In the month that passed, Harlan still hadn’t told anyone about Redmond’s death.

“Look, look.”

Harlan peered up from the papers on his desk, reports from the various places in the former territory of Drang.

As a sort of punishment for his sudden desire to interfere with her take over of the nation she put him in charge of both the city nearest the border, Falin, and the ministers of that city.

She required that he look over all of the paperwork, saying that it was so he could see she wasn’t trying to interfere with how he wished to rule the one section of the country, but he was sure she knew he didn’t like paperwork and it would bore him to tears.

“Very good, touch spells are simple but powerful when used. Pinching the wick to light a candle is also a fun trick. But remember that-”

“Magic is now a toy, it is a tool, it is not good or bad and should be respected and sought for reasons.”

“Good, you have been listening.”

“I always listen to papa.”

Harlan ruffled his short hair and Darrath latched onto Harlan’s arm.

“Can we play now?”

“Maybe later, right now I need to contact Queen Karmine.”

“Can I meet her now?”

“I’ll ask, but you should go to grandma for now while I speak to the queen.”

“Ok.”

Harlan checked every time, and she never once answered in less than five minutes.

He overlooked all of her little power plays, considering it just a game she played because he was younger and weaker than her by a large margin.

“King Fomoria, however may I help today?”

“I’ve received a letter, three letters actually. The Mage Orders of Blue, Green, and White are all requesting a meeting with me.”

“Of my enemies, they are higher than most on my list. They believe the right to teach magic is theirs alone, that it is the mandate of the gods of mana that some are blessed to learn and some not.

The Empire uses them as teachers because of their zealotry.”

Harlan contacted her, just to make sure.

“My god says that they are idiots tricked by wizards into believing they are gods. Her tone tells me more than her words however. I will reject their requests.”

“Never answer back, rejecting would be a slight against them, but not getting a reply means they will just keep sending letters that you once again don’t reply to.”

“What would slighting them mean?”

“It has likely spread already that you are immortal, as a rumor if nothing else. So that means a century of them accosting anyone from your nation who travels to nations where they operate and the occasional assassin before they go back to the letters.”

“Very well, I’ll burn the letters and pretend I never got them until the end of time.”

“That is the best case. Now, onto business. I’ve confirmed that you’ve cured the prisoner of blood rage and after so long he has shown no signs of negative side effects.”

“Have you been waiting for me to call so you could bring that up?”

“I don’t call you, you call me.”

Harlan hung up.

After a few minutes she called back.

“Queen Karmine, however may I help today?”

“You will not do that again.”

“We agreed on respect between each other, I’ve done everything you’ve asked and more to ensure things go smoothly, and I’ve not asked for anything in return that doesn’t also aid you in some way.

If you can’t put aside that stupid pride long enough to call me and get help for your daughter then there is no room for a friendly relationship outside of business between us.”

He heard a loud cackling on the other end of the communicator.

“You are everything I’ve assumed you to be. Camilla feigns illness for just a moment and you act as her white knight. I insult you repeatedly, but you put that aside for weeks because of your desire for an alliance. And even in the end you still wish to exist as neutral allies to one another. Now I assume you are furious, that I would use my blood for such a charade, or that I would make you worry for so long about nothing.”

She heard no reply.

“Come now, surely you aren’t so upset you cannot speak?”

“Why? Why would you do that to me?”

“Because I needed to know what kind of man you are. Now I shall ask directly, why were you so determined to help my daughter?”

“Because I’m an idiot who can’t help himself.”

“I find the simplicity charming, and had I not seen the reports of you burning people to death while lifting them into the air or pushing them through gates and letting them hit the ground to strike fear into the other rioters, I might think that you are naive and foolish.”

“Instead you just think I’m foolish.”

“I would like to invite you to a dinner, bring your family, your advisors, whoever you decide should be there.”

“Of course. What time frame are you thinking?”

“I’ll have my people contact yours, but I have an opening next week.”

“Thank you, and goodbye.”

“Goodbye to you, and we shall see each other then.”

Three days later, a group Harlan actually didn’t mind seeing came to visit once again.

“Bartholomew, it is good to see you, I hope you’ve been well.”

