Hard to believe it’s already been half a year since Labyrinthia ascended. I was sitting on top of a portal on the edge of Labyrinthia’s domain, next to the entrance of the Labyrinth. The sun was shining, and a delightful breeze meant the temperature was just perfect.

Hard to say. There are several more dungeons they have to go through to challenge this one, so chances are we will only get petitioners who wish to receive a Prophecy instead. Nah, she enjoys watching them try to puzzle out her cryptic descriptions of her visions. I am pretty certain she is being extra vague on purpose.

Down below was a party of five, heavily armed and armored. They seemed uncertain about what to do. Alright, time to get into the role. “Greetings Mortals, are you here for the Challenge, or the Petition?” My magically enhanced voice boomed like a mighty roar, despite the softness of the words I spoke. The quintet flinched and looked up at me. After an awkward silence, the leader of the group stepped forward, his reluctance clear.

“We are here to challenge the dungeon.” As he spoke, he seemed to regain his nerve. I spread my wings and with a single flap flew up into the air. “Then proceed into the maze, brave Challengers, and may fortune favor you this day.” I made a large number out of dispelling the impressive looking magical force field blocking the entrance. It wasn’t really necessary to have it there, since no one in their right mind would attack the domain of a goddess. But it seemed more appropriate that you couldn’t just waltz in.

As they disappeared into the maze, I re-enabled the force field with a simple snap. I knew Labyrinthia had received a notification about the quintet by now. Hey Archives, ten gold coins say they won’t last five minutes. You’re on. I landed on top of the portal again. Four minutes later, the pedestal on the opposite side of the entrance flared to life. As the light faded, the quintet from before was lying on top of it in a pile. “Alas, Challengers, it seems you have failed. Better luck next time.”

The quintet groaned as they slowly extracted themselves and got to their feet. After a bit of grumbling, they bowed deeply in my direction and turned back towards Caelyn. Graceful in defeat, not bad. The batch before them had taken their loss so badly, they tried to force their way back in. A mistake no one did twice. Already? Well, guess that meant Mordred would arrive any second. As if on cue, the portal flared to life, and he stepped through.

“Hey Mr. Immortal, how are you doing today.” Mordred looked up at me and grimaced. “How long are you going to keep calling me that?” He didn’t seem too enthused about my new nickname for him. I landed next to him with a grin. “A few more months, maybe more. Besides, I agree with Labyrinthia. Immortality probably isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. Choosing that as your Divine reward for your involvement in that mess half a year ago probably wasn’t a good idea.”

Mordred grumbled some more, but didn’t comment on it. He and Labyrinthia had a pretty long discussion about it when he picked that. I only hoped Mordred wouldn’t regret it down the line, though I had a sneaking suspicion he would. “Well, see you later, Mr. Immortal. Got some more sparring with Minos.” Mordred just waved me off without a word.

________________________________

“So, all I gotta do is go in there and kill da monster, and I can keep any loot in there.” Tarad was looking at the door in front of him. I nodded with a barely suppressed smile. “Indeed, I was thinking of adding this new monster to the Challenge, but I want your thoughts on it first.” Tarad eyed me warily. “This isn’t like when ya had me walk into a room full o Black Sludge, is it?” I continued to smile calmly. “I swear to you, there are no Slimes or Jellies in the room, all that’s in there is the monster you need to kill.”

Tarad gave me a look full of doubt, but carefully opened the door and closed it behind him. A few seconds later, he opened it again. “Say, if I defeat da monster, can I loot da chest, too?” I just smiled, knowingly. “Anything you find within the room is yours to loot, provided you kill the monster first.” Dally, who was sitting beside me, noticed what Tarad apparently did not. “Ye never mentioned there being a chest in there.” I looked down at her, still smiling. “There isn’t a chest in the room, only the monster is in there with him.” Dally went quiet for a few moments before she giggled maniacally.

A few moments later, there was a huge commotion from inside the room. Then the Sigil of Resurrection next to the room itself flared up and Tarad appeared on it. He slowly sat up and looked at me as if I betrayed him. “Dat was a dirty trick, ya durned sandstone cat!” Both Dally and I burst out laughing. “Well then, Tarad, I guess you failed to kill the Mimic, or even identify it was one.”

