The aftermath of the battle weighed heavily on the Black Wardens, half of them died while a third of the remaining ones were badly injured. The once vibrant courtyard of Oakheart was now a somber field of makeshift tents, serving as both triage stations and shelters. Mournful expressions adorned the faces of the Wardens as they moved about, tending to the wounded and paying their respects to the fallen. Freya's unconscious form, caused anxiety to ripple through the camp. Whispers of concern permeated the air as they wondered when she would wake.

The Council of Wisdom in a goodwill gesture sent Elisia Niamh along with her best doctors and apprentices to tend to the wounded.

In Freya's absence, Bryndor took up the mantle of acting commander. His stoic demeanor as well as over 20 years spent as the aide of the warden commander(half with Ragnis and the other half with Freya) provided a reassuring presence. With Kormac's guidance, the Black Wardens began intense training in the use of mana, the memory of their comrades deaths served as fuel for their determination. This power, shrouded in mystery, now became a beacon of hope for the defenders of Oakheart.

Meanwhile, within the chambers of the council, a heated debate raged. The decision to unveil the existence of mana to the public was met with fervent arguments on both sides. The tension was palpable as voices clashed, until finally, a consensus was reached. The council agreed to have Elisia Niamh, known for her knowledge of human anatomy and medical prowess who was already at Oakheart to research and develop the uses of mana. Only after they would train people responsible to serve as a police force would they make mana public. They hoped that harnessing this power could tip the scales in their favor.

When Freya finally managed to wake up about a week after the battle, Elisia visited her at once. Freya was stretching her self, dressed in some pants and a white shirt when someone knocked on the door, "Lady Freya, I'm Elisia Niamh, a member of ..."

"Enter!" Said Freya, with the door opened she could finally see this middle aged woman, her blue eyes scanning Freya with interest, all the while she was playing with her golden hair. "I've heard of you, Mistress of Ailments. Your reputation precedes you and your research on the healing arts have saved a lot of our soldiers over the years allow this, Black Warden Commander Freya Caerwyn to thank you!"

"Well..." Elisia was taken aback, over the 5 days she stayed here she heard the stories of Freya's battle, this 30 years old petite lady with black her and her scarred left eye with superhuman strength who thought against 3 abominations capable of single handedly destroying a castle gate? What a preposterous notion! "I'm flattered, the great Warden Commander, descendant of Eldric himself thanking me, is something I wasn't expecting. But please call me Elisia, can I call you Freya?"

"Sure, I don't mind names are a mouthful anyway." Smiled Freya, gesturing for her to sit down, "Now then, Elisia, what does the Council requires of me?" Freya's smile was replaced by a cunning gaze causing a shiver to run down the spine of Elisia.

"Lady Freya, don't misunderstand me until you fully recover I'll be your doctor, no matter my standing or mission from the Council, you are my patient first and foremost. I must make sure you don't spontaneously die from that mana thing, we know next to nothing." Said Elisia earnestly.

"You said 'until', that means there is another objective, would you mind telling?" Asked Freya with a curious gaze eliciting a smile from Elisia causing her to inform Freya about the Council's task and plans for the future.

"So basically you plan to keep this a secret and only give power to those close the crown while I'm going to be a testing subject." Freya summarized ruthlessly causing Elisia to be all flustered.

"Lady Freya please! That is oversimplifying things and twisting our intentions! That's not fair!"

"Is it?" Raised an eyebrow Freya, "Who knows, might be but let's make one thing clear here, even if that were the case I can understand the position of the crown. You can't release this power into the world hoping for the best, the empire will descend into chaos. Just imagine an individual with my powers turning to the evil side, as I am know if I wish I can singlehandedly destroy the capital's palace and there is nothing that can stop me yet." Said Freya smiling, causing Elisia's to shiver, and she continued, "But worry not, I am aware of my power and of what I must do. I will compile the things I know about cultivating mana and I will share this knowledge with the **Council of Wisdom**, I'll also watch with interest how it will handle it. I also hope that this will become available to the masses as soon as possible." Finished Freya.

"I see... I'm pleased to hear that." Answered Elisia while saying, "Now that we got that out of the way will you allow me to check up on you and actually do my job."

"Sure, doc! Check away should I strip?" Said Freya mischievously trying to tease Elisia with no success, she also added something else, "This way we can give the audience something to watch!" Causing the spy hidden on top of the wooden beam of the ceiling to hold his breath. "Don't bother, I found you since the first time I woke up, my senses now are sharper than you can imagine. Will you come down willingly or must I make you?"

The spy knowing that he has no way out decided to comply, defeated he jumped down brushing the dust off himself, deciding to remain quiet for the moment. He had a tight fitted cloth black suit and a black mask covering his face.

"Nothing to say? You could get executed you know?" The spy's pupils dilated but he chose to reman silent. "Your a tough one. And who would you serve the Council or the Crown? What say you Elisia, is he one of yours?"

"Lady Freya! We have done no such thing!" Elisia defended herself hastily.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"I suppose that's true, you already have Alderic and Alaric here along with you. One more apy would be detrimental, that leaves the Crown."

And she fixed her gaze on the spy once again, pretending not to notice Elisia's displeasure at being considered a spy, "Well then it seems His Highness, King Eiric is pretty curious, isn't he?" awiting for the spy to respond while pressuring him with killing intent.

Tension thickened in the air as the spy hesitated. The pressure of Freya's killing intent bore down on him, until finally, he yielded and fell to his knees, "My lady please, I was just following orders!"

