Marvin was in his office at the U-shaped building that was Coalition HQ. The man’s greying black hair seemed more grey than black these days and the strong, typically well shaven jaw had the beginnings of a rough beard. The room had a window in the back and the table and chair was of the finest oak to match the floors. While the sand colored stone walls lent the whole structure a beach side flair, there was nothing happy or lighthearted in this room or anywhere else in the building.

He had seen it all so clearly. The Viper base, alone and vulnerable, was obviously going to be the next target but the speed of this new menace was unheard of. It typically took days before the orcs could even set up a proper siege of a castle, much less take one down. Taking out whole castles in a single day? Not in any scenario or military drill had such an impossibility been accounted for. The troops couldn’t be deployed fast enough to make any real difference even if the roads were open.

It had been mid-day when the long-dreaded letter arrived, and this time, it came with even more bad news. An orc mage. A living breathing orc mage is what the surviving air mage who got away from the battle wrote down. Marvin could practically hear the frothing screams from all the magical associations the world over. Of course, sending troops and mages to get her would be a bad idea with Necrosis setting in as all of the surrounding footholds were being lost.

But war was political and political suicide would be what awaited anyone who objected to any operation to kill this breathing insult to humanity. The loss of troops and mages running deep operations into the woods would be costly, a cost partially mitigated with the associations support. This strained an already stretched military, but no one was going to refuse these operations no matter their price.

As Marvin was going over some more paperwork, the head of the copier department came in. A thin man with bits of grey hair over a wide, wrinkly face. His dark green robe and white undershirt dragged across the plush red carpet as he walked closer to Marvin’s desk. The copier’s face was casual even as his eyes had a feral, manic look to them.

“Marvin, I was going over some of our papers and I wanted to discuss some new font choices for our scribes.” He said casually.

“Fonts?” Marvin said with a crinkled nose as he rolled his dark green eyes “I don’t have time-

‘MARVIN! PICK UP THE FUCKING PAPER!’ The copier head screamed in a spirit connection.

After taking a brief swallow and deeply sighing, Marvin recovered.

“Fine, a brief look couldn’t hurt.” He said in a bored tone. As he skimmed the various words scrawled on it, the copiers voice came through the spirit connection.

‘A half an hour ago a hawk with a special report came in. A quad element mage, with all four base affinities and all four dual elements, has been discovered at the Diamond academy. After a quick look at the report, I sent back a missive to affirm the report.’

‘Why?’ Marvin asked with a thrill running up his spine from the mere mention of such an existence.

‘Because that mage has been censored.’

Marvin gave a rough cough in surprise.

‘That is going to be an interesting case then, but stopping our entire governments response is-‘

‘Marvin. Your name is on that censure order.’

Marvin’s breath caught as he went cold.

‘What?’

The copiers eyes went wide as he disguised a sigh in his robes sleeve as a sneeze.

‘What do you mean ‘what’? Do you have not have any idea what papers your signature has laid with? Listen Marvin, you need to figure out what you’re going to do. This is already working its way through the lower ranks in whispers and gossip amongst the mages. Once this thing hits proper… you’ve done right by my department so that’s why I took the risk I did but don’t think I will be going down with you. Whatever you’re going to do, do it quickly.’

“Yes.” Marvin said audibly as he pointed towards the paper with a shaking finger. “I think this middle left one will do nicely”

As he handed the paper to the copier head, Marvin used the spirit connection for one last question.

‘The mage, what was her name?’

‘Pff. No such luck, Marvin. It’s male and his name is Eli. Just Eli, with no last name. Here’s his file from the first bird’ The copier head said with a firm pull on the paper before he put a small file on the table. Then he turned around and shuffled out the door.

But Marvin just went pale as he sat there staring at the door dumbstruck. Picking up the file, it was as he feared. The impossible meeting of bad luck and ire of the universe had conspired to bring him down. This new wonder of an age was the very one he tried to drag in for a quick and dirty deal in exchange for some worthless bandit gang members. Fuck the censure, when that little gem came out a quick hanging may be the merciful end to it.

‘No’ Marvin said to himself. ‘I will survive. I didn’t go through all that hell in the south for those years just to lose it all from some simple mistake when I finally reached the top.’

He gave a whistle and through the door came a messenger boy.

“Yes, sir?” The young lad with sandy hair in a dark green suit asked.

“Get the heads of intelligence in here. I have word of a disinformation campaign from the Phoenix empire intent on undermining confidence in our institutions.”

The kid’s eyes went wide before he shot off down the left towards his destinations. From there, Marvin began working his connections, authority, and intimate knowledge of the government’s inner mechanisms. Two mage associations had already sent out representatives and more were on the way when the government was only just now absorbing the reality of this new quad mage. Marvin gummed up the works and slowed down the departments for as long as he could so that his plan could be carried out and all the loose ends tied up. All done through various unofficial back channels and loyal minions seeded throughout the system, meaning these actions would be put to regular bureaucratic foibles when the reckoning came down.

And one sunny day, it did.

