My gauntlets wouldn’t fit on with my new armor, so I had to take them off. I buckled on the top strap of the armor which compressed around my bicep the chainmail from it guarding the part of my biceps not already protected by my pauldrons. The chainmail had grey fur under it for padding the soft hairs smooth against my skin as it. The chainmail ended a little past my elbow where it turned into black plates with gold trimming red glowing runes etched into the gold. Golding spines jutted out of the bracers which extended all the way to the end of my wrists.
Manica of Ares, Type: Armor (Arms) (Artifact IV): One of the four pieces of the armor of Ares earned with the blood of four nations he conquered to complete the quest’s of Kelesa and crafted by her with the aid of the system. These arm guards are part of a larger set that gains more power the more pieces of the armor the wearer possess. Can only be worn by the Champion of Kelesa.
Blood of Hercules: Your body is suffused with superhuman strength, your Might Attribute is increased by 4. Every twenty ranks the Might bonus increases by 2, starting bonus 4.
(2 Pieces) Battle Hardened Warriors: Your aura extends to your allies; they receive a hardness bonus to their skin equal to a quarter of yours and are immune to the negative effects of your auras from this set and your abilities.
(3 Pieces) Battle Glory: When you kill an enemy your allies within 100ft are Heartened increasing their damage stages one for the next 5 seconds.
(4 Pieces) Authority of the Warlord: You can telepathically speak to any of your vassals within your Aura.
Weight:
10 lbs.
The only thing I had giving me a bonus to my strength right now was my ring of the Auroch which only gave me minor plus three. When I had first got it had been a big deal but how it was nothing. At my current rank the Maninca of Ares gave me a whole forty additional points to my Might over half my current Might attribute.
I hadn’t looked at my status in a while so brought it up to check on.
Mordred, Champion of Kelesa; Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 362
Available Rank Points: 1209
Might:
73 (+43) = 116
Mind:
48
Speed:
52 (+38) = 90
Perception:
67
Toughness:
32
Spirit:
141
Endurance:
32
Power:
51
Maximum Stamina:
300
Maximum Mana:
13,033
Stamina Regen:
60 per second
Mana Regen:
89.6 per second
Ethereal Regen:
20 per minute.
Maximum Ethereal:
200
Abilities
Dominion (Rank 50), Telekinesis (Rank 20), Heightened Speed (Rank 20), Foresight (Rank 20), Hell Dragon’s Armory (Rank 20), Bestial Senses: (Rank 20), Phantom Form (Rank 20), Storm Soul (Rank 20), Magma Heart(s) (Rank 20), Troll Hide (Rank 20), Black-rage (Rank 20), Hell’s Talons (Rank 20), Helheim’s Scream (Rank 20), Chain Lightning (Rank 20), Voice of the Chasm (Rank 20), Setules Palms (Rank 20), Tremor Soles (Rank 20), Dark Guardian (Rank 1), Spirit Collective (Rank Error), Dark Guardian (Rank 1), Brutal Spite (Rank 1), Blood Renewal (Rank 1)
Blessings:
Blessing of War (Veteran), Blessing of Tadris
Titles
Mark of Cain, Bloody Pugilist, Exorcist, Survivor III, Feral Barbarian, Field Alchemist III, Berserker, Beast Slayer III, War Chief, Venom Resistant III, Keytaro’s Guardian III, Wrathful Meditation, Fireproof III, Superhuman, Bearer of Death, Lightning Resistance, the Fate Breaker, Apprentice Bludgeoner, Master Deflector, Apprentice Spearman, Divine Smith, Master Enchanter, Knight of Camelot, Challenger, Artifact Breaker, Abomination Slayer, Spell Carver, Master Swordsman, the Possessed
Pushing aside my status screen. I went back to examining my equipment. Its growth potential with my rank made it my only other piece of equipment that would provide rising stats. The other was my boots which would boost my speed by one for every ten ranks I gained.
I slid my other bracer over my other arm. With artifacts being indestructible that made my arms basically invulnerable from most physical attacks. Some attacks could bypass armor but those would drain my opponent’s stamina and mana to use against me constantly. While my head and torso were protected most of my chest and stomach, waists and legs were bare or lightly armored.
“I’ll be taking my leave now,” I said turning and walking toward Exar’kun.
“You aren’t going to try and force us to join your army?” Melania asked.
