I already know how close your conflicts with the human gods have brought your followers to destruction. Remember that we were here before you, all of you. And if your people, including your brother, do not want to respect our power, let them at least respect our right of ancestry.

Extract from a letter, hidden in the secret archives of Irvanon.

As Mat walked down the corridors to the training room as he had done every morning since his arrival in Tera he reflected on the previous days.

He had been surprised to learn that the others had not yet arrived, his own arrival had been quiet. If his first meeting with Brenin had turned into the usual awkwardness when he met new people, on the whole, it had gone well.

The following days were boring but instructive. It was hard to dislike Brenin, the man never got angry, he was always helpful and willing to help, without asking for anything in return. Mat had never dealt with anyone like him. He had felt accepted, a feeling that was particularly foreign to him.

Brenin had taken him to the training room at his request and every morning, him, when he was not too busy, or one of his men had practised fencing with Mat. They had shown them how bad his form had become and tried to fix his technique. Mat had learned a lot in those few days.

He had spent most of his time in that training room, even chatting with Brenin's men at times, if he hadn't felt any particular affinity with them, they had always been courteous to him, pleasant even. It seems that Brenin's influence on those around him was strong. But he always preferred his sister, who was much more aggressive. He found that attractive.

Thinking of Zarune reminded him of his altercation last night, when, after their meal, he had ended up getting rid of Aurora. That girl, Aurora, could be clingy when she got down to it. Even though at last, Mat couldn't bring himself to blame her. Here was another one who managed, if not to put him at ease, at least to make him feel like a normal person. It seemed that the last few months had changed him more than he thought.

It was more complicated with Jonah, his slight paternalistic air was annoying, and if he respected him, Mat wasn't sure how he felt about him, he wouldn't call him his friend, unlike himself. But Mat had never been very good at that, do is? Maybe this sort of rivalry he had established with him was a sort of friendship. At this thought, Mat felt embarrassed, and he didn't like it, what little friendship he'd managed to hold had never held. And Mat was probably primarily responsible for that, a friendship required a bit of effort to maintain, and he had never known how to do that, had not cared about it until he realised that sometimes solitude was difficult to live with. However, he preferred solitude to the ephemeral friendships that some people like to build.

As for the others in the group, indifference was his watchword. Certainly, Leila and Dereur tended to look at him strangely but nothing new here. As for Zarune...

She had found him in a corner of the living room yesterday and while he had tried to duck out of the way so as not to risk revealing his secrets to her, she had pointed at him and taken her adorably demanding tone.

- Don't move!

Mat turned to her with a smile on his face.

- Are you giving me orders, princess?

She had come close to him and looked at him with her icy eyes.

- I don't know how you did this, but I'm going to find out.

- I don't know what you're talking about.

- Wipe that smile off your face. You're not as secretive as you think you are.

- You're not a little paranoid, are you?

- You think you can go it alone? I won't let you endanger the others.

- The others? Aren't you and your people the ones putting us at risk?

She frowned in displeasure before answering him.

- You don't know what you're talking about...

- Don't I? And I'm the one with secrets? Learn to be honest with us before you demand answers.

She had given him a triumphant smile.

- So you do have a secret.

She had tricked him!

- That's not what I said...

She had given him a knowing look before leaving with a final comment.

- I'll learn whatever you're hiding.

As Mat watched her leave before he could say anything, he had only one thought. Shit, he'd fallen for her.

Shaking his head to free himself from the thoughts of last night Mat arrived in the training room on this floor of the palace. It was on the second floor from the bottom, which was about the same level as the living quarters of the less well-off citizens of Tera. Further down in the building on this floor was also the headquarters of the city police, but they had their barracks and training centre in the city itself. This training area was reserved for the family and elite soldiers of the house.

As most of their soldiers were in the field fighting the Rhogars, the room was usually empty, except for Brenin's unit, who had accompanied him here to await the arrival of the humans. It was still a large troop, over a hundred Eldars, but the training room was large. It was the whole floor and opened onto the roof where it continued. The ruling house had spared no expense in equipping it.

The taxes from the trade that passed from the west of the Kingdom to Tuanon and through Tera had made the city rich. Not as rich as Tuanon, but the city was still prosperous, and it could count on important tourism which also filled the city's coffers. The Eldars, despite living in a dangerous forest, are fond of travelling between different cities.

