Chamberlain Anne Young of Waal was always primed to deal with trouble. She was especially good at preparing for such unwanted events, whether it be a bandit caravan or a pesky nobleman. Her lord did not even deign to notice the passing of such trivialities, nor did he mind her liberal use of military and blackmail. Those around her would even say that her reason for being was to deal with everything mundane. Her lord’s pursuits were anything but, after all.

Her personality made her loathe to find a problem that she was ill equipped to deal with. She would question the point of all her preparation and due to her strong work ethic, she would needlessly beat herself up if her abilities were not up to a particular task. Her lord would be ecstatic in such situations, however, because there were very few problems that the precocious woman could not solve for him.

Anne was in her early forties, not even close to the middle of a High Human’s lifespan. That fact alone made her worthy of envy when considering her position. It was near impossible to attain the honour of serving a member of any of the seven houses of Aurdvari Dominion, let alone the master of the Third House. She was also of commoner birth and, several years prior, had already become a limited practitioner—a person who has reached the peak of her Class.

It was difficult for any of her peers to accept the ridiculous combination of luck, talent, and skill that led her to her position. This mounted a strong pressure on her to perform, and she was always wary of losing what she had gained. It was just her luck that her lord was not much for communicating since he had always found her work to be beyond his own expectations. His trust would not come so easy otherwise. But Anne knew nothing of that, so she always strived to do even better.

It was because of all these little details that what she saw in her farsight felt like a gut punch. It had barely been a few weeks since she encountered something beyond her capability and her reasoning.

It was supposed to be just another morning. It had been mere moments prior when she had adorned her robes and plaited her hair. She had activated her magic almost on reflex as she let her hair rest on her shoulder, it was merely a routine check.

But this time, she was not on an oceanic expedition in the middle of who-knows-where in uncharted territory, nor did she have to deal with vividly seeing the one-sided slaughter of the vanguard with her farsight.

She was at a mansion on an island, and she could not understand why a morose-looking ship without sails was headed straight for the docks near her residence.

Calm down, Anne. There’s still time, she told herself before suppressing a few tears.

The three weeks or so aboard the Insomnia had been perilous, to say the least. The noise did well to attract the most vile sea monsters from the depths of the ocean nor did it leave most people on the ship even a hint of rest.

Cases of the former type were always quickly dispatched by Shaw, as Triss had found out when he had mistakenly tried to rest on the open deck of the ship. Shaw certainly packed power in his punches, the Ice Tempest was proficient in drilling massive ice spikes into monsters from quite the distance away.

The power that Shaw displayed was extraordinarily impressive to Triss as he didn’t seem too far from a Lightbringer in terms of pure strength. But Triss could have definitely gone without being drenched by a drizzle of sea serpent blood. He was just glad he didn’t have to clean up the deck like some of the colleagues whom he had not spoken to yet. The permanently bloodstained white leather had become an eyesore, however.

His days were mostly spent learning the basics of magic from Sarva. He had gotten himself a bracelet similar to the one that Sarva had worn to start practicing.

Filling up the store with ambient mana was apparently a common way to learn manipulation firsthand, at least in richer households that could afford such devices.

At first, he didn’t see the purpose of relying on an external store of mana when he had already gotten his own mana pool with his new Class, but Sarva had succinctly explained that Triss’ own mana was useless for what was described as ‘utility magic.’

“Your own mana is tainted by your Will,” Sarva had said.

It meant that his own mana pool was useless for practicing magic that his Class did not give himself an affinity for. Using a mana storage device like the bracelet was a means around that, since ambient mana was too scarce in most places to be sufficient for direct application.

He learned that the term 'utility magic' usually encompassed anything that was unrelated to one’s Class. Triss was told that Veles preferred he learned a bare minimum of utility magic before he could work on his own Class, and he did not have much of a reason to complain. The experience from that day still haunted him, so he was a bit reluctant to work on his Class anyway.

Sarva was the one appointed to teach him since he was a Heart mage, and healing magic was always the first preference for anyone to learn. The theory was also somewhat familiar to him from his classes at the academy.

In the three weeks, Triss had managed to learn how to heal a few small scars and restore some of his stamina. He also learned to clean away a small amount of dirt, but unfortunately it did not work on bloodstains.

There was one event where he lost a relatively ridiculous amount of blood by trying to cut himself with his dagger, however, but it was smooth sailing apart from that. At the least, he had a better idea of its sharpness.

He was interested in learning from Valerica next, if anyone at all, since her Crystal magic focused on medicinal alchemy and cooking. Ueya’s disposition was more for interior decoration, armour coating, and other forms of maintenance and design, to which Triss had no real interest for.

