(Sancreed’s POV)

It has been a few minutes since the fortress has started to move at full speed, and I have just finished checking out the rest of the island, from the forest of which is partially enchanted to be always night to house specific creatures, to the lake where in the depths lurks a captive kraken. So many memories from the campaigns…

Anyway, I get out of the throne, severing the connection. Now, I am standing on the throne room. I should take a look around the castle, since we didn’t make a detailed map, just described it loosely.

Taking a right, I follow to one of the corridors, exploring the castle. It doesn’t take long for me to run into one of my golems. Different from the usual golems that are massively bulky and malformed, mine are quite well made.

This one, as I approach, takes a step aside and takes an attention position. I stop to look at him. Black armor with gold decorations, looking like a fully armored knight, with an evil-looking armor. Not only hat, the golem stands three and a half meters tall, holding a tower shield and a halberd.

This is an adamantite golem, with a magical halberd and an adamantite tower shield. This is the best golems that I have, enchanted with flight, misty step, capable of using a few spells and the shield having anti-magic properties.

There are few more types of golems around the fortress, such as iron, steel, mithril and orichalcum. But the adamantine ones are the best ones, absurdly powerful and capable of facing armies by themselves. I used them a lot in our campaigns where we had to defeat large amounts of enemies.

(Sancreed): “Continue the good work.” I say to the golem. It nods and continues to patrol the halls of the castle ever so vigilant.

I continue my stroll, passing by art that was previously vaguely described, now perfectly painted and beautiful, depicting beautiful vistas and abstract art. Most of it are references about our campaigns, some dragons, eldritch horrors, yellow sheep painted as targets, etc. The decoration is high class, and the illumination is done by magical lights attached to the walls. Neat.

Anyway, the first important room that I run into is the dining halls. It’s big enough to house a full population of the castle, served by invisible servants with a kitchen that has food created magically, making the farm outside nothing but a surplus that I don’t use at all. This can be good though, since it will be something that I’ll use to sell if needed.

I also find the library, filled with books from several dimensions, a alchemy room where I can brew any potion, a greenhouse to fuel the alchemy room, the entrance to the dungeon that also serves as passage to the Underdark terrarium. There is also a golem making room, the Maruk forge, clairvoyance room, ritual room, etc.

After all, this is a wizard’s fortress, it is geared totally towards magic. Leaving that aside, I decide to stay for now in the clairvoyance room, a place dedicated to divination magic. Following the observing theme, it is modeled after a astrological observatory, including a massive telescope.

There are also other magical apparatus around, the main enchanted artifact is the central table. A massive, circular table fixed to the ground, made of silvery metal decorated with gold and jewels of several types. Rubies, emeralds, diamonds, etc.

The thing is, instead of some type of surface, there is a projection, like that of a colored hologram. This is an auto-map, made with powerful divination magic. Unfortunately, I am not a specialist diviner mage. Most of my abilities are focused into enchanting items and creating stuff, although I have some powerful nuke magic.

The table, or as we named it, Map of Planes, is an artifact that can store maps from any realm that the fortress has ever traveled. However, it needs to travel through the realm. I watch the miniature fortress floating in the “holographic” map as it drags a line through the gray map. And judging by the pathetically small line that it is making, revealing… well, the sea. This world is quite big.

And that is it, I just wanted to take a look at the map. After all, as I said before, I am no divining mage, therefore I am stuck with wandering blindly. I sigh as I watch the map, the fortress advancing dreadfully slow. Oh well, what can I d- oh.

I see some land being revealed in the map. The thing is, this map has a range of around ten thousand kilometers in a radius. And a smidge of land just showed in the detection range of the fortress. I immediately teleport to the throne room and excitedly sit on the throne.

Instead of connecting to the throne, I just wave my hand with a mental command, several magic circles appearing in the air, many of them projecting floating, semi-transparent screens depicting several angles of the island. The reason for that are the spotter golems spread all around. It is a decent substitute to the connection with the fortress but seeing by myself without limits is much better.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

A few magical circles also pop up right in front of me, as if they were dials and controls, which they are. Dials and controls for the defenses that I can use instead of controlling it with my mind. Both ways are viable and have their perks.

Anyway, I find the screen that shows the direction of the land and watch eagerly. This will take a few hours, actually… I didn’t think this through. Umm, for someone with high intelligence I seem awfully forgetful…

(Sancreed): “Servant.” I try, something that often worked in the campaigns.

