My mother left in a hurry after hugging me half to death. She didn't even eat lunch before she stormed off into the sky like a raging ball of fire. I was bored half to death watching Mr. Keller do more paperwork, but the uncertainty surrounding my mother's absence ate away at me more and more. I needed a good distraction.

Knock! Knock!

"Vice Tower Master! A Royal Winds Hawk arrived with a sealed parchment!"

Mr. Keller's expression grew serious as he yelled, "Come in!"

The messenger, I recognized as Mr. Pinky. He looked at me sitting on Mr. Keller's couch and immediately frowned. He looked as though he saw a ghost as he quickly made his way back to the doorway in anticipation of leaving.

Mr. Keller read through the parchment slowly before rolling it back up and placing it inside his desk. He looked at Pinky and said, "Lindt, I have an assignment for you."

Mr. Pink's eyes grew serious as he placed his arm to his chest and replied, "I'm prepared for anything, Vice Tower Master!"

Mr. Keller nodded his head, "I need someone to watch, Darius, while I go to the Capital."

I've never seen anyone deflate as fast as Mr. Pink. His face looked like he ate; the sourest fruit on the planet. "V-Vice Tower Master?"

"It should only be for a day at most. The Tower Master and his wife might even get here in the next few hours, so it shouldn't be for long."

I didn't like the idea of being passed around like luggage. I almost protested the decision, but when he mentioned my parents could be back in a few hours, something inside urged me to stay. "Uncle Keller, I would rather go with you than be stuck at the Tower, but if I have to stay, I guess Mr. Pink's alright." I looked the pink-haired mage in the eyes, and he paled even more than before.

Mr. Keller nodded and said, "I'm glad you get along so well. I'd take you with me, Darius, but your parents should be back soon. Make sure you listen to Sir Lindt and do as he says. You don't want to make your mom mad."

"I-I what." Mr. Pink honestly looked overjoyed.

I gave him the most innocent expression I could manage and smiled at him. He bit his lip. "Do you need an e-escort, V-Vice Tower Master?"

"I didn't think about that. That's a good idea. I'll gather some knights and mages and have them go with me. We're dealing with a big player after all. Sir Lindt, please take good care of Darius in my absence. I look at the brat as if he's my nephew, so don't be afraid to get rough with him if he's out of line." He quickly exited the door and said, "You two take care."

Mr. Keller left, and it was only me and Pinky remaining.

I hoped my parents would get here soon.

Elaine's feet burned footprints into the ground with every step. Her speed of travel was unmatched in Elion, even by her husband. It only took a few hours before she made it to the border and quickly passed it. Onlookers only saw a flash of Red light pass by before vanishing completely. "Idiot glasses! I'll be there soon."

Jamie Vallas entered Elion's war room and met with three men. A knight stood behind the King, and in the seat to his right was a Red Tower mage. Looking at the red insignia on his chest which displayed a red salamander, and five stars accompanying it evenly distributed on his chest, Jamie came to a realization. "You must be Lord Joseph Keller! It is an honor to meet you!" Joseph smiled, "It is an honor to meet the legendary Jamie Vallas as well."

Jamie clenched his muscles as he sensed that the man sitting across from him was similar to himself, and Jamie absolutely hated dealing with people like himself. Keeping a steady smile and expression, he looked at the King and asked, "Where is Princess Emily? Is she late for the meeting?"

Joseph responded lightly, "Princess Emily is exhausted. We will have a separate meeting with her after she has rested."

Jamie smiled at Joseph and said, "That's wonderful. Princess Emily was tired from traveling. Should we not wait for her later in the evening after she's well rested?"

Joseph matched Jamie's smile and replied, "Most of what will be discussed today won't require Princess Emily."

"Is that so."

"Jamie, we are a little curious. What, exactly, are you doing here?"

"I'm here, for the same reason I went to Lome, the Merchant's Republic, and Ayes. The same reason you are willing to negotiate with me. I'm here, Lord Keller, to stop Argon."