Tarad huffed even more. “How was I supposed ta know it was a monster and not a chest?” I barely suppressed yet more laughter as I pointed out. “I told you the only thing in there was the Monster, it’s not my fault you didn’t pay attention.” Tarad went quiet, even as Dally went over to comfort him, with a badly disguised grin.

I was about to say some words of encouragement when Pavol rounded the corner. “Labyrinthia, they are ready to go. If you want to say goodbye, you should probably head over.” Right, that was today. “Thanks for helping me out Tarad, I think double payment should be reimbursement enough for the surprise?” Tarad gave me a thumbs up as he was in the middle of a hug.

I gave Pavol a nod in thanks and transported myself to the entrance. There was Granite, Yunika and about fifty other Duergar. Granite had a falling out with Flint over the incident with Yrsha six months ago, and Granite’s friends had sided with him. This had gotten worse and worse over the following months. In the end, it had gotten so bad, Granite had asked for permission to leave the Dungeon and settle elsewhere to avoid outright civil war.

It was not unexpected, as I had seen Granite and Yunika in a vision, and I had given him leave. But also made it clear Yunika needed Yrsha’s permission to join him, since I had no say in that regard. It had taken Granite some convincing. It was not until after Granite outright proposed to Yunika in front of Yrsha that she finally relented.

I walked over to Granite and Yunika, who were talking with Rael and Yrsha. As I arrived, I could hear the last part of Yrsha promising torment beyond description on Granite if she ever caught wind of Yunika being unhappy because of him. I did not doubt that in the slightest, considering her grave expression.

I walked over to the quartet. “Now, now, sis, calm down. Didn’t Granite swear to you, he would never make Yunika unhappy? Besides, getting upset like that can’t good for the baby.” I eyed the obvious baby bump on her belly. Rael, Granite, and Yunika shot me grateful glances as Yrsha took deep breaths to calm down. She opened her eyes and looked in my direction. “You’re right, I should calm down, if nothing else than for Yunika and the baby’s sake.” She idly stroked her belly and looked over at Yunika, who smiled back.

I steered the conversation over to something more relevant. “You remember the directions I gave you?” Granite and Yunika nodded. Yunika pulled out a parchment. “Head northeast across the plains, cross the river Fandim and then through the Ondul forest. After that, you pass through another plain until you reach the Salnak Mountain Range.” She looked up at me, her expression hopeful. “Good, everything is correct.” Yunika grinned as she packed the parchment away.

Granite hoisted his large pack onto his back. “Well then, farewell, everyone.” Despite his best attempts, he couldn’t keep a sob out of his voice as he turned around and marched towards the exit. Nor could he hide the trail of tears he left on the floor as he walked off. Yunika gave Rael and Yrsha a loving hug before she grabbed her own pack and sprinted after Granite. The other Duergar followed in stoic silence, though several could not keep their tears back.

I watched them leave with a bittersweet feeling. I would meet them all again, but not for almost two centuries. Funny how two centuries once seemed so long in my mind, but now would be but the blink of an eye in my eternal existence. Right, the damned meeting.

I had expected there to be a few, given the major shifts my choice of Portfolios would cause. However, I had not expected to be mired up in it half a year down the line. The only upside was that this was the final meeting. Practice makes perfect, and I want to be good at it so I don’t wind up in a similar situation to Aunt Inlas. Makes sense, since they too are missing some after I took one from each.

I arrived in the meeting hall as easily as I moved to any part of my dungeon. It had been awkward when I arrived here for the first time, as I had appeared in midair and almost crushed Tyrros underneath me when gravity caught on. Tyrros had been understanding of my little mishap, but it was still a rather embarrassing episode.

As I finished materializing, Gindos, God of the Sea, Sailing and Navigation, greeted me with a smile and a hug. He was an old chap, with a wizened look and a long grey beard that would make most dwarves envious. He was pleasant and calm, hard to anger and quick with a joke or witty comment. Overall, he was quite likeable. “Ah, young Labyrinthia, just in time as always, marvelous.” He sent me a pleasant smile and patted me on my left front leg lovingly. “Hello to you too, uncle. How are you doing?”

He gave a happy little chuckle. “Oh, not bad, not bad at all. Only wish little Tyrros would finally get his ass in gear and start the monsoon season down south. He is taking his time this year.” I gave an understanding nod. “I see that’s not fun, obviously. Though being fair, Tyrros has been busy with that large hurricane out west these past few weeks.” I responded, hoping to defuse the situation before the two would spend half the meeting arguing over the point. Gindos was pleasant to be with while he was calm, but once he got annoyed or angry, he was as unstoppable as the tide.

