Relaxation I

(Recommended Song List for chapter: Tut Tut Child – Dance To It, Daft Punk – The Game Has Changed, Zayde Wølf – Live Life, Monoman – Meditation)

Early Morning, 26th, December

Selene woke up suddenly and looked around, with the reason why she just came out of a deep slumber a mystery. Something felt odd, something she had never experienced before. As she got out of bed and put on her slippers, the doors to her master chambers slowly opened to allow her to leave, with the wolves wondering what was wrong. The empress walked down the hallway and stopped at the end with her pack in tow, right in front of Eve's bedroom.

Why am I here right now? I just get this gut feeling something is about to happen, I just don't know yet…

Suddenly, there was screaming coming from inside, baffled heavily by the soundproofing in each room. The dev stormed in to find it pitch dark, with nothing around that could be the cause of the princess wailing… in her sleep. The young girl's eyes were closed, with what looked like tears building up. Her mother quickly sat down on the bed and gently woke her up, seeing that it was a nightmare. "Easy, easy. It's ok, it was just a bad dream, it's alright now…" she cooed as Eve woke up and clutched to her immediately. Dahlia and the other maids came immediately, along with two honor guards checking the whole room for anything that might cause night terrors externally. Security throughout the castle went on semi-high alert, tracking whatever could be within a ten-mile radius. All of this… because of a child's crying from a bad dream. There was no guarantee it wasn't some magic somewhere being used; they couldn't take any chances.

"I don't like the dark… it's scary… I don't want to be in it anymore…" Eve cried with her head on her mother's chest, her back being rubbed. Within seconds, the empress's rear felt soaked, noting immediately that the six-year-old had wet the bed.

Poor thing.

"It's alright, it's going to be ok… shhh… don't worry, it was just a nightmare…" the dev gently told her as she lifted her daughter out of the bed while the maids quickly got to work cleaning. A quick [Scrub] spell and the sheets were devoid of any urine, including on both the empress's and her daughter's pajamas. The woman looked around and noted that there were no night lights added to the sockets on the walls, no special illumination features installed into the area for a warm glow in the middle of the night beyond the night sky through the windows… that showed a cloudy overcast. Before she could check her inventory to craft some new lights, Jeeves was already plugging two in along with a glowing unicorn light that rotated, showing all sorts of cute magical creatures on the ceiling. "There, is that ok?"

Eve shook her head and sniffled, then looked up at her mother, tears still at the corner of her eyes. "You want to sleep in my room tonight?" Selene asked. The six-year-old nodded immediately. "Alright, I guess there's going to be a change of plans." With that, the empress carefully carried the child to her own chambers, thanking the servants for their quick responsiveness, while also checking in with Nikola and Robert through an open coms channel involving a rather nagging suspicion in the back of her mind. "Nikola, are we sure there are no memories that have come through?"

"Are we referring to player abilities or her previous life?" Robert replied.

"Actually… neither honestly."

"What are you thinking, empress?" Nikola chimed in.

"My daughter just had a nightmare involving the dark. She hates it in fact; I'm wondering if maybe it… well, maybe if…" the auburn-haired woman stopped communicating over her coms as she tried to create a cohesive sentence to relay what she was thinking, while also bringing Eve to her bed. The wolves moved a little out of the way to accommodate the new arrival, with Luna doing the opposite, lying close to the white-haired child and almost blending in, making the girl look bald.

"You're wondering if there is a residual effect from the soulstone." The matter of fact response from Nikola hit the nail on the head.

"Yes."

There was a sigh from the other side that the empress heard. That was not a good sign until explained. "It… may be possible… that she has an intense fear of not necessarily the darkness, but more being alone in the said dark area. However… we still do not know what happens to souls contained in something other than a body. No data suggests they can be traumatized necessarily, though many religious texts both on Earth and this world have told of torment. After running tests on the journals, the date in which the previous vessel expired was over four hundred years ago."

Please don't talk about her old life like that… she wasn't just a vessel…

"So, it's possible she has trauma?" Selene questioned, looking down at Eve as she made sure her daughter was comfortable, the doors being closed by Adesha to let them sleep again. The lights were dimmed down enough to at least allow the empress to try and get a little rest without being annoyed.

