Nox loved the deck of the Greywing. Since he hired a new wind mage, journeys had become smoother and swifter. An arrowhead-shaped wind barrier surrounded the vessel, minimizing the effects of air resistance and also protecting against turbulence. It allowed him to sit under the sun, surrounded by seas of clouds, as he worked on his spell, ward, or product designs. The recent long voyage across the southern continent of Daksinisthan gave him the perfect opportunity to play with ideas he didn’t have time for at home. The Galleria’s expansion, new contracts, and general business management kept him occupied at all hours of the day.

In the past six weeks of the voyage, Nox had created two new wards to defend the Galleria’s residences and top research centers. One was connected to a regenerating powerful mana source and designed to turn infiltrators and the disallowed back the way they came. A third attempt to pass the ward’s boundary would also throw them with the force of a kicking mule while raising the alarm. It was one of many iterations he had come up with since the spatial spell’s first iteration. He had used it to trap and defeat Liesel Wyrd, the former leader of the Warmonger coven, two years ago.

Now, the spatial trap ward was a crucial part of the City of Ygg’s mage prison system. The world tree’s infinite magic supply kept them fuelled indefinitely. A version of it placed in a vacuum was the subject of experiments in Woodson University’s Department of Arcane Research. The basic version also protected the Galleria’s vaults. No one had the full, broken-down version of the ward or spell. It only existed in the blueprint library provided by Nox’s Sigil of the Artisan. He would have it no other way. The last thing he wanted was the reproducible spell script to fall into his enemy’s hands.

Nox had also whipped together two alchemical formulae. They were still theoretical, and he wouldn’t get the opportunity to put them into practice until they returned from the voyage. Over the past few years, his involvement in the business’s production had dropped drastically. His efforts mostly went into research, development, and negotiating new high-profile contracts.

He helped whenever the load got too much for Mou or the two Knightly Brews laboratories in the city. Occasionally, Mou took trips to Sen’s Watch and other neighboring cities to ensure all was well in their neck of the woods and the production facilities were maintaining quality. Nox also took over then. It helped keep his brewing skills sharp.

The department in which Nox had most progressed during the voyage was spell creation. Nox had ascended his Crystalize Essence star to low-Expert a month before the journey. He already had the new planet’s spell perfected and had invested in it heavily since rapidly growing its mana stores. Its value lay in production and quickly increasing essence stores more than combat.

Crystalize Essence: 256/256

* Essence Shaping: 101/103 | Arrow: 67/67 | Warding Circle 32/33

* Essence Animation: 55/55 | Shard Spin: 24/24

* Essence Growth: 40/40

Temporal Sphere: 499/500

* Spatial Master: 101/101 | Fold Step: 65/65 | Spatial Prison: 31/31 | Gravity Locus: 13/13

* Temporal Manipulation: 51/51 | Temporal Reversal: 0/23

* Temporal Shaping: 61/62 | Spacetime Shield: 19/19

Shared

* Spatial Familiar: 50/69 | Spatial Storage: 43/43 | Resize: 17/17

* Essence Infusion: 23/23

Sapna’s new manameter interface made it much easier to track progress and current statuses. The last two years hadn’t involved much delving and combat, but Nox didn’t ignore his stars and planets’ growth, creation of moons, and investing in those that saw the most use.

A couple of the spells now a part of a mana system were also subjects of his ongoing research projects with the university’s research department. Since Nox and Professor Moyo were now colleagues, he still occasionally assisted with Understanding Binary Star Systems. The pair had deduced that Temporal Sphere’s ability to hold an extra planet at adept was an anomaly of spatial magic. Crystalize Essence rejected Essence Growth until its ascension to Low Expert. Meanwhile, Nox’s second star had room for another planet, but Nox had failed to create something that met his standards.

Initially, Nox considered dedicating a planet to spatial shaping. But Diya insisted that he develop a combined spell for it and manipulation and make it a part of the existing planet’s growth. Endless research had helped him come up with Temporal Shaping afterward. It was another secret spell he refused to share with anyone except for his inner circle.

