Two Adepts arguing was a disaster, a literal disaster, waiting to happen. Two Adepts arguing while a crowd watched, in the middle of a ten thousand-year-old mansion, perhaps the oldest known heritage of humanity? Nathan had no words for how bad it was.

Oh, the crowd had no idea it was even bad. And it was true, to a point. The two were just arguing. Mana hadn't even been called upon. But there was something they did not know about Adepts. An Adept did not need surrounding mana. Oh, they could command it well enough.

But Adepts fought using their cores, first and foremost. The two of them could launch into battle faster than he could react, and certainly faster than he could call on the palace's defenses to stop them.

"Lord Aer." Nathan interrupted. "If I could trouble you to please step into-"

"Silence, child. I must put this ridiculous elf in her place. Corals are peaceful! To think your understanding of nature has fallen so far." the Aer grunted.

The Princess huffed, and continued. "What- our understanding of nature has fallen far! Just who are you to question our understanding of nature? Elder Bel was of the line of nature itself! I assure you that he understood-"

"The line of nature!" the Aer started laughing, in a distinctly mocking manner that did not please the Princess. Not at all. "A mere failed mimicry of Lord Vader's descendants. The more you speak, the more you show your incompetence, foolish elf."

The Princess' nostrils flared, as if she were about to blow fire. Nathan had no idea what her power was, but he knew that it would be very, very bad if she lost control now. The Aer would not stop egging her on. So he had to go calm the Princess instead.

"I-if it would please your majesty, would you like a cup of tea?" Nathan tried to mimic the Countess, putting a smile on his face as he looked at her, hoping she would understand his words.

The Princess turned towards him, far too quickly, as mana churned. Not at all like it was about to burst. Or turn into a thousand blades. No, no, that could not happen.

Nathan silenced his inner sarcasm as he met the Princess' eyes, pleading. There was a pause, a stillness in the air as the crowd wisely dispersed.

"Perhaps that would be wise." the Princess said as she walked away, throwing one angry glance at the Aer. An Aer that thankfully did not make things worse.

"If it would please you, your lordship, I will lead you to the seed bank." Nathan said.

The Aer put on a friendly smile, as if the previous encounter had not happened. "That would be quite pleasing indeed."

Nathan nodded to the Steward, and the two of them walked into the elevator. Steward Ven powered it, looking at the Aer warily. Nathan wondered why for a second, and then nearly slapped his head as he realized his foolishness.

The Steward was expending ridiculous amounts of mana to power the lift, and that would leave him weak to attacks. The Aer, of course, did not try anything. Nathan could count the times the Aer had attacked on one hand. And it was always in self-defense.

The Aer had only warred once that he knew of. An Elven royal had taken one of their kind as prisoner and demanded a relic as ransom. The other nations had refused to make deals for the Aer's rescue.

So, the Aer had taken it upon themselves. The entire kingdom ceased to exist within twenty-four hours of the Aer being taken hostage. Whether that meant the royal family dying, or the entire kingdom being killed to the last person, Nathan had no idea. The record was three thousand years old and had been conveyed to him second hand by the Emperor.

The elevator reached its destination, and he stepped onto a floor he had not before. A floor with far too much dust. The Steward waved a hand and the dust was blown away, forming a small dust storm as it rolled out of the palace and towards the sky.

"I do apologize for the dust. There was no time for-" the Steward began.

"Yes, yes, you are excused." The Aer continued walking, ignoring them as he observed the walls. Nathan took a few seconds to realize what he was doing. The Steward far less. Mana surged, wind gusting about as the Aer was thrown away from the walls.

"Please stop analyzing the palace's defenses. This is your last warning." the Steward stated.

"I was not - oh fine." the Aer shook his head, and then said, in a voice that he probably thought inaudible, "-bloody sensitive idiots."

Nathan ignored it. The seed bank was near enough, and practically glowing with mana. Nathan had not seen the vault, but the bank lost more mana than he used in a month. Mana was swirling in strange symbols, strange circular formations that hold meaning...somehow. There was much here that did not make sense if you knew anything about mana theory. The more you knew, the less it made sense. There was only one thing it could be.

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The lost art of formations.

There was no other way that a place could hold and use so much mana. Even Adept class spells used a fraction of it. Heck, the bank had stood for thousands of years, if not longer. There had to be...so much mana in there.

Nathan stepped towards it, placing his hand on it as he connected to the vault's mana. Or he tried to. The vault actually rejected him. That was not how it was supposed to go. Mana did not reject-well it did in some cases, but that was rare. And...this had to be a formation.

"I am regent of this land. I bid you to open." he said, remembering the words Pulsie had told him, and the bank obeyed. The aged bronze doors, unrusted and sturdy enough to pass as brand new, slid open. A fraction, just enough to let them in, but not anymore.

"The bank is wary of you." the Aer stated with raised eyebrows. Even he could see the mirth in the horned bastard's tone.

Nathan just gave him a smile in response. "If you would follow me."

