Councilor Carlos Varro entered the small formal meeting room in the palace’s east wing. Since only three Councilors were in attendance they did not need to use the Rising Sun Chamber reserved for the full council. His attendant trailed behind him, arms filled with binders and folders. His second attendant followed behind the first, this one with hands filled with notes, ink, and pens.

When he arrived at the small meeting room, though it was called that only in relation to the bigger ones, it was at least as big as his office in Niria Academy, he found his nemesis, rival, friend, and one-time lover, Eva Guitierrez, already there with her attendants and secretary. She glanced up when the doors opened, saw him, then snorted derisively. Well, it had been a long time ago, and Carlos had been…insensitive. After all, her robes covered everything and what was underneath had not been what he expected. Ah, youth.

He nodded amicably knowing that his nonchalant smile would only irk her some more. He took his seat and waited for the last of the designated Councilors to arrive, and not a minute later, Luis Diaz, latest in the line of the Diaz family to hold Councillorship of Bresia City, arrived.

Luis was a fifth of his age and he was merely a Magus. Not even an Advanced Magus, he scoffed in his mind. Most children of prominent families achieved that rank by their fourth or fifth decade, even if that was normally their limit. Ah, not everyone can become Magi, but those who try can reach that stage after a lifetime of practice and learning. But for most people, memorising and using more than the basic level spells was a waste of time. Why spend a lifetime learning how to cast Move Earth, when one could hire men to do it instead? Why waste time learning how to cast a stronger Bolt spell when a gun could do the same thing? It was only worth becoming a Magi if one had talent. Golds were needed to accelerate the progress of Elemental Hearts, too, but all the coins in the nation wouldn’t help one advance beyond Magus without coming close to a Personal Truth. That took time and dedication, and Lus used his time to learn politics and management instead.

It was an easier path to power, Carlos mused, but not at the expense of longevity. But then again, the Diaz family was not known for their genius Magi bloodline. They were competent enough to always have someone at the True Magus level in every generation, but that was their limit so far. And with how they raised their progeny, it would remain their limit unless they shifted their focus out of politics and business.

Well, it was also why Niria Academy had six different tracks and about half of them are non-combatant. The fastest source of wealth, and the riskiest, was delving into Chaos Founts. Salvage from the Chaos beasts inside was worth a lot considering how useful they were. Even the offal and meat from the creatures, inedible to humanoids, were wonderfully used as fertilizer for the farmlands, upping yields by as much as fifty percent, or decreasing growth time by a quarter.

But with lucrative rewards came greater risks, though only if one was unprepared and untrained. A typical Magi could easily commandeer wages of a gold coin a fortnight, but could just as easily earn ten times as much just by participating in a delve.

But of course, not everyone was willing to be brave just to make coins. Not all Magi wanted to fight and risk life and limb. Niria’s ratio of noncombatants to combatants was about three to one, but the trends, with higher arcanatech advancement, would only continue to favour those willing to find a better way to make things work than those who wish to fight.

“Yet it is up to us, the strongest pillars, to ensure their way of life continues,” he muttered to himself. No nation that didn’t have an answer to fighting Archmagi level threats could hope to last, or hold more than a city or two. Those above Archmagi, those who have Ascended, have another hierarchy to answer to, and nothing mortals need bother with as long as they remain respectful. So it was the Archmagi who were the ultimate kingmakers of Arcadia. And an Archmagus could secure the country’s prosperity for at least half a millennium.

And it was because Ishodir’s Archmagus was about to reach the end of his life that troubles arose. But all Bresia had to do was wait it out, hold on to their strength and weather the storm. If old man Edward Turner Ascended, then he’d have other problems to take care of, though it might take a couple of centuries for Bresia to get out from under his thumb. If he failed, then that was it.

Absent an Archmagus, at least three Grand Magi must be in balance to secure the nation. Bresia was in such a state, and while he and Eva didn’t see eye to eye, they would still cooperate if need be. The last pillar of Bresia was the Adventurers’ Guild grandmaster. Of the Bresian Republic and not the entire organisation that spanned the region. The Guild was decentralised after all, with each country branch headed by a grandmaster, and a common policy set by them. Grandmaster Borja Villegas was an old snake, an Ahas tribesman, who was more interested in furthering his blade art than anything else, but he was a powerful Grand Magus with a potent Domain. And while all three of them could match an Archmagus, a fight to defeat old man Edward was both dangerous and futile.

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“So, are we ready to start?” Luis Diaz’s voice snapped and Carlos realised that he had been daydreaming for the past ten minutes now. That the brat managed to hold his peace for so long was commendable. Still annoying though, and he couldn’t just slap the boy silly. He had to respect the family and the position. He wasn’t a brute, and civilisation was built on manners.

“Your pardon, I was preoccupied.”

“No doubt,” Luis snorted. “That proposed treaty is a lengthy read, intriguing, and more than a bit troublesome.”

“It’s a demand to sell out one of our own,” Carlos Varro said flatly.

