"Just Come Home if It's Hard"
Britiana and Delaney entered a porter and transferred to the Mage Tower. The entrance was stately and empty. It was large. It contained several libraries, classrooms, dormitories for novices and apprentices who live at the Tower. There were also offices for higher level mages, and shared spaces for lower level mages.
"We'll go find Mom's friend's office first to check in before registering and assessing," Britiana said.
"I'll follow your lead," Delaney said. Being here almost made her tingle. It was such a magical space. Britiana found a directory in the entrance, looking for the name of her mom's friend. "There she is on the fifty-first floor," she said.
They stepped back into the porter and transferred to the correct floor. Unlike the entrance, the floor had people milling around. They glanced at them curiously, not recognizing them, but Britiana was reading names on doors until she found the name she was looking for. "Raven Darovan," she said and knocked on the door.
A few minutes later the door was opened by a girl around Britiana's age. She had violet eyes and features common to Amethyst Dragons. She wore a purple and silver Mage robe embroidered with patterns denoting her rank as an apprentice. She had dark hair pulled into a neat bun. She smiled slightly. "Come in. My aunt's been expecting you," she said.
Britiana returned the smile. "My mother told her I was coming?" she asked as she and Delaney came into the office. The office looked like a library, there were a few desks, tables for alchemy, tables piled with books for research, half-made artifacts, fabrics, and sewing supplies.
The apprentice nodded. "She stepped out for a minute. She'll be back soon. My name is Shoshannah. Shoshannah Daratranzanoff Morningstorme. I go by ZsaZsa," she introduced herself. She used her Earthborne father's name as well as her Dragon mother's to honor him, but it really was a mouthful.
"Hi! I'm Britiana and this is Delaney Crowley," she introduced.
Delaney nodded to her. ZsaZsa nodded back in a friendly way.
Britiana found a clean table and began stacking paper manuscripts bound together. "I'm donating these to the Tower. I translated them. I have more. I'm still working on translating," she said.
"Ooh," ZsaZsa curiously began to flip through some of the transcribed books. "Huh, interesting," she said, sitting down and becoming engrossed in the book she was reading. Not all the books were simply spell books. Some had excerpts from the mages who wrote them.
Britiana chuckled.
"Pay her no mind. She's like that," a new voice said in the room. Delaney and Britiana looked toward the voice and only saw a mist beginning to take human form. Raven Darovan was a pale woman with human features, neither tall nor short. Her long black hair was pulled into a braid, and she wore the silver and purple robes that denoted her rank as the Second Mage of the Tower. "Hello, Britiana, it's good to see again," she greeted.
"Wish I could say the same but memories from a few minutes ago didn't stick," Britiana said blithely.
Raven chuckled. "You must be the witchborn, Delaney. We have witches on Cruinog, but they definitely aren't as powerful as you," she noted.
Delaney raised her brows. "Cruinog?" she asked.
"I'm an Earthborne. We're also refugees on Emphyralis. We are a type of fae," Raven explained. "Come. Show me the spell. Let's discuss it. ZsaZsa! You come, too," she beckoned her niece.
"Coming, Aunt Raven," ZsaZsa said almost reluctantly. She tucked a scrap of material into the page she was reading. Everyone moved to another table. Britiana pulled out the translated copy of the transfer spell.
Raven looked over the spell with interest. "I think it could work without too much modification if we're simply transferring people from one array to another," she said.
Britiana nodded. "I want to transfer people at a time, but I also want to put a draconite energy source in the center to power the transfer," she explained. Raven nodded. "The array would need to be about ten by ten," she said, confirming Britiana's conjecture once again.
ZsaZsa studied it almost absent-mindedly. "What if I make a draconite pigment to paint it with? That would reduce the power requirements. In fact," she suggested.
Raven glanced at her. "It'd take high-level draconite," she said.
ZsaZsa nodded. "But not much. The mine in New Bienskurr is sufficient. If I can refine it with less impurities, it'd be even better," she said.
"How to refine it?" Delaney asked. Although she'd learned that Draconite was a magical ore that existed here with different attributes. She didn't know much else about it at the moment.
"Different ways. Gold Dragons can use their electromagnetic abilities to separate the Draconite from impurities. Bronze Dragon Forgecrafting are also amazingly able to separate impurities. But mostly it's a long process of melting it down, using various elixirs to treat it. It's a whole thing," ZsaZsa answered.
Delaney frowned. It seemed like it'd take a while and would be expensive.
Britiana blinked, then jumped up and went to the copied Thelessian books. She found one on alchemy and flipped through it. She brought it back to the table. "This is a process of refining ores magically rather than purely physically. Could it be used on Draconite?" she asked. She, also, wasn't as familiar with draconite as them.
Raven looked at the entire process. "Yes, but ZsaZsa can't do it. We need an upper fourth tier mage. I'm not even sure I could do it," she explained.
Britiana looked at Delaney. "Do you think you could do it?" she asked.
Delaney nodded. "Making potions to fight demons is a basic skill of witchborn," she answered.
Raven glanced at her, surprised. "Have you been tested yet?" she asked.