Moreover, the western part of the kingdom was less wild and the forest did not attack the road structures as much, which made travel easier.

As he entered the room Mat nodded to some of the Brenin soldiers he recognised, the soldiers did the same.

The Prince himself was present with Leila, whenever he had a little time he came to train with his men, and with Mat as well. Nevertheless, he was more absent than present, Mat had seen him many times, while he was snooping around the palace, talking with Eldars officials. From what he had heard, he had made many trips to the city to solve problems, also taking a court to dispense justice. Contrary to what Mat thought, the ruling house was not offended by the assumption of power and the obligations of what should be their responsibility. Or maybe they were hiding it well.

Aurora was present outside, on the open part of the training hall. She was chatting with an Eldar she seemed to know, who had a defeated look on his face.

Mat began his training, close enough to hear what Brenin was saying to Leila, they were kneeling in the middle of the room, face to face.

- This is not magic, as you know the Weave modifies what already exists. You just have to know the right way, untie what is knotted and make it take the shape you want.

- I don't see how you can transform into an elemental with this...

- Even if you can't see my inner weave because of my natural resistance, you can perceive it when I use my aura. Look at.

Brenin did something, from where he was Mat couldn't see without making his observation obvious.

- The point is to bind what you Weave inside you so that it touches what is around you. Only the most gifted of the inner Weavers can do this. And you can only influence what is around you within a few centimetres of your body.

- Yes, I see what you're doing. You can even transform your clothes? Doesn't it destroy them?

- No, compared to your own body, isn't a piece of clothing nothing? If you can change your body, if you move that little piece of thread so that it binds with others and changes its nature, then you will have no limits.

- Isn't there a risk of getting stuck like this?

- The World Tapestry is strong, much stronger than you, much stronger than a god, you can unweave it, you can change it to be more what you want, for a while if you have the strength, but eventually, it will return to its original form.

- Okay. So I focus my will to manipulate it. So I focus my will to manipulate reality. Like this?

- Yes, don't force things, if you know how to do it, the threads of your Weave will follow what you want. All you need is a little push at the beginning, and to show the Weave what you want and the threads will follow.

For several dozen minutes they returned to the same subject, Leila looking for clarification, but even from where he was Mat could hear the excitement in his voice.

- And what about the specialization you mentioned?

Mat could hear the smile in Brenin's voice as he answered.

- Your prism is as much a tool as a representation of who you are. And a tool is meant to have its own use. If you need to drive a nail you take a hammer, if you wish to hunt you take a bow or a spear depending on the game you are looking for. Similarly for your prism, if you want fire then you have to give your prism its colour so that it can recognise it, so that it can know its shape, its heat and its taste. But a prism can only contain a limited number of colours and take one form, so you have to choose the path you want to take.

- Isn't my prism just shapeless? And I have not yet seen this limit you all speak of.

Brenin laughed, a hearty laugh that echoed throughout the training room. It was one of those laughs of pleasure that makes you want to laugh back. Mat felt an unconscious smile stretch his lips. When he realised he quickly wiped it away.

- It's true, you are exceptional. But if I may offer some advice, unlimited power is only valuable if you have the time to use it and develop it. To master a path is already a long and arduous road, the path of a lifetime. Find what you want most, and focus on that path.

As they continued to talk together in the middle of the training room as if they were alone in the world, Mat chose to focus on his training. Yet... yet Brenin's words echoed Mat's own experiences with the shadow realm. The workings of Weaving and Magic were different. He could absorb magic by force and make it his power much faster than through Weaving, but so much raw power available made it difficult to use. If he had to go looking for other colours to devour the power, the only thing he would manage to do was to turn himself into a bomb.

This was one of the methods used by the old humans during the war to attack the Eldars, who were much more powerful individually than they were. They would take one of their own as a sacrifice, taking him to all the power nexuses they had conquered to fill his prism until it broke, then before he died, he would make him absorb as many different colours as he could. When he was ready, he would send it to the Eldars lines, their destructive power had destroyed whole cities.

For Mat and the group of humans, their prisms were already broken, and if he does not die for that contrary to what it should, that doesn't mean he can escape the presence of too many different colours in their prism.

As one of the Eldar soldiers offered him a training spar, which Mat accepted, Jonah and Zarune arrived in the training room. Jonah was quickly drawn in by what Brenin was saying to Leila, and the Prince offered him a seat next to them before explaining the workings of his internal weave.

