Ruinous Return

B2 – Chapter 19

James sat in his council chamber. The meeting had finished, but his commanders sat, waiting for the answer to their question.

Dorian repeated it once more, "Why is the Scout hero a blur?" This was echoed by the other commanders.

God damnit, James thought as he put his hands on his temples and leaned forward, shutting his eyes. Why the fuck did you have to show up here?

She had talked to him in English at the end, parting with, "I don't want to fight you. And, I'm going to stay on the sidelines in your impending conflict. But, if you end up starting to lose, and want my help…bend the knee and become a vassal kingdom under my rule."

He looked up from the table and looked his commanders in the eyes. I can't tell them the truth. I'll lose credibility, and with war on the horizon that's something that cannot happen.

He cleared his throat, "Eleven years ago, when the ten remaining heroes fought the Demonic Dragon…we defeated the creature. It cost the Scout hero's life. I don't know why memories of the Scout are blurred for you all, but whatever it was did not affect the heroes." Fuck, I hate lying. It felt wrong, and his core seemingly chafed at the idea…but he had to. Opening his mouth, he tried to speak, but nothing came out. What? He tried again, but nothing came out. Fuck me…I can't lie anymore?

The commanders around the table nodded sagely in understanding, but Dorian stared at him. "What did she say to you in your language."

"That she won't be getting involved in our conflict with Valagonia." James said, finally having his words meet him. Just to test, he tried to say, 'I told her we would be allies', and again the words caught in his throat. The fuck is happening?. He cleared his throat, "She also offered to side with us if I bent the knee and became a vassal king under her Empire."

This caught all the commanders off guard, and they began arguing with each other about the benefits of having such a powerful creature on their side, versus the inherent evil of the Destroyer itself.

Dorian, however, remained quiet and just looked at James with a look of silent judgment. He stood up and hit the table with his ring, silencing the other commanders. "This is not something that a king alone should decide," he said. "This is something that the whole council should have the ability to decide upon. She said that she raised that whole wall along the Flontar River; that level of power to change the world around us could devastate our foes."

James stood up and shook his head, "No, we will not fall to evil. We will fight Valagonia, defeat their armies, and force peace upon them. We have seven months. There is work to be done. Go to your tasks." He left the room and walked down the halls to the royal apartments.

Lyn had also told him that every hero except himself, Cecily, Misty, and Kory were alive and well in Lynhold. That meant that any possible allies among the remaining heroes he could have gathered were no longer an option to recruit to his side. He was a single hero, on his own, heading a kingdom and preparing for war.

It seemed like everything was on the verge of falling apart. Sure, the Destroyer might say she was going to stay out of the conflict, but if she was a wise tactician, she would wait until the very end of the war between Valagonia and Khrelardia, and then swoop in and defeat both sides and claim power. And he would not bend the knee to a Destroyer who was evil.

But that brought back his conversation with Maria, and the choice that he had put aside and kept pushing off. She had not given him an ultimatum, but it was damned close to one. Her and the kids, or the Paragon core. If the Destroyer wanted to, she could have slain my whole high command and ruined the whole palace in one fell swoop. The sheer audacity of the creature to come to his capital and intrude in his palace filled him with anger…but she was just returning the favor of his surprise visit. It was…a fair play.

That forced him to stop and stand still. A Destroyer wouldn't play fair. They would crush their enemies no matter what. If she did make that whole wall on her own, she could plague us with earthquakes and destroy all Khrelardia's infrastructure. The same for Valagonia. He closed his eyes and focused on his mana core, feeling the soothing, calming light that burned brightly within washing away all sense of doubt.

Maria's argument seemed stronger, now, despite the inner light soothing away his concerns. He was unable to lie – and that was a massive change. He wasn't a very deceptive person, but a little lie here and there helped on occasion, and telling half-truths was always valuable in politics which he detested but had to engage in. The fact he seemingly could not lie any more spoke volumes to the truth of Maria's research…he was being inexorably changed.

