“Sylvia… can I ask you a question?”

She turned her head slowly at me. “Yes?”

“If you had to take a guess, how many people do you think live here?”

She shrugged while she gazed out at the city. “I don’t know… it has to be almost as much as the Empire…”

“You mean to tell me your Empire had this kind of population?”

“Yeah… I mean, I was young, so maybe everything seemed bigger but… it has to be real close.”

The Empire of Nul was that big two thousand years ago?

“Voker, I’ve been meaning to ask you a question.”

“And that is?”

“I understand why we are coming here and that maybe your Dad’s friend can help… but what’s the point? You still have to travel, right? So why not just hop on a boat?” Sylvia asked curiously.

I stopped looking at the sprawling capital of Luminar and turned to her. “What? Are you not aware? Just to ask, what was sea travel like for you?”

Sylvia stopped staring as well and eyed me suspiciously. “What do you mean? You got on a boat and—”

“That’s it? No risk?” I asked.

She tilted her head at me like I was speaking a foreign language. “Yeah… it’s a boat, and there is water… I mean, the ocean is dangerous, but not more so than land?”

Oh, I’m so glad she didn’t bring this up in public.

“Sylvia… that isn’t how things work anymore. Leviathans stalk the ocean and are a huge problem. Only the Dagins can maneuver the ocean safely.”

Her dark blue eye blinked at me a few times. “What? What are Dagins… and sure Leviathans exist, but are they really a big deal?”

What? So have Leviathans only become super active in recent times? Maybe their population increased or something?

I looked around and lowered my voice so as not to arouse suspicion. We were the only Elves speaking Elvish, but that doesn’t mean someone didn’t know what we were saying. If somebody heard Sylvia say that, they would have a lot of questions.

“The Dagins are a race of fish people that live in the ocean. They essentially run the entire naval commerce of the world. Also, Leviathans weren’t a threat to you?” I whispered.

Sylvia shook her head. “Fish people… what are you even saying? And, of course, they weren’t a threat. Leviathans were only in the deepest parts of the ocean, and the only time they came closer to trade routes was during the winter…”

“Listen carefully. That is not how things are anymore. I wouldn’t go around saying that kind of stuff to mess with you. What I just explained is how things are now. The more ocean you have to cross… the more dangerous things are. We can talk about this at a later date,” I whispered. “Getting help from my father’s friend might make things easier, or it may do nothing. There is a chance my family might already be here or have recently come through. I have no idea. This is the only connection I have that I am aware of.”

Sylvia nodded and scooted away from me a bit. I hadn’t realized I had gotten so close to her. I just didn’t want people to hear us talking. “Okay… I understand. Wherever you go, I go.”

I smiled and nodded at her words and looked up at the city in front of us. We ended up passing two sets of large wards before we could finally see the place. So far, Luminar keeps taking the number one spot for everything I’ve seen. If the population of Curia was nearing a million… Vinovia, the capital, was damn close to two million.

How are they feeding such a large population? Growing food should be difficult in this region, and there is no way they can hunt enough animals to provide for such a large amount of people. Or those…

Flying high above the city walls, circling around a massive castle in the center, were barely visible people. If you squint hard enough, you could see what looked like people riding on top of flying animals, and that’s exactly what was happening.

The Royal Gryphon Knights of Brax, or I guess they are Luminar now.

Somehow someway, some crazy Human had managed to scale the mountains surrounding the nation and domesticate Gryphons, monsters at a threat level of a hundred. Humans genuinely are insane sometimes. As far as I'm aware, these Gryphons ended up being the backbone of the first air force in the world. Unless you count Dragons…

At the start of the war against Luminar, these Gryphon Knights were a considerable factor. It turns out that putting high-level mages on top of flying things and casting magic from them is an excellent strategy. Gryphons aren’t affected by the region’s cold climate, and they can fly higher than any archer can hope to hit. In theory, they are almost untouchable.

Unless you are a High Elf nation with an enormous pool of your own high-level mages that can combat flying things.

Either way, it was impressive, and it showed the power this country had if they just casually flew them around like that. Or maybe they are training… meh.

The outskirts of Vinovia were littered with small to medium-sized towns. The carriage ride was about a week long, and we went through many of these sleepy, snowy towns. I’m just glad we didn’t decide to walk because it would have taken a lot longer.

We were forced to share the carriage with three other people, but it wasn’t so bad. The three-person Human family kept to themselves, and we rarely interacted. The owner offered us free passage if we acted as guards, so we took her up on it.