Studying the gravity spells born of Ingrid’s warlock pact with Lillin had helped Nox develop the gravity locus spell. The universal law felt like an interaction of time and space, after all. He didn’t know whether his research was accurate or a product of raw intent, but he liked its defensive and control potential.

The culmination of two years of studies could have helped him come up with something new. Now, Nox found himself returning to a bit of knowledge he had found in the Oakheart library.

“Pressure systems?” Ingrid asked. Nox hadn’t sensed her sneak up on him or peeking over his shoulder. His apprentice’s sneaking skills had increased significantly since she pacted with Lillin. “Are you trying to evolve spatial and gravity magic into controlling atmospheric pressure?”

“That’s a very intelligent guess,” Nox replied. “But no.”

“You’re not going to tell me what it is, will you?”

“I might if it turns into something I can use.”

“You should just dedicate a planet to gravity. I know you have your bow, but it's so much fun and powerful.”

“It's redundant when my pockets are full of gravity essence. The loci are enough for regular use. I’d rather figure out something new. Something potent enough to inflict enough change. Until then, it's better just to grow what I already have.”

“Boring.” Ingrid sighed. Her Mage Hands, empowered by spatial magic, hovered behind her. She juggled gravity spheres. It was part of her training. Nox wished her to reduce her reliance on intent-driven magic. Currently, manipulating far too many things at once resulted in intense headaches, limiting her performance during practice delves. “Can’t you do something fun, like use space or time to teleport?”

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“It's far more complicated than you think it is,” Nox answered, closing his notebook. “True teleportation using spatial magic would include portal creation—which is already unstable without a static entry and exit point—or I’d have to dismantle myself at the minutest level and then reassemble myself elsewhere.”

“I know. I know.” Ingrid sounded bored. She had heard the explanation several times before: “Then, there is the question of whether you’re still the same person or someone new.”

“I’ve been looking into teleporting with time. The process is called time skipping. I’d be accelerating myself to the point that I seem to move between two points instantly. Enough usage, and I’d age myself. Let's not forget that I still need to move somewhere new, therefore tiring myself out physically.”

“You can take the professor out of the university, but not the—Ouch!” Aria yelped, clutching her stomach. Her new bodyguard, a tall man of Alkebulan and former soldier on the Golden Isles, rushed to help the noblewoman but got waved off. “I might be big as a whale, but I’d like to move without assistance for as long as I can.”

“The kicks extra hard this morning?” Nox asked, looking up at his wife. A little over a year had passed since their wedding, and they had only just found the time for a honeymoon.

Aria nodded. “I swear, Nox Ratra, you put a beast in me. I swear this little demon has an extra pair of limbs to kick me with whenever one of the others tires out.” She carefully cradled her swollen stomach, taking a seat on the deck next to him. “How far are we from Ruipur? If I don’t eat meat or fish that hasn’t been dried or salted, I’m going to cry.”

“The captain says if it weren’t for the clouds, we’d see Ruipur right now,” Ingrid answered. “We should start our descent any minute now.”

“Thank Yggdrasil.” Aria sighed. She closed Nox’s journal just as he was about to open it and placed a parchment on top. “I had more name ideas. Are you sure you don’t want Pallav on the list?”

Nox shook his head. “I don’t want our child spending half their lives explaining to people how to pronounce it. Don’t get me wrong, I love Daksinsthani names, but I’d prefer something simple if we go in that direction.” He went down the list and crossed out a few options. The names mostly belonged to people who had slighted or hurt him in his childhood. Nox didn’t expect his wife to keep track of all of them, and he hadn’t shared most. Next, he underlined a few and added a couple more. “These are my favorite.”

“Isabella?” Aria smiled. “You want my mother’s name as an option?”

“Of course. I know you’ve been missing her right now more than ever. It would be nice to honor—”

Aria Edelweiss kissed her husband, interrupting his rambling before it could begin. He appreciated it and only a change in the vessel’s arcane humming ended the embrace.

