Let's go back for a moment, around 0070 hours on that same fantastic morning. At that time, while the recruits of the various years were training with their respective instructors, the Council of the Asparetto Military Academy began its extraordinary meeting. Unfortunately for those present, this event had been decided by the Rector himself, making attendance more than mandatory.

Although, to tell the truth, neither the Rector nor his deputy showed the slightest desire to take the reins and attend the Council. The task thus fell to the third in command, a certain Maurizio Guido, who normally only dealt with paperwork left behind by his superiors, despite having every right to do much more. Just like a good state servant should occupy his time.

Anyway, knowing the subject to be discussed, the rest of the Council members still made the best out of a bad situation. They started the meeting on their own after waiting for about thirty minutes, passing the command to a Major Instructor named Giulietta Franchi, already well known and respected in those circles.

"We can start then," she said, taking a final glance first at the entrance and only later at her colleagues sitting around the imposing rectangular table. However, not being seated at the head of the table, she had to move her head more than was appropriate, but no one paid attention. It was better to avoid igniting more fires than necessary with that woman, especially over petty etiquette.

The Council members gathered there, including her, barely amounted to four. The rest of the people in the room were nothing more than assistants whose task was limited to transcribing on paper the words spoken during the meeting and little else. They did nothing more than necessary to avoid problems.

The only notable people in that room were, in order of importance: Pippo Piletto, Francesco Gianci, Alessandro Tentoni and finally, at the top of the food chain, Giulietta Franchi herself.

Nonetheless, the first to be given the opportunity to speak was Pippo, a man with a well-groomed face marked by the years and, unfortunately, extremely short in stature. A characteristic that had also given him a natural mouse-like voice that had not left him despite his advanced age. In short, the classic type of man sympathetic to see.

"In my department, we were not told anything nor given any information in advance. I can understand that in recent years our research has not yielded great results, but with such kind of orders, even some of my subordinates have insisted on showing written complaints. I was able to stop them in time, but you know how young people are," he began, holding his chin high while making room with his right arm by opening it to the side.

Furthermore, he skillfully hid his shrill tone with a significant diaphragm effort. In any case, before another person could speak, he hurried to continue, saying, "I have no intention of requesting an increase in funding like last year, but I would ask you at least not to make my guys feel like the last wheels of the carriage. It would be a problem if other subordinates of mine had to look for work elsewhere. I have lost five of them, great talents, and this fact alone has slowed down the work considerably."

He only let out a hint of agitation at the last moment, which was unfortunately noticed by Tentoni sitting in front of him. The latter, perhaps a little too barbaric in blood since birth, showed himself as villainous as his appearance suggested, responding with more smiles than words, "Oh, really? Not even my department received a warning, but the people working under me didn't decide to leave for such a matter. Dear Pippo, are you sure it's not just the result of your way of managing them? I remember that two years ago, you said something similar, and at that time, you certainly didn't have any excuses to cover yourself..."

Pippo had to force himself not to grind his teeth, not knowing what to say about it. Indeed, since he had taken command of the department, there had been one problem after another. However, giving satisfaction to the jerk in front of him was not acceptable, even though both of them had already passed two centuries of age. Certain feuds were born small and continued indefinitely, even in the least opportune moments.

However, seeing the turn the meeting had taken in less than a minute, Giulietta Franchi's gaze quickly became so icy that made the rest of the attendees tremble. A detail that immediately awakened Francesco Gianci's survival instinct, who promptly acted and said briskly, "You can continue the conversation once the meeting is over," trying to move away as much as possible from dangers and troubles from his path. The others could help him or dig their own grave, the choice was theirs.

Then he added, "My department was only warned two days ago. And I imagine the same can be said for the lady's department," but he was mercilessly interrupted by Giulietta herself. She, on her part, only moved her eyes and, pulling more than opening her mouth, admonished him, "Miss. My husband died before he could reach the altar," refusing to elaborate further.