He harrumphed a few more times, but calmed down as he gave me another few pats on the leg and walked over to his seat. Around the room, other deities appeared one after another for the meeting, and finally after many more pleasantries and small conversations, Rubolg himself appeared and called for order. He took his own seat, took a deep breath and opened the meeting itself. “Now, as you all know, we have finally finished cleaning up most of the aftermath of the entire Void incident.” The atmosphere in the room became somewhat unpleasant. By this point, it was common knowledge, by Rubolgs own admittance, that it was his Balance Portfolio that had caused everything.

Everyone was understanding about the situation, but it was still a sore point. The entire world had been under attack, with a massive amount of destruction wrought in natural environments. Cities had fallen under attack and countless people driven mad, killed, or worse, and they had laid Dungeons to utter waste. Everyone was trying to be nice about it, but the anger was there, just under the surface. Even half a year later, we were still working to heal the world from the destruction of the invasion.

Despite the oppressive atmosphere, Rubolg soldiered on. “The only thing that remains are the remaining Void entities that were banished back into their prison. They need to be dealt with, suggestions?” It didn’t surprise me at all, as there was a major outcry for their destruction. I lifted a paw to signal I wanted to speak. Rubolg looked at me with a curious expression. Probably because I didn’t have the same angry scowl as everyone else. “Labyrinthia has the floor.”

I rose from my spot and walked into the center of the room. “Everyone, I know you are all frustrated, angry even about this incident. So was I, until last night, when I saw a vision about the remaining Void entities. In this vision, they had changed drastically, and received a new purpose. In this new purpose, they were a constructive and helpful addition to the world and were giving back what they once took away in spades.” I paused for dramatic effect, as even gods needed a bit of theatrics now and then.

The room erupted in questions, so I calmly waited for things to calm back down. “The vision had seen them transformed. No more were their entities focused solely on balance, but embodiments of emotions whose existence was to aid mortals keep a balance in their emotional spectrum.” I conjured up an image of a void entity. “In their current state, these constructs can basically only cause madness, as they either inject or remove all but one emotion. I say make each one unique, each one linked to one emotion, and the knowledge on how to give a healthy dose of that emotion to secure emotional balance.”

The room was quiet as I finished talking. Then Inlas spoke up. “So basically, we will repurpose their power and appearance to ensure the sanity of mortals, where they once took it away.” I nodded. Inlas smiled. “I vote in favor of this motion.” Penumbra joined in shortly after, and a tidal wave of agreement soon followed. Rubolg Rose and took the word once again. “The suggestion has passed and the work on turning the remaining Void constructs into Embodiments will begin after the meeting is over. For the next agenda…”

The meeting dragged on with a hundred issues that needed to be resolved. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the agenda everyone had been waiting for arrived. “Finally on the agenda, we need to get new Portfolios for myself, Inlas, Penumbra, and Labyrinthia. Any suggestions?” As expected, the entire room exploded into a racket, as every god had their own suggestions. This was one of the main reasons this agenda had taken so long to rectify. Again I lifted my arm and again Rubolg called for silence so I could speak. “I have actually discussed this with Mother and Aunt, and after a bit of talking about it, Inlas agreed with me on some much-needed changes to her Portfolios.” I looked at Inlas, who nodded.

She rose and took the word. “As you all know, my Portfolios were Humanity, Schemes and Prophesy. My new niece took Prophesy for herself when she ascended, leaving me with Schemes and Humanity. I… do not wish to have the Portfolio of Schemes, it makes everyone and everything distrust me. So with a bit of brainstorming, we came up with a set of Portfolios that suit me better. Those are, Light, Humanity, Diplomacy and Day. As I am pretty sure Father gave me Schemes in order to Balance, me out, without even realizing it.” The room was quiet.

Normally, it would have exploded into yelling as others would argue against or for it. But not this time. I knew it wouldn’t. Rubolg looked at Inlas, the pain clear on his face. “I… have put you through a lot of suffering, daughter. Anyone against the suggested Portfolios?” You could have heard a pin drop. “Then let it be so.” Good thing none of the other gods had those Portfolios. Besides, after I got to know aunt Inlas better, it was obvious those Portfolios suited her perfectly. She hated violence, and only the influence of the Void Energies that “Balanced” her mind had her even consider violence as an option before.

