One might think our victory at Drakenhof changed things for the better, and in some ways it did.

The major threat of a Vampiric army striking in force was eliminated, but Sylvania was still infested with undead and Dark Wizards.

The local population, the few living Sylvanians peasants were mostly starving and had to be relocated North, while the army advanced slowly and methodically, shooting and slicing feral zombies and ghouls.

Our Wizards and Priests had the grueling task of consecrating the foul sorcery sites, not an easy task since they were all at odds.

The Sigmarite Warrior-Priests might be a boon on the battlefield with their Faith powers, but in a civilian capacity they were simply rabid fanatics.

And don't let them hear about Skaven.

"There are no such things as the Skaven! Superstition and child tales." an old Priest claimed with furious eyes, his hand clenched on the hammer icon hanging on his chest.

I just shrugged politely. "Perhaps the name itself strikes a chord. I meant the rat dens under major cities, or even Dwarf holds. Big rats though, going from dog size to Ogre size. Some of them even use magic fueled by warpstone." I explained in a mild voice.

I had no need to aggravate the Sigmar's priesthood, nor would it serve any good purpose.

The Priest glared at me with intent. "Rats!"

"Pretty much, yes. But that's like calling a Vampire a bat. These rats are holding thousands of people in slavery and always kidnap more. They even have pirate ships out in the ocean. And powerful magic too." I continued with a kind smile.

"...We would know of such things, if they existed." Another Warrior-Priest interjected, his voice suspicious and incredulous.

I looked at the holy templars and fancy armors who stared at me like I was a fake prophet. "Of course you would, if you would not burn alive the witnesses when they dare to come forth. What did your top guy say? Superstition, right?"

"...The Grand Theogonist?" the Warrior-Priest muttered in a slow voice. That was kind of the Pope of the Sigmar's Cult, and infallible of course. Like any man should be.

"Right! Whatever title you gave your top guy. Look, you already know of Beastmen. You seen the Vargheists and Crypt Terrors made by Vampires. It's exactly the same thing, mutation and corruption caused by warpstone. Only mostly underground for these rats. They are sneaky, and bide their time." I concluded with a deep sigh.

Hesitant glances among the Priests gave me a bit of hope. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, Warden of the East. Your strength is not in doubt, but your feats in battle do not make you able to change our religious doctrine."

I nodded while seeing the problem. "I do not wish to change your doctrine. It's perfectly fine as it is, and binds the Empire of Man together, much like my roads do. But warpstone mutation affects all living and unliving things, thus your doctrine must expand to address this reality. Including bats and rats."

The lead Priest shook his bald head, unconvinced. "We will need a stronger proof, Lord Warden. These dens..."

"Of course, I did tell you the rats are digging under most cities. But the largest den I know is right under Altdorf. We can be there in a few minutes, and see the proof with your own eyes." I said with a gleaming smile.

Altdorf stands astride the confluence of the Rivers Reik and Talabec, which makes the city a hub for ships going down the river to the ocean.

Under the city, the rats had built a whole network of tunnels and even directed underground rivers to carry their barges of trade and slaves.

Luckily for the Empire, the Skaven Warprail trains did not reach Altdorf, which meant reinforcements from various rat clans would need to take the foot tunnels from Nuln.

Unluckily for the Empire, once I collapsed the major tunnel towards Nuln, the Skaven had either the choice of sitting still and getting massacred, or coming out through their myriad of small tunnels and burrows towards the surface.

On the other hand, Altdorf did hold the largest imperial garrison, plus the Home Fleet base, plus the Colleges of Magic and the Holy Temple of Sigmar.

While I was underground, dealing with the far more dangerous Grey Seers, and other Warpstone mutants and magic warmachines powered by more warpstone, the city above was engulfed in flames and warfare between men and rats.

Altdorf itself held the highest population in the Empire, over 1 million people, with about 10 percent of those people living underground in various caves, dwarf tunnels and basements, and often trading with the Skaven for illegal and heretical magic and devices.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

I think most of these people died, either to the Skaven themselves rushing out, or to the imperial counterattack which followed, lead by fanatical Sigmarite priests, Witch Hunters and various Battle Wizards supported by imperial troops.

It could have been far worse, and would have been in the future. But like this, the boil was lanced early and the Empire had another enemy to deal with.

The new Emperor wasn't too happy with the Skaven attack, and neither was the Grand Theogonist of Sigmar's Cult, who was kinda pissed at having his doctrine proven a bit incorrect. Mutants rats sounded completely different from Skaven, after all.

"And now, we also have to deal with the rat dens under Middleheim, Talabheim and Marienburg, before turning our might towards Nuln and clearing the tunnels going into the Grey Mountains." I spoke in front of the War Council, which included representatives of the largest powers in the Empire.

Wizards, Inquisitors and Warrior-Priests glared at me as if I was the one guilty of this state of affairs. I just smiled and glanced around the room, taking notes of each reluctant face.

