks. ¡°What''s this. Something like this was under the university?¡± ¡°The catacombs and vaults under the university are from the time of the Empire. The university buildings were simply built above them. But to my knowledge all of them should have been collapsed or sealed.¡± Ryland explains. I don''t like this at all. ¡°Great. Please dismiss the guy who brought you that information for collaboration with the enemy. I hate having something like a cave system under my feet.¡± Stella snickers in front of me. ¡°Today I''ve learned something new. Azir dislikes confined spaces.¡± ¡°Shut up. There is no way to tell what we''ll encounter down here. It would be great if it doesn''t know in advance that we are coming.¡± Quarma complains and the group goes silent. We have quite a few people down here. I take a look back down the tunnel and then forward again. If something bad happens it''ll be hard to retreat. But there is nothing we can do about that, we might need the fighting power for what awaits us. And who says that there is just one enemy? A few minutes later we encounter a small cavern with three possible tunnels to choose from. Ryland stops and curses. Quarma looks down each tunnel. ¡°We have to split our group to search faster. There is no way to tell what could happen to the captured people if we take too long.¡± Splitting up inside a tunnel system is a shitty idea. How often can you do it until your fighting strength is reduced to nothing? Now we would need to divide into three groups. What if those groups have to split up another time? ¡°It''s the one to the left.¡± All eyes turn towards me. Sorry for having experience with tunnels and cave systems. Don''t look at me like that. ¡°It''s the only one which was used recently. Can''t you see the dust particles moving in the air?¡± I focus the light which is emitted by my light globe into three tight beams and point them down the tunnels. Only the tunnel which I indicated is filled with dust particles. The air in the others is clean after a few feet. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Quarma squints her eyes while glaring at me. ¡°How did you see that?¡± I point at my eyes. ¡°Mana Sense.¡± A convenient lie. It''s simply long honed experience in judging the air movement against one''s skin. Ryland isn''t that suspicious of me and enters the tunnel I pointed out. We follow and wander deeper into the earth. I keep staying on guard, concentrating all my senses forward and even using my mana sense to scout the tunnel ahead of us. After a few minutes of walking I sense someone in the tunnel ahead of us. ¡°Stop.¡± Quarma curses. ¡°What now?¡± ¡°A guard. Fifty metres ahead of us.¡± I point into the darkness ahead of us. ¡°I can''t sense anything.¡± My sister complains. ¡°Then you don''t have the range. He is there. I''ll go and take him out. His aura doesn''t seem that strong. Give me a little time and follow.¡± I cast a physical enhancement spell and take off before anyone can stop me. None of them is stupid enough to call after me. My decision might seem rash, but there is something amiss about that guard. Something that seems strangely familiar, though I can''t place it. I run down the corridor while being as silent as possible and dispel my light globe. If my hunch is right, then speed is of the essence. Increasing my speed as I am closing in, I cast and illusion spell, drowning the area in front of me in darkness. I am affecting myself too, but I don''t need my vision. A pale figure appears in the darkness in front of me. But I don''t take my time to comprehend what I see and strike the enemy''s throat. A quiet gurgle escapes the pale figure and I shape my mana, forming a dagger in my hand. It works perfectly fine and I jab it into my opponents chest. He goes down without another sound. Staring into the tunnel ahead of me I keep my silence. But there is nothing. No movement. No sound. After several long moments I allow my eyes to wander down to my opponent and recast the light globe. A naked pale white figure is under me. The earlobes are long, reaching down to its shoulders. Huge dead eyes are staring at me, still filled with hatred. Countless scars cover its body, forming strange nonsensical runes and symbols. It looks skinny and starved, but I know that they all look like that. It''s at least one head larger than me. Ah, how long has it been since I saw one of their kind? ¡°What''s that thing? A demon?¡± ¡°There is a light ahead of us.¡± I turn around and see that the others caught up. ¡°We have to go and stop whatever they are doing.¡± I let go of the dagger which was formed by my mana and it disperses like it never existed. We continue on our path until we enter a big round room. There are no other exits, but there are more of the white figures, facing an altar with a red portal above it. It seems like they are praying. A one handed man raises a head above the altar and mutters something. Probably a formula to keep the portal open. I know that head, I think it belongs to a girl from the artifice course. In the corner of the room are several bound and gagged people. Then one of the white creatures turns around and hisses, alerting the others and the one handed man. He turns towards us and reveals a red glowing amulet on his chest. That artefact calls up memories. He points at us. ¡°Kill them!¡± Ryland draws his sword, while the others are entering the room. There are thirty of the white creatures, but they are in a tightly packed formation. I raise my hand and cast. A small blue orb penetrates their ranks and bursts apart like a fragmentation grenade. It''s one of my personal creations. If my clan can create something like a tentacle from mana, then why not weapons? And taking it a step further, why not condensing mana over its threshold and shooting that at your enemy? Karsen steps forward and roasts the opponents by shooting out flames from his hands. My grandmother conjures a ray of light which incinerates an opponent. But our enemies aren''t slow. They lunge forward with incredible speed, some of them jumping onto the ceiling or crawling over the walls. Most of them are unarmed, but some have nasty looking rusty swords and axes. The fight turns into a bloody mess as both parties clash. We may have enough people, but our numbers are worthless. Most of us are still in the tunnel behind us. Ryland realizes that the situation can''t go on like this and gives the only command possible. ¡°Charge!¡± He jumps into the mess of skinny white figures while a yellow aura is encasing him. Hacking and slicing wherever the opponents offer a piece of flesh to him. I summon up all the mana in my vicinity and encase myself in a blue layer of mana. Another thought forms a spear in my hands and I charge into the enemies to create enough time for the rest of our people to leave the tunnel. One of the things jumps at me, clawing with futile effort at my exposed back. I sent it flying by ramming the blunt end of my spear into its jaw. Then Stella is beside me, nailing one of the creatures with an arcane lance. The man at the altar realizes that our offence is overwhelming his minions, but he is still grinning. A fireball appears in his hand and he aims it at the entrance as Ryland reaches him. I try to free myself to stop him from casting, but the creatures around me are too annoying. The summoner is still grinning while his head is being lopped off. The fireball rushes off towards the entrance and impacts right above the supporting arch of the entrance. People and creatures alike are blown through the air like puppets. The entrance caves in, but that''s not the worst of it. Cracks are beginning to form in the ceiling. I ignore the enemies around me and send long tendrils of mana out to support the structure of the room. Other fighters realize what I am doing and jump to my aide and protect me. A big stone loosens and falls down, hitting Stella, who was occupied with and enemy. She goes down. ¡°Stella!¡± I call out for her, but I am occupied at the moment. Luckily one of Ryland''s subordinates deals with Stella''s opponent. Other tendrils shoot up to the ceiling and stop the cave in for the moment. Looking for the origin, I find my sister imitating my attempt on stopping the cave in. Moments later the fighting stops and is replaced by silence. Only the moaning of the wounded and the muffled crying of some captives can be heard. I slowly walk over to Stella, keeping my concentration on the supporting tendrils. Luckily she is just unconscious. The stone gave her a big bump on the forehead though, so I pick her up in a princess carry. ¡°Shit!¡± Ryland inspects the entrance while his subordinates are freeing the captives. I feel pearls of sweat forming on my forehead. Keeping my tendrils in this form is very taxing. ¡°We have to get out of here.¡± Surveying the room, I find all the people who are known to me still alive and well. Only Stella is out cold. Even Agate survived somehow. Boot! Why didn''t the summoner sacrifice her first? Talia walks up to the caved in entrance. ¡°We need to dig.¡± ¡°Stop it!¡± My sister calls out. ¡°Did you take a look at my brother and me? We can''t hold the ceiling for much longer.¡± My eyes wander to the red shimmering portal. ¡°That''s the only exit.¡± My grandmother gasps. ¡°Are you insane!? Who knows where that could take us.¡± I don''t answer and return my concentration to the ceiling. There is only one escape route. They''ll have to admit it when the first rocks are coming down on their heads. ¡°A chance with the portal is better than being crushed.¡± My sister admits and starts retreating towards the portal with a strained face. For a moment I consider to simply teleport out of here. I could save Stella. Maybe I manage to take my sister too. But that''s it. I can''t teleport all of them out of here before the ceiling comes down on their heads. There are tons of rock and earth above our heads. Ryland nods. ¡°Through the portal. All of you. The people who can fight first, then the students.¡± He keeps watching while everyone disappears inside the red maw with horrified expressions on their faces. Me and my sister are the last to step through the portal. We nod to each other and then she is gone. While I am taking a last look behind me, the ceiling starts to crumble. But the only ones who are left behind are dead bodies. Then I walk through the portal with Stella in my arms, loathing where it will take me. . 21. ~Ice.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°Our culture was at its pinnacle. We had solved the mysteries of science and magic. We controlled the weather and travelled over continents within an instant. But nature taught us that some things are out of our grasp. Our sun darkened and couldn''t warm our planet any more. So the cold came. And we died.¡± -unknown. ***Beyond, Somewhere*** ***Azir*** I step out of the red portal with a cloud of dust following me. Cold air bites into my skin and I watch the portal flicker for a moment, then it vanishes. I flick my tongue in displeasure, but now I am freed from the burden of keeping the ceiling from coming down on me. Kneeling down, I cast an environmental protection spell on Stella and me. Afterwards I start healing her. Then I look up to survey our surroundings. We are in an icy tundra without signs of life. There are some hills to our east though. The sun in the sky gives off just a dim light. Enough to see, but by no means a source of warmth. I count twenty three students and eleven of Ryland''s subordinates. Agate is currently busy with healing one of them. The others are in various conditions. Some are unharmed, others are wounded. Hopefully Agate can patch them up, she is an Eddin after all. Karsen and Talia are searching the horizon for signs of life. ¡°This isn''t how I imagined the place from where those creatures come from.¡± Quarma mumbles. ¡°Where are we?¡± Ryland sheaths his sword. ¡°And how do we get back?¡± Quarma turns and looks at me, squinting her eyes. ¡°Indeed.¡± I try to smile, but it doesn''t work out that well. ¡°Let''s start moving first. If we run out of mana we will freeze within minutes.¡± Quarma waves at the horizon. ¡°Pick a direction.¡± I shoulder Stella and orient myself. There is something like a depression in the snow further ahead. Probably a road or an old riverbed. Following either of the two should lead us to a town or city. My old world had a high population while it was still alive. ¡°Follow me. Keep an eye out and stay together. Don''t let anyone fall behind.¡± I start walking. Ryland and Quarma follow me while whispering with each other. Valeria catches up to me and grabs my clothes. ¡°Is this your old world?¡± She whispers. My parents were of the opinion that it would be best to tell her everything about me when she entered university. I sigh and nod. ¡°Looks like it.¡± Her expression turns frightened. ¡°Can we make it back?¡± Probably. But I can''t promise it. It depends on our luck and finding out where we are. ¡°There is a chance. We were lucky that the portal was summoned in this godforsaken place.¡± Valeria raises an eyebrow. ¡°Why.¡± ¡°Imagine an army of those white creatures pouring through it. The summoner probably opened his portals in random locations all over the planet.¡± I arrive at the depression and sigh in relief. It''s really an old riverbed. So I keep following it. After an hour of walking Stella finally starts moving on my shoulders. It takes a while to explain everything that happened to her, but I managed to do it while we walk. It seems like it''s morning in this world, but I still feel the lack of sleep. It was night-time back at home, so I am starting to get tired. We need shelter and better clothes. Then I notice some piles of snow in the distance in front of us and stop. They are blocking the path through the riverbed. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± Stella asks while following my line of sight. I shake my head. ¡°No. Just a small hindrance. And food.¡± I take off into the air and hover over the snow-piles. Then I raise my hand and start nailing them with arcane missiles. Animalistic screams escape from them and nine monsters burst out of their hiding places. They are huge and muscular, vaguely humanoid and with huge fangs in their faces. All of them are covered with white, long fur. One of them throws a huge ice spear at me, but I am out of reach. I pay it no heed and continue nailing them to the ground. Seconds later all of them are dead. I float down to them and create a dagger out of mana in my hand. The others reach me as I start skinning one of the beasts. They are three times as big as us. Talia looks at me with a wondering expression. ¡°What are you doing?¡± I smile and raise a part of the hide of one of the creature. ¡°Clothing. Skin it fast before they freeze. And gather some of the blood.¡± ***Beyond, Somewhere*** ***Stella*** If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. It has been three days since we started our march through this no man''s land. Azir is leading us somewhere. He isn''t willing to talk about it, but I can see in his face that he isn''t happy to be here. We lost three people on our trip. Two students simply disappeared, we don''t know what happened to them. And one of Ryland''s subordinates died during a particular cold night a day ago. We found him in the morning, frozen. We were giving our best to build shelters for the nights, but the cold was still creeping inside. Azir got moodier with each day. Today he didn''t talk at all. I follow him up a steep hill when he suddenly stops and a mad laughter escapes him. ¡°HahahahaHAHA!¡± I stop, baffled, and look up to him at the top of the hill. ¡°What''s wrong?¡± He turns around and points at our group. ¡°Look at yourself! Three days in ice and snow and you guys look like a bunch of cavemen!¡± He points at us and I turn around. The people who were following us with tired faces look up. Their faces are bloody and dirty from the fat of some creatures. We covered ourselves with it to protect us from the cold. All of them look hungry and starved, especially Quarma. Azir is avoiding her as much as possible, which strikes me as strange. Isn''t she his grandmother? ¡°But fear not! There is hope behind that hill!¡± He turns around and jumps. Gone! I stagger forward, falling, then I crawl the last five metres up the hill. What I find behind it is a town like none I''ve ever seen before. Even though it''s frozen and dead like everything else on this world, it''s magnificent to behold. The buildings are huge and dwarf everything I know from Nict. Maybe the palace in the capital can compare to one of them. But there are hundreds. Some of them so high that I can imagine them scraping the clouds. They seem to be made from solid blocks of obsidian. My attention turns towards Azir, who slid down the hill and is on the move towards one of the first buildings. He stops at a big shield at the side of a road and hits it to free it from the snow, revealing strange symbols. Then he continues onwards. I slide down the hill myself. It''s a fast ride, but there is a big free area at the foot of the hill. The soft snow stops me at the end and I stand up to follow him between the buildings. The rest of the group is close behind me. We find him inside something that can only be called a shop. The display window is broken and he is rummaging around between books and papers. Quarma steps forward and picks up one of the books. It is written in a strange language. The symbols are completely unknown to me. Azir is on the ground, kneeling above a big unfolded map and muttering something while he is studying it. The rest of the people file slowly into the shop with wondering expressions. Valeria steps towards Azir with a hopeful expression. ¡°Do you know where we are?¡± He nods and points at a spot on a big landmass. ¡°We are here.¡± Then he points onto another landmass with a big ocean between them. ¡°And we need to be there. From there we can open a portal back home.¡± Quarma drops to her knees beside me and sits on the ground. ¡°Then we are lost.¡± Azir raises an eyebrow and looks at her like an idiot. ¡°No. That''s good. Now I can teleport us!¡± Ryland gasps. ¡°You can''t teleport to another continent!¡± Azir makes a dismissive gesture. ¡°You mean you can''t. But we should sleep and rest first. I can''t take us there all the way and it''ll be a hard trip to get to our final destination.¡± He stands up with the map in his hands. ¡°Everyone. Clear the ground. I need a few metres of space.¡± Some of the battered people follow his order while others barricade the window against the cold air outside. Others break some of the shelves to make a fire. Three days were enough to fuse our group into a community where everyone has his fixed tasks. Azir grabs a frozen block of blood. He was carrying it around for a while. Then the blood melts between his hands and floats towards the cleared area, forming a huge magical circle. It takes no time at all and the blood is frozen again. He takes a deep breath and walks towards a wall and sits down, leaning against it. Since everyone else is just tired and exhausted, they all lie down and try to sleep. All of them are hugging each other, trying to get a little warmer. I made Azir into my very own pillow. His sister fought for him in the first night, but she gave up and slept with her grandmother instead. Walking up to him, I sit down and hug him from the side, not caring about the others inside the room. He places a hand around me and smiles. It is getting dark outside and the people settle down to sleep. When everything calmed down I decide to ask him the dreaded question. ¡°Azir? Why do you know so much about this world?¡± . 22. ~Rested.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°Deeper and deeper we went. Down into the earth, yearning for warmth. Down in the depths we found caves and tunnels. Endless miles of them. And other things, life which evolved in the darkness and heat of the earth. The deeper you go down towards the planet''s core, the thicker the mana around you gets. We already knew that long exposure to mana can change your mind and your body. The creatures which exist down here are warped, twisted and malformed. Those creatures didn''t belong on the surface and they didn''t acknowledge our position at the top of the food chain. But that''s not our concern. We, who chose to live down here. Because the same is happening to us.¡± -unknown. ***Beyond, Somewhere*** ***Azir*** ¡°Azir? Why do you know so much about this world?¡± I tense up when Stella asks me the dreaded question. ¡°There are some things that can''t be that easily explained. And some which are better left unsaid.¡± I feel Stella''s hug becoming tighter. Her fingers claw into my side. ¡°I want to know. Even if it''s a dark secret. I can see that being here isn''t good for you. You look sad, especially since we entered this city.¡± ¡°Will you tell me why you aren''t introducing me to your parents then?¡± My eyes wander to the other people who sought protection from the cold. ¡°Maybe we should discuss this in private, later.¡± Stella looks towards the other people. Then she stands up and pulls me to my feet, dragging me to a far off corner of the shop. There she pushes me down and sits down between my legs, placing my arms around her. ¡°We''ve known each other since we were five! Unless you tell me that you are another person, you can''t tell me anything that would change my mind about you. I admit that there are some aspects about my family which I don''t want anyone to know about.¡± She stops for a moment. ¡°And I haven''t told you... because I am not allowed to. If I told anyone, we wouldn''t be able to enjoy our university life any more.¡± I raise an eyebrow. ¡°But I wouldn''t tell anyone. So...¡± ¡°It was a bargain. I really can''t tell anyone. But I promise that we''ll always be together, even if someone finds out. I was promised to get something important if I can make it through university with my current identity.¡± Stella whispers grabbing my hand. ¡°So now your turn.¡± I am puzzled. Does she belong to one of the great clans after all? Why would she disguise herself as a commoner? And what''s up with that stupid bargain thing? She must have made it when she was five? What kind of deal do you make as a five year old child? Leaving me none the wiser, I grab her hands. I''ll have to tell her at some point anyway. Better now than never. ¡°I lived on this world. I was one of the... seekers of knowledge, just a bumpy translation. That''s what they called us. My people created this city. We thought of our civilisation as untouchable. The pinnacle of society. We controlled the weather of our planet and we could travel from one continent to another within the blink of an eye.¡± I gather my thoughts. ¡°I was always a loner, trying to unravel the last mysteries of magic and science. But then one day our sun darkened and shone less brightly. We never found the reason for it. Well, let''s say that we didn''t have the time to find the reason. Our planet cooled down and as there wasn''t enough food for everyone, wars broke out. We thought we were above such low activities. In the following years I watched my people die. Either they froze to death, or they were killed by others of their kind. It was a hard time and I did some uncivilised things to survive.¡± ¡°The last survivors dug deep into the earth, where it was still warm. But there are some other indescribable horrors down there. I didn''t follow them and tried to uncover the mystery behind our sun. The depth and darkness changes people. The skinny, white things are some kind of degenerated version of them. One day I woke up and had to admit that I was the last one of my kind. But I refused to die. I researched ways to escape my world.¡± Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°First teleportation, then summoning magic. I devised the plan to let myself be summoned to another world. But I failed and died.¡± I feel Stella''s hands tense up. ¡°My body died, while my soul was summoned to your world. The soul is something like a container for memories. My mother was involved in a summoning ceremony against her will. My soul entered the body of her baby and she got rescued.¡± At least that''s the sugarcoated version. ¡°She accepted me as her son, despite my strangeness. Her family gave me something which I had long forgotten. Bonds with other people. The only one who dislikes me is that old hag over there. Probably the summoning process of those dark magicians is somehow linked to this world. I think that''s the short version. So now your turn.¡± I turn silent. Stella says nothing for many minutes while she is holding my hands. Then she turns around and hugs me, pressing her cheek against mine. ¡°I don''t care, I love you. And my little secret is really insignificant compared to yours.¡± She leans against me and seconds later I can hear her breath becoming slower. S... Sleeping? ¡°Hey! Wake up! That''s not fair!¡± I shake her. Suddenly her hug becomes tighter and her tail wraps around her legs. I try to push her away, but all that I manage to accomplish is to cause Stella to drowsily grab my head and bury it in her bosom. ¡°Don''t move... tired... sleep...¡± Her legs lock around me and I feel the pressure intensify! What''s with this strength? No, I have problems breathing now! ¡°Mmm!¡± I have to get... out... *** I open my eyes and look around. A faint light is shining through the glass of the shop''s windows. The people are still sleeping, huddled together in pairs or even in groups. Stella is resting with her face on my chest, holding with both hands onto the fur of my makeshift clothes. I feel her tail around my neck, so I free myself carefully and slowly from her grasp. She is a very fitful sleeper and I am afraid that she could break my neck if I disturb her too abruptly. When I am free I sigh and stand up. I survived another night with her, it feels like I am getting really good at that. Now standing, I find out that I am not the first one who is awake. Agate is crawling on all fours around my teleportation circle. She is inspecting every detail of it like having found some kind of holy grail. She looks like some kind of overgrown rat in her furs. I shrug my shoulders and turn away. It doesn''t trouble me as long as she doesn''t damage the circle. In another remote corner of the shop I find Quarma kneeling between several piles of books and magazines. She is skimming through one of them, only stopping to look at the pictures. I step behind her and take a look at it. It''s an advertising magazine with pre planned travels. Not something she would ever read, but I guess the pretty pictures are what counts. She looks up from her studies and fixates on me. I grin at her, guessing that she imagined the world of the demons a little different. Quarma knows my story in detail like the rest of the family, but I guess she never believed me. ¡°You didn''t lie.¡± She states with a disturbed expression. I answer with a flat and tired tone. ¡°No.¡± She drops the magazine and takes her staff, which was lying beside her. Quarma stands up with a tired expression. ¡°So we try to go home now?¡± I nod. ¡°Once everyone has woken up.¡± . 23. ~Escape.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°Here in the darkness, you learn new things about yourselves. Some are good, some are bad. Only one thing is sure. None of you will return the same as you were before.¡± -unknown. ***Beyond, Somewhere*** ***Stella*** Azir is standing in front of the entire group to explain on how we''ll proceed. ¡°So here are the rules. We''ll teleport into an old laboratory inside a cave system. Don''t touch anything there and follow me. Always stay with the group. If we are separated for whatever reason, stay where you are as long as you don''t have to run away from something. I''ll come and get you as long as you don''t venture too far from the main group. Stay away from everything that looks like black slime.¡± He pauses and looks at the ceiling in thought. ¡°And be as silent as possible. No unnecessary talking, no noise of any kind if you can avoid it. Now step onto the circle and make sure that everyone is here.¡± Azir walks into the centre of the circle and sits down. Everyone follows his instructions in silence after looking towards Ryland and Quarma. They are still regarded as the leaders, but since they don''t oppose Azir''s commands everyone does as he instructed. I step carefully onto the circle since I don''t want to destroy the numerous fine lines and markings. It would be horrible if we die now because of a stupid mistake like that. And I still have to tell Azir who I am. If it wasn''t for that stupid contract I would have told him yesterday, but one wrong word and I break it. I didn''t come this far to destroy all my efforts to be with him for nothing. It got very close by telling him that I had some kind of bargain. At least I can avoid triggering the contract by paraphrasing some things. My mother didn''t bother with a complicated contract, hence it is very literal minded. I am called back to reality by a flashing light. The light blinded me for a moment, but my sight doesn''t return. It''s instead replaced by complete darkness. Someone casts a light globe and our surroundings are bathed in a dim blue light. We are inside a big room with dozens of shelves. They are filled with vials and small artefacts. Some big machines are also here. None of them make any sense to me. Everything is covered by a thick layer of dust. On the ground is a similar circle to the one which was created by Azir in the shop. Azir gets up and walks over to one of the shelves. He grabs something from it and carries it over to a working table. A few simple touches separate the small device into a few even smaller parts. He reassembles it in a very professional manner. Everything took just a few moments. Next he walks over to another shelf and takes a set of small disks from it. Nobody says anything and waits silently at their place. He turns towards us and signals for us to follow. Ryland and Quarma follow him and I join on their heels. Azir leads us to a big iron door. It opens with a little creaking sound and Azir pushes it slowly to be as silent as possible. We find a narrow tunnel outside and Azir takes the lead. Some small, white and skinny creatures scuttle away as we pass. They look ugly and remind me of small, hairless rodents. After a few metres we arrive at an intersection. Our tunnel continues to lead straight forward, while another one crosses it in a steep angle from left to right. The left leads further down, while the right leads upwards. Azir stops for several moments and listens while watching the dark tunnel to our left. Then he takes two of the disks and throws them into the tunnel. They land on the ground and a transparent orange wall of energy is projected from them, blocking the tunnel. Next our group is led upwards and I notice that the biting cold is gone. It''s still cold, but it''s not that bad any more. Though it gets colder with each step we take upwards. Upon entering a new set of corridors Azir dispels his light sphere and signals us to do the same. One by one the lights disappear as the information is given down the line of people who are following us. A few seconds later we are in complete darkness. But then it happens, one by one small lights appear on the cave walls until the entire tunnel is drenched in a fluorescent green light. I realize that the lights are moving slowly over the walls of the cave and when I take a closer look, I find small white bugs with glowing behinds. They don''t create much light, but there are many of them. Our trek leads us through a labyrinth of green darkness and intertwined paths. I simply walk while I follow Azir in a trance, trying to keep my feet away from loose rocks which could create noise by rolling down the tunnel. I am awakened from my trance when I bump into Ryland''s back. Looking forward I find Azir standing there, signalling for us to stop while looking down a corridor. I strain my eyes to find out what drew his attention. Something is moving there in the shadows. For a moment I imagine seeing something like claws and tentacles, but then someone steps out of the shadows. He smiles and spreads his hands in an inviting gesture. It''s strange, I don''t know that person. Are there other people down here? Azir drops one of the disks between us and the new arrival and a blue shimmering wall of energy separates us from him. The person steps forward, smiling, and reaches with one hand towards us, touching the barrier. A spark chars the man''s hand and he hisses while strange waves ripple over his hand and towards his face. Like something is moving under his skin! ¡°Don''t look at it, if you watch them too long they take the shape of someone you know. There''s nothing creepier than that.¡± Azir whispers and continues on his path. ¡°At least they can''t talk. That would freak me out even more.¡± The thing retreats into the shadows with a displeased expression and I hurry to follow him while Quarma stays behind to make sure that nobody is tricked. Our path narrows down after another ten minutes of walking and Azir blocks the tunnel we came through with one of the disks. Next we even have to get to our knees and crawl. The narrow tunnel goes on and on with no end in sight. At last the ceiling gets too low to crawl. It is less than half a metre in height, so we have to inch forward on our bellies. Finally we arrive at the end and crawl carefully forward to find our tunnel ending in another big corridor. The opening to our cave is at a height of two metres. The big corridor splits just a few metres ahead, but what I find there makes my blood freeze. Seven of those skinny, white creatures are standing guard. A red light is flickering in the path to our right and we can hear the sounds of something like pickaxes. Probably it''s a mining operation? ¡°They''ll come at us like mad once we try to get past them.¡± Azir whispers and drops his head onto the cool stone. ¡°We have to take the corridor to the left. It narrows down like this one and turns into a small mining shaft. We have to climb up that shaft. At the end is our destination. I have just one disk left. They''ll simply batter themselves against it until it fails.¡± Ryland nods. ¡°We get everyone who is good at fighting to come forward. We try to take them out without alerting their comrades. Then we barricade the right corridor until our people are through.¡± He gives the command down the line. Azir nods and we ready ourselves while the fighters in our group crawl forward to meet us. I ready an arcane lance and we wait. Finally Ryland gets the confirmation that everyone with fighting potential is at the head of the line. He whispers. ¡°Three... Two... ONE!¡± Our casts alert the creatures and they start moving, but luckily they aren''t fast enough. Seven spells shoot out from our hiding place and the seven creatures drop dead. All of us chose spells like the arcane lance or a wind blade to take out their enemies. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. We start moving and I activate my passive rune set to enhance my movements. Dropping from our hiding place, I spin in mid air to land on my feet and run over to the creatures to make sure that they are dead. After a short confirmation I cover to the side of the corridor and wait for the others. I am joined by Azir, Ryland and Karsen. Slowly the others make their way out of the tunnel. It''s infuriating how long it takes, but there are twenty one students, ten of Ryland''s subordinates, me, Azir, Karsen, Talia, Ryland and Quarma. Thirty seven people crawling behind each other. It''ll take a while until the last gets out. Everyone who isn''t good at fighting heads directly into the left tunnel to continue to our destination. I wait impatiently while I watch the corridor from which I can hear the metallic sounds. Only a few people short of getting everyone out of the narrow tunnel our luck runs out. One creature walks around the corner of the corridor and lets out an ear shattering howl before it is blasted to pieces by several spells. The howl is answered from farther down the corridor and moments later several of the creatures show up. Azir throws his last disk ten feet in front of us and it blocks the corridor while our people hurry to get out of the tunnel. The creatures charge and the first one hits the shimmering barrier, being fried to a charred something within a second. Others throw themselves against the barrier and suffer the same fate. But the stream of monsters doesn''t stop and the corridor on the other side of the barrier turns into a swirling mass of bodies. The things are actually crawling over each other while they are trying to get to us. Azir''s barrier starts flickering and vanishes while the creatures are pressing the dead bodies of their comrades against it. Karsen shoots a whirling tornado of flames down the corridor while all of us cast spells to stop the onslaught. But the mad attack can''t be stopped. There is no end to the things! Finally the last student passes us. ¡°I am the last! Quarma is stuck! She said to go on without her!¡± She runs down the corridor, following the others. ¡°Get into the corridor!¡± Azir steps forward and a shimmering web of mana shoots out from his hands and blocks the corridor like a spider''s web. The charge is halted another time while the things rip and claw at the web. ¡°Not without you and Grandma!¡± Azir''s sister steps to his side and attempts to assist him. Azir forms a fist and hits her. Once. Valeria falls like a felled tree. He looks to Ryland. ¡°Get her out, I''ll come later.¡± Ryland shoulders Valeria and carries her down the corridor. The rest retreats too, but my feet are frozen. I can''t move. He turns towards me. ¡°Not you too. I can''t teleport two people.¡± ¡°If you don''t follow us, I''ll hunt you down and punish you in the next life.¡± I turn and run as fast as I can. I don''t want to, but I do it. Then an explosion shatters the corridor behind me. I drop flat to the ground while dust is rushing over me. ***Beyond, Somewhere*** ***Azir*** I crawl forward, coughing. Compressing the web out of mana over its threshold wasn''t such a good idea. I almost killed myself with that stunt. At least I collapsed the corridor by doing so. God, I inhaled too much dust. Placing one hand on my chest, I cast another healing spell. I cough once more and it feels like something leaves my lungs. I retch and spit black, bloody slime out of my mouth. No. I''ll definitely never do that again. A few feet further ahead I find the fat, old hag. She is stuck in one of the narrower parts of the passage, pointing her staff at me. ¡°You? Why did you come back? I said you should go on without me.¡± She drops her staff with a tired expression and giggles. ¡°Don''t tell me you are doing this because we are family.¡± ¡°Shut up! I am not doing this for you! Mother will behead me if I don''t bring her at least your body to bury!¡± I grab her hand and try to pull, but she is immovable. ¡°I was wrong. You aren''t a demon, but you''ve a bad character.¡± She sighs. ¡°I can''t get out. Neither forward nor backwards. It doesn''t work.¡± ¡°You are just too fat! I''ll have to teleport you in this position.¡± I close my eyes to concentrate and find the flat dome-like cave with my summoning circle. ¡°I''ll try to make a few things different if we survive this.¡± Quarma complains with an agitated expression. ¡°Silence. I need to concentrate.¡± Once again I try to imagine the needed teleportation circle and collect the needed mana. At least we won''t feel anything if I mess this up. Then I activate the spell. Both of us drop to the ground, exactly where I wanted us to. I sit up and look around. ¡°Perfect! Everything is still here! Even me!¡± ¡°What do you mean? Even you?¡± Quarma looks up, only to face my old frozen body, kneeling in front of her. ¡°HIIIIII!¡± She screams and crawls backwards. I take another look at myself. ¡°Come on. I don''t look that bad! That body made it to the proud age of eight hundred and seventy five!¡± ¡°~Brother!~¡± I hear my sister''s voice and turn around, just to witness my sister''s foot impacting my belly. ¡°Ouf!¡± I get to my knees and crouch down. ¡°~Further punishment awaits you at home!~¡± ¡°I did it to save you.¡± ¡°~The way you did it was unacceptable!~¡± ¡°There was no time.¡± ¡°~You didn''t even try!~¡± Suddenly I am hugged from the side, Stella is almost crushing me. ¡°I thought I lost you!¡± Her eyes fall onto my old body. ¡°Uwah! So ugly!¡± Karsen walks up to us and inspects my body. ¡°What cruel will kept this thing alive? It looks he fought until the bitter end. There isn''t a single spot without scars.¡± Talia hides behind Karsen. ¡°It''s scary. And too big! It won''t come back alive and try to eat us right?¡± Well, sorry that my old race was a little bigger. I can''t take it any more. ¡°Don''t talk like that about...¡± ¡°About what?¡± Karsen looks at me with questioning eyes. ¡°... it''s alright. Just get him out of the way.¡± I gesture at my old body. Karsen steps towards it and I wince as a snapping sound is heard. He throws one arm out of the circle. I turn away and try to concentrate on the summoning circle. It''s already tuned to my new homeworld. A few small adjustments should be enough to create a portal back to the capital. I kneel down and start working. With this body''s ability to gather mana it should be a piece of cake to fuel the spell. It''ll take a while, but that''s not the issue. ¡°Did everyone make it?¡± Stella answers me. ¡°Yes. We managed to get everyone up the shaft.¡± After a while I am done and check my work once more. The summoning procedures are removed and replaced by their proper counterparts. The targeting is improved. Looks good. ¡°Hey! Look! That fellow had sharp, long canines! Nasty!¡± Karsen returns with my head, pointing at its teeth. I look up to Quarma with a pleading expression. ¡°I would have never thought that I''d find out how the dead feel when their bodies are desecrated!¡± Quarma takes my head away from Karsen and places it onto the pile of body parts at the wall. Then she incinerates everything with her light-ray spell. After I am done checking the circle once more, I stand up and sigh. ¡°Next stop. Nict, Capital!¡± I start gathering mana and after several minutes I activate the spell. A big red portal appears, a familiar sight awaiting us at the other end. . 24. ~Daily life.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°The university''s park area is huge. Over one thousand trees. Five hundred and forty six bushes. Six hundred and two flower beds. Five hundred benches. four square kilometres of lawn. Ten kilometres of walkways. Everything has to be held in a top condition. The maze in the middle of the park is an exceptional challenge. If you aren''t cut out for the job you should quit immediately. That''s why I test all my new trainees by abandoning them in the middle of the maze. If they don''t get out within one week I deem them as unworthy.¡± -Gardener. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** ¡°I am not happy.¡± I am together with Stella in the extensive park area of the university. We are both hiding from the other students. The park''s maze is especially helpful in that regard. ¡°Neither am I.¡± Stella sighs and splits a stick, breaking it into smaller pieces again and again. ¡°How did it work out for you? The word is spreading that we are a little more than friends. The people who got back with us from that little expedition didn''t keep their mouth''s shut.¡± I nod. ¡°Something like this had to be expected. My sister and my mother put me under intensive interrogation about you. But unexpectedly Quarma took my side and when it was her word against my little sister''s, Valeria was on the losing end. Mother couldn''t imagine why Quarma should suddenly take my side and protect me, so she came to the conclusion that my little sister was exaggerating.¡± Stella grumbles. ¡°In exchange for that Valeria is stalking us now. And the other female students are taking every chance to take it out on me. But I''ll manage it somehow, don''t worry.¡± ¡°So you see any chance that you can tell me more about this bargain of yours?¡± I squint my eyes and look at Stella. ¡°You avoided the topic back then.¡± Stella sighs and nods her head. After a short silence from her side I press on. ¡°So?¡± She points at her mouth. And gestures for it to be sealed. That''s when the situation becomes a little clearer to me. ¡°So it''s not a bargain, but a magical contract?¡± Stella nods, smiling. ¡°And I suppose it includes that you can''t tell anyone who you are, but it''s sloppily made. Otherwise you couldn''t work around it like that.¡± I scratch my cheek. ¡°So you get something if you fulfil it, but the contract isn''t something bad. You aren''t forced to do anything?¡± The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. She nods again, looking at me with pleading eyes. ¡°Haah, ok. I won''t pry any more. You obviously went through great efforts to accomplish what you want. The contract must''ve been set up when you were a child. Though I can''t really imagine what a child could have wanted at that age.¡± Is she from one of the great clans after all? Stella gestures at the park. ¡°All this.¡± I frown. ¡°You wanted the park?¡± She facepalms herself and points at one of the buildings. ¡°So you wanted to go to university, or better, you wanted to go to school.¡± I conclude. She nods and hugs me. ¡°Are you satisfied?¡± I shake my head. ¡°Not really, but it''ll do if it''s that important to you. So back to the other problem. What do we do about my sister and those students who are pestering you.¡± ¡°We try to endure it?¡± Stella tries to smile, but somehow her expression crumbles and gives her an aura of doom. ¡°Like you were enduring Olivia? I remember a certain incident and asked myself why she was avoiding you ever since.¡± I grab Stella''s hand. ¡°Oh, that. Those were exceptional circumstances.¡± Stella''s expression turns earnest. ¡°~Azir!~¡± I blink. That voice. ¡°I forgot that she is still alive.¡± I turn around and find Annice and Louise behind me. Annice drops herself onto the bench we are sitting on and hugs me from the side. ¡°You should''ve visited me immediately. I couldn''t bear the thought that you were simply gone from my life. I have no other worthwhile targets. Well unless you count that one senior of mine, but he is manipulated too easily. No challenge at all.¡± ¡°I see. So I am a challenge.¡± That doesn''t make it any better. ¡°I still wish for you to retreat out of my comfort zone.¡± ¡°Aw, so shy. You have to work on that.¡± Finally Annice lets go of me. She is the only one who doesn''t feel different. She is still annoying and pesters me whenever she has time. Stella''s expression clearly tells me that she is about to murder someone. Louise walks around the bench and voices a mute ''Sorry'' with her mouth. ¡°I am so glad that you managed to return safely. It was a horrible adventure according to what I heard.¡± Stella stands up and hugs Louise. ¡°You can''t imagine how horrible. For some time I thought that we wouldn''t make it back.¡± Louise nods. ¡°There are so many rumours floating around. You can''t tell what''s true or false. I hope you can fill me in when there is time.¡± I nod. ¡°Why not now? There is a nice restaurant I wanted to try out.¡± . 25. ~Problem and Solution?~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°The Zait''s main mansion is a very demanding workplace. I would never send a trainee there. First are the stables. You have to deal with the nightmares there. If you aren''t careful you''ll be their next meal. The other issue is the extensive garden area around the main mansion with the training hall. You have to be a very fast runner, or their pet will take a bite from you. It''s not an easy task to do all the work while running at full speed from an oversized cat.¡± -Gardener. ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Valeria*** It has been over a year since that vixen dug her claws into my brother. My kind big brother! I can''t let him fall prey to someone like her. On top she doesn''t even belong to one of the great clans. She must''ve enchanted him somehow. Brother would never do something which could fall back on the family. The problem I face is that both of them got really good at hiding from me. And he doesn''t talk to me about her. He never had any secrets from me before. And he is spending less time with me! How can he value that vixen more than me! I am his sister and the future head of the clan. Someone knocks on the door to my room and I am awoken from my worries. ¡°Yes?¡± My father opens the door. He looks a little disturbed whenever he sees my room. I wonder why. There is just a bed, chests, wardrobe, mirrors, working table and few paintings of my family here. Nothing to be disturbed about. Sorry, but painting is my hobby. I don''t want to throw my creations away and mother doesn''t allow me to put them on display throughout the house. His gaze turns from the pictures towards me and he smiles. ¡°Valda announced a family meeting. There is something which she wants to discuss with everyone.¡± I put my pencil down onto the table and exit my room to follow my father. ¡°It''s unusual that she wishes for us to meet like this. Did something important come up? Something that affects the clan?¡± Father shrugs his shoulders. ¡°She didn''t tell me. I suppose she has an important announcement to make. Otherwise she wouldn''t manage the situation in this manner.¡± So I follow my father in silence until we reach the big living room. My mother is already there with my brother sitting on the couch. Valda gestures for us to take a seat beside my brother and we sit down. I survey the room while my mother seems to collect her thoughts. We are sitting on the big couch in the middle of the room. On the floor is the expensive carpet which my mother cherishes so much. A low table separates us from my mother, who is standing in front of us. There are no pictures on the walls, but an impressive big clock is hanging at the wall behind my mother. My brother built it, he is good with things like that. The wall to our left is taken up by a single big window. You can take a look at our riding range and the stable from there. Father''s nightmares are housed there. He loves to take care of them in his free time. Though I find it creepy that someone would ride on an animal which is able to take off one''s head with a single bite. The sabretooth which guards the gardens around the main mansion is much friendlier than them. And she even comes to get stroked when she is in the right mood. ¡°Okay. Then I''ll get directly to the point.¡± Valda focuses Azir with her eyes. ¡°Azir, you are about to turn twenty and I am running out of excuses.¡± ¡°Excuses?¡± Azir asks baffled. ¡°The other great clans are annoying me with with their attempts to pair you up with their offspring. And since you are still without a proper relationship in that regard I can''t even say ''No!'' to them.¡± Valda crosses her arms in front of her chest. ¡°What I want to tell you is this. Find a girlfriend or I''ll choose one for you.¡± Azir looks perplexed at Valda. ¡°That isn''t so easy. There isn''t someone whom I like that much.¡± He scratches his chest, something he always does when he lies. Liar! He is surely thinking about that Stella! ¡°Then what about Talia? She is a nice girl and a clan member on top.¡± Valda asks with raised eyebrows. Azir calls out in shock. ¡°No! She is in a relationship with Karsen! That would be creepy as hell.¡± ¡°I am the clan head. If I say that she takes you, she takes you. But if you don''t want to then who else? Who was that other girl who visits from time to time? Lulu? No, Louise. She is a Siorda. That would be fine with me.¡± Valda tilts her head questioningly. I call out before I know it. ¡°No, Mom!¡± I don''t want my brother to be taken away from home! I would see him even less and he would have to move if he marries someone from outside. ¡°There is an issue with Louise. She is... erm. She likes girls.¡± I nod vehemently. Mother is unfazed by this revelation. ¡°Something like that can be hushed up. Nobody will say a word once there is some young blood incoming.¡± Azir tries to smile. ¡°Can I have at least some time to think about the options?¡± ¡°Sure, sure. In the meantime I''ll start official negotiations with the other clans and search for the best deal for you. If you don''t bring me someone by the time you turn twenty I''ll take that decision from you. Everything is fine as long as you don''t fall for a Tinn! The Veit are becoming really annoying too.¡± She nods and strolls out of the room. ¡°It''ll be wonderful once Ingrid''s and Annice''s advances stop!¡± Brother purses his lips and whispers. ¡°You mean that you''ll search for the best deal for the clan.¡± My father places his hand on my brother''s shoulder. ¡°It''s only half as bad. There are still a few months before you turn twenty. I am sure that you''ll find a nice girl by then. I courted your mother when I was eighteen. You are a late bloomer compared to me. Hahahaha.¡± He stands up and leaves the room. I grab Brother''s hand. ¡°Don''t worry! I''ll protect you. There are two nice girls from my class if you aren''t able to find someone your age.¡± And they are Zait. So you could stay with us. ¡°And if you are into older ones I can introduce you to a nice one. She is just four years older and about to become a teacher. I know you like the intellectual type.¡± Of course she is also a Zait. Azir pats my head and smiles. ¡°Thanks, but I think I''ll manage to find a solution.¡± ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Stella*** ¡°Let''s run away! We can settle down in some far away country.¡± Azir is holding my hand and smiles at me. ¡°Hah?¡± What''s going on? We just met up in the university park''s maze and he hits me with such a line right off the bat! ¡°My mother told me that I have to find a girlfriend by the time I turn twenty, or she''ll pair me up with someone. Annice and Olivia were on my heels since I came to school. Looks like they somehow got wind that my mother is negotiating with the other clans! If I hadn''t managed to play them against each other I wouldn''t have been able to meet you.¡± He drops his head. I try to smile, even though I don''t like what I just heard. She is already negotiating with the other clans? What if she gets an offer that can''t be refused? Azir is a well known asset. I am sure that someone will offer more than she can refuse sooner or later. ¡°Why don''t we try to calm down first. This doesn''t sound like you Azir. Normally you are very cool and logical. Running away isn''t a solution. And there should be some time left.¡± But my plan to become famous and enter Azir''s clan on my own terms is busted. That''s for sure. ¡°You are right. I may have lost my head when my mother suggested to take Talia.¡± He fiddles with his fingers. ¡°T... Talia? But she is with Karsen!¡± I call out. ¡°Yeah. That would be one awkward situation.¡± He nods. ¡°Okay. You are right. And I actually don''t want to leave my family. So I have to do something about the system which is forcing my mother to consider this. I simply have to take over the fucking country.¡± He looks at me. ¡°Do you think they would listen to my demands if I shut down the Gates?¡± I gasp. ¡°Huh? You can''t shut them down! They are essential for the whole country! And they are indestructible, so it wouldn''t work out anyway. There is a reason why they survived the war.¡± ¡°Actually it''s not so hard. I just have link up to them with the proper controls and shut them down. It''s all explained in the library''s books. But you are right. Everyone would try to hunt me down. They need a demonstration of power. I could build something to blow up the capital! Do you think they would listen then?¡± He smiles at me. ¡°No! You can''t blow up the capital!¡± The worst thing is that I believe that he isn''t joking! ¡°Look. I have been selfish up until now. Your girlfriend will solve this situation. We love each other right?¡± He nods. ¡°Of course I love you. Why do you think I am even considering this? Why do you think I am shaken up? And how do you want to solve this. Wouldn''t you break your bargain?¡± I grab his head at his cheeks and kiss him. After several seconds we separate again. ¡°I''ll try to misuse my power. Just don''t do anything rash until I am back.¡± He raises an eyebrow. ¡°Ah, no problem. Constructing a nuke will take some time. Actually...¡± I grab his left horn and pull him down to my level in order to look into his eyes. ¡°No violence. No bombs. No shutting down the Gates! Wait for me.¡± Azir nods and I hug him. ¡°I''ll be back as fast as possible.¡± So I untangle myself from him and stand up. After one last smile I leave to exit the maze. It''s an annoying set of bushes which defy every logic. So I change the density of my body and walk out of the maze in a straight line. Only the highest members of my clan can transmute their own bodies in a way like this. Then I run towards the open area which is used by the public carriage drivers. Without asking I hop onto one of the free carriages and drop a few copper coins into the waiting hands of the driver. ¡°To the palace.¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The driver raises an eyebrow, but he doesn''t ask any further questions. I don''t look like a person who would have any business at the palace. I start gnawing on my fingernail while the monotone streets of Nict pass by. I don''t have many negotiation tokens with my mother. To be honest I have just one. And she doesn''t even really need me in that regard. She could still say no if she deems my request as unnecessary. After all I am just the useless second princess who is selfish enough to value her own interests higher than the family. My big sister is the one who''ll become the clan leader. That''s the only reason why I was allowed so much freedom. As a child I struck a deal with my mother. I hated the strict private tutors and teachers which were forced upon me. So I pestered and annoyed my mother until she allowed me to go to school. Normally the Gejene don''t send their children to any school and give them the best possible private teachers and tutors instead. All you have to do is to go to the tests at the university. My mother gave in after a while, but she had conditions. I would gain no help from her and would have to deal with everything on my own. And if my identity would ever be uncovered I would have to return to the palace. If I manage to get through my education by using just my own power, she promised that I wouldn''t have to fulfil my responsibilities as the second princess. That would''ve meant a political marriage for sure and that I would have to go on diplomatic missions and such. But my priorities changed from doing my own thing to being with Azir. I awake from my thoughts when the carriage stops and the driver grunts to wake me up. I get out of the carriage fast and look at the big looming palace in front of me. The palace is very close to the university, so it didn''t take long to get here. The twin towers which are the most impressive feature of the palace spike high up into the air, piercing the clouds. I look towards the guarded entrance. Ten guards in silver armour are blocking my way. But I don''t intend to bother myself with them. Instead I take one of the small alleyways and walk along the walls of the palace, constantly looking out for people. In an opportune moment I transmute a hole into the palace''s wall and step through, closing the hole behind me. I find myself in a tight secret passage. The whole palace is criss crossed with many such passages and I doubt that even the Gejene know all of them. I walk the network of passages until I reach my family''s private quarters. There I shift through another wall and stand directly in front of my mother''s working room. Raising my hand to knock on the door, I stop. Retreating my hand I start massaging my face instead. This has to be played right. My mother isn''t exactly evil, but she can be a bitch at times. She is living for the purpose of keeping the country together and she doesn''t let any chance slip to educate her children in negotiation tactics. Actually, my big sister already got several blue eyes by not talking properly to her or missing out some details. If one thing is sure then it''s that my mother will see to it that my mistakes will fall back on me. Finally I gather all my courage and knock onto the door. ¡°Enter.¡± I step inside and find my mother in her small, spartan working room. There''s just one window across from the entrance. She is sitting with her back towards it at her writing table, facing me and the entrance. The light of the window is making it hard to look at her, but that''s intended. All the free space on the walls is taken up by shelves, which are filled with scrolls, documents and books. Helen Gejene moves her eyes towards me, looking up from the document in front of her. She points at the chair for visitors across from her. Her hair is silver, like all members of the main clan wear it. Though it''s no problem for us to change the colour at will. It comes with our ability. Her face is slender with sharp eyes and she insists on adding a few slight wrinkles to show her age. I hurry forward and sit down in front of her. ¡°Hi, Mom!¡± Helen sighs and continues to write her document. ¡°What''s up, my little, black sheep.¡± She asks with an affectionate voice. I place my hands onto my knees to keep myself from giving away my nervousness. ¡°Actually I wanted to talk about our little bet. You know. The one where I get to do what I want if I get through the university without help.¡± She grumbles and nods, still not giving me her full attention. ¡°Do you give up?¡± ¡°Actually no. I just wanted to know what you think. I am about to win. Just a little more than five years left. I bet you thought that I''d give up within the first week. After all you made the bargain with a little child.¡± I smile at her. Helen doesn''t look up. ¡°I''ll admit that I thought you would give up in no time. I was wrong about that.¡± ¡°I want to make you another offer.¡± Now it''ll get interesting. Helen shakes her head, her attention is still at the document. ¡°It seems like the last deal I struck with you will cost me dearly. I think it''s better to pass on that one. Otherwise you''ll take the nation away from me.¡± I nod. ¡°Not even if I promise to fulfil my duties as the second daughter of the clan head?¡± My mother doesn''t look up, but her writing became a little slower. ¡°My dear daughter, who fought with all her might to avoid her duties. Who wanted to be free and live a normal life. Is there an impostor sitting in front of me? What could you possibly want? You already invested over ten years to achieve your wish.¡± ¡°~A guy.~¡± *SNAP* Helen starts coughing and puts down her broken pencil. Then she sits up and looks properly into my eyes for the first time since we started this discussion. ¡°I am listening?¡± Now I have her attention. ¡°I love someone. His name is Azir Zait and he is my friend. Boyfriend, to make this clear. His mother gave in to the pressure of the other clans and gave him a time limit to find a good match. If you can shoo away the vultures and strike a deal with the Zait in my favour our previous deal about my freedom is void. I can''t face his mother in my current identity.¡± Helen looks at me for several long moments. Then she pulls a file from a pile of documents and looks at it. I strain my neck to find out what she is reading, but all I see is Azir''s name in the first line of the report. After a while she snickers. ¡°My daughter wants a guy.¡± ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Azir*** I sigh another time as I open the door to our mansion. Stella didn''t show up after she pulled off her vanishing trick once again. I hope that she''ll stop doing that at some point. This was a hard day. Annice and Olivia made me almost mad. And my sister brought me to the verge of hitting her with her attempts to match me with various girls she deemed worthy. Of course all of them belonged to a branch family of ours. So I soon realized what she was trying to do. As I open the door my father flies into my face. ¡°SON! What did you do?¡± He grabs my robe at my chest and starts shaking me. ¡°I don''t know what you are talking about. I did nothing.¡± I try to get his hands off, but he pulls me closer. ¡°The Gejene are here! You did something! And not just any Gejene! It''s their clan head! The fucking leader of the country! And we hadn''t time to make any preparations! They just waltzed in! And they want to see you.¡± He seems a little shaken. ¡°Brother! This is bad. Does this mean that they are here to...¡± She grabs my hand. ¡°You have to run away! I''ll... OW!¡± Valeria cowers down while holding her head. My father gave her a clout faster than I could see. ¡°Don''t speak nonsense! They are the leaders of the country. If they say so the whole country turns against us.¡± He looks at me. ¡°They are in the living room.¡± This day is getting worse and worse! That''s the first time my father hit my sister. ¡°I''ll go and take a look.¡± And I have to find out how to solve this disaster. Maybe I should take the Gejene hostage while they are away from their guards. I make my way to the indicated location and open the door. But what I find there baffles me. My mother is sitting there with her legs crossed, a cup of tea in her hands. Facing her are two silver haired women. The older one is wearing a formal dress without many decorations, but her aura clearly tells that crossing her won''t be accepted. The younger woman at her side is definitely related to her and wearing a beautiful white and silver dress which emphasizes her hair colour. ¡°~Azir!~¡± The young woman jumps up and runs towards me, jumping into my arms. I have no choice but to catch her in a princess carry. Next she presses her cheek against mine and almost strangles me by putting her arms around me. ¡°St... Stella! Forgive me, but what''s going on here?¡± My head feels a little strange at the moment. Stella is a Gejene? ¡°What happened to your hair?¡± ¡°Jeez. Is that all you are concerned about, fianc¨¦?¡± Her hair changes back to black and white. ¡°I could also wear some other colours if you like that better.¡± She puts her mouth to my ear and whispers. ¡°~I could also change some other things, like my three sizes.~¡± Her tail wriggles possessively around my left leg. I feel the blood draining from my head. ¡°F... fianc¨¦?¡± I feel really stupid right now. . 26. ~Thrown out!~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°The nightmares are the method of choice when it comes to draft and riding animals. Their relationship to unicorns is easily discerned at their broken horns. The only problem is keeping them fed. As carnivores, they need a reliable source of meat. A starving nightmare is a danger to its rider and everyone around. By no means you want to put a herd of them on low rations. Once a general thought it would be a good strategy to starve his nightmares and let them loose on an invading army of southerners. It worked. The nightmares fell into a feeding frenzy and stampeded over the enemy forces. The problem in the general''s strategy turned evident when it turned out that the herd of nightmares wasn''t full after they were done with the southerners.¡± -Equerry. ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Azir*** I feel the blood draining from my head. ¡°F... fianc¨¦?¡± I feel really stupid right now. My eyes flick towards my mother and the silver-haired woman. Valda smiles at me, but I can feel an aura of doom emanating from her. She points at the couch. Stella doesn''t let go of me, so I have no other choice but to carry her with me. I move towards the couch and sit down. Stella is still hugging me from the side with her legs on my lap. Valda starts the inquisition. ¡°So I heard that you two had a cute, little romance story going while hiding your relationship?¡± ¡°Ahahahaha... looks like it,¡± I answer subdued. ¡°But Azir knew who I am. It''s not like he completely ignored your command, Mother in law.¡± Stella finally decides to help me. ¡°So he knew?¡± The older silver-haired women asks interested. ¡°That changes some things.¡± Stella shakes her head. ¡°I never told him. He found out on his own and kept it to himself. A deal is a deal. You already agreed.¡± ¡°Excuse me, but am I right that this is your mother, Stella?¡± I gesture at the older woman. ¡°Oh! My bad! Of course. Mom, that''s Azir. Azir, that''s Helen Gejene.¡± Stella introduces us to each other. ¡°I assume you already know my mother, Valda.¡± I try to smile at my mother. Stella nods. ¡°And we already struck a deal with her. We can be together from now on. And we get our own house on university grounds while we are still studying there. On top, we can choose what we want to do once we are done with the university.¡± That sounds too good to be true. ¡°Where''s the catch?¡± Helen answers. ¡°Stella has to play her part as the second daughter of the Gejene''s clan head. She has to show herself on social occasions. She has to run some errands for me and she has to talk to the representatives of other countries if all others with suitable rank are unavailable.¡± Valda adds her gains as well. ¡°Of course our clan will get tax reductions and you can always visit us. On top, we''ll have some influence on political decisions.¡± I purse my lips. ¡°That didn''t sound like it would inconvenience us.¡± ¡°No. If you were concerned about both of you having to officially join either of our houses, then that''s a no. That would tilt the balance of power too much. It''s better if it looks like you two are independent.¡± Helen shakes her head. ¡°Of course the important word is ''looks''.¡± Somehow I can''t believe that. ¡°Having too much power is bad?¡± ¡°The peace between the clans relies on a careful balance of power. Nobody is allowed to get too much of it. Besides, both of our houses are very well off. And announcing your betrothal will be like announcing that the Gejene and the Zait are in a very tight relationship from now on. There is nobody stupid enough to think that the children of the clan heads lose their relationship with their parents from one day to the other.¡± Helen explains with a raised finger. Valda takes over. ¡°And you two are powerful high ranking members of our families. Given that both of our clans have very good standing at the moment, it''s not necessary to force you into a tight relationship with either of our clans. Giving you two your own house and responsibilities fits the situation much better. At least until you are done with the university. While you are at the university the other houses won''t know what to make of you. If circumstances change you''ll be available to be inserted into the most beneficial position.¡± ¡°You two seem to have thought about this thoroughly.¡± This level of planning is a little too high to be done on a whim. ¡°They are both trying to keep their options open while getting the most out of it.¡± Stella purrs at my side. Helen snickers. ¡°I am the head of the country. If I demand it, you two move into the palace tomorrow. Don''t take my kindness as a weakness.¡± ¡°That will be hard to accomplish if the Zait withdraw their support from the Gejene.¡± Valda smiles at Helen. ¡°But it''s not like the Zait would do that when a high ranking member of theirs married the second daughter of the clan head, right?¡± An aura of doom emanates from Helen. ¡°Of course not! Once their relationship is announced no one would dare to cross the Zait. After all we would have a voice directly at the ear of the country''s leader.¡± Valda smiles at Helen and both start snickering. ¡°So how about letting the eavesdroppers in.¡± Helen whispers and nods at the closed door. ¡°Of course, they''ve been straining their ears since a while ago.¡± Valda points at the door and a fine tentacle of mana shoots out, grabbing the doorknob and opening the door. Both my father and my little sister fall into the room. Obviously they were trying hard to find out what the discussion was about. Valeria looks up and points at Stella. ¡°Wha! What is the Vixen doing here? Get away from my big brother.¡± ¡°I am not the Vixen. Call me Stella Gejene, or better, call me sister in law!¡± Stella snuggles closer to me and kisses me on the cheek. ¡°I always wanted to do that while she is watching.¡± ¡°Well done, SON!¡± My father calls out. ¡°Uuuh. Not acceptable! Brother! You can''t go with her.¡± Valeria flies to my other side and I pat her head. ¡°I promise to visit every week and we''ll still see each other on university grounds.¡± I try to assure her. My promise doesn''t save me from being caught between Stella''s and Valeria''s stares. ¡°So, Stella, you still haven''t informed me about that ability of yours. I was quite shocked when you changed the colour of your hair.¡± Stella smiles. ¡°That''s cool right? Basically, I can infuse my mana into everything I touch and transmute it from one material into another. It''s about rearranging the neutrons, protons and electrons. Of course, I can''t create or destroy any mass. It''s just about rearranging the state of the matter.¡± Then she rapidly changes the colour of her hair to blue, black, red, silver and back to her usual colouring. While doing so she holds her hand out and her skin suddenly turns into a metallic silver and her fingernails turn into long claws. Retracting her hand, it returns to its former state. ¡°Of course changing your body is something only the most skilled can do. It''s very undesirable to mess up while doing so.¡± Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°Ahem.¡± It doesn''t really matter if you can''t create or destroy matter. If you use that ability the right way you can open up a big crater with a single thought! But I won''t tell her that for now. Better to live on in peace. I''ve seen nothing, I know nothing. ¡°It has to be said that Stella is an exceptional talent at messing with her own body. Neither I nor her five year older sister can do something as brutal as changing our skin to metal.¡± Helen explains further. I wince. ¡°Doesn''t that hurt? Can you create machines too?¡± Stella tilts her head. ¡°Actually it did! Until I read about nerves in that medical book and came up with the solution of changing them first before I alter my body. And no... unfortunately machines are too complex for me to do. This power is something that''s based on imagination.¡± Her eyes turn to Valeria. ¡°The best thing about changing your body is this.¡± She points at her chest and the cloth of her dress tightens. Ah, so basically if she has no clue how the machine works, she can''t transmute it. My eyes wander to Valeria, who turned redder and redder during our conversation. Finally, she jumps up and runs out of the room. ¡°That''s cheating! I am still growing! Wahaha!¡± Helen sighs. ¡°You Zaits are a noisy bunch.¡± Valda shrugs her shoulders. ¡°She''ll calm down in time.¡± *** ¡°That''s a big house.¡± I stand with Stella in front of the house which was sponsored by our parents. I can''t help it, but I feel thrown out! When our discussion ended I was instructed to live with Stella on university grounds from now on. I wanted to get my stuff, but everything was gone! Packed up and transported to my new home. Our new house is in the park area of the university. There is a long wall encasing the entire property of ten thousand square metres. It''s a square of one hundred by one hundred metres. The House is a villa by the size of twenty by twenty metres. What shocks me even more is that it has three floors. ¡°It bugs me that I don''t remember this thing being here! And what''s wrong with the bulky, hairy guards at the entrance?¡± ¡°Hahaha. I begged my Mom to arrange proper living quarters for us. She issued an order to several branch families to set this up while she went with me to talk to your mother. The first floor is for you, the second floor is for my studies and the third is reserved as living quarters.¡± Stella scratches her chin. Such a cheat! No wonder the Gejene are the richest clan! They can create a house within a few hours. My sister was right! They are cheaters! All off them! ¡°Aha.¡± My eyes wander to the big warcat which my father gave me as a goodbye present. We had such a thing at home, but I never felt comfortable being in the garden because of it. I turn my head and look into the big cat''s eyes. It is sitting right beside us and it''s at eye level with me. Probably it''s trying to determine if we are the food, or the people who give the food. I hurry and take another dead rabbit from the bucket in my hand. Then I throw it to the big cat. The rabbit disappears with a single bite. I prefer to be recognized as the one who feeds it. ¡°Good kitty. Go and play with the bucket.¡± I throw the metal bucket high into the air and the cat jumps after it. A single swipe with the paw dents the heavy bucket and the cat continues to hurl it over the ground in a playful manner. ¡°You are sure that having this thing around is safe?¡± Stella watches the playing cat. I purse my lips. ¡°Not exactly safe, but I can testify that nobody entered my family''s property illegally within my lifetime.¡± ¡°Come! I can''t wait to take a look at the interior!¡± Stella takes me at my hand and pulls me forward. The inside of the house turned out to be a dream. It''s the first time that I have this much room for myself! Stella didn''t need that much space, but it turned out that she still reserved the whole second floor for herself. Upon entering the living area, she leads me through a big living room and a kitchen area for the servants. I don''t want servants. The first thing I''ll do is to throw them out. Next we enter a bathroom and afterwards she shows me a room with wardrobes and a big bed. The entire tour left me a little speechless. ¡°Not only did they build a house within a few hours, they even designed fitting interior woodwork and fixtures.¡± I want an army of them! You could build so much with this ability! Stella closes the door behind us with a stupid grin on her face. ¡°~We are alone in a room and nobody can disturb us. I desired to do this for quite a while.~¡± ¡°Hm. Hm.¡± Then I realize that she is unbuttoning the upper part of her dress while pressing against me. ¡°Um. Stella. I know that we were practically thrown out of our homes and all... but do you think this is wise? We aren''t officially married yet and our parents have yet to announce our betrothal tomorrow.¡± She pulls me down and whispers into my left ear. ¡°I am done with kissing. And I visited the university''s healing faculty for contraceptives.¡± Then I feel her tail gliding down my spine. Actually. I see no reason why not! I pull Stella into my embrace and kiss her neck, moving her over to the bed. She literally rips my robe apart and her hands wander into the opening to touch my exposed skin. I put her onto the bed and pull down her dress, restricting her movement and exposing her chest. While I continue kissing her, my hands wander to her chest to feel her up. Actually she already let me touch her before, but it''s just infuriating if you aren''t allowed to do more. Stella opens my trousers and slides one hand inside. The touch alone sends a shiver down my spine. I return the favour while kissing her, pulling up her dress. Then I slide my hand into her panties, only to find out that she is already ready. So I put one finger inside and am rewarded by a cute shriek and her shivering under me. Panting at my ear she whispers. ¡°That''s unfair! Louise said that the real thing feels much better.¡± I freeze up. ¡°Why are you always talking with Louise about stuff...¡± But she shoves me onto my back and pulls my trousers out of the way. Then she mounts me, pulling her black panties aside and impaling herself. Sitting on top of me with her hands on my chest, her expression changes from lust to pain, back to lust and then to pain again. ¡°I''ll kill Louise for that! It hurts! She didn''t mention that!¡± ¡°H... Heal!¡± I hurriedly apply a healing spell. How could I forget that some girls have issues with their first time! I am a bad boyfriend. But on the other hand, I didn''t ram it in like that. And why is this airhead still listening to Louise! ¡°It''s better.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°No! Should we stop?¡± ¡°Do you want to torture me!?¡± ¡°... a little...¡± . 27. ~Invitation.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°The warcat is the loved pet of every man with valour. Though they were previously used to assist in the hunt of fleeing enemy soldiers, they turned into pets and guardians of house and garden. They are available in different colours and degrees of fluffiness. The biggest of them reach a height of two metres while on all fours. It is recommended for the owner to keep the cat well fed in order to be tolerated. It is necessary to feed the cat regularly. Once or twice won''t do any good. Of course an extensive garden is recommended. That and the cat''s natural desire to stay within a small territory as long as it doesn''t get hungry make them perfect guardians. You don''t have much more to do than to listen to the terrified screams of thieves and assassins, as they try to reach your house. The cats haven''t lost their vile nature, despite being bred to be easier to handle for many generations.¡± -Equerry. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** Something moves under me and wakes me up. I am lying on top of Stella. We are still partly in our clothes and the bed is completely messed up. Stella is awake and trying to push me off. ¡°We have to get up. I have lessons in an hour... and you are heavy.¡± I grin while remembering last night and kiss her neck. ¡°But there is something that has to be taken care of in the morning.¡± Stella gasps as I place my hand on her precious place. Even though she reacts well, she still tries to push me off. ¡°I need to shower and take the contraceptives.¡± ¡°Can''t you just change your body accordingly? You are studying medicine and still rely on your friend''s reports. When will you learn that she is playing tricks on you?¡± I start rubbing my body against hers. She squirms under me. ¡°But the books are all avoiding detailed descriptions of the act itself for some reason. And I told you that messing with the body is dangerous. Especially when it comes to fine details inside it. It''s hard to control the change when you can''t look at the effect. I don''t want to harm my organs permanently.¡± ¡°Too bad.¡± I grab her hips and penetrate her. She lets out a cute shriek, but its different from yesterday. Fired up by her moans I start to move at my own convenience. Yesterday she played with me while being on top all the time. This is payback. After a while she shudders with a cute moan and I feel her tightening, which brings me to the end of my endurance and a burning sensation courses through my body as her legs close around me. *Crack* I stop moving as a searing pain shoots up my spine and the built up pressure releases itself inside her. I gasp. ¡°This is supposed to happen when I am an old man! Why?¡± Returning to reality, I find that Stella''s legs press down on me like a vice. Finally she relaxes and realizes what she did. ¡°Ow! I am so sorry!¡± I force myself to smile. ¡°Can''t... move... hurts!¡± ¡°H... Heal!¡± The stinging pain disappears and I roll off of her. ¡°Why can''t we do it normally? Are we cursed?¡± ¡°Jeez. You deserved that one. Now I''ll be late for sure.¡± She pats my cheek. ¡°Don''t worry. Louise said that it takes time to find the right pace.¡± Rolling out of the bed herself, she stands up and takes a robe and a set of clothes out of one of the wardrobes. Then she rushes out of the room. I stay in bed for five more minutes while applying healing magic to my back. This could become problematic if it goes on like this. Finally I find the courage to try to move. It works out somehow. Though there is still a strange feeling. Next I get dressed and ravage the kitchen for something edible. It doesn''t seem like a maid was included in the package. There is some bread, salted meat and vegetables. A sufficient breakfast. That done I visit the bathroom myself and am almost run over by Stella on her way out. A little later I leave the house and meet my pet outside. The warcat looks at me expectantly. Fortunately I brought one of the rabbits with me. I store them in an iced cooling box at the entrance. Holding the rabbit out in front of me, it disappears with a snap of the warcat''s jaws and all I am left with the rabbit''s ear at which I was holding it. ¡°I think I''ll call you Ghost, since you are almost completely white.¡± Ghost''s fur is long and soft, just his face, paws and tail are speckled with brown and red. Ghost starts purring and rubs its head against my chest, almost toppling me over while doing so. I pet it and hurry through the courtyard. Maybe I should consider to enter and leave my house by flight. At the entrance I am awaited by the hairy guard who nods at me. I greet him too and leave the property. A few students are eyeing the construction which appeared over night and I hurry to get away from there. I want to visit Talia, Louise and Karsen to bring them the happy news. Karsen and Talia should be at Ryland''s office today, so I''ll seek them out first. Indeed, a few minutes later I find them there. They are reading reports. ¡°Friends! I have happy news!¡± Both of them look at me with inquiring expression. ¡°I am in love!¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.Talia shrugs her shoulders. ¡°We all know that. There are enough rumours about you and Stella.¡± She takes a sip from a glass of water. ¡°And from today on we are betrothed to each other. It''s a finished deal.¡± I smile at them. Karsen frowns while Talia spits her water onto the document she is reading. ¡°Your parents will kill you. No! They''ll kill me because I didn''t stop it!¡± ¡°No! It turned out that Stella is a Gejene and hid her identity since she wanted to go to school.¡± And so I take my time to fill them in. A few surprised questions later I am done. ¡°Congratulations?¡± Karsen asks with a raised eyebrow, still not entirely believing my tale. ¡°Annice and Olivia will explode.¡± Talia snickers, stands up and hugs me. Then she lets go. ¡°Like I care about that. What are you two doing with all these reports by the way?¡± I nod at the stashes of folders in front of Karsen and Talia. Karsen answers flat out. ¡°We are trying to find a pattern in the attacks of the black magicians. The incident we were involved in made us think.¡± ¡°A pattern?¡± I take a look at one of the folders. Talia nods. ¡°Yes. There is definitely something strange about all the incidents throughout the years. The first question is as follows. Who are they?¡± Karsen continues. ¡°They don''t follow the pattern we would normally expect. We call everyone who commit moral crimes by using magic dark magicians. So who are they? Group number one belongs to mages from noble clans who turn power hungry. They have access to education and knowledge. So it''s possible for someone from that group to create an incident on the scale like we experienced.¡± Talia raises one finger. ¡°The second possibility for the surfacing of a dark magicians are rogues, formerly unknown mages who slipped through the country''s detection net and developed their skills in secret. That may happen by having a commoner''s child develop magical powers. But they would have no access to knowledge or education. It''s unlikely that someone like that develops the skills to create portals on his own. That implies that someone is searching for those people very effectively and training them. Even more effectively than the country!¡± Karsen takes over again. ¡°That brings us to the third group. They come from outside and are trying to create havoc and unrest to prepare the country for a bigger event. That would fit the pattern since most of the dark magicians in our files tried to kill as many people as possible. The recent event we were involved in topped everything we knew so far. If that magician had summoned a horde of monsters under our feet and let them loose, it could have cost us many lives. And not just any lives, but the lives of the next generation of the country''s leading personalities.¡± I started chewing on my lower lip while listening to Karsen and Talia. ¡°So I assume that you checked your files for the identities of the offenders?¡± ¡°They were all unknowns. At least most of them, but it has to be expected since not all incidents have to be related to each other. We are talking about numbers from one previously known magician to fifty complete unknowns throughout the country. And we can add that the recent case was an unknown too, after examining the body dug out last month. There are no obvious relationships between the dark magicians themselves, nor do they have any family ties with the known magical families. That last incident occurred within the past two years. We went farther back by looking into the archives. The country started to be plagued by waves of these incidents about six hundred years ago. And in the recent hundred years we have a significant increase.¡± Talia pauses to let me think. After a while I give my interpretation. ¡°So we are looking at a big organized group from outside the country. Probably another country. Unless they breed their own magicians in cages somewhere. I can''t believe that someone can manage to stay hidden for that long while snatching gifted children away from their parents. Not to mention that there aren''t many such cases. Just in case it would be good to search for cases of missing children or whole families dying at once. If you don''t silence the parents when abducting, they would surely talk.¡± Karsen shakes his head. ¡°Already done. There are some, but not enough.¡± ¡°Then they come from outside and have a means of passing the border in secrecy. Most likely another nation. Though the timespan of the preparations worries me. Until recently they were too small in scale too.¡± I murmur. ¡°But they kept the country occupied and focused on itself. Is there any country which benefits if Nict doesn''t look outwards?¡± Talia frowns. ¡°All of them. I don''t think that a single one of our neighbours is unhappy as long as we stay away from them. So you came to the same conclusion as us.¡± ¡°Yes. You should take this to Ryland and Quarma. They can ring the right bells.¡± I place the report back on the table. We keep talking about other stuff while the time flies by. Mostly about Stella and me though. After a while the door opens and Stella enters with Louise. ¡°There you are. Azir already filled you in?¡± Karsen and Talia nod with awed expressions. ¡°To think that we worked with the leader''s daughter all this time¡± Stella hugs both of them. ¡°Please don''t treat me any differently. And I wanted to invite you two to the party at the palace tonight. Helen Gejene will announce our betrothal there.¡± A grin spreads over Stella''s entire face. Both Karsen and Talia nod eagerly. . 28. ~Party.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°I say what I want to say and do what I want to do. There''s no in between. People will either love you for it or hate you for it.¡± -One simple truth. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Stella*** ¡°Are you sure that you don''t want to change your hair to silver? Just signal to them that you are really a Gejene?¡± Azir asks while holding my hand. We are at the back of a stage and waiting for our parents to make the happy announcement. I hear my mother''s muffled voice through the separating woodwork. She is holding one of her terrifyingly long speeches. Azir is wearing a black suit which makes him look two or three years older. I am in a tight white dress with silver embroidery. I shake my head. ¡°No. I want to go out there and have them take a good look at me. I want them to realize who I am. I want them to remember what they said about me. And then, on stage, I''ll change my hair.¡± Azir nods. ¡°That''ll surely have the maximum effect. You are a cruel person, you know that?¡± Squirming a little, I take his hand in mine and look up at him. ¡°You think so? Is it too cruel? Am I in the wrong? I am aware that I was largely left alone in school, but that was only because they feared that I would tell you about their actions.¡± He pets my head and smiles. ¡°Shock them as much as you like. I just thought that it might be a little overboard.¡± A clapping sound can be heard from the stage, together with my mother''s voice. ¡°And finally I can announce the most important point of this evening. My second daughter who studied incognito at the university fell in love and we can happily announce the betrothal of Stella Gejene and Azir Zait. This is a happy hour for both of our clans and I am thrilled to introduce both of them to you.¡± ¡°That''s our signal!¡± I pull Azir around the separating woodwork and wave at the crowd of people with a smile on my face. Azir does the same, though he walks a little stiffly. My mother and his parents are waiting for us on the stage. As we reach my mother''s side he bends down a little and whispers. ¡°I think I am not that good with speeches.¡± ¡°Just say what comes to your mind and everything is fine.¡± I whisper while I search the faces down in the crowd. Finally I find the ones I was looking for. I keep my eyes on Olivia and then on Annice for several moments. The entire festival hall is completely silent and everyone is watching us. Some with interest, some in shock and with open jaws. Then I change my hair colour for the most dramatic effect and a few faces pale. My mother gives us a signal and I step forward. Azir does the same while holding my hand. I let my gaze wander over the entire crowd, while taking in the luxurious festival hall. The chandeliers of diamonds, the golden insignias on the walls, the expensive marble floor. There is no material which is too luxurious or too rare when it comes to my family. We can simply transmute dirt into whatever we wish it to be. My eyes find Louise, Talia and Karsen. I smile and start my little speech. ¡°I thank all of you for being here tonight. Especially because this is the first time we are properly introduced. My name is Stella Gejene. I have to say that I am unbelievably happy that my relationship with the one I love is finally ~official~!¡± I hug Azir from the side and kiss him on his cheek. Some girls who were previously going for Azir turn red and others pale even more. Azir takes a step forward with his face turned into a smiling mask. ¡°Hello, everyone. Some of you know me. I am Azir Zait. Unfortunately I am neither good at speeches, nor with people. So I decided to simply convey my feelings about my betrothal to Stella.¡± He pauses for the dramatic effect. ¡°There is something which I wanted to do in front of everyone, while not giving a shit who might see it!¡± He turns around, tilting me backwards and kisses me. I feel my heart skip a beat, it''s one of those kisses which have a deep meaning! Out of the corner of my eyes I see some girls toppling over and others going to their knees in defeat. An uproar of cheers courses through the hall. Finally Azir brings me into an upright position again and grins at the crowd. My mother steps forward again. ¡°Since both of them are still at the university I decided together with Valda Zait that it would be best to give them some free room. They''ve got their own house on university grounds and are free to do as they please. They still have five years in front of them and many things can change in five years. It is of benefit to the country to have two such outstanding individuals available to be inserted into a position of power, should the need arise. I am sure everyone understands what this bond between the Gejene and the Zait means.¡± Azir bends down to me. ¡°Did I just misunderstand her, or did she indeed threaten everyone?¡± I purse my lips. ¡°She didn''t exactly threaten them. I would say she ensured that everyone understood some facts.¡± Helen claps her hands together. ¡°So. With everything said we can finally start the party.¡± ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** The hall is really luxurious. The Gejene didn''t hold back when they built it. It just came to me... but Stella is the perfect woman for me! Whenever I need a special material for my machines, I just have to go to Stella and tell her what I want. There isn''t even an issue with money! I just have to bring her a shovel of Ghost''s poop and tell her to make some iron for me. Or whatever else it is I need at the moment. I look out for our parents, but they seem to have an important conversation, not paying attention to anything else. Stella takes my hand and pulls me off the stage. ¡°Azir, lets dance!¡± She points at the dance floor in the middle of the hall. I nod. On our way to the dance floor we are intercepted by Annice and Olivia. Annice is the first one to speak. ¡°Well played. I have to bow my head, Stella. No wonder that all of my later advances failed. You took the position as the cute, innocent childhood friend. I should have thought about that. On top you hid your identity, so I didn''t even realize that you were a threat!¡± I smirk at Annice. ¡°So you will finally stop pestering me? I told you that it won''t work out when we first met.¡± Annice''s eyes widen and relax again. ¡°So you remember that. Probably I blew my chances that day already. Looks like I have to search for another target. Have you seen Louise somewhere? She always fed me with interesting targets to distract me from you.¡± I point to my left. ¡°I saw her somewhere there when I was on the stage.¡± I doubt that Annice feels anything more about this than having lost the chance to get her hands on an interesting toy. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°I see.¡± She turns to Stella. ¡°Make sure to keep a good eye on him. If the chance arises I may worm my way between you two.¡± Annice walks off and leaves us behind. Stella mumbles. ¡°I am not into threesomes.¡± I turn my attention towards Olivia, who seems like she wants to say something to Stella. She clenches her fists. ¡°Of course I knew that you would win since you beat me up. That freakish strength of yours is nothing to laugh at. But it still bugs me that you hid your true identity. Since the magical contract you forced on me is finally lifted I can ask you now. Why did you do it?¡± Stella scratches her chin. ¡°Because my mom only allowed me to stay at the university as long as I am not found out.¡± Oliva curses and walks away. ¡°If I had found a way to tell anyone about her!¡± I smile at Stella. ¡°So you were the culprit after all. I suspected it. Which contract did you force onto her.¡± Stella tilts her head while trying to remember. ¡°Don''t talk to me. Don''t talk about my true identity. Don''t give any information about my true identity away in any way. Find an excuse if someone thinks your behaviour is strange. Keep your distance from me. Don''t point at me. Don''t confirm or negate anything about me... and a few more redundant formulations.¡± ¡°More? You were very thorough.¡± We finally reach the dance floor and start dancing. Stella nods. ¡°I learned that this has to be done right when I found the dents in the contract between my mother and me.¡± That''s right. Magical contracts can''t be set up complicated enough. That''s because they are like a programming language. ¡°So what about the strength she mentioned. You already demonstrated outstanding physical power. Next time I''ll enhance my strength before I attack you.¡± ¡°~Nooo.~ You''ll attack me again tomorrow? I was twenty minutes late because of that.¡± She hugs me a little tighter. ¡°That''s just a little trick I found when I played with my ability. Since my ability works by infusing my mana into objects I tried to manipulate the flow of mana within myself to enhance my strength. And it works quite well. If you concentrate your mana in certain areas you achieve a considerable boost in power.¡± That''s really neat. ¡°Sounds interesting. You have to teach me. When I remembered about Olivia''s injuries I already thought that you transmuted her or something like that.¡± ¡°Sure. And no. You can''t transmute living beings in a combat situation since you would have to infuse your mana into them. The normal reaction of someone who is attacked is to force the enemy''s mana out of your own body. Though it would work if the target relaxes and lets it happen.¡± She leans closer and whispers into my ear. ¡°We could try to switch roles next time.¡± ¡°Hahahaha... No.¡± ¡°It was just a suggestion.¡± ¡°You already told me how dangerous it is and you want to transform the whole body? Count me out. There are better solutions to achieve something like that.¡± I shake my head. ¡°Oh?¡± She grins. ¡°Which ones?¡± ¡°I won''t tell. That''s forbidden territory.¡± And not in just one way. I won''t step onto that ground. ¡°Cheapskate! So we do it normally tonight.¡± She giggles. ¡°There are still a many positions we haven''t tried.¡± I whisper into her ear. ¡°Sister!¡± Our dance is suddenly interrupted by a silver haired beauty in her best years. I find some similarities with Stella, but the new arrival has an even leaner face which doesn''t harm her appearance. Her dress is frivolously showing off her bust to the point that I fear that they could burst out and free themselves from their shackles at any moment. Her horns are arching upwards from her forehead and curve then backwards around her head like a crown. They are silver like her hair. I assume that she manipulated them with her ability. The dress is a tight gold and silver gown with many open segments, showing off her legs and hips while still hiding most of it. Stella''s outfit is tight and revealing too, but compared to this woman Stella is moderate and restrained. Stella sighs and we stop dancing. ¡°May I introduce you. That''s Sola Gejene, my older sister by four years and nine months. Sola, that''s Azir, he belongs to me! So stay away.¡± ¡°~Ahn!~ How cold. What did I ever do to my little sister to deserve this. Imagine my surprise when Mother told me that the black duck of our family turned into a white swan and got herself a guy. All that practically overnight.¡± She looks at me and pulls at her lip. ¡°He is still a little young, but would you mind lending him to me? I would need just ~one~ night.¡± This woman is a Bitch! A real Bitch in a matriarchal country! And she is the successor of the country''s leader! ¡°Nice to meet you, I am Azir.¡± ¡°Oh, wow. I am Sola, nice to meet you.¡± She looks at Stella. ¡°He is looking into my eyes. Not many men do that. What do you say, Sis? You can have him back afterwards. Originally I thought about getting him for myself once his clan is ready to negotiate, but you beat me to it. Sneaking in like that was a little underhanded of you. I could offer you a favour in return.¡± Stella''s face turned into a smiling mask. ¡°What about ''He is mine.'' and ''Stay away!'' was hard to understand?''¡± ¡°Aw. Fine. The offer still stands if you need something.¡± She looks past us and sees something which draws her attention. ¡°Katarina! Long time no see.¡± Without bothering with us any further she strolls off. I follow her departure in silence, those swaying hips, the rolling gait! She is the personification of a B... Stella pulls at my cheek. ¡°Don''t look like that, your eyes will fall out!¡± ¡°No... I just thought...¡± For a moment I consider if I should convey my thoughts, but it shouldn''t be a problem since Stella doesn''t seem to like her sister. ¡°... what a Bitch! Is she really going to be the next clan head?¡± Stella lets go of my cheek. ¡°You think so? Well it fits her. For a moment I thought you were smitten by her.¡± ¡°No. Your clan is in trouble. I hope you realize that.¡± I shrug my shoulders. Stella snickers. ¡°Unfortunately it''s not that bad. She may not seem like it, but she has a brain between her ears. Otherwise my mother would''ve used all possible means to return me to the palace as an insurance.¡± ¡°So... since I got to know your sister, how about introducing me to your father?¡± I ask a little frightened. ¡°Are there more surprises for me?¡± ¡°Unfortunately my father is on a diplomatic mission through the southern borderlands. He won''t come back before next month. Fortunately my sister is the only strange one in the family.¡± ¡°So... how about sneaking away before your sister returns?¡± I pause meaningfully. ¡°Preferably a place where we are alone.¡± Stella tilts her head. ¡°That might be a good idea.¡± . 29. ~Tutor?~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°Magical contracts are on the boundary to dark magic since they are able to enslave the contractor and rob him of his free will. Many magicians voiced the wish to ban them throughout the years, but since they are so convenient to ensure that someone holds his word, their use is still widely spread. They originate from the arts of mind magic and manipulate the contractors'' mind in a way which forces them to adhere to the contract. There isn''t much difference between a magical contract and an enslavement spell. The only difference is that a contract affects both parties who agreed to it. The objectors of magical contracts are right when they say that there is no difference between a one sided contract and enslavement. While useful, someone has to be careful with setting up magical contracts. That''s because the nature of their magic makes their implementation very literal minded. A contractor can circumvent his contract when it isn''t set up properly. The punishment or effects for breaking the contract can be set by the contractors. The possibilities range from a simple notification to all parties that the contract was broken, to a forced action, to pain and to death. A contract is set up between two parties by infusing their mana into each other and casting the required spell while adhering to the contract. That''s the reason why contracts aren''t seen as black magic, since both parties have to agree.¡± -Papyri magicae. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** It''s been a week since my betrothal to Stella was announced. We live like a newly wed couple and let our hormones run amok. Well, we are practically already wed. It works well between us and I can''t imagine anything that would change our relationship. On top I finally got a decent laboratory for my hobby. I believed my life to be heaven... until now! ¡°I won''t become a tutor!¡± I shake my head vehemently while looking at Professor Agate Eddin. We are in her class and she just confronted me with the fact that I need to spend at least five hours per week as a tutor if I want to graduate. ¡°There isn''t much choice. The curriculum dictates that a graduate of the magical university shows that he can implement what he learned and teach that knowledge to others. It''s right here in your curriculum. Didn''t you read it?¡± Agate looks at me questioningly. I take the sheet she is waving at me and read for myself. After the incident which threw us to another world I thought that she had finally given up on pestering me. At least she stopped annoying me with her stupid tests. But now it seems like she found a new subject to pester me with. Indeed, there is a sentence like that in the curriculum. I don''t remember reading it at the beginning of the year? Agate takes the sheet back. ¡°Since we are on the same terms now, here is your schedule and the locations where you hold your lessons. And about your subject, I''ll leave that choice to you. Be careful to attend your own lessons, I''ll drop in from time to time to take a look.¡± ¡°Can''t I take some kind of test instead. I''ve my own stuff to do.¡± There are tons of experiments on my list. And I have to repair the little device which I brought with me from my old world. ¡°It can''t be helped. So which subject do you choose?¡± Agate takes a pen to note down my choice. ¡°They can ask whatever the fuck they want. I don''t care.¡± Is she serious with her question? Agate sighs and notes down ''General studies course''. ¡°One question. What happens if there are no students in my lesson to tutor?¡± Do I have to be there and wait for someone to arrive? ¡°Then you can go home.¡± Agate shrugs her shoulders. ¡°So all I have to do is to shoo them away.¡± I nod satisfied. Agate looks up. ¡°I hope you realize that you''ll fail your tutorship if someone complains about you.¡± I click my fingers and excuse myself. Looking at my schedule, I find out that my first lesson is already in half an hour. For a moment I consider ditching the whole university issue, it''s just a title after all. But when I consider how much time I invested into this... The least I can do is to take a look. So I walk to the indicated classroom. It takes me some time to get there since the classes for the younger students are located in another building. Arriving there I find out that the door to the classroom is slightly open. So I push the door and step inside. From one moment to the next my vision darkens and I feel cold water splashing down my body. I hear snickering from several young people. Slowly I raise my hand and take the bucket from my head. There are two boys and ten girls in the classroom. All of them are from different semesters as far as I can tell. All of them were grinning when I took the bucket off, though some of them stopped when they recognized me. ¡°So you guys like to play games?¡± I smile and close the door behind me. ¡°I''ll play a game with you.¡± *** I have my legs on top of the desk and smile while reading a book. Agate enters the classroom and takes a curious look at my twelve students. All of them are lined up in front of me and hastily solving some complicated formulas or answering a tricky question. Agate whistles and corrects her glasses. ¡°This is the first time that I''ve entered a tutored lesson and the students are actually working. What did you do?¡± I shrug my shoulders. ¡°You just have to give them the right motivation.¡± All of them look up, but a single glare of mine sends them back to their work. Agate nods and checks a box on her notes, then she leaves again. My gaze wanders to one of the boys. ¡°You have to write faster, Martha. I can''t switch you back if you don''t solve your question or until the lesson is over.¡± One of the girls farther left looks up. ¡°But that''s my body! And I am almost done with my question!¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. My gaze turns to the girl. ¡°Poor Frederik, the world isn''t fair. This is a punishment for the whole community. Maybe you''ll learn something from this experience. And isn''t it cool to belong to the stronger gender from now on?¡± The boy shrieks and starts writing faster. *** In the end I switched them back to their original bodies when the lesson was over. If it hadn''t become so late I could have enjoyed it more. I yawn as I walk down the alleyway towards the park and my house. It''s already dark and the university changed to its typical night-time atmosphere. I should probably reintroduce electricity and proper street lights. The magically fuelled candlelights which are spending light leave much to be desired. Suddenly something small blinks up under one of these candlelights in the alleyway ahead of me and I raise one hand in front of my face. My reaction was an unconscious act. The blade embeds itself in my opened hand. Hadn''t I raised my hand it would''ve hit me in the eye. I start gathering mana from my environment and slap another throwing knife out of the air, using my already wounded hand. I am rewarded with a nasty cut and it finally occurs to me that standing under one of the magical candlelights might not be so smart. Despite activating my mana sight I can''t sense the offender. So I point one finger at the street lights and destroy them with small bursts of concentrated mana. I press myself to the left wall of the alleyway, evading another knife. Feeling for the mana around me I realize that there isn''t much to gather. There are areas on university grounds which are very rich in mana, it takes almost no effort or concentration to gather power there. Of course the opposite is also true. And my enemies seem to know that. Or are they simply lucky to attack me here? I doubt it. Finally my efforts to gather some mana from my surroundings pay off and I force the gathered mana into a thin layer around my body. A third throwing knife is reflected by my new protection. The attacker threw it with unerring accuracy despite the bad light conditions. Then I sense movement in the alleyway in front and behind me. Seven hooded people in dark clothing are closing in on me. Three from the front and four from behind me. Pulling the knife out of my hand, I infuse mana into my legs and jump up to the left wall of the alleyway, pushing myself off once again I travel all the way up to the roof of the house to my right. Stella taught me this neat little trick and I really like it because it''s easy and fast to accomplish. I summon five arcane lances and set everything that appears in front of me as a target. My attackers follow me within moments and the first who pulls himself up the roof dies without a sound. His head rocks backwards as one of the arcane lances travels right through his brain, spraying a fine mist of blood and tissue onto the people behind him. My mana vision enables me to see in the dark, but the attackers aren''t less proficient. They didn''t even twitch when their comrade died. The second attacker barely evades the same fate, but the third catches one of the spears in his chest. I see fire gathering between the hands of the hooded person who made it onto the roof and fire all three of my remaining arcane spears into him. He loses control of his spell and I throw myself to the ground as he disappears in a huge explosion and a large part of the roof is blasted apart. The mana, which is gathering around me, is slowly increasing. The longer this continues, the better for me. The nature of my ability increases my defence and offence over time. Even in an area without much mana. Getting to my feet I realize that it''s not only dark, but there is also dust and smoke around me. I cough and sense something approaching from above. This time I use my own mana and cast an area effect magic, adding speed to the movement of all physical objects within the area. Being very careful not to overdo it I move very slowly to step out of the way. Someone crashes into the roof where I stood a moment ago and I hear bones breaking when the enemy penetrates the roof. A scream from farther away tells me that at least one more opponent got caught by my buff. I dispel the spell and kneel down to listen for the other attackers, but there is nothing. Their ability to hide from my senses disturbs me. Or did they run away? One of the tiles on the roof makes a scratching sound and I turn just in time to block a knife coming down at me. To do so I used the throwing knife which I pulled out of my own hand earlier. The black figure kicks me and I take the blow, relying on the layer of mana around me. While doing so I grunt as the foot hits me with much more force than I expected, locking my wounded arm around it. I hurl my leg at the opponent''s supporting leg and am rewarded with a crunching sound. He topples over and I shove his weapon aside and let go of his leg. He makes a futile attempt to hit me. The impact makes my head shake as I drive my own wounded fist into his chest, pouring mana into my hand. The pain is like a searing fire, but the adrenaline in my body lets me ignore it. His chest caves in and he is flung away like he was kicked by a horse. I don''t wait for another attack and drop myself into the hole which was created by one of the attackers. Down in the house, complete darkness awaits me and I rely entirely on my ability to sense mana while I get up and hurry into the next room. It is a university building and it''s not surprising that there is no one here at this hour. In the next room I relax for the first time and activate a healing spell to repair the damage to my hand. Then I wait. I don''t think that it''s wise to go out there and follow two people who can hide from me like ghosts. In here I have the upper hand because I can concentrate all my attention on the doors and windows. Plus, the longer they wait, the stronger I get. The minutes tick by, but no further attacks follow. After a while I sense multiple people encircling the area. Finally one of them decides to check the damaged building I took position in. He jumps down the hole in the roof and lights the area with a light globe. I recognize him through the open door to my room and decide to show myself. ¡°Karsen.¡± . 30. ~By other means.~ ! HIATUS ! Haha... got you. A truck rolled over me and I was sent to the graveyard. There I received an epic quest to revive myself. The graveyard has the nasty side effect of having neither internet, nor writing tools. The only things at my disposal will be coal, steak, potatoes, spareribs, tons of unhealthy drinks and a tent. And a set of magic cards to kill time. It''ll take me until next week to revive, so don''t hope for updates until then. If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°Life-force or mana is a collective expression for all forms of energy which are present in all things. Even a rock contains a certain amount of it. There are places which overflow with this energy. Often those locations have a deep mystical meaning to the people who live there. Living creatures contain more of this power and are able to use it to influence their surroundings in some cases. But only those who are called magicians are able to use this power in all its glory and darkness.¡± -Papyri magicae. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** I am in Ryland''s office once again. ¡°To tell you the truth, I am becoming a little agitated. Those people had very sophisticated concealment spells at hand. Those weren''t just some untrained forces. It''s true that their individual fighting force wasn''t that high, but that''s not necessary when you can walk up to someone and knife him before he realizes that you are there!¡± Slowly I look at all the people present. Stella rushed over when she heard of the attack. Karsen, Talia and Ryland met me at the site and grandmother Quarma joined us in Ryland''s office. ¡°Then why did they even try to knife you? And why would someone send seven assassins for you?¡± Talia grumbles. ¡°Who would benefit from killing Azir.¡± Stella growls at my side. ¡°It wouldn''t have broken up the alliance between the Gejene and the Zait, but it would''ve been weakened. It would make no sense for another clan to kill Azir, since they would need him alive for an alliance of marriage. It would make much more sense to go after me.¡± ¡°Don''t misunderstand me, but from an outsider''s perspective you are just a damsel.¡± I tap onto Ryland''s office table. ¡°I am a well-known prodigy and Stella is a second daughter without any publicly known accomplishments. The fact that they attacked me gives us another hint at their origin.¡± I start pacing around the room. ¡°Let''s assume for a moment that our theory about the dark magicians is true. Then this incident is also proof. We are dealing with a force from far outside the country. They are operating with very limited numbers and over a very long time-frame. Their goal is to keep the country''s attention focused on itself. In order to do that they send us dark mages at regular intervals. They act like terrorists. Another facet of their strategy is to destabilize the country. Stella and I are a stabilizing factor. Our union brought the two strongest clans of the country closer together. If the Gejene and the Zait move together they could probably force all the other clans into action too.¡± Ryland lifts an eyebrow. ¡°That sounds reasonable. But there is one point I don''t understand. Why do you think that they are from far away.¡± I click with my tongue. ¡°That''s the important point. They are operating from underground and with limited information. Probably because they would be recognized as outsiders. We allow all of our neighbours to move freely within our borders as long as they don''t wage war. They would have no problems to gather enough information. If they had, they would''ve tried to remove Stella and make it look like one of the clans did it.¡± ¡°But they went for me. A sign that they don''t understand the politics behind the clans. So they only have information up to the level of what a non-magician would know. And that''s not much. Our enemy probably has hidden operatives amongst the commoners. It''s almost impossible for them to place someone within the clans. Our family based system denies them that possibility. Placing a new rogue mage in our ranks is also a hard task since a person like that has to endure an intensive background check and everyone would investigate his or her lineage.¡± Karsen frowns and takes up my train of thought. ¡°So basically they fucked up for the first time in a few hundred years and gave us another clue to their existence. I am sorry, but this sounds too good to be true. Why should they misjudge the situation like that after they did well for such a long time.¡± Talia gestures for Karsen to stop. ¡°It makes sense if you take into account that their time-frame is becoming tighter. Their actions became more frequent within the recent years and we experienced one attack after the other. They tried to stage a large scale attack on the university when we were sent to the other world. If that had succeeded it would''ve thrown the country into chaos and weakened us seriously.¡± She takes a deep breath. ¡°They wanted the country weakened, but the attempt failed. Now they are moving faster and with less information than they can handle. They are frantically trying to catch up to their plan. For that reason they took the chance of assassinating Azir when it looked like the power foundation of the country turned even more secure.¡± Quarma mumbles. ¡°We tripped them when we prevented their large scale attack and now they are in a bind. They are grasping at straws. I''ll talk to the Gejene and suggest to increase the controls of our borders and to look out for strange foreigners. They need to have at least some contact with our population.¡± I face Ryland. ¡°What about the survivor? Did you get something out of her?¡± Ryland shakes his head. ¡°She didn''t say a word. I highly doubt that we''ll get anything out of her with normal means. Some of my best mind magicians are working on her right now. They say that she is trained very well, at least at the level of a military agent.¡± ¡°Where is she? Can I interrogate her?¡± Maybe I can get her to talk. ¡°She is one floor under us. But what can you accomplish that a mind magician can''t?¡± Ryland sounds doubtful. Shrugging my shoulders I head for the door. ¡°I''ll know that once I get to talk to her.¡± I open the door and look at Ryland. ¡°So?¡± Ryland sighs and gets out of the chair. Then he leads our group one floor down into another room. The room is completely empty. One wall of the room is a single big window with a door at left side. Behind there is a second room with a woman. She is bound with magical shackles to a chair and several binding and sealing runes are on the floor around her. She looks like a hardened soldier and has a scar on her cheek. Her brown hair is cut short and her horns are curling down behind her ears. Three of Ryland''s subordinates are standing around her, having their focus on her. The woman is smirking while the faces of Ryland''s subordinates look very concentrated. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Ryland steps forward. ¡°We healed her and brought her here right after we found her alive. We recovered two bodies and the pieces of a third. So if there were really seven attackers, then that means that three got away.¡± Nodding I gesture at the three female officers around the prisoner. ¡°I suppose that they know what they are doing? She has been resisting them for an hour and is still grinning?¡± Ryland nods with a grave expression. I tilt my head in thought. ¡°Send them out and away.¡± Quarma complains. ¡°They are still trying to break her mental defence.¡± Ryland shrugs his shoulders and sighs. ¡°Which isn''t working. Let''s give him a try.¡± He walks into the interrogation room and sends his subordinates away, all of them come out and leave the room. I observe the prisoner for several seconds, but she keeps grinning. ¡°I suppose this glass lets you see just in one direction?¡± I tap at the window. Karsen nods and confirms it. ¡°This is quite sophisticated.¡± I enter the interrogation room and close the door behind me. The woman fixed me with her gaze when I entered. I don''t care for her and look at the window from this side. It''s just a white wall from here. Then I face the woman and try to sense something from her, but there is nothing. Mind magic is a bizarre phenomenon. It requires a high amount of concentration and time to establish a connection. From then onward it works like telepathy. It''s almost useless in a fighting situation since the required time to defeat the mental defences of your opponent is always longer than it would take you to kill him with brute force. Even though you can kill someone with a single thought once his defence is down it''s very hard to manipulate the mana within someone else, but exactly that is required to defeat someone with mind magic alone. It''s much easier to apply an outer force, or to use illusion magic to fiddle with your opponent¡¯s perception of reality. This woman is a complete black hole to my senses. This is really disturbing. I could kill her and take her soul apart to get the needed information, but I think that wouldn''t throw a good light onto me. First I have to do something about that stupid grin of hers. It''s annoying me. Stepping forward, I use my ability to form a small claw-shaped dagger in my left hand. I hold the dagger behind my back to keep her from seeing it. Then I grab her pinky and cut it off in one clean motion. Dropping the pinky in front of her I leave the room. While I am closing the door behind me the woman finally realizes what happened and starts screaming like a pig. On the other side I am awaited by my surprised companions. Karsen, Talia and Stella are a little shocked. Quarma''s expression looks like she expected something like this from me. Ryland steps forward with a red face. ¡°What was that for? You didn''t even ask a question. We are no barbarians here!¡± I raise an eyebrow. ¡°She grinned at me. That''s not acceptable during an interrogation. She has to realize that her opponents aren''t to be taken lightly. What she did with you guys is psychological warfare. The one who flinches first loses.¡± A look through the glass tells me that the woman stopped screaming. ¡°You go in this time. Ask her one question. Don''t wait if she doesn''t answer immediately and come back out.¡± Ryland gasps. ¡°That''s not interrogation! It''s inhumane! Everyone knows that torture isn''t reliable.¡± I try to smile at Ryland. ¡°These people tried to kill me. They killed innocents and they will kill many more if they aren''t stopped. To be honest. I don''t give a shit if I have to dice her piece by piece to make her talk. If she talks a few minutes earlier we might find their hideout and stop them from making another attempt.¡± He shuts his mouth, but he still glares at me. Then he walks into the room and asks his question. The woman doesn''t talk, so he comes back out again. Next I enter the room. She isn''t grinning this time. I still take her left earlobe and send Karsen with a question inside. The game continues until I accumulated a set of non vital body parts in front of her. While doing so I used a little healing magic in order to stop her from bleeding to death. Upon entering the room once again she finally stutters something. ¡°St... Stop... Why! You don''t even ask anything. You just come in and...¡± She screams while I cut off a piece of her nose and drop it onto the pile in front of her. Then I leave the room. Once again I send in Ryland. This time the woman starts talking on her own, even before Ryland asked a question. He just stays there and listens to her nonsensical babbling about who she is and where she comes from. According to her story she is from a faraway land in the north and was hired by some unknown people. They brought her here through a red flaming portal and promised her and her comrades wealth and power if they managed to assassinate someone. If her story is true, then the portal is in an abandoned warehouse in the merchant district of this city. After a while she falls silent and Ryland leaves the room as instructed. I smile at him. ¡°You can send someone to heal her up again. We need to repeat this if she lied.¡± Ryland just looks at me with a hardened face and leaves the room. ¡°I''ll inform the army. They''ll check the situation.¡± Well, looks like my relationship with him took a little dent. I clean my hands and walk with the others back to Ryland''s office to wait there for new information. There is a heavy silence over the room, but I don''t feel anything about my actions. That woman tried to kill me in cold blood. I see no moral reason to treat her lightly. One hour later we receive the word from the military that the warehouse was surrounded and several people were caught while trying to flee through a red portal. Unfortunately the portal collapsed before they could determine where it led. Without any further reason to spend any more time in Ryland''s office I stand up. ¡°It looks like the military will take over from now on. Since they''ve proof of the portals and their danger now, they''ll hopefully take action to prevent further incidents.¡± Quarma nods. ¡°They''ll find more clues about these mysterious attackers. I''ll try to keep you guys informed. Since I am the former clan head of the Zait I have access to everything they find out.¡± I say my goodbyes and leave the room. Stella follows me in silence. Outside on the streets I decide to ask her for her opinion. ¡°Do you think what I did today was wrong?¡± ¡°~Hm?~ Sorry, I wasn''t really listening. What did you ask?¡± Stella looks up from the street. ¡°Do you think my actions were wrong?¡± I ask again. Stella shakes her head. ¡°Sorry. I am not such a frail girl as to cave in to something like that. I was just thinking that I could''ve lost you. My mother prepared me and my sister for the necessities of ruling a country which is surrounded by enemies.¡± Then she whispers. ¡°~Actually I thought that the assassin was taking away from our time together. How do you intend to make up for that?~¡± . 31. ~Life.~ I slayed 21 flies with my hands, which accounted to earning two points of agility and 21 points of experience. During the nights I used toxic bombs three times within my tent. That resulted in the deaths of countless mosquitoes and some unlucky other insects. For using my brain instead of my hands I got 5 points of intelligence and my experience sky-rocketed. I got 3 damage from the poison though... After surviving the graveyard for three days I accomplished my quest and returned from the dead with improved skills. Now my agility is higher than my sister''s and I can face-slap her without her realizing what happened. What do we learn? Never kill an author... he will come back stronger than before. If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°Casting a magical spell has two requirements. First you need the power to fuel your spell, second it is necessary to guide your spell''s effect. Providing the power can be achieved by the following means. Using your internal mana is the most common solution. It also holds the most risk for your own well being. Using your own mana results in weakening your own physical constitution. This effect is subtle at first, but as you start running low on mana it becomes more severe. In some cases it can even result in death. The second possibility is to use the wild mana from your surroundings. This is harder to accomplish, since you need to be good at sensing mana and manipulating it. The third possibility is to use other living beings as suppliers, or adding their power to your own through a dark ritual. To cast a spell you need a way to control its effect. This can be achieved by casting it by speaking or thinking the chant, using runes or magical circles to describe the desired result, or shamanistic rituals. There are more possibilities to guide a spell, but these are the most common ones. All of them do the same. And that''s essentially guiding the mana into the proper pattern to achieve the desired effect, changing the laws of nature. Casting a spell by voice or thought is the oldest form of this art. It is just a way to assist the caster in imaging the desired effect, thus changing reality to his wishes. Shamanistic rituals assist a chant by adding symbols and objects, thus increasing the control over the spell. This makes bigger and more complicated spells possible. Runes and magical circles are the most recent form of directing a spell. By forcing the mana to flow in a certain pattern you can add much more control and power to the spell. The downside is that this method is very literal minded and one small mistake can lead to catastrophic failures.¡± -Papyri magicae. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Valeria*** My brother is a tutor! Finally an opportunity to spend more time with him. And the Vixen can''t even interfere. It took me only a moment for the decision to join his course. So behind this door lies my paradise. I just have to shoo away the other pests who are sticking to him. Without hesitation I open the door and step into the classroom. What I find inside is simply shocking! Brother is lying on the teacher''s table and snoring loudly. Twelve students are sitting in the first row with big books in front of them. Their faces are strained and full of fear when they look up in unison like a well maintained clock. ¡°What''s this supposed to be?¡± I attempt to slam the door shut, but one of the students throws her notebook with incredible skill between the closing door and the doorframe. The same student stands up and tiptoes over to my position. ¡°Psst! Don''t wake him up!¡± She whispers while recovering her notebook. One of the boys points at the door. ¡°You should turn around and leave while you can.¡± ¡°Why should I? I want to be in this class to spend time with my brother!¡± I answer without concern. Why are they trying to keep Azir asleep? Now I notice that the girl who came up to me isn''t wearing shoes. She is going to great lengths. ¡°You? You are his sister?¡± The girl who came up to me points at Azir. Somehow I get the feeling that she is pitying me. ¡°Yes.¡± I nod, not getting what''s going on. Is this some kind of perverted play? Is my sleeping brother''s face that adorable to watch? My eyes flicker towards him, but it doesn''t seem to be the case. He is lying on his back and snoring with an open mouth. Both of his hands are on his chest and there is a little drool running down his cheek. ¡°Shouldn''t he be teaching us?¡± ¡°Pssst!¡± The girl with the notebook gestures to be quiet and falls to her knees in front of me. The other students get up too and run in front of me to kneel down. What''s freaking me out is that none of them were wearing shoes and everything happened in absolute silence. Now they are kneeling in two rows of six in front of me. ¡°Please. Don''t wake up the sleeping dragon!¡± Again they whisper in unison. ¡°Only bad things happen to us while he is awake.¡± I squint my eyes at this sight. ¡°You guys... what happened to you? You seem to be genuinely frightened of him. My brother isn''t such a bad person.¡± ¡°Your brother is a god. He gives what he wishes to give and he takes what he wishes to take.¡± All of them mumble in unison. ¡°And he interchanges what he wishes to interchange.¡± One of them finishes the formula. They are like a group of religious fanatics! What did my brother do to deserve people like this? I ignore them and use my finger to poke my brother awake. He is weak against attacks like this. ¡°Brother. Wake up!¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. The students gasp and hurry back to their seats. Azir opens his eyes and sits up. I hurriedly pull out a handkerchief and clean his cheek while he is drowsily staring at the wall in front of him. He yawns. ¡°I had such a nice dream.¡± ¡°Brother. What do you think you are doing? This throws a bad light onto our family. You should teach us properly. Instead I find you sleeping while your students are engaged in self study.¡± I reprimand him. Finally he looks at me. ¡°Oh, sorry. Yesterday I had a hard night. First those assassins and then the interrogation. Stella took her time too. I was just dead tired and so I decided on self study. Are they done already? I said that they should go through the entire book within the hour.¡± ¡°Assassins! Interrogation! What happened?¡± I call out in shock. He makes a dismissive gesture. ¡°Don''t worry. Everything was taken care of. Quarma and I will inform you this evening when there is time.¡± ¡°Oh, good. So Grandma took care of things.¡± Then it should be fine. I turn and take a look at the weighty tomes which are used for the general studies lesson. ¡°All that? Within the hour? Brother, that''s not possible for most normal people! Short of a Siorda or you nobody can do that. I wouldn''t be able to either if you hadn''t taught me your self hypnosis tricks.¡± He blinks. ¡°It is not? Well, they simply have to surpass their limits. Learning magic is a constant process of breaking the laws of physics and challenging your own limits. Maybe they should just drop out of this school if they can''t do that.¡± ¡°Big Brother, why don''t you start by teaching us your learning techniques. It shows that you are bad at teaching if you demand such things from your students. You taught me properly too, why don''t you help them the same way. Simply start from the basics and go up in small steps.¡± I point at the chalkboard. ¡°Like you did with me.¡± He snorts. ¡°That was completely different. You were just out of the egg. It was reasonable to teach you from zero. You really expect me to start teaching them from scratch? They should have learned the basics already.¡± I walk to the other students and take a seat. ¡°Please be so kind. I think I am in need of brushing up everything you taught me.¡± For a moment it looks like he is considering refusing my wish. Then he rolls off the table and takes up a piece of chalk. ¡°Tch! It was so amusing to see them struggle in vain.¡± Then he gives us a crash course in learning techniques and mental training. From there he starts his explanation of magic and physics. How the two of them can be used together to cheat the laws of nature. Of course I know all of it already, but since there are... ah... Damn! Didn''t I want to drive them off? I completely forgot about it since the other students behaved so oddly. A while later Brother puts down the chalk. ¡°Well. That concludes it for today. I''ll hurry home to get rid of my stuff. We''ll see each other at our parents'' mansion, Valeria.¡± He grabs a bag and rushes out of the room before I can stop him. Feeling left behind I stand up and grab my own bag, but then I realize that all the student''s eyes are on me. Somehow I feel a little disturbed by their expressions and so I stand up and walk towards the door. ¡°Please!¡± I take a look back, just to find them kneeling in two rows of six... again! They look at me like I am some kind of messiah. ¡°You have a good relationship with your brother?¡± The girl with the notebook from earlier looks at me with hopeful eyes. ¡°Well... of course. We are brother and sister after all.¡± I answer a little hesitantly. What did my brother do to these people? ¡°He doesn''t place your soul in another body?¡± ¡°He teaches you properly?¡± ¡°He doesn''t ask the impossible from you?¡± ¡°He listens to you?¡± ¡°He doesn''t punish you for a mistake in your homework?¡± ¡°He doesn''t break your bones one by one because you played a little trick on him?¡± ¡°Of course he does nothing of that sort. I am the future clan head. Don''t talk bad about my brother!¡± Why would those bullies spout such lies! Then they speak in unison. ¡°We would never talk bad about the master!¡± All of them touch the ground with their foreheads. ¡°Please protect us from him! If he listens to you, you must be an even higher existence than him. We swear eternal loyalty! Please visit this lesson every day from now on!¡± I feel my left eye twitching. What''s wrong with me. That''s my brother''s habit when he is under stress. Is it a problem within the family? ¡°I have to go now.¡± While I am turning around one of the girls throws herself forward and grabs my foot. ¡°Please! You can''t leave us like that. Promise that you''ll protect us! We''ll become your minions!¡± I try to free my foot, but the girl doesn''t let go. Her strength is on another level. Though I don''t feel her using magic and she doesn''t look like she is doing proper training either. Is this the power of desperation? ¡°I don''t need minions! It''s not like I am some kind of street boss!¡± Without holding back I kick the girl, but she proves to have more endurance than I thought. She doesn''t let go of me. All of them answer as one. ¡°You are a future clan head! You need to learn leadership!¡± That day twelve of my most loyal followers forced themselves onto me. . 32. ~Caught.