Zalia flew in low over the capital, watching the patrolling guards all along the city walls. The capital was a thriving city now because most of the remaining population of Endaria had centralised there after the invasion, for the support of the government more than anything else.
The only other place in Endaria that had kept an even remotely large population had been Ostoss in the north, the town that Zalia had helped defend. The Enchanter there had eventually figured out her anti-demon ritual and incorporated it into his defense, lending the people there safety. Other than those two cities, the final places in the kingdom that had remained populated were the far, far northern villages. On the very edges of Endaria, those villages were usually considered the most dangerous parts of the kingdom. That had changed over the course of the invasion, with many people having fled to those villages and only a few of those returning once the invasion was over.
That was all in the past now though. Sure, the odd demon popped up here and there but life had gone back to normalcy. The people of Endaria were tougher than ever and many of the previously abandoned towns were receiving seeding populations from the capital as people started to look outside its walls for opportunity. For those who put in the hard work, there was limitless land around already-built infrastructure for the taking.
The reason Zalia had come to the capital was none of that, however. She had come to see Hildebrandt, the most singularly powerful person in the kingdom. Zalia wasn’t sure if the entire kingdom’s army was capable of beating her in a fight. It was good then that Hildebrandt was also one of the most selfless people in the kingdom.
When she had ceded control of the Morning’s Shade to the Endarian Council, Hildebrandt hadn’t stayed with them as a member also under the council. Instead, she had been living the quiet life in the capital in a nice cozy house towards the upper tiers of the city.
Having seen her approaching the city at speed, a pair of shadowy guards born on dark wings flew up to meet her. Once they drew closer, Zalia recognised them as the twins, members of the Morning’s Shade who now apparently acted as air control for the capital.
They let her pass with a simple nod of greeting and she dropped down towards the area she knew Hildebrandt to live in.
Zalia had been to her house only once in the past four years, some year and a half after the invasion. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see the woman, just that they were so often both busy. That and the fact that Zalia had to fly a mind-numbing twenty-five hours straight to reach the city, even at her faster speed. She often wished that she could make some portals in a few other places of Endaria as well. Actually, couldn’t she just…
She shook the thought from her head as she landed, peering up at the compact two-story house surrounded by a neat little garden with a waist-high fence around it. The building itself was made of giant log posts with plastered walls between them, making what was a beautiful, simple cottage in a city filled with wonders of architecture. Unlike most of the buildings in the capital that were essentially grown by magical builders, this one had been built by hand by none other than Hildebrandt herself.
Zalia walked up to the huge, thick wooden door that served as the house’s entrance and gave it two solid, satisfying knocks. It wasn’t often that a door would handle the unrestrained strength of a Silver ranker but this house had been built for someone much higher than that.
Her head turned at a called “Over here!” from around the side of the house. She stepped down the two steps and walked over the stepping stones through the garden. While she kept her aura as restrained as possible in cities, she did notice some of the grass growing wildly despite her efforts. She absentmindedly trimmed it all back to normal as she turned the second corner into the backyard.
There was Hildebrandt, in a singlet and shorts that showed off her obscene amount of muscle, whistling away as she cooked some type of meat on a flame grill. The woman picked up another log and chucked it through the hatch into the fire beneath as she turned to look at Zalia.
“Zalia! So nice to see you, it’s been a while”
It was odd to see Hildebrandt out of her armour, no shield or mace in sight. When you saw Hildebrandt in battle, it was easy to forget that there was a person under all that power.
“Your garden is lovely as ever, how have you been?” Zalia asked, walking over to give her a big hug.
Hildebrandt returned the hug, one hand still holding a pair of tongs.
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“Great! I’m still grateful you persuaded me to pick up gardening, I’ve even managed to develop a passive for it since the last time you were here”
Zalia gave her a warm smile, happy for the woman. The last time she’d been here the house had only just finished being built and the “garden” at the time had looked like a war site. Which it kind of had been. Zalia had convinced her to fix it up rather than leave what remained of the grass to grow in wild patches. She was fond of wild growth but all nature could flourish under a careful eye and a caring hand. Her smile slowly faded as she remembered why she was there.