Marvin was called back to the meeting room. The U shaped table and sand colored stone walls were much the same as before. The sunlight from the back window filtered in over the ocean colored floor At the bend of the table sat Johnson, clothed with a simple white shirt and brown pants. Despite the near peasant clothing, his strong cheek bones, slight chin, and 6 plus foot height left no doubt as to him being President Johnson. To his left was Alton in a brown robe with purple lines, the bulbous body and nose making him look like a sweating pig with the bowl of brown hair swaying when he turned his brown eyes towards Marvin.

“Ah, Good. We can get started.” The Snake said with a wave towards Johnson.

Johnson’s deep green eyes turned towards Marvin with a child’s glee as he leaned back in his chair in a very undignified manner.

“Marvin! Excellent. Sit down and join us for a most wonderful bit of news.”

Marvin walked across his seat to Johnsons left as he sat opposite of Alton.

“What has you so spry?” Marvin asked curiously.

“Those rumors. The one about a mage with all base and dual elements?” Johnson said gleefully.

Marvin huffed as he opened the file at his seat. It was a simple report on current Rodring military positions as well as a history section from a pre-Rodring war.

“I thought we paid well for people who wouldn’t be dumb enough to indulge in such drivel, is my opinion on that wayward lunch gossip.” Marvin said tiredly.

Johnson clicked his tongue in disappointment.

“Come now, Marvin. Where is your sense of adventure, of intrigue?” Johnson pouted as he flipped through his own copy of the report. “Especially now, with all that horror going on near the swamps. Indulging in a bit of uplifting news can be good for the soul, you joyless old mare.”

“John, this joyless old mare is why we survived the ambush from that cave. Remember? Remember that picky old curmudgeon who insisted we sleep out in the rain instead of going into that small cave and ended up saving our hides when a squad of orcs poured out of it when we moved away?” Marvin demanded in mock outrage.

Johnson put up his hands in defeat.

“Fine. But at least indulge the possibility while we work through the implications of this report. Alton, you have some information related to this I believe.”

The pudgy man coughed into his fist before speaking.

“The ambassador from the Rodring kingdom talked with me about this issue. Whatever Marvin’s doubts about the rumors, the Rodring spies seem far more certain of them. The ambassador started talking all this rot about magic potential exceeding borders and how we need to discuss letting male mages travel between countries more easily. The real meaning behind it was obvious; the queen herself has given orders that he is to try and secure this mage, or the king but he is typically on the western part of their kingdom.”

“Well the ugly bitch isn’t going to have him.” Johnson said firmly as he went over the brief file on Rodring positions.

“Be that as it may,” Marvin cut in “if they’re using overt diplomatic talks, then their covert operations are probably going on full blast. We’ve caught more of their spies in the past week than the past several months, but I just put it down to a run of bad luck on their part.”

Marvin strummed his fingers on the table for a long moment before he continued.

“Well, I guess there is something to these rumors.”

Johnson shot him a smug smile before sitting straight and getting more serious as Marvin continued.

“What are the implications of such a mages ability? A caster fire mage loses to a caster water mage, and every other element tends to lose and win over another. Obviously, his caster children could take on any caster in a one on one fight, maybe even two on one, but that’s not the major issue. He’s valuable enough to risk a covert snatch and grab, but is he enough of a prize to risk all-out war?”

“That’s the big question.” Johnson said “They will try for any children he has but that’s not as reliable as the stud himself. We’ve only got a bare piece of paper stating the mages ability but some of the other papers in the package were lost in the usual shuffle. A copy of his file will be arriving tomorrow and from there we will decide on where to put his current progeny.”

Marvin got a look of irritation even as relief slacked his shoulders.

‘It worked.’ He thought, but what he said was “Of all the times for the paper pushers to fuck it up.”

“Indeed” Alton said ruefully before Johnson cut in.

“We will convene at mid-day tomorrow to talk more about this mages situation, but I’ve heard the local heads of mage associations are already asking around about this new mage. I’ve roped in some of them to lend us their expertise in determining how this mage stacks up.” Johnson said with excitement in his voice.

Alton gave a cough before speaking.

“I had the bit of history included because there was a pre-Rodring kingdom who claimed to have a quad element mage and a war started over it. Not sure what we could get from it, but I thought it worth including.”

Marvin shook his head at the comparison.

“Different people in a different time. The people of the Rodring kingdom before it was the Rodring kingdom would go to war just because it was that time of the month. We have the stores of grains they need to not starve. Also, we have muscle that those squabbling territories didn’t. So, they won’t swamp us immediately, but at first we’ll have to make him available or they’ll take him by force. They’ll probably take him by force eventually no matter our concessions, but the other countries will be watching closely enough that they will have to at least act civil at the start,” Marvin said confidently.

The other countries probably think they can take one of Eli’s children and get his line into their stock, postponing open conflict for him until everyone gets a better idea of how exactly his line stacks up against other mage types. But Marvin knew from the ‘lost’ report that, against all odds, this male mage hasn’t been spreading his seed into the human breeding pool. Since the Coalition would stand to be the new superpower from his line in just a few generations, the other players on the board could very well knock the Coalition out of its future glory if they managed to get ahold of him since there was no other children to further enrich the Coalition with his abilities.