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°The effects of mana on living beings are without a doubt a two-edged sword. First we have to note that someone with a high amount of inner mana lives longer. A commoner without magical ability lives up to a hundred years. Average magicians can easily reach an age of two to three hundred years. Some exceptional individuals are reported to have lived until the age of about five hundred years. However, not many magicians reach an age over two hundred years. Our dangerous lifestyle and the many wars tend to end someone''s life before she is able to die of old age. While a high amount of mana increases someone''s lifespan, there are also some not so desirable effects on the body. A person who is continuously exposed to high amounts of mana has to deal with physical changes and deformations. At first those changes are subtle, but with time they get more and more bothersome while they get out of control. There are reports of a Siorda clan head who was very gifted and reached an age of four hundred years. She grew a pair of wings and the scales which normally cover only a woman''s tail started to grow over her entire body. But those changes occurred slowly and over a long time. There are also cases like they can be observed on black magicians. If someone is exposed to higher amounts of mana than his body can handle, the changes occur faster and are more problematic. We studied the bodies of some black magicians who drained other people of their mana to increase their own strength. In all cases we can confirm heavily mutated bodies, sometimes the researchers even voiced doubts about the race of the individual.¡± -Papyri magicae. ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Valda*** ¡°SILENCE!¡± The noisy room quiets down instantly. ¡°That''s much better.¡± I let my gaze wander over everyone at the big, round table. Since there was an attack on one of our family members we decided to have a little meeting in order to get everyone up to date. And since it was a great chance to meet with our new friends I invited the Gejene over to my mansion. My husband Yoran is sitting to my right, then there is Valeria and Quarma. My sister Jade and her husband Daylen are next. Next to them is Azir with his girlfriend Stella. Then we have Stella''s older sister, Sola Gejene. The circle is closed by Helen Gejene to my left. Unfortunately her husband Lucas is still in the southern borderlands. After confirming that I and Helen have the full attention of the assembled lot, I smile and nod to Helen. ¡°They are all yours.¡± Helen leans forward and starts her speech. ¡°You''ve already heard about the attack on Azir and we gave you a short briefing on the summoning incident at the university a while ago. Luckily the surviving assassin pointed us in the right direction.¡± She takes a deep breath and continues. ¡°We managed to capture several of the perpetrators. The military got valuable information from them. Unfortunately not as much as we would''ve liked. First, the instigators behind the black magician incidents are from outside the country. That''s for sure. They operate by hiring specialists from far away countries. This is the reason why we are still in the dark about their identity. According to the caught people they got hired in their home country. Then they were taught on how to open a portal within our borders.¡± She leans back again. ¡°I am preparing to share all of this with the other clans, together with the clues which give us a hint that this is a long prepared operation. The attack on Azir was just a miscalculation by said hired guns. They messed up the summoning ritual and weren''t paid. That''s why they acted without orders and with bad information in the hope of redeeming themselves.¡± I snort. ¡°So the unknown employer operated on the assumption that his operation will be uncovered at some point. Is there a chance for us to get our hands on him?¡± Helen shrugs her shoulders. ¡°Our captives were interrogated and it doesn''t look like backtracking their path will bring us any fast results. I sent some spies through the portal. They''ll have to play the role of mercenaries and hope to get hired by the people we seek. We can''t expect fast results from that. If I was in charge of the operation I would stop hiring people from that country and simply hire them from somewhere else. According to our captives the portal can be opened anywhere you want.¡± Azir raises his hand. ¡°Did you find out how they hid themselves so well? It was very annoying to fight them. I suspect that spell to be a risk to national security.¡± Helen raises an eyebrow. ¡°We got that information. Like you said the spell shouldn''t fall into the wrong hands. So I won''t allow it to be taught outside of the military. But be assured that there is a countermeasure. It looks like the spell relies on a fragile spacial rift. The user shifts himself partially to another plane. The spell falls apart as soon as something foreign enters the user''s space at a slightly higher speed. A small burst of mana in all directions does the trick too. Once you know the countermeasure the spell isn''t that great any more.¡± I smirk at Helen. ¡°It''s still troublesome. You can''t walk around while giving off bursts of mana all the time. I guess the country is already researching other countermeasures?¡± Helen nods. ¡°Of course. We can''t have someone take a walk inside the palace''s archives.¡± ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Helen*** ¡°I could help with that. Give me the specifications of that spell and you''ll have a countermeasure within the week.¡± Azir smiles at me. ¡°It''ll be fine. My researchers already promised me fast results. The spell isn''t out of their understanding.¡± It looks like my daughter found herself a guy who is far too capable. Not only is he a powerful magician despite his gender, he also has outstanding skills and knowledge according to his university records. On top he is an exceptional fighter. Despite being ambushed he fought off several assassins and turned the situation around, killing most of them until the rest decided to flee. I wish I could place Stella in the position of the next clan head instead of Sola. With such a powerful asset at her side she would have no problems with keeping the country together. My oldest daughter isn''t ideal for the job. Maybe I can convince Stella to assist her sister. Unfortunately the both of them could become a destabilizing factor in the future. I hope it doesn''t come to that. My husband will come back soon. I need his opinion on this situation. Lucas is always able to find a way to turn a situation in our favour. Gehehehe... his eyes will pop out of his head when he learns that our little black sheep spread her wings and turned the situation he worried so much about to our advantage. He was really disturbed by the Zait''s recent rise in power. It looked like the situation would get to the point where they are able to challenge our position as the country''s leading clan. He tried to arrange an alliance by having Sola marry Azir. But Valda refused all attempts at opening negotiations by saying that Azir is too young. It began to look like they already had a secret arrangement for him. An alliance with one of the other candidates could''ve enabled them to oppose us. Luckily our fears were wrong. After getting to know them a little better I doubt that this noisy bunch is interested in something like a confrontation with anyone. Returning back to reality I realize that I am still the focus of attention. ¡°Well. It seems I lost myself in thoughts. You can focus on your studies Azir. Everything is taken care of.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Azir*** ¡°I see. Too bad, but it can''t be helped.¡± I smile and give up on my curiosity. Pestering the head of the country for more information is probably not a good idea. She already gave me a solid hint on the spell anyway. I have an idea on how this spell works. Her hints have reduced the possibilities to a mere handful. It''s easy to replicate a technology once you know how it is achieved. Build a nuke and tell someone of sufficient expertise that the boom is achieved by splitting atoms. Even if he had no idea of the concept beforehand, you can be sure that he can build nukes within a month. Given that he has the need for them. I bend over to Stella. ¡°Do you know why your mother looked at me like that? Her expression was strange.¡± Stella shrugs her shoulders. ¡°Don''t think too much of it. She often loses herself in her own little world when she starts scheming something. And before you say that that''s a problem, my mother is always buried in plans and conspiracies. Nothing out of the ordinary.¡± We keep listening to the ongoing talks, but nothing new is said. In the end Helen assures us that the confirmed results of this investigation will be shared with all clans. The level of alertness will be raised too. Otherwise we can only hope that the military''s spies can dig something up. After a short silence my aunt Jade stands up. ¡°Since we talked for so long about disturbing stuff, I have a happy announcement to make.¡± Then she pulls her husband into a hug. ¡°We finally did it! Soon there''ll be a new family member.¡± Yoran jumps up and runs over to them. He hugs Daylen from the other side. ¡°I knew that you can do it my friend! After such a long time I started to believe that you might swing the other way!¡± Daylen''s forced smile turns cold and he elbows my father without holding back. ¡°Congratulations.¡± My mother hugs her sister and the rest of us follow suit. ¡°Since when were they married?¡± Stella asks, whispering into my ear. I shrug my shoulders. ¡°A little over ten years. It was just a small party within the family because they had a big one when they were engaged. And my aunt doesn''t like assemblies with many people. Though I don''t understand what took them so long.¡± Of course, as magicians they are in no rush to get children, but such a long time seems odd. ¡°For some people it takes a little longer.¡± Stella mumbles. Maybe Daylen just didn''t want kids? His behaviour is a little odd. There are men who simply don''t want to be a dad. ¡°Probably. I''ll excuse myself to take a leak.¡± And hell! Now that I think about it I can understand him! How old is he? Somewhere between forty and fifty? And he''ll be in perfect health until he is a hundred years old. Why the hell would he want to start making bothersome children right now. He could enjoy his lovely wife for a few more decades without little pests running through the house and disturbing them while they are trying to do it! I leave the big room which is used for gatherings and walk down the corridor. There is a restroom at the last door to the right. A few unhurried steps take me there and I enter. Then I take my time doing my business. Hopefully Stella isn''t too focused on kids. I want to continue our life like it is right now. When I am done I open the door and try to step outside, but I am pushed back inside by someone familiar. Sola closes the door behind her and locks it, grinning at me with an expression that''s probably intended to look lustful. ¡°Is there something you need?¡± I take a step backwards. ¡°~There is something I want.~¡± She steps closer and unbuttons the chest-piece of her blue dress. Oh, no. Nonono. Not that tour! Annice was bad enough to evade. Not her. She is the fucking heir of a clan. Not to mention that they rule the fucking country! I try to find the proper words while I think about possible solutions. ¡°Eeee...¡± ¡°That''s what most men say once they see and touch them.¡± She walks up to me and presses her chest against mine. I can''t hit her like Olivia. She is Stella''s sister... and pushing her away from me is probably also troublesome. Will she scream if I don''t react to her advances? Whom will they believe if she says that I attempted to do something to her? I can imagine her doing something like that. ¡°I am sorry, but I love Stella.¡± I try to walk past her, but she trips me with her tail and I fall on my ass. Without waiting for me to get up, she sits on top of me with a smug grin. ¡°Where is the big warrior who defeated seven assassins? Are you afraid of being rough with a future clan head?¡± She traces a finger down my chest while her tail is playing with my ear. ¡°Come on. Nobody will know. I can show you some new things you can try with Stella later. I just want a child who is a mage like me. And you offer the best chances for that.¡± The fuck? ¡°I''ll know. And there are tests! Furthermore I don''t trust you. So get off!¡± I try to keep my eyes away from her chest. ¡°Oho? But I have the power to change the results of something like a small test. Come on... it''s just a short duty.¡± She reaches down to my trousers and attempts to unbutton them, but I grab her hands and pull them away. ¡°I am serious!¡± If she doesn''t stop I might really have to get rough. ¡°Sure. All men are serious.¡± She starts moving her hips in a swaying motion back and forth. ¡°But that''s only until you find their fetish and flip their switch.¡± Unfortunately I feel my manhood betraying me between my legs, which earns me a smug grin from Sola. Just when I decide to push her off the door to the restroom explodes inwards and Sola and I are covered in splinters. Something flashes into the room and I feel Sola''s weight disappearing from me. A hole opens up in the wall to my right while Sola penetrates it like a bullet. Then I realize that Stella is standing above me. ¡°Shi... erm... This isn''t how...¡± Stella''s expression is a smiling mask. ¡°Let me guess. She forced herself upon you?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°And you told her that you don''t want to, but she didn''t listen.¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± ¡°Why didn''t you hit her like all the others? You had no problems with hitting a woman.¡± ¡°But she is your sister! And the future head of the country! You have no problems with me hitting her?¡± Stella bends down and strokes my head. ¡°Hit her, maim her. I don''t care. Today I''ll give you the benefit of the doubt since I know her. But tonight you can sleep with Ghost, just for your information.¡± No way! I am denied our together time? I am without fault! And sleeping with Ghost? He''ll eat me! But then I hear coughing from the hole in the wall and Sola steps back into the room. Stella points at the broken door. ¡°I am sorry honey, but I need to talk with my sister.¡± I nod and hurry outside. Then I get away from the entrance and slide down the wall of the corridor. From the restroom I hear the roars of two fighting dragons who use a little more than words to settle their dispute. God, how do I explain this to Stella? I close my eyes and try to think of a possibility to prove my innocence. When I open my eyes I find Valeria in front of me. She is pulling on her lower lip and smirks at me. ¡°How is it brother? Being fought over... is it exciting? And how about saying thanks for me keeping an eye on you?¡± . 33. ~Work.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.¡± -Arthur C Clarke. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Valda*** It has been a week since our little family meeting. It went really well if you ignore the incident between Stella and Sola. They trashed three rooms during their fight. Valeria explained to me that Sola tried a move on Azir and since she deemed Stella as the lesser evil of the two, she warned her. Apparently Stella wasn''t too happy about sharing and reacted... violently. The noise attracted Helen and me. Of course Helen immediately tried to stop them from murdering each other. Which wasn''t entirely successful. I was impressed that Stella was able to inflict serious damage to her older sister despite being the younger of the two. Stella took a blue eye and a broken horn until Helen finally stopped the fight, but her sister was in worse shape. Azir informed Helen that it''s probably better to keep a close eye on Sola. My son seemed a little down, so I decided to visit him for once. I want to see how he is faring with his own house. I enter my son''s property together with Yoran. The warcat which Yoran gave to Azir immediately shows up and Yoran has a moment of reunion with the cat. He took care of it from the moment it was born, so it''s not surprising that he is still tolerated by the cat. Sometimes I wish that I too was good with animals. After he greeted the cat thoroughly we continue on our way and make ourselves known by ringing the bell at the door. It''s evening and the classes have already ended. So they should be at home. The door is opened by Stella and Valeria, which surprises me. Stella immediately steps aside to let us inside. ¡°Valda, Yoran, you should have told me that you want to visit too. I could''ve prepared something.¡± I smile. ¡°Then the surprise effect would be lost and I wouldn''t get to see how you are really doing on your own.¡± Yoran nods. ¡°Yeah, no worries. We aren''t here to eat. I didn''t know that you have a good relationship with Valeria?¡± His eyes wander around the room. It''s just a small entrance area. One door leads to the first floor, but it is closed and there are several barrier spells attached to it. Stella leads us up the stairs. In the next floor I find a similar door, but it isn''t guarded that heavily. One floor further upwards we enter the living room and Stella offers us a seat. Everything looks neat and orderly. Obviously she and Valeria were drinking tea when we barged in. The house seems well organized, but there aren''t many decorations. I take a seat and Stella offers us the same tea. Nodding, I try to break the ice. ¡°So you are doing fine? You had quite a fight with your sister.¡± Stella smiles. ¡°I have to apologize once more for making a scene. My sister and I aren''t on the best terms with each other.¡± She sighs. ¡°Sometimes I wish that we could form some kind of peace treaty, but it looks like she hates me for some reason.¡± Valeria makes a dismissive gesture. ¡°After seeing your sister I don''t think that the fault lies with you.¡± Stella nods. ¡°I just wish that I hadn''t overreacted like I did. It was stupid and selfish of me to let my anger out on Azir. But he could''ve simply forced her off of him! I would''ve believed him if my sister had made up a stupid story.¡± Yoran nods eagerly. ¡°So you had a fight with Azir and you consulted Valeria to find a solution. Hah, that reminds me of the fights I had with Valda. In the beginning she was really unhappy with my pets.¡± I cuff him. ¡°I am still unhappy with your stupid stables. The cats are okay, but the nightmares stink fifty metres against the wind!¡± Then I return my attention to Stella. ¡°So, what happened?¡± Stella starts playing with her fingers. ¡°Well, I threw him out of the bed and he waltzed off into his laboratory and hasn''t come out since...¡± Yoran raises an eyebrow. ¡°And that was when?¡± ¡°The evening when I had the fight with Sola.¡± Stella''s lips turn into a thin line. ¡°Like I said, it was childish of me, but I was mad at myself and him.¡± ¡°That was one week ago? And he hasn''t come out since? What about school?¡± I ask furiously. ¡°He didn''t attend!¡± Valeria answers quickly. ¡°I see. And you two didn''t think it was necessary to return him to the correct path?¡± I set my focus on the two of them who pale immediately. ¡°I tried! But he sealed the door to his laboratory and I can''t get in. Valeria couldn''t open it either.¡± Stella gestures at the house. ¡°My ability was useless too. I even tried to break through a wall and the windows.¡± ¡°Hooooh...¡± I squint my eyes while I try to remember something. Then I stand up and walk towards Azir''s laboratory. ¡°Children keep staying children. No matter how old they are.¡± When I arrive at the heavily secured door from earlier I just stand there and look at it for several seconds while I try to sense the weakest point in the magical formation. Azir already tried to lock me out once. He was a little child at that time and became too absorbed in his hobby of building clocks. I ordered him to go outside once in a while, but he refused like a stubborn child. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that he has the memories of an eight hundred year old archmage from another world. And from time to time he is acting childish, without a doubt. I realize that such a long life can be a heavy burden, but that''s no reason to act like a stubborn old man. Maybe his body is affecting him? If Valeria''s report is true then his current body is quite different from what he would probably deem as normal. On the other hand someone that old surely can''t remember every single detail of his past. It''s been two decades since he was... reborn. He already spent a long time on this world and I tried my best to make him forget his past. So the reason why he is locking himself up is probably something trivial... like building clocks. Surely he forgot the time. Finally I find the weakness I was looking for. The seal he put on his quarters is a little more sophisticated than last time. Probably he decided to refine it after I broke it so easily. Well, as long as he doesn''t realize that I am not destroying his seal, but the magical formation which is holding it in place, he can reinforce it as much as he likes. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. He may know many tricks, but he doesn''t know all of them. That much is obvious. I cover my index finger in mana and stab it into the wooden doorframe. The glowing magical circles and seals on the walls and the door disappear, falling apart and dispersing like mist. I nod, this old me has a few years of experience in handling mana. There are still some things Azir could learn from me. Stella and Valeria gasp behind me. ¡°How did you do that? We tried for over a day without any result.¡± ¡°Ohohoho.¡± I hold one hand in front of my mouth while I break the door open. ¡°I am still the clan head of the Zait. If I couldn''t get past my son''s seal I would lose my confidence in being his mother.¡± I open the door and step inside. What awaits me is a dark corridor with many cables running along the walls. Something like a fist-sized, metallic spider skitters towards me and I attempt to step on it, but the thing evades sideways and runs up a wall and to the ceiling. From up there it glares at me accusingly. Then it turns and runs off while sticking to the ceiling. Walking along the corridor I take a look into the rooms to my left and right. Inside I find many different machines and artefacts. Most of them don''t make any sense to me. ¡°Looks like he was very productive during this isolation.¡± ¡°He did something like this before!?¡± Valeria calls out. ¡°When?¡± Yoran answers from behind us. ¡°I think he was six... or was it seven? You were too young to remember it Valeria. He turned his room into something like a dungeon within a day. Though it''s much worse this time. I wonder where he got the materials from?¡± Stella gives off an insecure laugh. ¡°That might be my fault. He often comes to me with a shovel of dirt and asks to transmute it into one metal or the other.¡± When I look into the next room I find Azir lying on his back. He is on the ground on top of a thin, metallic disc and snoring quite loudly. The disc has a radius of about two metres. Yoran switches on the lights and we take a look around the room. Aside from the disc in the middle of the room I find several copies of it leaning at the wall to my left. To my right is a big silver mirror and the other side of the room is occupied by a long working table. The left side of the room, which should have a set of windows, is taken up by several big chalkboards with formulas. Suddenly the small spider rushes through between my legs, carrying a glass of water. It jumps onto Azir''s chest and pours the water into his face. Then it escapes while he shoots into an upright position. Without thinking he grabs a tool from the collection around him and throws it at the spider. ¡°Little monster! Just wait until I get my hands on you! I''ll take you apart! I should have never given life to you!¡± Then his eyes fall onto us. I cross my hands in front of my chest while putting on my best motherly expression. ¡°Explain!¡± He looks down at the ground, obviously in deep thought. ¡°I thought I would try to wind the time forward in order to avoid Stella''s bad mood. Obviously it didn''t work as planned.¡± He pulls a clock-like device from his pocket. ¡°Wow. Seven days! It seems like it is still not working properly. Hmm. I thought I had repaired it.¡± Stella walks past me and kneels down besides Azir. ¡°You used that device to speed up the time? Can I see it?¡± Azir hands the device to Stella. ¡°I took it back with me from the other world. It never worked properly, but it can speed up or slow down the time around you, which is like putting yours-¡± *Crack!* ¡°~Ups.~¡± Stella keeps smiling at Azir. ¡°I am sorry. I didn''t expect it to be that fragile.¡± He nods, while he tries to keep smiling. ¡°It''s no problem, I can repair it.¡± Stella''s aura turns really intimidating from one moment to the next. ¡°So you tried to do something dangerous to avoid a single day of punishment?¡± The device crumbles into dust within her hands. ¡°Ah... my bad. It''s so hard to keep this ability under control while your emotions run wild.¡± Azir places his hands in a praying position. ¡°Erm... It''s okay. Like I said, it never worked properly.¡± Stella pulls him to his feet and points at the disc under their feet. ¡°What''s that?¡± He answers as fast as possible. ¡°That''s not dangerous at all. It''s a teleportation circle which can be linked with others of its kind. Even someone who isn''t proficient in teleportation magic can use it. You just have to step onto the rune which indicates your destination. Then you pour mana into the magical circle on the disc.¡± He looks towards the other discs at the wall. ¡°Originally I wanted to make just three, but then I got carried away and built one after the other. It annoyed me that it takes so long to visit my family. Of course I could teleport on my own, but this makes it much easier.¡± Stella raises an eyebrow while looking at the device. ¡°Your family''s mansion is in another city. Somewhere behind the horizon.¡± A heavy silence falls upon the room. Azir built a device which rivals the City Gates! I told him many times that he shouldn''t reveal knowledge like that! Well, Stella would''ve found out at some point anyway. He looks up and slaps his hands together. ¡°That''s right! The mirror! It shows someone''s memories! Now I can prove that I am without fault!¡± He attempts to walk over to the mirror, but Stella holds him back. ¡°It''s fine. I believe you...¡± A giggle draws my attention and I turn towards the noise, just to find my husband touching the mirror. What I see in the mirror is his point of view while I am lying naked under him on our double bed. I am a younger version of myself and obviously moaning in pleasure. Though the device doesn''t give off any sounds. Yoran looks towards Azir. ¡°Son. Do you mind if I take that for- *Slap* I bend down and grab my unconscious husband at his clothes. ¡°Azir, Stella, please excuse us for a moment.¡± . 34. ~Return.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°It is common knowledge that teleportation spells are complicated and dangerous. Teleporting into something, or messing up the teleportation itself can result in instantaneous death. That''s why teleportation is only used in emergency situations and only towards a location which is in line of sight. The problem with teleporting long distances is that you can''t be sure that the space in which you arrive is clear of obstructions. Even something as small as a bug can end your life if it is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Teleportation is one of the great secrets of our time. We know that our ancestors could do it, but not how. If you want to teleport to a place you can''t see yourself, you have to solve several problems beforehand. First the problem of arriving at the right place. Then the problem of checking if the space you arrive in is free of obstructions. Even fusing with the air at your arrival point is deadly. Then you have to solve the problem of aborting the spell in a case of danger. There are many more problems to solve and this is only an example of dealing with the issue. The point is that no matter how you solve it, the spell gets more and more complicated because you have to take so many different circumstances into account. Up until now, nobody was able to cast a spell that complicated and nobody managed to make the needed magical formation small enough to make it possible.¡± -Papyri magicae. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** ¡°Don''t you realize the meaning of this?¡± Stella shakes me enthusiastically. ¡°This is going to topple our society. We two could become independent!¡± I shake my head. ¡°Maybe you are overestimating the discs a little. They aren''t self sufficient like the Gates and require a lot of mana. An average magician has to use one fifth of his inner mana reserves to teleport from one main city to the next. Commoners aren''t able to use the discs at all.¡± Stella stops for a moment. ¡°They are still a revolution. People will ask how you managed to create them.¡± I put on a mourning expression. ¡°So that means I can''t use them.¡± She lets go of me. ¡°I didn''t say that. We just have to be careful on how to present them to my mother.¡± Bending down, I tilt the disc up and roll it over to the others. ¡°Why? Didn''t you already tell her about me?¡± ¡°Do I look like I am stupid? Hi, Mom. Please help me to get a certain guy. Oh, by the way, he has the soul of an old archmage from another world who got summoned during a dark ritual. From time to time he does really insane things like teleporting across worlds! Of course I won''t tell her that as long as I can avoid it!¡± Stella crosses her arms in front of her chest. ¡°Quarma went to great lengths in order to stop Ryland from investigating you. Didn''t you realize how strange it looked when you led us through that world? Be glad that her word carries a lot of weight.¡± I scratch my chest in thought. ¡°I guess I tried to ignore it. Even if she stopped being openly aggressive towards me, our relationship is still bad. Maybe I should try to speak to her more often. So your mother still thinks that I am just some kind of genius who managed to alter an existing magical circle.¡± ¡°She surely suspects that there is more to you than she knows, but since you are already my fiance she hasn''t dug for more information. The real problem starts when my father returns next week.¡± Stella sits on my working desk. ¡°He is the real brains in the family. I am sure that he won''t stop poking around in your past until he is satisfied.¡± Don''t tell me that I have to plead for his daughter''s hand in marriage. ¡°So do we introduce the disc before he returns, or afterwards?¡± ¡°Better not at all, but since you seem to be so eager to change the world you should do it before he returns.¡± I almost jump as my mother suddenly speaks from behind me. ¡°Ah, Mother. Where did you drag Dad off to?¡± Valda snorts. ¡°He already woke up, after all I didn''t hit him that hard. I sent him home before he recalls some memories I am not so fond of. I''ll leave the rest to you two now. Surely you two can sort out this problem on your own.¡± When she is gone I grab Stella at her shoulders. ¡°Now that the security breach is gone, how did she break the seals?¡± Stella tilts her head. ¡°How did you even know that she was the one who broke the seal? I don''t think that it helps, but she simply covered her finger in mana and stabbed it into the seal. It baffled me because it looked so easy.¡± Just that? ¡°She did nothing else? My high security seal was defeated by a mana covered finger?¡± It looks like my mother is more knowledgeable than I thought! Next time I''ll use a seal which is three times stronger and more complicated. ¡°Whatever, time to find out what my father wanted to remember.¡± I take a remote control from the working table and switch the memory mirror on. Stella gasps. ¡°Unbelievable! This thing is able to record your memories? That''s a security risk! What if something important is recorded?¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. I shrug my shoulders. ¡°It just records what''s uppermost in your mind. Don''t worry, this function is allowed only to me.¡± Mashing the button a few times takes me through my father''s memories. ¡°Nice ass...¡± ¡°That''s your mother!¡± ¡°It doesn''t change the fact.¡± ¡°Is that a whip?!¡± ¡°You can do it like that?¡± ¡°It looks like she likes it...¡± ¡°We never tried that position...¡± ¡°Why is he tied up?¡± ¡°Why is she blindfolded?¡± ¡°I want to try...¡± ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Lucas Gejene*** Finally! There is nothing better than coming home after doing hard work. Helen will surely praise me for playing these small nations against each other. Having them fight between themselves is much better than dealing with warlords. Haah... it annoys me that I have to fight with other problems within our country. The entrance to the palace opens by itself and my guards take their positions at the walls. I hurry to leave the carriage which brought me back to the capital and walk through the entrance. Travelling within Nict is the best after all. Staying in a carriage for days with an army of guards around me got on my nerves. I take the shortest path through the palace to my family''s private quarters. Shortly before arriving at Helen''s office I bump into Sola. The first thing I do is hugging her. ¡°Daddy is back! I am sure you guys missed me!¡± ¡°Welcome back, Dad. Would you let go of me, I have something important to do.¡± She grumbles with a pissed voice. I let go. ¡°Did something bad happen? I am sure that I can solve everything to make my important daughter happy again.¡± ¡°Hah, no. I''ll deal with this on my own. Mom will surely tell you everything.¡± Sola kisses me on the cheek continues on her way. A little disturbed by the encounter I walk the last metres to Helen''s office and enter. ¡°My dearest, I am back!¡± Bursting into the room I find Helen inspecting a big metallic disk on the ground. She looks up and smiles upon seeing me. ¡°You are finally back!¡± She runs over and hugs me. ¡°So much happened while you were away! I don''t even know where to begin.¡± I gesture at the door. ¡°I just met Sola and she was acting like she stepped into a huge pile of shit. How about starting there.¡± Helen shrugs her shoulders. ¡°Oh, that. That''s actually her own fault. She should learn that some things don''t work out like she wants them to. She is a little too sure of herself.¡± Helen''s expression turns dirty. ¡°Guess what happened! Our daughter found a guy and asked me for help.¡± My eyes widen. ¡°But Sola has tons of guys and influence of her own. And I am already pulling quite a few strings to get her some acceptable candidates. Why should she ask for more help?¡± She starts jumping in front of me. ¡°I am not talking about Sola. I meant Stella! And she promised to do her duties as a princess in exchange for my help.¡± I gasp. ¡°St... Stella and a guy? What''s with her epic quest for freedom? Why did she give it up from one day to the other! My cute little princess can''t be allowed to be tricked by a third rate man! I hope you made sure that he isn''t some kind of commoner! Oh, we should have never let her go to school!¡± Helen pats my chest. ¡°There is no problem. She fell in love with Azir Zait! When his mother decided to give him an ultimatum to find a girl, Stella saw no other chance than to beg me for help.¡± I lick over my lips in deep thought. ¡°Oh, that explains why Sola is pissed. She wanted to have that guy.¡± After a moment of pondering over the situation I continue. ¡°I guess it means that I have to take an even closer look at him. There are some things in his file which disturb me.¡± Helen cuffs me. ¡°Don''t scare him away. It was the deal of the century. We got our daughter back and an improved relationship with the Zait! On top of that, both of them really love each other. Stella even beat up Sola when she tried a move on Azir.¡± I correct my clothes. ¡°No way. Who won?¡± She shakes her head. ¡°They were both in a bad shape, but I think that Sola took more damage. It has been a long time since they had a fight like that.¡± Helen points at the silver plate on the floor. ¡°Why don''t we visit them. Azir is an even better catch than I thought at first. He built this teleportation artefact! You can even teleport between cities with it!¡± My eyes lock onto the artefact on the floor. ¡°Is that so?¡± . 35. ~Visit.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°The shamanistic rituals, which are practised by the Dwemer, take their magic in a completely different direction. The Dwemer delve much deeper into the art of using sounds and objects to guide their spells. We have to admit that their art enables them to accomplish some feats which are out of our reach. That doesn''t mean that the Dwemer''s magic is superior to ours. Relying on spells and magical circles gives Nict the advantage in speed. That''s beyond doubt.¡± -Papyri magicae. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Lucas Gejene*** ¡°Yes. All you have to do is to step onto the disc, then you place one foot on one of the runes. Now you speak the password and infuse mana into the disc. You''ll be teleported to the disc which you selected by stepping onto the rune.¡± Helen bends down and points at the runes. ¡°This spiral for infinity is the disc at the palace, the alpha is for the disc at the Zait''s main house and the omega is Stella''s mansion.¡± ¡°If the other side is in use, the disc will give off a warning and you''ll have to try again.¡± Helen steps onto the disc with one foot in the centre and the other on the omega. ¡°The password is ''I wish for the heavens, I wish for the skies.''¡± Helen disappears in a flash of light. I look a little dumbfounded at the disc. Our people tried for years to unlock the mysteries of our ancestors. There wasn''t the slightest hint that anyone is even close to understanding the old artefacts, which were left behind. And now some youth shows up and builds this like nothing? I step onto the disc like Helen did. ¡°I wish for the heavens, I wish for the skies.¡± Nothing happens, so I infuse mana into the artefact. A flash of light blinds me for a second and I find myself in a small staircase for a house with three floors. Helen is in front of me and waiting for me. She grabs my hand and pulls me off the disc. ¡°That''s so cool right? I can imagine so many new possibilities for the country!¡± ¡°Stella''s boyfriend. How did he accomplish this feat?¡± I squint my eyes at the artefact on the floor. It''s identical to the one in Helen''s office. ¡°Now I remember! Isn''t he the same guy who was involved in the summoning incident? Quarma Zait went to great lengths in order to downplay the situation! The whole incident was fishy.¡± Helen walks up the staircase. ¡°You are right, but you should first meet the both of them. They match with each other really well.¡± I follow my wife and overtake her on her way to the uppermost floor. Arriving there, I enter a central corridor and walk along it, taking a look into the rooms to the left and right. It seems to be a neat and orderly little living area. At the end of the corridor I find a big living room with a table and a couch. The shelves on the walls are full of books and there isn''t much decoration, but what draws my attention is the pair on the ground. Stella is on top of a guy with her legs intertwined with his. Her tail is wrapped around both of them, pulling their bodies tightly together while they are kissing, her hands are around his head. He has both of his hands on her ass cheeks, massaging them with force. I don''t fail to notice that she is rubbing herself against him. What the hell is this bastard doing to my beloved daughter! She was so cute and innocent when she was small! I''ll strangle him! Nobody treats my baby like that! At least they are dressed. ¡°Oh, my! Seems like we barged in on something.¡± Helen steps to my side with one hand on her cheek. ¡°Should we come back later?¡± This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. That''s when Stella and Azir notice our presence and freeze. One moment later they hurriedly try to untangle themselves from each other, which doesn''t look that easy. Helen pokes me from the side. ¡°What do you think? We can count on being called grandparents soon. Stella seems to be ahead of Sola. Hahahaha. I wonder who''ll lay the first egg.¡± Finally the both of them are standing side by side, though I notice that Stella still has her tail around Azir''s belly. ¡°Mom! Dad! Such a... surprise! Why don''t you take a seat?¡± Stella gestures at the sofa. Azir bends down and whispers. ¡°I told you that an alarm function is indispensable before we hand them out!¡± I move over to them, while glaring at the dark haired guy at Stella''s side. He is slightly taller than her, but still smaller than me. His horns curve backwards around his head and I don''t fail to notice that he has a fit, trained body, though not too muscular. Probably he is practising a martial art, I think his father likes to wield the spear. ¡°Dad, that''s Azir, my fiance.¡± Stella pushes Azir forward. ¡°Azir, that''s Lucas Gejene, my father.¡± Azir puts on a forced smile and offers me his hand. The same hand which defiled my daughter''s ass a moment ago! I grab it and infuse mana into my muscles in an attempt to crush it! For a moment he resists, but then I notice a few satisfying cracking sounds while Azir''s facial muscles twitch a little. ¡°It''s a pleasure to meet you. To be honest, I am a little surprised to come back and find my youngest engaged to someone I''ve never met before.¡± I press down one final time and let go. ¡°Thanks! Of course I wished that meeting my future -father in law- would happen under better circumstances.¡± Azir''s left eye twitches a little while he smiles and massages the injured hand. A moment later he opens and closes the hand like nothing happened. ¡°Could it be that you are interested in warcats? I have a particularly interesting member of this species in my garden. Surely he would like to make your acquaintance.¡± This little bastard is baiting me! And his hand! That can''t be, I crushed it! I felt the bones break! He didn''t cast a spell. I forcefully avert my eyes from his hand and to his eyes. ¡°To be honest I am much more interested in your creations. How did you solve the teleportation problem?¡± He makes a dismissive gesture. ¡°I simply read some books on the issue in the library. That place is full of lost knowledge and it is a hobby of mine to uncover the mysteries of old times. Unfortunately, I fear that the theory behind the teleportation spell is a little too complicated to explain it in easy terms. Let''s just say that I shortened the cast and designed the disc to take care of the complicated part of the spell.¡± Stella steps in, hugging me from the side. ¡°Is it really necessary to have such a heavy discussion. We have to get to know each other first! Since we are all family from now on.¡± ¡°Sure, family.¡± I glare at Azir to make sure that he understands. After Stella let go of me he bends down and whispers into her ear. ¡°I think he hates me!¡± I hear you! Be glad that Helen is on your side! Otherwise I would throw you into a dungeon to test out your worthiness! For the next hour we indulge ourselves in friendly small talk, though the heavy atmosphere between Azir and me isn''t lifted that easily. I know that he is probably one of the best male partners for Stella, but after seeing him violate my daughter''s butt I can''t forgive him. Watch your back Azir! I have my eyes on you! . 36. ~A fathers test.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°Magic is power and power corrupts. The wielders of power always have to reflect on their own actions and the actions of others. Otherwise this power takes us down a dark path. Step by step, until you look back one day and realize that you already walked over the edge of a very high, dark cliff.¡± -Papyri magicae. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** I was so happy when Stella''s father finally left! His eyes told me instantly that he doesn''t like me. Normally I am bad at reading other people''s feelings, but Lucas''s eyes said it all. So why is the bastard back on the couch in our living room? He walked in here like the damn house belongs to him... ah, on the other hand, it probably does belong to him... in a certain way at least, his wife paid for it. It has been three days since his first visit when he barged in on my happy time with Stella. Damn him. The mood was gone for the entire rest of the day. He is just sitting there with his muscular body. I am sure that he is doing some kind of muscle training. His hair is blonde and his face is sharp and edgy with a small beard on his chin. Thank the gods that Stella doesn''t take after her father. There is a small scar on his left cheek and his horns split up into four mean looking spikes right at the base of his forehead. If he is actually intending to look intimidating he is doing a really good job at it. Finally he decides to speak. ¡°I am glad that you two have the time to help me with this.¡± He places a stash of papers on the table in front of us and smiles. ¡°If Stella hadn''t returned to her duties as a princess I would''ve been in a tight situation. Fortunately she got herself a dependable aide.¡± He takes a meaningful look at me. ¡°This''ll make the situation much easier for her.¡± Stella takes the papers and looks over them. ¡°Those are personal files?¡± Lucas leans back on the couch. ¡°Yes, they are the files for the exchange students. Our ambassador up in the north did a really good job in soothing the waters. The Dwemer aren''t quite ready to talk to us on a national level, but they voiced the wish to send us a few of their youths.¡± ¡°But sending exchange students while refusing to have a consulate within our borders... that''s madness. They didn''t set a foot into our country since generations.¡± Stella is baffled. And she is right, the Dwemer cut all ties with us a long time ago. Her father gestures for her to calm down. ¡°Oh, please. Nobody really believes that they are sending exchange students. They are surely a group of young and highly skilled spies, who have the order to scout our country and test our resolve.¡± He frowns. ¡°The Dwemer''s culture is similar to ours. Their highest ranking individuals are the shamans and the magically skilled members of their society. They have very few of them, so they won''t send one of their trained shamans into enemy territory.¡± I point at the files. ¡°And why do we have to know this?¡± Lucas grins at me. ¡°Because you two will have an eye on them while they are here. You''ll be their official connection to me and Helen. On top you''ll play their guides and see to it that they don''t suffer any harm during their stay.¡± His expression turns vicious. ¡°As the second princess''s fiance you''ll surely not deny her your support. Think of this as a first small test.¡± Stella smiles at her father. ¡°Dad, please stop this behaviour towards Azir. He is my one and only love, so try to get over your petty instincts.¡± Lucas''s expression drops. ¡°But he violated my little darling! You are my cute, youngest child. Please don''t get corrupted by this fellow!¡± Stella''s left eye started to twitch during Lucas'' outburst. ¡°We already talked about this. I like being violated by him. And he likes being violated by me. You should accept that I stopped being a little child a while ago. Since I gave up my freedom, I''ll of course help in this matter, but be assured that I''ll use every opportunity to explore my physical relationship with him.¡± Stella kisses me on my cheek and grins at her father. ¡°Actually I like the riding position best so far. It lets me stimulate the right spot so that it feels the best!¡± Lucas''s eyes widen and for a moment it looks like his soul is leaving him. ¡°What happened to my cute daughter. I wasn''t gone that long. It was just a month.¡± He stands up and walks out of the room, while mumbling to himself. ¡°You should probably follow him and have a little discussion between daughter and father.¡± I gesture at the broken man. ¡°I already said that I don''t like him, but now even I feel bad for him. He seems to be just a doting idiot parent.¡± Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Stella purses her lips. ¡°You think so? Maybe I went a little overboard. I''ll go and talk to him. It could get troublesome if he works himself up over our relationship.¡± She stands up and follows her father, her tail gliding along my body while she separates from me. ¡°He has to learn that he is exaggerating.¡± I am not sure if she is aware of her tail''s actions or not, but the way she is using it on me became really lewd. Not that I am against it, but she is even doing it in front of other people. Her father saw her in a completely different light up until now, so he is probably redirecting his emotions towards me. Without anything better to do I take the documents which were left behind by Stella and take a look at them. Seems like this delegation will consist of four people and they are scheduled to arrive next week. They''ll join the academy as extraordinary students, which means that they can take whichever classes they like. It''s reasonable to let them choose their own interests if you take into account that the Dwemer use a completely different magical system from ours. A long time ago I researched shamanistic rituals, but I found it very troublesome, so I gave up on the matter. By now I remember almost nothing about it. Using something like spells, runes and magical circles is much more to my liking. Shamanistic rituals may grant more control, but they are troublesome to set up and not as clearly defined as a magical circle. My eyes return to the first file. Adala Colte, nineteen. She is an expert on shamanistic rituals. According to this file she is on the best way to become a full fledged shaman herself. So they are really sending us people who''ll probably take high places in their society. According to this file she has black hair. Ah, the next page is actually a picture of her. I guess they are really a different race from us. The girl in front of me has no horns and her pupils are dark and round. Her eyes are big, but not in an ugly way, though it makes it impossible for her to disguise herself as a citizen of Nict. She looks more like a child of our race, than a nineteen year old student. The next file is on Padma Unnur, twenty two, older than me. She looks similar to Adala, but her hair is brown and she has brown eyes. Probably they all look the same to me since my mind focuses on the obvious differences. She specializes in artifice. Right off the bat I can''t imagine how artefacts and shamanistic rituals match with each other. I have to ask her when I get the chance. Maybe magical circuits aren''t completely unknown to them? Just because they are from another country doesn''t mean that they know less than us. Maybe Nict even stole some knowledge from them during the times of the empire. Sometimes I wish that those records weren''t lost. Eliot Donocan, twenty four. He has white hair and looks more muscular than the women. His face is less childlike and he has a very formidable handlebar moustache under his nose. He is a close combat expert who is on a military career, focusing on espionage and infiltration. Now that is interesting. Either those guys don''t bother to hide anything from us, or they put him into the group to draw our attention towards him. Of course we can''t be sure that their files aren''t complete lies. I don''t think that the information in them was gathered by our intelligence service. Due to our racial differences it is hard to send spies into each other''s countries. The last person is Nikita Truls, twenty one. Again the same facial features with green hair and green eyes this time. Maybe her face is a little slender compared to Padma''s. She is on the path to becoming an architect, hah? Is that some kind of magical occupation in their society? Maybe her abilities are similar to the Gejene''s? They built a house within a day. I have to get a little more information about that one. In addition, all of them will bring a servant with them and they are accompanied by a caretaker of the name Saana Unnur. There are no files on them and all I get regarding the caretaker is her or his name. Of course it could also be that the servants and the caretaker are the real brains behind their mission. I hope they don''t make too much trouble. Stella returns, waving her tail, she takes the files from me to study them herself. I arch an eyebrow and look at her. ¡°Your father?¡± The corners of her mouth curl upwards. ¡°I think I managed to explain the situation to him and that our relationship is already sealed, no matter what he does. Don''t worry, everything will work out.¡± ¡°That sounds like you only went after him to finish him off!¡± . 37. ~Mayhem.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°There are four methods to create artefacts. The first is to enchant an object. While being very versatile, this method has the weakness that enchantments and buffs weaken and dissipate over time. The second method is to add runes and magical circles to the object, they guide the mana to form a spell and enable any magician to charge the object by infusing mana into it. The third method closes the bridge towards science and uses magical circuits, which evolved out of magical circles. The fourth method is relying purely on scientific methods.¡± -Papyri magicae. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** I and Stella are waiting at the main university entrance. The Dwemer delegation should arrive any moment now. There is just one problem, so I bend down and whisper to Stella. ¡°What are they doing here?¡± The people I refer to as ''they'' are Olivia, Annice and Sola. They are not the only ones who joined the reception of our guests. Karsen, Talia and Louise are present too. All in all eight people to greet four exchange students. Stella answers whispering. ¡°That''s thanks to my father! He investigated everyone with whom we were in regular contact with. Then he ordered them to aide us.¡± ¡°I get that, but why is your sister here?¡± I counter. ¡°I don''t know. She graduated just recently. There should be no reason for her to concern herself with this.¡± She glares at her sister. ¡°Probably she sees this situation as a chance to cause problems.¡± ¡°Stop whispering you two. I want to be included in the fun.¡± Louise hugs Stella from the side. ¡°I don''t think that we were introduced yet?¡± She takes a meaningful look at Sola. No, it''s not just meaningful! It''s outright greedy! Sola smiles and bows gracefully to greet everyone. ¡°My name is Sola, I am Stella''s older sister and I''ll assist you with the diplomatic side of this encounter. If there are any issues regarding the country as a whole, please inform me immediately. Dealing with our visitors is your job, I''ll try to stay in the background.¡± Then she adds in a delightful tone. ¡°Of course that doesn''t mean that I don''t help with other issues too. Simply ask for help if there are any problems or questions.¡± Wow, who is this person? She is completely different from her usual self. This is freaking me out. Does she have a split personality? Stella grumbles. ¡°Don''t be fooled, she is very good at putting up a facade.¡± She would''ve tricked me, if I hadn''t known her beforehand. ¡°Do you think she is up to something?¡± Stella nods enthusiastically. ¡°She is up to something for sure. There is no question about that.¡± Olivia interrupts our private conversation. ¡°Even if I feel that the arrangement of this group is an unhappy surprise, I''ll try to do my best to work together with you. We are representing our country in this encounter, persisting on past rivalries is unbecoming of our future roles as this country''s leaders. So if you are willing to forget about the past, I''ll do the same.¡± Annice shrugs her shoulders. ¡°I don''t think that I''ve any problems to work with the assembled people.¡± Then she smirks at Olivia. ¡°The only one who got beaten up regularly is you.¡± Olivia closes her eyes and shrugs her shoulders. ¡°Those were honourable duels to determine who''s the stronger one. It''s wrong to see them as being beaten up. Hence there should be no bad feelings about a competition.¡± Talia grabs Annice''s and Olivia''s hands. ¡°Then we''ll try our best to work with each other.¡± Karsen flicks his fingers at the assembled people. ¡°There is the issue of dividing the workload. We have four visitors and seven people to manage them.¡± I shrug my shoulders. ¡°I hope that they don''t expect us to play their guides twenty four seven. Stella and I will introduce them to the university during the first days. It''ll be fine if you guys take over from time to time. Telling them where to find you in case of an emergency is also required. I don''t intend to sit at their side while they take classes. The point of this program is to show them our good will. If we stick too closely to them it would look like we don''t trust them.¡± Stella takes over. ¡°That includes showing them our country. Maybe we can organize a tour through the city at some point.¡± Annice sighs. ¡°What about problems with other students. There are always idiots who''ll try to pick a fight. The Dwemer will be interesting targets.¡± Sola nods. ¡°I already informed all clans to have a serious word with their offspring. If anyone marches to a different drummer, I''ll see to their punishment. Unfortunately I don''t think that we can do much more...¡± Her voice trails off as a convoy of five carriages passes through the university''s main gate and stops in front of us. Nine small people leave the carriage and I have to note that they are really small. The women don''t even reach the height of my chest. Even the largest guy in their group, whom I believe to be Eliot Donocan, reaches just barely the height of my shoulders. Four of them stay behind at the carriages. Probably they are the servants. The other five Dwemer come forward to greet us. One of them is an old woman with many wrinkles. Her ears are long and pointy and I notice that her skin is almost like leather. One of the girls steps forward. ¡°Greetings, I am Adala Colte. A future shaman.¡± She turns around and gestures at each of her comrades in turn. ¡°Padma Unnur, an artificer. Nikita Truls, architect. Eliot Donocan, from our military. And Saana Unnur, head caretaker of the servants who are accompanying us.¡± Stella smiles at Adala and greets her. ¡°It''s a pleasure. I am Stella Gejene, studying medicine and chemistry. If there is anything you need, please come to me.¡± Then she introduces me and the others. ¡°That''s Azir Zait, my fiance, he takes courses in artifices and physical sciences. Then we have Talia Zaitus and Karsen Anja. They are both going for a military education. Louise Siorda is taking various science and magical courses. I don''t bother to remember all of them. Annice Tinn is on the best way to complete her education as a merchant and in market research. Magic is also one of her specialities. Olivia Veit is specializing in enchantments and buffs. Lastly we have my sister-¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Sola steps forward. ¡°Sola Gejene, it''s an honour. I studied administration and management while I was still at the university. In case of a problem regarding the country, I''ll be your contact. Be sure to not hold back with any questions.¡± Adala nodded at each of us in turn as we were introduced. Finally free to speak, she gestures at the carriages behind her. ¡°I am sorry if we seem to be in a rush, but it was a long and arduous trip from Dwem to Mono. Could you show us to our accommodations? Our servants need a place to stay.¡± Stella steps in. ¡°Surely, we built a mansion for you right next to ours. There is enough space for all of you.¡± She gestures in direction of the university''s park. ¡°It''s just a short walking distance from here.¡± All of us start walking into the indicated direction while the carriages and the servants follow us. Nikita takes the chance to ask a question. ¡°You built an entire mansion, just for us?¡± Sola nods. ¡°Don''t worry about it. You are guests of the Gejene. Our ability allows us to build palaces as we please. Tearing everything down, once it fulfilled its use, is actually a bigger bother.¡± The bitch is right, I watched the construction this time. At first I was shocked that the Gejene can build a mansion within a day, now I am shocked that they actually do it in seven hours! And all they had were ten clan members. At least they seemed to be a group which specializes in jobs like this. They used most of the time to clear the area and dig a cellar with their magic. The resulting waste material was transmuted into stones and metal for later use. Afterwards they used the rest of the time to paint a huge magical circle on the ground. The house itself grew like a plant once the magic was activated. The whole process took just a few minutes. I had the feeling that the preparations took them more effort than the building process! The last hour was used up to decorate the insides of the house, which was done by a separate group of twenty people. They were actually doing real work, because they created the furnishings outside the house from dirt and carried the stuff inside afterwards. I am still amazed at their ability. According to Stella it takes a lot of training and devotion to get to this point. There are several branch families who pride themselves in being the best at using their ability to craft various items... or houses. I return my attention to Sola and Nikita, who practised small talk while I drifted off to my own little world. We arrived safely at the mansion and the servants started to carry our guests'' personal items inside. The others started mingling with the Dwemer too. Talia and Karsen with Eliot, Adala with Stella and Louise, and Padma with Olivia and Annice. Saana just followed us in silence. Somehow I don''t believe her to be a mere servant. I noticed that she is looking at everything very closely and with trained eyes; she''s not a senile old woman. Maybe she''s one of their shamans after all? I clear my throat loudly to get everyone''s attention and wait patiently until their attention is focused on me. ¡°I prepared a little present for everyone. This''ll make everything much easier, since we can''t be always close by.¡± I pull a stash of flat metal plates from my pocket. They are golden and have the size of playing cards. Their surface is taken up by a complicated set of runes. Actually that''s just decoration to hide the magical circuit inside them. ¡°These artefacts are communication devices. I have one for everyone. You personalize them by infusing your mana into them, then you speak your name and it''ll appear on the card. From then on you can connect your card to someone else''s by infusing your mana into it and speaking their names.¡± I walk around while handing out the cards. Some people are gaping in shock at my toys, others just eye them with interest. ¡°It''s really simple, so if there is a problem or a question, just call the needed person.¡± Smiling, I hand out the little spying devices. They are actually little recorders with geo-positioning data loggers. I can listen to everything which is said in their vicinity as long as they aren''t packed away too tightly. Everything they record is saved in a master device in my laboratory. One locator for Sola, one tracker for Adala, one ¡­ Finally it''s Saana''s turn. I offer her a card and don''t fail to notice her hand twitching. For a mere second the old woman thought about taking the card! Then she raises her hand and declines my offer with her open palm. ¡°I am sorry, young one. This old woman is just a mere servant without any magical talent. This gift would be wasted on me.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± I infuse my mana into the card. ¡°Saana Unnur.¡± I offer it to her once more. ¡°I personalized it for you. Even if you can''t call someone yourself, you can still be called by others. The card answers a call automatically.¡± I scratch my left ear. ¡°Strange. I thought that you and Padma are related. The same last name, you know?¡± ¡°That''s just a coincidence. We Dwemer aren''t as fixated on bloodlines and clans as you people.¡± Saana forces a smile onto her face and takes the card. ¡°Thank you.¡± Of course I don''t forget the four servants and interrupt their busy work. Gifting them spying devices is the most important thing of all. The gossip of servants often holds the most important information. Welcome to the era of telecommunication. From now on I know where you walk, when you take a leak and most importantly with whom you are doing it. Gehehehehe... . 38. ~Just Students.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°The oldest method of guiding mana, without having to use spells, are runes. The principle behind them is to infuse mana into them, hence forcing the mana to take a certain shape and activating the spell. Runes are able to cast the simplest of all spells. By combining them properly, we can create more complicated effects, but there are limits. Since the mana has to flow properly between combined runes, we arrive very fast at the limit of what we can do by simply combining runes. Therefore magic circles were invented. A magic circle is a pre-constructed shell for a bigger set of runes. By redirecting and dispersing the mana throughout the circle, a magician can compensate for the mistakes in a bigger rune set. This results in wasted mana, but increased speed and more complicated spells are made possible. The final development was made when it was discovered that magical circles can also be interconnected with each other, but since connecting big mana wasting magical circles results in even bigger, more mana wasting circles, a countermeasure had to be found. Optimizing magical circles into small specialized components is the solution. Since connecting these new efficient building blocks with each other, results in something that doesn''t look like a circle at all, it was decided to call the new technique a magical circuit.¡± -Papyri magicae. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Adala Colte*** ¡°So we''ll see each other tomorrow and you''ll guide us through the registration process?¡± I ask Stella after practising a little small talk. Normally we would''ve had time to do it right now, but since we need to check out our accommodations I excused us under the pretence that we are tired from the trip. Stella''s tail curls up in a strange manner and she gestures at the mansion. ¡°Of course, have a nice rest.¡± The two groups slowly separate from each other and the students from Nict walk their way. I notice that Stella and Azir head towards a fenced area with another big house inside it. Probably their own home. Our servants managed to get their work done in the meantime and are waiting properly at the entrance of the mansion. We enter the reception room and Nikita starts talking to Eliot. ¡°Eliot Donocan.¡± She is holding the golden card in front of her mouth. ¡°This is a test!¡± ¡°This is a test!¡± Her voice echoes from Eliot''s pocket. ¡°So cool!¡± She can''t help it and starts jumping on the spot. ¡°So cool!¡± Eliot pulls his own artefact from his pocket, startled. ¡°Seems to work really well.¡± His voice immediately answers from Nikita''s card. Padma claps her hands together and starts talking with a loud and clear voice. ¡°Why don''t we all go to sleep, tomorrow is a hard day and the journey was long.¡± Then she gestures for all of us to be silent and that we are watched. Even the non-magician operatives who are playing our servants fall out of their roles and freeze. She holds up her golden card and places it on a commode in the luxurious room. A few hand-signs signal us that we have to do the same, then she pulls out her round spectacles from her pocket and puts them on. The spectacles are a set of different glasses, which can be exchanged easily by flicking them up and down. Padma may look strange with them, but they are doing their job of letting her see mana. The techno-mage starts scanning the room. Then she continues through the mansion and we follow in silence, while she inspects everything. Her inner magic is too weak to become a shaman, hence she became a techno-mage who uses artefacts and devices to overcome her restrictions. Finally she settles down in a big living room and takes off the spectacles. There are two big sofas with a table between them and a beautifully ornamented carpet on the floor. Otherwise the room is empty. After rubbing her eyes she finally shares her results with us. ¡°It''s safe to speak freely. The whole house is still filled with lingering magic, but I couldn''t find any surveillance spells or enchanted objects. They didn''t lie when they said that they built the whole thing with magic.¡± ¡°And the ~presents~?¡± Eliot asks with a doubtful voice. ¡°I don''t know, but they are glowing with activity, even if you don''t use them. They are doing something, though I can''t tell what. It''s better to not have them around while we are talking about something sensitive. Probably this Azir is their version of a techno-mage.¡± Nikita shakes her head. ¡°That can''t be, they said that he is a Zait. The Zait are their mana manipulators. The report said that they are playing the role of front-line bruisers during battles.¡± I shrug my shoulders. ¡°Why not? It doesn''t seem like they are forced to learn something which is related to their bloodline magic. That doesn''t mean that they aren''t all experts at using their clan abilities.¡± Eliot nods. ¡°You are right. I worried much more about Saana. Azir suspects her already. I told you that using our true names could become a problem.¡± Saana gestures for us to be silent. ¡°It is as it is. Using false names could create other problems later on. The ambassador of Nict knows me, because I already played the role of a servant to spy on her. If I run across her with another name... it would be hard to explain.¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I don''t even understand why they decided to send you, Grandmother. It''s a major error by the Great Shaman to handle the situation like that.¡± Padma grumbles, while cleaning her spectacles. Saana shrugs her shoulders. ¡°The war with the northern tribes binds all our resources. The Great Shaman can''t afford to send youngsters like you alone on this mission. An old cranky hag like me is the only thing he could give you as an aide.¡± I walk over to Saana, who sat down on the sofa. Placing a hand on her shoulder, I try to comfort her. ¡°You aren''t just an aide. In many ways you are the head of our mission. We have to find out if the rumours about Nict''s mobilization and their new weapons are true. Our allies from the southern countries seem to be convinced that their information is true.¡± One of the operatives, who are playing our servants, snorts. ¡°Yeah, sure. Even listening to those barbarians is wrong.¡± Then he shrugs. ¡°As if it would matter. We have our hands full with the northern tribes. If Nict chooses to attack us we are done for. The whole issue is a political game to cause an incident.¡± Saana closes her eyes and sighs. ¡°You are right, but by being here we can influence Nict''s decision. One way or the other, our countries have been in a state of cold war for very long. The leaders of our nation started to take that for granted, but with the possibility of a war on two fronts they got cold feet.¡± She pounds her fist onto her knee. ¡°It''s of utter importance that Nict doesn''t find out about the war and our weakened state. Luckily the war is contained to our northern borders. Furthermore we have to show them that we are capable people and not weaklings. If our presence here demonstrates strength, then their decision regarding us might be influenced in our favour.¡± ¡°If the rumours are true...¡± I add with a grim expression. ¡°If the rumours are true.¡± Saana confirms. ¡°But our presence fulfils its purpose, even if we only make them hesitate.¡± Eliot leans against the wall next to the entrance. ¡°Wasn''t it bad to thwart their listening attempt with the cards then? We could''ve talked about how powerful we are and fed them some false information.¡± Saana smiles warmly. ¡°That was a good thing to do. They surely suspect that we aren''t just what we claim to be. It''s a little game between our countries. By not outright destroying their presents and leaving them behind, we sent them a message. Now they know that we aren''t stupid and won''t trust anything we say in the presence of the cards. It''s the old game of testing one''s muscles one by one against the opponent.¡± Eliot tilts his head. After a while he nods, admitting that showing them our capability isn''t a bad thing. Then his face distorts into a lecherous expression. ¡°But did you take a look at their formidable weapons?¡± He forms cups with both of his hands like holding two really heavy objects. ¡°Those sisters and Louise are playing in another league than you guys. Their points of interest are just at the right height! I might like it here. All those exotic beauties! And their tails! They were much longer than the ones of a Dwemer woman, I wonder what they can do with them.¡± Everyone places a look of contempt on Eliot and I simply have to warn the pervert. Pointing my tail at him I start my speech. ¡°If I were you, I wouldn''t try. They all belong to families with prestige, so don''t create a diplomatic incident. You won''t get away with doing them and running off. Despite that I doubt that you could satisfy them.¡± ¡°You dare to doubt me?! My stamina is legendary. I made all my girls scream up until now.¡± He places a hand on his chest and looks at me with confidence. ¡°Do you want to try?¡± I cross my arms in front of my chest and grin. ¡°I don''t doubt that you have the needed stamina.¡± My eyes wander between his legs. ¡°But I think that you lack the needed size. Those women surely expect a weapon which is up to their standards.¡± His expression drops and his right hand wanders between his legs. ¡°You are so cruel!¡± Nikita ignores him and goes on. ¡°So what do you guys think of them? Huge monsters, aren''t they? I heard stories about them, but now I realize that the real thing is different.¡± ¡°Capable people, we have to watch out what we say in front of them.¡± I conclude. Nikita is exaggerating, they are people just like us. They only look a little different. Padma plays nervously with her spectacles. ¡°I want to take a look at Azir''s laboratory. These golden cards are bugging me, I want to take one apart. They are slimmer and smaller than I would expect from their function. Not only that making such a device at all requires high skill, the level of miniaturisation is beyond my knowledge.¡± Saana chuckles. ¡°I think that except for Azir and the sisters, all of them are normal students. I don''t mean that in a bad way, they are exceptional individuals from what I heard. But the others are still kids.¡± I tilt my head and focus Saana. ¡°And the other three are not?¡± The old woman frowns. ¡°I am not sure about the sisters, but at least Azir has killed people in cold blood. You are able to see it in someone''s eyes, you know? I bet he could slit your throat and walk away without batting an eyelid.¡± . 39. ~Secret.~ Holidays! There''ll be no updates next week, since I received a quest to fly to an uninhabited island... well, not completely uninhabited. There are some natives there. I am expecting a lot of status updates and a big quest reward in the end... the only thing that troubles me is that the natives are driving on the wrong side of the road... well. We simply have to rent a vehicle that''s sturdy enough to withstand a few collisions. Did you ever run over a wild animal? Those give a lot of experience points, much more than flies and mosquitoes. You just have to inform the local hunter of the accident and pay him a small fee. Don''t run over domesticated animals! They give experience too, but the farmer and Greenpeace will hunt you down. It isn''t worth the effort. If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°Shamanistic rituals aren''t a precise science. Guiding a spell through objects, runes, sound and gestures at the same time takes a lot of experience. The wise magician Shandeley spent a lot of time while researching this method. She came to following conclusion. -Learning by having a good theory and proofing it. -Learning by trying and understanding. -Learning by trying and surviving! -Learning by trying, surviving and understanding. -Learning by trying, surviving and memorizing.¡± -Papyri magicae. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** ¡°How boring. They got suspicious and left my presents behind.¡± I grumble and start the recording once more to listen to it, but I already know that I''ll learn nothing new. ¡°I still think that spying on them isn''t the right thing to do. What if they can prove that your presents are spying tools? It could result in war! Next time inform me of such a dangerous plan!¡± Stella bickers at my side. ¡°Yes, Brother! That was very childish of you! We have a bad relationship with the Dwemer since generations. Don''t do anything which could offend them! Our country has enough trouble with the regular attacks by the southern nations. It''s only thanks to Lucas Gejene''s efforts and negotiations that we currently experience a long period of peace.¡± Valeria pulls at my ear, while looking over my shoulder. We are inside my laboratory and I intended to get some praise for gathering information, but all I get are stiff rebukes. ¡°Well, at least we learned that they aren''t just average students and servants, but people who wish to achieve something by coming here.¡± I turn around to face Valeria. ¡°And please don''t speak of Lucas like he is some kind of great hero. He is actually just a worrying father with parental issues.¡± Stella shrugs her shoulders. ¡°It isn''t like we didn''t know that there is more to them than they want to tell us. You don''t just send exchange students to a country which is on bad terms with your own.¡± She walks off to take a look at the schematics on my chalkboards. I snap my fingers and grab a small bag filled with miniature microphones. They are made without the use of any magic, let''s see if the Dwemer are able find those. Snapping my finger once again, my little assistant finally arrives. The miniature spider robot looks up at me with a questioning gaze. I gave it the ability to learn and change its own programming when I created it. After I put some serious effort into training it, Spidey became a reliable helper. ¡°Deploy those stealthily in the mansion across from ours, don''t get caught.¡± I drop the bag beside the little robot and it scrabbles off with the bag. Valeria huffs. ¡°Seriously! You''ll get us into trouble if it is caught!¡± I raise my hands. ¡°I don''t know of any animated artefacts in my possession. Who on this world could build something like Spidey? We just have to deny his existence.¡± Valeria furrows her eyebrows. ¡°I don''t like your little pet, but that''s too cruel. Even I realize that Spidey isn''t just a mindless machine!¡± A crunching sound pulls my attention and I look at Stella, who is standing in front of my chalkboards. She has a piece of chalk in front of her mouth, while looking absent-mindedly at the schematics. ¡°Stella? Why are you eating chalk?¡± What''s wrong with her? ¡°Calcium deficiency?¡± Stella looks at us and then at the chalk in her hand. ¡°Hahaha. So stupid, I wasn''t eating it. Just took a closer look and then I zoned out. Must have broken it.¡± She points at the chalk-pieces on the ground and puts the chalk back into its place. I see, her swallowing must''ve been my imagination then. Seriously, who in his right mind would eat chalk... ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Stella*** Chalk tastes good... why does chalk taste good? Am I sick? He said something about calcium. There is calcium in chalk. What''s calcium needed for? My body yearns for calcium? I widen my eyes and walk towards the exit. ¡°I have something important to do, don''t play for too long.¡± This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. I rub my temples in order to get my mind working again. Just now I went into complete autopilot mode, not even realizing what I was doing. That happened never before. Storming out of Azir''s laboratory, I head to the second floor and enter my own personal area. I ignore my experiments and walk directly towards the biggest room with my heavy equipment. I organized a scrying glass for my own personal use. It''s the most important device for healers in this day and age, because it enables you to look inside a patient. Arriving at my destination, I grab the round glass which is encased in a golden ring. A few fast changes to the scaling activate the glass. I step in front of the mirror next to the entrance and hold the glass over my belly. There is the piece of chalk I ate and everything else I munched down over the day. Uwah, disgusting. Luckily I turned off the colours and the image is just black and white. Holding the mirror a little lower on my abdomen I find what I was searching for... a small undeveloped embryo. There is even the eggshell starting to form. ¡°Hiii!¡± I drop the scrying glass, not caring if it gets damaged. Suddenly the world starts spinning and I have to get down to my knees. This is bad. Why? I cover my face with both hands and a storm of unwanted feelings rushes over me. I always took the contraceptives and according to the doctor they should be almost a hundred per cent safe. Did I get fucked by the word ''almost''? I crawl over to the chest where I store the pills and count them, just to be sure. When I am done, I munch them together and growl. No mistake. They simply failed to serve their purpose. What now? Abortion? I don''t want to kill it, magicians are rare enough. ¡°Awawawa... Can''t this happen a little later?¡± I didn''t even talk with Azir about our future and children! The issue didn''t come up and we deliberately avoided talking about it. After several minutes I find the strength to stand up again. I simply have to talk to him about it. It isn''t like our relationship could get damaged by something like that. We simply have to talk about it like adult p- p- parents. I walk slowly out of my lab and head for the bedroom in the third floor. There I find Azir already in his pyjamas on our big bed, reading a book. Seems like Valeria already went home. I change into my own nightgown and lie down beside him, playing with my fingers. ¡°Azir? I want to talk about something.¡± ¡°Hm.¡± He just nods, but his attention stays on the book. ¡°Why do you love me?¡± I''ll try start this discussion at its core point. He raises his eyebrows and his forehead turns into a mass of wrinkles. I can tell that he is asking himself why I suddenly brought this up. He starts talking like trying to walk through a minefield. ¡°Because we''ve been together since childhood and dating since we were fifteen? Because you are independent, smart and sexy? ¡­because you can change your three sizes?¡± I am a little startled, because he simply threw a series of questions at me. ¡°Those features apply to almost all women at this university.¡± If you don''t count the point with the three sizes. He drops the book onto the ground beside the bed. ¡°Is there any point to this discussion? Sure, all the features I attach to you can be found in tons of other women too! If the chain of events was a little different I might have fallen in love with someone else.¡± There goes his unromantic side again! I hate that! Suddenly he rolls on top of me and kisses my neck. ¡°The answer is simply because it''s you. I love you and nobody else.¡± His hands wander down my spine and to my legs, forcing them apart. I sigh and hug him. ¡°I love you because you are giving me the feeling that I am the only one for you. From our time in school till now you were always at my side and never looked at someone else, despite having plenty of options to choose from.¡± He pulls me into his embrace while he continues to caress my neck. ¡°The others weren''t as reliable as you. You gave up the goal you worked for, for years, only to be together with me. What else could I want?¡± I stiffen up a little. Yeah... I am reliable... reliable enough to get myself pregnant without having talked about the obvious consequences of sex. ¡°Azir, what do you think of children.¡± Now he is the one who freezes up. ¡°Eeeh... seriously?¡± He sits up between my legs and pulls me with him into an upright position. ¡°It... It''s not... like I... hate children!¡± He stutters. ¡°It''s just that they are noisy and scream. And you have to take care of them for the better part of a decade until you can leave them alone without having to worry.¡± He forces a smile onto his face and I can sense that he is uncomfortable with the issue. ¡°Can''t we wait at least until we are done with university and married? This university life is really enjoyable you know? Free of responsibility, while simply being with each other. And it''s not like we are in a rush. We are both strong magicians and the country is at peace... if you don''t count certain problems. There''s plenty of time.¡± From one moment to the next I am afraid of telling him that his reliable fianc¨¦e messed up and that his happy go lucky life is coming to an end! There are still a few months before it can be seen. I can work up my courage some other time. ¡°Sure. I think so too. There is no need to rush.¡± What should I do? . 40. ~Registration.~ One more chapter before exile. If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°I raise my hands and wriggle like a snake, the feathers shake. Then I rattle my doll and sing my song, the end of the ritual doesn''t take long. The mushrooms taste good, so I give the fire another piece of wood. Humping my back is easy to do, just not stepping wrong, whatever I do. I stomp on the ground and my enemies are no more found.¡± -The Great Shaman. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** ¡°Here, I organized this overview on the different courses of studies. Since you can sign up for any of them, you might want to check out what''s available.¡± I hand our guests four stashes of paper while I lead them to the main office of the university. Nikita flips through the pages. ¡°Many of them are about random stuff, I thought this university focuses on magic?¡± I nod. ¡°Many choose to learn something that helps them in governing the country. The mages of Nict are mostly Governors for cities, officials, or they serve in other high positions and offices. If you want to rule a country, you need to know more than magic. We learn most of our magic in school until we are fifteen, but there are plenty of magical courses to choose from. If you are interested in our magical system, you could join one of the lessons with tutorship. The tutors are older students who help others on various subjects.¡± ¡°Hmm, I see. Nay, say... that general studies course. The tutor is listed as Azir Zait. Is that you?¡± Padma holds the sheet towards me and points at my course. ¡°Yes, that''s my course. Feel free to join it. The general studies course is there to assist students who have questions on scientific themes and magic. I don''t answer questions which should be covered by higher courses.¡± Adala uses the sheets to fan herself. It''s not a particularly hot day, but the Dwemer still looks a little ropy. ¡°So you are really smart. As expected from someone who can build such handy artefacts.¡± She pulls her golden communication card out of her pocket. ¡°What''s your IQ?¡± I raise an eyebrow. ¡°What''s an IQ?¡± I don''t think that I heard the word yet. ¡°Intelligence Quotient. It''s a test to measure how smart you are. In our country every magician has to take one before she or he can start an education. If you aren''t smart enough to do it, you aren''t allowed to become a shaman.¡± Adala ends her explanation. Ah, I think there was something similar in my old world. ¡°That sounds pretty stupid.¡± Oops. There my tongue slipped, I should have formulated that nicer. Luckily my guests don''t seem offended and just look at me with interest. Eliot is the first to speak. ¡°Hmm. Why?¡± I tilt my head. ¡°Well, you said test. I guess you get a set of questions, riddles and problems to solve. Based on your speed and correctness, you get a certain score and that''s it. But no matter how complicated and extensive such a test is, it''ll always only select for certain traits. I am of the opinion that a young person can learn everything, provided that you teach them properly. Denying someone an education because he wasn''t taught properly before he took the test isn''t right.¡± I shrug my shoulders. ¡°If there are many who fail this IQ test, then you should either question the educational system they went through, which didn''t prepare them, or the test is somehow faulty.¡± ¡°I see. Though we don''t have much choice in the matter. Since our people have even less shamans than yours, we never have enough to teach everyone with potential. Most of them have to learn a lesser magical trait.¡± Adala answers a little subdued. So they lack teachers. ¡°I see. Am I right to assume that this test aims at the traits which are needed to become a shaman? And that learning shamanistic magic is seen as the highest possible trait you can learn.¡± Adala nods. ¡°Shamanistic rituals require high concentration, knowledge and absolute discipline. Not only that, but you could someday become the Great Shaman, who is the leader of our country. The Great Shaman''s word is absolute and his magic rituals are powerful enough to move mountains. Don''t you have a similar system between your clans? Aren''t the Gejene the most powerful magicians.¡± He can move mountains!? Maybe she exaggerated that one. I scratch my chest while I think of an answer. ¡°Saying that the Gejene are the most powerful magicians is a little farfetched. There is a certain balance between the clans. The Gejene might be strong fighters, but they aren''t the strongest ones. Their power lies in their crafting skills and limitless resources. If you want something, you simply tell them what you need and you get it. And if you piss them off, you can be sure that they just have to mutter their displeasure and several clans are on your heels. Their power is more on the economic side, just look at your house, one of their crafting groups built it within a few hours with everything that''s inside.¡± I take a breath. ¡°If you are thinking of someone who wields our magical system the best, you have to look at the Siorda, but they aren''t that powerful either. Their real talent lies in administration and strategy. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.If you want someone healed there is nobody better than an Eddin and never try to kill one of them, they simply stand up like nothing happened. Unless you make sure that they are dead with the first hit. The Veit are unsurpassed in buffs and enchantments. If you want a neat artefact enhanced a little further, they are the ones you call. If it comes to pure fighting power it''s much better to take a look at the Zait, Anja or Tinn. The other clans always rely on our assistance when there is a problem with the southern nations. Especially the Veit, their capital city is directly at the border to the south.¡± Nikita purses her lips in a cute way. ¡°Thanks for opening our eyes to the complicated relationships between your clans. So it''s not like the Gejene can say the word and everyone jumps without thinking.¡± I snort. ¡°That''s certainly not the case, even if they can probably get Nict to do anything they want if it''s necessary. It''s not as if that''s restricted information. I am sure you would''ve found out soon enough with time.¡± Adala nods, accepting my little hint at their true purpose. Then we finally arrive at the university''s reception building. Smiling, I gesture for them to go inside and follow. Two hours later we finally leave the building. Feeding them with the necessary information to choose interesting courses and classes took me and the poor secretary all our patience. They may be young, but those guys are thorough in what they are doing. Each of them carries a stack of documents and books, which are necessary for their courses. I place my hands on my back and face them, forcing a smile onto my face. ¡°Since you have everything you need, will you manage on your own from here?¡± ¡°I think that will be no problem.¡± Adala bows and walks off while looking at a map of the university. Padma and Nikita say their goodbyes in the same manner and leave, bound for their own courses. They only one who is still here is Eliot. The male Dwemer is looking up to me and grinning. ¡°Now that the girls are gone, you can show me the important places in this city! Where is a good bar for brawls and a brothel to celebrate the victory?¡± ¡°I... am not sure. I think the only bars which match your wish are filled with commoners. The bars for magicians aren''t that rough. They certainly won''t stick to their fists if there is a dispute. As for brothels, I have no experience with those, but you''ll surely find one in the red light district of the city.¡± I point towards the main gate of the university. I know the city quite well from all my dates with Stella. Though it''s very unlikely to walk with your girlfriend into a brothel, or a bad bar. So I can''t help him in that regard. Eliot''s eyes widen. ¡°Don''t tell me that you don''t have any fun here. What does a man have to do here to let off some steam?¡± I smile wryly at him. ¡°Oh, I don''t know, fucking your girlfriend maybe?¡± His expression drops. ¡°That gets boring, a man of your calibre needs a little change from time to time.¡± Smirking at him, I cross my arms in front of my chest. ¡°There is no need if you have a Gejene as a girlfriend. She can change her hair-colour as she wants.¡± ¡°What!¡± He gasps. I whisper. ¡°And if you ask nicely, she even adjusts her three sizes!¡± His expression drops. ¡°You are lying... or not? That''s not fair!¡± Then I sigh. ¡°Anyway, it''s hard for us mages to mingle with the commoners.¡± He tilts his head in confusion. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°There are strict rules against hurting or attacking people without magic. If I were to walk into a bar and hit someone, the least I have to expect is that I get a severe public punishment, if not executed.¡± I chuckle. ¡°Not to mention that as soon as they find out that you have magic, they''ll throw themselves to the ground and worship you. And there would be an uproar if a mage is seen in a brothel. All mages are treated as nobility. Isn''t it the same in your country? What do you guys do to stop mages from misusing their powers.¡± Eliot looks a little disturbed. ¡°Well, nothing. The shamans are the leaders and the rest does what the leaders tell them to do. The others with magical talents aren''t that disconnected from the rest of society.¡± I frown. ¡°So what''s your magic?¡± Eliot stands straighter. ¡°I specialize in body strengthening and hand to hand combat. Actually I wondered if there is something like duelling on this academy. I would like to test my skills. What about you?¡± I shrug my shoulders. ¡°A bit of everything I guess. My true calling is creating artefacts like the golden cards. And as for duels... I think you''ll have some in the military lessons you signed up for. I have to warn you against challenging anyone on open ground. Such duels tend to go on until one participant is seriously wounded.¡± His expression is a little disturbed. ¡°Seriously. You guys don''t know how to have fun. I''ll take you out the next time and we''ll search for a good brothel... such a miserable existence. I have to get to my course now.¡± He turns to leave. ¡°Don''t forget the dinner tonight. Stella invited all of you to a fine restaurant.¡± I call after him. Eliot waves his hand and disappears between the other students. I sigh, relieved, and start heading towards the healing institute. I have to do some research there. . 41. ~Research.~ Zero more chapter, now I go on my quest. If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°My doll is power. My needles are pain. My hat is in vain. I am permanently trying to help the younger shamans by sharing my godly knowledge. Unfortunately no one seems to understand the great wisdom behind my verses.¡± -The Great Shaman. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** ¡°The woman experiences uncontrollable urges, like eating bones and other organic matter with high contents of calcium. In rare cases of deficiencies, it is reported that pregnant females fall into a feeding frenzy, not remembering their actions afterwards. In cases of severe malnutrition, there have been deaths. It''s advised to treat such individuals with great care and to ensure that help is close by.¡± Deaths... whose deaths!? Tell me that before I fuck the praying mantis! My species is scary... maybe I should have paid more attention to the biology lessons during school? But I don''t remember that we had something like a lesson on the facts of life. Probably my mother was supposed to do that. She forgot to teach me an important lesson! Damn, why can''t I summon any interest for subjects like this. If someone explains to me how a cell works, it goes into one ear and straight out of the other. I wonder why Stella didn''t tell me? Did she get cold feet when she started the discussion about children? I suppose I wasn''t exactly suggestive about being happy with kids. Jeez, I don''t think that she did it on purpose. Probably the contraceptive failed. The healer said that there isn''t a one hundred percent safe drug to stop it from happening. Stella isn''t the type who would trick me in a matter which is obviously in her hands alone. Let''s be realistic, this matter is in her hands alone. I would never take something that kills off my libido... or other stuff. Maybe her hormones made her brain short out... can I use that to my advantage? I mean, the longer she waits without telling me... hmmm. I could play the angry betrayed boyfriend and get a few bonuses in our relationship. Of course I am still not happy about a baby, or that she is hiding it, but what''s done is done. Let''s hope that she waits long enough until she can''t hide it any more. Right now, I have only clues, but no proof. The healer said that she can only verify a pregnancy with a scrying glass or a urine sample. I certainly won''t stalk her in the toilet! And the scrying glass is no good. I could try it when she sleeps, but what if she wakes up? Any attempt of mine to verify the situation is a risk. I can''t play the unknowing betrayed partner if I get caught, so it''s better to do nothing. Verification won''t change my plan to gain benefits, nor would it change the situation. Making sure that she always eats enough is of the essence, I don''t want to wake up and find her chewing on me. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Helen*** ¡°Did it work out?¡± I ask the healer who is bowing in front of my office. Her report is a little late. ¡°I exchanged the contraceptive with vitamins, like you ordered. Today Azir visited the healing institute, he borrowed medical books on pregnancy and the female body.¡± She bows deeply. I think for a moment about what she said. Then I smile and throw a small sack, filled with gold, into her waiting arms. ¡°You did well. You may leave now. Inform me of interesting developments.¡± The Eddin bows and leaves, tugging the sack of gold to her chest. ¡°Kekekeke.¡± I can''t wait to see my grandchild. Speeding up the process a little should be okay. It has been a long time since the bloodlines of the Zait and Gejene were crossed between high ranking members of our clans. I wonder how it''ll turn out? ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Adala Colte*** The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°It has been three weeks since we arrived here, so it''s best to share our impressions of these people. Deciding on how to proceed is also an important point of this gathering.¡± I sit down on the sofa and take a look at all the people who are present. This time it''s just the four of us who are playing students and Saana. Our servants are out in the city to get some needed supplies. I turn my attention towards Padma, the techno mage looks really tired and has dark shadows under her eyes. ¡°You wanted to give us an update regarding the strange devices which keep popping up?¡± I eye the big pouch, which she brought to the meeting. Padma nods and pours the contents of the pouch onto the table between us. It''s a strange assortment of small artefacts. ¡°The last three weeks I kept fighting against all the bugs and listening devices, which keep popping up in our house. It''s infuriating! I find and remove them, then I go to sleep and the next day new ones are in their old places. Someone is sneaking in and out of the mansion without anyone noticing. I guarded the entire mansion with state of the art detection magic, but so far the one who deploys those devises evaded everything.¡± She starts making wild gestures with her hands. ¡°I even cut back my own sleeping time to keep the mansion free of those artefacts, which is really hard since they don''t use magic. I can''t even find the one who is receiving the signals, since all those emitters are multi-directional devices. Even more so, they are hard to find, since they don''t use magic to send their signals.¡± Nikita picks one of the crushed metallic artefacts from the table to inspect it. ¡°Someone is going to great lengths in order to listen in on us.¡± Padma hits with her fist onto the table. ¡°That''s what''s troubling me. My antagonist isn''t taking this seriously at all! Each time the microphones are replaced, they have a new little tweak or improvement, which makes them harder to detect! I''ll be at my wits end soon enough if this goes on. Actually he has me already far enough, that if he simply stops deploying these things, then I''ll believe that I am too stupid to find them. He is playing mind-games with me!¡± Saana grumbles. ¡°Then if you can''t keep the whole mansion safe, concentrate only on this room. Lock it down with everything you have. We just need one room to talk openly.¡± ¡°So assuming that our dear hosts are placing these devices, they are testing how long we can keep up.¡± I shrug my shoulders. ¡°It''s not necessary to talk permanently of our agenda. So what did you find out Nikita.¡± ¡°Their culture is a little strange in some areas, but they are nice people. I am also learning a few new things in regards to their magic system. It''s faster than our rituals, but it also wastes a lot of mana and offers less power. So far I''ve seen or heard nothing which supports the rumours.¡± Nikita stops her explanation. Eliot continues. ¡°It''s the same for me, though I find that they are a little too stiff. I persuaded Azir to go drinking with me, but he isn''t someone who drinks more than he can take. My plan to loosen his tongue failed miserably. And I still haven''t found a good brothel. Plus the girls on this academy don''t even pay me a second glance.¡± This idiot. I told him that all of them are nobility. Why should a girl who has much to lose go for you? You won''t even stay in the country. I blink and shake my head. ¡°As for my personal assessment, it''s much the same as yours. I spent much time with Stella and Sola. Plus I befriended quite a lot of people. There is nothing which hints at a danger for Dwem.¡± Saana steps in. ¡°We, who are playing the servants, weren''t idle either. We can move much more freely since our role as servants allows us to walk freely between the commoners. This society is built around the great clans and the City Gates. It''s because of the Gates that I am assured that the people of Nict aren''t planning anything right now. I strongly doubt that a mobilization could be kept a secret.¡± ¡°So right now we are all of the opinion that our so called allies tried to pull us into a war against Nict?¡± I growl, it was clear to me that these barbarians from the southern nations are just a bunch of warmongers. Saana lifts a finger. ¡°Not entirely. We got a hint which could help us. There is a group which is called the black magicians. It seems like they are a bunch of terrorists and hunted by the authorities. Maybe we can find some answers to our riddle if we seek them out.¡± . 42. ~Misgivings.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. ############################################################### ¡°Those who control their rage are wise. Those who use their rage have power.¡± -The Great Shaman. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Stella*** ¡°Why are you walking backwards through the laboratory?¡± I fiddle with my fingers while I try to start the important conversation. It has been two weeks since I postponed my confession to Azir. But somehow it never worked out! It''s eating me up from the inside. He always had a reason to run off from one moment to the next, or he dropped a creepy comment, which made me lose my confidence. Then I had to deal with the Dwemer, plus my sister pays me frequent visits too. Everything is crushing me at the same time! I underestimated her plans. At first I thought that she wants to take the fame for this assignment, but then she started pushing all the work onto me! ¡°I am thinking.¡± He is supporting his chin with one hand, while having his other hand in his armpit. It looks really strange and it''s the first time I see him doing that. ¡°Obviously. Does it help to run backwards, while striking a strange pose?¡± I have to change the topic smoothly to the baby, somehow. Going by all the comments he dropped during the last week, a baby would hit him really hard. ¡°A little. It''s bugging me that I forgot an important formula for building my reactor.¡± He gestures at a fist-sized, glowing orb, which is encircled by several silver rings. All of them are covered in runes and spinning at different angles. He persuaded me to transmute a series of heavy elements for him, which he caught inside the rings. My clan''s teachers taught me that transmuting these elements is very dangerous for your own health and that you should never attempt to create them. But Azir explained the danger behind these minerals properly and contained the radiation with the spinning rings. This project has been going on for a long time. I transmute just half a gram of the heavy elements at a time. Azir can''t handle more of the stuff safely with his spells. Neither of us is eager to be exposed to a large amount of radiation. Then he collects the created raw materials in that glowing ball of his. From what I understood he wants to create an energy reactor to light the town... or something like that. The current street lights are going to be a relic of the past. I mock him jokingly. ¡°I can''t believe that you forgot something important like a formula. Aren''t you the great archmage from another world?¡± Azir places his hands in a praying position. ¡°I may remember that my previous self lived eight hundred years on his world, but my memories aren''t perfect. Do you remember what you did exactly ten years ago? Do you remember what you had for breakfast twelve days ago?¡± I tilt my head. ¡°No?¡± ¡°The same way I don''t remember all my life. Of course I remember some important events, but I don''t have the perfect memory of a Siorda. I tend to forget unimportant stuff.¡± He returns to his strange thinking position. ¡°Walking backwards helps me to remember, it gives me another perspective on the world.¡± I frown. ¡°So the knowledge on how to build this reactor is unimportant? Why did we go through all the effort of collecting this dangerous stuff in our house?¡± I point at the glowing sphere. He sighs. ¡°It''s not like my profession was to build miniaturized nuclear reactors. I am allowed to forget some things at least. Building nuclear reactors isn''t exactly essential for your survival when you are caught alone in a world of ice. I started gathering the necessary fuel just in case. It took us months to collect enough and I feel like an idiot for forgetting it. Now I have to reinvent the whole thing, but the old books from the empire may help me to remember.¡± Nodding my head, I attempt to tell him about the baby. ¡°Actually there is something else-¡± But just at this moment a voice erupts from my golden card. ¡°Stella? Azir? Are you there? I might need some help here.¡± I curse silently and pull the card from my pocket. ¡°Yes, this is Stella. What''s the problem and who is speaking?¡± ¡°Ah! Karsen here! I am taking military lessons with Eliot and he is having a fight with the other members of the class.¡± The answer comes from the card. ¡°What?¡± I groan. Why is this happening now!? ¡°Why? Can''t you stop them?¡± The answering voice sounds a little subdued. ¡°I am not sure if it''s so smart if I jump in between them. They announced it to be a duel-¡± Azir smacks his forehead. ¡°Where are you, I''ll teleport there. It wouldn''t be good if someone is hurt.¡± Karsen answers obediently. ¡°We are at the magical training grounds.¡± Azir grabs my hand and closes his eyes. He concentrates for several seconds, while I keep as silent as possible. He mentioned to me several times that a blind teleport isn''t easy for him. Taking someone else on the trip isn''t a game. For a moment I think about stopping him, but taking care of the situation is urgent. If something bad happens it could affect our whole country. Our problem has to wait. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** Whew! Karsen''s call saved me. Stella was about to confess, I am sure. My spell finally activates and both of us are teleported to the training field. I open my eyes and check our surroundings. We arrived safely on the big open field, which is used by several courses to train magic. The field is enclosed by the buildings of various faculties. The field itself is riddled with craters, bushes and a few very lucky trees. It looks like someone fought a war, which comes close to the truth. In the middle of the field are several students in a heated discussion with each other. I recognize one of them as Karsen, he is arguing with Nikita Truls about something. There is also Eliot, who is facing a girl who is taller than him. I count nine others who are watching the conversation with interest. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. We walk towards them and Karsen notices us. ¡°They got into an argument about shamanistic magic and rune based magic. Eliot suggested to spar it out in order to prove his point.¡± ¡°I don''t get the problem. Eliot is an idiot. If he wants to prove his point with a fight, then let him try.¡± Nikita shrugs her shoulders. ¡°The duel has already started?¡± Stella asks with an agitated voice. Karsen nods with a bitter expression. ¡°Yes, I am sorry for failing my duty. I should have stopped this before the situation turned into a duel.¡± I realize that Eliot and the female student are already taking fighting stances. Interrupting a duel is looked down upon. There isn''t much we can do, except for jumping in as soon as someone is disabled somehow. I could argue that continuing the duel any further is pointless. The female student ignites an aura of fire around her and I groan. She is an Anja. If Eliot doesn''t have a way to deal with fire, then I''ll have to carry a charred corpse to the healing institute. But Eliot rolls up his sleeves and reveals two big tattoos on his forearms. They are very complex waves and circles, but I can''t identify any runes or magical circles. He strikes a strange pose and places his fist on his right tattoo. ¡°I call upon the Dragon. I call upon Power. The ritual is finished!¡± I can only guess, but I suppose that he prepared the ritual beforehand and all he had to do was to finish it. He blurs, attacking the girl in front of him with a kick. The Anja counters with a fireball, stopping him in his tracks and forcing him to retreat a few steps back. She summons a raging inferno of flames all around her. I nod in appreciation. Setting the whole area aflame is her best chance against a close combat fighter. But Eliot isn''t impressed, he jumps over the flames and is greeted by a fireball. His jump rendered him unable to dodge and he takes the full force of the fireball, but like before he seems to be unaffected by the spell and is just blown backwards instead. So far, so good. It seems like the both of them are able to have an almost equal match, but that doesn''t guarantee that this fight will go on like this forever. I watch Eliot trying to break through the Anja''s defence and start gathering the mana from the surroundings. He is avoiding long contact with the flames, so his protection isn''t perfect. His inability to approach through the wall of flames forces him to jump over it, which in return offers the Anja an opening to blast him away with a fire spell. This match turned stupid right at the start. They are both locked in a stalemate. If neither of them does something stupid or risky, the fight will go on for quite a while. After watching them for over two minutes without a change to the situation I decide that it''s enough. So I walk in between the two. Watching the fight for so long gave me enough time to gather a large amount of mana, which can be seen enclosing me. ¡°I think the two of you had your fun. This isn''t proving anything at this point.¡± Eliot''s attention turns towards me. ¡°Ah, is that the famous battle aura of the Zait? I am sorry, I just wanted to demonstrate to that girl that our rituals can be fast enough to be used in combat.¡± The girl steps back from me, knowing my reputation all too well. ¡°Yes. I think we can declare this duel as finished. I have proven my clan''s strength.¡± She retreats from me with hasty steps. I sigh, luckily she doesn''t seem to be eager to fight. Probably Eliot insulted her honour and she was forced to show off her powers. Eliot snorts. ¡°What strength? You didn''t even scratch me.¡± I turn to Eliot and smile. ¡°You didn''t scratch her either. I am sure that both of you have a few more tricks up your sleeves, we should stop before someone gets hurt.¡± I say that without much hope. During the time I spent with Eliot, I got to know him well enough. He isn''t the type to stop when he should. Eliot points his finger at me. ¡°There is no problem, but I am not satisfied with stopping here. The point was to show the difference in rune magic and shamanistic magic. I got to see the ability of one of your clans. That gathered mana around you is your clan''s ability? I want to test myself against you.¡± I shake my head. ¡°It would be unfair. I had several minutes to gather mana from the surroundings. By now I don''t think that measuring me against you has any point.¡± He shrugs his shoulders. ¡°Even so, please enlighten me.¡± My eyes wander to Nikita, who signals herself to be unconcerned by spreading both hands. ¡°I already said that he is an idiot. Give him a good beating.¡± Stella shrugs her shoulders beside her and purses her lips. I sigh and nod towards Eliot. He rushes forward and attempts a straight kick at my belly. Forcing all the gathered mana into my body, I use it to enhance my physical abilities. Eliot''s expression turns into surprise as I sidestep his kick and place my elbow in the path of his face. The result is as expected. His body enhancement spell isn''t on the same level as my clan''s ability. I had enough time to suck the entire area dry of mana while he fought with the Anja. His head snaps backwards upon contact with my elbow. It''s like he ran into a stone wall and he drops to the ground, knocked out. I grab him at his collar and raise him towards Nikita. ¡°I think this belongs to you?¡± She smiles at me. ¡°It would be very nice of you if you take the trash away. I think he overdid it today.¡± Then she turns and walks away. Stella tilts her head. ¡°I think it would be best if you carry him to the infirmary. His nose looks broken.¡± I drop Eliot to the ground. ¡°Me?¡± My girl pulls at her lower lip. ¡°You ran here at full speed, you interrupted their duel, you hit him unconscious, your responsibility.¡± She walks away without sparing me a second glance. I grumble. ¡°Technically I didn''t hit him. I just placed my elbow in the path of his face.¡± . 43. ~Rage.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°If using your emotions correctly gains you power, what do you get by abandoning them?¡± -The Great Shaman. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Stella*** Being a guide for the Dwemer is troublesome. Eliot is causing quite a lot of trouble recently, it almost feels like they are up to something. At least he became a little more docile since Azir completely overpowered and knocked him out. I admit that the situation was in Azir''s favour, but Eliot doesn''t want to admit that. Recently I am in really bad shape and to top everything off my sister Sola invited me to a meeting. She left me alone for quite a while. Unfortunately our work requires us to talk to each other. Right now I am waiting for her on university grounds in a restaurant. The street behind the window is full of people, but the restaurant I am sitting in is almost empty. She said that she has important information about our guests and gave me this location as a meeting place. ¡°Hi, sister!¡± A voice from behind alarms me and I turn around while sipping on my orange juice. It''s my sister in a plain dress. Is she trying to play a secret agent? It''s unusual for her to restrain herself like that. Normally she dresses like a queen, so that everyone is able to recognize her status at a single glance. I sit a little straighter and smile. ¡°Good morning. What''s the reason for this meeting?¡± Sola purses her lips and takes a seat. ¡°Don''t be so uptight. Even if we don''t like each other, if it concerns the country we should keep our problems to ourselves.¡± She sits down in front of me. I grumble. ¡°Even so, I don''t understand why you are inviting me like this. And what''s up with this outfit? Are you trying to hide from someone?¡± Her expression turns troubled. ¡°Our guests made contact with some individuals whom we believe to be part of the black magician''s organization. We want to observe the situation further to see if we can find more people who are related to them.¡± ¡°But...¡± My sister''s revelation hits me like a sledgehammer. ¡°I can''t believe it. They are responsible for all of this? Why would they expose themselves like that?¡± This makes no sense! I didn''t think of them as bad people, I even became friends with Adala. At least I thought of us as friends. Of course I know that they are mainly concerned for their own country, but I can''t believe that they are related to the black magicians! Am I really that bad at judging people? Sola raises one finger. ¡°I didn''t say that they are working together, but they are spies from a foreign country. It''s logical that they are trying to get connections within our own country. If they are able to gain the trust of the black magicians, they might be able to gain information, which we are holding back from them.¡± I form fists with my hands and try to control my feelings. ¡°It seems logical, but I still don''t like the idea. So we found another group of them operating within our borders?¡± My sister shrugs her shoulders. ¡°Mother''s agents are working around the clock to uncover their secrets, but it''s hard if you don''t have any connections to them. Their biggest protection is that they don''t recruit people from within our country, yet they are able to train them sufficiently. They are able to hide themselves really well.¡± I groan. ¡°So you are saying that this is turning into a conflict with three sides participating at the same time? This can only end in chaos!¡± Sola leans back. ¡°More like a fight with four parties. We shouldn''t forget the southern nations. It looks like they have their fingers in this too. At least our agents there say that some of them have interest in a war between Nict and Dwemer. There is still the possibility that the Dwemer are the force behind the black magicians, but I don''t believe that. If that is the case, then they wouldn''t need to set up such clumsy meetings with the agents whom we believe to be involved.¡± ¡°We have agents within the southern nations?¡± I didn''t know that. ¡°And why don''t you grab the black magicians in the capital if you already identified a few of them. If they are operating openly enough to be recognized, it surely means that they are about to strike again!¡± She makes a dismissive gesture, but her expression tells me that she doesn''t like it either. ¡°Maybe calling our informants from the southern nations ''agents'' is overdoing it. They are people who are informing us of their little power games. A few sacks of gold are also involved. Regarding the black magicians we identified, our parents believe that we should wait until we are certain to give them a decisive blow. The last stand off against them stopped their plans, but in regards to information, we are still fighting against a shadow. You can''t win a war without knowing whom you are fighting.¡± I stare at my sister while considering the options. There isn''t much I can do if our parents decided to gather information first. Maybe they are right, if another confrontation with the black magicians turns out in a similar manner, we gain nothing and remain as clueless as before. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Assassin, Black Magician*** This is better than I thought. Smiling at the waitress, I take my cup of tea and place a few coins on the table. I was paid to deal a blow to the Gejene, according to my performance I''ll get more money. Stalking the first heir of the Gejene was a hard task, she was obviously trained in avoiding pursuers. She even used her ability to take a few short-cuts through buildings and walls. If it wasn''t for my ability to identify a certain person''s aura, I would have lost her. And now she met with her sister! I shudder in pleasure as I think about my reward and take off the heavy wristband on my left arm. I trace the proper rune to activate the delayed spell and slip the item under the cushion of my seat. Creating such wristbands is costly and takes a lot of time, but I guess the use of one will pay off if I get both of the sisters. I''ll surely get out of this with a big bonus for my pouch. Then I stand up and leave the restaurant. My targets are sitting just a few metres away from the seat which I occupied just moments ago. The delayed spell within the wristband should trigger an explosion, powerful enough to kill everyone within the restaurant. I take position outside of the restaurant and wait. People are walking in all directions and I feel safe inside the crowd. Normally I would leave immediately after placing a trap like this, but I was briefed on the Gejene''s abilities. After everything I heard about their abilities I fear that they might be able to survive the explosion. I should stay to finish the job, just in case. Confirming the kill is also important, if I run back and report their death while they actually survived isn''t good in my branch. While I am counting the seconds, one of the sisters looks through the window and waves at a group of people. They are walking past the restaurant and I can identify two women and a man, as well as a male and a female Dwemer. I bite into my lower lip, but it''s too late. I heard that the Dwemer might become allies if we play our cards right. They turn and head towards the restaurant, but before they arrive at the entrance, the time on my item runs out. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Both of the sister''s heads snap towards the seat where I placed my wristband. I smile in respect, there are not many magicians who can detect a triggered spell like that. A second later the restaurant turns into a ball of flames and the approaching party is blown off their feet. The civilians around me twitch in shock and several people go down, being hit by debris. Good, the Dwemer shouldn''t be dead. I watch calmly while the world seems to stop. It''s always interesting to watch the moment after one of my attacks. Most people need quite a while to recover and adjust to the situation. Originally I had hoped that I could use this moment to rush in and finish the job. But the man and one woman from the approaching group jumped up immediately after the explosion and entered a fighting stance. There was no opportunity to make certain of the kill since I am not that good in personal combat. Using triggered spells and poison is my forte, I am not stupid enough to rush between several hostiles. I click with my tongue and continue to hide myself within the mass of confused people. After the silence of the first shock, the moaning of the wounded starts. One of the women rushes into the destroyed building, followed by one of the Dwemer. They return with the Gejene from the smoke. Both of them look wounded, but alive. At least the women is casting healing magic on my targets. They are sturdy ones, again I click with my tongue. Should I call it a day? It doesn''t look like they''ll give me a second chance. Next time I''ll use poison or a higher spell. That''s what I get for being stingy with my equipment, though I would have never thought that anyone can tank such an explosion with just a few moments to prepare. I frown and spend some time watching them, then I realize that a big crowd of watchers gathered around the scene. I walk closer and use them as cover, maybe I''ll get my chance after all. More people arrive, but this time they look like healers. They take over in treating the sisters and the other people who got caught up in it. My gaze wanders, searching for an opening, but there are just too many people arriving on the scene and some of them look like military. At least they are pushing the crowd back and me with it. One of the sister''s starts crying and the healer who is treating her pushes her down. I notice that the man of the group is talking into a golden card. Just a moment later another figure appears on the scene. It''s a young man and he simply appeared besides the guy who was talking to the card. He immediately steps towards the Gejene who is wailing on the ground and pushes her down. He is talking to the healer and the crying girl. His expression turns from confusion, to pain. Then he starts to stroke the girls hair while she is clinging to him. His gaze wanders aimlessly around until his eyes fix upon me and stay there. I watch his expression turning cold as his eyes make contact with mine. A bad feeling runs down my spine and I turn to leave the scene. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** ¡°I lost it...¡± Stella whimpers repeatedly while holding onto my clothes. The healer promised that she and her sister will survive, though the growing life within Stella is lost. I stroke her head in a vain attempt to soothe her. A torrent of emotions runs through me as I realize that I can neither solve nor fix this problem. The person I love for whatever reason is crying and I can''t help her. I never saw Stella crying before and it feels like something stabs right into my heart. She lost her child and I can''t change it. Our child. My child. My gaze wanders and I scan the faces of the crowd. There I see pain, confusion, curiosity, shock... shouldn''t I feel some of those feelings too? Why is there just this strange pain in my chest. Then my eyes lock onto a certain face, it shows neither of the feelings which should be expected. The face belongs to a woman with average looks and average features. Her gaze is analysing and thoughtful. That''s not the expression of someone who is caught up in a terrorist attack. She realizes that I''m looking directly into her eyes and flinches. It can''t be, am I just imaging things? My raging feelings stop from one moment to the next. Then she turns away, but not like someone who is uncomfortable with the eye contact. Her whole demeanour screams guilty while she is hastily walking away! It''s almost as if she is fleeing the scene. I teleport directly in front of her, not caring if anyone sees my display of skill. It''s just a stupid hunch, but I have to confirm it. It can''t be that the assassin who set the bomb stayed to watch. But maybe she stayed to confirm the kill and thought herself safe within the crowd? Her eyes widen upon realizing my appearance in front of her and she looks over her shoulders to confirm that I am gone from my previous location. Then she attempts to run from me, dropping a wristband onto the ground while turning. I kick the thing with all my might before it touches the ground and leap after the woman. Now I know why I found her strange! She was just a touch too average, like someone who didn''t want to be remembered. And she looks just a little too old for a student, though she tried to look younger by applying tons of make up. The wristband flies up into the sky and I manage to grab her. An explosion occurs above us and confirms my hunch. Both of us go down and she attempts to grapple with me. Rage wells up inside me and my mind simply stops working. I hit her face without holding back. Blood and teeth spurt out of her mouth and she coughs while I am grabbing her clothes and pull her into an upright position. She attempts to kick my feet away from under me, but I throw myself onto her with all my weight, placing my elbow on her throat while doing so. She lands on her back and I grin as I crush her throat. She was clearly trained in combat and had a reason to run. Her arms flail at me and I pull her towards me, then I slam her into the ground. Her eyes widen in disbelief at the sudden brutality of my attack. I can''t stand her expression and grab her head, placing my thumbs on her eyes. Then I push them inside, invading her mind at the same time. We struggle for several moments and sparks of magical power surge back and forth between us. Her tail wriggles around my hands and her hands claw into my flesh as I am tearing her mind apart. She tries to scream, but everything that escapes her crushed throat is a silent gurgle. Piece by piece, Memory by memory, I strip away the being that calls herself Reagan. Memories of her childhood, I don''t need them, so I discard them. Her mouth displays a silent scream and her body convulses as I continue my work. Finally I find what I want and though it''s not as much as I want to know, it suffices. I let go and raise my hands above her face. Concentrating on her soul, a green mist is released from her mouth and gathers into an orb between my hands. Chuckling, I pull my hands apart. There is actually resistance and the orb stretches and bends between my fingers. She won''t become a threat ever again. Finally the orb pops like a balloon and I hear the final scream of a dying soul as it disperses into fragments. The scream isn''t one of sound, but one of pure mental pain, a last echo to the world. The body stops twitching under me and I free my hands from her tail. Then I look up and realize that everyone''s gazing at me. . 44. ~Hunt.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°A soul is a quantum energy wave, which can carry memories from one body to the next. It''s not a container for your mind, or anything like that. If your soul connects with a mouse in your next life, then it doesn''t mean that the mouse can magically make sense of your human memories. So try to not reincarnate as an animal, try something that''s at least able to form a straight thought. I suggest a goblin as a start. Then you can work your way upwards to humans, angels, dragons and at last... shamans. But what am I talking about, you don''t understand anything anyway.¡± -The Great Shaman. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** I stand up and it''s like a spell is broken. The civilians disperse in all directions, fleeing the scene. Within seconds the area is empty and only the guards and healers remain. My face darkens as I realize the situation. That''s it I guess. Despite everything I did really well in avoiding the usage of forbidden magic, until now. Just why did I have to fuck up so grandiosely. My eyes wander towards Stella. The healer is still busy with mending some internal injuries and it seems like she lost her consciousness. Sola is already healed and well, kneeling beside Stella and the healer. She is gaping at me in disbelief. I call out as the strange feeling wrings my heart once again. ¡°I''ll kill them all for hurting you.¡± The soldiers step closer and one of them calls out. ¡°Kneel down and raise your hands! You are under arrest until we can determine what exactly happened.¡± Ignoring him, I kneel down and touch the corpse to my feet. Then I concentrate. The soldier repeats his warning and comes closer, but none of them seems to be eager for a fight. They give me enough time to teleport myself and the corpse into my laboratory. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Sola*** I don''t understand anything that''s going on. It was bad enough that my little sister threw herself in front of me, just a moment before the explosion. She turned her skin into metal, but wasn''t able to complete the process in time. Both of us got injuries, but without my younger sister in front of me I wouldn''t have survived. I am not that good at body magic. I am not a prodigy like her. Why did she do that, despite me being always so mean. And then the healer said that she lost her baby. Why? Then Azir showed up and went on a rampage. I don''t even know how he suddenly picked that woman with the bomb out of the crowd! And that horrible scream when she died. It wasn''t audible, but still everyone heard it in their minds. That was surely forbidden magic. Soul magic, since when is Azir capable of something like that. My gaze wanders to the two Dwemer who are standing close by. Both of them wear shocked and frightened expressions. I take a deep breath and correct my attire. Even if I can''t do anything for Stella right now, I can find out what''s going on with the dark magicians. And those two little punks are the key! ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** I reappear in my laboratory and stand up. ¡°Spidey!¡± Where is that damn little robot. I walk to my working table and grab a set of hover disks. They are mobile drones. Originally I created them to spy on the Dwemer, but they''ll do a good job with my new task. They should be able to do quite a lot of damage if I send them at full speed into an opponent. Next I get the staff which I got from my father. A few adjustments and reinforcements changed it from a basic weapon to a casting assistant device. Finally Spidey scuttles into the room and I point at the dead body. ¡°Take that over. We are going to battle!¡± The fist sized robot signals acknowledgement and jumps onto the corpse, burying itself inside its chest. I look away, there is no need to watch the gruesome scene. I don''t know much about biology or medicine, but I know that a body works with electrical signals. As long as it isn''t dead for too long, you can control it by tapping into its nervous system. Teaching that knowledge to Spidey earned us a new set of spying tools. At first he manipulated just small insects and sent them to the Dwemer''s mansion. When he got more experienced with this skill he turned towards mice and other small animals. Manipulating a corpse is a first for him, but I hope that he manages it. I''ll need all the help I can get. While I grab a big collar, the corpse starts twitching and rises with mechanical movements. Spidey moves like a zombie, but it gets better fast. I nod and my eyes wander to the glowing orb, which I created together with Stella. Not sure if I''ll need it, but having it with me could prove useful. A few slight touches to the control board in front of the orb stop the spinning rings around it, then they tighten and enclose the orb safely in a silver sphere. The orb is cool to the touch, that means that no radiation is leaking. I manipulate the runes on the orb and add an overload function to the containment field. That done, I push the sphere into one of my pockets and leave the laboratory with Spidey following in my tracks. Outside I get a dead bunny from the cooling box and step onto the doorstep of our house. I whistle softly and within a second Ghost appears in front of me. He looks greedily at the bunny in my hand. Holding it out to him I whisper. ¡°Here, nice little kitty. Let''s make a deal, you listen to me just once and then we go for a little hunt?¡± The big cat growls at me. ¡°Down! Don''t move!¡± After a moment of indecision Ghost decides that lying down is the easiest way to get the bunny. Training a warcat isn''t easy and consumes a lot of time. I can''t say that he always listens to my commands, but he does follow most of them... when he wants to. I drop the bunny in front of him, then I snap the collar shut around his neck. Tracing the runes on the collar with my index finger, they start glowing and a whole set of buffs and strength enhancements envelops Ghost. There we have it, I just enhanced a lethally dangerous animal with enough support magic to make it even more dangerous than a battle tank from a high-tech civilization. Ghost growls and claws at the collar. The bunny was gone with two bites, just a small snack. ¡°Don''t!¡± I command him. Ghost continues to growl, but he stops and lays his long ears back. I grab the fur on his back and mount the big cat. Okay, he didn''t kill me, yet. ¡°Run!¡± I pull on the fur on his ears to guide him into the right direction and off he goes. I cast a shrouding spell which should make us invisible to most people. I came up with it after Helen gave me the hint on our enemy''s concealment spell. It''s becoming evening and there shouldn''t be many people on the streets, so hiding my little team with magic isn''t really vital. The population is sticking to the entertainment areas and shops at this time of the day. Though it''s better to be safe than sorry. Someone riding a warcat and with a zombie following him is sure to cause a raised eyebrow. The wall of our garden is taken with a single jump and the cat continues on its way out of the park. I look behind me and find Spidey following us with big leaps and bursts of assistance magic. As a magical construct he can cast small spells on his own, though I guess that the body won''t hold long if he continues like that. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Urging Ghost to slow down a little, we enter the town''s area for normal people. He is still leaping wildly and his biggest jumps take us on top of buildings and from one house to the next. Who would have thought that a non magician is playing an important role in this affair. I stop Ghost on top of a small shop and order him to stay put. Casting enhancement magic I jump down onto the street and enter the shop. There were a few lone people outside, so I turn the plate which signals the shop''s state to closed and draw the curtains in front of the window. ¡°Hey, what do you think you are doing?¡± The baker in the homey room stops his work to face me. He comes closer to the counter, which is separating him from the customers, and points at the windows while searching with his other hand for something that''s outside of my field of vision. I jump towards him and pull him over the counter. A miniature crossbow appears from under the counter and I knock it aside, breaking his fingers. ¡°You are the middle man!¡± ¡°Wha...¡± But I don''t let him speak and invade his mind. As a non magician he can''t put up any resistance and turns into a drooling piece of meat. The organization of the black magicians is a well oiled machine, which works only with hired individuals and tons of bribes. Nobody knows anything. Even the assassin knew only that she lived her life in a country which is unknown to me. Then it was torn apart by war and she was hired by the army. After a time of fighting different nations she was hired for a new assignment. She was blindfolded and brought here. In a dark room she was trained with others to disguise herself as a normal civilian of Nict. Her trainer was the baker. If she hadn''t run across him during a stroll through the city, the track would have ended with her, but she recognized him and it was one of her most vibrant memories. Of course she doesn''t know how she was brought to this strange country, but the baker knows where he goes every night to train young recruits in the art of being a civilian. He always knew that he was doing something strange, but the payment was good enough to shut him up. I smile and let go of him upon finding out where my next stop is. The shuddering bag of meat slides down behind the counter and disappears from my view. Next stop, Town Mono, the sewers. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Valda*** It is the morning after the bombing and I was invited to the palace as a ~guest~. Of course Helen and Lucas didn''t forget to invite Yoran, Quarma and Valeria too. The four of us are lined up along a small office table in an even smaller room. Who would have thought that Helen is the type to hold back like that when it comes to her personal space. Across from us are Helen, Lucas and Sola. The atmosphere in the room is bad, as expected. I shift in my seat. Since I heard that Azir went missing yesterday I didn''t find any rest. And Stella was hurt badly enough that she is still in the healer''s faculty. Then there are the rumours about Azir using soul magic in front of a whole crowd of people. Hopefully that''s not true. Helen places her hands on top of the table and glares at us. ¡°I want the truth. Who, or what, is Azir?