“You don’t seem interested, and I don’t need you,” I said shrugging. “Like I said I don’t have a quest for you, so you’re just side content. Others may come after you, I may in the future if I have reason; but your safe from me for today.”
“You are very strange Warlord,” Melania said. “Where is your lust for power?”
“I seek personal power more than political,” I said mounting up behind Exar’kun’s horns holding a handout for Syvia, pulling her up behind me. “I don’t need others to be strong for me.”
--
We flew back to Dragonhold Syvia had her hands wrapped tight around my waist. The moors quickly sped by beneath us and we entered more plains with scattered copse of trees. My keen vision caught sight of something, and I slapped Exar’kun on the side of his neck to get his attention.
“Land here,” I shouted over the rush of the wind.
Banking down he landed heavily; his feet leaving massive indents and scraping in the dirt. I slid off Syvia following her legs shaking under her as she gripped the grass with her hands. She apparently wasn’t a big fan of heights.
Stooping down I looked down on the reason I had stopped us. It was a single flower with silver leaves and vibrant violet and amaranth petals; the pistol was a luminous gold that shone like a star. Exar’kun leaned forward sniffing as he examined the flower for himself.
Silver Leaf Jasmine: Type; plant, Rarity: Mythical. This flower is incredibly rare due to its difficulty in reproducing but despite this has no known uses in any crafting resulting in it only being valued for aesthetic purposes further reducing its numbers due to lack of cultivation. Only grows and reproduces with massive amounts of pure mana in its environment.
“Useless,” Exar’kun sniffed. “A mythical rarity item and it can’t be used for anything.”
“Beauty has a value all in its own,” I answered as I slowly and carefully dug around the plant.
“What do you want it for?” Exar’kun asked. “You don’t strike me as the flower sort of person.”
“There is someone else I have in mind,” I said.
“You humans and your giving of flowers,” Exar’kun snorted. “You should give her something useful like gold.”
“Gold doesn’t have a use,” I said.
“Sure, it does,” Exar’kun said. “You can eat it.”
“No you… wait you eat gold?” I asked.
“And other metals,” Exar’kun said shrugging. “What do you think are scales were made of?”
“How do you even fly?” I asked.
“Magic,” Exar’kun said with a grin that I wasn’t sure was intended to be vicious. “All dragons are born with an innate Ability that gives us access to flight, we need to kill and get enough rank points before we can truly use it. Usually, our parents would provide us with half dead prey when we’re hatchlings.”
“I thought you never knew your parents,” I said. “How do you know all this stuff?”
“Much was taught to me by the Dragon Clan’s wise woman,” Exar’kun said. “She and I have an accord of sorts, other things I learned by questioning trespassers in my territory or from ancestral memories.”
“Ancestral memories?” I asked.
“They are like lessons that you experience while in your sleep,” Exar’kun said flicking his tail. “They can only teach so much though.”
I finished digging up the jasmine and set it in a pot putting it into my storage pouch.
“That’s all I needed here,” I said turning to Syvia lying on the ground. “Get up we’re moving again.”
--
Angling down we hit the ramparts of Dragonhold, the stone cracking under Exar’kun’s weight. Frowning at that I waved my hand.
“Hell Dragon’s Armory,” I said.
All along the wall within five-hundred-thousand feet of me the earth sank away and sunk into the wall hardening there. As it grew in size and thickness. What was left was smooth glossy dark grey walls like polished marble. Jumping off his neck I landed on the ground and looked around.
The city seemed the same as when I had left it and no imminent disaster seemed to await me, so I continued towards the palace. I took the time to repair the streets I walked turning them from dirt and cobblestone to a singular piece of compressed stone. I added the beginnings of a drainage system since the city didn’t already have one.
My improvements didn’t cover the whole city but the section of ground within the radius of my ability was changed from the wall I landed on all the way to the palace. I also added a thin stone shell inside the walls of every building to increase their structural integrity although it would also prevent any attempts to expand or alter the buildings from now on. But that was someone else’s problem, not mine.
Sitting down on the throne I pulled out an item I had received a long time ago but never used. It had come out of a loot chest during my only Event I’d been in, but I’d never seen the use for it until now.
Far Seeing Mirror: Type: Utility, Rarity: Rare, This mirror will show you any person or place you have seen before as long as both of you are in the same realm.
Made from moon-silver and the scale of a phantom koi this was created by a master crafter and enchanted by a master enchanter.
Hardness:
10.
