Sternenberg, Switzerland

Seb was not having a good day. After arriving at Alpha’s estate and meeting him for the first time, he thought the worst had passed. After all, they managed to make their case, and the Alpha did not immediately throw them out. He even tossed an impromptu feast for them, inviting his close family, which frankly surprised Seb.

Seb was anxious seeing Peter’s children for the first time, not knowing what trouble young wolves would stir. No, he was surprised at how different they were from the kids he brought over. And even more astonished that Peter introduced them to Seb, Leo, and Heidi, leaving Evan as the only mundane person in the room. Peter was suspiciously nonchalant about the whole affair last night, making Seb believe that he had ulterior motives.

Seb’s anxiety turned to displeasure during the dinner last night, as he managed to observe the werewolf children interact with everyone at the table. Leo and Evan, not part of the supernatural world not so long ago, did not know the customs and the power games played by those who knew these nuances. No doubt, Peter noticed the same things as Seb and took notice of, for example, Evan and his shameful passes at the Alpha’s daughter.

The first child who stood out to Seb was Auriel. The boy, the oldest of the children, carried himself with grace and decorum. Peter, no doubt, had been preparing him for years to eventually take the pack over from him or establish his own, an extension of Peter’s. The boy was collected, calm, and observant. He noticed Leo from the first step he took inside the dining room, sniffing the air around the young boy mage. Seb could not read the boy further during the evening.

Then came Fadri - the youngest of the brothers. Seb knew that the boy was trouble the moment he walked into the room with a sneer. It was clear on his face how much distaste he carried for the mages that came to be his father’s guests. To Seb’s surprise, the boy managed to collect himself throughout the evening and did not damage his father’s reputation even as he made unruly remarks to Evan, who was busy chatting with Auriel and their sister.

Seb did not understand what to think of the sister - Lisbeth. She was extremely quiet all evening and eyed Leo far too many times as a female of her beauty normally should. Seb knew that werewolf females chose mates based on strength. A type of strength that was displayed at public rituals carried within the pack annually, when all the bachelors and bachelorettes of the pack were invited to… mingle. A long-standing tradition, as far as he understood, not being an expert on werewolf customs.

Her behavior was different. She seemed timid, but Seb could glimpse a mischievous look in the corner of her eye, that grew during the evening. No doubt to stir up trouble. Seb shook his head at the thought, as he remembered Fadri’s claims and outrage just now. Nothing good must have happened last night, as he lost sight of Leo during the evening.

Turning to observe Evan's work, Seb looked back toward where Peter left for the mansion and thought about what came next for the boy mage. He needed training and discipline. No - he needed a mentor, and Seb knew he was not the right person for the job. As experienced as he was, Seb recognized that he was still a simple mage who knew nothing when it came to free mages and their magic.

The boy was already learning too fast, casting spells mere hours after forming his core and fixing the disastrous state his body was in. Then the boy went on to survive an attack by a Bishop with a blue core, cutting it close to being bisected by the said Bishop, only to survive by displaying an affinity so rare and dangerous, that the Pope would come and hunt him down himself, should he learn of it. What else could go wrong?

Then he felt a huge pulse of mana from the mansion. Even Evan, who was biting his fork in the pile of cow dung, rose his head to look toward the house. In the next second, a pillar of bright light shot up from the place toward the sky, discharging even more mana in the surrounding area.

Shit, Seb thought and cursed his bad luck before taking off toward the mansion with Evan in tow.

- - -

Unknown to anyone besides a small werewolf pack living near the forest around Sternenberg, an old woman sat silently in a cave. The cave was hidden deep in the mountains, accessible only to those who knew the way. And only those who knew the way - had the key. Such people were none, as the said woman did not want to be disturbed and threw the key away.

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But the key did not matter, as the woman had been in the cave for more than five hundred years but could leave at any time. She had been meditating, recuperating. She wore a simple gray robe, as her body sat in a lotus position floating in the air. She had been in this position for so many years. Too many - as she lost count of them and the connection with the life around her. The woman had no idea how many years had passed. What had happened to her friends and charges, or anyone else for that matter.

So the woman sat in the cave. All quiet and alone. Undisturbed by the events around her in the wide world. Not knowing that her arch-nemesis had moved on with his mad plan. Multiple times. Each time driving the common man she had fought to protect even more toward slavery she worked so hard to abolish.

As she floated in the air, her mind was elsewhere, trying to connect back to the mana river above the planet. To fix the damage done to her after she fought her nemesis - Iscariot. She was broken and betrayed. A simple wolf stretching out a helping hand all those years ago, saving her from her enemies. Friends she had thought close becoming turncoats as the tide of power changed.

Her core was broken. Unable to pull in and store new mana. She tried to access the mana river which she knew was there to fix the issue. But Iskariot was no fool. Not only did he break her core, but also cut her off from the flow of the mana. Though, little by little, inch by inch - she was able to make progress.

But for the progress to be made, she had to tune out all distractions. So she hid away in a cave, deep in the mountains. Under lock and key, completely barred and hidden from the world and her enemies, she worked to fix what was broken.

Then, suddenly she felt a change. The mana that had been thinning out over the countless years she had secluded herself while grasping at the straws, suddenly swelled. No, it pooled together at a place that was nearby. Somewhere outside of the cave.

How could it penetrate the wards around the cave, she thought, still in meditation, becoming distracted. However, before she could regain her focus - it swelled up again. And then she saw it. The river of mana that was so far inaccessible suddenly poured down as rain in the middle of the desert. Her immediate surroundings become lush with pure mana of the cosmos.

Her eyes shot open and glowed for a second in the dark cave. Mold and stale air greeted her, though she did not notice it anymore as she was not required to breathe, eat or sleep, due to the state her body was in before she sealed herself away. She spent a second gathering herself and smiled, before saying, “The key has been found.”

- - -

Leonard sat in the chapel at the Church headquarters in Berlin after coming back, recuperating enough to keep up appearances. It was bad enough that the support troops called over to capture the heretic saw him at his lowest, even for a brief time.

He looked at the stained glass window, depicting some scene from the bible he could not place, and thought to himself about what would the Pope say now that he had lost the heretic - again. Just when he thought that his day could not get any worse, a knock sounded on the chapel door, and a technician entered the room.

The technician, a young brunette dressed in a white dress, came up behind him and cleared her throat. “Yes?” Leonard asked, not turning to face her, his gaze still fixated on the glass.

“There are some news we believe you should see, sir,” she said with confidence. Leonard frowned, not understanding what could be so important. Did she not see he was busy?

“What news?” he asked with annoyance.

“A spike of mana was recorded.”

“Speyer?” he asked indifferently.

“No, sir. We could not place where it took place. But that is not the interesting part.”

“Then what is?” Leonard finally turned, surprising the girl, and looked her in the eye.

She stuttered for a moment but regained her composure and said, “It is not the where but the magnitude of the spike, sir. It predates all existing known records.”

Leonard’s eyes widened, and he asked to be sure, “What is the approximation?”

“As far as our satellites were able to record - Archmage level spell, affecting wide area, somewhere south in Germany. Maybe above archmage - it is hard to tell.”

Shit, Leonard thought and cursed his bad luck before taking off toward the portal hub to meet the Pope.