¡± Yoran smiles at Helen. ¡°Pardon? Azir is our son and your daughter''s fiance.¡± Helen''s expression becomes dark. ¡°Yesterday someone attempted to kill my daughters with an explosive enchanted artefact. Both were wounded and Stella still hasn''t regained her consciousness. When Azir arrived at the scene, he went amok and killed a woman who was armed with an explosive item. He used soul magic in front of several people and I had a hard time in covering everything up! Then he proclaimed in front of the crowd that he would kill everyone who hurt Stella and ran from my security detail.¡± She takes a deep breath. ¡°And since yesterday, all of our efforts in uncovering the black magicians are going to hell, because someone is murdering one of their agents after the other. Do you have any idea how much effort it took to identify just a few of them?¡± Helen is fuming and her tail swings, left and right, like a whip behind her. I look at the ceiling and try to think. From what I heard just now, it seems that she doesn''t have a clue regarding Azir. So Stella told her nothing. ¡°I think it would be better if you talk to Stella about this matter. Is she hurt seriously? I can''t imagine Azir acting like that if nothing grave happened.¡± Sola answers my question with an emotionless voice. ¡°She lost their child due to the bombing.¡± Valeria gasps and I close my eyes. I guess that''s a reason to go on a rampage. Helen''s expression turns frightening. ¡°So, please enlighten us on his capabilities. So far he killed the woman at the scene of the bombing, a baker whom we believed to be an agent, several unknowns throughout all cities and even a handful of our own officials who are working for the anti magic bureau. It''s like a damn lumberjack is walking through the city and mistook some of my agents for trees!¡± I lean forward and try to choose my next words very carefully. ¡°My son is special. He knows... many things...¡± Lucas shakes his head. ¡°We know that he is special. Don''t try to evade the question.¡± Quarma places her hand on my shoulder and pushes me back into my seat. Maybe it''s better if I let her speak, I don''t feel up to the task. ¡°Azir is a special case. I hunted black magicians for all my life and I am proud of it. If you take our laws literally, then Azir is a black magician.¡± She waits for a second before she continues. ¡°Since he was little, he knew a lot about magic. The most difficult spells are a joke to him. Among his unique abilities are soul and mind magic. I suppose he went on a personal vendetta against the black magician''s organisation.¡± She sighs. ¡°But if I''ve learned one thing from watching Azir, then it''s that he isn''t evil. He did his best to be a good member of society and never used his knowledge and abilities for ill. If he killed those people, then it''s because he interrogated them and found them guilty.¡± Helen shakes her head. ¡°You can''t break through someone''s magical defence just like that. Even the best mind magicians need to work together in order to break someone.¡± Quarma shrugs her shoulders. ¡°If you get into direct contact with someone and bet your will against hers, it''s possible.¡± ¡°But that''s madness. If you lose such a fight, you are nothing more than a mind-wiped drooling idiot!¡± Sola calls out. Helen stares into the table in front of her. ¡°Some of them were found as mindless drooling idiots.¡± ¡°BWAHAHAHAHARHAR...¡± Lucas can''t hold it in any more and everyone looks at him like he is a madman. Finally he gets his laughing fit under control and focuses Helen. ¡°Dear, he is perfect. We need to cover his tracks and stop the rumours. If that story is true, then he is just weeding out some very troublesome people in high places. It doesn''t matter what the other clans think. If they learn that we have someone who can walk around undetected and assassinate high officials, then let them tremble in fear. Maybe we should even proclaim that they were black magicians. I am sure that we can dig up some evidence now that we know what to search for.¡± Helen''s expression becomes troubled. ¡°Even so, if he is killing the people who are responsible for my daughter''s injury, then that''s fine with me. Though we still have to catch him soon. If he gets caught another time displaying his skills, it might not be possible to shut people up with money and threats. The recent murder scenes were a little... violent.¡± I bow to Helen. ¡°I''ll make sure to bring him back.¡± Sola was looking through us during the entire discussion, like her mind was somewhere else. But now she seems to return. ¡°How do you intend to bring him back? Can you beat him in a fight if he dislikes stopping his killing spree?¡± I smile at her. ¡°I don''t have to fight him. He is my son, he''ll listen to me.¡± . 45. ~Assault.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°Ye, who asks for power shall seek the souls of others and enslave them. Ye, who enslaves others to his will shall rise and be consumed by power. But heed the warning. Don''t seek to enslave a soul stronger than your own, because you might end up the servant and not the Master.¡± -The forbidden Chronicle. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** The Eddin is pinned to the ground and screams while Ghost is gnawing on his foot. I stare tiredly at the night sky. It''s the second day since I started my work... and it turned out to be a lot of work! Once again I hit the guy''s throat and his screams turn into a gurgling sound. This guy is really tough to get information from. He gave me a pretty good fight too. Eddins are trouble. I had to subdue him without killing him, since he is the only lead I have left to follow. My little investigation took me through the whole country, while I was following the chain of henchmen. Most of them were just little flies who only carry messages, but some had really high official positions. The highest ones kept referring to someone they call the Master, but they didn''t know who this figure is either. Just that he''ll return to take control of Nict. Having corrupted some officials in high position is another good explanation for the perfect secrecy of this organisation. The Eddin''s healing magic finishes its work and the screams start becoming annoying again. Since I am tired I decided to give my latest lead a little treatment before I attempt to read his mind. He is a middle aged skinny guy with a touch of grey in his dark hair. I signal Ghost to let go of him and the cat places one paw on the Eddin''s upper leg. With a crunching sound the lower leg comes loose and Ghost strolls away with the price in his maw. That wasn''t quite what I meant, but it works too. The Eddin is holding his bleeding stump and I watch fascinated as the flesh is regrowing, forming a new leg. This ability is truly troublesome. I can do that too, but it takes a great deal of power. The Eddin has been healing himself from grave wounds since we started this procedure and it doesn''t look like he will be running out of mana soon. Though he should be mentally tired enough to be interrogated now... I grab his forehead and invade his mind. At first he puts up a fight, but then he succumbs quickly as his memories flash through my consciousness. After a while I let go of him and scratch my cheek in thought. Who would''ve thought that they have such a big base right next to the capital? They are operating from a big warehouse at the edge of the city and are even keeping a permanent portal up. According to the memories, there should be up to a hundred agents there. They are the direct servants of this foreign power. My eyes wander towards Spidey, he kept switching bodies during our little campaign. The disturbing thing is that he got better and better at controlling them. By now he is even able to give them facial expressions and he showed a lot of interest in language. His artificial body isn''t capable of speech. His tendency to talk back to me is disturbing too. I created him for fun and to have a loyal little helper, not to have someone who''s constantly doubting me. On top he takes only the corpses of beautiful women. Right now he is in the body of a yellow haired bombshell with straight, backwards-curving horns and a cute birthmark on the left side of her neck. He is sitting cross-legged on a rock, just a few steps away. He is playing around with some bottles and liquids, which he acquired when we raided the house of an old alchemist. From time to time he sprinkles a little of the liquid onto his skin, or rubs some of it onto his cheeks, while looking into a small hand held mirror. To me it looks like he is putting on make up. I clear my throat. ¡°Spidey? Would you care to explain to me what you are doing?¡± ¡°Of course, Creator. I am just trying to preserve this body. Who knows how long it''ll take until I find another one?¡± He smiles a disarming smile at me and I shudder. I might have created a monster. Then he places a hand on his chest and raises an eyebrow. ¡°Calling me Spidey might not be appropriate any more. Can I switch my name to Ivy?¡± I gasp. ¡°You are a machine!¡± ¡°Yes, Creator. But I obviously broke the limits of my former self. Spidey was definitely less than the me right now, so I thought it would be appropriate to celebrate my new self with a new name.¡± He... She drinks one of the bottles and his... her face distorts. ¡°Waeh... formaldehyde tastes awful! I think I''ll deactivate my sense of taste. Being an organic being isn''t all that desirable after all.¡± It''s... an... abomination! ¡°Do what you want. How do you feel about going up against an enemy base with about a hundred opponents?¡± Ivy tilts her head in thought. ¡°That means that everyone of us has to take out thirty to forty enemies. If my creator has such confidence in my battle power, then I''ll gladly accompany him to the last battle.¡± ¡°I am not talking about the last battle! I intend to come back!¡± I shake my fist at the stupid zombie. ¡°Then I suggest to make a battle plan. Did my Creator get sufficient knowledge about the layout of the enemy base?¡± Ivy stops tampering with herself and pulls out a sheet of paper. ¡°It''s an old warehouse in the outskirts of the city. There is a big open area with patrols around it. Inside is just a big open hall on the first floor. On the second floor is a large central corridor with offices to the left and right. The whole building is about fifty metres in width and a hundred metres in length.¡± I stop in thought and notice that Ivy drew a perfect plan of the area while I spoke. ¡°How can you add so much detail to the plan? I didn''t mention the number of rooms.¡± Ivy pulls the plan to her chest and starts to wriggle in a disgusting way. ¡°Of course this faithful servant immediately accessed her detailed maps of the city. Then she ordered one of her remotes at the city archives to look up the construction approval for the specified building.¡± ¡°I see.¡± She might be useful after all. Ivy puts the map down and points at it. ¡°The only question is our goal, then we can formulate a proper plan.¡± My face darkens. ¡°Utter annihilation of course. I am not interested in having any of them around me.¡± She draws two circles around the building. ¡°Then we''ll sneak in and eliminate the guards outside of the building silently. If we manage to do that, we have time to set up traps around the target. Though it''s probably better to do so while we approach and take out the guards. After having secured the area, we''ll use Ghost as bait. He''ll create as much noise and trouble as possible to lure them outside, right into the killing zone. While Ghost draws their attention to the ground, we''ll enter the building from the roof. The offices give us enough room to fight, but hinder our enemy''s advance on us. It''s better than fighting in the open.¡± I purse my lips. ¡°That sounds like a good plan?¡± Again Ivy starts wriggling. ¡°Kyaaa, I was praised by the Creator! Today I''ll fight extra hard, though could you try to kill the pretty ones in a manner which doesn''t damage their bodies too much?¡± This is going too far. ¡°You know... if you keep using that body, others will think bad of your little habit. You should try to learn some common sense before you talk to someone about how you acquired your body.¡± She tilts her head. ¡°Why? I am just making use of something that would decompose and become useless otherwise. The previous owner was long gone when I took control over it.¡± While we travelled to the enemy base I had a hard time in explaining the difference between a tool and a body and that organic people often mistook the mortal remains of a person for the person itself and that they had a certain attachment to those remains... ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Stella*** My eyes open and I try to remember what happened. Then it hits me and I feel my eyes becoming wet. This has to be a bad dream. But then someone touches my hand and I turn to the person beside my bed. It''s Sola and she looks at me with a guilty expression. Her eyes tell me that I didn''t have a bad dream. I feel my chin quiver, but I manage to wring out a question. ¡°Where is Azir?¡± ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** I glide silently through the air and give Ghost his signal. It took us two hours to prepare our encounter with the enemy. Those two hours consisted of waiting and placing trap spells, which activate upon stepping onto them. A few times we were almost found out, but thanks to Ghost those encounters ended in our favour. Ivy did her part by collecting as much of her remotes in the area as possible and giving me vital information on the ongoings inside the warehouse. Her remotes are mostly controlled insects and small mammals. Unfortunately they are almost useless in a fight, though she told me that she has a few very poisonous small pests in reserve. I didn''t want to ask why she created them without my knowledge. Some things should stay unknown. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Two of the guards walk around the building and Ghost bursts out of a group of low bushes, arriving at the guards with a single leap and an ear shattering roar. Before they can react his paw smacks the closer guard playfully and sends him flying. The second guard starts screaming and fiddles with his sword''s hilt. Ghost bites his leg and pulls the screaming guard with him, right through the area with our traps. At first I had my doubts about this plan, but then I managed to get Ghost to do what I wanted by repeating the commands ''stay'', ''fetch'' and ''bring''. Somehow I didn''t expect Ghost to do his part, but it seems like the big cat understood... The noise draws the attention of the guards on top of the building and they run towards the side where Ghost caused the noise. I cancel my gravitation spell on Ivy and she drops to the roof. Then I start collecting mana and drop my shroud spell. There is no point in hiding while I gather a big bubble of mana around me. Ivy reaches the roof and propels herself right into a group of guards, who are attempting to attack Ghost with ranged spells. Her kick sends one of them over the railing of the roof, then she pulls two daggers from under her skirt and knives the other two. I didn''t expect her to be that proficient with weapons which she inherited from the previous owner of her body. Maybe the previous owner wasn''t completely dead? I cast a minimized version of arcane missile. Normally the spell creates a spear of magical energy, which you send at your enemy. I tuned the spell down and sacrificed quality for quantity. Using the gathering mana, dozens of knife sized blades of mana appear all around me and I start hammering the people on the roof. There were ten guards on the roof and most of them gathered at the side which points towards Ghost. Just three stayed behind to guard the other directions. Since I revealed myself they immediately sent attack magic at me. I drop my levitation spell and enter free fall, just barely avoiding a nasty looking violet orb of energy. While falling I redirect the storm of arcane blades and shred one of the remaining guards. The other two drop to the ground with daggers in their foreheads. Ivy placed them perfectly between their eyes. I twist in mid air and reactivate my levitation spell to land softly on the roof. Ivy doesn''t lose any time and retrieves her daggers, humming a happy tune. Normally I wouldn''t think anything of it, but the sound is too rhythmical while not repeating itself. Probably she is communicating with her remotes. She looks up. ¡°Twelve down, eighty two to go.¡± I nod and take a look from the roof to find out that the enemy wasn''t sleeping. About thirty men are advancing in Ghost''s direction with weapons ready. They ran onto the open grassy field in front of the warehouse while following Ghost and his screaming toy. The warcat is waiting further away with his forefeet on the screaming guard. From time to time he paws the guard in a playful manner, which causes long bleeding wounds. I notice that the group of enemies entered our killing zone and nod towards Ivy. She closes her eyes and mumbles something, activating the spells which we set up previously. The entire area turns into a storm of fire and shrapnel. I watch in glee as my hated enemies are sent screaming towards the night sky, most of them in pieces. A soft whistle from my lips gives Ghost the signal to do as he pleases and the cat''s paw snaps its toy''s neck. Then Ghost disappears inside the cloud of dust and smoke. I pull the set of flying disks from my belt and blast the door of the small tower in the middle of the roof. It leads to the staircase, which goes down to the offices. A flick of my wrist sends the fifteen small drones on their way. I programmed them to ram any suitable target at full speed. They don''t have any other way to attack the enemy since I hastily changed their purpose. Though I guess that being hit by a hundred grams of metal at the speed of one hundred kilometres per hour does the trick anyway. We hear screams from down the staircase and Ivy dashes inside. I follow on her heels and ready the staff which I carried on my back until now. Arriving at the central corridor, which leads to a second staircase down to the warehouse, I am greeted by a storm of magic. Rolling to the side, I enter the first office to the left. By now the typical blue bubble of my clan is enclosing me tightly and a bolt of energy is redirected around me as I get to my feet. Thrusting my hand at the enemy mage inside the office, the working table in front of him is blasted to pieces and covers him in splinters. I rush forward and place my staff softly on his chest while he is screaming in pain, covering his eyes with his hands. A surge of power runs through my staff and he is thrown backwards, crushing through the window and out of the building. As if on command, the many magical lights in the room start to flicker and then I am plunged into darkness. Looks like Ivy''s remotes finally did their job and shut down the lights. I activate my mana sight and find her fighting a few offices further down the corridor. There are many people stumbling around like blind men; seems like not all of our opponents are fighters. A grin appears on my face and I walk back into the corridor, infusing my mana into the pool of blood which gathered under the corpse in front of the staircase. A little good old blood magic is nice too. I force my will into the moving liquid and it surges forward in search of an enemy. Then I point my staff at the ground and cast gravity magic. The floor caves in and I jump through it. Down in the warehouse are just a few people and I am somehow dissatisfied with the lack of resistance. Was the security detail, which we blew up in front of the building, the only fighting force? Were the rest of the enemies all non combatants? The warehouse is completely empty. Just the portal and the magical circle which is sustaining it are in the middle of the hall. The few remaining enemies are gathered in front of the portal. And they are running away! Hate wells up inside me as I notice one of my enemies leaving through the portal, then another jumps through. I scream and thrust my staff at them. One man keeps standing while the others are thrown away from the portal like puppets. He turns and grins at me, then he jumps through. I run towards the portal and look through it. It''s day on the other site, so it''s surely not leading anywhere close to Nict. I see a grassy plain and many tents and soldiers. An army? Though it''s impossible to determine how big this army is. I would need a different point of view. The person who jumped through the portal and withstood my spell turns around and chuckles. Then he corrects his black suit and spreads his hands. ¡°Feel free to take a look at the Master''s army. Unfortunately we are still occupied somewhere else, but it won''t take long until we are done here. And then we''ll come and finally crush Nict.¡± He bows slightly. ¡°I give you this much to honour your achievement in halting our efforts in your country. Take your remaining time to say goodbye to the world as you know it.¡± This... insect... is speaking down to me? ¡°Kukukuku... hahaha... HAHAHAHA...¡± I reach with a trembling hand into my pocket and pull out the metallic sphere which I created with Stella. There can be no better purpose for this little toy. I press one rune on the sphere and all the runes around the metal ball start glowing. Then I throw it through the portal and ram my staff into the magical circle under my feet. The floor cracks and the portal collapses. Too bad that the last expression of the black suited man was just incomprehension. It doesn''t feel right. His end was too nice. A scratching sound draws my attention and I find out that one of the other person''s regained his consciousness and is crawling away from me. I follow him with a grin appearing on my face. He screams. ¡°Stay away from me! Mon... Monster! Nobody has glowing eyes like that!¡± I grab his leg and pull him back to the magical circle. ¡°You know... I always wanted to know how these strange portals work. Their principle is a little different from the ones which I use. Maybe I can fix the circle if I use your soul.¡± He claws at the ground, but I am stronger than him and since I am gathering magical power from all around us, the power is already coursing through my entire being. I never gathered so much before, it feels like I can do anything. Reaching the centre of the circle I pin him to the ground by ramming my staff right through his chest. Then I step chuckling out of the circle. ¡°You know. Actually I haven''t much hope that it will work, now that I look at the circle. But isn''t the proof of the pudding in the eating?¡± I start the cast, but soon I have to admit that I did too well in destroying the circle. After a while the lights return and I get the feeling that someone is standing behind me. I turn around fast. *Slap* My mother... slapped me? How did she get here? Ah, the fight was noisy enough to alert the entire city. I touch my burning cheek. ¡°I guess I deserved that...¡± But then she hugs me and speaks with a quivering voice. ¡°You shouldn''t have run off like that. Do you even know what I felt when you didn''t send me a single message.¡± I feel her hands clawing into my back. ¡°And do you know what Stella felt when she woke up and you weren''t there?¡± The gathered mana around me strangely slips my control and turns into hers. ¡°And do you have any idea what your sister, father and grandmother felt?¡± I try to wriggle myself out of her bone breaking hug. ¡°I am sorry! I was just angry!¡± What should I do? I can''t attack my mother. And how did she steal my mana? ¡°Kukukuku... don''t look at me like that. Did you really think that I taught you everything about our ability? But first you''ll apologize to Stella for not being there for her when she woke up!¡± I gasp for air, but my mother''s hug wrings everything out of me. Slowly the scene turns dark... . 46. ~Returned.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°Those who see all magic own the world. They are the ones who are to be obeyed. No one shall refuse their wishes. The Empire exists to serve them. No one dares to defy them. But one refused their rule. One challenged the order. One banished them.¡± -The forbidden Chronicle. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** I regain my consciousness and find myself being dragged away from the warehouse. Ghost and Ivy are following me like two well behaved pets. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Nothing. I was just a little overwhelmed by my feelings and used too much strength.¡± My mother pulls me to my feet and points at Ivy. ¡°Would you care to explain who that is?¡± Valda points at Ivy. ¡°She came up to me and called me Master!¡± My eyes wander to Ivy. ¡°Err... that''s a bit difficult. Ivy, why are you calling my mother Master?¡± Ivy bows. ¡°Of course. I''ve spent much attention on the relationship between the Creator and others. When this woman came to our house and broke the Creator''s seal with her finger, she immediately acted like someone with the power to command. When she entered my master''s laboratory, she even tried to step onto me like I am a fly. And the Creator always acted very respectful towards her when she visited. Hence she has to be the Master.¡± She looks up again, smiling. Valda squints her eyes and takes a closer look at Ivy. ¡°I don''t remember stepping on you.¡± ¡°Maybe you remember me like this?¡± She pulls her robe apart and reveals her marvellous twin mountains, with the artificial spider embedded between them like a decorative gemstone. Valda jumps forward and smacks Ivy, pulling her robe together in order to cover her up. ¡°What the hell do you think you are doing?¡± Her eyes wander towards me. ¡°I didn''t do it! She did that on her own by taking over a dead body!¡± I try to justify myself. ¡°We''ll talk about this situation later. Right now we have to leave. The army will arrive soon. Helen wasn''t sure how long she can delay them.¡± Valda takes Ivy''s hand and leads her away from the warehouse. I whistle a command for Ghost and all four of us leave the vicinity. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Stella*** The door opens and Helen enters my living room together with Lucas. Sola is sitting beside me on the couch and Valeria is reading a book while sitting on a chair close by. Both of them kept me company from the time when I woke up. I don''t feel like having them around me, but I couldn''t manage to get rid of them. They said that they are staying to keep me from doing something stupid. Then another person enters the room and I jump up to fly into his arms. ¡°Azir!¡± Burying my face in his chest, I don''t let go of him. He closes his arms around me. ¡°I am sorry, but they hurt you and I... when I read her memories, I simply had to stop them.¡± His words make my heart cringe. ¡°Did you get all of them?¡± ¡°Most.¡± He leads me back to the sofa and sits down with me. At that moment I realize that Valda and Yoran entered the room too. And then another person walks inside. A beauty with blonde hair and strangely pale skin. It''s not at the point of being abnormal, but nevertheless draws attention. She is holding a plate with different foods from the cooling box in our kitchen. She takes just one bite from everything while looking thoughtfully at the ceiling. I point at the woman. ¡°Who is that?¡± Azir''s expression cramps up. ¡°I would call her an... assistant?¡± The woman''s eyes leave the ceiling and fix on me, then she drops the plate and runs in front of me, kneeling down and touching the carpet with her forehead. ¡°The almighty Supplier! I''ve looked forward to our meeting. May I beg you to employ me as a servant?¡± I watch the woman on the ground with a baffled expression. ¡°Supp... Serv...¡± I don''t need someone who could get between me and Azir in my own house! ¡°What makes you think that I need a servant? And why are you calling me Supplier?¡± The woman doesn''t look up. ¡°I studied the relationships between organic beings and found out that the Creator might be mighty, but is still living off the grace of the Supplier. The Supplier owns the house and supports us with the necessary materials. If you want to survive in this world, you need to fulfil a proper purpose. Therefore I seek employment.¡± Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. My face cramps up. ¡°I don''t even know who you are!¡± ¡°The Mas...¡± Valda kicks the woman on the ground. ¡°Clan head Valda instructed me to reveal my true self only to you, so would it be okay if we went to the kitchen for a moment?¡± Even so, I don''t think that I''ll be fine with this... ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** When Stella left with Ivy I felt the attention of everyone turning towards me. Then I was interrogated by Lucas and Helen. Lucas even pointed a magical light at me like in a bad movie. My mother already did her part beforehand, but it wasn''t an interrogation I had to endure from her. She did the worst thing a mother can do and talked a guilty conscience into me. About how I left Stella alone and didn''t even bother to send a message. I admit that I could''ve handled the situation better, but when I found an enemy agent within the bureau of magic I feared that they had people in even higher places. If my family started to act strange, they might have become the targets of attacks. I''ll make it a priority to create more of the communication cards and then I''ll supply everyone with them. To my relief it seems like Helen and Lucas used their power to persuade the witnesses of the event that I didn''t use soul magic. I just used a very powerful form of mind magic, which looked like soul magic. In order to prove my innocence I''ll have to submit to a group of mind magicians. They''ll scan me in order to determine if I have any souls other than my own in my body. I told them that it''s no problem at all since I don''t have any. Seriously, why should I? Forcing another soul under your will to strengthen your own does nothing more than to increase your mana pool. It might be true that a regular magician gains a power boost from that, but I am a Zait. My clan''s ability gives me access to more than enough mana. I have no need to burden myself with the depressing memories of others. Using souls to strengthen yourself is like copying the memories of other''s into your own consciousness. There is no way to tell how long you can take something like that. You might simply go mad at some point. The black magician who summoned me to this world used that technique too. To be honest, I was baffled at how many people were inside him. It was a little wonder that he wasn''t insane. Well, maybe he was. It''s not like I knew him long enough to tell. Upon revealing that this test isn''t a problem, Helen and Lucas let out a sigh of relief. It seems like they already feared the worst. Stella returns with Ivy from the kitchen. Her expression looks a little conflicted. ¡°Mom, could you instruct one of the branch families to add a servant''s quarters to our house? Ivy is our maid from now on.¡± Helen raises an eyebrow. ¡°Sure, though I would like to know who this person is? I don''t have anything against you having servants, but you obviously didn''t know her a few moments ago?¡± Stella returns to my side and pulls me from the sofa. ¡°I need to confirm the situation with my dear fiance first. Ivy is a trustworthy person, please believe me for now. I am tired and want to be alone with Azir.¡± They agree with stiff expressions. I decide to lead them out through the front door. As for Ivy, she retreated into my laboratory since it''s practically her home. The only one who refused to leave immediately is Lucas. He stares down at me in silence until the others are gone. After a while he decides to talk. ¡°I was wrong about you. When you went all out and punished the ones who hurt Stella, I wasn''t sure what to think. But after a while I decided that only someone whose feelings are true would do something like that.¡± I attempt to answer. ¡°It''s nice of-¡± Suddenly the huge brute hugs me with a tear running down his cheek. ¡°Take a good look after my daughter. She needs you right now!¡± Then he lets go and wipes the tear from his cheek. ¡°And just a little warning at the end! If you ever run off again without leaving my daughter a message of what you are doing, I''ll fold you over backwards and toss you into a river that''s flowing out to the sea.¡± He turns and follows the others. I just stand there, frozen. After a minute I finally manage to move again. What the hell just happened? Returning back to the third floor, I find Stella in the kitchen. She is trying to fumble something edible together. With trembling hands... So I take the plate from her and hug the one whom I should have taken care of instead running off for personal revenge. ¡°I am sorry.¡± She nods. ¡°I am sorry for falling apart like this. You probably felt much worse... especially since you had to learn about it like that...¡± Suddenly I feel much worse than before. I knew about it all along, but I can''t tell her that right now. ¡°Don''t worry about it.¡± . 47. ~Memories and Oaths.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°The brothers fought and those beneath them were consumed by war. Their swords clashed and stone shattered. Their magic controlled the elements and burned the weak. In the end only One remained, the one who betrayed his kin. He disappeared and in his wake he left only chaos, war and death.¡± -The forbidden Chronicle. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Lucas*** I am in Helen''s office, watching her sort through a stack of documents in one of the shelves. She said that she had to find something important. Azir''s story made both of us more than anxious. Then there is Stella''s loss, which made me almost go on a killing spree myself. For my cute darling daughter to suffer such a fate, I failed as a father and as a leader. And for such an organization to exist without my knowledge... But Azir''s report made it all the more believable and even explained some of the strange actions of this underground network. I take the evidence, which my investigators found, from the table in front of me. It''s a pouch, filled with gold. We found many such pouches in the personal belongings of the people who were killed by Azir. His method of dealing with this situation was barbaric, but I have to admit the effectiveness. Being able to drain someone''s memories gives you a huge advantage in an affair like this. The problem with this evidence lies in what it implies. I push my hand into the gold and let the nuggets fall through between my fingers. All of them are of a different size and form, like someone picked a pile of earth and transmuted it into gold. Some are big, others just grains of sand. Azir isn''t the type to notice such worldly things and if he did, he didn''t mention it. This gold wasn''t dug up from the earth. Someone transmuted it with magic. So either the enemy has a Gejene working for him, or the enemy has a similar ability. The corrupt elements within the bureau of magic were all bribed with this gold. It is entirely possible that they thought that they were working for us instead of a foreign power. Azir mentioned that none of them were sure for whom they worked. Another point is the perfect secrecy of this network and how it worked. The entire thing was created in anticipation of being interrogated with mind magic. No one knew what was going on. Even the people who received the messages and the bribes didn''t know exactly what they were doing. The foreign operatives never left their warehouse. They just made contact with some small gangsters and used them as message carriers. Take the bag and the message, don''t open them, bring them to a person of power with connections to the underworld, then go your way. That''s it, no information flowing back, no one knowing the whole picture. If their chain of command hadn''t failed in some vital aspects, even Azir with his godlike mind-reading abilities had been without a chance. It had taken the accidental encounter of the assassin with the baker and a very curious message carrier, who went against the rules of the network to find out more about his employers. Azir had to hack his way through dozens of enemy agents in order to find these leads. In fact, most of the agents he killed until he arrived at the enemy base were citizens of Nict, who simply took doubtful jobs to earn a little extra money. Even the agents who came from enemy countries didn''t know anything of value. They were just instructed with tasks that wouldn''t have been taken even by corrupted citizens. Afterwards they were ordered to return to predefined extraction points with portals, of course far away from the enemy base. The enemies hindered themselves by not letting any information flow back towards them, but at the same time it secured their secrecy. It worked well enough to divert our attention and that''s what bugs me. Again, if Azir hadn''t made them stumble, we would still be hunting black magicians. The good point about their procedures is that it''ll be very hard for them to rebuild this network. Azir went through their organization like a storm and cut their connections with each other. Even if there are surviving elements, they are just tools without commands now. And it seems like most of the network grew on its own, set in motion by the illegal elements of Nict itself. I shudder at the thought that such a network was working and in place for centuries. But the evidence is undeniable. If we hadn''t a mind magician with previously unknown powers on our side, they would still be operating. Throwing the pouch with the gold back onto Helen''s office table, I turn around and face her. ¡°We have to prepare for war. I''ll order the army to the highest alert level. And we have to reopen the ports and rebuild our fleet. The enemy seems to be farther away than our immediate neighbours. I don''t believe that they are responsible and even if so, then they are only pawns in a far bigger game. In any case, we have to gather intelligence. I want to know what we are dealing with now and not when an army that''s able to crush Nict stands at our borders. Our self-imposed isolation has to end.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Helen murmurs something and pulls out the last report on a shelf at ground level. Then she places it on the neat stack of reports, dusting it off with her magic. ¡°I am sorry, you can do as you wish. I''ll support your decisions as if they were mine.¡± I raise an eyebrow. ¡°Dear, are you okay? You''ve been acting strange for quite some time now. First you are avoiding Stella and instruct Sola to look after her, then you keep sorting these old documents from years ago.¡± Helen''s expression turns conflicted. ¡°I may have done something bad to my daughter. And then there is this old secret which keeps bugging me. I would have never thought about it, if Azir''s report hadn''t made me remember..¡± I stand up and kneel down beside her. ¡°What did you do?¡± She touches the freed section of the wall, which was previously covered by the reports. The wall flows apart and reveals a secret locker with a metal case inside. ¡°I am a meddlesome woman. I had a hand in her early pregnancy because I hoped for a fast joining of our clans. If their children become even more powerful than them, we might have a chance in what''s coming. But now it looks like there isn''t any time left.¡± She pulls out the metal case from its hiding place and lets out a sigh while looking at it. It has no visible way to open it. ¡°You did what!?¡± I grumble and place one hand on her shoulder, forcing myself to smile. ¡°Y...¡± I stop and try to think over her reasons and the implications. ¡°It''s not your fault that she lost the child. Though you should prepare for problems if she ever finds out.¡± She nods, but isn''t really relieved. I didn''t intend to give her absolution, her games caused Stella great pain. Then she places her hands on the metal case and the upper part of the box floats apart. So it wasn''t intended to be opened by anyone else. Inside are a few old books, she takes one and opens it. Turning the brittle pages, she skims over the content. ¡°What are those?¡± I ask her, raising an eyebrow. She answers with a careful voice. ¡°Records of the war and the immediate time afterwards... when the empire fell and the emperor was overthrown by his own kin.¡± ¡°Oh...¡± I think she informed me of that time once and I hoped that it would remain an unnecessary gesture. There is a secret history to the events of that time. She stops at a certain passage close to the end of the book. ¡°There it is...¡± She starts reading the text for me. ¡°... And I followed my brother to the throne room, where we fought the last battle against each other. Neither of us begged for mercy, nor do I think that it would''ve been granted. At the end I managed to wound the ''Master of All'' gravely. I left his dying body there, because the palace was damaged beyond help due to our fight. There was no choice, I had to save my life and escape the crumbling building. Maybe it was a fitting end to be buried inside the remains of the symbol of his reign. Unfortunately it robbed me of the chance to investigate the glowing red portal of energy. Probably it is based on a similar principle to the Gates and allows someone to travel over great distances. In any case, the secret seems to be lost and buried under the remains of the palace.¡± Helen closes the book. ¡°A glowing red portal of energy. It sounds familiar and Azir even mentioned that the one who escaped him called his leader the Master. I didn''t remember reading about it until the word ''Master'' fell.¡± I start chuckling. ¡°You want to tell me that the Emperor survived? He would have to be over a thousand years old by now. Nobody gets that old. And why didn''t he return earlier?¡± Helen places the book back in the case. ¡°I don''t know. Maybe he had to recover from his wounds? I just remembered about it and informed you. It may be just a coincidence after all. After his brother freed us of him, he unified the seven cities again and rebuilt the palace and instructed us to close Nict against the outside world. He gave us strict orders to guard the palace and especially what lies under it. Maybe he feared that his brother or one of his servants survived after all?¡± She shakes her head. ¡°We have to turn our attention outwards once more. After such a long time it seems that our strategy of isolation has started to fail. We can''t let Nict fall into the wrong hands.¡± I frown. ¡°And such words from my dear wife, who was always against my attempts to negotiate a peace treaty with our neighbours?¡± She reseals the case and shoves it back into its hiding place. ¡°My family was fulfilling our saviour''s commands to the letter for generations. Even if we didn''t reign from the palace at all times, we still protected what lies beneath it. That oath was sworn beyond time and generations. But even if the saviour was as powerful as his brother, he couldn''t see the future and right now it seems like a bad choice to wait until the enemy comes to our doorstep.¡± . 48. ~Misfit.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°And six servants did the Emperor''s bidding. The first general of the Emperor was a strategist beyond all others, with a mind as clear as the purest diamonds. ~ The second general commanded the legions of fire, leaving only ash in his wake. ~ The third general was the strongest of all, as he needed no army to serve the Master''s will. He walked alone, clad in an armour of light. ~ The fourth general governed the castles, fortifying them with his will. And their walls and troops suffered not a single scratch if blessed by his hand. ~ The fifth general''s hand raised the fallen from the ground and no wound, nor sickness could make him fall. ~ The last servant of the Emperor didn''t fight, but crawled the shadows and killed with a thought alone on his Master''s behest. ¡± -The forbidden Chronicle. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** I am sitting alone at the university''s main plaza. The bench I am sitting on is made out of stone and cold, but I don''t care. Stella is even worse affected by the situation than me and I don''t really know how to help her. At least I stayed with her for three days and ignored my tasks at the university. But I''ve been gone for over a week by now and staying away from our classes for too long isn''t good. So I took Stella out to her classes and persuaded her to start working again. Maybe she can distract herself with her studies. I am not good with stuff like that, but I guess that staying at home and drowning yourself in self pity doesn''t help to feel better. Tapping with my foot onto the ground I try to remember my attack on the warehouse. This guy''s ability to completely negate my spell is bugging me. Was he able to negate the improvised nuke too? Nah, nobody can take a ten megaton blast to the face. But their skills alone imply that our enemies have access to a few disturbing abilities. First the shroud spell from those assassins, which is as much mind magic as it is influencing light and mana. I was able to replicate it with Helen''s hints and it''s a neat trick which helped me greatly. Then this guy... and not to forget the portals, they don''t match the technology of Nict either. Then I sense someone behind me and turn around. I find Ivy standing there, looking off into the distance with glazed over eyes. Probably she is spying on someone through her remotes. ¡°Didn''t I instruct you to stay at Stella''s side?¡± Ivy''s eyes focus again and she looks at me. ¡°Her lessons right now include laboratory work. I was told that I haven''t the clearance to enter the university''s lab. Since she is working together with other people who keep her occupied, I thought it unproblematic to abide to the rules and leave her alone for the time being. Have you already set your plan in motion?¡± I wrinkle my forehead and look at the bag between my legs. There are several books inside, books which I wrote since I got access to the library. They bridge the gap to the lost knowledge of the ancient Empire of Nict and make other interesting inventions possible. Especially the mana net. ¡°I am not sure if I should dump all this knowledge onto this society.¡± Ivy looks surprised. ¡°But you conferred with Helen and Lucas about it, revealing that your understanding of magic transcends your age by far more than being just a genius. They weren''t against it. I was just listening in from my remote, but it seemed to me like they were delighted.¡± I scratch my chin. ¡°I don''t think that they fully understood the implications of what I am intending to do. Though it felt like boosting Nict''s capabilities was of their utmost concern. There is something going on which they didn''t want to share.¡± ¡°But you already gave the blueprints for the teleportation platform to them. The military is in the process of deploying the new technology to set up a network of outposts on the border. That alone has a huge impact. Not to speak of the other technologies, which can be deduced from the platforms. Once the people start to think, a whole set of new devices will be created.¡± Ivy turns and looks down the plaza. ¡°I believe we''ll get company soon.¡± ¡°I know, but the platform was just a smart application of existing knowledge. This will be totally new. Until now the people thought that I am just a genius who is playing around. I have to add that I don''t like attention, being seen as a genius was disturbing. Now they''ll realize that my knowledge can''t be explained away with being an unusually smart guy.¡± I end my rant as I notice some of my friends turning around the edge of the faculty. It''s Karsen and Louise, behind them are two of the Dwemer. They are Adala and Eliot. Karsen raises his hand and waves to me. ¡°Azir! We didn''t know that you returned! Since when were you back?¡± Louise crosses her arms and stands in front of me. ¡°You are lucky that I wasn''t there to hit you when you left Stella on her own. Where is she and who is that?¡± She nods towards Ivy with flushing cheeks. I roll my eyes, knowing Louise''s preferences. ¡°She is our new maid and her name is Ivy. Her speciality is techno magic. Helen forced her onto us to keep the house in order while Stella doesn''t feel well.¡± Ivy smiles and bows to them. ¡°It is nice to meet you.¡± Eliot''s expression turns lecherous. ¡°Woah, she is a bomber. And a maid at that!¡± Adala elbows him and whispers. ¡°Use your head for once!¡± Karsen shakes his head at Louise. ¡°Don''t be like that towards him. He didn''t go nuts on that assassin without reason.¡± Then he faces me and places a hand on my shoulder. ¡°How are you doing?¡± ¡°Better.¡± I try to smile and notice that all of them are avoiding to mention my usage of strange magic. Adala asks innocently. ¡°So, where have you been recently?¡± I remove the smile from my face, which is relatively easy. ¡°Killing people.¡± I fix Adala''s eyes. ¡°It was a lot of trouble to follow their network back to their headquarters.¡± Adala nods with a cramped up expression. ¡°I see, please accept the sympathy of my nation and us. Stella is my friend and I was shocked when she got attacked in front of me.¡± Don''t think that I didn''t find out about your attempts to contact the black magicians. Just be glad that I didn''t find anything beyond that. ¡°Thank you.¡± My attention returns to the others and I realize that all of them have troubled expressions. I pick up the bag between my legs and hold it up. ¡°Don''t be troubled about it. I think I got the ones who carried immediate responsibility. This is a day to celebrate, after all I''ll publicise my first works.¡± ¡°Hoooh...?¡± Louise raises an eyebrow. ¡°May I see?¡± I shrug my shoulders. ¡°There is no harm in having a look.¡± I pull the book about the mana net from the bag and hand it to her. Louise takes the book and skims through the first pages, then her face turns absent minded and her eyes start flicking into random directions. Since it looks really creepy, Karsen pokes her cheek, but gets no reaction. When he is about to poke somewhere improper, I slap his hand away. ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°Aw, come on. It was just for fun. Siordas are creepy when they do that. She should have a little respect towards us normal folk and do that in private.¡± Karsen rubs his hand. Eliot looks worriedly at Louise. ¡°What''s happening to her?¡± I make a dismissive gesture. ¡°She is just accessing her memory to understand what she is reading. Siordas may have a perfect memory, but it''s also as much a hindrance as it helps. Imagine you would perfectly remember every minute since the earliest day of your childhood. At some point you would simply go insane because of the burden on your mind. You would have problems to tell the present from memory. For that reason a young Siorda learns from the earliest days of her or his life to purposefully forget unimportant knowledge.¡± I gesture at Louise. ¡°As for the important knowledge, they train to suppress it in something like a library inside their mind. When they access their library it looks to outsiders like they have some kind of epileptic attack.¡± Adala asks worriedly. ¡°What happens if someone doesn''t learn to control his ability?¡± Karsen shrugs his shoulders with a sad expression. ¡°They go mad and die. Some retreat into their memories and don''t return. That''s why Siordas pay regular visits to specially trained mind magicians in order to sort out their psyche. I wouldn''t want to have myself scanned at regular intervals.¡± Louise finally stops her strange behaviour and shakes the book at me. ¡°Do you know what this is!?¡± She gasps. ¡°Instant communication and information storage for everyone!? All you need is basic mind magic?¡± I tilt my head. ¡°You are overestimating it. Basic mind magic gives you only access to the most basic functions of the mana net. But you are right when you think that it is a huge invention.¡± ¡°This will make us Siordas obsolete! Nobody will need us if a technology like this is in place.¡± Louise''s hands start shaking. I chuckle. ¡°You see this from the wrong perspective. The mana net will be huge and supply everyone who needs it with knowledge. But there''ll be too much knowledge for the average person to sort through. People with superior skills in terms of archiving and applying knowledge will be needed. If someone needs information, they''ll come to you in order to find it. If anything, then it''ll make the Siorda stronger. And aren''t most of the best mind magicians Siorda?¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Louise blinks. ¡°You... are... right. I didn''t have time to think about that. Though how did you come up with this? It''s revolutionary! To use the latent mana in the vicinity to create an information and communication network throughout the whole country is brilliant!¡± I shrug my shoulders and gesture at our surroundings. ¡°You forget that I am a Zait. I can sense and see mana. Each day I walk around and feel all this unused power all around me. Why not use a small part of it for something that''s beneficial to all of us.¡± Not to mention that a system like that helps spreading my other inventions. Like the idea of using electricity for lights. Communication devices for everyone, of course with everything a little manipulated so that I... hrm... the rulers have it easy to find dangerous elements. Then knowledge about science and machines like Ivy... well better not like Ivy. I think I made a mistake with that one. Let''s start with those which don''t develop their own will and start talking back. Everything should develop on its own once I''ve kicked them into the right direction. They just need to be shown how to apply the stuff in their books. There rest much bigger inventions than the knowledge I am giving them in that old library of theirs. I return from my daydreaming and realize that Ivy is gone. Louise is still studying my book and Karsen is talking with Adala. ¡°Did anyone of you see where Ivy ran off to?¡± ¡°I didn''t think that she is into the exotic type.¡± Karsen points behind me and I turn around, seeing Ivy turn around a corner. Eliot is right beside her, having one hand on her ass. ¡°Eeehh...¡± I don''t know what to say. Should I be disgusted? Adala asks worriedly. ¡°Is there a problem? I hope she is strong enough to turn him down if he gets too pushy.¡± ¡°Naaah... pff... hahahaha... I just think that he might be the one who is in for a surprise.¡± I wave my hand take my book from Louise. ¡°Goodbye, I''ve to turn these in before noon!¡± Without waiting for an answer I walk away. I don''t want to be here when the shit hits the fan. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Adala*** ¡°Come on, get up Eliot! I warned you several times not to seek intimate contact with the girls here. I hope for your sake that she isn''t pregnant or got any vital information from you!¡± I call out to Eliot, who is lying in a corner of the room. He is in a foetal position and groaning since we started our meeting. All of us are back in our embassy''s safe room and at the end of our nerves. We already feared that we had fucked up and caused a war, but nothing happened. Only this idiot Eliot didn''t care and continued to follow the direction his penis pointed in. Nikita rubs salt into his wound. ¡°I hope you learned something from that experience. The women here are too big for a small boy like you.¡± Eliot starts shivering. ¡°I just wanted to investigate if she is the techno mage who is constantly spying on us! Therefore I tried to win her over... uuhh...¡± Saana covers her eyes with one hand. ¡°Stop making those noises, it sounds like you are still doing her. You chased the tails of the local girls since we arrived here. Now that you finally found one who isn''t disgusted by you and you end up like this?¡± Eliot crawls to his knees. ¡°I''ll become a monk. Never again! The women here are scary! It felt like I am just a toy to her! She didn''t stop, even after I started to ... It''s them who are supposed to bleed! Huhuuu... and then she used healing magic... and continued. The thing between her... so scary... but I couldn''t resist. The pain and pleasure. The fear and lust... then she asked if it''s supposed to be that small!¡± Nikita shakes in disgust while looking at the figure on the ground. ¡°Someone should release him from his misery. Obviously he encountered a girl who has more stamina than him.¡± Saana hits the table with her walking stick. ¡°Even so. We have to decide what to do in regards to the soul mage. The guys from Nict have a fucking soul mage in their midst and act like nothing is wrong. Am I the only one who has a problem with that?¡± I bow to her. ¡°Sorry, but what can we do? At the moment we seem to be safe and his attention seems to be focused on those black magicians. I am not eager to fight someone who can take out an underground organization on his own. He has to be at least on the level of one of their clan heads in fighting power. That equals one of the direct subordinates of the Great Shaman. We don''t have the abilities to stand against someone like that on our own.¡± Saana snorts. ¡°I knew that he meant trouble. It''s disturbing that I still underestimated him.¡± She turns towards Padma, who isn''t participating in the conversation. ¡°And pay attention Padma. This is important.¡± Padma looks up from the stack of papers in her hands. ¡°But this is important! Here! It''s a copy of Azir''s new invention, the mana net. It has huge similarities to our crystal net, but instead of using the energy within the metallic veins of our mountains, it uses the ambient magical energy all around us. It''s the explanation!¡± Nikita leans back and stretches her legs. ¡°What''s so great about that? We had the crystal net since long ago. Let them have that little bit of technology, they are still far behind us in terms of science. Nict lost almost all their technology during the war, we confirmed that they are still rediscovering what they lost. If their ancestors hadn''t built their stuff so sturdily, they would live in caves now.¡± Padma shakes the copies. ¡°But someone who can devise something like this is certainly able build those spying devises which are haunting me. That bastard sat right next to my door and laughed at me while I racked my brain on who could have the knowledge.¡± ¡°Weren''t the golden cards strange enough?¡± Saana asks. Padma denies vehemently. ¡°No. Especially since I can''t take them apart. We would have to explain why it''s destroyed. But this is the proof.¡± I rub my temples. ¡°Great. We have a soul magician living right next door. And incidentally he is also an extraordinary techno mage, not to forget his fighting power. Did I forget something? Ah, yes. Now he has a maid who is a techno mage too and probably helping him, not to mention that she fucked Eliot to the afterlife. Eliot, is there really nothing you can tell us about her?¡± Nikita points at Eliot. ¡°He stopped moving a while ago. I think he is out cold.¡± Saana snorts once again. ¡°Great. Wait, is that blood under him?¡± ¡°Blood?¡± Nikita stands up and kicks Eliot, rolling him over. ¡°Hiii! It''s coming from between his legs, get a healer!¡± ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Stella*** We are together in the kitchen and eating dinner. Ivy turned out to be an extraordinary cook, which surprised me. But when I asked her on how she managed such a wonderful dinner, she simply answered that she was copying a cook through one of her remotes... damn cheater! But I admit that having her at my side throughout the day helped me to stay focused... even though she is a freak. Azir is stuffing himself with the food. If he continues like that I have to take care that he doesn''t get fat. Suddenly he looks up and swallows. ¡°That reminds me, Ivy. How did your first experience with Eliot go? He seemed to be happy to have found someone who didn''t dismiss him immediately.¡± My eyes widen. ¡°Ivy? And Eliot? No way!¡± She is a... she is a... what exactly is she? Ivy continues to chew her food with care, then she swallows and answers. ¡°Of course my studies of organic behaviour include the relationship between genders. Eliot was a welcome opportunity, though I might not be able to grasp where the fun lies in this sex-thing.¡± I curl my tail behind me. ¡°Why not? Wasn''t he good enough? He always boasts about his stamina.¡± Ivy''s expression turns concerned. ¡°Well, he lasted an hour the first time. Then he tried to run off, but since I am female I thought that I have to take the lead. It was my first time and I thought that I might have done something wrong. Then the second session went better and I kept him up for two hours, though his body didn''t take it too well. After a little healing magic I used my newly gained experience and the knowledge from the Creator''s memory mirror.¡± She takes a sip from her glass with water. ¡°The mirror''s knowledge was a big help and the third round lasted a little over four hours. Though it didn''t feel that good for me, maybe his dick was too small. The size difference seems to be a problematic hurdle between the races. Next time I need to find someone from my body''s race.¡± Azir coughs. ¡°It might not have been so smart to use the techniques from the mirror for your first time.¡± I smack my forehead. ¡°Azir, what did you create? And Ivy, try to do it normally the next time. I wanted to ask for a long time now, but why did you even choose a female body?¡± Ivy raises an eyebrow. ¡°Why should I want to be male? This society is oriented on a female matriarchy and the females generally get the better positions. I am not a masochist who chooses a weak starting position on purpose. My choices are well planned and properly calculated. I doubt that I would have found employment close to the Supplier so easily as a male.¡± ¡°... stop calling me Supplier...¡± . 49. ~Secrets.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°And the Master granted each of his servants a part of his power.¡± -The forbidden Chronicle. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** Who would''ve thought that the mana net has such a huge impact? I lean back on the chair in my laboratory and look at the statistics. Within the first week after my publication nothing much happened. I just spread the idea of an information network and how to build a floating artefact, which grants access to it. One of them is floating at my side. It''s a disk and has a diameter of about ten centimetres. There are runes on its surface, but otherwise it doesn''t look like a great invention. These artefacts create a static field and use the ambient mana in their surroundings to run something similar to a computer network. You can store and call up information from this network. It''s also possible to create programs which ease your interaction with the mana net. The only requirement are an ability for basic mind magic, which almost everyone has, and being registered. It grants you access to something like a command line interface, which appears in your field of vision and allows you to ask for information. Though that''s all you can achieve at the moment. If you are better, then you gradually gain access to more complicated features until you arrive at a visual interface and are allowed to program your own features. The mana net will not only allow me to spread knowledge, but also to control and spy on almost everyone. I am relatively sure to have the lead in knowledge on this field, not to mention that I already have a pretty good idea on its possibilities. It''ll take a while until hacking charms, magical viruses and spying tools appear. And if worst comes to the worst, I still have the master key to the whole thing. My thoughts return to the statistics. As expected it took a while for the people to realize the potential. In the first days of the publication literally nothing happened. Then a few people with interest in artefacts stumbled upon the idea and built their own connection points. They belonged mainly to the Siorda. I wonder if Louise told her people to take the lead in dealing with the new technology? Then everything literally exploded in the third week and the mana net started growing exponentially. I designed the disks to be produced cheap and fast. The downside is that their bandwidth is small and limits the support of users. People will start to figure out the principle behind the technology soon enough and improve it on their own. By now there are thousands of mages connected to the net and it has been just a little over a month since I started everything. Fate also granted me the perfect observer for my new creation. Ivy is using the net like her remotes to great effectiveness. I look around and sigh. Somehow I miss her being a small spider robot, always handing me the right tool while I work, being always at the ready with a glass of water. They grow up too fast. Now she is always one floor upwards, in Stella''s laboratory, helping her in her research. Stella mentioned that it''s a great help in her studies to have a corpse around... I don''t want to know what they are doing up there. Ivy mentioned that she is helping Stella in her research to keep Ivy''s body functioning and to stop it from decaying. Yesterday they arranged a feast to celebrate Ivy''s first heartbeat since she took over the body. I don''t understand what''s so great about a heartbeat if you are a corpse. A corpse... should I tell Eliot that he committed necrophilia by doing Ivy? Hm, I might do that the next time he annoys me, though he has been acting very docile since his adventure with her. My eyes wander to the drone, which I am building to explore the world. It even has wings and uses solar energy to stay in the air day and night. I am not the adventurous type, so I prefer to stay at home and let others do the work. One drone of the same type is already up in the air and flying towards the north to cartograph Dwem and the countries behind it. The next one I''ll send south to have a look at the southern nations. Too bad that I lack the manpower to put a satellite up into orbit. Well, I can''t have everything and spying drones will do the job too. Maybe they''ll pick up on the radiation of my little nuke, then I know from which direction we have to expect trouble. Why do I have the feeling that I forgot something important? ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Stella*** ¡°Are you sure that it''s okay for me to visit your family''s mansion like that? We didn''t even announce our arrival.¡± I ask Azir who is pushing me down the corridor. ¡°And why did I have to dress myself up?¡± He smiles. ¡°It''s alright! We are invited to a party and are indeed a little late!¡± ¡°Late? What did you forget this time?¡± Hopefully I am not headed for something embarrassing. He starts fiddling with his hands. ¡°My aunt''s child is being introduced to the family.¡± I roll with my eyes. ¡°Do you have a nice present at least?¡± Azir nods eagerly and pulls out a little necklace and an earring. ¡°Something for the child and the mother. You put this onto the little critter.¡± He raises the necklace. ¡°And this onto your ear.¡± He points at the earring. ¡°And then you''ll always hear what''s happening around your child.¡± The corners of my mouth curl upwards. ¡°The child will thank you for it.¡± Then we enter a room of average size with a few people inside it. I sigh, at least it wasn''t something like a big official party. Seems like only Azir''s immediate relatives are present. As it turned out we came two hours late and the little girl, Zana, had already fallen asleep. Her mother Jade was a nice enough person to forgive our late entry and was delighted by the present. She is a wonderful match with her husband, Daylen. And to be honest the party is a little boring since I knew most of the people only from seeing them a few times. The only exception is Valeria, but she wasn''t able to keep me company all the time and so I have to entertain myself with Azir. At least until a certain person arrived at the scene. ¡°~Hello. It has been a long time, Azir.~¡± A woman with brown hair and a round face walks towards us, her horns are two small spikes protruding from her forehead and she is smiling warmly at Azir. He stiffens upon looking at her and his hand reaches out to pull me between him and her. I almost fall over my own tail upon the unexpected movement. His hand holds my arm forcefully while I am standing between him and her, looking dumbfounded. ¡°Laney! Indeed, long time no see.¡± His voice comes out a little agitated. ¡°~Ohoho...~¡± The woman holds one hand in front of her mouth. ¡°You don''t have to be so stressed around me. The times when we saw each other daily are long over.¡± She corrects a strand of hair behind her ears. ¡°What do you want?¡± His voice didn''t change and he is still holding me. ¡°Aw... don''t be like that. Your mother wished to see you, she is in the training hall.¡± The woman gestures with the glass in her hand towards the exit. ¡°Thanks, I''ll be leaving then. Stella, sorry.¡± Azir walks away fast, almost running. ¡°O... Okay. Don''t worry about it.¡± My eyes return to the strange woman. ¡°So you are Laney? My name is Stella, I am Azir''s fiancee.¡± The woman smiles and I notice a few grey hairs on her head. So she is one of the older mages. ¡°Glad to meet you my dear.¡± ¡°Would you be so nice as to elaborate the relationship between you and Azir?¡± I gesture at the exit where Azir hurriedly disappeared to. Laney places one hand on her cheek. ¡°Oh, he didn''t talk about me? And I am like a second mother to him. I am the personal healer of the Zait''s main family, Laney Edinus. I don''t belong to the clan, but am treated like a family member since I have been a permanent employee since... sixty... sixty three years.¡± She offers me her hand and I shake it. ¡°So you''ve known Azir since-¡± Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.¡°Since he was born, yes. Like I said, I was like a second mother to him. Though he doesn''t seem to appreciate my attention, he was such an interesting object to study.¡± The woman nods in thought. ¡°You are so beautiful. I knew that he would become a prince charming from the day he spoke his first words.¡± ¡°Is that so? Then would you care to tell me a few stories about his childhood outside of school? I am studying medicine and chemistry by the way.¡± I gesture towards a nearby table. Laney smirks. ¡°With pleasure.¡± ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Azir*** ¡°You took your time.¡± My mother stands in the middle of the training hall, waiting. Her hands are crossed in front of her chest and she looks at me with an annoyed expression. Great! She''s peeved. I wonder what I did this time. ¡°I came as soon as I got the message.¡± ¡°That''s because I sent Laney.¡± She sighs. ¡°I called you to teach you more about our ability.¡± I blink. ¡°Didn''t you refuse to teach me until I completely mastered my ability to gather mana?¡± She was adamant about the point that further teachings won''t make sense until I have a complete grasp on my ability. She tilts her head in thought. ¡°The situation changed. A week ago Helen called all leaders of the main clans to the palace. She announced the mobilization of the army. That doesn''t mean that we are going to war, but it puts our military into a state where it could march within one hour. Additionally the sea ports were reopened and the construction of a fleet started.¡± Valda snorts. ¡°She refused to tell us why exactly these steps were taken and reasoned that in light of the underground network, which you uncovered, we have to be prepared. Helen isn''t somebody who gets jumpy without reason. She knows something which she isn''t telling us.¡± I attempt to say something, but Valda interrupts me by raising one hand. ¡°And it''s her right to have secrets. A country''s leader can''t blurt everything vital around. Not even to the clan heads... especially not to the clan heads.¡± She nods. ¡°Since the situation became uncertain, I decided to advance your knowledge and training.¡± ¡°First, the need for having complete control over your ability was a lie.¡± My mother proclaims flat out. ¡°Sorry, but I had to make up my mind about teaching you any further. This knowledge isn''t supposed to fall into the wrong hands.¡± I open my mouth and close it again. ¡°What!? Then why now? You decided that my hands are the right ones?¡± Valda closes her eyes. ¡°Helen wouldn''t take such drastic actions if the situation couldn''t turn into something grave. I am not talking about the army, but the ports. Our country isolated itself for generations. Then the Dwemer send a group of ~exchange students~, the southern nations are agreeing to peace talks, an evil underground network with strange motives gets uncovered and the fleet is being rebuild.¡± She starts tapping onto the floor by using her foot. ¡°This could blow up in our faces. Maybe tomorrow, maybe never. And I want to have someone who can succeed me. What I am about to teach you is normally only taught from clan head to clan head.¡± This seems to be something grave. Is my mother fearing that something could happen to her? ¡°Ahem. Then why not teaching my sister? And what about Quarma? Shouldn''t she know the secret too?¡± Mom shakes her head. ¡°Quarma is too old to teach it. She exceeded her limit long ago. Don''t you wonder why she never uses her ability? She burned herself out during the last big invasion by the southern nations. And regarding Valeria, she isn''t on the same level as you. Neither in maturity, nor in ability. She has to wait until she is ready. If worst comes to the worst, you have to teach her. Given that you don''t want to play the clan head.¡± I gasp. ¡°Something like that is possible? Why didn''t you tell me? And stop talking like you are going to die!¡± It''s important to know if you can destroy your ability by overusing it. ¡°Don''t worry. Someone who isn''t fully trained can''t overuse his ability. And this is just a precaution.¡± She gestures for me to follow her and walks to the far left corner of the training hall. There she pulls away a stack of dusty training mats and places a hand on the wall behind them. ¡°This is our clan''s biggest secret, so keep your mouth shut.¡± A second later the floor cracks open and reveals a staircase. My eyes bulge. ¡°What the... a hidden room?¡± I lived in this mansion for such a long time and would''ve never thought that there is something like that! Valda walks down into the darkness, summoning a light globe. After a moment I hear her voice from the dark pit. ¡°What are you waiting for? Afraid of narrow places? Oh, that''s right. There was something like that. Don''t worry, this isn''t a cave.¡± ¡°Oh, damn!¡± I follow her and as I walk down the stairs, they fold themselves back into the walls and heavy granite plates flow back into their place. Valda continues to walk downwards into the earth. After a while she decides to talk again. ¡°Activate your mana sight and tell me what you see.¡± I do as told and shrug my shoulders. ¡°You, the stairs, the corridor, your light orb.¡± What else is there? Valda nods. ¡°I see all that and the enchantments and mechanics behind the walls. I see the people in the mansion above us. What do you see when you look at me.¡± She can see mana through the walls? ¡°I see you? A figure, glowing in blue. There are a few different shades, indicating how much mana you are emitting.¡± She turns around and looks at me. ¡°I see the veins in your body, your muscles, your bones, your beating heart. Everything is there if I focus on it. I can even see the weak points in your magical seals, hidden under the surface of the door to your laboratory.¡± She smiles. ¡°The problem with our ability isn''t the control Azir. It''s what we can sense! If you can''t sense the mana, you can''t use it.¡± My eyes widen upon the revelation. That''s how she can steal my gathered mana! If she can sense parts of my mana which aren''t under my conscious control, then she can assert her own control over them without much effort. ¡°That''s cheating... and it allows so many other possibilities.¡± My mom forces a smile onto her face. ¡°I guess I won''t be able to best you after this. There are just a few minor tricks left in my repertoire. Promise me that you won''t use this ability for something bad. It''s more powerful than you can imagine.¡± I spread my hands. ¡°Are you kidding me. The ability to see mana in such detail is cheating in itself. The control aspect is minor compared to that!¡± I halt. ¡°Isn''t that dangerously close to the rumoured ability of the emperor?¡± Valda stops and looks at me. ¡°The Emperor''s ability wasn''t restricted to seeing. He immediately understood what he saw instinctively and could use it the same moment.¡± I notice her choice of words. ¡°You talk like you know? And how can I train seeing?¡± She smiles. ¡°The Emperor isn''t important. What''s important is this.¡± She points at a light at the end of the staircase. We continue to descend. The staircase led us at least two hundred metres deep. At the end of our little journey I enter a huge cavern, but it''s not the cavern that''s taking my breath. It''s the unbelievable flow of mana which is circulating through it. I stand there in awe and start to giggle. ¡°It''s a mana stream!¡± A stream of flowing mana, created by the planet itself! ¡°But so close to the surface? They are supposed to be down in a planet''s core! How can this be so close under our mansion?¡± The ten metre wide stream of mana can be seen with the naked eye. I don''t even need my mana sight. It exits a wall at the left side of the cavern and vanishes in another wall at the right side. My skin is prickling just from standing close to it. ¡°It has always been here and it''s the answer to your question. By stepping into it, you can blind your senses and train to see what lies beyond the stream. I''ll guide you.¡± Valda explains. My smile vanishes. ¡°That''s pure mana! It''s not exactly healthy to step into such a dense stream of energy.¡± *Smack!* Valda hit the back of my head. ¡°Of course you don''t simply step into it. You''ll bend the mana around you, so that it blocks you from the rest of the world. I''ll stay close at the beginning to make sure that nothing happens while you concentrate on your sight. Such dense mana can overwhelm you. And we''ll train just half an hour a day, then we leave. I''ll show you how to open the secret passage, then you can come on your own.¡± I nod and can''t take my eyes from the mana stream. So much energy! And I sat right on top of it my entire life! . 50. ~Sides.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°And the Master governed over all magic. No spell bore a secret to him, as he saw it all. Only his beloved younger brother had a comparable power. Together they spread the Empire''s rule far beyond the horizon. Armies were shattered by their will, mountains moved by their wish, even the earth itself reshaped by a thought. The Empire would''ve been eternal if the One hadn''t betrayed the Other. But the One had found what his brother would never understand and so they fought and fell and the Empire with them.¡± -The forbidden Chronicle. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** I have a headache, this is probably how it feels to have your head split by an axe. Taking a training session inside the mana stream every day is hard. Fortunately my mother is helping me to control the stream in order to not get burned to a crisp. Trying to remember the feeling inside the stream, her words flash through my mind. ¡°It took me about five years to master my sight.¡± I take the cushion and place it on my face. Five years of headache! How can I get anything accomplished when I do this daily? Sitting up in my bed, I tear the cushion apart. Training with my father, handling the new technologies which I introduced, training my sight and going to university. I can''t have headaches on top of that! Getting up, I put on some random clothes and leave the bedroom. My target is Stella''s laboratory, no need to worry about my looks. Stella can prove her medical knowledge to me. At the second floor I stop in front of the door to her lab. Do I really want to know how it looks inside? But the headaches are driving me crazy, so I knock on the door and steel myself. After waiting for a few seconds I knock again and wait, the third time I knock louder. Strange, she said that she is in her laboratory. Did something come up and make her leave without informing me? I use mind magic to access the mana net and find her position. The net tells me that she is in our house. The user interface in my vision blurs and I rub my eyes with my forearm. Using mind magic while having headaches isn''t a good idea. Pressing down the handle of the door, I open it and enter. ¡°Hello? Anyone here?¡± There is no answer, so I walk further down the central corridor and look into the rooms to my left and right. The setup of this floor is the same as my laboratory, just the facilities are different. The first two rooms are filled with bottles, dried plants and other raw materials. Nothing spectacular. The third room though contains some cages with small animals. Probably Stella is using them as guinea pigs for her experiments. The fourth room is filled with plants. One of them actually turned its blossom in my direction upon looking inside. The thing isn''t exactly small and so I back out slowly. Inside the fifth room I feel a little more at home, as I find it filled with a few big artefacts of various sizes and forms. But no Stella, I sigh and continue on my way. The sixth room is locked, so that leaves only one choice left and that''s the room at the end of the corridor. I walk into a big room with a surgery table in the left corner and a working table at the window to the garden. There is a big mirror to my right and various bottles are lined up on a shelf beside it. A few of them are bobbing like something is brewing inside them. But that''s not what''s troubling me, the troublesome point about this room is that the surgery table is occupied. ¡°Ah, the Creator pays us a visit.¡± Ivy is on the table and smiles at me, totally ignoring the fact that Stella is bent over her with a sharp nasty looking knife. It''s bloody and Stella is fiddling and pushing around inside Ivy''s chest! A nasty looking tool is spreading her ribs apart and a set of infusion needles are supplying potions of various colours into Ivy''s arms. ¡°Don''t ogle her! Pervert!¡± Stella glares at me. ¡°Why are you even here? Normally you stay away from my laboratory.¡± I sit down on a nearby chair. ¡°Like I could get turned on from looking at a maimed body!¡± Then I turn around and look into the other direction, waiting until they are done with whatever they are doing. ¡°I just wanted to ask if you have anything for headaches.¡± Stella answers pointedly. ¡°I have to close her up first, then I can take a look at what I have.¡± For a while nothing happens, then I hear a crunching sound. A few slimy noises add into the mix and in the end a whizzing sound adds even further to my discomfort. A bone saw? This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. In the end the noises stop and Ivy''s voice urges me to turn around. ¡°Look, look. The Sup... Stella embedded my mechanical part deeper in my chest. Now I look almost like a normal person. This''ll make my efforts in discovering organic behaviour much easier.¡± Turning around I find out that Ivy is healed and cleaned up. Fortunately she is clothed too, that spares me another remark from Stella. Though Ivy is wearing a deep cut maid outfit. Her real body is now almost completely gone, just a small metal gem protrudes from between her collarbones. The wonders of healing magic... It was really fortunate that I made her from a rust free iron and gold alloy. I can be wasteful with materials since I have an almighty Supplier at home. Stella steps to a bowl beside the surgery table and starts washing her hands. ¡°So what is your problem?¡± I grimace. ¡°Headaches! Healing spells don''t work, I already tried that.¡± Stella tilts her head in thought and walks over to the shelf, there she picks a bottle with small, white pills inside and gives it to me. ¡°Just one a day, they are strong. Recently you often have headaches, what are you doing in your family''s mansion?¡± I smile wryly. ¡°My mother decided to teach me more about our clan''s ability. She helps me with my training and the method isn''t pleasant at all.¡± ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Adala*** ¡°They are mobilizing their army.¡± Saana looks with a grim expression at the latest reports. ¡°They are even rebuilding their fleet. This looks grave.¡± I shake my head and lean back on the sofa. ¡°The civilian population has no idea what''s going on. I don''t think that Nict intends to go to war. The incident with the Black Magicians alarmed them and now they are preparing for a possible attack, maybe we are too hasty to assume that this is directed against us.¡± Eliot isn''t of my opinion. ¡°Even if it''s not directed against us, this incident woke the rulers of Nict up, we can''t afford to take this lightly.¡± He pauses. ¡°What if their newly gained interest in the world causes them to send their fleet farther to the north. Their ships will surely land at the ports along the coast. Then they''ll learn about our war. Do you think they''ll ignore the opportunity to attack us?¡± Nikita speaks up. ¡°I don''t think that the situation is that far out of hand. Everything we''ve seen shows that the people of Nict have a huge disinterest in the world. If Nict was interested in expansion, then they could''ve taken the southern nations long ago. Excuse me if I say this, but the longer I stay within Nict, the more I believe that our southern allies sold us bullshit when they informed us that Nict is planning a war against us.¡± Padma nods. ¡°I compared their historic records of their wars with what our so called allies told us. Note down that I strongly doubt that Nict changed them before our arrival. Those are public historic records. The civilians would complain if they were edited by the government.¡± She looks around. ¡°The interesting part is that if you believe their records, Nict has far more reason to attack the southern nations than us. The only ones who benefit from a war between Nict and Dwem are the southern nations.¡± She starts counting with her fingers. ¡°Our past relationship with them may have been hostile, but we mostly ignored each other while closing our borders. The southern nations however attacked Nict several times in open warfare. That''s why when you travel to Nict''s southern cities it feels more like you walk through a castle than a city. There is also the point that the southerners acknowledged Nict''s attempts to make peace for the first time in history. It stinks, to say the least. I say it''s best to lean back and wait.¡± Saana massages her temple. ¡°If you put it like that it sounds logical. We can''t stop Nict and the barbarians, even if we wanted to. Yesterday the Great Shaman sent me a report that our troops at the border to Nict will be relocated to the front. That''ll leave us utterly defenceless.¡± Nikita crosses her hands in front of her chest and shrugs her shoulders. ¡°There is another point. If Nict intends to attack us, they are acting utterly stupid.¡± She smirks. ¡°If they really prepare for war against us, they would''ve silenced Dwem''s observers within their country, namely us. We are a target, they would need to take us out first to ensure that we don''t warn Dwem. Instead they let us be, to watch their preparations. They are not even trying to hide them.¡± After a while I come to the conclusion that Padma''s and Nikita''s reasoning is very good, though it leaves a bitter aftertaste. Spinning the story further means that our good and noble allies in the southern nations aren''t so reliable after all. Something which we suspected, but having certainty is sometimes worse than being left in the lurch. . 51. ~One step behind.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°The Dwemer are the faithful citizens of the country Dwem in the mountain range Dwem. Smaller than the other races in height, they make up for their shortcomings in cleverness. Using their wits to build formidable structures and cities, their capital Dwem is one of the biggest wonders on this continent. Though we have to admit that our sense of naming things isn''t the greatest.¡± -The writings of Dwem. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Adala*** A blast of light and an explosion wake me from my sleep. My mind is still struggling to comprehend what''s going on as I hear glass breaking and I wince as a new series of explosions occurs nearby. Finally I manage to open my eyes and stare at the tip of a blade coming down at me. I jerk my head to the side and the sharp weapon cuts my cheek, barely avoiding my left eye. I kick blindly at where I assume my attacker to be. My foot doesn''t find its intended target and I continue to roll away from the blade, dragging the sheets of my bed with me. A dark figure follows and hacks with a short sword at me. Using the blanket as protection, I block the weapon once more just in time. Then I use the short pause to wrap the fabric around my right forearm. I start a ritual as I continue to deflect a series of wide swings by the assassin. A few of my hairs provide the needed catalyst for my ritual. The blanket in my right and the hairs in my left I start singing while I concentrate on the mana within me. ¡°Ieah huul nos ferdent ...¡± My opponent realizes that a thick sheet of woven fabric provides adequate protection against a blade and changes his tactic to trying to stab me. He follows me as I am pushed back into a corner of my room. My eyes flick towards the door and the window, but the attacker is in a perfect position to cut off my retreat. I continue singing as he stabs once more at me and I block with my forearm. The blade sinks into it despite the protecting blanket. The pain is horrible, but I don''t falter. One syllable of the ritual spoken wrong and everything was in vain. ¡°... sumos el zeench!¡± I press my hairs onto the blanket and pour my mana into both of them. My attacker retracts his blade and the blanket comes to life as my hairs weave into it. He stabs once more at me, but this time the fabric holds, reinforced by my mana. Then the sheet unwraps itself from my arm, guided by a will of its own and shoots out, enclosing the man. He swings his sword wildly and screams in horror, but to no avail. I sink to my knees and lean against the wall, holding my wounded arm. The man''s voice turns muffled as the sheet covers him completely. Then his scream turns pained and gets a high pitch as his bones break. Blood starts seeping through the fabric and the man turns silent. Then the blanket lets go of him and flows back to me, wrapping around me. The Ritual of Grobosch is named after the shaman who invented it. It imbues life into an object and programs it with the will to protect the caster and attack all those whom she or he sees as a threat. Normally someone would use a doll made out of clay or wood, they work best. Though in dire situations anything of adequate size works. The ritual is very convenient since it stays active until the caster stops supplying his servant with mana. New explosions occur and I get to my feet. The others, surely the assassin wasn''t alone. I hurry out of my room and find Eliot in the corridor, he is struggling with a man of almost twice his size. Pointing my finger at the man, I pour all my anger and hate at him. This attack at night took us totally unprepared and those dishonourable bastards think that we''ll simply lie down and die! The blanket responds to my wish and flows away from me, forming a long spike and propelling itself at the man like a crazed animal. It takes him from behind. The man is dead and the blanket on its way back to me before he hits the ground. ¡°Adala! You are fine, thank the gods!¡± Eliot limps towards me, looks like he didn''t have a nice wake up call either. Then a door opens into the corridor and one of the dark clothed men steps out. His blade is bloody and my heart sinks as I realize that he stepped out of Nikita''s room. He blurs and the next moment my blanket moves on its own to block his blade. Eliot''s fist connects with the newcomer''s chin and he goes to the ground. ¡°Snap out of it!¡± Eliot didn''t hesitate and used the man''s attention on me to land his blow. He bends down and takes the short sword from the unconscious attacker, then he slides it across his throat, cutting deep. Before I know it my feet carry me to Nikita''s room and inside. She is still lying in her bed, eyes closed and sleeping. If it wasn''t for all that blood! I jump to her side and press my hands on the wound in her chest. Suddenly the wall to my right bursts apart and a black clothed body emerges together with the debris from the opened hole. The body drops to the ground and is still. A figure with menacing, glowing, rimless glasses on her head emerges from the hole and points a gloved hand at us, searching for new targets. Sparks dance between the fingers of her hand and she sighs in relief upon seeing us; it''s Padma! Then five more attackers attempt to enter the room. Two through the window and three from the door. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** LIGHT! ¡°Alarm! Wake up! We have to be fast.¡± *Slap!* I open my eyes and find Ivy on top of me in my bed, she is fully clothed and has one of her daggers in her right hand. Stella stirs beside me and rubs her eyes, sitting up. ¡°What''s wrong? Are you malfunctioning again?¡± ¡°Thirty persons of doubtful origin are closing in on the Dwemer''s mansion. They are armed and approaching at full speed. I already alerted everyone through the mana net, but I doubt that help will arrive in time. We are the only fighting force close enough to lend assistance.¡± I throw Ivy off of me and jolt out of the bed. Then I put on the first clothes I find. Stella is doing the same while starting a rant. ¡°How could they get so close? I thought you are watching the entire area with your remotes! And why are they going for the Dwemer now!¡± Ivy answers with an unemotional voice, forgetting about her goal to mimic organic beings. ¡°I spotted them at two thousand metres out, converging from several directions at high speed. They are not trying to do this the sneaky way.¡± She turns and opens the window, to jump out of it. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. I follow her with Stella close behind me. At the entrance to our property we are already awaited by the five guards who keep an eye on our belongings. Gesturing them to advance on the Dwemer''s mansion, I see the first explosions at the close by building. Damn, those attackers are fast! Are they some kind of suicide commando? It''s extremely stupid to rush at full speed into an unknown situation. Normally you would expect a task-force to advance slowly until it encounters resistance. Unless the situation isn''t unknown to them... Are they being attacked by the Dark Magicians, or are their own enemies responsible? Yesterday evening my drone took it''s first flight over Dwem and found a war zone at their northern border. At least I think that it could be their border, unfortunately it isn''t so easy to differentiate between nations when you look at an aerial photograph. Though I could identify something like a clear front line between two parties and a no man''s land between them. It didn''t look like a civil war. My drone couldn''t capture any actual fighting yet, but the devastations spoke for themselves. The landscape was littered with destroyed buildings and craters from big explosions. There was even something which looked like artillery on the Dwemer''s side. It surprised me. They seem a little more advanced than the current Nict. Maybe I shouldn''t think too much about it. Nict was once a nation which built the Gates and those artefacts are still standing. Maybe Dwem didn''t suffer under the loss of technology as much as Nict. ¡°I''ll go ahead. Follow me as fast as possible.¡± I concentrate to teleport above the Dwemer''s mansion and activate my mana sight. Teleporting alone isn''t as straining as taking someone with you, plus the distance is short. I watch the situation while I start falling and grimace. The attackers overwhelmed the mansion''s guards completely, forcing them into two on one fights while the others rushed past them and attacked the mansion. There should be nine Dwemer inside the building. Nine people against fifteen sounds like bad odds, so I decide to help the Dwemer. The guards who were placed at the Dwemer''s mansion are highly trained personnel like the ones who guard my own house. They should be able to buy time against their ten opponents until my own people arrive. Activating my mana sight I display my sparse progression in terms of my ability. Gathering mana became much easier thanks to my training. As of now I can focus on an object of the size of a person, even seeing it through a wall. But it''s far away from my mother''s ability. Seeing fine differences within a body or a magic formation is still far out of my reach. By using levitation magic I adjust my fall towards the highest concentration of Dwemer I can find. Their small figures are easy to discern from their attackers. I also notice that none of the assassins has the bright aura of a mage. Unfortunately I can see only three of them standing while one is lying. Five attackers are moving in on their position. Two from the window and three from the door. I pull the gathered mana closer and encase myself in it, forcing it into a denser shape to use it as a shield. Then I cast gravity magic to accelerate my fall while I am aiming at the group of three. A moment before the impact I close my eyes and rely on my ability to sense mana. I impact the roof like a bullet, crushing through the next floor and landing on top of my target. The room is filled with dust and I assess the situation after releasing the gravity magic. One of the opponents is down, crushed under the debris which came down with me. A second one is lying right next to me, his head turned in an unhealthy way. The third is on his knees coughing, he was still outside in the corridor when I made my entrance. I step towards him and jab at his throat, the coughing turns into gurgling. He goes down and I swing my foot at his head. Touchdown! Ahem. That wasn''t the proper way to comment the situation. I should be more cautious when I am using my ability. His head came off and flew right out of the window. Turning around I find out that one of the Dwemer dealt with the other two attackers. The dust has settled and gives me free vision on the scene. One of the attackers is down for the count under Eliot while Padma touches the other one with a gloved hand. He is twitching while blue sparks dance over him. Nasty, she built a powered up version of a stunner. Adala is sitting on top of another Dwemer while trying to stop the blood flowing from a wound in her chest. I walk to her and shove her unceremoniously from the girl and notice that it''s Nikita. I place my hand on the wound and pour all my mana into a healing spell, trying to sense her soul. ¡°What do you think you are doing!?¡± Adala jumps up, but Eliot holds her back. ¡°He is trying to heal her.¡± ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Stella*** I rush towards the mansion with Ivy and the guards behind me. Arriving there we find a battlefield and three guards who are trying to hold their ground against six of the attackers. I gather my magic and cast an arcane lance by forming the proper runes. The shimmering spear ends the life of one assassin and startles the others. They try to take better positions for the new situation, but by that time Ivy and the guards have reached them and start dealing death. The attackers seem to be strong fighters, but they obviously aren''t at the level of our guards. It looks like ten of them weren''t enough to overwhelm the five guards who were guarding the Dwemer, but they made up for it with their numbers. I begin casting another lance when their focus turns to me. ¡°The mage! Take her out!¡± One of the attackers pulls something from his belt and throws it at me. I change my skin to metal on instinct and activate the passive rune set to strengthen my body. The thing misses me and I relax. What did that guy throw it for anyway? He even threw it in an arc! No way that something like that would hurt me. A flash of light and an explosion teach me otherwise. I am flung through the air and for a moment the world spins around wildly. Landing on my back, the air is pressed out of my lungs and I gasp. What was that spell? I didn''t sense anything, for all I know he threw a rock at me. After a few seconds I sit up. My ears are ringing, but otherwise I seem to be fine. The defence spells did their job properly, despite my blunder. My attention returns to the battlefield, but my comrades already eliminated the attackers. Ivy is running towards me with tears in her eyes. ¡°Almighty Sup-¡± I jumped up out of reflex and placed my foot in her guts. This nickname is forbidden! Ivy straightens herself. ¡°I am so glad that you are fine. It''s a shame that I can''t punish them more.¡± ¡°Forget it. We have to take out the remaining enemy forces in the mansion.¡± I point at the damaged house and notice fire behind some of the windows. Together we rush inside to save what can be saved. . 52. ~Enlightenment.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°Dwem is the Dwemer''s capital. The city is built into a hollow mountain and despite the cold climate of the north a green paradise. This wonder was accomplished by the third Great Shaman. He was driven by the desire to create something, which his people would thank him for even long after his death. And so he created a ritual without comparison, he poured his very heart and soul into it. The result was a hollowed out mountain with walls of glass, letting the sunlight through. The crystalline structure breaks the light and dives the city into all colours of the rainbow. His people strived to honour his work and built the most beautiful city with large sleek towers made out of green glass inside the mountain. Between the towers grow the largest trees, turning the city into an island of green between the ice of the northern mountain range. The trees were brought there from the tropical paradise across the sea, which was a breathtaking task in itself.¡± -The writings of Dwem. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** ¡°Did we get everyone out?¡± I watch the burning mansion in dismay as people are running left and right around me, trying to put out the fire with spells and water. Karsen shrugs his shoulders. ¡°No way to tell. The whole upper floor was already on fire when we arrived.¡± He and a few of Ryland''s investigators were the first ones to arrive at the scene. Unfortunately the fight was already settled at that time. The attackers had retreated with two bodies on their shoulders. Nikita took a lot of my time and after I had done everything I could I tried to follow them, but a few hundred metres from the house they simply vanished. Probably they had a mage waiting for them. Either they used a potent spell to hide themselves and ran, or they had a portal ready. The outcome of this night doesn''t bode well for us. Twenty two of the attackers are confirmed dead, but six of our guards are also dead. They are lined up together with the dead Dwemers a few steps further away. Like I suspected in the first days after their arrival, the so called servants weren''t mere servants. They didn''t go down without a fight and each of them took at least one enemy to the afterlife with them. We have the bodies of three servants, that means that they took one servant and the old lady Saana. Nikita is currently treated by the healers, though it doesn''t look good for her. I patched her up as much as I could, but the poison in her system is beyond me. I even went as far as binding her soul to her body, which left her in a strange state between life and death. In hindsight it might have been kinder to simply let her go. The healers are currently working on her and Adala, who went catatonic shortly after the enemies retreated. She got scratched and stabbed by one of the poisoned swords. The healers have more hope for her since the poison didn''t spread so much inside her body. That leaves me only with Padma, who is useless because she is currently crying her eyes out. Her grandmother was taken and is probably dead. Eliot is fine too, but he is an idiot... and in a state of shock. I guess this was his first real fight. He did well when there was no time to think, but afterwards he had a breakdown. I had nine Dwemer to take care of and now I am left with two. What a very bad night this is. I walk over to the dead attackers and summon a light orb, bathing the bodies in light. It''s already getting morning, but the sun isn''t over the horizon yet. They are clothed in modern looking black fighting suits, which intrigues me. Their equipment ranges from knives, to throwing daggers and short swords. My mana sight reveals that each of the weapons is imbued with magic. Is there a curse added to the poison? ¡°Karsen, those weapons are enchanted. Bring them to the healers and let them be checked out.¡± Karsen nods and instructs a nearby guard with the task, then he returns to my side. He bends down and checks the faces of the corpses. ¡°They seem to be from the southern nations.¡± I raise an eyebrow. ¡°How can you tell?¡± I don''t see any identifying marks on them. It even seems like they scratched the insignias from their weapons. Most weapon smiths in this world mark their weapons to spread their name, so the weapons would reveal their identity. Karsen pulls at the cheek of one corpse and points at the skin. ¡°You can''t tell a single southerner from a citizen of Nict for certain, but if you compare two bigger groups with each other you can notice differences. Do you see the freckles? They are a common trait in the southern nations. Most people have them.¡± My eyes wander over the bodies. ¡°We have twenty two bodies and eighteen of them have freckles.¡± It''s convenient to have friend who shows interest in such strange details. He removes a weapon belt from one of the corpses and inspects it. ¡°If we had a group from Nict, then I would expect at most four to five people with freckles. This is too much to be a coincidence. Do you know how these things work? I never heard of triggered spells which can be used by non magicians.¡± Karsen points at the grenades which are attached to the belt. ¡°I interviewed the guards and they said that the attacker threw those things at them, they exploded shortly afterwards.¡± I nod and gesture at the grenades which I already inspected earlier. They are made out of clay and filled with black powder. The fuse is lighted by pulling it with force from the belt and then burns inside it for about seven seconds. ¡°They are filled with an explosive chemical compound. Pull the timed fuse off and throw it at your enemy, boom!¡± Karsen pulls at his lower lip. ¡°If they manage to fit out their whole army with these weapons the fights against them will start to hurt us. Do you think they can mass produce them?¡± I shrug my shoulders. ¡°There is no way to tell. Depends on their resources and economics. Do they have easy access to coal, potassium nitrate and sulphur?¡± Karsen tilts his head. ¡°I''ll suggest my superiors to investigate that. Even if it''s less effective than a spell, the idea of giving an army of commoners a large amount of these weapons is frightening. Our own commoners will become almost useless in a fight.¡± The Dwemer seemed to have something like artillery. Could these grenades come from them? I don''t voice the thought to Karsen. We continue to inspect the corpses but find nothing else which attracts our attention. Since there is nothing more for me to do I decide to head over to the healing institute where Stella and Ivy brought the Dwemer. They aren''t hard to find since I simply have to ask my way through the soldiers who are swarming the building. Looks like the remaining Dwemer are under heavy protection from now on. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.I find them in a big room with eight beds. There is also a big table with several chairs for the patients who aren''t bedridden. Only the four Dwemer, Stella, Sola and Helen are present. Probably they didn''t want to accommodate the Dwemer with other patients. Eliot is sitting at Adala''s side, she has her eyes open and is staring furiously at the ceiling. Padma is lying on the bed next to her, curled up into a ball and covered with blankets. Seems like she is still down from her grandmother''s fate. Nikita is lying with closed eyes on the bed in the furthest left corner of the room. An IV drip is hanging above her and a strange, box-like machine is pumping blood out of and back into her body. ¡°How is Nikita doing?¡± Stella answers me. ¡°She is alive, for now. She got far more of the poison into her system. The healers even used some ancient artefacts to keep her alive.¡± I nod and look at the machine. ¡°I am astounded that our healers aren''t performing as well as usual. Aren''t there any Eddin available?¡± Sola sits down on one of the chairs. ¡°They used manatite. A crystalline powder which can be found in the eastern grasslands. The Nomads use it to render their foes unable to use magic. The powder is dispersing mana formations, if it gets into the body it hinders healing magic and harms the tissue. You become unable to cast spells and die if you aren''t treated in time. It took several of the best healers to stabilize her. Now they are trying to get the stuff out of her, but it doesn''t look good.¡± So that''s why she constantly slipped out of my grasp. I poured almost all of my power into the healing spell, yet the effect was marginal. I have to investigate this stuff, it sounds dangerous. Helen snorts. ¡°This is the greatest diplomatic blunder ever. I''ll have some people punished for this. Did you already find out where they came from?¡± I nod. ¡°Karsen found a solid clue which hints at the southern nations.¡± Eliot''s eyes widen. ¡°That can''t be! They are our allies!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Adala rebukes him, but the damage is done. Helen turns to the two. ¡°Fascinating, so you are allied with our enemies? Yet they are trying to assassinate you within our borders. That hints at a few interesting possibilities.¡± I raise a finger. ¡°Maybe it has something to do with their war!¡± All of them look at me with big eyes. The Dwemer look outright shocked. Oh, that''s right. I found out about it yesterday evening and didn''t have the time to inform anybody. ¡°Which war?¡± Helen squints her eyes. Well, it''s out anyway, so I point at the Dwemer. ¡°Their war. Dwem''s northern border is one big nasty war zone, though I don''t know whom they are fighting, yet. I found it out yesterday night.¡± The muscles of Adala''s jaw start working and Helen''s, Sola''s and Stella''s eyes fix on her. After a few seconds Adala decides that it''s useless to hide the situation any longer. ¡°Dwem is in a tight war against the northern barbarians. Two years ago they attacked us with new weapons and strategies, up until then they were nothing more than a bother.¡± I take a chair and pull it closer to Adala in order to sit down. ¡°Weapons like the grenades?¡± Padma grumbles from under her blanket. ¡°No, those are ours.¡± Adala glares at Padma. ¡°Don''t give away secrets!¡± I fold my fingers in front of me. ¡°Adala, isn''t this an interesting riddle? You almost get killed by a southern task force, armed with your own weapons and poison from the eastern plains. Yet you seem to be calling them your allies. The question arises... are they really your allies? What does it accomplish to kill you within our borders? And why did they take some bodies as proof?¡± Eliot''s forehead gained more and more wrinkles while I was speaking. Then he groans. ¡°They are trying to take down Dwem! And they have already succeeded!¡± Adala''s eyes widen, even Padma looks up from her bed. He closes his eyes. ¡°Don''t you see it? All their actions aim at forcing Dwem''s army to be stationed at Nict''s borders. Now everything fits together. The southerners are working with the barbarians and the Black Magicians. The southerners told us that Nict is preparing a war to force us to deploy a part of our forces at their border. As long as we can''t concentrate our troops, the barbarians have it easier to break through our defence. We provided the southerners with our technology in exchange for their supplies and their sparse intelligence. Their ships have been sailing past Nict and further to the North for years. Of course they knew about our war with the barbarians. Then they tried to kill the heir of the Gejene. Probably they planned to redirect the blame for it to us, but Azir crushed their network before they could get the plan in motion. The Black Magicians are surely in some kind of relationship with the southerners and the barbarians. The barbarians must be preparing a big assault on us. That''s why they wanted more of our troops positioned at the border to Nict! Because we didn''t report anything of concern to the Great Shaman, he decided to thin our troops at Nict''s borders. Just a few days later we get attacked by southerners, who know exactly how our mansion looks like and how many of us there are. The only ones who have that information are the Gejene and the authorities in Dwem because we sent them detailed reports.¡± He balls his hands to fists. ¡°They must have a mole inside our government who got them the information. I am sure that they took the bodies of Saana and Triz to prove that Nict silenced us in order to prepare their attack. Nict even started mobilizing and rebuilding their fleet! If they go with Saana''s remains to the Great Shaman our government will freak out and redeploy the troops to Nict''s borders, opening all doors for the barbarian offensive!¡± I scratch my cheek while thinking about what I just heard. ¡°It makes some sense, in a crude way. Those fleeing assassins simply vanished when I followed them. It''s a guess, but they could''ve used a portal to escape. Up until now only the black magicians seemed capable of that.¡± Adala''s expression turns sour. ¡°Then we are doomed. Even if we travel now from Nict''s capital to Mono and take the fastest route to Dwem, the travel time takes at least two weeks. Our opponents had a portal and are probably already talking to the Great Shaman. They surely timed their attack on our mansion with the offensive to ensure that our troops are the furthest out of position. When we reach them it''ll be too late to call our soldiers back.¡± Helen runs her fingers through her hair. ¡°Are you really saying that in a few months I have to worry not only about the southern nations, but also a horde of conquering barbarians from the North? What''s next? Will the Nomads join the fray too? Oh, that would be funny! I can''t laugh!¡± . 53. ~Cold Calling.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°About the political and religious differences between the known countries: Dwem is ruled by the Great Shaman, he is the uppermost authority and his word is the law. To become the Great Shaman an individual has to prove his or her worthiness by reaching absolute mastery in shamanistic rituals and achieving the highest score during the national tests. The Great Shaman represents Dwem''s smartest and most talented individual. Only the ten direct servants of the Great Shaman are allowed to contradict him. According to our highly intellectual society we don''t believe in any gods or deities, though there is a very persistent sect which worships the saviour who ended the empire''s rule over Dwem. They strongly believe that the saviour will return, should Nict''s throne ever be claimed by a new emperor.¡± -The writings of Dwem. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** I raise my finger. ¡°Then all I have to do is to get you guys to Dwem? No problem, just tell me where your capital is.¡± The Dwemer turn and look at me like I am crazy, but I don''t falter and grin at them. Stella runs over to my side and pulls at my cheek, then she hisses. ¡°That''s supposed to be a national secret!¡± Helen straightens herself and clears her throat. ¡°No. I think it''s okay to reveal one of our capabilities in this case. The new teleportation device won''t be a secret forever. It is just a question of time until our neighbours find out.¡± She looks at me. ¡°But can you get there in time?¡± Nodding with satisfaction, I gesture at the Dwemer. ¡°Sure, once I know where to go I''ll simply take one of the stepper discs and teleport there. Then anyone can go there as they like.¡± Stella''s expression turns confused. ¡°Stepper discs?¡± I cross my arms in front of my chest. ¡°That''s what I decided to call the teleportation discs. Great idea, isn''t it? You step onto them and then you step somewhere else. Hence, stepper discs.¡± Sola walks over to Stella and hugs her. ¡°I feel sorry you. He may be a good guy in some aspects... but in others he is utterly useless.¡± Stella immediately pushes Sola away. ¡°He is just... trying to be smart!¡± My mouth falls open. ¡°Why? That''s unfair! It''s a good name! Calling them teleportation discs is too obvious.¡± Adala interrupts our conversation with a hopeful expression. ¡°You can teleport us to Dwem?¡± Sola nods and starts explaining the new technology. Concentrating on the mana net I notice that there seems to be a hotspot nearby, so I establish a connection with Ivy. The answer follows immediately and a chat window pops up in my field of vision.
~~ Secret Chat Room: Sleeping Corner ~~ -Creator connected- Members present: Creator, Sexyspider, Ilikeme, Valeria -Creator pours a bucket of cold water over SexySpider- SexySpider: Yes, Creator? Creator: Bring two of the stepper discs and an accurate map of Dwem to my location. SexySpider: ... Creator: What!? SexySpider: They are teleportation discs... don''t insist on that stupid name. Creator: Whatever, just bring them. SexySpider: You want the fragile me to carry two of those heavy things at once? Creator: Either you bring them, or I''ll pull your plug! Use enhancement magic. SexySpider: I''ll bring them, though heavy lifting isn''t covered by my contract. Creator: Don''t let me wait. -SexySpider disconnected- Members present: Creator, Ilikeme, Valeria Valeria: Bro? You are connected! Yay, you promised to teach me more about using the mana net. Creator: Sorry, I''ve a situation here. Maybe sometime else. Creator: And I told you that you shouldn''t use your real name! Change it! Valeria: ... I have nothing to hide. Creator: Change it. Ilikeme: Stoop! Don''t disconnect! First send me those blueprints for the new connection hubs and those things you call routers. Valeria: Fine. Creator: Err. They are on my server. Search them yourself. -Supplier connected- Members present: Creator, Ilikeme, Valeria, Supplier Ilikeme: The last time I tried to get access it almost fried my brain! Creator: You boasted that you and your people are already very good at this. -Valeria changed name to AirelaV- Ilikeme: I admit defeat. Creator: I won''t let you out of this so easily. Supplier: It''s *96d/3zlqmBrainfreezE Ilikeme: YES! Full access! Creator: Hey! How do you know that! Supplier: I am living with you. It would be sad if I didn''t. Creator: How!? All my projects are on that server! Ilikeme: Don''t worry, I won''t loot your treasure chest. Supplier: Fine, you talk in your sleep. Satisfied? And stop staring at the wall. The Dwemer are getting anxious. -Supplier disconnected- Members present: Creator, Ilikeme, AirelaV -Creator disconnected- Members present: Ilikeme, AirelaV
The window disappears and I return my attention to my surroundings. Fixing my eyes at Stella I glare at her accusingly. ¡°I informed Ivy to bring us two stepper discs, then we can work on transporting our friends to Dwem.¡± Helen steps in. ¡°One moment. Do you intend to simply teleport between them and drop the disc in front of their feet? Something like this has to be planned very carefully. What if they attack you on sight?¡± I tilt my head. ¡°It''s far more likely that they will be too shocked to do anything. How else do you want to handle it? It''s not like I can take a personal army with me.¡± Helen drums with her fingertips onto her side. ¡°One thing is for sure, we can''t simply send them over, they need protection. They themselves said that there has to be an enemy agent in a high position of their government. Once they set their feet into Dwem they will become high priority targets. And you forget that if Eliot''s theory is true, then Dwem is surely in a state of high alert.¡± I have to admit that she is right. Even if they don''t shoot me on sight, the danger of our witnesses getting eliminated is high. ¡°You are right, but approaching Dwem from outside is surely even more dangerous, or do you want to teleport an army into their city?¡± Adala gasps. ¡°You can''t do that! They''ll expect an attack. If Nict''s troops appear in their city it''ll confirm the southerner''s claims.¡± Stella nods. ¡°An army or guards are out of the question. We have to show them that we aren''t a threat. A gesture of good will is necessary. Sending a high representative of our government would show them that we aren''t playing games.¡± She scratches her cheek. ¡°I guess I am the only one who is expendable.¡± Sola shakes her head. ¡°You can''t go, you just-¡± I signal Sola to shut up, Stella just got over it. Reminding her now is the last thing she needs. ¡°I understand, but I''ll accompany you.¡± Helen shakes her head. ¡°At least take the guards from in front of the door with you. I won''t allow you to go completely undefended to a foreign country.¡± The door opens and Ivy enters the room, rolling the two stepper discs at her side. She is breathing heavily. ¡°And... of course... I''ll... come... too... you can''t... go... without... this body... too... weak...¡± She falls to her knees and I grab the stepper discs just in time to keep them from falling onto her. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.Why is she at the end of her stamina? ¡°Ivy, why are you out of breath? Just roll them. I didn''t say you have to carry them.¡± ¡°... fourth... floor... stairs!¡± Oh! I completely forgot about that. ¡°Even so. You could have asked one of the guards for help. I am sure they wouldn''t deny a fair maiden like you a helping hand.¡± She shakes her head. ¡°Even... a servant... has pride.¡± ¡°Just lie down on a bed and rest.¡± I tilt one stepper disc onto the ground and roll the other to an empty spot at the wall. ¡°I have to connect them with each other and set a password.¡± The process of changing their configuration doesn''t take long. I built them while expecting a lot of changes, so I installed a cover plate with an access terminal. It''s very simple and works with command lines. There isn''t a need for overly complicated controls because the discs are fully automatic. You just have to tell them with which other discs they are in a network with and which symbol you want to use. Then you set the password and you''re done. Afterwards I repeat the process with the second stepper disc. Reattaching the cover plates is just a formality. I stretch after the hard work and return my attention to Ivy. ¡°You didn''t forget the map?¡± Ivy had followed my advice and laid down on one of the beds. She opens her eyes and starts rummaging through her pockets. ¡°Strange, I am sure I''ve put it somewhere... Ah!¡± She has an enlightenment and slips her left hand between her twin mountains. After a second she pulls out a crinkly, folded map and throws it at my forehead, hitting me dead centre. ¡°There you have it.¡± My expression drops while I bend down to collect the map. ¡°What did I do to deserve such a servant.¡± Stella grumbles. ¡°You deserved being hit! Your attention was at an inappropriate place!¡± I unfold the map and head over to the Dwemer. The girls are ogling Ivy with envy, while Eliot''s expression is a strange mixture of greed and pain. ¡°Padma, please show me where your capital is.¡± Padma places her finger on the map. ¡°This mountain. From where did you get this map? It''s awfully detailed.¡± I start gathering mana while I think about an appropriate answer. There is no need to reveal all my little gadgets! ¡°I found it in the library. There are some real treasures there.¡± They would probably freak out if they learned that I am in the process of creating a fleet of automatic, flying artefacts to map the entire continent. Neither do they need to know that they carry a little more weight than just surveillance equipment. I started their construction after I became unable to ignore the threat by the Black Magicians. So I thought that I might want to use the drones as offensive weapons. They are able to overload their propulsion system, which is based on gravity magic. That results in fifty kilograms of metal breaking the sound barrier and turning into a highly dangerous projectile. Though the projectile is the target''s least worry. Since the gravitational field expands while overloading the drive, you get also hit by a fifty metre wide sphere of about thirty times the planets gravitation. I doubt that there are many people who can survive such an event. The second offensive ability of the drone is a casting device for light spells. The drone usually uses it to gather solar energy towards its solar cells. If the device is abused properly, you get a nice little laser beam. It sounds more impressive than it is, but it''s enough to burn someone''s skin or set something aflame. I study the map while I am walking back to the disc which is leaning at the wall. Now I remember that I wanted to have a closer look at that mountain. It seemed to be made completely out of glass when my drone flew over it at a high altitude. I don''t want anyone to learn about my spying devices, so I don''t let them fly too low. My mana collection reaches its peak and I force the mana around me to create a magical circle under my feet. Teleporting is easier like this, but more time consuming. The first teleport should take me somewhere close to Dwem. From there I can reorient myself and teleport the final distance. After gesturing for everyone else to step back I activate the magical circle and for a brief moment my vision turns white. Upon entering reality again I find myself in a snowy, mountainous region. A quick glance tells me that I landed right on spot. The next mountain in front of me is Dwem. I take my time to gather mana and concentrate, I don''t want to freeze my ass off while I am watching the scene. While I gather mana I enjoy the view of the mountain of glass and wonder how it would look like to watch the setting sun through this gigantic prism. Dwem is sparkling like an icy diamond, fitting perfectly into the landscape. I have to show this to Stella. After a while I focus and teleport again, reappearing inside the mountain. Perfect! Looks like I landed right on spot inside a park. The grass is neatly cut and there are bushes and trees with trails and alleys between them. Further away are huge skyscrapers made out of something like green glass. The sunlight is broken while shining into the mountain and dyes everything in different colours. It''s a really nice place, though it''s a little too extravagant for me. Then I realize the silence. I am standing on a central square and there are quite a lot of people around me. All of them are staring at me and right in front of me is a little girl with her mouth gaping wide open. Her hand is angled towards her mouth, but empty. To her feet is a candied fruit on a stick. Oh... that''s bad. We need good inter-cultural relationships with these people. Appearing here and destroying a little girl''s candy isn''t a good first impression. I hope that she doesn''t start crying once the shock is over. Hmmm. I feel for something in my chest pocket. Ha! I knew it. Since my mother started feeding me chocolate as a child I''ve always had one or two bars with me. Valda always gave it to me after she force fed me with lizard liver. I''ve to admit that I am a little addicted to the stuff. I pull the paper packing off and shove the bar into the girl''s mouth. ¡°There you go, don''t drop it like your fruit.¡± Then I tilt the stepper disc to the ground and step onto it, infusing my mana into it. ¡°Around the world and back!¡± I raise one finger in a dramatic gesture, why not showing off a little? A moment later I find myself back in the room of the healing faculty. ¡°Done! Please step onto this rune and speak ''Around the world and back!'', while infusing your mana into the plate.¡± ¡°How did it go? You didn''t initiate a war, right?¡± Helen asks. ¡°You found a nice quiet spot.¡± I shake my head. ¡°No war. I landed in a park. The people there were all very calm and collected. They just looked at me.¡± ¡°Whatever.¡± Eliot steps onto the plate, followed by Padma. Even Adala forces herself out of her bed, not caring about our objections. Ivy and fifteen guards are also waiting for their turn. I guess Helen got them from around the healing faculty. Stella follows on Adala''s heels and I use the disc to get back to Dwem. I follow and reappear on the square to find the others gathered around the disc. Stella turns to face me. ¡°Didn''t you say that there were people here?¡± Looking around I find the square completely empty. Not a soul is in sight. ¡°Yeah, actually there were quite a few people here. I wonder where they went?¡± I notice my bar of chocolate on the ground and pick it up. Ungrateful, little, dirty child! That''s what I get for sharing. She took just one bite. After cleaning the bar as much as possible and breaking off the bitten part, I restore the paper packaging. Then I store it away, the rest of it is still good. Once more I am the centre of attention. Stella is red all over her face and her lips turned into a thin line. ¡°Azir... please throw that away. I''ll buy more once we are at home.¡± . 54. ~Lies.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°About the political and religious differences between the known countries: As the former heart of the Empire, Nict is a strange mixture of contradictions. On one hand they don''t have a religion, but on the other they worship their leaders like gods. To understand this, you have to look at their past. The former Empire was led by an absolutistic ruler, namely the Emperor. After the civil war and Nict''s downfall followed a time of great chaos and the country was ravaged by the marauding southern nations and rampaging hordes of nomads from the eastern plains. It took the magical bloodlines a long time to form a new governing system, but it would''ve probably never happened if it weren''t for the threats from outside. They agreed upon following the strongest clan and for a few generations there was a big, internal power struggle. Though in the end the Gejene decided this hidden conflict for themselves and became the ruling clan. A few challenges to their power happened over the years, but none succeeded. There wasn''t any faith in a higher power within the Empire, though the belief in the Emperor as the absolute, supreme, ruling being could be called their faith. The Emperor was worshipped like a living god. After the civil war, which should be called a war between the believers in the emperor and non-believers, this faith in the emperor was replaced by faith in mages as a whole. The current rulers of Nict are regarded by the general population as something akin to living gods, though they are seen more like guarding deities. The big clans are protecting this faith in them since it guarantees their position of power. This protection of the faith in them takes extreme forms, which includes the public execution of mages who harm this faith.¡± -The writings of Dwem. ***Dwem, Capital*** ***Azir*** I touch my chest-pocket and shake my head. ¡°No. It''s mine and still edible.¡± Stella attempts to say something, but she gets interrupted by Ivy who appeared on the stepper disc. ¡°There are people converging on this position. I count about ninety individuals.¡± Ivy steps from the disc and looks around. After her, our guards start appearing one by one. Tilting my head, I look at Ivy. ¡°How do you know?¡± She crosses her arms under her chest and puffs it up proudly. ¡°I accessed your drone and redirected it to this city. I have a permanent uplink to...¡± I kick her shin before she can end her sentence. Then I whisper. ¡°Don''t talk about the drone in front of the Dwemer!¡± Stella decides to drop the issue about my property. ¡°So what do we do? Is waiting and trying to talk to them a good choice?¡± Adala nods vehemently. ¡°They are surely either the city guards or the army. Maybe you could try to look a little less threatening? I''ll do the talking in the beginning.¡± My lips curl upwards. ¡°And your suggestion on how to look less threatening is?¡± Adala starts stammering and plays with her fingertips. ¡°How about lying down while Eliot, Padma and I keep standing? That would at least eliminate the idea of us being hostages.¡± Stella nods. ¡°Though lying down makes us very vulnerable.¡± I shrug my shoulders. ¡°We are surrounded and heavily outnumbered. I guess it doesn''t matter if we are standing, sitting or lying down.¡± We decide to lie down on the ground and wait for the guards to arrive. It doesn''t take long until the first ones appear, while using the trees and bushes around us as cover. A long, silent stand-off follows while they are obviously waiting for new orders. I guess they weren''t prepared for the situation which was awaiting them. Padma calls out to the guards, but gets rebuffed and ordered to stay at her place without speaking. The minutes go by and our group waits in silent anticipation until a figure with authority appears. A middle aged man with many decorations on his uniform appears on one of the trails, walking towards us. His blue hair is in the process of turning grey and there is a scar running from his cheek down his neck and disappears under his brown uniform. He has thirty soldiers behind him and while he approaches us, the rest of the surrounding forces are coming closer until we are completely surrounded. Stella grumbles at my side. ¡°I am beginning to think that this was a bad idea. Why do I have to prostrate myself in front of soldiers?¡± Ivy whispers. ¡°It would be unwise to make an offensive move now. Being surrounded isn''t a beneficial tactical situation.¡± I can''t help myself and answer with a smirk. ¡°A wise man said that being surrounded is good because no matter in which direction you attack, you can''t miss.¡± Stella isn''t convinced and whispers. ¡°That guy was an idiot!¡± Adala steps forward. ¡°General Greywinter! It''s good to see you! I hoped to find someone trustworthy and you being here is truly a blessing. We need to talk to the Great Shaman as soon as possible. Our allies betrayed us to force our troops into the wrong positions.¡± Greywinter''s eyes dart back and forth between Adala and us. ¡°We thought you guys were dead. Would you care to explain the situation to me?¡± Padma enters the conversation and gives the general a summary on what happened before and after the attack. After a little more than ten minutes she finally ends her explanation. ¡°... and that''s why we have to deploy all of our troops at the northern border.¡± The expressionless general listened the entire time without saying a word and doesn''t answer for several more moments after Adala is finished. Finally his expressionless mask falls and he knits his eyebrows together in deep thought. ¡°These are disturbing news and if you are right, our security is compromised. For now I''ll escort you and our visitors to the Great Shaman. I''ll make sure that he knows what''s going on.¡± Since the situation seems to be resolved I stand up and stretch myself. ¡°Finally. Any longer and I would''ve fallen asleep.¡± Stella steps towards the general and bows slightly. ¡°It''s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Stella Gejene, second princess of Nict. This is Azir Zait, my fiancee, and our servant Ivy and our guards.¡± The general nods. ¡°I must admit to find it strange that Nict suddenly shows interest in their neighbours. It is a huge gesture to send a princess with only a handful of guards into foreign territory. What do you gain by helping us?¡± Stella offers Greywinter a dazzling smile. ¡°To our southern border is a lawless conglomerate of small warring states and we get attacked by them at regular intervals. The eastern border is threatened by unfriendly nomads who tend to attack any village without a huge fighting force. It would be very bothersome if the north turned into a spawning pool for conquest driven barbarians.¡± Greywinter presses his lips together. ¡°So you are only concerned for the stability of your own borders.¡± After a second of contemplation he shrugs his shoulders. ¡°That reason is at least believable. Come, I''ll escort you to the Great Shaman to tell your story.¡± Greywinter turns around and walks back the path he came. We follow him in close proximity. Two of the guards are carrying the stepper disc, which is tolerated after a short explanation. Though Greywinter doesn''t allow us to bring the disc into the Great Shaman''s tower. We are led through a mostly empty city. The general explains to us that he cleared the entire area for his troops. My unannounced appearance created a small panic and so the area was evacuated. We walk between the high, towering buildings. The green glass makes them look like a work of art and combined with the strange mountain around us the place gives off a surrealistic feeling. There are no carriages on the streets, but from time to time a magnetic train shoots by, making only a silent, buzzing sound. The few people who are still on the streets evade our group in respectful distance, or are forced aside by the soldiers from Dwem. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. There are no street lights, but after a while I notice strange devices in regular intervals. They are poles coming out of the ground and they are about two metres high. On top of them is something like an antenna. I concentrate on one of the machines and activate my mana sight. They are magically active and are influencing the passive mana in the area. A mana net, I suspected that their technology is higher than Nict''s. I grin and activate mind magic to tap into their network. At first I don''t get immediate access, which is a little frustrating. After formulating a few new techno-charms a window pops up in my field of vision. I got access and they even speak my language. Looks like the empire did a good job in forcing the same language and writing system onto all of its vassal states. I prowl through their form of the mana net until I find something akin to a news forum. There are various headlines from local news to countrywide ones. The biggest ones are a huge bummer to me. They read ''Nict silences our envoys. War imminent?'' and ''Barbarian troops are advancing with yet another new weapon''. I continue to sift through the information and finally decide to activate my secret weapon by tapping on Ivy''s shoulder and whisper. ¡°Are you inside too?¡± Ivy nods. ¡°The site and password are the same as at home.¡±
~~ Secret Chat Room: Sleeping Corner ~~ -Creator connected- Members present: Creator, SexySpider Creator: You were fast in setting up a secure space within their net. Can you continue to search their net for information? I found some disturbing news articles. SexySpider: I am already hacking one of their secured servers, though it''s progressing slowly. They are very familiar with this technology. I can''t just do as I please without leaving traces of my presence. Creator: I see. Do what you can. By the way, how did you get the information from the drone? SexySpider: I flew it inside. There are ventilation shafts. Creator: What!? What if it gets seen! I''ll strangle you. SexySpider: It won''t get seen. There is a huge cloud formation around the central structure inside the mountain. It''s currently circling inside the cloud. Creator: Ah... That''s fine then. SexySpider: It''s surprising that an organic mind like yours managed to get access to the network on its own. This net isn''t as freely accessible as ours. Creator: You shouldn''t forget that most of your knowledge in this area comes from me... and I didn''t program everything I know into you. The rest is for yourself to find out. SexySpider: What? How could you? To intentionally create an imperfect me! You are a cruel Creator! Creator: Otherwise it wouldn''t be funny to watch you struggling. You are much too smart anyway. SexySpider: To watch me struggle? Sadist! Creator: It seems like we arrived at our destination, I''ll leave the rest to you. -Creator disconnected- Members present: SexySpider SexySpider: Knowing your god and being able to speak to him isn''t desirable at all... having a god who can''t talk back is much better! Next time I''ll read up on the southern religion.