On the entire one-week trip, we ran into one monster that ran out from the forest, and it was quickly dispatched with a single Fireball. If I was being honest, I didn’t even know what it was that I attacked. I just saw movement and reduced it to ash.

The carriage glided straight into the city, and I realized it was the first time we hadn’t been stopped for an inspection. The driver told us the first part of the city is open to the public and is just one massive market. The wards cut down on the amount of snow tremendously to the point where it’s barely a few inches.

Adventurers walked around browsing shops and consuming food, being loud and jolly as usual. Five-person soldier patrols wandered around the area with gladius at the hip and friendly smiles, each one had a mage amongst them, and I had to wonder if every single one of those people were a mage or just a ruse. A large number of civilians mingled with both groups seemingly having no problem doing so.

From what I can see, the Human population here in the capital is higher than that in Curia. Even so… it’s still only about 70% which is not all that high for a nation that used to be primarily Human thirty years ago… I guess it’s almost thirty now?

We pulled up to a small shop, and we all dismounted. “This is your stop. Thank you two for protecting us on the trip,” the carriage driver said kindly.

Sylvia and I gave him a friendly wave and we were on our way… to a school.

“So… what school does he work at? I mean, there are probably multiple in this city,” Sylvia asked as we walked along the streets.

“I must admit… I’m not exactly sure.”

Sylvia palmed her mask and let out a deep sigh. “Then what do you know?”

“He is a teacher in Luminar, and he is a Human named Bowen…”

Ah… what did Dad say exactly… responsible for the wards around the village… goodman… married… might have a kid…

“Is that really it?” Sylvia asked with a huff and a bit of disappointment. “You have to know more than that…”

“I do… I do… listen. It’s been almost nine years, okay? Even I can forget something I’ve only talked about once,” I said in my defense.

Sylvia's neck practically broke as she snapped towards me. “Once?! We are looking for someone your father had mentioned once to you in seven years? Please tell me you at least know what he looks like!”

“My dad didn’t talk very much about his friends… I’m not sure he really had any, if I’m being honest,” I said sheepishly.

Sylvia dropped her masked face into her hands and let out a small whimper. “Well… at least I understand you more now,” she groaned.

“Hey… what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing…” Sylvia hit her fist against her hand with a loud smack. “We might as well start with the biggest school possible in the wealthiest area. Finding a teacher won’t be as difficult as tracking down a student, right? There is a good chance every school might be connected to the bigger one… hopefully.”

“And what big school do you have in mind?” I asked.

“I don’t know! This is the capital city! There has to be a big school here! Unless everyone is just extra stupid…”

“I don’t think that’s the case. We can just ask the guards at this checkpoint,” I suggested.

“I guess…”

We didn’t have to wait long as a Human guard gave us a warm smile and waved us over to him. “Identification, please.”

Sylvia went first, and I decided to ask him a question. “Would there happen to be a school around here? A rather big one?”

The guard took my Ruby tag, and I could see the light bulb click in his head for some reason. “Oh! You must be here for the job posting? I had heard that Forward University was looking for high-ranked adventurers to teach classes,” he chirped.

“Well n— oof”

Sylvia elbowed me in the side swiftly. “We are actually. This is our first time here in the capital, so we are kind of lost. Would you mind pointing us in the right direction?” Sylvia asked sweetly.

“Ah… yes, of course, miss. You are going to have to walk for a long time since Forward University is nearly at the center of the city but… here, let me go get my boss to give you guys a pass, so you don’t have to wait at checkpoints,” he said with a dopey smile.

Sylvia nodded her head innocently at the man, making him blush slightly. “Thank you so much, sir.”

He blasted off from his post quicker than I had been expecting. Sylvia glared up at me next. Only if he saw this part of her…

“What are you doing? Sometimes you are honest to a fault you know that?” Sylvia said, exasperated.

“I know… sorry… and thank you,” I said weakly.

“This is a free opportunity, and all we had to do was go along with it…” Sylvia let out a weak sigh and crossed her arms while tilting her head at me. “If you don’t want to lie, just let me do it for you. Just try not to dig yourself into a hole without me.”

“I’ll take you up on that offer. As long as I’m not the one you're lying to,” I said playfully.

“Shut up,” Sylvia giggled.

The guard came back quickly and handed us a piece of wood. A symbol was burned onto it and he gave it to Sylvia with a toothy smile. “Thank you, sir. I really appreciate it.”

