Gerhard buttoned the lowest part of his shirt. He turned to his sides, looking for lint and creases that could have escaped the steam press when he first had his attire sent to the laundry. He combed up his hair in front of the mirror; a slight receding curve formed right above his forehead. Gerhard scooped up a small wad of wax and spread it all over the top of his head; the curve looked stiffer than before. He flashed something more of a scowl than a smile before he left the mirror; angled cheeks glinted against the light.

He opened the door to see a woman in a peach lampshade dress. Her shortened sleeves revealed slim yet sinewy arms with each hand capped by a thin glove. That strange, reddish-blonde hair she usually kept in a bun now flowed freely on her shoulders. The dress in its somewhat loose state could not completely conceal the strength her body exuded. Gerhard knew that all too well; that mischievous curve on her lips that suggested a smile no other woman he knew possessed.

"Surprised that I'll be seeing Cornelia Sauvant in a dress." Gerhard looked at Cornelia from foot to head.

"I still want to be more of a woman and less of a sellsword, and I'd like to look good for a change. Besides, don't look so bad yourself." The woman extended her hand to Gerhard. "Lead the way, Master Guildenstern."

"I'll... never get used to you calling me that."

"There's no escaping the truth." Cornelia looked at the magician, whose sigh escaped as a short burst of air. "So, amaze me with the beauty of Luminberg. You and me, on a date."

"A date?"

"You look quite the man when you take off the weird cloak and coat." Cornelia looked at the top of Gerhard's head and said, "Nice touch on the hair, even if it looks a little funny."

"You... are the one to talk. You look like an... um... some singer on the way to a bar."

"Needs a little more practice on the comeback." Cornelia locked her arm on Gerhard and tugged him. "Now, be a darling and take me around the city."

The two walked towards the Gray Fox's transportation facility; some men who were operating the phasing tubes stared at them. Gerhard could see that some of them were exchanging glances, and probably some loose whispers about a crazed couple going out on a walk. Cornelia broke away from her hold when she entered one of the tubes and waited on her partner to instruct the machine operators on where to bring them. Cornelia saw that the operator produced an image of a somewhat dark area near a walled town. There was a nod from Gerhard, who then stepped onto the tube at the woman's left.

†

Two dark discs flew into a shaded grove not far from what seemed to be the western section of a walled city. An orange sun stretched what remained of its fingers to the world; treetop leaves formed odd shapes of light on a floor of rotting leaves and damp soil. A low thrum of the floating machines mixed with the rustling of trees by a passing wind. The machines seemed to choose a location away from each other and began a series of fast spins that formed blue light underneath the machines. The light turned into a pillar that began to form solid shapes inside them. Soon, the objects took their complete form, revealing a couple of people before the light from the discs dissipated.

Cornelia was far from getting used to this mode of transport. It was always better for her to see where she was going, rather than stand inside a funny-looking cylinder only to see the scenery change in a matter of seconds. It felt more like being inserted into a place, rather than take time to travel to wherever she was needed. She was now inside a clearing where a ring of trees surrounded them; two old oak trees left a gap where she can pass through without causing problems for her dress. Gerhard blocked the largest passage that light could find in the place; his brown jacket and pants almost blended in the background.

"Thanks to you, I have to watch out for any twigs that might stick to the dress." Cornelia carefully tugged on the skirt, raising it to a level where the highest point of foot socks could be seen. "You could have directed those flying things to bring us to a good, stony floor."

"We can't risk having the Master's technology seen."

"Oh, right." Cornelia had to make larger steps to get out of the mat of rotting leaves faster. "So, how far is Luminberg from here?"

"You can see the walls right now." Gerhard pointed to a portion where an old tower overlooked the outside.

"Quite an old tower you have here." Cornelia stopped at the center of the road and looked at the imposing structure; sunlight coming from behind it hid much of the lines it earned through the ages, leaving only a blackened image for her to see.

"There are eight of these built around the city." Gerhard's eyes seemed more directed at the setting sun rather than the old tower. "Scribes from the Age of Monsters recorded that they protected the city, and also the fledgling First Empire, from the creatures that wanted to erase humanity."

"What can a bunch of old towers do against a mass of monsters out to eat you anyway?"

"There used to be crystal arrays hidden inside the top cones." Gerhard pointed out to what looked like lines of black glass on the roof. Cornelia's eyes followed his index finger with little effort. "They gave off a kind of light that formed a barrier so hard none of the monsters could breakthrough. Magicians at the battlements then destroyed the creatures with whatever spell that can be thrown at them."

"Luminberg was the only place that got in the way of humans becoming monster food."

"I see you've been reading your history, Miss Sau-, Cornelia."

"Thank you, Guildenstern." Cornelia stared closer to the man before saying. "I'm confident that my brain is not completely empty."