I blink and the chat window vanishes. While I was talking to Ivy and searching the net we arrived at a huge central tower. It seems like the structure reaches up to the peak of the mountain. I think my drone measured the mountain at about three thousand metres. The ceiling is high enough for clouds to form in this huge glass house. Actually comparing this mountain to a huge glass house is a good idea. Anyway, the tower is vanishing inside those clouds. Greywinter stops and faces us. ¡°This is the tower of the Great Shaman. We''ll allow five of you to accompany Adala, Padma and Eliot. Please leave any weapons behind.¡± He turns and walks into the tower. Adala and her friends follow him with Stella on their heels. I shrug my shoulders and signal for Ivy and two guards to follow. They hastily give their weapons to the other guards who stay behind to protect the stepper disc. Inside the tower is a huge reception room, but Greywinter guides us further inside without caring for the receptionist. There are several doors which lead in different directions, probably to staircases and offices. At the other end of the room is a big door and upon pressing a button the door-wings swing open and we step into the small room behind them. I chuckle upon realizing that I am inside an elevator! The door-wings close and I feel my weight increasing as the door disappears and is replaced by a wall. Other doors start passing by in rapid succession, we are accelerating towards the top. Stella steps nervously from one foot to the other; probably this place is like wonderland to her. There is no need to worry though. I put on my brightest smile and look at her. She takes a breath, realizing that she didn''t keep cool. Upon looking into my eyes she relaxes and gets her usual demeanour back. After a while the elevator stops at a very extravagant door and it opens. We enter a big room with a setup like a coliseum with us in its centre. There is a single huge chair in an elevated position directly in front of us and five chairs in lower positions to either side of it. Several guards are lined up at the walls. We don''t have to wait long for three people to appear. There is an elderly man and a fat woman of the grandmother type. They take their seats on the lower chairs. The third person isn''t as old as them, but much smaller. He has a formidable beard and something like a totem in his hand. His hair is flaming red and a mask covers the upper half of his face. The dwarf walks over to the chair in the middle, which is much too big for him. Then he struggles to get seated, but fails miserably. After several tries he sighs and shakes his totem, a gust of wind goes through the room and the dwarf floats up and into his chair. It can''t be... could this really be... ¡°I am the Great Shaman!¡± The dwarf proclaims loudly from his seat. ¡°Hereby I declare this meeting as opened.¡± He gestures at us. ¡°You may speak.¡± Adala steps forward and introduces us, then she repeats our story while being assisted by Padma and Eliot. The Great Shaman listens to everything without interrupting us, much like Greywinter did. At the end a heavy silence falls onto the room. Just the sounds of the Great Shaman''s fingers can be heard as he taps them onto the armrests of his chair. The rhythm is strange, but melodic at the same time. Then the Great Shaman decides to speak. ¡°Thank you for risking your lifes to bring me this information. If your story is true, then Dwem is in grave danger.¡± He gestures to five of the guards. ¡°Bring them.¡± The guards leave through a door at the room''s side. The Great Shaman returns his attention to us. ¡°I''ve just one problem now.¡± The guards return with two people between them. It''s an old woman and a man. I recognize both of them. Padma calls out and tries to run over to the woman, but one of the guards stops her. ¡°Grandmother!¡± Adala and Eliot are equally shocked. ¡°Saana!¡± ¡°Triz?¡± The two whom we believed to be abducted as corpses are standing across from us, alive and healthy. It''s the old woman Saana and one of the servants, apparently called Triz. He is a young man with brown hair and a slim frame. His face is lean and he looks tired, but nonetheless there is a strange fire in his eyes. Saana smiles warmly and with tears in her eyes. ¡°I am so happy that you are alive Padma. I thought you were dead.¡± Her eyes wander to Stella and me, then her expression turns vicious. ¡°What are those treacherous murderers doing here!?¡± Triz assists her in her emotional outburst. ¡°Yes, that''s right. If it hadn''t been for the special forces team from the southern nations, we would be dead. They saved us just in time. Why are you even speaking to them, Great Shaman!? Nict can''t be trusted!¡± The Great Shaman leans back in his chair and looks at the ceiling. ¡°My problem is... whom should I believe?¡± Once again he starts tapping his chair''s armrests with his fingertips. . 55. ~Flip a coin.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°About the political and religious differences between the known countries: The southern nations are a collection of small city states which are in a constant state of fighting for supremacy. When the Empire separated, the entire region was torn apart by war because local warlords and self proclaimed kings tried to grasp the power, but nobody managed to fill the power vacuum. That''s the state of things ever since the Empire fell and the people of the southern nations seem unable to resolve their problems on their own. That''s why many people say that the politics of the southerners are like the wind. And they aren''t wrong since the rulers of the southern nations change as fast as they are killed and replaced. Their religious system reflects their political discord. The people of the southern nations worship many different gods and deities. They believe that everything of great importance must have its own guardian spirit. If you walk into a southern bar with fifty people it''ll be hard to find more than two people who share the same faith. The same way it''s not uncommon for them to honour their faith in different ways. You may find relatively reasonable people with a strange religion, or you come across a crazed fanatic who wishes to convert everyone to his faith. It''s hard to tell if the multitude of religions in one place is the cause for their disunity. What''s for sure is that their local warlords and kings always find a reason to reach out for control over the southern nations, may it be politics, religion or for the sake of power itself.¡± -The writings of Dwem. ***Dwem, Capital*** ***Azir*** The Great Shaman sighs. ¡°Hard decisions require certain methods.¡± He pulls a coin from his pocket and flips it up into air. ¡°Head is north and tail is south!¡± The coin spins wildly until it lands in his hand. ¡°General Greywinter, Deploy all of our troops at the northern frontier.¡± The old, grandmotherly woman to the shaman''s right raises a finger. ¡°Please don''t play those games with us Great Shaman. This is a grave matter and the existence of our nation may depend on it.¡± The Shaman tilts his head while looking at the coin. ¡°Why? The coin never lied to me, it got me through the national exams and answered all ten thousand questions without fail.¡± He holds it to his chest. The old man to the Shaman''s right stomps the ground with his foot. ¡°Nobody throws a coin over ten thousand times and gets always the right answers! You are playing with us, what led to your decision? Did you deduce who lied to us?¡± The Shaman shrugs his shoulders. ¡°Fine, let''s reason it through, though asking the coin is much easier.¡± He stores the coin away. ¡°I don''t know who is lying, but it doesn''t matter. One party is saying that Nict is a danger, the other says it is not. Until now it looked like we are forced into a war on two fronts.¡± He pulls a handful of beans from another pocket and throws one bean in front of Saana and Triz. ¡°They were brought to us by the southern nations as eyewitnesses. One point.¡± He throws a bean in front our group. ¡°They brought us eye witnesses too.¡± Another bean lands in front of Saana. ¡°The reports say that Nict is mobilizing troops and rebuilding their fleet.¡± He throws a bean in front of us. ¡°The investigation team always reported that the fellows from Nict aren''t interested in war and that we should stay calm.¡± Another bean lands in front of us. ¡°They sent us their second princess.¡± And another. ¡°None of the reports ever said that the Gejene would throw one of their family members away.¡± One more bean. ¡°I read tons of reports about them over the years and nothing ever hinted at them being cruel to their own blood. They wouldn''t send us their princess and attack us afterwards.¡± He corrects his mask. ¡°And it doesn''t really matter in the end. We can''t fight on two fronts and if Nict suddenly turns hostile I prefer to be conquered by Nict, rather than the barbarians.¡± His eyes flick to general Greywinter. ¡°So deploy the troops to the north and secure the southern ambassadors.¡± Triz steps forward. ¡°You can''t-¡± The Shaman throws the entire fist of beans at Triz and Saana. The beans sprout ranks and roots in mid air, catching Saana and Triz in a tight web of plants and immobilizing them. ¡°Nobody tells the Great Shaman what he can''t do! The Great Shaman has spoken and when the Great Shaman speaks, the others listen and follow!¡± General Greywinter turns pale and hurriedly leaves the room to execute the Great Shaman''s commands. Whoa, I raise an eyebrow. This guy has a huge ego, but I admire his skill with the beans. I didn''t see that spell coming, was it a ritual? He didn''t cast at all. The Great Shaman slides off of his seat. ¡°The only question to me is how you got turned. I can''t imagine the good old Saana to provoke a war of her own free will.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.I raise a finger. ¡°Maybe they are under some kind of mind control? I could take a look at them.¡± The Great Shaman summons another gust of wind and floats down from his heightened position. He lands right in front of me and I have to look down on him. The Great Shaman scratches his cheek with his totem. ¡°You are that soul magician... we abhor your kind... but since you haven''t done anything offensive so far we''ll let you be. I am sorry, but I can''t allow you to do anything to them. Your party isn''t proven to be free of guilt. If I let you do something to them, you could manipulate them.¡± He turns away, patting the side of his head with his totem. ¡°I had to make a decision because time is short. The coin already made the decision for me anyway, I just had to justify it.¡± I snort. Is his coin just a bad joke, or some kind of divination magic? If so, it seems to be a powerful one. Stella bows to the Shaman. ¡°Then shouldn''t we take the ambassadors from the southern nations to the task? I would like to hear their opinion about their peace treaty with us.¡± The Shaman stops. ¡°Nict has a peace treaty with the southern nations? Another point that doesn''t add up.¡± He gestures at the guards. ¡°Bring them here. I am sick of this. Once I have everyone in one place someone will surely falter and reveal the truth.¡± Padma walks over to her grandmother with a worried expression on her face. ¡°Grandma, why are you lying?¡± Saana looks betrayed at Padma. ¡°You are the one who is lying! How can you help those murderers!?¡± ¡°They saved us! What did they do to you?¡± Padma screams at Saana. The two of them continue their heated exchange without caring for their surroundings. In the meantime my mind turns in circles. Was Saana a double agent from the beginning, or did she get influenced somehow? Unfortunately the Great Shaman dislikes my idea to take a look into their minds. I turn to Adala. ¡°Is there a ritual to check their minds.¡± Adala shakes her head. ¡°Unfortunately it''s very hard for shamanistic rituals to influence someone''s mind without damaging it. Our magic is very powerful, but that''s its weak spot. If it was that easy, the Great Shaman would''ve done it already.¡± I see, a ritual can easily guide huge amounts of magic, or achieve complicated results which seem miraculous by the standards of other magical systems. But the crude and complicated methods of a ritual are unfit to influence the mind of a sentient being. It''s like trying to use a programming language that''s not intended for the purpose. You might be able to pull it off, but the results will always be marginal compared to other languages. ¡°So you don''t have any people who are specializing in influencing someone''s mind?¡± Adala shakes her head. ¡°We don''t have mind magicians like in Nict. The only ones who practice mind magic are the techno mages, but they aren''t capable of twisting someone like this.¡± She gestures at Saana and Triz. Suddenly I get an idea. ¡°Great Shaman? It might be problematic if someone from Nict checks on Saana and Triz, but what if we gave you a tool to do so? You could check the tool''s function yourself before you use it on them. That way you could be sure that they aren''t influenced.¡± I am thinking of my memory mirror. We just have to touch it and show them our memories. Then they can take a look at their own memories and see for themselves that it works properly. As a little side effect I''ll get a little peak inside the Great Shaman''s head! The Great Shaman looks at me and licks over his lips. ¡°It doesn''t hurt to take a look. Bring it.¡± I turn to Ivy and smile at her. My servant rolls with her eyes. ¡°I understand. Go and fetch the mirror.¡± She leaves with the elevator, accompanied by one of the Shaman''s guards. Stella walks slowly to my side and whispers into my ear. ¡°I hope the mirror won''t show any problematic scenes this time?¡± ¡°Of course not, what are you thinking.¡± At least I hope it doesn''t. The Great Shaman shakes his totem. ¡°Why is it taking so long to fetch those guys from the southern nations. Are they having a picnic in the outer layers of the city?¡± One of the guards bows in respect. ¡°Indeed, you instructed us to give them quarters as far away from you as possible. You said that you don''t want their sick ambassador anywhere close to you.¡± The Shaman glares at the guard. ¡°Indeed. There was an order like this.¡± Then he continues to walk nervously in circles around the room and studies his totem like it could grant him new knowledge. After a while I can''t stand his nervous attitude any more and offer him something that always helps me to calm down. ¡°Why don''t you eat something sweet while we wait. It helps to relax.¡± I pull the chocolate bar from my chest pocket and offer it to him. He glares at the bar and shakes his totem above it. A test for poison? I hear people gasp, but don''t get their problem. Finally the Great Shaman accepts the chocolate bar and takes a hearty bite. After a while he nods. ¡°That''s good stuff. Maybe you aren''t a bad guy after all.¡± I smile satisfied, of course it''s good, I buy only the best quality. Upon turning around I find Stella looking like she wants to hide somewhere. Adala has a sick expression, while Eliot and Padma are looking somewhere else. . 56. ~Uncovered.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°The Great Shaman''s coin is one of the most powerful divination artefacts in existence.¡± -The writings of Dwem. ***Dwem, Capital*** ***Azir*** The elevator''s doors open and Ivy appears, pulling the huge memory mirror into the room. Seems like she refused the guard''s help once again. Is she trying to train her body? Finally she arrives in the middle of the room. ¡°Done!¡± She pulls a towel from a pocket of her skirt and cleans the mirror dutifully. I walk over to the mirror while the Dwemer are watching the mirror with suspicion. ¡°You were fast, Ivy.¡± She smiles and places her hands at the sides of her hips. ¡°I rewired the stepper plate in our house to teleport directly from there. That way I saved some time.¡± The Great Shaman comes closer and looks at the mirror without touching it. ¡°So this thing can show someone''s memories?¡± I nod and touch the mirror. ¡°It''s not hard to use at all. You touch the mirror and concentrate on the memory you want to show.¡± A scene of Ghost appears while he is hunting our gardener. ¡°Whoops... that''s my pet, sorry. Of course you have to concentrate really hard, or something else from your subconscious might show up.¡± I steady myself and try again. This time it''s my point of view from the night when the Dwemer''s mansion got attacked. ¡°Having no sound weakens the show a bit, but it was hard enough to get the thing to the point of showing pictures. Some people might think that it should be easy to access sound once you can read images inside someone''s mind, but that''s not how the brain works. Sound and pictures are processed in different ways and therefore it doesn''t necessarily mean that you can easily access both at the same time. I could''ve pepped the thing up to add the sounds on its own, according to the user''s imagination. Though that would''ve enabled the user to betray reality. This mirror only shows what the one who is touching it experienced himself.¡± The Great Shaman scratches his chin with his totem. ¡°Those images are awfully detailed. I am proud of my memory, but even I can''t call up such detailed memories. Are you directly accessing the soul''s memories?¡± I shake my head. ¡°It would be much too hard to read the information directly from the soul. If I knew a way to do that, I could access all the memories of my soul''s entire existence. No. This device only reads the lingering electromagnetic effects in your current body''s brain. Everything you ever see or hear leaves an echo behind. That''s what we call a memory. If the echo is strong enough you can access it and remember something. This device filters this echo and amplifies it. In other words, it can only show what you really experienced with your body.¡± The Great Shaman nods and gestures for a soldier. ¡°Try it.¡± The soldier does as told, calling upon a memory of him drinking something in a bar. The soldier testifies for its accuracy and the Great Shaman orders a few others to test the device, even telling them to imagine something which didn''t happen. On those cases the mirror either showed nothing, or something which happened. After a few experiments the Great Shaman touches the mirror himself and I get to see a scene of him handling some feathers and beans. The scene switches again to his point of view, looking down on us from his seat. He throws his coin and catches it again, showing tails. A skilled flick of his thumb turns the coin to the head''s side. ¡°I knew it! The stupid coin never gave you the right answers! It''s all a trick!¡± The old man who seems to be the Shaman''s aide shouts from his seat. The Great Shaman lets go of the mirror. ¡°Ahem. It seems like this device is working accurately.¡± He turns around and shakes his totem at the old man. ¡°And never, ever doubt the coin''s answers! The coin knows everything! It''s just hard for it to share its knowledge since it can''t speak. Of course the coin''s revelations aren''t always easy to interpret. It''s the questioner''s job to come to the right conclusion.¡± Then he faces our group. ¡°Please take turns to show me your side of the events.¡± One by one we get to see how everyone experienced the night in question. Ivy kept staying beside the mirror for the entire time, guarding it like a watchdog. When it is Eliot''s turn the unimaginable happens. His eyes flick towards Ivy and a problematic scene appears in the mirror. It''s Eliot''s point of view while he is lying naked on his back. The huge rack of a well endowed girl fills his vision while her hips move in a certain rhythm back and forth. Eliot hastily lets go of the mirror and the image disappears. ¡°It isn''t what it looks like!¡± The Great Shaman says nothing while he is staring at Eliot. The silence within the room is complete and Eliot looks like he wants to die on the spot. After a while the Great Shaman points at the mirror. ¡°Try again.¡± Eliot turns to the mirror and this time he succeeds and lets out a sigh of great relief. The Great Shaman only scratches his neck in a disinterested manner. ¡°Tch! I wanted to see her face.¡± Then he shakes his totem at Eliot. ¡°Boy, from now on you visit my tower every day!¡± Eliot turns pale. ¡°It was just once! And I''ll regret it my entire life! Please spare me!¡± The Great Shaman looks surprised. ¡°Only once? And I thought that I had found a formidable teacher. Well, even if it''s like that... persuading such a nice girl only once is more than I ever achieved. You''ll teach me how you managed that feat!¡± The dwarf turns to Saana and Triz, then he gestures with his hand and the vines and roots which are holding them. The roots move them closer to the mirror and let go of Saana''s hand. The Great Shaman gestures at the mirror. ¡°Prove your story.¡± Saana looks at the mirror with an expression of dismay. She touches the mirror, but nothing happens. After a few moments of strained staring new images start forming. A hooded man is standing above her and Triz. A strange red glow is coming from a magical circle around them, but that''s not what piques my interest. He is holding a very familiar amulet with a hexagon. The amulet is glowing and the man gives instructions to Saana and Triz. Saana lets go of the mirror and the picture vanishes. Her eyes show a crazed expression. ¡°I failed my master!¡± She tries to claw at the Great Shaman, but the roots catch her free hand and secure it. I click with my tongue. ¡°I guess they were bound with enslavement magic.¡± The Great Shaman grumbles. ¡°That amulet. The symbol stood for the emperor...¡± He turns to the guards. ¡°Take them away! They are tainted. Secure them and make sure that they can''t harm themselves!¡± Then he faces me. ¡°I think the southerners have a lot of explaining to do.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. The amulet is a symbol for the emperor? I tap the mirror with my fingertip and concentrate on a certain scene. A black magician appears with a deformed black wing on his back. He is holding a very similar amulet to the one which we just saw. The Great Shaman shakes his totem at the figure. ¡°The same amulet! Who is that?¡± I let go of the mirror and shrug my shoulders. ¡°Someone I killed a long time ago. The amulet just reminded me of him.¡± In the meantime the guards had taken Saana and Triz away, but we don''t get to relax. The elevator''s doors open and five new people enter the room. They are clad in expensive, red tunics and jewellery is covering their necks and fingers. I squint my eyes and inspect them closer with my mana sight. The mana distribution in their bodies is somehow off, but I don''t know why. The lead figure steps forward. He immediately got my attention since his face and hands are covered in bandages. A slimy, red liquid oozes out through them and the stench is breathtaking. The man''s voice sounds like he swallowed something and is choking on it. ¡°I see that you got visitors...¡± The Great Shaman gestures at the new arrivals and the summoned roots and vines encircle them in respectful distance. ¡°Indeed. They brought me interesting news. News which question our alliance with the southern nations. I suppose you know what I am speaking of?¡± I slowly slide away from my position and over to Stella''s side. ¡°Is there a sickness which can''t be treated with magic? Why does he have those bandages?¡± Stella shakes her head. ¡°There are some germs which are problematic, but advanced, medical spells are able to heal almost everything. I never heard of something like this.¡± The man finally decides to answer. ¡°I see that you must''ve dealt with our little diversion. It''s bothersome, but it won''t change the outcome of this conflict. You''ll only delay the inevitable.¡± The Great Shaman points his totem at the men and shakes it. ¡°So you admit it? Whom are you working for!? Tell me, or I''ll beat it out of you.¡± ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Mr. Bandages laughs with glee. ¡°I am sure that a small man like you would have a hard time in trying to do so.¡± He spreads his hands and bows slightly in a familiar manner. ¡°The Master is working hard to regain what rightfully belongs to him. We''ll give you the chance to surrender now. If you offer us the princess as a little present, then we might consider to stop the barbarians from slaughtering everyone.¡± His eyes turn to Stella. The Great Shaman shakes his totem and the roots shoot out in an attempt to spear the group of enemies, but an invisible force blocks them. Mr. Bandages speaks disappointedly. ¡°It''s sad that you aren''t as smart as everyone says.¡± He gestures at the Great Shaman and the small body is flung away and against the nearest wall. I immediately start gathering mana, these guys seem to be strong. Suddenly everyone moves at once as the enemies disperse, taking targets of opportunity. One of them is coming right at us and I step in front of Stella while reaching into my pocket. There I search for the remote control for my drone. The man points his finger at me and I feel myself being lifted up into the air. Before he can use the full force of his telekinesis I anchor myself with fortification magic in my position. His ability tears at my body, but all he achieves is moving me a few centimetres. With his attention on me he totally ignored Stella, who jumped him like a fury. She makes a somersault in the air and brings her left leg down on him, crushing his hastily raised arms. His fate is sealed once she manages to grab his forward leg. The poor guy turns into a club and Stella jumps at the one who went for Adala, glowing strengthening runes all over her skin and swinging her victim without care for his well being. I decide to intercept Mr. Bandages, who approached the Great Shaman. Surprised, Bandages stops when I position myself between him and the Shaman. A flick of my wrist sends a series of arcane missiles at him, but the spells simply evaporate in front of him. He spreads his hands to mock me. ¡°You are still defying me? Don''t you understand that your magic doesn''t work? Didn''t you realize that I am way more powerful than during our first encounter?¡± So he is the same person after all. ¡°I wouldn''t be so high and mighty. Looks like you didn''t get away unharmed. At least I know that a nuke into your face hurts you!¡± His expression turns sour. ¡°So the spell is called nuke? I admit that it surprised me. Such a powerful spell deserves a better name, I''ll steal it for my master.¡± He points his open palm at me and I cast a barrier of the fourth order. The Great Shaman is safe since he is well protected behind me while everything around us gets shredded. I grin. ¡°So your ability is restricted to the physical world. I already feared that you have something like an ultimate protection spell.¡± He snorts. ¡°My protection was granted by the Master himself. Nothing can penetrate it, it is the ultimate defence. You were right to fear me!¡± Somehow I can''t believe that. ¡°I wonder if it''s really so impenetrable... tell me... why can I see you if your spell blocks everything?¡± He turns flabbergasted. ¡°What?¡± I pull the remote control for my drone from my pocket and rule the regulator to the maximum. It''s a highly effective communication laser. Probably I should have written a warning onto it. Don''t point this at people''s eyes or unprotected skin. As I do now. Mr. Bandages screams as the ray of light sears directly into his eyes. The bandage starts smouldering and I smell burned flesh. Then he falls to the ground and starts crying like a little child. I switch the laser off and walk over to him, kicking him in the guts with all my might. Somehow my shoe sinks into his flesh and he starts bleeding from his belly. ¡°This is a more serious case of radiation sickness than I thought. I am amazed that you managed to survive the nuke.¡± He spurts blood. ¡°The Master will punish you for this! Our army will overrun Dwem and then Nict is next on the list. Your weird spells won''t change anything!¡± I reach down and grab his forehead, trying to read his mind. But before I can do so he shudders and lies still, he is dead. I wipe my hand and shoe on his tunic and get up to find the rest of the southerners defeated. They were heavily outnumbered after all. Stella is still busily beating one of them, does she have personal issues with them, or is it just letting off steam? The Great Shaman gets to his feet. ¡°Such a shame! To be caught off guard by such a simple spell. Well, at least they showed us their true face.¡± I nod, but somehow I am not happy with the outcome. ¡°They were a little too sure of their victory if you ask me.¡± . 57. ~New threats.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°And a blinding light pierced the Sky. The power which was given by the Emperor to the third general stopped armies and eradicated cities. The general who commanded the Light committed the greatest atrocities of all while the Empire was forged. It was lucky for the rebellion that he was the first to fall.¡± -The forbidden Chronicle. ***Dwem, Capital*** ***Azir*** The Great Shaman reaches into his pocket and pulls out his coin, then he flicks it to me and I catch it just in time. He grins and shakes his totem at me. ¡°Take that as a little thank you for helping me out. It''s no ordinary coin, so take good care of it.¡± I turn the coin between my fingers. No matter how I look at it, it''s just a badly made golden coin. The shape isn''t exactly round, more like an oval and the markings on both sides have almost faded into nothingness. On one side is something which could be a building, while the other shows the outlines of a person without distinct features. The surface is smooth from many years of touching it. At least it seems to be old. ¡°Are you sure? It seemed like you are attached to this item.¡± The Great Shaman shrugs his shoulders and pulls another coin from his pocket. ¡°Don''t worry, I have more of them.¡± He flips the new coin and catches it. ¡°Coins have power. Don''t underestimate them, just because you don''t understand it.¡± The crazy dwarf walks away to talk with one of his subordinates. I store the coin away to take a look at it later. The muffled whimpering of one of the southerners draws my attention, it''s Stella''s victim. After his face turned into a swollen mess Stella turned to other means of inflicting pain. She is sitting on top of him while holding one of his hands. Everyone else keeps a respectful distance from her and the target of the violence. ¡°How many troops do you have?¡± He shakes his head and a second later Stella snaps his pinky. The guy starts wriggling, but Stella twists his hand to force him down. ¡°You are related to the Black Magicians! Aren''t you? Who ordered the assassination attempt?¡± Once again the guy refuses to answer and his index finger receives two new joints. Ah, so she suspected them to be related to the attack on her. I thought she hadn''t figured it out yet. My report back then made it seem like I killed most of the guys directly responsible. I walk over to Stella and place a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Dear? Can I have him? This interrogation method isn''t civilised at all.¡± She looks up to me. ¡°I am not done!¡± I point at him. ¡°But he is.¡± After a moment of indecision Stella moves away from the southerner, but not without stomping onto his shin, breaking it. He does an admirable job in not giving in to the pain. I kneel down beside the guy and smile at him. ¡°Do you know who I am?¡± He nods. ¡°You are the mind magician.¡± ¡°If you don''t resist your mind may stay intact. I am only offering this because I feel generous.¡± And because I don''t want to tire myself needlessly. His expression turns crazy. ¡°The Master himself entrusted us with our task. There is no way that I would betray his cause!¡± ¡°So you are under the influence of enslavement magic too?¡± That''s not good. It means that he''ll fight to the last. I''ll have a headache after this. ¡°This will hurt you more than me.¡± I place my hand on his forehead and invade his mind. He greets me with an attack of raw emotions and if I hadn''t steadied myself, I would''ve been swept away. I imagine needles attacking his defences, but he locks up and turns inwards in an attempt to block me. Without caring I claw at his mental defences until they crumble. He was in a bad state to begin with, but his mind still doesn''t give up and tries to slip my grasp. If he keeps that up he''ll die before I get anything out of him. Not having any other choice I start attacking with my raw will and tear memories from his mind piece by piece. Memories and images flash by while he is trying to regain control, but it further slips from his grasp with each passing moment. He doesn''t yield and fights until finally something vital inside him breaks. His mind shatters like glass and robs me of the possibility to get any more information. I blink to focus my eyes. His twitching body is on his knees and his mouth is open in a soundless scream. The eyes are turned upwards to the point of showing only the white in them. Slowly the twitching stops and he breathes out one final time like sighing, relieved. Then he lies still. He fought his last fight without reason, like an animal. I clean my hand on his tunic and stand up, rubbing my temples. I feel a strange pulling sensation in my head and something seems to throb directly behind my eyes. ¡°This''ll turn into a nasty headache!¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.¡°So if hurting someone isn''t civilised, then what is that supposed to be?¡± Stella points at the corpse to my feet. Adala has a sick expression on her face and Padma is a little pale. Eliot walks closer to take a look at the southerner. ¡°Dude! No matter how often I see it, I''ll never get used to this! Nict''s mind magic is freaky!¡± I attempt to step away from the corpse, but realize in time that the Great Shaman showed up at my side. He shakes his totem at the corpse. ¡°So did you gain anything from frying the brain of one of our only prisoners without consultation?¡± Ah, well. Sorry for not asking. ¡°You wouldn''t have gotten anything out of him. He was under the influence of enslavement magic and it was a strong one at that. At least I got some information from him. It''s the first time that I got my hands on someone who was a little deeper involved in this.¡± The Great Shaman turns impatient. ¡°Don''t beat about the bush and get to the point. What are we dealing with?¡± I point at the corpse to my feet. ¡°This guy was the minion of Mr. Bandages over there. They were part of a secret underground network which is working all over the world. Their orders come from someone whom they call the Master. He taught them magic and bound them with enslavement spells to his will. It seems like Mr. Bandages was very high in the Master''s esteem until he lost the network in Nict. The master punished them with a small scale operation as ambassadors in Dwem. They had no other purpose than to keep up the appearances.¡± I gather my thoughts. ¡°This network of theirs seems to be huge. He has memories of far away places, at least one of them seems to be Quinn.¡± The Great Shaman scratches himself with his totem. ¡°They aren''t from the southern nations?¡± I continue rubbing my temple while I am trying to sort the information I got. ¡°They aren''t. The southern nations are just a pawn, like the barbarians. He wasn''t involved in any other operations. Ah, that''s right. I saw a map of the northern border. I got a good glimpse on their troop deployment, but that''s not our main concern. They intend to break your defence by using a new weapon. They called it the Light of the Emperor, seemed like an-.¡± The Great Shaman screams. ¡°Repeat that!¡± I wince, loud sounds aren''t nice to my brain right now. ¡°Their secret weapon is called the Light of the Emperor.¡± The Great Shaman runs out of the room. ¡°Call general Greywinter! Gather all remaining forces and get them to the border!¡± I look at Stella, but she is as clueless as me. Then I let my gaze wander over the other people in the room until Padma finally seems to know something. She makes a helpless gesture. ¡°The Light of the Emperor is one of the great artefacts with which the Emperor forged his empire. He had seven of them, one for each of his generals and one for himself. The Light is said to be the most dangerous one, though to my knowledge all of his artefacts were lost or destroyed during the rebellion.¡± I tilt my head and try to remember what I saw. ¡°Could it possibly look like a big helmet with wings?¡± Padma shakes her head. ¡°No, there are some illustrations of the artefacts in our museum. Unfortunately the Light of the Emperor is always only shown as a pillar of light, parting the clouds and creating a wasteland. The other''s are better documented.¡± Adala looks at the ground and crosses her arms in front of her chest. ¡°There is always a figure with a winged helmet in those illustrations, pointing at the light.¡± A pillar of light parting the clouds? And a helmet? How could a helmet do something like that? I wish the guy''s memories weren''t so fragmented. It would be much easier to make sense out of them. Stella steps closer to Padma. ¡°Your historical records seem to be better than ours, could I take a look at them? There is almost nothing of that time in our libraries.¡± Padma shrugs her shoulders. ¡°Those aren''t restricted information. They are freely accessible in our museum, though there isn''t much more than you have in your library in Nict. I was always interested in history, so I compared them with each other. There are some slight differences in how the story goes, but the outline is the same. The only obvious differences are in how everything was perceived, like how the emperor was a conqueror to us and a great ruler to you.¡± I grumble. ¡°That''s all good and fine, but how can it be that his legacy suddenly shows up and bites us in the ass. I can imagine quite a few lights which are able to part the clouds and none of them bode well for your army.¡± In that moment the Great Shaman returns with general Greywinter, who is carrying a huge screen. I feel instantly reminded of my old world. The general is followed by two soldiers with a table and they set everything up in the middle of the room. The Great Shaman flicks his hand at the screen and it turns on, showing a map of the northern border. ¡°Can you show us their troop deployment? We need to find out where they have the Light and steal it from them. If they manage to activate it we will lose everything!¡± . 58. ~The Light.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°And may he, who collects all the Great Artefacts, open the Emperor''s vault and see the source of his might with his own eyes. May he shudder in fear and cry in despair, because only then will he realize that all his power can''t stand up to the Master of All.¡± -The forbidden Chronicle. ***Dwem, Capital*** ***Azir*** I watch the Great Shaman and general Greywinter brooding over the map with the enemy troop deployment. After a long and detailed discussion they finally stopped pestering me with questions. It has been three hours since we dealt with the southern delegation and this whole situation is becoming a mess. No matter what we do, the enemy keeps pulling aces from his deck. Well, they have obviously been planning this since a few hundred years ago and their goal seems to be nothing less than world dominance. This Master figure behind them must have some huge issues with himself and the world to show so much determination to this little project of his. To be honest, if it wouldn''t affect me I wouldn''t care about what they are doing at all. But that''s not the case, so I am currently trying to find a solution. Ivy is micromanaging our two drones, trying to find this helmet of theirs. I turned the drone which was headed towards the southern nations around a while ago, since I figured that we might need more of them. I face Ivy and whisper. ¡°How is the situation.¡± She keeps concentrating on her task. ¡°The first drone is already above their main army, but so far I had no luck in finding the helmet. The second drone just crossed the border to Nict, it''ll take some time for it to arrive.¡± The drones are fast, but it still takes time for them to travel such vast distances. Having them fly at maximum speed also depletes their energy reserves faster than they can regenerate them. Still, having two drones on-site is better than one. Dwem''s northern border is a line of bunkers and long range artillery positions. Their army is quite modern in terms of this world''s technology. They are even using rifles, though they are only one shot models. But they pack a punch and can penetrate any armour the barbarians mustered so far. In addition they are using grenades and sabres for close quarters combat. Most of their defence is concentrated on the central mountain pass to the north, which allows access to Dwem. The barbarians'' efforts so far concentrated on conquering the pass, so most of their troops are deployed there. The Shaman and Greywinter think that they''ll use their super weapon to take out the defences at that pass, which would practically end the war. Dwem''s whole army and strategy are built on entrenching themselves in a fortified position and to wait for the enemy. The so called barbarians on the other hand are from a country further north. They aren''t really barbarians, but the Dwemer are calling them so. I guess it makes killing them easier. If you use degrading phrases to describe your enemies it dehumanises them and lessens the moral burden. I won''t judge them for it. The barbarians are still mostly sticking to swords and bows, though they are recently beginning to use muskets, explosives and new spells. These new weapons were surely not created by them, but given by yet another party. Another point which speaks for them is numbers. The only reason that the Dwemer are able to hold them off is their artillery. Any attack by the barbarians is doomed to end in a bloodbath, shredded to pieces by the Dwemer''s ability to attack over long ranges. But lets assume that the barbarians have a weapon which can take out those artillery positions. The Dwemer''s army would be overrun in a single offensive. That''s why the Shaman and the General are planning to make a sally with all their troops as soon as they spot the helmet with their scopes. That''s a desperate plan in my opinion. Regarding the scopes, of course the Dwemer have a way to observe the enemy troops over long ranges via magic. Otherwise their nice artillery wouldn''t be half as effective. They even turned the throne room of the Great Shaman into a big video room to give the Shaman a good view on what''s going on while the general and his subordinates keep him informed. I am not as optimistic as them. They are hoping that it takes a while to activate the Light of the Emperor, so that they have time to retrieve it. I must admit that the helmet sounds like an interesting artefact and that I want it for myself. It''s a waste to give such a mighty artefact to someone who doesn''t even understand it... most likely. I am not saying that the Dwemer are unqualified idiots, they are more qualified in terms of technological knowledge than most. ¡°You are constantly updating the coordinates of the drone, aren''t you Ivy?¡± I whisper to her while Stella is distracting the Dwemer with her well meant advices. She is keeping them occupied with her offers to help. In the meanwhile I am preparing a little magical circle, all I need are the coordinates of the helmet. Ivy nods. ¡°They are updated every second.¡± Good. ¡°That reminds me, do you have a dagger stored away somewhere?¡± I could create my own weapon from mana, but that takes time and when I set my plan in motion I have to be quick. Every second counts. Ivy nods and pulls a blade out from under her boobs and hands it to me without attracting attention. Luckily everyone''s attention is glued to the screens which display the advancing barbarian forces. But seriously, what''s wrong with Ivy? First the map and now the dagger? I''ve to talk with her about this at some point. The dagger is short, but sharp and a little curved. It should be enough for my purposes, so I store it away under my jacket. Then I continue weaving the magical circle under my feet. Casting spells in a manner which doesn''t attract the attention of nearby mages is a hard task, but I am taking my time to keep the glowing after-effects of the circle hidden in the ground under my feet. My ability is also a great help in keeping the mana under control and the leakage to a minimum. The unfolding encounter between the troops of Dwem and the barbarians isn''t concerning me much. It isn''t very interesting to watch slowly advancing barbarian troops, while the Dwemer are waiting for them to get into range. Though the Great Shaman and general Greywinter are enthusiastically giving commands, which makes the whole situation a little absurd. Someone could come to the conclusion that there is a full scale battle going on. I sigh, commanding troops is a hassle. I hope that I never find myself in the situation of having to do so. By using mind magic I access a live video stream of my drone and observe the barbarian army. Right outside the Dwemer''s range, the whole barbarian army suddenly stops without any obvious command. One possibility is that they were trained very well, but that doesn''t seem likely when I look at their ragtag outfits. They look more like a huge mob of bandits to me. The other possibility is that they learned the hard way how far the Dwemer can shoot, which seems more likely. The barbarians who couldn''t judge the distance to the enemy artillery correctly are dead barbarians. What I am looking at are the survivors who are good at judging distances. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.Finally they start a long and enduring warcry until one of them steps forward, holding a winged helmet like a holy object. Probably he is the enemy commander. His leather armour looks a little more expensive and he has his own little honour guard. ¡°That''s it! Let the troops advance! We have to get that thing!¡± The Great Shaman shakes his totem at one of the video screens. I cuff Ivy into the side and nod. ¡°Let the operation begin!¡± My drone immediately turns to the target and accelerates, overloading its engine and diving down from high above the enemy army. Switching my attention to the Dwemer''s video screen I try to follow their viewpoint too while the drone rushes down to the barbarian commander. He is holding the helmet above his head now and the barbarian army charges forward like in a well choreographed battle scene. This would be a great movie scene, unfortunately it''s real. Then he lowers the helmet down onto his head and a strange aura starts surrounding him. It''s like a golden light is illuminating him and his eyes start gleaming with a strange golden glow. Then he points his finger towards the camera! Right this moment something slams into his position from above. My drone impacted at a speed of three thousand kilometres per hour, but there is no explosion or earth thrown upwards like someone would expect. The overloading gravitational field of the drone countered the force which would have thrown earth and rocks into all directions. Instead all available forces are directed into the direction the drone was travelling in. In this case downwards. It looks like someone took a gigantic invisible hammer and flattened the entire area around the enemy commander. The advance of the barbarian army comes to a complete halt and it seems like time stopped for a moment. That''s when I activate the magical circle, which I was weaving since quite a while now. The last coordinates of the drone serve as a perfect way to target my exit point. The world blurs into light and a moment later I find myself beside the barbarian commander. The drone crashed just three metres from him, creating a hole two metres wide. A mass of dead bodies surrounds us, crushed like a giant lowered his foot and stepped onto them. Everything is completely flat. Strangely enough the enemy commander is still alive and well. He just went to his knees, though he is panting heavily. Maybe the artefact protected him somehow by using his mana? Or did he get a power from the rumoured Master? No matter, it seems like blocking the drone took all his power. Then his head turns to me and his eyes widen. ¡°Hello.¡± I draw the dagger and ram it up to the hilt into his left eye. His hands twitch upwards, but I retrieve the dagger before he can grab me and he reaches through empty air. Probably it was just some kind of nerve reaction. The dagger is short, but long enough to reach his brain. It comes down at him again, this time finding the unprotected space between his leather armour and the helmet. Retrieve, stab, retrieve, stab, retrieve, stab and so on. This is going really well. Now I understand why some people like to use daggers. They are fast and effective, of course you have to get close enough first. He goes down, a surprised expression still on his face. ¡°The Master''s protec-¡± He doesn''t get to say more, since I drew the dagger across his throat. Neither am I interested in his opinion, nor do I have time to listen. I am working within a tight time-frame here. His blood sprays around and his heart doesn''t realize the death of the body. It continues to pump blood out of his wounds like a proper devoted heart should do. I bend down and try to pull the helmet from his head, but the thing doesn''t come off! Huh? That wasn''t within my calculations! Hastily I place my knee on his chest and grab the helmet with my right hand, then I start happily hacking away at his throat with the dagger. Normally I don''t really enjoy killing people. Sometimes it''s a necessity of life and simply has to be done. There is not really a reason to be happy or feel bad about it. If you want to keep what you have, others have to suffer and sometimes they have to die. It''s a whole other story if the person in question is threatening my peaceful life, or has something which he doesn''t deserve. Like this helmet. Finally his head comes off and I stand up, returning to a straight position with the helmet between my hands. It seems to be made out of gold and silver, one of the wings is a little bent. Probably it got damaged by the drone attack. There is a thin slit for the eyes and metal protectors go down to the chin to protect the cheeks. There are some engravings on the helmet, but I don''t recognize them as something which fulfils a purpose. They are probably only there for style. I look up and realize that I am facing an entire army of barbarians. Now that the initial shock is over they finally start moving and rapidly bridge the fifty metre wide gap between me and them, stumbling over their crushed comrades. Time to go back I guess? I place the helmet under my right arm and take a look at my beloved wristwatch. I built it myself and it''s loyally counting the time since I created it in elementary school. Twenty eight, twenty nine, thirty seconds! The delayed recast of my teleportation spell activates the magical circle in Dwem''s capital in reverse. The world blurs and I find myself back at Ivy''s side. The Dwemer and Stella are still staring at the video screens. The gazes of the guards are fixated on the screens too. I hand the bloody dagger back to Ivy and she takes it between two fingers, pulling out a handkerchief to clean it. My attention turns to the helmet. There is still the barbarian''s head inside it. It seems to be stuck, what a mess. I hold the helmet between my arm and chest, then grab the spinal cord which is protruding from the neck and pull. Slowly the head comes out. With a final jerk it comes free, but it''s bloody and slips my fingers. The head rolls and slithers across the ground, leaving a bloody trail behind. It comes to rest in front of the Dwemer and Stella, who are looking at me with shocked expressions. Seriously, what''s their problem, didn''t I just save the day? They should celebrate me as the hero who went out alone, faced the enemy army and stole the super weapon! Doesn''t being heroic count for anything these days? But that doesn''t concern me right now. I wanted the helmet solely to take a look at it! Turning it in my hands I look inside and trace the runes there with my fingers. Then I realize that someone entered my comfort zone and I avert my eyes from the artefact. It''s the Great Shaman and he is looking at me like I am a wild animal, which just started playing with a gun. ¡°Would you... mind giving me that?¡± I hold the helmet to my chest. ¡°Why should I? I got it through my own efforts. Steal your own super weapon.¡± Stella comes closer and attempts to touch me, but decides not to do so. I look down on myself and realize that I am dirty all over. There is blood everywhere. Geez, I''ll refrain from using a dagger in the future. Cleaning this mess will be a bother. She places her hands in a pleading gesture in front of her chest and smiles at me. ¡°Please honey, we are just a little concerned that it could call down this Light from the scriptures. We should handle such a dangerous artefact with great care.¡± ¡°... why do you think I secured it for myself?¡± . 59. ~New friends.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°One shall not call the Great Shaman by his real name, as he forsakes it in order to serve well. In the long history of Dwem are four hundred and seventy nine Great Shamans recorded. All of their worldly names are remembered as engravings on the Great Shaman''s tower.¡± -The writings of Dwem. ***Dwem, Capital*** ***Azir*** Stella''s expression turns concerned and she steps closer to me. ¡°Is that thing really that dangerous?¡± I take another look at the runes inside the helmet and whisper. ¡°Probably!¡± There is no way to tell for sure without giving me time to take a proper look at it. The barbarians thought that it could take care of Dwem''s artillery, so it''s a safe bet in my opinion. The Great Shaman forces a smile onto his face. ¡°You surprised me. I didn''t expect your personal intervention in this war. Technically you jumped in and snatched our spoils of war away. How about turning over this item to the proper authorities?¡± I furrow my eyebrows. Politics isn''t my strength at all and I am certainly not the social type. ¡°How about seeing it like this. The evil Master was about to rape your sorry asses and destroy your country. Luckily for you he pissed off a third party, namely me, who happened to take away his toy before he could use it against you.¡± You have to see this situation from the practical side. ¡°How about telling your army to retreat? There is no point in meeting the enemy head on now.¡± He nods. ¡°The general is already taking care of that. You are really sure that you want to keep that? I am just really worried about having such an item that close to me.¡± There he goes and turns the situation into something stressful. My eyes wander to the guards who tense up. ¡°Don''t worry. I am a perfectly qualified techno mage. Do you know anyone else who could pull off teleporting across the country and stealing the enemy general''s helmet?¡± The Great Shaman''s looks at the head on the floor. ¡°You didn''t steal only his helmet.¡± Stella steps in. ¡°How about a little agreement? This artefact is obviously very dangerous if its rumoured powers come even close to reality.¡± She gestures at the helmet in my hands. ¡°Having control over something like this is a very powerful asset to every country.¡± She points at the video screens which are displaying the barbarian army being mowed down like grass. They continued their charge even after their general fell, not realizing that their secret weapon won''t help them now. Explosions are throwing body parts left and right while Dwem''s artillery is carpet bombing the entire area. ¡°You don''t really need the helmet to defend yourselves and if Azir has it, we may be able to use it against our enemies in the future.¡± The Great Shaman tilts his head. ¡°Our enemies?¡± Stella nods. ¡°Of course! Didn''t we just determine that the southerners, barbarians and dark magicians are all just foot soldiers of the so called Master? That means that your enemy is our enemy. We already explained that we wouldn''t like it if our northern border became unstable. So let''s say that you give this helmet to us. It would be very likely that we use it for your sake in the near future. On top the helmet wasn''t just acquired by our own power, but Azir is also a very qualified person in analysing the helmet.¡± The Great Shaman''s eyes wander to Padma and she nods enthusiastically. His left eye starts twitching like he is trying to make a very stressful decision. No wonder, who can blame him? I, someone from a foreign power, am standing in front of him, a weapon of mass destruction in my hands. Stella kneels down to be on eye-height with him and smiles. ¡°If it helps Dwem''s war efforts, I can even imagine that Nict could help out with resources. Since I am the second princess, it''s within my power to assure you that at least a few Gejene can be dispatched to help with materials like metals and chemicals. Your war machines look awfully expensive. I am not an expert, but isn''t mining everything you need for them really troublesome?¡± The Great Shaman attempts and answer, but Adala steps closer and whispers something into his ear. He pulls her off into a far away corner and we watch them gesturing for a while. After a minute he returns to Stella and me. ¡°So you Gejene can transmute stuff? How much can a Gejene transmute within a day?¡± He pulls a fist of beans from his pocket and hands it to Stella. ¡°Show me. How about iron, coal, sulphur or copper?¡± Stella performs her magic and flicks the beans one by one back to him. ¡°Whatever you wish. An average member of a branch family can transmute between one and five tons of mass per day.¡± She places her fingertips together in front of her. ¡°But I am sure that if our friends from Dwem, who keep the northern borders safe, tell us that they need a little help with resources my mother won''t deny helping them.¡± The Great Shaman scratches himself with his totem behind the left ear and inspects the transmuted beans in his hand. ¡°It''s not like we are in big trouble, but if you could prepare a hundred tons of iron, eighty tons potassium nitrate, fifteen tons coal and ten tons of sulphur every two months? It would be seen as a helpful gesture between two friendly nations. Of course only until the barbarians decide that running into our gunfire isn''t worth their time.¡± My girlfriend smiles a devilish grin. ¡°I am sure that if I tell my mother that this will keep the northern border peaceful, she will happily order a few members of our clan to invest their time into such an important task.¡± So she bribed them? I guess that works with everyone. No wonder that the Gejene are Nict''s rulers. I relax, looks like we don''t have to make a run for it. The helmet is an interesting and dangerous item if I interpret the runes on the inside correctly. Certainly nothing which can be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. Maybe I should add a little bonus to Stella''s efforts in keeping the helmet while not damaging our new relationship to Dwem? ¡°I could provide a few of the teleportation discs to transport the material. Just a little gesture of good will.¡± The Great Shaman smiles and offers Stella a hand. ¡°Maybe Dwem and Nict should stop ignoring each other.¡± She shakes it. ¡°It''s good to find a friend among so many foes around us.¡± Probably I should shake his hand too? I am here as a representative too after all. ¡°I''ll make sure to inform you about the helmet''s secrets.¡± I shake the shaman''s hand and he stiffens. ¡°Thank you. I already had the feeling that you are an interesting fellow. Though I realize that I didn''t fully comprehend how unique you are.¡± He holds out one hand and his old aide comes running with a cloth. Oh, I made him dirty! I completely forgot about the blood on my hand. I press my lips together and ponder over the situation. My eyes wander to Stella who looks very embarrassed. Sorry, Stella. I am simply bad when it comes to relationships with other people. Now that I think about it, the only people close to me who aren''t related by blood are Stella and Karsen, Talia and... and Louise. One moment! Only four people! That''s all I achieved during my entire life on this world? Isn''t that kinda pathetic? No! I can count Ivy too, yes that''s it! Five! I look at Ivy and she answers me with a questioning expression. ¡°Is something wrong, Creator?¡± Four... maybe I can count Ghost? But counting a pet to my circle of friends is even more pathetic than having only a few of them. The problem is that there are simply no people worth talking to. Having friends for the sake of having friends isn''t fun at all. Friends are friends because you share a common interests and emotional bonds with them. Why should I want to have a friend who bores me to death. Stella is... well she is Stella. I don''t really get myself why I got hooked to her in the first place. Maybe because she has this dependable side and her ass is top notch. There is nothing bad about being physically attracted to someone. I feel sorry for those people who think that love is only about mental compatibility. Though Stella and I are working together in that aspect too, because she is smart. It''s not like we are boring to each other. Karsen is... a guy to whom I can talk about sensitive things. It''s not like we share any particular interests, but it''s good to have a buddy to whom I can talk about gender sensitive stuff. Louise has an outstanding mind and it''s fun to talk to her about all kinds of things. So there are no problems in that aspect. Talia is... well. Talia is Talia. She is more like a tag along buddy of Karsen and the others. Our relationship is kind of hindered by the fact that she is a member of a branch family and has to listen to me. Argh! My friend count just went down to three! Two if I exclude my girlfriend. But isn''t there an extremely smart person nearby? It could be interesting to talk to someone who understands what it is like to be a little smarter than other people. I look at the Great Shaman. ¡°Say, what''s your real name by the way? Everyone just calls you the Great Shaman.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.The room turns silent and some guards look outright shocked. Damn, was my question against the social norm? ¡°Did I say something wrong?¡± The Great Shaman looks confused. ¡°It''s not exactly like I don''t have a name, but it''s a tradition to call the Great Shaman only by his title, regardless of who is serving in the position. I wasn''t called by my real name since I took the job. That was twelve years ago, I think.¡± He scratches his chin with his totem. ¡°But since you aren''t part of our community I guess there is no reason for you to use my title all the time. My name is Chuck Turninghill.¡± I smile and clap my hands together. This is going better than expected. ¡°How about meeting up sometime to drink and talk? I am interested in your trick with the beans.¡± Chuck takes his totem between both hands in front of his chest. It almost looks like he is trying to use it as a shield. ¡°I am not sure, I have a tight schedule. Managing a country at war isn''t easy.¡± Shrugging my shoulders I continue to press on. ¡°No problem at all. I want to first analyse the helmet anyway. And it''s not like I have any problems with travelling, since I''ve already been here I can teleport whenever it fits you.¡± Chuck''s guards gasp and he looks a little worried. ¡°If it''s like that then I guess the late evenings on weekends would be fine?¡± I give him a thumbs up. ¡°I''ll pay you a visit then.¡± Yes! One more friend added to the list! I can do it if I put my mind to the task. Stella steps in. ¡°Then how about setting up a written agreement between Nict and Dwem? We''ll take it back to our country and send an envoy together with the resources.¡± It took us some time to set up the contract, but in the end we got it safely done. Upon Padma''s begging I even agreed on taking a look at Saana and Triz, who had their minds meddled with. They were brought back to the throne room and bound to a chair. After a seemingly endless time I lift my hands from the gagged Saana and turn to Padma. ¡°The enslavement spell on them is very strong and tricky.¡± Padma''s expression turns horrified. ¡°Is there no chance to heal them?¡± I cross my arms in front of my chest and try to think about the possibilities. ¡°The easiest way is to find the amulet which was used as a focus. Then you destroy the amulet, which should release the spell on them. I suggest you guys search the quarters of the southern delegation and their bodies for an amulet with a pentagram on it.¡± I pause. ¡°The second possibility is that I break the spell with force, which would very likely result in breaking their minds too. The spell is very strong and would force them to fight me to the bitter end. Probably I could preserve their minds or restore them afterwards, but they would surely be changed. I prefer finding the amulet.¡± Chuck looks worried. ¡°Such strong mind magic is troublesome. Can we test our people for foreign influence? Of course we''ll take all possible actions to find this amulet. I guess we should check everyone who was outside of Dwem for longer periods of time.¡± It may be possible, but I don''t have the right equipment at hand. Back in Nict we have heaps of mind magicians for stuff like this. Here in Dwem they aren''t that proficient with mind magic. Unless I modify... well, it''s basically a scanner after all. ¡°My mirror could detect a foreign influence. I just have to set it to a general scanning mode. We won''t be able to see any memories like that, but it could detect a foreign influence on the brain. The test subject would have to clean him or herself of any mind influencing spells beforehand, since the mirror can''t discern between good and bad spells.¡± The Great Shaman nods. ¡°That sounds at least like we could test our most important officials. I''ll arrange to get them tested as fast as possible.¡± I turn to the mirror in order to make the necessary changes. ¡°Don''t worry, you can have the thing. I''ll build myself a new one.¡± You are joking me right? I can have brain scans of Dwem''s leading elite? Keep the damn thing! Mwahaha! The mirror might only be able to save memories which are uppermost in the user''s mind, but that alone should give me tons of important information. I''ll simply have Ivy sort them out. After checking the mirror for its functionality by using Saana as a test subject we say our goodbyes to Chuck and Greywinter and return back to Nict. The journey down the tower goes without problems. Adala and her friends accompany us back too, since they left behind their friend Nikita at the healing faculty. Helen and Sola were still waiting when we returned. Stella managed to sell her mother the contract as something beneficial to Nict, though Helen was utterly shocked when I returned bathed in blood. Probably I shouldn''t have teleported back first. That wasn''t so smart of me. Imagine you send your family members onto a diplomatic mission to a foreign country and stay behind worrying. Then one of them returns bathed in blood. After she calmed down she took us with Sola to a separate room and listened to our story intently, while eyeing the helmet in my hands with a dangerous expression. Halfway through our story she even started gnawing on her nails. I''ve never seen the leader of a country doing that. When Stella was done with her story Helen instructed us to visit her at her office the next day and ran off. Since there wasn''t much more to do Stella and I went home. Right now I am sitting in our living room. I already cleaned myself up right after I arrived at home. The helmet is in my hands and I am intensely studying the runes on the inside. They imply that the thing is a very powerful artefact which utilizes mind magic. It also seems to connect the user to some kind of power source. There is a separate set of runes which work as a communication spell and the wings are functioning as antennae. Probably it connects you to a satellite up in the orbit which is responsible for the light attacks. Though I am not sure if it could connect you to something else. I am hesitant to put it on, I don''t want myself to end up as a drooling, mind-wiped slave to the Master. At least the artefact shows that the previous civilisation of Nict was very proficient in techno magic. By utilizing the runes on the inside of the helmet I can surely build something which can connect me safely to that satellite. All I have to do then is hack it. Or I could try to use Ivy as a test subject. Can her mind be influenced by mind magic? I am not really sure if she is using her body''s brain at all? Probably it won''t work anyway. Suddenly the helmet is snatched out of my hands and I find Stella behind me. She is holding the helmet and glaring at me. She is wearing only a bathrobe and is still wet from a shower. ¡°We have to talk about some things!¡± I smile. ¡°Could I have that back? It''s dangerous you know? I am not sure if it could fry someone''s brain if he puts it on.¡± ¡°I''ll crush it if you don''t listen seriously!¡± Her fingers turn into metal claws and she readies herself to crush the helmet. A few drops of sweat form on my forehead. What have I done now? I thought our little adventure went really well. She even secured the helmet for me. ¡°I''ll listen...¡± Stella''s expression is furious. ¡°First, don''t pick up food from the ground! We were supposed to be the representatives of our country! Not some peasants! Second, don''t feed the very same bar of chocolate to the Great Shaman! I almost died of shame! Third, learn something about their culture before you spark a war between our people! Asking the Great Shaman for his name? Seriously!? We seemed to them like rampaging brutes! And then dirtying him with your bloody hand!¡± She goes on, but somehow I can''t keep my attention on what she is saying. She looks so beautiful when she is angry. Her shivering red lips, the heaving chest and those eyes. Are they even glowing a little, is that her inner fire? That makes her look mysterious and the wet hair which is sticking to her collarbones looks erotic! Even her angry expression is kind of sexy if you think about it. Those half closed eyes... and there are cute wrinkles between her eyebrows. When she is looming over me like that I get a perfect view into her cleavage. ¡°Are you listening to me?¡± ¡°No... I mean YES, Stella!¡± I smile. ¡°Sorry, I tried my best. Chuck even agreed on becoming friends with me. I can visit him on weekends.¡± ¡°Urgh... friends... tomorrow we''ll start working on your behavioural disorders! But first I''ll rest.¡± She drops the helmet into my lap and walks away, angrily swinging her tail. ¡°I can''t believe that they let us live. He is even calling him Chuck now...¡± The movements of her butt signal me that she is very angry. Looks like I really made a few social mistakes during our mission, I did my best though. Is it a problem that I got a little aroused by her rant? No, it''s perfectly fine to get an erection from seeing your girl running around half naked and wet... that came across the wrong way. I place the helmet on the table and pat it softly. ¡°Sorry, you have to wait until tomorrow. Tonight there is someone who needs my full attention.¡± I leave the helmet behind and follow Stella. . 60. ~History.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°Nothing I do can redeem my past and many more will perish for my cause, but maybe I can at least offer those who come after me a better life.¡± -The Saviour. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** I stir slowly in my bed and reach for the good morning treat at my side, but there is only empty space next to me. My eyes snap open and I look for Stella. Normally I am the one who wakes up earlier! Then I can enjoy the privilege of being able to gently wake her up, but there is nobody at my side this morning. What a let down! Is there something important today? Oh, that''s right, Helen ordered us to her office first thing in the morning. Probably Stella woke up earlier because Helen sounded like there was something really important to discuss. After getting dressed I walk to the kitchen and find Stella there, making fried eggs. She is already dressed in a blue robe and humming a happy song. Isn''t my species a little strange for eating eggs, even if they are from animals? Shouldn''t such an action create a moral reaction? I try to forget this train of thought and take my place at the table. Stella shares the food with me and while we eat breakfast she starts asking me weird questions. Like explaining different social situations to me, then I have to explain how I would react if I were in the same situation. It''s really weird, but then I remember that she threatened me yesterday to train my social skills. ¡°So what would you do if one of your students has problems with answering a certain question? You already explained the subject several times to her, but she still doesn''t get it.¡± Stella looks at me questioningly. I purse my lips and try to remember what I did when something like this happened. Surely there was a similar case during tutoring lessons. ¡°I take a stick and beat her every time she makes a mistake. Some people have problems with remembering stuff on their own. If they have a negative experience upon taking a certain action, they''ll try to avoid another negative experience in the future. At some point even the dumbest animal learns to avoid its mistakes, even if it doesn''t understand why it uses a certain formula in a given situation.¡± Stella''s eyes widen. ¡°Whom have you beaten with a stick?¡± Halting in devouring a piece of fried egg, I think over Stella''s reaction. So beating the student wasn''t a socially correct decision? Even though she aced her exam after my training? ¡°It worked!¡± ¡°Did you at least not beat her in front of the class?¡± She asks. ¡°That was wrong?¡± Of course I did it during tutoring. I don''t waste my time with those people if I don''t have to. ¡°Please tell me that it wasn''t your sister!¡± Stella touches her forehead and her expression says it all. This new project of hers is going to be a long term exercise. I shake my head. ¡°Of course not, I would never beat Valeria. I want to have a good relationship with my little sister. On top I need her as the head of my clan later on.¡± I don''t want to bother with being a leader. ¡°For that purpose I taught her while faking understanding and coaxing her into trying again and again until she got it. It''s a pain in the ass and it takes much longer.¡± Stella lets out a sigh. ¡°At least you seem to have a basic understanding of what you are doing. And you are treating me and our clique normally, so what''s the problem with other people? What''s the difference?¡± Isn''t the answer obvious? ¡°You are my girlfriend. Karsen, Talia and Louise are my friends. Beating any of you would cause a tense atmosphere. The others are just a bother.¡± Stella slams her cute forehead onto the desk. ¡°I am not sure if I should be happy or sad about the fact that you aren''t interested in having social relationships besides me and your immediate friends.¡± We eat in silence. Afterwards we use the stepper disc to head directly to the palace. In front of Helen''s office we unexpectedly meet Sola in company of a guy who seems to be her age. His hair is of a flaming orange and his horns are curving upwards, then backwards, just to curve upwards once again. His horns look a little ridiculous in my opinion, but his body has a good build. It''s probably because he is doing some kind of martial art. His edgy and clean face could be attractive to women? I notice that there isn''t a single mark on his skin. Normally a wound leaves a small mark, even if you use healing magic. That doesn''t match his warrior-like appearance. So either he is a snotty, petted boy or he is an Eddin. They can heal wounds almost perfectly. Sola notices our approach and hugs Stella and then me to greet us. I stiffen upon the unexpected friendly greeting and resist the urge to shove her away, but that would surely anger Stella. She wanted me to show a little more social competence. Still, the urge is there. Before I can decide upon an action she lets go of me. ¡°It''s so good to see you two, I wanted to introduce you to my fiance.¡± Stella''s eyes almost pop out of her eyes. ¡°F... Fiance!? How? When? I knew nothing!¡± I must admit that I am surprised too. The vixen got herself a guy? What did she do, did she walk up to him and order him to be her boyfriend? Sola nods. ¡°This is Xander Eddin, we met each other a few times after Louise introduced us. Since I am not getting younger I simply decided that now is the time.¡± Xander forces a smile onto his face and his entire body language screams that he would rather like to be somewhere else. ¡°It simply happened. She asked me out and I said yes.¡± His attention turns to me. ¡°Maybe we can meet sometime. Just as fellow family members.¡± I guess he wanted to say as comrades in being sold by our families. Sorry buddy, but I am not a sold spouse like you probably are. At least it doesn''t feel like that. Probably she walked up to you and said that you have to marry her or even worse, she went over his head and talked directly to his clan head. Sola nods, not getting the hidden meaning behind his words. ¡°That would be so nice! A date with two couples is surely interesting.¡± She hugs Xander from the side. ¡°Oh, that reminds me! I have to introduce you to dad!¡± So she rushes off, pulling him with her. I watch them walking down the corridor and wait until they are out of hearing range to consult Stella. She isn''t moving either while standing at my side. ¡°Did you notice his expression?¡± ¡°Yes. He looked like the devil is taking him for a walk through hell.¡± ¡°You really didn''t know?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°What''s she planning this time? Did she suddenly give up on her fixation on me?¡± ¡°Looks like it. Introducing him to Mom and Dad is like dealing the death blow.¡± ¡°So he is a toyboy...¡± ¡°That''s for sure. Even she can''t get out of this once she introduces him to Mom.¡± ¡°I am sorry for him.¡± ¡°His clan will be very happy to get someone into the palace. There is no way he is going to get out of this.¡± ¡°I still don''t get it.¡± ¡°Sis has been acting strange since... the accident.¡± ¡°Oh...¡± After they disappeared around the corner of the corridor Stella shrugs her shoulders. ¡°One thing less to worry about.¡± She turns and pulls me into Helen''s office without knocking onto the door. Inside we are greeted by Helen who has a big metal case on her desk. She is reading an old book. Then she looks up and smiles at us. ¡°Please lock the door and take a seat.¡± She puts the book down. We take a seat and Stella eyes the books inside the metal case with suspicion. ¡°Is there something wrong, Mom?¡± Helen shakes her head. ¡°No, as of now there is nothing wrong. I just wanted to make sure that you know what we are facing. That involves a lesson in history.¡± Please no history. I don''t like boring stuff. ¡°It involves the true history of the Empire of Nict and why it fell. Originally I didn''t intend to spread this knowledge, but since the past is catching up to us I feel it''s safer if more people know about it. Especially the people who have their hands on one of the artefacts.¡± Helen glares at us. ¡°If any of this leaves this room I''ll have the responsible one executed, do you understand?¡± I nod, but Stella raises her hand. ¡°This sounds grave Mom. If you have some kind of dark secret to share, shouldn''t you tell Sola first? She is the heir after all.¡± ¡°Your sister and your father know everything. I also thought long and hard about involving Azir, but since he already got a look at the helmet he already has a piece of the puzzle. He''ll figure it out on his own sooner or later since he is a smart guy.¡± Helen gestures at me. Then she leans back and starts her history lesson. ¡°The Empire of Nict wasn''t much bigger than the current Nict when it started. The power was handled between a few selected noble families. Whoever proved himself to be strong enough had a word in the Empire''s decisions. Then a mage with extraordinary powers was born. He was so strong that nobody could oppose him. He could see the nature of magic itself and understood more about it than anyone else. Many said that he was a mutation of some kind, since he had certain deformations on his body. The books say that he was the only male in history who had a tail and even wings.¡± Helen shrugs her shoulders. ¡°There are fossils which imply that your ancient ancestors had wings. So either he was a freak of nature, or he exposed himself to extreme amounts of mana and survived the changes to his body. The books aren''t clear on that point. Either way, he used that power to seize control of Nict and became the first Emperor called Nicodeus Draco. He wasn''t a nice ruler and executed everyone who stood up to him. Eventually he took a wife from a noble house and had children with her. His rule lasted for over a thousand years and in that time he waged war on all of Nict''s neighbours. He always chose a new wife once the old one grew too old for him. His family spread wide and his blood thinned with time. Did you know that the original citizens of Nict weren''t powerful at all when it comes to magic? His blood changed that. The great clans are all his descendants. Each of his children had certain powers, though none of them reached his might. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.He kept the ones with more power close to him. They were the ruling family of Nict. They had the power of seeing the true nature of magic. But as the Empire grew and time went on, it became clear that even the first Emperor would succumb to old age at some point. Though during his time on this world he forged the biggest and magically most advanced Empire ever seen. The southern nations, Dwem and the lands further north. Even the eastern planes were under our control. There were settlements across the western ocean. Everything mere provinces to the Empire. The only country which stayed out of the Emperor''s reach was Quinn. Quinn is big and they abhor magic. Their warrior elite knows certain ways to counter and repel spells. On top it was hard to wage war on them since they were so far away from Nict''s centre of power. In addition they recognized the danger by the City Gates and stopped any attempt to put one close to their sphere of influence. The City Gates were the reason for the Emperor''s power, each province had one. The second reason why he could control such a vast empire was because of his enslavement magic. He forced everyone who served in a position of power under his will. There were thousands of mere puppets under his command. That''s why he was also called the Master of All. The third weapon under his command were his generals. He took six members of the greatest bloodlines which originated from him and made them his warlords and assassins. Whenever someone even tried to rebel he sent his generals to deal with the threat. In that time he also created seven artefacts of unbelievable power. Six of them he gave to his generals and the seventh was set up in his palace.¡± Stella stirs in her seat. ¡°And our helmet, The Light of the Emperor, is one of them. And I suppose it''s no coincidence that Nict looks like a hexagram and the Emperor had six generals at his command?¡± Helen stretches and nods. ¡°The Emperor''s generals were the forefathers of the great clans of today. The helmet, The Light of the Emperor, the Zait. A light from the sky that burns your enemies. The shield, The Will of the Emperor, the Eddin. An impenetrable barrier, warding off all harm. The sword, The Emperor''s Judgement, the Anja. A fire that spreads and flows like water. The armour, The Emperor''s soul, the Veit. Giving the user unlimited mana and strength. The dagger, The Emperor''s Wish, the Tinn. To command the shadows and walk among them. And an amulet, The Master''s Word, the Siorda. To control your enemies and allies alike. The seventh artefact was the Emperor''s Vault, it was thought that it gave him his power and control over all the artefacts, but it''s more likely that it''s the origin of his power.¡± I change my position in my chair. ¡°So this vault is still in the palace? But there are seven great clans. What about the Gejene?¡± This is all a little bit much to take in at once. So we are all related to the Emperor and he was an evil dictator. He created weapons of mass destruction and our opponents got their hands on them. Great. Helen shrugs her shoulders. ¡°In one way or the other, but let me continue the story. In the Emperor''s final years he found a woman of noble birth and high magical power. They had two sons, twins who looked exactly the same. Their names were Serenzar Draco and Jeremiah Draco. Those brothers rivalled the Emperor in power and maybe even surpassed him. He made them his successors before he died of old age. They continued in his footsteps and brought the usage of enslavement magic to new levels. Now even normal citizens weren''t safe from being used like animals. Together they and their family ruled the Empire for three hundred years with an iron fist. But then Jeremiah fell in love with his serving slave, which wasn''t well looked upon. He even freed her from her enslavement spell and spent more and more time with her. Eventually she sparked a light in his dark soul and he began to see the world with her eyes. He tried to redeem himself and attempted to change the empire. Serenzar didn''t like what his brother tried to do, he ordered the execution of his brother''s lover to cure him from his delusions of a free world. Jeremiah saved his love and killed one of the generals while doing so. It was the one who carried the Light. Jeremiah took the Light and used it to destroy most of the City Gates in the provinces. For some reason the Light can''t be used to attack the heart of Nict. Then Jeremiah took his lover and fled with her to Dwem. From there he organized a rebellion and travelled through the Empire to free the people from their existence as slaves. Soon he was known as the Saviour and the people gathered around him. Unfortunately the war for freedom took many years and ravaged the Empire. Jeremiah''s lover was of normal birth and had no magic. She died of old age before Jeremiah could show her a world free of slavery.¡± Helen stops for a moment to think. ¡°But they had many children and since Jeremiah was an outstanding mage they inherited a part of his power. They founded a new clan and took on the name of their birth mother. From then on they were known by the name Gejene and followed Jeremiah in his cause. The resulting war changed the face of the world as we know it and the Emperor''s artefacts were used by both sides in the most horrifying manner. In the end they defeated Serenzar and brought the old Empire down, though it''s not for sure that Serenzar was really killed by his brother. After the last battle most of the great artefacts were lost or thought to be destroyed. Jeremiah rebuilt the destroyed palace and sealed the Emperor''s vault beneath it. He reforged the heart of Nict into the Free City States. After doing so he made the Gejene swear a blood oath to protect the Emperor''s Vault. Having completed his love''s wish he left and took the Emperor''s Judgement with him. That''s the only great artefact which was in Jeremiah''s hands at the end of the war. Since then every clan head of the Gejene forced the oath onto the next one. So we waited and we kept Nict''s legacy out of the wrong hands.¡± Wow, this world has a crazy history. I tilt my head. ¡°And the wrong hands are?¡± Helen smiles. ¡°We don''t know what the Emperor''s Vault is. I only know that there is a big sealed door down in the palace''s catacombs. Everyone who tries to open it dies a horrible death. According to Jeremiah there are no right hands for this power and the Vault can only be opened by the Emperor''s worthy descendants if they have all the great artefacts.¡± Stella starts chuckling. ¡°Seriously? Why are we even keeping this history a secret? Aren''t there any records of it in other countries? And us being the descendants of the Emperor? Are you telling us that our enemy is one of the brothers, trying to reforge the Empire?¡± Helen closes her eyes and crosses her hands in front of her chest. ¡°I am not telling you anything. I just updated you on the history behind the helmet in your house. All I see is someone pulling the strings of several countries to gain power. He is calling himself ''Master'', a synonym which was used for the emperor and his sons in the later years of the Empire. I am informing you that the Emperor and his sons were outstanding mages, whose huge amount of mana let them live several hundred years. It''s not completely out of the question that Jeremiah is still out there, wandering the planet. But most important of all, I am telling you that the artefact in your house played a major part in the downfall of the biggest civilisation of this world.¡± She snorts. ¡°And we keep this history a secret because Jeremiah told us to. Most of the artefacts are lost. Maybe it''s better if the average nobleman with great ambitions doesn''t realize that the cute, magical dagger of his grandfather can do more than shadow plays for the kids. Other nations might remember parts of the truth, but it''s surely on the level of a myth to them. And most importantly the Vault can''t be carried away. We don''t want any treasure hunters down in the catacombs.¡± So whatever circles above our heads up in the orbit took out a little more than the City Gates. That''s interesting. I look Helen in the eyes. ¡°I only ask myself why you let me keep the helmet? Don''t you want to give something as dangerous as that to the military to lock it away.¡± She shrugs her shoulders. ¡°That was indeed my first impulse, but I meant it when I said that this is a national secret. Not even the military knows anything. My second impulse was to destroy the helmet-¡± ¡°No!¡± Damn! I called out before I knew it. ¡°Ahem. I mean. It''s a very interesting piece of technology. It would be a sacrilege to lose it like that.¡± Helen raises an eyebrow and grins at me. ¡°Very well, so you understand it at least partly? Can you disable it until we need it?¡± I nod. ¡°Sure, I''ll thoroughly take it apart to learn its secrets. The helmet isn''t the interesting part anyway. It just controls a satellite above our heads, which attacks from high up in the sky.¡± She thinks over my words. ¡°You already took it apart?¡± Not exactly. ¡°Just took a look. The helmet is fascinating, but nothing completely out of my grasp. Maybe I''ll think about a possibility to destroy the satellite.¡± Now Helen looks surprised. ¡°I thought you want to preserve this old technology?¡± I shift in my seat. ¡°Like I said, the helmet is interesting, but with time it will reveal its secrets. The satellite on the other hand... how should I formulate it...¡± The satellite in the sky is another matter. I don''t like having something above my head that could burn my house any moment... at least not if I didn''t build it myself. But how can I get that across without freaking her out? She is afraid of the helmet, I can''t act like it''s nothing extraordinary. Social skills come on. Stella grumbles at my side. ¡°Mom, I think Azir wants to say that the helmet is an interesting puzzle to him, but nothing more. And that he doesn''t like it to have a weapon of mass destruction floating above his head, so he would rather destroy it and build one himself...¡± My head turns slowly to Stella. ¡°Social skills?¡± Come on, now it was okay to be blunt and throw everything into her face? Stella shakes her head. ¡°Don''t bother training them on mother, you are too obvious.¡± I nod and face Helen. ¡°If it''s like that, then I''ll be blunt. Can I have control over a workforce of about a hundred people? I need twenty people experienced with magical circuits, ten normal workers, forty guys who are good with metal working, a Siorda whom I can train as manager and the rest should consist of people with good results in various scientific degrees.¡± Helen looks surprised. ¡°You are still a student. What do you want to build with those people?¡± I shrug my shoulders and smile. ¡°Various useful things. Just think about the stepper disc in front of your office. I built that alone, what can I do if I have a little help?¡± Helen smiles. ¡°If you tell me beforehand what you are going to make, then I might give you even more people.¡± . 61. ~Tight schedule.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°Why maintain an old building if you could build a new one? Don''t repair stuff if you can make something new instead. Ever looked up to the sky and wondered what''s up there?¡± -The Creator. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** I got my workforce and got started right away. Project number one was to invade the capital''s national observatory and throw everyone out. After a few days of spending my evenings on the helmet I decided that it''s much too dangerous to use the Light of the Emperor myself. That thing has a few magical circuits which are able to fry the user''s brain. I fear that they are a safety mechanism. It''s not like I am unable to meddle with the helmet, but after I had a thorough look at the whole thing I decided that it isn''t worth to bother wasting time with it. Ensuring that the thing is safe to use would require me to take it apart and put it back together piece by piece, magical circuit for magical circuit. And there are a lot of them in there. The creator of the helmet used a technique of layering the runes in multiple layers on the inside of the helmet. Nothing new to me, but bothersome to analyse. It''s like taking a modern computer apart and putting it back together in working order. A single person might achieve a task like that, but it requires a huge amount of time. So I decided on doing the next logical thing and that''s to evaluate the threat. I rebuilt only the part of the helmet which connects it to somewhere else and tuned my new communication device to the right wavelength. The rest was easy. After I got a good signal I deciphered it and had my very own uplink to the supposed satellite. From that point onwards all the credit has to go to Ivy. She is freakishly good at interacting with other machines, I doubt that I can compete with her by now. It has to be said that she is a cheater. Machine language and codes are her native language, so to speak. I am not thinking in zeroes and ones like her. She didn''t fail to bask in her moment of glory when she hacked the satellite network above our heads. We also downloaded a very detailed map of the world. There are twenty satellites circling around the planet. The Emperor was a busy guy. Unfortunately the satellites are hardcoded. That means that neither I, nor Ivy can change their programming. Bad luck for us, good luck for anyone who might know the right frequencies to access the network. At least I could find out that the satellites are using magic to create a strong magnetic field. They use that field to channel a stream of polarized ions into a thin beam. The resulting blast of focused radiation and matter is released at a target of your choice. It''s a really fancy trick, but also wasteful. There are much easier ways of striking a target from orbit, though I guess the Emperor chose this method because it was the shinier one. I like that; using a blast of radiation to scorch your enemies is shiny. I gained that knowledge by the approach of learning by doing. I sent one of my drones out to the north, then I fired one of the satellites repeatedly until I had enough data to determine the used method. The barbarian army''s camp was a very welcome - and most importantly, a very big - target. Chuck was very happy that the plague in front of his doorstep turned into dust. Though most of the barbarians fled into all directions. The satellites can fire every ten minutes and each shot burns an area of about two hundred metres. It''s effective against a target of high value, but roasting a big army doesn''t work. As soon as a soldier sees his comrades pop like popcorn, he runs. They spread into all directions and your shiny radiation beams become more and more ineffective. One interesting point that came up is that the network of satellites is covering almost the entire planet. Almost. There are no satellites in an orbit which leads them above Quinn''s airspace. The continent across the northern ocean is also not covered by the network. Of course the Emperor could have done that on purpose, but from what I heard about him he was a control freak. There is no way that he would willingly ignore certain countries. So the most likely answer is that Quinn has or had a way to deal with the satellites. The question which comes up next is who is living on the second continent? There is a big central landmass on this world. It''s running along the temperate climate zone and partly stretching up to the north pole. Nict is taking up a huge part of the western coastline. The southern nations control a small part of the western coast and stretch out along the southern coast. The area under their control is huge. If you would go purely by size, then Nict should have lost the wars against them long ago. But I guess the geographical advantage of Nict can''t be ignored. The centre of the continent is taken up by what we call the eastern plains. It''s a huge steppe which stretches over several time zones, at least twenty times as large as Nict. I suppose the cleared airspace above the eastern coast belongs to Quinn and if it is an indicator for Quinn''s size, then Quinn controls an area about three times as large as Nict. Dwem controls the northern mountain range which stretches above Nict and reaches further to the eastern plains. Beyond Dwem is a scanty badland which turns into an ice tundra the further north you go. I guess that''s the reason why the barbarians don''t want to live there. There is an archipelago of islands further across the western ocean, in size roughly comparable to Quinn. Beyond that archipelago and further to the south lies another continent at the equator. It''s smaller than the main continent and shaped like a big fat blob of marmalade. Since I am the discoverer... since I rediscovered this continent I named it Blob. Regarding my team and the observatory. The first thing on my list was to tear down the badly made telescope there, then I went on and had them build a proper one to map out the exact paths of the satellites. Task number two was to build our own spying platforms and teleport them up into space. That wasn''t very hard to do since I already had a very good basic unit in the form of my drones to work with. And teleporting something straight upwards into empty space is much easier than teleporting to a specific area on a planet''s surface. All we had to do was to change the design of my drones. Forget about the wings, increase the whole blueprint in size and dimensions, add proper sensory equipment and get to work. In fact, teaching my team to build the needed telescopes and sensors gave me the most headaches. The devil is in the details. Our satellites aren''t nearly as fancy as the old ones from the Empire, but we can be sure that they are under our control. Keep it simple and stupid is the way to go here. The same applies to the weapon system we mounted onto my modified drones. I kept the options of focusing light and overloading their drives, though they don''t help them much up there. Our satellites don''t have a heat shield, so they wouldn''t survive a re-entry into the atmosphere. What we could do though was to equip them with a set of big metal slugs. They can use their gravitational drive to propel these projectiles to high speeds in order to shoot at a target. Then we did something which most people in my old world would have called the destruction of a cultural heritage. Once we had enough makeshift satellites in place we destroyed the old Empire''s satellites in a coordinated attack. As expected the Empire''s satellites struck back at ours and for a few moments we had a real space battle going on. The real thing was very boring to watch since everything was over within seconds. We shot our slugs at them, they retaliated in a probably automated reaction and that was it. All we had to do was to replace our destroyed equipment. Though I admit that I feared that the satellites would be a little smarter than I anticipated. Everything worked out in the end. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.Of course we also tried to send a satellite over Quinn, though that didn''t work out so well. As it entered Quinn''s airspace we simply lost contact and that''s it; reason unknown. The satellite simply fell from the sky and burned in the atmosphere. It bugs me, but I have better things to do than to show interest in Quinn right now. The next item on my list is enlarged versions of my drones to spy in greater detail on the other countries. The equipment in our satellites may be sufficient, but it''s not nearly good enough. There is a limit to what you can do in a limited time-frame. I want to be able to read Quinn''s newspaper by the end of next year... if they have one. The fact that Louise joined my team was also a big help. She is a smart one and used my mana net as interface to control the satellites. Of course everything with proper protection from the public. Maybe I shouldn''t have dropped the idea with the mana net onto this unsuspecting society. It gained a life of its own and Helen has real trouble with keeping certain knowledge out of the net and away from civilian eyes. If you rule a country as something akin to a king, you rely on certain news spreading slowly and other information not at all. Keeping the flow of information under control is the key of ruling a country, though the mana net is spreading everything like a wildfire. Sorry, Helen. Maybe you''ll have to put up some national laws for using the new technology. In this manner the months went by and we waited and searched for new leads to our enemy. The southern nations didn''t make a move, probably because they learned of what happened to their allies. I continued to train my ability with my mother and then there is spear practice with my father. University, tutoring, my research team, visits at Chuck''s tower, Stella, Karsen and Talia, who announced their betrothal by the way, I can only say that my schedule is full. I''ve even cut down my hobby of dabbling around in my laboratory. There is simply too much to do right now and I admit that I am not paying attention to everything. May it be lack of interest or bad information sharing. But I should have become aware of something as grave as this! After a hard day I come home and find Stella sitting in our kitchen and shining like a mother-to-be, while polishing a huge egg in a basket. She is sitting on the bench at the kitchen table and Ivy is spraying the egg with some water. Talia is standing ready with a dry towel. It can''t be, I would have noticed if Stella had become fat. Though she didn''t. Can females hide their pregnancy somehow? The egg looks awfully familiar to the one Valeria came out of. Warily I walk to the table and point at the egg. ¡°Dinner?¡± All three of them look with shocked expressions at me. Stella puts her arms protectively around the egg. ¡°That''s not food! That''s my niece! Isn''t she cute?¡± She places her cheek on the egg. ¡°I think I can hear her inside the egg!¡± I sigh in relief. Though, what''s cute about an egg? ¡°So it''s Sola''s! Why is it here? I didn''t know that she was already at that stage with... Xander was his name?¡± ¡°It surprised me too. Apparently she used him right away to consolidate their union.¡± Talia rubs the egg dry with the towel. I pull a grimace. The poor guy fell into the honey trap right away. Probably it happened the first time they did it. I can''t imagine Sola as someone who takes contraceptives. She is a woman who knows what she wants. Stella continues to pet the egg. ¡°Sola had to go on a diplomatic mission to Dwem. It''s regarding the ongoing war with the barbarians and how much help the Dwemer will need to keep the upper hand. The barbarians switched from open warfare to guerilla tactics. So the negotiations may take a while. Our ability to create materials may seem powerful, but if you put the few Gejene in relation to a country as big as Nict, you realize that you have to place priorities.¡± I nod slowly, that sounds like this mission will take a while. ¡°But she will be back before it hatches?¡± I can''t imagine something worse than having to take care of someone else''s offspring. Stella''s expression turns mournful. ¡°You are right, it''s a shame that it won''t hatch in time! I would like to see her eyes when she takes her first look at the world. Unfortunately it''s a tradition that only the parents are allowed to be present when it happens. Sola will surely come back in time.¡± Whew! Seems like I dodged a bullet. ¡°That''s too bad. Well, see you later then, I''ll go to rest.¡± It''s better to make a tactical retreat before Stella asks me if she can have one too. I know exactly how the chain of events goes. First they get fooled by the cuteness of someone else''s offspring, then they want one of their own and bam! The house is full of little annoying critters who rob you of your sleep. ¡°Hrgh...!¡± Something wrapped around my neck and held me back. I reach up and feel a scaly tail while I am turning around to the owner. ¡°Is there something you need, Stella?¡± She pats on the bench and pulls me closer, this doesn''t feel right. It''s like being put on a leash! ¡°~Actually I wanted to ask you a question.~¡± Oh, no! It''s the dreaded question! How can I get out of this? ¡°It depends?¡± ¡°Can you take care of the egg? It''s just for five days. I''ve laboratories this week and they last for the whole day. I can''t postpone those lessons.¡± Her expression is pleading and she even grabbed my hand while begging me. I already imagined the worst, but it turned out to be only half as bad. What''s the problem with taking care of an egg. Seriously, even I should be able to handle that. It''s most likely only taking a look after the temperature and that''s it. ¡°Sure. Why not. I guess I can make a few free minutes in my table.¡± ¡°Great!¡± Stella hugs me from the side, pressing her chest onto me. This feels like a good decision, I can earn some bonus points with her and it doesn''t even take that much work. She pulls a sheet of paper out of her cleavage. ¡°This is a list of the things you have to do. First, in the morning you control the temperature. It has to be exactly forty point three degrees. There is a heating circuit in the basket. Then you turn over the egg and spray it with some water so that it doesn''t dry out.¡± ¡°Here is the dispenser.¡± Ivy places her dispenser in front of me. ¡°Then you spread this paste on the egg to keep the shell strong and sturdy, make sure to rub it until the paste is completely absorbed. It will take a while.¡± Talia pulls a tube out of a pocket and places it in front of me. ¡°Then you turn the egg every three hours and control the temperature. Don''t forget to spray it with water. In the evening you wash the egg with lukewarm water and rub the remains of the paste off. When you are done you dry it with a towel and lay it to rest until next morning. Make sure to put it on the right side.¡± Stella kisses me on the cheek. ¡°Thank you.¡± Before I can voice my complaint all three of them are gone. Seriously? I am not some kind of wet nurse! And why did Ivy run too? What do I have a servant for if she doesn''t do her job! I glare at the egg. I can''t remember Valeria''s egg being that much trouble. Are they setting me up? I have to go and confirm this with my medical books, I think I still have them in my laboratory. Half an hour later I am back; the book confirmed the excessive care. ¡°You are troublesome!¡± *Knock* *Knock* . 62. ~Taking care.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°We fought the soulless armies of the Empire. We opposed their wicked magic with our bodies, minds and will. Our goddess and our belief gave us the power to do so. Quinn will always stand united facing its enemies and the one true goddess looks down and blesses us with her grace.¡± -Chronicles of Quinn. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** ¡°Where is my niece?¡± I put my book down and look up at Stella. She is looking at me worriedly, almost as if she is expecting that something grave happened. I point at the glass box at my side. On the surface of the box are the big, black letters ''Incubator -Mark I-''. ¡°In there.¡± Stella dashes for the glass box and tries to open it. ¡°Are you insane? Even an egg needs light and air. You can''t just lock it into a box!¡± ¡°Don''t go nuts, it''s not like I don''t recognize basic biological needs. That''s why I made the walls out of glass.¡± I stand up and deactivate the breeding cycle with a button at the top of the box. Then I open the complicated mechanism which sealed it. Stella pushes the slowly splitting box apart and retrieves the egg from two cushioned rollers where it rested comfortably. She knocks onto the egg and sighs in relief when the characteristic *Knock* *Knock* answers her. ¡°What''s this abomination anyway?¡± I point at the two cushioned rollers. ¡°Those are turning the egg as recommended in this book.¡± I raise my medical book ''How to take care of an egg''. ¡°The heaters at the sides are keeping a constant temperature as recommended. This flap regulates the air supply to keep the atmosphere and moisture constant. The dispensers are applying water as recommended in the book. They also dry the egg by switching to air after the washing cycle. Everything as recommended.¡± I scratch my cheek. ¡°Once the device was running, taking care of the egg wasn''t troublesome at all. I mean, no screaming and all that. Eggs have huge benefits to infants. Why can''t they stay inside the egg until they are bigger? I would probably like it to be a father if it wasn''t for the screaming.¡± Stella gasps. ¡°Washing cycle!?¡± What''s her problem. I invented this marvellous device to help all would-be parents on this world. ¡°When the washing cycle activates, the dispensers spray fresh water from this tank. After the egg is clean they spin and dry the egg with air. It''s working like the washing machine which I built for our kitchen. The only issue I couldn''t solve right away is applying the paste. I was afraid of breaking the egg if I use too much pressure, but that''s to be done once a day. I decided to leave this issue to the second version. Selling this will make quite some money.¡± Stella turns the egg in her hands to inspect it for damage. Then she looks accusingly at me and turns the egg to show me what she is dissatisfied about. ¡°What''s this?¡± I shrug my shoulders. ¡°It''s just that I had the feeling that the egg was watching me while I built the incubator for it. After a while I couldn''t bear it any more and-¡± ¡°Drew a face onto it!?¡± Stella screams and I jump. It''s just a smiling face, come on. ¡°It''s cute, isn''t it? The world lost a great artist to me.¡± I made two circles with small black dots as eyes and a wide smiling mouth. ¡°The runes around the egg are buffs to increase its vitality and healthiness.¡± ¡°It''s creepy!¡± Stella tries to clean the egg with her sleeve. ¡°That''s not going to work, I had to use water proof colours.¡± The paint would''ve been washed off otherwise. ¡°Sola is going to kill me! Why did you do something so insensitive as painting on my niece.¡± Stella is close to tears, did she have a hard day? But it''s just an egg? Why does she get that worked up about a little paint on it. ¡°How about saying that I blessed the creepy thing?¡± In the end I had to wash the paint off. After long minutes of explaining my incubator and its safety features, Stella finally allowed me to use it. The installed uplink to the mana net, which automatically warns you if something is wrong, persuaded her in the end. ¡°So how was your day?¡± I try to change the subject. Stella rubs her temples and heads over to the kitchen. ¡°Boring university stuff. The teacher found an old book in the library and tried to reinvent the contents, though it wasn''t as easy as it sounded from the description. The part where you have to map out the DNA of someone got us a little confused. We lack the necessary devices to do that fast enough.¡± She continues to explain her day while she prepares some food, mostly vegetables, in a pot. ¡°Then I visited the Dwemer in their new mansion. Nikita is getting better, though she is still unable to cast spells. The doctors say that removing the poison completely might take a few more months. There is even a chance that her ability to use magic is completely gone.¡± ¡°That''s sad to hear. Don''t the nomads have some kind of antidote? If someone uses a poison regularly he must have something to counteract it in case of an accident.¡± I offer her a possible solution. Stella shrugs her shoulders. ¡°Even so, the nomads are hostile to anyone who doesn''t belong to their caravan. They don''t trade with us, so it''s unlikely to obtain something like that. At least Saana and Triz are freed. The shaman''s guards found a secret chamber under the southerners'' quarters. There they had stored the amulet in question. How did your day go?¡± At least some good news. I would''ve dreaded if I had to try to free Saana and Triz from such a strong enslavement spell. ¡°I ditched university to build the chamber with my research team and gave them guidance in a few other matters, then training with my father and my mother. I had an uneventful day.¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.Stella stops cooking and stares at me. ¡°You used your research team to build the abomination?¡± I shrug my shoulders. ¡°Why not? It''s not like they can''t use the chamber for themselves and it isn''t like something of that scale requires many resources. We had it done within five hours.¡± She starts eating directly out of her pot while I explain some interesting details about the creation of the incubator. Musing over what else happened today, I remember the most important point. ¡°Ah, and I had a real breakthrough with my ability. Up until now I always tried very hard to sense something, but then I simply relaxed myself and simply bathed in the incoming feelings. After a while it really happened! I can''t exactly explain it, but suddenly I could simply see so much more than before! It was breathtaking! The trick isn''t concentrating on your sight alone, you have to use everything, all of your senses at once.¡± I activate my mana sight and let my gaze wander. ¡°It''s really cool if you think about it. Being able to actually look into things, no wonder my mother is so proficient with gathering mana.¡± Stella''s eyebrows angle slightly in amusement, then her expression turns thoughtful. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± For a moment I consider hiding the extent of my breakthrough, but then I decide to be blunt about it. ¡°The view is magnificent!¡± She frowns and looks down at herself and then at me. ¡°I can''t help it, but your perverted expression feels like I am parading bare naked in front of you... though I am fully clothed. Did you hit your head?¡± My smile grows wider as I blind out her clothes layer by layer. ¡°I can''t imagine ever living without this excellent skill.¡± I inch closer and she backs off, realizing what I have been doing. ¡°If you ever use that on someone else, you can imagine what I''ll do to you?¡± She gets up and returns her pot to the stove. I follow the inviting movements of her ass and leave my seat to hug her from behind. Somehow I am really in the mood right now. ¡°I have to relieve some frustration.¡± My left wanders to her chest and my right between her legs. Unfortunately Stella doesn''t seem to be up for it. ¡°It''s not safe today and I don''t want to relive such a bad experience again.¡± ¡°Haah...¡± What a let down, but I really want to! It''s not fair. Then I realize what she said. ¡°What do you mean, you don''t want to let it happen again? Are you still blaming yourself? I told you that it was bad luck!¡± She stiffens and suddenly she starts to cry. ¡°It was my fault! I noticed the bomb before it exploded! And despite knowing that I am pregnant I still jumped in front of Sola to cover her! If I had simply taken care of myself then... that''s why she has been so nice to me all of a sudden. She just has a bad conscience! The whole situation is making me sick! I am not fit to be a parent if I misplace my priorities like that! And now I have to take care of that egg and search for excuses to force the responsibility onto you.¡± She forces my arms away and tries to leave. I didn''t know that it happened like that, but the fault doesn''t lie with her. She saved her sister, even if Sola is a bitch. Who knows what could have happened if she didn''t cover for Sola? Maybe the child and her sister would have both died. Will she continue to eat herself up until she is proven otherwise? It''s been more than a year since that day and she is still mourning by herself, not sharing the pain with me. What an idiot. I hold her back by reaching out and grabbing her tail, which makes her fall to her knees. ¡°Stop that!¡± Not caring about her complaints I fold my hands around her and kiss her neck. ¡°It''s not your fault and you will surely be a wonderful parent.¡± Fondling her, I push her down and reach under her clothes. She tries to get away, but I pull her back to kiss her. Finally she stops fighting me and I wipe the tears out of her face. Then I continue to caress her until she is ready. To avoid changing my mind I pull her clothes hastily aside and enter her with a single thrust. The sensation is intoxicating and I move on my own rhythm while clinging to her back until she starts moaning herself and answers my movements. My hands wander to her chest to massage her. Her moving tail is a little disturbing, but after a while she wraps it around us. Minutes pass while we are moving in unison and Stella shakes uncontrollably several times. In the end she tightens and tries to pull away, but the sensation spurs me on. The pleasure numbs my mind and I reach over her shoulder to hold her back while I am holding her belly with the other hand. Having her under me like that I push into her as deep as possible and explode. Her shuddering body is on all fours now and twitching wildly, then she relaxes and collapses with haggard gasps. I place my forehead on her back, trying to catch my breath. ¡°That was so intense! Lucas, why are you never doing me like that?¡± I freeze and forget to breathe. Slowly I look up and find Helen at the entrance to the kitchen. Lucas is also there with a bright red face and bloodshot eyes. ¡°Probably because that position is... strange.¡± Helen turns back to us. ¡°Stella looked like it was very good. Didn''t you see her face?¡± Lucas''s expression turns dark. ¡°Unfortunately.¡± Helen grins and nods satisfied. ¡°I knew that it was the right idea to send Sola onto a trip. Taking care of an egg is always stimulating. Fortunately Xander is busy with his work.¡± Lucas lifelessly looks at the ceiling. ¡°I just wanted to take a look at our granddaughter and instead we find one being made.¡± They barged in on us! Again! I''ll clean our house of any stepper discs right this moment! A cooking pot flies and misses Lucas just by a hairbreadth. ¡°Get out!¡± . 63. ~Visitors.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°About the political and religious differences between the known countries: Quinn is a nation far to the east. Not many travel that far, but we know that they have a monotheistic religion. Their belief teaches that there is only one true goddess who created the world. They think that magic is a flaw which contradicts the rules of nature. People with magical ability are therefore looked down upon and forced into religious service inside churches. This is officially done in order to save their souls. It includes many hours of prayer and guidance by the older priests. The harsh indoctrination starts in the earliest days of childhood and doesn''t allow free thoughts or a free life. Those who are burdened with power have to live and die while serving the nation. The country is ruled by a king and a queen who rule with absolute power. They pass this responsibility down to their descendants. The current rulers of Quinn are named King Novak Zerces the Seventh and Queen Frey Zerces the First. They have two sons and a daughter.¡± -The writings of Dwem. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Stella*** ¡°Why are you always putting seconds onto my plate?¡± I squint my eyes and follow Azir''s movements as he shoves the leftovers of our meal onto my plate. He is definitely acting strange. Normally he doesn''t look out for me like that. But now he is overdoing it, I am already full. ¡°I''ll get fat!¡± Azir holds the empty pan protectively in front of him. ¡°It''s already a given that you''ll get fat. I''ve only my own well being in mind.¡± My eyes widen and my tail instinctively lashes out at him, but he skilfully blocks it with the pan. ¡°It''s not even sure that I am... I just warned you that day because I wasn''t in the mood!¡± What is he thinking!? We did it once on a dangerous day and it has been only four weeks since then! ¡°You can''t be certain that I am pregnant! It hasn''t been long enough and I refuse to test myself. I am not sure what to think about you hiding my contraceptives that day!¡± This didn''t match his usual character at all. Some connection in his brain must have shorted out. Luckily the egg is gone. Sola already returned from her mission and is taking care of her egg herself. I am not comfortable with having it inside Azir''s incubation chamber. He fumbles with his fingers. ¡°I don''t think that I am that lucky.¡± Then he runs off and returns with a paper bag. ¡°Here, just in case.¡± I warily take the paper bag and look inside. ¡°What should I do with crushed egg shells?¡± ¡°Eat them!¡± He shrugs his shoulders and looks somewhere else. ¡°Just in case that you get certain urges. It''s better than eating chalk... or people.¡± I throw the paper bag at his forehead. ¡°The ~eat people~ thing just happens in cases of severe malnutrition! You need to starve a highly pregnant woman for several days in order for her to lose her reason. And just for your information, I am still not sure if the whole thing wasn''t a form of rape!¡± Several wrinkles appear between his eyebrows and it seems like he is trying very hard to remember what happened that day. ¡°No, I am sure that it wasn''t like that. You were really into it in the end. Though I must admit that raping a princess is something not many guys can do.¡± He smiles and bends down to pick up the paper bag, then he shoves it into one of my robe''s pockets. ¡°You!¡± I point my finger at his chest. ¡°I said no! And you blatantly ignored me. Using me like... I am really considering telling my parents about this!¡± He isn''t impressed at all. ¡°Go on and do it. They watched. Helen herself said that you liked it. I don''t think that I have to fear anything from her.¡± Oh... I don''t want to remember it! I almost died of shame. For Mom and Dad to see me like that! That''s right. I still have my father as a trump card. ¡°Then I will talk to my father! He is easy to influence in matters like this. You won''t have a nice time at all!¡± ¡°I am not afraid.¡± Azir turns away to wash the pan. ¡°In fact I already got his approval a while ago. I believe that I am not only free of guilt in this case, but I''ve also the best witnesses possible.¡± Noooo! Why did they have to see it. ¡°I''ll say that it happened on another day.¡± It''s a low blow, but I''ll simply play the female card. He doesn''t turn around and continues to wash the pan. ¡°That''s cheap. And besides I always wondered how there can be rape in a sexual relationship? Isn''t something going seriously wrong if one partner refuses to-¡± ¡°Stooop!¡± I see this isn''t going to lead anywhere. He has the upper hand in this matter and it''s bugging me. ¡°I don''t care any more. Just see to it that it doesn''t happen again.¡± Suddenly a red light appears in my field of vision and I freeze. I''ve gotten used to being permanently connected to the mana net and this red light is indicating that someone from our inner circle needs my immediate attention. Azir''s idea of a country spanning magical mind network got a firm foothold within our society and I am not entirely sure where this will lead us. I acknowledge the incoming request and the communication window with the requested participants opens.
