Vanille wasn't mad. No, just disappointed. With a heavy *sigh she leans back into the soft leathers of her favorite armchair; the thing was expensive but worth every piece of gold paid for it, a lot of money was invested into this office. Her palm runs over the impossibly soft material, finding some calm in the comfort it offers as she lazily stretches her tense body, relaxing after reading through the message.

Her slim hand then slowly drifts towards a crystal bowl set on the side of the mahogany desk to scoop another sweet treat for herself— only to find it empty.

*Tsk, she's out of mint chocolates.

Vee decides she deserves something stronger to help gather her thoughts and unwillingly gets up, making a beeline towards a cabinet filled with some of the most excellent spirits - majority of those were gifts received from students, or others, looking for her favor. Her bare feet sink into the soft carpets and then glide over the polished hardwood floor of the dean's office. It was such a busy day, preparing for a new semester. A bottle of Kora's specialty should be perfect considering the situation—

Yet another annoying thing about this whole mess... That kingdom sure knows how to make a good wine - it could almost rival the elven ones, and unlike her kin, they didn't shy from distilling it into some stronger spirits. She is really fond of their brandy.

It is going to be much harder importing those in the coming days. With a slight pop, she opens a decorated crystal carafe, enjoying the rich aroma spreading out from the amber liquid. The sweetest thing, as if the rainbows could appear— The color, highlighted by the rays of the afternoon sun, is just like her eyes and makes them twinkle with joy.

"Mmm, yes~ just what I need." She smiles, and the tip of her tongue runs over her cherry lips.

Not many things can move her heart these days and if she is to make herself care, she might need some help; what a drag it is getting old—

With a freshly poured glass she makes her way back to the desk and the letter she received from her nephew; her golden curls and thin silk robe sway as she dances across the floor, humming to herself.

Not a single drop spills as she throws herself back down onto the soft cushions of this big comfortable seat - sitting now sideways and playfully stretching perfect legs high in the air over the arm rest. Her gaze, unfortunately, again lands on Thymus' message; delicate brows furrow slightly and Vee takes a dramatic pose, bringing a thin wrist to her forehead. Ornate bracelets adorning it *chime, like only the gold can.

"Ahhh— I hate politics..."

With a wave of her hand, without even looking away from the decorated ceiling, a drawer opens in the massive desk, and from inside floats a small box made of coral. The lid lifts itself from the levitating container and reveals a dark pink powder hidden inside. She scoops a pinch with her daintily fingers and puts it in her glass before sending the rest back where it came from with a single gesture.

The reaction was immediate, giving the alcohol a subtle pink hue.

"Mama's little helper..." With a single sip she can feel the medicine fill her with renewed vigor; fire spreads through her veins banishing the apathy that nested in her after the centuries. "Ahhhhh~"

She savors the sensation for a few long moments, running her free hand through the silks and taking two more sips of the delicious spirit, comfortable in the embrace of impossibly soft leather... before with a content sigh refocusing this energy on the letter and the important matters contained within.

> Dear aunt Vee.

>

> I hope this letter finds you well, but unfortunately...

We have a problem— If only they didn't have to be so discreet about the importance of that place for their people...

She just recently - barely 14 years ago, got her nephew the position of a guild-master in that small port town to make matters easier; and now this happens. Thymus managed to hold it despite the growing anti-empire sentiments that spread from the west after the goblin war... Well, those were much weaker in the trade focused south of Kora than in the heartland near its capitol; but even there, some dissatisfied voices started to rise among the elite.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Bunch of blind fools, all of them, allowing themselves to be lead by the nose like this—"

Gold completely clouded their minds, not noticing the shackles and chains slowly being put around them by new masters- what do they expect will happen if this keeps on going and they push the Empire away? The westerners are not happy with how the Trade Wars concluded, their ambitions only grew in the past decades and will tear that small nation apart if Kora's nobles are not reigned in and the corruption stopped.

Fools even invited the 'heroes' from the Dominion in, and let them come right up to our border not long ago likely causing this whole mess.

