In the days that followed the battle, it seemed as though the Republic of Herrutah was reeling at their complete loss. They chose to reinforce their towns and cities nearest the border rather than prepare for another assault on Kingdom ground. Even so, they made no attempt at negotiating a truce, let alone an actual peace agreement. The war would continue, but it seemed that it would experience a lull while both sides regrouped and otherwise dealt with the aftermath of the battles.
All of this was information that Mizeiya had not expected to be privy to, but it seemed being betrothed to one of the two people being hailed as war heroes had some unexpected political benefits.
Speaking of politics… I can’t believe they’re actually making Rai a noble. It’s nonhereditary, but still, that’s kind of crazy, Mizeiya thought as she watched the ceremony from the audience. According to what she had been told, there would be a larger, more public ceremony after the war was over, but for now her beloved was being paraded in front of nobles who lived in the capital in a semi-private setting at the palace itself.
The King touched his royal scepter to Rai’s shoulder.
“I, King Xavier Landsgrace, hereby bestow unto Archmage Rai Flamme, the Thunderflame, the noble title of Magelord in acknowledgement of his power and his wielding of said power on behalf of the Kingdom. Rise, Magelord Rai.”
Rai stood.
“Now, come forth, Isa Bloodscale.”
Isa, disguised as a human, walked forward and knelt before the King.
“Before you kneels a Grand Warrior without equal, who singlehandedly slew more than one thousand foes in a single battle,” the King said. “With such power, she freely wielded it on the Kingdom’s behalf, despite not being a citizen of the Kingdom. For this, I hereby bestow unto Grand Warrior Isa Bloodscale, the Lady of Death, the honorary title of Friend of the Kingdom. This title is given to foreigners residing in the Kingdom whose allegiance lies with the Kingdom and who have done a great service to the Crown. In all the years, however, there are no recorded instances of the title being granted to a member of a monstrous race. Lady Isa, stand and reveal yourself.”
Isa stood and dropped her disguise. Shock rippled through the audience.
“Friend Isa is not powerful because she was born to a powerful race,” the King said. “In fact, she began life as a kobold, one of the weakest of the monstrous races. Through effort and determination, she has honed her ability and even evolved into a higher race. This drive to rise is one I have always admired in the people of my nation. I know that some may doubt my judgement in granting a saurian a title. I would like to remind them that acting on such doubt is tantamount to treason.”
There was some murmuring, but it quickly died down.
What’s the King’s angle here? Mizeiya thought with a frown. Why stick up for Isa like that? He’s definitely playing some political game here, but I have no idea what it is. I hope that whatever his plans, they don’t cause trouble for Rai’s friend.
Rai and Isa were each presented with a badge to show to prove their titles, and then the ceremony was over.
“So what now?” Mizeiya asked once Rai and Isa finished introducing themselves to whatever attending nobles felt the need to approach and speak to them.
“Now, I find an architect who can draw up a custom manor blueprint to our specifications and a logging company to hire to acquire both building wood and furniture wood, along with clearing a spot for our house on our new plot of land. Then, I need to source materials for magic item crafting for all the individual magic items I want to be part of the house, as well as what’s needed for the main item. Then, while the labor is being done, I can work on the research part of the project.”
“You’re really going to make a magic item that turns into a manor? You think you can do it?”
“Absolutely. And I’ll include the portable aspect too.”
A nearby young noble who had briefly introduced himself and hovered around returned.
“Did I hear you correctly? You’re going to be making a magic item that can turn into a portable manor?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“That’s a fascinating concept! Quick question: if you succeed, do you think you’d be interested in taking commissions for more of them?”
“Well… it wouldn’t be cheap. I estimate the costs, not including the logging and architectural design, to be around five thousand gold (at least for my manor’s design), so if I did do this, I would charge at least ten thousand gold, in keeping with the standard for magical item pricing guidelines of hundred percent markup, and I wouldn’t make more than two per year at most.”
“Ah. That’s… actually not that bad, all things considered. Only the really rich would be able to afford it, but there are those who would, and they’d probably be interested. Perhaps you’ll get commissioned in the future.”
“Perhaps.”
-x-
Finding an architect willing to draw up a blueprint quickly to Rai’s specifications wasn’t actually that hard; finding a qualified architect to do so was harder. Eventually, Rai resorted to seeking out a Master-level architect residing in the capital and asked him how much money it would take for him to drop everything to work on the project. Since the architect wasn’t actually on any other projects at the time, Rai was able to negotiate a rate of six hundred gold. Another four hundred gold went to hiring a logging team to acquire the necessary construction materials and purchasing quality lumber for the furniture.
During the research phase, Rai ran into a snag: he needed access to a spell he didn’t have available to him. However, they had learned that the spells in the “scroll spellbook” recovered from the Dragonia ruins could be used when crafting without being expended, unlike normal scrolls, and the book had the spell he needed, which would allow him to make the item consume the raw materials for the house and furniture and turn them artistically-crafted finished products. He worked eight hour days every day without taking any days off, and by the middle of the second month of summer, slightly over a month later, he had the finished product in his hand.