Despite his prior experience on the deck, Triss wanted to have a look at the approach to their current destination. Klatakos was an island on the northern end of the Sumavan Archipelago, far enough that it was debated whether it should even be considered a part of it. As such, it proved uneconomic for most of the powers of Himmiord to spend any time on it, and it remained uncolonised unlike the majority of the region.

Going north also meant the potential of encountering the Threat, so that added to the island’s relative obscurity. But the Scholars intended on going to such a place, so it proved ideal for a mid- journey stop.

The idea was to wait until the winter on the island before departing since it was proven that the Threat was more or less inactive during the cold months, at the least they did not invade further south.

Triss was told that he would finally end up learning how to use his Class during this pause in the journey, so he had mixed feelings on the subject. He couldn’t hope to be useful to the Scholars with just utility magic, though, so it made him feel a little better about the prospect of getting time to learn.

The Scholars in question were observing from near the ship’s bow. Tala took out a spyglass and observed the welcoming party on the island. She sighed and passed it to Shaw who reciprocated her displeasure.

“Elder, I’m close enough to toast them to bits. Should I?” Tala asked Veles. Her magic was not as strong at sea, but now they were close enough to land that it didn’t matter.

“Not necessary. They have a scryer, and they know that we are not armed,” Veles replied.

“The row of knights with charged lightning spears seems to indicate otherwise,” Shaw replied.

He also spotted two rather large griffons circling overhead. Their riders also had primed lightning spears in their arms to rain down destruction if necessary.

Aurdvari? Out here? Shaw was confused since no other world power had aerial troops. They tended to dominate North Deas and eastern Tulvas, however, and it was quite surprising to see them in such a far away place with further lands remaining uncharted. At least, no one apart from Veles should have more information.

The Sumavan Archipelago was technically considered a part of the continent of Tulvas, but they were so ridiculously far from the continent’s mainland that it might as well be considered a part of another landmass. There probably was one not too far away, with their true destination being even further. He hoped Veles had the correct information regarding that.

As they approached the island, the engines of the ship were turned off to let the ship’s momentum carry it forward and coast to the shore. Anne relaxed slightly after the burdening noise quieted down but her nerves tensed up again after she got a more detailed look at the ship’s crew.

A Luminary?! If she could scream, she would have wailed louder than Insomnia’s engine. The Luminary was still in a gruesome state, but his halberd and mask made it unmistakeable.

One of the crew members also adorned a rather bloodied version of the Lightguard infantry’s armour. That means the masked people are… Scholars. World, end me. She lamented internally but her overblown reaction could have already antagonised the group.

Just as she thought about withdrawing the aggressive response, her lord walked up next to her. He sported long black hair just like her, but it was loose and untied. He scratched his beard and stared at the anomalous ship before turning his attention to the young steward.

“What are we dealing with here?” He asked Anne.

“The Scholars and the Lightguard,” Anne responded without missing a beat. She would beat herself for her misjudgment internally, but she would never show it to her lord’s face.

She listed out as much information as she could about what she saw, as she was used to in such situations. “That ship has a means to sail without sails, however ludicrous that sounds. There are no rowers. One armed Luminary, in bad condition. Another infantryman, also seems to be in relatively bad condition. Three Scholars, judging by the masks. One has an exquisite attire, unlike what we have seen prior.”

“Call off the Glyph Knights,” her master said with a sullen voice. “It will be a pointless exercise. Make arrangements to accommodate them for however long they wish to stay. This island cannot withstand a confrontation and I am not keen on one. Not yet.”

Anne responded immediately. “Of course, Righel. It will be taken care of at once.”

She clasped her hands in front of her face and used her magic to send a signal to the troops, ordering them to withdraw.

The Glyph Knights withdrew their lightning spears as the magic dispersed into the air. Anne herself returned to the mansion to make arrangements for their new visitors.

Seeing the withdrawal, Shaw voiced his findings. “They have withdrawn. I can see the banner of the Third House.”

He observed a bit more to find a man adorned in purple robes with beautiful golden embroidery depicting the wings of a griffon. A golden circlet crowned the man’s head. The presence he gave off was unmistakable even at that distance. “The Righel of Waalrike is present personally,” he added.

“It looks like someone has caught a glimpse of the same tail,” Veles remarked unamusedly.

The master of the Third House was not someone Shaw was confident of taking on, and he had never met the man personally before. Adding that to the unusual military presence on the island, he hoped that Veles would be a little more respectful later on. Sea monsters were one thing, but he knew how strong that man was. Even his more talented peer Tala would find it a bit of an issue. He reckoned Veles had him covered, though.