"Of course, I apologize..." the other immediately stammered, not understanding what kind of bear trap he had just stepped on. Then, not knowing how to endure the pressure, he remained silent. Considering, however, that the temperature of the room seemed to drop suddenly for all three of them, no one else wished to speak. Not even Tentoni."

The speaker expresses his concern that his subordinates are feeling undervalued and underappreciated, and that this is leading to complaints and a potential loss of talent. He also suggests that management may be responsible for the issues in the department. However, the conversation quickly becomes heated, with one attendee making an insensitive comment about the speaker's management style and another attendee inadvertently making a hurtful comment about the loss of her husband. The situation becomes tense

It was Juliet who took back control of the meeting, which was now in shambles, letting out a brief sigh. "I would like to avoid wasting time without a satisfactory motivation. We did not meet here today just to discuss the usual ordinary matters," she said before gesturing to her young assistant to take the documents from the empty seat, theoretically belonging to Maurizio Guido, and give them to her instead.

As the boy passed her the various papers, she looked back towards Alessandro, seated in front of her, and then towards the side. She ordered, rather than communicated, a simple phrase that was nevertheless very clear: "And use the correct manners when addressing others, we are in an official setting."

The three had nothing to say.

"Very well," she continued, taking a look at the stack of documents she just received. "Yesterday morning, I personally asked the Rector to inform me of the key points of today's meeting. As suggested earlier by Mr. Gianci, my department had not received any additional information. I was fortunate enough to meet the Rector in his free time and that's how I became aware of some more details..." She went on to say as she continued to read, abruptly stopping the poor scribe's hand who was taking the minutes.

The poor creature had been placed there under false pretenses by another bastard colleague who had already experienced the cordiality of the Instructor on his own skin. However, unfortunately, the misadventures of that poor soul will have to take a back seat for the moment. Especially following the change in color of Juliet's face, still absorbed in reading a particular sheet of paper.

A change that made the other Instructors present crane their necks out of curiosity, even though they couldn't read anything. Pippo in particular could have avoided it, but let's not twist the knife in the wound.

"This is... This is unexpected," commented the woman, blinking repeatedly and returning her eyes to the same paragraphs. Not satisfied, she set aside the document just to pick up another and then another. She also read carefully through a series of official letters written, or intended for, the Mayor or the Rector that were in the stack. However, she only obtained more questions and just a handful of answers. To the point that even she had the great desire to get up, find Maurizio, and give him all that mess that, in truth, would have been his originally.

Meanwhile, the three poor heroes exchanged various glances, gestures, and signs. Interrupting Juliet was, except for Tentoni, out of the question. He was the only one who almost tried, but was stopped at the last minute by Francesco with a kick to the shin. An action that, among other things, forced the Instructor to slip more than halfway under the table and scrape his belly on the way back.

However, even waiting was starting to nibble on their nerves, no longer accustomed to frontline complications. Thanks to their privileged position, it had been a long time since they had been bitten by any trouble, and they had grown accustomed to it.

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Most of their 'protection against annoying disruptions', a technical term they used when off duty, came from both the Academy's location and Asparetto's political system. Over the past centuries, the city had expanded and become increasingly complex, but the Mayor, with the help of his right-hand man Tiziano, had never been too concerned about keeping power for himself or meddling in the city's private affairs.

This approach ultimately created a city where the entire political structure could be paradoxically defined as well-oiled and makeshift. The only two governing bodies were the Municipality, essentially formed and carried forward by anyone who was part of the city as long as they ran for election and were elected by popular vote, whose powers extended up to the limit of the non-military public sphere, and the Army, which took care of everything else.

That being said, the Mayor still had authority over both, holding complete decision-making power in case a particular decision or reform was necessary, although he avoided stirring the waters in either direction. The Academy was therefore officially under the Army's jurisdiction, but in reality, some of its graduates received offers from the Municipality, or from certain specific representatives more or less under the table, creating tensions when it came to highly gifted Cultivators.