Britiana shook her head. "We haven't registered. We came straight here," she said.
Raven nodded. She got up and found a couple of registration forms at her desk and writing utensils. "Fill these out quickly, then I'll test your potential," she said.
Britiana quickly filled her form out and then helped Delaney fill out the parts she didn't understand. Raven took a crystal from her desk and held it out. "Hold it in your hand and channel your power through it," she said.
Britiana took it. She stared at the stone with a scrunched face and channeled her magic into it. To no one's surprise it began glowing with a silvery light. It glowed brighter and then formed a symbol. Raven filled in an empty spot on the registration form. "Upper third tier, mental," she declared. She then used her identity token to stamp the registration, officially making her a member of the Tower.
Britiana handed the stone to Delaney. Delaney channeled her magic into it. It began to cloud up with a black storm that swirled faster and faster. Soon a different symbol formed. ZsaZsa gasped. Raven raised her brows. "Upper fourth tier, darkness," she said, filling in the form and stamping it. She smiled depreciatingly. "I'm only in the middle fourth tier. You might end up taking my job," she said teasingly.
Delaney flushed slightly. "No, we're just coming to learn, not work," she said.
Raven chuckled. "Very well. Check your identity tokens. They should have been updated with the registrations," she said. "ZsaZsa, take your father an official request letter. Have him send as much Draconite you need," she said.
ZsaZsa confirmed and went to write the letter. It was necessary for the Tower's records. Britiana and Delaney, after checking their status as official mages of the Silvermoon Mage Tower, sat down with Raven to discuss refining the spell to suit their needs.
--
Starshadow
Sonja had a full breakfast with her children. They already knew she was pregnant again, so they didn't have to deal with that. "I haven't talked to her yet, but when the Grand Duchess has a welcoming banquet for her children, will you feel up to going?" she asked them.
Phaedra and Ophelia looked at each other. "If we're invited, we'll go. You're right that what happened shouldn't overshadow this momentous event," Phaedra answered.
Sonja didn't want to force them. "Are you both sure?" she asked. "You won't have to," she assured them.
The girls nodded. "We're sure," Ophelia answered.
"Very well, I'll arrange new clothes for everyone," Sonja said.
"We can do that. We need something to focus on," Phaedra said.
Ophelia nodded.
Sonja smiled. "Okay. I'll leave it to you then," she said.
"Thanks, mom," they said together.
Sonja nodded. "You've been quiet," she told Roark.
Roark chuckled slightly. "I don't have an opinion on these things. I'll go along with whatever you decide," he said. His sisters shook their heads at him with disdain.
Sonja laughed. "All right. I need to meet Zane," she said, standing up from the table. They'd been finished eating for a while but were just chatting.
The three children nodded.
"I'll come back for lunch," she said. She put on her coat, which she'd draped over the back of her dining chair. They bid her farewell, and she stepped into the shadows.
She arrived at her office, checked in to see if there was anything urgent. She spent a few minutes sorting out her work. Most of what she did was read reports. She only got involved when things concerned her, or when her presence was requested.
After that, she left again and arrived at the morgue of the Healing Corps. Zane was already there waiting for her. "The mage will be here soon," he said.
She nodded. She wasn't expecting anything from this. They were just covering all their bases.
A mist seeped into the morgue and began taking the shape of a man. The mist solidified into a seemingly young man. He had slightly long chestnut brown hair pulled back at his nape, and brown eyes. He had pale skin and sharp cheekbones. He wore black and gray Mage robes. He bowed to the two. "Your Gray, Lord High Guard," he greeted and then presented his identity token. "I'm Brannoc Bystrika," he introduced himself.
Sonja and Zane nodded to him in greeting. They led him into an examination room where Healer Tomas was waiting for him. The body of Ludvig Shadowclaw was covered with a shimmery fabric that preserved his body. They didn't intend to unveil it.
"We need to see if there are any lingering magical effects," Zane instructed.
Mage Brannoc nodded. He was lower fourth tier, so he was confident he could sense any lingering spells. He approached the body. He pulled a crystal out of his sleeve. He held the crystal over the body and began chanting in a language they weren't familiar with. He shook his head. "What about the belongings?" he asked.
Healer Tomas showed him a pile of items that had been examined. It wasn't much, just a rough set of clothes. Brannoc held the crystal over the clothes and chanted again. There was no reaction. When he was done, he put the crystal away.
"I can find no evidence that magic was used on or near this person at the time of his death," he said. He didn't know who this person was, and he knew not to ask.
Sonja nodded slightly. "Thank you. You may go," she said.
Brannoc bowed to them. He then turned and left the exam room.
"Have you found anything?" Zane asked Healer Tomas without missing a beat.
Healer Tomas shook his head. "I apologize, my lord. There's nothing unusual about this clothing. I confirmed he died due to asphyxiation, but there's no evidence of smothering or choking," he explained. "I'll send a detailed report to both of you, but I have no choice to rule his death as natural causes," he reported.
"Thank you for your service. You can dispose of the belongings. I'll fetch his body when it's time for his funeral," Sonja said coldly.