As prone as Shaw was to overthinking things, Tala stood by uncaring. She would rather spend her days sparring with monsters. Politics was the farthest topic from her interests, a list that was limited to fighting, battling, and combat. She didn’t even think there would be a confrontation here after Veles shot her down earlier, and she left it at that.

Anne returned to her post by her lord’s side as the ship was reeled into the harbour. It looked especially ominous when juxtaposed with the docked galley. She stood expectantly as her lord scratched his head pondering the cause for this arrival.

The Scholars were the only ones to exit the ship. Their casual stroll put most of the Glyph Knights on guard and irritated Anne. It was almost like an invitation for them to take offence. Their leader was the only one to walk forward after a point, however, as the other two stood behind.

Anne took it as a cue for introductions as soon as Veles stopped in front of her lord. “You are in the presence of Skyborn Lahally Chinok of Waal, the Righel of Waalrike, the Stormcaller, and the master of the Third House of the Aurdvari Dominion. I request you to state your identity and your intentions, Scholar.”

“I have to admit, I’m curious about the intentions of the Skyborn. What are you doing here, hmm?” Veles asked without even attempting to answer her request.

Lahally opened his arms wide and started laughing. “Ahaha! Of course, of course. I am almost certain now that the rumours are true, there must be a rather terribly strong mage versed in divination or precognition amongst your ranks. Your timing is too precise and coincidental, Elder.”

Veles scoffed and gave Anne a quick look before turning his attention back. “What a poor assessment. The answer is in the name, what do Scholars have if not information, Elder?”

Lahally erupted with another row of laughter. “Truly. But I must know. What is it that you seek?”

“Nothing here but to lay in wait. The northwest of here is our final destination, and we wait for the winter,” Veles replied without giving much away.

Lahally turned slightly grim. “The northwest, you say, in the winter? The Threat really is involved, then. I would like to request your cooperation in the matter, for I have lost much to what lies in your heading.”

“Oh? Elaborate,” Veles leaned in after finally having taken interest in the man’s musings.

Lahally nodded. “Grand Elder magic. I am certain of it. Just one being has decimated almost an entire fleet worth of ships. I have lost too many capable men to just a single being that lay in wait in the mists. I fear I would have been lost as well if not for my capable steward spotting that monster well in advance.”

“I am quite certain whatever you encountered was not the Threat, if it was at sea. But our destination lies beyond that. It seems like this operation will not be as risk-free as presumed,” Veles lamented.

The whole point of going in the winter was to avoid dealing with unnecessary dangers. For a brief moment, he considered a few advantages with this new variable, but quickly disregarded it. It was not ideal to throw away an already well thought out plan so easily.

“You seek to face that danger?” Lahally asked expectantly.

“I presume it is not at Gwydion’s level,” Veles suggested. The name referred to the leader of the Fifth House.

“Oh, dear, no. Lord Fireblood’s title as the Strongest would go unchallenged for a while longer yet. I cannot call him away now, however. I am sure you know why,” Lahally said.

“It should be manageable then,” Veles said nonchalantly. To only find the Strongest a problem was quite arrogant of him.

“I would rather forge an alliance,” Lahally said, “rather than deal with it permanently. The Sixth and Seventh are getting intolerable.”

“Oh? Even after all you lost?” Veles asked with curiosity.

“I am not one to squander an opportunity,” Lahally answered, hinting at another request for cooperation.

Veles walked away without responding and randomly stood in front of one of the masked Glyph Knights. He quite liked their black armour. He inspected the person for a few more moments before looking up at the circling griffons.

“I find it most curious how your fabled military might becomes utterly useless in front of just one being. Do you not have an answer of your own?” Veles asked Lahally, not even facing the man.

Lahally sneered. “My answers are wrought in blood. They end up being fed to the vilest of beasts under the depths, my answers have been met with wanton cruelty every time. What answer have you, Scholar?”

Lahally’s temper was starting to flare. He could replace an endless number of ships, but not the loyalty of his lost soldiers. It was as much as he could do to still consider an alliance even after all that.

“You seek to open peaceful dialogue, yet you walk in with a drawn sword every time,” Veles commented. He was finally facing the man.

“No, you have never walked in,” he added, “you had sat back and run away, as your posse was sent to play the part of the messenger to a being far above your stature.”

“What will any of you do when Gwydion stops making nice? Threaten him?” Veles asked sarcastically.

“Enough, Scholar. Such cheap provocation will not work,” Lahally said after reigning his temper in. “We will accommodate you until winter. I still wish for your cooperation, despite your accusatory statements.”

“I wish to talk about another matter,” Lahally said as he waved his hands off. He didn’t want to talk about the mists for the time being as something else had caught his interest.

“Speak,” Veles said.

“Is your ship available for purchase?” Lahally asked with eyes full of childlike interest.