I can't give up my power, he thought. Even if Misty knew a way to safely swap out the Paragon core with a dungeon core, I would not be strong enough to fight Valagonia in the way I should. As Paragon, he should be on the front lines leading his troops. Dungeon cores were powerful, granted, but they did not have the same baseline amount of mana as the hero cores, let alone the Paragon which was the strongest of the heroes.

He stood outside the royal apartments and took a deep breath. Entering, he stood, shock-still, as he saw his wife sitting and having tea with the Destroyer, minus the draconic features. The Duskari woman looked up at him and set her teacup down. "Ah, welcome in."

James made to pull his blade, but his wife held up a hand, "James…please, she's not here to fight you. Just…sit down."

He stayed at the door, "What do you want?"

Lyn put a sugar cube into her teacup and stirred it slightly with a spoon before sipping it. "I wanted to leave you a message in your room, but surprise-surprise, you got married and have kids. Congratulations, by the wa-"

James felt incensed, "If you threaten-"

Maria looked at him, "Oh stop it. She hasn't done anything threatening. In fact, she has been a lovely guest." She looked over at Lyn, "I'm sorry for my husband, it's the Paragon core," she said, gesturing to the pile of research she had shown James that sat in front of Lyn.

The Destroyer picked up the papers and waved them to James, "I read what happened to Kor Khreld." She set the papers down and leaned back, "I don't want you to go the same way. And your wife doesn't, either."

James didn't know what to say. He was at a loss for words at this seeming…betrayal. What? He shook his head. She's not betraying me. She is my wife. She wants what is best for me. Again, his mana core pulsed, and he felt torn between a feeling of betrayal and uncertainty.

"Thomas is a part of my Empire now," Lyn said. "At his request, I removed his hero core, and swapped it for a dungeon core." She looked at Maria.

Maria stood up and went to James, putting a hand on his cheek, "My love…I don't want to lose you to this power inside you. I want you to be the best king Khrelardia has ever seen." She teared up a bit, "I need you to be the James I love. The James that is a father to those two boys. The James that cares about everyone around him and wants to do the right thing."

"But I do want the right thing!" James said loudly. He pointed at Lyn, "This person here, is evil-"

Maria slapped him. Hard. He felt the impact across his face and whilst it didn't hurt him, it did shock him. They had never been physically abusive to each other, and almost unconsciously he put his hand to where she had struck him. She was crying and looked into his eyes, "You're not my James anymore…my James saw the good in every person." She poked him in the chest, and her voice cracked, "My James…the man I married…he tried to make peace and keep everyone happy…"

James made to hug her, but she pushed him away. "Maria…"

"Don't!" she said as she went back to the bed. "If you want to be the man I married…you'll give up the Paragon and be normal again."

Lyn set her teacup down and reached into a storage dimension, pulling out a tube-shaped device, and a wooden sphere. "I have a dungeon core, and an inscribed device to swap your Paragon core out. I did it to Thomas." She tapped her chest, "I have the Knowledge hero core. And he's perfectly fine."

James didn't know what to say. He looked between Maria, this device, and down at his torso. "But…I won't…" he felt himself choking up and the welling tears, "I won't be…a hero…"

Lyn shook her head, "You are a hero, James. To the people of Khrelardia, hell, the whole of Ghomar." She frowned and switched to English. "You might not believe it, since that letter I sent spoke to the opposite…and I punched you in that weird dungeon encounter…but I'm over it. You guys blotting me from memory? I don't care anymore. Because I have a higher calling than just being the Scout that slew the Demonic Dragon. Keep your stolen valor. You can train up your mana core just like Kory discovered all those years ago – mana circulation. Heck, do it daily for a few hours, and in a couple years you'll be just as strong as you are now." She smiled, "Plus, you'll be able to use any spell type. The only thing you lose out on is that unique Paragon light travel spell. That, and the seeming madness that took the founder of Khrelardia."

James looked down at his hands, and then over to Maria. She had sat on the bed and was staring as Lyn's words were said in a language she had no comprehension of. I…the Paragon core flared in his chest…but did not break through the anguish he felt at Maria's statement. He looked up at Lyn, "Promise me something," he said in Khrelardian.

