Victor sat on the stone bench in the new travel pavilion and watched Valla speak to Alec Green about the structure. They were waiting for the other members of their “delegation” to First Landing, and he was trying to relax, trying not to think about having to answer questions in front of hundreds or maybe thousands of strangers. He’d opted not to wear his armor, at least not at first, and he felt comfortable in his silky gray button-up shirt and soft, slim-fitting black trousers. Valla had gotten them for him from a tailor she knew—a man who’d come through the portal from Gelica. He appreciated that they weren’t overly fancy but simply very well made from materials that were clearly a cut above what he’d been wearing for most of his time on Fanwath.
His new silver-toed black boots were polished to a glossy sheen, and Lifedrinker rested comfortably behind his shoulder, held snugly by the new magical harness that matched his belt and boots. All-in-all, he felt good because he knew he looked good. Valla said that was important when you were speaking in public—to look and feel good about yourself. In all honesty, Victor knew he shouldn’t be worried; he was Quinametzin, and all he had to do was relax his hold on his alter ego a little, and he’d have no trouble speaking on just about any topic in front of just about anyone.
“We’ve built a similar structure ourselves, though we’ve been calling it a portal hall—so far, we’ve only set up a portal to Persi Gables and, now, to your settlement. Olivia will undoubtedly pick up a portal stone to bring to Fainhallow next time she visits home.” Alec was nodding, rubbing his chin, staring at something across the open-air structure. Victor followed his gaze and saw that he was looking at the shimmering, mirror-like portal to Gelica on the other side of the pavilion. It wasn’t usually open, and Victor watched as what looked like a large family began to come through, gathering on the stone dais on this side of the portal.
“Looks like more new citizens,” he grunted.
“Ah, yes.” Alec nodded, watching as one of the yellow-robed concierge staff Rellia’s people had appointed hurried forward to greet the new family and guide them to the settlement registration center.
“Here comes your aide, Victor.” Valla pointed as Nia strode through the big archway that led toward the center of town. The former vampire thrall had changed quite a lot in the weeks since the end of the campaign, and Victor could see she’d made an effort to look nice for their visit to First Landing.
Nia had exchanged her black clothing and leather for a knee-length, flowing blue dress with long sleeves trimmed in lacy blue gauze. She still wore high leather boots, which Victor thought was kind of cool, but he wondered what the locals thought of her style. She’d washed out the black oil or grease or whatever she’d used to slick her hair back but still styled it in braids adorned with polished ivory charms and jewels. Victor could see she’d recently scrubbed her face from the rosy, pink hue of her cheeks and the somewhat inflamed nature of her many scars.
When she approached, Nia bowed quickly and nervously, her eyes darting from Valla to Alec and then settling on Victor, reclining on the bench. “Lords, Lady.” Victor found it strange to see her standing beside Valla. In the old days, when he’d been an average human back on Earth, he would have thought Nia was tall, imposing, and, despite her scars, quite beautiful. Beside her, though, Valla looked like a demigod coming to walk among mortals. She towered over the woman, her silvery, pale blue skin glistening in the diffuse sunlight that filtered through the trellised roof of the pavilion.
Valla’s hair was delicately styled, held in tight, elegant curls with jeweled combs. She wore the silver choker Victor had given her with its carved sapphire runes. And, as if to highlight her Ordeni skin tone, she was dressed in flowing, silky, silver and blue robes that, as far as Victor was concerned, clung to her in all the right ways. He shook his head, forcing himself to quit staring at Valla, and stood up. He nodded at Nia and smiled. “You look nice, Nia. Thanks for agreeing to come with us.”
“Of course, milord.”
“I know it’s a habit, but you don’t have to address us as lords and ladies, Nia,” Valla said, saving Victor from having to say the same thing for probably the twentieth time. “If you take a permanent position in Victor’s household, you can use that honorific, but for now, we’re all members of a delegation to First Landing, and there’s no need for such deference.” Victor thought Valla was being nice, and he was sure that was her intent, but Nia’s face paled, and her eyes widened as she looked toward Victor.
“I thought my position was permanent!” She stepped past Alec, looking up to lock eyes with Victor.
“Oh, I didn’t . . .” Valla started to say, but Victor waved his hand, chuckling.
“It’s just a miscommunication, Valla. Nia, of course, as long as you want to work for me and help me manage things here, I’ll have plenty to keep you busy. I think Valla simply means we haven’t established any formal agreements.”
“Then, as the lord of the lands on which I serve, I will address you as such.” Again, she bowed at the waist, and Victor saw a smile behind her blue eyes. He looked at Valla and shrugged slightly. She arched an eyebrow, perhaps amused by Nia’s persistence.
“Where the hell is Borrius?” Victor turned in a circle, looking at all of the entrances to the pavilion, wondering if the old general was coming from a different direction. He’d asked him to come along primarily because the man loved to hear himself talk, and Victor figured he’d take some of the pressure off him in the town hall.
