Tala and Master Grediv sat across from each other in tense—only slightly awkward—silence.

They were in a side sitting room within the main structure of the Gredial estate.

It was beautifully constructed, with exposed beams and meticulous craftsmanship on display throughout.

Despite the tension, Tala was enjoying the food that she’d brought in a little bag for herself, which sat on the floor beside her chair, leaning against the leg.

Well, ‘little’ was a bit of an understatement.

It was a rucksack that would be able to carry resources for one person to be out on their own for at least a week with ease.

Mistress Petra had packed it with care and skill, keeping the food within it intact and ready for tasty consumption.

In order to get the food without awkwardly bending to scoop it out, Tala manipulated tendrils of iron—guided by her threefold sight.

Especially with her more recent work in the manipulation of her iron and the creations of void within, her dexterity and capacity had increased many-fold, and those bits of metal easily moved around within her aura, gripping and manipulating whatever she needed.

She found it easiest to make them in the form of hands of various sizes, each acting at her bidding.

Master Grediv occasionally eyed one of the iron-gray tools as it floated around Tala, but he didn’t comment.

Even so, having to carry the rucksack of food was a bit irritating.

I really need to find a way of keeping Kit with me while still allowing her to be conveniently placed for those helping me.

-Yeah… we are working on a few ideas.-

And they’re great ideas, but not good enough. Not yet.

-Master Simon’s suggestion could help make some of them more feasible.-

Yeah, but it would imply that I want more people in my sanctum…

-Which you seem to be moving toward. Yes?-

I still don’t like it…

The most promising solution involved the utility of Kit’s own dimensionality.

As the sanctum extended massively within Kit’s stoneward magics, it technically had that wide of an area in which it existed and should be accessible from anywhere within that range, regardless of the compression involved.

In theory.

Tala didn’t really understand that part of how the magics worked, but in this case, she didn’t need to.

Even so, Tala had only been able to manifest an entrance into Kit from two blocks away before replacing the door at Artia’s shop afterwards.

She knew that she’d never be able to violate the one entrance stricture, but if she could move the entrance greater distances, or manifest the singular entrance further away? It would increase Kit’s utility even further.

Finally, Master Grediv set his tea to the side, drawing Tala from her thoughts. “I did not ask to meet with you to discuss Rane.”

Tala felt one side of her mouth pull up in a small smile. “I had assumed not. You don’t have the same stressed air about you that you do when he is involved of late.”

Master Grediv twitched, frowning slightly. “Mistress Tala, we have both made our positions clear on this matter. I trust that we do not need to revisit it?”

She shook her head slowly. “We do not. I meant no offense.”

“Good. Now, we have—in the past—discussed what will be required for you to become a Paragon as well as the steps required for you to Reforge.”

“We have. Paragon is the aligning of myself with an eternal mindset or—more accurately—with my own soul’s… goals? View on existence?” She huffed a laugh, smiling. “I suppose if I could articulate it perfectly, I’d have already reached it.”

He smiled in turn. “Indeed.”

“As to Reforging.” Tala shuddered. “Reforging is effectively Refining, but where I will be required to control every part of the process myself, through my own magics and through inscriptions that will be added to me for that purpose. There can be no outside assistance or interference. It is the remaking of myself, by myself, for myself.”

Master Grediv held up a finger. “Yes and no.”

She tilted her head to the side, lightly frowning. “Alright; I’m listening.”

“Your alternate interface, I believe she is named Alat?”

“Yes?”

“Can she help you Reforge?”

“I… I don’t know, but I assume so.”

“Why?”

“She is me, and so it would still be ‘me’ working on my Reforging.”

“True enough. Can you use the magics from within your sword, Flow, during the Reforging process?”

“I…” Her frown deepened. “I assume so, actually.”

“You are right. Do you know why?”

Instead of answering right away, Tala took a moment to consider, really consider.

Master Grediv seemed pleased by that, picking his tea back up to slowly enjoy while she thought.