"What do you want me to promise?" Lyn asked.

James looked at Maria and then back behind him to the door opposite his chambers – where his boys were sleeping. "Promise me you will make this world a better place." He drew Aelor'An'Alar and set it on the ground. He walked over to Maria and brushed her tears away. "I'll do it. I'll give up my Paragon core…because you and the boys are more important to me."

She hugged him, and they lingered in that embrace for several moments before he pulled away. He looked up to Lyn and she waited, patiently standing in the same spot. "I'm…sorry. For shrouding you in memory. For not believing you are you." He felt his mana core still surging in his chest, but knew, now, that it was intrinsically changing him for the worse in the long run. "You're sure I'll be okay? I don't want to be a shell of myself like that necromancer Misty pulled the core out of."

Lyn nodded, "It's safe. Lay down, take off the armor and open your shirt." James did as he was told, and Maria helped him out of the armor. He laid down, and Lyn opened the wooden sphere, pulling out a dungeon core that swirled with bright, white light. She placed it in one of the spherical portions of the tube and placed the end of the tube on his chest. "Before we do this…Thomas theorized that this means you can't go back to Earth. When you die one day, rebirth on Ghomar is the only option according to him. Are you-"

James smiled gently and looked at Maria, "I'm sure."

Lyn nodded and braced the tube against his torso, "This will hurt a bit." Maria leaned over and hugged him tightly as he saw the outline of blue mana flowing from Lyn's body and into the device.

He felt the mana core in his torso trying to hold fast, clinging to him. A roaring noise echoed in his ears, and he felt a sudden instinct to hold on and try to fight the force that was sucking it away…but he resisted that urge thanks to the woman embracing him, and the memories of his life with her and their two sons. A jolt of pain – like he had been stabbed in the chest – arced through him, and he grunted as he felt a sudden void in his torso – a hollowness. An instant later, as the world began to dim, he felt a surge of light in his chest and sucked in a deep breath.

"And we did it," Lyn said as she opened the spherical device and held the Paragon core in her hand. She squeezed it, and it vanished. "I know that was hard, James…but thank you."

Maria brushed his hair as he relaxed into the bed, "Thank you, my love."

James kissed her and he felt…light. As if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "Guess I'm not James the Paragon anymore."

Lyn smiled and knelt, grabbing the blade that James was equipped with once he had touched the statue of Aelor all those years ago. She set it on the bed, "James Marshal, King of Khrelardia." She smiled at him and reached for his hand, giving it a squeeze. "You still get to be a fantasy world hero with swords and sorcery."

James nodded and kissed Maria before gently pushing her off him. He sat up and looked at the blade, he tried to pick it up, but it burned when he touched the hilt. "I don't think I can wield it anymore," he said with a sigh.

Lyn looked at the weapon, "Well…I have contacts amongst the feysmiths on Feylin. I'll prioritize making you an artifact sword." She picked up the light blade, pulled a hilt from a socket on her hip, and the two merged together as she put the hilt back. "And I'll convince Thomas to give up revenge. But you might want to apologize."

James stood up, "Thank you for being…good, Lyn. But…why? We were never really friends."

"Without you letting me watch your special spell back before we fought the Demonic Dragon, I wouldn't have developed the one that let me kill it. If that didn't happen, I wouldn't have become the Destroyer and have this chance to rule Ghomar and fix everything wrong." She smiled slightly, "Yeah, once upon a time not too long ago I wanted you to pay dearly. But after seeing your wife and hearing about the kids…they deserve a good father." Her voice choked up slightly, but her face remained in that slight smile. "I had a shitty dad. And Maria told me how you are with your boys. This world needs that goodness. Raise them right. Raise them to rule justly. Give them the best childhood possible. Don't let them turn out fucked up like I did."

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

James looked at Maria and grabbed her hand, "I've got some clarity now with that core out of me." He looked to Lyn and smiled, "I'd be honored to bring Khrelardia into the fold of your Empire."