The guard rubbed the back of his head and gave her a slight bow for some reason. “Of course… any time. So wou—”

“Let’s go, Voker. We have a lot of walking to do.” The guard’s face turned to stone as Sylvia petrified him with her words. She gave him a small wave and grabbed me by the arm.

What happened there? Did I miss something? Could she not hold my arm so tightly…

“What was that all about?” I asked as Sylvia dragged me along.

“Oh? Nothing, don’t worry about it. We should continue walking since we have such a long walk,” she said quickly.

Is she deflecting my question? Okay then…

The young guard wasn’t lying when he said we had a lot of walking to do. It was well over an hour of traveling, and I imagine it would have taken a lot longer if it wasn’t for this pass they gave us. We didn’t even have to show our adventurer tags once we flashed it.

The symbol on the wood wasn’t any I recognized. It was just three spears forming a triangle, and it was difficult to discern exactly what I was looking at. But, well… it works, so who am I to complain.

Walking through the city was a pleasant experience. The streets were clean, the people seemed happy, and the city seemed safe. I could imagine living here must be relatively nice, considering the wartime economy is probably still tapering off and giving this place a big boost.

But, I wonder how effective the nation’s rulers are?

We passed higher-end residential areas along with fancy shops meant for the elite. Adventurers were non-existent in this part of town, and the only armed people around were guards or soldiers. I was pleasantly surprised to see that guard quality didn’t drop or increase as we moved through the city. The quality of soldiers patrolling the open markets at the entrance are here protecting the higher class civilians.

Although I’m sure there are citizens in poorer sections, most of this city seems to be relatively new. From my history class in Sandervile, when former War God turned king Bishop Maxwell took over the capital, there was fierce fighting in the streets after they were let into the city by the guards.

The palace managed to hold out because of the legendary-class dungeon item called the Guardian Shield protecting it. However, they didn’t last long. Rebels inside the palace turned and overthrew the guards and brought down the shield so the War Gods could advance. After that, the rest is history, I suppose.

Speaking of the palace…it’s ginormous. It sits atop a small hill in the city's center, and it’s built like a giant Roman castle. I could see multiple layers of terraces, and the massive carved columns were visible even at this distance. It almost looked like a fantasy Mount Olympus… not my Mount Olympus where I was created but the mythological one.

You know what… that’s probably not a coincidence, is it?

We made it to the final guardpost and quickly made our way through it with no trouble whatsoever. We got directions to where we were headed, and after a few more minutes of walking, the scenery started to change.

“These trees… I’ve never seen anything like this before,” I mumbled.

“It’s so pretty. How long do you think it took them to make this?” Sylvia whispered.

“At least a decade or more.”

The few houses and businesses in this district quickly gave way for one long road. The Roman concrete used in the construction of the roads throughout the city was replaced with a smooth white stone that was free of any snow. Lining the wide street were walkways along with trees that went as far as the eye could see and their beauty had even me doing a double-take.

The bark was snow-white, just like the pine trees outside the city but the leaves of these trees were a light purple and had snow sprinkled on the tops of them. From what I could tell, the trees didn’t lose their leaves during the winter, and they gave off a strong pleasant scent that was new to me. It was somewhere between lavender and an almost citrusy smell, very unique indeed. I never imagined mixing the two together would be so pleasant.

There also seemed to be some kind of lamp post alongside the roads. The small glass structure had what looked like a light blue plant or moss growing inside of it.

Could that be a functional lamp post that uses a plant? It must be…

“It’s so quiet…” Sylvia whispered.

“Yeah, it is… almost unnaturally so.”

This was a city filled with almost two million people, and it was the middle of the day. The weather was cold, and it was snowing slightly, but there were plenty of people out and about from our walk until this point. Things should not be this quiet. Unless there is some kind of magic at play?

I scanned around and searched the walls. My eyes moved around the tree canopy, but I didn’t sense or notice anyone. From what I could tell, we weren’t being followed, and everything appeared to be normal.

“Maybe they have wards here as well? But instead of in the streets, it’s in the walls? Some kind of sound dampening effect? I only noticed the relative quietness when we got into this district,” Sylvia suggested.

“You might be right… if that was the case, that would be a huge deal. Being able to turn the city’s noise off after a certain point would be unbelievably convenient,” I said.

Sylvia snorted. “City? Imagine being able to do that to a room. Talk about practicality.”