After a long couple of minutes, Tala found herself nodding. “It has to do with true ownership and authority.”

“Precisely.”

He set his tea aside again, rather more roughly than before as he leaned forward. Thankfully, he’d drunk enough that nothing spilled, not that he seemed like he would have cared.

“Your new physical body must be untainted by anyone else’s ownership or authority.” He waved a hand dismissively at his own words. “This is not precisely correct, but it will help to convey what you need to know for the moment.”

“Does that mean a familiar or spouse could help?”

He smiled broadly. “They could, yes. But that isn’t what I was driving at.”

“Alright. I’m listening.”

“The resources you use to Reforge yourself must be your own. Master Jevin is a nearly perfect example in this regard. He uses the earned, excess resources of his entire city to push himself forward every cycle, and yet he has barely moved toward being Reforged.” He held up a hand to forestall her obvious objections. “True, he has other issues limiting his Reforging speed, but the idea stands.”

“Alright, but I still don’t quite understand. What resources? What could I need?”

He shrugged at the question. “Precious metals in the thousands of pounds to be made into the inscriptions that you will need to empower throughout the process. Food that is yours on a fundamental level, rather than purchased from someone else. Things of that nature.”

“Because Master Jevin is ruler of the city, at the most basic level everything produced there is his?”

“Not the most basic level, no, but at a fundamental level, yes, and that part is critical. It is important to know that he couldn’t steal from his citizens and expect it to work. He must own the resources at every level possible.”

“I’m not sure I fully understand, but I think I get what you are aiming at.”

He leaned back. “Do tell?”

She sighed, thinking of what Master Simon had been pushing for. “You are suggesting that I alter Kit to be able to function as a source of resources, and begin building toward what I will need to Reforge.”

He tilted his head to one side. “That would likely work, yes.”

She frowned, noticing by his reaction that that wasn’t the answer he’d expected. “What were you going to suggest?”

“Well, I was going to suggest that you do something like that, but the example I was going to give was to try and become at least an ancillary ruler or manager of one of the new cities to be manifest in the next century or so. There aren’t many Paragons or Refined who are currently aiming at Reforging, but there are enough that the positions will be given to those among that number.”

She shook her head. “I’m not interested in that type of work or locational restriction or obligations.”

He chuckled. “And my encouragement would have been to get over that lack of interest, but your Kit does offer an alternative that I didn’t fully consider.” He picked up his cup and took a long sip before continuing, “It now makes a bit more sense why Master Simon approached me about this.”

Stolen story; please report.

“Master Simon?”

“Yes, that man has worked for a number of highly advanced Archons, and he’s seen their own slow, steady work to build up what they would need if they get to the point of Reforging. I highly doubt that he knew or knows why they were doing it, but he’s clever enough to realize that it involves something that you should be mindful of.”

Tala grunted. “So it seems.”

They moved on to talking about other things at that point. Neither brought up Rane, and both were fine with that. They simply enjoyed chatting as well as the echoes of the times they’d spent together in the past.

* * *

Tala stood within Kit, looking at her dais.

Upon that dais—in front of where she usually stood to be reinscribed—was a throne that she had effectively never used.

She knew what it could do. It had been created as the command hub for the systems that the arcanes put in place within Kit.

She also knew that they’d advised that she never touch them without detailed guidance, given how easy it would be to mess up the delicate balance within Kit.

Kit was much bigger, now, and the magics had been iterated out throughout the whole sanctum, giving the throne even more control, and making utilizing those tools even more finicky.

Master Simon was looking between Tala and the throne. “Mistress Tala? Are you going to have a seat?”

She sighed. “Fine.”

Tala stepped forward and sat down, her mind immediately filling with what seemed almost like a table of contents for the magics she could access and alter.

-Oh, you look good, like you belong here.-

Tala took a moment to see what Alat meant.

She did cut a striking figure, sitting erect on her throne.

Her clothes were immaculate but not ornate.

She still preferred the nearly white tunic with storm-cloud gray pants and no shoes.