Penumbra rose next. “As with Inlas, I too have a Portfolio that stands out among my three. Until half a year ago I had the Portfolios of Monsters, Dungeons and Destruction. After talking it over with the other two, I find Destruction doesn’t suit me, but Protection does. I have never liked the idea of destroying things, but the Portfolio has to be satisfied.” She closed her eyes for a moment before she continued.

“Likewise, I was always incredibly protective of my Monsters and Dungeons. Besides, this way Humans have a reason to offer me more worship too since I could protect them from monster attacks. My new Portfolios would be Darkness, Monsters, Protection and Night.” There was an awkward silence. Everyone in the room knew Protection was one of Justina’s Portfolios.

However, the three of us had already talked about the obvious issue with Justina. Before any new racket could break out, she rose from her seat. “As you know, Father could not transfer a Portfolio from one God or Goddess to another. Labyrinthia has speculated that the cause of his inability to do so was the Balance Portfolio. Considering Father could destroy a Portfolio once he lost Balance, he should now also be able to transfer them.” She gauged the reaction from the room before she continued.

“And even if he doesn’t, he should be able to destroy my Protection Portfolio and replace it with Truth. Either way, this will free up Protection as a Portfolio for Penumbra.” Every Deity in the room turned towards Rubolg, who slowly nodded. “I will try it, since you are clearly willing to give up your Portfolio, for your sister, Justina.” Inlas leaned over. “Now your claim of being the Goddess of Truth and Justice, as you said as I was struggling with the Void energies, actually becomes true.”

Justina looked at her with a slight smile. “I have always considered myself the Goddess of Truth, I just lacked the Portfolio for it.” She looked at me with glittering eyes and a grateful expression. “Giving up Protection is a small price to gain Truth, and I am grateful to my Niece for her suggestion to do so.” I smiled back and nodded. Rubolg called for silence again, then turned towards me. “And what about you? Young Labyrinthia, what Portfolios do you have planned for yourself?”

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Another day in the guild office, another day of reading through complaints from the adventurers who missed the old days. Ever since Labyrinthia took the dungeon Portfolio, things had changed drastically for the guild. The first thing she did was to put down a decree that outright banned taming and freed every Core that wished for freedom.

The only stipulation was that the freed Cores had to aid in the reconstruction of the cities and healing of the citizens in the towns they were in before returning home. When I considered Labyrinthia’s past, I could understand her view of Taming. Personally, I had never been a fan. It made things too easy for Adventurers and stunted the growth of the Dungeons.

This had put several of the smaller cities in a pickle until the next few decrees came in. The first decree was that trading with dungeons for resources was now legal and encouraged. The second was the introduction of the Dungeon Challenge.

This was a safe way for Adventurers to challenge dungeons. Intruders were a necessity for dungeons to grow, and this way dungeons gained the Essence they needed safely. Adventurers could still seek dungeons to fight through for fame and fortune, without the worry of death.

The older generation appreciated this new system, as they had lost friends and family to dungeon delves gone wrong. The younger adventurers were more against this change, but this usually only lasted until their first wipe in a Challenge.

Whether through foresight or sheer luck, these two decrees had seen a massive spike in the living standards of smaller cities and the growth rate of Dungeons. Since trade now also awarded essence to the Dungeon as an incentive, they were far more likely to accept. And these new resources helped the Dungeon develop a better challenge for Adventurers.

Labyrinthia had worked with Penumbra to develop a new type of monster and magical items to make the Challenge more appealing. This new monster could transfer what it saw to special spheres. The spheres could then create a large-scale image of what the Eye was seeing. Labyrinthia called this broadcasting. These broadcasts were becoming quite popular among the city dwellers. Since they rarely knew what a Dungeon was like on the inside.

Successful Adventurers were celebrities already, but being able to see their heroes in action like this spurred this even further. I had to hand it to Labyrinthia. Her idea of broadcasting the Challenge to the masses like this was genius. Even the strongest opposition couldn’t deny the allure of showing off their skills in front of a large audience. And the threat of making a fool out of themselves pushed the Challengers to always do their best.

