Balout and Melodi left us with reluctance. They had to go back home because their parents wouldn't want them to stay overnight at the castle. This also meant we wouldn't see them for the coming days. The castle was going to be under lockdown while the ambassadors were here. This was to avoid any incident, be it assassinations attempts, troublemakers, or brazen thieves attracted by all the rich guests.

The in-and-outs were reduced to the bare minimum and we weren't seen as essential.

Melodi was grim because it meant she wouldn't see the next visitors' arrivals with us and Balout was in the same mood but because it meant he would miss on a few good meals.

I tasked them to take care of one another during the next days. The catgirl was to make sure Balout would exercise his Chi, while Balout will have to squeeze some useful knowledge in her head. Now that he knew far more than both girls, thanks to all our scribing duties, it was time for him to pass some of it down on her. If I was to bet, I'd say he'll teach her a bit of geography and history to stay on the topic of the incoming delegations.

* * * * *

The following day saw the rest of the guests. Since they were travelling from closer and with less risk on the road, their delegations were smaller, except for one.

The Empire's delegation made a hard-to-miss arrival. A troop of about fifty skybeasts flying in formation darkened the sky.

Most of the riders were in golden armours and flying on the back of what I recognised as badasi. They were sky-manatees: cow-sized mounts that looked like fat hippos with two pairs of bat-like wings. On their forehead shone an air-attuned crystal that they used to be able to fly.

These beasts were a bit like Earth's ostriches or dodos: they had vestigial wings and couldn't fly on their own. They could be found, grazing and swimming in the plains and lakes near the Empire's capital city. Only with the external intervention of a sapient would they become able to fly. This meant they would require the implantation of a costly crystal but in exchange, they were known to be docile, enduring, and resilient rides. Their thick skin also made them quite good to fend off most blows too.

Having so many of them come at once was a display of wealth.

The Empire's ambassador was flying on the back of what could only be described as a dragon. The thing was like a giant anaconda with dozens of wings spanning all the way down his spine from head to tail.

It was large, larger than two elephants side by side and on its back was a small tent. It was under this tent that we could see the Empire's envoy. Princess Moatimu identified him as count Rangatira, one of the members of a lesser dynasty with blood ties with the Emperor.

They were numerous because he wasn't the only envoy in his group. Alongside him came a less savory visitor: the ambassador of the Mujri Shieldom.

It was another Satrapie of the Empire. This Shieldom was neighbouring our northernmost border and the relations between us were... tense.

There'd been many wars and skirmishes between us, running back hexes ago. A bit less since the Empire started its rule on both Shieldoms but still some skirmishes and even a couple open wars.

They were contesting our claim on the large forest, north-west of the city.

These woods were a good source of the precious rubiswood. A tree with a fire-essence and a bright red colour that made it both valuable for builders, shipyards, and alchemists but also as a decoration.

The feud could sound petty but there must have been a lot of money at play for both Shieldoms to fight over the area for hexes.

The flying troops started to hover in circles above the castle but only the dragon came to land in one of the biggest courtyards: a training drill in the military wing.

The count of the empire and the Mujri envoy were welcomed by the Shieldlord himself. We were the underlings of the Empire and since the count was the Emperor's representative, our Shield had to greet and bow in front of him. The count was nice enough to not have him kneel in front of us all.

While they were all taken to their accommodations, another delegation of less welcomed people was making its way up here. A group of five were running down the streets. Three women and two males, all suntanned and skimpily dressed in bits of furs. Nomadic tribals of the west.

They were the people living far to the west, bordering the sea of trees.

They were both the first shield against the monster threat and a threat themselves. They were known to ransack merchants and pressure settlements into paying “protection fees”.

They were famous for their endurance and were often related to both Dard and Nasibor. The strongest among them would shame any marathon runner, they were able to run as fast as Usain Bolt but for hours, or even days.

People of the Empire often looked down on them, they were savage from the west, with no land or city of their own, mercenaries and sell-swords hired to either face monsters or raid a foe.

Their leader was a tall lady in her late sixties. She was wrinkled and had greyed hair, yet she was running faster than me while sprinting. She was sun tanned to the point that her skin was a deep brown, almost the colour of milk chocolate. The rest were ranging from brown sugar to olive. The outdoors life meant none of them had the fair skin of the Empire's representatives.

Her dress was light, mostly a leather skirt made of one piece of some shimmering reptile's skin with bits of fur here and there. Her old arms were left bare and were gnarly wood branches but the muscles playing under her brown skin were nothing to look down at. Even from afar, I could tell she could crush me in her embrace. They were sporting numerous scars, not only scars from battles against both men and monsters but also some that looked like ritual scarifications. She was one of the Shamans of the west.