Durability:
20-20
“Show me Guinevere,” I commanded it. I was ready to put it away if she was in a private moment, but I wanted to make sure she was alright.
The surface of the mirror distorted color and light swirled in it as an image took form. Guinevere was wearing a long brown dress instead of her armor. It was a simple but still obviously expensive piece of clothing as she knelt in the dirt of garden a basket beside her as she cut flowers and dug up some weeds.
Just seeing her felt like wind had been blown into my sails. She looked up as if she could feel me watching her. I saw in her eyes the red puffiness around them from crying as well as a deep anger that lurked there. Anger rose up in me and I wanted to destroy whatever was bothering her. Pushing down the anger for now soon enough I would see her in the flesh again.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Bringing out Mab I sat him on the arm of the throne and brought out my chisels and stylus. I had work to do. Lighting blasted from my fingers as I condensed it into crystals the thunder echoing around the throne room. Soon I had hundreds of the crystals available. Adding in ingots of compressed uncommon metal I turned them into spear heads.
They ended up having a glossy blue appearance when the crystal and metal had finished merging. Taking out my chisels I began engraving enchantments into them. I could have used Hell Dragon’s Armory to carve the runes, but I preferred the effort it took to use my hands to create.
There was a coughing beside me, and Jeriah stood there. “Since we have taken over this city the matters of its governance have fallen to us,” he said. “Some of the people’s leaders have requested an audience with you.”
Letting out a sigh I set aside my enchanting for now. I’d gotten around ten spearheads made but I needed to complete a few thousand.
“Send them in,” I said.
A group of around twelve civilians walked into the throne room and stood before me. Most of them looked nervous but one of them a relatively younger man had a bold cocky attitude.
“I am Silus leader of the Free-People’s Movement,” he said.
I looked to Jeriah for an explanation, but he just shrugged.
“And what exactly is it your movement all about?” I asked.
“We seek to gain the same rights and privileges as the Gifted,” Silus said passionately. “We will not stand idly by while you continue to oppress us.”
“And you want others to see the violence inherit in the system?” I asked with a grin.
“What…?” Silus asked my question derailing his line of thought.
“Nothing, I just didn’t expect to find myself in a Monty Python sketch this morning,” I said. “Continue.”
“We demand that we be given the rights to own property, titles and hold office the same as any of the gifted,” he continued on breezing past my nonsensical words.
Jeriah scoffed but otherwise remained silent.
“Did the last King of Dracon grant you your demands?” I asked.
“No…” Silus said and was about to continue when I cut him off.
“And what about when Camelot took over, did they listen to you?”
“No, but…” he said.
“Then why do you believe I will be different?” I said, speaking over him Voice of the Chasm carrying my words to every corner of the massive throne room. “Do you want to know why they didn’t listen to you.”
Silus was silent watching me cautiously waiting for me to speak.
“Because they didn’t have to,” I explained. “It doesn’t matter if you stand idly by, beat your fists against my chest or even try to plunge a sword through my heart. You lack the strength to be any threat to me. It doesn’t matter your numbers either that would just turn it from an execution to a massacre.”
“So, nothing will change under you either,” he said his voice clipped with anger.
“Jeriah how many mortal rank dungeons do we have under our control?” I asked.
Around ten that we’ve discovered that the old nobility was using although there may be more,” Jeriah answered.
“Very well,” I said. “I’ll tell you what Silus, I will grant one of these dungeons to the people. If you want the rights of the Gifted, then take them.”
“You want us to seek our death in some dungeon?” he asked outraged.
“You want me to give you power,” I said my voice low but still carrying to his ears. “To give you rights, but neither can be given. If they were something given, I could just take them away again whenever I desired. If you want power, freedom, rights, and privileges than you must take them in order to make them truly yours.”
Sitting back, I waved my hand in a shewing gesture. “We’re done, either take power for yourself or continue to live out your lives in obscurity. But don’t bother me again.”
Chapter 6: A Dragon on the Throne Again
“You’ll realized they’ll die if they try that dungeon, right?” Jeriah asked me.
“That’s the idea,” I responded with a callous shrug. “They either admit to their own weakness and cowardice, they die in the dungeon, or they survive and actually become useful.”
“They want a society where everyone is gifted,” Jeriah said with tired sigh.
“Why isn’t everyone gifted?” I asked. “Your world has had the system for thousands of years as I understand it. If gifts are passed down genetically than how is that everyone doesn’t have them by now? They aren’t that rare.”