Aside from that, Adventurers still had to deal with roaming Monsters, so it wasn’t like they had nothing important to do anymore. As I was considering it all, there was a commotion outside. The door opened, and Mandol popped his head in. “Mistress, a divine messenger is waiting outside. It seems they have finally sorted out the Portfolios.”

I rose from my seat and followed Mandol to the courtyard, where a giant raven was standing. The moment I arrived, it spoke in a loud, clear voice. “Here ye, hear ye, I bring tidings of a great importance! As of today, the following changes have happened in the divine Sphere!” The raven paused for a moment, eyeing everyone there with its glittering black eyes.

It then flapped twice and hopped up and down in excitement. “The Portfolios of the Divine has seen a restructuring, following the Ascension of Lady Labyrinthia half a year ago the changes are as follows.” The raven cawed twice before it calmed itself enough to speak again.

“Her Divine Grace, the Goddess Inlas, is from this day forth the Goddess of Light, Humanity, Diplomacy and the Day. Her Divine Grace, the Goddess Penumbra, is from this day forth the Goddess of Darkness, Monsters, Protection and the Night.” The Raven cawed eagerly a few times before it paused.

Just as we were getting impatient, it finally continued. “Her Divine Grace, the Goddess Selba, is from this day forth the Goddess of Fire, Demons, Secrets, Schemes and Corruption. Her Divine Grace, the Goddess Justina, is from this day forth the Goddess of Truth, Justice, Law and Judgement.” The Messenger was now jumping up and down with excitement. “His Divine Lordship, the God Rubolg, is from this day forth the God of Knowledge, Power, Omens and Creation.” The Messenger seemed to enjoy keeping the question of Labyrinthia’s Portfolios a secret for as long as possible, as it paused once more.

“Her Divine Grace, the Goddess Labyrinthia, will from this day forth be the Goddess of Dungeons, Innovation, Prophesy, Dreams and Dimensions. On request of Lady Labyrinthia herself, her domain will be accessible from the Mortal Plane from the same location her old Dungeon once stood. All Glory to the Divine Lords and Ladies!” The messenger spread its wings and burst into the air. I could see other messengers fly off across the city.

So, it was now official, took them long enough. Then again, the destruction after the invasion was massive. And I would have been more surprised if they finished the Portfolios before taking care of the aftermath. Messengers from every Deity and several Avatars had been busy aiding the reconstruction or mopping up mutated aberrations left by the Void. It was reassuring to see them flit here and there, lending their aid to the people. As I pondered that, a Dragonewt flapped past the window of my office, carrying a load of bricks.

The destruction wrought by the invasion was all too clear. Sure, the battles had been over in about a day, but Slyvanport was still rebuilding the city, as the Void reduced it to rubble. The City Lord of Slyvanport had not seen fit to heed the warning we sent, and his city had paid dearly for it. Likewise, the forest of Frior to the east had apparently become a horrid mess that was now only home to mutating monstrosities. And this was just the regional news. Who knew how the rest of the world fared.

As I thought about it, the Challenge Sphere in the courtyard flared to life. Looks like someone was attempting to Challenge Yrsha’s dungeon. I pitied them. Yrsha had renovated much of her dungeon since the invasion, and Rael was ever so quick to come up with interesting strategies to confound intruders.

The door to the hall opened, and Sybl and her team entered. She had taken over after Rael, Mordred, Pavol, and Erem retired. Erem was getting old, so that was understandable. Rael had become a Fox Spirit and felt it was irresponsible to be an Adventurer when his new wife was expecting a child. Mordred had left to further his study of the magical arts, and Pavol didn’t feel like continuing without Rael and Mordred.

Their team was smaller, but at least they were still around. Indella’s old team and most of the Nature Howlers had all moved into Labyrinthia’s domain full time. The only exception was Eliandar, who was being groomed to become the next City Lord. His elder brother had apparently shown a severe lack of valor and courage during the invasion. Lord Barron did not tolerate cowardice in anyone, let alone his own kin. He had all but disowned the eldest after he spent the invasion hiding in the mansion safe and sound, rather than protect the people.

Lord Barron might be fearsome and have a reputation of being tyrannical, but no one would dispute that he always put the City, and its population, before everything else. Glad to see he would not hand the reins over to someone less dedicated than himself once he became too old. Then again, knowing how stubborn Lord Barron could be, he would probably rule until the day he died.

