Interrogations of Lorena Radcliffe were inconclusive. She seemed to have gaps in her memories that couldn’t easily be explained by normal methods. She didn’t know when, where, or how she got a Leviathan Core, or who gave it to her – if anyone. However, she did know why – it was in order to gain enough power to fight against the society that she believed failed her. As a result, Lorena was put under a regimen of therapy in hopes of helping restore her mental health.

After Lorena’s capture, a week went by. During this time, more reports of rogue Leviathan mages – now shortened to Rogues – came in, scattered across remote regions of the Greater Realm. The Rogues would show up, cause some destruction, and then try to kill themselves before they could be interrogated.

Mana fury was not the only method they used – some used fast acting poison, while others simply committed suicide. Accounting for every method of self-destruction was difficult at best, making these Rogues challenging to deal with. It didn’t help that mana fury specialists were very rare – in EGP Silvermoon, the number of people who could stop mana fury without resorting to lethal force could be counted on one’s hands and toes.

Despite these challenges, the efforts of House Silvermoon prevailed. Like other magic, mana fury relied on drawing mana from underground. Once a mage entered mana fury, it had a snowballing effect that was almost impossible to stop. But stopping a mage from entering fury in the first place only required keeping them on the move, so they couldn’t draw enough mana from the earth. Magics like the Ocean’s Blessing could also interfere with poison.

With this knowledge in mind, a team led by Marchioness Leclerc successfully captured more Rogues for interrogation. However, the results of these interrogations were the same. Like Lorena, none of the Rogues knew how they got their Leviathan Cores. They all suffered from identical memory issues.

Meanwhile, a single captured bandit from Sarcodes claimed to have seen a mysterious robed figure speaking with Gladys. This figure concealed their presence well – certainly too well for a mere bandit to identify what kind of mana heart they had. Fleets of observation drones were sent out, along with the army’s soldiers and some of the knights, but all of them found nothing – even with their senses that were beyond those of normal people.

As a result, the amount of available information barely increased, and everyone was still on edge. It was the most tension that had been in EGP Silvermoon since the Second Civil War and the advent of airplanes. A mysterious person, who evaded even the detection of the Silvermoon knights, was spreading the Way of the Leviathan to unstable individuals. No – it was probably multiple such people doing so. The pattern of incidents seemed too scattered and random for just one person. Nobody knew where or when they would strike next.

These incidents also took place in the West Realm, which meant that the likelihood of House Goldensun’s direct involvement was looking increasingly low. Regardless, it was always possible that the West Realm was ordering attacks on itself, to hide its true intentions. Therefore, Prelinsa was sent as one of several escorts with Grand Princess Rensa Silvermoon to speak with Duchess Rhiannon Goldensun, the new leader of House Goldensun.

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Prelinsa sat across from the Grand Princess on a plane ride across the Great Desert, along with a number of other knights and soldiers – including a number of the Blue Phoenixes. With this new high speed transport, it only took about half a day to cross the roughly six thousand kilometer span of the wastelands. Of course, Prelinsa and Rensa could fly even faster than that, but they’d be leaving most of the other escorts behind.

“Rensa. What is Duchess Rhiannon Goldensun like?” Prelinsa asked. “I heard she’s a friend of yours.”

“Ah, yeah,” Rensa replied, nonchalantly. She was in her earfolk form this time around. “She’s not like the Goldensuns you’re used to. She’s very mild. Too mild, even.”

“How so?” Prelinsa wondered.

“Soft-spoken,” Rensa explained. “She has to push herself hard to do leadership stuff. I was honestly surprised that she became the Duchess.”

“What do you think made her do it?” Prelinsa asked.

“Hope, and change. We both saw the writing on the wall for the old House Goldensun,” Rensa said. “I told Rhia that her ideas for the future were good. She did the rest on her own.”

“That’s pretty cool,” Prelinsa commented.

“Yeah. She’s got more guts than I expected.”

“Can you tell me more about her?”

“Sure,” Rensa agreed. “She’s Rex Goldensun’s grand-niece – a true blue noble. But most of the other nobles, and even her own family, hated her for her moderate views. She was only able to build her influence after the Second Civil War.”

“Don’t the nobles still hate her, though?”