“I don’t know what genetically means,” Jeriah said. “But if a person’s bloodline goes on for to long without earning new abilities and increasing in rank, they stop passing on their abilities. You can’t just have abilities you actually need to use them. If a family of farmers were all given abilities now but didn’t give up their life of farming to go hunt down monsters and raid dungeons, they would revert back to regular people in two generations.”
“And since there aren’t enough rank points to go around when the gods aren’t having their competition every five hundred years that means only a select few can maintain their abilities,” I said understanding.
“Exactly,” Jeriah said. “Its what heretics who fight against the gods want. A new system that allows for other ways to gain power than just killing.”
“Even if such a system existed those who gained power by killing would still be in charge,” I said shaking my head. “You can change the environment someone is but you can’t change human… humanoid nature.”
--
Returning to my work I began making spearhead after spearhead. No two were the same even if I made an enchantment to do the same effect I was constantly tweaking and altering them in search of better outcomes or slightly altered effects. I had ones that would unleash a blast of lightning when impacting a creature and others that would deal major fire, ice or curse damage.
I set out the loot I’d gotten after killing Jamis. I’d never had a chance to look and analyze them properly.
Gauntlets of the Bearserker (Artifact V): Type: Armor/Weapons (hands), Made from adamantine and the hide of greater demon these gauntlets are made to defend the hands and allow for brutal unarmed attacks with the spikes on them.
· Deals a major amount of piercing and bludgeoning damage with each hit.
· Inflicts the Laceration condition on each hit.
· Your Might is increased by +4, gain an additional +1 every ten ranks.
· For every wound your receive while wearing these gauntlets you gain an instance of Bear Skin.
*Laceration: Targets wounds do not close when healed and will continue to bleed until the bleeding is staunched or the effect removed.
*Bear Skin: While wearing no other piece of armor your take one less damage stage for the next minute. Stacks to a maximum of 10 times.
Reading the puns for the weapon’s name and effects removed any guilt I had for killing him. The gauntlets extended all the way down to the elbow serving also as a pair of bracers. They didn’t fit my fighting style and even if they did, I couldn’t wear them and the Manica of Ares. Of the two pieces of armor the lesser artifact was superior in my opinion.
Setting the gauntlets on top of Mab’s pages I let him read and copy the divine enchantments into his pages. Just because I personally couldn’t use them didn’t mean I couldn’t find a use for them. They didn’t fit any of the Dragon Breakers who all fought with large weapons and wore heavy plate armor. I’d probably give them to Juruk, the goblin only wore hide armor so he wouldn’t be losing much, and the artifact might help him out.
Belt of the Wrestler: Type: Equipment (waist); Your unarmed attacks deal one more damage stage and your might is doubled when grappling with an opponent.
Made of the hide of an earth-dragon and enchanted by a master enchanter.
Hardness:
9
Durability:
12-20
Again, not useful for me; I copied the enchantment and tossed it in the giveaway pile.
Boots of the Traveler: Type: Footwear; Your walking and running speed is increased by one pace, and the stamina cost of movement abilities are reduced by 5.
Made from the hide of storm-elk and enchanted by a journeyman enchanter.
Hardness:
9
Durability:
18-20
The boots wouldn’t have been bad if I wasn’t already wearing a far superior pair. Again, I simply copied them and tossed them into the pile.
Headband of Endurance: Type: Headgear; The cost of your stamina abilities is reduced by 10%. Increases your Endurance by +5.
Made by a master weaver from sun silk and dyed with the distilled blood of a fire dragon and enchanted by a journeyman enchanter.
Hardness:
7
Durability:
2-16
This one had some potential uses for myself however it was almost broken, so I’d have to use Hell Dragon’s armory to repair it. Potentially I could also just replicate its effects and create a better version considering I was a better enchanter than whoever had made this.
Amulet of Elemental Shielding: Type: Jewelry; You take two less damage stages from fire, cold and lightning.
Made from the fragments of a fallen star and five elemental gems by a master jeweler then enchanted by a master enchanter.
Hardness:
11
Durability:
18-25
This amulet had some potential for resisting those damage types, but I already had titles that reduced the damage by three stages. I guess I could try to stack resistances against them, seeing as I didn’t have anything else in my neck slot right now, so I put it on.
That was all the loot Jamis had on him. Considering it was decently powerful he’d likely moved on or upgraded from lesser pieces of gear. My equipment was much better than his, but I’d likely performed better in the first Event than they had, and I had completed a quest and discovered another piece of my armor set.