“You know what our answer to that is,” Eva Guitierrez said, equally in a monotone.

Luis frowned. “But the price…” He shook his head as he picked up a copy of the terms. “A hundred thousand golds in reparations just for the first payment, return of annexed lands, and withdrawal of support, publicly announced, of the rebels…”

“All things that should have been the norm,” Eva growled. “They are thieves that take, then turn around and sell it back to us!”

Luis frowned. “They have power and soldiers. And while I am not hesitant to fight, I would rather we gain…mutual benefits.” He shrugged. “Who is this Professor Davar anyway?” he muttered.

Carlos and Eva exchanged looks and shrugged. “A foreigner that Niria employed. She’s a True Magus and has a Primordial Affinity.”

Luis froze, then chuckled. “These benefits aren't enough for one such as her. At least a million gold and a longstride strip of land across the Sodden Plains?”

“That’s useless to us,” Eva said. “Supply lines across the Conflux will cost more money than whatever that land will get us.”

“That’s not the point,” Luis grunted, “we leave it to rot and we have a large strip of land they can’t muster in, and can’t earn anything from. We’ll get a buffer zone too. Leave a watch post to keep an eye on things, and leave it at that.”

“Until they decide they want to annex it back,” Carlos pointed out.

“Still buys us time and shows the worth of their promises.”

Carlos shook his head. A convincing argument except for the point that they’d have to sell someone out. They weren’t Xothans who sold their citizenry as slaves.

“Well, if you’re squeamish, then the treaty is hardly worth the paper it's written on. If we don’t give her to them, they’ll keep the fortresses.”

“Then maybe we should keep fighting instead,” Carlos said mildly.

“We’ll hold until we get a stronger position. The gambit with the Reclamation Army gave mixed results, but it did draw the Guardian from their borders. Their other neighbours might be chomping at the bit.”

“So, we do nothing and hold?” Luis asked.

“This is a matter for the entire Council,” Carlos said.

“Then let’s shelve the discussion and deal with other matters.”

There were numerous petitions and issues that had to be addressed, and it was late in the day before Carlos came across a petition that made his eyebrows rise to his hairline.

The petition was from Professor Davar asking for permission to use the Portal Gate. He snorted and tossed the forms over to his fellow Councillors.

Eva took a look at it and shrugged, while Luis did the same thing.

“Well?” Carlos asked.

“Does it even have to be said?” Luis asked rhetorically, “If she could open the Goddess-cursed thing, then she’s welcome to use it.”

“Here,” Carlos said to his attendant. The man took the form then stamped it with approval.

_________

‘Well, that was easier than expected.’ Yuriko thought as she strolled into the Portal Gate’s building. It was only a couple of blocks from the palace and was set in the middle of a park.

Almost half of the palace district were parklands, and considering the rest of the city was filled with stone buildings with nary a tree even amongst the boulevards…

Well, there were parks every other block though, even if most were small and were barely a step up from an empty, weed-filled lot.

This particular park had perfectly manicured hedges formed into a small maze. The walls weren't that tall, just about chest high to her. There were a few visitors too, enjoying the walk. Somehow, these hedges resisted the cold and were still green. Well, the park was brushed clean of snow, anyway. Yuriko carefully made her way to the centre of the maze, where there was a small, square fortress that was barely two storeys tall. She’d expected it to be closed, but the doors were wide open, and when she entered she found that it was nothing more than four walls with crenelations on top, and covered by a dome. The inside was a barren space, and the Portal Gate was in the middle.

‘It looks the same as the one in Irvalla…’ Yuriko muttered to herself. It was a free-standing ring with pillars of black metal around it. There was a guard inside, but the man…well, more like a boy barely into adulthood, and was probably a couple of years younger than she was. Anyway, the guard was half slumped on a stool, clearly dozing from the snores coming out of his nose.

Yuriko didn’t bother the boy but looked around earnestly. Was it this easy to access the Portal Gate? Why all the hullabaloo over getting permission then?

Well, she quickly found out once she came within five paces of the structure. Runescript nodes lit up on the ground that surrounded the Portal Gate in a perfect circle, and a dome of Elemental energy sprung up around it. Yuriko’s Anima caressed the barrier and felt its resistance. She could probably push through it with some effort, but it would alert someone, she was sure.

“Uh, Miss, please stay behind the line.”

The half-dozing guard startled awake and said his piece before he went slack-jawed while staring at her. Yuriko felt a thread lunge from his heart and attempt to stick around her space, but she intercepted it with her Mien and neutralised the attraction.

“Thank you,” Yuriko said.

“Uh, if you’d like to read about the Gate, there’s a pedestal over there with the information.” The guard pointed to one of the black pillars.

Nodding in acknowledgement, Yuriko moved around the Gate to check.

“Gate open requirements: Sacrifice Behemoth Dust, Magus Blackberry, Fanged Azaleas…”

Yuriko tilted her head to the side. By the Ancestors, what are those things?