After-math

It's been two weeks since 'Reclamation of Londinium' as it's begun to be called amongst the populace, and things have started to settle down for Michael, Tiffania, and the new addition to the group, Ralf Kaliker.

The man hadn't instantly left the duo after helping them escape, instead, electing to keep them company as he respected Michael's decision to resist injustice committed by Nobles, even at his own expense. He was right of course, it definitely wasn't a smart decision to kill Baron Jargkon now that he was looking back at it with a clear mind...

His grudge towards the man wouldn't allow him to set aside his differences during then however, pushing him into conflict with Prince Wales and Albion, along with exacerbating the situation with Tristain... They'd been willing to try and reconcile with him, duplicitous or not, so his refusal and attempt to murder someone under Prince Wales protection had set him and the two countries as enemies.

Ralf himself used to hold a grudge against Michael for killing his men, it'd lessened a great deal when he lost his eye to Cromwell, and even more after they actually began talking. The man, like most who worship Brimir, had thought Tiffania was a demon of some sort, but when he saw her attempt to bring Baron Jargkon to justice, risking her life, his views had slowly begun to shift.

Regardless, Michael was pretty happy with Ralf's company. The man, while not 'smart' per se, was rational and strong in both his strength and beliefs. He was an upper-tier Triangle Mage, almost breaking into Square Mage territory... But his true strength was his skill with a sword, both mounted atop his dragon and on the ground.

It was with this skill that Ralf used to beat the snot out of Michael after he'd asked for training. While Michael might be faster and stronger with the use of his Gandalfr Runes and other abilities, when wielding a simple wooden sword in training, such things mattered not.

He wasn't attempting to beat Ralf anyway, as the goal of this training was to increase his skills with a blade, so that his runes would provide greater benefits.

With Michael spending most of these two weeks training with Ralf instead of getting into dangerous situations like useful, Tiffania had calmed down a great deal... The rejection of Prince Wales was a shock to her, and it'd taken days for her to finally get out of her depression and stop weeping.

He'd done his best to comfort her, but there wasn't all that much he could do aside from being a constant presence for her to lean on. He couldn't really imagine how he'd feel if his sister Lillith suddenly tried to exile, imprison, or kill him. Just thinking about the Prince even now makes him angry, the guy may have a responsibility to his kingdom, but family should always come first.

Why would you take a country that recently attempted to rebel against you? It must be known that it wasn't just the Nobles that rebelled, but a good portion of the citizenry as well. If Michael were in the Prince's position he'd have just abandoned the place and let the idiots tear themselves apart.

Nevertheless, these trials had done some good for Tiffania, while she wasn't a happier person, she was more motivated in general. Sometimes even joining him and Ralf to train their swordsmanship. The man sometimes even tutored her in the use of fire magic, his main element.

Her relationship with Ralf was strained at first, but they'd made quick friends once she broke out of her depressive mood. Her light, friendly, and sometimes airheaded personality made it hard to dislike her... It was honestly quite funny to Michael, generations of hatred towards elves were broken by Tiffania just by being herself.

He sometimes wondered if the fighting would stop if he made everyone sit down and actually talk to her... This was just wishful thinking though, as most people would kill her on sight if they spotted her ears.

Still, aside from his swordsmanship training with Ralf, many others things had also changed as a result of the Reclamation of Londinium... For one, he had finally reached Max level for his Riki Spirit, along with advancing to the next Spirit rank.

The first thing was that he'd actually received useful items this time, not just some Iron Wood Branches that sat uselessly in his inventory, or a Fairy Fire that was wasted on some douchebag Prince.

The wheel had granted him a Circlet, a silver headband that had a good-sized amber gem fixed in the centre of it. A Town Portal Scroll, which Michael wasn't really sure how to use. And an Arcane Ring artifact, a blue band that was decorated with gold fixtures and a small blue gem that shone even with the absence of any light.

He'd stowed away the Town Portal Scroll and decided to gift Tiffania with the Circlet and Arcane Ring, turning her into a blushing, sputtering mess at the time... Come to think of it, it was around that time when Tiffania's mood started to improve...?

Anyway, he'd had thought hard on whether he wanted to swap out his Fairy Trinket for the Arcane Ring, as it would drastically increase his intelligence, but decided not to. The Fairy Trinket's spell efficiency and strength boost, along with its health increase proved more valuable to him, as Tiffania's most used spell, Erase, didn't actually deal any damage.

The bonus intelligence would help her as she tried to learn more spells, and the active ability of the ring would allow her to give all allies in range a mana replenishment if it was needed. As for the Circlet, in the game, it grants +2 to all stats; Strength, Agility, and Intelligence. He'd given it to her more for her protection than anything else, as +2 stats wouldn't do as much for him as it would her. Plus, it was kinda girly and looked much better when she wore it.