Toward the very far north, in the capital of Isluna—Alnia. Palace interior.
A resounding tapping of a finger could be heard in the throne room. Sweat brewed on the foreheads of the standing guards as their eyes darted back and forth. Between a closed door and a rather restless woman with ash-blonde hair, lying on a divan near an empty throne. One hand rested against the side of her head, whereas the other, was pecking at an eerie tome near her chest.
“He’s late again...”
A collectively synced series of gulps could now be heard coming from the standing guards in response to her angered tongue. A growing worry—not for themselves—but instead for someone else. A messenger remained kneeling some distance away from the divan, feeling far more shaken than his compatriots. He had entered several minutes prior, with the message that the Sage of Ospus had arrived and was currently on his way toward the throne room. He wasn’t given any command to move from his spot, thus he remained kneeling the whole time in uneasiness.
“Every single visit! This is why I hate dealing with those slow-witted Disians!”
Suddenly removing herself from the divan, the room shuddered as she made her way toward the messenger. A visible tremble and with jittering teeth, he anxiously awaited her presence with eyes glued to the ground before him. As she then stepped beyond him, a quick and slight moment of relief washed over him before he was pulled under by her voice.
“...And the next time one of those idiots arrive, make sure you don’t make the same mistake of not bringing them along to the throne room. Don’t ever waste my time again.”
The whiff of a sweet scent met the messenger’s nose as he then dropped to the ground immediately after as she continued walking. He began convulsing for several seconds before completely becoming still. And as the doors were then opened for her, she began making her way down the halls of the palace. With a few turns, she found herself staring at a hunchbacked and stubby Disian whose horns protruded neatly through a hood over his head. His face was half covered, only showing his white pupils surrounded in a deep, bloody red.
“Estreth! How many times do I have to tell you not to make side trips once you’ve arrived?!”
In seeing him peacefully eating at the corner of the dining area, her anger got the best of her.
“Hm?” Oh. If it isn’t the Mistress, my dear Etiona? I was just readying to head that way in a few seconds—or minutes. Definitely sometime soon, I assure you.”
“You should have been there several minutes ago instead, you decrepit codger.”
“Now, now. No need to shout and badmouth me. You humans need nourishment to survive too, do you not? You see, it was also quite a tiresome travel as well.”
“You...you simply just teleported here from Ospus...”
“Oh, did I?”
Estreth continued eating in silence as Etiona was seemingly seconds away from killing him where he sat. Yet, she definitely knew better as she sighed loudly and accepted her defeat. Sitting herself across from him at the table, a few nearby maids attempted to service her, but were met with a wave of her hand as they then bowed and returned. With an impatient shaking of her leg, she prompted the scheduled discussion.
“So, how did your little experiment go in the Ganhurs Mountains? Any luck?”
“Very much so. It seems as if it were quite the failure as much as it was a success.”
“Quit speaking in tongues, Estreth. Did the forced genetic regression work properly or not?”
Upon the sudden stinging of her tone, a palpable irritation rolled off of her tongue. Estreth’s white pupils adjusted accordingly as his eyes locked onto her own—taking her aback slightly.
"Rutu guca iogupori guca krin yezukitukr fisingnui."
“...And now demon-tongue... What did I tell you about—”
“It’s an old saying that means, ‘be as calm as the quiet wind’, my dear Etiona. The answer refrains from going anywhere, and yet you allow your impatience to drag your emotions against faultless grounds. You only sully your own image and nothing else.”
The shaking in her leg came to a slow halt as she quietly and finally attempted to calm herself down in response to Estreth’s words. She closed her eyes in thought as she then waited for the old man to finish his meal. After several minutes, the maids cleared Estreth’s side of the table and he continued the discussion without further ado.
“The effects of the ancestral root—the black velvet Ainutep—were quite potent. We were able to discover that, by combining the root with a pure-blooded Disian, it imbued the subjects with a rather marvelous display of heightened prowess! Yet, the end results are still vastly flawed.”
“Flawed? Did something go wrong during the experiment...?”
“We underestimated our control over their transformation. They became creatures strong enough that the researchers had to completely vacate the ruins after all! Fwhahaha!”
A sudden judder came from the opposite side of the table as Etiona reacted in a rather contrasting way compared to Estreth’s hearty and carefree laugh.
“Haah?! Vacate?! Are you implying you and your team just simply left those crucial test subjects in those ruins?!”
“That we did. We had no other choice. We received a projected Level of a ‘100’ for each of them, individually. They went beyond the normal limits.”
“A hundred...?!”
Rising to her feet from her chair in immediate shock to Estreth’s report, that distinctive sliver of surprise was quickly followed by a quivering smile—saturated in anticipation and intrigue. She sat back down, embracing that slight smile as she continued.
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“...That means we’re definitely following the correct lead, doesn’t it, Estreth?”
“That we are!”
“But what about those test subjects? Could we potentially send someone down to collect them? It’d be a waste to just neglect—”
“That remains a now improbable proposition, Etiona.”
From a smile, to a now expressive crease in her eyebrows—in glaring confusion. Estreth noticed this, and continued.
“They’re dead. Withered away! All three have been drained completely and left as mere husks! Potentially, in thanks to that person.”
“But how?! There isn’t any—wait... I hope you’re not implying that! Don’t tell me that accursed Wizard that was summoned by the Elven was the cause for it after all?!”