“Ah… you’re right. I didn’t even think about it. You know… I wonder if they did indeed develop something like sound dampening. Do you think they did it because of Elves and the war?”

Sylvia hummed to herself and swayed side to side on the road. “That would make a lot of sense. Elven spies are probably really effective if they can hear what you are saying through walls. So maybe.”

Mmm, maybe indeed.

Walking down the path took a considerable amount of time, but it went quickly with the beautiful scenery. A black stone wall surrounded the perimeter, and a gold metal gate blocked the road. In addition, there was a small guard post with two Human men dressed in white and gold uniforms chatting outside of it.

The older one-eyed us suspiciously and waited for us to get a bit closer. “Schools not open for another few weeks so—”

“We aren’t here for that. We were hoping to get an interview for a job. Both of us are adventurers, see?” she said while tugging at the tag around her neck. Sylvia was using a higher-pitched voice than she usually did, and her mannerisms had changed once again. It seems she continues to surprise me more and more.

The younger of the two guards shrugged his shoulders. “I guess we are hiring, huh?”

The older one grumbled to himself and inspected our guild tags. “We are, yes… I’m not sure if you two qualify… are you citizens of the kingdom?”

Come on…

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Sylvia clicked her tongue quietly. “I’m sure we can figure something out,” she said innocently while wiggling around slightly.

What is she doing? She looks like a snake…

The younger guard gave his partner a disapproving look which the older guard just let out a sigh while pulling on the end of his black mustache. “I’m afraid if you two aren’t citizens, then we can’t allow you in. Only non-citizens allowed in are students,” he said sternly.

They weren’t suggesting to us that we couldn’t go in. The guard was telling us we weren’t allowed in. Sylvia rolled her neck slightly, and I could tell she was trying to figure something out, but she was apparently drawing blanks. If she had interrupted them at first, maybe she had a chance, but it appears the job angle broke down.

Welp, we can’t give up now. This was going to work, or nothing was going to happen.

“I’m here on a recommendation from a Mr. Bowen. Perhaps you know him?” I said, trying my best to sound as official as possible.

And I succeeded. Spending all that time around nobles and generals at those stupid parties might be paying off. Finally, my deep and even voice has some uses…

Both the guard’s eyes went wide as they looked at each other and then back to me. “Bowen… you know Bowen?” the young guard mumbled.

“And you are on a first-name basis with him…” the older one said, shocked. “Do you have any kind of proof?”

Crap…

“I, unfortunately, lost it during a fight with some bandits, so I have nothing but my word. He is family friends with my father,” I lied. Sylvia winked at me, and I felt a tinge of embarrassment from it.

Not now… please. I’m doing such a good job.

The younger guard ran his eyes up and down me and snorted. “Yeah? And my uncle is the queen’s brother!”

This elicited a chuckle from the older guard as they both laughed at us in unison. “Listen, we can’t let you guys in. You can—”

“What’s this about Bowen?” a woman’s voice asked softly from behind me.

What the hell? I hadn’t heard or sensed her at all? How did she manage to get so close to me?

Sylvia and I both flicked around to the woman behind us. Her blonde hair was done in curls and rolled down her shoulders. She smiled at us with bright blue eyes. If I had to guess, the woman was probably in her late thirties. She was wearing black and white robes that cut just below the knee, and from what I could tell, she didn’t have any weapons on her.

How did this seemingly ordinary woman manage to sneak up on me? Did she use magic?

The older guard shifted nervously at his post, and so did the younger one. “Oh, Ms. Ta—”

The woman smiled at the older guard, but it didn’t reach her eyes. The guard instantly shut his mouth as she looked up at me. “Would you care to take a walk, Mr…”

“Voker Winterheart, and yes, I would very much.”

This mysterious woman merely waved at the guards, and the two let us in with wide eyes. Sylvia made sure to scoff at them on her way out as we followed the woman into the school grounds. The walkways branched out towards multiple different buildings and sections of the school. The entire school grounds were almost as extensive as a district.

The black and gray buildings were spread out but not in any random way. There was order to this school, and even I could manage to see that. Everything was planned out, from the walkways to the purple and white trees which were planted ideally. Even the black stone benches were placed in the “right” places with the weird plant posts. I only saw several students walking around, and they were all heading to a grouping of buildings I assumed to be dormitories.

