Philo sat in the sitting area of his suite of rooms just after lunch. His wife had left to walk into the first ring to visit some friends she had made. Philo held a message in his hand from Cassia saying that she had talked to her daughter. She had written that her daughter was unsure of leaving Abscon for Aurumist, but Cassia was sure she could convince her. If not, Cassia would find a way to lure Marcus outside of Abscon, so Philo could take his son. Cassia was sure Desmona would follow.

Philo was pleased. However foolish Marcus was, he was still Philo son. He wanted Marcus with him in the palace. He wanted to pass on to Marcus the right to rule that Philo would take from Gryphon. He would like to have Marcus by his side as he sacrificed Gryphon and took the right to rule, but he wasn’t sure if Marcus could stomach it. Perhaps he would force Marcus to watch to toughen him up.

Philo was still working on a way to get his hands on Gryphon. He had sent information all across the kingdom stating any folk who could turn her in alive to authorities would be paid handsomely. He wasn’t sure how any non-gifted person could catch Gryphon, but he knew of at least a few magical communities that might try to take the queen to gain funds and safety from Aurumist. He sat back thinking it over when there was a knock at the door.

“Who is it?” asked Philo as he put away his letter.

“It is Helmer. I need to speak with you.”

Philo raised his hand and the door opened. Helmer came in and sat down in the chair next to Philo.

“Good afternoon, Viceroy, what brings you here today?” asked Philo looking at Helmer.

“There are a few things I need to speak with you about. First, did you know there seems to be a sickness in the city?” asked Helmer.

Philo sat up. “Do you think it is the illness? Has it made its way to the city?”

“No, I think this is something else. It only seems to be affecting the magic users released with Golnar’s elixir.”

“The same that killed Kedan’s wife Teryn, I suppose. Well, what can be done?”

“They are being cared for at the Belles mansion. I am not sure anything can be done.”

“Pity, but it does not affect us much, unless it starts spreading to our soldiers. I have seen none of that, yet. I will keep an eye on it, and if it starts affecting our soldiers, you will have to find a way to stop it,” said Philo.

“How do I do that? I don’t even know what elixir Golnar used. I know it was old blood magic, but I do not know the exact elixir and spells used.”

“You better figure it out somehow. This is your city, Helmer, and you need to see to the health of your people,” said Philo. “Now what else did you want to speak of?”

“I have found an old blood magic spell to increase strength as you asked. It is very complicated, but I imagine I can do it eventually. There are some risks,” said Helmer.

“What risks?” asked Philo.

“It can cause magic to become instable, and it can affect one’s mental state. If the person who the spell is cast on is not of strong mind, it can lead to insanity and death.”

“Would you say I am of strong mind, Helmer?” asked Philo

“I would say yes,” answered Helmer.

“Then the risks won’t matter. What will I be able to do if you perform this magic on me?”

“Things you could only imagine. You could set up shields no one could break through. You could knock down twenty men with a flick of your wrist,” answered Helmer excitedly.

“Could it combat the protector’s magic? Could it keep Gryphon’s protector from shielding her and amplifying her power?”

“I’m not sure,” said Helmer. “I would think it would be effective, but protector’s magic is very powerful and old. I don’t even know how we would test that. There wouldn’t be a way to test it.”

“But do you think there is a chance?” asked Philo.

“Yes,” said Helmer. “I believe there is a good chance.”

“Do everything you can to make whatever elixir you need to make. I will make sure you have everything you need. I will need this done by the time Gryphon makes her move on the city. I will kill her, and I will take her right to rule.”

After Helmer left, Philo walked down to check on his soldiers. The soldiers were kept in the east wing of the palace. He found most of them training in a large hall at the end of the wing. He watched and didn’t see any signs of sickness. He found a few of his leaders and inquired, learning that none had heard of any soldiers falling ill. Philo told them to report to him if any soldiers showed signs of illness.

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Satisfied that the soldiers were well, Philo walked to his study. He sat down at his desk and started thinking of the problems in the city. It sounded as if there were quite a few sick in the first ring of Aurumist. Philo would have to ask his wife about it when she got back from her visits. Perhaps she knew something about it.

Philo thought of Camelia Belles. He had been wondering what to do with her for some time. After Teryn had died, she had gone back to her home, and Philo had not seen her since. He had inquired to others about releasing magic users in the fourth and third rings, but found it had not been done. Philo was surprised by this. He supposed Camelia had held things up, and Golnar had been too distracted to notice or care.

He thought he should probably have Camelia killed, but she was very powerful and well known in Aurumist. She was the most well-known woman the first ring. If he killed her, he could lose support from some of the families of the first ring. Those families held sway with the council of Ancients, and right now, Philo controlled the council only with fear. If he started slaughtering powerful people in the city, the council could turn on him. He would need to keep them in line.