“I’m sure he’ll be along. Relax, Victor. We’re still early.” Valla moved to stand beside him, clasping his hand. Her wing brushed his shoulder, the feathers twitching and shivering against him as she shifted. Her feathers were incredible things; they almost tinkled metallically as she moved. He’d spent many a long evening with her, feeling those wings, playing with her feathers, and he knew they were incredibly resilient, though they were light as air. Valla had gotten very comfortable with her new appendages and moved so gracefully that it was hard to remember how awkward she’d been at first.
Alec shook him from his reflections by asking, “Is he the last member of your party? Borrius, um, what was his surname?”
Valla answered him, “Borrius ap’Gandro—he’s a former commander of the Imperial Legion, a legate, and now a landholder and nobleman in the Free Marches. We feel he’ll be invaluable when it comes to explaining the dangers of having a populace controlled by more powerful Energy users. Whatever you know of the Ridonne, I can assure you, Borrius knows more.” Valla pointed over Alec’s shoulder. “Here he comes with his aide, Lieutenant Darro.” Victor exhaled a pent-up breath as he watched Borrius and Darro stride into the pavilion. Of course, they wore their military uniforms.
“Well met all,” the old commander said, striding up the marble path. “Am I tardy?”
“Not at all, sir!” Alec smiled and strode forward, offering his hand. “I’m Alec Green from First Landing, and I’ll be serving as an ambassador to your fine settlement here. I’d hoped to meet you yesterday, but Lady ap’Yensha indicated you were busy with other matters.”
“Ah, yes, quite. It’s a pleasure, young man.” Borrius took Alec’s hand in his and gave it a firm shake. Handshakes weren’t as common on Fanwath as on Earth, but Borrius was a well-traveled man and wasn’t put off by the custom. “Well? Shall we? Are we waiting for any others, Victor?”
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“Nope. We’re all here. Alec?”
“I’m ready if you folks are.” He stepped onto the nearby dais where the travel pavilion attendants had set up his portal stone and approached the big marble archway. Victor could see the portal stone at the center of the arch—darker than the surrounding stones and adorned with silver-inlaid runes. “Let’s see, I think I’m just supposed to put my hand here.” Alec placed his hand on a cluster of runes on the side of the arch. “Then, I, what? Do I just feed it some of my Energy?”
“That’s right.” Valla stepped up beside him. “Just as you would use any magical item, for instance, a glow lamp.”
“Right, right.” Alec closed his eyes momentarily, and then Victor felt the surge of Energy as the portal stone activated and a shimmering blue sheet of Energy filled the archway. It rippled and crackled almost like electricity. It didn’t look like any of the other portals he’d stepped through, and he wondered at that—was a portal’s appearance dependent on the person who’d created it? Was it affected by the destination?
“Interesting,” Borrius said, perhaps thinking along the same lines. “That Energy feels like a mix of air and water attunements. Do you know the Artificer who crafted that stone?”
“I do! Boris Saltzki—he’s our highest-level artificer.” Alec jerked his thumb at the shimmering electric doorway and grinned. “I suppose I should be the one to demonstrate it’s safe, huh? I’ll see you all on the other side!” With that, he stepped through in a sizzling shower of blue sparks.
“Huh.” Victor chuckled and stepped up to the archway. “Well, I didn’t expect to be nervous about the portal.”
“I’m sure it’s fine.” Valla smiled encouragingly.
“Right.” Victor took a deep breath and stepped through. He felt the magic tickling his flesh as he passed through. When his foot set down on springy wood and he walked into a brightly lit hall the size of a high school gym, he looked around, taking in the scene. He’d been right about the floor; polished, pale wooden planks covered the expansive space, running to white-plaster walls that rose to a high vaulted ceiling held up by beams of the same pale wood. It was a lovely building, but very empty. The only adornments were the massive Energy-powered chandeliers that hung from the rafters.
“This is our new portal hall,” Alec said, taking Victor’s shoulder and directing him away from the portal. “Don’t want your friends to bump into you when they come through.”
“Right.” Victor turned and watched as Nia and then Valla came through the portal, blinking in the bright lights and looking around the space.
“Sorry, there isn’t much to see in here. It’s brand new, and we figured we should keep lots of space open for delegations or trade materials going through the portals.” As he finished speaking, Darro and Borrius came through with a shimmer of blue, electric sparks. “That’s all of us! Just a moment while I close the portal.” Alec held his hand to the side of the archway, and then, with a sizzling pop, the blue gateway disappeared. “There we go! Well, I know it was early morning in your settlement, but it’s the middle of the night here. How about I show you to my inn, get you settled, and then we can go over your schedule? I’ve been communicating with the committee responsible for setting up your town hall and the ‘military demonstration,’ as they’re calling it, and a representative will meet us at the inn.”
“Sounds good to me.” Victor shrugged and took Valla’s hand. He’d, as usual, altered his size to be close to hers, which was still quite tall by human standards. He’d been anticipating a lot of strange looks as they walked through town and was almost relieved to find that there was a significant time change. When they followed Alec outside through the big, double doors of their “portal hall,” he was surprised. He’d been picturing First Landing as a quaint little village, but from the raised ground on which the portal hall sat, he had a rather expansive view of a sprawling, busy-looking town. He almost wanted to revise that and consider the place a city, but he could see it wasn’t as extensive or populous as Persi Gables or Gelica. Still, it was a good deal more than he’d expected.