Given that she normally woke up and started her day now at 4 am, there were only two hours left to get some shut-eye. That was only if she could extricate herself from the child's grip around her chest, with the massive white wolf acting as an extra pillow protecting both. Ash slept closest to Eve's back, yet still provided ample space to stretch out, while Blue stayed where he always did at the foot of the bed watching everything. The dev gently brushed her daughter's bangs back as she watched the girl slowly fall back to sleep, the antenna hair still standing at attention.

"Possible, yes. A psychological evaluation would be needed to ascertain –"

"Damn it! I was worried about that…" Selene snapped as she interrupted Nikola's explanation.

"There was always the risk of something, empress; count your blessings that she is physically healthy, with no abnormalities. She has no diseases, no syndromes, her genetics are perfectly fine, every organ is working as intended. The mind is… well, we already expected her to have some difficulties given reincarnation and not having any memory of growing up. I believe either your Bronze Team member Orlo would be able to assist with that, or mayhap provide a team of psychologists and psychiatrists. However, we believe that –"

"I knew it, I should get them built immediately to –"

" –HOWEVER, empress, we believe that jumping to conclusions may hamper her psychological growth, not to mention… she may just be afraid of the dark. Children tend to be that way." Nikola was quick to regain control of the conversation and calm his creator.

The dev sighed and settled down. They were right, her first night being a mother, and she was overreacting to a nightmare. There was no evidence to say that Eve had residual effects from the stone. The mind was able to play tricks on many levels, especially during REM.

They're right, they're right… it was just a bad dream for her… first night jitters worrying about my kid. I shouldn't be one of those overprotective mothers needing hundreds of doctors telling me that she has an equal number of mental disorders, then it turns out everything was blown out of proportion.

"Alright. I… agree. Sorry… I'm just… I'm worried about her health, for obvious reasons."

"We understand, but we can assure you, there are no physical complications. Bar an in-depth explanation of her dream, with specific facts while tracking her brain waves… it's just being afraid of the dark." On the other side, Nikola was checking through data next to his compatriot at a desk, filtering through the reincarnation process.

Selene took a deep breath as Eve slowly drifted off while holding onto her mother. "Right."

"Good. Now, we do have some reports to provide if you are interested in some new breakthroughs we've made after you left," Nikola replied.

"Some of them could revolutionize how to create cities; we would not even have them attached to the ground anymore, floating through the sky. We know you said a proof of concept might not be useful right now, but maybe turning Paldos into a project to show the people what they could work towards, say, if they prove they have the will to gain a higher education? It would leave plenty of habitat for –" Robert started to explain.

"I'll read the reports once I have at least another hour of rest, thank you. I did say before that it would be odd to move citizens into high tech cities when they barely understand arithmetic or read and write properly. I… may… reconsider, once I know they are at least at elementary levels. If you can work on universal Hypno training to speed the process up, or create some incredible brain enhancer tower that quickly beams all that information to their heads, that could sway me."

"Even with that program in the works, it will still take a good year to educate the people on the basics. Still, much faster than going through grades K – 5, let alone stage two training for 6th – 8th middle school. I believe the experiment was with hypnotic sleep therapy, not the tower. That thing just doesn't function correctly."

"Blows the brains up for the rats?"

"More like causes insomnia. Not every project we conceive works as intended. However, one other breakthrough, in particular, could explain a very limited defense against faith siphoning; it only lasts 24 hours, but it could allow not just protection against Fides Vorare, also known as Faith Eaters. We are getting somewhere in that department, slowly but surely."

The empress smirked at hearing that. They were brilliant and capable in many ways, but some ideas just didn't pan out, at least with current technology. "Understood. The defense against faith siphoning sounds interesting. Tell me later after another hour… hopefully."

"Very well, empress. Sleep well," Nikola added with a nonchalant tone. The com line ended right after as the dev leaned her head back to get into a better position, her arm crooked while holding Eve. Her Hud showed her clock, a rather annoying feature at the moment that every human could attest has aggravated them in one form or another. She was going to do her best to get some shut-eye, up until her daughter was awake again; hopefully, it was due to being hungry for breakfast instead of another night terror.

Meanwhile

(Recommended Song: Tut Tut Child – Dance To It)

Ainz, disguised as Momon, walked slowly through the rocky terrain to the east of his kingdom with both swords held in hand. Narberal Gamma was a short distance from him, finishing up with three straggler wizards that were almost pitiful in capability compared to her incredible power. Within a few seconds, each was killed by a separate spell, a different element used per body; the first was incinerated, the second frozen solid, and then shattered to pieces; the third was melted into goo by acid. These were not the only enemies to fight; a good two hundred foes were in the area, with an extra contingent of shadowy creatures summoned to aid them. This group calling themselves the Silent Cabal was still quite vocal when being cut down. The sign language they used to cast spells without alerting others didn't stop them from screaming in death.