I was surprised to see that the students varied in age quite a bit. One of them was a High Elf but the other two were Human. One was probably around my age, while the other was a full-grown adult, well into his forties or maybe even older. Interesting…

“Who built this school?” I asked out loud, hoping the woman would answer it for me.

“My husband did,” she said softly.

“And your husband is… who exactly?” Sylvia asked.

“Nobody in particular. Anyways, what was this about Bowen?” she asked.

“I need to get into contact with him. I believe he might be able to help me with something,” I said.

“Help you? Mmm… you said he was a family friend? What was your father’s name?” she asked.

What? How long was she standing behind me?

“Alanis.”

The woman looked back at me for a second but faced forward quickly. “Alanis…”

“You know him?” I asked curiously.

“I wonder if I do or not…” she mused. “Anyways, let me take you to Bowen, and you two can have a conversation.”

She led us through the school grounds and to the central building. We had a lot of walking to do, and we went up quite a few floors, so I got a good look at the school. Everything here seemed to sparkle like it was new, and there was a ton of cleaning staff working their way through the hallways. This building kept the same design that I’ve seen so far in Luminar and although it wasn’t ostentatious like Sandervile’s academy, this place was still very nice.

It makes me think that money is going to the right places, unlike in Sandervile. This school is beautiful and appealing to the eye without flaunting an extreme amount of wealth in its general appearance.

We stopped at a single white wooden door on the top floor of the building. This room was nestled in the back, and I was expecting the woman to at least knock, but she just barged straight in.

A concerned yelp was let out from within as we funneled into the room. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” a man squeaked from within the room.

The woman giggled to herself. “I’ve brought guests. They have some interesting things to speak to you about.”

The desk placed at the center of the room was made from white and gray wood, and I could see the grooves and the Dwarven craftsmanship from here. Luminar’s symbol was burned into the front of the desk and lacquered over along with another Symbol of a Knight pointing into a sunset.

Paper was stacked so high that the man behind the desk was barely visible, but I nearly let out a small gasp of surprise.

This man… looks like the Christan depiction of Jesus Christ.

I had never been to church in my previous life, but you couldn’t study Human history and not see a picture or painting of Jesus. The man watched us with warm swirling brown eyes, and his shoulder-length brown hair rested on his shoulders. His beard was trimmed to perfection, and it was difficult to tell just how old this man was.

Small wrinkles formed on the corner of his eyes, but if he was over forty, then the passing of time had been very kind to this man. But if this was indeed Bowen and he knew father, then this man had to be almost forty years old… maybe even older.

I guess some Humans have it nice. Or maybe he has some Elvish blood in him? I can’t be sure.

The woman stood behind the man, and he gestured for us to sit down in the chairs in front of his desk. He cleared his throat, and his deep but smooth voice was pleasant to the ears. “Well… my name is Bowen Taurus, and I’m the Headmaster of this university. What do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”

Sylvia and I looked at each other, and she shrugged her shoulders. “This is on you,” she said.

All eyes turned to me so I cleared my throat and addressed the man. “My name is Voker. If you don't mind, Headmaster Taurus, I would just like to be blunt with you.”

The man gently tapped his quill against the paper and set it into a box. He folded his hands and gave me a nod to continue. “I believe you and my father were friends at some point. I was hoping you had maybe heard from him recently or perhaps be in a position to… assist me.”

“Assist you? Who is your father exactly?”

“Alanis.”

The man’s eyes went wide as he looked me up and down. He started tapping his fingers away on the table for some time before he finally spoke. “You are Alanis’s son? Are you by chance adopted?”

“No… we are blood-related.”

Bowen gave me a concerned look. “I… don’t see how that is possible. If you really are the son of Alanis, I knew… then…”

The man pursed his lips and stared at me suspiciously. Eventually, he reached down at his desk and opened a drawer. After some rummaging around, he slid me a piece of parchment over. “Read what that says to me,” he asked.

I took the parchment and ran my hands across it. There were words written on it, but… it was all gibberish to me. I could see a pattern, which meant it was a language but nothing I was familiar with. Or perhaps it was a code of some sort?

“I can’t read it… but I can tell it has meaning,” I said, handing it back to him.

The man nodded at my words and took the paper back. “Indeed, it does have meaning. If you can’t read this and you are as you appear, I find it hard to believe you are the son of Alanis. Do you want to know something interesting, Mr. Voker?”

“And what would that be?” I asked curiously. The man wasn’t looking at me with any kind of hostility. He was just watching me, observing me.