“Yep, a bunch of them still do. But they can see that it’s all over for the old ways. At this point, they’re just happy that Rhia has ‘proper’ noble upbringing. You need that to lead a bunch of stuck-up folks like House Goldensun.”

“What about the public? What do they think?”

“The elves are split down the middle. Everyone else likes that she’s not a racist,” Rensa said simply.

“That checks out.”

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In the West Realm’s capitol city of Victoria, the Silvermoons entered House Goldensun’s main estate, the Waterlily Castle. It was a resplendent white building with a large and spacious garden out front, but even so, it had definitely seen better days. Prelinsa’s keen eyes could see spots in the garden where things had been removed, and the quality of upkeep would have been slightly lesser to that of White Blossom Castle back in the day.

Would have been, since White Blossom Castle was destroyed in the Battle of Pyrus. The current Castle was a new building styled after the old one, made using modern techniques and innovations, and built to function as a more practical capitol building. There was no comparing it to Waterlily Castle, which was hundreds of years old by this point.

Entering the big entrance doors, which were flanked by two gilded statues of elves in heroic poses, maids and butlers bowed and greeted Rensa and her escorts from either side. The Duchess herself approached, accompanied by a female secretary.

Rhiannon Goldensun was on the younger side for an elf – she looked like she was in her mid-twenties by normalized years, which meant she was somewhat over one hundred actual years old. She had pastel pink hair – one of the unique elvish colors – which had a fluffy perm to it, and her eyes were bright peridot green. She carried herself with dignity and grace, though with a faint hint of nervous, youthful energy that Silvermoon Elders like Kirith Silvermoon didn’t have. The difference wasn’t readily noticeable unless one had sharp senses. A strong Leviathan core also swirled within her chest – not as strong as Rex Goldensun’s, but on the level of a decent Silvermoon Knight.

The Duchess’ clothes were fairly modest in comparison to Rensa’s, and even more so compared to the former Supreme Leader Rex Goldensun’s. She wore a simple pale golden dress with few decorations and frills. But this was not so much a sign of House Goldensun’s reduced power in recent years, as it was an acknowledgment of it. The Duchess was deliberately showing that she would be less opulent than the leaders before her.

As was customary in both the West and East, the lower ranked individuals gave their greetings first.

“I greet Grand Princess Rensa Silvermoon, and the knights and soldiers of Silvermoon,” the Duchess’ secretary said, bowing. “May the fire of the Phoenix burn eternally.”

“At ease,” Rensa said, and the secretary stood.

“We greet Duchess Rhiannon Goldensun, House Goldensun’s new light,” Prelinsa said along with the other escorts, as they all closed their eyes and bowed.

“Knights and soldiers of Silvermoon, you may rise. Grand Princess Rensa, it is good to see you again,” the Duchess said, nodding. She kept her hands together in front of her.

“Hi, Rhia,” Rensa said, waving her right hand. She kept her usual blank expression, which made her look even more disrespectful.

The servants kept their professionalism, but with Prelinsa’s sharp senses, she could tell that a number of them were uncomfortable with Rensa’s callous disregard for propriety. The Duchess noticed this too, and did her best to ignore it. If anything, she seemed resigned to Rensa acting this way.

“We both know what we’re here to discuss,” she said, not missing a beat. “Let’s not waste any more time. I will guide you to the meeting room now. The servants will tend to any non-essential escorts.”

“Yeah. Prelinsa, Fiolira, you two stay with me.”

Prelinsa nodded, following Rensa as she followed Duchess Rhiannon. She glanced at Knight Commander Fiolira Silvermoon-Jenkins – the crow-harpy leader of Rensa’s personal troupe of knights, the Blue Phoenixes. Serving directly under the Grand Princess, she held an extremely prestigious position.

Due to their different lines of work, Prelinsa didn’t interact much with Fiolira, but they had sparred before, and Prelinsa had lost badly. The knight commander was Rensa’s age – ninety-one years old. She had considerable talent, and underwent formal magic and martial arts training since a young age. Prelinsa wasn’t lacking in talent either, but she wasn’t as strong, and only had about six years of formal training. To be in the same conversation as someone of Fiolira’s caliber spoke not only to the station of Prelinsa herself, but to that of her teacher, Kirith Silvermoon.