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“Chieftess Ssatassha, the preparations are underway to celebrate Lady Labyrinthia’s announced portfolios.” I looked up from the stack of papers on my table. “Thanks Ssanil, I will be joining you shortly, I just need to finish here.” I put the quill into its holder and stretched. Ever since we began working as Lady Labyrinthia’s Messengers, our tribe had become far more busy than before. It was the reward our Lady, when we asked for more important work as our reward, gave us.

Sure, many of us were still doing our old jobs, like Alchemist and working in the Sawmill. But the rest of the tribe was happy taking the job of Messenger. It had been exciting to fly to Caelyn and explain the Challenge Sphere to the people living there. Over the last few months, the tribe had become quite skilled at the whole messaging thing. That left me with the job of organizing everything. I could have petitioned Lady Labyrinthia with aid for this, but I didn’t want to. I liked the paperwork, just the act of writing was a marvel I couldn’t do before.

I looked out of the window of my office. Such a marvelous town, Lady Labyrinthia had given us. The adventurers had moved in as well, after our Lady made it so that spores wouldn’t constantly fall over the city like snow. The quartz houses shining a pale white in the magical glow of the streetlamps. Outside, the tribe was walking up and down the lane, and here and there was a petitioner or visitor looking around in awe. It truly had changed since it was a creaky little hamlet built from Essence.

The most significant change, however, had to be our mental fortitude. We had been clever before, sure, but it had been more instinctual, simplistic. After our evolution, we had slowly gained more mental awareness, become more articulate and well spoken. As I watched, I saw a few newly hatched Dragonewts run by down on the street. It reminded me of how we had run around and celebrated after arriving in this place.

Falling into the river that day, though it had been scary, was the luckiest thing that had ever happened to me. No, the tribe itself. Lady Labyrinthia was the best thing to ever happen to us, period. I rose from my chair and exited the office. I could already smell the mouth-watering scents coming from Lienru’s restaurant, where she was prepping the celebratory feast.

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“Build a road ta Caelyn? I can’t do dat. Between workin da mines, securin da fort and the whole Challenge thing, we’re stretched this as it is. Besides, after dat sandstone Granite ran off with fifty o me best lads and lasses, I don’t have enough warriors to guard da workers as dey lie down da road.” Flint looked up at me with an angry expression, but I just chuckled at his impotent rage. “You don’t need to worry your breaded little head about that. My boys will handle security, our Lady’s orders.” Flint visibly deflated. “Very well, ye big ox. I will trust you and yer lads on this. By da way, where’s da bird?”

I pointed towards the temple. “Taking a rest, she’s getting stronger, but still tires too easily. One of these days she might actually fight me for real, however. Keep that in mind if you plan to continue to use that nickname.” Flint visibly hesitated. “Bah, da Angel wouldn’t mind… would she?” I shrugged, and Flint began to visibly sweat. He was already in trouble for driving Granite out of the dungeon, and the Fox Spirits had been giving the Duergar a cold shoulder since. He really couldn’t afford to cause any more ruckus now, or Milady might just decide to have him replaced.

Or so he thought, Milady’s new Portfolio meant she had a reason for letting the entire thing escalate as it did. I didn’t know what, but there was a definite reason. Maybe Granite and his gang would be happier there? Maybe Flint would turn over a new leaf and become a better person? Who could tell, aside from Milady and Rubolg. I gave Flint a nod, then vanished back to the final floor of the dungeon, the 201st floor, which was created almost 3 months ago now.

As I arrived, one of my adjutants immediately approached. “Your highness, the Messengers have sent over some more paperwork you need to fulfill. I sighed. More paperwork. Milady had given me an entire floor to rule. A grand city that was home to countless Minotaurs, Kal-Minos. The city itself was a gargantuan labyrinth, with the houses being built into the massive walls. The size of the place made the Great Labyrinth on the floor above seem like a small pond compared to a lake. My palace was a giant spire that towered over the labyrinth itself, that could probably house the entirety of Caelyn’s population 4 times over.

It wasn’t just Minotaurs from the Dungeon that were living here, either. Every day I received dozens of immigration requests and about as many challenges for rulership of the City. I wondered how many upstarts I would have to annihilate before the newcomers got the picture. It had become a routine now. Eat breakfast, accept all the immigration requests, crack half a dozen skulls, eat lunch, spar with Indella, crack another dozen skulls, more paperwork, dinner and bed. The constant bursts of violence meant I wasn’t getting bored, so that was an upside.