“Impressive!” Valla said. “I thought you’d only been here a few years.”
“Oh, we have, but we’ve been hard at work, and our open policy with new citizens has helped us to proliferate.” Alec pointed down the cobbled road toward a distant cluster of tall buildings. “That’s the center of town—we built outward from the colony stone, which is on a hill you can’t see thanks to that big rectangular building. That’s my inn.” He gestured past that to a distant row of lights that encircled the town. “Those lights are on the top of the wall. We’ve outgrown that wall but kept it as a second line of defense. We have a bigger one about a mile out and have begun expanding the residential areas into that outer circle.”
“How many people . . .” Victor started to ask.
“Well,” Alec chuckled, “we started with about five thousand humans. The first year was kind of harsh—we had a conflict with some local, um, low-affinity types and lost a few hundred. The children have more than made up for that, however. We’re prospering. Um,” he glanced at Valla and smiled, “I’m not sure if you wanted this much information, but we’ve found that humanity is quite compatible with Ardeni, Shadeni, and Ghelli as far as, well, children go. We’ve had quite a few people from neighboring towns and villages settle here, and we took in a large number of refugees . . .” Alec groaned and rubbed a hand through his short, brown hair. “Oh, brother, I’m rambling. The point I’m trying to make is that upwards of twenty-thousand people live in First Landing.”
“Very interesting,” Borrius said, stroking his chin. “I can see the lights of airships if I’m not mistaken.”
“Oh, yes! We’ve got three cargo ships and seven warships.”
“No planes yet?” Victor asked, remembering Alec’s words from the day before.
“There are some, but they’re still inferior to the airships when it comes to cargo capacity and durability. The engineers are excited about their progress, though.” He started down the cobbled road. “Come on, I’ll show you to the inn. By the way, I’m sorry we don’t have a big welcoming committee here for you—Issa didn’t think you’d appreciate that.”
“Issa?”
“Oh, Issa ap’Roald; she’s the member of parliament who’s heading up the committee that organized my appointment as ambassador to the Free Marches and your visit here.” He started walking as he spoke, and they all fell in around him. They were the only people on the narrow, slightly winding road leading down from the portal hall. However, Victor could see hundreds of lights in the buildings around them and, further down the road, some sparse pedestrian traffic.
“You have an Ardeni on your ruling council?” Valla asked.
“Ah, yes. Issa’s been a part of this community since near the beginning. She’s engaged to Morgan Hall—would be married, certainly, if not for his prolonged absence. Still, the people here generally love her, and she didn’t have any trouble getting elected to one of the parliament seats. She’s also an impressive crafter. She’ll meet you all in the inn when the sun’s come up.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, Alec, and please don’t take this the wrong way, but why do you think Issa thought we wouldn’t like a welcoming committee?” Valla wrapped her fingers around Victor’s elbow, walking in step with him as she spoke.
Alec looked over his shoulder and smiled, nodding toward Victor. “Hmm, well, I suppose it’s due to Olivia’s correspondence. She sort of indicated that Victor, here, was reticent to visit and wouldn’t enjoy a bunch of fanfare. Was she wrong?”
“Not at all,” Victor grunted.
“Excuse me, dear boy,” Borrius said, quickening his stride to walk beside Alec. “I’ve only had a cursory briefing about why we’re coming here aside from meeting a community similarly in poor favor with the Ridonne, but I do have a bit of a concern itching the back of my brain.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, well, you see, Victor seemed to think that we’re meant to speak to a large gathering about the dangers of allowing oneself to fall behind on Energy cultivation, about the dangers of growing complacent in a universe full of powerful beings who could make their presence known on our little backwater world.”
Alec nodded. “Um, that’s accurate, I suppose.”
“Well, what sort of opposition should we expect? It stands to reason that if the people here need convincing, there must be others working to shore up the opposing argument, namely that your current trajectory is the way to go. There must be some profit involved, I’d think.”
“Ah, yeah.” Alec nodded enthusiastically. “I see your point, Lord Borrius.” It wasn’t lost on Victor that Alec was buttering the old commander up. “It’s not exactly profit in riches that they’re after, but there is a faction here trying to profit politically by arguing against Olivia’s frequent warnings and trying to marginalize those on Parliament who side with Issa.”
“As I thought,” Borrius said, turning to Victor and winking at him in an utterly uncharacteristic move. “We’re being used as pawns for someone’s political gain. I hope the rewards will be adequate.”
“Ah . . .” Alec seemed a little lost for words, and he glanced at Victor and Valla, then turned back to Borrius. “I don’t know if it’s exactly like that, but I won’t deny that there’s a faction of very good people in this settlement who will definitely benefit if you can shut some of the louder know-it-alls up.”
“Well, Alec,” Valla chuckled, breathing in through her nose and twitching her wings as a cool breeze passed over them, “You can rest assured that if there’s one thing Victor’s good at, it’s shutting up know-it-alls.”