The only possible hiccup to open war was that the country’s close enough to really get within strike range of the Coalition were the Rodring kingdom and the Phoenix empire, at least, close enough without running afoul of the Rodring kingdom or risking a trip through the Lost lands east of the Phoenix empire. The former was in the middle of a bad rebellion, bordering on civil war in some respects, and it would be a grievous blow to shut off trade with its meat and bread provider while the latter enemy was already guarded against as well as could be.

Even with all that, magical resources were the first and last word in international politics, and mage breeding stock was a magical resource all its own. At the end of the day, the long-term math said any number of starving peasants was worth this unprecedented prize. The only internal resistance would probably be the fuss the magical associations in the Rodring kingdom would raise about endangering such an invaluable mage. As far as Marvin was concerned, the uncertain variables were when all these facts would come into play, in what order they would come in, and what affect Eli having no children would have on their willingness to go to war. These three considerations would lead to various twists before the final conclusion was reached, war for Eli. How long the preparations to carry out that conclusion would take was the only uncertainty Marvin had.

It was a few more minutes before the head of the Ember association came through, as did the leader of Floods Wrath. The Ember leader was a mid-30’s woman with a red robe, plain in embellishments if not for the gold sash at her hips. Her short black hair with a gold band around her forehead accentuated an almost royal air with her good looks and strong cheek bones. The Leader of Floods Wrath was an attractive woman with a sharp chin. She was wearing a blue shirt and pants with gold cuffs and circular earrings that accentuated the blond hair spilling about her fine shirt.

“Ah, miss Koal and Victoria.” Johnson said warmly as the pair came through the door, seemingly in competition for who could come through first.

The leader of Ember turned her light green eyes on the president with a blank stare while the younger, about low 20’s, woman got a scowl but her porcelain skin reflected no wrinkles from the moving of her lips nor her blue eyes getting an irritated expression.

“How dare you address me as merely Victoria. I am-“

The leader of the Embers cut her off with a wave.

“Young one, if you had held your station for more than a year, you would not be so insecure in your position as to be riled by such small things.” Her smile stretched two small moles along her left jaw as she looked at her rival with the sweetness of a mother. Victoria’s blue eyes twitched in irritation, but she kept her eyes straight forward.

“Ladies, my apologies.” Johnson said, in just the right tone to make it uncertain as to whether he meant it. “We are here to discuss the implications of the quad element mage.”

That stopped any potential bickering between the two as they stood straight and looked at Johnson with rapt gazes.

“It’s true then?” Koal asked. “I sent a representative out when I first heard the rumor-“

“So did I.” Victoria interrupted as Koal shot her an irritated scowl. “Since the undead are swarming that region in what was probably a necromancer attack, the gossip has been rather muddled. Some say she was a new caster who made magical tools that could beat a scion when she was still a mere crafter.”

“Really?” Koal asked with a raised brown eyebrow. “I heard she had been involved in some scuff with the local law and had gone on some long journey to get away from everyone.”

Johnson put up his hand for silence. The women, so combative just a few seconds ago, stood still with eyes eager in anticipation.

“We have only the first few bits of information available but here is the official information coming from the Diamond academy, backed up from several mages eyewitness accounts. This new mage is called Eli, no last name oddly enou-“

A sharp squeak from the two women stopped him.

“Eli? As in a male mage?” Koal asked breathlessly.

Victoria moved forward and leaned over towards the president with naked greed shimmering in her blue eyes. “So, is it a male?” She demanded.

“Yes,” Johnson said, seemingly taken aback at the sudden aggression. Koal just stood still as her chest rose and fell soundlessly, her light green eyes looking out the window in wonder. A look that quickly turned vicious when Victoria spoke.

“He will be brought to the Flood’s Wrath compound immediately. I will dispatch several of our members to accompany him along his journey here to –“

A blast of heat came off Koal as the older woman moved forward with a fire in her eyes that was almost as real as the heat coming off her body. When she got closer, the source of the heat made itself known. A snake familiar, hidden around the folds of the robe’s shoulders, suddenly leaned out in a striking pose through the robes neck. It had slick red scales of an almost blood color with a lighter orange underbelly. The amber slits in its eyes showed anger as a flicking tongue shot out between the occasional hiss. While not thicker than an ordinary rope, the line of fire shooting out along its eyebrows more than made up for the average size.

“Victoria Belrose Fullguard, if you have any pretensions of being the first in his bed let me dispel them here and now.” The furnace like heat became almost unbearable as the red robed woman got right in the blond’s face. “He will first be brought into my daughters chambers where he will see to my four daughters then me. After, and only after, he has gotten us with child will he be allowed to impregnate the rest of the mages.”

Victoria bared her teeth and stuck her chin out even as the sweat on her face compromised the seemingly invincible confidence.

