"Now come the questions that really bother you, right?", Cale threw back, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He consciously didn't answer the question at first, staring at the two advisors before sighing and reaching for his warm cup. "A month, maybe two. A Thormod had approached the city and created massive problems for us, and after that one thing had led to another. Perhaps you heared of it, but a Thormod had blocked High-Magician Vonstetten's mana, nearly killing him. If you're familiar with soulless mages, High-Magician Vonstetten was on his way to becoming one."

"Sounds like you've had a rough few months. Not to mention the second wave of attacks."

"Quite, yes. And there seems to be no end to the drama", Cale admitted with a shoulder shrug.

"What about the creatures? You're the go-to guy for questions about the creatures, right? How long have you known about the danger posed by the plains?", the first advisor now rejoined the conversation.

"A long time. Quite a long time, even before my time at the Magistrat."

"Since Groka?"

"Pretty much, yes. Although, I didn't use to take it that seriously. It wasn't until I got involved in the battles with the creatures and became more closely involved with them that I really became aware of the danger."

"Interesting. We won't be making the mistake of not taking Magistrat recommendations seriously anytime soon", Loys commented with amusement. He leaned back with a grin on his face and closed his eyes for a brief moment, making Cale realize why he was actually involved in this conversation. "Kutam really taught us a lesson."

"I hope so. When it comes to the survival of humanity, we don't mess around."

"I'm aware of that", Loys confirmed. "I have always regretted not putting more trust in the Magistrat and you in particular. Because of our decision, people had to die back then, even if you could prevent the worst. I still have the destroyed village in front of my eyes... just like Groka."

"Were you in Groka back then?"

"Yes, maybe two days after the attack. Duchess of Caplens asked me to see the extent of the attack with my own eyes. I must admit, I'll never get the smell of blood out of my head."

"Duchess of Caplens has always strived to make the province safer", Julius continued. "She had a young son then and was pregnant with the second child, you must know. Whenever it came to reinforcing the borders, she was the loudest one, crying out for support from the palace."

"And did you support her?", Cale inquired.

"Not from the beginning, no. Duke of Caplens thought he had the situation under control, but after the great fire of their presence a few years later, we finally got involved. This was indirectly the trigger for us to introduce strict border controls and also to constantly ensure that we are kept up to date with events in the north. The communication crystals really help us a lot in that regard."

"I'm glad to hear that", Cale replied with satisfaction. He didn't know all the political details Sylve had to go through at the time, but the result was worth seeing and that was all that mattered. Finally, they would see arriving creatures coming now and the capital would also be informed in the first minutes to organize instant support.

"Whereas Duchess of Caplens could never be satisfied", Loys interfered again. "The woman makes us crazy."

"Somewhat understandable, considering what happened in Exarion."

"It was actually like that even before Exarion. I'm not saying she's wrong in what she says, but the way she presents it and the way she acts towards the royal family is..."

"Don't get upset with her again. You'd think you'd have gotten used to her ways at some point", Julius interrupted his colleague as Cale watched them in silence. Of course, Cale didn't know the whole story, but emotionally he was already sympathetic to the woman. She must have terrorized the royal family quite a bit if Loys of Freigoud spoke of the lady that way. Whereas, Cale was glad that at least one person was steadily trying to make the country safer.

"How about we let the questions go for today and get some rest? The coming weeks are going to be busy enough", Cale interjected after a few minutes, when Julius and Loys had already degenerated into a discussion about the Duchess.

"You're probably right", Julius confirmed, and then stretched. "The bed is calling me."

"I'll go along with that", Loys replied, straightening up as Cale drank the remains of his tea. "I'll show you where you can spend the night."

"Thanks for the offer, but I won't be sleeping tonight."

"Aren't you tired? The day must have been just as tiring for you", Julius interjected in wonder.

"I'm wide awake, but thanks for the concern", Cale replied with a smile, looking up at Loys. "Thank you for the tea and the conversation."

"I should thank you", Loys merely countered. "If there's anything I can do for you, let me know. No false shyness."

"I'll be fine", Cale assured him, also standing up as his gaze fell back to Julius. "Would you like to keep the tea."

"May I?"

"If you like. I have a whole supply at home."

"Then... I'd love to. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

With a grin, he stepped to Loys' side and wished Julius a good night before leaving the room with the duke. Loys stopped a door down and thanked Cale again before entering the next room to get some sleep.

Wordlessly, Cale strode back the way he had come before and stopped a moment later in front of the door behind which the king was. He could sense that the man had been walking rounds in his room for some time and by all appearances would not stop, so Cale could not help but sigh.

