Author's note: Yay, editing & posting day. Should be at least ten chapters today.
...Magelord...
The Iron Curtain shook as a pair of tugs attached to our fore and aft, guiding us into the docking arm of Central Command. In addition to the tugs that’d grabbed hold of us, there were several other small airships flitting about. Most shared a similar squat shape that wasn’t remotely aerodynamic, but did offer them a lot of maneuverability.
The front tug obscured half of the observation window, but that left plenty of window to watch the process as they guided us in. Honestly, we didn’t need the guidance, not like most of the airships docked there. But those airships were built on a budget, not to be the best they could be.
Might’ve been a bit proud of the Iron Curtain, and the people who built it.
Not that it could compare to the grandest of our neighbors. To our right was a massive ship I was quite familiar with, just leaving its berth. Sidhe had informed the dual wedge shaped Dauntless was patrolling near Central Command, but I was still surprised to find it so close. Was surprised it’d returned so soon from its trip on the far side of the Front. I couldn’t help but wonder if its return was related to the sudden downturn in fighting within Terra Vista. Even if it hadn’t fired on anyone, I imagined it was a powerful demotivational tool.
Would those errant Bladesingers have declared the Final Refrain if the Dauntless hadn’t been so far away?
I didn’t have long to think about it, since we were soon secured in place. Instead of marvelling over engineering, I had another task to attend to. It was time to meet a bunch of elven politicians.
For some reason, I couldn’t muster up any enthusiasm for the prospect.
At least my robes were impeccable, since Calbern was with us. And Inertia’s large form was as reassuring as always.
We were all arrayed, ready to put on our best performance as the ship settled into place. Then Starbreaker strode past us without slowing, pushing through the rubber seal.
The rest of us followed, and I was reminded that for all the hassle they were imposing upon us, Aeternia was a minor player at best. A single functionary was waiting, standing to the side. They didn’t even have any guards. They might’ve intended it as an insult, but I took it to mean there wasn’t much chance of being arrested.
After refusing to address me by anything but Magus Dominus, the elderly functionary offerred his apologies for the apparent insult.
He explained there would be functionaries to serve as our point of contact throughout our stay, then led us out into the docking ring. His robes were a size too big, dragging on the floor as he led the way. The mismatch made me wonder how bad the logistics were. Seemed like a big mistake. It didn’t take long for me to realize all the functionaries had robes that were too big for them.
There was probably a story there. If Ari were with us, she’d probably know. Or get to the bottom of it.
I was more taken with the docking ring. Despite seeing it before, I didn’t get much chance to explore in the vision. Now I was able to appreciate how much trade passed through the area. Despite being the military command center of Terra Vista, it seemed the docking level we were on was entirely for civilian traffic. It was loud, disorganized, and surprisingly encouraging.
Instead of a meeting, the functionary showed us to our rooms, informing us we were free to visit the restaurants, parks and shops of the trade ring, but that he or another functionary needed to accompany us at all times.
“How long until we can get our meeting? I was under the impression we were expected.”
“I’m sorry, Magus Dominus, I’m afraid they don’t tell us such things.”
“Calbern, can you investigate while we… I don’t know. Is there anything either of you want to do?” I asked, directing the question towards Tresla and Inertia. The latter was inspecting something outside the suite with her telescopic vision extended while the former was standing beside her, arms folded in her sleeves.
“If it’s possible, Inertia would appreciate a tour of the airship drydocks,” Tresla said, nodding to the functionary.
He gave an exagerrated bow. “Of course. I’m afraid that only you and the Forgeborn will be permitted to do so, however.”
Tresla’s hood shifted in my direction. Before she could say anything, Inertia accepted his proposal, already striding towards the exit. Tresla gave a shake of her head before following, while Calbern went off with another functionary.
Which left me in our suite alone, as planned.
As Sidhe had told me to expect, a few minutes later, I received a summons to meet with Astralis. While he was the most active of the dragon-souled councilors, I couldn’t help but wonder if Valos or the mysterious third dragon-souled, the Shadow Councilor, might be there. How someone could be on the council while hiding their identity, I didn’t know, but as seemed to be somewhat normal for Dragon-souled, exceptions were made.
“The High Councilor, of course, extends this invitation to your allies as well, should they wish to join us. However, his time is limited, so they must make haste to do so.”
If Sidhe and Ari hadn’t taken turns explaining what to expect, I probably would’ve believed him. But it was Astralis’s habit to wait until his guests were alone to extend an invitation. Divide and conquer and all that.
I followed the latest functionary to the core of Central. As we ascended on an open-sided lift, I couldn’t help but admire the design of the place. It was like they’d taken a forest and laid it out vertically instead of horizontally around the central open shaft. Made the greenspace we had aboard the Iron Curtain seem almost plebeian.
Was hard not to be impressed, even if I’d seen it before through another’s eyes.
Eventually we reached the upper level. It was so private the lift didn’t even service any other levels, despite the fact I doubted a dragon-souled would use a lift very often. Maybe for appearances.
The ring itself was, in a word, gaudy. Over the top gold statues in lurid poses, gemstones the size of my head set on stands and rich red curtains and rugs all competed for attention. And of course, every inch of it was enchanted. The rug carried us along, the fibers lifting me the second I set foot upon them. It didn’t rush me, instead, taking me on a circuituous route that ensured I took in each and every piece of art on display.