Flow was at her hip in its ornate sparring sheath, and while her inscriptions were hidden beneath her through-spike illusion, letting her skin appear natural—if magically flawless—there were currents of magic that gave her an ethereal quality even to mundane sight.

While she wasn’t clad in iron at the moment, her inscriptions were. The manifestations in existence caused by that containment was the most likely source of that other-worldy appearance she was noticing.

Her hair was in her preferred braid, starting at her left temple, woven together down and across the nape of her neck to cause the bulk of her hair to fall over her right shoulder.

Tala’s head was held regally, and her gaze seemed to be searching for someone to smite.

Her eyes were a blood red that seemed almost to be glowing.

-You know, those are meant to be covered.-

I like them.

-Yeah, I got that. That’s why you let them through the illusion, but it doesn’t help you fit in.-

I’m past fitting in, Alat. I just don’t want to be attacked.

-...fair.-

There were three independently oscillating and pulsating shapes of iron slowly rotating at an angle around the back of her head, as if following the circumference of a non-existent halo.

The throne itself was simple granite, shaped and polished to a near mirror finish, highlighting the granular structure of the stone. The black, white, and gray flecks each set off different parts of her appearance.

Well… Rust.

-See? This is how you look to those around you.-

She shook herself, watching as the queen on her throne settled slightly, now ready to issue a just proclamation of war.

Yeah… I’m going to stop watching myself again. This is… uncomfortable.

-You do need to understand how you are perceived, Tala.-

You are probably right, but not now. I have too much else to do.

-Fine. I’ll do it for you.-

Tala turned her perspectives outward once again, focusing on her actual task.

She wasn’t in the throne to make any changes.

In fact, she was there to make sure no changes occurred while they did the next part.

“Mistress Tala?”

Her supplicant—No, Tala, you aren’t viewing yourself as a queen anymore.

-Isn’t that supposed to be my line?-

I’m trying to be more self-aware.

-…while not being aware of how you are perceived?-

…self-aware of my own mentality.

-Fair enough.-

Master Simon grabbed her attention more fully. “Mistress Tala?”

“Yes! Yes. I apologize. I was delving through the readings.”

-Well, I was, but sure, make excuses for your dip into megalomania.-

Hush, you.

“Are you ready to monitor the changes with that construct?”

“I am. Are the pillars in place around the original perimeter?”

“They are.”

“Then, let us begin.”

Tala had her perspectives all focused on her sanctum, Kit’s internals.

She’d already proven that Kit didn’t need to be a sphere. She’d almost laughed when she first had that thought.

Kit had essentially never been a sphere, her first internal shape more resembling a small closet than anything else.

Now, with all the changes in Tala’s life, she wanted to alter the shape in preparation for having more people using the space in the coming decades.

I’m going to need the resources for Reforging. It’s fine. I’m not losing my privacy or agency. I’m choosing this.

With a flex of Tala’s will, Kit shed all the excess dimensionality and material that had been added around the sanctum’s ‘original’ size and shape, meaning the part that had been arranged and perfected by the arcanes.

In this case, shed was meant like a dog losing its fur, rather than a person losing weight.

The ‘fur’ was still there, just no longer where it had been.

Tala and Kit worked together to hold onto the stripped-off resources, neither willing to lose what was theirs.

The artificial sky got a lot closer once again, but Tala didn’t feel claustrophobic.

On the contrary, she felt liberated even as she bent her will and power to moving the dimensionality to a separate sphere, only connected to her sanctum by a thin bridge of space with a simple stone floor to allow passage.

The secondary space was about three times the volume of her sanctum, but she didn’t need a lot of volume for herself and her crops.

She could have even made her area smaller, but she liked the layout that she’d helped to design and enact.

It came with hard memories, but most of them were tempered with knowledge that she had seized every advantage and benefit that she could from the House of Blood, and Kit was a large part of what she’d gained.

This sanctum was a badge of her conquest, not a scar from her captivity.