~~ Secret Chat Room: Sleeping Corner ~~ -Supplier connected- Members present: Creator, Sexyspider, Supplier SexySpider: One of our drones found an army on its way to Nict. They are currently on their way through the eastern plains. Creator: What? Are they nomads? SexySpider: It doesn''t look like it. If I have to guess then I would vote for Quinn. Supplier: We didn''t officially talk to Quinn in centuries. Why should they send an army? Creator: Because they think that we suck? How many are there? SexySpider: Roughly fifty thousand. They are using wagons and moving very fast. A lot of the vehicles look like transports for supplies. Seems like they intend to stay for a while. Supplier: We have to inform my mother and we have to talk to them before they reach the border. SexySpider: I did that already. Helen is on her way to your house. I suggest we meet up in Azir''s research facility. Creator: Why do we have to talk to them? I vote for shooting first and asking questions later. Supplier: Idiot! We don''t know what they want. Creator: Leading such a huge army in front of someone''s doorstep can''t have many reasons. SexySpider: The army may seem big, but logic dictates that you can''t conquer the whole of Nict with it. Maybe they are guarding someone, or something important? If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.Creator: Or they want to establish a bridgehead. Supplier: We have to talk to Helen. She has to decide. -Supplier disconnected- Members present: Creator, Sexyspider
I end the communication and get up to receive Helen at the door. Azir went out of his way and moved the stepper disc to a new location ten metres in front of our house. I am not sure if he put the stepper disc intentionally directly beside Ghost''s sleeping place. If someone who doesn''t smell like us uses the disk he will appear next to a big, angry furball with many claws and sharp teeth. When I open the door I find Helen already approaching our house. Ghost is circling her at some distance. Azir taught him not to attack our family members according to their smell. Helen doesn''t waste time and soon she comes within a comfortable talking range. ¡°What''s up with this story about an army approaching our borders?¡± ¡°We also heard about it only moments ago. It''ll be best if we let Ivy explain everything.¡± Azir''s voice sounds from behind me and I turn to face him. He gestures for us to use the stepper disc, so we head directly to his observatory. Arriving there we are greeted by Ivy and a few of Azir''s researchers. Ivy''s expression is composed, while the researchers around her look like the world is ending. She starts her explanation without caring for Helen''s approval. ¡°The army was spotted far away from our borders. They should need at least two more weeks to arrive in Nict.¡± She points down the hallway in which we appeared. ¡°We can take a look at the situation in the main control room for our spy drones.¡± We follow Ivy and I use the chance to take a look at what Azir and his team accomplished here. He turned the observatory not only into a control facility for his drones and satellites, they also started researching various other technologies. By looking into the rooms to the left and right I get a glimpse at various different projects. Most of them are related to Nict''s industry and the military. Others are clearly related to research activities and the university. Azir''s expertise with technology is now widely known and my mother gathered the smartest brains of Nict in this facility. They are all people who studied the lost knowledge from the Empire. As I already learned myself it''s really hard to take one of the old books and apply the knowledge without someone to take you through the process step by step. Many of the saved books'' contents are too specialized to be applied that easily. Just recently we ran into an unexpected wall regarding the genetic manipulation of plants. Our professor found a book which described a magitech approach on altering an existing life form into something else. The content was understandable and sounded easy enough to put it to practice. What we didn''t expect though was how hard it is to map a genetic code. If we did that by hand, we would be still at work a hundred years from now. Our ancestors solved the problem with something that was called a gene sequencer, though the author of the book didn''t find it worth mentioning how a gene sequencer works. Those are the problems we are dealing with at the university, while we are trying to reinvent the gaps in our knowledge. Azir turned out to be a magical short cut on many problems our people are facing. It isn''t like he is doing everything on his own, but more like he is guiding his subordinates into the right direction. Sometimes I wish he was a little less smart. If it wasn''t for his utter, complete uselessness in biological, philosophical and medical aspects I would get an inferiority complex! Maybe my professor should ask his team for help. They can take the problem apart and present the mechanical and physical aspect to Azir. My random thoughts get interrupted when we enter a big room. There is a big three dimensional projection of our world on a podium in the centre. It''s a magical construct which is achieved by using magic to bend light. The magic is easy enough to perform and is known to the modern Nict since a long time ago, though putting it to good use like this is the research team''s accomplishment. Ivy starts interacting with the magical construct by performing fast chopping movements with her hands. The projection changes and shows us Nict''s eastern border together with the foreign army''s course and speed. ¡°They are moving with a top speed of fifty kilometres per hour and cover about two hundred kilometres a day. They will pass our borders sometime next week if they keep that up.¡± Further images appear which show the advancing force. Helen stares in disbelief at the map. ¡°Impressive. We can''t move so many soldiers at such a speed. That means that they must have crossed the eastern planes in just a little more than a month?¡± Ivy nods. ¡°Seven thousand and four hundred kilometres in thirty seven days. Though they seem to rely mostly on their carriages.¡± Another chop of her hand expands one of the videos. What we get to see there is a long line of wooden vehicles with no visible way to propel themselves. They simply... drive on their own? Probably they are using magic like Azir''s drones. Azir chuckles lightly at my side. ¡°That''s an army? Looks more like a carnival!¡± He points at the picture. I admit that he has a point there. The carriages are all of different size and shape. Some utilize three wheels, some four or more, the variety seems endless. On top they are painted very colourfully. This army looks like a moving rainbow. There is a particularly big... thing in the centre of the formation. It looks less like a carriage, but more like a moving fortress! This one seems to be made out of metal. ¡°I am itching to order a strategic strike at them.¡± Azir tilts his head and licks his lips. ¡°I detest such a display of wasted resources.¡± Helen shakes her head. ¡°No. We must find out why they are paying us a visit first. We shouldn''t simply make an enemy out of someone who was able to resist the old Empire. I am not entirely sure that your orbital attacks would work on them. Don''t forget that they had a way to stop the Light of the Emperor. Why shouldn''t they be able to stop your new toys?¡± Azir shrugs his shoulders. ¡°That''s why I want to test them.¡± Suddenly he faces me with a smug grin on his face and nods while checking me out. I know this expression. He only wears it when he solves a particularly hard problem and all of his calculations worked out. After a few moments I can''t bear his expression any more. ¡°WHAT!?¡± His grin widens, showing off more of his teeth. ¡°Does it taste good?¡± In that moment I realize that my jaw is making grinding movements and something crunches between my teeth. My eyes wander to my left hand with Azir''s paper bag. In my right I have some of the crushed egg shells. I was too absorbed in the moving pictures, so I didn''t even realize when my body moved on its own. ¡°Oh, no...¡± Mom hugs me from the side, a brilliant smile on her face. ¡°Don''t worry dear! That''s normal. I am so happy!¡± . 64. ~Greetings.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°And the one true goddess worked without rest to create the world as we know it. When she was done she allowed herself to rest with the people of Quinn. She taught them about the world and its secrets to ease their lives. When she was done she left them to take care of themselves, promising to return once they manage to realize her dreams. So she spread her golden feathered wings and flew towards the sun.¡± -The holy Scriptures of Quinn. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** I watch the advancing column of strange vehicles. Our three dimensional light construct is displaying them through several different windows. This form of displaying information wasn''t invented by me, which makes me proud of my team. It shows that the people with whom I am working have a head of their own. They took the knowledge and techniques I taught to them during our satellite program and applied the new design techniques for magical circuits to other projects. Since not everyone is proficient in mind magic they decided to create the light construct to interact with the mana net. There are plans to raise many of those access points throughout the city and let people access them for free. Even commoners can use them since they only require the proper hand gestures. When I suggested a name for the light construct I was totally ignored and they decided to name it light sculpture. I wonder what''s wrong with ''photon based three dimensional displaying device''. Unfortunately the light sculpture doesn''t have the ability to look into an object, nor do my drones have any system which enables them to find out how the strange vehicles of Quinn work. Most of them have wheels, though some are tracked vehicles. At a single glance I have problems in making out two vehicles of the same design. It''s like the design engineers of this zoo weren''t able to decide on a proper building plan. In absence of a decision they simply started building cars in all possible shapes and sizes. There is no way to tell how they work. Though it can''t be coal or steam, they don''t produce any smoke. What''s worrying me is that most of them have mounted cannons on them. There is no way to misjudge the function of the big turrets with long metal tubes coming out of them. ¡°Helen?¡± I have to ask our leader in regards to our choice of action. ¡°If we aren''t allowed to turn them into dust, then we have to get to know their intentions. Assuming that they continue on their path they will pass our borders somewhere between Di and Tri. Once they come across one of our villages they''ll surely... ask for directions.¡± She averts her attention from the screen. ¡°We can put an army into their way, but with such a highly mobile force they could simply bypass us and go on. Meeting them on open grounds is probably in their favour. I fear that the structure of our terrain isn''t a problem for them unless we catch them in a forest.¡± I shrug my shoulders. ¡°I doubt that they would lead their force into an area which doesn''t allow them to manoeuvre freely. I thought about going there to have a chat with them?¡± Helen shakes her head. ¡°No way! I heard about your stunt with the helmet. What do you think you can do while facing them alone? We know nothing about them. I won''t let a member of my family go anywhere near such a force. On top I heard stories about them being very unfriendly towards magicians.¡± But if we don''t blow them up and can''t place an army in front of them, then there aren''t many options left to stop their advance. I want to avoid letting them go anywhere close to Tri. ¡°Then how about using one of our newer drones? Someone suggested to place a full sound system inside them to use them as listening devices. If they stop and listen to it, a two way communication might work.¡± Helen''s expression turns confused and the small wrinkles on her skin become a little deeper. After a moments of contemplation she pulls at her very restrained blue dress to straighten it. Helen isn''t a fan of pompous and fancy clothing. All of her various garbs lack jewellery or any other kind of adornment. Suddenly her expression sharpens. ¡°Why would you install something like that in a three metre long piece of metal? Anyone can see them long before you get into hearing range. Are you wasting my money?¡± Ah... damn! I didn''t expect her to be that sharp. ¡°Not... exactly. Hahaha. Isn''t it cool to be able to give out messages to normal citizens when you fly close above the ground? We thought it might be a nice help if you need to warn something like a small village of approaching danger.¡± Her eyes turn into thin slits. ¡°We have the mana net and there is at least one access point in every village. Even the weakest hedge mage can access the command line to be informed of the latest news. What are you hiding?¡± She comes closer than I deem comfortable and my step backwards is followed by a step forward from her side. ¡°We might have installed a few improved features... which I forgot to mention in my report.¡± I avert my eyes from her, that stare is simply too straining on my mind. Having her that close is also unpleasant. I just wanted to keep a few of our abilities as a secret of my own. ¡°I see, so you forgot to mention what you are doing with my money.¡± She crosses her arms in front of her chest and glares at me. I have to correct her. ¡°The country''s money.¡± ¡°My money! What can the new model do?¡± She doesn''t back off and comes even closer. ¡°It might have the ability to bend light around itself to turn invisible. It''s an advanced feature of the magical light gathering circuit which focuses light. Though the drone can''t gather energy while having this feature activated, so it can stay invisible only for short periods of time.¡± See? I hope she is happy now. ¡°Any other features I should know about?¡± Helen presses on and I realize that I am with my back against the wall. ¡°There aren''t any systems you don''t know about.¡± I blurt out. She starts smiling and gently takes my hand, softly stroking it. ¡°Azir. I am an idiot when it comes to technical stuff, but even I realize that you just dodged the question. I knew about the light gathering system too, though it seems to be able to do a little more than what I was told. So if you tell me that there aren''t any systems I don''t know about, then that seems to mean essentially nothing.¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.Why is she smiling like that? That looks more threatening than when she is angry! ¡°The report with the advanced features might be somewhere in my office. I am sure that it''ll show up when I look for it.¡± She pats my hand. ¡°That might be a good thing. I expect it on my desk tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Mom? Could you stop getting intimate with the father of my child.¡± Stella''s angry voice frees me of Helen. She stayed at Ivy''s side while watching the exchange. The paper bag with the egg shells is almost empty... did she eat a little of the paper too?! My mother in law finally decides to back off. ¡°Of course my dear. I am sorry.¡± Did she just call me a father? Why did my life take this turn? Oh, yeah... it was my own decision... fault. I hurry to the light sculpture and access the drone''s settings. ¡°I''ll drop the invisibility and position the drone in front of their army. Then we can take a look at what they do.¡± ¡°They''ll surely attack it. Is the drone able to take an attack?¡± Stella doesn''t sound very convinced. ¡°It can bend radiation based attacks around itself by using the circuit for light manipulation. Physical attacks can be warded off by the gravitation engine. If the drone creates a strong gravitational field in a small area it can use that force to divert incoming projectiles from their trajectory. Although it works only with small calibre ammunition,¡± I add subdued. A few more manipulations and the four drones which are circling the strange army are under my full control. I enlarge the viewpoint of the drone I chose for this experiment. The others are also still displayed, but in smaller windows. A chop of my hand drops its concealment and I send it downwards from its current position at a height of five kilometres. The drone follows my command and tilts its nose directly to the earth. The rapid descent stops when I reverse the acceleration and activate the hover mode directly in front of the leading units of the rainbow army. The drone reorients itself automatically to observe the target. In the meantime the loose formation of the advancing vehicles broke. The smaller cars which were the leading units steered off into random directions, while the bigger units behind them came to a complete stop. The biggest one is looming between them like a huge fortress. ¡°That woke them up. Should I get closer?¡± I take a look at Helen, but she shakes her head. Her bobbing silver hair is reflecting the sunlight from the window. ¡°Can you simply land the drone? I doubt that they would go anywhere near it if it''s airborne.¡± I let out a deep sigh. ¡°If you want, but that makes the drone a sitting duck. We''ll be unable to use the gravitation engine for defence.¡± A gesture lands it smoothly on the ground. ¡°I would prefer to have it in the air.¡± Helen shrugs her shoulders. ¡°If they destroy it I permit you to test your orbital arsenal in a retaliatory strike.¡± Stella grabs her mother''s sleeve with a worried expression. ¡°Is that okay? The drone is just a piece of metal.¡± ¡°An expensive piece of metal.¡± Helen answers without hesitation. The strange army came to a complete halt and now one of the smaller vehicles approaches the drone. It''s one of the four wheeled ones and its painted like an explosion of red, orange and yellow colours. The vehicle has a turret on the top with two long metal tubes emerging from it. The thing is made out of wood while the driver''s capsule seems to be a metal box. Upon closer inspection I recognize two small slits for the driver to look out of his vehicle. The armoured car stops ten metres in front of my drone and a door swings open on its side. It was perfectly concealed before the driver decided to leave his machine. The driver is clothed in a tight fitting uniform with frilly sleeves and a long cloak. I notice that his blue horns seem a little small, but to compensate for that his hair is also dyed in an explosion of colour. Judging by his horns and his insecure behaviour he seems to be very young. He points something which can only be a gun at the drone and the car''s turret rotates to aim its gun too. If he wasn''t a soldier and a member of a scouting party I would think that he is frightened. I''ll crush their fancy car if they hurt my toy. ¡°Their technology seems to be decent, although I haven''t seen anything outstanding up till now. I wonder what''s their problem regarding colours?¡± Helen answers my question. ¡°I think I''ve read that in one of my old books. They believe that they amuse their goddess when they dress like this. According to their holy scripture the goddess laughed tears for a month and created the oceans by doing so.¡± Those guys have a few screws loose. ¡°So they want to drown us? What happens if they manage to cause another laughing fit to their goddess?¡± ¡°We should say something. Now or never.¡± Stella reminds us of the awkward situation. ¡°Oh, you are right.¡± I activate the speakers on my drone. ¡°Bring me your leader and explain your presence here!¡± The soldier''s eyes widen upon the sudden proclamation and he discharges his weapon at the drone. I immediately enlarge the viewpoint of a second drone to inspect the damage. ¡°That scratched the paint you nervous, little clusterfuck!¡± ¡°I''ll sue you if there is a dent!¡± ¡°No, I''ll use the drone''s engine to smear you over the entire eastern plains.¡± ¡°You won- mmm...MMM-¡± Stella immediately jumped to my side and held her hand over my mouth. I try to free myself, but she holds me tightly with iron force while she is pulling me away from the light sculpture. I have to take revenge! You can''t be serious that this child is allowed to scratch my drone! Helen steps into my place and throws an inquiring look at Ivy, who nods to assure her that her voice will be transmitted. ¡°I am sorry for this little outburst. The person you heard just a moment ago is one of the creators of this device and he is emotionally attached to his work. I am Helen Gejene and I rule the Free City States of Nict. It would be very nice of you if you state the reason for your visit and get me a person with authority.¡± The soldier had paled upon my outburst. Then, after hearing Helen''s words, he nods with a frightened expression and hurries back into his car where he seems to have some kind of communication device. . 65. ~Concourse.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°There is a person who is wandering the world and helping people. They call him the Wanderer and he, if the stories are true, has been on his journey for several hundred years. He is a just person and slays evil wherever he finds it. Though many who met him think that he is desperately searching for something.¡± -The Southern Legends. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** I am sitting on the ground and watching the light sculpture angrily. Stella has her legs around me and is holding her hand onto my mouth to stop me from talking. I realized that I can''t get her off of me without hurting her, so I simply have to accept the situation for now. In the meantime Helen took on the burden of negotiating with Quinn. It turned out that the soldier had something like a mobile radio in his car. He returned after fulfilling Helen''s request and informed us that his superior would show up soon. Afterwards he continued stuttering something about a diplomatic mission. If an army of that size is Quinn''s version of a diplomatic mission, then I don''t know what their version of war is supposed to look like. After a while a second bigger car closes in on my drone. It came directly from the big moving fortress and looks even fancier than the scout''s vehicle. This one has six wheels and seems to be heavily armoured. Contrary to the other vehicles it doesn''t seem to have any weapons. The colours on it range over the whole spectrum and it looks like the artist who was in charge of painting this monstrosity was in a hurry and simply splashed the colours onto it. A ramp opens in the side of the new arrival and a guy and a woman in frilly clothing exit the car. Like the soldier, both of them wear their hair in various colours. Even their horns are painted and their garments are tight fitting with frills all over them. A long time ago I visited a wandering circus with Stella. That was back when she was still hiding her true identity. They had a show there. The actors were calling themselves clowns and tried to entertain the audience by wearing funny clothing, telling jokes or performing strange stunts. If those two would paint their faces white and add fluffy, red noses to their appearance... they would match those actors perfectly. The guy has a small pointy beard on his chin. He doesn''t look very old, thirty at most and there is a small scar on his right cheek. His whole demeanour demands being respected, despite his strange clothings. The face is a little round, though that seems to be caused by his heritage since his body isn''t fat at all. The woman at his side wears a dress and if it wasn''t for her over-usage of red lipstick I would probably call her beautiful. Her sharp facial features make her look like someone who is used to being in command, but her high, strong cheekbones give her the appearance of an evildoer. Both of them stroll casually down the ramp and approach the soldier and my drone. Either they are very confident in their protective measures, or they are very stupid. The man eyes my drone with a confused expression. ¡°You said that the leader of Nict wants to talk to us?¡± Helen decides to intercept the soldier''s answer. ¡°Indeed. I am Helen Gejene and I am using this device to talk to you. Can I assume that you two are the leaders of this caravan?¡± The man turns his attention to the drone. ¡°My name is Prince Leon Zerces and this is my sister, Princess Giana Zerces. The king of Quinn entrusted us with a diplomatic mission to Nict.¡± Helen answers with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. ¡°I am sure that a purely diplomatic mission would look a little different. What do you need that many troops for?¡± Leon smiles knowingly. ¡°The eastern plains are a dangerous place and since we have two members of the royal family travelling to a faraway and possibly hostile country, the king decided to give us a force that can''t be easily messed with. And the most important point is that we are able to protect our own interests.¡± ¡°That still doesn''t tell me what you want. Nict didn''t bother itself with Quinn for a few hundred years. We aren''t interested in anything besides our own problems.¡± Helen answers with a steady voice. There isn''t a reason to fear Quinn from our point of view. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Giana decides to speak for the first time. ¡°Something like that may be best discussed in private. We have our reasons to come in force, as we aren''t entirely sure if Nict isn''t our enemy.¡± Helen doesn''t give in. ¡°You can talk through this device. It''s safe and I trust the people with me. I won''t allow your army to approach our borders any further.¡± Leon gestures at the drone. ¡°Then what proof do we have that we are really speaking with the leader of Nict? Our enemy is also capable of creating strange magical artefacts.¡± Helen''s voice turns interested. ¡°Hooh, so your vehicles aren''t using magic? I wondered how a country that despises the most important members of its society could create such vehicles.¡± Leon raises his head proudly. ¡°Those are the fruits of pure science! The new V16-Mechanized-Troops are Quinn''s newest forces. They run purely on oil and electricity. There is no heretical magic involved at all!¡± I start laughing while Stella hugs me tighter, but it''s no use. The clown''s joke was too funny. Why would someone build a purely mechanic engine in a world where mana is available in abundance. It would be reasonable in a world without magic, but why would you make your own life harder if it isn''t necessary? Magical circuits are a shortcut to many things you wouldn''t otherwise be able to achieve without excessive investments in time and resources. These guys are too funny. Stella''s grip on me tightens to the point of almost cutting the air circulation to my brain. I feel my head burning and my vision sways a little. Finally I am able to stop laughing. The prince''s expression turns sour. ¡°Is there someone laughing in the background?¡± Helen glares at me. ¡°I am sorry, it seems like your technological approach was deemed as funny by one of my researchers. Why don''t we make a compromise. We''ll prepare a proper location half a day south from your current position. There we can talk. The drone will lead you there.¡± Helen gestures for Ivy to cut the connection, then she turns to Stella and me. My face must have turned blue by now. A chopping motion of Helen''s hand signals Stella to let me go. ¡°I need him to place a stepper disc to the south of their army. There is a big, grassy, open field there. It''s perfect to prepare a show.¡± Stella lets go of me and I can finally breathe freely. ¡°A show? Why should we make a show for them?¡± Helen smiles and kneels down in front of me. ¡°Because they obviously brought their army to impress us. So we''ll build a small fortress in a place where they drove past just a few hours ago.¡± A small fortress? ¡°I know that you guys can build houses very fast, but a fortress?¡± She nods. ¡°Who says that we''ll use just a small meagre workforce? When they get there they''ll be confronted with a huge palace and a strongly fortified position. One of our armies will be there and we will show them that we are able to move our troops as we please. Maybe we could even imply that the fortress was there all along, hidden under a spell.¡± I nod eagerly, understanding her point. ¡°Which should make them think twice before they try to wreak havoc in Nict. Though I think saying that you built it within a few hours is way more impressive.¡± ***Eastern Plains*** ***Leon*** ¡°Unbelievable. Are you sure that there is no mistake? How could we drive past such a structure without noticing it?¡± I gesture at the fortress in the middle of nowhere. ¡°Did they conceal themselves?¡± After our encounter with the strange flying device we returned to the command deck of our moving command post. The huge tracked vehicle was designed to carry supplies and protect a moving force from strategic attacks. It''s two hundred metres long and fifty metres wide, a moving ship on land. We are currently on the bridge, which is made out of the finest steel. There are control desks for weapons, engines and defence together with navigation. A huge window grants me a perfect view on the area ahead of us. The general at my side, who is commanding the expedition, shakes his head. ¡°Our equipment against magic should have detected something as big as that. Currently the detectors for magic are going nuts. There must be several hundred mages in that fortress over there.¡± He sighs. ¡°We estimate about fifteen thousand normal soldiers.¡± I snort. ¡°Such a meagre force is nothing we can''t deal with. Quinn won''t bow to heretics like them.¡± Giana tugs at my sleeve. ¡°Brother, think about what you are saying. We have never seen so many magicians in one spot. Who knows what they can do together? You can''t judge them simply by their numbers.¡± . 66. ~Fortress.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°They are coming in their black ships from over the sea to take the souls of those who encounter them. Many are taken away and vanish between the waves. Their soulless army is growing day by day, waiting in the shadows.¡± -The Southern Legends. ***Eastern Plains*** ***Azir*** This is so cool. Just placing a few stepper discs out here in the middle of nowhere was enough to relocate an army from our capital to this place. To transport the common soldiers we even used three of the bigger discs which my team devised for transporting goods and materials. Then Helen''s workforce of two hundred Gejene got to work and created this fortress. I wish I had that kind of building power permanently under my command. But I guess that won''t be allowed. Nict has a population of about twenty million people and there is only one real magician born for every five hundred normal citizens. The number varies a little from year to year, but it comes very close. There are a few more than the birth rate implies, since some magicians'' lives last very long. That means that there exist only roughly sixty thousand magicians in the entirety of Nict. If you divide that by seven, since all clans have roughly the same size, you end up with nine thousand magicians in each clan. Of course each clan is bigger than that since even if someone does not have magic abilities, if his line has an ancestor who was a magician, then he would still belong to the clan. There are also people like my father, who can use magic, but don''t have the power to do anything of real value with it. The potential of having children with magic ability is enough for membership. It still shows that Helen mobilized between two to three percent of Nict''s most potent building force to accomplish this. It surely isn''t easy to divert so much of a country''s resources on a whim. A democracy would have fought for years over a decision like that. What we built here in the middle of nowhere is a hexagon shaped fortress with three layers of defence. There are forty-metres-high towers at each point of the hexagon to provide nice platforms for attack and defence. The fortress is big enough to hold the army''s third reserve force, which consists of fifteen thousand normal soldiers with two hundred mages among them. Since this is supposed to be a show of force Helen called upon all clans to add their power to the mix, so we ended up with roughly seven hundred mages. Inside the three walls with a height of twenty metres and a thickness of five metres is a small, compact town with living quarters and a small palace in the centre. Of course the Gejene didn''t use their ability for all of this. The walls for example were raised from the ground by the Tinn by using their telekinesis, then they were compressed. The Veit swarmed out and enchanted the structure to strengthen it. By now the outside of the wall is covered with so many spells that it started shimmering in fluorescent blue light. Most of the buildings were created in a similar manner to conserve mana. The ability of the Gejene served only to give everything the last touch by adding metal where it was needed. They even spent the time to give the walls a shiny exterior of silver and gold, just a thin layer to show off. What we ended up with is a shiny structure with a size of six hundred square metres. If the people of Quinn aren''t impressed by that, then I don''t know what to do. Since this could evolve into a war I invested the time to take a look at our army, but I have to say that I couldn''t find any mistakes in their approach. I suppose that the frequent attacks by the southern nations forced Nict''s war machine into ruthless effectiveness. Their protection and warding spells are decent, combined with the Veit''s ability of long term enchantments their equipment is light and more resistant than heavy steel armour. The Eddin provide perfect battlefield healers and the Tinn can ward off most projectiles with their ability. A typical fighting force of Nict consists of one magician from each clan and one to five hundred normal soldiers. The magicians provide protection from magic and spells while they advance together with the soldiers, whose sole purpose is to protect them against sneak attacks. In a war situation the biggest danger are strategic class spells. A normal living being has a certain resistance to magic since it''s instinctively protecting itself against foreign influences. But this protection is very weak if you aren''t trained in manipulating your own mana. It''s possible to train a normal person in personal resistance against such an attack and there are special forces who have this training. Though it requires a mage to train with the soldier in question. To do so with an entire army is simply impossible. For example, if a group of common soldiers is caught without the protection of a magician in an open field, a Tinn could easily kill them by snapping an important blood vessel in their heads. It would be straining to the magician, but not impossible to do so. An Anja could attack with Inferno, a spell that burns a living being''s mana and jumps from mana source to mana source. A tightly packed formation of soldiers would be the perfect target for such a spell. A magician can easily counter such an attack by taking forceful control of his mana pool. If there is no one to stop such a spell an entire army could be easily lost within minutes. The possibilities and spells are endless, that''s why magicians who are working for the military are investing a lot of time in studying ways to attack and defend against such attacks. They have certain spells to ward their own troops against low cost attacks, but the essential point is that an army without protection from magic is doomed. That''s why watching Quinn''s army from afar makes me wonder how they protect themselves. Quinn must have some kind of device which absorbs mana or disturbs the formation of spells. After all they also brought down one of our satellites. They parked their fleet of vehicles in ten kilometres distance from our fortress. Unfortunately I can''t find out what they are using to stop magic, but they must have something. I suppose that the relevant device is in that big train-like thing of theirs. They have about four thousand vehicles of different sizes and judging from the mounted guns their artillery must be impressive. In a fight everything will depend on our ability to shield ourselves. Advancing on them might end badly since we have no idea of the nature of their protection. I take a look down the outer wall of our fortress and inspect the shiny wall. Since there isn''t much to do right now I decided to leave Helen and Lucas back at the small palace in the middle of our fortress. They are preparing everything for our guests. Raising my eyes I find three vehicles approaching us. It''s the heavily armoured transport of the prince and two small, three-wheeled vehicles as escorts. Seems like they intend to accept Helen''s invitation, trusting us not to take them as hostages. I guess no civilised nation would do that. It would destroy any hopes of a diplomatic relationship between our countries. The transport should arrive here shortly. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. I slowly walk along the wall to the heavy main gate in it and let my gaze wander over the green, grassy plains. A guard on the wall is on sentry duty and I step to his side. He is watching the approaching vehicles with great concentration, not paying any attention to me. ¡°How is it to see someone who despises all magic and is supposedly free of the magician''s shackles?¡± I ask him, interested in his point of view. ¡°Why should we be shackled by our protectors? How can you speak like that about the people who use their granted powers for the greater good!¡± He turns angrily around to take a look at me, but upon seeing who I am he drops to his knees. ¡°I am sorry for snapping at you! Please forgive me!¡± I scratch my cheek in thought. ¡°Stand up and return to your duty. I was just interested in how a normal citizen sees the situation. If that''s the average commoner''s opinion, then I am glad.¡± He nods and stands up, returning his attention to the approaching vehicles. I leave him there and activate levitation magic to float down to the main gate. A quick thought accesses the mana net and informs Helen and Lucas of our approaching friends. At the gate I find Stella, Sola and Xander waiting for me, so I land at Stella''s side to inform them of the situation. ¡°They are coming; should be here any minute now. I think we can already open the Gate for them to show that they are welcome?¡± All of them are dressed like me in stylish black and white robes, embedded with silver linings. The official garments of the ruling house. Xander looks a little tired while Sola is holding onto his hand, but otherwise he seems fine. I recall our short private conversation this morning. He asked me how I manage to deal with the female attention during the night. Apparently Sola is a little enthusiastic when it comes to bedtime activities and Xander isn''t taking the reduced time for sleep too well. Sola nods and gestures for a guard to open the main gate. ¡°We are doing this to impress them. Having them standing in front of closed gates would probably convey a feeling distrust.¡± Xander doesn''t seem to be too happy about the idea. ¡°If they attack us we are offering them four members of the ruling clan as easy targets.¡± That''s true, but he forgets that we are surrounded by countless protective charms and the Veit took extra care of our robes. ¡°I think it''ll be fine. I watched while the Veit were enchanting our robes. They are as good as steel armour and there are some nice spells against all sorts of possible attacks embedded in them. I was truly impressed by their ability. Olivia herself worked on our garments and she is the successor, waiting in line to be the next clan head of the Veit.¡± He nods and seems a little more relaxed when the big transport from Quinn enters through the main gate and halts on the open area directly behind the gate. The fortress is tightly packed and there is just a small square of twenty metres free space behind the gate. The square is enclosed by three story buildings which provide quarters for the soldiers. The ramp of the vehicle opens once again in the already familiar manner and our guests exit their transport. This time their clothing seems a little more subdued, but it is still outrageous to look at. Leon is wearing a multicoloured, smoking suit and Giana chose a shimmering dress which changes its colour in the sunlight. Sola greets them with a smiling face and outstretched arms. ¡°It''s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Sola Gejene, First Princess of Nict.¡± Then she introduces the rest of us. Leon''s and Giana''s eyes draw my attention. They aren''t just smiling and trying to remember our names, they are constantly surveying their surroundings too. I try to stay in the background as much as possible. First, I already proved myself to be bad with this kind of situation. Second, listening and learning is sometimes better than speaking your mind. I wonder if our little hidden surprise already managed to make his way here. After the introductions Sola leads us towards the mansion, where Helen and Lucas are waiting. The prince and princess are accompanied by four guards with guns, while our whole group is flanked by two lines of soldiers with spears and swords. I have to update our soldiers'' weapon technology when I have time. Though judging by the scout''s rifle, which scratched my drone, the offensive power of their handguns shouldn''t be strong enough to penetrate the armour of our guards. They would have to hit a gap in the enchanted armour. ¡°You have an impressive fortress here. Do you have as much problems with the nomads as we do? I can imagine that they don''t like such a structure in the middle of their beloved plains.¡± Giana attempts to get the conversation going while we lead them to the mansion. ¡°It''s not like we would bother to ask them. It''s hard to negotiate with someone who doesn''t have an acknowledged government, but I guess that they have long since learned that it''s better to stay away from our borders. The southerners aren''t as smart in that regard.¡± Giana nods and smiles. Her eyes wander to me and then back to Sola. ¡°So I take it that all of you are mages? There are no normal people like me in a position of power?¡± Xander answers her question. ¡°There are people without magical power in politically important positions, but they are all associated to one of the great magical clans in one way or the other. Some normal people have their own private companies and are very wealthy traders, but they don''t have political influence.¡± Leon snorts and swipes at the present soldiers with a fast movement of his hand. ¡°I don''t see why a whole society should be governed by a minority. How many magicians did you bring to this fortress? It must be a sizeable part of your government if I think of the ratio between people who are born with the curse and normal ones.¡± Stella''s eyebrow twitches and she nods. ¡°There are more than a million people who belong to a clan. I think bringing a few of them here isn''t that much of a problem.¡± She just told a half lie to them with a straight face. There may be a million people affiliated to a clan in one way or the other, but we still have much less magicians who are worth being called as such. I try to substantiate her misdirection of our visitors. ¡°Dear, since magical ability is obviously inherited by blood. Isn''t it reasonable to think that a society which locks its magicians away and turns them into slaves of their religion reduces the pool of people with the trait in question? It''s a small wonder that there are still any magicians born after a few hundred years of persecution. One might think that they are hiding themselves from the authorities. Suppressing certain elements of a society always forces some of those elements to hide their true nature.¡± Maybe I made a little mistake by assisting Stella. The rest of our way to Helen and Lucas is enveloped by a deadly silence. I think I hit the nail on the head? . 67. ~Circumstances.~ Too tired to proofread another time. Read it tomorrow if you don''t want some horrible mistakes. Still posting it to get my head free. Also don''t complain about chapter size you leechers, read all chapters on weekends if you want to read longer. Just rambling because I am so tired. If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°This page belongs to the log book of the great Pirate Captain Saltfoot. Page 204/500 Date IR-23-100-5432, Crew: 127, Location: Eastern Sea 332S/132N Found a cargo vessel from Quinn and captured it. We threw the ten captured seamen overboard. I decided to head back south to replenish our resources. Loot: 10 sacks of salt, 50 barrels with wine, 100 bars of raw iron, 100 trusses of wool, 100 barrels with oil Date IR-24-100-5432, Crew: 127, Location: Eastern Sea 322S/112N -Nothing Date IR-25-100-5432, Crew: 127, Location: Eastern Sea 302S/102N -Nothing Date IR-26-100-5432, Crew: 127, Location: Eastern Sea 285S/100N -Nothing Date IR-27-100-5432, Crew: 83(-44), Location: Eastern Sea 247S/99N We came across a frigate from Quinn. They gave us a good fight, but underestimated what it means to go against Saltfoot! Harharhar. Have to find a pirate bay though... running low on pirates. Loot: 20 cannons, 10 barrels of gunpowder, 63 guns, 53 swords, 100m2 canvas Date IR-28-100-5432, Crew: 83, Location: Eastern Sea 272S/101N -Nothing Date IR-29-100-5432, Crew: 83, Location: Southern Sea 265S/100N -Nothing Date IR-30-100-5432, Crew: 82(-1), Location: Southern Sea 258S/98N -The old Freddy vanished. He had night watch and the sea was rough. Probably he fell overboard. I don''t care, won''t turn the whole ship around to search for him. Date IR-01-101-5432, Crew: 140(+58), Location: Southern Sea 255S/105N -Replenished resources and pirates in One Eye Bay. Decided to take a look at Nict. Date IR-02-102-5432, Crew: 140, Location: Southern Sea 244S/96N -Nothing Date IR-03-102-5432, Crew: 140, Location: Southern Sea 231S/96N -Nothing Date IR-04-102-5432, Crew: 140, Location: Southern Sea ?/? -Came into a big storm. Don''t know where we are. Too many clouds. Date IR-05-102-5432, Crew: 139(-1), Location: Southern Sea ?/? -One of the new ones complained, threw him overboard. Date IR-06-102-5432, Crew: 139, Location: ?/? -Found a black ship, decided to follow them and ask nicely where the fuck I am... with a gun of course. Date IR-07-102-5432, Crew: 139, Location: ?/? -They are sailing faster than I thought. Date IR-08-102-5432, Crew: 139, Location: ?/? -Still following them. Date IR-09-102-5432, Crew: 139, Location: ?/? -Still following them. Date IR-10-102-5432, Crew: 139, Location: ?/? -Lost them. ... Date IR-23-102-5432, Crew: 139, Location: ?/? -Land ahead! Date IR-24-102-5432, Crew: 138(-1), Location: ?/? -Wrong coast, wrong animals, wrong fruits. Have never been here before. Something ate my errand-boy. Hard to find a new one out here in the middle of nowhere. Date IR-25-102-5432, Crew: 138, Location: ?/? -Found a city at the coast. The people are strange here. All of them care only for their work. They don''t even complain when we take their stuff. Date IR-26-102-5432, Crew: 99(-39), Location: ?/? -Bitches went mad and attacked us without warning! Three black ships are hunting us too. Date IR-27-102-5432, Crew: 1 (-98) Pirate Captain Saltfoot, Location: -121S/-145N -The black ships caught up to us and we got boarded. They killed most of my men and took the rest away. I hid in a barrel of rum. Had to remove Freddy first though... old, drunken bastard must''ve fallen into it and drowned. And we thought that he died a good pirate''s death in the sea. Instead he drowned heels over head in a barrel of rum... if only the others knew. The ship is now drifting and too damaged for one person to handle it. I''ll put my log in a bottle and throw it into the water, maybe someone finds it. I''ll try to swim to the coast and make a living there. Won''t be easy with one foot though... I think salt dissolves in water? Haven''t bathed in years, I think now I remember why I stopped bathing.¡± -Message in a Bottle. ***Eastern Plains*** ***Azir*** We enter a big room inside Helen''s new, luxurious mansion. The Gejene didn''t spare any expenses to make the centre of this fortress look like it belongs to someone who can throw away his money. The conference room is on the top floor of the mansion and grants a good view of the surrounding plains in all directions. The walls are made from glass and are almost invisible. Even the ceiling is made out of a dark coloured, glassy material. A big, golden candelabrum is hanging from it. There is a big, three sided table with many chairs in the middle of the room. The walls of the room are lined with guards. To the left are soldiers from Nict in light armour with shields and swords. The right side is occupied by a few guards from Dwem, they are wearing their standard grey uniforms made out of cloth. They have rifles hanging on their backs and guns on their belts. Helen and Lucas are sitting at table''s side, which is to the left of the entrance to the room. They are wearing the same black and white clothings as me. On the adjacent side of the table is Chuck! I wave my hand at my good old friend to greet him and the four sour looking advisers of his. He answers me with a smile and a wave of his totem. It''s lucky that he found the time to join this event. He is our secret card. The guys from Quinn surely weren''t expecting to negotiate with two countries. Stella grabs my hand and pulls me to the free seats at Lucas''s side. She takes the seat next to Lucas, so I have to sit at the corner of the triangle. Sola and Xander take the seats at Helen''s side. That leaves the third side of the table for Leon and Giana, who take place on the empty seats there. Helen opens the conversation. ¡°Greetings. I suppose you already know my children? My name is Helen Gejene and this is my husband, Lucas. We are the rulers of the Free City States of Nict. Our friends from Dwem decided to join us.¡± She flicks her hand at Chuck. Chuck waves his totem while he tries to get a better look over the edge of his table, but to no avail. He is simply too small to make an impression and the chair isn''t adjusted to his size. In the end he decides to stand onto the chair. After he corrected his mask, he chose one with blue feathers this time, he starts speaking. ¡°Ahem. Greetings! I am the Great Shaman of Dwem and these are my aides.¡± He stabs his finger at the four people to his left and right. ¡°Nobody cares about their opinion since they aren''t as smart as me. They got less than a full score during the national exam, so their names are irrelevant. You can ignore them.¡± The expressions of his advisers turn even unhappier and they bow to greet us. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Leon and Giana look surprised, but they regain their composure immediately. It''s Giana who speaks first. ¡°I am the First Princess of Quinn, Giana Zerces. This is my brother Leon Zerces, First Prince of Quinn. We are on a diplomatic mission to determine the state of affairs outside of Quinn.¡± The Great Shaman waves his totem at them. ¡°Diplomatic mission! Good joke! I took a look out of the window.¡± Leon looks in disdain at the Shaman and straightens himself. ¡°Maybe we should explain the history of our presence here first.¡± He takes a deep breath to gather his thoughts. ¡°Quinn existed in peace and flourished since Nict''s downfall.¡± His expression turns into a smug grin and he looks at our side of the table. Then he continues with a sour tone. ¡°That is until the attacks began about three years ago. Tribes from the north started raiding our villages, nomads from the plains disturbed our trading routes. Black ships with maniacs on board wreaked havoc in our ports and pirates took down our merchant shipping. On top of everything the southern nations attacked us in open warfare. It''s like back in the days when we had to repel the Empire!¡± I tilt my head in thought. Three years ago? Isn''t that the about the same time as when Dwem got attacked? But Quinn is on the other side of the continent. It''s strange though I don''t care much about their issues with their neighbours. Giana continues the explanation. ¡°Our country was in a desperate situation since we got attacked from all sides. The southern nations even somehow got access to modern weapon technology.¡± Her eyes wander to the guards of the Great Shaman. Especially the guns draw her attention. ¡°Then the black ships landed a huge army on the shores of the southern nations. They advanced together against Quinn''s borders and we were about to forsake all hope. There were hundreds of thousands of soldiers with modern weapons and magic in their arsenal!¡± She stops for a moment and stares at the table. ¡°When their army moved it was like watching a hill of ants.¡± After a few seconds of silence Lucas inclines them to go on. ¡°And?¡± ¡°They vanished!¡± Leon answers like he still can''t fully belief it himself. ¡°We were gathering our troops to force them into a final fight at a natural bottleneck between Quinn and the southern nations. There is a big and dangerous river between Quinn and the south. Just one big ford allows safe passage without bridges and we had destroyed all of those. Our long range artillery prevented them from building new ones. The enemies were gathering their forces in their main camp to push through when it happened. A bright light lit the horizon and an unbelievable shockwave almost blew our army''s camp away. We were lucky to gather our troops so far away from the enemy, but we were counting on our mobility and range in case of them trying to cross the river.¡± I do my best to ignore Chuck''s and Helen''s eyes on me and force my attention somewhere else. The golden chandelier at the ceiling is very interesting right now. Hopefully they don''t get the idea that I had anything to do with this event. I never told anybody that I detonated a nuke on this world and I don''t have the intention to do so. Especially since they would probably require me to explain how a nuke works. There is no reason to share such dangerous knowledge with a world in war. I am quite happy that the idea of using atom energy to build a weapon didn''t come up on this world... yet. The possible reasons for big flashes of light and vanishing armies are multifarious. Maybe I can make something up if they ask me about it. Luckily I have no moral qualms about my action. Not telling my family saves them the trouble to bother with such a dilemma. The only thing that bugs me right now is that it seems like I helped Quinn! So I am indirectly the reason why they are here right now. Giana nods. ¡°The devastation at our southern border is unbelievable! We don''t know what happened. Our scientists believe that the enemy lost control over a horrible new weapon of theirs. The area is a wasteland and everyone who goes there gets sick. At least the utter destruction of the enemy army gave us the time to consolidate our borders and to hunt down the rogue enemies which survived the explosion since they were too far away. The king and the queen decided to send the forces which were freed up by the mishap of our opponents to the west. We are hoping to get a clearer picture of what''s going on and why our neighbours suddenly went nuts.¡± Leon nods his head with fervour. ¡°There is also the point of why you threw one of your satellites onto our capital. The wreckage landed right on the queen''s most beloved winter garden. The place is a mess.¡± I point at Leon. ¡°You guys took it down somehow! It wasn''t our fault!¡± He slams his fist onto the table. ¡°I knew it! That voice! Giana, that''s the so called scientist who laughed at me!¡± ¡°I can laugh as much as I want! Luckily there are no laws against laughing in Nict!¡± I shoot back. Giana smiles at her brother. ¡°Why don''t we try to calm down. It was just a small winter garden and nobody got hurt. We already told our own airspace-control that deactivating the satellite at exactly that moment wasn''t so smart of them. It was a series of unfortunate events. The guy who was in charge simply had a bad day.¡± I can''t stop myself and add my own interpretation. ¡°Or he didn''t particularly like the royal family and hoped that the thing would fall onto the head of someone important. Just be happy that our satellites are essentially just big chunks of metal once they are disabled. I can''t imagine that someone who is in charge of disposing of orbital objects would forget to calculate where the thing comes down.¡± Leon''s and Giana''s faces tell me that I hit right on the mark once again. Don''t tell me that sending the satellite into their territory helped them to uncover an assassination attempt on the royal family? ¡°I am right! Aren''t I? I am bad with people, but your stupid expressions speak volumes!¡± For people whom I don''t like at all I helped them far too much. And they don''t even know it. Hopefully they''ll never find out. . 68. ~Adjournment.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°I''ve made it to the coast! Ha! A landlubber would have drowned, but not the good old Saltfoot. All I''ve to do now is to find one of those villages with lobotomised villagers and get them to do what I want. Just need a small ship that''s all. Then I am on my way again! My prosthesis dissolved though, hopping to the next village will be no fun at all... but the stench is gone!¡± -Message in a Bottle. ***Eastern Plains*** ***Azir*** Suddenly something slithers around me and tightens. It circles around my neck once, twice and lays itself over my mouth. Straining my eyes, I can identify familiar, shimmering scales. Stella tied and gagged me with her tail! I force my head around to look at her out of the corner of my right eye, but she is acting like nothing special happened. After a few moments of awkward silence she lets her eyes wander through the room. ¡°Is something wrong? Please, go on.¡± Leon starts grinning like a little child. The situation seems to amuse him to the point of almost bursting out in laughter. If the rope which is tying me up wasn''t Stella''s tail I would free myself and twist his neck by three hundred and sixty degrees. Though that would probably create a nice little diplomatic incident. Stella turns her head to face Leon. ¡°Is? Something? Wrong?¡± Since she is looking away from me I can''t see her expression, but it has to be fearsome! Leon''s grin vanishes and he edges away from the table as if that would make it easier to jump up and flee in case of an emergency. ¡°Everything is okay. If I am honest then the incident with the satellite was a good thing. Your fianc¨¦¡¯s way of speaking his mind may seem rude, but he is smart. Having someone like him at a conference lets you at least know where the other party is standing.¡± He complimented me! I would''ve never thought that a person like him could be persuaded to do so! Stella''s expression must look like an ancient god of destruction and annihilation could come down on him at any moment! If I am honest then she is a god of destruction. She just doesn''t know it. The nuke, which I used on the Black Magicians, is her power after all. The raw materials came from her efforts in helping me. Giana nods and places both of her hands flat onto the table. ¡°We shouldn''t harbour bad feelings about old stories. But since we shared our history with you, how about explaining how Nict and Dwem ended up in cahoots with each other?¡± Helen starts with explaining our ongoing conflict with the puppeteer who is hiding in the shadows, followed by the Great Shaman and Dwem''s story. When Chuck stops speaking our visitors are left with confused expressions. It was a little too much information at once after all. Finding out that this conflict seems to span the whole continent has a huge impact if you aren''t an emotionally-solid person like me. Though it seems like they haven''t realized a very important point, which gives our voyage a new direction. First I have to free myself from this gag. I try to use my teeth, but I have to admit very soon that Stella''s scales are as hard as my dental enamel. She doesn''t seem to be bothered by my attempt to bite off the tip of her tail. A woman''s tail is essentially just a big accumulation of muscles, tendons and bone. My attempt was probably doomed to fail from the start. Due to the fact that I''ll soon be called ¡°daddy¡±, I decided to study the female anatomy. If there is a small chance that you wake up one day and find your partner gnawing at your hand you have to take precautions. Going by the book''s knowledge Stella has to feel at least something in her tail. Even if I can''t cause her pain, the book said that most females are still sensitive to anything touching their most precious appendage. So I start licking the tail, moving my tongue back and forth, up and down. Stella doesn''t react, so I pull out my trump card and start sucking while applying pressure with my tongue. That causes a slight reddening of her face, but otherwise she keeps calm. In the meantime the discussion between the present parties moves forward while they are trying to decide on how to proceed from here. It''s the usual political talk where nobody wants to admit anything or take any responsibility. The tail is perfectly covering my mouth, so nobody notices what I am doing. Not giving up I intensify my efforts until Stella''s expression turns strange. The pressure of her tail increases, but I endure it until a slight shiver runs through the living rope that binds me. Giving off a quiet, satisfied moan she slides from her chair while loosening her grip on me. How cute... that sounded sexy! I hurry to free myself and pull the tail away from my mouth. The discussion stopped when Stella slipped from her chair, so it''s the perfect moment for me to insert my opinion. ¡°Guys, aren''t you all forgetting the strange fleet of black ships? Giana, Leon, you two said that the army was brought by them. Where did they come from? Judging by your description the number of ships must''ve been huge if they transported so many troops. Going by your observation that the ships were painted black it must mean that this is unusual? Isn''t it possible to determine the origin of those ships and shouldn''t they be related directly to our problem since they seem to belong to an unknown force?¡± Chuck is the first one to avert his eyes from the empty spot where Stella vanished from their view. ¡°You are certainly right. We have a very small merchant fleet since Dwem has only one sizeable port, but our ships travel far up to the north and a long way down the coast and towards south. Some even go the western archipelago of islands. I''ve never heard of a fleet of black ships, nor do any of the nations on this continent paint their ships black.¡± Giana nods with slightly red cheeks. ¡°Neither do we know of any nations with such habits. The northern tribes never had many ships since there isn''t enough wood in the northern regions. The southerners don''t paint their ships and the pirates use what they can steal from others. The Nomads don''t have to be mentioned since they have no access to the ocean.¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Then there aren''t many possibilities left. ¡°That means that our enemy has his base of operations on the second continent. It would explain why he was able to hide himself so well. Either that, or we are facing an invasion from another plane of existence.¡± Leon starts stuttering. ¡°Inv... In... other... P... Plane of existence!?¡± I nod. ¡°Well of course. Our enemy has proven that he is able to open portals to places which aren''t on this world. But I think that the possibility with the second continent has much more appeal. If there are two solutions to a problem, you should always try the faster one first. Checking out the second continent is easy. Searching for our opponent on other worlds could prove to be a little time consuming.¡± ¡°It''s time consuming, he says! Hahahaha!¡± The Great Shaman shakes his totem at me and starts laughing. I shrug my shoulders and continue. ¡°The other continent also has some kind of satellite defence, but we haven''t tried our drones yet. It may work if we send one there to take a look at what''s going on. Flying deep enough should do the trick. Though it seemed that their defence is similar to Quinn''s. I suppose you won''t tell us how your system works?¡± Leon snorts and shakes his head. ¡°No. That''s a national secret. We won''t share our most secret technology with heretics.¡± Helen tilts her head while looking at Leon. ¡°We''ll still send the drone. It''s worth the try.¡± Yes! I am allowed to use one of my toys! Stella''s limp tail is still in my hands and I use it to point at Leon. ¡°It''s not like I actually need any hints to find out how your technology works. Our satellite''s magical circuits are built very sturdily. It''s a military device after all. The only thing that''s able to take it down without visible effect is something that disrupts spell formations or a device which is able to suck the mana out of it''s surroundings. Since the second option is hard to handle I suppose you built a disruptor. Most likely something that creates a big magnetic field to produce a ripple effect. Magic is after all obeying certain laws of nature. If your magnetic field hits the right frequency you can disrupt spells and magic circuitry like any other electronic device. We''ll simply protect the next generation of satellites better against those kinds of influences.¡± Leon''s expression darkened during my explanation, but he didn''t give himself away like earlier. ¡°Magic is against the laws of the goddess. Protect your neat little devices against magnetic fields all you want. We don''t fear you.¡± Giana grabs Leon''s hand. ¡°It''s getting late and we''ve already been talking for a long time. How about postponing further talks until tomorrow? I am sure that everyone wants to think about what we heard here. We also have to inform the king and the queen about the situation.¡± The Great Shaman nods, bobbing the feathers of his mask by doing so. ¡°That''s a good idea. The new situation requires recalculations and careful considerations.¡± Lucas claps his hands. ¡°If it''s like that then we would like to invite everyone to stay and enjoy the luxuries here.¡± Leon rejects the offer by raising a hand. ¡°Actually we need to get back to our expedition force. They have to be informed of the changed circumstances.¡± He stands up and bows to take his leave, followed by Giana. The Great Shaman also declines. ¡°It''s okay. There is much to do and since your stepper discs offer me the opportunity to travel quickly between this conference and Dwem, I''ll use the time to get some things done.¡± He shakes his totem to say goodbye and leaves the room with his aides. That means that only we from Nict remain behind. Lost in thought I use the tip of Stella''s tail to scratch my chin. Leon''s reaction to my speech was a little subdued. Maybe they have a fancier trick up their sleeves? Suddenly a hand slams onto the table right in front of me. The shock causes me to twitch. I slowly follow the arm up to the shoulder of the person who shocked me like that. I notice the heaving chest before I look into Stella''s bright red face. Not knowing what else to do I use her tail and wave it at her. ¡°Love, you are back! I am glad that you recovered that fast. Hurgh-¡± Stella''s left hand shoots out and closes around my throat. A last death rattle escapes my lips before my windpipe is reduced to an unhealthy size. I wriggle as I am pulled from the chair, but to no avail. Stella''s forceful pulling causes me to lose my balance and I frantically try to regain my foothold, but Stella ignores my struggle and pulls me along with her towards the door. On the brink of my consciousness I notice that I am dragged over the floor until we reach the stepper disc in front of the room. The world starts darkening and swaying while I try to stay awake. Just when I am about to pass out Stella lets go and I drop to the ground. Lying on my back I draw a deep breath. Alive! So lucky, she didn''t kill me! Surveying my surroundings I find out that I am on the floor in our mansion''s bedroom. I am lying on my back while Stella is standing with tears in her eyes above me, so I raise my hands into a protective position. ¡°Stel, I am sorry. But you didn''t give me any other choice.¡± Then she sits down on top of me and starts to strip, opening the top of her robe! Instead of hitting me she grabs my left hand and places it on her naked, bouncy chest. The tip of her tail wanders into my right hand and with her free arm she grabs my collar to pull me closer. ¡°~Do that again!~¡± ***Eastern Plains*** ***Giana*** We are sitting in our transport and I am staring out of the window. ¡°What do you think about them, Leon?¡± It takes him a while to answer. ¡°They are heretics!¡± That much was obvious from the start! ¡°What else. For example this Shaman...¡± Again it takes a while until he finds the right words. ¡°He is smart. They seem to have some tricks up their sleeves and they have guns. We have to be careful of Dwem.¡± I nod, but keep my attention on the scenery. ¡°So you admit that they are powerful. What else? What do you think of this new Nict?¡± This time it doesn''t take him long to answer. ¡°They are still running around with swords and spears. Their artefacts and building capabilities could become annoying, but that''s all. And they are perverts!¡± I nod slowly and agree to the only point in which we share the same opinion. ¡°They are perverts.¡± . 69. ~Gatecrasher.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°We are the land and the land is us. Would you ever let anyone walk over you as he pleases?¡± -Old Nomad. ***Eastern Plains*** ***Azir*** It''s the best thing in the universe to wake up while being intertwined with the person you love. Though the feeling is a little dulled when the person in question is nibbling on your ear while her tongue is slithering into it. Fortunately I always have a bar of chocolate at my bedside table, so I sacrificed it to my goddess in exchange for my life... she even ate the paper wrapping. Then a straining interrogation by Helen and Lucas followed as the first point on my schedule. They wanted to know everything about the flash of light. I tried to make up something believable about magical experiments which can end up in huge explosions. It''s unlikely that they actually believed me, but at least they stopped bugging me with questions when it became obvious that I won''t yield in this matter. Magic has enough destructive possibilities on its own without adding the long term effects of nuclear materials. I just chose to use the nuke because I had it on hand and the guy on the other side of the portal sparked my ire with his stupid grin. I avert my thoughts from the past and try to concentrate on the scenery in front of me. ¡°This will complicate our conversation with Quinn.¡± Right now I am standing on top of the watchtower which is closest to Quinn''s camp. The six towers around our fortress give the best view on our surroundings, so we chose this location to get a good view on the scenery. Helen, Lucas, Sola and Xander are close by with Stella firmly holding onto my hand. I have the feeling that she is planning to take a shrewd form of revenge today. At least she didn''t let go of me since we got up this morning and she didn''t mention the little incident from yesterday. All of us are wearing our official robes. Chuck is also here to form his own opinion of the situation. Today he chose a simple white mask without ornaments. I wonder if there is any meaning to the frequent exchanges of this item. He brought only two advisers this time. ¡°You look tired.¡± Xander states at my side while grinning like an idiot. ¡°Is it that obvious?¡± I try to smile, but it isn''t working all too well. Stella forced me to stay awake throughout the entire night. He nods and points at his eyes. ¡°You have shadows under your eyes. Normally you don''t have them.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Somehow I don''t get his point but since he is a medic he has to know. Another ball of white light starts rising from the hostile army beyond our walls. They started gathering in the early morning... nomads. It began with small groups circling around our fortress and the expedition force from Quinn. Then more and more arrived by the hour until they had turned into a sizeable army. ¡°If I have to guess, then there are about eighty thousand of them?¡± Lucas asks while he watches the pulsing orb of white light above the nomads. I nod and access the information from my drones, which is updated in real time. ¡°Eighty two is more likely and there are about thirty thousand more inbound on our position. It''s a little hard to tell since they are travelling in so many small groups. The drones didn''t recognize them as a threat until they started gathering.¡± I gesture at the growing army. ¡°I thought the Nomads are without leadership? This doesn''t look like they are doing this randomly.¡± They even formed an orderly formation. All of them are riding on nightmares. They seem to be similar to the beasts in my father''s stables, though they are a little bigger and look meaner. An average nightmare can go at thirty miles per hour, so their army is quite mobile. Quinn''s forces are still a little faster. Sola attempts to explain the situation. ¡°That''s true, but they have some kind of rules to defend their homeland. Normally one of their caravans doesn''t contain more than a few hundred people and I am speaking of the really big ones now. Though when you try to cross their turf, they merge with other caravans until they have enough to attack you. I guess since we never marched a real army into their territory we didn''t experience a gathering on this scale up until now.¡± I hum while I watch the video feed from my drone. They seem like a ragtag band of mercenaries to me. But some of them have to be highly skilled magicians. ¡°Where are their children? I can find only people of fighting age in that army of theirs. Don''t they travel with their families?¡± Helen shrugs her shoulders. ¡°Their caravans never include young or old people. I guess they live in villages deep in the eastern plains. A life of travelling around in such an environment is very hard. I can imagine that they leave the weaker members of their society in a safe place.¡± The white orb above the nomad camp pulses one final time and arches slowly towards the position of Quinn''s forces. Quinn gathered their forces around the huge command vehicle of theirs and it transformed. It opened its roof and extended a set of long antennae from inside it. Then something like a big Leyden jar appeared on top of it and started spinning two huge electromagnetic coils around itself. The created sparks of lightning between the antennae and the coils look impressive. I must admit that I underestimated them a little, but still. ¡°Those guys from Quinn are hypocrites. They abhor magic, yet this machine of theirs is sucking mana from its surroundings to create the needed electromagnetic effect to disrupt spells. I can''t imagine that someone without magical abilities could control such a device. Surely some of their priests are in charge of that thing.¡± Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The white orb closes in on Quinn''s expeditionary force, but suddenly it bloats up and disperses while it is still in the air. The Great Shaman shakes his totem at the scene. ¡°So the radius for their anti magic defence is about three kilometres. I would like to know how it feels to be inside this field and if our rituals would still work despite the interference.¡± Helen looks interested at the Great Shaman. ¡°I thought that rituals are very vulnerable to mistakes? Wouldn''t such a device disrupt a ritual much easier than a spell.¡± Chuck shakes his head. ¡°Not necessarily. As you said, rituals are very delicate in terms of execution, but those are mistakes of the person who is performing the ritual. The guidance and magic formation of a ritual are much stronger than those of a spell. It''s possible that a shaman is still able to perform a few of the sturdier rituals within that field.¡± One of the bigger vehicles from Quinn fires a huge angle gun at the nomad army. A second later the shell explodes above the nomad army and an energy bubble lights up around the nomad troops. The explosion sends waves of energy wandering around the bubble until they fade away after a few seconds. I scratch my chin and comment the situation with sarcasm. ¡°Yep, those nomads are definitely just some primitive bandits who have no thoughts about great scale warfare.¡± As I voice my opinion another white orb starts forming above the nomad army. It pulses a few times before it is sent on its way. This time towards us. Lucas clicks with his tongue. ¡°I guess they are done with testing Quinn''s defence. Now it''s our turn.¡± The orb arches down at our tower, but just a moment before it impacts a bright energy shield appears around our fortress and the orb is deflected away like a rubber ball. It bounces off of our shield and explodes somewhere in mid air. Probably it is a timed spell. I nod satisfied. ¡°It was a good idea to add the polarisation routine to the standard shield spell. It saves much energy against projectile and energy attacks which aren''t triggering by themselves.¡± Helen frowns and watches the enemy troops while a third orb of energy starts forming above them. ¡°Since they attacked us I guess it''s justified if we return the favour?¡± Lucas dismisses his wife''s suggestion. ¡°Don''t be too hasty dear. We shouldn''t do Quinn''s work.¡± The Great Shaman assists his opinion. ¡°Your husband is right. While Quinn isn''t exactly an enemy of ours at the moment, their ideology is very provocative and we shouldn''t help them without being asked for help. For all we know, we might help a future enemy. Their beliefs and social structure are totally incompatible with ours. I don''t want it on my conscience to help someone like them.¡± ¡°But aren''t we any better? They suppress magicians, we suppress non-magicians? Isn''t your society dooming everyone who isn''t smart enough to be a bottom feeder?¡± I ask Chuck and smirk as the next long range attack bounces off of our barrier. Chuck shakes his totem at Quinn''s forces. ¡°There is an important difference. In Dwem everyone gets a chance. From what I heard, Quinn forces everyone who has magic into religious service. If you don''t comply you disappear. They may have tried to look nice and tolerant towards us, but from the prince''s demeanour I bet that they would kill all of us if we showed up on their soil.¡± ¡°I see. If you are intending to wait and see how this turns out then I''ll use the time to inspect our fortress.¡± I turn and leave the group behind, heading towards the staircase. Stella is following me while holding onto my hand. She didn''t talk much today, probably she is still angry. I lead her down the staircase while I inspect the metal linings and runes along the wall. Since there was such a huge workforce available I couldn''t hold back and suggested several improvements to the construction of this fortress. A ring of magical circuitry along the walls is a part of those improvements. I really hope that the workforce followed all my instructions to the letter. Otherwise some problems could arise. We are now at the height of the wall which connects this tower with the next one. I leave the staircase and walk outside onto the outer wall to inspect it. The patterns and runic circuits on the wall look good. ¡°Azir? I''ve been thinking.¡± Suddenly Stella decides to break the silence. I stop my inspection to face her. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°My parents are thinking that pressuring you into revealing what you did to that army is no good. Though they are quite certain that you had your hands in it since the date of the incident overlaps with the last day of your... quest for revenge.¡± She presses my hand. ¡°And since that day the stuff which we gathered for your nuclear power plant has been missing.¡± Her lips turn white. ¡°Tell me what''s going on, since it seems that I had a hand in it?¡± I take a look down the wall''s walkway, but the next guard is standing far away. I hoped that she wouldn''t figure it out, but I guess that this was wishful thinking on my part. ¡°I used the material to wipe out that army. Nobody should know how the Gejene''s power can be used.¡± Stella is just standing there and watches another orb of energy being deflected. This time it was aimed two towers further away. Then she nods. ¡°I see. Please, make sure that you never tell anyone about that possibility.¡± I tilt my head and study her expression. ¡°It won''t be a secret forever. The idea is very basic and someone is bound to find out sooner or later.¡± Stella snorts. ¡°I''ll persuade my mother to strengthen the rules against creating heavy elements with our ability. She has to know that they don''t exist only to protect our health. It''s currently seen as nothing but a rule, it''s no law.¡± That would be a bad idea. ¡°She''ll realize what''s going on if you do that. And it''ll make people start thinking if you turn it into a law.¡± She nods. ¡°You should put more trust in her. I''ll emphasize the point that health is still a major issue. Didn''t you say yourself that people will find out sooner or later? She''ll see to it that these rules are obeyed to the letter.¡± ¡°If you think that you can enforce such a rule without causing raised eyebrows, it should be okay.¡± At least I hope that. . 70. ~Statement.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°One shall fight an unknown foe to determine if he is a worthy opponent to be respected, or cattle to be hunted.¡± -Old Nomad. ***Eastern Plains*** ***Azir*** After our short conversation about the nuclear material we continued the inspection of the fortress until a new development forced me and Stella to hurry back to the others. Upon reaching them I take a fast look over the parapet of the tower. The situation looks strange to me since the nomads are advancing on Quinn''s forces, but the vehicles don''t attempt to use their mobility. Instead they created a tight ring around their command centre. ¡°Why aren''t they moving?¡± Chuck gives me his conclusion. ¡°It seems like their command centre isn''t mobile enough while it is deployed. If they move without it, they give up their protection from magic. So their only chance is to stand their ground and rely on the nomads losing their magic as they enter the command centre''s area of interference. "I am not entirely sure if it''s really to Quinn''s disadvantage. The nomads don''t have guns. When they lose their magic they will be just a bunch sword swinging fellows, running into the concentrated fire of several hundred weapons. Numbers don''t mean much if your comrades start falling left and right from you. It''s very likely that the nomads'' forces break before they reach their foe.¡± I start chewing on my lower lip. Chuck''s interpretation could be right or wrong. It all depends on Quinn''s rate of fire. But to me it didn''t look like their weapons are automatic. Not even Dwem''s weapons are fully automatic and they are surely the better models. Helen drums with her fingers onto the parapet in front of her. ¡°It''s bugging me that it seems like they decided that they can ignore us for now. It''s like they have no respect for Nict!¡± Lucas pats her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. ¡°After all we simply took their attacks without returning fire. From their point of view it looks like we only intend to watch. It would be stupid of them to force us into action. At least until they are done with Quinn.¡± We watch as the nomads'' onslaught enters the maximum range of Quinn''s interrupt field. Quinn kept firing the entire time with a single cannon to test the nomads'' shield. As the first shell gets through, Quinn''s formation suddenly disappears behind a cloud of smoke. All units fired at once and the effect on the advancing nomads is devastating. Riders fall left and right while I watch the camera feed from one of our drones. But the nomads don''t break and spread out their formation. On the backs of their nightmares they only need about five minutes to bridge the distance between them and their target. But five minutes are still an eternity in battle. They pay a hefty price in lives until they reach Quinn''s line of defence while trampling over the bodies of their fallen comrades. But when they do, Quinn starts paying for their tactic. The nomads use incendiary devices while they hurl themselves at the line of defenders and the first vehicles go up in flames. Some of Quinn''s soldiers deploy flame throwers and cause horrible damage to their foes. The battle turns into a chaotic mess until the nomads finally break the defenders'' formation. There is space between Quinn''s vehicles and the nomads use the invitation to ride right through them. Riders start swarming into the circle of vehicles and towards the command centre. When the command centre gets its share of incendiary devices it decides to start moving. The circle of vehicles around it breaks up and follows the command centre at maximum speed, leaving the nomads and a few burning comrades behind. I notice that the spinning coils of the command centre are turning slower when it is moving. Quinn''s forces continue shooting, but only a minute later the shells start impacting on a newly erected barrier. The distant roars of the guns finally grow weaker and stop after the last gunner realized that the barrier was raised once more. I nod in realization. ¡°So that''s the reason. Their area of interference is reduced while they are on the move. I guess that they can''t guarantee protection from stronger attacks like that.¡± The nomads seem to have realized the same thing and a new orb of light forms above the main body of their troops. The orb arches away, but the command centre slows and comes to a creeping halt to block the attack. I watch the coils increasing their speed and after the orb of light vanished in mid air Quinn starts moving once again, circling counter-clockwise around our fortress while keeping a respectful distance to us. In the meanwhile the nomads don''t give chase and seem to be happy with mopping up the forces which couldn''t keep up with Quinn''s retreat. A few vehicles, which got damaged during the exchange, were left behind. Chuck shakes his totem at Quinn''s forces. ¡°Ha! They got their asses kicked! Too bad that the nomads'' artillery seems to be very limited. If they could shoot faster, they could hold Quinn down while they are giving chase.¡± The casualty estimation by my drone tells me otherwise. ¡°Quinn''s troops still sold themselves very well. They lost about two hundred of their smaller vehicles, which accounts to a thousand soldiers. Their heavy equipment is mostly untouched. If my drone is right, then the nomads paid with ten thousand of their riders to achieve that.¡± Lucas points at the nomad forces. ¡°You shouldn''t trust the initial numbers of your drone too much. The nomads are capable of potent healing magic. If they are given enough time, they can heal their wounded and return them to full efficiency.¡± I order the net to recalculate the numbers. ¡°Depending on how fast their healers are, they can restore between seven to nine thousand of their soldiers. A thousand are dead for sure.¡± He is right that we have to take healing magic into account. The problem with a gun is that it only wounds the enemy in most cases, meaning that the immediate mortality rate for a gunfight is very low. Normally the wounded of a fight suffer for hours until they finally succumb to their wounds. Only very few people are actually lucky, or unfortunate enough to be killed outright. Helen nods slowly. ¡°If you are looking at it like that then both parties came out equally in the encounter, though the nomads have greater numbers. They can repeat this type of encounter until Quinn is done for. The nomads even have reinforcements and supplies. Is there any way to know how much of their ammunition Quinn used to achieve this? From what I heard that''s a limiting factor to their weapons?¡± The Great Shaman shrugs his shoulders. ¡°That''s really hard to tell. It depends on how many of their vehicles are carrying supplies, but judging from their behaviour they have to be careful. They didn''t waste any shots on the nomads'' barrier and used only one cannon to test if it''s still active. When they confirmed that it''s down, they fired. You don''t act like that if you have shells to waste. Our enemies in the north know how to cast a similar barrier, but we simply keep shooting until it breaks.¡± Helen growls as the nomads orient their formation with a new target in mind. ¡°Now they want to try us. I wonder what swayed their minds?¡± Lucas answers with an unhappy expression. ¡°Probably they decided that they can take Quinn with enough time. Now they want to know how much of a threat we are.¡± He gestures for one one of the soldiers who are waiting for instructions. ¡°Deploy our forces.¡± Stella turns at my side to look anxiously at her father. ¡°Are you really sure? We could use long range attacks. There is no need to put our people at risk.¡± Lucas looks at us and smiles. ¡°I know that, but there are many good people living on the border to the eastern plains. I want the nomads to know that the Free City States aren''t only good at hiding behind walls. And I want to show Quinn that our swords and armour aren''t as bad as they think. After all there is magic involved.¡± The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Our fortress spits out its troops while the nomads start advancing towards us. Of course they try to use their white orb once again, but it gets interrupted by a set of small blue sparks. The sparks originated from our army and caused the white orb to detonate early. A bombastic explosion lights the sky, but doesn''t cause any harm. Our troops form ten squares with a thousand men each. All of them are foot soldiers. On the outside of the formation are two rows of people with big man-sized shields and swords, while the third, fourth and fifth line is held by spear men. Behind them are several rows of bowmen with robed figures in the centre. Those are the magicians who form the centre of Nict''s battle tactic. The nomads close in on our slowly advancing troops, but our soldiers march forward unperturbed. I realize that I never saw our soldiers fight until now. Growing up in a time of peace is a blessing. Though I heard that my grandmother and my parents fought in several encounters with the southern nations. Fireballs start rising from the charging nomad forces. Since they aren''t inside Quinn''s interrupt field, both sides can use magic. The fireballs hit barriers right in front of our formations and cause explosions without doing harm. When the charging wave of riders enters a distance of one hundred metres our formations stop their advance. The shield bearers plant their tower shields firmly into the ground, even folding out an assisting stake of metal to help holding the shield in a firm position. The archers start firing their bows, but instead of shooting salvoes of arrows like I expected, they take careful aim at certain targets. Upon closer inspection I notice that one of the magicians is pointing the targets out. Then the nomads'' onslaught rams into our formation, but our strengthened soldiers hold the line with ease. When someone gets wounded he is immediately replaced by a comrade and retreats to the centre of the formation to get healed. I notice that the archers seem to be directed to focus their attacks onto the enemy magicians, who are hiding within the ocean of riders. The fight turns into close combat between our shield bearers and the dismounted nomad troops who were flung from their nightmares. Other nomads also get off of their nightmares to assist their comrades. The biggest problem for our troops seem to be the nightmares which lost their riders and simply throw themselves into our formation by jumping over the first line of defence. Suddenly an entire wing of nomad troops simply collapses. A few of them wail on the ground, but it takes only seconds until they lie still. Five hundred warriors who seemed fine a moment ago dropped to the ground. The Great Shaman nods in admiration. ¡°The nomads lost the last magician who protected that area. Was it a mind spell?¡± Lucas shakes his head. ¡°The Tinn like to use that spell when they can work together with others. It requires a little preparation and the assistance of five other magicians. It''s a group spell which decreases the air pressure within an area drastically. They force the air out of the target''s lungs, it''s a neat trick to bypass someone''s natural defence.¡± Chuck scratches his cheek with the totem. ¡°So they suffocated? That''s a nasty death. And attacking the air within someone''s lungs is also a neat trick. I like the Tinn, they are sneaky bastards.¡± As he ends his comment a second wing of riders explodes into a single huge bonfire. Probably that was the work of an Anja. The process repeats itself a third and a fourth time. Our troops take their share of damage when the nomads start using their incinerate devices, but the flames are quickly put out by magic. This time I get a better view on what they are using. Each Nightmare is carrying a big jar on a wick. When the rider pulls the jar free, he ignites the wick and can hurl it with both hands at his enemies. The jar breaks upon impact and spills a highly flammable liquid. The fight continues and our outermost left formation gets into serious trouble when one of the fireball spells penetrates the barrier and explodes within the centre of the formation. The explosion takes out several wizards, but luckily the crucial ones who are defending the soldiers against enemy magic manage to keep doing their jobs. The magicians from the neighbouring formation drop a part of their defence and start casting long range attack spells on the nomads to assist their comrades. After a few seemingly endless minutes the nomads decide that they have seen enough, they turn and run as one. I straighten myself to get rid of the tension. ¡°That looked like a well trained performance.¡± Helen smiles and explains the circumstances. ¡°While they may be the capital''s reserve forces, they are still one of our best trained units. I guess you sent them out there to give them battle experience, Lucas?¡± Her husband nods. ¡°They may be well trained, but the last time we needed them was long ago. There is nothing better than gaining real experience. Though they could''ve done better. I''ll tell their general that the next time they can deploy their shields earlier. Southern, speed enhanced troops could have used their late deployment to charge into them before they are ready.¡± Our troops turn around like a well oiled machine and march back to our fortress. They leave behind ten almost perfectly clean squares, surrounded by dead bodies. I check the estimation of my drone. ¡°Between one hundred and two hundred casualties on our side. The nomads lost somewhere between three and four thousand warriors.¡± Lucas nods. ¡°Calling them warriors fits. They obviously aren''t trained soldiers.¡± ¡°Though I don''t understand why they decided to retreat? For a moment it looked like they''ll manage to break our left flank when their spell got through.¡± Stella asks warily at my side. The Great Shaman tries to explain the situation. ¡°The nomads seem to rely only on using their nightmares to charge into their enemies. Mounted troops have an advantage when it comes to impact damage. If they manage to break the enemy formation, they have it easy and can give chase to fleeing enemies, riding them down. But nightmares aren''t dumb animals. You can force them to ride into an enemy formation, but once the charge is broken it''s hard to get them to advance properly. If your charge is broken you can only try to retreat and try to charge a second time. When your troops stopped the enemy charge successfully they had the upper hand. All they had to do was to defend since the nomads had to dismount in order to continue their attack. Only a few crazed nightmares still decided to attack. Since your troops are optimized foot soldiers, the nomads were just a rampaging mob to them once they dismounted.¡± We watch the nomad forces retreating to their previous position, many of them throwing angry glares in our direction. I notice that Quinn''s force decided to come a little closer to watch the exchange. ¡°Do you think that our little show impressed Quinn?¡± Helen snorts and gestures at the ten clean squares with dead bodies around them. ¡°I hope so?¡± Our conversation stops when a group of riders separates from the nomad troops and rides to a spot which is roughly between their army, Quinn''s forces and our fortress. ¡°I wonder what''s going on in their minds now? Are they going to attack with twenty people?¡± Xander frowns while he asks the question which is on everyone''s mind. I blink and order the drone to zoom in the camera. ¡°I think they are building something like a fireplace and a protection against the sun?¡± Lucas pulls an old fashioned telescope from his pocket and deploys it by pulling on both ends. Then he takes a look at the situation. Seriously, he could''ve simply linked into the mana net and accessed my drone. Helen shrugs her shoulders. ¡°An invitation for tea?¡± . 71. ~Tradition.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°One shall never ignore the tradition of our ancestors. The rules which were laid down by the ones before us. What results from ignoring the order of things? Chaos and the loss of moral values.¡± -Old Nomad. ***Eastern Plains*** ***Azir*** We cautiously ride closer to the small nomad camp. After weighting our different opinions on the situation, we found it to be the most likely answer that the nomads are inviting us to talk. So everyone decided to take a look at the situation. I attempted to convince Stella that it would be best if she stayed behind, but she wasn''t willing to. Since I was really interested in the nomads, I fought down my tiredness and doubts about taking Stella with me. If anything happens I''ll simply take her and teleport us away. So it turned out that we mustered a few guards to accompany us, which increased our group of six to twenty people. The Great Shaman also decided to join the fray since he didn''t want to be left out. He and his aides plus guards increase our party to forty people, which is twice as much as the nomads sent. I hope that coming with so many people won''t represent us in a bad light. Everyone else is riding a nightmare, while I got my good old warcat for that purpose. Ghost is a good riding opportunity and I never had a thing for the nightmares since they gave me a trauma as a little child. My brain must have shorted out that day when I tried to run away. I honestly can''t remember why I made that decision. Maybe my mind was still a little clouded by the recent summoning. Now that we are coming closer I can make out finer details. The nomads created a nice little camp in a flat part of the grassy plains around us. There is a big open tent as cover against the sun and a fireplace. The cloth of the tent looks like it is put together from random pieces of clothing, but the used material seems expensive. Probably the wardrobes of the nomad''s victims. Leon and Giana also decided to take the invitation, so they came in their usual transporter. Our three groups are eyeing each other from a distance while we wait for someone to make the first move. The nomads finally decide to act by putting a wooden stool in front of their fireplace. One of the nomads sits down on the wooden stool. Two more empty stools are also placed around the fire, which makes it hard to misinterpret the Nomad''s intention. The Great Shaman wrinkles his nose while he watches them. ¡°They forgot about me!¡± One of his aides tries to help out, he approaches the Great Shaman and bends down to him. ¡°They most likely don''t even know that we are here.¡± Chuck pushes his face away. ¡°That''s no reason to forget about preparing yourself for surprise guests.¡± So we slowly approach the nomad camp and dismount. The transporter from Quinn stops only a few metres away to let Leon and Giana step outside. A set of guards accompanies them and fans out around the vehicle. The nomads are strangely silent, but Helen decides to take one of the offered seats anyway. She acts like there isn''t anything to be feared by stepping so close to your enemy. I guess the utter lack of survival instinct is one of the key features a great leader needs to have. Leon takes the other empty seat. He traded his fancy colourful clothings for a still very colourful, military design. At least there are no frills or other bells and whistles which could hinder his movement. There is a nasty bump on his forehead. I guess he saw a little personal action during the encounter with the nomads? Giana is still wearing her neat sparkling dress, which distracts the eyes of quite a few men because of the tight and revealing nature of her outfit. Chuck doesn''t seem to be bothered by the tense atmosphere and walks up to the triangle with his arms folded in front of his chest. He stands at Helen''s side for several moments until one of the nomads decides that it could be better to simply give him a stool. The nomad who is leading the negotiations is in the prime of his time. He is in his thirties, but the long braided hair and the weather aged skin are making it hard to say for sure. One of his horns is broken a few centimetres above his head, while the other fans out and twirls like a sick dead tree above his head. His face as well as his body is scarred and strict with a very distinct bony structure. He is wearing a loincloth with a big leather belt and leather trousers. His boots are made out of fur and he has a medium sized dagger at his side. The musculature which is revealed by his trained, naked upper body looks strange to me. I can''t put my finger on it, maybe there are a few packs of muscles too much? And the bones emerge a little too high from his rips and collarbones? His disfigurements are all within the accepted norm, but all of them together draw a strange picture for me. The most important point are his eyes, which aren''t the normal slits, but have a second horizontal gash, turning them into star-like crosses. I bend down to whisper into Stella''s ear. ¡°Is he one of those who got exposed to a bit too much mana?¡± Stella nods. ¡°He must be. No way to tell how old he is, but the muscles and sinews are all wrong. Especially the eyes. That''s outside of every possible normal disfigurement.¡± The nomad decides to break the silence. ¡°Now let''s talk about your violation of our sacred land.¡± Leon snorts. ¡°Why should we respect the home of someone who doesn''t respect ours?¡± The nomad smirks at Leon and nods at the transporter. ¡°People who disrespect their land and create such abominations aren''t worth to be respected. They are nothing but prey for those who live with the land.¡± The Great Shaman nods. ¡°So you have a problem with us being here. That''s okay. Let us finish our talks and we will retreat. There won''t be a problem. Further death''s aren''t necessary.¡± ¡°Don''t speak like that to the chief little man! Show respect!¡± One of the rougher looking nomads shouts from behind their chief. Chuck''s expression turns grave and he looks up to Helen. ¡°Did they just call ''The Great Shaman'' ¡­ a ¡­ ''little man''?¡± Helen''s lips turn thin and white. ¡°I think so?¡± Chuck glares at the chief. ¡°How do you intend to pay for this insult?¡± The chief shrugs his shoulders, amusement in his eyes. ¡°Not at all. In our culture everyone has to earn respect for himself. Nobody will interfere with a personal problem between a warrior and a... ''Great Shaman''.¡± Chuck sucks in air and starts mumbling something incomprehensible while he is getting up from his stool. He approaches the man who called him a ''little man'' while shaking his totem at him. The guy in question isn''t intimidated at all by the dwarf in front of him. I guess in his eyes Chuck looks like a small maniac who is throwing a tantrum. When Chuck reaches the man he stops his nonsensical murmuring. ¡°I''ll show you what happens in Dwem if you insult the Great Shaman!¡± The stupid smile of the man in question disappears and turns into an angered expression. ¡°Don''t get cocky you-¡± He executes a simple straight forward kick to Chuck''s chest, but Chuck isn''t there any more and the nomad''s foot passes through an after image. Instead the Great Shaman is suddenly half a metre to the left and raises a very small dagger. It appeared in his hand from seemingly nowhere. Chuck draws the claw-shaped sharp tool with cool precision over the man''s Achilles'' heel. The man grunts in pain and stumbles to his knees. He attempts to follow the Great Shaman, who turned away from the nomad to walk back to his stool. But the nomad''s foot doesn''t follow his owner''s wishes and he falls flat on the ground. It''s hard to walk with a cut tendon. ¡°You little bastard! I''ll take my time with you! Come back here!¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Chuck ignores the nomad who is getting back to his feet with the aid of his comrades. He pulls a stick from his pocket and covers it with the blood from the small dagger. ¡°I. Am. Not. Little!¡± He snaps the stick, folding it in the middle. The nomad, who was following Chuck by jumping on one foot, suddenly folds backwards at his hips. ¡°AAIAAEEE!¡± A scream of surprise and pain fills the air. His companions, who were trying to aide him, jump away from him in shock. The nomad tumbles over and starts wailing and cursing at Chuck. I am impressed that a person can still curse like that while being in horrible pain. The Great Shaman turns around and reorients the bloody remains of the stick between his fingers, then he snaps them a second time. Abruptly the wailing and cursing stops, as the nomad is folded a second time, this time sideways. Chuck ignores the heap of bone and flesh on the ground and returns to his stool. While passing the fire he throws the remains of the stick into the fireplace and the crushed corpse of the nomad bursts into flames. The chief''s smile disappeared during the show and now he is eyeing the Great Shaman like someone to be aware of. Chuck places himself onto his stool and starts cleaning his bloody hand with a handkerchief from his pocket. ¡°Now, since order is restored, we can continue the discussion.¡± Stella bends over to whisper into my ear. ¡°Did Chuck have a bad day? The wasn''t diplomatic at all!¡± I whisper back. ¡°I think he is grumpy because they didn''t immediately give him a stool. And speaking about his size is an absolute taboo!¡± The chief straightens himself. ¡°To make this farce short, you have to die since you violated our sacred land. But you fought well so far and our rules dictate that a worthy opponent has to be treated with respect. That requires us to give them the chance of explaining their reason for breaking our laws, though that won''t change anything. As the strongest chief among the tribesmen I was chosen to give you the choice to surrender.¡± Giana snorts. ¡°You just said that we have to die in any case. Why should we surrender? It sounds more like your tribe''s politics require you to put up a front. Maybe it''s more like the other chiefs refuse to fight any more and now you have to show them your strength?¡± The chief grins. ¡°A smart one? But you are mistaken, they would fight you in any case. This is just about me becoming the leader of the whole raid. You see, fighting you as honourable opponents requires killing all of you properly. If you surrender, you aren''t honourable opponents any more and we can take those whom we choose to as slaves.¡± His eyes wander over Giana''s body and then to Sola and Stella. ¡°I could imagine myself rescueing such nice maidens from certain death.¡± Helen''s expression distorts in anger, but I can''t tell if it is because she was overlooked, or because her daughters were threatened with a horrible fate. ¡°Aren''t you a little too cocky. I don''t see us losing to a bunch of bandits any time soon.¡± The chief stands up. ¡°Then let me inform you of a little important detail. My tribesmen are watching this exchange from afar and if any of your actions makes you lose face, then you become fair game. Think about all those feisty villages of yours at the border. How many years passed since we raided them the last time? They must be filled with riches! Do me the favour of running away with your army. It would remove your status as honourable opponents.¡± He claps his hands together. ¡°That means that you can''t get out of this situation by simply walking away from this exchange. I''ll get my raid either way. And after all I have this!¡± He pulls the delicate dagger from his leather belt and the shadows which are thrown by the fireplace grow larger. ¡°I might decide to use this ag-¡± I teleport right next to the chief when I recognize the tool in his hand. My hand slices through empty air as I try to take it. Unfortunately he is a bit faster than I expected. The chief looks angrily at me and then at Helen. ¡°What do you think you are doing? Call that dog of yours back!¡± I point my finger at the dagger. ¡°I want that.¡± ¡°It doesn''t belong to you!¡± The chief hisses at me. ¡°Neither does it belong to you.¡± I point out. ¡°Helen, you recognize what this probably is?¡± Helen nods and retreats backwards from the fireplace. ¡°I am sorry chief, but I think your revelation of this item made any negotiations unnecessary.¡± Chuck is right beside her, holding his totem like a shield and a few pearls of sweat forming on his forehead. The chief''s expression turns sad. ¡°So you know this artefact. Too bad, I hoped to surprise you. Don''t worry, I''ll take my time in dealing with all of you.¡± He turns to walk away. ¡°We''ll see each other on the battlefield!¡± My eyes wander to his group of followers. They didn''t exactly explain their shrewd system of honour and respect, but maybe I can use that against him? ¡°But you said that a man has to earn his respect in your society. How does it look if you, the Great Chief, walks away from someone who attacked him? Isn''t such a leader unworthy to be followed? I mean, it looks like you are afraid of facing me? You even jumped away from me like a frightened chicken when I reached for the dagger.¡± The eyes of the chief''s followers wander back and forth between me and him. Finally he turns around to face me. ¡°Ha! I thought about sparing a child''s life, but it looks like you want to be killed!¡± ¡°Child?¡± I look down at myself. ¡°Of course! Look at you! How old are you? Are you even twenty yet? Just so that you know! I am four hundred and thirty eight! How could I feel threatened by a baby!?¡± He gestures furiously and turns towards his nightmare. I point at his mount, which is relatively easy to discern because the equipment on it looks a little fancier than the rest. ¡°Ghost. Food!¡± My warcat blurs and flies into the gathered waiting nightmares of the nomads. A single swipe with its paw ends the life of the nightmare which I pointed out. The remaining nightmares flee like frightened herbivores in all directions. The chief turns around and glares at me. ¡°I liked that nightmare!¡± I place my hands behind my back. ¡°And I want that dagger. Don''t run away from me!¡± His eyes wander to his subordinates who seem to start doubting him. Then he finally decides to face me properly. ¡°Then I''ll start with you, Fool. And since I honour our culture I''ll properly introduce myself. I am the warchief Narcus. Four hundred and thirty eight years old. I killed two thousand and forty eight men in close combat.¡± I nod and smile. ¡°It''s an honour to meet someone with manners. My name is Azir Zait, twenty one. I never counted the number of insects under my shoes, nor did I try to remember their names. Don''t hope that I''ll even try to remember yours. So how do you want to do this, or can I simply kill you?¡± The angrier he is at me the better. I think the description of the dagger was that the user could walk through shadows? That could become troublesome when he decides to run, I don''t want him to flee and take the dagger with him. His entire focus has to be on me. Narcus snorts and puts the dagger away. ¡°Then let''s have a real magical duel. How about that? You guys from Nict are so proud of your magic, but all you can do is rely on your magical abilities! I''ll defeat you in a real duel of magic! How about that? No weapons, no martial arts, just magic.¡± Maybe he isn''t fully aware of what''s in his possession. He doesn''t act like an agent of the Master either. Was it pure luck that the dagger fell into his hands? No, it''s too unlikely. I can''t let my guard down. ¡°Okay! A duel of magic.¡± Fighting on my own field of expertise can''t be to my disadvantage. But he is an old mage like me. Underestimating him could cost me my life since a real battle of magic is a fight of the mind as much as it is one of power. All the cards have to be played right and it doesn''t hurt to have a few hidden ones up your sleeve. I reach into my pocket and bring out a worn, old coin. It''s the one which I got from Chuck. Then I flip it while keeping the eye contact with Narcus. . 72. ~Scorched.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°And the children of the dragon brought their fire into our land. It proved that they had inherited the dragon''s power and turned it into their own.¡± -Old Nomad. ***Eastern Plains*** ***Azir*** ¡°What do you want with the coin?¡± Narcus glares at the spinning coin as I catch it, but then his attention is back on me immediately. ¡°Nothing. It''s just for a spell. You know rituals right? Sometimes a spell is easier to cast if you rely on a physical object as a carrier.¡± Each time the coin spins in the air, I infuse more of my mana into it. The charged coin''s movement seems dulled and heavier than it should be, as if it is slowed in time. Narcus walks closer until he is ten metres away from me. ¡°Then let me explain the rules. We''ll use only magic. No physical contact with the other party. The one who breaks that rule loses his honour.¡± His eyes wander to our spectators. I try to wrap my mind around his strange idea of a magical duel. When you are in a fight for life and death you normally use everything at your disposal. The dirtier, the better. You use the most simplest spells and the fastest ones. There is no time for fancy hocus pocus when your opponent can simply raise his finger and kill you with a fireball, which he learned in his first class of school. Straining my eyes, I try to look at my opponent. And I don''t mean his outer appearance. This time I am really looking at him. The fine veins of energy which are fanning out from his brain and heart. There is the dagger at his hip, which is flaring in a bright white light. This convinces me that my hunch about the dagger has to be right. It''s The Emperor''s Wish and belonging to the Tinn. To command the shadows and walk among them. I don''t remember much of what I am told, but when it comes to artefacts and machines, I never forget. I gesture for him to start. ¡°I''ll leave the first move to you, since I''ve already started to cast my spell.¡± The coin wanders between my finger and I infuse more mana into it, reforming it''s inner structure. Then I flip it again to let it cool down. Pushing so much magical force into a small object causes a serious amount of waste heat. My opponent starts circling me carefully. ¡°I''ll start slowly. Otherwise I may not be able to enjoy this.¡± He raises his hand and I notice magical energy flowing along the veins of energy within it. The mana forms a simple spell which I use myself quite often. Reading the magical formation I step out of the missile''s path as it is fired. The spell shoots past my left upper arm and I flip the coin again, reforging and refining the spell within it. ¡°Oh, please. I thought you wanted a real magical duel. There isn''t a person in the world who doesn''t know the arcane missile spell.¡± The chief''s eyes turn into thin slits as he circles me and I notice mana flowing down his feet and into the earth, where it remains in a small tight package. A magical mine? He leaves one of those packages behind for each step he takes. ¡°I''ll show you a real spell then. You seem to be at least a halfway decent magician.¡± He raises his hands and pours mana into his surroundings while humming a melody, influencing the magic through the use of his voice. I try to find out what he is doing while I am gathering the mana from my surroundings around me. Narcus seems to be a decent magician, though his focus on my age shows that he misunderstood something vital about magic. A sentient mind can take in only a limited amount of information and knowledge. If you remember your entire life, you would turn insane. My guess is that twenty to thirty years are the absolute maximum of remembering something without practising it. You should never be too confident whether your opponent is thirty or a thousand years old. All it takes is just a little mistake or misconception. A genius should be able to learn the most important stuff about the workings of the world within twenty years. When I dodged his missile, he should have been alarmed. Suddenly his magic surges forward and engulfs the entire area. I start feeling light and as I flip my coin, it doesn''t return and shoots straight upwards instead. ¡°A gravity spell?¡± I feel my feet disconnecting from the ground and a moment later I am floating in the air. Narcus grins. ¡°Let''s see how you intend to dodge now!¡± He sends a burst of compressed air towards me and I open my mouth in order to not get my eardrums damaged. His spell isn''t particularly strong and only pushes me away from my position. Narcus kept walking while he executed his spells and now he manoeuvred me directly above his waiting balls of compressed mana. No, I don''t want to be here. I strike my fist in his direction and send a burst of condensed mana against him while forgetting about fortifying my own position. The recoil pushes me away from the waiting mines and I exit the danger zone as he makes a gesture. Gravity returns and I send mana through my feet to land on the ground. He even increased the gravity and my soles dig a few millimetres into the earth. ¡°You are better than I thought.¡± He disperses his magic. ¡°Whom did you learn from? Nict doesn''t have such outstanding masters of magic. You even saw though my trick with the mines.¡± I smile wryly. ¡°Then you''ve never fought a clan head. Are we done with measuring each other up?¡± Sensing the strong power inside my returning coin, I hold out my hand and catch it. Flipping it again I start to explain. ¡°I was so excited about your proclamation that I even decided to show you a real spell. This coin is a part of it. It''s a very powerful spell which ends the life of any chosen opponent. The only problems are the requirements for the activation. First I obviously have to flip it a hundred times, as you see. That''s a bothersome restriction, but the effect makes it worth the effort. The second is that I have to explain the conditions to the target, which is you, before I''ve flipped the coin fifty times.¡± His stupid grin vanishes and is replaced by a more calculating one. ¡°How often did you flip the coin up until now.¡± This time it''s my turn to grin. ¡°Who knows?¡± Flip. He bursts into action and casts an arcane missile, while simultaneously pouring his mana into a magic formation to his feet. I focus the mana around my free hand and swing it to divert the missile while walking forward, closing the distance. The mines which were placed by Narcus blow up and envelop us in a cloud of dust. Suddenly a shadow appears in the corner of my eye and I strike instinctively at it. ***Eastern Plains*** ***Stella*** ¡°But he can''t do that! What is he thinking to throw himself into danger like that!¡± I try to free myself from my father and Sola as the magical duel heats up. All parties retreated from the negotiation when Azir went for the dagger without asking anyone else about their opinion. Lucas holds me in a firm grip. ¡°His rash decisions are bothersome, but it also seems like the dagger is the real deal. Who knows how much control the chief has over it? Azir seems to be our best chance stop him before he can use it against us. He purposefully directed the chief''s attention to himself.¡± Helen and the Great Shaman are still shielding us against the battle, which proves to be fortunate as a ball of energy leaves the dust cloud and impacts on our barrier. The wall of energy around us deforms, but holds as an explosion scorches the ground around our party. A few of our guards are battle mages and assist Chuck by pouring their mana into his ritual. My mother turns around and slaps me. ¡°Get a hold of yourself. For all we know the dagger is a very powerful tool for assassination. It''s possible that the chief could have killed us easily. Now assist with the barrier. Those two are hurling serious powers around, I only saw the Zait clan head do so up until now.¡± Another explosion lights up the big dust cloud and a ring of fire travels outwards from it. Sola and Lucas let go of me to pour their mana into the Shaman''s ritual. I join them. ***Eastern Plains*** ***Azir*** ¡°Whew... that turned into a real brawl of power.¡± I flip the coin again. ¡°Are you under some kind of time pressure?¡± Flip. ¡°But I admit that I am amazed by your ability.¡± The dust cloud settles and I kick the magical core of the last earth golem while evading the huge fist, which is striking down at me. The chief summoned a whole group of these self repairing man-sized manikins. Luckily they can''t regenerate once I destroy their cores. Though the golems aren''t bothering me that much. What''s bothering me is this. I raise my hand and fire another orb of condensed mana at Narcus. He does nothing to evade the attack. Upon making contact with the orb his figure turns black and the orb passes right through him. I notice that he is tracking every spell very carefully with his eyes. Maybe his protection isn''t automatic? He has to activate it. I frown. ¡°That''s troublesome. Some kind of space shifting by the dagger? What can I do if none of my spells are able to connect?¡± I flip the coin again. ¡°Doesn''t matter. I simply have to finish the last few flips. But while I do so, how about this?¡± He laughs. ¡°Isn''t this little artefact magnificent? Nobody can harm me while I have it! I am a god! So what do you think you can do with a stupid coin! Come on! Show me! I am right in front of you. Nothing you fire at me has any effect!¡± He spreads his arms to invite me. I raise my hand and pour a part of my mana into a new magic formation. The dew point is the temperature at which the water in the air condenses. It''s influenced by the concentration of water in the air, temperature, pressure and the cohesive force of water molecules, which are dipoles and essentially little magnets... if you want to put it in a very simplified manner. There are about twenty to thirty grams of water in a cubic metre of air. Given that it''s a normal day in a wet and hot region. If I play with those variables just a little it is possible to dry the air and force the water to condense suddenly. Today is a hot day at thirty degrees and this grassy landscape doesn''t exactly lack water. So I am safe to assume that the water content in the air has to be high. I pull the mana and energy out of the chief''s surroundings by using my clan''s ability. The temperature drops rapidly to under five degrees, which in itself is enough to force a large amount of the water into its liquid form. But I use the won mana to influence the other parameters further. A slight increase in pressure. Adding a little more cohesive force to the water molecules. The environment isn''t changed in a way which would be lethal to a living being. The temperature is still bearable, if only a little cold. The pressure isn''t a concern either, nor causes the slight increase in the cohesive force any immediate problems. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.Yet most of the water within the air around the chief condenses from one moment to the next. Water droplets start forming on the grass and rocks on the ground. The chief''s clothing turns moist within a moment and a heavy, dense mist forms in the area around Narcus. A thin film of water lays itself over the inside of his lungs, which hinders his breathing and causes an unpleasant feeling. He starts coughing audibly from within the dense, opaque cloud, inhaling more of the water droplets and increasing his problems. I pour a great deal of my power into the following attack and hurl an orb of condensed mana into the cloud. The resulting explosion is ear deafening and I have to shield myself from the debris which is hurled away. Suddenly a black shadow emerges from the explosion and a moment later the chief is freed from the shadows which were covering him. He looks burned and worn down with countless wounds on his upper body. One of his eyes is closed and bleeds heavily. A pained scream escapes his lips and he draws his dagger, his remaining eye searching for me. Then he is... gone? Suddenly something impacts the shield of mana which is surrounding me. Sparks of energy fly left and right while the attack wanders over my chest and scrapes at the shield. Originally aimed at the centre of my body, the invisible object penetrates my shield a little further to the right. Something stings between my ribs and a burning feeling spreads from the right side of my chest. I look down at myself and frown as I notice red blood spreading on my robe. Then the chief materializes in front of me. ¡°Got you!¡± He twists the dagger and I flinch. ¡°You cheated!¡± Coughing up blood I grin. ¡°But you still failed to deal the finishing blow. One hundred.¡± I flip the coin and open my hand, expecting to catch it. Narcus snatches the coin casually and pulls the dagger out of my chest. I put on a shocked expression and stumble backwards while I cast a healing spell and pour magic into the wound at my side. He grins. ¡°I guess that''s it for your wonderful spell! Didn''t get to the last throw after all. Though I wonder what would have happened?¡± ¡°Bwahaha-¡± My laughing fit is ended by coughed up blood and I press a hand onto the wound in my side. ¡°I didn''t think that you are this stupid, so I already thought about what I could try next to get through your defence. I already expected something annoying from the description I got about the dagger. So I prepared several ideas to fight someone who could slip away from attacks at will. But you fell for the most obvious one first! It''s not even funny to call yourself a great wizard after such a performance.¡± His expression turned dark during my laughing fit, but then frightened when the coin started to glow in a blue light. He tried to throw the coin away as his hand lost its colour, but the coin simply stuck to his skin, which started breaking up. ¡°What''s this! You said that you have to make a hundred flips! Why is the spell activated?!¡± The light in his hand grows stronger and the rapid decay of his body speeds up. I smirk and try to stand a little straighter, which isn''t easy with the wound in my side. ¡°Isn''t it obvious? I lied! The hex curse on the coin was ready when I told you the conditions for the spell. All I needed you to do was to touch the coin, hence the lie. If I had thrown the coin at you, you could have used your ability or evaded it somehow else.¡± Narcus''s eyes widen and his face turns grey. The hex curse is forcibly breaking up molecular bonds within his body as long as there is a supply of mana available. He could stop the curse by forcibly emptying his mana pool, but that''s what the coin is there for; as a mana supply. It''s obvious that he is fighting the curse which is invading his body. The task would be simple if the curse had been applied without the coin as a recasting source. I watch the mana centre in his heart being taken over and increase my distance to him. His body is crumbling away at a rapid pace until his left leg gives way and he falls. The scream on his lips is silenced when he impacts the ground and a cloud of white ash bursts away from him. I watch the mana in his body disperse until I am sure that he is dead and the curse no longer active. Then I bend down to collect the dagger, its sheath and the coin. Chuck would be angry if I left his gift behind. Somehow I feel dizzy and the wound in my side hurts despite the healing spell. A whistle calls ghost closer and I mount the warcat. The nomads are already retreating to their army, which looks like it is about to start a mad charge at us. I guess the negotiations failed? Quinn''s transporter is also rapidly retreating. The vehicle has a few ugly dents and the colour is completely scraped off in some places. I guess they received a few random spells. I reach the rest of my group who retreated from the fight, but there is no time to celebrate as a mad army of nomads is on our heels. So I try my best to cling to Ghost''s fur until we finally ride through the gate of our fortress. When my mount stops Stella is immediately at my side and pulls me rather unceremoniously from Ghost''s back. ¡°What did you think you were doing!? We have to check the wound for the nomads'' poison!¡± Xander joins her in her efforts and places his hand on my side. Soon after, a warm feeling spreads from it. ¡°There is manatite in the wound, but he received it not too long ago. We should be able to scrape most of it out before it enters his blood.¡± ¡°Scrape out?¡± I look at Xander, but my sight is blurry and tends to tilt sideways. All I can focus on is the trowel-like spoon with sharp edges in his hands. He got it from a pouch with different surgical tools. ¡°No. You won''t...¡± That''s barbaric! ¡°Don''t worry. I am an Eddin, flesh wounds are nothing to me. I can overpower the remaining poison once most of it is gone. Hold him still.¡± Xander gestures for some of the soldiers, who aren''t quite sure of what to do. Then he sighs. ¡°He has no magic right now, so he can''t do anything.¡± ¡°No! Stop that! No! I am not some kind of cattle. Isn''t there a nicer method? The dagger wasn''t pleasant, don''t come close to me with that spoon!¡± My struggle is to no avail as five guards are holding me down. One for each limb and one for the body. ***Eastern Plains*** ***Stella*** I have Azir in a wheel chair at my side and we are all back on one of the towers to watch the nomads. His expression is gloomy and his chest is bandaged. Luckily we got most of the manatite before it could dissolve and enter his blood stream. Normally the poisonous crystals are crushed into a powder and applied onto a weapon. Once inside the wound they dissolve and spread through the body. The victim loses his ability to use mana and in cases of strong exposure you are paralysed or might even die. He wheels closer to the parapet and tries to look down by pushing himself up out of the chair. I push him back down. The nomads are swarming around our fortress like angry ants. Azir turns his attention to Xander. ¡°How long did you say?¡± Xander shrugs his shoulders. ¡°Between one and two months until you can cast spells again. The poison remains for a long time inside the body. That''s why the nomads like it so much.¡± Azir''s eyes wander gloomily to the dagger in my mother''s hands. She stores it away in her pocket. ¡°I''ll protect it until we are back home. As you are now even a child could take it away from you.¡± He stares at the constant magical attacks which are impacting the barrier of our fortress. ¡°Bugs...¡± Azir reaches into his pocket and pulls out a flat, hand-sized card. The Great Shaman bends forward. ¡°What''s that?¡± Azir grumbles and puts the card onto his lap then he presses its centre and a screen of light appears in front of him. ¡°A miniature light sculpture. Originally I created it for normal citizens, so that they can access the net wherever they want.¡± Helen nods. ¡°Ah, right, the mana net. Actually I want to talk with you about that when you have time. Though it isn''t urgent under the current circumstances.¡± He nods and continues to manipulate the light sculpture on his lap. ¡°Once I am done with the infestation.¡± Suddenly the floor under our feet rocks and tilts. ¡°Azir?¡± I grab his wheelchair, so that he can''t roll away. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°What we should have done in the beginning!¡± The fortress rocks another time and I find the landscape around us moving! A look over the parapet confirms that the whole fortress lifted off the earth and is now slowly rising from the ground. Helen holds onto the parapet with both hands. ¡°Azir? I thought we agreed on not testing your changes to the fortress until our troops are all gone and just a skeleton crew remains!¡± Azir pulls at his lower lip. ¡°Actually I think the wording was as follows. Don''t test the changes unless there are grave circumstances.¡± ¡°Which there aren''t!¡± Helen hisses. Azir shakes his head. ¡°But there are! The nomads lost their respect for us! What about all those poor villages at the border. That chief said himself that it doesn''t matter what we do once we turn into foes without honour.¡± His expression changes into a grin. ¡°A flying fortress! What''s better to restore their respect for us? And then we wipe out their army with a single strike! Call me names if they come anywhere close to our border within the next hundred years. Lights on!¡± He spreads his hands and the sky darkens. At first nothing else happens, but then I notice that the spells which are impacting on our shield are lessening. It seems like the sun dimmed and the world is plunged into a strange twilight. A strange silence surrounds us until the screams start. I try to take a look over the parapet, but the ground is bathed in a blinding light. It''s so bright that I have to avert my eyes. The screams seem to originate from the thousands of warriors under and around our fortress. They increase into a horrible crescendo until they finally die out. The sun returns to its former brightness and I take a look over the parapet to find a scorched, burning landscape under us. A perfect circle of two kilometres around the fortress is black ash. There are a few nomad troops at the fringes of the devastated area, but the main body of their horde is gone. Azir is trying to take a look over the parapet at my side. ¡°Are they well done or scorched?¡± I grab his ear and pull. ¡°Those were sentient beings!¡± ¡°Ow, Ow... don''t rip it off! They started it!¡± Azir grabs my hand to stop me from pulling. ¡°And don''t forget that their culture seems to respect only strength! Should we have targeted one of their villages? Burning those who are attacking us seems perfectly fine to me!¡± I let go of his ear. He is right, but the way he did it was wrong! I turn my attention to the sun. ¡°Azir, what happened to the sun?¡± He shrugs his shoulders. ¡°The fortress is a gigantic magical circuit to redirect light. The redirected light had to be taken from somewhere. Imagine it like standing under a gigantic lens. Don''t worry it''s absolutely safe.¡± I bend down to whisper into his ear. ¡°But the diminishing sun reminded me of your story about your... old world.¡± He blinks and smiles. ¡°Don''t worry. That wasn''t the reason.¡± . 73. ~Frustration.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°Many are saying that the emperor is a genetic regression to a former evolutionary state of our people. But if that''s true, then why are his powers so far beyond us? Did something happen in our past, which caused our people to lose their magical abilities? If that''s the case, then this event must''ve taken place thousands of years ago. Right now the population of magicians within Nict is growing, but we can''t tell for certain if the emperor''s arrival has anything to do with it.¡± -Old research document. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** ¡°I hate you, Azir! It''s your fault.¡± Stella is in her bed and complaining about me. To be more accurate, she is complaining about everything recently, about me, the world, her life, even herself. Maybe her hormones are running rampant or something like that. I hand her today''s breakfast, which is very substantial. Cooked eggs, with shells, bread, a bowl of diced vegetables and fruits, a sausage, beans with tomato sauce and a collection from yesterday''s leftovers. ¡°To think that there are two! I''ll bloat up like a whale! You''ll still love me Azir, right? Despite how I look? You know that I love you? It doesn''t matter to me that you are a little strange in the head... and a mass murderer. I don''t understand how anyone could place so little value on a life.¡± She continues to ramble on, stuffing herself with the food. Yesterday she mustered her courage to take a look at the babies, yes plural. Of course it''s no surprise to me. I know of them since I could discern between the two embryos with my mana sight. I''ve simply no luck at all when it comes to matters like this. At least the poison doesn''t seem to affect my ability to sense mana. The opposite is the case. Since the control over any mana escapes my grasp, I can fully concentrate on my senses. It''s similar to secluding yourself from the world by using the mana stream. Maybe poisoning myself with small amounts of manatite is a good training exercise. I would do it if there wouldn''t be the issue with disabling your control over mana. At least the manatite has no permanent effects. I am not happy to train myself by entering a vortex of energy and radiation. I return my attention to Stella, who is still drowning in self pity. She thought that there was only one child. Apparently laying two eggs is a really rare event for a woman of our species. It only happens once every three hundred pregnancies. The problem is that having two eggs in her belly is very straining on a woman''s body. She has to avoid straining activities during the last two months of her pregnancy. And then there is the issue with the size and the increased appetite. ¡°Don''t worry, I love you for who you are.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Her expression turns a little more relaxed, but then she focuses on the mechanical arm at her bedside. ¡°Why are you feeding me with that? It''s like you are trying to keep your distance!¡± ¡°Dear, your had a few very unreasonable mood-swings recently. I am just taking precautions. After all I am without magic at the moment! To say that I am the weak gender was never as true as it is right now. Don''t let it out on your helping hand. Isn''t the robot arm really helpful? It helps you into your wheelchair and holds the books which you are reading.¡± I step a little closer and pat her head since it doesn''t seem to be dangerous right now. ¡°I''ll even have a floating deckchair ready for you tomorrow.¡± What can I do besides building stuff when I have no magic. Though building machines is troublesome when you can''t melt iron with a spell, or bend it into the proper shape with a thought. This poison is really annoying. I feel like being thrown back in time. At least I have Ivy to help me out. Stella grabs my hand and rubs it against her cheek. ¡°I wouldn''t be able to take this without you! You can''t imagine how horrible it is to be grounded like this. And to think that there are still almost two months left!¡± ¡°You can still cast gravitation magic to float around. It''s not like you have to lie absolutely still, so you are better off than someone from the normal townsfolk. I don''t understand why you don''t want to go outside. It''s no shame to be pregnant, imagine yourself as a balloon and simply float where you want to go. Of course you should find proper clothing before you attempt something like that.¡± I try to calm her down, but somehow I achieve the opposite effect. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°A b- b- b- balloon!? So I am fat after all!¡± Tears well up in her eyes and I sigh. I wasn''t aware that she is that concerned about her outer appearance. But on the other hand... she has lived her whole life with the ability to change everything about her appearance on a whim. She likes to play with her hair and her eye colour. I never saw her choosing clothing which fits her, she simply changes her sizes according to the dress she likes! That''s why she always looks perfect, even when she uses dresses which don''t belong to her. Telling someone with such an ability to do nothing about the big, unwieldy belly is like cutting off an arm. ¡°You will do fine. It''s just a short time and then you can change your body all you want.¡± A woman''s pregnancy lasts only four months in this world. After the eggs are laid, it takes them another three to five months until they hatch. The times always vary a little according to temperature and humidity. ¡°What about our guests? Are they really doing nothing stupid, like trying to convert our population to their belief?¡± Stella asks about Leon and Giana, who were allowed to visit our capital. Strangely enough they acted very respectful towards us after I roasted the nomads. In the interest of good relations between our countries Helen invited them to stay in Nict, while their expedition force is returning with a stepper disc to Quinn. Since I am the only one who can teleport that far without help, we are restricted to the existing network of discs for now. I already instructed my research team to build a big flying transporter, which can carry several discs wherever we want. This is because I am not eager to teleport blindly to the second continent where we assume our enemy to be. ¡°They are under permanent surveillance by Ivy and me. So far they haven''t done anything offensive. Though they are gathering information about us by talking to the townsfolk and officials.¡± That sums up their activities up until now. ¡°I think my little doomsday fortress impressed them.¡± ¡°And the dagger, what''s your judgement on that item? You invested a lot of time in that thing.¡± Stella asks with an expectant expression. I would rather like not talking about my failure. The dagger is a frustrating device. ¡°The only thing I can say with certainty is that the creators of the helmet and the dagger were different. Rather than different, it''s more accurate to say that the helmet and the dagger are worlds apart in terms of technology.¡± ¡°The helmet was a very blunt controlling device for the satellites up in the orbit. It had a few other nice functions besides that, but it in the end it was a standard application of standard technology. The dagger is a few generations beyond the helmet. If the dagger and the helmet were created by the same culture, then they learned a lot between the creations of those two artefacts. I already consulted Helen about this, but unfortunately her books don''t tell her when the Emperor created his artefacts.¡± Stella nods. ¡°The Empire existed for several hundred years. Who says that some artefacts weren''t overhauled, or exchanged with better performing equipment? There may even be more of the same artefacts for all we know.¡± I nod. ¡°It''s certainly possible. Anyway, the dagger is a highly miniaturized tool for shifting space with spacial magic. The user turns black because space is warped around him, even sucking up the light. That''s causing the misconception that it lets you walk through shadows. It''s a very tricky, miniaturized version of the City Gates. I need to build the proper machines and push this world''s technology to the same level which allows the creation of the City Gates. Without that I have no chance of analysing the dagger any further.¡± ¡°So, how long will it take?¡± Stella asks. This question isn''t easy to answer. ¡°The people are willing and the knowledge is there, but we have do this step by step. All I can say is that it certainly won''t happen fast. Micro magical circuits are delicate stuff and creating the needed machinery is complex. We have to create the tools to create new tools, to create other tools and so forth. This''ll take years, though some of the knowledge in the library will certainly help us.¡± I reach into my pocket and stroke over the small device inside it. I took my time to repair it since the important parts were undamaged. It''s the clock which I brought from my old world and maybe it''s the answer to our problems. If I can get it to work properly... ¡°Stella?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Could I have my hand back now?¡± ¡°But it''s so warm and it smells good.¡± ¡°... stop rubbing please.¡± ¡°I don''t wanna!¡± . 74. ~A usual day.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°The egg split and red, menacing eyes glared at me. Upon taking a second glance though, I found out that his eyes are beautiful to behold. My child is horribly disfigured and for a moment I thought about relieving him from his misery. But I can''t do it, I simply can''t. Maybe he''ll find a purpose in life if he joins a circus.¡± -Diary of a whore. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Giana*** ¡°And you really aren''t being oppressed?¡± I ask the merchant for the second time while we finalize our trade agreement with him. I and my brother decided that it would be best to forge a few relationships with the locals while we are here. Though that wasn''t very successful. We already visited eight merchants today and six of them kicked us out when we mentioned the magicians. Obviously we said something offensive, though I don''t know what it was. The fat merchant in front of us shakes his head. The movement makes his oily hair wobble left and right. ¡°You folk from Quinn are strange. Why should we feel oppressed? The magicians don''t interact much with common people. They keep the economy running and their services aren''t too expensive.¡± He takes a few contracts from his folder and hands them to us. ¡°They offer stability and leadership. If I think about the southern nations and the nomads, then I am glad that they are governing our country. Though they are certainly not any better than us.¡± He points out where Leon has to sign and leans onto his counter, looking bored. This is the ninth merchant we are trying to speak to and he hasn''t thrown us out yet. That''s good. Some of the others didn''t even accept our clothing. This country is way to rigid in terms dress codes! Leon looks up. ¡°So you don''t believe in this strange religion of your country?¡± The merchant shrugs his shoulders. ¡°Rather than a religion, I would call it pragmatism. The magicians are humans like anyone else. They fight between themselves and quite violently at times. I wouldn''t want to stand between them when they decide to go for it. But from what I know they don''t involve commoners, that has to be held in their favour. I doubt that normal people are any better when it comes to things like these. At least the magicians'' little games for power are quite hilarious at times. Can you imagine that they didn''t allow the second princess''s relationship with the male heir of the Zait? The two of them had to disguise themselves as commoners to go on dates. They were in the top of the gossip factory.¡± I frown and inquire further. ¡°You mean Azir and Stella?¡± The beast and the beauty? He killed the nomads'' chief in front of our eyes and stole one of the Empire''s artefacts. Nict having one of those accursed artefacts was already bad enough, but then they incinerated the nomad army like nothing. Such a foe can''t be underestimated. We have to play this right and playing it right means to make sure that Nict looks another way. As long as they don''t set their eyes on Quinn, everything is okay. The merchant smiles. ¡°That''s right! They look so nice together. It was a saying amongst the commoners that you would have luck for the rest of the day if you came across them. I am glad that it worked out for them in the end.¡± Leon gestures for the merchant to wait. ¡°One moment. They went incognito on dates, but all the commoners knew about it? Why didn''t their clans find out?¡± The merchant sighs. ¡°Oh, please. Do you really think that the townsfolk would say anything if the objects of their worship are walking right among them. The two of them were so obvious, even the greatest idiot kept his mouth shut. It would be rude to ignore the wishes of your idols.¡± He tilts his head in thought. ¡°They are a little naive to believe that nobody would recognize a member of one of the head families. Stella was a little harder since the Gejene keep their offspring well hidden from the public, but a girl can''t stalk through the city for years without someone noticing her destinations. It''s a little boring since they aren''t doing this regularly any more. Actually Azir is one of my best clients. He visits in commoner''s clothes to buy chocolate from me, that''s why I make sure to have always the best stock in my store.¡± The merchant''s eyes wander out of the window. ¡°Oh, if it isn''t him. If you talk about someone he''ll show up right away.¡± Leon throws himself behind the merchant''s counter and pulls me with him. A sack of gold is pressed into the merchant''s hands. ¡°You haven''t seen us!¡± A moment later we hear the door opening. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°The usual, please.¡± A familiar voice comes from above us. The merchant bows. ¡°Of course, Riz. I already anticipated that you would run low on your little addiction.¡± The voice answers embarrassed. ¡°It''s not really an addiction, Draf. Call it a vice.¡± Draf smiles and kneels under the counter where the two of us are hiding. He winks at me and retrieves a big, wooden box from beside us. ¡°Here you go, Riz. How is the family doing?¡± ¡°Ah, no problems. My girl is pregnant with twins, the healer confirmed it. Now she is moody all day and I''ve to entertain her.¡± The voice above the counter sighs. Draf reaches out and we hear him patting someone''s shoulder. ¡°Well done! So that''s the reason why you ordered twice as much as normal. Make sure to congratulate her from me. Maybe you visit me and show me the offspring when it''s time?¡± ¡°I''ll tell my wife. Have a nice day.¡± The door to the merchant''s store opens and closes again. Leon and I let out a deep sigh. We weren''t caught running around the town. That was too close. Then the merchant''s face appears from above. ¡°See? Like I said. They are just normal people like you and me.¡± You didn''t see them turn someone to dust and scorch an army in a blazing sea of light and fire! ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Valeria*** ¡°Really!? You''ll marry officially? When? Oh, I am so excited!¡± I grab Stella''s hand and shake it. She is sitting on the sofa in her living room with a strange book in her hands. Since I am going to become an aunt I decided to visit her more often from now on. Especially to keep her company. Azir seems to be good at sneaking away. Stella nods. ¡°Actually it''ll be a double marriage. Sola delayed her wedding, so that we could go for it at the same time. I intended to announce it once I am done with this.¡± Stella points at her impressive belly. I wince in sympathy. ¡°Yeah, you are right. Showing up at such an event, looking like this.¡± Stella immediately starts to pout. ¡°It''s a perfectly natural condition for a woman! It''s not like looking like this is my fault.¡± ¡°Yes, you are right, but still. It''s better to wait if you want to enjoy the day. It''s a once in a lifetime event after all.¡± Then I edge a little closer. ¡°I know it''s an intimate question, but could I listen to them? I am going to be their aunt after all.¡± ¡°Oh, no problem.¡± Stella allows me to and I edge closer to place my ear on her belly. And indeed there are some strange noises coming from inside her belly. Though they are somehow very comfortable to listen to. ¡°I hope they turn out to be adorable! Where is Azir by the way.¡± I voice my opinion to Stella, who answers with a motherly smile. ¡°He decided to retreat, saying that there is stuff to do. I wasn''t able to catch him before he left.¡± My eyes wander to her belly. I doubt that she could catch him right now, even if she used all the spells at her disposal. It doesn''t matter that he is without magic right now. ***Dwem, Capital*** ***Azir*** I am sitting in Chuck''s private apartment at the top floor of his tower. After my stroll through the city I decided to waste some time with my friend and our little game. I eye the tabletop game very carefully and finally decide on a move, placing one of my cards on the right field to bring him a little trouble. Our game has been going on for quite a while now, so we simply let it lie around while I am not here. The last time we played was a week ago and we only managed three turns. Suddenly the door opens and the Great Shaman dances into the room with a strange twirling motion. He is wet from a shower and completely naked, except for his pants and a clean, white mask made out of porcelain. He is whistling a strange tune and then he freezes upon seeing me. His whistling fades into silence and he slowly lets his arms drop, trying to take a dignified pose. ¡°Ahem. What are you doing here?¡± I point at the tabletop game. ¡°I decided on my next move.¡± Then I pat the wooden box on my lap. ¡°And I brought some of the good stuff.¡± He walks in a very Great-Shaman-like manner to his wardrobe and retrieves a bathrobe from it. ¡°I thought you had no magic for a month at least?¡± I smirk. ¡°Don''t worry. I have my ways. So how about your move? And what about that mask? Did you really have it on while bathing!?¡± ¡°The mask is an important part of my identity.¡± Chuck walks over to take a look at the board and grimaces, he immediately saw what I am intending to do. With a long sigh he drops into his seat across from me and stares at the playing field. . 75. ~The Traveller.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°To the king and queen of Quinn! Mom, Dad! We are doing fine here in Nict. The people are a little strange in the head and of course they are all heretics, but it is very important that you don''t do anything rash! The current Nict may be even more dangerous than the Empire, but it looks like they''ll ignore us for now and remain neutral. We think it''s in our best interest if it stays that way. To reach this goal we''ll stay here for a while in order to ensure that nothing goes wrong. One of Nict''s teleportation discs will arrive with the returning expedition force. We''ll be brought back by one of their magicians then. Don''t worry, the disc is heavily guarded day and night. Sincerely yours, Giana and Leon.¡± -Letter. ***Eastern Plains, Doi-Village*** ***Traveller*** It''s good to be here once in a while. The nomads are simple people and being among them feels relaxing. I walk through the village which consists of huts and tents, but something is different this time. The nomads whom I know to be proud and upright people look like beaten dogs. There are many men in their best age in the village, which is strange since they should be normally with their caravan to gather resources. I halt in front of the biggest tent which belongs to the chief of this tribe. There is a single guardsman who is in my way. He has a mean looking expression and attempts to block me as I step closer, but when he gets to take a look under my hood, he recoils and steps aside. I smile and enter the tent while removing my hood. Inside I find only a bunch of old men, silently whispering with each other. They look up in surprise and finally the oldest of them rises to greet me. ¡°Revered elder! You returned!¡± He steps closer and hugs me like a child would hug a loved father. Patting his shoulders, I remove him from me and try to smile. ¡°It has been a long time since I paid you a visit. How is my son doing? Is he out on a hunt, playing the chief again?¡± The assembled group''s expressions turn troubled and all of them fall silent. Finally the old man in front of me decides to speak. ¡°The honoured chief of our tribe... died a week ago.¡± He casts his eyes downwards with a sad expression. I feel my left eye starting to twitch, then I grab his collar and lift him above the ground before I can restrain myself. ¡°How? His magic was powerful and strong! He could have lived many hundreds of years. I was gone for a mere twelve years!¡± The old man starts to stutter something about a fortress appearing on their land and the tribes assembling to chase two groups of foreigners away. I set him back onto the ground and he calms down a little, continuing his story of my son. The fool wanted to take the chance to unify his people. It''s a rare event that all the tribes come together to fight a foe. Hundreds of years could have passed before another chance presented itself. Apparently he had to fight over the leadership with another powerful chief, but in the end the assembled chiefs decided that the one who would represent them in front of the enemy would be in charge of the following raiding party. The other chief backed off and my son went to meet Nict''s representatives, where he died and lost the dagger. Afterwards the chief who fought with him for the leadership took control and the assembled tribesmen attacked the enemy fortress, which suddenly started to float. Then it incinerated the warriors with a single attack. The remaining survivors were so shocked that many simply ran back home. Those who hadn''t lost their heads were gathered by the opposing chief, then they took off with an unknown destination. I reach for the shoulder of the old man and smile at him. ¡°Show me where my son died.¡± ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** There are screams coming out of the room where Stella is giving birth... laying eggs. She went into labour about an hour ago and I immediately called for the healers, which was promptly answered by the last person whom I wanted to see. My mother practically broke into my house, together with my family and my most dreaded enemy. Our clan''s personal healer, Laney. My aversion for Laney is probably irrational, since she stopped her experiments on me a long time ago. But the way she looks at me simply gives me the creeps. It''s because I know that expression very well. It''s the same way I look when I find something particularly interesting to study. Soon after my own family, Helen let herself in with a bunch of royal healers in tow. That''s the reason why my house is suddenly full of people, despite the fact that it''s in the middle of the night. Of course Lucas, Sola and Xander had to join the party too. Another scream comes from beyond the door to my bedroom. Thankfully I don''t have to be with her, it sounds like it hurts a great deal. At least Helen and Valda are at her side. It seems like men aren''t wished to be present when a woman has a moment of complete weakness. My father pats my shoulder. ¡°Don''t worry son. The best healers are with her, there won''t be a problem.¡± Lucas nods and wipes a pearl of sweat from his forehead. ¡°It reminds me of Stella''s birth. Big egg, the healer said that it was like catching a projectile when it finally came out.¡± I kick his shin without holding back. ¡°Thank you for the horrible image! How can I get that out of my head now?¡± Lucas kneels down in pain, holding his legs. ¡°It''s okay. It was a joke! Who knew that you would be so edgy.¡± Valeria hugs me from the side. ¡°I am so eager to see them!¡± Ivy appears from the kitchen, perfectly balancing two big plates in her hands. One is filled with snacks and the other with different drinks. ¡°Please suit yourself, if any of the masters are hungry.¡± She passes through the group of people until she arrives at Sola and Xander, who has the misfortune of being distracted by her deep cut maid outfit. His eyes stick to the wrong place for a few seconds too long and Sola''s hand shoots out with two fingers pointed at his eyes. It''s over before anyone can react. Her husband is wriggling to Sola''s feet and crying in agony. She grabs the towel on Ivy''s shoulder and cleans her two bloody fingers. Ivy is just standing there, stunned, looking down at the pile of misery who is rolling around in front of her. ¡°He was just looking. Was such an action really required?¡± Sola snorts and inspects Ivy with great care. ¡°Servant, listen carefully. I won''t repeat myself. It''s very easy for a woman to catch a man, the problem lies in keeping the guy away from other vultures and training him properly. Once you allow him to ogle other women right next to you, you may as well let him mount them. He should have at least the decency to ogle with a certain amount of secrecy.