Money is a much more dangerous and insidious weapon than swords and spears, its whispers hard to resist for short lived races. The dangerous drugs flowing from the west are a good example of what's to come, some even make their way through Kora and into the Empire much to her dismay.

Our empire is also being too passive, letting the Dominion's influence spread like this... Might be the emperor is getting old and people are too content, kids these days - and all that despite the recent wars. We were to focused on the north and reclaiming the highlands, ignoring the snakes slithering from the west.

And now we face yet another crisis; not just on our borders, but throughout the nation - likely the whole continent is affected. Vee received letters, read through many confidential reports, and has never seen such an outbreak of undeath in the past 400 years she's been alive; not even during the wars when miasma tends to linger on battlefields. It was actually one of Thymus' half-elven children that brought Guild's attention to the potential problem— weeks ago!

-Something is not right. Kora tried to hide it, then play it down; their royalty's response baffling and slow despite knowing about the threat early. The situation grew dire enough that the Guild, despite being a neutral party and all the pressure from the kingdom, shared this information with the United Empire.

And although things seem to have calmed down in the past three days, at least in the Empire, the demons are again involved if what the guild revealed is true— and that is bad news for everyone. Who knows how long it will last?

Simple wind magic brought a stack of fresh paper onto her desk from one of the decorative cabinets, and she quickly composed a set of letters of her own; the pen dancing on white pages with grace, leaving behind her neat handwriting practiced and refined over the centuries. Half were written in elvish - private, intended for her acquaintances and friends. The rest in common and addressed to the various Empire's officials that will have to move in order to secure their interests.

All stamped with her magical seal.

That small port's defences remain formidable, it was heavily fortified back from when it was still considered by Kora as important, but now the garrison there is... inadequate, lacking. We can't have it fall. The undead seemed to have ignored the town at first but is now swarmed by them.

The Empire receiving an official request for help from the town's officials - as was mentioned in the letter from her nephew, is a godsend; but doesn't guarantee an immediate reaction on their part considering the current relations between our countries.

-Never let a good crisis go to waste. She will have to throw her weight around to speed things up, Thyme's presence there is a great excuse as to why she gets herself involved.

After she is done and the wax hardened on the envelopes, she gathers her correspondence and turns away from the desk towards the tall scenic windows behind. Pointing at of the clear glass that lets in the sun of the late afternoon, a set of runes forms on her left hand, glowing in the clear blue of the arcane.

Magic surges in the room; bright, blinding arcane light coalesces into intricate mystical designs, drawing complicated patterns that tear space apart and her familiar appears from a magical circle that formed in the air.

A beautiful creature lands on the carpet and bows its head to Vanille.

"Mistress, you called."

"Discreetly bring these letters to their destinations, and be quick about it." She hands over the envelopes with her private messages to the tall mythical bird. Blue and white feathers shimmer in the light of the sun shining from behind it through the now open balcony doors.

Those letters can't be entrusted to anyone, and her Mirage Bird will deliver them unseen faster than the academy's staff could ever hope to. She won't use magic to send such sensitive information either, as that is being strictly monitored and not all of the recipients could receive such a communication anyway.

"It will be done."

The creature bows again, and she watches it gracefully take off and disappear in a shimmer before even leaving of her office; the wards of the academy, as high quality as they are, unable to block her summon's Abilities.

—Vee noticed with her [Inspect] that It leveled up again. She just hopes it won't get itself killed while out there in its realm as she got relatively attached to the stuck-up, prideful bird after all those years; the Planes can be really dangerous, but she can't keep it with her all the time anymore.

A slight breeze closes the doors to the outside and the many privacy and security enchantments snap back into place. After a moment of thought she reaches for a special silver bell that will call for one of the servants to take care of her official mail.

Hopefully she will get some time for herself after this is done— before things turn really hectic.

-And she still has to visit the headmaster... She pauses with a groan and pulls her long ears down while looking to the ceiling.

"Life's just much too hard today."

Her amber eyes dart sideways towards the desk, the glass standing there is only half empty...

She will have the servants bring her cake.

————