It was hers.

Kit was hers.

They were bound, forever.

Master Simon was manipulating his Archive slate, offering suggestions, and reminding her of things that they’d discussed.

The other volume took on its rough shape, a largely barren new world.

It had soil, bedrock, water, and an illusory sky, but no artificial sun.

Master Simon had negotiated the creation of one in exchange for detailed schematics and a chance to study the one Tala already had, but it wouldn’t arrive for a bit.

Until then, they would work on the shape of the space and the land therein.

In theory, that was where any other people Tala allowed into her sanctum would live.

Well, no, that’s not my sanctum. This is.

-Shall we give it a name?-

She felt herself smile, her eyes moving to meet Master Simon’s. “The Irondale sphere is complete. No fluctuations in the readings from the throne, though that space is now not covered by the magics controlled here. So, all that means is that we didn’t mess up my sanctum with the shift.”

“Irondale?” The Archon frowned for a moment, then grinned. “It fits, honestly. You do love your iron.” He nodded. “I also like the implication that you’ll have a town there. The resilience of Kit’s existence—now that she’s bound to you—is…”

Tala stood. “It’s impressive, yes. So you’ve said.”

“Indeed. I think you could have a couple of hundred gated in here and not risk rupture unless something went crazily sideways.”

She hesitated, glancing his way. “Let’s not get carried away or anything.”

He smiled, holding up his hands in surrender. “Oh, I know, but the possibilities that this place brings to bear are fascinating.”

“Indeed. Shall we?”

He nodded assent.

With a comparatively minor flexing of her will, she and he were standing in a pitch black expanse.

There was a feeling of primal power to the space around them.

A new world, untamed, unforged, and unconquered even though it was hers already.

“Light.” The illusion of light appeared, showing them their surroundings, even if the illumination itself didn’t actually exist.

Master Simon was giving her a flat look.

“What?”

“‘Light’? Isn’t that a little… pretentious?”

“Speaking out loud?” She pretended not to know what he meant.

He sighed, shaking his head, even as a smile pulled at his lips. “Fine. I can’t say I haven’t done something similar when activating a light construct.”

She laughed. “Yeah, but you’re right. I probably shouldn’t get a big head or something’s bound to cut it off.”

“I don’t honestly think that would slow you down overmuch.”

She grunted. “I still don’t think I’d enjoy it.”

“It would be odd if you did.”

One of her iron shapes popped, and Tala sighed. Yeah, I was too distracted, that’s fair.

-Glad you acknowledge that.- Alat was obviously rather proud of herself.

Even so, Tala easily kept mastery of the other two shapes even as she rebuilt the third and put it back into synchronous orbit with the others.

Master Simon had a knowing smile on his face, but otherwise, he didn’t react.

“Shall we get started? I know we have it roughed in, but…”

Tala nodded. “As you say. There’s a lot still left to accomplish.”

With that decided, they began walking the vast area, reshaping the land according to complex formulas that Alat and Master Simon were applying through the sensing magics and their connection to the Archive.

Tala used her will to shift all levels and components of the terrain, ensuring that it would be stable until she wished it to be different.

It was actually a rather rewarding experience.

The feeling of creating something that would last was intoxicating.

They had discussed it beforehand, and the two Archons would work in their free time—around their other projects, tasks, and training—over the coming months to make this place how they wanted it.

There would be a massive lake, with rivers flowing out of it and around to come back in.

There would be forests, orchards, and plains, little mountains and valleys.

They had a lot of ideas of how they could make it, effectively, a paradise that Tala could use to attract resources and workers that she might need.

Even though Tala had dismissed the idea of dividing Kit like this when Master Simon had first suggested it, now that she’d gotten started, she was incredibly glad that they were doing this.

This was invigorating in a way that she hadn’t expected.

She felt a burning passion flicker to life within her as she worked to forge a miniature world to call her own.

Unnoticed by any save Alat, Tala’s aura shifted just a bit more toward green.