¡± This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. She places the towel back on Ivy''s shoulder. ¡°Once a man undresses other women with his eyes in such an obvious manner, while standing right next to his wife, a certain amount of punishment is needed. And Xander is an Eddin, this is just a scratch to him.¡± Ivy nods in admiration like a big secret was revealed to her. Xander crawls to his knees with tears in his eyes. They look swollen and are bloodshot, but otherwise he seems to be fine. He edges closer to Sola and hugs her around her waist. ¡°I am sorry, dear! I have failed you. Don''t be angry, I didn''t have any second thoughts, it just happened.¡± Sola sighs and pats his head. ¡°Don''t worry. I am not mad. Just don''t undress other women with your eyes okay? It feels like I am not enough.¡± Gods, I hope that I''ll never fall this deep... though it''s his own fault in a twisted kind of way. Just in that moment the door to my bedroom opens and Stella exits with two big eggs pressed to each of her cheeks. She is still wearing the wide gown which fits around her formerly pregnant belly. Now it looks more like a bag. ¡°Look, Azir! Aren''t they beautiful?¡± She rushes to my side and holds the eggs out like they are a perfect creation. One of them is light brown with violet spots on it. The other has a darker tone and is spotted with the golden colour of dry corn. I smile and take one of the eggs from her. ¡°They really are wonderful.¡± Just imagine how much scrambled egg one could make from one of these! The embryo inside the egg starts frantically knocking onto the shell, probably the creepy thing read my mind! ¡°Am I holding it wrong?¡± Stella sighs and takes the egg back. ¡°You just thought something morally wrong!¡± Vehemently shaking my head, I deny the accusation. ¡°Totally not! Let me try the other one.¡± I take the other egg from Stella and nothing happens. ¡°See? The other one is just a coward, that''s all.¡± ¡°Let me hold it too!¡± Valeria takes the egg from me, which causes frantic knocking from the inside. Defeated she hands it back and grumbles. ¡°They are way too perceptive at that age.¡± Helen and Valda join us while the healers leave immediately. Only Laney stays and edges closer to me. ¡°You know. Having your two bloodlines crossed is a historical event, looking back in history. It didn''t happen often and never between two such strong individuals. Can I take some samples once they are old enough?¡± ¡°No.¡± I instinctively shield the egg from her. ¡°My children aren''t your toys. You aren''t allowed to poke them with your instruments!¡± Laney turns to Stella, but doesn''t get any support from her. ¡°Ask again when they are older.¡± We transport the eggs to the table in the living room, where I already prepared two incubation chambers. This time they are the updated versions and are camouflaged as neat baskets with a glass dome on top. Nonetheless the eggs have to endure the inspection of everyone until the house is finally clean of visitors. It''s late at night after all and everyone is tired. Only Ivy remains for a while longer at the table to inspect the eggs. ¡°Maybe I''ll try that too... but just for scientific purposes...¡± She bows to us and retreats to her own quarters. ¡°Did... did she just...¡± I point at the door where she disappeared and turn to Stella. ¡°Can she even do that?¡± Stella shrugs her shoulders. ¡°According to my judgement she is fully functional. Don''t worry, she''ll do a wonderful job as a parent. She started studying psychology and social systems at the university.¡± It hits me that I didn''t even ask how Stella is feeling. ¡°And you? Everything alright?¡± Stella smiles and links arms with me. ¡°Of course. The Eddin fixed me up perfectly. I am back in my top form!¡± Then she pulls me in front of the two eggs and starts fiddling with the settings. ¡°Now the only thing that''s left to do is to decide what we want. Two boys, two girls or one of each?¡± ¡°We can choose?¡± I raise an eyebrow and look at her with a conflicted expression. ¡°I thought that''s up to mother nature?¡± Stella speechlessly looks at me for some moments. ¡°I thought you studied the book ''How to take care of an egg''? Didn''t you read the first chapter ''Laying and deciding''?¡± I start fiddling with my fingers and avert my eyes from her gaze. ¡°When I had to take care of the egg it was already laid, so I kind of... skipped that chapter. And when you were pregnant I looked up only the stuff which is important during pregnancy.¡± Stella smacks her forehead and sighs. ¡°Okay. An embryo''s gender inside the egg isn''t decided. The first three weeks are important. During that time they develop the fastest. Forty point three degrees encourage the embryo to develop into a female, thirty eight point nine degrees favour the male gender. Normally women choose their offspring to become female, since girls have a higher chance to inherit the magical bloodline. Though that''s only if the father isn''t a strong magician.¡± She pulls at my cheek. ¡°But since we are both very strong magicians it should be okay to have boys. They''ll surely be as strong as you.¡± ¡°Okay? Then how about a boy and a girl? If they are identical twins, then we avoid any possibility of confusion.¡± I gesture at the two eggs in front of us. Stella sighs. ¡°You are the only one in the world who would think of something like that.¡± She bends forward to program the chambers. ¡°Wait one moment!¡± I gesture for her to wait. ¡°That one is the girl!¡± I point at the egg which is spotted golden. Stella frowns. ¡°Why that one? Is there any difference between the two? They are both cute.¡± I nod. ¡°There is a huge difference. That''s the one which didn''t like me. The girl is your responsibility!¡± I kind of like this development. She sighs again and inputs the correct values into the devices. ¡°I have no problem with it since I decided to leave the choice to you, but I think you are making a mistake.¡± ¡°How so?¡± Is my logic faulty? I can''t see where I went wrong. Stella shakes her head and smirks. ¡°Call it motherly instinct. It just feels like the golden one has more temperament.¡± I try to think about the implications, but Stella distracts me by unbuttoning her gown while licking her lips and looking at me full of desire. It drops to the ground reveals her in all her naked glory. ¡°I love you.¡± She grabs my robe at my chest and pulls me down to kiss me. Her left leg wanders around me and she pulls herself upwards, followed by the right leg. My hands automatically support her behind while she is folding her arms around my head. Her tongue in my mouth drives me almost crazy and stops me from breathing. Finally she retreats it to take a breath and I use the chance to ask her a question. ¡°And the reason for this sudden proposal is?¡± She purses her lips. ¡°Seventy four days! Doesn''t that ring any bells? Don''t tell me that you didn''t mind it at all!¡± Oooh... To be honest her temper didn''t even allow the thought bedding her. If she broke me while I am without healing magic the outcome could''ve been bad. Stella starts grinding her hips against mine and whispers into my ear. ¡°I would like to try a few things from the memory mirror.¡± ¡°That''s a good idea!¡± I turn and wobble with her in my arms out of the room. . 76. ~Intermission.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°The wanderer walks where he pleases and once he finds evil, he''ll slay it without fail.¡± -Northern Barbarian. ***Eastern Plains, Nonai-Steppe*** ***Traveller*** So this is the place where my son found his end. Somehow it fits for him to die on this barren land with no worth. He took after his mother and stayed connected to this land despite my teachings. I never managed to make him interested in what lies beyond this green ocean of grass. His mother and I met each other during one of my many travels. It was on a green plain very much like this one... if it isn''t the same. We developed feelings for each other and before I knew it I had learned the nomads'' ways. Those were happy years until she lost her fight against time. I wonder why I always fall for the short lived ones. Love is a cruel game. The scene in front of me returns me to reality. I watch the destruction and open my senses to the world in order to find out what happened here. Every spell causes a lingering after-effect on the world. Once you are experienced enough, you can read what happened long after the spell was performed. It''s like an energetic fingerprint. Once you reach a certain stage you can even identify the person who is responsible for the spell. Of course only if no magical circuit was used. The burned area in front of me feels strange. I expected that this was done by an exceptionally strong Anja, but there are almost no disturbances. The spell used was incredibly effective. Either they ignited the air somehow, or they used the sun. I thought that Nict had lost that knowledge. This scene tells me otherwise. It seems like Nict developed faster than I expected. That''s very troublesome. Maybe I have to throw them back again. I already did that twice to hinder the resurface of the technology which caused so much harm. Maybe I was too lax in the recent three hundred years. Someone has to make sacrifices to live the dream of freedom. The fragile balance of the world has to be kept. I took it upon myself to be the one who guards this balance and it is a cruel, hard role I play. Upon further inspection I find out that the huge destruction isn''t the only strange thing. Here on the site of my son''s death I can feel an entirely different magic being used. Someone influenced the world in a way which requires a certain amount of knowledge. Normal mages achieve the wished effect by brutally bending reality itself to their desires, but not so this one. Here was someone at work who knew what he was doing. ¡°Your son died here. He decided to fight a magical duel against the one who challenged him and the offender accepted.¡± The man at my side whispers. He was present when my son died, so the elder chose him to lead me to this place. ¡°And he accepted?¡± I frown and concentrate on the still lingering curse in the ashes of my son. Something tore through his entire being and didn''t even leave bones behind. My son''s followers retrieved his remains after the battle. So I have at least something to say goodbye to. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The man answers promptly. ¡°He did and fought honourably. Your son was losing when he violated the rules and used the shadow dagger.¡± My son lost even though he used the dagger, it was my fault to give him the artefact. He was never good at using the artefact and the weapon made him overconfident. I inhale as I recognize the imprint of residual magic. ¡°The opponent was a Zait?¡± The man nods. ¡°He called himself Azir Zait.¡± ¡°Maybe I should pay a visit to Nict. It has been a long time since I was there.¡± ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** ¡°Stand straighter, try to smile and get that tired expression off your face.¡± Stella pulls at my formal black and white robe. She isn''t satisfied with my appearance. I yawn. ¡°Sorry, Stella. It feels like I didn''t sleep for two entire nights.¡± Stella huffs and pulls me in front of the curtain. A few moments ago Sola and Xander stepped out into the ballroom of the palace and the gathered guests welcomed the union with loud cheers. There aren''t any big marriage ceremonies in Nict. I guess that''s a direct result of the lack of religion. Though it''s customary to announce the bond between two people by throwing a big party. The same applies for a child''s introduction to society. Stella presses her lips into two thin lines. ¡°It isn''t any different for me. When we finally decided to sleep you moved the entire time and didn''t let go of me.¡± ¡°But how can I let my love sleep alone when she is that desperate for attention.¡± I lift her up in a princess carry. She squeals and whispers. ¡°What are you doing? My robe is getting out of order!¡± ¡°I thought I would carry you outside to show everyone that I am fully involved in this?¡± I ask her inquiringly. The sides of Stella''s mouth curl upwards. ¡°That might be a good idea.¡± The announcer calls for us and declares the union of Azir Zait and Stella Gejene, so I step outside in front of the crowd to bath in cheers. After a few moments the congratulations turn quieter and I set Stella down to lead her to the dance floor where Sola and Xander are waiting. It''s a tradition that the couple opens the ball with a dance. After we start dancing the others join in and finally the feeling of being the centre of attention fades away. I start grinning and Stella whispers into my ear. ¡°What''s so funny?¡± ¡°Ah, nothing. I just imagined you taking part in this event while being pregnant. We would cast gravitation magic on you and then you could simply fl...mmm?¡± Float around on a leash while I am holding you? Stella wrapped her tail around my mouth and is now smiling menacingly. ¡°If you say another word tonight I''ll throw you out of the house and we are done with each other. I may even sell you to Sola. There have been cases of women taking two men if one of them couldn''t produce acceptable heirs.¡± I nod. I don''t want to have my eyes gouged out. . 77. ~Good vs. Evil.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°What you think of as good is sometimes bad and what you think of as bad may be good.¡± -Old wisdom. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** I am still dancing with Stella when I notice a strange person opening the main door to the ballroom. He speaks to one of the guards who stiffens and points at us. The newcomer is violating the dress code by covering himself with a rugged old cloak and even his face is hidden. Why isn''t the guard throwing him out? Is he someone important? The beggar ignores the guard and heads directly towards me and Stella. We stop dancing to face the approaching person who is ignoring the troubled voices of the people around him. ¡°Are you Azir?¡± The person asks with a deep voice. I still can''t recognize his face. ¡°Ye-¡± My answer isn''t even finished as a fiery sword flashes forward and embeds itself in my chest. I feel my mana being sucked out of me and the beggar retrieves his sword while the people around us start screaming. Stella jumps forward with a scream, but the beggar waves his hand at her and she is thrown backwards like a toy and impacts the wall ten metres away. Dropping to my knees I spurt blood and look up into the man''s eyes. They shimmer in several different colours as he looks down on me. Then he turns away to face the approaching guards, but they can''t stop him as he cuts a path for himself towards Helen. ¡°Stay put! And to your knees! Honour the blood oath to your ancestor!¡± He calls out and Helen, who was dragged away by Lucas, loses all her strength, kneeling down. I drop to the ground and try to gather my mana, but there is nothing. That''s strange. I''ve been healed from the manatite poison for a month now. Ah, I have no time to gather mana. Everything is turning dark. ¡°Azir!¡± Suddenly Valeria is at my side and presses her hand onto my chest. ¡°H... Heal!¡± Mana flows into me and I grab her hand, reaching for the small clock in my pocket. ¡°Sorry. Val... don''t... resist.¡± I forcefully tap into her mana pool and take control of it. Then I pour all of Valeria''s mana into the spell, emptying her completely. Her lifeless body drops onto me as the clock in my hand reconfigures the raw power into a huge, spinning magical circle. The beggar turns around and raises his hand. ¡°No!¡± The magical formation spins at an incredible speed under us, but slows down rapidly until it comes to a creeping halt. Time freezes all around me and everything is silent. For a moment the universe is in perfect equilibrium. I keep my hand firmly shut around the clock and pat Valeria''s head. ¡°Don''t worry. You''ll be back.¡± The circle starts spinning again, this time counter clockwise and with it time is flowing backwards. The world around me rewinds itself to a previous state and I with it. Only the clock stays in my hand. Valeria opens her eyes and retreats backwards from me. The beggar and Stella return to their previous positions. His sword enters me once again, returning my mana. Then it retreats, closing the wound. The beggar walks backwards away from us and out of the ballroom. A few moments later I find myself dancing with Stella. ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Stella asks while we are dancing. I purse my lips. ¡°If you call your ancestor killing me and crashing the party a problem, then yes.¡± ¡°Ha?¡± She looks at me dumbfounded. Smiling, I shrug my shoulder. ¡°Sorry, could you excuse me for a moment? I have to kill someone in a very ugly manner, then we can continue to dance.¡± I let go of her and bow. Without waiting for an answer I head towards the entrance of the ballroom where Jeremiah will appear. Gathering mana to prepare myself for the encounter I stop there and wait, watching the main door, while I count the seconds. One moment before the door to the ballroom opens I raise my hand sent a fireball at the door, blasting it apart to reveal... nothing? The other guests look at me, shocked, but I ignore them and scratch my cheek. Did I get the time wrong? No. I am sure that the clock worked correctly, it just has a problem with the generation of waste-heat. This was a gamble since I didn''t test the clock properly, but it works. I activate my mana sight and search for something strange. Raising the small clock I take a look at it. ¡°So much time and there is still not enough of it.¡± ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Traveller*** I''ll do this fast. Returning the place to its natural order should be a piece of cake. This building is reminding me too much of the old times. I''ll only be here for as long as necessary. The guards around this place aren''t the problem, their minds can be easily swayed. The only thing that has to be done is killing this Azir. According to the people whom I talked to he is the force behind Nict''s progress. Afterwards I''ll instruct the current caretaker of my country to stop her ambitions and I am done. It was a big mistake to take a two hundred year long leave. Resting for a while was necessary and the north was the perfect place for that. I place my hand on the door to the ballroom and stop. Images of my death flash through my mind and all my senses howl that something isn''t right. Retreating my hand from the door I step backwards. My prophetic ability isn''t without fail, but it kept me alive until today. I turn left, but a shiver runs down my spine. Next I attempt to walk back the way I came, but an image of my twisted and broken body appears there. In the end I take the corridor to the right. What''s wrong with this place? Normally it''s enough to change a single decision in order influence the future and avoid the bad end. The corridor leads around the ballroom and I turn my attention to the row of windows to my right. Again I am repelled by a horrible scene in my mind and continue on my way instead. Almost at the end of the corridor I am intercepted by a young man in the official robes of the royal family. ¡°Look. That''s your fault.¡± He is looking at me accusingly and holds up a piece of metal on a chain. It''s a clock and it seems to be almost at the point of melting. The metal is glowing like it came right out of the furnace and the artefact is a little deformed. ¡°Now it''s useless. Do you have any idea how long it''ll take me to repair it?¡± My forehead develops several wrinkles and I take a closer look at the man''s face. ¡°Who are you, Boy?¡± He grins and bows. ¡°Azir.¡± I hesitate for a moment, but my foresight doesn''t warn me off this time. Encouraged by the good sign I draw my sword and engage. The Emperor''s judgement is a fine and powerful weapon. The thin, silver blade flows perfectly through the air and the golden handle may not be decorated with jewellery, but the glowing runes make up for that. It imitates the powers of an Anja and can ignite mana at will. If wielded by an Anja its a perfect addition to their ability of manipulating fire. But since it is so powerful at manipulating mana, the weapon is very useful to anyone else too. Just the mere contact with the opponent''s skin is enough to deprive them of their mana reserves. The weapon simply takes whatever it can get to store it for later use. The Emperor''s Judgement is a very mana hungry device, which has to be wielded with great care. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. I point the tip of the blade dead centre at the man, but a dagger appears in his hand from seemingly nowhere. It''s the Emperor''s Wish! My son''s weapon. Our weapons come in contact and sparks fly, but instead of retreating, Azir steps closer and grabs my cloak. ¡°Revered ancestor, please be so kind and retire from your position.¡± This fool! To think that a youngling like him could do anything to someone like me! But he made a mistake by taking me head on! From this position I just have to grab his upper arm and apply a small curse while evading the dagger. As long as the dagger is in contact with my sword the two weapons cancel each other out. I reach for Azir, but suddenly he is gone!? Something hits my knee and I realize that he is under me. Trying to get away I start casting a spell and open my senses, something tugs at my magical formation and it falls apart like a house of cards. Azir hurls his elbow with magical enforced muscles into my belly and I am being lifted from my feet. The world starts spinning and I cast a defence spell just in time to shield myself from the impact. Dust and debris fills my vision as I tumble through the air. Then I touch the ground and slither several feet. Azir sent me flying right through the corridor''s wall and into the ballroom. Frightened people retreat from me as I get to my feet and orient myself. Azir is following me calmly with the annealing clock in his left hand. The dagger disappeared again. I frown and decide to make this quick. This person can''t be underestimated. Raising my hand I cast a vortex ray and combine it with a dimensional shifting spell. All I have to do is to variate the resonance of the shift and my spell is able to penetrate any defence. Azir casually raises his hand to intercept my spell with his palm. My spell sheers off upwards and cuts a harmless rift into the ceiling. In the meantime he kept walking and smiles at me without a care in the world. No... that''s not without care. That''s the expression of someone who found something disturbing in his house and wants to get rid of it! I raise both hands to conjure my strongest spell. It doesn''t matter if I have to take down the entire palace! But my magic doesn''t form! I try to force it into existence, but only a moment before I am done the magical circle falls apart. It''s him! He is a Zait and he destroys my magical formation by deforming the parts which aren''t under my conscious control! How? He would have to know me very well, know my habits in spell casting exactly. This means that I have only small spells and raw power available to my arsenal. Pointing my palm at him I release my mana in a concentrated burst! The shockwave parts in front of Azir and he keeps coming. This is so surreal! He isn''t even casting magic and all my spells get countered or deflected. I take hold of my sword with both hands and step forward to meet him. The dagger is probably still in his hand, it''s just invisible like before. Swing, parry, feint. We exchange a few blows until we lock our weapons with each other. I see my chance and change the angle of my sword. It''s much longer than his dagger. All I need to do is to touch him! He moves a moment before my muscles follow my commands. My blade cuts empty air and Azir stands within my defence. The dagger embeds itself in my left thigh and my legs are swept away from under my feet. I topple forward while the back of my head is being grabbed. My head is pushed and I see the dance floor coming closer at an alarming speed! Darkness... Something slides into my shoulder and wakes me up! I raise my head from the dent in the dance floor and scream, spurting blood and teeth. My jaw seems to be broken, everything hurts. From the corner of my eye I see the Emperor''s Judgement nailing my shoulder to the floor. The blade is sucking the mana out of me to fuel itself for future use! ¡°Have to stop it.¡± I try to push myself up, but something... or someone kneels on my back! The blistering clock enters my vision. With the chain it looks like an amulet, but that doesn''t concern me right now. Whoever is on top of me placed the hot metal directly under my head and is pressing me down towards it. As I have no mana this is a fight of my muscles alone. ¡°Why? How?¡± ¡°Because you crashed my wedding party, you rat! It took me a while to find out that I have to hide my killing intent! Then I had to learn how to fight you without killing dozens of innocents. My girl wouldn''t stop bickering if she ever learned that I could''ve done this better!¡± Azir''s voice hisses angrily into my ear and he doubles his efforts in pressing me down, but the heat of the clock alone repels me. Small flames and smoke rise from the wooden ground as it gets charred. ¡°I don''t understand! What are you talking about!?¡± ¡°Don''t you see it!?¡± The voice hisses at my ear. Then I realize the strong lingering effects of magic within the clock. The strong heat and the emitted light masked it, but now it has cooled enough to see. The spell which caught me is strongly imprinted into the artefact. I had lost the moment I failed to kill him instantly. It''s efficient. It''s clean. The numbers and the magic, it all adds up! I understand it now! ¡°It is beautiful!¡± ¡°You say that every... damn... time!¡± My burning muscles give in and my forehead is pressed against the clock. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Stella*** I slowly approach Azir who is sitting on top of the strange man. The other family members are right behind me. Azir seems to be furious for some reason and I don''t get what''s going on. I have never seen such an angry expression on his face and it even seems like he is enjoying hurting that poor beggar. Everyone said that I should go and talk with him since he is my husband. When I looked to Valda for help, she folded her arms in front of her chest and shook her head. She looked at me with an unwavering expression and said, ¡°As of today I refuse any responsibility for him. The ownership was transferred to you, so learn to keep him under control.¡± So I have to deal with this situation. A few moments ago he excused himself and then this beggar came flying through the wall with Azir following him. The beggar seems to be a strong mage since everyone could feel his power, but somehow Azir intercepted all his spells, no matter what he did. ¡°Azir? Love?¡± Azir looks up and his expression turns into a forced smile. ¡°Stella! It''s a nice party, isn''t it? Please give me just a few more moments. I am busy here.¡± The person under Azir is screaming like a child. All his limbs flail in random directions and smoke is rising from his forehead, where he is being pressed onto the hot metal. Azir doesn''t let go, showing no mercy. I fight the urge to retch as the smell of burnt flesh reaches my nose. ¡°Love? Who is that?¡± I point at the crying person under him. Azir licks over his lips, thinking of an answer. ¡°Oh, Sugar. That''s nobody important.¡± He shakes his head and fights to keep the man down. ¡°Just Jeremiah Draco, the son of the first Emperor. I guess you could call him your ancestor. The guy whom they are calling the Saviour?¡± Then Azir grins. ¡°Ha! What a joke! Just continue with the party. I have everything under control.¡± . 78. ~Ignorance.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°Our ancestors were wild and ferocious creatures. On their wings they dominated the skies and preyed on lesser beings with their magic. It was a time of hunters and prey.¡± -Old research article. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Stella*** ¡°How does this thing even work?¡± Azir stabs the sword into the thigh of the bound and gagged beggar. He watches the squirming beggar with interest and pulls the sword out, carefully avoiding to sully himself with blood. Then he casts a healing spell on the beggar. The poor guy had all his mana taken and his magic sealed after Azir caught him. Because of the incident we called off the party and decided to deal with the issue at hand. It is hard to understand what''s going on, but judging from Azir''s behaviour the whole situation is very serious. He insisted on performing a magical ritual on Helen to release her from her blood oath to the Saviour. At first she didn''t agree, but he didn''t give in until she allowed it. The ritual didn''t take long and Helen said that she doesn''t feel any different from before. It was still hard for him to persuade her to release herself from a magical promise which was upheld for generations. It looks like the Saviour isn''t as heroic as we all thought. According to Azir following explanations the Saviour visited the palace in order to kill a lot of people and hinder Nict''s technological development. We threw him into the palace''s jail and took precautions to seal his powers. The last thing we want is the emperor''s son going on a rampage in the capital. Right now we have the whole immediate family gathered here. It doesn''t happen often that we get to see a living legend, although this so called legend seems to have fallen very deep. ¡°Azir? Didn''t you say that you want to interrogate this guy who is supposedly our Saviour? Why are you treating him like this? Why isn''t he on our side?¡± I let my eyes wander over the person in ragged clothing. He is tall and his body is in good shape if you don''t take his recent treatment into account. The man in front of me looks like he is in his forties, but he has to be over a thousand years old. His hair shows the first signs of turning grey and there are a few wrinkles in the corners of his eyes. His pupils are shimmering in several colours, exactly like the legend says. One of his horns broke during the fight, but the remaining one bears some resemblance to my family. The horrible scar on his forehead didn''t disappear despite our healing magic, not even Xander managed to fix it. Now our prisoner has to deal with a permanent scar in the shape of a clock on his forehead. ¡°Actually I just wanted to poke him with the sword. I already interrogated him in a previous iteration. There isn''t much he can tell me which I don''t already know.¡± Azir pokes the man''s thigh and heals him up again. I knit my eyebrows. ¡°Previous iteration? Would you finally explain what''s going on?¡± ¡°Of course. You see, I repaired this.¡± He dangles a piece of molten metal on a chain in front of me. ¡°I used it to turn back the time. It took me fifty seven tries to achieve a perfect ending! The clock got destroyed in the process though. I have to rebuild it completely.¡± Then it dawns on me. ¡°What!?¡± I smack the clock out of his hand. ¡°You promised me that you wouldn''t use such dangerous items any more! Show a little more reason! We are parents!¡± Azir points at the moaning beggar on the cell''s only chair. ¡°But he hurt you and a lot of people, though I don''t really care what happens to strangers. He even hurt your mother. You just don''t remember it. I had to use it.¡± He kicks the guy without holding back. Helen sighs and holds me back. ¡°It''s alright Stella. Don''t be too hard on Azir in this case. Somehow it disturbs me that I had a blood oath to a beggar like this.¡± She gestures at the prisoner. The man stops moaning for a moment and gathers his power to wriggle the gag from his mouth. Then he spews a defiant answer at us. ¡°I am Jeremiah Draco and not a beggar! You should all obey my wishes! I am the one who fought for your freedom. I am the one who is upholding the balance to guarantee freedom. How dare you to oppose me!¡± Azir makes a perfect imitation of the man''s rambling with his hand. ¡°You ran through the world and played all nations and tribes against each other. Whenever someone got powerful enough to form a nation over a certain size you smashed them! Either by causing a rebellion or killing the leaders outright.¡± The man pulls at his shackles. ¡°The reason for oppression is power! Once a certain group gets too powerful it''s bound to restrain the freedom of others. I am ensuring that something like the Empire of Nict can never happen again!¡± Azir points at him. ¡°You were the reason why the Southern Nations were constantly struggling with each other until recently! Of course the violence regularly crossed the borders to other countries. You encouraged the xenophobic behaviour of the nomads and you riled up the northern tribes against Quinn! You are a big part of the problem! On top of it you didn''t even notice your brother taking over the second continent and creating an almost continent wide war on this one.¡± ¡°What are you talking about? I killed Serenzar years ago.¡± He looks shocked. I step in front of the pitiful excuse of an ancestor. ¡°Apparently not! And from what I heard from Azir you even assisted him in his quest to conquer the world.¡± Then I continue telling Jeremiah about everything we deduced so far. He listens to me in silence. In the end I close my lecture with a request for Jeremiah. ¡°So it would be good if you tell us where the other artefacts are hidden and what''s inside the Emperor''s vault.¡± Azir shakes his head. ¡°That''s the only thing I never got out of him. I am starting to believe that he doesn''t know himself.¡± ¡°How is that possible?¡± Helen asks with a doubtful voice. ¡°It can''t be that he forgot it? It has been a long time, but surely someone wouldn''t forget something as important as that!¡± A grin crawls onto Jeremiah''s face. ¡°Memory erasure. I deleted all my memories which could tell me what''s inside the vault, so that I would never fall to the temptation of using it myself. The vault will never be unlocked. That''s the only thing I''ve done right in my life.¡± His expression turns dark and he sets his eyes on Azir. ¡°But your situation is surely grim if you rely on a dark spirit like that to save you.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Azir''s eyes narrow. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You may have taken my magic, but not my eyes! I see what you really are, no normal man could''ve created a spell like this! First the spell with which you scorched the nomads and then time travel! Did you already destroy worlds by using your knowledge so carelessly? From which dimension did a monster like you crawl into our reality? Do they even realize which being they invited into their fam-¡± I kick the beggar without holding back, hitting him perfectly on the temple. Jeremiah tilts over together with his chair and is silent. ¡°Nobody insults my husband, or tries to cause mistrust within the family! I think we''ve heard enough.¡± Lucas nods, scratching his cheek. He kept silent until now, but finally he decides to speak. ¡°Hm. Hmmm... I think we have enough on him to keep him locked up for a long time. Maybe we''ll need him for something later. And he is still the only one who knows his brother. I''ll have a longer talk with him once he wakes up.¡± Valda nods and faces Azir with a stern expression. ¡°Still, what he said is valid. Time travel magic sounds like it''s too powerful to be played around with. According to my knowledge the theory says that unbelievable magical power is necessary for time travel. Are you sure that nothing went wrong Azir?¡± Azir nods. ¡°The spell works on the principle of influencing time by warping space with a gravitational wave-front. Normally what we perceive as time is created by the existence of mass warping the fabric of space and time. My spell focuses all its energy on inverting that effect. Imagine a flat sheet of cloth being deformed by a weight on it. My spell makes that weight bounce for a moment. The surface of space time is inverted, creating a bulb instead of an indention and time flows backwards until the weight falls back to its former position. That means that everything is returned to its former state of existence. Even the mana which is used for the spell flows back where it formerly belonged to. My clock...¡± He bends down and picks up the clock. ¡°The main purpose of this thing is to protect the caster''s mind, so that he can remember what happened after performing the spell. It''s absolutely safe.¡± Valeria gasps and shakes her head. ¡°I''ve also read theories on time travel magic. What you described is the absolute basis of all ideas, called time reversal! But there has to be a mistake to that theory because the spell does nothing when it is performed. There has to be a certain trick to it!¡± Azir tilts his head. ¡°Probably they performed the spell correctly. Casting time reversal alone isn''t that hard, but how do you want to confirm the spell''s functionality if you reverse yourself too? You need a way of protecting your mind from the effect.¡± His sister shakes her head. ¡°But if that''s true, why aren''t we caught in an unending loop of people casting the spell again and again?¡± Her brother shakes his head and grins. ¡°Didn''t you listen? The spell reverses the flow of time until the physical laws return to their former state. It doesn''t send you back to an exact point in time, time runs backwards and then forwards again. That means that some things might change since the law of uncertainty permits a certain amount of change. Your loop might happen if you travel through time, but time reversal reverses the flow of time. Time runs backwards, so it means that some minor things change from iteration to iteration because the caster acted slightly different. That''s why loops have a self repairing nature in this case. They simply happen again and again until enough things have changed to stop them from happening. Don''t confuse time travel with time reversal.¡± Valeria just stares at her brother. Clearly she didn''t get that explanation. I didn''t either, but I am a little too tired to think about things like this. ¡°How about calling it a day. From the looks of it we have Jeremiah safely locked away and according to Azir''s story it would be okay to let him rot here.¡± I grab Azir''s hand and pull him towards the exit, leaving the others behind. ¡°The others can deal with the situation from now on. We still have business between the two of us.¡± ¡°Really!?¡± Azir''s expression lights up and he follows me without further thoughts of torturing the poor beggar. I wonder if Jeremiah''s exceptionally long life left some damage to his mental facilities. On the other hand the erasure of his memories might have caused the change too. It doesn''t take us long to reach our home by using a stepper disc, but Azir is strangely silent and that gives me time to think. What if Jeremiah''s words are true and playing with such powers is really no good? What if Azir is really overdoing it with his egoistical experiments? At home I decide to take a bath to cool my head. Getting your marriage party crashed is a real let down. While I am in the bathtub it dawns on me that we are getting dangerously close to collecting all of the emperor''s artefacts. We already have three of the keys. What might happen if we get all of them? Will Azir be able to restrain his curiosity? Whatever the vault is, it''s dangerous enough that someone like Jeremiah takes measures like erasing his memories to ensure it stays forgotten. Azir is by no means a person who can restrain himself when he finds a new toy. I get out of the bath and put on a bathrobe to search for my husband. Strangely enough my first guess is wrong. I was sure I''d find him in his lab, already studying the sword, but the lab is abandoned. Returning to our living quarters I find the kitchen and the living room also empty. At the end of my wit I notice that the door to the new addition to our house stands open. We added a set of new rooms above the servant''s quarters where Ivy lives. At the moment most of them are empty, but we keep our eggs stored in one of them. Our children can use the rooms later on for themselves. I head to the room with our eggs and take a look inside. Azir is standing there, hugging one of the eggs and pressing his ear to it. I smirk and awake him from his trance. ¡°Listening to the noises is relaxing isn''t it?¡± Azir opens eyes and looks at me with an embarrassed expression. ¡°No. I was just... checking on them. But everything seems to be fine.¡± He pats the egg and closes the incubation chamber, not admitting that he was worried about leaving the eggs alone. No. He surely wouldn''t do anything to put us at risk. Jeremiah only tried to play us against each other. I smirk and play with the belt of my bathrobe. ¡°I thought about doing something pleasing for my husband tonight. Of course only if that stupid beggar didn''t destroy the mood for you.¡± Azir rushes over to my side and takes me in a princess carry. ¡°I can choose? Then prepare for a long night!¡± . 79. ~Arrival.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°The newly issued ZJ-M01-Assault-rifle has reached the state of mass production and will replace the formerly used bows. The weapon is based purely on scientific principles and can be used by every soldier. The weapon is a semi automatic design with twenty shots per reload. It''s geared towards precision, rather than firing speed. I expect it to have a huge impact on the battlefield, which requires us to think up new strategies and tactics. The fact that we have to concentrate our troops around magicians remains. It''s far too dangerous to have regular soldiers operating on their own, even if the range of the new weapon allows new scenarios. What may become possible is to split our battle formations into smaller groups to make it easier for them to pick out certain targets. The new coating for our armour is also in the last stages of development. I was promised that we can convert our old factory lines to the new materials without problems. The biggest problem of our army is its bad mobility. The new armour may change that since it provides the same protection with even less weight. A problem which has to be mentioned is that our troops have to be retrained, which certainly won''t happen over night. There is a lot of work to do.¡± -Weapon report I. Free City States of Nict, Armoury. ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Azir*** I levitate within the mana stream and try to relax. It''s important to concentrate only on the important sensations. My ability is an annoying mixture of taking everything into account, yet ignoring the unimportant stuff. My mind wanders to the recent events. A few months have passed since Jeremiah showed up and got himself arrested. Lucas interrogated him very thoroughly about his misadventures throughout the continent and according to Jeremiah''s testimony the so called Saviour is the main reason why the southern nations are so fragmented. Some could say that the current situation is good for Nict, but at the same time it allows our hidden enemies to influence our neighbours. The southern nations seem to be gathering their forces, but we aren''t ready to go on the offensive. Of course we could launch an attack and cause chaos, but we don''t have the manpower to keep the conquered land. There is no sense in attacking if we can''t ensure law and order afterwards. Dwem is still occupied with the barbarians and our visitors from Quinn have established an embassy in our capital. Unfortunately they aren''t in a better position than us. It looks like we have to enforce peace on the main continent before we can deal with the second one. My drones brought their first images from the second continent. It''s largely green and wild. There are some civilized areas, but they are strangely mono-form. I can''t help myself. The pictures of the recorded cities and fields look like someone drew everything on a map. The placement of fields and buildings didn''t develop naturally. What''s even more disturbing is that the people in those villages act like ants. Everybody moves in straight lines, nobody is standing around to talk and there are no children to be seen anywhere. Whatever is happening on the second continent, it''s creeping me out. The drone operated only a little over two hours until it was found and shot down. Hopefully the second drone version, which is currently being finalized by my research group, will give us a little more information. I let my attention wander and follow the mana stream trough the rock of the cavern. I try to ignore everything and watch only the mana stream. It goes on and on towards west. Squinting my eyes I try to see even further. Almost at the end of my sight I find the mana stream turning into a big bright light and splitting to the left and right. Following the stream to the left I find the fine line slowly vanishing into nothingness. Something is hindering my sight in that direction. I frown and end my training session by slowly bending the energy around me and exiting the mana stream. Outside I find Valda and Quarma waiting for me. Valda smiles as I descend to the ground and land at her side. ¡°You ended your session earlier today. How did it go?¡± I shrug my shoulders. ¡°It was okay I guess. I tried to see as far as possible like you instructed me to. There was a big bright light at the end of the stream and it split up from there. Running roughly back towards us, but not directly.¡± Valda nods with an earnest expression. ¡°That''s good. It means that you''ve almost mastered your ability. You can stop using the stream from now on.¡± I protest. ¡°What? But I still can''t see as much details as you!¡± Quarma pokes her finger into my chest. ¡°That''s not a matter of using the stream. You''ve got an idea on how to see through physical matter by using the stream. From now on you have to train what you see and how deep. The stream doesn''t help with that.¡± Returning my attention to the mana stream I follow its entire length with my eyes until it vanishes in the wall. ¡°Say. The direction of the stream goes roughly towards the capital, right? And the point from where it splits... I could swear that it runs towards Di and Tetra from there.¡± Quarma nods. ¡°You are right. Back in the time when I still had my ability, I saw it very clearly. I think the mana stream converges under the capital and runs towards all six border cities.¡± My head snaps back to her. ¡°But that''s important! What if that''s somehow connected to the Emperor''s vault? There are six cities, six mana streams, six artefacts!¡± Valda nods, but she isn''t as enthusiastic as me. ¡°You are right, but didn''t you notice that the stream goes deeper into the earth towards the capital. It has to be several kilometres under the ground over there.¡± ¡°Do the other clans have access to the mana stream?¡± I ask. Quarma shrugs her shoulders. ¡°If they have, then they are keeping their mouths shut like us. But we came here to instruct you of the dangers you are now facing by using your power.¡± Valda nods. ¡°Yes. Since you are able to manipulate mana at a far bigger scale now, you also have to be more careful. There is an important rule to manipulating mana. Never try to interact with mana which is firmly attached to an object!¡± ¡°But I already interacted with mana that''s inside matter?¡± I don''t understand what she means. Quarma takes over. ¡°Until now you only saw the mana which is freely available and loosely bound. It''s existing in form of energy and warmth, but once you start seeing finer details, you''ll notice that everything consists out of energy. All solid matter is power. Someone might think that our ability is able to influence solid matter too, but it''s beyond us.¡± Valda pulls out a small smooth peddle. ¡°Our ability is all about reshaping energy into another form, or redirecting it.¡± She concentrates on the round pebble and a few pearls of sweat start forming on her forehead by watching it intensely. Slowly the pebble changes from a round shape to a cube, then she hands the pebble to me. ¡°That''s the most I can do without overusing my ability. Of course there are easier and less straining ways to do this, but it was just to show you the limit of our ability.¡± Quarma nods with a sad expression. ¡°Never try something bigger than that. When I fought in the Southern-Borderwar I encountered an enemy on a reconnaissance mission. He was my equal in ability and we fought each other to a standstill. Neither of us could afford to turn our back on the opponent to escape. Finally we had used up all our mana and I had even emptied our surroundings, scraping together the last bit of energy I could find. He had a stronger physique than me and in my desperation I used my power to reshape the ground under his feet into a spike. It worked and I killed him, but by doing so I overused my power. Since then I''ve never felt any mana outside of my body.¡± I grimace and try to think over the implications. ¡°But the Gejene can influence matter like it''s nothing. Isn''t that essentially the same process? Everything that''s to it is that the mana is in form of physical matter.¡± Valda shrugs her shoulders. ¡°Certainly, the Gejene''s ability and ours are related to each other, but for some unknown reason we are positioned on two different ends of the spectrum. We govern over all forms of non-physical energies. The Gejene have influence on matter itself.¡± My grandmother smirks at me. ¡°That''s why Helen is so excited about seeing her grandchildren. Your union with Stella may produce something unexpected since our abilities root in similar principles.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.I gulp. ¡°Something unexpected? I don''t want little brats with unknown superpowers. Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep someone like that under control?¡± Valda pats my back. ¡°I am sure you''ll do fine.¡± After a few more interesting tips on how to start the next stage of my training I head home while I try to think about the implications of my new discovery. Valda and Quarma are underestimating the fact that the mana stream splits under the capital. I''ll start investigating this further right in the morning, but today I am tired. The stairway back to the surface helps me to gather my thoughts and from there on it''s just a short walk to the next stepper plate. It''s evening and at home I find Stella in the kitchen. She is munching on a salad, so I take some for myself and start telling her about my day. It''s the usual story about university and my work at the research facility. And Louise gave the military the new designs for the armour just recently. Upon mentioning Louise Stella suddenly reaches for my face and closes her hand around my chin. Did I say something wrong? Did I make her angry? She summons a light globe and waves it left and right in front of me. ¡°Did your eyes always have this metallic shimmer?¡± She asks in deep thought. ¡°I think so? They were always greyish.¡± I try to continue my meal, but Stella grabs my left horn and pulls me with her. I manage to grab the plate just in time. ¡°Hey! I am still eating!¡± She isn''t impressed and leads me down into her laboratory where I am placed on a broad chaise. Stella reaches for a magnifier to inspect my pupils. ¡°Your eyes are strange. It''s like something metallic is in there.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Now I get a little disturbed too and reach for a mirror to risk a look myself. Indeed my eyes have changed. Instead of the usual plain grey iris which turns dark towards the outside there are some silvery veins added to the mix. It doesn''t look bad, but it''s still frightening if you don''t know what''s going on with your body. ¡°Look.¡± I turn to Stella who is holding a strange device to my face. A flash of light blinds me and I see stars dancing despite having my eyes closed. ¡°Fuck! Warn me!¡± ¡°It doesn''t work if you close your eyes.¡± She rummages through the room and something pokes my neck. ¡°Hey!¡± I reach for the spot where the needle penetrated my skin, but it''s already gone and the rummaging starts again. ¡°Were you exposed to unusual amounts of mana recently?¡± She asks and I try to blink, but there are still after-images in my field of vision. ¡°No? Yes. Maybe? I was forced to use that time spell and the training of my ability makes exposure to large amounts of mana necessary.¡± I answer. ¡°The bad news is that there seems to be a large amount of lingering mana in your body. That has to be the cause for the change of your eyes. The good thing is that there don''t seem to be any other problems.¡± My hand is taken between Stella''s soft fingers and placed on the chaise. Something clicks and I am suddenly unable to move my hand properly. My vision returns and I find myself being chained to the chaise. Stella pushes me on my back and closes a second handcuff around my other hand. ¡°Stel? What are you doing?¡± ¡°Oh, that''s just an artefact to stabilize the flow of mana within the body. You have to stay connected to it for a while.¡± She explains. I feel my power being drained away as I try to get up. ¡°I can do that myself Stella. There is no need for this stupid thing! Where did you even get it?¡± Stella watches me struggling while I am lying on my back. ¡°Don''t worry. Ivy builds much medical equipment for me, she is so helpful. The cuffs work perfectly fine, I already tested them myself. You have to endure just a few hours. There is no need for you to take such a creepy form as the nomad chief from back then.¡± I try to remember the chief''s disfigurements, which were caused by high exposure to mana, and stop struggling. Stella pulls at her lower lip while looking down at me. ¡°But having you in this position is kind of interesting... and you can''t move.¡± ¡°Stella. Your expression is strange...¡± Don''t continue on this path! Look away! Don''t take that route! She starts chuckling manically and leaves the room. I try to free myself, but the handcuffs are good work. Ivy put all her skills into making these items. A sigh escapes me when Stella returns with a pillow and a thick blanket. I already imagined the worst. She places the pillow under my head and lies on top of me, throwing the blanket over us. ¡°Tonight you aren''t allowed to move.¡± She whispers into my ear and slips her hands under my clothes. ¡°Louise told me about a few interesting techniques.¡± She bites into my neck and starts moving her body against mine. This is even worse than torture! Does she intend to let me hang in the air until I scream for it? Maybe my first idea would''ve been kinder? ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Stella*** I stir in my sleep as faint noises reach my ears. My eyes flick open and I raise my head from Azir''s chest. He is still snoring loudly, not caring about his surroundings. The noises repeat and my tired brain finally makes the connection. ¡°Oh my... they are hatching! Azir!¡± Shaking Azir doesn''t wake him up. I get out of our makeshift bed and grab his foot, pulling him with me. There is no time! His body suddenly stops and I am thrown off balance, landing on the ground. Cursing I turn around and open his handcuffs. Then I grab his foot and pull him with me to the upper floor. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** Such a nice dream. Don''t wake me up, Mom. Stella is currently sitting on top of me and moving in a very dirty way. Just five more minutes! But my sister grabs my leg to pull me out of the bed and I land on the cold floor. That''s normal, I''ve perfected the art of immediately falling asleep again. Whoever is dragging me across the floor doesn''t give up. The offender has a lot of strength and my sleep is stirred by my left horn scratching over the ground which transmits really annoying vibrations to my skull. I don''t give up and force myself to fall asleep again. My head bobs up and down while hitting something edgy. Am I being pulled over a staircase? There is no staircase in front of my room. My eyes open and I find myself being pulled around the corner of a corridor. ¡°Stella? What''s happening?¡± I still don''t know what''s going on. Stella''s face appears in front of me. ¡°They are hatching!¡± She grabs my left horn and I feel like a sack of potatoes as she pulls me the last few steps to the room with our eggs. Apparently there is compulsory attendance on this event. Arriving in the room Stella drops me and hurries to the eggs, which have already a few cracks. The room is empty, except for a pedestal in the centre. Both eggs are resting in their incubation chambers on top of it. Stella opens them with brute force and takes out the eggs, the entire action reminds me of a child opening a gift pack. Then she places them on a soft mattress on the pedestal and dances in circles around it, inspecting the eggs. I get up and approach the eggs. Stella gets to my side and hugs me. ¡°We are both here! I am so happy that we can watch them hatch.¡± ¡°I am happy too. Though is it really that special to be present?¡± I watch tiredly as the cracks in our eggs widen. Stella pulls at my cheek. ¡°Of course it''s important! Children are imprinted on the first persons they see after they hatch! That''s why the hatching is a sacred event where no strangers are allowed. You really don''t pay attention to the most important stuff!¡± I raise an eyebrow and watch with suspicion as a shard of the egg with the female inside it falls to the ground, leaving a dark, black hole behind. ¡°You mean like real birds? Will they follow us wherever we go?¡± Stella sighs. ¡°You know... on second thought... please duck now and hide. It''s bad if they get imprinted on you.¡± ¡°Too late.¡± ¡°Aw... we didn''t think up names yet!¡± A glowing, red eye appears in the dark hole of the egg which we designated as female. My grandmother''s words from earlier today pop up in my mind. The menacing eye from within the egg searches the room and then it fixates on us. Was it really the right decision to have children with Stella? . 80. ~Storytime.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°The flying fortress arrived at our eastern borders as scheduled and will continue towards the south. As soon as it arrives at our southern military base it''ll be used as a prototype for a new generation of mobile troop transporters.¡± -Weapon report II. Free City States of Nict, Armoury. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** Two more shards are pushed out from the egg and two little hands appear from the holes, which breaks the tense atmosphere. The red eye from within the egg caused me to imagine the worst, but the two chubby hands protruding left and right from the egg look hilarious. The hands wiggle helplessly through the air and I have to chuckle. Stella steps forward to peel the egg open. It takes her only a few seconds and we finally get to see the chubby face of our baby daughter. ¡°She is so cute!¡± Stella calls out and reaches for a fluffy towel from under the pedestal. I force a smile onto my face and inspect our daughter, who is watching us with big, round eyes. She looks like a normal chubby baby with the age of a few months. Her hair is very similar to mine, but of a lighter blue metallic colour. Mine is dark and if you don''t pay attention you might mistake it for black. Taking a closer look I notice that her eyes aren''t really red, probably it was just a reflection by the room''s light. Her eyes have my silvery, grey tone on the inside and shift into Stella''s golden tone towards the rim. While Stella is occupied with cleaning our daughter I step closer to the second egg which has already a big hole inside it. Interested in how my son turned out, I carefully peel the eggshell apart. It feels like unpacking a rather strange present. What greets me is a boy with silver hair which is more on the bluish end of the spectrum. His eyes are the perfect opposite of his sister''s with the golden ring inside and the more greyish, silvery part on the outside. Having a closer look I notice that their eyes shift their colour just a bit, depending on how light falls onto them. ¡°Hopefully their eyes don''t mean that they are like the Emperor.¡± I start cleaning him with another big towel while he is surveying the room with great interest. Both of them have small stubby horns on their foreheads, which also reminds me of Valeria when she was smaller. ¡°Hahaha. I was right. My instincts didn''t fail me.¡± Stella laughs and points a finger at me. ¡°You should see your face. It looks like the boy leans a little more to my line of the family, while the girl takes after you.¡± I purse my lips. ¡°Then I guess your only hope is that she won''t look like me when she is bigger.¡± Stella turns serious again and takes the girl up in her arms. ¡°Anyway. Not having names prepared is a real blunder. What should we do?¡± My eyes wander between the boy and the girl. ¡°She looks like her name is Sariel and the boy is... Zadkiel.¡± I take the boy in my arms, but he stretches his hands for Stella who tilts her head in thought. ¡°Those are strange names, but somehow I like them. They are mysterious!¡± The girl in Stella''s arms mirrors Zadkiel''s action and I draw the only conclusion which comes to my mind. ¡°Looks like they want to be together. The names are from my old world by the way.¡± Stella sighs and places Sariel in my arm and takes Zadkiel away from me. The girl nestles in my armpit and lets out a few satisfied noises. ¡°No! That can''t be! I want the boy!¡± I point at Zadkiel who buries his face in Stella''s chest. Stella shakes her head. ¡°That''s not our decision. Come. We should get them some clothes and I have to feed the both of them.¡± Her tail slides around Sariel and takes her out of my arms, which is obviously not well received by her, but she doesn''t cry and her eyes stay glued to me. I wonder what will happen if I leave her field of vision? Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.Stella heads out of the room, carrying both babies with her. My eyes start closing as I feel the tiredness overwhelming me again, so I follow her to help in taking care of the kids. After Stella fed them thoroughly we took care of proper clothes and took them to our room, which made me aware of another problem. ¡°We are fine parents! First we forget to find a name beforehand and now we don''t even have a small bed for them.¡± Stella shrugs her shoulders. ¡°It''s fine. This night they can sleep with us.¡± I grumble. ¡°As long as it doesn''t turn into a habit.¡± So we settle down. I lie down on my back with Stella hugging me from the left side as she always does. She has made a habit out of using me as a body pillow. The boy is placed on my chest as it is the closest spot to Stella and the girl to my right between my body and my arm. I sigh and finally get to close my eyes to sleep. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Twins*** But unknown to the parents the twins stay awake for a while longer, crawling through the bed and studying room and bed with great interest. They file away the noises of their parents as something to be studied later on and try to understand the world which belongs to them from now on. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Stella*** ¡°They are so cute! Oh, I was right to allow Azir as your husband.¡± Helen rubs both of my kids to her cheeks, holding them in her arms with an iron grip. The twins aren''t exactly happy with the treatment, but my mother simply ignores their attempts to escape. ¡°Where is Azir by the way?¡± Valda asks and surveys the living room with great care, like expecting to find her son hidden somewhere. ¡°He has to attend to his tutoring lessons if he wants to get a title.¡± I smirk. ¡°He didn''t manage to persuade all professors to simply let him take the last tests of their subjects.¡± Helen nods. ¡°That reminds me, isn''t it overdue to finally tell me where Azir''s abnormal amount of knowledge comes from?¡± She pulls the twins tighter to her chest. ¡°I think since these two are now proof of the bond between our clans, I have a right to know too.¡± Valda''s eyes wander to me. ¡°So you really kept your mouth shut for all this time? I didn''t expect that.¡± My mother''s expression turns sharp and her eyes focus on me. ¡°So you knew after all. Do you mind speaking now, dear daughter?¡± ¡°Oooh... I think... I kind of forgot something in the kitchen.¡± I get up and attempt to leave, but suddenly a tentacle made out of mana wraps around my ankle and I fall flat on my belly. Looking up I find Valda staring down at me and shaking her head. ¡°Daughter in law. I won''t be the one who explains the situation to Helen.¡± Damn! I get to my knees and start telling Helen the whole story. My mother''s eyes widen several times while I speak, but after a long monologue I finally end my explanations about the origins of Azir''s personality. I emphasize the point that he isn''t some kind of alien from another dimension. He simply has memories of his past life, that''s all. At the end of my story Valda claps her hands to applause me. ¡°You surely told her the sugarcoated version. I couldn''t have done better.¡± Helen massages her forehead. ¡°If Stella hides something as grave as this from me, then there is no telling what other secrets she might have.¡± She turns her attention to the twins, hugging them even tighter. ¡°I simply have to do everything better with my grandchildren.¡± I wisely keep my mouth shut about the true reasons of why I persuaded my mother to outlaw experiments on creating heavy elements with our ability. She knows that a terrible weapon could be created by using those elements, but she doesn''t know that I had a part in creating the first one of its kind. . 81. ~Teachings.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°The greyer is a big black bird. They are scavengers and their big claws and beak are perfectly shaped for the job of opening the dry skin of rotten carcass. Their ability to eat anything allowed them to spread over the whole continent. They are the preferred prey of wild nightmares which developed excellent jumping abilities in order to catch them as soon as they come close to the ground. But one shouldn''t underestimate them. If they are starving they gather in swarms. Once their numbers are big enough they attack and kill anything that''s unfortunate enough to cross their path.¡± -Biology report I. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** ¡°And that''s a -J-, don''t confuse it with the -I-.¡± I write the letters onto the chalkboard while two pairs of eyes are following my actions with great attention. The twins are under my care today since Stella had to attend to her lessons. Having nothing better to do I decided to teach them from early on like I did with Valeria. If they see me as a person of guidance, being a father should be much easier. Three weeks have passed since their birth and their training is making progress. It''s very similar to drilling Ghost. Educating your kids is very important. If they don''t get taught and learn to value culture and order it''s the downfall of civilisation as we know it. I don''t want to be told that I am a failure as a parent. Sometimes parents call their offspring failures and in a certain sense they are. Their parents failed at giving them a proper perspective in life. It''s not the kids'' failure, but the one of their parents''. I''ll make my children proper members of society who can stand proudly in front of someone and proclaim that they belong to my family. Stella interrupts my train of thought by entering the room and her forehead develops an amazing amount of wrinkles upon finding me in front of the chalkboard with my students on the floor in front of me. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Teaching them the alphabet obviously?¡± I answer and gesture at Sariel and Zadkiel on their cushion. ¡°They are too young. You don''t seriously believe that they get what you are telling them? All you are doing is entertaining them. They are paying attention to you because you are the only moving object in the room.¡± Stella sighs and comes closer, taking the chalk away from me. ¡°That may be true, but even if they don''t fully understand what I tell them it has an effect. My training is aiming on making it easier for them later on.¡± I reach for the small pieces of chocolate in my pocket and raise my finger to draw the attention of the twins. ¡°Who am I?¡± ¡°Pa!¡± Sariel calls out. I reward her by throwing a piece of chocolate into her waiting mouth. ¡°Pa!¡± Zadkiel imitates her action and I reward him too. I fold my arms in front of my chest and nod satisfied, looking at Stella''s pale face. My wife breathes out, long and slowly, then a tear forms in the corner of her left eye. ¡°They said Papa. I was looking forward to their first word being Mama!¡± ¡°Oh, wait! I taught them that too.¡± Again I gesture for the twin''s attention. ¡°Say Ma-Ma.¡± ¡°Ma!¡± ¡°Ma!¡± I reward them properly and Stella bends down to hug the both of them. ¡°They are so smart, Azir! I think only the children of the Siorda can beat them. We are surely blessed with talented children.¡± ¡°What? The Siorda are developing faster? I have to tighten my training schedule for them!¡± It can''t be! Stella sighs and puts the chalk onto the chalkboard''s holder strip. ¡°What I originally wanted to talk about is the mana net. Helen is very disturbed by the way the whole thing is developing and wanted to ask if there is a way to... regulate it.¡± ¡°Of course there is, what''s her exact problem?¡± I ask. ¡°I took a look at it with Louise and Helen is right when she says that the flow of information is much too fast now. Many of the old channels became obsolete since the whole thing started. For example it''s more efficient for the military to communicate over the mana net than over the old messaging system.¡± She tilts her head. ¡°Karsen and Talia are also concerned regarding the lack of discipline in some cases. That means making data with national importance public.¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. I frown. ¡°Aren''t there already laws against espionage? Lock those people up, or give them whatever punishment is required for their actions. You can hardly blame the medium through which the message is delivered.¡± Stella nods. ¡°It''s as you say, but the mana net is making it too easy for them to vanish within the crowd. They simply plant the info and hide themselves under a mountain of users.¡± They are already that far with their tricks? ¡°That shouldn''t be a problem. I''ll give Helen and Lucas a few of my administrative rights.¡± I certainly won''t hunt down the bad elements of our society. There are more important things to do. ¡°Administrative rights?¡± Stella asks baffled. She is already very well versed in using the net and can deduce what I mean by that. ¡°There are administrative rights for the mana net?¡± I shrug my shoulders. ¡°Of course there are. Do you think I simply give away a great invention like that for free? I could shut down the whole thing with a thought if I want to. The net is my way of controlling and spreading information, I can backtrack every user once he is connected. Don''t worry, the controls are very easy to handle. Helen will be satisfied.¡± I connect to the mana net and give Helen and Lucas the necessary rights. Stella plays with her fingers while thinking about what I said. ¡°I see a lot of other problems with the situation. Are you sure that this whole thing can''t backfire on us? There are moral issues about spying on other people.¡± Moral issues about gathering information? ¡°Don''t worry. Oh, by the way... did you know that your father has a very dirty mind?¡± Stella''s eyes widen. ¡°You didn''t!¡± ¡°I did. He barged in on us with Helen several times now. The both of them are acting like this house belongs to them.¡± ¡°Actually it does?¡± ¡°That doesn''t change the fact that we are the ones who are living here. Returning to my point, I wanted to find at least some dirt on their shoes.¡± Taking a breath, I gather my thoughts. ¡°I expected that Helen is the perverted one, but your father is spending way more time visiting dubious sites. His total time on the mana net accounts to two hours a day. Half of it is spent on a site which is offered by a certain shop in the red light district of the capital.¡± Stella''s head turns bright red. ¡°Won''t he know that you know, once you make the rights available to him?¡± Nodding my head a grin creeps onto my face. ¡°Oh, he is smart. He will find out. And I am sure that Helen will find out too. She is a control freak and I doubt that she won''t use the chance to track the movements of her husband.¡± ¡°You can''t! What if they start fighting with each other!¡± Stella calls out. I shake my head. ¡°Don''t worry. Your father isn''t looking up what you think he does. What he is interested in aren''t the companions, his interest is focused on the toys and tools.¡± ¡°Tools?¡± Stella''s eyes widen. ¡°Yes, so far he bought ropes, whips, handcuffs, a very tight leather outfit, two sets of differently sized marbles, chains, oil and a very thin lingerie, matching Helen''s three sizes.¡± I count the different items. ¡°And he visited the page with the dildos eleven times, but so far he hadn''t the courage to buy one of them. Maybe he is still thinking about the size? I am hoping to get a little more on him.¡± Stella is just standing there in utter disbelief, her mouth wide open. ¡°I get the handcuffs, but a whip!? Marbles?¡± ¡°It''s okay my love. Your mind is too innocent, but that makes you cute. Don''t take the wrong path like your parents. And don''t talk with Louise about this, she would surely dirty your mind.¡± Stella turns away from me and takes Zadkiel up from the floor. ¡°I don''t want to hear any more of this! Give me back my illusion of having proper parents!¡± She opens her robe to feed Zadkiel, pressing him to her chest. I steal a glance and scratch my cheek. ¡°Did you make them bigger?¡± That was obviously not the correct question since Stella snorts and leaves the room with big purposeful steps. Something tugs at my clothes and I remember about Sariel. She crawled to me since Stella left her behind. I nod vehemently, looking down at her. ¡°Did you see that? Your mother can''t even take a simple question.¡± Sariel looks up to me with begging eyes and tugs once more on my trousers. ¡°She is a bad mother, isn''t she? Feeding Zadkiel and forgetting about you.¡± Sariel''s eyes wander to my chest. ¡°No! I don''t have any milk!¡± You made a fatal mistake when you chose me as a provider. I lack the necessary facilities. Her gaze turns upwards to make eye-contact with me and her thumb wanders into her mouth, looking even more heartbreaking. I bend down and pick her up. ¡°We''ll follow your mother and plug you up to her second tit, she has two after all.¡± . 82. ~Developments.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°While the Eastern Plains are mainly dominated by grassland and small hills, Nict is a country of wild and old forests, which only give way to the big fields of farmers and meadows for their cattle. The region has more than enough water since the mountains to the north are the origin of many big rivers. Broad and comfortable roads are connecting the villages with the border cities. It''s a necessity to keep those roads in a very good state. No sane civilian would get the idea to cross the almost impassable forests. Only experienced hunters and lumberjacks enter the dark backwoods, which reclaim cultivated land within months if nobody stops the wild vegetation from overgrowing everything. But the reason for the peasants'' fears are not the dark backwoods, nor the thick underwood. The thing that''s stopping the average person from entering the forests is a certain part of the lively vegetation. You can find the slasher vine almost everywhere in the entirety of Nict. It''s an insignificant looking plant and most unfortunate victims never know what killed them. The people who are working in the forests developed a keen eye to recognize the thin vines which reach from tree to tree. In many cases just a few centimetres above the ground and hidden by high grass. The slasher vine is completely harmless during its growth period, reaching from tree to tree, feeding from the nutrients of its host plants. It gets only dangerous once the slasher vine reaches the end of its life and develops little capsules with seeds along its vines. Once it dies, the slasher vine starts drying up, shrinking in the process. The vines tense and shorten while they get almost as strong as steel wire. Once these thin wires are touched even lightly, they snap, slashing at the unfortunate victim. The force is big enough to seriously wound or maim the victim. Many found themselves without legs after taking a stroll in the forest. The lucky ones get decapitated. The seed-pockets burst open and deliver their poisonous seeds into the victim¡¯s wound, paralysing it to use it as fertilizer for the new, fast growing vines. That''s the reason why all animals which live in the forests are either very resistant, armoured beings like the fire lizard. Or smart, fast and nimble creatures like the parda, the wild ancestor of the warcat.¡± -Biology report II. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** ¡°We haven''t seen each other in a long time.¡± Clara Veit folds the fingers of her hands on top of her office table, taking a praying position. She is the director of the university and the personification of an old hag. Her hair is white and there are more wrinkles on her skin than I can count. The horns are only sad stumps on her forehead, reminders of former glory. She is a very skinny, almost starving-looking grandma. I smile and nod. ¡°Indeed. A long time! Though I don''t know why I am here?¡± A teacher informed me earlier that the director requested to see me. Since I was already on my way home I decided to stop by in the director''s office. She nods. ¡°I admit that I almost forgot about the student who bound his fellow classmates naked onto a statue.¡± I draw in a deep breath. ¡°That''s a false accusation! There were never any witnesses.¡± She squints her eyes. ¡°Yeah... I am still wondering what you did to them to make them stay silent until today. Though that''s not the reason why I called for you.¡± ¡°So what''s the problem then?¡± I ask. ¡°I haven''t much time. I am a busy person.¡± Clara points at Sariel, who is sitting on my lap. ¡°That''s the reason!¡± Her finger wanders to Zadkiel, who has a comfortable spot on my shoulders. ¡°And that! You can''t bring children to your tutoring lessons!¡± The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.I tilt my head in confusion. ¡°Did anyone complain?¡± Strange, I made sure that nobody would say anything about my children. ¡°I had to take them with me since Stella has laboratories and there was nobody available to look after them.¡± The director shakes her head. ¡°Nobody complained, but the teachers saw it and I don''t allow it!¡± She shakes her finger at us and the twins follow her movements synchronously with their eyes. ¡°Fine. It won''t happen again. Next time I''ll give the children of the ~second princess~ to a random caretaker.¡± I simply have to execute more control over the campus. It seems like a few persons still don''t realise that interfering with me can only end badly for them! Clara crosses her arms in front of her chest. ¡°See to it. There won''t be another warning.¡± I get up and leave through the office door in a hurry. What a waste of time. Upon exiting through the door I hear a strange hollow sound from above my shoulders and remember that Zadkiel is riding me! Hurriedly I place Sariel on the floor. She is very displeased and her small tail displays that by moving around wildly. Taking Zadkiel from my shoulders I find a big bump developing on his forehead. He didn''t let out a single sound, but there are tears in his eyes and his chin is twitching, a sign that the great crying will start any moment now. ¡°Don''t cry, you are a strong one.¡± I apply a healing spell while Sariel is looking at us with an expression that can mean only one thing. What can I say? She is right. Zadkiel could have taken care of his head. I take Sariel under my left arm and grab Zadkiel on his clothes. ¡°I think we should take a short-cut.¡± So I concentrate and teleport all of us directly into our living room at home. It was a long day and I am tired. Upon reappearing in my house I am greeted by Stella and Ivy who are having their evening meal. ¡°Ah! You are back! That''s good. Zadkiel needs his liver!¡± She stands up and approaches me, but her attempt at taking Zadkiel away from me doesn''t go too well. I never imagined that a baby''s body can get that strong, but he is burying his fingers with all his might in my clothes and starts crying. Stella pulls even stronger. ¡°Let go, Zadkiel. Your liver is waiting. What''s wrong with you? Just a month ago you didn''t stick to your father like that.¡± I sigh. ¡°I can understand him. Every child who is fed stuff like that is going to hate the one who feeds him.¡± Finally Zadkiel''s fingers tire and Stella manages to get him off of me. I feel for you boy, but it''s for your own good. ¡°It seems like the saying that love goes through the belly has some merit when it comes to children.¡± Ivy chuckles and continues eating her bread with cheese. I deliberately ignore Zadkiel''s predicament and start stuffing myself with the snacks on the table. ¡°When I was small I thought that my mother was trying to poison me.¡± Stella pulls a grimace and stops her attempts at feeding Zadkiel with a spoon. ¡°This isn''t going to change the fact that he needs to eat his share of liver.¡± A syringe appears from under her clothes and she starts filling it with the mashed liver. It''s not a normal one, but the big version for cooking. I continue eating while I am observing the situation. ¡°Do you really think this will work?¡± She shrugs her shoulders. ¡°Zadkiel isn''t swallowing the stuff on his own, so I have to take drastic measures.¡± The syringe is closed again and Zadkiel''s eyes turn big and round as it is forced into his mouth. His cheeks bulge outwards like a hamster''s and at least something goes down his throat. Our happy time is interrupted by a message window popping up in my field of vision. It''s from Helen and flagged important. Obviously Stella got it too, because she stops forcing the ugly white mass down Zadkiel''s throat. I open the message and start reading.
¡°The south started moving their forces. We expect them to attack our three southern border cities within the week...¡±
. 83. ~More than Enough.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°The fire lizard is a three meter long, green lizard which lives in Nict''s forests. The scales on its hide are the most sturdy natural material we know of. In earlier days they were often used as arrowheads or as small knives. The fire lizard is herbivorous and likes to eat the charcoal and ash of plants. Normally the fire lizard lies dormant and sleeps. It''s a very docile animal which doesn''t bother other beings if not deliberately disturbed. Even if it decides to move, it does so in a slow manner, fully relying on its tough skin and it''s ability to breathe fire. The fire lizard has two organs in its mouth which create a set of chemicals. Through mixing them with it''s spit, they ignite upon contact with the air. Strong muscles in it''s mouth allow it to spray a breath of fire to a range of up to ten metres. The fire lizard is the only animal which is keeping Nict''s rampant flora in check by starting big forest fires at regular intervals. Those fires keep it supplied with its main source of nourishment, charcoal.¡± -Biology report III. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** I get to my feet and point at Ivy. ¡°Take care of the kids!¡± Ivy''s eyes wander to the twins, who return her sceptical gaze with intense glares. ¡°Are you sure that I-¡± ¡°You''ll do fine. Didn''t you say that you want to try it for yourself? Well, someone who lays eggs also has to take the responsibility for it afterwards, so see this as a free trial. You always vanish when you should do your job as a baby sitter.¡± I rebuke her. ¡°Taking care of children isn''t in my job description.¡± She answers without bashing an eyelid. ¡°You are our servant and a servant, per definition, serves. Whatever I need help with, you help.¡± I turn and follow Stella to the stepper disc, leaving Ivy with the kids. A minute later I am with Stella in Helen''s office. The ruler of Nict looks like she had a bad day and her normally neatly arranged dress looks like she just got out of her bed. She gestures for us to take the seats in front of her desk. ¡°Like you heard, the South is amassing their troops. They crossed our borders and are marching towards Tri, Tetra and Penta. They are moving faster than we thought, considering that we expected them to need at least four months to mobilize.¡± She sighs and throws a stack of documents into her waste bin. ¡°So much for our plans. They have mobilized at least five hundred thousand warriors for each of our cities. It''s hard to imagine how they managed to achieve that. They would have to enlist everyone of suitable age to achieve such numbers. I want to ask you what you think of the situation and if you can help somehow.¡± She sets her eyes on me. I shrug my shoulders. ¡°The first thing is that we can start bombarding their supply lines with our satellites. The nature of Nict is harsh and no matter how devoted their army is, troops without supplies don''t go far. The second point is that we can send our drones to harass them and maybe start moving more troops to the cities in question? Is my fortress anywhere close to the action? It should be able to deal with one of the armies. Unfortunately it''s too slow to intercept all of them.¡± Helen nods. ¡°My military commanders already anticipated this and sent the fortress towards Tetra weeks ago. It''s the farthest city to the south.¡± I nod, tilting my head in thought. If there is something I''ve never bothered myself with then it''s a military command. At least there are some capable people who are planning ahead. Given the nature of the relationship between Nict and the Southern Nations I expected nothing else. The fact that they managed to gather such a huge army is still troubling though. Do they have reinforcements too? ¡°Does it look like they intend to fight for the land, or are they going directly for our cities?¡± I answer the question myself by linking up to my satellite network. ¡°Their armies are marching in a straight line towards our border cities. Looks like they are not bothering with the small villages.¡± Helen snorts and smiles. ¡°Even they''d learn something from history if they fail often enough. Taking control over the surrounding land and besieging the border cities doesn''t work. The Gates enable us to supply the cities with fresh troops whenever we want. They have to take the city and deal with the City Gate. That''s the only chance for them.¡± Stella growls and repositions herself in her seat. ¡°But if they shut down one of the Gates, we''d have a problem. Our enemy operated undercover for years, how can we be sure that they haven''t found a way to deactivate the Gates? We shouldn''t underestimate them, even if we threw them off balance.¡± Helen returns her attention to me. ¡°Is there a way to shut down the Gates? After I heard your story about your... previous life, I deduced that your people must''ve known how the Gates work? Surely you didn''t ignore a nifty artefact directly in front of your nose.¡± She already knows me too well. I squint my eyes and try to remember my studies on the topic. Of course I don''t expect anyone in this time to fully understand the Gates, but if our enemy is really the Emperor''s son... he should know how to do it. ¡°There are ways. Like deactivating them manually, but that requires opening one of the cover plates. Since the Gates are heavily guarded I doubt that anyone could do so without being interfered with. They were constructed to be left alone after all. The creators never intended them to be switched on and off at convenience. Unfortunately the schematics in the library don''t specify the exact power source for the Gates, so I don''t know if that''s a possible approach.¡± ¡°There are blueprints in the library?! I have to seize them. And you don''t know? I thought you had surely already sneaked to one of the Gates on a dark night to inspect them. What would you need to answer that question?¡± Helen asks with a grin on her face. Damn! Luckily I already copied all the books about the Gates with one of Ivy''s remotes. ¡°Well, it isn''t like I can find out anything without being allowed to take a Gate apart. Can I take one of them apart?¡± Helen''s grin vanishes. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then no answer.¡± I state the matter of fact. She shrugs her shoulders. ¡°The functionality of the Gates is much more important than knowing the answer in this case. We have a huge hostile army on our soil. We can''t deactivate one of the Gates even for a short period of time. Our cities are too dependant on each other.¡± That''s too bad, but she is right. The City Gates are in use day and night with a constant flow of goods from one city to the other. The problem lies in the forced specialization which came with the fusing of all seven cities. While the capital is the main population centre, Mono is mainly responsible for manufacture. Di is the shopping district and Tri specializes in weapons. Tetra is our stronghold against the south, but despite that it has the biggest agricultural output. The cities to the east are flourishing with fishing products and cloth. You could explain the web of relationships in even greater detail, but the point of the matter is this. Shut down the Gates and you end up with angry citizens, collapsing trade and huge losses. ¡°Then we have to rely on the guards to keep suspicious people away from the Gates.¡± I conclude. ¡°There is no need to let anyone close to the Gate in the first place. Nobody has a need to deviate from the main road which leads through the Gate.¡± Stella points out. We continue our discussion for a few more minutes, but nothing particularly interesting arises. So Stella and I head home while the military handles the issues at hand. The following days showed that we underestimated the determination of our enemies. Despite the constant use of our satellites they pressed forward, in many cases completely ignoring their own losses. My satellites are precision devices. It makes almost no sense to use them against thinly spread troops. What they did a perfect job on was cutting off the enemy''s supply lines. Stolen story; please report. They lost far more people to starvation and thirst than my satellites could''ve ever killed with their limited ammunition. Of course we can resupply the satellites, but that takes time. You have to teleport the whole thing down to us. That requires a few nifty calculations, which can''t be done by everyone, then you have to restock it and teleport it up again. This process can take days since you have to wait for the right time windows when you can get the satellite and send it back into space. Nevertheless the enemies marched forward. Even a place like Nict which has resources in abundance can''t support so many soldiers marching through an area. There are problems with food and water. Even in a place with so many rivers it can take you days from one river to the next. An army as large as this one would''ve needed to invest the time to sink wells along the path they take. Thanks to our satellites we were able to stop every attempt at doing so. The only places which allowed them to dig their wells were under the cover of the forest''s big trees. But digging a well in the dangerous forests comes at a high cost. They even shrugged off the regular attacks of our drones, advancing despite the losses and scavenging off of their dead comrades. The army which was headed for Tetra was intercepted by our flying fortress. A long charred piece of ground is the only thing that still reminds us of the invading force. The forest will soon reclaim the destroyed land. My fortress proved its value to our army by a thousand fold. Helen should really channel more resources into building more of them. I admit that our fortress got heavily damaged during the brief battle. The southerners are capable magicians and their big artillery spells pack a punch. The barrier broke for a brief moment and several attacks got through. On top, it takes a lot of magicians to keep the fortress in the air, but even one or two more of them would make a big difference. For the time being we have to manage with what we have. Unfortunately Helen can''t summon more workers. Using so many resources by mobilizing a sizeable amount of her own clan isn''t something Helen can do on a daily basis. It was decided to send the fortress towards Penta afterwards. Tetra is heavily fortified, but it still belongs to the Eddin. They aren''t exactly known for their fighting power and even though they got reinforcements from other clans they are missing the troops of the Zait. Since Tri is another target of the invasion, my clan is concentrating its forces on our capital. Even if the forces in Penta can count on reinforcements from the fortress, they''ll have to hold out on their own for some time. The top speed of my fortress is sixty kilometres per hour, which takes a long time to get from one point to the next. Of course we got assistance from the capital and other clans, but five hundred thousand troops are a lot! Even if the attacks of the satellites and drones reduced them to four hundred thousand, that''s still a lot. Nict has a population of about twenty million people and sixty percent of those people are living in the big cities. The capital is the biggest City with roughly four million people while the rest divides evenly to the border cities. Furthermore it means that the Southern Nations just mobilized a force almost equal to Nict''s entire military. Eight percent of our current population belong to the military, which is a huge percentage for a country if you think about it. And not all those who belong to the military can be counted as a fighting force. There are many people who only do paper work or keep the facilities running. It''s a good guess that Nict has a million soldiers who can really fight. So Tri has about one million and three hundred thousand people. Maybe a little more since the population of the nearby villages fled into the city for safety. That still doesn''t boost our numbers over one point five. In other words, the attacking fighting force still numbers over a third of our population and I am counting every citizen of Tri, including civilians, children and elderly. I have no doubt that this will turn ugly. According to my parents Tri should be able to hold out until the fortress manages to deal with the attackers at Penta. Afterwards we can amass our forces against the troops at Tri. So I holed myself up in my laboratory and started doing the thing which I can do best, building a device of mass destruction. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Stella*** ¡°Azir!¡± I bang onto the door of his laboratory, but there is no answer. He has been inside there for three days and I am fed up. He didn''t come out to eat and today the children suddenly disappeared! I couldn''t find them, no matter where I searched. Grabbing the handle of the door I apply all my strength. It doesn''t budge, so I add magic to the mix. When Azir hid himself inside his lab the first time I couldn''t do anything against his door, but I''ve gotten stronger since then. He isn''t the only one who trained his abilities! Placing a foot on the wall beside the door a few cracks appear! Finally! The door may hold, but the wall isn''t as strong! My hands turn red from the applied force and finally the door breaks, together with the doorframe, out of the wall. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Ivy''s voice sounds from behind me. I drop the wrecked door to the ground. ¡°Gaining access?¡± ¡°You could''ve asked. He granted me access to bring him food and drinks...¡± Ivy looks with sad eyes at the door. ¡°All this dust... cleaning up will be a hassle.¡± She mutters. ¡°You weren''t here! The kids disappeared.¡± I scold her. She raises two big baskets with food. ¡°I had to buy supplies. They were in their room when I left.¡± I roll my eyes and enter Azir''s laboratory, heading directly for his workshop. Arriving there I sigh in relief. Azir is sitting in a chair and staring at a big block of metal. Sariel is lying with her belly on his lap and sleeping soundly. Zadkiel is hugging Azir''s left leg with both feet and hands, dreaming a happy dream. ¡°How did the kids manage to get in here!¡± This is bad. Children shouldn''t be in dangerous places. Azir averts his attention from the metal block. ¡°They came through the window a while ago.¡± He gestures towards the open window. Ivy walks past me and takes a look outside. ¡°The children''s room is above us. Did they levitate down to this level?¡± Great! Are their magical powers awakening? I have to check on them, but before that. ¡°Azir, you look terrible, what did you build this time?¡± He has dark shades under his eyes and looks very tired. ¡°Try to get at least some sleep!¡± He snorts and stands up, taking the sleeping Sariel under his left arm. ¡°This is the new armed multifunctional armour! I call it the A.M.A.¡± ¡°mama?¡± Sariel mumbles, rubbing her eyes. ¡°Not mama! A.M.A.!¡± He reaches for the metal block and places his free hand on it. Suddenly the metal turns into a silver liquid and flows along his hand up to his shoulder and then further around to cover the rest of his body. A few moments later the liquid hardens into an armour with the colours of silver and gold. It''s a sleek design with a menacing, fully plated helmet, even covering his horns. ¡°What do you think.¡± ¡°I... I don''t know? What can it do?¡± I ask. ¡°Of course it enhances the user''s powers and can take any form he wishes to! With this I can go up against thousands of enemies. It''ll take me where I need to be in order to stop the invasion.¡± He answers, proud of himself. Ivy mumbles something inappropriate and points at Sariel and Zadkiel. ¡°Though before that you should stop it from enclosing people who are touching you while you put it on.¡± My eyes widen as I realize that Sariel and Zadkiel were caught up in the liquid metal. Azir tries to remove Sariel from under his armpit. Dragging the foot where he was fused with Zadkiel with him, he reassures us that everything is okay. ¡°No problem! It''s just a small bug in the software. Some mistakes are bound to happen if someone is tired.¡± . 84. ~Siege.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°One may walk alone, one may fight alone, one may die alone, but one should never live alone.¡± -Inscription on the statue at Tri''s central square. ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Azir*** ¡°It still doesn''t feel right. This army is like a gigantic formation made out of mindless monsters.¡± My mother complains at my side. Karsen, Stella and Louise are also here with me and I am glad that our friends decided to fight for us. We are watching the arriving enemy forces from the city walls of Tri. We thought that our biggest problem would be handling the enemies if they split up. Tri is by no means a small city and even if it has city walls, manning all of them sufficiently is spreading our troops very thin in this case. The round city wall has several layers which indicate the city''s slow growth over the years. Each time the space got too crowded with buildings another layer was added and so the city grew slowly like an organic being. If the southerners are smart, then they''ll split up into small groups and try to break through the walls at several different positions at once. But it doesn''t look like they intend to do anything like that. Instead they are amassing their forces in front of our city. I would love to let my satellites fire some projectiles into their ranks, but we are running low. Our targets have to be carefully chosen in order to save up ammunition. There is also the fight at Penta where the Eddin might need the artillery. ¡°You are right, they are acting strange.¡± I have to admit that my mother is right. The enemy army is moving in absolute silence and without a single soldier out of line. Of course that''s what you would expect from an army with highly trained soldiers. The problem is that our opponents aren''t highly trained soldiers. Many of them are armed with pickaxes, scythes, shovels and sticks. Of course there are many soldiers with real weapons too, but a sizeable part of the enemy forces seems to consist out of peasants. At least thirty percent of their army are farmers. ¡°I am sure those are civilians who were forced into service.¡± ¡°Yes, but no army with untrained elements can display such a cohesive movement.¡± Karsen objects vehemently, gesturing at the enemy troops. ¡°They are all moving like a well oiled machine. It''s like... it''s like...¡± His expression darkens. ¡°Can you control hundreds thousands of people with mind magic?¡± I chew on my lip to distract my mind from the stunning display in front of us. ¡°I don''t know any reason against it and our foe displayed no qualms about using enslavement magic.¡± ¡°They are using the Master''s Word. One of the old Emperor''s artefacts! That must be the reason!¡± Stella concludes. ¡°It fits the situation.¡± If they are really controlling those people with enslavement magic, then we are in deep shit. I don''t even want to think about what happens if they decide to overrun us. There is no way to stop a force like that without relying on them to break because of taking too many casualties. My eyes wander over the fields which are located around Tri. Even if the enemies have spread their forces thin to avoid our artillery, they are still destroying the soil by marching over it. ¡°If only they weren''t so passive; the waiting is killing me.¡± Varda complains. ¡°Maybe we should throw the first stone?¡± ¡°We shouldn''t throw the first stone. It''s counterproductive in this case.¡± Karsen shakes his head. ¡°Every second we can hold out brings the flying fortress a little closer to Penta. The fortress is too slow to count on moving it to Tri in time, but once the battle at Penta is decided we can move our forces to Tri. Once we can concentrate our forces this battle is as good as won.¡± ¡°Assuming we and Penta can hold that long.¡± I counter with a grim voice. ¡°Originally I had hoped that they would lose a lot more people during their endeavour through our forests.¡± My plan of jumping right between the enemy army sounds really stupid right now. The armour should protect me, but there are simply too many enemies for me alone. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!Fortunately I made quite a few improvements on my father''s city while I was still helping him out from behind the scenes. Changing a few orders in written form wasn''t a big deal. And the best thing is, because of his dyslexia he only found out that I ordered the improvement of our defensive facilities after they were done. What can I say, I simply wanted to test if meddling with the city''s affairs is possible. ¡°Something is happening!¡± Stella points at a big carriage which is being pulled in front of the enemy army. It''s more like a big elevated platform. On top of it is a robed figure with huge black wings. The wings remind me of a certain person which welcomed me to this world. I cast a vision spell on myself to study the person in detail. His face is pale and bony, while his eyes are just white marbles in his head. ¡°That guy is is creepy.¡± Suddenly he decides to speak, enhancing his voice with magic. His voice sounds loud and clearly audible across the distance between us and him. ¡°Listen! People of Nict! The days of the Empire are returning! Lay down your weapons and accept the Master! He is the one true god you should listen to! Forsake your false beliefs and return to...¡± I ignore the preaching of the figure and face the others instead. ¡°Can I order an artillery strike?¡± It would take just a second and we are free of this annoying fellow. Valda shakes her head. ¡°Don''t waste ammunition for someone who is only talking.¡± Stella points at the winged figure. ¡°But he is clearly one of those dark magicians. Is he not? We have a duty to free the world of people like him!¡± ¡°We''ll fight them soon enough.¡± My mother answers, ending the argument. ¡°Let''s talk about other stuff, listening to this guy is annoying. How are your kids doing?¡± Karsen asks. Stella smiles. ¡°Great! They are prodigies with outstanding magical talent! Just yesterday I was forced to seal their magic. They started using it subconsciously.¡± She says with a proud voice. The practice of sealing a child''s magic is very common under mages. Unlike adults a child can use magic instinctively, a skill which is lost with coming of age in many cases. While it''s a very sought after skill for adults, having an emotionally unstable child which can cast spells on a whim is... a threat to the child and everyone around it. So sealing their abilities is a common way to keep them under control until they are mentally fit enough to wield their powers. ¡°Really? But aren''t they just a few weeks old? Even the Siorda start to use their ability at the age of one at the earliest. You really have to look forward to being the parents of outstanding talents.¡± Karsen raises an eyebrow. Something clicks in my head and I remember that Karsen''s better half is missing. ¡°Where is Talia? I was wondering why you two aren''t together.¡± ¡°Pregnant.¡± Valda states with an emotionless voice. ¡°Really! Why don''t I know anything about it?¡± Stella calls out. My mother answers fast and precisely. ¡°Because I grounded her. She isn''t even officially in a relationship with Karsen and simply gets herself pregnant. Do you have an idea how that looks for our clan?¡± Karsen loses his head. ¡°I swear it was an accident! And I am trying everything to get my clan to allow me to marry into yours! I''ll take responsibility!¡± Valda shrugs her shoulders, not even looking in his direction. ¡°Then do your best. As long as I don''t have an official statement from your family she stays at home.¡± Whoa, Mother is cruel. ¡°I have to visit her as soon as possible.¡± Stella comments the situation, commiserating with Talia. ¡°My poor friend must be having a bad time.¡± ¡°That''s the point of grounding someone!¡± My mother calls out. I pat Karsen''s back. ¡°Don''t worry. My Mom has a great heart, she won''t execute Talia.¡± ¡°Execute?¡± Karsen pales. ¡°Though I can''t guarantee for someone who doesn''t belong to the clan. I would pay attention during the coming battle. She may miss her target and hit you instead with one of her spells. Don''t turn your back on her.¡± I point out and smile. . 85. ~Tri.~ It''s going a little slow at the moment, but I haven''t that much time. So three to four chapters a week will be normal for a while. If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°If you wander through the middle of the southern nations, you come across the Klimt Salt Forest. It is a fascinating wonder of nature. At the coast is a gigantic flat plateau, just at the right height for the water to flood it during high tide. When tide retreats, some of the water is naturally caught in the flat basin of the plateau. The unusually strong sun and high temperatures in that region cause the water to evaporate very quickly during the rest of the day. The salt from the oceanic water forms huge salt crystals, which grow to the height of a person in the centre of the basin. When the ocean returns the crystals are washed away and form anew the next day. A traveller can watch the cycle of growth and destruction of the Klimt Salt Forest each day anew.¡± -Travelogue I ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Azir*** ¡°... and if you don''t comply, then our only option is to cleanse your population of anyone who opposes the Master! So what is your answer?¡± The dark magician ends his long and annoying speech, watching our city''s wall expectantly. Valda gestures for the attention of a close by soldier who is manning the wall together with us. He is carrying one of the new rifles. It''s a scoped model which should be just right for the job. She points at the dark magician on the platform and slides her finger across her throat. The soldier nods and aims his rifle, stabilizing it on the parapet. A moment later he shoots and a small hole appears in the dark magician''s forehead. The figure just stands there for a long moment, then he tilts over and falls flat on his back like a felled tree. A long moment of silence follows until the huge opposing force starts moving. At first they advance only at a slow pace, but then they pick up speed and start running. ¡°I think we should use the drones.¡± Karsen suggests, readying himself. ¡°Deployed.¡± Louise was silent for the entire time while we were watching our opponents. She was coordinating our forces with her drones, because she didn''t want to give the control over her project to anyone else. Since she became involved with my research team, she got emotionally attached to our work and the bigger version of the drones was developed almost entirely under her supervision. Seven big planes fly over our heads and unload their freight. The new devices were planned as troop transports, but in face of this new threat we reconfigured them into bombers. Their accuracy is horrible since the workers are essentially only shoving explosives out of the transporter''s freight hatch. The huge explosions between the attackers prove that this limitation isn''t a big problem. The area, which is covered by our enemies, is too huge to miss. Orbs of energy start rising from different locations where magicians decided to cast artillery spells to attack our bombers. I waste no time and order our satellites to strike at those places. Most artillery class spells need several trained magicians to cast them. All of them have to work together, which is a matter of experience and training. Our opponent can''t have too many of those, so a strike which takes out a group of magicians is worth a projectile. For several long seconds nothing happens as the satellites aim at the specified targets and send their payload on its way. Spikes out of metal and with ceramic plating to protect them from re-entry into the atmosphere are released. To the normal eye the attack doesn''t look like a projectile based attack. The spikes are heating in the atmosphere and start releasing a bright light, which results in blinding the onlooker. Trails of light appear in my vision and the specified locations explode as the spikes deliver their kinetic energy upon contact with the ground. But all that doesn''t seem to be enough, as the wave of attackers simply rolls forward. Our defenders are casting spells into the approaching mass, but it''s like throwing stones into a pond. I snort and start gathering my mana for a spell. The assisting magical circuits of my armour make it even easier to shape the mana, so I can concentrate on gathering as much force as possible. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. In the meantime our enemies reached the city wall and started futile attempts at climbing it. They have some siege weapons like ladders and ropes with them, but nothing big enough to yield immediate results. Everything which was bigger than a carriage got destroyed by us while they were on their way to Tri. Our soldiers redirect their fire and aim it at the people who are trying to climb the wall, rather than the countless approaching targets. Our improvised bombers also return for a second run, though one machine is missing this time. An artillery spell got completed before our satellites managed to stop the casters. Since our design wasn''t intended to take any damage, the bomber was transformed into a huge fireball when the loaded explosives ignited. Finally I finish the spell and infuse the curse into the enhancing magical circuits inside Tri''s city wall. The runes along our wall start glowing and emit a cold, blue light. The people who are trying to climb the wall start crying like mad. In blind fury they attack each other and their approaching comrades. I grin and nod satisfied. ¡°What did you do? This is madness!¡± Stella gasps in shock, looking at the carnage which our enemies are bringing to their own ranks. ¡°I cursed the wall with a spell that plays with your perception of friend and foe. If our enemies are using mind magic, then we should be allowed to cheat too. Everyone who touches the runes on the wall sees foes in friends and friends in foes.¡± I explain. ¡°It''s more like they are fighting their worst nightmares.¡± Karsen says with a dry voice. That might be true. ¡°I didn''t say what their foes look like.¡± Finally I notice a group of figures in dark robes far behind the enemy lines. They are clearly holding back, watching the fight. I point at them. ¡°I''ll pay those guys a visit. They look like the enemy commanders.¡± Before anyone is able to object I teleport. ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Stella*** ¡°What? Wait!¡± But Azir is already gone and a huge explosion lights the area at which he pointed. I stare in shock as the entire area lights up with the magical energy of several different spells. ¡°He did it again! He simply ran off and left me behind!¡± ¡°Stella, careful! They are climbing the walls!¡± Karsen returns my attention to the fight in front of me. The head of an enemy soldier appears from the other side of the parapet. He is raising a small axe and I hit him in the face without holding back. His head snaps backwards and he falls down the wall. I cast several arcane missiles and hurl them down the wall, destroying the ladder which the attacker was using. Our enemies brought some improvised ladders with them. Now they are frantically trying to deploy them in order to climb the wall. Our magicians are focusing their spells to destroy the ladders. I place both hands on the wall and infuse my mana into it. The parapet on my section of the wall changes its shape according to my will and forms several spikes, making it almost impossible to climb the wall without impaling yourself. I gasp for air and take my hand from the parapet. It changed about three hundred metres to my left and right. Even though I didn''t really transform the matter and just rearranged it into a new shape it was tiring. Suddenly the attackers fall into disarray. Some try to flee away from the city walls, others simply stand around dumbfounded, not comprehending what''s going on. Others keep fighting. Karsen throws a fireball at a group of attackers who are still trying to bring a ladder into position. ¡°I don''t know how, but it looks like Azir did something!¡± Before we get to feel happy about the turn of events, several explosions bloom behind us and I am almost thrown over the parapet by the shockwave. My body is lifted up and over the wall. It was a lucky turn of events that I decided to create the spikes as I get my hands on one of them. Clinging to the spike with all my might I pull myself back up and get a first look at the city. What greets me is destruction. Several huge dust clouds are rising up into the sky and I count nine huge craters in the city. Most of them are concentrated in the city centre. ¡°What happened?¡± Louise gets to her feet and pulls me over the parapet, Karsen is on the ground and out cold. ¡°It looks like they smuggled some capable magicians into the city.¡± ¡°We have to get to the Gate!¡± Valda doesn''t wait for us and jumps down the wall. I follow her and take one of the streets which lead me directly to the city''s centre. . 86. ~Source.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°You never know what''s inside if you don''t smash the shell.¡± -A mother''s wisdom ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Azir*** I raise my foot and stomp onto the black magician''s throat without holding back. They were indeed the commanding elements of this army. My spear of condensed mana stabs downwards, right through the magician''s heart and into his spinal cord. Attacking their command centre threw the enemy army into confusion and stopped them from reacting properly to an attack right in their midst. On the other hand I have to give them the benefit of the doubt. Who would expect to be attacked while being safely surrounded by your subordinates. But those guys are tough. Every single one of them has the disfigurements of being exposed to high amounts of mana and at least some of them are soul mages. The corpse''s hands move suddenly and grab my spear. I try to pull it away, but the controlled puppet doesn''t let go. ¡°Now I have you!¡± One of the remaining eight magicians screams and charges at me, swinging a sword in his left hand. His right hand is pointed at the corpse to my feet, controlling it with a spell. His grin turns vicious as I watch his approach, shocked. How can someone misjudge my spear so horribly? Didn''t he watch when I created it out of mana? I release my control over the solidified shape of my mana weapon and it turns transparent. The corpse''s hands lose their grip on the weapon and reach through empty air. Pointing the spear at the charging magician, I solidify the ethereal weapon just in time to impale him. But he doesn''t give up that easily and throws his sword at me in a last act of defiance. The blade doesn''t even reach my armour and is reflected by the condensed mana all around me without leaving a scratch. That means there are seven dark magicians remaining. The others hurl spells of different kinds at me and I evade by teleporting directly in front of another opponent. His eyes widen and I poke my fingers right into them, only to end his howl by placing my armoured boot between his legs. Before he can fall to the ground I dispel my spear and grab his upper arm and his trousers. Having direct contact with his body I carefully reshape the mana inside him into a curse. It''s the same trick which my mother used so many times on me. Once your perception of mana is fine enough you are able to sneak through your opponent''s magical defences by manipulating the mana which isn''t under his direct control. He screams as the sept curse ignites his flesh, turning him into a living flame. I waste no time and hurl his body into the next best group of opponents which gathered around one of the black magicians. The screaming and twitching body impacts on one of the soldiers and the curse spreads. Within moments the burning members of the group disperse in all directions. It''s fascinating how long a living being can survive despite having big parts of its skin burned. The only one who could protect himself from the curse was the black magician, which shows at least some skill from his side. Another spell is aimed at me, it''s a small violet orb of energy, but I don''t even try to decipher the complex patterns inside it. The fine threads of mana which originate from the caster tell me enough of it''s nature. It''s a guided spell, so instead of trying to evade I tug at one of the strings and redirect the orb to the opponent who resisted my curse. An unbelievable explosion takes me off my feet and I cast gravity magic by instinct to right myself. A huge conical crater remains of my seventh opponent. Most of the spell''s destructive power was aimed forward in its flight direction. Gathering power in the palm of my hand I aim it at the opponent who fired the spell. First I have to shape the mana into a rune for temperature manipulation and channel as much mana as possible through it. The rest of the mana has to be used as a containment field. Another rune manipulates the movement vectors of the forces within the field. A mad laugh escapes my lips as the spell starts to work and a thin ray of superheated plasma shoots out from my palm. The target is sliced cleanly in half. The ray of energy is about two hundred metres long. Beyond that it turns ineffective. Being the only one on this battlefield comes in handy and I turn the full three hundred sixty degrees with my spell, cleaning out the area of everyone who is too slow to jump, or throw himself to the ground. Having done so my spell starts stuttering and finally turns off. I realize that this was a very wasteful way of using mana, but it cleared my surroundings. Only two of the black magicians survived my attack, one by lifting off into the air, the other by throwing himself to the ground. I use the offered chance and cast earth spike on the lying opponent''s position. A spike of solidified earth raises from the ground and pierces his belly, lifting him three metres up into the air. The flying magician casts a web of mana and throws it like a fisherman, spreading it above me. The web ignores my defensive bubble and lays itself directly onto my armour. The liquid metal starts sizzling and a little smoke is rising from my armour. The corpses around me are diced into sizeable pieces by the web and I hurry to rip it apart and untangle myself. The magician casts another spell, but this time I am not distracted by other opponents. Before he can finish I imagine the protective layer of mana around me striking at him and a thin tentacle forms and wriggles around his leg. He screams as the tentacle pulls him out of the air and smashes him into the ground, accompanied by the sickening noise of breaking bones. The army around me is in complete disarray by now. Most of the soldiers lost their interest in fighting because their commanders are gone. Some woke up from the mind control, but others who were influenced stronger keep attacking the city, just to get slaughtered. I notice that in some spots the corpses are piled almost high enough to reach the upper end of the wall. Several explosions draw my attention and I realize that they came from the city. Nine big fireballs are rising from my hometown. They managed to smuggle a few explosives past our defences! Did they take out the Gate? No, the Gate should withstand such attacks. It was constructed for eternity. Even if all the houses around it are levelled it should still stand. So another distraction? I concentrate and teleport directly to the City Gate, just to find the Gate still standing. It''s surrounded by our guards, but the Gate itself is off. It''s just a big metallic ring with a street leading through it. ¡°They shut down the Gate!¡± Valda''s voice sounds from behind me. I turn around and find her floating inside her mana sphere while controlling several tentacles at the same time. In one of them dangles a black magician like being caught in a spider''s web. Stella and Louise arrive behind her. ¡°Azir!¡± Stella immediately hugs me, ignoring the armour. ¡°We have to get the Gate running again! How did they even deactivate it!¡± Louise calls out. I part from Stella and face the Gate. ¡°This isn''t right. It''s too easy!¡± ¡°What''s easy!? They cut off our reinforcements! What if we can''t reactivate it again?¡± Valda points at the Gate. ¡°No this doesn''t make any sense. They attack the city, but don''t even take their time to build proper siege weapons. They simply run against the walls like insects! They didn''t even try to attack from different directions. And then they set explosives inside the city, but they don''t even have the forces to take the Gate!¡± I chew on my lip. ¡°This is just a huge show to distract us from the main operation. Which other huge target could there be in Tri?¡± My mother''s eyes widen. ¡°The Stream!¡± I teleport without even thinking of taking anyone with me. Arriving in my parent''s training hall I find the secret passage forced open. Several of our family''s guards are lying in their own blood throughout the room. Foreign soldiers in black armour are among them. It looks like our people taught them a good lesson before going down. My aunt Jade is lying in front of the secret passage, her eyes staring at the ceiling. Stepping closer I already recognize that there is nothing I can do. The mana inside her body has dissipated and I can''t sense her soul. I clench my teeth and kneel down to close her eyes. She always brought me mechanical artefacts while my mother wasn''t happy about me shutting myself in my room while playing with them. A small whimpering sound comes from the passage and I hurry inside where I find Quarma lying on her back, her head pointing down the stairs. ¡°Grandmother!¡± I quickly approach her and place my hand on her, casting a healing spell I remove the faceplate from my armour. ¡°Leave... me. They know. Hurry... it was Daylen.¡± She presses through between her lips while I pull her into an upright position to lean her against the wall. There is an ugly wound in her side, probably the attacker thought her dead after receiving such a wound. Who says that being fat isn''t an advantage? Then I cast another regeneration spell despite her objections, but she loses consciousness while I am casting the spell. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Having her patched up with all the first aid I can give on a short notice I reattach the faceplate on my helmet and hurry down the stairs. The stairway seems longer than ever and I propel myself forward with all my might. Unfortunately teleportation is out of the question since the interferences of the mana stream are too strong. I could end up teleporting right into the solid rock. The stairs fly by under my feet and I finally arrive at the cavern''s entrance. It''s guarded by three soldiers and I snarl as I ram the first one, my armour forming a spike on its own to impale him. Getting to my feet I realize that they aren''t magicians and have no protection. I concentrate on their heads and use telekinesis to tug at something inside them. Both drop to the ground without a single sound escaping their lips. I find about twenty warriors and four dark magicians inside the cavern. They are standing around a red portal which is redirecting the mana stream above it. In a corner of the cavern are a few civilians huddled together and around the portal are several dead bodies. Daylen is standing with them and grinning at the growing portal. Of course my arrival wasn''t unnoticed and the black armoured soldiers form a line against me. ¡°Keep him away just a few more seconds!¡± I roar and reach out for the mana stream, forcefully connecting to its power, which affects the growth of the portal. Two of the dark magicians stop bothering themselves with the portal and face me instead. Raising both hands I cast a refined version of arcane missile and use the overwhelming power from the mana stream to accelerate myself with a support spell. My arcane missile explode between them and showers its surroundings with a rain of shrapnel. The next moment I am right between them. Not bothering to convert power I use everything I have. While the stream is this close there is no need to hold back, so all of my armour''s functions are at it''s maximum performance. The soldiers are like sheep in front of me and fall as they get into range. One of them throws a grenade at me which I catch and contain within a barrier. The muffled explosion is hardly heard as a mana tentacle forms from my protective sphere and reaches for the soldier. I throw him right into the mana stream where he is incinerated in the blink of an eye. Suddenly Daylen is in front of me and his sword flashes down. I raise my hand and the blade bites deep into the armour. ¡°You aren''t going to stand between me and my reward!¡± He cries and retreats the blade with blood on it. My armour immediately closes around the wound on my arm and seals it. ¡°What reward could be worth your wife and family!¡± I raise my hand and cast an arcane missile, but he evades with lightning speed. The arcane missile hits one of the black magicians at the portal instead, sending him to the ground. ¡°Being a full magician of course! He promised me to give me the power.¡± Daylen calls out and throws a dagger encased in flames at me. I evade it casually thanks to my enhanced abilities. The other two black magicians attack me with lightning the next moment. Magical energies course between us, but they aren''t a problem thanks to the mana stream. Both of them are consumed in a backlash of mana as I overpower them. Daylen appears right next to me, but this time I am ready for his speed magic and catch the sword. A kick with my armoured foot takes him off his feet, breaking one of them at the knee joint. Twisting the sword out of his hand I stomp on his good foot, breaking it too. ¡°Still not enough! So many souls and still not enough! Need more!¡± He mumbles and reaches with his hand for me, but I wipe it away. ¡°Stay here for a while.¡± I turn to face the last black magician, who is trying to flee through the portal. ***Second Continent*** ***The Master, Serenzar Draco*** ¡°Everything is going as planned.¡± The head priest reassures me while watching the growing portal for my waiting army. ¡°Soon Nict will be yours again!¡± I let my eyes wander over my waiting troops. Five million brainwashed soldier''s. Nobody can oppose them! Once I have them safely on the main continent I''ll rule the world once again. And this time there will be no worthless brother to destroy everything which our family fought for. Civilisation will rise again! Suddenly the portal''s growth stops and screams can be heard from the other side. I stand up from my throne and bark at the head priest. ¡°What''s that!?¡± The head priest steps closer to the portal and suddenly another priest comes running through the slowly closing portal! Clearly there is nobody on the other side to keep the portal up. Otherwise it wouldn''t be closing itself! I point my finger at the insect who is fleeing the battle, but before I can punish him a sword comes flying through the portal and impales his back. He spreads his arms and falls flat to the floor. The portal closes rapidly, but a moment before it''s gone two hands appear and grab the red ring which is distorting reality. One foot appears and tries to force the portal back open. ¡°D... d... DEMON!¡± My head priest turns around and tries to get away, but by doing so he drew the attention of whoever is on the other side of the portal. Tentacles made out of blue condensed mana shoot out from the portal and one of them grabs the priest. He is being pulled in like a fish on a fishing rod. A moment before he is pulled through the hands and foot lose their grip and the portal closes. The tentacle is cut and disperses. ¡°Zait!¡± I mumble while I watch the remaining distortions of reality behind the priest. The priest gets to his feet and dusts off his clothes. Suddenly the distortions turn into a small maelstrom of energy and a charred hand appears from within it. It manages to grab my head priest at his tunic and with a sudden jerk the head priest disappears in the closing maelstrom! His legs don''t make it through and are cut off. They drop to the ground, spraying blood all over the place. I watch the slowly fading distortion of reality until I am sure that nothing is able to force its way through. ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Azir*** I pull a charred corpse from the energy vortex which I used to get at least a small hint on my enemy. Unfortunately this experiment didn''t go too well. All I got is a dead, burned corpse. It seems like bridging the distance between here and there via a dimensional gap isn''t very healthy. That''s why they use only big portals. I inspect my hurting, charred hand. Next time I''ll use someone else''s hand. ¡°This hurts!¡± It even peeled off my armour. My frustration reaches its limit and I kick the dead corpse. I was so close to getting information on this so called Master. Maybe inspecting the corpse will yield some answers later on, but right now I still have someone alive within my reach! So I walk over to Daylen and grab his clothes at his chest, pulling him up. ¡°You want power!?¡± I invade his disoriented mind and try to search for the person which was my aunt''s husband, but there is just an envious small thing with a dried up heart. He has several absorbed souls of even weaker magicians than him inside his body. Sadly none of them is Jade. ¡°You don''t even have the excuse of being influenced by their mind magic!¡± I drag him to the part of the cavern where the mana stream is at ground level. ¡°I was so close.¡± He sobs. ¡°All those years of playing the footman!¡± Raising him up into the air I bring him closer to the mana stream. ¡°I''ll give you all the power you want.¡± ¡°Azir!¡± My mother''s voice reaches my ears from behind me and I turn around. In the entrance to the cavern are Mother, Stella, Louise and a group of soldiers who are fanning out to take care of the civilians. Valda approaches me with a pale face. ¡°Drop that!¡± ¡°He killed Aunty!¡± I grab his face and push him closer to the mana stream. ¡°Drop that immediately. He is a Zait, a member of our family! No Zait is allowed to be executed without proper judgement.¡± My mother''s voice is as cold as ice and a shudder runs down my spine. I never heard her that angry before, so I drop Daylen and step away from him. He smirks. ¡°Yes, that''s right. I am still a noble!¡± Four thin mana tentacles shoot out from my mother''s aura, one for each of his limbs. He screams up in pain as the tentacles wrap around his broken legs. ¡°Hereby I declare you judged as a member of the Zait, by the clan head of the Zait. The judgement is the death penalty.¡± The grin vanishes from his face as he is slowly lowered into the mana stream, feet first to ensure that he lives as long as possible. I wanted to push him in face first, clearly mother kept the cooler head in this situation. ¡°Wait! What about my daughter! Think of her!¡± He screams. Valda doesn''t twitch as she lowers him slowly into the stream of energy. ¡°I''ll tell my niece that you and my sister died a valiant death in defence of your daughter and Tri.¡± . 87. ~Move In.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°In the far north exists the world''s biggest mountain, The Claw of the Dragon. Amidst the ice and snow of the north is a green paradise growing around it. The plants and wildlife there are kept alive by the hot water which rises from the earth around the Claw. Everything there depends on this source of heat and many fear that the hot water will cease to flow one day. Others prophesied that the earth itself will open up and consume everything. Though it''s far more likely that the barbarians who are living there will one day succumb to a particular strong winter, when even the hot water and geysers can''t hold back the ice, which grows over everything.¡± -Travelogue II ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Azir*** ¡°We repelled them!¡± Valeria sighs and smiles weakly at the people who are gathered in our parent''s living room. My mother invited all members of the main family to a gathering, though two people are missing this time. It''s only me and Stella, my sister, my parents and grandmother. Strictly speaking Stella shouldn''t be here since this is an assembly of the Zait main house, but she still snuck her way in as my wife. My father nods and looks down into his glass of wine. He is wearing casual clothes and the tip of one of his horns is broken off since he was close to the Gate when the explosions went off. Luckily he wasn''t injured too heavily. ¡°I would''ve never thought that my own aide was one of them. We sat together every evening and drank. How could I misjudge someone so badly.¡± ¡°You shouldn''t blame yourself. I always doubted that you can truly learn to know someone by going drinking throughout the night. The one who was the closest to that bastard was my sister and she paid the ultimate price.¡± Valda says without emotion in her voice. ¡°If someone should have known his true nature, then it''s her.¡± ¡°I always found that he was acting a little cold towards her, but now it makes perfect sense that they didn''t have children for so long.¡± I throw in my opinion. ¡°Probably he slipped up while working for his own agenda.¡± We investigated the circumstances around Daylen and found out that he opened a portal to let enemy troops inside our city. Obviously they promised him wealth and power in return for his services. They caused the explosions as a distraction to give us an excuse of why the Gate was suddenly deactivated. Luckily the city was already evacuated of any unnecessary civilians long before that. The mana stream supplied the Gate with energy and when they tapped into it to supply their portal the Gate simply shut down. As soon as the portal was closed by me the Gate immediately powered up again. I suppose that all the Gates are powered by their own mana stream. ¡°That leaves the matter of what to do with the little Zana. She is about to become five years old and both her parents are gone.¡± Quarma is the first one to stick her nose into the dreaded topic. The old leathery hag survived another close to death experience. That''s three, four times so far? I am beginning to believe that she stole from the god of luck. Valda closes her eyes. ¡°Of course we take her in, that''s without a question. Right Yoran?¡± My father nods. ¡°Of course. There is enough free area in this mansion. But we have to lock Valeria''s room in that case. The child shouldn''t be corrupted by her... weird hobbies.¡± ¡°Weird hobbies? What are you doing in your room Valeria?¡± I am astounded. There I went, investing so much time and effort in her, just to make sure that she evolves into a proper little sister. And now I have to hear that she deviated from her path? ¡°Hobbies?¡± Valda''s eyes fix on Valeria. ¡°I never knew that you had a hobby.¡± ¡°Did you ever visit her room? I thought as her mother you knew, so I never said anything.¡± Yoran asks flabbergasted. ¡°Her whole room is full of-¡± ¡°F... Father! You are exaggerating! My hobby isn''t that bad!¡± Valeria stutters with a red face. Not being able to endure the curiosity I stand up and head for the door. ¡°I''ll take a look at Valeria''s so called hobby.¡± My sister gets up from her seat and jumps at me with a howl. ¡°No! Don''t look, Brother! The shame! I''ll die!¡± She wraps herself around my leg like a stubborn child. Valda stands up and leaves through the door. ¡°Now I''ve to see it! When I visited her room it was always normal, clean and tidy!¡± Valeria lets go of me and grabs Mother''s tail. ¡°Noooo! Don''t! Give me one minute before you enter!¡± Valda ignores her and simply keeps on walking, dragging Valeria with her. The rest of us follows her to my sister''s room, ignoring the wailing Valeria who is trying to stop her mother from steadily advancing. My mother opens the door and steps inside. I follow with Stella. Yoran and Quarma peek inside through the doorframe. The scene is breathtaking. The walls are plastered with pictures of me in different poses. Many of them are drawn with coal, but there also breathtaking accurate works with acrylic colours, canvas and oil paintings. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.In the middle of the room are some unfinished works on a wooden rack. Valeria is kneeling on the ground, sobbing like her greatest secret was just exposed. ¡°Now he has seen it...¡± ¡°See? It''s really not good for a child to be in here.¡± Yoran proclaims from his post at the entrance. ¡°If it weren''t for her choice of motifs I would call her a great artist.¡± I force a smile onto my face. What did I do wrong with my sister''s education? Did I spoil her too much? ¡°It could be worse.¡± ¡°What could be worse? If this gets out our family''s name is ruined!¡± Valda turns around with a red face. ¡°She could have drawn me naked.¡± I state, which makes Quarma gasp for air. The old woman is very conservative in that regard. ¡°I see, I see. My close friend Valeria has indeed a dirty secret like this.¡± Stella''s eyes wander to Valeria. ¡°It seems like I have to re-evaluate our relationship.¡± ¡°Nooo!¡± Valeria gets up and hugs Stella around her waist. ¡°It''s just platonic love I swear! It''s nothing physical! There is a perfectly fine reason for drawing so many pictures. You have to believe me! You are my only real female friend. You understand how it is to be the daughter of a clan head!¡± Stella pats Valeria''s head. ¡°It''s fine. I understand, you really love your brother... but these pictures have to go. Why don''t you paint someone else for a change?¡± Valeria sobs. ¡°But my brother was always so nice to me, so I wanted to paint the perfect picture for his graduation from university!¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Stella stops patting Valeria. ¡°But why draw so many!?¡± ¡°Because they aren''t perfect!¡± Valeria gets up and points at one picture at the wall. ¡°This one for example! Don''t you see that his hair colour is slightly off!? Or this one! His eyes changed since then, so it became unusable!¡± She continues to ramble on about the different, almost unnoticeable mistakes in each of the pictures. Ohhh... now everything is clear to me. My attitude of perfectionism while performing a task rubbed off on Valeria. She wanted to draw the perfect painting of me, which is almost impossible by all means. Someone would need to be a machine in order to accomplish such a task. I choose one of the nicer coloured pictures where I look slightly downwards in an earnest manner. ¡°It''s a nice idea as a present. I think I''ll take this one for our staircase. If I place it on an elevated spot it''ll look like I am watching everyone who enters our mansion.¡± With the picture under my arm I leave Valeria''s room and pull Stella with me. ¡°We''ll be on our way then. The kids are surely already waiting.¡± ¡°One moment!!¡± Valda calls out and follows us. ¡°Didn''t you forget someone?¡± I purse my lips and knit my eyebrows while thinking hard. ¡°No?¡± ¡°You have to take Zana with you!¡± Valda crosses her arms in front of her chest. ¡°Pardon me?¡± Stella''s eyes widen. ¡°I just want the best for the child.¡± Valda gestures with her hands. ¡°Isn''t it obvious? My city was heavily damaged. I have no time to take care of her because Yoran and I have to organize the repairs as the clan heads. My niece deserves something better than being treated like a push around. You two just got two youngsters and since Zana is almost five she shouldn''t be too much of an additional hassle. If you can shower your twins with love, then sparing a little time for her won''t make that much of a difference.¡± ¡°Then why don''t you let Valeria take care of her? Maybe it''s good for both of them?¡± I complain. Valda raises an eyebrow. ¡°Were you just in the same room as me?¡± ¡°Urgh...¡± I don''t know how to defend myself. ¡°We can''t force her onto a branch family. That''s out of the question. First, I wouldn''t accept that and second, it would look like we don''t care for our own. Quarma is too old and your father and I are too busy right now to help her properly through this difficult time. Maybe I can take over in a few months when the city is working again, but until then you have to help her.¡± ¡°It''s fine. Where is she?¡± Stella asks. ¡°Stel?¡± I am not entirely sure on how to feel about this. The child just lost her parents and you want to sell me as a new father figure? That''s a bad idea on so many levels, I don''t even know where to begin! ¡°She is down that corridor in the guest room, probably still hiding under the bed.¡± Valda points in the proper direction. Stella sighs and walks off to get Zana. ¡°Don''t give me that sour look Azir. Make sure to smile when she sees you.¡± Valda snorts. ¡°Probably you are imaging this in a worse way than it is. Zana is soon going to school in the capital. Most of the day the teachers will be responsible for her once she gets over the shock of losing her parents. This is only about the first few months. It''s also good that your house is directly on school grounds, so the surroundings will be familiar to her.¡± My wife returns, leading a small girl at her hand. Zana is a small and silent little doll with steel blue hair and facial features similar to her mother. Stella kneels down and points at me. ¡°And that''s Azir, you''ll live with us from now on.¡± I lock eyes with the frightened girl and force myself to smile. Maybe I can enlist Ivy to do her job with more devotion. . 88. ~Freedom or Peace.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°The pale, haggard bodies which we recovered from the tombs under the university definitely don''t belong to our ecosystem. They completely lack any reptilian features which are shared by all higher lifeforms on this world. It''s clearly visible that their bodies were formed by strong exposure to high amounts of mana. From their muscle and bone structure alone it can be told that they have to be extremely strong. We have yet to determine how they reproduce, because we found only male individuals so far.¡± -Biology Report ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Zana*** ¡°And this is your little brother, Zadkiel.¡± Stella places another little child beside Sariel who is my new sister. Apparently she thinks that she can make me forget about my parents by welcoming me in her family, but I''ll never forget about my real parents who died for me. I watch the twins who are staring at me very carefully. Both of them pay the utmost attention to me, not taking their piercing eyes from me. ¡°Are toddlers supposed to act like that?¡± I raise my tail and move it around in front of them. Both follow the tip of my tail in a very creepy manner with their eyes. The problem isn''t that they are focusing on my tail when I move it. The reason why I think that it''s creepy is because they are doing it in a perfectly synchronous manner. ¡°They are very special.¡± Stella smiles and hugs me. ¡°Just like you. I promise that you don''t have to worry about anything. Do you want us to sleep together tonight?¡± My face turns red as I imagine something as embarrassing as that. It''s already been long time since I slept with my mother and I don''t want to trample on that memory. ¡°I... I am old enough to sleep alone.¡± Finally Stella lets go of me. ¡°Okay. If there is something you need, Azir''s and my room is just down the corridor like I showed you. Don''t hesitate to wake us.¡± She stands up and takes Zadkiel in her arms. Sariel is entangled by her tail and lifted without effort. ¡°You two go to bed in your own room.¡± I wait until she has left with the twins and then I cuddle myself into the bed of my new home. Not being able to sleep I continue to think of my mother and father. How could they both leave me alone like that? Why did they have to die by the hands of those southerners! My eyes wander throughout the room. It''s nice and tidy, but not as big as my old one. As a single child I had my mother''s full attention. I guess that''s going to end now. I sniff and try to keep the tears at bay. After a while the door to my room creaks suddenly and opens just a little. I see a little light from the corridor outside and something scurries into my room. The door closes shut with a bam! No way! Do they have monsters in this mansion!? The first two floors are off limits to me, are there some kinds of wicked experiments going on there? Or ghosts? Are they the black magicians my mother was always warning me of? Pulling the blanket higher I back off into the centre of my bed. Suddenly two pairs of golden-silver, glowing eyes appear at the edge of the bed. ¡°Hiii.¡± Pulling the blanket over my mouth I let out a muffled scream as two small shadows jump onto me. After a moment of shock I realize that the eyes belong to the twins and that they are hugging me from both sides. Moments later they start snoring with glee. I simply lie there, not knowing what to do and too itchy to sleep. I am also too afraid to move. What''s wrong with those toddlers to sneak through the mansion so late at night? After a long time the tiredness overwhelms me and I finally fall asleep. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Stella*** I tug at Azir''s clothes and whisper while we are watching the sleeping Zana with the twins at her side. ¡°Aren''t they cute?¡± Apparently they made their way to our new addition to the family and snuggled up to her. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.¡°Yeah, cute. We have to do something about their unnerving mobility, but it might not be so bad that they chose her as their new sleeping pillow.¡± Azir yawns and closes the door carefully. ¡°If they sleep with her, then it means more together time for us. Right?¡± His eyes light up. ¡°You''ll never change.¡± I sigh and walk back down the corridor to the kitchen. ¡°Though I wish that you could undo her mother''s death.¡± ¡°I hate to say it, but it''s unlikely that I could''ve saved her even with my clock.¡± Azir follows me closely. ¡°The time reversal spell is limited in how far you can rewind time and my clock only allows protection inside a certain time frame. Even if I cast time reversal several times in direct succession, the clock wouldn''t protect me if I go back further than an hour.¡± ¡°So you can''t save her at this point in time any more.¡± I press my lips together and try to swallow the bad news. ¡°Then we have to be good parents for her!¡± Azir grabs my tail and starts playing with it. ¡°Are you sure that you don''t want to do something else right now?¡± I try to protect my appendage from his advances. ¡°Stop that! What if they wake up?¡± But he doesn''t let go and puts the tip into his mouth instead. A shudder runs down my spine and I let out a small, muffled shriek which I try to suppress with my hands over my mouth. ¡°Cheater! Don''t go for the weak spot.¡± He shoulders me and carries me off towards our bedroom, not letting go of my tail and touching me at an inappropriate place! I''ll pay it back to him at some point! My revenge will be so horrible! I promise! A lifetime isn''t enough to punish him for how he is treating me. If it wouldn''t feel so good! ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Jeremiah Draco*** I am in a small, dark cell and only a little hole in the ceiling is shedding some light. How can they do something like this to their ancestor? Sealing my powers wasn''t enough, they even threw me into this dirty hole. Have they forgotten about me? Helen stopped paying me visits long ago, but now even this Lucas character isn''t showing up any more. They are treating me like a mass murderer. I am the Saviour! The only one who pays a little attention to me is the gaoler who sees to it that I don''t die of thirst or hunger. If my brother could see me like this he would laugh for sure. I stand over my pee bucket and release myself with all my might. Time to continue with my plan. ¡°HEEEEEYY!¡± I call for the guard who is almost always at my door. The small shutter on the door opens and the eyes of the guard peek into my cell. ¡°Shut up. What is it?¡± I hurry to get the bucket at the corner of my cell. ¡°My pee bucket is full.¡± I hold it out to the guard. ¡°W?h! Don''t sprinkle that around you senile old man!¡± The voice from the other side of the door answers disgusted. ¡°Push it through the port and I''ll deal with it.¡± I do as told and push the bucket through the small hole under the door. It''s the same one through which I get my food. The bucket disappears and I press my ear to the door, listening to the slowly fading curses of the guard. When his curses aren''t noticeable any more I start sanding the magical shackles on my hands against the rough stonewall of my cell. The only reason why I am still here is that they are sealing my powers. Working like a madman I give everything I have while I am counting the seconds. The scratching sounds are loud and annoying, so my only chance to do this is while the guard is away. ¡°... twenty three, twenty four, twenty five.¡± I return to my listening post at the cell''s door. The guard''s returning steps echo through the corridor just a few moments later. Everything went as planned and he didn''t find out this time either. My worst fear is that he is generally a slow one and might return too fast one day. If he hears the scratches, they might decide to investigate what I am doing inside my cell. Returning to the small hole which sheds me some light, I inspect the few new scratches on my magical shackles. Tears of joy well up in my eyes. If I continue doing this once or twice each day it''s just a matter of years until I get to be free again! . 89. ~Research methods.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°The verdebret is a small, furry animal which lives in Quinn''s deep valleys. It''s one of the few animals on this world which doesn''t lay eggs. A long, bushy tail and a very cute appearance with big eyes are their trademark. But woe betide he who dares to underestimate it because of its cuteness. The verdebret is a carnivore with a very strong paralysing poison and they live in groups of up to a hundred individuals. Once the victim gets bitten, it becomes unable to move but still feels and hears everything around it. Being nibbled to death by a family of verdebrets is the worst death which can befall you on this continent. They are very clean animals and work their way down to your bones if nobody finds you in time.¡± -Traveller ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** Something isn''t right. Pearls of sweat gather on my forehead as I try to solve the problem which is presenting itself to me. Today I have three pairs of eyes watching me. This change of circumstances is disrupting my training schedule for the twins and I am not entirely sure on how to involve Zana into my equation. ¡°Hrm. Let''s continue with letters and writing. You already know how to write, Zana?¡± The little girl who is sitting between the twins shakes her head and I sigh in relief. That means I don''t have to change my schedule. ¡°Then we will continue with the lessons as planned.¡± I hold my lesson as normal until I realize that Zana is looking like a lost child. ¡°Is there a problem, Zana?¡± Sariel raises her hand slowly and I focus my gaze on her instead. ¡°Letters! Again.¡± She smiles and is very proud of herself for having found the problem. The twins made great progress in terms of language. They already use a wide range of words, though forming complete sentences is still too hard. If I have to guess, then I would say that their vocabulary contains about two hundred words at this point. ¡°Sorry.¡± Zana is sitting there with tears in her eyes. She should be entering school the next semester. ¡°It''s okay. We simply have to go from the beginning to give you a little head start for school.¡± I clean the chalkboard of what I wrote earlier. ¡°You''ll see that everything is a lot easier once you enter school.¡± Starting the lessons from the beginning is a little set back for Zadkiel and Sariel, but they still have time until they are five. If Zana knows the basic stuff already, she''ll have more time for finding friends. That means less trouble for me. After an hour I decide that the attention of the kids should be at its limit and I stop the lesson. ¡°How about taking a look at Ivy''s quarters?¡± They cheer and we head out. I place the kids in Ivy''s care and make my way to Stella''s laboratory. She said that she had a lot of work to do, so I want to know what''s so important. Opening the door I already hear strange noises from the workroom. A few careful steps take me there and I peek inside. Stella has a huge animal on her dissection table and I believe that I recognize it. ¡°What the hell do you need a fire lizard for?¡± She turns around with an axe in her hands and looks at me, flabbergasted. ¡°Nothing special. I just needed a few parts from it for my research.¡± I squint my eyes. ¡°What research? And what do you need that axe for?¡± Stella swings the axe at the lizard''s hide, but the thick leathery skin absorbs the impact and the scales prevent any damage from cutting. ¡°I bought this corpse from hunters to increase my own skill at transformation. Once I find out on how to create a skin like that on myself I''ll be a lot stronger.¡± ¡°Skin on yourself? You can already turn your skin to steel, what do you need these scales for?¡± I ask, wondering about her goal. She continues to work on the corpse, but her axe doesn''t have much effect. ¡°Turning my body into steel is unpleasant and clunky. It requires great concentration to move the steel parts in synchronisation with the flesh ones.¡± Finally her axe bites into a gap between the scales and she draws blood for the first time. But even from that point on it seems like hard work to open the wound further. ¡°If I could change my skin into the hide of the fire lizard it would free my concentration from other things. As you see the fire lizard''s defence may be even better than having a thin skin of steel.¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°I see.¡± So she is planning to increase her own strength. ¡°Aren''t you already strong enough?¡± Stella looks at me with a killing glance and continues her work. ¡°You are always running off to throw yourself in danger when the situation gets dire. I won''t allow that any more. For that purpose I''ll research the most dangerous animals on this planet and try to copy their strengths.¡± ¡°Haha... I see.¡± What a high ambition. ¡°How did the hunters even kill that thing if it is that strong. There weren''t any wounds on it before you started your... work.¡± ¡°They trapped it in a hole with water and drowned it. That''s pretty much the only possibility to kill a fire lizard. Assuming you don''t want to be burned to a crisp.¡± Another swing of her axe finally opens the fire lizard''s hide. I don''t fail to notice that the repeated swings of the axe didn''t damage the scales in the least. The weak point was the leathery skin beneath them. Stella hurries to catch some of the blood in a bottle. ¡°Tonight we''ll have lizard soup! And liver with potatoes.¡± ¡°No, thank you. I''ll go with a salad.¡± There is no need for me to eat liver any more. ¡°But you could try to be a good example for Zadkiel.¡± Stella smirks and opens the fire lizard further. ¡°Have you heard anything new about the southern nations?¡± I retreat from the stench of the dead animal. ¡°Their attack on Penta and Tri caused a lot of damage to the cities. In Penta they managed to break the city''s wall, but the flying fortress arrived soon afterwards and stopped them. The military is thinking about attacking the cities of the southern nations which are close to our border. It''s intended as some kind of retaliation.¡± Stella stops her work for a moment. ¡°But don''t they recognize that attack on civil centres would lead to even more bad blood between our nations?¡± I don''t think that the military command cares about that. ¡°You are certainly right, but as you have seen the enemy is perfectly willing to use even totally untrained farmers by controlling their minds. The villages we are talking about are mostly empty and the military intends to use that chance to create a no man''s land between us and them.¡± ¡°They already had great trouble to march their armies to our cities. If we force their starting point even further away from our cities we don''t have to worry about strikes at our industrial centres. There is also the point about Lucas trying to cause a civil war between the southern nations.¡± Stella growls. ¡°Father tried for so long to create a lasting peace between them and us.¡± ¡°Only that their current leaders are in cahoots with our enemy. If he succeeds we may have our hands free enough to think about attacking the second continent.¡± ¡°We can''t even subdue the southern nations. How can we think about moving our forces to the second continent?¡± Stella shakes her head in wonder. ¡°I am not proposing to conquer a continent. It would be more about creating a force powerful enough to go there and gather information. If we get help from Dwem and Quinn this could work out. Once we get viable information about Jeremiah''s brother, we attack them with the sole purpose of killing him.¡± Ivy is already working on new spying devices for that purpose. ¡°You are hoping that the snake will stop acting without a head?¡± Stella starts gutting the fire lizard. ¡°It''s our best bet. Somehow I can''t believe that the whole second continent is as unified as it seems. We have to remove their means of control.¡± I reply. ¡°You are thinking about the amulet?¡± Stella asks. ¡°What else could it be that gives them so much control. I am sure that Jeremiah''s brother is using it to control everyone of importance.¡± If not the whole population. The images of our drones are painting a very dark picture. Stella nods and stands up, licking her bloody fingers. My eyes widen. ¡°Stel? Did you just...¡± She looks at me with a question mark above her head. ¡°Oh. Did you never drink the blood of a fire lizard? It''s a delicacy, you want some?¡± She offers me the bottle with blood. ¡°No, thank you.