The group walked down several hallways, and Prelinsa looked around as they went. The interior was mostly white marble with gold trim, decorated with crystal chandeliers, expensive paintings, and elegant furniture. Despite the clear signs of recent austerity, it was still very ornate – more so than a typical noble’s manor in EGP Silvermoon. Keeping the place this clean must’ve been hard.

Eventually they made it to the meeting room. There were already several people seated about a round table – other members of House Goldensun. House Goldensun was a collective of the most powerful Western noble families, of which about two-thirds were elvish. There was also a Board of Commoners present, but they were much less composed than those of House Silvermoon’s Council. Nervous, as if they felt they didn’t belong here. The difference was really quite striking.

Everyone stood and bowed at the presence of Duchess Rhiannon Goldensun, who took her seat at one chair that was bigger and more decorated, and clearly reserved for her. Rensa took a seat across from the Duchess, and Prelinsa and Fiolira stood by behind her.

“Council. Take your seats,” the Duchess instructed, and everyone did so. “Grand Princess Rensa Silvermoon. Please inform us of the reason for your visit.”

“House Silvermoon’s knights and soldiers have sighted many Rogues over the past several weeks,” Rensa began, putting her hands in her lap.

The difference from her usual demeanor was strong – when Prelinsa first saw Rensa act this way a while back, she had to keep herself from doing a double take.

“I believe you are all aware of these incidents,” Rensa continued. “They have occurred in numerous locations across the Greater Realm, including here in the West Realm. Each one of them has presented serious risks to civilians. As House Goldensun holds the most authority over the Way of the Leviathan, we ask for your cooperation in investigating both the nature of these incidents, and that of the Rogues themselves. With your permission, House Silvermoon will lead this joint investigation.”

“House Silvermoon, leading the investigation? Are you suspecting House Goldensun?” One of the Goldensun Council members asked. He seemed quite offended. “We would never spread the Way of the Leviathan in such a way. You insult our integrity.”

This comment immediately made the rest of the Council very uncomfortable, especially the commoners. Prelinsa could feel everyone mentally yelling at the man to shut up before he got them all into trouble. However, it was much too late. Even Prelinsa, who wasn’t a noble, understood that Rensa wasn’t really asking the Goldensun Council for their permission. She was going to make them cooperate, whether they wanted to or not.

“It seems that you have complaints about suspicions that I may or may not have,” Rensa remarked slowly. Her posture didn’t change, but a dark look crossed her face. “You should raise your complaints with the surviving clones in custody of House Silvermoon. Perhaps they will be more forgiving than I am.”

Displays of anger were rare for Rensa, as it took a lot to make her truly angry. She remained outwardly controlled, but the pressure she exuded was intense – Prelinsa could feel the Grand Princess’ Phoenix Heart burning hotter and more brightly. It was strong enough for a non-mage to feel it from across the room. She saw the entire Council wilt before Rensa’s flames, save for Duchess Rhiannon, who was doing her best to keep calm.

Knight Commander Fiolira, on the other hand, didn’t bat an eye. It was just another day at work for her.

“Grand Princess, I ask that you please calm down,” the Duchess requested. Prelinsa could tell that the Duchess was getting quite nervous, despite her outward composure. The last thing she wanted was to get on the bad side of House Silvermoon. House Goldensun was already in a weak position after the war, after all.

“I will not, until you reprimand your subject for his insolence,” Rensa replied, not letting off the slightest bit of pressure. At this rate, it felt like the entire room was going to melt into a pool of lava.

The Duchess inhaled and exhaled. “…Count Witherspoon. Please refrain from making assumptions about our guests’ motivations,” she said, as sternly as she could manage.

Fortunately for everyone involved, Count Witherspoon complied.

“Yes, Duchess Goldensun,” he said quietly. Then he shut up and shrunk back into his seat, trying to make himself invisible.

Rensa relaxed, though she maintained a controlled level of dominance in her attitude. Even so, Prelinsa could feel everyone internally sighing in relief. The worst of the firestorm was over.

“I apologize deeply for the discourtesy, Grand Princess,” the Duchess continued. “Do any of the Council members object to a joint investigation led by House Silvermoon?”