“Really, Koal? You think the other association heads are going to let you and your brood drain him dry while we get no portions of his seed? That sounds like a declaration of war if there ever was one.”

A cough from Johnson interrupted the two, who promptly turned on the poor man.

“Ladies, that is precisely what we are worried about and why he will not be coming here.” Johnson said firmly. “The Rodring royal navy would smash our fleet and do a land raid to catch him. So, while it is far more hostile in that region right now, him staying behind their no doubt sturdy walls and plowing the peasant and mage women will be far safer than risking him in some all-out war with the Rodring kingdom.”

“Pfft,” Koal scoffed in a derisive tone. “Lines on a map always making trouble. Fine. But that doesn’t mean we can’t come to him. I am a scion and it is my right as such to demand the best. The best clothes, the best houses, and… the best men for both me and my daughters.” She stopped to stick a finger in Victoria’s face. “Do not get in my way or you will know the displeasure of a scion. I will see about setting up the needed arrangements in my absence.”

The two promptly moved in a near run out of the room, saying not a word to anyone else.

“Well my peasant self has certainly been enlightened about Eli’s matchups against other mages.” Alton said dryly.

A wry chuckle from the other two men brought the meeting to a close.

It was the day after when Marvin was in his office that a messenger came for him. The morning sun was coming in through the windows as he walked down the lower floor of the Coalition HQ in a green overcoat, white undershirt and brown pants. He looked down at the floor with a flowing river and other nature scenes as he mentally went over all of the details he would shortly need. The passing personages from other parts of the Coalition scampered about as the messenger finally brought him to a double wide door in the sand colored stone wall at the left end of the U-shaped building.

Going through the doors, he came into a massive armory. This was the place that held the weapons and armor for the local guard and as such the massive open room had grey stone and mana lights lined up along its ceiling a good 25 feet above ground level. Amongst the rows and rows of swords, spears, shields, and bows lined up on stands and the patrols moving in and out of the building was Johnson. He was in a special spot by the right corner that had been set aside for his exercises with a table off to the left stacked with refreshments and papers.

Rows of weapons were attached up and down the walls on fine wooden cases that provided quick access to every weapon imaginable via small ladders. Below them was Johnson in a plain white shirt and brown pants. Sweat was running down his head with a wet stain along his chest showing the exertions from practicing his sword forms alone even as the wet mop of his black hair swung around. The most prominent aspect of him was the look of anger in his deep green eyes when he saw Marvin approach.

“You called for me?” Marvin asked worriedly.

Johnson merely pointed to the table.

Marvin raised an eyebrow as he went over to the table. Beside a pitcher of water was a copy of the full report from the Diamond academy. On top of the stack of papers was the page concerning the mages censure. Off to the left was several other papers from the Front office, confirming the censure. He gave a low whistle that drew his friends gaze as he spoke jovially.

“Censured, eh? Must have been before he was a caster. But what-“

“The names, Marvin! Look at the bottom of the censure order.” Johnson snarled.

Marvin dutifully put his head down and stood silent as he looked at his signature in the original order. Marvin took a deep breath as his plan was now going to be put to its test, as would his entire career.

“Well, Marvin? Have you nothing to say?” Johnson said irritably.

“It wasn’t me.” Marvin replied firmly as he turned to his friend. He wasn’t worried about his acting skills, but he was worried about Johnson putting the sword in his right hand in its sheath. If he didn’t have it out, that was a sign Johnson was afraid he’d use it in a moment of rage.

Johnson then walked forward and looked him in the eyes.

“Say that again.” Johnson said plainly, clearly trying to not yell.

“It wasn’t me.” Marvin said with a stiff chin and looking him straight in the eyes. “I’ve put my supporting signature to a few censures but not for some years.”

“Well, you need to find out where that came from.” Johnson said as he took a towel from the table and wiped himself down. “I’ve changed the meeting to happen now. We need to go over all of this before we find out how your signature ended up on…” Johnson got a dazed look for a moment before he finally spat out the word “Censure. On the censure. Dear god, Marvin. Even if your signature wasn’t on this thing it’s still a political volcano. I put Alton and the rest of the government on this issue, damn everything else currently on their plates. But that won’t make much difference at this point, I can practically hear the crazed screaming from the mage association compounds.”

‘Oh, my dear friend,’ Marvin thought to himself. ‘You brought me here without going over the rest of the report, didn’t you? This isn’t even the worst thing in the report. Between him having no children and trying to hand him off for some bandits, I wonder what they will demand blood for first.’

“I will have some of my most trusted people look into this, but we do need to get a handle on the full scope of this mages dealings before the associations start in on us.” Marvin said with an agreeing nod. The men then left the armory and went back up to their regular meeting room, where Altons secretary was already waiting outside the doors left side. Two more copies of the student file were placed at the seats of the U shaped desk along with a single piece of paper to their right. Alton, dressed in a grey robe with a darker scarf, was already standing by his usual spot looking rather cross with his fat rolls creased into a scowl as he tried to lay into the two approaching men.