He seemed confused and disarmed by the warm welcome.

“Uh, thank you, Harlan.”

“I will assume this isn’t a social visit?”

“No, I’ve heard back from the king, slavery isn’t going away, or being lessened. I’m sorry for the bad news.”

“Not a worry, I met with him some days ago and found that out already. Neither of us like being told what to do, and I can’t threaten or strongarm him just yet, so it’s fine. What are the chances of a coup where a new path king is put in charge?”

The group of Goliaths froze and uncomfortably coughed.

“Very unlikely at the moment. The only way for the king to change is from a duel, and I know of maybe three who could challenge Thrash.”

“Where are they?”

“They may or may not be in maximum security prisons.”

“Any idea where those prisons are or why they aren’t just dead?”

“If I said anything else, it would be undeniable treason.”

Harlan leaned forward and waved his hand in small circles.

Bartholomew leaned back and closed his eyes as he rubbed his temples.

“I may know the location of two of these prisons, but there is no certainty that those men are going to be there. And the reason they might still be alive is that these are hard to kill men, and there might simply be nobody available at the moment to do so, or they could be alive because someone thinks they can be turned still.”

“Great news then. I’ve always enjoyed the idea of breaking into a prison, even thought about it a few times, but I couldn’t find the prison I was looking for.”

“Is this room secure from outside surveillance?”

“I was good at not being found out back home, and magic in general seems differently done out here, mostly for the worse. I believe that I’m in the top of mages outside the veil and I’ve not seen anything to the contrary yet.”

“Very well, I will give you the locations, but I don’t wish to be involved with anything else. And of course if anyone asks I told you nothing.”

“Then we should have lunch, spend the day. It would give you something to tell whoever sent you, say I implied you should stay in a forceful manner and you had no choice.”

“That seems rather pleasant.”

They sat in the dining hall, the chairs were not large enough for them, but Harlan took them apart and used nature magic to grow the wood and enlarge them.

Hercul grabbed and shook the chair, testing its strength.

“I can assure you, if they can hold my weight, they can hold yours.”

“We are all over 800 pounds.”

“I’m closer to 2,000 without hover.”

Bart made them all sit down.

“You must understand, we cannot use magic, and we don’t put much stock in things made with magic.”

“I know a blacksmith, he is a powerful mage, but I didn’t know that until years after we met, and he still barely uses magic for anything but keeping his temperatures right. Now, I’ve also met blacksmiths who used their magic for everything, and they don’t hold a candle to the old man.”

Stolen story; please report.

“Ha, experience and technique will always trump a few spells.”

“Well, he is a couple of hundred years old, so he’s had time to learn.”

“Do your people normally live so long?”

“He’s human. from out here actually. He became the champion of water some time ago, so he’s immortal like I am.”

“Right, you’ve mentioned that champion… thing. Are you all part of the same organization?”

“Technically yes, but Calli, goddess of wind mana, doesn’t have a champion, I’m the first that The Darkness has had, Cecht, god of light mana’s champion, my great great great grandfather, is inside the veil. So that leaves Anu, god of earth mana, and her champion is somewhere out here but I’ve not met them yet, and Brigid, goddess of fire mana, but I’ve never heard much from her.”

“You have gods inside the veil and out?”

“There are what you might call gods, some powerful entities like Nemain, and then there are the gods of mana, who are actual gods.They were made by Aarde, who is the god of this world in its entirety.”

“Why don’t we talk about this more as we eat then, I do wonder about many things inside of the veil.”

Harlan felt great about having enough food and drink that he could do something like this without worrying, and the conversation mostly remained light as they ate.

“This has been nice, but I do wonder, why were you so happy to see me today?”

“You are a race of physically powerful people who are no less mentally developed than others. But I’ve heard more terrible things than not about the savage Goliaths, and I’ve spent much of my life being judged by what I am. And at your last visit you were kind and cordial, you tried to make peace.”

He seemed a little embarrassed by the praise.

“Well, thank you.”

“If we are past the pleasantries, why don’t we get into more serious business?”

