The next few weeks are spent getting the tower's affairs in order, as well as earning additional money for what they feel will await them going forward. As such, the two witches keep traveling from marketplace to marketplace, peddling alcohol and metallic implements respectively, and buying items such as beds, bedding, an outhouse and so on.

Also, Seloniel has tweaked her bread recipe so that baking it with a magical fire would make the hangover of anyone eating it cure faster. Which, for Janick, is critical.

Especially with the news of the electricity-stealing dragon spreading, but slower and slower the further one gets away from what was its lair, business for magical wine and metal implements grows, and some barge operators even buy some amount of magical wine or spare parts when they stop by the tower on the river. Which, on top of the usual marketplace sales, net the pair some money.

And, when a messenger hired by the Order of Magic arrives that day, by besom, the wizard knocks on the tower's door:

"Open up! I came bearing a message from the Order of Magic!" the messenger shouts across the tower.

"Order of Magic? What exactly is the Order of Magic? What did I do to get contacted by the Order?" Janick asks the messenger.

"Janick and Seloniel, for your bravery in the fight against the electricity-stealing dragon, you are cordially invited to your induction ceremony among the Order of Magic"

The Order of Magic was not something I actually dreamed of, I only dreamed of using magic to live a more adventurous lifestyle than merely cooking and serving drinks at a roadside inn; however, I wonder if induction into the Order of Magic comes with knighthood and hence nobility, Janick starts wondering whether this is even real. At the same time, she realizes that a few months have changed her life forever, and Seloniel's, too. But at the same time, this quest made her feel more distant from all other air superiority wizards at their lord's service.

"While we're honored to be inducted into the Order of Magic, we have some questions about the rights and responsibilities of being part of the order" Janick comments on the message and instructions delivered.

"To be frank, I'm not even sure if the Order of Magic is even real. However, I acknowledge in full that we accomplished a lot for the realm" a skeptical Seloniel wonders whether the messenger would even use a fake order of chivalry or merit to kidnap someone.

"While it's possible that the Order contains some of the realm's greatest wizards of all types, I wonder what are the responsibilities of being part of the Order of Magic" Janick asks the messenger.

"Being part of the Order of Magic comes with, as with regular knighthood, the following..." the messenger then lists duty to the realm, maintaining order in one's region, and all other core duties of chivalry that aren't tied to authority over a fief. "However, for duty purposes, you don't owe forty days of service per year in service to your local lord; rather, you owe these forty days to the Order"

"We'll need to notify our local lord first" Janick informs the Order's messenger.

And then trigger the succession plan, Janick muses before riding the carpet to the lord's castle. Commoners wishing to become nobles could gain nobility by either rising to certain positions in government, proving one's prowess in battle or marrying into nobility. For women, the second route pretty much required magical prowess; levies systematically took men if the household had no magic-users of fighting age.

Upon arriving at the lord's castle later that day, the pair request an audience with him. Which is promptly granted.

"My lord, it appears the Order of Magic has issued invitations for both Seloniel and I to join their ranks. Joining the Order of Magic appears to be incompatible with service to Your Lordship as mere air superiority witches" Janick opens the audience. "We request permission to join"

"If you can no longer assume command of the local air superiority wizard company, who would you designate in your place?" the lord asks her.

A company that, these days, barely numbers 20, and has always been rather diminutive. And could never appear to deploy more than a certain number at a time on patrol when levies aren't called up.

"I'd say the electricity wizard; his loyalty is unquestionable, as is his prowess in battle. I confess that I haven't been as present in patrolling the area's skies as I would have liked since I was busy raising funds to pay off my predecessor's debts and kill the electricity-stealing dragon. On the other hand, the electricity wizard will be able to maintain discipline" Janick harangues her lord.

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"At the same time, there's more to unit leadership than maintaining discipline, loyalty and magical prowess" Seloniel adds a caveat. "His strategic prowess is unproven at best!"

"You must understand that service to the Order of Magic will not exempt you from taxation here, if you choose to keep living in the electricity-stealing dragon's lair" the lord warns them. "However, you might marry someone far away from here if you join"

And this is not to be taken lightly. Sure, our marriage prospects have improved with our deeds, and possibly the Order of Magic, but it depends on the feudal rank of the suitors, as well as their ability to use magic. Non-wizard nobles are usually more reluctant to marry witches of common birth than wizards are, Janick still thinks of the long-term implications of asking her lord for permission to join the Order of Magic. And that she might not necessarily marry someone from an area close enough to the toll station to be able to reside there. Nor would Seloniel.