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Nobody responded with anything more than a ‘no’ or a shaking of the head. Or rather, nobody dared to do anything more – not after Rensa nearly incinerated them all with her displeasure.

“Very well. Then House Goldensun will cooperate with House Silvermoon to the fullest extent possible. We will share with you everything that we know.”

“Thank you, Duchess Goldensun,” Rensa said.

Another Council member nervously spoke up.

“Grand Princess Rensa,” he said, still sweating after Rensa’s fiery display. “With all due respect… House Goldensun has been carefully monitoring each and every one of its members to prevent the Way of the Leviathan from spreading to the public. Although many people have retired from the House, we have continued to watch over them with continuous surveillance. Please believe us when we say that we are taking all proper and responsible measures. We believe it is highly unlikely that anyone from House Goldensun is responsible for the Rogue situation.”

Rensa nodded. “If you believe that the Rogues are not from House Goldensun, then you must have investigated their origins. What insights have you gained?”

“Regrettably, Grand Princess, we are in the dark,” another Council member said. She clearly speaking on behalf of the others. “Our military has captured some of the Rogues, but their responses during interrogation were… incoherent.”

“In what manner were they incoherent?” Rensa asked.

“They appeared to have significant lapses in their memories,” the Council member replied. “They could not remember who taught them the Way of the Leviathan, or why. These lapses could not be explained through our current understandings of magic and medicine. No matter what methods we attempted, the lost memories could not be restored.”

Rensa nodded, thinking carefully. “…House Silvermoon has captured Rogues as well. It seems your findings are consistent with ours,” she said, easing off the pressure a bit more.

The Council member nodded. Outwardly, she maintained her composure, but Prelinsa could tell that she was relieved. “Thank you, Grand Princess. I hope this demonstrates House Goldensun’s willingness to cooperate.”

“Indeed, it does,” Rensa said. “Now that we have reached a mutual understanding, let us work out the details of our joint investigation. We shall begin with a list of missing persons…”

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Prelinsa refrained from stretching as Duchess Rhiannon led her secretary, Rensa, Fiolira, and herself out of the council room. The group headed down more hallways and to a sitting room, with a table and a pair of couches facing opposite to each other.

The Duchess shut the door behind them all, and locked it.

“Please, take your seats,” she said. Rensa did so, and Prelinsa and Fiolira sat to either side of her. The Duchess’ secretary remained standing.

Duchess Rhiannon went across from them, sitting down slowly.

“Ughhhh,” she said, sighing as she sank and melted into the couch. “Rensa… please don’t go so hard on me. It isn’t easy working under so much pressure.” Most of the tension and dignity evaporated from her body. Prelinsa had guessed that she was actually this type of person, but to see it was a different story.

“Sorry,” Rensa replied, not actually sounding sorry in the slightest. “I saw an opening, and it was the best way to get your Council to listen.”

The Duchess slowly sat up, nodding once. “…Unfortunately, the Western culture of respecting power over everything else is strong. You did what you had to.”

“Yeah. I’m also sorry about keeping our interrogation results secret,” Rensa continued, still not sounding sorry. “I needed to keep the Council honest. If what they said was inconsistent, I would’ve been more aggressive with them. Make them sweat some more.”

“They are all good people who rose to their positions after many turnovers in the Council,” the Duchess said. “Even Count Witherspoon means well. He is just… overzealous about restoring House Goldensun’s image after the war.”

“I could tell,” Rensa commented. “Just get him to behave next time. He gave me my opening, but that whole thing about integrity got my tail in bit of a knot.” She seemed to already be over her anger, at least.

Duchess Rhiannon nodded once again. “I will do my best,” she said. “I agree that he shouldn’t have spoken so lightly of integrity. House Goldensun still has much to prove… as do I.”

“Yeah. A lot of elves are still mad that they’re no longer the privileged race,” Rensa commented. “Even your own family. Dealing with them will be hard, but I think you can do it.”

“Thank you. I was inspired by you, you know. Your exploits have always been impressive to me. I’m honored to be friends with you.”

“Same. I didn’t think you’d step up to try and change House Goldensun. And I was thinking that I’d have to destroy the House completely,” Rensa said idly.

Rhiannon made an uncomfortable face. “It bothers me that I know you actually mean that.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Rensa quipped.