I haven't had a good chance to just gain some coin for some time. This quest doesn't mean much to me beyond the fact they are killing citizens of my kingdom to send a message… my property. I don't like it when someone does that. Momon's duty is to stop those who try and defy Ainz, which fits what I'm doing right now, just fine.

Momon's second sword tilted and shot forward, impaling through a shadow knight and cutting upward; with a two-step dance forward and shift of his weight, that same sword came back down on another head while spiraling left, splitting two humanoid enemies in half with one swing of his first blade. He had gotten used to performing now as a warrior, with very few able to even keep up with his skills provided by [Perfect Warrior]. Given that most combatants that ever tried to attack him in this form so far were weak, that wasn't saying much. One tried to catch his gauntlet, in which he dropped his second sword and caught it with the other, impaling the knight and spinning around while arcing the second blade upwards to deftly catch it again due to the help of gravity. The whole thing looked choreographed.

"An excellent strike, Momon," Narberal commented as she cast [Napalm] that five enemies were stupid enough to use as the flank point to charge at her; her spell list was increasing slowly with the help of some training and some equipment provided by her master. There was almost nothing they could do against either of them as Momon cleaved the legs out from under three foes in his way, coming in with a jump and slamming his swords down through another two, dividing their body mass in half… vertically. Both of them were walking forces of nature, a team of adventurers that shouldn't exist… they technically didn't, at least on paper. The company of magical foes was being cleaned through quickly, Momon a ball of spinning blades and Narberal a moving wall of spells that the wizards just couldn't match.

"They cannot possibly stand before my might!" He shouted out, striking an awesome pose with both swords out and one leg pulled up as if mid-dance, lightning happening to strike in the far distance right behind him at that very moment. It made him look as if he was about to pull another multi-target attack that would devastate another chunk of the rebel wizard's now dwindling forces, creating an intimidating visage of an unstoppable hero of dark justice.

It was so cool! I mean, I don't think I've ever been able to get the footwork down well enough to do something like that before, I've been working so hard on making such an impressive entrance into a battle! Now, if I can just practice a little more without being watched and get a few more intimidating poses ready… wait a minute… NO! No no no, I remember trying to do this before! I am not going to fall back into those horrible days of performing like a… stupid… Chunibyo… seeing Pandora's Actor make all those moves for the past few days might have had an effect… I need to wash this away somehow… I'm not going to use those horrible lines again!

He hadn't realized that two swordsmen were jumping at his back, roaring as they tried to fall onto him and pin his body to the ground. They never got the chance, as Narberal acting as Nabe yanked them back into a pre-built spike pit with a simple pull spell. Ainz quickly got his wits about him and charged forward, dicing through dozens of rogue wizards and their minions before the last few ran like cowards. Nabe leapt into the air and cast [Flight], moving from one target to the next as a floating wisp of death. Unfortunately for the Cabalists, spare undead soldiers were waiting for them as they tried crossing the river nearby while running in terror, popping up from the water and not needing to breathe. "Momon-sama… er…"

"It is alright, Narberal, none of them have survived to hear us speak now. We will leave a marker here for the bodies to be retrieved. We'll need to collect proof for the payment to be provided." It seemed so simple for Ainz to say that. Another night out dealing with a quest provided by the explorer's guild, away from the hubbub of his kingdom for just a few hours. The night sky was surprisingly clear, with stars twinkling high above. Though emotions were difficult if nigh impossible for him to feel, the view should have been enjoyable to the caster cloaked in a warrior's armor. The land was at peace beyond the battle that had just taken place, quiet and still.

"As you wish, Ainz-sama."

This is how it felt back then… old memories of when I was with… my guildmates… just running around doing things and gathering materials. I'm not allowed to feel that depression anymore of not finding even one here in the new world…

The overlord stood there for a moment, lost in thought as he looked up at the stars, with his guardian informing him about the next part of the quest while he remained silent. All explorers were now outside of his borders, finding new lands and selling the information or interesting tools found. They rarely traveled far, though they always seemed to stay away for long periods to get as much as they could to bring back for payment. The caster, disguised as a warrior, lamented on his choice to make them no longer hunt monsters, even when there were still small incursions every once in a while from some imbecilic leader trying to gain a reputation.