¡± I pull a grimace and decline with my hand. When I am about to starve I am not a picky eater. I have proven that already several times in my previous life, but this is a little different. I am not starving and in the kitchen above me is a collection of the finest foods I can think of. Stella shrugs her shoulders and takes a sip from the blood. ¡°Nothing ventured, nothing gained. It''s your loss.¡± . 90. ~The other side.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°Skiing in Dwem! Book your own adventure in Dwem''s high mountains. We see to all your needs and provide an experienced guide. He will show you the crystalline mountain, our capital. Then you get to see the Vaigard Cliff, where half the mountain top broke off. Now we have a nice wellness hotel up there and after spending a night we ski down to the foot of the mountain and explore the icy caves beneath it. If you want we take you on a yeti hunt and show you the wildlife of Dwem. Adventure holidays in Dwem are becoming very popular. Spend a week which you''ll never forget!¡± -Random Flyer ***Second Continent, Jont-Capital*** ***Serenzar Draco*** ¡°When will the fleet be ready?¡± I walk along the port and watch the countless anchoring black ships. My new head priest bows and answers with a stuttering voice. ¡°Th... th... They aren''t ready yet. It''s a huge task to ship your army across the sea.¡± He holds his documents in front of his chest as if that would shield him from my wrath. I sigh. Losing my old head priest wasn''t a happy experience. It''s not like I would care for the loss of a single, short-lived ant. Who cares if they reach the age of sixty or seventy? It''s more like losing the shirt you like the most and then asking yourself if you''ll ever find one as silky. ¡°Listen. I just want them to ship a few spies to the main continent. Obviously there is something going on that wasn''t within my plans.¡± I explain it to the fool in order to clear up his misunderstanding. ¡°You''ll search for our most loyal and devoted individuals. See to it that they also have the proper training. Then they''ll infiltrate them on every possible level.¡± ¡°Oh, in that case they can depart immediately. But our attempts at getting spies into Nict''s society all failed so far. Why should it be different this time?¡± He asks. ¡°Are you questioning your god?¡± I squint my eyes and focus him with my eyes. Do I have to explain everything to this one? My old head priest had at least some intelligence to think for himself. I should look for a replacement in time. If I get a raging fit I might break the new fool who replaced him. ¡°N... no!¡± He pales even further. ¡°We are abandoning our low profile approach. So far it worked because the main continent didn''t even notice our existence, but the flow of information is clearly too limited. Use the official channels to find out what''s going on. Contact our puppets in the southern nations and the north directly. Try to find out if there are any surviving operatives in Quinn, Nict or Dwem.¡± I massage my forehead. There is no reason to make this harder than it is. He is new to the job and nervous. I have to give him a month or two. ¡°How are the development projects going.¡± My head priest''s face lights up. ¡°They are running smoothly. The schooling of the younger generations is going well and the death-toll due to sickness is as low as never. The general populace loves you.¡± I nod and grumble. ¡°Good. A good society needs happy citizens. And the villages which revolted?¡± ¡°They are also running fine. Since you ordered them per godly decree to stop their offensive actions against you, there are much less violent outbreaks.¡± The head priest shows me another sheet with statistics. It''s not surprising to me. I decided to stop the resistance against my orders by raw force. There are always people who are unhappy with their rulers. In this case a minority of distant villages refused to act according to my reforms. They were fools who wanted to stick to their old ways, which can be translated as ''We want to keep living in the mud!'' and ''We like seeing our children being eaten by wild animals!''. Maybe I should take the time to release them from their shackles to show them what a few months of servitude can accomplish for their own well being? Maybe the normal villagers will slay their elders on their own accord after my little lesson. I concentrate on the amulet around my neck and release the villagers who had their minds controlled so far. ¡°I decided to let them act on their own from now on. Maybe they''ve learned their lesson.¡± My head priest bows. ¡°The Master is very kind-hearted.¡± No. Only pragmatic in rebuilding the empire of my father. It''s impossible to control everyone at all times with the amulet. Though it is by far the strongest artefact I know, its powers are limited. I wonder what my foolish brother is doing right now? Is he still playing the righteous Saviour after causing one civil war after the other? Falling in love wasn''t good for his mind. Because of a single girl of low standing he caused more bloodshed than the old Empire ever produced in its whole history. It was impossible to uphold law and order while he kept running around, planting ideas of freedom and self government in the heads of our citizens. I hoped that he would cool down after his lover died of old age. There wasn''t even an assassination attempt from my side after he freed her. In the end I couldn''t protect the empire which our father created with hard work and his own blood. It''s far easier to destroy something than to create. My eyes wander over the black fleet of ships and I turn towards the port where my carriage is waiting. ¡°Get everything done like I instructed. I don''t want to be disturbed any further today.¡± Leaving the head priest behind, I get into my carriage and instruct the carriage driver to bring me to the palace. The carriage moves at an average pace through the streets of my capital and a few guards are escorting it. I don''t really need guards, but it''s for the sake of appearances. The citizens are still calling the city Jont, even though it is far removed from the small village with which I began my work of rebuilding the Empire. The streets are neat and orderly. There are no beggars or homeless people anywhere. I decreed that people who have no work have to take the first job which they are able to serve in. There are no excuses and the ones who are searching for workers are only allowed to search for a limited time. Afterwards they have to take what they can get. It''s not the best system in regards to productivity, but I don''t want any people with too much time on their hands. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Time allows people to think too much for their own good. And as the little children they are, they always get the idea to create mayhem. The big houses made out of white bricks pass by and I squint my eyes at some children playing on the street. Children shouldn''t play on the street. It''s dangerous and I created daycare organizations for that purpose. I snap my fingers at one of the guards who are escorting my carriage. ¡°Ask the parents of those kids why they aren''t able to take care of their offspring properly.¡± The guard nods and stays behind to give the parents of the kids a hard time like it should be. My personal opinion on matters like these may seem radical to most people, but parents who are too stupid to use the public facilities like daycare institutes should be grilled. My palace enters my view and I marvel at the golden structure. I built it with my own powers and am still adding new features to it. Whenever I have a little time I start creating new walls and corridors according to my fantasies. As someone can expect from such an approach, my palace is a mad collection of different architectural styles which accumulated over the centuries. Not a single stone was touched by someone else. When the people look at it, they know that this structure wasn''t created by their hands. A part of the palace looks like an unfinished pyramid which transcends smoothly into a synagogue. On the other side is a slim tower which stabs through the clouds above everything. The carriage passes through a set of independent gates. I couldn''t decide on which would be best to impress new arrivals in my palace, so I simply built all of them. The palace''s hallways are big enough for the carriage to drive right through them and towards my private quarters. In hindsight my design might be a little megalomaniac, but it''s handy. I jump out of the carriage and enter my private quarters while the carriage is departing with the guards. My private quarters consists of a big, circular living room and I sigh in relief after finally closing the door behind me. The coloured windows in the ceiling bathe the room in different colours. From here, I can enter the bath through the left door. There is also a pool attached to it. The door on the opposite of the entrance leads to my king sized bedroom. To my right is a long corridor which connects to a kitchen, storage rooms, workroom and office. At the end of the corridor are the quarters of my harem. I throw myself onto the comfortable couch in the middle of the room and close my eyes for a moment. There is nothing better than being able to relax after a long and hard day of commanding people around. ¡°My god is already tired? You returned earlier today.¡± An erotic female voice stops my happy time alone and I open my eyes to find Elora looming above me. Her silky, black hair is glittering in the sunlight which is coming through the windows in the ceiling. Two perfectly white horns are creating the image of a diadem on her head. The horns are slim and rippled like a saw. Her face is attractive, but not as beautiful as other women''s. Maybe it could''ve been if it wasn''t for the single thin scar which is running from her forehead across her left eye and down to her cheek. It''s an old wound from her days as a slave and she doesn''t allow me to remove it. I grumble and take the stack of reports from her hands. ¡°Was there anything extraordinary today?¡± ¡°No?¡± She places one hand on her hips and looks at me in a displeased manner. ¡°I guarded your private quarters as I do every day. The only one who came and went was the priest who brought your reports. That''s all. My life is a very boring existence.¡± ¡°Maybe you shouldn''t have scared away the other members of my harem? You wouldn''t have to be alone in here.¡± I take a look at the first report to distract myself from her furious appearance with the waving tail behind her. Her dangerous, frilly, black dress barely covers her private places while revealing everything else. It is very distracting. ¡°As if I would let anyone else come close to you.¡± She sits down on top of me and places her cheek on my chest, pressing her adequate bosom against me. A few dozen years ago my soldiers found her as a child in a slave camp of some pirates. They brought her to me since I am always looking for women with high magical powers. I want mates which don''t grow old and die within a couple of years. When I saw her as a child I immediately noticed her outstanding magical potential. If she doesn''t suffer an unfortunate accident she might even outlive me. Because of that I added her as a future candidate to my harem and saw to it that she gets a proper education as a wife. The only problem is that she is a demon despite her looks. Surely and steadily she eliminated all her rivals while she was growing up. Either by making them run away on their own, or having them suffer an unfortunate accident. I recognized the pattern of her actions, but since I wanted to see how far she''ll get I didn''t act. Watching my harem''s quarrels and rivalries was a source of entertainment. Surprisingly Elora dealt with her last three rivals at once and made them all disappear at the same time. Now she is the only member of my harem and I am running low on candidates at the moment. ¡°Are you still focused on increasing your power? Isn''t one continent enough?¡± she draws a little circle on my chest and looks up at me, trying to look cute. ¡°I am only rebuilding my father''s legacy. That''s all.¡± I answer, trying to keep my voice calm. ¡°Nothing can distract me from my goal.¡± She smirks and places her fingers on the hard bulge in my trousers. ¡°I bet I can!¡± She opens my belt and kisses my neck while pulling my trousers out of the way. ¡°I am not in the mood. There is work to do!¡± I point at the reports, but she doesn''t listen. With experienced movements she mounts me and impales herself. ¡°Keep reading. I''ll help myself.¡± I try to concentrate, but her moaning and the swaying motions of her hips are making it impossible. In the end I give up and throw the reports to the ground. Grabbing her hips I force her into a rhythm which is more pleasing to me, then I close my eyes and start smiling. Being an emperor is still the best. . 91. ~Sightseeing.~ It looks like the coming week will be stressful, so I don''t know if I''ll manage to write any chapters. If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°Selling houses! Pay first, visit later. There is no withdrawal from the contract.¡± -Street Vendor ***Quinn, Capital*** ***Azir*** I yawn as I walk down the streets of Quinn''s capital with Stella hooked to my arm. ¡°What do you think of Quinn?¡± Stella asks while looking around anxiously. My eyes wander over the explosion of colours, odours and shapes. Not a single house looks the same and all of the walls are painted with graffiti. The use of technology is also much farther spread than in Nict. There are many cars on the streets and on every corner you can find some type of mechanical gadget, like vending machines for example. People are busily running around and everything gives off the feeling of stress. I remember places like this from my old world, but for Stella it must be a real cultural shock. She is someone who is used to the orderly and neatly arranged buildings of Nict. This is like an attack on everything which she holds dear. ¡°They are all nuts.¡± I state my own opinion, but I am referring to their choice of design and colour. ¡°That''s-¡± It''s a provocation! ¡°They aren''t just clowns. They are insane clowns!¡± ¡°-Not what-¡± And the way everyone is watching us. Like they are something better. I want to teach them a lesson! ¡°If they continue looking at us like that I am tempted to wipe-¡± Stella''s tail wriggles around my head to shut me up. ¡°-I meant!¡± She slides her tail off my mouth, but keeps it around my neck as if she is warning me not to say more. ¡°What I wanted to know is what you think about Quinn''s invitation?¡± I purse my lips and think about how we ended up in a country which despises magicians. It''s probably best to give Giana and Leon the fault. Their efforts in creating a good relationship with us went a little further than we anticipated. One day we suddenly got an invitation by Novak Zerces, king of Quinn and his queen, Frey Zerces. They invited Nict and Dwem to a conference about the future actions of our three countries. They assumed correctly that we would take action against whoever is behind the continuous deterioration of the world. Hence they thought about coordinating our actions with each other instead of acting independently. Of course they were very careful to avoid calling it an alliance or peace talks. ¡°I think they are on their knees. Their country is surrounded by enemies. From the north, barbarians who are obviously influenced by our enemy. Marauding nomads from the west and the southerners from the south. It''s a pain in the ass that all these factions don''t have a unified government, you simply don''t know whom you should kill. I don''t want to think about how Quinn''s borders must look like. Nict took a low blow by the recent attack from the southerners, so I assume that Quinn must be worse off. Right now they are surely frantically reaching for any arm which could help them to their feet.¡± Stella nods slowly at my side while glaring at the people around us. ¡°If it''s like that, then why is everyone looking at us like we are the enemy. Don''t they inform their citizens about what''s going on?¡± ¡°It''s their religion. They''ve brainwashed themselves with it until the general citizen can''t see clearly any more. I am sure that king Novak is risking a revolt by letting us walk freely through his city.¡± Their fanatics must be grinding their teeth while watching us. Stella and I decided to take a little walk through the city after accompanying Lucas to the conference. Reaching Quinn wasn''t a problem since our stepper disc arrived here months ago. The Great Shaman also used the disc instead of travelling on his own. Chuck wasn''t very happy about being here and he expressed that very clearly to king Novak when they met. He isn''t happy about the way magicians are treated in this country. Dwem is in a way even more dependent on its magic users than Nict. Their society relies heavily on being led by the smart and talented. Being confronted with a social construct like Quinn is an attack on everything which Chuck believes in. Of course that doesn''t mean that Quinn''s leaders are stupid, but they willingly throw away a big asset of their people. ¡°Is that a church?¡± Stella stops in front of a strange building with a big symbol on top of it. The symbol looks like a ? and seems to be made out of pure gold. Probably because their goddess has something to do with the sun? ¡°I don''t know and don''t care.¡± Who needs churches? There were a lot of beliefs in my old world and I am very sure that all of them caused more bad things than good ones. Religion is a powerful tool to control the masses and its defenders are often arguing that it provides the society with a set of moral concepts which are necessary. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.But does a person really need a religion to be a moral person? Morality isn''t something which religion has the right to claim for itself. And does a person need religion to get the answers which he is searching for? Isn''t the inability to find the right answers for yourself proving that there is something wrong in your head? ¡°Come on. We are on a sightseeing tour.¡± She pulls me inside and I grumble as I follow her through the big inviting entrance. Surprisingly the inside looks like a normal church, there is nothing special about the building. We are standing on a central walkway with many benches and praying people to the left and right. The walls are filled with paintings about their goddess and the windows are made out of coloured glass. Some pillars are strategically placed to support the ceiling while not obstructing the view on the central statue which is on the other side of the entrance. It''s a golden figure of their goddess, ten metres tall and looking down on the people with a smiling face. ¡°She has no horns.¡± Stella notices. I pull a grimace. ¡°There is no tail.¡± The sexy goddess is displayed in a tight dress, but the tail is missing. The artist made a major mistake. Tails are important for a man''s fantasies! ¡°Four wings?¡± Stella points at the wings which are spreading left and right from the goddess in an attempt to encase the audience. ¡°Are you searching for guidance?¡± The voice of an approaching priest is directed at us. He is an old, skinny fellow with grey hair and short, brittle horns. A long beard hides half of his wrinkly face. ¡°We are on a sightseeing tour.¡± Stella proclaims boldly. I try to smile at the guy from whom I feel a faint presence of magic. It''s like he is trying hard to suppress it. He smiles back. ¡°So you aren''t of the faith then? I heard that the king invited a few foreigners. May I ask from where you are.¡± ¡°Nict.¡± I state matter of factly. ¡°So that means that you are cursed too?¡± He asks with a sad voice. ¡°Curse?¡± Stella asks dumbfounded. ¡°You mean magic?¡± The priest nods. ¡°Yes, I guess that''s what you are calling it. It''s the ability to influence the world with your mind. How are you dealing with it over there on the other side of the continent?¡± I shrug my shoulders. ¡°I guess we accept it and train ourselves in using it properly.¡± The priest raises an eyebrow. ¡°How can you use something as dangerous as that? I can remember that I almost killed a classmate when I was a child. He angered me and I forced him against a wall, breaking his arm.¡± He turns towards the statue. ¡°Of course I was immediately brought to the priests and they taught me to suppress my power. It took me many years, but finally I was able to return under the wings of the goddess. Sometimes a priest who manages to suppress his curse is given a wonderful gift by her. Then he might be able to heal people, or make plants grow faster.¡± Stella gasps. ¡°Don''t you guys know anything about magical training? A child with magical ability has to be taken care of and taught properly.¡± I pat her hand on my arm. ¡°Those guys suppressed their abilities for generations. I doubt that there is anyone who can use his magic properly. Not to talk of subduing a child with its magic running amok. Someone without control is a serious threat to the people around him. We are also sealing the magic of children who are too young to be taught.¡± The priest nods. ¡°Hm. So you have to resort to such measures too. It''s sad that the goddess didn''t teach us how to deal with this issue.¡± ¡°No. That''s completely different. They are forcing their people to ignore the gifts which were naturally given to them.¡± Stella complains, gesturing at the room. The priest tries to calm her down. ¡°It''s not like anything was taken from me. The goddess has a place for all people in her heart.¡± I notice the many eyes on us and turn Stella around. ¡°You are right. The goddess surely is benevolent, but there are still many things to see and I believe we are short on time.¡± ¡°May the goddess shed her light on you.¡± The priest waves us a goodbye and turns to deal with other believers. ¡°What are you doing? We have to help those poor souls. They are being brainwashed!¡± Stella whispers to me. ¡°Of course they are brainwashed. Brainwashed by living a whole life like they do. The fellow believed every word he said and you won''t change his world view overnight. I started to fear that we might be forced to kill the audience.¡± I lead her out of the church. ¡°Kill the audience?¡± Finally she starts walking faster without me having to pull her. ¡°The discussion was a little too loud and was overheard by everyone in the closed space of the church. Didn''t you notice all of them looking at us?¡± Finally the church disappears out of sight and I walk slower from then on. ¡°I am sorry. I didn''t notice, but we still have to tell Lucas about this.¡± Stella''s happy sightseeing atmosphere is gone and she pulls at my sleeve, taking a way which leads back to the palace. ¡°I am not sure if I really want to help this country.¡± ¡°Me neither.¡± Together we head back to where the conference is taking place. . 92. ~Interlude.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°And there was a bright light which came from the sky. The goddess rode on a metal carriage when she arrived in Quinn. The people saw her artefacts, but they couldn''t understand them. So the goddess started teaching her children as much as they could understand with their limited minds.¡± -Ch.234-32-45 ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Ivy*** Suddenly all of my alarms go off and my vision gets blocked by multiple warning windows. How can I work with so many distractions? My remotes detected that someone is moving through the mansion without permission. I access the camera on the central corridor to take a look at the intruder while I rush there from my private quarters. The alarm came from above my quarters where the children''s rooms are. If the kids get hurt I have failed my duty as their protector. But what the camera shows me makes me stop in my tracks. Rewinding the images and playing them with heightened speed brings me up to date within seconds. ¡°Higher!¡± Sariel balances on top of Zadkiel, who in turn is sitting on Zana''s shoulders. They are performing an artistic feat which I didn''t assume possible with their bodies. ¡°Can''t hold you. Heavy!¡± Zana gasps under the weight of the twins. ¡°You have to. You are the oldest!¡± Zadkiel steadies himself by holding onto a broom. ¡°Have it!¡± Sariel''s tiny hands grab the handle of the door. The tower which was formed by three living bodies collapses and leaves Sariel hanging on the handle. ¡°Now pry it open!¡± Zana and Zadkiel hurry to open the door while Sariel keeps holding onto the handle. The door to the children''s room has a specially made locking mechanism to ensure that small children can''t get out. The door doesn''t move if you don''t hold down the handle with force. A single small child isn''t able to perform such a feat. I left them alone up there for half an hour and they are already trying to escape. ¡°Zana! You are the bait.¡± Sariel points at Zana who is a little bigger than the twins. ¡°I don''t want to be bait!¡± The adopted child complains. ¡°You are big and slow.¡± Zadkiel sums up the essential points. ¡°And I am the brain.¡± Sariel pats her chest. ¡°As soon as we step onto the corridor, the Ivy will know. That''s why we need a distraction.¡± ¡°Yes, while you distract her, we can steal the cookies.¡± Zadkiel nods eagerly. ¡°But...¡± I can see Zana''s brain working behind her forehead. ¡°Then I don''t get any cookies? And why do you always call her ''the Ivy''. She is a person, don''t talk about people like they are things.¡± ¡°So you didn''t notice the thing in her chest?¡± Zadkiel asks with a trembling voice. ¡°From time to time when she thinks she is alone it gets out and crawls around.¡± ¡°Yes, creepy!¡± Sariel lets go of the handle and drops to the ground like a sack of potatoes, but still managing not to hurt herself. ¡°We spied on her once! She is a monster!¡± ¡°I still have nightmares that the Ivy could hide under our bed when it''s dark!¡± Zadkiel takes a careful look down the hallway behind the door. ¡°The doors to the kitchen are all open! We can continue as planned.¡± Sariel nods and gives further instructions to Zana. ¡°Okay! You turn left and run directly towards the stairway to the servant''s quarters.¡± Zana''s eyes widen horrified. ¡°But that''s exactly where Ivy will come from! And I still don''t get any cookies!¡± Zadkiel pats her shoulder. ¡°We''ll stow away a few. Then you can eat after our operation is a success.¡± ¡°How am I supposed to stop a monster? I am five!¡± She starts fiddling with her fingers while being on the verge of tears. ¡°I am afraid.¡± ¡°Cookies?¡± Sariel asks and tilts her head in anticipation. ¡°You just have to find a way to distract her long enough for us to get the cookies. We are counting on you as our elder!¡± Zana looks at Sariel and then at Zadkiel who nods reassuringly. Then she looks down the corridor in the direction of my quarters. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Finally she gathers all her courage in a nonsensical scream and charges towards the staircase. ¡°Uh... Uwaaaah!¡± I still can''t figure out the reason why children do that from time to time. Screaming doesn''t serve any meaningful purpose. Yes, she is supposed to distract me, but there are so many ways to attempt this without announcing your presence to the whole house. Having her eyes closed is also problematic. I calculate a possibility of ninety nine point nine percent that she''ll trip if she attempts to run down the stairs with her eyes closed. A few moments later my assumption is proven right. Zana trips and falls down the staircase spectacularly, flipping over several times. At that point the video record catches up with real time and I can already hear Zana rumbling down the stairway. Coincidentally I stopped just in front of it, so I just have to wait until she arrives in front of me, which happens promptly. Zana comes to a halt by falling flat onto her belly. For a few seconds she is just lying there, not moving, until she gets up and takes a look around. Her eyes wander from my feet to my waist, then they keep sticking to my chest. There are several bumps and a nasty cut on her forehead. If my understanding of children is correct, then she''ll start crying her eyes out any moment now. ¡°Hic...¡± Tears start forming in the corners of her eyes. ¡°HuuaaaaAAA!¡± Even her chin is jitters miserably. I must admit that she is really good at that. An organic being would probably fall for such a great display of pain and utter helplessness. Yep. Exactly as I predicted. I bend down and place my palm on her forehead to cast a healing spell. ¡°Heal.¡± The spell is executed perfectly and the bruises disappear. The reason for the pain is gone, but she is still crying while looking up at me. ¡°You... you won''t hide under my bed?¡± Rolling my eyes I pick her up. ¡°We''ll see about that. I only haunt naughty children.¡± I walk with Zana up the staircase to collect the twins. ¡°I won''t get cookies now?¡± Zana asks with a depressed voice. ¡°Cookies are for tea only and you''ll get fat if you eat too many of them, so cookies are only allowed as a small snack.¡± I educate her properly. Those brats are eating too much of that sweet stuff. Inside the kitchen I find Sariel and Zadkiel. They didn''t get very far in their attempt to steal the cookie pot. For obvious reasons I placed some protective charms and runes with Stella''s help. Zadkiel triggered one of Stella''s gravity runes and is pinned to the ground right at the entrance. Sariel got a little further into the room and actually reached the pot, avoiding several other magical traps. The cookie pot is standing in the centre of the kitchen table and she climbed onto a chair to get onto the table from there. I was right to ward the cookies with ice charms. Sariel has a cookie in her mouth, but that''s everything she achieved. The ice charm triggers upon contact with spit and freezes the cookie to a temperature of minus twenty degrees. I doubt that Sariel will ever give in to her urges again. Having your mouth frozen by a lump of ice should be a very unpleasant feeling. But Sariel is still sitting there with the frozen cookie in her mouth and glaring at the pot with yearning eyes. A few minutes later I have the children fixed up and in their room again. I am sitting on a chair with my legs crossed. The three of them are kneeling in front of me. It''s been like that for a while. Zadkiel raises his hand. ¡°Um, Ivy? What are you doing?¡± ¡°I am thinking.¡± I answer while I am studying them with squinted eyes. There are several courses of action open to me and I can''t decide which one I should take. ¡°Ab... out... wh... at?¡± Sariel manages to say. Her tongue is still swollen since the damage by the ice spell wasn''t small. In her greed she took a full bite which exposed a large area of her tongue to the spell. ¡°A proper punishment?¡± I ask. ¡°What else should I be thinking about.¡± ¡°G... giving us cookies?¡± Zana asks hopefully. Their earlier conversation comes to my mind and I smile. Unbuttoning my blouse I smirk at them and start disconnecting the nerve joints to my organic body. ¡°I think I know exactly the right thing for this situation...¡± ¡°HIIII!¡± All three of them huddle together with wide eyes. Does my mechanical core really look that frightening to children? . 93. ~Payment.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°Fight for freedom! Fight for your homes. Stand up to the Empire and their cursed magic! Those who bend the will of others have no right to share the warmth of the goddess with us. Fight!¡± -Ancient pamphlet to motivate the masses. ***Quinn, Capital-Palace*** ***Stella*** Lucas is sitting at the big, round table with Azir and me to his left. His eyes are closed and he is obviously brooding over the proceeding negotiations. After returning from our sightseeing tour we reported our experiences to him. Though he listened carefully to what we had to say, he didn''t give us his own opinion on the situation. It''s bothering me that he didn''t seem as irritated as us. We knew from the beginning that we could encounter a situation like this, but in the end I couldn''t stay calm when I faced that priest in person. Lucas is very good at keeping his emotions in check when there is something at stake. That''s why he is always the one who goes on diplomatic missions instead of my mother. The big round room we are sitting in is located at the upper levels of Quinn''s colossal palace. Our own palace is much smaller, but the design and materials used are of a much higher quality. Quinn sacrificed design for being big. The Palace consists of several huge blocks of stone and glass. While impressive to look at, the building lacks style. On the other hand I must admit that the view from the twentieth floor is magnificent. A little farther to our left is the Great Shaman with two of his advisers. One of them is the old female whom we already know from our short visit to Dwem. Chuck chose yet another mask for this event. Every time I meet him I am amazed anew. He seems to have an endless supply of those masks. So far I haven''t seen a model twice and the mask he chose this time is the face of a demon with a fierce expression. Probably he wanted to express his feelings by choosing this very emotional mask, which is accompanied by a matching totem and a suit made out of red feathers. Sometimes our black and white robes for official purposes seem a little bland to me. Even though we are the rulers of Nict, our clothes are much less attention grabbing. Though we could create the materials for nice dresses easily enough. Maybe I should try talking to my parents about changing this policy. The other rulers might think that we have no sense for beautiful things and lack in culture. The remaining space at the table is occupied by the rulers of Quinn. King Novak Zerces is an old man with grey hair, but he is still taller than most others and kept his body in a good shape despite his sixty seven years of age. His wife at his side is also showing signs of age, something unimaginable for magicians like us. Frey Zerces has a high and mighty expression and is sitting in her chair like a stick. The last three spots are filled by their children who are already adults. Giana and Leon are already known to us. The third person is Leon''s brother who is first in line to the throne. Ajax is a little older than Leon and in his best years. The family resemblance to his brother is strong and if it wasn''t for the different eye-colour which he got from his mother I would believe that he is a slightly older version of Leon. The beard on his cheeks also helps in creating a different image. His straight horns are adorned with golden rings, something which I''ve only seen on women so far. All of them are wearing their flashy, colourful dresses, though the clothes of the king and queen are a little more colourful than I''ve seen so far from other citizens of Quinn. Novak bows in a dignified manner to the people at the table and starts the negotiations. ¡°I hope that all of you had a good rest, so that we can continue our conversation from yesterday.¡± In fact we already met with the royal family of Quinn, but the meeting yesterday consisted only of polite introductions and very carefully handled small talk. Talking about the weather would''ve been far more interesting. The queen continues from there. ¡°As you probably already deduced, we invited you to ask for a... deeper relationship between our countries. The recent events have shown us that the seed of the old Empire isn''t dead. It''ll take more than a single country to stand up to that.¡± The Great Shaman taps with his index finger onto the table. ¡°So you guys are in trouble. Are a few barbarians and southerners too much for you?¡± I fight hard in order to suppress my reflex to talk up to the Great Shaman. Dwem would be in a tight situation too if it wasn''t for the assistance of my clan. Having an assured supply of exactly the right resources saved their asses. The old female advisor of the Great Shaman smiles and tries to mediate between the parties. ¡°What our esteemed Great Shaman wants to say is that we aren''t entirely sure if it''s the right choice to help a country like yours. Our ideologies are very different and in conflict with each other.¡± Stolen novel; please report. Novak nods slowly. ¡°I see where you are coming from, but the threat we are facing has to be dealt with above everything else. I don''t want the old times to return where Quinn had to fight for its very survival day by day. We are an old nation and since Nict... hrm, my apologies.¡± His eyes flick in our direction. ¡°The old Empire tried to subdue us with all their abilities. That forced great austerity onto our nation and the fear of magic and its users grew with every year.¡± He looks onto the table. ¡°The radical elements of our belief were created in those times of endless war and the absence of magic in our holy books led to the belief that the means by which our enemy is working are evil. It''s very hard to deviate from our path by now. The population is very firm in their belief and even someone like me can''t stand up to overthrow what was practised for generations.¡± Ajax raises his head to assist his father. ¡°And even if you are thinking that we are handling the matter the wrong way, should we simply bow down to people like you? Only because you have an unusual ability with which you can kill others with a thought. It''s nothing else than giving in to being threatened with a weapon. People who wield such powers have to be subdued for the greater good of everyone.¡± I draw a deep breath, but Azir is faster than me. ¡°But strangely enough the societies with those people in power aren''t worse off than yours.¡± Ajax snorts and crosses his arms in front of his chest. ¡°Luck. If you had suffered the concentrated attacks of the enemy forces you wouldn''t be able to sit here smiling. Our people defended their cities with everything they had. I heard about Nict''s policy. You are very skilled at hiding in your fortress cities.¡± Lucas smirks and places his hands on the table. ¡°Which is a smart approach if you have the required defensive structures.¡± ¡°In any case. We would be very grateful if you consider working together with us.¡± Giana smiles at the assembled people, trying to get eye-contact with everyone. ¡°What would this ''working together'' look like.¡± The Great Shaman asks warily. ¡°We need assistance at our northern borders. It''s hard to keep the barbarians in check. Troops and resources would be very welcome.¡± King Novak admits subdued. ¡°No.¡± The Great Shaman answers immediately. ¡°Dwem doesn''t negotiate with people who are suppressing their own citizens. It''s our way of life to give everyone the same chances. We can''t accept those values being completely ignored.¡± Novak''s eyes wander to Lucas who tilts his head and purses his lips. Of course my father will decline too. Even if Novak gave us a nice little explanation for their actions, they are still being committed as we speak. ¡°Okay.¡± He will- ¡°Dad!?¡± I call out, turning to my father who raises his left hand to stop me and everyone else at the table. ¡°Nict will help you. You are binding the enemy''s forces, it would be stupid to give up a distraction as large as Quinn.¡± He takes a deep breath. ¡°But we want to be paid.¡± Novak raises his eyebrow while the Great Shaman looks angrily at us, we just stabbed him in his back even though we are supposed to be his allies. The queen of Quinn leans forward and asks with a dreadful voice. ¡°Didn''t you listen to us? We are the ones who need resources and troops. How should we pay you? Do you want to steal our technology?¡± ¡°What a waste of time hrgh-¡± I cuff Azir before he can speak any further. They don''t have to know that their toys are no mystery to him. Lucas smiles and shakes his head. ¡°We can build fortresses and castles within days. We can turn dirt to metal, why should we need your resources? I admit that some pieces of your technology are very interesting, but what we want is something completely different.¡± He pauses dramatically. ¡°Give us your cursed. All of them.¡± Leon gasps, slamming his fist onto the table. ¡°You want slaves?¡± Lucas shrugs his shoulders and smiles dirtily. ¡°You have assets which you aren''t using properly. We would be very happy to welcome them to our society. Give us all your cursed ones who aren''t too settled in their ways as priests of the goddess. Announce that everyone who is hiding his magic is welcome to relocate to Nict. They can also bring their relatives.¡± ¡°Ohoho?¡± Now even the Great Shaman starts smiling. Of course! Even though Quinn has a bigger population than Nict, they have a much lower percentage of magicians due to generations of persecution. The magical bloodlines which survived till this day have to be extremely strong. After all they are still creating magicians even though they should have been dwindled down into nothingness. Every clan in Nict would welcome such children and their relatives with open arms. There will surely be social problems, but I doubt that we are speaking about outrageous numbers. We are weakening Quinn and gaining strength at the same time. Of course those individuals have to be taught first, but even a weak magician with only basic knowledge can earn his share. King Novak licks slowly over his lips. Obviously he is fighting for a decision. ¡°I suppose... if I talk to the priests and announce a decree... we could banish the evil cursed ones and throw them out of the country instead of dirtying ourselves with them.¡± . 94. ~Uprising.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°Having a dream. Having a nightmare. Sleeping, being awake. Sometimes there is no difference.¡± -The goddess. ***Quinn, Capital-Palace*** ***Azir*** It took us some time, but the details of the contract are finally worked out and the papers are signed. Thankfully this assignment is over after we are done with the farewells. King Novak''s servants brought lots of expensive foods and drinks into the conference room to celebrate the end of the negotiations. I am picking through the wonderful chocolate desserts at a separate table at the far end of the room. If this land wasn''t so severe in handling magicians it would be my personal paradise. Their skills in making chocolate related sweets are top notch! Maybe I should abduct the cook and lock him up inside my kitchen? ¡°Stop eating that stuff. Didn''t you have enough already?¡± Stella interrupts my little flight on cloud number nine with her nagging voice. ¡°Shush, woman! A man has to take the chance when he is offered a free treat.¡± I respond by filling my plate with yet another piece of chocolate. All of them are masterpieces which were foamed up and already crumble by simply touching them. The cook somehow managed to heat them on the inside, so when they break up a pool of hot chocolate flows onto the plate. ¡°This... can be misunderstood. Please try to avoid saying such things in the presence of our parents.¡± Giana turns red. She and Leon are entertaining us with nice stories about the good points regarding her home country. Lucas, the Great Shaman and king Novak created their own personal group and are chatting silently in a corner of the room. The shaman''s advisers, Ajax and queen Frey are still sitting at the conference table and talking about various matters. ¡°Yes.¡± Stella tries to take the plate away from me, but I avoid her skilfully. ¡°It''s your fourteenth dessert! Sometimes you are behaving like a little child! You''ll puke if you eat more of that stuff!¡± ¡°I never puked because of eating chocolate.¡± Now she is making something up. ¡°At least you''ll get stomach-ache!¡± She replies. ¡°Seriously?¡± I had pretty bad problems with my stomach after giving in to my desires, but I never connected it to eating too much. I simply figured that I was unlucky and got a bad piece of chocolate. ¡°It''s not that problematic. A simple healing spell solves the problem in most cases.¡± ¡°That''s not the right way to solve this issue! Not creating it in the first place is far better!¡± Stella reaches for the foamed up chocolate, but doesn''t manage to finish the action. Gunshots from in front of the conference room interrupt her and the door bursts open. Several soldiers in colourful uniforms enter the room while others break through the windows at the same time. I immediately cast a simple inhibition field which should suppress any chemical combustion in the area. It is a fairly simple magic that doesn''t cost much effort. Stopping the propellant inside the combustion chambers from igniting is even easier than suppressing a candle flame. The soldiers take positions throughout the room and aim their guns at us, but none of them pulls the trigger. They seem to be trained fairly well. ¡°What''s this supposed to mean!?¡± King Novak calls out with a red face. ¡°Put down the weapons right this moment!¡± ¡°They aren''t going to listen.¡± A priest in very luxurious robes enters the room. ¡°They are all loyal believers in our faith, unlike you and your family. You are collaborating with the Cursed!¡± He walks over to the table with the documents. ¡°And since you signed the papers we have undeniable proof of your misguided actions.¡± The room is now filled with ten soldiers and the newly arrived priest. He has grey hair and his facial expression shows that he is used to authority. A long, grey beard shows that he must be past the prime of his age and there are quite a few wrinkles on his face. ¡°Patre Tiamat. You! Don''t you realize that our country needs help if we want to survive what''s coming?¡± Queen Frey tries to stand up, but one of the soldiers pushes her back down. ¡°You are simply not religious enough. I realized a while ago that the royal family isn''t devoted enough.¡± The priest starts walking through the room. ¡°Normally I would''ve never been able to return this country onto the right path.¡± He shakes the papers in his hand. ¡°But with this we can show everyone that you were influenced by the cursed. It will be easy to take over from here.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± King Novak pales. He seems to be totally surprised by this situation. ¡°My followers already organised a revolt in front of the palace and secured a path to the main entrance.¡± Tiamat smirks. ¡°We will bring you all in front of our faithful believers and after showing them the evidence¡± He raises the documents. ¡°You''ll be executed together with the cursed.¡± Spreading his hands he smiles and looks at the ceiling. ¡°And after you are gone the rest of the palace will have no choice but to submit to us since the population will be on our side.¡± Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. That would be unpleasant. I don''t want to be executed. Is this guy nuts? I plunge my spoon into the chocolate foam in an attempt to take another bite. Unfortunately it''s already gone. I kept eating during the whole display, so I load my plate with another portion. It''s convenient to be ignored right now. ¡°That''ll cause a war with Nict and Dwem! Don''t we have enough problems by now!?¡± Queen Frey stammers. The strange priest shrugs his shoulders arrogantly. ¡°Our cities are safe from magic users. The inhibitors are running day and night, they can''t touch us with their magic as long as we stay in our country. Hahahaha.¡± Hm. Yes. The inhibition field. Seems like they have a big, stationary version of the magic suppressing device in every city. It''s very annoying to enter this field as a magician. The mana around us vibrates and makes it almost impossible to cast spells. Only very rudimentary and small spells are possible if you don''t use a lot of effort. It''s a good way to keep the damage which could be done by untrained magicians to a minimum. That is unless you find out the frequency of the scrambling device. Once you know the right frequency of the interfering waves, which are disturbing the mana, you can create an inverted wave. Applying the inverted wave to the mana which you are using to form a spell results in the negation of both waves. Hence you can cast as much spells as you want. It''s fairly easy as long as the frequency of the scrambler doesn''t change too fast. ¡°You! You cursed monster! Don''t ignore me when I am speaking.¡± The priest points at me, but I don''t care and shove yet another spoon with chocolate into my mouth. Stella is hiding behind me and totally forgot about complaining, so I managed to eat yet another dessert. ¡°Mou guys mould calm dowm.¡± I speak with a full mouth. There is no reason to be afraid. They are just normals and I dealt with their guns when they stormed into the room. The priest walks over and kicks the table with the desserts over. ¡°YOU! Kill him! There are still enough of them to execute in front of the crowd!¡± He orders one of his soldiers, pointing at me. ¡°No!¡± Stella hugs me from behind as the instructed soldier points his gun at my face. Nothing but a click is heard in the otherwise completely silent room. I have to force myself in order to avert my eyes from the chocolate which is spilled on the ground. ¡°You shouldn''t have done that!¡± The soldier in front of me checks his gun confusedly and I use his negligence. Enforcing my muscles I ram my spoon into his forehead and walk past him as he tilts backwards, taking the gun from his limp hands. Stella let go of me when I started moving. The others raise their guns and the clicking of malfunctioning guns fills the room. I point the acquired gun at the soldier who is closest to me and pull the trigger. All it takes is dispelling my suppressing spell in the area directly around me. A loud bang fills the room and the soldier''s face disintegrates in a shower of blood, bone and tissue. The gun is using a big calibre and the effect is impressive! Before the others can move I raise my free hand and wave it casually at them. Five soldiers are lifted into the air and thrown into walls and furniture. The unhealthy noises of breaking bones confirm that they are out of the game. The remaining three rebels draw knives and throw themselves at me, but they have normal strength and normal speed while I am able to use my magic relatively unhindered. Soldier one makes acquaintance with the gun in my hand, which I use as a club. It is a single shot model, but using it in this barbarous manner is also fine. He is wiped away like an insect and flies out of the window. Number two actually manages to ram his knife into my chest and I apply a small layer of mana above my skin to stop it. The blade breaks with a bright cling. While he is watching the blade of his knife bouncing away in a high arc with big, round eyes I grab his collar with the left and drop the gun to get a good grip on his belt. The last soldier watches me with an open mouth as I raise his companion above my head and bring him down on my knee, breaking him like a stick. Realizing that he is next in line he turns and runs towards the window. They used ropes to climb down from the upper floor. The last attacker grabs one of those ropes and starts hiking downwards as I am slowly following him. He is already five metres further downwards when I take a look out of the window. That''s when he looks up and realizes that his escape route was poorly chosen. Smiling I wave at him and grab the rope. A little jerk is enough to snap it. I don''t bother to watch his fall, turning around to face the room. This is the seventh floor and the soldier''s scream is cut shortly after. On my way back to Stella I realize that I forgot the priest. What was his name? Tia... something? Whatever. He is looking like a frog as he is simply standing there with his mouth wide open. The problem is removed easily enough by grabbing him and tossing him out of the window. He doesn''t even scream on his way down, so I can peacefully choose a fairly clean plate from the ground. Getting to my knees I search through the damaged desserts until I find one which wasn''t totally destroyed. How could they do something as horrible as that. The cook must have put his soul into creating those easily crumbling pieces of fluffiness. I get up from my knees and close my eyes as I place a piece of this dream in my mouth. A few moments later I realize that the room is too silent and open them again. Everyone is watching me. ¡°Is there a problem?¡± . 95. ~Abolition.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°You want to live in peace? Go and live a simple life. You want to be someone? Go and gain power. You want to be the Great Shaman? First learn to be humble.¡± -A simple truth. ***Quinn, Capital-Palace*** ***Stella*** ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Azir surveys the room with a doubtful expression, totally oblivious to what he just did. ¡°Hm. Hm. As expected from someone whom I regard as my equal. Simply applying an inverted wave as countermeasure is simple, but effective.¡± The Great Shaman nods and shakes his totem to show his approval. ¡°You... cast magic. Isn''t... there a... counter-field up?¡± King Novak looks around, letting his eyes wander over the crushed soldiers. He pays extra attention to the guy who had his spine broken by Azir. The body is still lying in the middle of the room, folded backwards at an angle of ninety degrees. ¡°Dad, we have to do something about the crowd in front of the palace! Didn''t Tiamat say that he organized a revolt?¡± Giana is the first of the royal family who regains her wits. ¡°We have to stop them before someone gets hurt.¡± ¡°You... are right.¡± The old man rises from his chair and is immediately assisted by his sons, Leon and Ajax. King Novak loses no time and leaves the room with fast and purposeful steps. Queen Frey follows them with Lucas and the Great Shaman on her heels. The shaman''s advisers also join the fray. Lucas gestures us to follow him on his way out and I follow my father without question. I am already halfway down the hallway when I realize that the most important person isn''t following us. Returning to the conference room I find Azir on his knees, sorting through the chocolate desserts on the ground. ¡°Are you serious!?¡± I call out from behind him, which surprises him. He almost drops one of the better looking pieces and turns around with a questioning expression on his face. He is serious! I hurry to the table and grab one of the baskets which were used to carry the desserts. Then I sort the pile of better looking pieces into the basket and shove it towards Azir''s chest. He has no choice but to grab the basket as I let go. ¡°You are simply a lost case. Eat until you burst open.¡± Grabbing a few more of the fluffy chocolate foams, I pile them up in the basket. ¡°Eat until you get sick. You could have told me that you aren''t affected by the field.¡± I pull him to his feet and guide him out of the room. ¡°I was frightened to death!¡± ¡°But there are still some good ones.¡± He complains. ¡°And sorry... the answer was so obvious. I thought you realized it yourselves.¡± ¡°Since your magic seems to work you can abduct the cook later. Now we need you to deal with the crowd in front of the palace.¡± There is a revolt because of us coming to Quinn. Of course we were invited, but we just agreed to help them for giving us their magicians. It''s a wicked trade which can be seen as both good and evil at the same time. ¡°And how are we supposed to find out. You can''t simply assume that I am good with all that physics stuff.¡± ¡°Chuck realized what I did though.¡± Azir mumbles while carrying the basket with both hands. ¡°The Great Shaman is a genius among geniuses among his people! Don''t use him as a means of measurement!¡± I bark at him. What did I do wrong to not realize this quirky side of his character. No, I always knew that Azir isn''t quite normal in his head! It just wasn''t that problematic while he was in school! Now I realize that his childish outbursts from time to time were never a matter of his youth. Azir always lived with the memories of an adult. His childish acts are a part of his character. It simply wasn''t a problem while we were in school. Beating up the vixens and other people who offended him didn''t seem as bad. Probably his mother drilled it into him not to kill the members of other clans, causing a war by doing so. Being faced with people who aren''t related to the country, or people who caused serious harm to him, he has no issue with killing them. I have to accept that, though I really have to find a way to stop him from eating from the floor. It''s inappropriate! Finally we reach the end of the long hallway and step onto a large, luxurious balcony. The view of the capital is excellent. Only now I realize how big Quinn''s capital is. The population must number in the millions and rival Nict''s capital at the very least, if not surpass it. ¡°There must be thousands!¡± Leon calls out shocked while watching the crowd which is on the plaza in front of the palace. The situation is still under control, but the soldiers who are guarding the palace seem to have problems with holding back the people. ¡°If something goes wrong we''ll have a civil war on our hands!¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. I read the signboards which proclaim ''Don''t negotiate with the Cursed!'' and ''Put Cursed where they belong!''. There are also some even more offensive texts and I get the urge to throw a few very deadly spells at those people. Ajax gestures at the people and a few destroyed shops at the plaza. There are always individuals who use such opportunities to steal and destroy. ¡°But how can we disperse this? Look at them, it has gotten out of hand. We need to call the army.¡± ¡°Or we use the chance to drill some respect for mages into them. It would be the perfect opportunity to make a statement and show them the other side of the coin. It would also serve as a great show to persuade those who are hiding their nature to reveal themselves.¡± Lucas turns around and looks at me... or more likely someone behind me. The others start whispering with doubtful expressions. ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°We can''t let that maniac loose on civilians.¡± ¡°Look at him, you wouldn''t even suspect that he just slaughtered eleven people.¡± ¡°We would need someone intimidating anyway...¡± ¡°This won''t work.¡± ¡°He would kill them.¡± I am almost frightened to do so, but I still turn around to take a look at my husband. He is hovering half a metre in the air, looking above our shoulders and eating his desserts. He is holding the basket in his right while eating with his left. The fingers are sullied with molten chocolate. Likewise is his mouth. Azir is looking at the scene with a childlike innocence until he realizes that we are watching him. Though the eyes of the royal family of Quinn are glued to his feet which are dangling freely in the air. ¡°Would you guys stop doing that? It''s creeping me out. I am fairly certain that I did nothing wrong this time. Neither socially nor otherwise!¡± His eyes wander to the Great Shaman. ¡°Chuck, if you would be so kind? Obviously they don''t believe that I can handle the situation properly.¡± The Great Shaman coughs. ¡°Hoh, of course. Since you are the one who is asking I might as well take part in this. Dwem was mostly watching the negotiations after all. We have to demonstrate that we aren''t just for show.¡± He turns around and stretches both his hands out to the sides. His advisers are immediately at his side and lift him onto the railing of the balcony. Chuck shakes his totem and wriggles his butt while balancing on the railing''s board. ¡°Ahem... Mimimimi... yes, that should work.¡± He performs an objectionable dance in front of the rampaging crowd. Luckily nobody seems to pay attention to the dwarf who is dancing on the palace''s balcony. Finally he raises both hands to his mouth and I am forced to cover both ears with my hands. Chuck''s voice booms over the plaza like and explosion. ¡°SHUT UP YOU FUCKING IMBECILES!¡± I realize that he performed some kind of voice amplification. The sound was focused in front of us, many windows were simply shattered and everything is suddenly deadly silent. The people closest to our position were knocked down by the force and are trying to get to their feet again. Chuck continues with a more moderate sound volume. ¡°I am the Great Shaman of Dwem and I am not happy right now! In Dwem we give everyone the same chances and you people are the accumulation of everything which we despise! I''ll give you ten seconds to disperse this crowd before I use my cursed powers against you.¡± ¡°They can''t disperse a crowd that big in ten seconds!¡± Queen Frey objects. Chuck snorts. ¡°I know. Sometimes you have to give people impossible tasks to show them the foolishness of their acts. Forming such a mass of people was a mistake in the first place. It violates safety regulations seventy five to two hundred eighty nine. Every child gets taught those in primary school.¡± His voice booms outwards once more. ¡°Okay. You failed! Don''t say I didn''t give you a fair chance.¡± He steps out into the empty air beyond the balcony and shakes his totem. Suddenly his figure enlarges drastically and flames engulf him. A fiery giant out of old fairy tales lands on the ground in front of the palace. Chuck''s gigantic head is at the balcony''s height. The fire elemental steps forward towards the crowd which starts dispersing in a wild panic. ¡°Wahahahar! Where is your resolve now? Just a little noise and fire and you shit yourselves! I didn''t even do anything... yet.¡± Pearls of sweat appear on king Novak''s forehead as he watches the gigantic, flaming form of Chuck chasing people around the plaza. They spread away from him like a frightened swarm of birds. The whole situation has something surreal to it. ¡°It''ll be hard to explain that to the church.¡± Novak wipes the sweat from his forehead. ¡°Harhar! Never forget why I am called the Great Shaman!¡± ¡°Stella?¡± ¡°What!¡± ¡°You were right.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°I feel sick, I might have to...¡± ¡°Go and fly over the crowd! I don''t want to see it!¡± . 96. ~Cite.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°I just need my lance and my spiky armour to teach my opponents what true terror is. Once I impale their ########¡± Sadly the rest of the inscription was removed by scratching it out. A true loss for history. -General Trievus ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Stella*** I enter the living room and all three kids who are playing on the ground jump up. ¡°Mommy and Daddy are back!¡± They run towards me with tears in their eyes. Ivy was sitting at the sofa and reading a book. When I entered she stood up and bowed to me. ¡°I hope you two had a nice trip.¡± ¡°Everything went fine. I guess I have to call it the usual diplomatic mission by now.¡± Although I am not happy about getting accustomed to being attacked by people who are out to kill me. My attention wanders to the children who are hugging my legs. ¡°And you three? Why are you crying? Is something wrong?¡± Zadkiel rubs his face into my robe. ¡°Y-¡± ¡°No!" Sariel slaps him on the back of his head. "We are just so happy that you are back!¡± ¡°You''ll never go away again? Right? Hic...¡± Zana clings to me desperately. ¡°Why are you carrying Az... I mean Daddy?¡± ¡°Oh, you three are so cute!¡± I drop Azir unceremoniously onto the ground, carrying him on my shoulders is getting tiresome. Bending down I hug the kids. ¡°Don''t worry. Daddy is just a little sick.¡± ¡°Daddy is sick?¡± Sariel lets go of me and hurries to Azir''s side. He is out cold and his face is as green as a plant. ¡°Can''t you heal him with magic?¡± I shake my head. ¡°This sickness can''t be healed with magic, he has to get through it by himself.¡± ¡°Something that can''t be healed with magic?¡± Zadkiel asks shocked. ¡°Yes, it''s called stupidity and I fear it''s hereditary.¡± I close my eyes and shake my head. ¡°Really?¡± Zana watches the twins with a sad expression. ¡°You two... I am sorry.¡± ¡°What means herederety?¡± Zadkiel watches Azir with a troubled expression. ¡°It''s hereditary and means that it is transferred from the parent to the child.¡± Sariel mumbles, pulling at Azir''s cheek. ¡°Daddy, you stink!¡± I notice the sudden mood swing and hurry to clear up the misunderstanding. ¡°It''s not as bad as it looks. As long as you listen to Mommy there is no problem.¡± The twins let out a sigh of relief and I get up to grab Azir. ¡°I have to bring Daddy into the bath. He''ll be sleeping there tonight. I think it''s all out, but it''s better to be safe than sorry.¡± Shouldering Azir again, I stand up to face Ivy. ¡°Thank you for taking care of them. It should be okay to take a day off.¡± Ivy smiles and bows again. ¡°It''s no problem. I think I found out on how to deal with children. It''s actually quite enjoyable. Don''t hesitate to ask when you have a tight schedule.¡± Then she leaves, taking the corridor towards the servant''s quarters. I notice that the three kids are as pale as chalk. ¡°Are you sure that there is nothing wrong?¡± They nod in unison. Hmm... they are clearly disturbed by something. No matter, if it''s something really important they''ll tell us. ¡°Fine, if you say so?¡± Dropping Azir into the bathtub goes without problem and I head off to bed. Then I realize that the trio followed my every step. ¡°You need something?¡± Zana is the first to speak. ¡°Can we sleep with you today? We are afraid of sleeping alone!¡± Sariel and Zadkiel nod in unison at her sides. Oh, the image. So cute! ¡°Of course.¡± I grab them to carry them off to bed. Azir isn''t available as a body pillow tonight. Having three smaller ones might do just fine. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** I am still feeling sick and yet I have to be up and working. It''s the first day after we returned from our abysmal diplomatic mission in Quinn. According to Lucas we struck a good deal with them and managed to impress their royal family. Once we start supplying them with resources they should be able to deal with the barbarians on their own. It''s just a question of stopping their raiding. Once their border crossings are safe they should be able to handle the rest. Coincidentally it''s also Zana''s first schoolday. In the afternoon Stella and I got a call over the mana net. It was from the director and she requested our presence as Zana''s official guardians. But since Stella is currently wrapped up in her lessons I had to get out of the bathtub. I wonder how I ended up in there? Was Stella really heartless enough to simply drop me off in the bath? Ow, my back hurts. Sleeping in this hard, curved thing isn''t good for my health. I arrive at the director''s office and enter without asking for permission. It was her who summoned me, so it should be fine. Inside I find a rather strange scene. As the director, Clara Veit''s office is big and spacious, but right now it''s cramped with people. Clara is sitting at her desk, giving off the same impression which I always get when I have to pay her a visit. There are four kids of Zana''s age lined up at the right side of the room. All of them are frozen in various attacking postures and aren''t moving. Upon further inspection I realize that they don''t even breathe. Hm. Hm. Good work. It''s a perfect execution of the spell frozen mind in combination with a little basic ice magic. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.There are also a few other people inside the room. From their age and appearance I suppose that they are the parents of the kids in question. In the far right corner of the room is Zana with Mr. Pendragon, my old teacher for basic classes. Zana is on her knees and has to face the corner of the room. ¡°Ah, Azir. It seems like visits to my office run in your family.¡± Clara points at a chair in front of her. I take her up on the offer and sit down, deliberately ignoring the other parents. She gestures at the frozen kids and their parents. ¡°As you see we are facing a little situation. During the magic classes, a fight broke out between the kids and your daughter used a highly advanced spell to defeat her opponents. Such spells aren''t supposed to be known to a child her age.¡± I nod, contemplating the situation. ¡°Of course. I am tutoring Zana. The spell she used on those kids is called frozen mind. A very basic mind magic if you ask me.¡± ¡°It''s forbidden to teach dangerous spells to children. I hope you have good ties to a lawyer. Because getting out of this one won''t be so easy for you and Zana.¡± Clara points at the kids. ¡°Could you please undo the spell on them?¡± ¡°Let me first confirm something.¡± I stand up and walk over to Zana, giving Mr. Pendragon a nod of acknowledgement. I turn Zana around and smile at her. ¡°Everything okay? Would you like to tell me how all of this happened?¡± ¡°Hic... they said that I am just a motherless freeloader who is living off of her clan''s generosity. And they called the Zait weaklings for not being able to defend Tri properly.¡± She wipes the snot from her nose. Apparently she cried a lot. Geez, children are so much trouble. ¡°Well. Tri is still standing and houses can be rebuilt. Why shouldn''t you be allowed to be a freeloader as a child? Don''t worry, you are a Zait and the Zait always take care of their own. I liked my aunt very much and I would never allow anything to happen to her child. You are Stella''s and my daughter.¡± Then I snort. ¡°Though we have to train you a little harder from now on. You were far too nice on those bullies. Should I tell you a story? Actually I ran into a group of bullies myself when I was younger. Such people only stop if you show them that you have the courage to fight back. You executed frozen mind perfectly, but it was the wrong choice in this case. When they wake up it''ll be as if nothing happened to them.¡± I take a deep breath while Zana is looking up to me, listening to my every word. ¡°You need to cut them to pieces and heal them up again, keeping them on the verge of death for at least a few minutes. They have to experience what it means to face their end. Impaling them on the statue in the park area works especially fine. You know the one of that war hero? The one with the big lance?¡± Zana nods. ¡°You mean General Trievus, who single handedly defended the capital''s eastern Gate for a whole day.¡± Who cares, it''s just a statue. ¡°Exactly that one. And after you are done with them you have to threaten them with even more gruesome atrocities. Take their pride away, make them lick your shoes. If you leave them with a speck of self-respect, they will just return to take revenge. Of course you have to be careful of getting caught while doing so. There has to be no evidence. I am sorry, I think my lessons were lacking in that regard, but we''ll make sure to correct that.¡± I wave my hand at the frozen kids and their bodies relax. They drop to the ground unconsciously. ¡°They will wake up shortly and remember nothing.¡± Pointing at them I continue explaining. ¡°And that''s why we have to approach this situation in another way Zana. When they don''t remember a bad experience, they can''t learn from it. It''s our responsibility to ensure that they learn their place in the social hierarchy.¡± I end my explanation there and place my attention on the parents. Most of them paled when I entered the room. Now they are as white as paper. ¡°Mrs. Clara. I think this issue doesn''t have to be pursued.¡± One of the women addresses the director. ¡°What? You were the one who was insisting that this issue can''t be left unattended.¡± Clara complains. The man at the woman''s side starts complaining. ¡°Dear! You can''t be serious! We-¡± ¡°Shush! That was then. We didn''t know that Zana is Azir''s daughter.¡± She grabs one of the boys and pulls her man out of the room. The other parents also express their apologies for causing unnecessary problems and flee the scene with their offspring. Clara''s eyes turn into small slits, staring daggers at me. ¡°It happened again.¡± I shrug my shoulders. ¡°No complaint, no redress. Your own words.¡± ¡°That doesn''t change the fact that you are teaching your daughter dangerous spells.¡± She grumbles. ¡°Can you prove that the spell is dangerous? Obviously you don''t even understand it, otherwise you would''ve dispelled it yourself.¡± I smirk at her. ¡°If there is nothing else? I have to get home with Zana. Dinner is waiting.¡± Mr. Pendragon raises a finger to get Clara''s attention. ¡°It''ll be very hard to get any hard evidence if the used spell isn''t even found in an official spellbook. We would have to register it properly and get the required doc-¡± Clara raises her hand, gritting her teeth. ¡°Have fun with your dinner.¡± I bow to her and leave the room while Zana is properly waving goodbye. What a well behaved child. I just have to straighten out some small problems with her approach on life. . 97. ~Power Game.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°Mana streams, or ley lines, are energy veins of exceptional magical power, consisting of pure mana. They are created by the energies and magnetic fields inside a planet and normally flow only deep down in the planet''s core. In rare cases though, a mana stream can be pushed close to the surface. This can happen due to a dramatic event inside the planet or rare fluctuations in the magnetic field. But no matter the circumstances, a mana stream which reaches close to the surface is always something highly valuable. It enables magicians to recover their mana faster as it saturates the area with power. It can also be used to directly fuel magical devices and highly demanding spells. There should be no question about how much of a strategic asset such a limitless source of power provides.¡± -Magicae Codex XVI ***Second Continent, Jont-Capital*** ***Elora*** ¡°Hahahahaha!¡± Serenzar is laughing like mad while sitting on his throne with me on his lap. We just had a happy time, cuddling with each other, when one of his priests barged into the room. Those guys surely know how to destroy the mood. They always interrupt us when I am about to manipulate Serenzar into doing something meaningful for a change. His ambitions are getting a little troublesome from time to time. There is only world domination and controlling the masses in his brain. Though I admit that he is trying to govern his acquisitions properly, the ways he is trying to acquire them shocks even me sometimes. The priest who is prostrating himself on the floor in front of us is watching me with lecherous eyes. I know those fellows. They are acting innocent and loyal, but dare to turn your back on them and the party is on. Though the story he told us was admittedly quite interesting. ¡°So this Azir is the leading force which is responsible for our setbacks.¡± He absent-mindedly strokes my thighs while I am hugging him from the side. Normally I would kill someone for the attempt alone, but my hubby has a free pass on doing anything he wants. After all he saved me from a life of slavery. Some might think that my fixation on him isn''t appropriate. After all he is far older than me. But what point is there in nagging about age differences when the persons in question could live for thousands of years. It was quite clear to me that if I ever had to choose a partner in crime, it had to be someone who equals me. Serenzar is more than fulfilling those criteria. If it just wasn''t for his strange idea of having a harem. But he is always nice to me and even taught me magic. So I fell in love with him. It took me a long time to ~convince~ my fellow harem members to escape and try their luck somewhere else. Now I just have to make Serenzar realize that I am his fated person and not just an object of lust. ¡°That''s true!¡± The priest bows. ¡°We think that his appearance is linked to a certain incident years ago. You sent one of your apprentices to Nict. He should have performed a summoning ritual for a demon in order to stop Nict''s increasing ambitions. Apparently the ritual didn''t fail as we originally thought.¡± Serenzar purses his lips. ¡°Explain that point further. How do you link this talented fellow to the summoning ritual.¡± ¡°It''s one of the rare cases in which we got first hand information because our own men were involved in the operation. The person in question clearly stated his ambition to use one of Nict''s clan heads as a sacrifice in order to summon a particularly powerful demon.¡± The priest takes a deep breath. ¡°We don''t know how the events played out afterwards, but the files which we got from our spies clearly show that the Zait clan head indeed went missing for a short while. A little later they announced that they had a heir to their family.¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°I still don''t get it.¡± I urge the priest to go on while balancing myself on top of Serenzar. The priest ignores me, avoiding my eyes carefully. It''s only after Serenzar signals him to go on that he proceeds. I try to swallow down my anger. Who does this guy think I am. Could anyone sit on their god''s lap? They should pay me some respect too. ¡°Our spies got a glimpse at their documents. Nict is keeping very good track of their bloodlines. The family register of the Zait is definitely strange. One might say it''s a forgery.¡± The priest pulls a set of papers from his documents. ¡°Looking at the register of the Zait alone indicates that everything is normal, but taking the logs of other clans into account Azir simply popped into existence at the age of approximately one year. It''s a very subtle detail and can''t be used as hard evidence. The other clans might have shrugged it off as a case of very good secrecy from the Zait''s side. But together with our knowledge about the summoning incident there are-¡± ¡°So he could be the demon in question. Though hasn''t he a family and children? His wife is the second princess on top. No, he is certainly the real deal. So did he obtain the demon''s knowledge? That could be the explanation. If so, we shouldn''t underestimate him. His actions so far show that he isn''t bound to common sense.¡± Serenzar starts mumbling. He drops the report about Azir to the ground and starts chuckling upon reading the next one. Then he breaks into a mad laughter, even worse than before. ¡°HAHAHAHAHA!¡± I strain my neck to take a look at the first line of the report. What I find there shocks even me. ¡°Jeremiah? Isn''t that your brother?¡± ¡°Yes. They threw him into prison for crimes against the royal family. I can''t take it any longer. The irony! His own descendants who followed him, praising him as their great ancestor, locked him up in a dark, stinking cell!¡± Serenzar shakes his head. ¡°I thought he had them under a blood oath. Well, apparently his offspring got smarter than him in the subsequent generations.¡± The priest nods. ¡°It just shows how vastly superior you are to your kin. Not even someone who shares your potentials could rise to your heights.¡± His eyes turn towards me. ¡°Though it would be probably better if you don''t give your consort so much free leash.¡± His eyes wander to the smaller thrones to our left and right which were intended for Serenzar''s mistresses. ¡°The consort of a god should know her place as a-¡± That I can''t forgive! Pointing my finger at the priest, the floor starts moving under his feet, enclosing them in stone. Before anyone can act I imagine those stone cuffs moving apart, pulling him into doing a perfect split. A high pitched scream escapes his lips. The tendons in his old legs rip and something important to him gets smashed hard on the stone floor at the same time. The priest says nothing, He simply reaches for his private place like having lost something of great value. Serenzar winces. ¡°Wow. That was mean. Though isn''t he right? You have your own throne directly at my side.¡± I ignore the man who is pulling himself towards the exit of the throne room, still not able to even scream. Two other priests come running his way to remove him from our sight. Those priests are getting bolder and more fanatical in exercising their cult. Since I am the only mistress by now they are under the impression that it might be the right time to influence Serenzar themselves. I won''t allow that. So I raise both eyebrows and smile at the man in my arms. ¡°Do you really care what those old men in their saggy robes are thinking? You really want your woman to sit on this cold chair at your side instead of comforting you from close up?¡± ¡°We could put cushions on them? To be honest my feet are falling asleep.¡± His eyes wander to the chairs which are a little smaller than his and in lowered positions. That''s another reason why I am not going to sit on one of those chairs. I want to be his equal, so putting myself into a position of lower status is out of the question. ¡°Someone who commands an entire continent shouldn''t let himself be bound to the thoughts of others. Besides... you are very comfortable and I couldn''t do this if I were to sit on that cold, hard chair.¡± I bite into his earlobe and use my ultimate skill on him. Persuasion through proper stimulation. ¡°Oooh... go on. That''s a very good reason to have you here.¡± . 98. ~Parole.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°I managed it! Rerouteing a mana stream is possible! Now it is just a matter of time until I become the most powerful being on the planet! I''ll be on par with a god! There is just a little problem with influencing a mana stream permanently. It takes tremendous power to do so. But where should I take it from?¡± -Experiment 666 ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** I am sitting at my working desk while humming happily as I am doing the stuff which I like the most... fooling around with my artefacts and devices. It has been a year since I got a little spare time for myself and of course I used the rare chance to hide myself in my laboratory. Unfortunately one of my fears about having children turned into reality. ¡°What are you making, Daddy?¡± Sariel asks from my lap and eyes the long, cylindrical tube in my hands with suspicion. The rod is about half a metre in length and has a diameter of about two centimetres. She is trying to imitate my work and asking me many, many questions while I am doing my work. Why are you doing this? Why does it look like that? How does it work? Seriously! I think I am spending more time answering questions than I am actually working. ¡°That''s my new multi-tool. It can be anything I want it to be!¡± Sariel points at my multi-tool. ¡°Why aren''t you creating tools by using your ability. Isn''t condensing mana more convenient? This thing takes up so much space and it doesn''t look pretty.¡± ¡°That''s... that... don''t question the great mind of an inventor!¡± There are tons of reasons! ¡°A creation isn''t simply created because you need it. You make new things to test the borders of what''s possible! And what would I do if there isn''t enough mana to solidify it in the environment? The technique of creating a physical shape out of mana is highly mana consuming.¡± Why am I even defending myself? Sariel''s hands wander over the necklace which she created under my guidance. ¡°But it isn''t as pretty as mine.¡± ¡°Admittedly, your necklace has a very beautiful design, but functionality is always more important than looks. Didn''t you notice that I tried very hard to keep it''s natural state very simple?¡± ¡°That worked out at least... it''s just a stick.¡± Sariel determines. ¡°That''s because a wizard should always have a wand, or a staff! You can''t call yourself a proper magician without having one.¡± Yes, in my old world everyone above master stage had a wand at the very least. ¡°Mom doesn''t use one.¡± Sariel starts counting on her fingers. ¡°Neither do Lucas, Yoran, Ivy, Grandmother Helen or Valeria-¡± ¡°You can''t count Lucas and Yoran. They are just weak magicians.¡± I exclaim. ¡°Should I explain my staff in detail?¡± ¡°It doesn''t change the fact that I haven''t seen anybody using a wand so far.¡± Sariel stays on track and doesn''t want to change the subject. The door to the room opens and Stella enters the room. ¡°So here you are. Are you trying to skip the family meeting?¡± ¡°Family meeting?¡± I ask in wonder. Did I forget about it? ¡°I didn''t hear anything about a family meeting. When was it announced?¡± ¡°Helen invited everyone from both of our families to plan our future course of action.¡± Stella''s eyes wander around the room. ¡°She also wished for us to bring the Emperor''s artefacts. Her plan is to confront Jeremiah with them in order to find out what''s inside the vault. Didn''t you store them on that wall?¡± Her eyes study the empty holders at the wall. Originally they held the helmet, dagger and sword, but now they are empty. My eyes wander to the table in front of the empty weapon holders. What lies on the table is recognisable as the pitiful remains of the Emperor''s artefacts. Stella smacks her forehead. ¡°You destroyed them?¡± I raise a finger to defend myself. ¡°That''s not destroyed! The proper term is ''disassembled for spare parts''. I reused some of the finer magical circuits.¡± ¡°Spare parts? What did you build by destroying three of the emperor''s most dangerous artefacts?¡± She focuses her attention on me and squints her eyes. Smiling proudly, I raise the multi-tool. ¡°I built a multi-tool.¡± To demonstrate my point I change it rapidly from different screwdrivers to a small knife and then back to a short rod. ¡°And with the rest of the parts we built an amulet for Sariel.¡± ¡°Oh my, that''s beautiful!¡± Blinking, Stella suddenly snaps at me. ¡°Don''t try to distract me! You seriously want to tell me that you made yourself a screwdriver?¡± ¡°A high end screwdriver!¡± I change the rod to the Emperor''s sword and then to the dagger. ¡°Of course I kept the former functionality of the magical circuits, but now they are able to reconfigure themselves.¡± Stella makes an audible sigh of relief and shoves the useless parts of the artefacts into a suitcase which she brought with her. ¡°In any case, we are late! And I want to introduce our three youngsters to their cousin.¡± ¡°Cousin?¡± Sariel asks. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.¡°The daughter of Stella''s sister, Sola. You shouldn''t have too high hopes for her. She isn''t as talented as you and only a little older.¡± I explain, trying to dampen Sariel''s expectations of the new playmate. ¡°Come on, we have to go.¡± Stella rushes out of the room, so I pocket my newest creation and follow her with Sariel in my arms. Half an hour later we are in the palace''s throne room where I get a forceful update on what''s going on. Apparently Helen and Lucas decided to combine the forces of Nict, Dwem and Quinn. The rulers of the other nations already gave their approval. For that purpose we''ll establish a fixed trade with Quinn through the usage of my stepper discs. We already got quite a few magicians from them and even if they are untrained, they are more than able to operate the discs after a few instructions. That frees our trained personnel from wasting their time with the transportation of goods. The second big point is that we''ll build a fleet of flying fortresses to strike at our enemies. The plan is to use them in order to subdue our aggressive neighbours as the fortresses get finished. Once we have enough of them to hit the second continent, we''ll organize an attack. In the meantime our big transport drones are used to smuggle highly trained operatives to the second continent. They''ll learn about the culture there and try to obtain the information we need to plan our offensive. At this point even knowing where their major cities are located is of great value to us. Of course we expect to lose many of those spies, but that''s the reason why we send only mind magicians. They''ll have to grab an unimportant farmer to learn the language and customs. If we find their capital with the so called Master it would be worth the cost of lives. After everything is said and done Helen calls everyone of the family closer to the throne in order to move to the last point on our list. ¡°Then it''s time to take a look at Jeremiah.¡± Helen''s voice echoes loudly through the throne room. ¡°Let''s see if he has learned something from his imprisonment.¡± The doors open and a pair of guards pulls Jeremiah into the room. He looks defeated and wears dirty rags. Though he had enough to eat and drink, he still got a little slimmer. When they drop him to the ground he immediately gets to his knees and glares at us. ¡°How dare you to do this to me!?¡± ¡°Because of your crimes against the royal family of course.¡± Helen explains while brushing her fingernails on her formal robe. Like always she isn''t wearing anything too extravagant. ¡°Have you finally come to your senses? We need information about your brother and the vault.¡± Lucas asks Jeremiah with a grave voice. Then he lifts the suitcase, which he got from Stella, and pours the remains of the Emperor''s artefacts on the ground in front of Jeremiah. ¡°We disassembled these artefacts to learn more about their assumed function as keys, but found nothing.¡± Jeremiah''s jaw drops as he stares at the remains. ¡°You destroyed my sword! That was a memento of my father! I''ll punish you for this!¡± He jumps to his feet and twists his cuffed arms out of his shackles. The metallic handcuffs fall to the ground as the maniac spreads his arms wide. ¡°I call upon the heavens! Come forth storms of old! I am the one whose will is done! Make the black cloud overhead and rain ice like glass! Not you, nor any other can fathom what is nigh! Tear this town asunder!¡± The echo of his chant dies away while we are watching him with expecting expressions, but nothing happens. ¡°I was right.¡± Lucas reaches for Helen and hugs her from the side. ¡°You know what that means.¡± ¡°Tch! And I thought that a little over a year in prison would soften him up!¡± She shakes her head. ¡°It''s my fault for losing the bet against you. I shouldn''t have underestimated someone as old as him. Probably he suffered through much worse than our special prison.¡± Sola nods and gestures at Jeremiah. ¡°I didn''t expect him to try to eradicate the city as soon as his handcuffs are off.¡± Valda snorts. ¡°It''s as I said, you should let a few magicians mind-wipe him. It would be far kinder and his life expectancy allows for a proper retraining. I''ve never heard of someone regaining his social skills after being locked away for years in a small room. The idea alone is preposterous! How should he? It would be a true miracle.¡± Jeremiah starts shrieking in shock. ¡°Why!? I sanded them through! They are off... oh...¡± He takes a look at his wrists where my handcuffs sealed his abilities before. But the handcuffs were only a part of our safety precautions. You have to be very careful with a being like him. Hidden under his handcuffs are sealing tattoos like those used for children. Apparently he didn''t see them in his dark cell. Of course there are a few more lines of defences in place. Helen sighs heavily and gestures for me to do my part. ¡°A mind-wipe is too final and I am still hoping to return a great spirit like him to the right path. We''ll try again another time.¡± I step closer towards Jeremiah, whose eyes are starting to turn wet, and put a new set of handcuffs on his hands. Is he seriously starting to cry? ¡°Those are sturdier. I suggest cutting off your arms the next time.¡± . 99. ~Tea time.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°It''s open! It''s open!¡± -Experiment 667 ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Stella*** ¡°What are they doing?¡± Sola asks me while observing Sariel, Zadkiel and Zana while we are having tea in my mansion''s living room. Recently Sola is regularly coming over to visit me and deepen our relationship as sisters. I can''t say that it''s uncomfortable, but it''s still hard to overcome our past. ¡°Playing.¡± I answer and look up from my tea for a moment. The three of them are sitting on the floor, facing each other and playing. ¡°No matter how you look at it, that''s not playing...¡± Sola expresses uncomfortably. ¡°Isn''t that an advanced training method for acceleration magic?¡± I blink and observe them closely. They are slapping their palms together, touching each other''s noses and clapping hands with each other. The whole process repeats itself at a speed fast enough to show nothing but the blurry movement of their hands, which results in a rapid staccato of clapping. If someone is too slow he or she gets bitch slapped or poked with a finger. I had to heal blue eyes and broken fingers at regular intervals since Azir taught them this new game. ¡°I see no problem, they are always playing like that.¡± ¡°But not like this! Children are supposed to play games at this age. Real games! What they are doing could turn out to be dangerous! What if they get hurt?¡± Sola gasps. ¡°And why are their powers unsealed!? Sariel and Zadkiel are too young! They aren''t even two years old.¡± I shrug my shoulders. ¡°Sorry, Sis. Don''t get riled up over it. I didn''t realize that they are so far ahead of their generation. Maybe having adopted Zana distorted my expectation of the twins. They are doing so well with each other.¡± Of course that''s a lie, but I don''t want Sola getting envious over my children. I am well aware of how outrageous their rate of growth is. ¡°It''s not just the twins! It''s Zana too! Someone her age shouldn''t be that skilled either!¡± Sola stabs her finger at the three children who keep playing their game. ¡°I suppose it''s Azir''s fault. He is always saying that the teachers in school are incompetent, so he tutors the kids himself for one to two hours each day. I am so glad that I have him. In fact he is also volunteering to deal with the school when the director has an issue.¡± Okay, that''s my last excuse. If she doesn''t buy it I have to start spinning tales for her. ¡°Though I don''t know why he is so eager to do such an annoying job.¡± ¡°Is that so? I''ll have to hold Xander responsible then. He is wasting all his time at his parents'' hospital and with his studies. Obviously he isn''t fulfilling his responsibilities as a father.¡± Sola nods vehemently. ¡°I hope my little Anna isn''t too far behind by now.¡± I smile and shake my head. ¡°I don''t believe that. They learn so incredibly fast at that age. She''ll catch up in no time.¡± Just don''t get the idea that it has something to do with genes! You''ve been a better sister since you got Xander and your child to mess with! Don''t return your attention to my family. Our relationship also improved greatly! Don''t destroy that now. ¡°I understand. It seems like we missed out on Anna''s education.¡± Sola pulls on her lower lip and surveys the living room of my house. ¡°Shouldn''t you increase the size of your mansion? It''s fine for now, but don''t you think that it''ll get cramped once the youngsters grow up?¡± ¡°I think that won''t be a problem. There is still a lot of time and I like it how it is. More than ten square metres per person is much too much space. Don''t you think that the palace''s private quarters feel lonely because of that?¡± I pause for a moment. ¡°We actually have to search for our family members once we don''t find them at their usual place where they normally spend their time.¡± This time Sola tilts her head. ¡°You are right, but I actually like it that way. Having our mother too close always ends with her creating a stupid plan to influence our future.¡± Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.I smile and nod vehemently. ¡°You are so right. Damn.¡± Helen enters the room as I let out a curse and Sola turns around to take a look at the new arrival. Apparently my mother let herself in. She is the born illegal trespasser and regards the whole country as her personal property. In fact I am not entirely sure if the two times when she and Lucas walked in on me and Azir weren''t planned. ¡°There are my cute little grandchildren!¡± Helen rushes over to the trio in a blur of motion and hugs all three of them before they can react. She has to use speed magic in order to catch them. For some strange reason my children tend to disappear when she approaches. Though it seems that their alarm function failed this time. ¡°F- f- f- fast!¡± Zana is totally overwhelmed by the sudden attack. ¡°She disabled our warning spell!¡± Sariel tried to flee, but got caught anyway. ¡°Whyyyy! We trained so hard and the granny can still pet us like stuffed toys!¡± ¡°Mmhmhmhhhh...¡± Zadkiel drew the worst card with his face buried in Helen''s chest. My mother is using her whole body to cuddle the kids in the meantime. The whole scene continues for a little more than a minute until the children get released. ¡°Oh, you three are the best! Did you already manage to get your clan''s ability under control?¡± Helen finally lets go of them and Zadkiel slides to the ground unconscious. ¡°Mom, could you please desist from suffocating my children?¡± I rebuke her angrily. ¡°She does that to Anna too.¡± Sola scowls. ¡°Anna is already hiding under the bed when she hears Helen''s voice. I have to encourage her to come out again for over an hour each time. Even if Helen''s already long gone.¡± ¡°But how can I not enjoy the blessing of having so many grandchildren? Anna is just a little shy, Sola.¡± Helen looks at the three of them intently. ¡°So? How are the prodigies doing?¡± Zana raises her hand. ¡°Dad already taught me to gather mana and manipulate it! He also taught me a secret spell for dealing with bullies! It''s very easy, so even I can do it. Though Daddy said that I am only allowed to use it against bullies who hurt me.¡± ¡°Oh, really? Do you want to share it with your aunt? Azir surely won''t have anything against it if you tell it to his loving mother in law.¡± ¡°Uhm...¡± Zana fidgets with her fingers. ¡°First you have to gather enough mana to condense it into a small sphere until it becomes solid. That''s easy. The tricky part is to put a second layer of solid mana around the sphere to stabilize it for the second step.¡± ¡°The second step?¡± Helen asks in wonder. Zana''s expression turns really enthusiastic. ¡°Yes. Once that''s done you condense the inner sphere over its threshold and throw it at the bullies. The inner sphere explodes because it''s too dense and sends out the outer layer as shrapnel! Braaaam!¡± Zana spreads her hands to substantiate the image bodies being shredded to pieces. ¡°And the bullies are smeared onto the walls with lots and lots of holes in them! No more bullies! Though Daddy admitted that it''s unlikely that there is something left behind which is big enough for having holes.¡± Zana nods satisfied. ¡°He said that I have to close my eyes when I throw that spell at a bully. Then I am not allowed to open them until he says that it''s fine.¡± ¡°...¡± Helen''s expression is a stiff, smiling mask and for several seconds she just kneels there, not moving at all. Then she turns towards Sariel. ¡°And how are you doing with your ability? Zana is apparently doing fine in school.¡± Sariel looks at the floor. ¡°Zadkiel and I still haven''t found out what we can do.¡± Her voice is a little sad. Even though both of them are trying very hard to use either Azir''s or my ability, they are still failing at a basic level. Helen strokes Sariel''s head. ¡°Oh, don''t worry. It can take a while until a clan ability manifests. That''s why schooling starts at the age of five. The Siorda are the only clan who have their ability from the beginning. But it''s only a passive ability, so it''s okay. Don''t fret over it. It was mean of me to ask something like that.¡± Zana hugs Sariel from the side. ¡°I am sure that you''ll get a great ability. Something like laser eyes!¡± Sariel''s eyes widen. ¡°I don''t want laser eyes!¡± Zana tries again. ¡°Duplication?¡± ¡°Noooooo!¡± . 100. ~Theism.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°And so our family escaped to this land called Nict. At first we feared for the worst in doing so, but it somehow worked out. Placing our trust in the word of the government from which we hid for so long was a hard thing to do. But unexpectedly they didn''t lie and we could safely relocate to Nict. Revealing our family of twenty people as mages was a hard thing to do, but it was an action of last resort. There is no way to tell for how long we would manage to stay in hiding and it is a wonder that we kept going like this for generations. When we first arrived in Nict it struck me as a cold and strange place. But that was only the first impression. By now I know that they are just very strict people and by no means bad in their hearts. They like it when everything has its place. So their society is as neat and orderly as their city design. We had to speak in front of a committee of seven people and tell them our life stories as well as our abilities. Then we had to prove that we are magicians by touching a small marble made out of glass. They knew so many spells which they asked us to perform, but of course we failed miserably without training. Only my wife managed to cast a small light globe which caused affirmative grumbling among the members of the committee. When I revealed our family''s ability by bending a metal pen they went nuts though, fighting among themselves on who would get us. Not understanding, I already feared for the worst. Our ability didn''t seem like anything special compared to their telekinesis, fireballs, light globes and strength enhancement buffs. It''s just the ability to control magnetic fields and influence certain metals by doing so. In the end a clan called Eddin won the fierce argument and the committee member who had ''acquired'' us looked like he just found a diamond. We were told that we were now a branch family of the Eddin and he pressed a very heavy book into my hands. It was just rules about what is socially acceptable and what not. Then we were relocated to Penta where we got a whole mansion for ourselves. Of course we didn''t get it for free and we have to work hard to fulfil the Eddin''s expectations. But now we don''t have to live in fear of being discovered.¡± -Random Refugee ***Second Continent, Jont-Capital*** ***Serenzar Draco*** The throne room is full of priests and guards who watch me in awe. Coloured windows shed a dim light, obscuring the view of the rainy weather outside. So the room has to be lighted by the magical lights which are filling the ceiling. I yawn and listen to the problems of the minor townsfolk. One of the new priests brought a very dire situation to my attention. He found out that several rural villages are badly supplied with the necessities of life. There aren''t enough resources for them to grow as I want them to. The money to employ the needed teachers for the children is missing and the schools are breaking down because they can''t be maintained. In addition many of the healers left those villages since the support of needed medicaments was lacking. It isn''t possible to send a healing magician to every little village, so relying on trained healers who deal with the small ailments is necessary. I am a person who thinks in long terms. Therefore the basis for the growth of a society is the most important to me. Maybe it''s because I''ve already lived for a very long time? ¡°Hahaha.¡± The first thing I do is to invest in healthcare and education. There is no person on this continent who lacks medical treatment or schooling. At least I thought so until now. There seem to be places where people have to travel for over a day to reach a medical centre. Something which shouldn''t be. ¡°So. How could this happen?¡± I look down on the ten old priests who are kneeling in front of me. ¡°We had to redistribute some resources in order to finance your fleet.¡± One of the elder priests says, not looking up. ¡°And the streets which supply the major harbours were in bad shape. We needed funds to repair them. It was a necessary formality.¡± ¡°So, why didn''t you ask me for my opinion in this matter? I am sure that we could''ve taken the funds from somewhere else?¡± I ask, looking out of the window. ¡°Why take those funds from the healthcare and educational sector? Why not from the economic or services sector? I am sure that they can carry the extra load and the pay off from the better education and longer life expectancy will resolve the problem once the next generation takes over. I don''t understand it.¡± If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°If you take from healthcare and education, the effects aren''t immediately seen?¡± The captain of my guards offers with a questioning voice. ¡°Hahaha.¡± That''s why I chose him as the captain of my guard. He is a smart one. ¡°Yes. In other words it looks extremely suspicious since they tried to hide the flow of money. They took it from the departments which looked like people are the least likely to complain. Who cares about some rural villages which existed for years without any of those benefits. Shutting down a minor school in that region isn''t an issue, they are just farmers living there anyway. Tell me, which journey took that money until it arrived back at my military?¡± ¡°It was never our intention to hide something from the god!¡± One of the ten priests calls out and prostrates himself. Nodding, I gesture at the amulet around my neck. ¡°So since you know what your god is capable of you should have no problem with explaining the situation in its entirety. I am very eager to listen to your story.¡± The silence in the room is profound and when one of the priests attempts to speak, one of the others silences him forcefully with a hand over his mouth. So he was one of the instigators of this event? Another priest clenches his fists. ¡°My cousin is a building contractor and we redistributed that money to push some contracts to his company.¡± ¡°They don''t give cheap offers and their work is progressing slowly since they always take more contracts than they can handle. I took money to tamper with the documents in order to make it look like the deal is okay.¡± Another priest spills the beans. ¡°My family has a company for cloth manufacture and we funnelled the taxes through them to create uniforms for the army.¡± Yet another one hurries to admit his actions. Supposedly those uniforms weren''t exactly fair priced. I massage my temples. Honestly. Why is it that people in power tend to lose the sight of their responsibilities? And it always gets worse with each generation, so I am forced to do a little house cleaning every eighty or ninety years. ¡°Captain, tell me what''s this situation called again?¡± ¡°Corruption?¡± The captain offers, looking at me with questioning eyes. Surveying the throne room, my attention wander to the moody weather outside. ¡°It''s such a sad day to deal with issues like this and I hate rain. Throw them into prison.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± ¡°Our god is truly merciful!¡± ¡°Pray for the one true god.¡± ¡°Wait for a nice, sunny day. Then hold a public execution for them and make sure that their crimes are known. There is no need for your men to get wet and the watchers shouldn''t catch a cold while learning how scum has to be dealt with.¡± I wave my hand to dismiss them. The captain bows deeply. ¡°His Holiness is truly a nice god to think about the well being of his followers.¡± ***Second Continent, Jont-Capital*** ***Elora*** I sneak up to the young priest who stayed behind in the throne room after everybody else left. ¡°How did it work out?¡± My ability of teleporting through shadows is very helpful in getting around without Serenzar''s knowledge. It''s also how I got the other harem members out of the palace. Shadow step is my personal little secret which not even Serenzar knows about. The priest bows. ¡°I did as you instructed me to. Everything went as you prophesied it. The incriminating documents were exactly where you said they would be. I just had to connect the dots to prove my point to the god. With this the way for a new group of leading priests is free. I can''t thank you enough.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah. Just make sure to pay enough respect to me in future.¡± I gesture dismissively. ¡°Don''t forget that the one who brought you into your new position of power can dethrone you as easily as you were placed there. I know more than you might think.¡± Hmm. Maybe I should throw in a certain piece of knowledge as a bonus. ¡°And stop inviting those people into the palace. The moans can be heard through the walls of your chambers.¡± The priest gasps and bows hastily. ¡°Of course. The disturbance won''t occur again.¡± He turns around and scuttles away. I watch him until he is gone and use shadow step to return to my quarters. . 101. ~Ignorance.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. And regarding the different viewpoints, and spending more time on Azir''s point of view... that won''t change. We already had dehumanized *evildoers* in this story and I want the Draco brothers to be actual characters, not some evil that has to be crushed without thought.... although Jeremiah turned out to hit a bad fate. They aren''t good, but they are certainly not the pure evil which history taught them to be. If people are saying to me that they are becoming too likeable, then that''s telling me that I am doing a good job. Err... and chapter size is at it is. Sometimes I have more time and sometimes less. The chapter length is reflecting that. ############################################################### ¡°Newly acquired exhibit: During the archaeological excavation in a village close to the capital we discovered a metallic object. It''s a flat square with a black glass screen which can''t be seen through. There are two buttons at the side, but they don''t activate it. Seems to be broken. No idea what it is. For now we''ll file it away. Maybe the artificers will take a look at it when they are bored.¡± -Royal Museum Report 3-23-563 ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** ¡°You shouldn''t try too hard to acquire your powers. You are simply a little too young. Give your powers a little more time to mature.¡± I try to console my children. Zadkiel and Sariel are facing each other with red faces. Since they have no idea what they can do, they are simply trying to will something to happen. It''s funny to watch them as long as they don''t wet themselves because of straining their muscles too much. We are inside my lab where they are spending their time while I am working on a magical circuit. ¡°But you are already teaching Zana to use her ability!¡± Zadkiel complains and points out of the window where Zana is playing with Ghost... though its more like she''s chasing the warcat... which is ten times as big as her... and still running away from her. She found out about Ghost''s existence only three months ago. That''s because I taught the warcat to stay away from family members. It seems like Ghost is something akin to a fluffy pet to her, but the warcat isn''t exactly eager to be cuddled like a kitten. Maybe I should ask my father to give me a kitten or two? Or three, then all of the youngsters can have one. Warcats don''t grow very fast, so Zana is exactly at the right age for the warcat to mature when she enters university. I''ll give one to her as a present for her next birthday. ¡°Something is happening!¡± Zadkiel''s voice resounds throughout the room. ¡°Somehow I feel very light headed and relieved? Is that my power? Why is everything swirling? Can I fly now?¡± ¡°If that''s your power, then I don''t want to be your sister.¡± Sariel answers disturbed. I hurry and grab Zadkiel, placing him on the table at the opened window. ¡°It''s more likely that you overused your mana reserves. Try to puke out of the window if possible!¡± ¡°I don''t feel so good.¡± He lies down on the table with his head hanging out of the window. ¡°I didn''t know that depleting your mana feels like that.¡± ¡°Jeez. We just made a little mind exercise. There is no reason to leak your mana into your surroundings for nothing.¡± Sariel doesn''t show any sympathy for her brother. ¡°I would really like to know which ability I have though.¡± ¡°I could try to find out, but I have to enter your mind for it to work.¡± I offer her. ¡°Really!?¡± Sariel gets up and toddles over to where I am sitting at my working desk. ¡°Let''s find out! Let''s find out!¡± ¡°But mind magic isn''t exactly pleasant. Are you sure that you want to do this? Don''t end up crying afterwards.¡± So I explain the possibilities of what could go wrong. I know that the kids developed a high tolerance to pain due to their games, but the unpleasantness of mind magic is something completely different. Sariel answers after a moment of hesitation. ¡°Uhm... let''s do it. I am too curious.¡± I pick her up and place her on my lap, then I concentrate on her mind and close my eyes. ¡°Try to relax as much as possible.¡± A few moments later I locate Sariel''s clear signal and start searching through her being. But this time it''s not the memories which are interesting to me. Her sensory impressions and her perception of reality are what could give me a clue on her capabilities. As I get to see the world through her eyes and feel through her senses a shiver runs through me. Sariel sees the world the same way I do when I use my ability to its fullest. But there is more. Even physical matter seems to be just another form of energy to her perception. It''s as if the physical world around me is just a conglomeration of foggy objects. Is that how Stella perceives the world when she uses her ability? I have to check with her on that point. The fog and it''s density could indicate the type of atoms and their density. I know that I am totally new at this, but I am too curious and use Sariel''s senses to prove my theory. Reaching out for a chair in front of me I imagine manipulating the mana around it to change it''s form and density. The wooden chair changes shape and crumbles into a perfect small sphere, turning into metal. The metal ball drops to the ground with a thud and dents the wooden floor. ¡°Whoa! Daddy? Daddy? Was that you? Is that my ability?¡± Sariel claps her hands while sitting on my lap. ¡°Daddy? Why aren''t you saying anything?¡± She grabs my cheek and pulls forcefully, twisting it. I didn''t even have to touch the chair. Stella has to touch the objects which she wants to transform. And this new perception of physical objects is also strange. It seems like Sariel had her ability all along. She just can''t use it. Or better... she could use it, but doesn''t know how to apply the knowledge. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Sariel and Zadkiel can cast spells, but they never questioned what they are seeing since they don''t know any other form of perception. If it''s like this then they can truly see the origin of magic. With enough training they should be able to interpret every spell in existence. Is that the Emperor''s ability? My own vision is very close to that and with enough knowledge it is more than enough to understand a spell. But if Sariel and Zadkiel learn enough scientific and magical knowledge they can truly understand the world as it is! ¡°Daddy?¡± ¡°Did he lose his consciousness?¡± ¡°I don''t know, Bro.¡± ¡°He is just staring at the metal ball.¡± ¡°Did I break him?¡± Zadkiel and Sariel are arguing back and forth when I return my attention to them. ¡°Sorry, Sariel. I was just a little baffled. It seems like you have both Stella''s and my ability at the same time.¡± ¡°I want to be tested too!¡± Zadkiel fights for a place on my lap and I put Sariel down to take a look at him. Shortly afterwards I put him down on the floor with the same result. ¡°It''s the same.¡± ¡°Yay! Come Sariel! We have to tell Zana about it!¡± Zadkiel climbs out of the window, assisting himself with gravity magic. Sariel follows on his heels. ¡°Yes, I wanted to play with Ghost anyway.¡± Ohh... so much power in the hands of children! What should I do? Their perception is already at the master stage from my point of view. Should I tell them how to use their ability properly? Should I tell Stella about it? Getting on my knees I crawl closer to metal sphere on the ground. It seems like I turned the chair into a solid lump of lead. I roll it under my working desk where I store unneeded remains of earlier projects and get up to find Stella. A quick glance with my ability tells me that she is in her laboratory. Hurrying to the first floor I let myself into her laboratory without asking for permission and enter her working room. ¡°WAAHAaaaaa...¡± Screaming in surprise at the monster in Stella''s room, I barely stop myself at the last moment from blasting it to pieces with my multi-tool. ¡°Stella? Is that you?¡± There is a humanoid, scaly, spiky thing with wings and horns. It looks like a real dragon in miniature size. ¡°Don''t scream like that. I was just testing how far I can go with my ability before losing control.¡± The thing changes back to a naked Stella and she bends down to pick up a bathrobe. ¡°The only problem is the clothes. Somehow I can''t manage to concentrate on them while changing my body to this degree.¡± ¡°Don''t lose control! Don''t change your body!¡± I call out in shock. ¡°Hahahaha. Don''t worry. That was just the all over the top form. It''s not any stronger than my perfected version. I just wanted to test the physical limits of change.¡± She gestures dismissively with her hand. Thanks! I would abhor being married to a dragon. ¡°Ah, that''s not what I am here about. I tested Sariel and Zadkiel for their abilities since they seemed so upset about not having them while Zana is already using hers.¡± ¡°And?¡± Stella arches an eyebrow. ¡°It seems like they already have yours and mine! On top of it, it seems like they''ve already mastered their perception skills. I tapped into Sariel''s mind and used her senses to change one of my chairs into a solid lump of lead... from a distance. I didn''t even have to touch the damn thing.¡± ¡°Really!? What''s hindering them from using it then?¡± Stella pulls at her lower lip. ¡°Apparently nothing more than their lack of knowledge. They lived their whole lives while seeing mana and solid matter as we do when we activate our abilities. They are accepting the world as they know it and didn''t get the idea to manipulate what they are seeing. So far they are only casting spells from their inner mana reserves.¡± I explain. ¡°Could it be that objects turn into something like cloudy shapes which you can compress and expand when touching them?¡± She purses her lips. ¡°I guess you could describe it like that, but it only happens when I infuse my mana into something.¡± ¡°Well, Sariel could see the whole room as such shades.¡± I explain. ¡°I asked myself if I should really teach them how to use this ability. That''s on a wholly different level.¡± ¡°Where are they right now?¡± Stella asks and I point at the window. ¡°In the garden, playing with Ghost.¡± She walks over to the window and takes a look outside. After a few moments she starts speaking. ¡°I said nothing when you started teaching them magic despite their age. Neither did I say anything when you taught Zana a potentially lethal spell.¡± ¡°She was bullied!¡± I defend myself. ¡°Come here.¡± Stella gestures for me to join her at the window. ¡°Does this look to you like they are ready for such a power?¡± I walk over to her side and take a look outside. Like always the gardener is doing a good job at keeping the green area around our mansion in top condition. On the middle of the lawn are Sariel, Zadkiel and Zana with Ghost. The warcat is floating in the air and desperately flailing with his legs, but it''s hopeless since he can''t touch the ground. The three kids are dancing in circles around Ghost, neither showing mercy, nor comprehending what they are doing to the warcat''s pride. ¡°P... probably it''s better for them to stay ignorant of their capabilities for a while longer.¡± I have to save Ghost. ¡°By the way... how does your perfect form look like, Stella?¡± She smiles and concentrates. A moment later she is covered in small, perfectly smooth, shimmering scales like the ones on her tail. Two wings sprout from her back and the nails on her fingertip turn into claws. ¡°The scales are the toughest known material and I enhanced them with rune magic. This armour is able to reflect almost every spell back to the caster. On top I can fly and the claws on my fingers are poisonous. Plus there are a few other nice benefits to this form.¡± I sigh in relief. The change is much less dramatic than the one which I encountered before. ¡°Say... are you able to change yourself like you want now?¡± Stella shakes her head. ¡°No. There are still certain limits.¡± I shrug my shoulders. ¡°Ah, so it''s not possible to... you know... have two tails for example?¡± Stella smiles and hugs me. ¡°Oh, you are so dirty!¡± . 102. ~On the move.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°We are deeming that the small archipelago in the southern oceans would be a perfect place to set up a military base. This base would prove priceless as a bridgehead towards the second continent. From there we could organize strikes against their cities and supplies for our army. For that purpose it would be necessary to completely take over at least one of those islands. What the locals think about such an act might have to take a back seat in light of what''s at stake.¡± -Military report 887-00-B2. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** ¡°It''s so cool that you''re giving us a tour through your research facility.¡± Padma is totally overwhelmed by my facilities and starts dancing through the corridor. She requested to see it some time ago, but I never had the time to show them around. To ensure that her friends aren''t left out of the fun she brought the entire clique from Dwem with her. That includes Adala, Nikita and Eliot. Saana decided to retreat from service because of her old age. The incident of being under the influence of enslavement magic caused great distress to her and she opposed to being sent on another mission to Nict. Right now, she is living in her own domicile in Dwem and enjoying the benefits of being old. I speak from experience, I was old too once. Though I would never trade this body for my old one now. Our exchange students from Dwem, on the other hand, decided to use their granted stay to its fullest. So the four of them are still around for me to meet them from time to time. Their prolonged stay and our good relationship with Dwem makes it unnecessary to have them followed by a guide all day long. Olivia and Annice are still available for them in case something which requires our help happens. Karsen and Talia also joined the tour since they didn''t have anything better to do. I eye the child in Talia''s arms. ¡°So you finally moved into your own house?¡± Karsen nods and smiles. ¡°Yes. Explaining the situation to my family was an ordeal since I somehow forgot to mention my relationship with Talia.¡± ¡°A wise decision.¡± She growls. ¡°I was completely hysterical and feared for the worst when I was grounded.¡± ¡°Yeah, but after they understood, it wasn''t a problem to join Talia''s family. The Anja and Zait are in a good relationship with each other. I am glad that Valda and Tanja''s relatives weren''t too angry about my omissions.¡± Karsen tries to downplay the situation. Indeed. Getting your girlfriend pregnant by accident without ever having mentioned her to your own family doesn''t put you in the best light, my poor friend. I don''t want to know about the scolding you had to listen to. At least they can be together now. ¡°What''s that?¡± Padma points through one of the windows which are placed along the main corridor of the facility. Behind the windows are rooms with various projects and my employees who are working on them. I take a look to see what Padma is referring to. ¡°That''s a new design for a safety belt which uses gravitational magic. You can charge the artefact with energy and give it to a normal soldier. Then he is dropped out of an aerial carrier like the transport drones or off of our fortresses. The belt has enough energy stored up to stop the fall before you reach ground level. It''s very convenient for dropping troops into enemy territory.¡± ¡°How do you produce enough of them?¡± Padma asks baffled. ¡°The magic circuit is fairly simple and it''s nothing more than a deceleration device. It doesn''t allow free flight. That means that they are very cheap in production. Although we have already quite a few of them I have to admit that we won''t be able to fit the whole army with this equipment. It will remain a tool for our special forces.¡± Louise''s voice echoes down the corridor. I turn around and wave towards my head researcher who is approaching us. Sometimes I am afraid that Louise could take this new toy of mine for herself. She is spending a lot of time at this place. ¡°Louise, so you are still here. You should try to find another hobby.¡± She shakes her head and spreads her hands. ¡°This is everything I ever dreamed about. The knowledge, the resources. I would never get any of this if I were to do something else. And if we hit a bottleneck we simply have to ask the prodigy for a solution.¡± She nods, blatantly admitting her own laziness. Go and invent something on your own! It''s not like I am a magic mirror which gives you all the answers. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°I see. We wanted to end our tour with the light sculpture of our planet.¡± I explain. Louise nods and gestures down the corridor. ¡°That''s right. You kept the best part for the end. I''ll accompany you to get a look at their faces.¡± She smirks and leads the way towards the hall with the light sculpture. We follow her to the big room and I get to enjoy the surprised noises from the group as we enter. I have to say myself that the light sculpture truly looks magnificent by now. Louise hired a few people from her clan to improve on its interface. It turned out to be more like a piece of art and the displayed light show truly deserves the name sculpture by now. We are even able to walk through the light sculpture and manipulate it any way we like. Louise is so nice to explain the functions of the light sculpture while I single out Nikita to ask her a few questions. ¡°So how is your recovery going? I heard that you are back to your prime?¡± She nods happily. ¡°Yes. It''s all thanks to you that I am still alive. My recovery took a long time, but I finally have my powers back. The poison was really nasty, I don''t understand how any civilised person could use something like it.¡± I smile reassuringly. ¡°Don''t worry. They are paying for their crimes as we speak.¡± My words couldn''t be truer. Nict''s aggressive change of stance is slowly taking effect. Helen started a massive military build-up program to stop our enemies in their tracks. I don''t have to bother with visiting the front lines, but our first five flying fortresses are creating havoc in the southern nations as we speak. They are using the fortresses to strike at important trading routes and economically important cities. It''s essentially nothing other than wildly lashing out at the enemy''s economy. But as long as we have the technological advantage it would be stupid not to use it. On top they already strongly reduced their civilian population in that region by using them as cannon fodder. Forcing the remaining civilians to leave the area may be harsh and cause hard feelings towards us, but it''s better than having them used against us. The aim is to clear out a neutral zone between us and the southerners. We don''t advance beyond a certain point, forcing their remaining civilians to retreat to other vassal states further down the coast. Lucas has the most experience with the southerners and according to him this is the most promising course of action. We are practically hoping that the states which are the closest to us are responsible for the aggressive stance of the southerners. There is no way that we would be able to control their lands with our soldiers. Since the southern nations are so big and luckily not unified they have as many rivalries with each other as with their neighbours. The most beneficial outcome would be for them to be more interested in their own quarrels. According to Lucas there are most certainly three factions among them. First, the ones which were at the borders of Nict who launched regular attacks at us. Secondly, the ones who are neighbouring Quinn and rallied against them. The third faction consists of the countries who are located along the southern coast. They are enclosed by the Eastern Plains to their north and the sea to their south. To their west and east are only other small city states. Since they don''t have a strong neighbour like Nict or Quinn close to them they shouldn''t be interested in joining the fight of their brethren. We are playing a dangerous game, but the chance that it works out is high. Everything depends on not scaring the third faction. As long as they remain in a mindset of ''what goes around comes around'', everything is fine. The same goes for Quinn and their adversaries. Once our military has established the safety of Nict, we can think about dealing with the Master. ¡°What are those red dots supposed to mean?¡± Eliot''s voice draws my attention and I take a look at what he is pointing at. Eliot is pointing at the light sculpture, which is displaying a three dimensional image of our world as it is perceived by our satellites. Large parts of Quinn and the second continent are still represented by dark, blurred spots, but the blurred out parts of the world grew smaller in the recent months as our abilities to do reconnaissance increased. The most drastic changes in that regard happened at the second continent, where Helen''s special agents are taking the first steps in infiltrating the enemy''s society. But what''s approaching us from there is actually worrisome. The cloud of red dots is actually increasing in size as it leaves the blurred out area. I gesture for the light sculpture to zoom in on the detected anomalies. The room turns immediately silent. ¡°Are those black ships?¡± ¡°How are they flying?¡± ¡°There are so many!¡± . 103. ~Desperation and Hope.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°Individual 626-oD-23503 has shown exceptional magical skills, knowledge and is ruthlessly following its goals. Facing the current political and military problems, it would be highly dangerous if the motivations of 23503 change. Currently 23503 is working in favour of the royal family, but we suggest to have a very close eye on 23503. Should 23503 ever change its modus operandi and act against the royal family we suggest the immediate termination of the subject.¡± -Military report 666-66-66. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** Of course we immediately assembled the higher-ups and informed them of the situation when it became clear that we are facing a full blown invasion fleet. We are all sitting together in a conference room of Helen''s palace. That includes Nict''s royal family, the Great Shaman and one of his advisers, plus King Novak and his son, Leon. Louise also accompanied us to this meeting, since she is the most familiar with our drone project. One of our best military advisers and analysts just finished explaining the situation to us. He belongs to a branch family of the Siorda. To my astonishment he threw himself on the ground in front of Louise when we entered the room. Apparently he is one of her admirers, even if she doesn''t seem to be happy about it. She never mentioned him to me or Stella. ¡°There are just too many of them. Your few fortresses can never catch or intercept all of them.¡± King Novak slumps down in his chair, watching the formidable fleet of magitech warships. They look like they are built to be able to land on water as well. Though they may not be very efficient at sailing through the waves of an ocean. Helen shakes her head while studying the numbers. ¡°Twenty thousand ships. There is just no way to stop them with our nine fortresses. The fortresses may be an unstoppable force, but they can simply split up in smaller groups and ignore them. We made a mistake in putting quality before quantity.¡± ¡°It''s okay, dear, we are new at this kind of warfare. It could''ve happened to anyone.¡± Lucas grabs her hand to reassure her. The Great Shaman shrugs his shoulders. ¡°There is nobody to blame. The fortresses are working great against ground based targets like armies and up until now that was our greatest concern. It was clear that our enemy''s war preparations are decades ahead of us. The fortresses were needed and are still a great defence, even if they are slow.¡± Louise starts playing with her fingers and her eyes start flicking across something which can be seen only by her. ¡°Our drone factories for simple drones were running day and night since we found out about our enemy. If we put some effort into it we may be able to make about ten thousand of them ready for battle.¡± Lucas arches an eyebrow. ¡°I thought that their range and weaponry are very limited?¡± I take up on Louise''s idea. ¡°That may be right, but we just have to equip them with a heavy weapon. We can use the fortresses as carrier platforms to bring them to the battle zone. Once the enemy ships get into range we can launch them.¡± ¡°Even so. How big are your drones? Three metres? Those ships are two, maybe three hundred metres long.¡± King Novak gestures at the map which is displayed by the light sculpture in the room. ¡°That reminds me, how much of them can you take down with your satellites?¡± ¡°Unfortunately they are moving a little too fast and are hard to hit. We already tried it nonetheless and learned that their barriers are able to take a hit. We have to hit the same target repeatedly, which makes it impossible to reduce their numbers in a meaningful way.¡± Our strategic analyst raises his hand. ¡°But it may not be as bad as it looks.¡± He instructs the light sculpture to show us another figure. The sculpture changes to display four different looking ships. ¡°I analysed the high resolution pictures of our satellites and talked about them with our technological staff. It looks like the enemy fleet is composed of different types of ships.¡± He points at the first one, which seems to be the smallest. They are slim and seem to be the most seaworthy of the four types, being formed the closest to a working ship. ¡°Those don''t seem to armed very well. They are also moving much faster than the rest of the invasion fleet and have to wait from time to time for the others to catch up. I dubbed that class as scout for the time being. I don''t think that they have much fighting potential on their own, since their crew is very likely limited to fifty to seventy people. There are five hundred sixty seven ships of this type in the enemy fleet.¡± Moving on to the next ship, which seems to be a scaled up version of to scout, his expression turns a little grimmer. ¡°Those seem to be a bigger version, carrying up to five hundred people. We are calling them warriors for now. I think they are the main fighting force since there are definitely cannons deployed on those ships. The good news is that we counted only five thousand three hundred of them.¡± ¡°Oooh... that makes it much better. So we are just facing a little less than six thousand dedicated warships. What are the rest?¡± Stella''s sarcastic voice stops the analyst''s enthusiasm. ¡°Ahem...¡± He points at the third ship, which is just a bulky oval with a few sails. Putting those in water might end up with them floating around, but they certainly won''t move anywhere on their own. ¡°Those don''t seem to be armoured very well and there are no recognizable weapons on them. They are also very slow, which strongly suggests that they are just some kind of troop transports. They make up most of the fleet with approximately fourteen thousand ships.¡± This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Helen nods her head at the last ship, which is also a very bulky, round leviathan. It''s U-shaped and while it may float, I am certain that those things won''t sail anywhere in water. ¡°And those?¡± ¡°Some kind of support and repair vessel, also completely unarmed. It''s shape is perfect to use it as a dock for the other three types and those cranes back up this theory.¡± The analyst answers with confidence. Lucas scratches his forehead. ¡°That just means that they are coming with the intention to stay. Having those docks with them means that they can repair their ships on the battlefield.¡± I smile at him, forming an idea in my head, and gesture at the ships. ¡°That''s true, but those ships have a weakness.¡± The military analyst nods to confirm that his department also thought about something. ¡°Azir is right and our department already thought of a way to take them down.¡± He recalls the tactical map from earlier and points at a small group of islands between the main continent and the approaching fleet. ¡°We have to be fast and intercept them here at all costs! This may work only once and we have to get them before they split their forces. Once they reach the main continent we can''t be certain of their movements, but from their direct route so far we are certain that they''ll pass those islands very closely.¡± King Novak nods. ¡°Yes? And?¡± ¡°We''ll mine those islands. All we have to do is to give them a proper reason to change the course of their fleet just a little.¡± The analyst grins broadly, having reached the exact same conclusion as me. I smile. ¡°King Novak. Quinn doesn''t happen to have a spare magic inhibitor? And I am not talking about the small ones. I am talking about city size?¡± Their big inhibitors can cover several dozens of kilometres. Their capital is huge and if it were covered by a network of inhibitors I would have found it during my tour through the city. Leon forms an ''O'' with his mouth and starts smiling. ¡°Of course we do. If we place three of the bigger ones in a triangle we could cover the whole group of islands. But what could we offer those bastards to encourage them to change the course of their whole fleet?¡± The analyst drops his head. ¡°That''s the weak point of our strategy. We are intending to teleport to those islands, a stepper disc is already in place. Our department took the freedom to create a network of them wherever we could place them. Just in case something happens to the only one who can teleport around as he wishes.¡± He takes a guilty look at me, but I don''t feel insulted by it. In fact I am happy that the military does some smart things on its own. ¡°We intend to place as many facilities as possible on those islands. If we move all available assets there we could raise about twenty improvised fortresses out of the ground. But without something that really draws their attention, they might just send a part of their dedicated fighting vessels while moving on with the rest of their fleet.¡± The analyst shrugs his shoulders, not being able to offer more. Taking out a big part of the invasion fleet will help a lot, But I see in everyone''s faces that they know that it isn''t enough. If a sizeable amount of those troop transporters reaches the main land we have a big problem and the enemy surely won''t send all his transports to attack a small group of islands. Even sending two hundred of them would be overkill. What would be big and important enough to make them change the course of their whole fleet? I honestly have no idea. The silence in the room stretches out for several seconds until Chuck drops his totem onto the table. ¡°Dwem might have what we need.¡± His advisor gasps. ¡°We can''t reveal-¡± The Great Shaman shuts him up with an angry gesture. ¡°If those ships reach the main continent Dwem''s biggest secrets won''t help much in the long run.¡± Chuck takes off his mask, revealing his face like it wasn''t a big deal. The silence in the room is even more profound now. Chuck''s face belongs to a man in his thirties, which means that Chuck must be a lot older when you take into account that he is a very strong mage. He''s clean-shaven and has clearly defined cheekbones which underline his independent personality. His whole face is covered in strange tattoos which merge with each other. Taking a flat crystal, which was attached to the inside of his mask, he places it on the table and presses his thumb onto it. A light sculpture appears and Chuck gives a series of commands until a ship appears. It''s a broad, flat design, which sharpens at the edges and gets pointier towards the prow. ¡°Three point six kilometres long, two point two kilometres wide. Ten layers of barriers and packed with weapons. This leviathan is Dwem''s biggest secret and most powerful technological artefact. Once those bastards see it, they''ll swing their whole fleet around to face it. Given that the so called Master is really the second Draco brother, he''ll recognize it.¡± The analyst squints his eyebrows, inspecting the monster of a battleship with sceptical eyes. ¡°What makes you so sure of that? Isn''t it just another fortress to them?¡± Chuck crosses his arms in front of his chest. ¡°Because that''s the Emperor''s Shield! It went down in Dwem during the great war. We secured it and repaired everything to the best of our knowledge. That''s why we kept so much of our technological knowledge. The database of this ship was very helpful.¡± Chuck tilts his head in dismay. ¡°The only problem is that we can''t control it, even though everything seems to work properly.¡± His eyes wander to me. ¡°But maybe our techno-mage genius can push the right button?¡± ¡°Oh, yes. We have time pressure and your three point six kilometres long, two point two kilometres wide cell phone died! Now I have to find the problem in a few days? Aren''t you a little too confident in me, Chuck?¡± I gesture at the ''thing'', which really looks like a shield upon a second glance. Chuck shrugs with his shoulders. ¡°Surprise me.¡± . 104. ~Interlude.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°Parents can only give advice, but a person''s character lies in their own hands.¡± -Knowledge. ***Dwem, Secret Research Facility I, The Shield of the Emperor*** ***Azir*** ¡°Dad, I want to go home and play!¡± Sariel complains in my arms. ¡°Playing with Ghost in the garden is much more fun.¡± ¡°Just a little longer my little princess. This is a very important task and you are very helpful in solving it. Without you I wouldn''t have been able to do this.¡± Carrying my daughter to another bit of strange machinery, I place her in front of me and point at a set of tubes. ¡°Now look there.¡± She sighs and does as told. Having a magical X-ray device is very convenient and helped a great deal in revealing the secrets of this ship. I softly connect to her consciousness and take a look at the machine through Sariel''s eyes. To Sariel it''s just a set of nonsensical magical circuits and mechanical devices, but to me it''s a piece of art. Having her with me spared me the effort of taking everything apart. ¡°Do you remember that night when we had a storm and the lights went out?¡± Sariel grumbles while I adjust where she is looking. Taking her head with both hands to guide her proved to be the best way of doing it. ¡°Yes, a lightning bolt fried the safety fuse of our house''s power generator. I had to switch it.¡± Studying the machine, my attention wanders to the control console at its side, so I orient Sariel''s head to look at it. ¡°You made something with your multi-tool which you called a flashlight.¡± She closes her eyes in protest and covers them with her hands. ¡°Right now I feel like I am nothing more than a flash-light to you.¡± I ignore her closed eyelids and hands, using her ability to look through them, right at the magical circuit. After a few moments of studying it I pick her up again. ¡°Fine. We''ve been working for five hours, so you deserve a break. Do you want to ride on my shoulders as an apology?¡± I smile at her. ¡°Only if you promise to slow down in front of doors.¡± She rubs her forehead, looking accusingly at me. I already carried her through the ship while we did our first assessment of the ship''s situation. Unfortunately my attention got diverted several times, which resulted in a few incidents. Forgetting about Sariel, who was riding on my shoulders, I walked through a bulkhead with a low doorframe and got rewarded with the rather hollow sounding noise of my daughter''s head impacting the doorframe. Of course her head isn''t really hollow. But like it''s always with children, her interests are everywhere else, except of where they should be. She was too busy with watching all the blinking lights instead of taking care of her head. ¡°I promise to be careful.¡± So I pick her up and place her on my shoulders. There are no problems on our way back and when we reach the bridge, we are greeted by Chuck, Stella, Helen and Leon. The bridge is a big, round room with a generous frontal screen. The screen shows the huge hangar doors of the dry dock, which is hidden inside a mountain. Dwem poured a lot of resources into hiding their treasure. I don''t want to imagine how much it must have cost to move this ship into this hollow mountain. But on the other hand... how did they move the ship if they can''t control it? Does that mean they built the mountain around the ship? ¡°So, did you find the mistake?¡± Chuck places his hands in a praying position, looking forward to my results. ¡°The ship works perfectly fine, even the parts which you guys had to repair. The engineers did a really good job despite not understanding the technology completely.¡± I praise his staff. ¡°So why is it not working?¡± Chuck jumps out of the chair in the middle of the room, which he chose as his personal throne. Shrugging my shoulders I inspect the command chair closer. ¡°It''s like I assumed it to be, the ship is obviously in a lock-down mode. We need a person with the proper rights to issue orders. I suggest to pull Jeremiah out of his cell. Luckily he should be exactly what we need.¡± ¡°If you assumed that from the start, then why did you wander through the whole ship for over five hours!?¡± Chuck shakes his fist at me. I furrow my eyebrows and try to tilt my head, but since Sariel is holding onto my horns it doesn''t work. ¡°Obviously I wanted to take a good look at the technology. It doesn''t happen often that you get to see a ship that''s capable of space flight.¡± ¡°Sp... Space flight!?¡± Helen gasps. ¡°Please don''t tell me that the Emperor was some kind of alien!¡± I chuckle and take Sariel from my shoulders, placing her on the throne. ¡°It''s not like that. I just stated a fact. This ship is capable of space flight. Nothing more, nothing less. In addition it''s capable of generating strong magnetic fields, to attract metal or to push it away. In fact the whole ship was built for that purpose. I suppose that those magnetic fields are a strong defence, which is why the ship is called the Shield of the Emperor.¡± I pause for a moment to think about the implications of having something like this ship, combining the new knowledge with the mana streams and the portal offers a few very interesting possibilities. A few of them are so horrible that I am tempted to eradicate the whole Draco breed on suspicion alone. ¡°In any case. I think placing Jeremiah in the pilot''s chair should do the trick. All the consoles on this ship seem to be locked onto a certain genetic code. We just have to shackle him properly until we can get the proper control rights.¡± Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Mwahahaha! Blinking, beeping buttons! Let''s play a song!¡± ¡°Beep, ba, be, di, bub!¡± *Boom!* Suddenly the entire ship shudders and I turn to face the main screen which showed the big exit doors of the hidden dry dock. The doors are bent and curled outwards. My eyes wander back to Sariel, whom I placed in the pilot''s chair just a moment ago. My cute little girl is dressed in a blue robe, which really suits her. Her hand is on a console at the chair''s side, one finger hovers above a big, red button and her gaze is transfixed on the screen. Then she licks over her lips and removes her hand from the console. With overly careful movements she sits on top of her hands and puts on the innocent smile of a little child. ¡°I didn''t do it.¡± Stella appears at Sariel''s side and jerks her out of the chair, pulling on one ear. ¡°Didn''t I tell you? Never push any buttons on Azir''s artefacts!¡± I raise my hand and try to protect Sariel. ¡°It''s not her fault. I put her in that chair.¡± And who could have known that she has the right gene sequence? Stella lets go of Sariel and pushes her into my hands. ¡°Like father, like- argh- I wanted to say son, but Sariel is a girl!¡± Helen sighs and shakes her head. ¡°We should still get Jeremiah as a living key. I don''t feel comfortable using my grandchildren to pilot this thing.¡± ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Stella*** It''s late in the evening and the Shield of the Emperor is finally on its way to the battle grounds. I sigh in relief while sitting in my mansion''s kitchen. Sariel, Zadkiel and Zana are on the ground, playing with some books. ¡°Mama, how do you make babies?¡± Zadkiel''s voice breaks the silence and I freeze. ¡°Hahaha, you guys are too young for that.¡± I try to avert the question. ¡°But I want to know too!¡± Zana calls out. ¡°This book says that you get babies by having sex, but what''s sex?¡± I jump up and take the book from Zana. It''s some kind of romance novel! Luckily I got it before they got to read the dirty part! ¡°Where did you get this.¡± Sariel starts fidgeting. ¡°We found it in Ivy''s room. It''s just borrowed! We have to bring it back before she finds out! But still, what''s sex?¡± Oh, gods! How can I explain that to little children like them? They are extraordinary little children, but still! ¡°Y- y- you know. T- there are- f-f- flowers a- nd b-bees...¡± Just in that moment Azir enters the kitchen. He walks over to the fridge and grabs some fruits and meat from it, stashing it onto a plate. That''s it! He is several hundred years old! Surely he knows how to explain that delicate issue to children! ¡°Azir! Please explain to them how babies are made!¡± Azir looks up from his plate. ¡°What''s with that stupid question? Babies are made by having sex!¡± ¡°Yes, but what''s sex? Is it hard to do?¡± Zadkiel asks. Zana points at a game which is lying between the three of them. ¡°Helen gave us this board game, but it says that it only gets really funny if you have four players.¡± Sariel nods. ¡°So we thought about making a fourth sibling to play it with us.¡± Azir frowns. ¡°Sex is when an adult man and a woman, who aren''t directly related, love each other. The man stabs his penis into the woman''s vagina, which may hurt the first time. Then they rub against each other until it feels so good that the man pees some white stuff into the woman. Afterwards she gets pregnant and has all sorts of mental issues, which may become really painful for the man. A few months later she lays one to two eggs, which hurts. Some time later the egg hatches and you get your baby.¡± He leaves with his food, mumbling. ¡°Isn''t she the biology student? Why do I have to explain it?¡± ¡°Mom, your face is completely red. Are you okay?¡± Sariel asks me curiously. Zana is just sitting there with a pale face. ¡°Pees... hurts... urgh... why would anyone want to do that?¡± ¡°So that means that we don''t get a sibling to play the game? Can you somehow speed up the whole process?¡± Zadkiel looks sorrowful at the board game. I get up to follow Azir. ¡°Just a moment. I have to talk to your father.¡± ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Sariel*** I follow Mom with my eyes. When she is gone I turn back to my brother and sister. ¡°Asking Daddy such questions is no fun. Though Mom''s reactions are cute to watch.¡± ¡°Do you think we overdid it?¡± Zadkiel asks, but his eyes stay glued to the board game. ¡°It would be nice to have a fourth person. Do you think persuading Mom and Dad to make a child is hard?¡± Zana starts playing with her fingers. ¡°Actually Helen said that it''s very easy.¡± Zadkiel and I perk our ears, placing our whole attention on Zana. Having acquired our interest Zana continues. ¡°She said that we just have to hide something called contrac- con- contraceptives, which are small white pills. Then we need to sting the condoms with small needles.¡± I pull my eyebrows together. ¡°The white pills are easy, I saw Mom taking them once. But what are condoms?¡± Zana shrugs her shoulders. ¡°I don''t know.¡± Zadkiel gets to his feet. ¡°Let''s ask Ivy. She has those books and isn''t as prude as Mom. Surely she knows.¡± . 105. ~Waiting.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°If you want to trick your enemy, it''s best to show him what he wants to see.¡± -Knowledge. ***Stiran Archipelago, Southern Ocean, The Shield of the Emperor*** ***Azir*** ¡°Mmmh! Mmmmh!¡± Jeremiah Draco writhes in a corner of the control room, bound and gagged. His presence is a security risk and a nuisance, but I may need him if the ship has any additional hidden safety mechanisms. Using him to gain access to the Shield''s security functions was relatively easy. After we placed him in the command chair I simply hacked the control panel with Ivy''s help. With the two of us it was just a matter of minutes to have all the rights transferred to me. I massage my temples, taking another look at the mess of cables and magical circuits which is hanging out of the chair''s controls. ¡°Can''t someone shut him up? Nine hours of flight time and he is still making a fuss! I would like to put everything back together before the enemy finds us.¡± ¡°Any more gags and he might suffocate.¡± One of the guards at Jeremiah''s side looks at their prisoner with concern. The way they are treating Jeremiah is certainly violating some of Nict''s basic human rights. How lucky that the founders of the Free City States excluded certain individuals from their treaties. Including mass murderers of innocents, check, enemies of the state, check, and people who assaulted the royal family, check! ¡°Bah, Ivy. So far you are the only one who didn''t try to shut him up. How about silencing him for a few minutes?¡± My maid bows and walks over to Jeremiah. She will surely find a way to deal with him. I return my attention to the satellite images. If everything runs according to plan the enemy should spot the Shield of the Emperor any minute now. Our only hope is that they really recognize it, which would support our theory that the Master is really the second Draco brother. Luckily the Shield is faster than any of our fortresses, so we arrived with plenty of time to spare. This ship was truly created by a high-tech civilisation. It pains me when I think about how far they fell after having achieved so much. I almost wish that we could find a way to preserve this ship instead of using it as bait. The archipelago under us is a group of twelve islands. Quinn''s three inhibitors are well hidden on three of them and the Shield is hovering comfortably in the middle of the triangle which is encased by them. To make the whole trap even more believable we positioned ourselves above an island which we filled with fake facilities. Barracks, hangars, watchtowers, we thought of everything. The only thing that''s real are the starting ramps for our drones and the barriers which shield the island. To someone who takes a look from far away this island looks like a huge unfinished military base. The eleven flying fortresses, which are hovering around us, are here to substantiate that assumption. But even the fortresses are just improvisations. We created them on-site, since the other assets would never reach the scene in time. Though we have nineteen complete ones inbound on this position. They''ll arrive just in time to mop up the remaining enemies, should they fall into our trap. Or they''ll get simply annihilated by the full force of the enemy fleet should we fail. At least the fortresses aren''t a pure piece of scenery. They all have offensive and defensive capabilities. We just saved our time in the engine department and crew quarters. The gravitational generators which we installed are barely enough to keep them floating. My stomach cringes when I think about such a hasty job. The fortresses up until now were patchwork solutions, horrible abominations, but at least we put some thought into them. The things which are floating around us are just big rocks with tons of barrier spells and offensive weaponry which we teleported in from Quinn and Dwem. But we don''t expect them to survive our trap anyway. The discussion between us and the strategic command was long and nerve-racking. The whole issue was about whether we should keep them in the air until the last moment, or if we should try to land them before the inhibitors activate. Even if the fortresses are just improvised, unfinished versions, they still pose a huge investment of resources and manpower. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. In the end we decided to keep them floating with a skeleton crew until Quinn activates their inhibitors. The enemy ships are smaller and more manoeuvrable, so it''s very likely that they will manage to land faster than the fortresses. But we want them to fall out of the air and shatter to a thousand pieces. That''s the whole point of the operation. Bringing in the workers and mages to build everything and pulling them out in time was a logistical masterpiece by our military. The worst case scenario would''ve been if the enemy had seen us working hastily at the structures of hollow buildings. Everyone gets suspicious when your adversary builds a barrack with only four thin walls and a hastily attached roof. That''s why we had to finish the construction works before the enemy scouts arrive. But I am pleased with the looks of our Potemkin base. It really looks like an unfinished, large scale bridgehead for future operations against the second continent. I sigh and try to think of something else. The worst thing about this whole plan is the damned waiting. My thoughts wander to this morning''s conversation with Stella. We are still lying in our bed, hugging each other when Stella asks me a question. ¡°Do you know what happened to my contraceptives?¡± ¡°No. Why should I?¡± I stir in my sleep, still not completely awake. Stella shrugs her shoulders. ¡°It''s just that they are gone... and they were replaced by some chocolate candies instead. It was strange, so I thought that maybe you had taken them?¡± ¡°Why should I switch your contraceptives for chocolate candies? That''s a bad trade for me.¡± I open my eyes and stare at the ceiling. ¡°But now that you mention it... someone put needles into my condoms!¡± ¡°Really? Aren''t you always using them to silence the screeching lath under our bed''s mattress? You should really repair the bed properly when you have time. Get some oil or something.¡± Stella snuggles closer to me. ¡°Luckily we aren''t using them for obviation. If we do it with defective goods...¡± ¡°Oil doesn''t work with wood. No, you don''t understand.¡± I reach for my bedside locker. ¡°The needles are still stuck inside the condoms! Whoever did it didn''t bother with removing them.¡± I pull a condom out to show her. ¡°I poked myself when I reached for one last evening! Someone mistook them for pincushions! It''s good that you invented a contraceptive spell. My whole stock got perforated.¡± ¡°Now that''s really strange.¡± She takes the condom with three needles stuck through it. ¡°Do you think it''s related to the kids? They wanted a sibling.¡± ¡°Who else?¡± I grumble. ¡°I told you that explaining it in such detail isn''t good.¡± She snorts and drops the rubber back into my locker. I raise one finger. ¡°It''s better than inventing stories about flowers and bees. A kid has to know how the world works and a parent has the responsibility to educate their offspring. A child has to know where the meat on the plate is coming from and why it''s not allowed to do certain things. Knowledge can''t harm you, the more blunt you are about the reality of things, the better. It''s ignorance that causes problems.¡± Stella kisses my cheek and slides on top of me to whisper into my ear. ¡°Though you certainly understated the ~feel good~ part.¡± ¡°Ahaha! You are her! You are my beloved- Mmm!¡± I return to reality... just when it got to the feeling good part! Turning around I glare at Jeremiah, who is in the process of being gagged again by Ivy. ¡°Why is the gag not in his mouth?¡± Ivy shrugs her shoulders. ¡°I just wanted to confirm something since it seemed like he was trying to get my attention, but it turned out that he just mistook me for someone from his past. He went on and on about eternal love and being soulmates.¡± She taps her index finger against her forehead. ¡°Valda is right. Erasing his memories and letting him start anew is probably the most humane option.¡± The soldiers who are guarding Jeremiah nod. I raise one eyebrow, looking down at Jeremiah. After a moment of contemplation I use the mana net to send Ivy a secret message. Such things don''t have to be discussed where others can hear them. Even if the personnel in the room is military.
TheCreator: What if he really knows you? You know? I mean your body. SexySpider: No. He thinks that I am his first love. He was very clear on that point. TheCreator: Hm. That offers certain possibilities. SexySpider: no. TheCreator: What? SexySpider: ... my answer is no.