At the King’s request, he put on a demonstration just outside Spiral Crown.
“As you can see,” he said, holding up the bejeweled, inch-and-a-half diameter, circular, gold pendant on silver chain, “the portable form is quite compact and easy to carry. It looks like a piece of jewelry.” The watching nobles nodded. “However, if I hold it up and focus on where I want it to appear, then all I need to do is say the activation phrase… become my house.”
The pendant vanished, and sparkling lights in the shape of a house appeared, centered some sixty feet in front of him. The lights lasted for only a few seconds, and when they faded, an elegant two-story manor, each story with a ceiling height of twelve feet (to accommodate Isa’s future greater height), stood where before there was nothing. On the second floor were several balconies, as well as a rooftop garden area. On one side was a large stable area.
“Come on in, and I’ll show you that this is no mere empty shell,” he said, opening the front door. Within, he showed off the trophy room, storage room, one bathroom and three toilet rooms, kitchen-and-dining area, sitting/living room, small auditorium, library, five bedrooms and one master bedroom, two studies, and magic lab. All rooms had magical lightning appliances and a central heating/cooling system, and the bathroom, toilet rooms, and kitchen all had magical appliances (sinks, bath, toilets, oven, stove, freeze chest, and cooling cabinet). All rooms were fitted with appropriate, master-crafted furniture.
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“You can see that this is personally designed for my needs; the non-separation of kitchen and dining area is for convenience since I currently have no plans for servants. If one of you wants me to make a manor for you, you will need to hire the architect and dictate the design you want, as well as indicate what sort of furniture you want and supply any nonstandard lumber. Assuming that you want a house of similar size to this or smaller, I would charge ten thousand gold. Anything larger will be more expensive. And I will only make one of these per year, with a construction time of three months to allow me to do other things with my life.”
One of the nobles, the King’s brother, said, “And does that include the magical appliances?”
“Yes, Duke Armand.”
“I’ll need to get the blueprint drawn up, but I would like to commission a portable manor from you.”
“Any others?”
“Are you going to turn this into a bidding contest for priority if there are?” a noblewoman said.
“Of course. Well, unless you work it out amongst yourselves.”
“Perhaps… but I’ll need time to think on it,” the noblewoman said.
“I will be in touch with you by messenger when I have the blueprint, Magelord,” Duke Armand said.
The crowd filed out of the house and Rai reverted it to portable form with another command phrase. He bid the others farewell and teleported away.
-x-
Rai’s manor stood in a picturesque locale, not only a few yards away from the waterfall pond in a grassy, flower-covered clearing that Rai had paid a spirit mage – who were generally focused on nature – to create after Isa chopped down the trees and uprooted the stumps. The clearing was relatively small, just big enough for the house and a small yard space around it, so the canopy still cast shade on the structure, keeping the lightning pleasant instead of harsh. The area was also significantly cooler than outside the forest, keeping it feeling nice even in the middle of summer.
While there were plenty of animals in the forest, they mostly avoided the clearing, thanks to the fact that the drakes lived there. The exceptions were the fish living in the pond and the birds. Rai had no idea where the fish had come from, considering the recent and abrupt appearance of the pond in the first place, but there were a variety of different freshwater fish, mostly small ones. Thanks to the birds, the place was far from silent, surrounded by nature’s melodies.
Now that he had a place to call home, Rai was finally able to empty his dimensional pouch of many of the things that he didn’t feel the need to carry with him, such as his crafting supplies and his treasures. His library looked pretty sparse, even after he went on a shopping trip for books in the capital, but splurging on various things like rugs and high-quality blankets had made the house look more like a home. Isa had even contributed some. For now, Rai’s entire group was living at the house, with Isa and Sylvie sleeping in two of the regular bedrooms that had been designated as theirs. Besides simply enjoying the simple life, Rai helped continue to educate Sylvie, as she no longer had Archmage Arcanius to teach her.
Three weeks of peaceful bliss passed. Rai spent a few hours each day crafting magic items to sell, primarily communication tools to sell to the military since they didn’t have all that many long-distance communication items. He also began preparing for his upcoming wedding, which he and Mizeiya had set for the first day of autumn. They commissioned custom-tailored clothes for not only the two of them, but also Isa and Sylvie, who would be participating in the wedding. For the officiant, Rai hired a priestess of the God of Devotion.
None of the wedding party had ever attended a wedding, so the officiant walked them through their options for how to conduct the ceremony. There were essentially two different styles of wedding practiced in Landsgrace: the typical commoner wedding, and the typical noble wedding. Noble weddings had all kinds of ritualistic aspects as well as being deliberately showy, flaunting the wealth (sometimes falsely, in the case of nobles who had to take out loans to afford the celebration) of the couple. They also typically had large guest lists of the most important people said nobles were capable of attracting. Commoner weddings took on one of two forms: the community-style wedding, where a large part of the local community was invited, which was often the case in smaller settlements like villages, and the private-style wedding, where only family and friends were invited. In either case, there was much less emphasis on rituals and extravagance.