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Joseph placed his hand on his chin as he slowly formed his next question, "Do you have any plans on how to do so? Sir Jamie, we know you are reaching out to all of the different countries and powers, but do you have something in mind?"

"I do. A united front. Elion, Lome, and The Dil Republic. If we can assemble and work together, we have a good chance of routing Argon and possibly even turning this entire situation on its face."

"That's an interesting idea. A united stand against a common enemy is a well-known concept. It sounds great on paper, but Sir Jamie, it'll come down to leadership in the end. These types of things always come down to leadership. None of the powers want to give up control, and none of the powers; will willingly bow their heads to another. Even if it's our best chance at survival."

"Lord Keller, I have a solution for that."

"Enlighten us."

"We rally our own sides together and individually strike Argon at the same time. As long as we can all cause damage simultaneously at different points, then just like a sinking ship, Argon won't be able to fill all the holes before they sink. It just takes a united front within each of our powers, a target, and a time."

"It just takes is asking a lot. Sir Jamie, that would require trust, and unfortunately, none of the nations get along well enough or trust each other enough to listen. If you or Lome get greedy you could easily choose not to strike at all, and we get crushed by Argon. It would be killing two birds with one stone for you."

Jamie arched his brow and said, "That would be moronic. If we did that, it would be hastening our own demise! Once one of our nations falls the others will follow like cascading dominoes as Argon focuses its forces!"

"Lome. Lome is well known for one thing right now. Their King. He is incompetent, evil, and an idiot. The Blue Tower Master is missing, so Lome is barely holding on. I assume the only reason they haven't been conquered yet, is entirely built upon your help."

"That is why I'm enticing Lome's King with honey. To lead a fox into battle you must use logic, but to lead a pig into battle all you need is food. I need you and Ayes to join me. It's the reason I interfered and saved the Princess, and it's the reason I'm here to talk with you today."

Joseph laughed, "Haha! To lead a fox use logic! I thought the saying was 'To catch a fox and you must offer your back, and surely you gain his knife!' "

"I won't pretend to have your best interests in mind, but right now, as Argon's flames grow closer and closer your best interest is currently aligned with mine."

Joseph took a breath before continuing, "Very well, Sir Jamie. Then the first thing we should negotiate is Ayes. This is all a non-starter if Ayes falls."

Jamie frowned as he said, "That's exactly why the Princess should have been involved in the meeting."

"She will but right now we need to make some decisions before attempting to manipulate the naive and gullible Princess of Ayes."

Jamie narrowed his eyes.

COUGH! COUGH! King James finally spoke, "That's enough of the verbal sparring. It's time we get to the substance of the meeting. No more banter, no more cockery, just planning. We all came together under the premise that we could be allies. Let's start acting like it."

Joseph bowed his head and said, "Of course, Your Majesty."

Jamie quickly followed suit. The negotiations had only just begun.

Darien had crossed the border of Elion with the men and women of Elion. The escaped prisoners collapsed just ten miles past the border, unable to move a single step further. Some were worse off than others, tired from the long journey with broken and battered bodies. The Red Tower Master had recovered more than half of his mana in the few hours it took to cross the border. He yelled, "Everyone rest! We leave in four hours! Until then sleep, eat, and rest your bodies! I'll stand guard so don't fret about any danger and relax."

"Yes! Tower Master!"

As the group was resting, Darien sat by a tree stump as he stretched his muscles. As he watched the sky, something flashed by like a flaming red comet. It traveled so fast he would have sworn it was a shooting star, but realization quickly dawned on him. He recognized the specific trail the shooting star had left in its wake. He shouted, "Shit! It's Elaine! She's too damn impatient!"

Elaine made her way past her husband and deep into the Ayes forest. She flew around for an hour scanning every inch of the forest before settling on a tree. "Where is he? I see some smoke in the distance. Is he there? I could definitely see Darien causing a mess that big." Before she could investigate the smoky debris in the distance, she bumped into someone.

