Erin disliked her instantly, a sentiment shared by her draconic familiar, apparently, because the creature hissed low as she shook the woman's hand. Serra’s eyes flicked to the small creature, whose scales had turned a vivid red.

“Who’s this little guy?” She asked.

“Haxelevesterous,” Erin said without hesitation, and Sigrid gave her a sideways look.

“You named him?”

“No,” Erin said, “that’s his name.”

“I’m not calling him that.” Sigrid said, giving the dragon a considering eye. Which he returned with a soft chirping sound. “What about Hax?”

Erin grinned despite herself and shook her head.

“Sure, we’ll call him Hax.” The dragon chirped again, which Erin took to mean he approved of the nickname.

“It was nice to meet you, Serra” Erin lied, plastering a fake smile on her face. “But I have someone I need to speak with.” When the bald woman returned a fake smile of her own, Erin knew the dislike was mutual.

She waited for Sigrid to say a much more genuine goodbye, and then they set off into the camp, looking for Arthur.

“Only you could dislike the people who saved you from certain death.” Sigrid said with a rueful chuckle.

“Am I that transparent?”

“No, you’re extremely subtle. You just need to work on keeping the murder out of your eyes.”

“It can’t be just me.” Erin said, looking around, spotting more of the bald mages. “Don’t these guys creep you out?”

“I told you they were odd.”

Erin didn’t respond right away as she watched them. They seemed friendly at a glance. They certainly weren’t shy about lending a hand. She had yet to see one that wasn’t engaged in some kind of labor.

“Did you see any of them fight?” Erin asked eventually.

“Like in the battle? No, the qek had been gone for almost an hour by the time they approached us.”

Something about the whole situation nagged at her, but Erin couldn’t say what exactly.

“I think the qek were close to turning on each other by the end.” Erin told her, recalling what she’d seen. Though the memory was hazy, the recollection glimpsed through the fog of her exhaustion. “It seemed almost like their behavior was reverting towards the end.”

“You think we would’ve held out long enough?” Sigrid asked her, and to that Erin had no suitable answer. Maybe they would have, or maybe not. She just knew that their savior's timing was very good. She was about to question Sigrid on what she thought of the pale qek’s absence from the battle when she spotted Arthur, who caught sight of her at the same time. Looking surly, the prince started toward them, brushing his hands together to throw dust off of them.

“So you’re awake.”

“I am,” Erin agreed, and then looked around as a thought occurred. “Have you slept since the battle?” Then she turned to look at Sigrid. “Have you?”

“Not yet,” Arthur told her, his posture relaxed with one hand resting on the hilt of his artifact sword. “But I was only fighting for the last part. Most of the villagers laid down wherever they were and fell asleep like you did. Your friend here has some unbelievable stamina, though. The closest she’s come to rest was sitting by your bed.”

Erin glared at Sigrid, who met her gaze evenly, her slit-pupils a bright yellow.

“I don’t need as much sleep as I used to.”

Erin shook her head, but turned her attention back to Arthur.

“So, what did you find out about our new friends?” She asked. Arthur glanced at the nearest group before gesturing for them to move in a different direction. As they walked, he spoke in a low voice.

“They were nice enough at first, but the leader. Serra. She got pretty standoffish when she found out why I was here.” He looked over his shoulder and turned back, his voice practically a whisper now. “And there’s something else. According to men, they’ve been saying some strange things to the villagers.”

“Like what?” Sigrid asked.

“Like about how to become Mages.” Arthur whispered.

“That’s impossible.” Erin and Sigrid said together, before sharing a look. Erin knew with certainty that the only way for a Tier 1 to become a Tier 2 was to first die, and then go through the process she had. Like the knowledge was engraved on her soul, she knew it.

“If these people are saying they can turn people into Mages, they’re lying.” She said definitively, and Arthur nodded.

“I think if it could be done, we would have heard about it before now.”

“So why are they lying to villagers?” Erin muttered while they walked, but pulled up short as they reached the edge of the tents, their view opening up to Dangole as a whole. Within the walls, the city was in ruins. Most buildings were damaged, and many had collapsed. Wood and brick lay scattered about, turning the once idyllic village into the remnants of a battlefield. Erin's heart ached as she scanned the debris.

“Arthur, what does your father want with new Mages?” Erin asked, deadpan. The Prince tucked a thumb into his belt and ran the other hand through his hair.

“He wants to give them an option. Not just the first ones, but all the Mages who come later. Right now, Academy City is this the sole hegemonic power. They control everything just off the borders of the wilds. In practice, if not in name.”

“And that’s bad because?” Erin asked. She suspected she knew where this was going. A corrupt oligarchy with magic at its core wasn’t a hard thing to picture.

“Because they wield their power to their own benefit, and often at a significant cost to everyone else,” Arthur said, his cheeks flushing pink as he spoke more passionately. “My father thinks Mages are sent here to be protectors. You’re meant to confront the monsters and expand the borders of the world, but they sit at the center of a web and tug on our threads.”