"I understand. We'll move on to find the empty hideout, then bring everything back so that the other explorer groups can see just what they need to do to earn my… my…" Ainz shut up immediately as he saw a glow over the hill in the far distance… that turned into a long line of soft illumination. He knew he was just barely outside of the Sorcerer Kingdom and had to only teleport away to remove themselves from any threat, but this piqued his interest. Hardly ever did he see anyone travel in the night, let alone an entire convoy. He slowly crouched and steadily jogged over to the ramped mound of earth between him and the light. As they both peeked over the top, multiple boulders in the way, his eyes landed on something he wished he hadn't.

(Recommended Song: Daft Punk – The Game Has Changed)

"An army Ainz-sama… we should alert the tomb, prepare for another –"

"No. They are not heading towards my kingdom…" he interrupted, watching the massive lines march forward. There were hundreds of thousands, just over a million, heading onward towards an as yet unknown destination. Siege weapons were trailing behind, with archers in the middle. None of them looked to be poorly equipped, the same gear and weapons for each soldier off to make war, all of it high quality… most of it divine mass-produced. Every man or woman in the ranks had the same symbol from the north, the same enemy he had been fighting intermittently… along with everyone else. This world wasn't so easy to take over as Demiurge, and the rest of the guardians had at first planned once they received vital information about what lay outside the maps they had. How this single ruler of Europe could amass such armies so trivially, sending them off to conquer one kingdom after another or be held back for months on end only to send even more, was… troubling.

Five… six… seven… eight… nine… one million heading down to fight… whom? Please don't be us, please don't be us…

"It seems they are attacking BrawlerSage's Kingdom… at least they are not trying to break our right borderline…" Narberal whispered, watching the direction they were headed. The man she had just named, the rule of a nearby nation… Ainz was sure had to be a player. No one else would choose to be called that. There was even another nation further south owned by a Bustamove, which was most likely a play on bust a move; others were not so easy to figure out if they were similar to him, and acted out their character extremely well. None of them seemed to know the name of who was sending these armies, though, only knowing of them. It was a universal acceptance that whoever was leading these forces was not friendly in the slightest.

Some were a breath of fresh air to speak to, even if they looked at me in disgust… at least they didn't immediately attack, unlike in Yggdrasil…

"Hmmm… that does not bode well for them then…" Ainz replied to her, watching with what concern he could muster, given his emotional block. He knew what that meant. These were not just some low-end army that he had wiped away with his magic, charged towards and broken with his undead troops that were all but unstoppable by most, excluding the elves and their nature summons. This was a very well trained fighting force… he already had experience with defending against them the first time, and the second, and the third…

He had used [Create Fortress] many times while expanding his borders and had worked hard to defend his kingdom, expending critical mana for summoning spells to protect those forts. Though they were strong fortifications, some eventually did fall to incursion from the north and east. Ainz learned very quickly to adapt his defenses against sieges, eventually having crypts and cemeteries dug up in secret to supply more troops as cannon-fodder, with new projects in the works to replenish his forces. The Sorcerer Kingdom was fairing far better than most due in no small part to his guardians leading counters and gaining the upper hand with new research bearing fruit; just the ability to have gunpowder, even if inaccurate, has made firing lines invaluable to hold off swordsmen.

However, this overarching enemy from the European front was hammering against everyone, for reasons unknown. There were only so many spells he could cast every day before being whittled down, and he couldn't be everywhere at once using super tier casts. This was why they were scrambling to expand the kingdom to other continents, gaining new recruits and resources to not only make a name for themselves but also to get the edge they needed. It was working for the most part, with many other nations giving grim respect to Ainz… even if they didn't like him or some of the actions his guardians took to gain control. The ends justified the means in many cases, given just how hostile the world really was without someone keeping order, regardless of if it was being provided by the undead.

"Perhaps Cocytus can intercept at the mountains with the 92nd army, keep them occupied until –"

"There is no reason to weaken our other lines for one that does not wish to communicate in the first place. Taking my forces out of position would be a waste of valuable resources I will not waste on another nation without proper reward given. It is more important to return with what we have."