“Yes, the prisons. I know of the Citadel and the Spire, both are very publicly known places, and then I know Site 4 and Site 7, which are hidden away. They can hold our strongest enemies, but actually executing them can take some time, some of those people can’t be killed by mundane weapons, and those that could need an experienced wielder. Do you have a map of Lith?”

“I could ask Queen Karmine if she has one.”

They froze.

“I think we should leave.”

“Why? I asked her and she said she only has a problem with old path Goliaths.”

“The Red Butcher is not someone I want to accidentally meet one day coming here.”

“I’m in an alliance with her, we’re civilizing Drang.”

“How?”

“I may have lost my temper and killed the nobility across the entire nation and then got her to agree to help me since I lack the administrators to get things done over there.”

“She agreed?”

“I just spoke with her earlier today and she seems committed to a relationship between our nations.

Is there something I should know about her? She was recommended to me by Mercedes.”

Harlan’s amulet lit up.

“Excuse me, I should take this.”

Under his veil he received the call.

“Well, what a coincidence, I was just thinking about you.”

“Why don’t I come over now? You could open a gate directly to the garden from where you are.”

“I have guests, and they are quite sure that you are intending to kill them or me. They haven’t said it, but they suddenly wanted to leave when I mentioned your name.”

“Redhaven was once Goliath land, but when I arrived I slaughtered them without regard and took over, making a place for humans to safely live. And then there are the kings who I killed because they attempted to force themselves on me or one of my citizens. And the expansion when I took over more territory.

But in the last 80 years I’ve not made any moves against them that were not defensive.”

“Good, I thought it would be something worth being upset over. Do you have a map of Lith? I’m planning to check out some prisons so I can find a new path Goliath to challenge the king to a duel and kill him.

Thrash isn’t going to work out for me and my policies on slavery.”

“I do have one, though it is a few hundred years old now, so you may look at it, but no writing.”

“Would I be allowed to copy the map?”

“Very well. And would you like to bring those guests here? They are welcome to come.”

“Then I will ask if they are willing to come over. Oh, do you have an opinion on my planned coup?”

“Your nation is between Lith and mine, it is hardly my problem.”

Harlan dropped the veil, the maids had decided to bring out alcohol to keep the Goliaths calm.

“Queen Karmine does have a map, but it is historical, so I’ll need to copy it down and then you can write on my map. She also said you are all welcome to come with me, see the map yourselves.”

All of them swirled their drinks and tapped on the table.

“I have a barrel of the king’s own whiskey, each of you is free to a glass of it.”

“Before or after we leave?”

“After we get back, I can’t have you misremembering the locations.”

Harlan got up from his seat and the others did too.

“Darrath, would you like to come as well?”

“Is the red lady nice?”

“Yes, but you need to be nice to her all the time. And that goes doubly for all of you, she’s killed kings for going after her people, and I’d do the same, so behave.”

The Goliaths just shrugged, it wasn’t that they couldn’t behave, it was that during the first meeting some of them didn’t respect Harlan’s strength, and that was no longer an issue.

When they came through the gate there were Gargoyles all around them, Carmilla was flanked by her guard captain and Camilla who wore light armor.

“It is nice to have guests.”

“And you've brought so many greeters.”

“Well, I have little faith in their kind.”

“These are my guests, and while I’ve not shared many words with the others, Bartholomew here is a good man, or so I currently believe.”

Harlan smiled and patted him on the arm.

“Then I shall send the others away.”

She twirled her finger and her forces went away.

“Come, the map is in the library with the others.”

“Lead the way, your majesty.”

Darrath didn’t like walking much, but he had been told not to fly or ride on Harlan when around guests.

He poked Harlan in the leg.

“Are we going to have fun?”

“I don’t know, but maybe I could show you around the city, there are nice people here.”

“Mercedes said they eat people.”

“Mercedes is wrong about them, vampires aren’t-”

“We aren’t monsters any more than you are. What is your name?”

Darrath clung to Harlan, quickly moving to the other side so he was away from her; his senses told him she was a predator.

“This is Darrath. My son.”

“My my my, and what is he?”

“A Pixie.”

He saw the look in her eyes.

“An Aardian Pixie, born here as a natural race.”

Her gaze softened and went back to him.

“Darrath, why are you going away from me?”

“Scary.”