"Should I? Would you, were you in my place?" Pondered Freya for a minute causing the spy to break a cold sweat, "Tell you what, I'll let you go but you'll have to do something for me. I will write a letter wich must arrive in the kings hands only, if anyone else besides him opens it I'll know. Do that for me and your free to go, okay?" And she went to her desk writing the letter sealing it with her seal while also using some of her mana causing the seal to shine a very faint silver light while the spy kept thanking and promising to fulfill the task.

After the spy bolted out the door, Elisia finally began her medical examination of Freya. As she assessed Freya's condition, Elisia was amazed at the Warden Commander's physical prowess. Freya's muscles were toned and seemed as hard as rock, contrasting with her extreme beauty and a voluptuous figure. Despite Elisia's years of medical training, her heart still skipped a beat, though she managed to conceal her emotions. In her mind, a sense of attraction towards Freya's perfectly sculpted body flickered, a fleeting thought that she quickly suppressed. Finally she said, "It's amazing, normally a person unconscious for over 5 days should be weak and malnourished but your anything but that.

Finished with the examination, her child-like curiosity quickly took over, bombarding Freya with a torrent of questions about mana, its uses, and everything related. Freya found herself obliged to answer, feeling as though she was entertaining a curious child.

"Can you manipulate mana to heal wounds faster? Like, what if you have a paper cut, could you just... mana it away?" Elisia's eyes sparkled with enthusiasm.

Freya chuckled at Elisia's eagerness. "Well, it's not exactly like that, from what I noticed so far it only enchants the natural healing of my body, but I can't say for sure. I only have a faint understanding of it.

"Oh, I see! What about making objects float?" Elisia leaned in, her curiosity uncontainable.

Freya grinned, playing along. "I don't know, I think it's possible to project mana outwards but I'm not at that stage yet, all I can do for now is to envelope my weapon in it making it sharper and sturdier.

Elisia's eyes saddened. "So that leaves flying out of the question then."

Freya's laughter filled the room. "As much as I'd love to soar through the sky like a bird, I'm afraid I have no idea how to do that."

Elisia's questions continued, covering a wide range of topics, from combat applications to more mundane everyday uses. Freya found herself thoroughly amused by the earnestness and curiosity in Elisia's voice.

Elisia leaned back, looking thoughtful. "It's incredible, really. The potential that mana holds. I can't wait to study it, do you think I can awaken it as well?"

Freya started to think about something... "Might be possible, I'm good at fighting but for you it might be possible to use mana for healing... "

As their conversation continued, Freya couldn't help but appreciate Elisia's insatiable curiosity and genuine passion for learning. It was a refreshing break from the battles and challenges she had faced.

It was afternoon when her conversation with Elisia ended. She dressed up with some pants and a t-shirt and stepped out of the room, reaching the courtyard, she could see the sun casting long shadows on the ground, the soldiers of the Black Wardens moved about with purpose, tending to the wounded and repairing the damages. Their armor bore the marks of combat, and weariness etched lines onto their faces. As she ascended the stone steps to reach the top of the walls, her gaze swept across the horizon...

Some trees bore gouges from cyclops' clubs, while others were scorched from the fiery explosions. The once vibrant forest was starting to decay a testament of the remnant corruption left in the wake of the previous attack. She then turned her back and looked at the courtyard, the place where Kormac was training the soldiers and the place where the wounded tents were.

The soldier patrolling that section of the wall quickly noticed her, the sun cast shadows on her face and his eyes were quickly drawn to the scar on her left eye, looking at her from up close, a feeling of sadness emanated from Freya. The soldier quickly composed himself and saluted her, "Warden Commander, your awake! Thank goodness!".

Freya's eyes turned to the soldier, a man in his late twenties was standing before her with hair as yellow as his face and a pair of honest brown eyes. He was wearing a pair of brown pants and boots along with the standard warden leather vest. The black warden insignia was pinned proudly on his chest. "I woke up, yes, thank you. What's your name soldier?"

"Serin Darnel, Commander Freya!" Answered the warden.

"At ease, Serin. Tell me do you regret being a warden? Sworn to fight until death to defend some lands you'll never return to?" Asked Freya looking far over the horizon to the west where the capital city of Tyr Annwyn could be faintly seen a sense of longing in her eyes as she was thinking 'Would I ever be able to visit the cities and explore the world?'

"Warden Commander, I would never..." Tried to answer Derin rapidly but Freya cut him off, "Don't bullshit me, Serin. I won't get mad nor hold it against you whatever you'll say."

Serin feeling defeated sighthed and started to say, "Commander, I grew up in a village on the coast near the city Orinth my father was a farmer. We lived a harsh life until some bandits from the nearby forest raided our little village, I was ten years old at the time. Fortunately none of us died and the bandits only stole our goods, unfortunately the village was burned to the ground causing it to disappear, my family moved to the city were we lived in poverty, the townsfolk treating us as refugees. Eventually the bandits were caught and brought to justice. At 12 years old I saw a recruitment notice for the Black Wardens, I grew up with stories about the wardens and their noble calling and along with the payment for joinning I thought I could save my family from poverty. My dad was furious when he heard but eventually accepted my decision. So off I was on my way to Oakheart and spent 8 years training here and sending the allowance to my family back home. Years passed and I eventually became an official warden and swore my oath. There were many times I longed for my family and regreted but after this battle knowing that I fought and defended other villages of being destroyed like my village long ago all those regrets vanished."

"I see..." Freya looked in his eyes, "Your a good man, Serin Darnel. When does your shift ends?"

"I don't have much left about an hour, but why do you ask, Commander?"

"Find me in the canteen when your shift ends, Serin. I think you deserve a reward. Have you awakened yet?"

"Not yet, thank you Commander!" Realizing what Freya wanted to do for him.