“What is it?” Hildebrandt asked, seeing her expression change.
Zalia’s hand tapped repetitively on her thick pants as she thought.
“I wanted to talk to you about Indis if you know anything. And I wanted some advice.”
Hildebrandt nodded but made no move to sit, continuing her cooking. Zalia waited as she finished up with the meat and took a few fruits off a nearby tree, crushing them with ease into two cups. She also brought out another comfortable chair and some fresh bread, setting everything on a table between the two chairs. Only once that was done did Zalia talk.
“How exactly did Indis lose the election?”
Hildebrandt sipped some of the… fruit juice before responding.
“You’d have to ask Faian if you want details but as far as I know, she started plotting to have Faian removed but the general was one step ahead. She got politically outmaneuvered for once.”
Zalia was a little shocked. It appeared Faian had taken to her role quite well then.
“Is she still in the city?”
Hildebrandt shook her head.
“No, she left. Don’t know where she went though.”
Zalia frowned, worried. She didn’t have any warmth for the woman but they had been close once. Endaria and its people had been everything to her and to be rejected by them… well, she probably hadn’t taken that well. Maybe she could get Aylie to send a dream message.
“The other thing I’m worried about is the Astar. I know it’s been peaceful for a while now but I have this feeling, this fear on the edge of my mind all the time recently. A few months back Ember and Aylie ran into a new type of demon and I can’t help but think the Astar were behind it somehow. I have this… I have this certainty in my mind that they’re going to attack, and soon. It might be a strike against me, or even against the capital. I’m not sure.”
It was Hildebrandt’s turn to frown as she inspected Zalia closely.
“Where is this feeling coming from?”
Zalia shrugged.
“I don’t know but it’s got me through more than one bad situation in the past. I trust it.”
Hildebrandt looked at her sympathetically.
“Are you sure you aren’t just so used to watching for danger that you’re seeing something that isn’t there? Maybe triggered by whatever it is Ember and Aylie ran into?”
Zalia hadn’t thought about that. During the invasion and the months coming up to it, she had been so constantly in danger that it had become normal to her. After each fight, there was already another enemy waiting. Maybe the close run in Ember and Aylie had with the demon had set something off in her, some trauma from the war.
She sighed deeply.
“You might be right. I just can’t shake the feeling. We know that the Astar have come after powerful Endarians in the past. Matth… Matthias still hasn’t reappeared. When it comes to the next most powerful people in the kingdom after you, it's the twins, a few of the council members and my family. I think we should strike before they decide to start up that particular habit again.”
Hildebrandt gave her a serious look, apprehension apparent on her face.
“Zalia, I understand your fear but striking against an enemy whose strength is unknown is a surefire way to start a war we might not be ready for. The kingdom has only just started recovering, properly recovering from the last one. Don’t do anything foolish. If you need some closure about this issue, talk to General Faian while you’re here and maybe she can work something out.”
Zalia nodded slowly, hearing the logic in her words. She was right that they weren’t yet ready for another war.
“Alright, I’ll talk to Faian later then.”
They chatted idly for the next half hour as they, though it was mostly Hildebrandt, finished eating. Zalia asked about what ranking up as an Emerald ranker was like and Hildebrandt explained how she had reached a level where she felt no push to reach the next rank. She was essentially unkillable and had all the time in the world to rank up, which made for less of a desperate push to reach the next rank than what Zalia was used to.
Hildebrandt asked after Ember, Aylie and Boreal, becoming incredibly excited to learn that Boreal had had kittens. She now wanted to come for a visit as soon as possible to see them.
Zalia eventually had to leave, knowing that Ember would be waiting for her return. With a wave and a hug goodbye and promises to see each other soon, Zalia started the short flight up to the capital’s castle. A short talk with Faian and she would return home to test a theory she had come up with to do with her ritual magic. If her idea worked, it might change Endaria forever.