She laughed, showing off her fangs, scaring everyone but Harlan.

“She is nice, vampires have always treated me better than humans. Don’t let what anyone else tells you make you think that you can judge an entire people as one.”

“Why not?”

“Because most of papa’s people are terrible monsters, but papa isn’t.”

“Can I meet them?”

“No, they aren’t out here, at least I don’t think they are.”

“Does papa have a family?”

Harlan’s gaze turned down the hall.

“Why don’t we talk about something else?”

Her library was certainly one befitting a queen who had been alive since the Old Reinoan Empire.

“I’ve never seen a library with its own restaurants and transports.”

“This is a public library, my people can find a book on every subject they could possibly want and even put some of it into practice.”

She was put off by the look in his eyes, she hadn’t seen lust on his face before now.

“Public, that is wonderful. The best way to uplift people is to give them the chance to learn.”

“Yet as one can bring a horse to water they cannot force it to drink. Were I to invite those from the former nation of Drang here, they’d just burn the paper for warmth in the winter. I also guard it quite closely. Nobody gets in or out without being checked in, and that includes all of you. Write your name in the log. Harlan, you may write Darrath in as his father.”

The Goliaths had to squint and brought their own pens which fit better in their oversized hands, but they wrote themselves in.

“Very nice penmanship. You are the leader, Bartholomew, right?”

“Yes, these are my clansmen. Thank you for your kind words, your majesty.”

He was little better than Darrath so far as fear, and she didn’t hold back her gaze or give it any warmth as she had for the boy.

Everyone could feel that she was keeping a very close eye on Harlan’s guests.

The citizens bowed to the queen and while it was clear they did not like the Goliaths, they were guests of her guest, and were tolerated.

It brought a smile to Harlan’s face to see so many people reading.

“May Darrath split from us?”

“So long as another will watch him.”

Before he could say he didn’t want to bother anyone she motioned to a random group of people, parents and their daughters.

“Your majesty?”

“Would you watch this boy for a short time?”

“Of course. Come, why don’t we find something for you to read?”

Harlan was hesitant, but unless they had gate, there was no way for them to get out before Harlan descended on them.

“We won’t be long, but you can go with these people and find something to read.”

Harlan didn’t necessarily intend to do so, but he gave a menacing look to the people.

“His name is Darrath, and he’s only a year or so old.”

“You don’t know his age?”

“There is a story, but not one you need to know.”

The people ushered him down the walls of books, asking questions about what he was interested in.

They reached the map room, each was framed between two panes of glass and stacked next to one another.

A worker looked at the tags and eventually pulled out a large map, Harlan used telekinesis to help her carry it.

“Dedra, bring a large sheet of paper and writing utensils for him.”

“Just the paper is fine.”

“Very well then.”

Harlan laid the sheet on the glass of the frame and shined a light from underneath.

With the image underlaid, Harlan used color magic to create a near perfect replica, though he did update it so it was more in line with the topographical maps of the kingdom, with proper colors to denote height instead of just darker and lighter.

Once he was done he rolled it up and tied it with a piece of string he grew using a piece of bark he kept in his pocket.

“Thank you very much for the map.”

Harlan thought that something was missing and splashed the string, coloring it red.

“A beautiful color.”

“I’ve been drawn towards some rather esoteric magic. I can also tan hides, dust fragile objects, and mash a potato in its own skin. I’ve been trying to quickly ferment foods for long term storage, as I knew of a boy who could turn juice into alcohol with a touch, but it’s harder than you would think.”

Bartholomew scratched his chin.

“That is a magic which would be the envy of any of my people.”

“There was once a time when I was quite interested in some things, but as a ruler you would be better served having your mages research these things while you simply accrue power.”

Harlan’s amulet lit up.

“Apologies, I should take this.”

Harlan was given a rundown by D’if.

“We are leaving now, can Darrath stay behind until I get back?”

“What has happened?”

“Small army on its way to my city, but it’s be a few hours before they get there.

I believe it safer for him to be here.”

“Go, handle your war, I will ensure the boy is safe.”

“Let us aid you.”

“Thank you Bartholomew. Oh, and can anyone here explain what a battle tank is?”