“After the war, I was curious as to why Dark Elves were seemingly incapable of mating with other Elves or any other race for that matter. I thought at first that perhaps it was due to their nature and unwillingness to mingle with other races, but that didn’t make any sense. The Shadowclan had joined our side long before I was born, and many Dark Elves started families with non-Dark Elves over time. Although the Dark Elves have the smallest population of all the Elves, even if you combine the ones in The Barrens, they also have some of the most complicated fertility compared to their High and Wood Elf brethren. Did you know the average time it takes for a full-blooded High or Wood Elf couple to conceive?” he asked.

“I’m not sure exactly…” I admitted.

“About two decades per child. On average? Closer to three. That goes for both males and females, by the way. Even if a male Elf has multiple partners, they can only ever conceive one child with a woman every decade or more, even if their partner is a Human or a Beastmen. Do you know how long it takes for Dark Elves to have children?”

“No.”

He continued tapping away at his desk with his long fingers, and a small smile crept on his face. “Almost four decades on average, and that’s with constant effort. Want to know something else? Dark Elf pregnancies last on average, one month longer than all the other races. Why is that, I wonder? You see, Mr. Voker, I’ve been watching well over a hundred Dark Elves that have started families with non- Dark Elves. Humans, Beastmen, True Beastmen, Dwarves, and even a few Dragonkin are amongst those numbers. Of course, I wasn’t expecting anything from the Dragonkin side, considering they can only mate with other Dragonkin but… do you know how many Dark Elves have conceived children with other races in the almost three decades I’ve been watching them and all the time before?”

“I don’t…”

“Zero. Not a single pregnancy in almost three hundred years let alone ever. Some of the Dark Elf to Dark Elf couples have managed to have a single child in the last two decades I’ve been observing, but none of the mixed families have. The answer? Even after all this time, I still don’t have one other than because that’s the way things are.”

So I’m not just a one in a million… I don’t even want to calculate those odds…

Bowen gave me a slight shrug and an unapologetic look. “So, if you are indeed the son of Alanis… and those High Elf ears atop your ahead are real, you would be the first of your kind in the world. Although I admit I’ve heard rumors of a mixed Dark Elf in the City-States but that hasn’t been confirmed by any of my sources yet.” Bowen waved his hand dismissively and scowled. “It’s probably just some farce from the City-States. Those idiots have nothing better to do, it was probably just some High Elf that got too much sun or dyed their skin and hair.”

Well, don’t I have a surprise for you.

But should I really trust this man? Can I just reveal myself? What if this man isn’t Dad’s friend? Or what if he just turns me in? I might have just trapped myself. We are in the center of a capital city now. If I have to fight my way out… things won’t go so well for me this time.

“Statistically speaking, one such mixed child should exist, eventually, right?” I suggested.

“In theory, yes,” he admitted. But he waved his hand and narrowed his eyes at me. “Unfortunately, there is an even bigger problem with your claim. Alanis was strong… and maybe he could have had a child with a High Elf but I don’t care how strong a man he was… nobody can defeat death.”

Death? Does that mean this man thinks Dad is dead?

“You believe Alanis is dead?” I asked in disbelief.

“Saw it with my own eyes. I highly doubt he wouldn’t have come back either. So you can see the problem with your claim, Mr. Voker. I enjoyed this conversation, but I’m afraid what you are claiming is just not possible,” he said with finality.

The man was about to start working on his paperwork again when I spoke up. “And what if everything I said was true?”

He gave me a half-smile without even looking at me. “That would be a nice dream indeed. But I don’t see a world in which you can prove your lineage without Alanis being present in front of me.”

“Is that so?”

I heard Sylvia let out a small chuckle as I took my mask off. I watched my arms change colors and Bowen stared at me, mouth agape and eyes wide. Even the woman behind him was watching me with a look of utter disbelief.

“How is this for proof?” I asked.

Bowen’s mouth opened and closed as he made small noises. I could see the gears turning in his brain until he stood up and walked around his desk. His look of surprise hadn’t changed at all, but he stood right in front of me. “May I… touch your ears?”

“What?” I squeaked.

“I just have to be sure…” he mumbled.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “If you hurt me—”

“No need for threats… just science,” he whispered.

I gave him a nod to go ahead and he gently rubbed my ears. The hair on the back of my neck stood up as a pleasant tingling sensation ran through my body.

Well… at least he is being gentle.

Sylvia let out a low growl and glared at Bowen. “Hey, that’s enough, right?”