"This will cost my Empire a great deal, Lord Warden. Four province capitals might get ravaged by the rats too, if we proceed in this way." the Emperor spoke with a tired voice.

"Of course, we can also hide our heads in the sand, and proclaim the Skaven do not exist. Sorry, I mean rats. Or even that this war never happened and everything is just fine." I proposed with a kind voice.

The Grand Theogonist seemed ready to agree with the stupid solution too, nodding wisely.

"If his Majesty would agree to grant me the Warden of the South rank, my Gold Order and I will make sure to turn these rats into lead. Or maybe gold." the Magister Patriarch of the Gold Order proposed with a honeyed voice.

A hundred angry eyes turned on Baltazar Gelt, but them man's greedy face was hidden under his gold mask, and he seemed undisturbed, maybe even glad at the attention.

I sighed inward and continued my crowd scan, until a Light Wizard smiling in agreement with Gelt's proposal stood out light a beacon in my mind. Curious behavior for a Light Wizard who was supposed to hate Gold Wizards. This reminded me of another guy with a dragon. Chaos guy with a Chaos Dragon.

I just flew at his side and grabbed his neck before anyone could react. "Who is this person?" I asked the Light Order's Patriarch.

"He is Egrimm van Horstmann , my best student and our future Patriarch." the old Wizard spoke in a worried voice, already glowing with Hysh Winds.

While my wrist rotated sharply to snap the guy's neck, I ripped the Light Wizard's robes off, showing a body tattooed with Chaos symbols. "Banishment now, if you can." I asked in a low voice, while my other hand summoned an Arrow of Time to stab the Chaos cultist in the heart.

Two dozen spells from the gathered Wizards struck the dead body, just as a powerful Daemon burst through the reality veil and was hooked by my time arrow and held in place. At least half of those spells struck me as well, but they didn't affect me too much. I had already 70% magic resistance from artifacts, plus my natural immunity.

I felt Gelt arrive at speed and smash a Gold spellfist into the Daemon, just as the Light Order's Patriarch managed to cast his Banishment.

Two top tier Wizards, plus myself, and the Daemon still forced its way through, causing panic inside the council's room until the Grand Theogonist jumped in with his Holy Hammer and crushed the Daemon.

"Curse you, foolish mortals!" the Daemon screeched, making several people faint with their ears bleeding.

A soft sigh emerged behind me, and my teacher extended his Amber Spear to impale the Daemon, and held it still while silver bullets and more glowing spells, magic hammers and containment arrays converged on the Daemon, as dwarf runes it up on the room's walls.

Still not enough.

But with Gregor Martak's spell so close, and the clear and present danger of an emerging Daemon, my magic just aligned and the Arrow of Time changed into a Spear.

*Congratulations

-You have mastered the Amber Spear spell. You gain +5 Ghur affinity.

My spell broke the stalemate, shattering the Daemon into warp bits and closing the portal.

"I'm too old for this bullshit. Pef, you can deal with this city business." Martak muttered and walked away, leaving the council room in a few small steps that bent time somehow, such that his words could be heard while he was already flying away on Twinshriek's back.

"As you say, teacher." I answered in a gentle tone. Maybe one day I could be as cool as he, a mysterious wizard moving as he pleased.

Gelt's mask turned to stare after Martak, but most others didn't even see my teacher come and go.

"Your future Light Patriarch, right? Curious choice." Baltzar Gelt said in a less amused voice, then nodded towards me and returned to his chair like nothing has happened.

I followed suit, treating this matter like it never happened.

The Emperor just pointed at the Light Patriarch, silent in his rage.

"The Priests of Sigmar will be glad to assist the Light Order with tracing the actions of this traitor." the Grand Theogonist spoke with a heavy voice, daring anyone to oppose him.

The Emperor just nodded, then raised a hand. "Do confine this event to secrecy, everyone. This never happened, understood?" he demanded in his imperial voice.

I flew beside Gelt and handed him the runic axe I had found earlier. "You will make a great Warden for the South, Gold Patriarch. I expect to the see you in Nuln, in three months." I said in a respectful voice, then flew out before Jet got too anxious and crashed into the room.

'I could have Cleansed that Daemon by myself!' Jet claimed in a proud voice as we flew towards Middleheim.

I thought for a minute, then nodded. My Dragon's Light was powerful enough, that was true. Stronger than any Wizard I knew, even the Light Order's Patriarch. "One Daemon, yes. But you think too small, little Jet. A million daemons, and several Great Daemons too. You need to grow stronger."

Jet glared at me, then pushed his Timewarp spell higher, reaching a new setting. Around Mach 15, going by the mild effort I had to put in catching up.

A 50% speed increase from Mach 10 was not bad at all.

'Still not fast enough?' Jet asked with surprise.

He was quite fast, but I was faster. "Try twice this speed for your next setting. Don't think so small." I advised my Dragon with a careless voice.

An angry growl was my only answer.