Near sunset, they were done with harvesting. As the sun's light deepened in redness and intensity, it seemed to almost cast a spotlight on the fruits of their labor: several barrels chock full of grain stood behind the farm, ready for transport the day after. 

Li, Old Thane, and Azhar sat at the edge of the fields, watching the barrels with a quiet satisfaction. There was nothing quite like the feeling of reaping the fruits of labor borne strictly from one's own hands and grown from the dirt. There was something so very primal about it that made it satisfying almost at a spiritual level.

"Y'know," said Azhar. "That grain looks mighty fine. Ain't a single bad kernel in there, and they got a healthy shine to em' that I ain't never seen before. Ya might be able to set up some kinda deal with a few places in town, get em' some grain for some perks."

"Hm." Li considered the idea for a second while his hand absent-mindedly pet Tia's sleeping form beside him. "That sounds interesting, but most of this is being donated to the orphanages, and I don't visit the city much anyhow."

A small smile formed on Azhar's face. "Orphanages, huh? Bet them little runts are gonna' be feastin' at this rate. Gonna have grown ass men trynna' pass off as orphans to try and get in on this free grain."

"It is good fortune that times desperate enough for that are not upon us," said Old Thane. He looked almost disappointed with how peaceful the times were. "In my youth, I swore never to be tied down to a crown or land, but I suppose that was the ramblings of youth. Now that I am old, it is good to have a crown to rely upon." 

"Guess we can thank the duchess for that one atleast," said Azhar gruffly.

Old Thane tilted his head, hearing the callousness in Azhar's voice. "You do not take a liking to the crown, I presume, young lad?" 

"Yeah. Ain't a real reason for it. Like ya said, if it wasn't for the duchess openin' up the royal reserves and feedin' the people through these three years of shallow harvests, I figure things woulda been a hell of a lot worse. Made sure my people weren't traded off as slaves too."

Azhar shrugged.

"But I've seen her. Locked eyes with her, and I can kinda tell what the 'color' of someone's soul is through that."

"I suppose I have never thought too much of the crown other than accepting their food aid." Old Thane smiled at Li. "But that was before you decided to take upon this burden of a farm and make sure this silly old man was fed."

"Come on, old man, what you've given me is way more important than anything I've done for you so far," replied Li. 

He realized that before he had come into Old Thane's life, he had truly struggled. With Aine's death, his struggle with age, blindness, and famine, he had had to rely on what was basically welfare from the crown, surviving on royal grain granted to him due to his status as a decorated veteran. 

"It warms my heart to fish for your reassurances." Old Thane laughed before continuing the conversation thread with Azhar. "And, what did you see of the duchess of this land kissed by the sun itself?"

"When she looked at me, I saw nothin'. Not even darkness. No malice, ill-intent, disgust, and trust me, as a hinterlander, I've seen plenty of that. Just…nothin'. She looked at me like I didn't even exist, like I wasn't even there. I dunno', it's kinda hard to explain. Still gives me the shivers. Ain't seen anyone else like her."

Old Thane stroked his beard. "Well, they do say that royalty breeds detachment. There is nothing that removes one from the feelings of the common man greater than a crown."

Azhar nodded. "Figure you're right."

Li nodded, taking in the conversation. It was interesting to hear what others, people that were not possessed of godlike powers and immortality like him, thought of living under this crown. As far as pure statesmanship went, the duchess was highly competent, running the entirety of the duchy basically by herself to such a level that it was hard to find a single concrete complaint against her.

People did have suspicions about her, with most of these people being concentrated among adventurers who were well traveled and inherently suspicious of heroes who were starting to encroach on their job. But even then, none could deny her ability to provide for her people.

All points to keep in mind for his next meeting with the vampire count.

Azhar shivered. "Rememberin' that's givin' me chills again." He stood up, stretching. At the sudden movement, Tia opened an eye, and when she saw it was Azhar, her eye widened in anticipation.

"How bout' it?" said Azhar, addressing Tia. "Feel like I could use some warmin' up. How bout' we get to fightin'?"

And of course, Tia was all too eager to oblige, standing on all fours with her teeth bared in a jagged smile. 

--

Azhar and Tia squared off against each other in the very same circle that he had been beaten down in by Launcelot. 

"You have to lock down his speed," said Li as he knelt by Tia, a hand on her tense back. He coached her, saying, "Feel free to use as much of your venom as you want. That's your best way to win."

Tia loosed a rumbling purr of understanding as she stared ahead at Azhar, her eyes locked down on the ranger, ready to read his every move to put him down at the soonest instance possible. 

On the other side of the circle, Old Thane stood behind Azhar with his arms crossed and Zagan by his side. 

"Remember, young lad, this is a mock fight, not one to stake your life upon."

"Gods and spirits above, old man, you're remindin' me again?" said Azhar with a bantering smile. "How little self control did ya have in yer younger days."

"Well, Bloodfist is not quite a title emblematic of patience." 

"Ya gotta' point." Azhar unsheathed his dagger, holding it in his good hand. "But don't you worry, old man. I'm intendin' on just pushin' her and trying to get her to evolve. Nothin' serious."

Li nodded as he heard Azhar. He appreciated that the hinterlander knew how to train at just the right level to push Tia and make her stronger. And thankfully, because he was not looking at her and using his limited version of Allspeak, she could not understand what he said or else she would have gotten much too riled up that he was not taking her seriously. 

"Fight as hard as you can, but if you ever find it too hard, too painful, know that I'm always here." Li patted Tia on her head before standing up, leaving her to fight.

She closed her eyes as she felt Li's hand before baring her fangs, feeling even more confident to loose her power with Li's reassurances.

"I'm jealous. Where was that gentle treatment when you two were trainin' me, huh?" said Azhar.

Li rolled his eyes. "You two can fight whenever you're ready. Circle's just here to get us started. You can move out of it, obviously, but don't go making a ruckus by the main road or harming the crops. Use common sense if you're capable of it."

"Ya got it!" Azhar got into his fighting stance, hunching ever so slightly while bending his knees to lower his center of gravity and get him in a position ready to move at a moment's notice. 

Tia responded in kind, her body also getting lower to the ground. With four muscled legs, she had much better leverage to push herself off with, and just one of her attacks, if it broke skin, would poison Azhar beyond recovery. 

Li crossed his arms as he watched, careful and ready to end the fight and heal Tia at any moment because, at the end of the day, she was far outmatched against an adventurer holding a twenty level lead against her, even if he only had one arm. 

At the same time, he was curious at how Azhar was going to train her and allow her to evolve, and he paid close attention because Azhar was not going to be on the farm forever and it would be up to Li to fill the role of a trainer later.