Lyn smiled and reached into a storage dimension, placed the mana core device in it, and pulled out a mirror. "This will let you communicate with my Chancellor, Vehenna, directly. We can coordinate the details through that."

"I have a question," Maria said. "You can use that tube-thing to give anyone a dungeon core?"

"That's correct."

She looked at James and smiled, "You want to keep the boys as safe as possible, right? What better way than to give them a powerful mana core and start training them up? They're almost ten."

James smiled and looked at Lyn, "Would you be willing?"

"Once they're a bit older. Let's say high school age. And we'll need dungeon cores for them. I don't have spares right now."

James raised a quizzical eyebrow, "But you had that one in a wooden sphere."

"I have enough for each hero that still has their mana core at Lynhold. I don't have spares beyond that." She looked out the alcove to the balcony, "So, what's this special lightspeed travel spell?"

James went to a table and wrote down the verse on a sheet of parchment, handing it to Lyn. He gave her a hug, and she returned it. "I want a badass sword from those feysmiths," he whispered.

She nodded and whispered back, "I'll make sure it lets you turn into a dragon."

He pulled back from her slightly and switched to English, "You'd…do that for me?"

She nodded and replied kindly, "You can give your kids dragon rides. Lawrence did it for Trisha and Ben's kids, and they seemed to love it." She chuckled, separated from his hug, and went over to Maria, giving her a slight hug as well as she switched back to her language. "Thank you for helping convince him. I promise you; my Empire is going to be the best thing that has happened on Ghomar." She looked back to James, "I'll ensure my Marshal reaches out to coordinate. In the Spring…Valagonia will fall."

James crossed his arms and frowned, "Cecily is evil, you know that, right?"

"Oh yeah. She's not getting a chance like you did. We'll crush her, depose her, and I'll strip her of her Ruler core."

"Good. That bitch deserves to die."

Lyn nodded and went to the balcony, "Take care of your boys. I'll be in touch." She lifted her hand, incanted the spell on the parchment, and vanished in a beam of blue light.

Maria came up behind James and hugged him. He held her hands and leaned back into her warm embrace. "Thank you for saving me from myself," James whispered.

"You'll always be my hero," she said quietly.

Lyn arrived in Lynhold in less than a second and took a deep breath as vertigo hit her. Holy fuck. She threw up and wiped her mouth as her focus on the shifting spell vanished and the draconic features returned. Okay, that's going to take some getting used to. The mana cost was not too significant, and so she could probably traverse all Ghomar several times over before running out. Looking around, she saw very little activity which made sense as it was late.

She had not expected that would work. At first, she just wanted to drop in on James and show him that he was just as reachable as she was…but as she flew off, her eyes spotted two boys that looked just like James in a courtyard, staring up at her. She circled back and shifted back, descending with her cloak, and met James' twin boys. They were spitting images of their father, and their mother ran out to see what stranger had descended from the sky.

She's a good woman, she thought. Without Maria's research and her help convincing James, there was no way that she could have pulled off what she had just pulled off. Not only did she get the Paragon core without violence and bloodshed, but she also had just acquired the vassalization of Khrelardia. Work needed to be done…but the foundation was set. Pure fucking luck. She could have always killed the royal family, killed James, leveled the entire palace - but what good would that do to her ultimate cause? It would make bringing every kingdom under her control far more difficult. Khrelardia would never submit to a foreign power who had slain their beloved Paragon - or stripped him of his core and left him a vegetable. No...this was the easiest way for Lyn to take control. Manipulate the figurehead, bring him into the fold, and the rest of the kingdom would follow.

Not quite what I had in mind...but this rapidly increases progress.

She went into the fortress proper and then diverted course to the hidden grove leading to Feylin. They had come up with a simple system since the feysmiths could come and go at their leisure; a sign with the order placed on it, a spot for the raw materials, a delivery spot, and a tube for rolled-up schematics. Lyn grabbed some of the nearby parchment and jotted down a design – closing her eyes and letting the Artificer core come to the surface as her hand moved on its own.