"One more thing: I trust you understand the financial, or rather, logistical implications of Order of Magic membership. You will be expected to use the same gear as non-magical knights in battle, except maybe for a charger" their lord warns them.

"Not a problem: I can supply both Janick and myself with plate armor as well as the necessary weapons" Seloniel responds, confident in her ability to use fire magic for making the required gear.

Shoot! I gave my halberd away to Sulivac, I am going to need a new non-magical weapon! However, I am ok with that because airborne battles are rarely fought at melee range, and ASWs don't charge like non-magical knights, so I can live with just an arming sword, Janick seems to be expecting the induction ceremony to be much like dubbing a non-magical knight. However, while life among the nobility is more comfortable in some respects, I am not sure if it's really just about questing and living the high life between quests, or even intrigue.

"It's a big loss for us, but at the same time a great honor" the lord lets the cold hard truth sink in.

"Please excuse the stupidity of this question about Sulivac and Ucry: what happens to them now that they won the battle against the electricity-stealing dragon?" Janick asks him.

"They will be cleared of any criminal charges, as is customary for the winner when sentenced to a fight to the death against a monster" the lord rules on their case. "I accept that you join the Order of Magic"

Upon leaving the castle, the pair revisits the instructions given by the Order of Magic for the induction ceremony. Time and place, and what needs to be done when. So while magic has come to be accepted as normal among the population, the magic-using world knows that they must respect, and earn respect from, the non-magic-using world to survive, Seloniel reflects on why they are made to pray for a night like non-magic-using squires prior to being dubbed knights.

As soon as they leave the castle, they fly off to the headquarters of the Order of Magic, in some distant palace. To get there, they fly above the roads and land when they find crossroads to ask for directions. But even the locals don't seem to be of much help. They get lost more than once trying to get to the palace, especially since they never traveled that far away from their home villages in their lives.

"I guess, our magic doesn't make mental maps for us..." Seloniel sighs, before asking traveling merchants for directions to the headquarters of the Order of Magic at a marketplace where Janick is busy peddling magical wine.

"A discount is available for anyone who can provide directions to the headquarters of the Order of Magic!" Janick hollers, in hopes that a customer could get them the directions they seek.

The cold, hard truth hits the alcohol peddler like a tun of wine: most of her customers never dealt with the Order of Magic. However, it appears that a knight, dressed in finery, is willing to buy three gallons of her magical wine.

"How do we get to the headquarters of the Order of Magic?" Janick asks the knight while the knight fills his keg.

"Ertzheir Palace? Continue on the road due east until you get to the next crossroads, where you turn left. You'll probably feel greater concentration of magic the closer you get to the palace" the knight explains to them.

"How far down the left fork should we go down then?" Seloniel asks him.

"A few hours on a broomstick, maybe a day on horseback"

"Thank you, and three gallons are then seventy-five gold" Janick tells him the price he's paying.

When their day on the marketplace ends, the pair of witches resume flying to the HQ of the Order of Magic that they now know under the name of Ertzheir Palace. Janick ends up having sold, well, tuns of magical wine, worth several thousand gold each, and lies on the flying carpet, with her BC clearly posing a problem at this point.

Upon arriving at Ertzheir Palace, in the dead of night, the sentries of the palace let the pair in, and they are brought into the chapel so they can pray at its altar for the night. As is customary for new inductees into the Order of Magic.

When, at dawn, the ceremony proper begins, with some of the greatest names in the magic-using world, as well as magic-using lords and their retinues in attendance, the Order's elderly grandmaster has the two witches kneel before him. As he draws his sword, with other wizards standing by to give these two witches the regalia of the Order:

"In the name of the Order of Magic, in recognition of your magical deeds, I, the Grandmaster of the Order of Magic, dub thee, Janick and Seloniel, knights of the Order of Magic!" the grandmaster then hits the two witches' shoulders with the flat side of the sword, while a platter containing two necklaces and two swords is then brought to him. "Rise!" he tells the two witches as the regalia of the order are handed over to them.

Now that's a day I shall never forget! No more than I could forget the day the electricity-stealing dragon died... Janick keeps to herself, while wearing the Order of Magic's necklace.

"Now that you're members of the Order of Magic, you're recognized among the greatest wizards in the realm" the Grandmaster then hands the two witches their black mantles of the Order, which they wear for the first time.