Although they were far from our Shieldom, having them come and offering them “gifts” was a way to ensure the security of our traders and citizens venturing to the west.

The last guests invited to the palace's party already had a permanent embassy in town. Beastkins, delegate from the southern free cities, and scyllas of the Nereians; all had permanent representatives living in the city.

Gelcaria and I wouldn't get to see them though. For the rest of the celebration, we would be confined to the princess' courtyard. This was fine by me, I had a lot of work to do. Not only on fine tunning my gunpowder but also on planning for the future. I still had to work on gliders, waterwheels, how to make steel or sulphuric acid and all kind of technical issues like gears and drills. All those would need time to be worked on.

* * * * *

The festivities were going full-on.

Gel and I were staying in the princess's courtyard while she had to get the ball rolling there. I didn't envy her, she must have to deal with even more suitors and other phonies. I know for sure she would rather be here with Gel, punching at a wooden dummy rather than acting like a princess there.

I've spent my day with Gel and no one came to disturb us. Most servants were busy with the festivities, most guards were drafted to secure the event, and visitors were limited.

In the morning, I tried to follow Gel's routine but her Chi enhancement made it impossible for me to keep up with her now. She had a lofty smile while looking at me smugly from over her shoulder.

It was the pride of a student surpassing her master. I felt like an old man on the inside, watching his daughter surpass him. Well, I am an old man inside, I just felt older than usual.

After that, I watched her train her Chi. She was punching at a wooden dummy after enhancing both her strength and resilience. She would end up breaking the logs after a few punches.

I was refining my latest batch of blackpowder, I was trying to use other solvents than water to enhance the binding between the ingredients. A first bath in water followed by a second one in alcohol was showing good results, enhancing the overall explosive power by at least 10 to 20%. The powder was catching fire more easily and faster.

Gel came to sit near me. Strands of hair were sticking to her sweaty face and she was huffing a bit, manipulating Chi was tiresome both for body and mind.

“Are you ok? Take care to not over push yourself,” I warned her in a fatherly tone.

She flashed me a smile and lightly punched my shoulder. “Don't worry you wimp. I know my limits.” She wiped away her sweat with a towel. “It's just that I'm currently training to improve my Chi and it just feels... bloated.” She was at a loss for words to describe her training.

“What do you mean?” I probed. Gupta had told me that overcharging one's Chi reserves was an unpleasant feeling.

She slowly put down the towel before facing me, “It's just that everything feels so... loud. It almost gives me a headache.” She was gently massaging her temp. “Mo' warned me that it wasn't a nice experience. She also said it was necessary if I wanted to get stronger. I have to expand my Chi pool.”

I guess “Mo'” is the princess. I'll have to lecture her about etiquette, being friendly with the princess was fine but she shouldn't forget her place like I did. I might have set a bad example for her.

“What is it like? To have Chi flow inside of you?” I carefully probed. I was still mourning my lack of ability. Getting used to discuss my friends' progress was a good way to get over it and who knows? I might learn some clues and someday it might help me with my weird Chi.

She sat closer to me and rested her sweaty head on my shoulder. “It's like everything is... more. Right now, I can feel the thumping and hear the beating of your heart. As loud as a fat Toja galloping right next to us.” She had closed her eyes to rest for an instant. “Every movement of the air brings tingling on my skin, the light hurts my eyes and I feel like I'm fat and bloated.” She had a slight wince.

I started to want to pat her head and refrained at the last moment, if her sense of touch was that sensitive, would it hurt her?

“It's fine, you can do it. It's uncomfortable but I'll give you a pass,” she pressed me without opening her eyes. Was her hearing so good that she could do some echo-location now?

Instead of patting her, I started to untangle her hair instead. It should be less painful for her. She softly whimpered and I couldn't decide if it was from satisfaction or pain, so I stopped the motion.

Without opening her eyes she grabbed my hand and put it back in motion. It wasn't painful.

After enjoying the care for a while she went on, “Sure, it's not the best feeling ever but it has some good sides too. I've never felt this strong, this powerful. It's like nothing can stop me. If I'm tired, I just have to draw in my Chi and I'm back to full. And the strength just feels so good.” She was drowning in her newfound power.

I tried to reason her, overconfidence was a slow and insidious killer. “Stay careful. You're not that powerful yet. Do not be rash, there are people far stronger than you are out there,” I lectured her.