Narberal, despite believing humans were absolute filth and beneath her in every way, still worried about the effect it would have on their eastern flank. A very serious enemy was tromping through the lands nearby, not directly coming for them… yet. That could very well change right after unless their numbers are diminished enough. Ainz couldn't quite figure out where this conquerer to the north was getting his, or her, recruits or military gear. There just couldn't be that much of a population up there of humans after not just the Sorcerer Kingdom, but also others, broke their lines constantly with incredible ingenuity and tactics. This at least told them that while well equipped, they weren't tactical geniuses… just smart and damned telepathic with near hive-mind capability. However… there were the champions that came once in a while, equal to his strongest guardians. Albedo had a run-in with one before, and while it was a harsh battle, she came out on top. Then, of course… it was one on one.

Many traps set up just didn't work, with a few military blunders even attributed to the Sorcerer Kingdom. Ainz had to, on a few occasions, calm down Cocytus and the others when they were all too willing to execute themselves for failing to defend his nation, even if the small chunks of land lost were either eventually retaken or became worthless with a ring of defenses surrounding it. Also, having so many divine tier pieces of equipment just didn't seem possible. They must have had the ability to manufacture it, even if Ainz's troops couldn't collect any of it to understand the concept. The corpses evaporated after being slain, all weapons and armor disappearing before being examined. Someone was producing this, with ways he couldn't figure out just yet.

"As you wish, supreme one," Narberal replied, touching her hand on her chest and closing her eyes while bowing.

"Do not be alarmed, I have a plan for every occasion. There is no need to address such a pitiful military."

I'm lying, I'm lying, I'm lying, I'm lying, I'm lying! Holy shit, this is not good if they decide to turn right and come for us… they were the only ones to understand how to stop [Fallen Down]. I've never seen anyone cancel the effect. Not one single player should be able to do that. It might have been a concerted effort by many to weaken the spell, but it also might not…

"Of course. I never doubted for a second that you can cast aside such an enemy before the might of your presence. Please, forgive me."

"There was no slight here, Narberal. Let us take our leave."

He's going to lose his kingdom to that force. Though I feel nothing, even I know that this will have an impact on the controlling powers here. There's going to be a convention for many to speak on how to address them again, I can tell. Whether I will be allowed to join is another matter… at least it always ends with not just words, but actions taken to combat such a foe…

His vision rose as he saw barely a point of movement in the far distance, near the top of a mountain range that split the valley they were in off from a nation further away… one that he had worked with recently. There, crouched on an outcropping, was the elven woman watching the army as well, with her eyes suddenly locking onto his form. She seemed to stare right through his helmet, sensing that he was someone that was just playing around and wasn't actually an adventurer. She slowly stood up, not breaking eye contact; she knew what was happening as well, and did nothing to stop it. This would lead to another kingdom falling to the enemy in the north, one that both of them just couldn't find a way to counter for long.

The only thing they could do was defend as best they can and sometimes work together along with others to hold the line. Reckless expansion in the past had alerted the man who controlled all of Europe to both of their locations, as well as everyone else further to the south and to the far east. To Ainz, it almost felt like a medieval world war. The problem was… the allies here didn't know if they were winning or losing.

At least Ainz was able to take home one big achievement compared to other nations. The Sorcerer Kingdom, as well as the Silver Spire Kingdom that the elven druid watching from afar ruled over, were able to barely hold their own by themselves. Two others also could perform in the same way. Others were not so lucky, and that could eventually spell the end of them once they were completely surrounded. A message was sent by Demiurge while he watched, almost lulled by the lights moving past in the distance. Demiurge appeared from nowhere nearby, more than likely teleporting a good distance and walking to his master's position. Ainz couldn't cast anything while he was wearing his noble visage. "There is a problem," he said quietly to his subordinate while the demon stopped and bowed.

"I agree, Ainz-sama. This does not bode well for those who are to our eastern flank. Still, this could provide an opportunity to gain something while both of them are fighting. However, that plan may have to wait, unfortunately. There is another issue I bring to your attention. Mare and Aura have both reported there was indeed a fleet sent from the north towards the far off continent that you have sent Yuri Alpha and Entoma Vasilissa Zeta to survey. They, too, are not the only ones sending ships."

Ainz turned away and walked back down towards the corpses, having his skeletons pick them up after checking for the respective trophies to bring back as proof. "Then many have noticed that teleportation does not work in that area of the world. We need to harness that. Hmm…" the warrior said as he took his helmet off, showing his skull of a head as he cupped his chin for a moment. "Gather another fleet, this one much larger."