Moreover, just to complicate matters, Asparetto became home for the Three Great Families which, for better or worse, could be considered independent political entities. In addition, it hosted the Cult of the Benevolent Goddess located just outside the walls, which, although not strictly connected to the city, held a type of power of its own because it was linked to the divine.

In short, before any trouble could reach the Major Instructors of the Academy, they would have to pass through so many channels and dams that it was better not to count on it. But we are digressing, and Juliet seems to have finished her much-appreciated reading.

"This... This is unexpected," she repeated, looking at her colleagues in the face and handing them the papers delicately. "It seems that this year's next Simulated Recruit Battle will be an event not to be missed," she then commented with a mix of irony and confusion, giving up on finding a better way to say what was on her mind.

"An event not to be missed?" Tentoni echoed, grabbing a couple of random papers from the pile as the other two were already doing. He then carefully read the information written on them; and, just to say it, he stole the next document from Pippo rather than taking a new one. A declaration of war that, however, was ignored by the other party given the situation.

"Excuse my frankness," Francesco opened his mouth after a while, holding a four-page letter in his hands. "But what should 'Given his previous statement on the subject, the Municipality voted to share the news with the Three Families as well as the Cult of the Benevolent Goddess. In effect of this...' mean? Then there are other things here and it continues by saying: 'Their Representatives will arrive on the previously established date so that the future foundations of the relationship between Asparetto and the rest of the Valley can be established.' But what... What are they talking about?"

No one could answer at the moment, not even Giulietta who had already read the letter. After all, the information available to them remained limited. In fact, perhaps it would have been better to define them as rationed by the Rector or even the Mayor, but it would have been impossible for them to find out.

Only Pippo, at a certain point, asked, "The sender?" taking his eyes off his own reading for a moment when Francesco simply said, "The asshole," which earned him a reprimand from Giulietta with a "Watch your language!" before having the mistake erased by the assistant who was taking the minutes.

"Oh, him? Let him be in trouble then." Tentoni, like the others, still understood who his colleague was referring to. Later he said with a visibly tense expression on his face, "Since when has that faction of the Municipality been sticking its nose into our Recruits' ordinary events? The Simulated Clash is organized two or three times a year. Haven't we had one some time ago? What changed since then? What have they wanted to build all these castles of words on?" He then threw the stolen document in Pippo's direction just to grab another and resume the tedious task of ignoring the circumstantial phrases and pleasantries to find the useful information.

"Good question," said Giulietta, crossing her arms and leaning against the backrest. "As far as I remember, we've never had the pleasure of having so many guests for such a banal event. Our beautiful Arena may not be up to par to welcome them." She shook her head slightly and then sighed with less and less desire to be involved in her heart.

"Am I mistaken, or are there three organizations outside of Asparetto mentioned on the list? What the hell do those higher-ups intend to do?" Tentoni asked, lifting the sheet he had in his hands to show it to the others. "The Clan Ferrosi, the School of the Golden Body, and the Shadows of Night," Giulietta promptly replied without even looking at the document in the air, having already read it before.

"We're exaggerating here," Pippo slid in with such enthusiasm that he almost bit his tongue. "These are people on par with the Three Great Families, not some small fry. It's been decades since they collaborated with our city. What could they possibly want all of a sudden? I mean, we only need to add..." He continued, almost making a joke to lighten the mood, but was interrupted by Tentone's loud voice, who replied, "The Clan of the Silver Dragon? They were also on the list, but it seems they have some internal problems at the moment. Otherwise, even they would have been here. Look and read. No, better yet, take the sheet in your hand. Standing with your arms up like an idiot isn't going to cut it," slamming the sheet in front of him with a sharp blow that almost made the rest of the sheets fly away.

Oh, and Giulietta promptly had that last expression deleted.