“And there’s no one else? No other Mage cities?” Erin asked, glancing over her shoulder to take in the robed figures.

“There are a few scattered groups that have a number of Mages, but they’re small and hard to find. Mages aren’t exempt from Academy Cities authority. If you don’t bow to the council like the rest of us, they’ll get rid of you the same as any First Tier.”

“So why now?” Sigrid asked him, “Because we appeared in the wrong place?”

“I know little about this part. I guess Academy City controlled all the places where new Mages could appear, but now they don’t. You are just turning up everywhere.” Erin and Sigrid shared another look.

“That almost seems deliberate,” Sigrid said slowly.

“What do you mean?” Arthur asked.

“I mean it seems like someone intentionally disrupted their flow of new recruits.”

“But why?”

“That I don’t know,” Sigrid said, crossing her arms and looking over the ruined village, her expression contemplative.

“How are things progressing?” Her leader asked, his voice emanating from the small stone in Serra’s palm.

“The situation is as expected.” She answered smoothly, “The battle-fatigue has made the First Tiers suggestible. Our Priests have already begun quietly whispering in a few ears.”

“Lionel informs me you nearly waited too long.”

“Casualties are minimal. The qek worked better than even I had expected.”

“The report says you nearly lost control of them at the end.” Serra wanted to rage and curse and throw things. That buffoonish engineer had not the slightest inkling of the amount of preparation and care it had taken to subdue so many qek for so long. His minor project was nothing, while Serra stood on the precipice of something much more grand. She was controlling monsters.

“An exaggeration, sir.” She lied. What did it matter? The qek had almost slipped their reins, but she’d timed their withdrawal perfectly. Now the Cult looked like the heroes. “We’ve more than a hundred candidates here, many of whom will likely volunteer. We might be able to take half the village without arousing suspicion”

Let’s see Lionel's crude constructs accomplish as much. She wanted to add, but bit back the words at the last second. Even over the distance between the stones, her leader seemed to sense her thoughts.

“You are flush with victory and success.” He said, his tone even, “you have gambled and won, which means our organization has won. Everyone should celebrate your achievements. You have proven beyond a doubt not just the merit of your project, but your merit as one of my lieutenants. Half of all those you bring back will be yours.”

Half? She barely contained an indignant sputter. It was an outrage. She had done all the work here. By rights, this entire village should end up in her lab. Again, something of her emotions seemed to leak through the connection.

“Calm yourself, Serra. I am not underestimating your contribution, but you must understand that contribution was to the benefit of us as a whole. Your work propels us ever higher, but it is just one pillar that will make up our strength. You must be willing to give over some of your share to strengthen the rest. In time, you will reap the benefits of this investment into the whole.”

“Of course, sir.” She said, locking all emotion out of her tone. She knew he wasn’t wrong, but couldn’t help but be rankled at the thought of Lionel benefiting from her efforts, all while he tried to undermine her at every turn.

“Now, tell me about the Mages.”

“There were three of them taking part in the defense. One of them has the Dragon's Blood spell.” There was a long silence following this, and Serra had to resist the urge to ask if he could still hear her.

“Are you certain?”

“Yes sir, I’ve seen it myself. She’s only just begun the change, but there can be no doubt.” Another silence followed.

“Do what it takes to bring her over. We need that power. She’s new to this world. Losing her former life is still fresh. Find some levers you can pull on, make promises.”

“Of course, sir.” She said evenly. “Going home is the mission, after all.”

“Yes,” he agreed, “but in this instance, don’t be afraid to overstate our progress. We need that ability.”

“Of course, sir,” she repeated. “There is one complication.”

“What is it?”

“One of the other Mages is suspicious of us and she’s bonded a whelp.” This time, rather than silence, she heard a curse, and the sound of something being thrown.

“They found it!” her leader hissed. Serra had rarely ever seen him lose his temper, but when it occurred, the tantrum was explosive. Secretly glad she was on the far end of a hearthstone, she waited for his rage to cool. He carried on for some time, and Serra’s idle thoughts wandered as she pondered what steps she should take next.

When her thoughts came back to the present, she realized the connection had fallen silent and there was a brief moment of panic as she wondered whether he’d spoken to her and she’d missed it because she wasn’t paying attention.

“They found it.” He repeated to her, anger gone, replaced with resigned frustration.

“That was my assessment as well, sir.” For months they had been scouring this frozen wasteland, looking for the remains of a Mirage Wyrm. They were rumors that passed word of mouth, but their leader had been convinced of the truth of it, though he’d never shared why.

“So be it.” He said at last. “You’ll have to get rid of the other one.”

“They’re friends. It will be difficult.”

“Find a way, Serra. You have your mission.”

“Yes, sir.”

She felt the magic fade from the hearthstone and she tucked it back into her inventory. She had expected both orders before the meeting, and she had already begun laying the groundwork for her solution. All she needed was a little time.