“Rensa.” Rhiannon’s discomfort only grew.

“Okay, yeah. I did actually mean that,” Rensa admitted. “But there’s a lot of talent and history in House Goldensun, especially magically. I thought it’d be a shame to just destroy it, which is why I waited. Then I saw you rising up the ranks, so I waited some more. Now you’re here, and House Goldensun looks better than I’ve ever seen it. You deserve praise for your efforts.”

Rhiannon leaned forward a bit. “Then next time we meet, praise me a bit more,” she demanded, acting surprisingly spoiled.

Rensa raised an eyebrow. “Alright,” she said.

“Grand Princess,” Fiolira finally said. Her voice was on the deeper side, and quite husky. “I hate to interrupt, but we do have a schedule to follow. We have our joint exercise with House Goldensun’s military.”

Rensa nodded. “Yeah. Sorry, Rhia.”

“It’s fine.” Rhiannon stood up. “Let me guide you to the training grounds.”

Rensa stood as well, followed by Prelinsa and Fiolira. “Thanks.”

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“So we’re going to be split up, huh?” Prelinsa commented, as they all walked to the training grounds. The rest of the Silvermoon knights and soldiers also accompanied them.

“Yeah,” Rensa said, making a face. “You’re going to be under Knight Commander Julius Goldensun. Rhia’s brother.”

“I apologize in advance if he behaves in an untoward way,” Rhiannon said. “He has… a traditional Goldensun mindset. Furthermore, he only has his position due to his social status. Please do not consider him a reflection of the West Realm’s military standards at large.”

Okay, so he’s an asshole, Prelinsa thought. “I understand,” she replied.

“Thank you, Dame Prelinsa,” Rhiannon said. “Let us speak privately for a bit.”

Rensa signaled to the other Silvermoons that they should be left alone, and they complied.

Rhiannon led Prelinsa and Rensa to a small stand with a roof.

“Dame Prelinsa, I have heard of your exploits, and I consider you a capable knight,” the Duchess said. “If you find that you do not agree with Julius, you have my permission to disregard his orders and act on your own volition. Do not consider him as a superior, but simply as another knight.”

Prelinsa raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?” She asked. She was far from against the idea of defying an incompetent superior – she actually rather liked it. After all, the EGP’s military doctrine was that plans often had to be adapted in the face of changing battlefield conditions. This meant that Prelinsa was used to occasionally breaking the rules and defying orders.

But this was the West Realm, not the EGP. Prelinsa wanted to hear if Rhiannon really meant what she said.

“I am sure,” Rhiannon said coldly. “When it comes to a joint exercise, the old ways of House Goldensun will only cause problems. If Julius insists on continuing the past, then he must be put in his place.”

“Forgive me, Duchess, but it seems there’s more to it than just that,” Prelinsa observed, taking note of Rhiannon’s unusually hostile attitude.

“Yes. Frankly, I am using this all as a preface for revenge on Julius,” Rhiannon admitted openly.

Her outward expression remained composed, but Prelinsa could tell that the Duchess hated her brother. It was more than simply disagreeing with him – there was some deep, visceral conflict they had. This exercise wasn’t just about denying the old ways of House Goldensun. Rhiannon wanted to show Julius up, and she was willing to admit that she wanted to use Prelinsa to do it.

Normally, Prelinsa wasn’t big on solving personal grudges for other people, but she was happy to do so here, since she also hated the old House Goldensun. Still, she wasn’t sold just yet.

“Why me?” Prelinsa asked.

“It won’t be convincing if I do it,” Rhiannon said. “I was born a Goldensun, and a noble. If I put Julius in his place, he will rationalize it as my nobility being superior to his own. On the other hand, you are a Phoenix Knight with no noble background. Your existence alone is insulting to Julius. He will take his anger out on you, but you are too powerful for him to control. When you defy him, the knights and soldiers will see him for who truly he is – a sad and pathetic bigot.”

“You heard her, Prelinsa. Put on your best Rupeth impression,” Rensa added.

Prelinsa smirked. “Alright.”

