Booted steps echoed off marble floors in the vast corridor. Janis, right hand of the High King and Grand Inquisitor of the land of Farandway, kept his gate stately on the off-chance some interloper observed him carrying out his duties. Maintaining the proper dignity of his position was essential, after all. Nonetheless, his steps were quick. The High King did not care for tardiness.

Two guards stood at attention as Janis approached the inner sanctum, their armor gleaming and their eyes sharp for threats. They nodded at Janis and immediately moved to open the double-doors. Inwardly, Janis tisked. These two put too much trust in their guardsman’s skills, no doubt high level, but still not immune to deception. They should have challenged him rather than immediately grant entry.

The moment Janis saw the two, their secrets were revealed, his ever active skill peeling them bare. The Penitent Eye.

{Ryder Kingsworn Guardsman level 50 (bodyguard specialization)

Secret Sin: Gambling addiction

Chesser Kingsworn Guardsman level 52 (bodyguard specialization)

Secret Sin: Murderer}

Janis said nothing as the two guards gave perfect salutes as he passed through the doorway. But he made a mental note of their failings. The gambler was a liability. A man in debt was a vulnerable man. But the other one could be useful.

The inner sanctum, private study of the High King, was the kind of place to excite gasps of awe from the unprepared. Passing through the doors was like passing through a portal to another world, a feeling that Janis knew to be close to the truth. Bookcases twenty feet tall were laid out in neat rows, the towering weight of their contained knowledge enough to crush a lesser mind. But the atmosphere was open and airy, not the stuffy, smothering feel of a library. Above was a clear blue sky, without a wisp of cloud, though birds could be seen as spiraling pinpricks far overhead. It was an illusion, Janis knew, but exquisitely wrought.

In the wide-space directly ahead were a variety of projects in various states of completion. Some were mechanical monstrosities, levers and whirring gears that revealed nothing of their true purpose. Several were more arcane, odd objects and artifacts that radiated mysterious power. There were also several cages, though their occupants were mostly docile at the moment.

Amidst the chaos was a heavy desk the size of a small carriage. Nearly every inch of its surface was hidden by a curious object of some kind. Standing beside the desk, closely examining a small porcelain figurine, was the High King himself.

{High King Bereden High King level ????

Secret Sin: Go fuck yourself, Janis}

Janis grunted in amusement. The text changed almost every time he viewed the High King.

Bereden looked up, as though only just noticing Janis approaching, though Janis knew his presence had been noted long before he passed through the double-doors. Janis made a deep bow.

“Janis. A fine day, isn’t it?” Bereden said, placing the small figure he had been holding back on his cluttered desk. The High King was tall and broad shouldered, with dark hair that fell to his shoulders and piercing blue eyes. He appeared to be a human of roughly middle years, and his face was handsome, open, and kind. Janis was not deceived. Bereden was ageless and ancient, and while he might have been human once, he was far beyond that now.

“I suppose it is fine, as much as a day can be anything, my Lord,” Janis said with great deference.

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“You have no sense of wonder in you, old friend,” Bereden said, shaking his head sadly at the High Inquisitor. “I assume you are here with another tedious report?”

“Indeed I am, though perhaps not as tedious as you anticipate. Much is going on in Farandway at the moment.”

Bereden nodded, though he gave a great skeptical sigh.

“Alright, then. Let’s here what’s happening out in our little fishbowl.”

Janis started with the usual updates. Tax revenue was up from the coastal cities, with the discovery of new veins of mithinium on Oria leading to a boom in trade. There had been a few Faction skirmishes, but hostility was rather muted, and diplomacy was holding the status quo for the time being. Most importantly, the number of Jewels retrieved by Travelers had exceeded the monthly quota again, bringing the Kingdom’s stockpile to an all-time high.

Bereden listened closely, but Janis could tell he did not have the High King’s full attention. The tell-tale flickers of the King’s eyes betrayed that he was browsing through System messages, as he did almost constantly.

Janis paused for air, and Bereden sighed again.

“Wonderful. It’s all running like a well-oiled machine.” Bereden chuckled darkly, as though this were some great joke. If it was, Janis didn’t get it.