“Yes, and no. I wouldn’t assume that entirely as of yet. After an unknown aura was projected from the mountains, I allowed for some of the researchers to return to the ruins—in order to garner what had happened. Not only did we find the three husks, but we also found signs of the ritual circle being used.”
“Ritual circle? The one used in the experiments?”
In response to her question, Estreth’s white pupils glowed—seemingly inviting fervent breath as his tone became rapid.
“Indeed! We created a ritual circle that accurately could tamper with the lingering power source that resided within the test subjects, in order to properly infuse and initiate the desired effects of the ancestral root. And when we—”
Suddenly raising her palm outward, a look of annoyance came across her face.
“Spare me the details, Estreth. Did the Wizard end up using that ritual circle or not?”
The glow of his eyes receded as he then began shifting through his robe, pulling out a small and slim bottle with a cork top. Placing it on the table, a thin bluish strand of hair could be seen inside. A perplexed expression overtook Etiona’s face once more.
“I believe that the Wizard did use the ritual circle, but not in a similar manner as we did. You see, this strand of hair is quite unique! Very much so that—”
Before finishing his sentence, a small, fiery circle formed over his palm as he then slammed down upon the small bottle on the table. Etiona flinched in further puzzlement and surprise, as Estreth then lifted his hand from the broken bottle and the now scorched section of the table. A black residue surrounded an untouched strand of still bluish hair.
“—it remains impervious to magic! That person may have summoned something quite ancient. And from what we know, the only thing in those ruins that could be associated with this strand of hair is that entity. A now once slumbered Celestial!”
“...But Wizardry doesn’t contain any summoning spells, especially something to that extent—or at least it shouldn’t!”
“Indeed. The how is the question that’s still up in the air, my dear Etiona.”
Her eyes remained on the strand of cobalt blue hair, thoughts lingering on what it could mean. Seconds went by in silence before another voice intruded upon the two.
“I see! It seems my intuition was correct after all. That ill-fated child has summoned her of all primordial creatures. Quite an accomplishment—and quandary—despite who they are.”
Etiona shifted her gaze now in the direction of the voice, and her eyes were met with a light pink haired woman with pointed ears. She squinted at the woman’s intrusion and choice of words.
“Ptelea... What do you mean by your intuition being correct? You never said anything about this at all!”
“I told you before, my Mistress, I only divulge accurate information that I discern with accuracy. That single fragment was quite murky, thus I decided against saying anything.”
Etiona was now given a closed-eye smile, flashed toward her like a ray of feigned innocence from Ptelea. She then pinched in between her own eyes in silent frustration. Her thoughts swirled, as she then snapped her fingers. One of the nearby maids immediately responded, now awaiting her command.
“Get a letter sent to Yojim immediately that explains the incident in the ruins. Be sure it’s coded and secured properly. If what you two are saying is true, leaving him unaware will only get him killed. Something of that nature is...”
She held her tongue as she then waved off the nearby maid once more. The maid bowed deeply and immediately headed out of the dining area.
“Oh, our Mistress is quite the cautious and caring person when it involves her close retainers, isn’t she, Sir Estreth?”
“That she is. If only that side of her reflected on the outside far more—every day—then maybe I’d visit this place more often! Fwahaha!”
“You two... I swear... Estreth, let’s just hurry and continue with this discussion. Being in the presence of both of you—at the same time—is just going to be bad for my health.”
A small chuckle came from Ptelea as she then situated herself near Etiona’s side.
“Estreth, what of your...partner, was it?”
“My dear Etiona, you may have to be a bit more specific than that. I have two equals that strive toward our current endeavor after all, upon different paths.”
“The one you referred to the last time you were here, the one that’s in Nefra.”
“That human? He’s been preserving in solitude, it seems. Completely entrapped within his own sphere of study. From what I recall, he was rather close to a new and undisclosed discovery. If it would please you, I will make sure to have someone check up on him in the coming week.”
“Yes, if you would, please. Now, about the situation at the border...”
Their discussion then led into the intricacies of the ongoing skirmishes at their southern border. A nearby maid then supplied them with a map that focused on the Upper Region and said southern border of Isluna. A massive crevice separated the two countries up until the central point where the two landmasses met. From ongoing tactics to the overall outlook, their discussion then finally came to a conclusion.
“How wondrous! Everything is going as planned so far, isn’t it, my Mistress?”
“Of course it is, Ptelea. I didn’t come this far just to make a mistake where it’d matter the most. We’ll proceed with our continuous push until we reach the next stage. With that being said, our talks end here for today. I look forward to hearing about the updates in the coming week, Estreth.”
“I will try my best to appease your expectations then, my dear Etiona.”
As Estreth left the dining room area, Ptelea and Etiona remained. After a short while in silence, another chuckle slipped from Ptelea’s throat as a whisper flowed freely from her lips.
“It seems he doesn’t have the slightest idea about your other plans either, hm? As always, your passive persuasiveness is such a sight to witness.”
“That's just because he’s an obsessed codger with nothing but research on his mind. Once we receive that information from that other member of Eboracum, we should be able to move forward to the next step. Little by little...”
“...You’ll ascend toward its peak—the rise of the incoming era, right, my Mistress?”
Etiona gave a silent nod to Ptelea’s words and smile as ruminative silence overtook the two.