Within minutes she had an intricate design for a spell-powered submarine, and she placed it inside the tube. Reaching into her storage dimension, she pulled out something she had dredged up from the magma within Shiverburn Summit – adamantine. It's the least I can do, she thought. Since I took his special sword.

The weapon of the Paragon supposedly passed down from Aelor himself to his strongest fragment. And now it's just one of many artifacts at my disposal. I guess it wasn't some special deity-granted blade. She had read the inscription, and it would be capable of delivering light-charged attacks – which she could already do. The benefit, it seemed, is that none could use it save the Paragon. Now that she had that core…no one could wield Cataclysm save for her.

She left the chamber and returned to her throne room. Vael was sitting next to the throne, reading some book, but shut it and stood up quickly as Lyn approached. "Empress Rivers," she said as she saluted.

"Oh, cut the formality, you know when it's just us you're good to just use Lyn." She waved for the bodyguard to follow her, "Come, I desire companionship this evening."

"With pleasure," Vael said as she followed the empress to her chambers. Lyn closed the doors behind them, dismissed her armor to the pocket dimension, and threw the other woman on the bed.

Thomas woke up with the sunrise. He performed his morning routine, which included filling a tub to sit in as he circulated mana. He would have to continue the process for several years, but he knew he could have just as much of a mana reservoir as the Knowledge hero core with dedication. Just like exercise, once you built the habit it became hard to break. Then, after that was done, he would visit the kitchens and grab breakfast before heading to the archive – a large space that was on the second floor of the fortress that he had no clue existed until moving here.

Lyn had moved all the books and tomes from the Ruins of Elent, and Thomas began categorizing them into their various sections, inscribing the new, wooden bookshelves with simple spells that would prevent unauthorized users from accessing the tomes, keep them dry, and keep them pristine. Stellas came up a few minutes later and greeted him as she went to her duties – working on Thomas' school plan that would, with time and dedication, roll out across the Empire by the next year.

Today was odd, though, as a person Thomas would never have expected came up and knocked on the frame of the door. "So, this is where you took my student to," Misty said in Triskol as she walked in.

Thomas stood up, "Oh, yeah." He waved towards Stellas, "She's done wonders."

"Hmm." Misty walked up and swapped to English. "I want to make one thing very clear. You and I – we aren't friends."

"Heard loud and clear," Thomas replied.

"Make sure in this school system you're setting up that there is some type of magical evaluation so that the best and the brightest are sent to my mage school."

"Already planned on it," Thomas replied. "Stellas is working on the advancement system now. We went with tracked instead of grade-level."

Misty waved her hand, "Don't care." She turned away and looked at the wall of books and the piles still waiting for categorization, "All of the knowledge from the Ruins of Elent?" Thomas nodded and she walked forward, "This is how you learned how to cheat death, is it?"

"Yes," Thomas replied walking up next to her, "It's a painstaking process. Cloning is tricky, but scarring is easy."

"Cloning. Making a legit copy of yourself." Thomas nodded as she continued. "And how did you figure out how to do that?"

"Turns out the Elenthians didn't reproduce sexually. They could, but they instead would pair up, take both partner's genetic material, and then combine them using a spell. Then it's placed into a saline-filled tube, and you use a variety of spells to accelerate the body's growth. I just took out the component that enables the forming of a consciousness. It's an empty shell, ready for a vessel."

Misty shook her head, "My method of immortality is much less intensive."

Thomas glanced at her, "Well, good for you. If you want to share, I'm all ears."

"Fuck off," Misty said as she turned to leave. "You stole one of my top students. You slept with Lyn. I paid off my debt to you for helping to make the mage school. We're coworkers now, nothing more. In totally different departments, at that. You stay out of my way; I'll stay out of yours."

Thomas nodded, "Hell, I'm not even a hero anymore."

"What?"

"Lyn made an inscribed item that lets someone swap their cores out. I have a nice, strong, Elenthian dungeon core in me," he said as he tapped his chest. "Lyn has the Knowledge core now."

Misty's eyes lit up, "So…we could switch cores…but your personality hasn't changed, right?"