"When Sir Freigoud comes back, tell him to go to the royal majesty's room and check on him. Unfortunately for me, it doesn't look like the royal majesty will be able to sleep tonight", Cale gave in a whisper and continued walking. The three elite soldiers did not respond to his comment, but Cale knew they could hear him.

Cautiously, he re-entered the princes' room and, to his surprise, found it just as he had left it. William was in bed, asleep, and Edward was sitting by the window with Fengari on his lap.

<"I'm back">

<"Obviously. Do you have something for me?">, the dragon reported back, but didn't move.

<"Theoretically. Is the crown prince asleep?">

<"For a while now, yes.">

Quietly, Cale approached the crown prince, but the young man did not notice him. From his breathing, Cale realized that he was already deep in the land of dreams and was physically almost falling off armchairs. Wordlessly, he crouched down in front of Edward and stared at him before carefully brushing his hair out of his face.

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He looked like an older version of William. It was startling how similar the two brothers looked at 24 years old. The only notable difference being that William's head was a little narrower and his eyebrows weren't quite as full as his brother's either.

<"Wait a minute.">

With that statement, he turned back to the large bed and reached for the blanket that William was not claiming. As carefully as he could, he then placed it over Edward's feet and opened the large window a crack to let some fresh air into the stuffy room.

"Now then", he murmured softly as he erected the sonic barrier and began to transform Fengari's exterior into human form. She remained seated on the windowsill in anticipation as Cale produced various candies and placed them beside her.

"Thank you!", Fengari whispered, reaching for the chocolate she already knew. For a few minutes, Cale watched her move in silence before his attention turned outside. It wasn't particularly late yet, an estimated 1am. Aaron and Luc should have reached the Magistrat by now and Palais should also be back in the mountains. All in all, the state of origin of yesterday had returned, even if Cale had not expected to spend the night in the royal palace of Sylve.

<"Are you still awake, young man?">

<"I had wondered if you would even check in with me">, Grischa answered him immediately, as if he had actually been waiting all these hours for a message from Cale. Somehow Cale could well imagine his friend now standing annoyed by the sea, staring in the direction of Holy Island, the communication crystal in one hand and something to eat in the other.

<"If you were worried, you could have reached out.">

<"I figured it would be better to wait. From what I overheard, the royal family is supposed to be at their wits end, and you shouldn't be any different.">

<"That pretty much sums it up on the surface">, Cale replied wryly.

<"Is everything all right with you?">

<"I'm still in the phase of realizing that this all really happened today.">

<"Must have been pretty exhausting to catch that Thormod. Mentally, I mean.">

<"You don't know how right you are with that statement. Before Luc and Aaron came, I was alone with the Thormod for a good hour.">

<"Did something happen?">

<"I suspect she's my aunt, Grin.">

There was no response from the 1st seat for the first moment, before he understood the context.

<"She's Olivia's sister?">

<"Neyla. My mother's name is Neyla, if her words are to be believed. The Thormod had cursed quite a bit, but useful information came out now and then between statements. Do you remember the meeting yesterday? I did mention the saints of the Thormod, didn't I?">

<"I remember, yes. Your mother was one such saint.">

<"Yes. Basically, Saints are Thormod who have a mana heart and can create their own mana.">

<"I thought it was impossible to repair a destroyed mana circuit?">

<"It is. Normally they are born with this deficiency, but Saints are special. They have mana of their own, but no mana pathways and to make matters worse their mana supply is huge. They can generate large masses of mana, significantly more than normal humans.">

<"That would explain where your large mass of mana comes from, if it is heritable at all.">

<"That was my first thought as well. Basically, I got the best of both worlds. The body and mana circuit of a human, but the abilities and mana heart of a saint.">

<"Crazy. You're almost your own race">, Grischa replied with amusement, which made Cale grin as well. <"What should we call you? Hummod? Thoman?">

<"That sounds so stupid.">

<"What about Hutoman? Hutoman sounds good, don't you think.">

<"You are a fashionista, young man.">

<"I'm 42!">

<"You don't look 42, what can I say?">

<"And you don't look like you're over 300. Besides, people used to say I looked old.">

<"When was that?">

<"When I was in my early 20s! I swear to you! They always assumed I was 30 just because of my face and hair.">

<"Oh I see. That's why you have such long hair? You want people to still think you're 30 now. How sad.">

<"You don't have to talk, mister, I-can-transform-myself-into-everything-if-I-want-to. Must be nice to be able to change your appearance whenever you want.">

<"Are you jealous?">

<"Maybe?">, Grischa threw back with a mocking undertone.

<"What would you want to do if you could change your appearance?">

<"I don't know, maybe dress up as a pretty woman?">

<"With your long hair, you're basically already a woman, Grin!">

<"I'm not! And besides, you have long hair too!">

<"Up to your shoulder, you easily have twice that.">

<"That's still very long for a man. Your hair is as long as Aletta's! Are you saying she's a man?">, Grischa replied, almost shouting. Cale fell silent and started laughing a few moments later.