- You've told me what you can do, Jonah, and it's already impressive. The Eldars who were able to use the Internal and External Weaves have become legends. I will show you how this advanced type of internal weaving works, but I advise you not to concentrate on it, it is an area that requires important dedication on its own.

Mat could see Jonah nodding his head in agreement several times, ignoring Leila's murderous look of displeasure at his presence.

- Yes, but it's always good to know how things work. Even if I don't use it, it might give me ideas for other things.

As he laughed once more the Prince gave Jonah a manly pat on the shoulder

- That, my friend, is a very good reason. So listen.

- Are you listening on the sly, human?

Turning to the silver-haired woman, Mat gave her an indifferent look, before turning back to his training partner, who bowed.

Zarune gestured to the Eldar soldier, who bowed again before nodding to Mat and leaving. Mat frowned in displeasure, before meeting the princess's gaze. He recognised that look.

- Let's see what you learn.

- Are you trying to secure your dominance, princess?

- Are you afraid?

Mat just nodded at her to come quietly. She gave him a sickly sweet smile.

- Don't worry, I'll be gentle.

She was not. Nevertheless, despite what Mat had believed, she did not seek to humiliate him, at least not actively. She crossed swords with him, and when he made a mistake, she told him so. Of course, always with a little condescending tone, but her smile was not unkind and Mat could see that she took real pleasure in teaching him. So, magnanimous, he decided not to hold it against her, despite the many bruises he would have that evening.

- You're doing pretty well for a human.

Out of breath, Mat said to him.

- Remind me, didn't you say you'd never met a human before us?

Zarune was silent for a second before telling him.

- You remember something strange, human.

Mat gave him a crooked smile.

During their entire fight, she had never once let her scrutinizing gaze disappear, looking for something. Mat had done everything to keep her magic confined to her body.

Brenin had ended up staying in the training room all morning, which was unusual for him. So when noon approached he invited all the humans present to have lunch with him. He also sent for Marie and Mustapha. After Mat came back from his quick shower, still with his weapon on his hip, he ended up joining the rest of the group, to eat together. Only the humans and the two royalty were present. In addition to the servants who came to bring them their food and drink.

The meal was good, as usual, Leila ignored everyone as she ate. Mat frowned when he met the fairy for the first time. He didn't know who she was until Mustapha told him the story of his meeting with Jonah. It was then that he learned all about what had happened to his group. They had had an adventure as eventful as his own.

Mat gave Jonah an evaluating look. He had been close to a power nexus. Had he learned magic too?

The young man was questioning the Eldars as he had become accustomed to doing at every opportunity

- So why are we staying here?

Brenin smiled at him before answering.

- Our troops aren't ready yet. The plan to get you to the Towers had to be changed. The general Gaelic is putting in place the logistics to ensure your safety. The Green-Lands are full of Rhogars, so it will be dangerous.

Zarune added.

- And it was deemed easier to wait here than at the fortress, it's only a few days' rides away.

- What Zarune means is that it will be safer.

Jonah frowned.

- Again with the Living Fires?

- Ah. Zarune told you about them. Yes, them, but not only them. You'll be safe here until it's time to leave for the Towers.

- Who else is a threat?

- Many, unfortunately, but this is less an active threat than a crime of opportunity. As long as you don't put yourself in a position of weakness they won't try anything.

Zarune gave his brother a sharp look. Brenin added with a rueful smile.

- Probably.

Aurora intervened.

- That's not very reassuring...

- Unfortunately, we live in troubled times. But don't worry, I won't allow you to be put in danger.

The rest of the conversation went on in that direction. Looking for who might want to harm them and why. They delved deep into the intrigues of the Emerald Kingdom and the power struggle between the different Houses, but also the Universities, the Weavers' Circles, and the politics of the Temples, and many others. And if on the whole, the Eldar people were a people with a low tendency to crime, there was always an underground part of them. There were even Craft guilds that had interests in the matter, they were mainly supported for them which was reassuring, a little. The princely siblings did not hide anything from them, or anything too blatant. Mat listened to everything with great intent, for his plans to come to fruition, he had to have an idea of what he would have to work with.

His cold gaze did not escape Zarune, and her own icy gaze came to challenge him several times during their conversation. Each time he couldn't help but smile at her. She was going to be a difficult opponent. Mat was looking forward to it.