Bowen’s hand shot back and he gave me a slight bow. “Oh, I’m so sorry… I just got carried away,” he said in an almost giddy voice.

The man moved quickly, almost hopping around as he returned to his chair. He sat down, put his back straight into his chair, and scooted it as close as possible to the desk. He gave me a wide toothy smile.

“You knew… didn’t you? That I was telling the truth?” I said, slightly annoyed.

Bowen shrugged and gave me a playful smile. “I couldn’t be sure. I figured if you really were Alanis’s son then you would have been able to prove it. But you being a mixed Dark Elf was not expected.”

“I suppose…” I grumbled.

“But you really are a mixed Dark Elf, aren’t you? And your eyes… I’ve only seen this once before… your face… you don’t look like your father all that much…” Bowen said while examining me.

“Yes… I believe I took after my mother,” I said.

“Yes… you did.”

“Wait? You know who my mom is?” I asked.

Bowen gave me a weak smile and shrugged. “I can’t be sure… I had only seen her once, to be fair, but I have a good idea who it may be.”

“My mother and father… who are they exactly?” I asked.

Bowen tilted his head and gave me a surprised look. “They didn’t tell you… tell me… what’s your last name? And your father’s, if you know it?”

“Shadowheart… my father’s was… Shadowheart?”

Bowen smiled, but his face turned to confusion as he tapped his finger at his desk. “Okay… so you don’t know then. So tell me… are you that wanted child from Sandervile?”

“And if I am?” I asked with an undertone of a threat.

Bowen gave me a wry smile. “I’m not going to turn you in. I believe shackling another man who has done no wrong is a sin, even more so a child. I believe the name on that poster was Kaladin Ambersoul? But you are saying your last name is Shadowheart? So are you Kaladin Shadowheart?”

“Yes… to both of those,” I said somewhat nervously.

“Interesting… you really don’t know anything about your father then?” he asked again.

“No… he never got a chance to tell me because I was kidnapped seven years ago.”

Both the woman and Bowen gave me sad smiles. At this point, I figured the woman was probably Bowen’s wife, considering they had matching wedding bands on their left hands. That and the family painting behind his desk…

“I understand now… however, I won’t be telling you about your father. It’s probably better that way for both of your safeties. In the future, I wouldn’t go around saying your father’s name, although most people won’t know it. You should be careful, regardless,” Bowen said.

What? Wait?! Who is Dad?!

“Huh? Why not?” I asked.

“You see, Kaladin, I owe your father a great debt. He saved my life a long time ago, and I owe him the world. If this were ten years ago, I would have thrown my life away upon his request. However, that is no longer a possibility. My life is no longer my own. I have a family.” He looked behind his back at his wife and then at the painting on the wall. “I have a little girl now, so I can’t go tossing her Daddy’s life away for someone else. And my debt is, unfortunately, to your father, not you. If somebody was to capture you and put an Obedience collar on you it would put your father’s life in jeopardy and yours. Although I’m sure he wants me to help you, I just can’t take such risks anymore. I hope you understand. I’m sorry.”

“So… you can’t help me?” I asked.

Bowen and his wife both gave me a fat grin. “Who said that? I just said I couldn’t give you my life. I never said anything about helping you or not. Matter of fact…” Bowen reached back into his desk and dished out another similar parchment to the first. “I received the first letter over two years ago. I first thought it was some sick prank. You see, this message is coded in such a way that only a very few select people have the cipher. And most of those people are dead now. The first message reads, “On the hunt. Looking for the lost. Going to the light, Old Friend.’ This roughly translates to the sender looking for someone of importance. On the hunt is your father’s code phrase. And I deduced that ‘going to the light’ means he was headed to the Holy Kingdom. Although I received this note two years ago, it was dated almost five years ago. It was sent using the Adventurer’s Guild in Skaoi, a city in the eastern part of the Holy Kingdom of Arotal.”

So Dad was looking for me… and he went the wrong way. More importantly… Dad’s alive…

“I ignored the message and filed it away as a crude joke. Then I received the second. It was dated a year and a half ago from the western part of the Republic of Elshara. It reads, ‘Hunt partially successful. Lost has not been located. Believed to be home. Retracing to home after hunt. If found, secure, Old Friend, I beg you.’ Sooo.”

I rubbed the tear out from my eyes before anyone could see it. Although I don’t think I managed to hide it from Bowen’s wife. “So my dad knows I’m alive then… word must have finally gotten to him. Or he at least has run out of options on Amoth,” I half mumbled half choked out.