Tomas bowed.
Sonja walked out. Zane followed her. "You're not planning to have a funeral soon?" he asked.
"I don't want to steal Chrystianna's thunder. Not because of the person who caused her to send her children away to start with," she said. "The girls agreed. He can wait," she said. She paused. "Make sure his sisters don't cause a ruckus until it's officially announced," she said.
Zane nodded. "I'll keep a close eye on them," he said. He had already dispatched people to investigate the Shadowclaw Clan. Sonja had already told him Ludvig's convoluted "reason". It didn't seem like his sisters had anything to do with it, but he would not rule it out yet.
Sonja nodded. "You are in charge. Just keep me updated," she said. She really wanted to wash her hands of Ludvig Shadowclaw. Once she buried him, she was done. She didn't believe he was behind everything, but without any evidence, the trail seemed to be stopped there.
Without speaking again, she stepped into the shadows and went to catch up on work before having lunch with her children.
--
Silvermoon
Chrystianna was in her study with Elias and going through a guest list for the banquet she intended to have. It was a pretty basic list. Not large because she didn't want to overwhelm Darius and Britiana. The members of the Dracosenati, the Conclave of Scales, and a few important people from Silvermoon and Silubra at large that they'll eventually have to start dealing with.
They were also announcing their marriage, so she looked at Elias. "Are there any old friends you want to invite? I remember you were very popular in school," she said, glancing at him.
Elias was reading reports that were sent to her desk as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He thought about it. He did have a little group of friends when he was younger, but he hadn't really thought about his school days in nearly a century. Except for Chrystianna. He thought about her all the time.
He listed a few names. Chrystianna thought about it and informed him of some of their current statuses. Elias nodded. "Then invite them. It would be good to catch up," he agreed. He wasn't used to having the time to actually have a conversation with old friends.
He was used to the people he was raised with. They didn't stay in place for very long and often moved on. The elder Dragons who'd left with them had already been infected with the Plague died not long after they left and only the non-Dragons who'd managed to learn void skills, were left to wrangle nearly a dozen Dragon kids.
Chrystianna noticed his pensive silence. She reached out and took his hand. "Just come home if it's hard. The Voidstalker can bring everyone home. When you're all stronger, it's not too late to complete the mission. By then, everyone will be stronger, and more people can help," she said, somewhat hopefully, somewhat selfishly.
Elias linked their fingers and brought her hand to his lips. He kissed each finger and brushed the back of his with her thumb. "I can't promise. It's a decision we'll all have to make," he said with a slight smile. "But I'd like nothing better than to come home to you and our children. Wife," he added the last word in a low sexy tone. He kissed her hand again.
Chrystianna flushed slightly. "Behave," she admonished lightly but didn't attempt to pull her hand away.
Elias chuckled lightly. He kissed her hand again but let her go. She took her hand back. "Just wait a bit," she whispered. She jotted the new names on the list. Then she took out five pieces of specialized paper and wrote personalized letters to Sonja Starshadow, Elektra Sunfyre, Isolde Wyntercrest, and Avalon Treestar. She wanted them to come a day early, so that they could attend a small ceremony the morning before the banquet.
The last letter for was Belana Mysticmoon, the High Priestess of the Mystic Temple of the Sisters of the Moons. Traditionally, the High Priestess would oversee the wedding of the Grand Duchess in a grand manner, but she would also do so in a small manner if asked. Although not bosom friends, she and Belana were friendly. She'd also be one of the guests. If she couldn't oversee the ceremony, then she'd still send a high-ranking Priestess.
She finished up the letters, put them in envelopes. "I'll have Xolani send these and handle the other invitations," she said, referring to her executive assistant. "Let's go on a date. The kids are busy, and there's nothing pressing. You haven't seen Silvermoon since you left," she said.
Elias smiled at her. "Let's do that," he agreed.
Chrystianna beamed. She turned over the execution of her plans to Xolani. Xolani D'a'Kar wasn't a native of Emphyralis, nor a refugee. She was an alien with large black eyes, greenish-gray skin, black hair, and short, slightly fuzzy antennae growing from her forehead. Emphyralis used to trade with her people. Her family emigrated as merchants and had been here for generations. She was calm, cool, and efficient. She only needed to sleep for sixteen hours every seven days, so she tended to do a lot of work.
Chrystianna was very generous with her compensation. She also trusted her very much. After leaving her instructions, Chrystianna and Elias left the office. They decided to fly, so they went to a balcony at the end of the corridor. They jumped into the sky and transformed as they went. Elias had a large, lithe Amethyst Dragon form. His eyes remained two different colors. He wasn't much larger than her. They flew over the city, observing its changes and playfully flying through the air.
Watching the hustle and bustle below, they felt emotions well inside them. They both remembered when there was so much...more. Still, for Chrystianna it was better than it had been not long ago. She shook off her melancholic mood. She tilted slightly and buzzed past him. He chuckled and chased after her. In technical terms, they were still very young Dragons, and rarely got to act like it. So, they played in the air for a while before landing and having a lunch date in a quiet restaurant.