She sighed. “I know. Don't be such a downer. Praise me more instead,” she pleaded.

I smiled at her simple needs. “You are the strongest girl our age I know.” I let a second pass before adding, “except maybe Melodi.”

This was on point. “Hey! I'm stronger than she is,” she protested, “Ok, she can beat me sometimes but that's only thanks to her Beastkin's advantages. It's unfair that her tail makes her balance so much better.” She was pouting lightly, Melodi was both her best friend but also her best rival.

“What about magic?” I asked, “The old man told us you had some talent for it too.”

She kept silent and I could see unease creep on her face and it wasn't because I was brushing her hair too strongly.

“I'm sorry Tel, I'm not allowed to talk about it,” she started before rushing to excuse herself, “Not that I don't want to. Just that they made me swear secrecy, even with you.” She was sounding genuinely sad that she wasn't allowed to share any of this with me.

I knew there was a lot of secrecy around magic. The old man has explained how it was about keeping your spells for yourself. My best guess was that there was a fragile balance of power and that each family, each country, were keeping their magical knowledge under embargo. It was their strongest weapon and was treated like State secrets.

The downfall to that was that it hindered the development of magic; not to mention the loss when a family might get wiped out. The imperial academy was a way to try and make up for this but it was also a poaching ground for the Empire to hunt talented people.

“It's fine. You're right to not break your oath. Especially with the lords or the gods. I'll ask princess Moatimu or the old lord later.” I relented.

After an uneasy silence, she started the conversation again. “What about you? Is your Chi any better?” she asked with precautions.

I shrugged. “Same, I can't feel a thing. At least nothing bad is happening and I'm not on my deathbed,” I sourly acknowledged. I had tried to feel my Chi more than once. Tried to feel the Chi of the world. Nothing. It was like I couldn't interact with either.

Feeling my sourness Gel tried to distract me “What about your explosive powder? The booms have been getting louder recently or are my ears just getting better?” she teased me.

That was something I could be proud of and show off a bit. “Yes. This latest batch is just what I want. If this barrel holds up.” I pointed at the latest bronze gun on the nearby workbench, “I'll be able to face warriors even stronger than you are.” I proudly stated while taking a playful threatening tone.

She just laughed at my claim. “Oh yeah? And how? The sound is going to deafen me or scare me? Or is the smoke supposed to choke me?” she playfully nagged me, “provided you can fire the thing before I seize you,” she jokingly added while looking at me mockingly.

“You have no idea. You'll see when I demonstrate the full extent of my powers.” I warned her.

After letting her laugh her fill, we went to grab whatever food we could from the kitchen. Most of the cooks were busy with the delicacies that were meant for the party. None of that was for us. We had to settle for simple slices of bunta bread and some dried sausages and fresh fruits. Nothing fancy but a healthy meal nonetheless. Plus we grew up eating far worse, so this was a fine meal by our standards.

* * * * *

During the afternoon I tested my latest batch while Gel was meditating nearby. She was trying to get better at Chi sensing and manipulation. Or maybe was she training magic and she couldn't tell me?

I knew I can't feel Chi, yet I could swear I was sensing something changing in her aura, just like what the old lord could do. Yet it was so vague that I couldn't pinpoint what weirded me out.

I just hope the noise of the explosions wasn't disturbing her too much.

My gunshots weren't precise but at least the power was consistent and now it fired at every try. Precision will get better with a longer muzzle, and bullets, and with rifled barrels. For now, I would just have to treat it as a close to short-range weapon. It would make up for the lack of precision with sheer firepower. If Gel could break wooden dummies, my weapon could blast holes in stone ones at point-blank.

I didn't know how strong great Chi users like the old lord, the general or even the Marshall were but I bet that a shot at close range wouldn't leave them unscathed.

In the evening the party got livelier. Official business must have been dealt with and now we could hear music, laughter, and playful shouts coming from the main palace. When the sun settled down there was even a short lights play.

To honour Arteus, the old lord, the princess or any other lightning user, threw bolts of lightning up in the air like some sort of firework. The show reached its peak with a lightning column that lit the sky for a whole minute. It reminded me of a bengal light with how white and sparkly it was.

One day I would make bengal lights available to all. And why not even play with some weaponized thermite? There were so many things to develop.

With the curfew enforced on the castle it was gonna be complicated to go back to our room. We decided to just sleep on spot in the courtyard. I had done it more than once and now that there was a blanket and a windscreen it was as homely as my attic.