“Do you have any idea what pushing off the fishing regulations will mean for-“

“Read the file, Alton.” Johnson said, with enough uncharacteristic anger that the Snake actually shut up, sat down, and read the file.

It took less than a minute before his head shot up from the first page and looked at Marvin with wide eyes.

“Oh fuck, Marvin!” He yelled.

“That is a false signature. Probably part of the Phoenix empires disinformation campaign. That will be dealt with, but we have to get a full understanding of this mages circumstances.” Marvin said. He already knew the circumstances, of course, but he had to play along.

For the next few minutes, the three men read over their papers. Marvin made sure to raise his eyebrows at the appropriate sentences in Eli’s student file and finished after Alton but before Johnson.

Alton just stared at the two men for a moment before getting off his seat. Heading out the door, he spoke to the unseen secretary.

“Tell Ashton the fishing negotiations are cancelled. Yes, I… we need to… I DON’T GIVE A FUCK! JUST DO IT!” Alton came back in with a red face. Marvin was going to comment on his appearance but one look at Johnson stayed his tongue. The president looked like he wanted to puke as he kept rereading a few choice sections.

Marvin just put his eyes back on the pages. It was all information he had skimmed through the first time. When he first read it, it had been in a mad rush to save his skin but now that he had some time to really ponder the words he was reading, the tragedy of it all came through. So much potential being completely unused. Just five or six children from him could single handedly turn one of the Coalitions poorest, least important regions into one of the world’s most prosperous and valuable almost overnight.

It was when he finished reading the main file that he read the new additional piece of paper. As he read it his emotions were now genuine.

“Wow.” Marvin audibly said.

This drew looks from the other men, but Marvin kept his eyes on the paper. Eli was close to being a scion and could use the space expansion spell all by himself. When his brain registered the bit about him being married to a goat woman he just sat there, staring at the offending page in a dazed stupor. Mage men getting married wasn’t unheard of but… this.

“No children and he’s married a goat woman?” Marvin asked nobody in a breathless tone.

“What?” Alton asked with a raised eyebrow.

“The rest of the file isn’t terribly interesting.” Marvin said shakily. “No backers or children, blah blah blah. But this smaller paper says he’s married a Kelton woman and… is fighting THE UNDEAD?!” Marvin screamed the last portions and shot up out of his chair with a bead of sweat falling down his forehead.

The two men promptly abandoned the larger stack of papers and read of the single piece of paper. It took only a moment before Alton’s voice, heavy with confusion and exasperation, rang out as Marvin sat back down.

“I thought magic didn’t have any affect the undead? That’s what every story and nursery rhyme always says.”

“It doesn’t” Johnson said in a steady voice, even if the nervous tapping of his fingers showed he was clearly shaken by what he was reading.

“So… So why are they using such an invaluable asset as a regular foot soldier?” Alton asked in bewildered tone. A cough from Marvin, someone usually so dismissive and demeaning towards the mundane, now grew timid and nervous.

“They aren’t. The last sentence says that he insists on going and they could only provide guards from the local guard or guild.” Marvin almost whispered. A look from Johnson carried a heavy meaning, something between admiration and annoyance.

As a mage, Marvin couldn’t help but agree with Johnsons sentiment. Fighting great battles against trolls, dragons, or other worthy mages was typically how mages left this world with an esteemed few dying in their great positions of power surrounded by luxury and privilege. As all mages should, aside from a few stuck at the schools who were too afraid to actually fight the good fight and resigned themselves to teaching the next generation.

The pride of a mages position in life was a prickly thing and there was no greater thorn in that pride than the undead.

No blaze of glorious flames, tidal wave of magical water, or thrown mountains awaited that end. Just a bunch of munching and ripping covered in filth, probably surrounded by dying sons of whores. Such deaths were things set aside for the mere mundane, not these esteemed people of magic. If mages the world over, as wide ranging, diverse, wild, and irrepressible as their kind were, could be said to have any similar personality trait, it would be that singular insecurity.

This wasn’t something that was obvious to the mundane or even mages in training. It was only after spending a few years practicing spell constructs, training day in and day out, and working themselves to the bone only to run into an enemy that rendered all that effort as so much dust in the wind was this seed of self-doubt finally planted. Metal and plant mages only barely did better than the other elements in this regard, and even then, not by much.

Something bloomed in Marvin, a feeling that he had never had for any other mage and it was embodied with a single word; Jealousy. Marvin had several conversations in his time with lower ranking officers who always were so puzzled when he got irritable issuing orders concerning the undead or were confused when he refused to help fight them even as every last man was needed to fend them off. Reading how Eli, not only didn’t refuse to fight them, but actively sought them out was like red hot needles being driven into the deepest insecurity he ever had, that every mage not named Eli had ever had.

And it was in that moment that Marvin felt a particular disdain for the quad mage.

“But this marriage business.” Johnson fussed. “Him, of all people, marrying a non-human. This is unacceptable.”

Marvin raised an eyebrow at his old friend as he chided him.

“Really, Johnson? You, ‘of all people’, are going to complain about someone have a troublesome engagement?”