“Any challengers today?” The adjutant grinned. “I take it you wish to take out some frustration on the would-be rulers before you have to sign more papers?” I grinned back. “Indeed, Lady Indella is a great help in relieving some stress, but sometimes you just need to spill some blood.” I grabbed my Axe and headed towards the Arena underneath the Palace, time to add another skull to the pile decorating the Arena walls.

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I looked down at the gaming board with a dumbfounded expression. How had this happened? “Core Capture, Master Rael. Thank you for the game.” Xi was looking at me from the other side of the table with barely contained excitement. I slowly nodded. “Indeed, it was. You have come a long way, you little rascal.” Xi‘ tails wagged happily. I just shook my head. Xi’s growth over the past few months had been shocking. The little spirit happily cleaned up the pieces, and I rose from where I was sitting.

“It’s surprising to see you lose like that, Rael. Something on your mind?” I turned towards the door, where Yrsha was standing, holding a basket in one hand. “No, Xi beat me fair and square. The little spirit has become far better since we began playing.” Yrsha smiled her beautiful, gentle smile as I walked up to her. “Well then, lets head out, shall we?” I put a hand around her waist and gently relieved her of the basket. She nodded silently as we headed into the forest and away from the clearing.

It would take about 5 minutes to reach the grove we would use for the picnic. “This brings back memories.” I looked over at Yrsha. “How so?” She chuckled. “Remember when you came with a picnic basket to my chamber to cheer me up?” I blushed gently. “Right, I did that, didn’t I?”

Yrsha leaned in and put her head on my shoulder as we walked. “It was a surprising and loving gesture, I might not have shown it back then, but I appreciated it.” Yrsha suddenly stopped and put a hand to her stomach with a surprised smile. I looked at her with an uncertain expression. Was there something wrong with the baby? Yrsha looked at me with glittering eyes. “It kicked.” I put the basket down and gently laid a hand on her stomach as I looked at her and smiled. We stood there for a while, lost in our own little world, and I couldn’t be happier.

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Another quiet day in the library, perfect. I sat down and opened my large book. I had so many new entries to add. Watching Minos building that city over the last 6 months was a marvel. It was truly fascinating how well the usually so territorial Minotaurs got along under the leadership of a powerful leader. Minos had told them to not bother me, and with his word alone I had practically free rein to go as I pleased. Sure, there were areas I didn’t have access to. But with so many things to see, it wasn’t like it mattered.

As I wrote, I could feel the arms of Anira wrap around me from behind. I couldn’t see them, but the sensation was there. “Another successful day of observation?” Her voice sang in my ears as I slowly nodded. “Turns out that Minotaurs are more omnivorous than carnivorous, despite their teeth suggesting otherwise. The main diet in the city is actually fungal bread, with meat as an additive, rather than the main diet.” I could feel a pair of lips on my cheek. “That’s nice. What about the smithing techniques you wanted to observe?”

I nodded. “Truly fascinating that. There is so much strength behind the blows of their hammers that even the Duergar are no match unless they use magic to enhance their strength.” Anira chuckled behind me, and the embrace loosened. “Well, I will let you get back to writing. Mind if I read it later?”

I shook my head. “I always appreciate your feedback. So by all means, read as much as you like.” I could swear I saw Anira smile for a few seconds, but that had to be my imagination. Still, I knew that one day I would get to see what she looked like. That day I would join her as a Librarian in this marvelous place, as I had requested as my reward from Labyrinthia.

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I sat upon the hill in the middle of the above-ground maze and watched the setting sun. A pleasant breeze ran through my fur and rustled my wings. Indella was sitting beside me, relaxing after a hard day’s work as well. “Three months and the world has changed drastically.” I mumbled to myself. Indella looked up at me from the lone tree she was leaning against. “Well, you caused most of those changes, so I hope you’re not regretting any of them.”

I laid down and flipped my tail back and forth lazily. “Not regretting a thing. This is my home and everyone here is my family. I just did what, I thought, was best for it.” A small songbird flitted by and landed in Indella’s raised hand, where it sang happily before flying off again. “You seem to get the hang of communing with birds now.” Indella nodded slowly. “Too bad they seldom have anything relevant to say.” She responded lazily. I could see she was getting drowsy.