It seemed like Camelia was busy caring for the sick in the city. This would be a good distraction for her. If she was distracted with the ill, she could not involve herself in Philo’s plans. She could not spy on him or send messages to her son who was now serving as protector to the queen.

Philo still couldn’t figure out why Kedan had been made the protector. Why had Ansel given it up? It was the very last thing he thought Ansel would do as he was always going on about his duty. His family line had always held the protector’s duty, and Ansel was also in love with the queen. Why would he give up his right to protect her and give it to someone like Kedan? Philo could not figure it out and it bothered him. He would ask Cassia if she had learned anything when he wrote back to her.

Philo spent the rest of his day trying to figure out the mystery of Gryphon changing her protectors, and daydreaming about killing her to steal her right to rule. He tried to come up with a plan to get his hands on her and take what should be his. Before he knew it, it was time for dinner. He ordered his dinner to be taken to his rooms as he had no desire to sit at the large table tonight with only his wife.

Philo walked to his rooms, nodding at the soldiers by his The sitting room in his chambers was empty. The door to his bedroom was closed, and he thought perhaps Cecilia might be in. Whatever she was doing, he decided not to disturb her. He sat down by the fire and waited for his dinner.

He looked around his large sitting room and smiled. Sometimes it was hard to believe he was living in the castle as practically the king. He was ruling over the kingdom. Every decision for Regventus came through him. All those fools in Abscon who tried to keep him down had not stopped him from gaining the ultimate power. Well almost the ultimate power. He was practically a king, but he was not a king. He could never be a king as long as Gryphon lived. He could never be a king as long as the line of Adalwen held the right to rule.

There was a knock at the door, and Philo opened it with a wave of his hand. Servants brought in the meal and laid it on the low table in front of Philo. Before leaving, a servant handed him a message that had come. When the servants left, Philo looked at his message to see it was from Alis, the Viceroy of the Grasslands. He wondered what she could have to say so he started opening the letter when he heard the bedroom door open. Cecelia, wearing her nightgown and robe, walked into the room.

Philo put down his letter and looked at his wife. “Are you feeling well, my dear?” he asked with concern.

“Oh yes, I was just tired after my visits. I decided to go ahead and get comfortable and rest. I hope you don’t mind,” said Cecelia. She walked over and sat down next to Philo in a chair.

“Not at all,” said Philo smiling at her. “You look very desirable in your current state. I like it when you wear your hair down.”

“I’ll have to remember that preference,” said Cecelia. “I see you have a message. Is it from Cassia?”

“No,” said Philo. “I had one earlier from her. She is working on getting her daughter to agree to come here. If her daughter won’t come, Cassia thinks she can get Marcus out in the open so we can grab him. Either way, he should be here with us soon.”

“Good, I have missed him. I am worried about him being all alone in Abscon. The folk there could fill his head with all sorts of ideas,” said Cecelia. She leaned forward and took a bit of bread from the platter of food in front of her.

“He will be here with us soon, and we can undo all the rubbish he has learned in Abscon. I have some ideas to toughen him up to reality,” said Philo. “He will be king someday, so he needs to learn to do what needs to be done.”

“So, who is your letter from?” asked Cecelia.

“Just a Viceroy, and it is probably just an unremarkable report of the Grasslands. I can read it whenever,” said Philo smiling at his wife as she bent over to fill a glass with wine. She really was a lovely woman.

“My dear,” said Philo smiling at Cecelia. “How hungry are you at the moment?”

Cecelia took a sip of wine and smiled slightly at her husband. “That depends. I find that I am quite ravenous for something, but I don’t think it’s food.”

Philo gave a small laugh and stood up. “Then perhaps our dinner can wait for a while. I find that I have something else I’d rather attend to at the moment.”

Cecilia smiled fully and stood up. Philo kissed her and picked her up, taking her into the bedroom. They soon forgot about dinner and any message entirely.

The next morning, Philo walked into the sitting room to see last night’s dinner still on the table. He pulled a cord to summon servants to clean it up and order breakfast. He sat down in a chair close to the fire and picked up his message from last night, deciding to read it while he waited for his servants. As he read it, his eyes became wide, and he audibly sighed.

“Are you alright?” asked Cecelia as she came into the room and sat down across from him.

“Yes, but I will need to change quickly and get to the Grasslands.”

“What for?” asked Cecelia.

“It seems some magical users have captured a couple of things important to Gryphon. She will not want to leave them behind, so she will go to a small village and try to get them back. I need to be there when she gets to that village.”