<"Imagine this time... Aletta as a man. With muscles like Miguel">, he countered, laughing.

<"She'd be a dwarf with muscles, by the gods. The thought scares me!">, Grischa returned and started laughing as well. The two mages amused themselves for a good minute, until silence returned and they stared thoughtfully into the distance.

<"We're running out of time">, Cale finally spoke up.

<"I know. The threat of the Thormods and the creatures grows with each passing day.">

<"What are we going to do? If we don't take care of the problem soon, we're bound to run into the same result again. However, I cannot ask anyone to put their lives on the line to be the first to take the initiative.">

<"With the help of the dragons, it should not be an impossible undertaking. Wasn't it they who originally wanted to start the war?">

<"The problem is that no one knows what else is hiding there.">

<"And that nature's mana is being used up unnecessarily fast">, Grischa calmly replied. <"It's like wondering what would await us in the afterlife.">

<"I'm really having trouble making a decision, Grin. Both options have big disadvantages, the consequences of which I can't estimate, and I don't know at all what to focus on anymore. I need an answer to time travel, but at the same time I want to prevent the world from being destroyed again.">

<"I wish I could help you and give you answers. It would be significantly more helpful if the gods were accessible.">

<"That would be it, actually"> Cale threw back. His eyes turned to Fengari, who gleefully polished off the last of her bar and then looked to Cale with a satisfied grin. <"I would really be very interested to hear what the gods would have to say about the whole situation. Mellontikos, first and foremost.">

<"If they care at all. Who knows, maybe they don't care about the world? After all, I've never heard that the gods would interfere in the events of the world">, Grischa proclaimed.

<"And how would you explain us then? We Apostles have been chosen by the gods. What if they have merely not had the opportunity to tell us what our task is to be in the first place?">

<"For centuries? They could have said something to Raphael, right?">, Grischa countered. <"I don't know. Perhaps we should just stop looking for a logical explanation when it comes to the gods. It doesn't really do us any good.">

<"For once, you're right.">

<"Well, thank you very much.">

At the comment, Cale couldn't suppress a grin and let his gaze fall to the sleeping crown prince. Seeing him sleeping so peacefully didn't hint at what he must be going through today.

<"That reminds me">, Grischa spoke up again shortly after. <"Have you ever heard of an Apostle from Winstest?">

<"Yes, occasionally. Philippa had told me about it a few times, and when I was in Winstest at the time, I also ran into some believers who told me about him.">

<"Did you ever find out more about it?">

<"I didn't really look into it, I must confess. In my opinion, it was just an invention of the tribal leaders to unite their people among themselves. Why do you ask?">

<"Aaron and the Eldest had that talk with the Layon tribal representatives the other day, if you remember. Apparently, the Apostle had ordered them to take back all the outcasts.">

<"Is that so? That's news to me.">

<"I was a little surprised, too. Especially since they're really doing it.">

<"I know. The dragons told me that a while ago. Maybe they're not as naive as I always thought.">

<"I don't really know. From what I've heard, the outcasts were reluctantly dragged back into the woods, and there's been quite a bit of tension among the peoples ever since.">

<"Somewhat understandable, after all, they don't treat the outcasts as their own kind. You need to talk to Philippa and Theorik about their past sometime, then you'll know what I mean.">

<"I know some stories">, Grischa announced. <"But somehow this story doesn't give me any peace. It almost seems to me that this false Apostle is out to destroy the cohesion of the tribes.">

<"I think you are worrying unnecessarily. In my old lives, the people of faith were always an ignorant and selfish people who, with more luck than good sense, were spared the worst of it. When it came to the 3rd wave, the people of faith were also at odds with each other. They probably always are, but we just don't really get that.">

<"Were the outcasts then brought back into the forests?">

<"I don't remember, I must admit. My focus has always been on Altona, Frignez, and Sylve. Winstest was only lucky for the first few years, but eventually they were caught up in the same fate.">

<"Do you think the Thormods had a hand in it then, too?">

<"For sure. Otherwise, I could not explain why in one night three quarters of all people on Winstest gave their lives. First and foremost, the people of faith.">

<"Three quart... what?">

<"Yes. I never witnessed it, but Winstest had felt never prepared for a possible attack and were razed to the ground in one night. Only the stronger groups survived. Mainly the groups in which refugees had taken shelter and which, similar to the time in Sylve, had built a regular small fortress to protect themselves.">

<"Are you telling me... that there was still a 4th attack of the creatures at that time?">

<"Yes, you could say that.">