At first, I didn’t get it. Then I recognized Felor. Then Valos entwined with Althon. Each of the statues was of one or more Dragon-souled.
Quite the statement, though not one I could guess at the subtleties of.
None of it told a story, other than maybe Dragon-souled liked to get busy? The only information on each was a date and location of each acquisition printed on little red and gold placards.
Given that I wasn’t a big fan of art in the first place, I suspected a lot of the grandeur was lost on me. The enchanting was interesting though. Most of it was bold and obvious, ‘do not touch the forbidden treasure’ level enchanting. Easy to spot and warn off any half-competent enchanter. There were traces of finer enchantments too, likely traps for those who believed the bold stuff was all there was.
I had to wonder if the same applied for the art itself. And the art’s patron, who the red rug was slowly carrying me towards.
Despite the complete lack of nature magic and hunting trophies, the conveyor carpet reminded me most of the way everything was set up outside Perth’s father’s office. Meant to instill certain feelings and preconceived notions. Something I knew was intentional. Sidhe’s notes had said as much. Not reassuring, having a Dragon-souled playing such games. Couldn’t even judge the functionary’s reaction, since the carpet had left him behind.
After nearly fifteen minutes, the rug ride finally came to an end. With a soft ‘fwoosh,’ it deposited me in front of a pair of oaken doors inlaid with gold. There were no door handles. In their place was a pair of red gems glowing from the inside, both carrying heavy layers of enchantment. It’d been hard to be certain, but I thought the carpet might’ve taken me halfway around the ring to the far side of Central.
A lot of room to waste in a structure I remembered as being highly optimized. Then again, if a bit of space was all it took to keep a Dragon-souled happy, it’d be worth the expense. Again, exceptions.
The carpet left me standing right outside the doors, but after several seconds they still hadn’t opened. Guessing it was time to knock, I stepped forward. I was close to the right move, since the door I knocked on swung forward a few inches under the light impact.
Pushing both doors open, keeping my hands well clear of the highly enchanted gems, I emerged into an office nearly as gaudy as the display hall, though with more functional tools withing. There was a map on one wall with pins in it, each of them adorned with an enchanted gem. On the other side was a panoramic view of north Terra Vista, including the Iron Curtain. A view that was slowly shifting to the left. Because of course the Dragon-souled’s ring was rotating.
The contents of the room were secondary to the elf sitting behind the desk. He was wearing a fluffy robe, dark red with white highlights. He had a matching set of stockings and the most impressive set of abs I’d seen outside a magazine. Wouldn’t have been surprised to find out he had an enchantment or spell to make them extra shiny.
His eyes and skin both matched the decor. While his skin was red with golden lines throughout, his eyes were the opposite, with just the barest pricks of crimson light escaping the pupils. The aura rolling off him likely would’ve brought me to my knees before my recent ascension. Considering what I remembered of Felor’s echo when she killed us in Conflict’s false trial, I suspected he was holding back.
The man stood up, a staff that matched the gold-inlaid oak of the door held in both hands as he stepped past a desk of similar make. “The new Magus Dominus. You’ve been making a surprising amount of noise for a reject shipped to the middle of nowhere. Did Althon know what he was doing, or did he just get lucky?”
Well, Astralis certainly didn’t beat around the bush. Waste my time but not his seemed to be the message.
When he didn’t continue, simply staring blankly, I shrugged. “No clue. Is that what you summoned me to ask?”
Astralis waved one gaudy hand in the air, while leaning heavily on the staff with the other. “Hardly. But it is interesting isn’t it? That the Deceiver sent such a seemingly weak asset to an equally worthless territory, only for you to cause so many disruptions. More than one of my old friends is rather annoyed with you.”
This time I held my peace.
He nodded before stepping back and leaning against his desk, hands clasped over the head of his staff. “Old man’s been taking more long shots lately. Guess some of them were bound to pay out.
“As for why I summoned you.” He leaned forward, flicking the staff up and pushing it against my chest. The sudden force caused me to take a step back before I caught myself. “You need to make this whole mess with Fores’thall go away. Kiss the ring, make a deal or kill off the matriarch, I don’t care. Just get it solved. It’s distracting the council when we have more important things to focus on.”
I tried not to flinch at how casually he’d instructed me to kill someone who was ostensibly his ally. “That’s why I’m here. If you’re offering your support…”
“Ha. No. I think not. However, I will make my tracker available for the duration of your stay. Incredibly capable, for a lizard. I suspect you will need one.”
“Thank you.” The words might’ve come out a bit stiffer than they should’ve. If there was one thing I was realizing since the pair of Djinn-souled showed up in Aeternia, it was that I was terribly out of my depth when it came to diplomacy. I’d been talking to the man for maybe three minutes and it felt like he’d gotten everything he wanted and I…
I wasn’t even sure what the point of our meeting was.
My retreat left me feeling smaller than I had in a long time. It was only as I got into the lift the sensation eased. Something about talking to Astralis reminded me of my old man. Not a great comparison. Whatever it was, it wasn’t something obvious I could point to.
Either way, I was looking forward to returning to Cape Aeternia.
Unfortunately, such wasn’t in the cards.
When I got back to my room, Starbreaker was waiting. “Ah. boy, you have returned. Good. I have made arrangements. It’s time to meet the Low Council.”