Johnson tried to look outraged, but the small smile betrayed the seriousness he was attempting.

“She was still human.” Johnson offered weakly.

“You wouldn’t know that from the way your mother was raving when you brought her back, swollen belly and all.” Marvin prodded.

“Be that as it may,” Johnson dismissed “We are dealing with this mage now. The associations are going to be out for blood when this all gets out.”

“That Censure will be down in a week or two, at the latest, if we basically shut everything else down in the chambers and courts.” Alton said.

“Basically?” Johnson asked as he rested his head in his hand. “There’s nothing basic about shutting down an entire government.”

Alton just shrugged as he removed his dark scarf for what would be a long talk.

“The white-hot fury of the mage associations will expedite things considerably.” Alton meekly offered.

Marvin coughed to get the attention of the two other men.

“While that’s going on, let’s send a letter about law enforcement priorities to the local overseer. Tell them to prioritize enforcing the censure alongside prostitution charges and housing size regulations.”

“So don’t enforce it at all?” Alton said with crossed arms.

“Precisely. We still need to get rid of the censure for future fights over his children but once he starts siring the associations won’t have anything to complain about” Marvin said with a wide smile of white teeth.

The three men nodded and then they started talking about the process of running over the judicial and legislative system for a government of several million people. Every member of congress would have to be called back, some from far away regions on vacation. Agendas would be shoved aside, tears of advocates would be shed, and the heads of industries and noble families would be left with sleepless nights and may the gods damn every last one of them.

For the concerns of magic took precedent over the welfare of all men.

It was in the late afternoon that someone in the chain of delivering the report finally cracked and the rumors of the mage’s circumstances started circulating. Aggravated by the sudden announcement of emergency sessions and the pushing aside of several initiatives, the rumors flew through the halls and dining tables with every breath taken and released by the staff and officials. In order to mitigate the coming damage, the three men worked out a plan that would help soothe the mage associations anger, or at least help them direct the anger at each other.

This plan was carried out in the late afternoon as the mages Koal and Victoria were brought back into the meeting room in the middle of the U shaped table. While they were dressed in the same clothes as earlier, the squeezing palms and gritted teeth said their mood had changed considerably.

“We-“ Victoria stumbled for a moment as she ordered her thoughts but not even Koal seemed certain enough to interrupt her. “We heard some rumors about the new mage.”

“What rumors specifically?” Johnson asked carefully.

“That this new mage hasn’t sired any children and has been censored.” She said in a curious tone. But it was Koal who spoke next.

“Really? I heard that he married a goat woman and was fighting the undead. Not indirectly but in melee, even.” Koal’s tone made it obvious what she thought of such ridiculous non-sense.

A long moment of silence passed as no words were spoken on either side. The men awkwardly sat in their chairs, struggling to maintain eye contact until Koal raised a brown eyebrow and tapped her expensive red leather shoes on the wood floor.

“Well?” She demanded in a cool tone.

“Yes.” Johnson said with determination.

Koal’s and the blond’s eyes shot up.

“Yes?” Victoria asked quietly.

“As in?” Koal demanded.

“The answer is yes.” Marvin said.

A sharp intake of breath from both women was the only sound before Koal asked in a near whisper.

“To which of the rumors?” Her voice was ice even as her shoulder showed a rattling movement from her snake familiar and an accompanying spike in heat.

“All… of them.” Alton falteringly spat out even as speech nearly failed him.

The women stood there dumbstruck for a moment.

“D… Do you have any idea…” Victoria asked, her reddening face showing her rising anger as speech began to fail her.

“None?” Koal demanded. “I’ve met so many loser crafters in my time who managed to sucker a few peasants into taking their seed and this mage hasn’t…”

“And the censure?” Victoria demanded.

“It’s being seen to.” Marvin assured her.

“That doesn’t matter!” Koal yelled with a raised finger in accusation towards Johnson. “That censure can be ignored but this matter of the marriage and not having any previous children is a travesty against humanity itself.”

Johnson nodded as he leaned forward.

“We are not in total disagreement. That is why we are authorizing a special representative to look into this matter personally with the governments blessing and a certain amount of authority to correct the situation. We don’t feel it would be wise to dictate such a monumental task to the associations, so you will have to decide amongst yourselves who will be the one to visit the Diamond academy.”

Koal got a look of comprehension as she figured out what their play was, but the realization did her no good as her hot-headed companion ran back out the door. A quick scowl towards the men and she too left to rally her people to contest for this position. After the door closed, a round of relieved sighs came from the men.

“All right.” Alton said with a relieved look to the rest of the men. “I’ll get congress in order and Marvin will investigate the mysterious case of the unsigned signature.”

Marvin gritted his teeth at the jab but kept his tone civil.

“How witty of you. But your, no doubt deep, concern is unwarranted as we already have the situation sorted out. I’ll be giving you all the details tomorrow.”

Alton leaned back unimpressed but was clearly too tired from the day’s events to duel wits with his foe and merely nodded before getting up and leaving.