"Red hair? Could you be the Red Lion? Interesting, I thought the Lizard came alone."

Zephaias had been scanning the skies looking for the Red Tower Master and thought he had caught sight of him. Instead, he ran into Elaine. "My intel says you are the Lizard's wife. I wonder how the Lizard will react if his wife's head is stabbed through a pike and placed at his front door?"

Elaine didn't even react much as she looked the Stormbringer in the eyes, "I didn't know Argon hired cripples, Limpbringer. I guess they are desperate if they are trying to attack the whole damn continent; at the same time, so I'll only ask you once. Where is my husband?"

Zephaias giggled as he answered, "Oh, so you don't know? He was overconfident. Two Tower Masters lied in wait for his attack and killed him as soon as he showed up. He put up quite the fight. The Lizard left the Black Tower Master half-dead, but he couldn't take on two Tower Masters. He's dead."

Elaine saw red. Ba-bump. She knew deep down that logically what he said didn't make any sense, but she had almost lost her husband only a year ago. Ba-bump. It was still fresh on her mind. Not knowing whether he was alive or dead for over a week. Ba-bump. Seeing him come home with heavy bandages covering both of his hands. Ba-bump.

Rage blinded her.

"I call upon the spirit of fire! Flames of wrath and destruction cover me in your mighty fire! Blaze forth with fury! Armor of Asteroth!"

Hot red flames covered Elaine from head to toe. She had already used a large portion of her mana to travel at the speed she had. She only had enough mana for two 4th Circle spells, and she had forcibly cast a 5th Circle spell with her remaining mana. The spell was only as strong, as the mana, she put into it. That wasn't the issue everyone would cast spells beyond their limits otherwise. There was an incredible danger when you over cast a spell.

Her soul quaked and cracked under the pressure of the spell she had forcibly released. Zephaias started sweating when he saw what she had done, "Are you mad?!"

Elaine didn't respond any more as she flexed her mana all across her body. Her mana had hit absolute zero for the first time in her life, and it made her feel in touch with her surroundings. Her hearing was practically gone, as all she could hear was the thumping of her own heartbeat. Was this what it was like to cast 5th Circle magic? She felt invincible, if only for a second.

Elaine practically teleported as she flashed at Zephaias in the sky. One of the three fastest mages in Argon was unable to react as Elaine pounced on him. "Wind Barrier!" He desperately cast a defensive spell, but it was already too late. Her fist was already past the spell's defensive structure as it landed on his chest with a sickening crunch. "OHHGGG!" He shot through the air like a popped balloon as he flew through the sky. Cough! Blood came pouring out his mouth as he somehow used his velocity to hasten his escape. Zephaias barely maintained consciousness as he cast a Wind Tunnel spell to help guide his descent toward a certain direction. He just hoped he'd survive the impact.

Elaine's eyes and ears had started bleeding. She had only activated the spell for a few seconds, but she was already feeling the effects. Everything around her grew blurry as her consciousness started waning. Armor of Asteroth flickered on and off like a burned-out candle. Suddenly she felt the force of gravity as she started falling from the sky.

"Elaine! What the hell are you doing!"

She thought she was hallucinating as she heard a voice from the forest, "Darien?" As she fell toward the earth below, her husband quickly sped up as a trail of flames followed him and caught her before she could hit the ground. "What did you do this time?"

Elaine lay unconscious in his arms, smiling. Darien now had a different problem to worry about. He turned around without any hesitation and made his way back to the group he was leading. Without a pause, second thought, or grimace, he took out the same bottle he had used on Caspian. Darien poured its contents down Elaine's throat. She coughed a bit, but her pained expression quickly settled. Darien shook his head before looking at his wife, "My wife, my son, my family... they are all too... crazy." Not realizing that he himself was guilty of the same behavior, Darien hurried back.

Argon would soon begin developing a hatred for the Northwood family.