At Mizeiya’s request, they opted for a private-style commoner wedding. The guest list consisted of Rai’s family, the Sun Knight, and a number of people from the Magic Tower, as well as Torval, at Isa’s suggestion. Collecting the Sun Knight was done by the Chancellor, as they were still wandering about, while Rai and Isa teleported to her tribe’s warren to get Torval.
Rai worked together with the magical engineer Orchid, the energetic young gnome woman from the Magic Tower, on a few special projects during the last few weeks.
And then, the day of the wedding arrived.
-x-
“And so, it is with the blessings of the Venosha, God of Devotion, that these two are joined as one in marriage,” the priestess, a middle-aged half-elf, said with a smile. “Magelord Rai Flamme and Mizeiya Swiftblade, I now declared you husband and wife. May your hearts and souls be ever devoted to one another.”
The couple kissed. Sylvie threw flowers over them from behind, and Isa grabbed them both around the waist and hoisted them up, eliciting laughter from the guests, who sat in fancy chairs in the yard, facing the small makeshift stage upon which the wedding had taken place.
“May you always find happiness,” Isa said, carrying them over to the pond. “And never be afraid of a little mess.”
She chucked them in the water, and the laughter became uproarious.
Rai and Mizieya laughed along as well, treading water, before swimming to the shore and climbing out. The Major Illusion that had accompanied the ceremony, which painted an expanse of stars and flooded the area with exotic flora complete with floral scents, as well as providing musical accompaniment, finally faded away, its fourteen-minute limit spent.
“Before we get to the feast,” the officiant said, “it is time for the exchange of gifts. It is customary for guests to bring gifts for the newlyweds, but the marriage couple also has gifts for the guests today.”
Rai swept his gaze over the guests. Mother, grandparents, sister, nephews, brother-in-law, father, Star Research Division, Sun Knight, Torval, Yua and Serpa, Chancellor, and Braveheart. He smiled.
One by one, the guests came up and offered their congratulations, giving some useful item or trinket. In return, he gave each of them a treasure or magic item.
The Sun Knight inclined their head and offered a small badge with the emblem of the sun. “This will show your affiliation with the church of the Sun God, should you ever need their aid. I am glad that you survived and found a way to be reunited with your beloved.”
“I’m glad you survived as well, especially after you lost your arm. I’m impressed by your resilience.”
“I do what I can. I cannot die like a fool after the God of the Sun has shown such favor to me.”
“In gratitude for your help, I have worked together with a member of the Magic Tower to make your gift. I believe you will like it.”
Orchid, who stood nearby, passed an oblong cloth-wrapped object to Rai. He handed it to the Sun Knight, who carefully unwrapped it, revealing a silversteel forearm and hand.
“What… what is this?” the Sun Knight said in bewilderment.
“Attach it to the end of your severed arm.”
Slowly and cautiously, they pushed the end against the stump just past the elbow, where their arm had been cut off. Immediately, the arm fused with the stump and moved. The fingers flexed.
“This is… a fully operational artificial arm?!” the Sun Knight exclaimed in shock. “I… such a thing… this is priceless!”
“It took the two of us working together, but luckily Orchid had worked on mechanical artificial arms before. I just made sure it was properly proportioned and enchanted so that it would work flawlessly. I got a lot of experience with artificing in the Tower Era.”
“Thank you, from the depths of my heart,” the Sun Knight said sincerely.
Torval was second-to last.
“I didn’t know I was supposed to bring a gift,” Torval said regretfully. “So all I have are the gardening supplies I purchased for you in town.”
“We definitely appreciate them,” Mizeiya said. “Thank you, Torval, was it?”
“Yes!”
“You’re a scholar of your tribe, right?”
“That’s right!”
The last person was Rai’s father, Elliot.
“Congratulations, Rai. For everything.”
“Thanks.”
“Listen… I’m sorry for the way I’ve treated you in the past. When I thought you were dead… it made me do a lot of self-reflection. You’ve long since surpassed me, and only because you refused to listen to my foolishness. I’ve ignored and belittled my family for far to long. I don’t know if your mother and sister will ever truly allow me back into their lives, but… I’m going to make myself more available going forward.”
“I accept your apology. I can’t speak for the others, but I am open to rebuilding our relationship. It’s why I invited you, after all.”
Once the gift-giving was done, the feast began – a feast which the drakes also participated in. Braveheart took up her customary position on top of Rai’s head, telekinetically grabbing food and bringing it up to her mouth, which Rai’s nephews thought was hilarious.
When night fell, and the newlyweds retired to their room, Rai had only one thought as he smiled at the woman in his arms.
Today was a perfect day, and it’s going to be a perfect night as well.
-x-
Far, far, away, a man in a carnival mask held a fist-sized red stone that faintly glowed with a violet aura in his hand.
“Excellent,” he said, then threw back his head and laughed, the sound echoing throughout the canyon around him.