"Why are all these organizations suddenly interested in us or our Recruits? We're talking about the factions with the most military power in the Valley. The fact that they managed to agree on a meeting seems like a miracle to me. Our Commune and our Army can't even look each other in the face most of the time, let alone put them all in one pot," said Francesco, resting his elbows on the table to support his chin.

"I'd like to know that too," echoed Giulietta after another sigh. Then she added, "I can only think that it's something really important for the future of the entire Valley. Even just the fact that we were informed so we could be ready to receive them says everything there is to know. Although I personally would have appreciated a little less secrecy from the Rector..." speaking slowly and taking her time between breaths to continue reflecting. She then turned her gaze to the scribe and calmly ordered, "Delete the last sentence." Which he did without even thinking about it.

"Maybe it's some sort of preparation? Perhaps there's a Clan or City that's been getting too cocky on the eastern front? I've heard there have been some disturbances there lately," Francesco hypothesized without any evidence to support his claim. However, he was quickly backed into a corner by Tentoni, who knew more about those parts. "Those were caused by a fleet of pirates, and most of them have already been captured or executed. It wouldn't make sense to summon so many important individuals for a matter that's already been dealt with."

Even Pippo rejected the proposal, finding it unrealistic. Instead, he dug into his memory to search for some other decent option to present, not liking the idea of continuing with a cart pulled solely by blind horses. It was his expression, I would have said something else. But let's move on.

"Perhaps I'm using too much imagination," he then laid down the documents he had in his hand to speak up, drawing the attention of the other three, each seeking decent answers. For little Pippo, it was quite overwhelming, but he still did his best to hold back and continue speaking.

"One of my subordinates is from the southern regions of the Valley and, according to him, some villages and towns have suffered more or less violent raids in the last year. This news alone is not worth much. However, and here I could not obtain any confirmation from his source, it seems that two singular characters have been spotted in the same territory." He tried to show self-confidence that, little but sure, fit him like a glass glove.

"Do you know the stories about the Old Wanderer and the Mercenary of the Bottle?" He then asked seriously, swallowing the saliva that remained in his throat with a mixture of fear and admiration.

"And here he starts with his bullshit," Tentoni, however, did not seem very fascinated by his companion, even going so far as to wave his hand as if he were chasing away flies. "Do you think it's the right time to bring up bar stories from when we were stationed at the Pink Lake? It must have been more than a century ago... Ah, you took a lifetime to make a career because you're fixated on bullshit-" he continued to say, loading and loading as if he were playing briscola. At least until Giulietta abruptly stopped him.

"Even if they were fables," she said with eyes that were too lively and open for someone her age. "Even if they were just stories, I want everything that can be useful to be said here and now. As long as it is, at least remotely, connected to the current issue," she rushed to conclude. She didn't have much hope in her heart, to tell the truth. However, carefully studying all the documents hadn't helped her. At least letting the others speak freely had the potential to change something.

Pippo was ecstatic about it. More because, for once, one of his superiors took him seriously on the topic than anything else. In fact, at that moment, his passion for that old story managed to loosen his tongue without him even realizing it. He told of how, a long time ago, he had become aware of the existence of those two strange figures, and even, albeit for a brief moment, had encountered one of them in the flesh.

Francesco let him speak without intervening, listening to his dwarf colleague's words without prejudice. However, he got distracted after a few long paragraphs about the appearance of the swamp they called the Pink Lake in those distant parts of the West of the Valley, thinking to himself as if he had just discovered something obvious.

Wait... Didn't we get a new recruit some time ago? I didn't read the report, but his assistant mentioned it to me... Damn, who was the idiot that sponsored him? He must have been someone important to let him in so late... Ah, maybe that day I should have done my job instead of delegating the annoying stuff to the Intern. Maybe... Maybe he could be the reason for all this mess? Although... Isn't it a bit too far-fetched? The more I think about it, the more unlikely it seems to me. But... Oh, is he still talking? How long does he want to go on? Oh!

Once he returned to reality, he complained without saying a word aloud, realizing immediately that this pointless meeting would last a long time.