Minos had driven her to the brink of exhaustion again, no doubt. I should probably talk to the two of them about it. Their sparring sessions were popular to watch. And while Indella could recover completely with just a good night’s sleep, I honestly didn’t want either of them to overexert themselves. As I was about to point this out, another bird flew past and sang excitedly to Indella.

I had considered translating the bird song myself, but I let Indella have that one. She enjoyed being able to do something special, let’s not deprive Indella something she obviously enjoys doing. Indella sat up, now fully awake and alert. “We should probably get to the maze entrance. A friend is coming to visit. Indella eagerly took off, and after a moment of hesitation, I joined her. The evening was too nice to waste on teleporting.

As we approached, I could see a small caravan with some very distinct and familiar soldiers guarding it. The two of us landed and as the procession got near, it stopped. The door to the lead carriage opened up, and Arana stepped out. I hadn’t seen her since that day three months ago, as they had called her back to the Capital to report on how Caelyn fared.

From the reports I had received, the Capital was one of the few cities with no damage from the invasion. Thanks to ancient wards created in the city’s walls, teleportation and other forms of travel in and out of the Capital was nigh impossible without certain sigil-stones on your person. This had also meant the void entities couldn’t pop in without the wards ripping them apart immediately. A relic from the first Void War, no doubt.

Arana approached and bowed her head respectfully. “Divine Lady Labyrinthia, Lady Indella.” both of us shuddered. Neither of us could get used to our new titles. I walked a step forward. “Bah, stop it with the formalities Arana, we both know the moment you are inside you will drop them, anyway.” Arana looked up, and a giant grin spread across her face. Ever since the crisis, Arana had changed. She was still strict as hell in public or when working, but in private she had become far more casual.

There was a reason for that, but it wasn’t official yet. It had been a rather huge shock when Eliandar had requested Arana’s hand in marriage after the City Lord made him Heir to Caelyn. Only those in my dungeon knew about it so far, as Eliandar had told Rael, who had spread the news around with their permission. It was after this that Arana’s demeanor changed. Then again, I had seen hints of such behavior during the feast in our dungeon. She didn’t own table manners once she got going.

This behavior also made me suspect that Eliandar and Arana might have had an eye for each other for some time, maybe since their duel on the bridge. I knew they respected each other from that little altercation, if nothing else, and respect could easily blossom into love, if nourished correctly. Either way, if they were both happy, that was all that mattered to me.

Besides, Arana wasn’t completely human. I could plainly see that now. Her magic might hide her true appearance from mortal eyes, but there was no hiding that she had at least some demon blood in her, not from my divine sight. In this world, Half-Demons had about the same life span as Half-Elves, and from what I understood, the two were about the same age. I was legitimately happy for them. Having to spend centuries after your loved one passed away would have to be painful.

I opened the portal without hesitation. “Come in, Lady Arana, and the rest of you as well. Whatever you seek, we can arrange it, no doubt.” Arana’s smile widened. “Would that include some of that marvelous food?” Figures, Arana has a one track mind, doesn’t she? I gave her a friendly smile.

“We can certainly arrange that, and maybe trade for the contents of those barrels as well?” Arana looked back and nodded as she signaled for the caravan to unload the barrels and bring them through the portal and to the trade station in Sporecap, the name the Kobolds had given their new town.

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The next morning, I guided Arana back outside, since I had the first shift at the portal again. Arana was in a somewhat more dour mood today, since she didn’t have Lienru’s cooking to look forward to. But she had gotten a pretty good deal for the wine barrels she had traded.

Honestly, I had little doubt the only reason she took it upon herself to do the trade in person was to have some of Lienru’s food. As soon as she had finished her business, she had rushed to Lienru’s eatery and ordered up a huge meal for herself. After waving goodbye, I took my usual spot on top of the portal. Maybe I could ask Labyrinthia for a chair? Hmm, better not, might put a dent in the place’s image if the guard was reclining in a chair.

The day stretched on, the summer sun slowly climbed, and the breeze played through my hair and wings. Finally, a dust cloud on the horizon. A young man and woman each riding a horse, by the looks of things. As they approached, I took to the sky and slowly descended in front of them. “Welcome, strangers, to Labyrinthia’s Maze.”