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After this conversation, Prelinsa and a few of the knights and soldiers arrived at the area of the training grounds where Knight Commander Julius Goldensun and his troops were stationed. Unsurprisingly, all the troops under Julius were elvish, while the Silvermoons were more varied – in addition to Prelinsa, there was the harpy Raine, several humans, pokkits, and lycans, and one ailuran.

“I see that you have all arrived,” Julius said.

The elvish commander was actually quite handsome. He had sharp, well-defined facial features, and his short hair was pink and well-kept, like Rhiannon’s. He appeared like a middle-aged human, so he was probably at least two hundred or so. His clothes were the unarmored West Realm military uniform.

Julius also carried himself with a look of extreme superiority, and Prelinsa took an immediate dislike to him – he reminded her of the late Rex Goldensun, which was deeply unpleasant. He definitely regarded the Silvermoons and their racial impurity with disdain.

A Leviathan Core resided in Julius’ chest, but it wasn’t all that strong – only on the order of a junior Phoenix Knight. Prelinsa herself was still considered a junior due to lacking experience, but her power and skill were far above that. She could beat Julius by punching him a few times.

Julius could surely feel the power gap as well, but he seemed unafraid.

“As a senior Knight Commander,” he continued, “I expect that my orders will be followed strictly and to the letter. House Silvermoon might be accommodating of your idiosyncrasies, but there is no place in the West Realm military for wild animals.”

Prelinsa twitched. Some of Julius’s troops also seemed rather uncomfortable. Prelinsa reminded herself that just because their boss was bad didn’t mean that everyone here was. Though maybe they were only uncomfortable because they could feel how strong Prelinsa was, and they were worried that Julius was going to get them all in trouble.

“Sir Julius,” Prelinsa said. “This is a joint exercise. Surely, some leeway can be expected.”

“Dame Prelinsa,” Julius said, looking at Prelinsa with thinly-veiled displeasure. “I know of you well. Your insubordination might be tolerated elsewhere, but here, I expect you to follow the hierarchy. You will address me as Knight Commander Julius, not Sir Julius.”

“As you wish, Knight Commander Julius,” Prelinsa replied. She didn’t mind biding her time. Julius had already rubbed people the wrong way. He was clearly capable of setting up his own downfall, so all Prelinsa had to do was wait for a good moment.

“Good. It seems you have at least some respect. Now, you will all pair up for sparring, so I can observe how you fight. I will assign the pairs myself.”

He began rattling off names, and people began pairing up one by one. Most of the pairs seemed haphazard, with people of rather unequal skill and power levels. Prelinsa had a bad feeling about it, but didn’t immediately protest yet.

She was paired up with a tough looking elvish woman – Dame Constantia Aurea. She was taller and bulkier than Prelinsa, and seemed to regard the pokkit with a similar level of contempt as Julius. Though there didn’t seem to be any physical danger she could pose to Prelinsa. She had an estoc sheathed on her belt.

“Draw your sword,” she said.

“After you, Dame Constantia. I insist,” Prelinsa replied, with feigned respect.

“Very well.”

Constantia drew her sword, gripping it in both hands. Prelinsa did the same, sizing her opponent’s stance up. It was good, as expected of a knight. But Prelinsa could just brute-force her way through it.

“We will spar until one of us yields, and start twelve feet apart. Use your magic,” Constantia said.

Prelinsa did a bit of quick mental math in her head to convert from Western units to Standard – twelve feet was around three-and-a-half meters.

“Alright.” Prelinsa ignited her sword. Constantia drew in mana from the ground, cloaking her own sword in raging jets of water. It didn’t look like an appropriate amount of power to be using for just a spar – especially without proper countermeasures in play.

“We will begin when I say begin,” Constantia said. “Three. Two. One. Begin!”

She yelled and fired a bolt of water at Prelinsa. Prelinsa swung her sword and split the bolt easily, not even shouting to boost her spirit.

“Where’s your fighting spirit?” Constantia immediately criticized. “Your heart isn’t in this!”

“Of course not,” Prelinsa replied coolly. “If I go any harder, I’m going to actually hurt you.”

Constantia made a horrendous face at that.

“See if you think that after this!”