"We are having difficulties with keeping up production, though I'm sure we can –"

"Send the fleet from the newly conquered kingdom in the southwest; their ships may not be as well designed for battle, but they can come up right behind those I have already sent in a line."

Demiurge looked up, giving a small guffaw. "That… that's brilliant, Ainz-sama!"

"Is it?" the supreme one answered.

I'm hoping to get each ship to have a lich on board to create fake copies around each, make one vessel look as if they are a fleet. That should cause our enemies to pause in their actions if they suddenly notice hundreds of ships ready to fight. We can use that to blockade any other fleets from reinforcing the scout flotillas.

"Yes, it is! Oh, you can use each ship in a supply chain, with the end vessel finally sailing quickly to the shores and dropping off troops; the chain will act as teleportation waypoints! Brilliant!"

What. I swear that it didn't occur to me. How would that even work? We'd have to measure how far we could teleport! That could take… uh… too long! Our enemies and even sometimes allies would notice, wouldn't they? From a distance, it might be possible… no way, no one could be that stupid, right?

"The ending point would have to have nothing but mana engines installed," Narberal commented, suddenly realizing she was speaking out of turn and went silent.

"Which is why there would be a second chain to support it and replace equipment. This would require fewer forces needed, allowing us to focus more on what is happening elsewhere while sending what is required to assist our scouts. Incredible," Demiurge informed.

"Ah… yes… that is… exactly what I had envisioned… start with the planning immediately," Ainz responded.

Crap. I have no idea if that plan will work. Uh… damn it. Please don't let this be a blunder.

Meanwhile

Dragolas walked through the hall of the wizard's academy and up a spiral staircase, carrying two tomes under his arm as he tried to stay quiet while many slept in their chambers. He, and the headmaster, were both very dutiful now, as they were given a new lease on life by the empress. Their research was constantly bearing fruit, with many new acolytes taught how to help the people as opposed to working for the nobles. The funding provided was incredible, seeming to be nigh bottomless. Whatever artifacts they sought out, traders and merchants could be easily contracted to act as research caravans, moving throughout the continent or even seas to find long lost treasures. While most were fascinating, almost every one of them, bar the dangerous ones, were allowed to be kept in the academy. This was completely different from how Artinia dealt with them, as nobles would be given choice pickings from any new magical items that appeared.

Interestingly, the empress didn't seem to care about most of it, compared to the old king. He didn't know if this was because she had far stronger… or just didn't need them at all. While not ever daring to oppose her, given everything they now had and the freedom to work towards impressive magical research, there was a theory now building up amongst the highest ranked wizards there. It involved the religion surrounding the woman that was their ruler, that she was, in fact, a goddess made flesh coming down to right wrongs from all the corruption Artinia had brought. Unlike the main volume of worshipers in The Church of the Clockwork Empress, most of the wizards or apprentices in the academy had an advanced education, reaching as high in mathematics as trigonometry and fluent in many languages despite the universal translation. Now, with the addition of calculus, they were broadening their horizons, mixing science with Tier magic, or even with runecraft, to make the empire stronger than ever.

As the man walked up the spiral stone steps towards the library, his eyes fell on a dimly lit table encircled by bookshelves with only one opening. Standing nearby and leaning over a table was a person that belonged in the empress's inner circle, an amulet draped around his neck telling anyone who talked to him not to mess with the caster. Gabriel looked up from the book he was reading and smirked. "Sorry to bother you so late, I didn't think that others would be night owls," Dragolas told him.

"It's alright, I'm just visiting to look at some of the research. It looks like your name is on quite a few of these books. Variable Cost Tier Magic. This is interesting."

"Is that all you came here for? Just to check on us? It seems that would be a waste of your time, given even I have heard of your skill, Gabriel Turkano."

The purple-haired man stood up and offered his hand to shake. "I didn't think my name really carried that far in any direction out here. You are Dragolas?" he asked.

"Of Morsaelden. I'm the assistant headmaster. A pleasure." He shook hands with the envoy of the empress as they both sat down at the table, the quiet of the library so soothing with one magical lantern brightening their corner of the large circular room. "I didn't come up with that alone. There were… many… that offered up their time and put in much effort for that research to come to light. So few are alive today to see it…"