Thomas didn't like that look in her eyes. There was some plotting going on in her mind, "I'm still me, yes."

"Then…I could use it on her."

Thomas shook his head, "Doubt it. Her consciousness is fully merged with the remnants of Raevan and Yheron. She told me what you tried to pull, and it didn't work."

"What do you know about it!" Misty shouted. "Nothing! You never loved her like I did!"

"You tried to separate her soul from the Destroyer core by surgically removing it. That didn't work. Now you want to use a vacuum to just suck Lyn out of the Destroyer? It's even less refined. Face it, the Lyn you fell in love with in the past is gone."

Misty's face contorted in rage but then, a moment later, calmed and stilled. "There is one way." She left the room and almost ran into Lyn on the way. "Oh, shit."

Lyn crossed her arms and stood in place, "Well, you decided to move your mage school – Lawrence filled me in."

"It's centrally located, protected, and you will eventually get what you want…you always do. I'd rather have the best and brightest come to learn from a master. If you have an education system, you need higher education. I'll provide that."

Lyn stood aside and smiled softly, "Well, we're the better for you." She reached into a storage dimension and pulled out a silver amulet, "Communication amulets. Feel free to call anytime."

Misty took it and because her back was facing him, Thomas couldn't see her expression, but the slight tremor to her shoulders did not escape his attention. Whatever. She wants distance from me? That's fine. "Lyn, what can I do for you?"

She walked into the chamber and whistled, "Impressive. You're doing good in here." She switched to Triskol and walked over to Stellas, "This is the education system?"

The Vharthon looked up and smiled, "Yes. We're just about done mapping out the general way things will work."

"Do…do you have another tail?"

"Yes. I do. I've been circulating mana as Thomas has taught me. I finally have enough mana for illusion spells."

"Good for you. Keep up the good work." Lyn walked back to Thomas and switched to English, "We need to talk about James."

Thomas felt a flush as blood raced to his face. "What about him?" He grunted as he looked at the bookshelf, knelt, and began to sort.

"He's not the Paragon anymore."

Thomas felt…mixed emotions. Relief that James wasn't a threat anymore. Anger at him not getting the killing blow himself. "How did he die?"

"He didn't. I took his core, and he bent the knee."

That fucker…he deserves more. Thomas looked up at Lyn, "So what did you swap out?"

Lyn's face showed a bit of remorse but there was resolution behind her eyes. "I swapped out a dungeon core. He's going to still rule Khrelardia, but he will serve me." She knelt next to Thomas and began to sort with him. "I couldn't just strip him and make him hollow. I know you want him dead or worse…but he's a dad with kids. His wife is a wonderful lady, and those kids are turning out pretty well from what I saw in my brief interaction with them."

Thomas nodded, "Maria is a good person."

"It wasn't totally his fault, I don't think. His Paragon core was affecting him. His wife saw the changes, and I think at the end he was fighting against it."

Thomas sighed and put a book onto the shelf. "Thank you for giving some justice for my death. I don't want anything to do with James." He looked up at Lyn, "It was him. Maybe the core was helping push him to what he did…but he did not want to give up power."

"In the end he did. That has to count for something."

Thomas nodded, "And that's why I won't plot to kill him. You have my word." He looked up at Lyn, "I'm happy you resolved that peacefully."

"Valagonia is preparing for war, and James is going to keep preparing." She smiled and looked at Thomas, "We'll make sure to keep our activities secret…but then we'll hit them hard. Cecily is going down."

Thomas nodded, "Good."

"I'll leave you to your work." She left.

Thomas sighed and kept doing what he loved – curating knowledge and putting his brain to use. He looked over to Stellas, "Soon enough," he said in Triskol, "We'll be able to make our clones."

Stellas looked over her shoulder and nodded, "I have the items we need ready to go as per your instructions."

Thomas nodded, "Right. Good. After we finish our duties, I'll set to work. Did we find a secret place to store them until we can move them into Lyn's storage space?"

"I did," She said as she turned in her chair and smiled, "I got to know Trisha a bit, and she's interested in the whole process. She wants to know how you do it so that she can help couples conceive children."