She shouted again and lunged forward, trying to stab at Prelinsa with her sword. With the speed she was going, it was a committed action – she wouldn’t be able to stop even if she changed her mind. Prelinsa casually parried as Constantia thrusted over and over again. As Rensa instructed, she channeled her inner Rupeth – Rupeth was great at fighting weaker opponents with style. She even yawned for good measure. This fight was intensely boring.

“Dame Prelinsa! Dame Constantia! Pause your spar!” Julius ordered, approaching the two of them. Both knights immediately stopped, and backed off from one another. “Dame Prelinsa, you must take this seriously! Is House Silvermoon so lax that you can afford to yawn in the middle of a spar?!”

“Knight Commander Julius, with all due respect-” Prelinsa began.

“No buts! I will not tolerate such things again. For now, your pause is postponed! Watch Sir Brutus fight, so you have a proper idea of how to handle yourself!”

Prelinsa nodded, and turned her attention to Sir Brutus Aureus, the sibling of Constantia. He was a big, burly man clad in full armor, who was sparring again Raine. But Raine was a scouting knight who did better in the air, not in a ground fight. Even so, Brutus attacked with aggression, wielding a big watery mace that could crush Raine’s hollow bones with a good swing. Prelinsa felt disgusted.

Brutus stuck out his leg, which Raine tripped over, stumbling to the ground. The burly elf grinned evilly as he was about to bring his weapon down on the harpy woman.

But before he or anyone else could do anything, Prelinsa quickly swung her sword and fired upon Brutus’s weapon, knocking it out of his hands. The mace flew through the air and crashed to the ground, leaving a small crater and kicking up dirt. Brutus looked at Prelinsa with a dirty glare, as the pokkit rushed over to help Raine up.

“Thanks,” Raine said gratefully, as Prelinsa pulled her to her feet.

“No problem,” Prelinsa replied.

“Dame Prelinsa!” Julius roared. “How dare you interrupt a spar?”

“Knight Commander. That fight was unfair no matter how you look at it,” Prelinsa replied, her temper starting to rise. “Raine is an aerial scout. She isn’t suited to a ground fight. It felt to me as if this spar was an excuse to step upon the dignity of House Silvermoon. If you want to step on anyone, then do so with me.”

Brutus seemed slightly unnerved by this. He knew that Prelinsa was much stronger than him. However, Julius wouldn’t have it.

“Very well! Then you will fight Sir Brutus!” He declared.

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Prelinsa and Brutus stood about 8 meters apart from one another. All the other knights and soldiers were gathered around, watching with fascination and apprehension. The Silvermoon knights seemed completely unconcerned, but the Goldensun knights were more nervous.

“I expect that you will both fight seriously, as if you intend to achieve great victory over your opponent!” Julius said. “Otherwise, you will be disciplined!”

“Yes, sir,” Brutus said.

“Yes, sir,” Prelinsa echoed.

“Now, begin the spar when I say begin! Three. Two. One. Begin!”

Before anyone else could do anything, Prelinsa yelled, swung her sword vertically, and blasted Brutus with a big arc of yellow-hot phoenixfire. The fire crackled and cast a big glare, casting shadows on everyone else. Brutus had no time to get out of the way – the concussive impact sent him flying across the training grounds and into the wall, kicking up a big cloud of dust. His armor would keep him from serious injuries, but he was definitely knocked out after such a heavy blow.

Medics on standby hurriedly ran over to the scene. There was dumbfounded silence from the Goldensun knights, as Prelinsa sheathed her sword and bowed somewhat mockingly to her opponent. It felt really good – her temper was cooled now.

“Dame Prelinsa! What have you done?!” Julius roared.

“Knight Commander Julius! I have followed your orders strictly and to the letter!” Prelinsa replied, loudly and clearly so that everyone else could hear. “I fought seriously, with the intent to achieve great victory! As you can see, I have succeeded. I felled my opponent in but a single strike. Is there no greater victory than this?”

There were some snickers from Raine and the other Silvermoons. They were definitely enjoying this.

Veins could be seen popping out of Julius’ head. He was absolutely furious, as he gritted his teeth together.

“You know that is not what I meant!” The Knight Commander yelled.

“Then may I ask what you meant, sir?” Prelinsa asked innocently.

“Enough of this nonsense!” Julius drew his weapon, which grew out into a large spear. “You are a barbaric, disgusting animal who knows nothing of honor and dignity! You will fight me personally, so that I can discipline you myself!”