“Good,” Johnson said with a meaningful look to Marvin, his deep green eyes holding a seriousness that was as close to demanding as it had ever been.

“It is, dear fellow. A few details ironed out but the full report on this sordid affair, as well as some bits involving the Phoenix empire, will be on your desk early tomorrow.” Marvin said with a gracious nod, even as a bead of sweat ran down his strong jaw.

Johnson nodded and got up off his seat leaving Marvin alone with his thoughts.

After heading back to his office, Marvin stayed awake until the sun was near setting. As he sat at his desk going over some papers, one of his trusted officers came in. Muscular with dark brown eyes, strong jaw, and totally shaven, he was the unquestioning, yet still capable sort of minion Marvin found so invaluable at times like these.

Straightening his green military jacket and brown pants, this man delivered a most interesting piece of news.

“Freya… She’s insisting on seeing you.”

Marvin huffed, but didn’t immediately respond. A few more of his men were standing by the railway of the hall across from his door to keep an eye out as a well-practiced system of communication began. Marvin started a spirit connection with his minion.

‘What is it Freya?’ Marvin asked when the minion used his hands to guide Marvin to the spot where Freya’s invisible spirit magic was.

‘So. That’s how it is, huh?’ She said.

‘Yes.’ Marvin said coldly. It wasn’t fair, what he was doing to her, but fairness was one of those funny little things that came up less and less as they both rose through the ranks over the years. When you were responsible for only a dozen people, certain compromises seemed unthinkable. Going to a few hundred people whose families would never see them again if you screwed up, a certain amount of flexibility was needed.

The lives of tens or hundreds of thousands of people was a weight few if any could understand. Waking up in the middle of the night, wondering if you did everything right, going over all the needed details, these were things that anyone who has not been saddled with the yoke of leadership couldn’t hope to understand. A hundred thousand souls riding on every decision left no room for such a petty concept such as fairness and it had not been a part of their conversations for a very, very long time.

‘You got it all wrapped up nicely, I see’ Freya said as Marvin turned his head back towards his papers.

‘Honestly, Freya. I’m a little hurt that you thought you could employ a copier to make duplicates of my orders and I wouldn’t know about it. Makes me wonder what kind of a fool you took me for and how long you thought of me as such.’ Marvin said plainly.

‘Hmph. I guess I was a little too certain. But I’m not going to give you the satisfaction of hearing me beg. I bring dire news.’ Freya said in an exhausted tone.

‘What is it?’ Marvin said with a raised eyebrow, genuinely intrigued.

For a long moment, nothing came through the spirit connection and it wasn’t until he turned his head up that she finally spoke.

‘That ‘new’ quad mage, named Eli? The one who we tried to trade for a quick deal with Maw? He’s a scion. Noah and John saw one of those plant monsters up in the academy woods going crazy, spewing lightning, fire, water, and rocks everywhere. They had never seen anything like it and were about to inform the local guard but three of their companions told them about Eli. That bastard.

He used metal and healing magic in front of them and that monster must have been his familiar.

He is behind the monster attacks on our forces in the south.’

Marvin sat there silent for a long moment, before he chuckled as he looked to the ceiling with a dramatic roll of his eyes.

‘Freya. Out of respect, I won’t flat out mock you and just explain just some of the many, many ways that doesn’t make sense or matter.

Eli has no idea it was us. Those orders you copied got taken out in the fall of the Viper base and he had no reason to suspect the military was involved in his problems before that. Plant magic takes a large amount of mana to make vines flexible like those that were described in the briefings. The report says he takes a lot of the local mana from his crafts from, but the entire academy town would be a mana dead zone for a few good weeks for him to make three such suits.

If Eli was one of those monstrous men who sided with the orcs, the best option would have been to remove his pants and work his way through all the orcs in some unknown patch in the swamps. A few years and his power would be almost unfathomable. But more importantly, this accusation will never be believed.

When people find out what you did, dragging that pure, divine man through the mud just because you wanted a few bandits that wouldn’t have helped anything, aiding and abetting Phoenix espionage operations along the way, these accusations will be dismissed by association. No one, not me, not the president or the heads of the associations, will have any possible stomach for such slander. Eli could fuck three orcs in the academy town square in front of hundreds of people and it would take weeks before any court or law enforcement official would be willing to touch it.

Coming out with this ‘scouting report’ just days after this all came out would be a so laughably transparent attempt to cover your hide that no one would believe it.’

A long moment passed. It was after nearly a solid minute that Freya responded.

‘He gets away with it then? Kills dozens of mages and throws several decades of my life’s work into the trash heap and he gets to be the hero?’

Marvin just sighed before responding in a sympathetic tone.

‘It was more my life’s work than yours, Freya. But, yes, even if, if, I believed you I would just be thrown to the wolves along with you. Eli is as immune to such accusations as any man could ever be.’

Nothing came through the connection for another long moment. Then Freya started talking again, this time in a more business-like tone.

‘All right, but I need some time to find a replacement for John as he gets bumped up to work here when I’m…gone.’ Her voiced cracked at the last word.