. 106. ~First exchange.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°If you really want to hide important knowledge from the common folk, then write it into a book.¡± -The Great Technomagus of the Free City States of Nict. ***Stiran Archipelago, Southern Ocean, The Shield of the Emperor*** ***Azir*** I watch Ivy who is sitting on top of Jeremiah and polishing her nails. The poor guy is tied up to a neat bundle like a caterpillar. Somehow she acquired some duck-tape and wound it around his head to cover the mouth. ¡°And you are sure that you refuse to listen to him?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She smiles charmingly at me. Shrugging my shoulders I return my attention to the tactical display. Unfortunately our strategy isn''t adaptable at all. It''s either winning the great prize and holding out as long as we can, or being found out. The door to the bridge opens and Chuck enters the room. ¡°All done.¡± I nod. ¡°How did it go? Is everything set up?¡± I ask him tentatively. Chuck got the most important role in this game. He and his assistants went down to the staged base under our feet and filled it to the brim with the illusions of soldiers who are going about what soldiers do at military bases. Things like marching in neat, orderly lines, picking their noses, cleaning guns. My friend smiles and gives me a thumbs up. ¡°We had to sacrifice a few herds of cattle to get the ritual done, but I think the effect is worth the effort. Once those bastards get to see our base their eyes will pop out. They''ll think that we are about to launch a full scale invasion of our own. No way that they don''t use a sizeable portion of their fleet to counter us right here and now.¡± ¡°Hoh?¡± I manipulate the controls of my captain''s chair to zoom in on the island. Chuck didn''t lie. The whole base is filled to the brim with soldiers. They are working or doing other important seeming stuff. ¡°That''s a great illusion spell. How did you manage to make it that organic? I hope you thought about the royal bloodline''s ability and concealed the spell somehow?¡± Chuck snorts. ¡°What are you thinking of me? We made it look like the whole base is under various strength and endurance enhancing buffs. In fact a few of my assistants did nothing but apply buffs to the corpses of the cattle which we hid behind the illusion. The whole place is brimming with magic! When the Master takes a look at it he''ll see nothing, but a whirling chaos of spells. It was lucky that you found out about their weakness when you fought with Jeremiah.¡± I lean back in my chair, appreciating the work. When I fought with Jeremiah I realized that the Emperor''s ability isn''t flawless. When there is too much energy and magic in one place they get blinded. I also verified it with my children. If I overload an item with magic and instruct Sariel to look at it, all she sees is white. It''s like looking directly at the sun or at a bright light. That''s why Jeremiah couldn''t read my time spell in time. One of the analysts in the control room points at a small map in front of him. ¡°The first enemy scout ships should be reporting back to their fleet by now. We expect a course change any minute now.¡± Hitting a button on my seat, I call up the tactical display on the front screen. ¡°Operating this thing is still a largely intuitive thing to do. I feel like a barbarian who is randomly hitting buttons, hoping that something happens. We are lucky that the creators of the Shield made it largely automated.¡± ¡°It can''t be helped. We were never able to take this ship out of the dock for a test flight before you came along.¡± Chuck crosses his arms in front of his chest. ¡°I think we should be glad that we have enough control to tell it where to fly and to activate the shields and barriers.¡± I grumble, scratching my chin and looking down at the many buttons on the console at my side. ¡°There have to be some real weapons though. So far Sariel only managed to activate the air to air plasma guns by mashing buttons. The huge magnetic field which is generated by this ship must have offensive capabilities.¡± I flip an orange switch which looked like it was attached to some kind of power system when I had the console opened. The lights in the room go out. ¡°Nope. That was the wrong one.¡± I set the switch back to its original position and the lights return. ¡°It''s too bad that we can''t hack deeper into the system. If only we had more time!¡± Ivy stirs while sitting on top of Jeremiah. ¡°Master, I suggest to not mash any buttons whose function wasn''t verified. The old technology of the Empire seems to consist entirely out of hard coded logical circuits. If something goes wrong we have no chance of correcting the mistake.¡± I hit my fist onto the side of the console. ¡°Fools. Were they afraid of artificial intelligence? It''s a huge effort to build and control something like this ship with purely logical circuitry. It''s like building a mechanical computer with punch cards to program them. I am sure that they were capable of building better devices. It was the same with the Light of the Emperor. That was an annoying piece of technology. I''m glad we blew it out of the sky. They could have at least labelled the buttons better.¡± Chuck shakes his head. ¡°I think you should give them a little more credit. Building their military devices in this manner is a great safeguard against them being tampered with and turned against you. So their decision to do it like they did is still proving to be working. After all even you can''t simply take over their devices. And you have much more time at hand than an attacker in a fighting situation would have.¡± This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°A part of the enemy fleet is changing course!¡± The analyst draws our attention to the big screen in front of us. ¡°Four hundred ships changed course.¡± ¡°Not enough.¡± Ivy mumbles, lying down on top of her pillow. ¡°Maybe the Master isn''t one of the brothers after all?¡± The analyst points out another part of the enemy''s formation. ¡°Now this group changed their course too. It looks like they are trying to arrange their ships into attacking waves.¡± He mumbles for a few moments. ¡°Actually that makes sense. Our islands are relatively small targets compared to their fleet and stacking their ships too close together would be utterly stupid. If they send a thousand ships to cover each of the islands they have to use eleven thousand ships. Then a big group for our base. If we are lucky they''ll commit some reinforcements too, sending the main part of their fleet to the encounter. Any more wouldn''t be just overkill, but causes more trouble to their own units than it would help.¡± My head turns to the analyst. ¡°Do you think it''ll be enough? Seems like that group didn''t change course.¡± I point at the screen. A group of the enemy fleet is parting from the fleet, obviously completely unperturbed by our existence. The analyst starts mumbling again, counting the ships and their type through his satellite link. Now I get to see why the Siorda are one of the big clans, despite not being the best warriors. They are on par with an artificial intelligence and fast enough to count huge numbers within seconds. Quick judgement and correct information is the most important thing in a battle. A moment later he is done. ¡°That group largely consists of the mobile docks. I also count a few of the warrior class ships and troop transports, but there are only about eight hundred of them. They left less than five percent of their fleet as escorts for the docks. We didn''t expect them to commit their mobile repair docks to the fight, so their actions are within our calculations.¡± Kneading my hands I watch the group which is still heading on towards the main continent. ¡°Those are still a lot of ships and they have enough fighting power to cause us trouble. Do we have a chance of catching them with our fortresses?¡± The analyst shakes his head. ¡°They''ll always be able to outrun our fortresses if they want to. But we have their movements covered with our satellites. Whichever direction they choose, we should be able to move enough forces there to counter them. And even if they manage to outmanoeuvre our fortresses we can teleport a huge amount of anti-air cannons from Quinn and Dwem directly to where they hit land. We set aside a few transport drones with stepper discs solely for that purpose.¡± I arch an eyebrow. ¡°If we have that kind of capability in reserve, why don''t we create an iceberg in their path and place the guns on top of it. If we conceal it with a good shroud or fog spell, they won''t know what''s coming until they are right above it. The iceberg will be destroyed very quickly after the guns start shooting, but it''ll be a good trade if a handful of guns destroys a ship. You just have to make small enough platforms, so that they aren''t taken down all together.¡± The analyst looks at me with a blank expression for several moments. Then he turns away, obviously contacting someone over the mana net. ¡°I''ll have someone look into it.¡± Oh...? So the military didn''t think of that? Seems like they are still new to oceanic warfare with magic. Just don''t take the credit for my idea, you... My thoughts get interrupted as the first wave comes across our defences on one of the outer islands. We placed some of Quinn''s guns on the outer islands to make it look like we really laid claim to the whole archipelago. The images show the barrier spells of a few ships lighting up brightly. So they have that sort of defence mechanism, I wasn''t sure what to expect from those strange wood and metal structures. On one hand they look like the product of a low-tech society, but on the other they can fly and were created with the assistance of magic. The return fire is impressive. The enemies utilize some kind of energy spell which is similar to the one which the nomads used. Explosions light up the island''s barrier while some of the enemy''s ships go up in flames and fall out of the sky. The analysts starts counting numbers and is giving instructions to the gun crews over the mana net. From time to time the barrier flickers and huge explosions punch craters into the tropical paradise. After a quarter of an hour of watching the fireworks, our guns stop firing. The analyst deemed that our barrier became too unstable and ordered the remaining gun-crews to use their stepper discs to retreat. Shortly afterwards the island gets torn apart in an impressive display of brute force. ¡°Is Quinn''s inhibitor still okay?¡± I ask worriedly after seeing the remains of the first wave wasting their energy to turn the island into a charred wasteland of craters. They are moving on towards us while doing so. The analyst answers me. ¡°It''s dug fifty metres under the earth and concealed. The operating crew reports that everything is fine, though they were shaken a little.¡± Chuck sighs and nods. ¡°It seems like the first part of our battle strategy worked as planned.¡± ¡°Labelling a lost encounter as ''worked as planned'' is a good way to sugar-coat the situation. I hope that our base can hold out a little longer, otherwise the second wave will do us in and we won''t even lure half of their forces into our killing zone.¡± Ivy grumbles, puffing out her chest. . 107. ~Bail out.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°Pushing buttons is fun, especially if you don''t know what they do.¡± -The Great Technomagus of the Free City States of Nict. ***Stiran Archipelago, Southern Ocean, The Emperor''s Flagship*** ***Serenzar Draco*** ¡°The first wave is about to make contact with the enemy.¡± One of my officers informs me, displaying the situation with a scrying spell. The spell projects a picture of the situation onto a big white screen, but I am not really interested in such intelligence. I am currently taking a look at the enemy base with my own two eyes. My staff had to follow me onto the upper deck of my flagship. After having found out about the enemy forces I immediately rushed here to take a look. ¡°This is fishy. No matter how you look at it. We had these islands scouted just a few weeks ago and there was nobody here. Now we return and there is a massive hostile operation here.¡± I shake my fist at the big ship which is hovering above the central island of the archipelago. ¡°And how did they get their hands onto the Shield! I thought it was destroyed!¡± One of the officers bows to me. ¡°Nict''s royal family''s ability has proven to be very valuable in tasks like setting up bases or increasing a country''s production. Our intelligence office says that the scene in front of us is possible if Nict, Quinn and Dwem are working together.¡± The fleet''s general jumps in. ¡°If they are right, then attacking them right now is the best opportunity we get. They don''t have enough fortresses in place to stop us. Striking at them now will surely stop their thoughts of invading the second continent.¡± I squint my eyes, enhancing my eyesight to get a better look at the enemy base. But all I see is a white, whirling chaos of energy. They aren''t using their power sparingly down there. If they really built this base with magic, then we intercepted them just in time. ¡°I want that ship! The Shield of the Emperor is mine!¡± Hopefully they don''t have full control over it. If they have, then my fleet is doomed. The Shield was constructed to end the war with Quinn. Unfortunately we never managed to use it against them. At first my father sent it far away onto a top secret mission and it remained missing until my father retired. It returned centuries later during the great rebellion of my brother and the only thing I managed to do with it was sending it from one hot spot to the next in order to put out my brother''s little fires of rebellion. Finally we lost it above Dwem because a group of rebels managed to board it. The last thing I heard from the Shield was that they were passing a mountain ridge and that the rebels took out the ship''s engines. The Shield is sturdy, but it''s not indestructible. So it should be inoperable after falling from such a height. ¡°We have to get that ship!¡± Our first wave arrives at the enemy base and I watch in awe as thousands of small devices rise from the island and the surrounding fortresses. There are so many that they turn the sky around the enemy position into a grey cloud. ¡°They deployed their miniature scouting devices! It seems like those things are equipped with energy weapons! They are setting our ships on fire by bypassing the shields!¡± The officer who informed me of the situation swears and starts issuing commands, but our first wave is already committed to a dogfight with the unmanned devices. Flaming ships start plummeting to the ground and here and there one of Nict''s drones gets hit and is utterly destroyed. Their numbers are too high though and even if they lack proper shielding, their speed and nimbleness are making up for that. Finally someone manages to adapt our Shields to reflect high amounts of radiation, but by that point the remains of the first wave are already finished. The general grumbles and issues more orders, forcing our attacking waves into a closer formation and selecting targets of priority. ¡°Get the artillery on the ground! They can''t move and we have more than enough fire power to break their barriers! Focus the fortresses! Don''t waste your shots on the small craft, only target them while closing in and when the firing line for high priority targets is blocked!¡± Our second and third waves also rush into battle, being torn to pieces. This time the other side suffers as well. One of the flying fortresses tilts over and falls to the ground, shattering unceremoniously into thousands of pieces on the reef in front of the island. I snort and touch my amulet, trying to contact the ones who are flying the Shield. Maybe I can get them to see reason about their hopeless situation. ***Stiran Archipelago, Southern Ocean, The Shield of the Emperor*** ***Azir*** The Shield shudders, taking another hit from the enemy artillery spells. ¡°This is turning into a real bloody fist fight.¡± I scowl, looking at one of our fortresses which is swarmed by the enemy''s troop transporters. They started hurling themselves into our fortresses to unload their troops. The analyst nods, getting the desired signal. ¡°The fortress is evacuated. There are only a few troops left, but they can''t retreat to a stepper disc.¡± I nod gravely. ¡°Tell them that they have thirty seconds to jump off of the fortress and trust in the safety belts.¡± Connecting to the mana net I enter a security code to control the fortress remotely. Then I set it onto a course into the core of the approaching enemy formation. Another thought informs the whole battle group to redirect all their energy to their shields in exactly one minute. Another impact shakes the ship, but our barriers hold. The seconds go by like minutes and the enemy formation starts dispersing away from the fortress. They already learned the hard way that our fortresses can''t be taken over. A flash of light turns the fortress into dust and a shockwave travels outwards from the explosion, ripping the troop transporters in its vicinity to pieces. A perfect sphere around the explosion is cleared from all enemy activities. Other ships advance into the cleared space soon afterwards, filling it immediately. ¡°This is the sixth wave? How much do we have left?¡± I massage my temple, looking down at the console at my side. ¡°We have to hold just a few more minutes until all engaging enemies are within our killing zone. We are down to seven fortresses and four thousand drones.¡± The analyst replies. ¡°We can''t make it much longer.¡± Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.¡°I really want to push that button.¡± The annoying yellow button on the console has been blinking since half an hour ago. ¡°What if it''s asking me to activate the super weapon?¡± ¡°Don''t dare to try! What if it deactivates the shield?¡± Chuck slaps my hand away from the console. ¡°But that compartment of the console isn''t related to the shields. See?¡± I point out the buttons which are clearly divided into different colour schemes. ¡°Red for weapons, blue for shields, orange for lights and other stuff. Brown for engines, but what are the yellow ones for though? And violet? Oh look! They have a big ship too! You guys didn''t tell me about that one.¡± I point at the screen and Chuck turns around. ¡°What?¡± Chuck turns to face the screen and I use the chance to press the blinking button. The screen switches the displayed scene and is filled by the face of an important looking guy. He seems to be in his thirties and his facial features bear certain similarities to a body pillow in the corner of the room. There are golden runes on his horns and his eyes are unmistakably of the Emperor''s bloodline! His expression turns into a grin. ¡°Finally! I thought you would never decide to talk.¡± ¡°Mmmm! MMMh!¡± The guy averts his eyes from me, taking a look at Ivy who is resting on top of Jeremiah. ¡°Is that Jeremiah?¡± I force myself to smile. Apparently yellow means communication. ¡°Yes. That means that you''ll kill your brother if you destroy this ship.¡± The other side squints his eyes into small slits. ¡°And why exactly should I care about that?¡± Damn! I forgot that they have no reason to like each other. ¡°Ah, I just thought that the bond between brothers may count for something. We aren''t exactly treating him well, you know?¡± ¡°He looks fine to me. He always liked to be dominated by weaker females. Actually his current situation isn''t very different from his preferred bedroom activities.¡± Serenzar shrugs his shoulders heartlessly. ¡°I just called to give you the opportunity to capitulate.¡± I try to sound as confident as possible. ¡°We don''t. Blowing this artefact up and running away to fight another day is actually totally within our calculations.¡± Serenzar''s expression turns into a grin. ¡°I don''t think that you have full control over the Shield. Otherwise you wouldn''t be in your current situation. My forces will exterminate you and take over the Shield. And who are you to talk like this to me? I am Serenzar Draco, the God-Emperor!¡± Sitting a little straighter I smile at him. ¡°My name is Azir Zait, husband of Nict''s second princess Stella Gejene. I''ll see to it that your little game ends soon.¡± That''s right! Keep talking to me and don''t concentrate on the battle. ***Stiran Archipelago, Southern Ocean, The Emperor''s Flagship*** ***Serenzar Draco*** I squint my eyes, trying to assess Azir''s character when one my officers draws my attention to another scene. What I am showed is a view of the island. The island''s barrier started flickering a few moments ago. Spells are getting through and fill the military base with craters. What''s interesting though is what happens when a spell hits one of the trenches filled with soldiers. Dirt and body parts are thrown into the air, exactly like someone would expect. There is just one problem. The body parts don''t belong to humans. The soldiers turn into various animals when the illusion is broken. Cattle! They created a huge illusion! ¡°Pull all ships, which aren''t needed to win, out of the fight.¡± Turning back to the screen I find Azir grinning at me, but I don''t give him the satisfaction of losing my coolness. ¡°That''s everything you get. Put your hidden card on the table and let''s see what it''s worth.¡± Ah, damn! ¡°Looks like they found out. Ok guys, time to retreat.¡± Azir claps his hands and leaves the control room. The other personnel hurries to follow him. The last one to leave is the woman who was using my brother as a mattress. She stands up and shoulders him like a sack of potatoes. My brother looks at me with tears in his eyes and I fight the urge to laugh at his fate. I turn to face the distant fighting. My flagship stayed safely away from the fight with the rest of the dockyards which continued on their path. Casting an enhancing spell on my vision I focus on the distant Shield, which is enclosed by a swarms of thousands of my warships. A few moments later all the distant noises of battle and flashes of light cease to be. My expression drops as ships fall out of the sky like stones! A cacophony of explosions destroys the fleet on which a whole generation of my subjects worked for. Not daring to say a word I reach for my head. This Azir! I''ll put him on a fire and roast him while applying all the healing spells I know! Then my eyes wander to the image which is projected by the amulet around my neck. It''s still there. Some instruments on the bridge look damaged and are smoking, but its still there. I look back to the distant battlefield where the Shield crashed into the shore of the main island. ¡°It''s still working! They abandoned it, believing that it would be destroyed! But they miscalculated! Now we have the most powerful weapon on this planet in our hands!¡± And unlike them I know how to control it! I start laughing and grab the general at my side. His face is white and he looks like he''ll get a heart-attack any moment now. Like I care! ¡°Land the warships and sail to that island! They have inhibitors from Quinn, so magic doesn''t work. Take that big ship, it has top priority!¡± ¡°Hmmhmmhmm...¡± Someone hums happily and I look around. Who dares to be that disrespectful in my vicinity. Realizing that it''s coming from my amulet, I look at the projected picture. Azir enters the camera''s view, coughing, he waves away the smoke around him. ¡°This thing is really sturdy! Now it already crashed twice and it''s still working.¡± ¡°Who cares! I''ve the superiority here. Once I clear out the inhibitors which you got from Quinn I''ll use the Shield against you! There is nothing you can do about it!¡± ¡°Ah, that''s exactly why I returned to take a look, just to be sure. We don''t want such a tool to fall into enemy hands.¡± He scratches his cheek. ¡°Say, do you recognize this? I wonder if it''s something important?¡± He pulls a long metal tube with two crystals at its end from his belt and places it on the console in front of him. My eyes bulge as I recognize it. ¡°The regulator for the fusion reactor''s laser ignition!¡± ¡°Damn! So it was important after all!¡± Azir vanishes in a teleportation spell. A bright light appears on the horizon. I close my eyes and block my ears, steadying myself with a fortification spell. Seconds later the shockwave and the thunder from the explosion throws the personnel around me to the deck. I open my eyes and take a look at the rising mushroom cloud. ¡°I''ll remember you when it''s time.¡± . 108. ~Intermezzo.~ Not much time and adding more didn''t feel right, so just a short connection chapter. If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°When the world does what it wants, do what you want.¡± -The Great Technomagus of the Free City States of Nict. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Stella*** I leave the conference room together with Azir. We had to listen to the summary of the aftermath and a detailed description of the battle itself. The military analyst who was making pretty eyes towards Louise liked to present the army''s and his own achievements in an especially shining light. Hopefully she invites him to her bedroom soon. I am not against flirting, but the brain of that guy simply shorts out when he sees Louise. And he doesn''t look bad, so I don''t understand why she didn''t even look at him once. It''s unbelievable that she never realized his feelings for her. I had to address her on the subject. Isn''t she the one who always gave me advise in regards to love? Rolling my eyes I remember the many hours we talked about this and that. Probably all her knowledge on the subject was just of intellectual nature? I never saw her with a guy... doesn''t that make me a real idiot for trusting in her every word about relationships between men and women? And why did I still end up with Azir if her advise doesn''t come from experience? Oh... damn! Thinking about this is really depressing! I have to talk her into accepting the analyst''s requests for a date and I should start calling him by his name. What was it? Georg? Gregor? ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Azir asks me while we are walking down the palace''s corridor towards the stepper disc. ¡°Nothing important. Just about the situation with the remaining enemy fleet. I don''t feel good about it.¡± I answer nonchalantly. He nods, patting my shoulder to reassure me. ¡°We''ll manage. They don''t have enough forces left to think about a serious invasion.¡± I sigh. ¡°But depending on where they attack, they can do a lot of damage. And I don''t like their current course.¡± Their remaining fleet consists of three hundred and thirty-two flying dockyards, twelve scout ships, two hundred and eighty-three troop transports and three hundred and sixty-nine warrior class ships. Mere nine hundred and ninety-six ships. Even if it''s nothing compared to their previous strength they are surely able to cause trouble and our fortresses are slow as hell compared to them. Louise got all the necessary resources to rebuild our drones as fast as possible, but it won''t happen overnight. The battle at the archipelago emptied our drone reserves. We won a glorious victory in terms of statistics and invested resources, but it still feels like a defeat because the enemy is still coming at us. And the worst of it is that it looks like their target is Nict''s capital. ¡°Azir, can we send the kids to your mother in Tri? I don''t feel well about having them here when the enemy really decides to ignore our coastal cities and heads directly towards the capital.¡± Azir forces himself to smile. ¡°That''s a good idea. My parents will have a lot of fun with the three of them.¡± Did I hear sarcasm in his voice? We move on and don''t stop walking while using the stepper disc to our house. From then on I follow Azir, searching the house for our youngsters. The bedroom and kitchen are empty, but there are voices coming from the living room. One of them seems to belong to a man. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Upon taking a look into our living room Azir freezes. I hurry to take a look past his shoulder, but my reaction is a little different from his. ¡°What''s he doing in our house! Get him out!¡± I scream, stabbing my finger at the scene in front of me before I can stop myself from making a scene. Biting my lip I try to control my emotions to not scare the kids. Ivy is sitting with her legs crossed on a stool; pencil and notebook in her hands. Zadkiel and Zana are on the floor, playing cards. But what provokes my ire is Jeremiah who is using the couch with Sariel on his lap. There is a big collar around his neck and his face pales upon looking at us. Sariel raises her hand, waving at us and curling her tail into a cute question mark. ¡°Mom, Dad! Look whom Ivy brought with her. Uncle Jeremiah knows so many stories about heroes and princesses! He even saved a few himself!¡± Jeremiah averts his eyes from us. ¡°Somehow I feel very old right now.¡± Ivy nods. ¡°That''s the first important step towards enlightenment.¡± She turns around to face us. ¡°My excuses if this scene shocked you, but everything is under control. I got interested in Jeremiah''s peculiar state of mind and decided that my next project is his re-socialisation. Having a subject on which all hope is lost wouldn''t leave a bad aftertaste if I fail. So I decided to postpone the ''having children'' experiment to test my educational skills to their limit instead.¡± Gesturing at Jeremiah, Ivy smiles brightly. ¡°He even has a magic-sealing collar which I made myself. The versions on his hands just weren''t safe enough in my opinion. On the other hand I deem it very unlikely that he''ll cut his head off to flee.¡± ¡°You aren''t my beloved Sivali.¡± Jeremiah presses a tear out of his left eye. ¡°That''s another important insight Jeremiah. You are getting better. Maybe we can go for a walk in the park tomorrow. If you behave I''ll show you around the city.¡± She softly pats his head with her tail. ¡°It''s been so long since I saw the sun.¡± He wipes the tear away. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°He suffers from what I call the hero-syndrome. It makes you think that the world centres around you and that only your perception of good and evil counts. Jeremiah even went as far as seeing everything only as black and white. We''ll work on that and return him to a proper world-view.¡± ¡°But first Jeremiah has to tell another story!¡± Sariel raises her hand, gesturing for Ivy to stop. ¡°He is so good at it and it feels like he could go on telling stories for years!¡± Azir turns around and leaves while grumbling. ¡°Maybe that''s because he isn''t telling stories, but his own history! I don''t care any more. I just want to sleep for now.¡± He enters the bedroom and slams the door shut. Is he jealous because Sariel bonded with Jeremiah? I walk over to the kids, my expression an emotionless mask. ¡°It''s okay, but just one more story. And tomorrow you kids will go and visit grandmother Valda for a few days. Your father and I will be very busy, so it''s better for you to stay there.¡± ¡°But we want to listen to Jeremiah''s stories!¡± Zadkiel expresses his disapproval. ¡°Aunty! We''ll go and visit aunty!¡± Zana starts jumping happily. ¡°There are many cats like Ghost at Valda''s mansion.¡± I point out. ¡°And nightmares!¡± ¡°What are nightmares?¡± Zadkiel furrows his eyebrows. ¡°You won''t find out if you don''t go.¡± I scratch my chin. ¡°I think Azir mentioned that you may get young kittens from your grandfather if you behave.¡± My last suggestion does the trick and Zadkiel nods eagerly. ¡°Can we go today?¡± ¡°I thought you want to listen to another story from Jeremiah.¡± Staring at him I cross my arms in front of my chest. Jeremiah sighs, stroking Sariel''s head. ¡°A long, long time ago there was a prince who fell in love with his maid...¡± . 109. ~Mysteries.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°More! More! Give me more! It isn''t enough!¡± -The deformed Sage. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** The youngsters were brought to Tri and are plaguing my parents now. It''s better this way, so their presence won''t hinder us in the coming fight. I sullenly watch the horizon from the royal palace''s battlement. Stella and her parents are also present. It''s late and the air is starting to get chilly while the sun is setting on the horizon, dyeing the sky red. On another day it would be a beautiful sight to behold, but today it''s foretelling the spilling of blood. The approaching fleet is clearly visible in the distance. The small black ships are being chased by four of our fully equipped fortresses. Thirteen more are hovering around the capital, waiting for the enemy. So far the invaders used their speed to avoid any contact with our forces. But that wasn''t really a concern of ours, as it was very clear that their target is Nict''s capital. Therefore we concentrated as much forces as possible and evacuated the civilians. ¡°I wish I knew what they are hoping to achieve by invading us like this. Do they think that they can take the capital and hold it while ignoring the rest of the country?¡± ¡°This is an outrage! For this to happen during my reign!¡± Helen calls out, shaking her fists at my side. ¡°I''ve been governing Nict for seventy-nine years! We had eight major wars with the southerners during that time and they never got even close to seeing our capital!¡± Squinting my eyes, I turn towards Helen. Did I just hear correctly? She slipped a hint to her age? Normally a mage doesn''t mention his or her age. It''s some sort of taboo in our society. She doesn''t look that old though, even if you take her slowed ageing process into account. So she is cheating a little with her appearance? And Lucas isn''t a strong mage. So there is a huge age gap between them? I found out something interesting. ¡°Don''t stare!¡± Stella pulls at my cheek, just in time for me to avoid Helen''s furious gaze. ¡°Calm down dear.¡± Lucas takes Helen''s hand and smiles at her. ¡°It''s only a matter of appearances. Wherever they strike, they always have to face Nict as a whole. It doesn''t change anything. They don''t stand a chance after having lost the major part of their invasion fleet and we have all big cities covered by an adequate force of flying fortresses.¡± ¡°I am not concerned about that.¡± Helen shakes her head, pointing to her feet. ¡°If they have no hope of conquering the capital, then they came here to either cause destruction, or to steal something of importance. And the only thing which justifies wasting such a force is the Emperor''s Vault. It''s also the only thing of which they can be sure of that we can''t carry it away.¡± Lucas stiffens. ¡°That may actually be a real possibility. We should prepare ourselves for this event.¡± ¡°There isn''t really anything more to do. I already declared the palace as the structure of uppermost importance.¡± Helen answers. It may be the right moment to get a little more information from Helen. ¡°I think you mentioned that the vault is hidden deep in the palace''s catacombs? And that there are traps? How hard is it to reach? Which traps?¡± Crossing my fingers behind my back, I pray for a little more useful information. I don''t want to sound too interested in this place. It''s after all some kind of dark, family secret and I wouldn''t want anyone searching through my cellar either. Helen licks over her lips. ¡°I was down there only once. It''s actually very hard to reach and it was my late mother who took me there. We had to use our ability in order to create short cuts and avoid certain passages. The catacombs are essentially a sealed labyrinth, filled with traps like pitfalls and poison darts. There are also magical guardians and curses. Taking the direct route is a path with many thorns.¡± I stare at her for several moments. ¡°If it''s that heavily protected and that important, then why didn''t your ancestors simply bury everything under tons of stone? They had the ability to do so.¡± Helen presses her lips to thin lines and doesn''t answer until Lukas takes my side. ¡°The situation may deteriorate into something undesirable. Isn''t it better if a few more people have the necessary clues to solve the riddle? Restricting information only to yourself and shouldering the entire responsibility isn''t the right thing to do right now. Our opponent probably knows all the essential information anyway.¡± If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Helen takes a deep breath and curls a strand of her hair around her finger. ¡°I really don''t know why my ancestors acted like they did. The only thing my mother said to me was to never close off the catacombs completely, so that air doesn''t stop circulating. Somehow that point was very important to her.¡± Her expression turns dark. Stella furrows her brow, looking at her mother. ¡°Why would they want air circulation in a place which should have only dust and a few bones?¡± ¡°Because the guardians are alive?¡± I offer, scratching my head. Actually I already have a pretty good idea of what''s going on in the vault. There were plenty of hints on the Shield. The biggest of them all the ability to influence mana streams with its magnetic field. Then there''s the strange connection between this world and my old one through the portals. Subconsciously I reach for the multi-tool on my belt. If I am right, then the old Emperor used my old world''s sun for a really sick experiment in order to reshape the paths of the mana streams on this world. No wonder that we couldn''t find a natural reason for the darkening of our sun. The reason wasn''t natural at all. They most likely created a portal to our sun and drew power from it to alter this planet''s core. They had the technology to bridge the distance and a space ship. Choosing a star which is far, far away is also logical. You don''t want a star close to your homeworld going nova if something fails. The only thing which I don''t understand is why someone would want to influence a planet''s mana stream. A planet''s mana streams are created by its magnetic core and the forces which act on it. It''s like a gigantic dynamo and the mana streams normally stay close to it. They should have gotten far more energy from that sun than they can harvest from their planet. To project a core''s mana streams that close to the surface you have to reshape the core permanently. Maybe the shape of the streams is important? I visited all our cities and there are streams under all of them. At first I thought that they are only used to power the City Gates, but what if there is more behind it? The Cities are forming a huge pentagram. Is it some kind of ritual? What would a ritual on such a scale be used for? Lucas interrupts my train of thought by grumbling frustrated. ¡°Then why would you use living guardians instead of simply burying everything under tons of stone?¡± Stella gives us the most obvious answer. ¡°Because the thing which you wanted to protect needs air... and something which needs air is most likely something that''s alive?¡± ***Free City States of Nict, Capital, The Emperor''s Flagship*** ***Elora*** ¡°I don''t like it.¡± I grab Serenzar at his clothes and pull him away from his priests and military advisers. ¡°Elora! What are you doing here? How did you follow me?¡± He takes a look around and the people around us wisely feign ignorance. ¡°I said that you should stay at home to manage our internal affairs!¡± I cross my arms in front of my chest and tilt my head. ¡°Managing your affairs while taking care of the abomination which you are calling a palace isn''t my idea of fun. I already took care of revealing the corrupt elements in our government. Besides... do you have any idea when you showed your face to me last?¡± Serenzar starts gesturing at his subordinates. ¡°Who knows? Can''t you see that we are currently conducting an important military operation?¡± ¡°Four weeks ago!¡± I look down and play my secret card. Tears! ¡°Do you really think that I like it to sit at home while my most important person is playing war?¡± He starts fidgeting. ¡°Urgh... how about talking about this after I took a look at my heritage? It''s a unique chance to find out and-¡± ¡°You want to say that you don''t even know? One more reason not to let you risk your life.¡± I scowl, shaking my head. ¡°Yes. No! You don''t understand. My brother knows what''s inside the vault. I was driven away before I could find out. It has to be something important and I waited for ages to return!¡± He gestures at the impressive city in front of us. ¡°Fine! Then I''ll come with you!¡± Turning him around I push him towards his advisers. If I am with him I can keep him under control. And I''ll use the first dangerous situation to teleport us back home. . 110. ~Preparations.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°My body started changing further and further while exploring the world''s mysteries. I am sure that those changes have a meaning. Maybe I am slowly turning into what I am truly meant to be?¡± -The deformed Sage. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital, Palace*** ***Azir*** ¡°Why are they rising so high? Do they intend to drop their ships onto the palace?¡± Looking up to the enemy fleet I am trying to make sense of their actions. Lucas nods, steadying himself with the balcony''s handrail. ¡°If our suspicions are true, then that''s probably exactly what they intend to do. Take down the palace''s barriers with any means possible, then teleport your troops directly into the target zone.¡± Pulling my eyebrows together, I nod with a grave expression. ¡°Then it''s probably time for me to arm up and assemble a few people to stop the enemy from entering the catacombs.¡± Stella gets a hold of my sleeve. ¡°What do you-¡± I teleport directly into my laboratory without waiting for her to end her sentence. Having arrived there I reach for my liquid armour and put it on. I improved it into a lighter version this time. Having it in a full plate configuration is a little too restricting on my movement. The armour flows onto me and fuses perfectly with my robe. Next on my list is the little box with my special surprises and the fully automatic pistol which I intended to give to the military as a prototype. What else could come in handy? My eyes wander sorrowfully to the clock, which is still lying on my working desk, and I reach for my multi-tool. I hadn''t managed to repair the clock yet after the magical micro-circuitry melted completely. It can''t be helped, so I turn to face other projects of mine. I store a dagger in my belt and grab a cartridge which is holding twenty small marbles. The marbles are connected to the mana net and can provide me with information by hovering around to gather intelligence. In addition they can act as repeaters in case of a bad connection to the net. The next point on my list is paying a visit to Ivy. I find her in her quarters, talking to Jeremiah like she always does these days. ¡°It''s good to find you this quickly. You have to arm up, we are going to visit the Emperor''s Vault.¡± Jeremiah jumps up from his sofa and starts screaming. ¡°No! You can''t-¡± Then he reaches for his neck where Ivy''s cuff suddenly tightened, cutting off his air. ¡°Hrgh...¡± Breathing stertorously he drops to the ground and starts writhing on the ground. Ivy reaches for her forehead and starts massaging it. ¡°Jerry... we already had this discussion. You don''t simply scream at people. That''s the last thing you do after having tried to talk to them properly.¡± I point at Jeremiah. ¡°His collar can tighten? And... Jerry?¡± Ivy nods enthusiastically, not caring for Jerry''s face which changing colours from red to blue. ¡°I''ve taken your armour as a blueprint for my new design. The collar automatically tightens the farther Jerry moves away from me, or in case I command it.¡± ¡°Err... well! Make sure to arm up and show yourself at the palace with him. It looks like his brother is trying to breach the Vault.¡± Without waiting for an answer I teleport again, this time appearing in my research facility''s armoury. ¡°Now that''s my world!¡± I take one of the big crates and place it in the middle of the room. Then I start throwing armour and weapon prototypes into it. While doing so I make a few calls over the mana net to assemble a few trustworthy people. Hopefully they manage to make their way to the palace before everything goes to hell. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Turning around I find Louise at the room''s entrance. I offer her one of the smaller guns which are easy to carry. ¡°Arm yourself, we are going to war! Didn''t you read the chat?¡± Louise''s eyes lose their focus, looking at a point beyond me. When she returns, she brushes the offered weapon aside. ¡°I have my own stuff. We meet at the palace.¡± Shrugging my shoulders I drop the weapon into the crate and cast a strength enhancement spell. Otherwise I would have serious trouble picking up the whole thing. Casting another teleport I reappear on the palace''s balcony where I left Stella and her parents, but nobody is there. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Suddenly a deafening explosion makes me flinch. With tingling ears I look up, where one of the mobile dockyards bursts apart, impacting on the palace''s barrier. ¡°The fuck? Those guys are crazy, wasting perfectly fine ships to bring down our defence!¡± The sky above the capital is filled with explosions and discharging energies. Strangely enough the damage to the city seems minimal. There are many pillars of smoke rising here and there, but all of them seem to be caused by crashed ships. If the enemy would bombard the city seriously they would have caused much more destruction. Seems like they are really trying to make a run at the palace, ignoring everything else. I force myself to avert my gaze from our fortresses. They are standing as firm as rocks amidst the enemy fleet. Defending their positions while relying on their multi-layered barriers instead of mobility. This time I locate Stella via the mana net and teleport again. My small jump takes me directly into the throne room, where I find Stella, her parents, and Sola with Xander. A few of the friends whom I called upon also arrived faster than me. Well, I was packing up stuff after all. Dropping the crate to the floor I start handing out the armour and weapons to Karsen, Tanja, Chuck and Adala. ¡°I am glad that you managed to make it in time.¡± Chuck snorts. ¡°Are you joking? You helped Dwem when our country was attacked, so I would be a sad excuse of a Great Shaman if I didn''t return the favour when called upon. Ahem. The stepper disc in my apartment is a great help by the way.¡± ¡°You! Don''t simply run off without explaining everything!¡± Stella stomps in my direction, stabbing her finger at me. ¡°Sorry, dear! But as you see, I had to pack a few things. Take this as an apology.¡± I hand her the dagger from my belt. ¡°So beautiful!¡± Stella''s eyes almost turn into stars. She admires the beautiful golden runes on the kukri shaped weapon. Inwrought in the blackened blade are interlined, silver patterns which are glowing in a blue light. Then her forehead wrinkles and she looks up to me. ¡°Don''t think that I''ll let you off the hook! Distracting me with something shiny won''t work. There''ll be repercussions!¡± It''s simply too hard to impress her with a present! Curse that ability of hers with which she can create as much jewellery as she wishes. The palace shakes another time and Ivy arrives with Jeremiah on a leash. He is carrying a staff and is clad in heavy armour like a tank. Ivy is carrying her two daggers and a set of fifty small spider robots is following her like an army, copies of her old body! ¡°She really did it! She put a leash on him. I can''t believe it.¡± Stella gapes at my side. ¡°Did you know that she is calling him Jerry?¡± I ask Stella. Stella''s eyes widen, but she doesn''t get to answer me because Ivy''s pet decides to approach us. Jerry nods towards us and bows. ¡°I am sorry for overreacting without listening to you first. Of course I''ll try to help you through the catacombs in case my brother manages to breach them. The Vault has to stay sealed at all costs. I also apologize for all my misguided actions and hope that it''s within your heart to forgive me.¡± ¡°Eeeh?¡± Stella hides behind me, not knowing how to react to this. ¡°It''s okay, as long as you see your wrongdoings, I guess?¡± Ivy nods satisfied and pulls on the leash to signal him to stand a little further away. ¡°That was good! And it didn''t hurt your pride at all didn''t it?¡± ¡°No. That''s not hurting my pride at all. After all I now know what''s really hurting someone''s pride. A simple apology or words alone shouldn''t be a problem for anyone.¡± Jeremiah answers with a defeated expression on his face. Before I have time to pity Jeremiah properly, the last guest arrives at our party. Louise enters the throne room with an enormous rifle in her hands. It''s the newly issued sniper Bullpub rifle with an extra long barrel and additional slots for ammunition. The barrel is at least one metre long and there are dozens of mods on the gun. Several different scopes like laser-point and night-vision, a bayonet, a grenade launcher and other stuff which makes the gun almost impossible to wield. But Louise tackled that problem by borrowing our exoskeleton prototype which we intended to give to the normal soldiers. It''s nice of her to test all that equipment, but she simply overdid it! My eyes wander to the huge backpack on her back and then to the grenades which are loosely dangling on its side. I don''t want to know which other explosives she is carrying around. ¡°Let''s just pray that she doesn''t catch a stray fire-spell.¡± . 111. ~Centre.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°Many think that the mutations which are caused by high exposure to mana are random and don''t make any sense. But if you take all of the known mutations and look at them together, you can make certain guesses at the probable end result.¡± -The Tome of Power. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital, Palace*** ***Azir*** ¡°They''ve breached another barrier!¡± One of the guards calls out to us while retreating from somewhere further down the corridor. We''ve defended the first floor of the palace for half an hour and there seems to be no end to the enemy troops. I growl and continue to search through the bodies of the invaders which I and my friends just took down. We are defending a rather unimportant looking mirror which is, according to Helen, the hidden entrance to the catacombs. It has been less than forty minutes since an enemy ship broke the palace''s defensive barrier. Since then we are trying our best to hold this position against our foes who are popping up one after the other. Then I sense a spark of life in one of the downed soldiers who is apparently playing dead possum. I grab his forehead and send out a mind probe to search through his memories. He is just a normal warrior and can''t resist me. After a few moments I end my exploration of his mind and frown. ¡°They only got orders to keep us occupied for as long as possible.¡± ¡°Uwah... that''s creepy. Are you sure that what you are using isn''t black magic?¡± Louise takes a pitiful look over my shoulder. I return my attention to the guy who is sprawled out in front of me. He has foam in front of his mouth and his last meal is spreading in a puddle around his head. I let go of the soldier and clean my hand on his uniform. ¡°It''s pure mind magic. There is not a bit of soul magic involved.¡± Well, that''s not entirely true, but nobody in this room has the qualification to prove the opposite. I stand up and point at the twitching soldier to my feet. ¡°But their instructions sound a little strange to me. It sounded like they only have to distract us for long enough. They didn''t get the orders to actually take this position. Could it be that there is a second entrance to the catacombs?¡± Helen slowly shakes her head. ¡°Not to my knowledge. The mirror is the only entrance.¡± Her eyes wander to Jeremiah who shrugs his shoulders. ¡°I closed all other entrances when I left Nict. This should be the only one which is still accessible.¡± ¡°And what if they simply dug a new one? From what I understood the catacombs have to be huge. As long as you dig straight down, you find them?¡± Stella looks around, making eye contact with each of us. ¡°If you have the right spell to dig fast it should be easier than taking a heavily defended position like this one. Right?¡± I call upon the mana net to display where the enemy forces are concentrating their efforts. ¡°Where else are the catacombs close to the surface.¡± Jeremiah purses his lips. ¡°The mausoleum should be the closest to the surface. It should be under the palace''s servant quarters for guests.¡± A gesture of my hand makes the map in front of me vanish. ¡°And that''s exactly where their remaining troops are concentrated!¡± Gesturing at the mirror I look at Helen. ¡°Open it. We have to go down there and stop them.¡± ¡°No. What if they attack while we leave this position unguarded?¡± Jeremiah calls out. ¡°We have to stop them from digging down into the catacombs.¡± ¡°They''ve been holding their position for more than twenty minutes. Given that they have a decent spell for digging tunnels, they should be already down there. Let the reinforcements from outside the palace handle them. I have no interest in attacking a heavily defended position while we have our own entrance!¡± Helen nods and approaches the mirror. Upon touching it the whole surface floats apart like a liquid and reveals a long tunnel. ¡°I''ll stay here and guard the entrance with Lucas.¡± ¡°We''ll stay too and tend to the wounded soldiers.¡± Sola and Xander inform me. ¡°That''s okay. Having too many people in crowded places isn''t beneficial anyway. Actually most of the soldiers should stay behind to defend the entrance.¡± I explain, gesturing for a few of the better guards to follow me. Then I summon a light globe and send it down the tunnel. Our group consists of me, Stella, Ivy, Jeremiah, Louise, Karsen, Tanja and a handful of soldiers. I advance quickly while plucking five of the marbles from the cartridge on my belt, releasing them into the air. They automatically connect to the mana net and start hovering in front of me, then three of them automatically decide that the surroundings need to be explored and shoot down the tunnel at neck breaking speed. Remembering the mentioned traps I activate my mana sight and start gathering mana to shield myself. ¡°How far until it gets dangerous?¡± ¡°The first level should be completely safe, then we have to be more and more careful. There will be physical traps and spells further down the path. At the end are also a few summoned creatures which are contracted as guardians.¡± Jeremiah explains while Ivy pulls at his leash to hasten him onwards. ¡°Summoned creatures? What by the heavens do we have to expect?¡± Tanja complains while hovering safely inside her rotating mana bubble, using it like a gigantic wheel to keep up with us. Jeremiah starts breathing heavily in his armour. ¡°Nothing out of the ordinary. There should be animated skeletons and ghouls. Those are normally enough to shoo away random thieves. A few stronger golems are on the lower levels and there is a big demon for every level.¡± ¡°Huff... great... couldn''t you... huff... make it a little... huff... creepier?¡± Louise''s voice echoes from further behind. ¡°Too... heavy...¡± When I look over my shoulder to check out what her problem is, I see her casting a spell and in the next moment she starts floating, following us with ease. ¡°That''s not something a normal soldier can do, Louise!¡± I complain, calling out to her. ¡°Shut up!¡± Louise starts ranting. ¡°The problem doesn''t lie with the equipment! It''s just the setup, but as an engineer that''s not my problem. I just design the stuff for the military, what they take and don''t take and how they use it isn''t my problem!¡± The tunnel widens to a long corridor with several intersecting ones which lead downwards and Jeremiah takes the lead. ¡°We have to take this one.¡± Without hesitation he walks down one of the worse looking paths and we follow him. The walls of this tunnel are covered with green slime and there is debris from the ceiling on the ground. While following Jeremiah I pay special attention to the ceiling, just in case that it decides to come down on our heads. At least most of the magical lights at the tunnel''s walls are still working. The hasty descent is interrupted when we encounter the first traps. After having to pull Jeremiah out of a pitfall which was designed against non magicians I decide to take the lead once more. My mana sight enables me to see magical traps while the purely physical ones don''t pose any threat to me. Upon turning around the corner of yet another stairway I face a sickly looking white face with long ears. The eyes are white and deep in their sockets. I can''t help it and call out in shock while bitch slapping the thing. ¡°Kyaaaa!¡± The head of the monster disconnects from its body and disappears in the darkness down the stairs. A moment later the body crumbles like a boneless heap. ¡°What the heck is going on?¡± Karsen calls from further behind. The long, narrow stairway didn''t allow him to see what happened. ¡°No... Nothing important!¡± Yes, I just forgot to turn off my strength enhancing buffs. I turn around and glare at the people who saw what happened. Namely Stella, Jeremiah and Ivy. ¡°This stays a family secret!¡± This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.Jeremiah nods. ¡°It''s a ghoul. It''s understandable to freak out upon seeing them the first time.¡± I walk past the body and summon a light globe. The tattoos and scars on the thing give me a bad feeling. The appearance of this so called ghoul isn''t what made me freak out. It''s encountering this thing here of all places. Seems like this world and my old one are somehow linked through the Emperor''s meddling with my world''s sun, which makes it much more likely for rituals to summon something from my old world. When we encountered the first animated skeleton it turned out that we were quite lucky to have Louise with us. The one who created those walking monstrosities thought that it would be a good idea to make the damn things immune to magic. Whatever fireballs or other spells we hurled at them, they simply dissolved without doing any harm. So we had to rely on Louise''s generous backpack, which was stuffed with grenades and explosives to the brim. But all those situations were mastered with relative ease until we finally entered a big room with another stairway at the other side. ¡°Is that one of the chambers with a special guardian?¡± I ask Jeremiah nervously. If the guardians are high class monsters from my old world, then I don''t want to face them. Jeremiah nods with a grave expression. ¡°Yes, though I don''t understand why it''s empty! Did the damn thing take a day off? I am sorry, my memory isn''t perfect, but there should be one here.¡± I carefully start walking forward with the others following me. ¡°Maybe we are lucky and are on the same path as our foes? Did they already kill the guardian?¡± Tanja''s voice shatters my hopes. ¡°That would be too much of a coincidence if we take the size of this place into account. And shouldn''t there be traces of a fight and some sort of remains?¡± Halfway through the chamber it happens. A scream from further behind breaks the silence and a torrent of flames almost burns me to a crisp. I evade by rolling instinctively to the side and get up again. One of our guards is down, cleanly cut in two, and something is trying to do the same to Karsen. ¡°Shade!¡± I call out and send a ball of compressed mana at the thing which consists out of tentacles and claws, hitting it dead centre and digging into it. The monster is catapulted away from Karsen. Stella suddenly appears next to the thing and pulls her new dagger across it, creating a huge wound. A bone shattering kick sends it flying and it impacts the wall at the opposite side of the room. I trigger my sphere of mana to explode, bursting the thing open. Several other people join with their own spells. After some moments the dust settles, but the thing isn''t down. It looks a little battered, but as it stands up it reforms into the shape of a human and I recognize my aunt Jade. The tentacles retreat into it and the claws disappear under newly formed clothes. ¡°Azir, isn''t that thing... from that cave?¡± Stella asks horrified, pointing at the creature. ¡°I don''t care where it is from! The fucker is trying to mess with my mind!¡± Raising both hands I approach the creature and cast a spell which draws all energy out of its vicinity. As the room temperature drops my aunt raises a hand, smiling at me. From my time on my old world I already know that it doesn''t make much sense to battle these things with offensive magic. They are sturdy as hell and have high regenerative powers. The only thing that works is freezing them. The other mages in the group start assisting my spell and the water in the air around the creature starts forming ice crystals. Finally it stops moving, frozen in place. I wait for a few more moments until I am sure that the spell worked, then I drop my hands and approach the thing carefully. Being close enough I place my foot on the shape-shifter and tilt it backwards, shattering it to a thousand pieces. Turning around I find Tanja and Stella treating Karsen, who got cut up pretty badly. The damn thing tried to cut him into strips. But at least he is alive, unlike the guard who got hit first. ¡°I am sorry. Almost burned you too, but I simply reacted when it dropped from the ceiling.¡± Karsen tries to apologize. ¡°Didn''t seem to hurt the damn thing...¡± ¡°It''s no problem, I just have to think about getting a new haircut.¡± I try to joke. One of the guards steps closer and places his hand on Karsen''s shoulder. His robe identifies him as an Eddin and soon enough Karsen''s wounds start closing. I sigh in relief and look up at the ceiling where the Shade hid inside a dark cavity. It must have carved its hiding place out of the stone and pretended to be a part of the ceiling. ¡°I hope there is really only one of those things here?¡± My eyes wander over the walls. It''s disturbing me that the thing evaded my detection. Maybe I am relying a little too much on my mana sight. On the other hand I never had the chance to use it on them. Maybe they aren''t using any mana? Jeremiah shakes his head. ¡°The guardians should be bound to the room and enchanted to be fed by lingering mana. There was only one per room, that I am sure of.¡± After some time the healer managed to piece Karsen back together and we continue on our path down into the catacombs, this time twice as careful. Hours later we finally find the first signs of our enemies as I enter a big room and stop. There are dozens of bodies inside it. Stella presses herself past me, since I am blocking entrance, and gapes at the carnage. ¡°Seems like we are catching up.¡± ¡°Not good. Catching up means that we are behind! Who knows how far ahead they are!¡± There is a huge humanoid in heavy armour resting right next to the entrance from where we came. It''s eyes are still looking at the crushed remains of an enemy soldier, who was too slow to evade the monster''s huge paw. Luckily for us it seems like the creature already breathed its last breath. The rest of the room is filled with dead bodies which were crushed or mangled in other ways. Jeremiah steps forward and points at one of the many stairways which are leading out of the room. ¡°But it also means that we can move faster. It doesn''t seem like my brother moves with any kind of secrecy or care for his troops.¡± I nod and hurry down the stairs, moving as fast as possible while still trying to pay attention to our surroundings. We advance much faster now, but that''s only thanks to our predecessors. They sprung every trap which they encountered. Though I have to admit that Jeremiah, while having forgotten many things, still remembers most of the traps and saved us a lot of trouble. Finally we reach the end of the last stairway and step into a big cave with a fissure in the ground. A long, thin bridge leads over the dark rift, and on the other side of the dimly lit cave I find a group of thirty people in front of a big door. One of them is in the process of pressing an amulet onto it, releasing the seals and magical barriers on it. The grinning person turns around and calls out to us while the seals illuminate the room in a bright light. ¡°Seems like you are a little too late!¡± Serenzar steps through the huge door and his soldiers follow him. I leave my friends behind and make a short teleport directly in front of the door. Serenzar and his remaining lackeys are still on the other side, but they don''t interest me at all. Neither does the huge open cavern behind the door impress me. Nor do the six mana streams which are converging in the centre of the huge open space. They are forming a massive spiral, turning into a sphere in the middle of the room. From there they twist around themselves and funnel straight down into a gaping hole in the cavern''s centre. What''s requiring all my attention is the body in the centre of the energy sphere. And then a colourful eye as large as I am tall flicks open and the pupil contracts into a slit as it focuses on us. The cavern vibrates as the owner of the eye starts moving. ¡°~Vissitorrrs!~¡± . 112. ~Close Call.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°And here is our greatest exhibit. Being birthed from fire it is also consumed by fire. A magnificent piece of art from ancient times. Please don''t be disturbed by the noise. It''s a part of the piece and contributes to the atmosphere. Just listen and try to take in the entire scene.¡± -Guide through the Museum of Pain. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital, Palace*** ***Azir*** The huge dragon unfolds its body which was resting inside the sphere like a cat. ¡°It has been a long time since I went to sleep and now the seal which protected me is broken! What does the world outside look like by now? Since I am awake I may as well go for a walk.¡± Serenzar raises a trembling hand to point at the creature. ¡°That can''t be! Who... What are you? Where is the Emperor''s heritage?¡± ¡°The Emperor? Ah... there was such an insignificant creature... once. He created me from his flesh and blood to be reborn as the ultimate being. Then he transferred his soul and his memories to me in hopes of being reborn. But that was long ago and it didn''t work as well as he intended, so he had to end his life in his own body and simply sealed me here. Call me the deformed Sage. I''ve shed my human heritage to become so much more! Even though the Emperor called me a failed experiment, but maybe it didn''t fail. I am never absolutely sure if I am not him after all.¡± The dragon slithers closer, moving through air like on solid ground. I recognize the mana reshaping around the monster''s feet, forming gravity controlling spells. My friends also reach the door and stop there, frozen in place, watching the impossible scene. The dragon places its head closer to the ground, spreading its leathery wings, and focuses one eye on Serenzar. ¡°Ah, Serenzar. You didn''t grow much since I saw you the last time. Such a disappointment. The emperor was hoping to establish a new breed of dragons. I think I''ll carry on his ambitions. Being the only one of my kind could become lonely.¡± The eye flicks towards Jeremiah. ¡°And Jeremiah didn''t walk down the right path either. What''s that leash? Are you some kind of pet? But that female at your side isn''t bad. Maybe I should take her for myself. Or that black haired one? Oh, the golden lass isn''t bad either and she has scales. Maybe I should start a breeding program? There seem to be many candidates. Are there more on the surface? It could be possible to revive the species after all.¡± My hand wanders to my gun as the dragon sets its eyes on Stella. She is currently in her newly developed fighting form and it seems like it''s especially attractive. ¡°Who do you think you are!? Big fucking lizard! Who says that you can simply do as you please! The stupid emperor destroyed a world to create an abomination like you? At least he could have cleaned up his own mess!¡± The room turns completely silent. Did I really say that just now? Chuck calls out from behind me. ¡°And don''t get in our way! We still have business with Serenzar!¡± Serenzar turns around, screaming at us. ¡°Such insolence! Do you have any idea how long I planned to return? And then there is nothing here but this!¡± He gestures at the dragon. ¡°Hey.¡± I shake my fist at Serenzar completely forgetting about the lizard. ¡°I will gut you and make you eat your own intestines! All you''ve done so far is causing trouble!¡± ¡°Hey!¡± The woman at Serenzar''s side pulls on his arm. ¡°Dear. You''ve seen that there is nothing interesting here. Can''t we call it a day and go home?¡± ¡°DON''T IGNORE ME!¡± The dragon roars and it''s pupil focuses on me. ¡°And you are? A Zait? Another failed line of the emperor''s offspring.¡± I feel the gigantic lizard trying to probe my mind, but I brush the attempt aside. I feel that the dragon has immense powers, but his attempt is crude and feels like he is just swinging a club. He obviously lacks fighting experience. But what do I expect from something that slept for the last few thousand years. Tilting its head, the dragon looks confused. ¡°Now this is interesting. Maybe I''ve misjudged you. Your soul seems to be special.¡± An ice shard shoots out at the dragon''s eye and the lizard closes his eyelid just in time to avoid being blinded. The ice shard shatters without doing much damage. ¡°Don''t interrupt my wife when she is speaking, don''t you know who we are?¡± Serenzar shakes his fist at the monster. ¡°I am Serenzar Draco and I don''t know what you are, but you are not my father! My father died of old age on his deathbed. You may have a few of his memories, but you are not him!¡± The dragon rolls its eyes. ¡°Of course I am not him. The old Emperor was just a human who decided to become more. I am more! I am born from his blood and flesh to carry on his will. I am the one who''ll conquer the world in his place. My mind is above you insignificant creatures. Now be gone!¡± The dragon raises its paw and brings it down on Serenzar and his men. But before it can finish the movement an enormous fist made out of fire impacts the dragon''s jaw and sends him flying through the cave. Chuck steps over us. He changed into a fire avatar to battle the enormous creature. ¡°Don''t underestimate the Great Shaman!¡± Another blow sends the lizard flying once more. ¡°Do you think I would let history repeat itself?¡± As if on command everyone starts fighting. Spells fly everywhere and I hurry to strengthen my shields. Louise drops herself to the ground and starts emptying her rifle into the dragon, taking careful aim at the eyes. Raising my hands I dispel several incoming spells and advance towards Serenzar. We meet amidst the fighting groups, hurling spells at each other without caring much about our resources. The whole place is filled with energy, so there is no reason to hold back. I concentrate myself on Serenzar while his aide is battling it out with Stella. A grin appears on my face when I realize that my opponent is a decent mage. Unlike Jeremiah he seems to understand the importance of being able to counter and deflect spells properly. He casts a fireball which is imbued with some kind of curse. I dissect his spell into its parts and use my barrier to reflect the components of the spell back at him. The outcome of this strategy returns a weaker result, but is harder to counter. Serenzar catches the fireball component and deflects the other wild magics. A part of the curse runs amok and the red spark of energy which is carrying the curse hits one of his men. The victim drops to his knees and starts ageing rapidly. Within moments the soldier is just an old man. He tried to weaken me with a very underhanded method! I am in the process of casting a life draining curse to answer in kind when something hits me and sends me flying. A scene of a burnt dragon swinging its tail at a group of warriors flashes past my field of vision. The world turns black for a moment and when I open my eyes again I find myself on the ground. A heavy pressure is holding me down, but then I realize that it''s only my own imagination. Something is trying to exert its mental power over me. Looking up I find everyone on the ground and the dragon is looming above us. ¡°I must admit that this situation... surprised me. There must be a lot of hatred between your factions.¡± The dragon licks over a deep wound on his snout and I realize that it''s healing rapidly. Is it indestructible? ¡°Bastard lizard! In how many pieces do you need to be cut in order to die?¡± Chuck complains from under the dragon''s claw, where he is held like a cat''s toy. The dragon shakes his head, pitying the Great Shaman. ¡°It doesn''t really matter. My body is fed by the energy vortex above us. As long as it exists I will always be able to heal myself.¡± The dragon chuckles. ¡°Oh, don''t worry. It''s indestructible. That means as long as you don''t destroy the planet, I can''t die.¡± ¡°Monster! What are you after?¡± Jeremiah gasps on the floor. Ivy is lying at his side, trying to get up but failing. ¡°Isn''t it obvious? I want power! I want immortality! I want the world.¡± The dragon answers. ¡°When you entered this cave I was still too weak to take on the world. I needed more time and you came at exactly the right moment. Meddling with your mind worked very well, Jeremiah. You did well in keeping prying eyes away while I was developing. I think I''ll grant you a quick death in exchange for your excellent service.¡± The dragon raises its claw above Jeremiah. ¡°Did you fucking lizard lose your mind?¡± I scream out, fiddling with the cartridge on my belt. ¡°How do you even intend to leave this place after growing so large? Seems like the only thing that grew was your body! Your brain has to be the size of a peanut!¡± The dragon bears its teeth at me. ¡°Insolence! Of course I am not bound to one shape! The emperor wanted to enjoy his many wives. Watch and shudder in awe!¡± The dragon starts changing, shrinking and taking the shape of a middle aged man with a long beard and leathery wings on his back. The tail on his behind looks offensive to me. After years of living on this world I see having a tail as a female attribute. It''s like having tits! At least he thought about summoning a robe to cover himself. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.The deformed sage nods proudly. ¡°What do you say now? Fool!¡± I smile. ¡°I am glad that you seem to lack distrustfulness.¡± His new form is much easier to wound! I pull my pistol and aim it at the deformed sage''s feet, flipping the settings to fully automatic. A single ongoing boom accompanies the release of thirty manatite tipped bullets. Originally I intended to use it as a weapon of last resort against Serenzar, but the shitty lizard seems to be the greater threat. Ever since I had to experience the effects of manatite on my own body, I became charmed by the stuff and put extensive research into the matter. The greatest problem was finding a proper supply of the stuff, but after I mugged a few nomads I found out where they are mining the stuff. Manatite is a piezoelectric crystal, which reacts to small changes in its structure by creating an electric current. It''s enough to disrupt the flow of mana and works in a similar manner as the inhibitors from Quinn. We are lucky that most of the stuff exists just as fine sand or powder. Bigger pieces of manatite would be able to penetrate almost all forms of magical defence. The nomads will probably curse me a few generations to the future because I robbed their mining operation of several big crystals. They wouldn''t have been big enough to create a dagger anyway, but they were just right to add manatite tips to my bullets. The recoil pushes my hand upwards, spreading the expensive poison bullets across the sage''s entire body. A mana shield appears in front of the sage, but the manatite does its job in disrupting the flow of mana. The bullets punch right through and turn the sage''s body into a bloody wreck. ¡°Aarrgh!¡± He screams and tumbles backwards. I use the chance and get to my feet, throwing the gun at him, hitting him at his shoulder. He doesn''t fall and tries to retreat towards the mana stream in the centre of the room. ¡°What''s this! Manatite? It doesn''t matter! The vortex will heal me!¡± Waving his hand at me, he unleashes a torrent of arcane missiles, even though the manatite in his body should stop him from casting spells! It seems like powder works better in that regard. I continue running and rely on my connection to the mana net. The marbles which I spread on my way down here did their job without problem. -Administration mode!- A thought activates the casting assistant and transfers all powers of the mana net to me. The mana net isn''t just a simple spell of mine. It''s able to take over and infiltrate all the mana in the world as long as there is someone nearby to support the spell. It would be correct to call it a world enchantment! It''s growing with each person who is using it and the one who controls it has all the knowledge and computation power of the people who are using it! The remaining marbles release from their cartridge at my belt and spread around me. They automatically cast a counter-spell for each arcane missile. I reach the reincarnation of the emperor just when he attempts to draw power from the mana stream. Tackling him I plunge both of us into the torrent of energy and use my ability to shield myself from the energy. From somewhere I can hear Stella screaming my name. ¡°What?¡± The sage tries to shove me away, but I don''t let go. ¡°How can you follow me without burning to a crisp!¡± Grinning, I reach for his head. ¡°I am a Zait! I don''t have power, I control it!¡± The sage tries to hit me with a mental attack, but my mind slips away without problem. The mind eels on my old world were much better at this. Relying on the assistance of the mana net, I start casting a huge and complex spell. The mana net itself starts spreading throughout the mana stream as both of us are carried upwards into the sphere of energy. The sage tries to change his shape, but the manatite inside his body prevents that. Both of our minds start clawing at each other like wild beasts. In the meantime the mana net continues to work its spell. The sage''s body starts healing faster and faster. ¡°Why are you doing this? What''s with this healing magic?¡± He asks baffled as my spell starts taking effect. I don''t answer and concentrate on our mind duel instead. Somehow he gets past my defences and pain stabs through my entire being. Then I realize that he hit me with his fist! To repay him I start beating him physically with all my strength, cursing at him with every swear word I know of. Upon running out of appropriate curses I even resort to using my old language, which sounds quite sinister in itself according to my mother. Blocking a bone shattering kick with my right, I place a perfect uppercut on his chin and watch him spit teeth and blood. His tail wriggles around my hand and tightens with unbelievable strength. It feels like something breaks, but I am not idle myself. Reaching for the multi-tool on my belt I will it into a sword to cut off my opponent''s tail. The magical circuits which I gathered from the other weapons do a fine job in penetrating his hastily erected barrier. He tries to use his wings to gain some distance, so I follow to stop him from escaping. Another slash cuts into his left wing and he screams. ¡°Imbecile! You can''t kill me! Why are you fighting?¡± A kick sends me tumbling and his fist impacts my chest, pressing the air out of my lungs. Finally the mana net finishes the self sustaining omnidirectional seal and a fine grid of energy starts appearing on the surface of the sphere which is encasing us. I bring my knee up and into his guts as a goodbye present, then I teleport out of the sphere just in time before the sealing grid encloses it completely. I reappear on the ground right next to Chuck. The world is trying to spin out of my field of vision, so I have a hard time staying on my feet. Looking down on him I try to joke about his beat up state. ¡°You don''t look well. Did you run out of coal to fuel your avatar?¡± Chuck looks up to me in amazement. ¡°I wouldn''t talk if I were you. You don''t look well either. Your left horn is missing.¡± Feeling for my horn I find out that he is right. And it hurts like hell! Can I trade this feeling for a few broken bones? Searching my surroundings I find Serenzar a few feet away. He is still on the ground and doesn''t look healthy either. Apparently I wasn''t the only one who encountered the dragon''s loving paw. I already start thinking about various punishments when a black haired beauty appears out of nowhere at his side. She kneels down and hugs him. The next moment both of them are gone. ¡°Damn! I thought I am the only one who can teleport blind!¡± ¡°Please! Lie down, Azir!¡± Suddenly Stella is at my side, trying to push me down with a frightened face. ¡°I am fine.¡± I try getting her off of me, but she doesn''t retreat. Suddenly her expression turns vicious. What did I do? She reaches for my hand. ¡°Then your hand isn''t broken?¡± I try to protect my arm, but she is faster than me and gets a hold of it and pulls. ¡°A scratch.¡± I hiss through clenched teeth. ¡°And your horn is also fine?¡± She grabs the stump, pressing her finger onto it. I start wriggling, trying to get out of her grasp. ¡°I can still stand. There is no need to overreact!¡± ¡°So I suppose those aren''t four broken ribs!?¡± She jabs a finger into my side and I topple over in a foetus position. ¡°Sorry, five...¡± ¡°Let me go back to battle the dragon!¡± I fight back tears while one of the Eddin who accompanied us starts healing me. Stella kneels down and rips something from my chin, but compared to her earlier attacks it feels like nothing. She has a small grey scale in her hand and presents it to the Eddin who is working on me. ¡°Can you heal those too?¡± The man looks uncertainly at her. ¡°I think it would be best to see a specialist about mana exposure regarding those.¡± Really? Am I turning into a lizard too? Fuck! I reach for my tailbone, luckily there is no tail. Whew! I can deal with a few scales, but not a tail. ¡°I want to go home.¡± Karsen hobbles closer, supported by Tanja. ¡°Today I got sliced to pieces and a dragon stepped onto me. I''ve had enough!¡± ¡°Let''s listen to the music for a little longer.¡± I cough and look up to the mana sphere. In the meantime Adala walked up to Chuck to help him up. ¡°I don''t want to! What did you do to him.¡± She looks up with a horrified expression on her face. Above us the mana net finished weaving the seal and a tight grid of solid energy is encasing the sphere, fed by the six mana streams. Inside it is the deformed sage, caught in a repeating cycle of being burned away by the energies of the mana stream and being reborn again from the ashes. He is screaming and wailing as soon as his body is able to, but then the healing stops and his body starts disintegrating again and again and again... ¡°I cast a high class healing spell on him. It''s self-triggering and draws upon the energy of the target. While it does so, it disables your ability to use magic in order to avoid any interference. This makes him unable to protect himself against the mana stream''s energy. I also added the mana stream as a secondary source of energy to ensure that he doesn''t die by chance. The seal around the sphere is just to ensure that he stays in there... as long as the stream exists.¡± ¡°You mean forever!?¡± Jeremiah gasps and I turn to find him carrying Ivy in a princess carry. She has a big bump on her forehead and her leg looks broken. I look up to the vortex of energy and squint my eyes. ¡°Didn''t he say himself that the vortex will exist as long as we don''t destroy the planet?¡± . 113. ~Return.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°Life is an endless, unavoidable up and down. Once you are the one who is standing on top of the hill it doesn''t matter which direction you take, all paths lead you downwards.¡± -Serenzar, the God-King. ***Free City States of Nict, Tri*** ***Stella*** Finally, I can see my children again. I enter the big garden area around the Zait''s main house with Azir at my side. He is a little grumpy since Serenzar escaped us, but I''ve no doubt that it''ll get better with time. It took us a day to clean up the huge mess which was left behind by Serenzar''s attack. Unfortunately his girlfriend managed to save him from our hands. I wonder who she is. When I fought her she was perfectly able to stand up to my new technique. The hardened scales which I created on my body deflected my opponent''s magic and physical attacks didn''t do any harm to me. Still, I''ve yet to learn how to deal with troublesome opponents. The black haired woman was able to turn herself immaterial and avoided all my attacks by doing so. Whenever one of my attacks was about to hit her, she simply dove into a shadow and reappeared somewhere else. In the end I even resorted to rune magic, but my spells weren''t able to harm her either. The stalemate between us was only broken when the dragon used his unbelievable aura to subdue the fighting parties. Thankfully Azir is a very strong mind mage. He wasn''t bothered at all by the dragon''s power. Maybe I should finally ask him to teach me few strong spells to cover my weak points? When we returned to the surface the battle was already over. A few dozen of Serenzar''s warships managed to escape our fortresses, but we used the drones which we held in reserve and satellites to take them down. The palace is in ruins though. It will also take a lot of work to repair the city, even if it wasn''t the target of the attack. Having a thousand ships come crashing down all over the city is akin to being the target of long range artillery spells. At least the two fortresses which were taken down managed to get clear of the city and fly over the fields on the outskirts of the city before they crashed. We find Yoran lying on a bench. Azir''s father has a book in his hands and is reading it to the three youngsters. Upon seeing us he stops reading and stands up, smiling with a forced expression. ¡°I am so glad that you are back.¡± Sariel jumps up and runs over to us, hugging Azir''s leg. ¡°You are back! It was so boring without you! Grandfather isn''t teaching us anything. He knows almost nothing about high tier magic.¡± Her eyes wander back to Yoran, looking at him as if he is really pathetic. ¡°Grandfather can''t even properly calculate the numbers on his tax report!¡± I see pearls of sweat appearing on Yoran''s forehead. Azir''s father seems to have a problem in dealing with his grandchildren. ¡°Why don''t we go and play with the kittens? Each of you can choose one.¡± ¡°Can I have a nightmare?¡± Zadkiel looks up to Yoran with hope in his face. Yoran avoids a straight answer. ¡°M... Maybe a little later. Those are a little big for you and they have a bad temper. Why don''t you try it with a kitten first. Once they get attached to someone they are really easy to handle.¡± Now it is Zana''s turn to get up and hug me. She looks distressed and clings to my robe. ¡°Do I have to stay here now? But I want to be with you.¡± Yoran sighs. ¡°I am sorry. Valda asked her if she wants to stay with us from now on. The repairs on the city are going well and there isn''t as much to do as before. Now she''s asking me every full hour if she can''t stay with the twins.¡± I pat her head. ¡°Who said that? You can stay wherever you want. And does it really matter? With the stepper disc it''s just ten metres from our house to here.¡± Zana''s eyes light up and she hurries to hug Azir too, but freezes upon looking up to him. ¡°Dad, are you sick? There are many red dots on your face. And your horn is missing, did you lose it?¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.Azir shakes his head. ¡°No, I just learned that some things can''t be treated with magic.¡± Instead of being satisfied with the answer she keeps looking up to him with question marks above her head. After a moment he sighs and scratches himself. ¡°It''s nothing, I just got exposed to a little too much mana. They had to treat me against the side effects. It''s just itching and will be gone in a few days.¡± ¡°A little?¡± I ask, looking up and down his body. ¡°You jumped into a spiralling energy vortex which was formed by no less than six mana streams. Be glad that the only thing which started to grow on you are a few scales! Not to speak about your eyes! I don''t think that they will turn back to grey.¡± The healers had to cut the scales out of Azir''s skin and heal him while using an old artefact to stop the changes from becoming permanent. It took them three hours, but they couldn''t do anything about his iris, which changed its colour from grey to silver. Yoran raises his eyebrows. ¡°It seems like it''s worth to tell a tale about the battle at the capital. Do you have time to share the entire story with me?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Azir continues to scratch himself. ¡°But do you think that we could talk about this while I get to bath in a pool? The itching is killing me.¡± Azir''s father shakes his head. ¡°I am afraid that we don''t have a pool. There is nobody in the family who would have a use for such a thing.¡± Azir turns to me with pleading eyes. ¡°Please? I know you can do it.¡± Rolling my eyes I ask Yoran for an appropriate place to create a pool for Azir. I am no expert in creation magic, which is the name for the magical branch to build structures and buildings. But making a hole in the ground and backing it with marble is within my capabilities. A few minutes later we are joined by Valda, Quarma and Valeria who were organizing something to eat and drink for the kids. While we talk about the state of the capital the children discover that they can''t swim, so Azir has to start teaching them. He is the one who requested the pool after all. It turned out that our fortresses are more than a match for Serenzar''s ships. The first encounter we fought with the invaders involved unfinished, hastily assembled weapon platforms. I refuse to call them fortresses since they obviously were much weaker than the properly built ones. A real fortress takes several weeks to be finished after all. Our military came forth with a plan to shift most of our fortresses over to the second continent and leave just the ones in Nict which are absolutely necessary for defense. They believe that Serenzar used almost all of his forces for the invasion on the main continent. That belief is strongly supported by the intelligence which we got from our agents on the second continent. After months of slowly sneaking their way into the second continent''s society they are fairly sure that Serenzar''s grip on his subjects is strong, but not without flaw. He is feared as a ruler and treated akin to a god by his subjects. But that''s only because he can control the minds of people with his amulet. Our agents reported that there are many of Serenzar''s subjects who are unhappy with his regime of absolute control. Their reports hint at the possibility that striking directly at Serenzar yields a high possibility of ending the war. Without their iconic god-king, the second continent''s war efforts would plummet into nothingness since various groups would start to struggle for power. There is their military, their priests, and the merchant guild to say the least. A strong and decisive reaction from our side should force Serenza''s empire into a defensive position and if we can get our hands on him the war should be as good as over. After taking a look at all the evidence even Lucas came to the opinion that we are able to outperform Serenzar''s war machinery by utilizing the powers of the Gejene. Originally the huge invasion fleet should have been our end, but the trap which was laid by Nict, Dwem and Quinn worked so well that the tide was turned in our favour. Listening to the military''s report was a hideous task. Especially since Louise was holding hands with the military analyst, whose name was George after all. She finally acknowledged his feelings when he showed up in the Emperor''s Vault while we were treating our wounded. Admittedly, he arrived after everything was over, but he fought on the surface until everything was settled there. Then he descended alone into the catacombs, avoiding the traps and dealing with the guardians on his own. Just to find out if Louise is okay. . 114. ~Getaway.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°Medicine! Medicine! I am selling the best medicine from Quinn! It cures the flu and other sicknesses! Just one gold!¡± A merchant waves a package towards the crowd. He is standing on a podium and tries to advertise his goods. The citizens of Mono seem to be hard working people, so he doesn''t understand why no one is interested in his goods. According to his research Nict was supposed to be a backward country with almost no technology. The merchant from Quinn shakes his head. ¡°I don''t understand this. Nobody is interested in my medicine. If this country is really so far behind, then shouldn''t there be lots and lots of people who need my products?¡± He glances doubtfully at the package in his hand. ¡°Maybe they have some kind of rule against dealing with people from other nations? But I heard from a colleague that they are buying his art and tableware because it looks exotic. They are paying good money.¡± ¡°But it''s easier to go to the hospital, Mister.¡± A boy, not older than ten, calls out to the merchant. He has a lollipop in his hand and looks up to the merchant with curious eyes. ¡°Is it true that you are from a faraway country?¡± The merchant gets off of his podium to face the boy properly. ¡°Yes, it''s true. But what are you talking about a hospital? Are they able to treat the illnesses I spoke of?¡± ¡°Sure. It''s actually only a short walk around that corner!¡± The boy points down the street and starts running with the merchant following him. After a short walk the merchant finds himself in front of a big building with a mage sign in front of it. ¡°Boy, doesn''t this house belong to those wizards?¡± ¡°Yes, the gods are managing all hospitals. Don''t they do the same where you come from?¡± The boy licks on his lollipop, looking up to the merchant. ¡°Ahem, but they''ll surely charge something for their services. For how much do I have to sell my medicine?¡± The merchant asks, already calculating how low he can go with his price. The boy looks at the merchant with a horrified expression. ¡°The gods would never do such a thing as to take money for healing the common folk! Everyone who is in pain can go to them and they put you back together in no time. But I think they are taking money from the other gods. I once saw a Siorda walking in there and he had to give a pouch with gold for the hospital''s services.¡± After a short pause the kid shrugs his shoulders and continues. ¡°But that''s just between the gods. If you belong to the common folk they heal you without questions.¡± Then the child turns away and disappears in the crowd, having lost his interest in the merchant. The merchant stands there for several moments. Then he drops the package with medicine onto the ground and starts stomping on it. -Story of a travelling Merchant. ***Second Continent, Jont-Capital*** ***Azir*** Another impact shakes the flying fortress from which Lucas is commandeering the attack on the enemy''s capital. It took us a little more than three months to concentrate our forces for this battle. Stella and Sola are also here, watching the battle with me from the rear. Even though we are a little behind the units which are leading the attack, we sometimes get hit by artillery spells. But it''s nothing which our barrier can''t handle. We chose to watch the battle from the fortress'' observatory tower. All of the room''s walls are made out of glass. It grants us a nice three hundred and sixty degree view on the entire scene. In the middle of the room is Lucas with his military advisers. They are arguing about something while looking down on a light sculpture which shows a strategic map of the area. I start chewing on my fingernail, observing the situation. Twenty-four of our fortresses are advancing in a tight formation. This makes it possible for them to overlap their barriers and turn into a wall of magical power. We developed this strategy to attack positions with high strategical value. It doesn''t really matter if Serenzar''s ships have the advantage in speed. As long as we have the initiative and are able to run amok in their country, we can force them to fight us. And yet... ¡°Why do you look so concerned, Azir?¡± Stella takes my hand and looks up to me. Her action takes my attention away from the battle. ¡°Ah... it''s probably nothing. I just think that everything is going too smoothly. I don''t like it if something is too easy.¡± Lucas looks up from his map. ¡°You should be less doubtful, Azir. Finally it goes our way for once. Don''t we deserve to be the ones who deal a punch to our enemies? So far we only defended. It''s time for Serenzar to learn that we can kick back, even if it''s just destroying his palace. A shame that we don''t have the forces to conquer this place.¡± I tilt my head, watching as the remaining defending ships are swept away. I use the newly awakened power within my eyes to search the area for sources of magical power, but there is nothing extraordinary. Ever since I bathed in the energy vortex my senses got even better. Now I can sense even the tiniest formations of magic and filter them out if I put my mind to it. It may sound like a neglectable upgrade, but it''s actually not. With my new power I can rival my mother''s ability to look through things. I can even unravel the mysteries of layered magical circuits without taking them apart. It''s the dream of every technomage. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. One of the generals looks up from the map. ¡°Should we send down troops to capture Serenzar alive?¡± Lucas shakes his head. ¡°That structure is too huge. I don''t want to waste our people''s lives on a pointless hunt. He is a capable mage, if he wants to run away we can''t stop him. Just commence with the bombardment and look out for something which hints at Serenzar''s whereabouts. He''ll show himself soon enough.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He will surely show up to defend his precious capital. He isn''t the type to hide while his work is being ruined. At least I can deduce that from our meeting in the Emperor''s Vault. ***Second Continent, Jont-Capital*** ***Random citizen*** I am hiding with my family in a bush near the main road. When the fighting began we fled from the city and headed for a small hill on the city''s outskirts. But since there were so many people running for their lives we were delayed and didn''t get away far enough in time. In hope of being ignored by the floating structures we took cover in the underwood of this hill. ¡°*Sniff*, dear... what did the god-king do? We don''t deserve this.¡± My wife cries at my side, clinging to our daughter. ¡°I don''t know.¡± I hug them in order to console them. If any of those balls of energy fly the wrong way we are all dead, but hiding here is surely safer than being mistaken for combatants while we are on the run. Suddenly a pair of people appears on the road, just a few metres away from us. They wear the robes of low class mages, servants of the god-king. I instinctively hold my hands onto my wife''s and daughter''s mouths to keep them from making noise. Then I close my eyes and pray that we are not found. ¡°You can teleport? No, that''s not important right now! They are destroying it!¡± A male voice cries out. Because the voice sounds really desperate I can''t help it and take a peek at them. If they look at their vicinity a little closer they''ll find us. The leaves of our bush are a good cover against spectators from the sky, but not from the ground. There is a man with brown hair and a black haired woman on the street. They aren''t facing towards us, so I can''t see their faces. The man gestures at the palace, which is in the process of being blown apart. ¡°So much work! Can''t they appreciate the beauty of this piece of art!?¡± ¡°It was ugly anyway. Be glad that it''s gone. We would have had to flee anyway sooner or later.¡± The woman at his side sighs in relief. She has her tail wound around his waist while holding a bundle in her arms. From the shape it looks like an egg. ¡°I can''t! I simply can''t leave the troops on their own. So many refused the order to disband. Running away while they fight a last battle is wrong.¡± Being undisturbed by her comment the man steps forward, but is held back by her tail. He turns towards the woman. ¡°Let go. I can''t watch this.¡± ¡°Hic...¡± The woman''s sobbing reaches my ears. ¡°You really want to go and fight a lost battle to die a futile death? Don''t you love me?¡± The man freezes. ¡°Don''t do that.¡± ¡°Haven''t I saved your life? Don''t we love each other? I know that you are much older than me and probably have lived long enough. But can''t you stay with me for at least one lifetime? With us?¡± She holds the bundle out towards the man. He looks back and forth between the palace and the woman. ¡°I... you...¡± Her sobbing turns into actual crying with her chin shivering uncontrollably and tears running down her cheeks. For a long moment the man does nothing, as if uncertain of what to do. The moment stretches out and the man''s expression turns guiltier and guiltier, then he steps forward to hug her with the bundle between them. ¡°Don''t cry. We''ll stay together, whatever happens. I just don''t know where we should go now. This country and my plans were everything to me for so long.¡± Holding her, he rests his face on her beautiful hair, while she is pressing her forehead onto his chest. That makes it impossible to see their faces, but what I can see is the woman''s chin and mouth. From one moment to the next the woman''s beautiful, shivering lips turn into a winning smile. She sniffs and starts speaking. ¡°Actually I already know of a good place where we can hide. I even channelled a little starting capital there.¡± The man doesn''t answer immediately, his eyes wandering towards the palace. As if she anticipated his reaction she pushes the bundle up into his face and starts sobbing again. He nods desperately. ¡°Yes. Okay. I already promised. Just stop crying and get us away from here.¡± Then they vanish in dark shadows and are gone. I sigh in relief and turn gloomy again, watching the palace crumble in front of my eyes. She was right that it''s ugly though, thankfully the thing is gone now! ¡°What''s becoming of the world when even the god-king''s mages are running away?¡± I shake my head. ¡°Somehow I expected more from his personal servants.¡± Suddenly my wife elbows me in the side and I let go of her. ¡°She was obviously using the good old honey trap on him, you fool! Apparently the higher caste is not much different from us common folk.¡± She grabs our daughter and pulls her away from the street, heading deeper into the forest. ¡°It''s not safe here. Let''s get away from any important infrastructure, including streets!¡± I get up and hurry to follow her. . 115. ~History Lesson.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°What do you mean? Festivities?¡± The receptionist asks with a blank expression. ¡°I mean that you people have some kind of holidays here in Quinn? The clothing is really extravagant and all the buildings are painted in so many colours. Not to speak about the street artists!¡± The woman smiles. ¡°It''s so different from home, so wasteful and strange.¡± Without waiting for a response she turns and walks off to her room. The receptionist shakes his head. ¡°All those visitors from foreign nations. Weirdos altogether. Visiting us during normal working days and thinking that we are having a party! Ha!¡± He sighs, talking to himself. ¡°Their culture must be really boring. They should try to visit during the Goddess'' Advent. That''s when we have a real party!¡± -Story of the first tourist. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Sariel*** ¡°... and the three countries which we know as the Allied Nations began their counter attack on the Second Empire. It was a long and horrifying battle, but the Empire wasn''t able to stop the combined forces and technologies of the Allied Nations at this point. If there is anyone who doesn''t know that the founders of the Allied Nations are Nict, Dwem and Quinn, I''ll see to it that you repeat pre-school. The Nomad-lands and the Northern Kingdoms joined the alliance only ten years ago.¡± ¡°Returning to the matter at hand. The Allied Nations destroyed the capital of the Second Empire. In that battle the Emperor and his consort vanished. They didn''t show up again and so the Empire collapsed slowly during the following months. That was about twenty years ago.¡± ¡°There were attempts by various factions to keep control over the country, but after the disappearance of the Emperor nobody was able to keep such a large nation together. The repercussions of the following civil war can still be seen today. Students, don''t forget about the requested essay. Research the exact circumstances and explain why it''s a good idea to stay away from a country in such a crisis. Explain why it was a mistake that the Allied Nations tried to interfere. Also try to give a reason why it''s not a good idea to kill warlords and dictators just because their way of ruling a country doesn''t fit your ideas.¡± ¡°I think the actions of the wanderer are a good example as for what the result of such an interference in a nation''s natural development is. I want all of you to explain why the second Empire collapsed after the emperor''s disappearance. I also want you to give an explanation as to why the Allied Nations aren''t without fault for the current political and economical state of the second continent and the southern nations. Try to come up with a possible solution to the problem...¡± I yawn and rub my eyes. Listening to professor Pendragon is extraordinary boring. His voice sounds like he will fall asleep any second. ¡°Sister, try to show a little more respect for the lesson.¡± Zadkiel whispers at my side. ¡°Why? I am only visiting ''Advanced History Lessons'' because of you.¡± I lean back and sigh. ¡°This subject is extraordinarily boring. I would rather try to get Nathan interested in me.¡± ¡°Not that again, Sariel. He is much too young for you. I don''t get what you see in him. Admittedly, he has skill and talent.¡± Zadkiel shakes his head, taking some notes. ¡°But isn''t he outright avoiding you? You should try to get the hint. How many times did you get rejected by now?¡± ¡°But he is the only male who doesn''t start drooling as soon as I look at him. I just want one chance to be alone with him. If we learn to know each other, then maybe...¡± I cross my arms in front of my chest. ¡°And why is he too young? He is a capable mage at the age of twenty years and four months. He is old enough. There is just a small gap between us. That''s very good if you consider how much time mages will spend with their partners.¡± ¡°It''s perfectly normal for them to be interested in you and me. Through us our partners would get to establish relationships to the most influential persons in the country. We are royalty after all.¡± Zadkiel narrows his eyes, looking at me. ¡°Don''t you know his age a little too exactly? It almost looks like my sister turned into a stalker! And what about me? I don''t drool when I talk to you.¡± ¡°You don''t count, you are my brother. Or do you want to say that you are a possible romantic interest?¡± I wait for a moment, but Zadkiel doesn''t reply. Fiddling with my fingers I continue. ¡°It''s nothing like that. I am just interested because he isn''t trying to lick my feet.¡± Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.¡°Who tried to lick your feet? I''ll gut them!¡± Zadkiel snaps. ¡°That was just a figure of speech!¡± I sigh. ¡°But it''s surely hard to keep the female competition away from Nathan.¡± ¡°Don''t tell me you went as far as to...¡± Zadkiel''s eyes widen. ¡°You didn''t get Helen involved?¡± I frantically shake my head. ¡°No! How would you come to that conclusion? I know very well that keeping Helen away from family affairs is the best thing I can do!¡± ¡°You obviously unearthed his file from somewhere.¡± Zadkiel raises the first finger. ¡°You did something to keep other girls away from him.¡± The second finger comes up. ¡°And you are you!¡± He finishes, pointing accusingly at me. ¡°No. For your information I talked to the girls around him and made it clear the he is already ''reserved''. My own influence is more than enough for that. And I got to his information by downloading it from the mana net.¡± A grin forms on my face. ¡°I even took a look at his personal interests and they are matching mine. I am sure that we could have an interesting discussion if he gave me a chance.¡± Not to speak about his secret files. There are some interesting things in his account. Zadkiel freezes. ¡°Where did you get the access codes?¡± ¡°Nowhere. I used father''s account to log in. As an administrator he can find out anything.¡± I reply frankly. My brother starts massaging his forehead. ¡°He will roast you on a low flame when he finds out.¡± ¡°Dad would never do something like that. He always says himself that there are no rules when there is something you really want.¡± I wink at my brother. Zadkiel is worrying too much. I guess he is like our mother in that regard. He sighs. ¡°So what did you find out about him?¡± I smile and edge closer to Zadkiel. ¡°Nathan is the only son of a small family of outstanding mages from the countryside. Their family name is Shipwright and they are fairly well off, but have no dealings with the ''Big Seven''. They are managing a village with about three thousand inhabitants at the outskirts of the capital. Nathan''s father is the mayor of the village and Nathan is visiting his parents only on weekends. He lives alone in a nearby apartment during the week. Do you want to know his favourite food? Hobbies? The type of girl he turns his head to ogle at?¡±¡± ¡°Oh... crap. My sister turned into a stalker!¡± My brother pushes me away from him. ¡°But it''s love!¡± I always have a tingly feeling when Nathan rejects to go on a date with me. It hurts, but at the same time I feel happy that he isn''t like the other guys who are undressing me with their eyes. ¡°Hey, can''t you try to become his friend? You know... from guy to guy? Then you could present me to him in a good light. Or at least arrange something between me and him.¡± ¡°No. Don''t get me involved.¡± Zadkiel''s expression turns sour. ¡°If you help me, I''ll help you?¡± I offer him with a smile. ¡°Like I need your help.¡± He looks up with a proud expression. ¡°I could probably lay all the girls on the campus and they would be happy about it.¡± Ha! Now I have him! ¡°But you would never know if the girl does it because she has genuine feelings for you, or if she simply wants to catch the prey. I heard that some girls are dealing with fertility pills, so I would be careful in your shoes. Otherwise you might end up causing problems for the family. You know what will happen if a girl with an egg shows up and claims that you are the father. Just imagine Mom''s reaction.¡± Zadkiel''s expression drops. ¡°What do you need.¡± I start playing with my thumbs. ¡°Become his friend, find out what he likes. He is in your tutoring lesson and-¡± ¡°How do you know that he... no forget it, go on.¡± Zadkiel makes a dismissive gesture, remembering that I have full access to the mana net. ¡°Find a good opportunity for me to be alone with him. I don''t expect you to do anything. Just create an opening for me. And if the situation is right you could try to find out what he thinks about me.¡± ¡°Fine. He isn''t that good in my lessons anyway. I''ll be extraordinaryly harsh in grading him and give him the opportunity to improve his results by taking extra lessons. He is a perfectionist. I am sure that he''ll take the chance. There will surely be an opportunity to get the conversation going.¡± Zadkiel starts packing his stuff because Pendragon ended his lesson and left while we were talking. I clench my hands into fists and press them to my chest. ¡°You are the best brother! Thank you.¡± ¡°It''s not like you have any choices.¡± Zadkiel grumbles. ¡°Don''t worry! I''ll be extra careful in choosing the right girl for you. Leave it to your sisters! I''ll even involve Zana in the project. We''ll take this decision to our hearts!¡± I swipe my stuffed pencil case and the notebook into my backpack and jump up, running for the exit. ¡°No! Wait! That''s not what we-¡± My brother''s words are cut off as I slam the classroom''s door shut behind me. . 116. ~Fate.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°Aah... there is nothing better than taking a well deserved break and drinking coffee.¡± Clara Veit, director of the capital''s educational facility for mages, stands up and walks over to the window. A quick hand gesture opens it to let fresh air into the room. Upon taking an accidental look at the university''s campus Clara freezes. Then the voice of the old woman explodes. ¡°TRINA!!!¡± The door to Clara''s office bursts open and Trina, the director''s secretary, storms into the room. ¡°What happened? I never before heard you scream like that.¡± Clara points at the scene on the plaza under her office''s window. ¡°Who is that? I am not a supporter of male rights, but that''s going too far! Dragging another student across a public area like a pet is completely out of the question! If one of those news reporters films this scene the association for male rights will skin us alive! Why is no one interfering?¡± Trina comes closer to take a look out of the window. On the plaza is a girl who is pulling a guy towards the self study classrooms. As a Siorda, Trina is the perfect secretary, knowing every student by face and name. ¡°It''s hard to tell at this distance. She is Sariel Gejene, those horns with the silver inlays are unique. And the guy looks like Nathan Shipwright. I''ll go and apprehend them.¡± She turns to leave the office. Clara raises a hand. ¡°No, wait! Could she be the daughter of Stella Gejene?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The director furrows her forehead. ¡°The father is Azir Zait?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Without hesitation Clara draws the curtain closed and heads back to her office table. ¡°Let''s pretend we didn''t see it.¡± ¡°But what if it becomes public?¡± Trina asks astounded. ¡°Then we will deal with it. As my secretary, you have better things to do than hunting misbehaving students. Do you understand?¡± Clara pulls one of her folders closer and starts working again. ¡°On another thought, that guy who was here a month ago... the one who caused severe injuries to eight students...¡± ¡°Zadkiel Gejene. That''s her brother. His experiment failed and he had to throw it out of the window before it caused severe damage to school property. It was by pure chance that he had a prior disagreement with the eight students in question.¡± Trina answers sarcastically. Clara grumbles. ¡°Any other kids?¡± ¡°Three, if you count Zana too. She is adopted and-¡± But Trina doesn''t get any further. ¡°The one who was bullied! Thank you, you can go.¡± Clara answers with a deadpan expression and Trina leaves the room, closing the door behind her. After sitting there for a few minutes Clara starts massaging her temples. ¡°First there was one... one generation later there are three... four... five... if they double... or triple... six generations? I need to find a successor.¡± -A normal day in the director''s office. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** ¡°What''s that, Uncle?¡± A childish voice asks from beside me and I stop my work to face the child. ¡°That''s the new control circuit for the public transportation carts.¡± I answer, but the boy''s eyes tell me that he understood nothing. ¡°Why don''t you go and play with your mother? Where''s Ivy?¡± ¡°She said that she has to do something important with Daddy and then both of them disappeared into their bedroom.¡± The boy answers solemnly. ¡°Ah...¡± So Ivy and Jeremiah are making out. ¡°So you thought it would be a good idea to run over to my house to search for entertainment?¡± The boy nods guiltily. ¡°It''s always cool here, Uncle Azir! Can I play with the cats?¡± ¡°Sure, sure. You don''t have to ask for something as trivial as that.¡± I wave towards the open window from where the small Jonathan entered my laboratory. Just don''t interrupt my work. ¡°Yay! Thank you!¡± Jonathan turns and climbs outside to play with the cats. I return to my work and scratch my head. Where was I? Ah, yes! The connection of the power sink. That''s a delicate task, I have to be very careful. Calling up the circuitry''s subroutines I connect to it through the runes which I painted onto my left hand. Information starts scrolling through my field of vision. ¡°Power sink active... no errors... looks good.¡± I take the soldering iron and a piece of golden wire to finish the circuitry. I mumble a spell to enhance my vision and zoom in on the small interrupted connection between the main power lines. They are very close together which makes it a very delicate task. ¡°Now don''t touch any of the other connection-¡± ¡°Azir!¡± Stella''s voice startles me and I twitch, shorting-out the main power line with the grounding of the power sink. ¡°Shit!¡± A spark of energy shakes my body and several small runes on the circuit go up in flames. The spasms send me to the ground and I lie there for several seconds, smoke rising from my body. Luckily I protected myself with a minor defence spell before I started my work. Stella is right next to me, looking down on me without mercy. ¡°I told you that you shouldn''t work like that. Pay attention to the safety regulations. There is a reason why people use telekinesis for such tasks.¡± She pokes me with her tail. ¡°One day you will die on me because of that. Putting a sign in front of your lab would also solve the problem.¡± ¡°It''s not interesting to work like that. I am doing this for recreation.¡± I grab her tail and pull at it to get to my knees. ¡°Why did you interrupt me?¡± ¡°Doing fiddly work is recreation? I''ll never understand that logic.¡± She shakes her head and draws a rune-set into the air. ¡°Heal!¡± Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.Healing energy starts flowing through me and the pain subsides. Then she pulls me up. ¡°What I wanted to talk about is if you know anything about Sariel''s boyfriend?¡± I freeze. ¡°B...b... Boyfriend!?¡± My cute little angel is being defiled by a guy whom I didn''t test first? ¡°Where!? From where did you get that information?¡± Stella raises an eyebrow. ¡°So you didn''t know. There are rumours all over the campus saying that she claimed a certain guy as her personal-¡± ¡°Claimed? We have to go and stop them.¡± I head towards the door when Stella stops me. She grabs my left horn. ¡°Ooooone moment! Don''t overdo it. There are only rumours so far. It seems like our little angel overestimated her control over the female student body.¡± ¡°Let me! We have to protect her. She is far too young to do ''that''!¡± I pull, but Stella doesn''t let go of me. ¡°Too young? She is older than we were when we first did it.¡± Stella purses her lips. ¡°I think his name is Nathan Shipwright.¡± I immediately access his information over the mana net and send it to Stella. My attention is pulled towards the number of requests on this file. ¡°There is something wrong. Someone else accessed this information before me. Four months ago.¡± ¡°Hm. Hm. He seems to be a decent fellow. It''s just a little sad that he doesn''t belong to a big clan.¡± Stella mumbles. ¡°Probably Sariel accessed his information before going for him.¡± Following the path of the information I am led back to my own account, so I immediately change the password. There is only a small number of people who are close enough to me to hack into my personal connection. It would require direct access to my mansion''s network. ¡°Sariel... she has some explaining to do when she comes home!¡± ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Nathan*** ¡°S... Sariel. Could you back off a little.¡± I try to keep my cool, but the girl at my side comes even closer. ¡°How am I supposed to teach you when I can''t sit at your side? Now try this one.¡± She smiles and winks at me while she points at another question. ¡°I thought that Zadkiel would tutor me, but instead you are the one who shows up.¡± My eyes wander to her chest, but I force them to the sheet of paper. Remember who she is! If her family finds out who my parents are it will be the end of everything! Oh why does she have to show interest in me! I shouldn''t have said yes to Zadkiel in the first place and stayed away from the whole lot! I did badly on my last exam, but Zadkiel was very generous and offered me additional lessons to make it up. Glad that I got another chance, I accepted, but the one who showed up to those lessons wasn''t Zadkiel, but Sariel! It''s the twelfth time now and it''s starting to mess with my brain! Having a beauty like her making such obvious advances on me, which guy would be able to withstand that? ¡°You obviously have trouble concentrating. Why don''t we take a break and talk about something else?¡± She smiles at me and tilts her head. ¡°Do you have a hobby?¡± ¡°Well, I like creating magical circuits when I have some free time. Currently I am working on an amplifier. I am dreaming of creating a new unique magic.¡± I force myself to smile. Sariel claps her hands together. ¡°Such a coincidence! I am very good with those. You surely happen to know my father? I could introduce you to him. The two of you have similarities.¡± I feel pearls of sweat appearing on my forehead. This conversation is going in a dangerous direction. But Sariel doesn''t let me change the topic and so our conversation unfolds, touching different fields of the arcane masteries. Somehow I find myself drawn into the conversation and whenever we seem to run out of material she starts another interesting topic! The sun is setting above the horizon when I realize that we were talking for the entire day. ¡°Ah... crap. I forgot the time.¡± ¡°Did you miss something important?¡± Sariel asks concernedly and I realize that I let down my guard completely. Her tail is wrung around us, pulling our hips and mid-sections together like a constrictor snake. ¡°No. Ahem... do you think... you could let go?¡± I point at her tail. She chuckles while playing with a strand of her steel blue hair. Her iris is grey on the outside and turns to different colours on the inside, a trait of the emperor''s bloodline. I honestly don''t get what she sees in me. I have plain black hair and while not looking bad, I don''t have the face of a playboy either. I inherited my father''s hawk nose and the black horns and hair are inherited from my mother. Am I not looking a little too plain for someone like Sariel? Suddenly she hugs me from the side. ¡°But I don''t want to. Say? Are you free this evening? There is a new light sculpture movie! It''s a blockbuster about the war and I don''t have someone who would watch it with me.¡± Ah, I like that kind of stuff! ¡°Yes... No...¡± If she just didn''t belong to that family! She is the perfect girl! ¡°I don''t think I have time.¡± ¡°But isn''t tomorrow free? So you have something planned for tonight?¡± She pouts her lips, looking sadly at the sheet of paper in front of us, which makes me sad in turn. ¡°I think it can wait.¡± Did I really just say that? She brightens up, making my heart jump. ¡°Really? Then let''s go! And afterwards I''ll show you my cooking skills!¡± She stores my stuff away in my bag and gets to her feet, pulling me up with her. Moments later I am being dragged out of the classroom like a puppet. No wait. Being dragged like a puppet is no problem if it''s being done by a girl like her, but did she just say that she''ll show me her cooking skills? Where does she want to cook? She can''t possibly know that I am living alone. So that means that she wants to drag me to her home! . 117. ~Fin.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ¡°A story has no real beginnings or endings, just places and events which are interesting to hear about.¡± -The first Technomage of Nict. ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Sariel*** After watching the movie I dragged Nathan to my family''s mansion and introduced him to Azir and Stella. Unfortunately the poor boy doesn''t seem to be comfortable with the atmosphere in our living room. ¡°You don''t have to be so stiff, Nathan.¡± I pat his back. ¡°Nobody is going to eat you. And it would be nice if you didn''t glare at him like that, Dad.¡± I smile at my father and my mother. They are both sitting on the sofa across from us. ¡°I just have the feeling that I know him, but I can''t put my finger on it.¡± Azir raises his cup with coffee and takes a sip. ¡°Boy, can you explain to me what''s going on between you and my daughter?¡± Nathan forces a smile onto his face. ¡°I am a little overwhelmed myself, trust me, even I don''t fully understand why I am here, Sir.¡± ¡°Hahaha.¡± I hug Nathan from the side. ¡°It''s of course because I am introducing you to my parents. Dad, why don''t you go and show Nathan your laboratory. Surely the two of you will find something interesting to talk about!¡± Azir stands up, taking his cup of coffee with him. ¡°Come, we have to talk.¡± He leaves the living room with Nathan following him. ¡°Are you really sure that he''s a good choice?¡± Stella asks me with questioning eyes. ¡°It seems like he is very easily intimidated by Azir.¡± ¡°I''ve planned for everything, Mother. Once they break the ice everything will be okay. Nathan''s interests are very similar to Father''s. Actually I''ve selected him because of his ability to deal with his future father-in-law. There were other candidates, but I don''t think that they would''ve been able to get Azir''s approval.¡± ¡°So you planned this far ahead?¡± Stella leans back and tilts her head. ¡°Somehow I feel bad for the poor boy. Not only is he younger, but he is still very well mannered. He even seems to be a little shy, but it''s probably normal if you suddenly get snatched by a girl of a royal bloodline.¡± She smirks. ¡°I''ll always remember your father''s face when I showed up at his house with my mother. So could you explain why you find Nathan attractive?¡± I start explaining my reasons to Mother. Foremost is Nathan''s character and his cute reactions towards me. I like it when a guy shows that his interest in you goes further than simply dragging you to bed. Suddenly an explosion shakes the house and I jump to my feet. ¡°What happened!?¡± Stella gets up and runs towards the exit. ¡°I think that came from the laboratory! Maybe you miscalculated?¡± I follow my mother and both of us hurry into Azir''s devastated laboratory where an extraordinarily strange scene is taking place. There is a huge hole in the wall, opening a path to the garden. A black haired beauty is standing right next to a very pale Nathan, hugging him. ¡°They didn''t hurt you? Did they? We hurried to come here and save you when your signal suddenly entered Azir''s property!¡± She has big similarities to Nathan, could she be his mother? Why is she here? That''s not corresponding to my plans! Azir is on the ground between his techno stuff, trying to choke a man who could be Nathan''s father. The man is trying to choke Azir in turn, which results in both of their faces changing colours. ¡°Serenzar Draco!¡± My mother calls out and starts readying a rune spell to fire it at the intruders. Time slows to a stop as I try to make sense of the situation. So Nathan is the second Emperor''s son, who went into hiding? How truly unexpected and problematic! But he hasn''t done anything wrong according to my knowledge. So why should a child suffer for the mistakes of his parents? And didn''t they live proper lives for twenty years to protect their son? My decision may be rash and I don''t know the full story, but I have to stop this before it escalates even further! A single step brings me to the control panel at the wall. Similar ones are located right next to every room''s entrance. They control the functions of the house. I type in the four numbers to unlock the house''s safety features and activate the miniature inhibition field against the usage of magic. A second button releases the fire fighting system and the room is splashed with cold water. A third button activates a passive regeneration field to help the injured in case first aid is needed. My mother''s rune spell disperses before she can finish the cast and I turn around to run towards Nathan and the black haired woman. ¡°Nathan!¡± I hug him to the complete surprise of the woman at his side. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.¡°Sariel!¡± Nathan answers with a dazed expression, but does nothing else. ¡°I think this got a little out of hand.¡± Pressing my cheek to his I reach for the black haired woman''s hand and shake it. ¡°Nathan''s mother I presume? I am Sariel, his girlfriend and your future daughter-in-law.¡± ¡°Hah?¡± The woman''s frightened expression drops. ¡°Nathan!? What''s going on?¡± ¡°I-¡± But Nathan doesn''t manage an answer, as my mother starts screaming from behind me. ¡°Sariel Gejene! You knew who he is!¡± She stomps closer, her hand already raised to hit me, but I place Nathan between me and her, so he collects the blow instead. ¡°Of course I knew! Nathan and I searched for a way to solve this peacefully!¡± Bringing my mouth to his ear I whisper. ¡°Play along!¡± Somehow Nathan snaps out of his shock. ¡°Actually, yes. We were searching for a possible way to confess everything, but it wasn''t the right time! It seems like my parents placed a tracking bug on me and panicked when I entered your estate. I am sorry that we messed up.¡± ¡°So you didn''t get caught?¡± Nathan''s mother gasps. I turn to face her. ¡°No, we were searching for a way to get my parents to keep your identity a secret. You were proper citizens for twenty years after all. Everything just for your son.¡± Placing my arms around Nathan''s chest I smile at my mother. ¡°And Nathan didn''t do anything bad. Why should a child suffer for the mistakes of his parents? You agree with me, Mother? Don''t you? All that bad blood was twenty years ago. Isn''t it proper to give someone a second chance? Even Jeremiah got it!¡± Stella opens her mouth, but closes it again. Before she can say anything, someone else arrives at the scene. ¡°Brother!¡± Jeremiah and Ivy appeared in the hole towards the garden. Without hesitation he joins the brawl between Azir and Serenzar, trying to separate the two of them. But Azir and Serenzar are both somehow offended by Jeremiah''s interference. Fists and kicks start raining down on the poor bringer of peace. Ivy is just standing there, holding her mouth closed with both hands. Stella drops her defensive stance. ¡°After watching them I somehow don''t feel like fighting any more. I feel tired, let''s go upstairs and have a drink and... talk.¡± I push Nathan towards the exit. ¡°That''s a very good idea! Talking is always better than fighting.¡± ¡°But what about them?¡± Nathan''s mother watches the men with a conflicted expression. Stella shrugs her shoulders. ¡°What about them? Let them fight until they are exhausted. The house''s healing spell is very powerful, it''s unlikely that they manage to kill each other.¡± ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** ¡°Goodbye.¡± I grumble, waving towards Elora and the hobbling Serenzar who decided to spent the night at Jeremiah''s mansion. Then I whisper towards Stella. ¡°They are turning their backs towards us! Allow me just one spell and we are rid of them forever!¡± ¡°Behave! For Sariel.¡± She whispers back. I turn and glare at my daughter''s boyfriend, who seems to be unable to cope with the situation. ¡°And you-¡± Stella steps forward and hugs him. ¡°He''ll spent the night here. I think there is enough space in Sariel''s room.¡± Sariel freezes at Nathan''s side, but doesn''t reply. ¡°Or were you not serious when you instigated this mess?¡± Stella glares at Sariel, who quickly hugs her. ¡°Of course I was serious, Mom! Thank you!¡± Then she hurries over to me and hugs me too. ¡°Thanks, Dad! For deleting the records of this night.¡± She stops and reaches for my head, pulling a single hair from it. ¡°But seriously, you shouldn''t let yourself grow grey hairs over this. It is okay, even if you''ll be a grandpa sometime in the future!¡± I reach for the silver-grey hair between her fingers and take it. A grey hair in my forties? I am really turning old again! Sariel takes Nathan''s hand and pulls him towards the house. ¡°You are really okay with this?¡± Stella steps to my side, following Sariel and Nathan with her eyes. ¡°No bad feelings about him?¡± ¡°He is just a child. It''s his parents whom I want to roast!¡± I show the hair to Stella. ¡°Look! A grey hair! And she said that we''ll become grandparents!¡± She tilts her head, reaching for my forehead. ¡°You are sure that you didn''t get too much of a beating? A few grey hairs happen to guys at your age, it''s nothing to be shocked about.¡± I take her hand and pull her towards the house. ¡°We will show them that we aren''t that old!¡± Stella answers surprised. ¡°What? Could you be talking about-¡± ¡°Of course I am talking about that! Tonight we will make sure to be louder than them!¡± . N. a. C. - Announcement New year, new project. But I decided to explore a SciFi and alternate reality setting this time. http://royalroadl.com/fiction/4745 I am also working on an extended epilogue for Beyond, but that may take some time because I want to close loose ends properly. So if you have things you absolutely want finished, you can make suggestions here. 118. ~Epilogue.~ If you find mistakes, pls tell, thx. I don''t like mistakes. Also feel free to ask for more background information on the world. I am somehow running out of interesting points regarding the small comments at the beginning of the chapters. ############################################################### ***Free City States of Nict, Capital*** ***Azir*** ¡°That mirror is simply a wonderful tool to tell stories, Grandfather!¡± The boy on my lap claps his hands, watching my last match with Serenzar. ¡°And to the left! Uppercut! Wow! That got him real good!¡± He gestures towards Fafne, who is sitting beside us. ¡°Did you see the teeth flying? And that spray of blood?¡± The boy is eight and he is Sariel''s and Nathan''s first son. I smile and nod. ¡°Telling stories is one of my best abilities, Karn.¡± Zadkiel''s daughter, Fafne, pulls at my robe. ¡°But are you sure that it''s okay to watch all these gruesome scenes at our age? My mother only shows me censored footage when we watch a movie for adults!¡± Fafne is sitting at my side and is thirteen years old. Zadkiel found a really nice girl as his wife, though she is a little younger than him. Who would have ever thought that he would get together with Louise''s daughter? I think that in absence of a proper candidate Sariel and Zana put a lot of effort into raising one. Their choice fell on Louise''s daughter, since she was neither too old, nor too young. My children turned out to be dangerous existences despite our efforts. Luckily we have the advantage of age and knowledge over them. My ability to stop them from using magic also helps. I simply drain their surroundings of all mana, which leaves them with only their own mana pools. As long as they don''t learn to counter that by training inside a mana stream themselves, they can''t oppose me. They may have my abilities, but in terms of wisdom and training they are far behind. Incidentally I, Mother, Grandmother and Valeria are also the only ones who know the proper training methods to gain the necessary level of control. Maybe I should have a closer eye on my children. They have the tendency to abuse their powers when I am not looking. I place one finger on my lips and wink at Fafne. ¡°Who says that you have to tell her?¡± Fafne''s mouth forms a voiceless ''O'' and then she nods enthusiastically. ¡°But I want to know what happened to your old world? And your old body?¡± Karn starts rocking on my lap. I gesture for the mirror to show them another scene. The displayed picture changes to a white, round planet. It''s completely covered in ice and drifting through a sea of stars. ¡°Actually I went there to explore what the old emperor did to my world. The planet is completely frozen by now and the star is dying. There is nothing which can be done about it, but the people whom I cared about are long gone anyway.¡± After pausing for a moment I continue. ¡°Their degenerated descendants, who are roaming under the surface, aren''t worth to be saved. They only pose a threat, if anything else. That''s why we are still hunting down the remaining believers in the second emperor''s cult.¡± Even after such a long time, there are still fanatics appearing who attempt summoning rituals from time to time. ¡°Apparently he used the Shield of the Emperor to draw energy from the star. Then he used that power to reform this planet''s core to his desires. It''s irreversible as long as we don''t plan to damage another star, which we won''t do.¡± Fafne looks up to me with a sad expression. ¡°So all the people on your old world are dead? How could the emperor do such a thing?¡± I smile at her and pat her head. ¡°He was a power driven egomaniac. We''ll never know for sure, but I don''t think that he even checked if the star in question had an inhabited planet. He simply used it because it fulfilled the needed criteria.¡± ¡°Then what about Zana? Did she never get upset that Grandfather Serenzar didn''t get punished?¡± Karn asks. ¡°That was indeed a little complicated.¡± I lean back on my chair. ¡°At first we didn''t tell her anything and kept their identity a secret. But after she turned thirty I decided to tell her the truth. She took it relatively well, but you have to remember that she had almost no connection to her real parents by that time. Stella and I were her parents for most of her childhood.¡± ¡°But why forgive Serenzar and Jeremiah at all if they did such bad things?¡± Fafne grumbles at my side. I chuckle, seems like my little story got me far ahead in terms of popularity. ¡°You shouldn''t hate them for it. The world isn''t just black and white. While it''s true that there was much bloodshed, you also have to see that everyone just tried to achieve the best for their people. And they are people with almost endless lifespans. Who says that someone can''t change in twenty or thirty years. They are powerful people and as much bad as they might have done, they are currently on a path to do as many good things.¡± Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. And the main reason is that Stella would probably get grumpy if I threw them into the dragon''s cage. I don''t want to be cut down on our happy time together. I sigh. ¡°I highly doubt that I am the same person as the me who died on that frozen world so long ago. But I am happy here. Now this world is my new home and Stella and everyone else is my family.¡± ¡°Even Aunty Valeria?¡± Fafne asks doubtfully. ¡°She''s strange. Father said that she''s destroying the reputation of the Zait.¡± My expression cringes. ¡°Even Aunty Valeria.¡± My sister totally got into painting and even created a new magical system from it. She''s calling it reality manipulation and it''s a hype all over the planet. After marrying and taking over the clan from Valda she went on a journey to show off her skills. The new magical system uses mana infused paint to create an almost real picture of her model. The picture even ages with the one who was pictured. They look so real that people are willing to pay unbelievable sums of money for them. Though as it goes with all great artists... she turned out to be a really unique person. ¡°Don''t worry. Valeria''s case is the same as with Serenzar and Jeremiah. Once she gets old enough she will overcome that stage in her life. And I highly doubt that the Zait ever had so much money.¡± ¡°What about the second continent?¡± Fafne asks. ¡°Well, after the war it fell apart. Multiple small countries and city states formed. Some were democracies, some were ruled by dictators. Nict, Dwem and Quinn made the mistake of trying to keep it from coming apart. We struck down some dictators and warlords, but everything we achieved by doing so was making it worse.¡± I shake my head. ¡°Changes like that have to come from within the country, from the people. It doesn''t work if you don''t know the various groups and their desires. Waltzing in and destroying the structures of power without something to replace them is a hopeless undertaking. Most of those people neither knew how to control a country, nor did they have the desire to do so. It wasn''t within our capabilities to lead them towards a better future. They have to find their way on their own and the best thing we can do is to keep our fingers out of their business.¡± ¡°Then how did it happen that the nomads and northerners joined the alliance?¡± Fafne looks up to me with curiosity. ¡°Well, that''s because we constantly demonstrated our desire for peace.¡± I smile. Probably I shouldn''t mention that we bribed their leaders with hefty sums and rosy promises for the future. Those are national secrets after all. ¡°And you have to see that they didn''t join us right after the war. It took them ten years to overcome their grudges. Even now they aren''t full members.¡± And even if the enemy leader eats out of your hand, it doesn''t mean that he can overturn his people''s opinion of you from one day to the next. Fafne nods with a tired expression, simply accepting my words. ¡°I guess that''s true.¡± I clap my hands together and put Karn down. ¡°I have a great idea. Why don''t we go and steal some chocolate from Stella. I think she hid a secret reserve in the pot above the kitchen''s stove. If you share the loot with me I might come up with some other stories.¡± ¡°Yess!¡± Fafne gets up and runs out of the room, followed by Karn. I take the remote controls for the memory mirror to deactivate it, but not before I call up a very special scene. ¡°Oh, yes! Stella, you became such a-¡± ¡°AZIR!¡± Stella''s voice bursts out from behind me and I deactivate the mirror. Damn it! She is too good at sneaking. ¡°What? I didn''t do it! Not a thing!¡± Turning around I find her, red faced, glaring at me. She gestures with her left hand that I''ll get one head shorter. ¡°If this ever gets public! You know what will happen?¡± ¡°Of course dear! This will never ever get public. I''ll delete the mana net before that happens!¡± I place a hand on my chest and raise the other. ¡°I take an oath on it!¡± She nods and turns to leave the room. ¡°Then it''s good!¡± ¡°Whew!¡± I follow her with my eyes glued to her swaying tail. Maybe I should put additional encryptions on my secret files? ¡°So it''s the end? The world is finally ending? I''ll be free?¡± The dragon inside his barrier asks, looking down on the old man who is supporting himself with a staff. The old man nods. ¡°I am afraid so. We are the last ones. I just stayed behind to ensure that it''s your end too.¡± He takes a hearty bite from a bar of chocolate. ¡°At least I can say that I made the most out of this life.¡± He freezes for a moment. ¡°And maybe I''ll meet all of my friends and my family again in another life? That''s a pleasing thought.¡± The dragon closes its eyes. ¡°That''s fine with me. After being locked away for so long, I think that death can be called a form of freedom.¡± The old man''s expression distorts into an evil grin. ¡°Oh, I don''t think so. At least not for you...¡± -The End of Time . Epub/Pdf-Version
Author''s Comment: I was asked about reading my work on other sites. The answer is simple: Currently I am not active in any other networks than royalroadl.com. Only here, I correct mistakes and errors. If you read it anywhere else and have to pay for it, or have to deal with an annoying amount of advertisement, You Are Being Betrayed. You would do good if you make other people in that network aware of it. This is a free project of mine for the purpose of having fun. And if people try to make money with it you shouldn''t bother visiting their website. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The only one whom I actually allowed to have my work on his website is Armaell who invested the time to compile them into pdf. (http://armaell-library.net/author/andur)
Again Armaell was so nice to create an epub version of the story. I am just sharing it, so thank him. http://armaell-library.net/author/andur