Somehow Dad caught wind of my survival. He sent this message a year and a half ago, which means he might already be on his way. Amoth is a big continent, and the Republic is dead center of it. That means once he is done searching the Republic he is coming here.

“With that being said, I have a proposition for you. Stay here and attend Forward Academy for a year. If your father is indeed on his way here, which I expect he is, it won’t be much longer. If you were to set out in a month once the ice melts in the ports, you might just miss him altogether,” Bowen suggested.

“Attend school… for a year…” I mumbled. “Can’t I just take that job as a teacher, then you give me nothing to do? I can be a guard or something...” I suggested.

Bowen shook his head and gave me a serious look. “You aren’t a citizen, and although I can pull some strings and possibly make that happen for you two… I can’t recommend it. My power comes through the school. Many of the students here aren’t citizens, but all my staff must be citizens.” Bowen rolled his shoulders and looked up at the ceiling. “I created this university with a few goals in mind. There is no divide by race, class, sex, creed, religion, or nationality here at Forward University. This establishment was constructed on the values of learning and pursuing the path of knowledge. Anyone who wants to learn will be allowed to do so here, free of discrimination.”

The man let out a sigh, then a wry smile. “In my… pursuit… of these goals, I have managed to attain an exceptional level of citizenship for students from Her Majesty. If you were to compare students to some other form of national status, students at Forward University would be akin to Foreign Diplomats, making them nearly untouchable. If you were to become a student, I could protect you from just about everyone. Even if the King himself comes down looking for your head, I could stall him long enough to get you to safety. Adventurers, bounty hunters, and anyone else who tried harming you? They wouldn’t even make it past the front gate. If you were just a regular staff member and citizen, I wouldn’t be capable of doing this for you.”

“That is… quite the guarantee,” Sylvia murmured.

Bowen smiled at her, then at me. “As you can see, I can only afford you these benefits if you become a student. If you were to decide against it… my powers would be limited. And I should preface that by saying if you choose not to accept my offer, I can guarantee you nothing. This job… this place… my family… they are all very important to me. I owe your father a lot, but I’m no longer capable of sacrificing these things for him. I hope you understand, Kaladin.”

“I understand,” I said.

Bowen was about to say something until his wife stepped in. “How about you take some time to think about it? Making such a big decision shouldn’t be made with haste. You have plenty of time, and school doesn’t start for another two weeks.”

“Yes… that would be for the best,” Bowen said. “We have a section of campus dedicated to housing staff. I have a spare home next to mine, you and… uh… your name, miss?” Bowen chuckled awkwardly.

“Sylvia,” she answered back.

“Sylvia… you and Kaladin can stay there for the time being. How about you walk around campus and get a feel for things before coming to a decision?” Bowen suggested with a smile.

“And if we don’t want to stay?” I asked.

“That’s fine with me. I’ll pull as many strings as possible to get you onto a boat out of the country once spring hits. Of course, I can’t guarantee anything, but I would make a reasonable attempt at the very least.”

I looked over to Sylvia, and she shrugged at me. “Do what you want. It’s your family, and you already know how I feel about things.”

“Before that… can you answer just one question for me?” I asked.

“That depends… but go ahead,” Bowen said back with a suspicious look in his eyes.

“I was called a baby eater at one point… what does that mean?” I asked.

“What!?” Sylvia blurted out.

Bowen laughed so hard he started crying. “Oh man! I haven’t heard that in forever! You must have heard that in the City-States! Those dimwits!”

“I’m being serious…” I said with a sigh.

I gave Sylvia a nod and she sat back in her seat but now without crossing her legs and glaring at me.

Bowen wiped the tears out from his eyes. “Well, yes, that slang did indeed start about your clan. Although your father didn’t start it he did participate.”

“Participate?” I choked out.

“Not like that. You see… that rumor started when mercenaries and City-State soldiers saw your clansmen taking children from burned-down villages and protecting them from the army.”

“To what end?” I asked.

Bowen gave me a kind smile. “Mostly to protect the children. It was apparently a creed of your tribe not to injure children. Many of those kids were adopted by Dark Elves after the war or cared for in this country. I can’t say if it was a good thing… being raised by your parents' killers but… for the most part? I believe things have worked out so far. That has been another project I've been following.”

Well… at least I know now.

“I see. I’ll take your offer to think about it. Would you mind showing us to our housing?”