Thomas nodded, "At the hospital?"

"Yes. She has a room set aside. All the items are in there."

"Good." Thomas stood up and stretched, "Have you given thought to what you want your clone to be composed of?"

"I thought my own Vharthon self, mixed with Duskari since they have longevity and enhanced senses."

Thomas nodded, "Smart idea. Do you mind if I do the same?"

"Oh? Taking a fancy to Vharthons?"

"Not particularly. I just thought it would be cool to try something different each time."

Stellas stood up and poured herself some water, "Interesting idea." She turned around and regarded him with curious eyes as she sipped the drink, "What I want to know is how she's going to deal with you being basically immortal and being in her council. She wanted a meritocracy, right? How is that fair?" She gestured between the two of them, "How would, say, if you weren't going to make me a backup body, let me have the chance to pass you?"

"That plays out in one of two ways with multi-longevity races." He raised his index finger, "Either the person with the longer lifespan becomes more proficient over time until they cannot be removed because no one is better than them." He raised his middle finger, "Or, you have a dual system. For instance, Chancellor Vehenna is doing amazing in her position. She's Duskari, so she will outlive any Human, Sloren, Newen, Foskor, Raptin, or Vharthon. Instead of having a singular 'Chancellor' position, Lyn should have two. One for the Ari or Duskari that fills the role, and one that is filled by one of the shorter-longevity races."

"Smart," Stellas commented as she finished her drink. "Have you brought it up with her?"

"I'll get her to sign off on it later."

"One more thing," Stellas said as she sat down. "Professor Misery…I feel kind of bad for her."

"Don't. Don't feel bad for her. She didn't move on Lyn romantically when she had the chance, and she'll get over it." Thomas went back to his work, pushing aside thoughts of what Misty might do with access to these Elenthir texts. She might have full mastery of Elenthir, just as he had thanks to his eidetic memory. But the different applications were all methods that a regular person would not consider.

I'll have to monitor her access, Thomas thought. He went to the doorway and channeled mana into an inscription that he carved into the stone with a sharpened bit of metal. More wards. I should ward the fuck out of this room.

"Finally!" Brad said as he walked up to see Finala. "I've been waiting for this."

The Keeper of Ravens turned around and smiled. She clicked her tongue, and a beautiful, black raven with a slightly blue beak flapped down and landed on her outstretched forearm. "Alchemist Brad, this is Bluebeak. Not sure how that happened, but it might be due to your bonding."

The raven looked over at Brad, "Hi. I'm Bluebeak."

Brad held out his forearm, "Come on over."

The bird did so, and he could feel the slight grip of the talons on his sleeve. "This is a nice perch."

Finala handed brad a small pouch, "This has a bunch of his favorite seeds. He has a predilection for sunflowers."

Brad scratched Bluebeak's head, "And does he know his way around Ghomar?"

Finala nodded, "All ravens are shown a map of the world and they're very bright."

Bluebeak nodded, "Yes sir! I know all the places on the big paper."

"Thanks, Finala," Brad said as he descended the stairs. Looking at Bluebeak he knew his plan was about to go into action. His revenge against Cecily. "Hey, Bluebeak, I need you to do something very important."

"Sure boss. Whatever you need."

Brad opened the pouch and held up some seeds, and Bluebeak chomped down on them. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out the pouch with the enlightenment drug and tied it to one of his legs. "I need you to fly to Cecilaria, then, land somewhere, open the bag – rip it, claw it, however you can – and then distribute the dust over the city as best you can."

"You got it! Can I have more seeds?"

"Sure," Brad replied as he poured another small handful. The bird greedily chowed down on the offering, and Brad wiped his hand clean after he had finished. "Ready?"

"Off to work!" The raven lifted off and began to fly to the Southeast.

Brad felt satisfaction wash through him. Finally, after years of being under Cecily's thrall and mental conditioning…he was getting back at her. It wouldn't hurt anyone and would destabilize her realm. All according to plan. He chuckled and left the fortress, heading to his workshop to begin the day's work.