“Won’t sharing the same name as your half-sister be an issue?” Aria asked.

Nox shook his head. “People and family members often have the same name. We could use a different nickname. She often goes by Bella, so our little one can be Izzy.”

“Izzy? I like it.”

“We’re descending,” Nox said, standing. When he offered his wife a hand, she accepted it. Only his assistance did not seem to annoy her as she crossed the six-month mark. The pair settled at the bough of the vessel as it descended through the clouds.

Joey and Caitlin made room for them. The couple spent most of their time at the bough of the Greywing, it was their favorite part of the vessel. They had rejected the offer to join Nox and Aria on the journey at first, worried about the intrusion, but Aria insisted. It also gave them some time away from the stress of living under Dean Myrina's watch and dealing with city politics. Taking care of a vampire—April's status was now an open secret—didn't make their life any easier. Caitlin's presence and growing knowledge also ensured they had a healer on board in case anything were to go wrong with the pregnancy.

“We just spotted it for a moment,” Caitlin said. “Give it a moment, you'll see the lights.” She pressed a hand against Aria’s belly without invitation. The noblewoman didn’t seem to mind. Caitlin had monitored the pregnancy for several weeks since before the voyage. “The bean is feisty today, isn’t it?”

“Is it really okay referring to the baby as a bean or an it?” Joey asked. “I was told we shouldn’t refer to a baby as an it.”

“I don’t mind as long as it's you guys.” Aria chuckled until a wince cut her off. She took Nox’s hand and placed it on her belly. He felt a sharp kick in the middle of hs palm. “Hogg’s Taint that’s a strong jumping bean. Caitlin, is it possible for the baby to have absorbed effects of that damned cocktail dear husband keeps guzzling? I’m pretty sure he took Ingrid delving the afternoon before the conception.”

Caitlin shrugged. “That’s well outside of my expertise but maybe it's possible? Lets not forget you both have highly developed Sigils. There is no telling how that might affect the foetus. I’ve been researching them since Nox’s gift and the results are inconsistent.”

“Maybe we’ll pioneer research on the subject,” Aria joked, nudging Caitlin. The Woodson woman stiffened, glancing at Joey. Nox didn’t know whether the couple had discussed such matters or they had different stances on the matter.

Nox had bought several dozen sigils over the past two years, adding any that came on to the market to the Galleria’s vaults. The magical tattoos had proven far rarer than the Trade Empire made them seem. He suspected that Queen Mercer and her people had the means to reproduce or replicate them, hence their value seemed lower. The City of Ygg’s auction houses often got them in. None sold for less than a thousand gold coins. He had let all of his companions—including Ingrid—pick one for themselves.

“Over there!” April exclaimed. The young vampire sat on the tip of the Greywing’s boom, where the wooden valkyrie’s wings splayed outward. “I see Ruipur!”

The vessel broke through the clouds, and one of Daksinisthan’s three most powerful states came into sight. As expected of an ancient city, its layout was a lot more chaotic as it had grown organically around the palace and temple structures around the center. Endless lights glimmered from within the old stone buildings, many given form by the intricate carvings in or around the windows.

Greywing rapidly slowed, descending toward the landing pad atop the tallest temple spire. The rulers of the city had constructed a giant port atop the building dedicated to long-fallen gods. A procession carrying arcane lamps and flower garlands awaited the vessel. Nox was sure it was for them. He spotted his half-brother, Louis, among the crowd. The prince stood arm-in-arm with Swati, the woman who had pursued Nox when he first started his business four years ago.

“It doesn’t look like we’ll get away with a brief visit, husband,” Aria commented, resting her head on Nox’s shoulder. “Your brother and friends are going to keep us a while.”

“I don’t mind as long as it isn’t a couple of days,” Nox replied. “The Ratras apparently had a home here. It would be nice to look around and try the local delicacies. Maybe you can sort out some barony business, too.”