“I’ve saved the most interesting bits for last, My Lord. We believe a new batch of Travelers was inducted into Dawn Valley recently. Details on what goes on there are difficult to come by, of course, as even our highest level scryers cannot fully penetrate the protections laid down by the System. But they claim it happened no more than a month ago. It shouldn’t be long before the more ambitious begin to emerge.”

Janis expected some kind of reaction to this. New cohorts weren’t unheard of, of course, but they also weren’t particularly common. It had been a decade since the last one. But Bereden only sighed again.

“Wonderful. Make sure we have people in place to screen them and recruit the more exceptional. You know the drill,” the High King said. His hands had wondered back to the oddities littering his desk.

“Of course,” Janis said. “On another note, a Traveler just turned in her fourth Jewel.”

The High King’s attention snapped back to Janis at that. This truly was a rarity.

“Really? Who was it?”

“Valerie Ravenheart, my Lord. Just turned it in yesterday. She has already departed for the Razor’s Edge.”

“I see,” Bereden said, sighing yet again. It wasn’t boredom this time, though. There was sadness in that sigh. “That is truly unfortunate. I always liked Valerie. What would you rate her chances?”

“50/50, I’d say,” Janis answered. “Valerie is powerful and cunning. But…well, we shall see.”

“Yes, I suppose we will. Pity. I always liked Valerie.” Bereden’s eyes flickered again, studying one of the System messages that only he could access. Then he shook his head. “Be prepared. The mountains might claim her. But I she has better odds than you’re giving her. She might take the Jewel. Have a Fist ready to intercept her if she does.”

“It will be done, my Lord,” Janis intoned. He was disappointed, though his mood had nothing to do with eminent death of one of the realm’s most storied Travelers. He had hoped these bits of news would pull Bereden out of his lethargy, sparking some of the High King’s old intensity.

Janis was preparing to press on with the rest of his report when the double-doors again swung open. A small man dressed in dirty, greasy clothes ran into the room. Janis inwardly cursed. His spymaster was a useful man. But his presence was obnoxious. Janis quashed his distaste when he saw the look on the man’s face, however.

{Alistar Merchant level 22 [false display] (Master of Whispers level 78)

Secret Sin: Murderer, gambler, drunk, lech, con man, blackmailer, fraud, liar, betrayer}

Alistar darted to Janis and bowed his head before handing the High Inquisitor a small piece of parchment. The spy then turned and darted back for the double-doors. He was careful never to look at the High King.

Janis opened the parchment, frowning. When he read what was written there, his eyes went wide with shock.

“Something noteworthy, I take it?” The High King said, showing some true interest for the first time.

“It’s…”Janis struggled for a moment, then cleared his throat. “It is a message from the scryers. A new Jewel has manifested.”

“What level?” Bereden asked.

“It is a level 1 manifestation.”

“Oh,” the High King said. His interest popped like a bubble. He sighed. “Doesn’t seem worth sending your greasy friend all the way here to tell you that.”

“That’s not…there is more, my Lord. The manifestation…well, it was in the Valley of Dawn.”

The air in the room shifted. Janis nearly buckled as a pressure like the depths of the ocean descended on him, squeezing his mind in a vice grip.

Bereden had turned his full attention on his servant.

“Dawn? A Jewel in Dawn? You are sure?” Bereden’s voice was soft. Yet it echoed through Janis’s mind like the blows of a smith’s hammer.

“The scryers say they are certain, my Lord,” Janis gasped, trying to maintain focus. “But they must be wrong. There has never been a manifestation in the valley. It’s impossible.”

“You are wrong, Janis. It has happened before. Six times before.”

Bereden seemed to grow, though nothing changed physically. But Janis’s sense of the man, the aura that held his essence expanded. It poured through the room like thick syrup, sweeping out and almost carrying Janis away with it. Janis gasped, but steeled himself. He activated several skills, reinforcing his mental defenses, stabilizing his consciousness.

“What does it mean, my Lord,” Janis managed to wheeze out.

“It means we are close. Closer than we’ve ever been,” Bereden said. “And it means the System has chosen a new champion to try to stop me. Prepare one of the Fists. We will be sending them to the valley. We have a Blade to break.”