Mab was happy with the new knowledge he’d absorbed and there was a lot I could do with the new runes and enchantments I had learned. I began crafting a new ring to replace the Ring of Auroch’s Strength. I could make better than it now and it was time to move on. I had thousands of spearheads to make, and I needed to get started now if I wanted to finish them before the start of the Event.
While it was sometimes tedious my time below had given me a great deal of patience. I sat on the throne for days as I created spearhead after spearhead. It wasn’t just the enchantments that I changed. Some of the heads were made to pierce armor better, others were barbed, or had rings in them to tear open flesh more and create wider wounds. I created several tri-blades spearheads and some that spiraled around like a cyclone just to break up the monotony.
Days passed as I created spearhead after spearhead spending hours enchanting them. I barely slept as added the enchantments to them setting them aside and picking up another. It took me around two weeks to complete just a little over a thousand.
I was interrupted by knocking at the throne room door before it swung open, the sunlight from outside was blinding for a second and Jeriah walked in. I hadn’t seen another person in days. I had a little over a week before the Event and had given orders for me not to be disturbed.
“There’s an army at the front gates to see you Mordred,” he said.
“Again?” I asked with a sigh but rose to my feet.
“Just humanoids this time,” he said. “Also, I think I found your princess.”
--
The doors of Dragonhold swung open as stepped out from under them. As I moved the ground, walls, gatehouse and doors changed darkening in color as I condensed and improved the structures around me my various Perception abilities and the senses I had from Hell Dragon’s Armory letting me change the buildings without even looking at them.
Exar’kun landed on top of the gatehouse which probably would have collapsed moments ago under his weight. His long neck hung down going level with me and Jeriah as we confronted the woman leading the army of brown robed figures.
“I am Princess Andromeda…” she began.
“We can read your description princess there are no need for introductions,” I interrupted her. “What do you want?”
“I have come to retake my throne,” she said glaring at me, even if you could read a person’s name it was considered polite to let them introduce themselves.
She had an ugly scare marring an otherwise beautiful face. Not that I was in any position to criticize people and their scars, my own face bore the scars from when I’d nearly lost an eye to the adolescent nemean lion.
“It taken you a long time,” I said. “Camelot conquered your country nearly a year ago. What took you so long to come back?” I asked as I paced back and forth examining her and the army behind her. They wore brown robes, their faces obscured by black masks. I couldn’t see only a few descriptions among them but most of them didn’t show anything meaning they weren’t gifted.
“I’ve been gathering support to drive out all invaders,” she said her hand dropping to the hilt of her sword.
“Easy there,” I said. “You don’t want to be the one to start this.”
“And why is that?” she asked.
“Because you’ll die,” I said flatly.
“You seem very sure,” Andromeda said. “But I’ve learned powers that even you a champion cannot contend with. Their will be a dragon on the throne again.”
“If we wanted a dragon on the throne,” Exar’kun growled. “I’d crawl inside your little stone nest and sit there myself. Insult me again by calling yourself a dragon and regardless of Mordred’s thoughts on the matter I will melt the flesh from your bones.”
Andromeda paled as a low reverberation began to build up in Exar’kun’s chest and the edges of his scales began to glow brighter and brighter.
“Let’s put a pause on that for now,” I reprimanded Exar’kun lightly. “Though I would listen to him, I’m pretty sure he was serious about that.”
The army of robbed figures shifted uncomfortably since they were right in the path the line of fire would take. There was around two-thousand of them in total. Their robes obscured what weapons or armor they were wearing. The lack of descriptions above their heads should have been comforting but I sensed a trick of some kind.
I circled around Andromeda and watched as she stiffened as I passed into her blind spot as she refused to take her eyes off the dragon and the walls in front of us.
“It’s said you were rescued by the Order of the Magi,” I said.
“Maybe I was,” Andromeda said.
“And what do you think of their philosophy and goal?” I asked. “That everyone deserves to have access to the system and a chance to ascend?”
“I think its noble,” she said. “What do you think of it?”
“I think it sounds too much like socialism,” I said. “I also think it’s foolish. They are addressing the symptoms instead of the problem. I come from a world with no system, and we aren’t all equal there. There will always be those with power and those without it.”
“And those without power? They’re meant to just accept their lives under the boot of people like you?” she asked her voice telling me exactly what she thought of me.
