"My purpose is simple, Your Highness," said the Shaman. "We want to ally with you…" his voice trailed off as he looked to his right towards a gray silhouette. Smoky tendrils emanating from it floated around it as if in slow motion.

The Cadval nodded slowly and the smoke around him billowed with that motion.

​​

"I don't want your alliance, Shaman!" Brantley almost roared. "This meeting is over and you may leave!"

Shaman's eyes narrowed. "I have come here for them and not for me." He pointed towards a Cadval who was now standing absolutely still.

"These are the monsters who protect you, who haven't gone back to where they belonged after death only to stay beside you. They are so loyal to you. Do you think we will believe that they are any different from you?"

Daryn snarled from behind agreeing to what Brantley just said.

"We know that you are seeking alliances from across the Lore. And what better alliance than mine?" said the Shaman, levitating higher and nearer the air wall. He touched a symbol floating in the air and it danced around his finger. It started throwing out red-hot fire and the Shaman had to retreat. "Good magic," he whispered.

Brantley almost laughed. "Better than yours? You are worse than a serpent!"

Shaman shook his head as he glided back to his place. "I wouldn't say that, Your Highness." He extended his hands in both sides and said, "I have an army of Cadvals with me, and these poor souls want atonement. They want to go back now that nature is restored in Derize. When they heard that your wife, Queen Bianca, is spearheading the battle against Sedora, they knew this was their chance to go back. And I…" he looked at the Cadval on his left. "I don't want to deny them this chance. They have served for so long… so faithfully…" he stopped speaking. Inhaling a deep breath he continued, "Please Your Highness, take them. When you all are going to be in a state when your soul will be away from your body, how will you pass the message to those who are in this world? Your souls can't do that."

Daryn and Brantley stared at the Shaman. Even though Nusgroth had hinted that Cadvals could be used for the war, Brantley wasn't sure. He wanted to explore the possibility, but as soon as he saw the Shaman, every bit of anger came back along with the memories. "So you mean that the Cadvals can act as messengers between this world and that?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Shaman said with confidence.

"In order for a war to be won at a scale as high as that, you need every information. My Cadvals are going to play a crucial role. You must allow them."

"How do we trust them?" asked Daryn with tribulations in his voice.

"Because they want to leave this world."

A Cadval floated forward towards the air wall and was dangerously close to the symbols. The symbols gathered as to where he was and flared in order to scare him. "We will help you," he hissed. "On one condition…"

Brantley frowned. He hadn't even said yes to working with them and the Cadval was pushing his condition.

"Your wife has to allow us to leave the battle once it is over. She has to command us to go," said the Cadval in a ghostly voice from his faceless black mouth.

"What do you mean?"

"Bianca will be the commander of the army of the souls. Only she will have total power over them and only under her orders will the souls work. She has to release them from this binding once the war is over." The Cadval walked towards the side where Daryn was standing and the symbols followed him there. "Once we form an allegiance with her, we will also fall under her command. It means that we will leave the Shaman and follow her. Every Cadval who will follow her cannot cater to Shaman after the allegiance." His face turned towards Daryn as if staring him hard. "And once they are bound to Bianca, they will be bound to her forever, unless… unless she frees them." He glided back to the Shaman. "Some of us who won't go to the war are going to miss the last chance of atonement…" His face looked up towards the Shaman. "We are going to remain with this man…"

Brantley and Daryn were so shaken by this revelation that they were speechless. They realized the power Bianca would carry. She would practically become the queen of the ghosts and phantoms. Only on her command would these souls leave her. If after coming back to her body, she didn't release them, they would still be under her command. The whole situation turned into a heart-wrenching one.

"It is important that your wife releases the souls once she has conquered the Shadows," said the Shaman. "If you give us that assurance, only then will my Cadvals join you."

Brantley gulped. He looked towards Daryn. They both knew that the Shaman didn't come for himself, he came for those who stayed with him for thousands of years.

"Derize Barrens is no more barren now. Greenery has returned and we even get migratory birds," said the Shaman with a hint of fondness in his voice. "The weather has changed for good and the place is filled with meadows and mist and rains. We had protected the land for a long time and now my Cadvals need rest." The Shaman's eyes showed a glint of happiness. "All this happened because of Bianca. It is time we repay her kindness."

The words seemed so genuine that the demeanor of both the kings eased out.

"I will talk to my queen and put forth your condition," said Brantley. He was thankful that he stayed to listen to them.

"In that case I await your orders, Your Highness." He bowed slightly and looked at the Cadvals. They all turned to leave.

As soon as they left and the guards assured them that they had left the palace, Daryn dismantled the thick air wall with a wave of his hand. All the symbols converged turning into a fiery ball and then with a small explosion, disappeared.

They walked back to the meeting chamber. Bianca was missing from there.

At first he panicked, then he remembered that he had called her to the peak of Rochnan Mountain. "I need to go!" he said and turned to leave when the door opened and Bianca came in with a trolley of food and servants behind her.

"We need to eat lunch, husband!" she said with a smile.

And Brantley staggered. He gathered her in his arms and whispered in her ear. "I love you."

Everyone in the room laughed. "We can hear you!" said Dawn.

Brantley flushed.

Lazarus left saying his blood slave awaited him. Emma narrowed her eyes at him. He held her hand and muttered something in her ear in ancient language. She wasn't convinced but nonetheless followed him.

After they left, Brantley said, "I want to teach magic to you wife." He took the trolley from her hand and rolled it next to the table where Darius was rolling the map. "You already have it in you, but you have to know how to control it."

Daryn chimed in. "I could have also come, but I guess Brantley is more than enough." His son-in-law was the master of magic. He was the dragon rider.

It was towards the end of the day that they got another surprise.