The Aer shook his head, alternating between coughing and downright laughing. What did he find funny now?

"Oh my, how you forget. The bank will not allow me inside. The paranoia of the honored guardians is matched only by my wayward cousins'" the Adept said, in the vague and unhelpful manner he had grown accustomed to hearing from people that wanted to sound important.

Nathan understood half of that, if he was being generous. Honored guardians? Wayward cousins? The Aer spoke in riddles, and it irritated him

"Then I shall retrieve them myself," he said. The Aer simply looked at him.

"Do you know where the seeds are kept?"

Nathan paused. The Steward stiffened. Where the seeds were kept might not be known to him. But it had to be obvious, right? The Druids of old wouldn't have forgotten to mark things?

Nathan stepped in, hoping that the Druids had the common sense to make things' location obvious in their ancient treasuries.

"Do try not to use your magic inside, young Fae. The guardians warred with the traitorous tenders often enough to warrant safeguards."

Nathan gulped as he stepped into the bank. Yes, this totally wasn't a bad idea. After all, he was half human. And the Law family had been allies of the Druids.

Now, if only he knew how the heck that bloody manual worked. Just his luck that he got stuck with the one manual that needed a training manual of its own.

sc

In a dark room somewhere, a man sat, looking at his paperwork, quite like a particular half-fae been. But on his face sat not boredom, but a smile. A hungry smile that did not look pleasant even to his closest followers.

Thankfully for him, he wasn't known for hungry smiles. For killing people in cold blood? Yes. Smiling? No.

Serustor had long ago learned that when the Master smiled, somewhere a few thousand people were crying. Or dead. Or both.

The Master continued smiling. A page turned. Serustor watched, with interest, and plenty of fear. The Master had bid him to wait, and he dared not move a muscle. Or breathe That had gotten his predecessor killed. The Master regarded breathing with great distaste.

The page turned again. The Master frowned, his brows crinkling as he stared at the page.

Serustor felt his chest constrict, feeling claustrophobic as the Master began growling lightly. Not because he wasn't breathing, at his level, he did not need to. This was the Master's power. A power that he had not seen any others wield before. A power that did not belong to this world.

"Page 6, paragraph 3. Verify it." the Master commanded.

Serustor scrambled, remembering what was page 6, paragraph three contained. Page 6- the Hidden Land report. Paragraph six-second paragraph of unusual occurrences. The Air trees debacle.

The darkness around Serustor flexed as he expanded his will, turning into light as information was transferred. The answer came near instantaneously.

"The agent was unable to control the great Master's power, causing him to go slightly insane." Serustor answered.

"The reactions were unusual. The artifact should have ensured against discovery, even with the protector’s presence." the Master said. "Explain."

Serustor paused. For this, he had no explanation. The Master's kind were creatures of light and darkness, switching between the two with ease that bellied their superior natures. How was he to know how their powers affected inferior creatures like him?

But not answering was a crime worthy of death. So he tried.

"The presence of the outworlder is the most probably cause, Master."

"Hmm." the Master did not answer, flipping a page as he read it. A smile appeared on his face.

A cheek stretching smile, stretching beyond the limits of the inferior humanoid form his Master appears in for convenience. So long it was that the Master's eyes rose from their sockets, stretching out of his head as his slips stretched into his forehead and further, until they were touching his hair.

A few moments later, they returned to their previous position, and Serustor could breathe again.

"The outworlder grows arrogant." the Master stated. "Of course. How predictable of your inferior kind. This will do well. Oh yes, it will do well indeed."

Serustor stirred, despite himself. Was the Master finally going to act against their great opponent? Were they finally going to prove his superiority to their inferior peers, spreading his wisdom across the lands?

Was it finally war?

The room was suddenly awash with light, the Master's form ceasing as he shifted into his other nature. A voice spoke into the room, making Serustor bend down, touching his forehead to the ground. The protocol for when Master’s kind contacted him was the first thing they were taught. But he had not heard of anyone actually witnessing such an event.

To think he was the first. The sheer honor made him shudder.

“The Aer trees have been healed. The humans are now aware of us. The bloody tree has interfered again. How do you explain yourself?” The voice asked.

Serustor’s brows furrowed in confusion. What were they talking about? What tree?

“I- Please forgive me, Captain. I was not aware of any more movement-” the Master paused.

Serustor had no idea what happened, for he dared not raise his head. The only thing he heard was a scream. A scream that tore the room and made his body shake. A scream that lasted for over a minute.

"Prepare plans three, seven and fifteen. Execute simultaneously. Ensure fulfillment."

“Ye-yes Captain. At once, Captain.” the Master said. For once, Serustor heard a shudder in his Master’s voice. Then the light turned to him.

“Oh, you heard that.”

Serustor looked up with fear, realizing what was about to happen.

“Please forgive me, Master. I did not mean to witness such a-”

A scream tore through him as Master extended his body forward, light tearing through Serustor’s body as his cells began to fray. Before his eyes, he saw his body disassemble.

And then he died.