“The strong do what they will, and the weak suffer what they must,” I said. “Why are you really here? Your army isn’t big enough to take me on, what do you hope to accomplish?”
“Are you sure of that?” a man called stepping out from the ranks of the army. He pushed back his hood and pulled down his mask to reveal a sandy brown beard and piercing blue eyes.
“And you are?” I asked noting there was no description above his head.
“I am Pierce,” he said extending his hand out. “I’ve trained to counter champions since I was a child.”
I watched as arcane power began to build up in his hands. I held up my hand to stop my army from firing as the spell built up. It only took two seconds before the blast of purple energy in the form a laser beam as thick as a tree trunk blasted from his fingers. The spell’s power was devastating and would have evaporated anyone without some sort of shielding or teleporting ability. I just stood there and held out Mab. The book’s pages fluttered as it greedily drank in the spell leaving behind not even a spec of soot when it was done.
Lowering the grimoire back to my belt I hung it there again as I met the astonished expression of Pierce.
“That book… it can’t be…” he said.
“I believe it was once one your Order’s,” I said. “Sadly, for you I don’t think he’s too happy with you after your ripped out all the knowledge he’d accumulated working for you.”
“They should have destroyed it when they had the chance,” he growled in frustration as he glared at the black crystal covers.
“Now, now,” I admonished him. “We both know what happens when we destroy an artifact you can’t blame them for not wanting to commit suicide.”
“You can’t destroy an artifact,” Andromeda said a look of confusion on her face after witnessing the display.
“Sure, you can’t,” I agreed winking at Pierce. “It’s definitely never been done before.”
“Are we going to fight these people or not?” Exar’kun asked me irritably.
“I think this has gone on for long enough,” Jeriah agreed. “What are your orders Mordred?”
Circling around Andromeda again I stopped in front of her. “I need your blood to open the vault below the palace, I don’t particularly care about this country, so I’ll make you a deal. You open the vault and swear a binding oath to me, when Camelot is driven out and my quest for this land is complete, I will establish you as its Queen. You can rule as tyrannically or benevolently as you want as long as you don’t try to go after me or my vassals.”
Jeriah coughed and I snapped my fingers. “You will of course be required to return the ancestral lands of the Dragonbreakers to them.”
“And what else would her oath require from her?” Pierce asked, stepping forward, revealing himself as the real power behind the throne.
“Nothing really,” I said and shrugged. “I don’t care enough to be bothered with setting tax rates or immigration policy; you can do what you want as long as you don’t interfere with me.”
“You really don’t care about running a country?” Pierce asked suspiciously.
“Why would I?” I asked. “You’re the ones that think they can change the world, I’m just living in it. Whether I die in battle or become a god nothing about human nature and the way things are run is going to change.”
“Than why even bother?” Andromeda asked. “If it’s all meaningless, why are you even competing?”
“Because I can change myself, I can become something greater and change my own nature,” I replied.
Pulling a piece of parchment out I took out my stylus and drew up the contract. It was simple, only a few paragraphs or so. I wasn’t trying to tie down Andromeda with every legal phrase I could. If she found some loophole to slip out and betray me than so be it. The contract made it clear that if she did so I would be released from my part and be free to kill her. I held out the contract to her with the stylus and small knife.
“This is a blood pact,” I said. “Your companions can tell you more about it but it will use your own mana to bind you to your word.”
Andromeda looked to Pierce who slowly nodded. Andromeda took the parchment read over it one final time than signed. I let her keep the contract as I stepped back.
“Welcome home Princess,” I said.
“I’m surprised you didn’t require me to marry you,” Andromeda said. “Most others would have.”
“Would you have agreed to that?” I asked looking at her sidelong.
“I would do anything to secure the future of my house,” she said.
“Well, my princess is in another castle,” I said. “And she wouldn’t tolerate any rivals and I’m not really into harems anyway.”
Turning to the Magi I looked them over. “You are welcome in the city since you are allies of mine by proxy, just know that if you start anything with me you better be able to finish it. I don’t want you get the wrong impression of me from today, I chose this route because it was the most interesting not because I don’t enjoy combat. If you want to go to war with the gods do so, I don’t care, just leave me out of it.”
“You’re a champion of one of the gods and plan on becoming one,” Pierce said. “Do you really think you can stay out of it.”
“I’m prepared to give it a try for as long as I can,” I said. “To the vault princess, you have your part of the deal to hold up.”