And the, approaching from the side of the room, comes an invisible servant… well, not invisible to me, since I can see through that kind of stuff easily. To me, he… rather, she, looks like a female butler ghost, semi-transparent.

(Sancreed): “Being me some cola, fried shrimp and… sushi, the full course meal.” After all, I’m kinda hungry.

My DM, Joe, said that the servants could cook anything that I wanted, and since Sancreed didn’t know what sushi or cola was, they didn’t make any. I’m taking the opportunity to test the limits of my kitchen. The phantom female butler bows, as if understanding everything perfectly, going away right after.

I just sit there for a while before remembering, as a meme, Joe said that the fortress is the most perfect handy tool ever, capable of streaming directly from the internet, and confirmed it as complete canon. I always took it as a joke, and since my character didn’t know about the internet, he didn’t use it.

I try to probe the fortress mentally, and yes, it indeed has connection to the internet. God, you did an amazing job. Setting up interdimensional wi-fi shouldn’t be easy at all. Well, whatever, I won’t think about it. if it works, it works. Oh, and I have free Netflix. Hadn’t heard of that in a while… they came back to business after going bankrupt, just someone appropriating the name and service.

Anyway, I turn on a classic, the Lord of The Rings trilogy, the original one, not the remake of 2045, that one was shit. I grew up watching the originals, therefore I always come back to the extended cuts. I have… many, MANY hours ahead of me.

(Sancreed): “Throne of Ages, I command, change our shape for my comfort.”

I say the incantation, the throne morphing under me to a bed-chair hybrid. It is incredibly comfortable, actually. And as the theme starts to play, a floating platter, covered with Japanese restaurant platters, as well some fried shrimp and a massive glass mug full of cola drifts to my lap, staying suspended there. It even has a pair of hashi.

The platter has everything, rice, some yakisoba and other delicacies. Including a ton of sashimi of salmon and white fish, exactly the way I like it. it even has some boiled octopus and soy sauce. I nod to the butler, who bows and leaves. Well, I guess they do know about cola and sushi. I take a sip, the familiar taste of cola, more carbonated than usual, fills my mouth. There should be what, two liters inside this?

I take a bite of the sushi. Yep, delicious. I’ve always been a fan of Japanese cuisine. I could before, but the memory of the first time my father took me to a Japanese restaurant for the first time was nice. We didn’t have much money when I was younger, so that was a big thing at the time. I look around, to the marvelous palace around me. Kind of daunting, now that I think about it. I lived comfortably, but far from luxury.

Forget it, no use thinking about it now. I’ll just watch the film.

(Somewhere, within the forests of Aulia, Yulitheria’s POV)

I wake up as the rays of the sun touch my eyes, taking me out of the realm of dreams. I try to sleep again, but the chill wind of the morning from the fading winter keeps me from sleeping again. I sigh as I open my eyes, sitting on the bed, the thin white silk sheet falling to my lap, my thin clothes barely covering my body.

I look around, to the familiar room. The white walls decorated with my people’s architecture, arcs and curves on white stone and marble. The window outside revealing the trees recovering from winter as the wind gently sweeps through the valley. I close my eyes, the fragments of

(Maid): “Mistress?” I hear calling from outside my room.

(Yulitheria): “Yes, I am awake.” I say, taking a second to recognize the voice. “You can come in, Alasania.”

My doors creaks open as the royal servant comes in, an old friend, Alasania, whom which I have grown together.

(Alasania): “Good morning Mistress.” She smiles to me. I smile back.

(Yulitheria): “Good morning, Alasania.” I look outside the window, the morning sun not being as pleasant as before. “I had a dream.” I declare.

Alasania stops on the spot on her way to me, widening her eyes, her ears that poke through her blonde-silvery hair perking up.

(Alasania): “A gift from the gods?”

I nod.

(Yulitheria): “It has been a century since the last one…” I said, looking outside, to the blue, perfect sky. “I dreamt of a great power, coming from the sky over the ocean. A black castle that casts his shadow over a white city.”

I say as I get up, looking to Alasania, who stares at me with wide eyes, paying attention to every letter.

(Yulitheria): “I’ve dreamt of great halls of grey pillars… the crest of a black dragon over a red field and under it, a golden throne… an empty throne.”

(Alasania): “What does it mean, Mistress?”

I can only give her a heavy look.

(Yulitheria): “I don’t know, Alasania. I can only hope, that it will be something good in these wary times.”