‘No.’ Marvin responded firmly.

‘No? Marvin, Noah is a hot head on the good days and now thinks that Eli killed a lot of his friends and people he considered to be his family. He’s good at on the ground tactical thinking but there are good reasons I made John and Tina in line for succession. With her death at the Viper base, I need time to find someone to run things with the proper temperament.’ The desperation came through clear at the end, but Marvin held his ground.

‘Then you should have done better about having more backups. The report on your activities is already circulating and there is no way, no possible set of arguments or reasons, that would compel me to throw myself into that rapidly heating fire. Besides, Noah seemed like a good lad and high command changes people, sometimes for the better.’

The men by the railing moved forward when footsteps told Marvin Freya was attempting to come into the room. The larger man shut the door behind him as he left to help assist his fellows in escorting Freya away as the sounds of a struggle faded with the closing of the door.

Come morning, the news hit proper.

The reports on the mage came out and all hell broke loose. An entire government of several thousand people had a slow-motion mental breakdown as the present members of congress yelled and shifted blame to the courts, the courts blamed the enforcers, and the enforcers blamed congress for making the censure laws. The chambers of the legislature were treated to several fights between factions looking to use this for one end or another.

The Front got the worst of it, but the mage associations only sent one or two people to harass and bully various officials on this matter as most of their energy was spent vying for the new position to get firsthand accounts of the quad mages situation and, in the typical unspoken manner, bear a child from him while doing so. Even so, their simmering rage was an ever-present cloud over everyone.

Ground to a halt, the government started looking for someone to finally foist this failure onto. When Marvin’s findings that Freya falsified his signature and helped Kristen censure him over a petty dispute came out, the guilty party had been found. When the news broke that Freya tried to trade him for a bunch of no-name bandits, the military instantly fired her and removed all honors and commendations previously bestowed. The crowd had been whipped into a blood frenzy that was quickly sated when Kristen, rather than be fired, was found swinging from the balcony of her office. The suicide seemed to sate the frenzy as tempers cooled and the grueling work to correct past mistakes began in earnest.

The mage associations considered this to be of little consequence and knew that any official who tried to deny the legitimacy of Eli’s children would only be securing his own demise and focused their efforts on contesting with each other, as the three heads of the government had hoped they would. It was late afternoon when the three men met back up in the conference room, the sand-colored stone walls and flowing ocean colored floor provided the only sense of warmth in the whole building.

“So, what is the current status?” Johnson asked. He wore a plain white shirt and brown pants with his deep green eyes having bags under them.

“As bad as we expected. The brawl in the chambers stopped things for a bit while accounts of who threw the first punch were taken, but it’s all moving along just the same.” Alton said. His brown bowl cut looking frazzled along with his brown robe. He looked to Marvin, dressed in a plain green shirt and brown pants. Both men had the same bags under their eyes Johnson did and clever wordplay was something neither man had the energy for.

“Well it’s not all bad.” Marvin said with a weak smile. “Our reports from the Rodring kingdom say they aren’t marshaling the navy just yet.”

“Yeah, they’ve been content to whine through the diplomatic channels while flooding spies in. Their efforts have been pretty easy to stop since there are so few ways to get to the town during Necrosis, but I’m worried about what happens when the undead go back to being fully dead. I wonder how long this peace is going to hold before they just try to take him by military force.” Johnson mused openly.

“It’s hard to tell. I think him not having children throws a lot of their plans off. Right now, he has no kids to kidnap and bring into their population. The Rodring leaders may take that as an opportunity to snatch him up before we have the chance to spread his line in our country, but that may also mean they are reluctant to openly take him for fear of being the only source of his line and in reach of other, more powerful countries like the City or the Bodding kingdom.

Distance from them is a saving grace we have that they don’t. While I believe open war is inevitable, how quickly it comes and how fiercely will depend on how bad their rebellion actually is and, more importantly, how powerful Eli is.” Marvin concluded.

“And how powerful is that?” Alton asked. “I read the dossier they dropped off, but I can’t distinguish the dragon's head from the tail of that mess of words.”

Marvin and Johnson grimaced, and for once it was not in mockery of their common foe.

“I’m not surprised since it was ‘We don’t know’ strung out to seven pages,” Johnson said grimly. “He’s worth more than any scion or caster. Any number of crafters and peasants certainly, but is he worth a dozen dual-element scions? Can his line take on five other casters at once or three? Three scions or two?” Marvin nodded before giving his assessment.

“Until we do a lot of tests and get several children from him to account for personal ability, everyone is just walking around the treasure chest without knowing exactly what’s in it. The handles are rubies strapped in metal bands of the purest gold and the wood has the fine silky texture of the Sea Tree, but its contents are not yet fully known. When we get some idea of what his line is precisely worth, we’ll know more about what the other countries would be willing to risk getting at him.” Marvin said. With nothing left to say, the meeting was adjourned.

Later that afternoon, the announcement was put out that Koal had won the position to look into the failings surrounding the Diamond academy and the wonder of an age. A task she set out on immediately.