Prelinsa eyed the weapon. “A spear versus a sword? That hardly seems fair,” she commented, rather lightly.

“I will do what it takes to put you in your place! Now! For House Goldensun!”

Julius let out a patriotic war cry and ran towards Prelinsa, his spear cloaked in the power of the Leviathan. Prelinsa let him do it, taking a couple of steps and quick-drawing her sword to parry. Her cool demeanor naturally made Julius even more angry, as he yelled and continued to thrust forward. Prelinsa kept stepping backwards and to the sides, continuing to deflect the weapon with light swings as everyone else watched in fascination.

“Fight seriously!” Julius hollered, his face red with fury.

“Well, I don’t want to hurt you too badly,” Prelinsa replied, continuing to bait Julius forward. She leaped backwards, sticking her katana blade-first into the ground. “Here, I’ll even give you a free attack!”

The elf screamed and overcommitted to his peril. Prelinsa downshifted suddenly, and the spear of Julius shot right over the little fox-Prelinsa. As this happened, Prelinsa tilted her sword forward and with a blast of phoenixfire, the katana jumped out of the ground, rocketing handle-first into the elf’s nether regions and bouncing off.

Julius howled in pain and stumbled backwards, dropping his spear and falling to his knees while clutching his groin. Although he wasn’t cut or bleeding, the pain and disgrace might well have been worse than that.

Prelinsa blew some fire at her sword hilt to ‘disinfect’ it, before upshifting and reclaiming the katana, and giving it a cool twirl. The Silvermoons clapped, cheered, and laughed. Some also cringed, but still went along with it. Seeing Julius be the recipient of such an undignified attack made up for it.

“Do you yield?” Prelinsa asked.

“Knights of Goldensun! Detain her!” Julius roared.

Most of the knights refused after seeing Prelinsa humiliate Julius. However, a few loyal to the Knight Commander moved in with their weapons, surrounding Prelinsa from a few meters away. Prelinsa backed off from Julius, sizing her opponents up. They weren’t strong, but she did have to think her actions over. Just a little.

Meanwhile, this gave Julius time to get to his feet and reclaim his weapon.

“Despite your underhanded tactics, I will admit that you are a credit to your race, Prelinsa!” He declared, not even bothering to use her title now. “If you were a Goldensun, you would be guaranteed a high position on your abilities alone. But you have made a grave mistake! Surrender now – you’re outnumbered!”

“Really, Julius? You know this isn’t going to work,” Prelinsa replied, also dropping titles. “Now, come at me,” she taunted, doing a T-pose with her sword outstretched in her left hand.

The Goldensun knights yelled, closing in on her. With a quick flick of her feet and blasts of magic, Prelinsa rapidly pirouetted, firing out two spiral arms of phoenixfire. The arms expanded outwards, hitting the knights and exploding with a loud boom, knocking them all flat to the ground.

Only Julius managed to stay upright, by taking a deep stance and pushing through the flames with his spear. He screamed, trying to recklessly attack Prelinsa again. Prelinsa tossed her sword high into the air, moved in, and punched him in the face, sending him to the floor unconscious. She then caught her sword again, sheathing it, and bowing.

This time, there was even more clapping and cheering – the Silvermoons were now joined by the remaining Goldensun knights. Although Prelinsa had made no attempt to appear respectable, some of them even bowed. Julius sure was an unpopular figure.

----------------------------------------

After the exercise was over and Prelinsa gave her report, Rensa cracked up laughing.

“Oh, that’s so good!” She sniggered. “You really let them have it, huh?”

“I put on my best Rupeth impression,” Prelinsa replied.

“Yeah, and you did great!” Rensa gave Prelinsa a pat on the shoulder.

“Th… thank you, Dame Prelinsa,” Duchess Rhiannon said, clearing her throat, and doing her best not to also break down laughing. “I owe you a favor for putting Julius in his place. Contact me at any time, and I will do what I can for you, within reason.”

Prelinsa bowed slightly. “Thank you, Duchess Rhiannon.”

Although they had not gained much information on the Rogues, the Silvermoons returned to the Eastern Grand Principality in good spirits from what became known as the Julius Moment.