Gerhard could only let out weak laughter before he responded with:

"Let's go inside the city, shall we?"

"We'll be entering through the city's business sector." Gerhard said, "we can find a good place for a little talk and maybe some dinner."

It was then Cornelia witnessed how Luminberg kept its reputation as "the city of endless afternoons"; lamp posts started a chain of faint glows that grew brighter as she and Gerhard went past the city gates. It was only the start of a chain of lights that came out of hiding; glowing spheres, bulbs and what looked like an overhead ribbon of light stamped out the darkness on most of the city residences and roads. Going to a place where there was hardly any light was almost impossible.

A city guard passed by them; a faint trail of what smelled like coffee mixed with herbs was caught by the sword woman's nose. Cornelia turned around and looked at the source of the scent before resuming her trail behind Gerhard. She felt like a kid spending her time wondering why the lights could be so bright yet soft to the eyes. Her partner only looked for a few seconds, and then went on his way.

Lights of various colors, patterns and brightness were seen in shops, along sidewalks, and at restaurants. The sword woman's mind was onto something else, scanning the sides until she stopped at a section of the left sidewalk. Cornelia rushed to the source of the guard's brew: a coffee booth that seemed to be flocked by Luminbergers that just ended their shifts for the day. Many of the patrons gave way to a rather excited woman who rushed to the counter. She was handed a small paper cup after dealing with a few coins.

"This is so wonderful!" Cornelia closed her eyes while smelling the aroma coming out of the cup.

"You are aware that what you are holding is cheap coffee."

"Doesn't matter to me. Smells real." Cornelia took a small gulp from the cup; she closed her eyes and shook her head a little. "Tastes real too."

They spent almost an hour watching people come in and out of the various bakeries and restaurants. Cornelia wanted to try some of the cafes, but Gerhard seemed to be too focused in walking past everything. She did not mind the walk; the magician could be too focused on thinking about something else. Her stomach was beginning to want to indulge as the scent of meat, of spices and of brews teased her further. Cornelia fought off those feelings for now; she had to bring this rather stoic man to his senses.

"So, you lived here? Must be very wonderful being a kid with all these lights around you, very different from the boring things I see in Wulfstadt every day."

"I can show you my home, if it still stands today." Gerhard kept his tone neutral in an attempt to be not completely taken by Cornelia's almost childlike fascination. "I haven't paid Mother and Father a visit for a while."

"You look like you're not that happy to see them again, are you?"

"I write letters to them if I could spare the time." Gerhard stopped by one of the benches beside a streetlamp; greenish-white light came out of the crystal head where some specks of dust could be seen. "I don't want them to see me now. They're worried about me, and I'm not ready to tell them what I really am doing."

"It's not easy to work for a... shady old guy with a shady business and is using shady machines among all other things shady."

"That's one way of putting it Cornelia." Gerhard looked at the sky and exhaled. "Besides, all they know is that I'm pushing pencils at some office in Blaurosen."

"Right... while blasting your workmates for fun with energy bolts. Even I won't buy that if you were writing to me."

A small, red van stopped by a few meters of their bench. Its driver, a somewhat old-looking Luminberger with a gray kepi and an apron, disembarked from the vehicle and clicked a few locks on the sides. Cornelia spent a few minutes watching the man reveal a small kitchen and prepare his business for the night. A sausage stall became ready, with two tables and eight chairs in front of the counter. Soon, another trail of smells teased Cornelia's nose; it was then she thought it would a good gesture to be that man's first customer.

She returned to the bench where Gerhard sat – with a serving of bratwurst on each hand.

"I decided this might be a small 'thank you' for bringing me to this wonderful place." The confidence Cornelia normally exudes shied away from in her face; her wide smile was subdued to a softer curve of the lips. "I can't have you doing all the work you know."

"It's fine. I'm supposed to be..."

"Don't spoil my fun and just take it." Cornelia brought the sausage sandwich right near the magician's nose. "It's pretty tasty if you ask me."

"If you insist." Gerhard took the food from the woman's hand. He noticed her staring at him as if she was anticipating him to have a bite of the offering. He gave in to the unspoken command and sunk his teeth into the meat.

A smoky flavor, with a subtle hint of spice: Cornelia was right about the sausage.

"So," Cornelia resumed speaking after taking a second bite of her sandwich. "You're not too enthusiastic about all this going to Luminberg idea. Something to do with you being kicked out of that Academy?"

"Yes." Gerhard took another chunk of the bratwurst and chewed slowly. He spoke with some of the meat still in his mouth, "those spoiled noble students didn't want a less privileged kid become the pride of the school, and the Imperial ministers weren't exactly excited to find out that Luminberg's best product was someone who has no need for their devices. They were afraid that inside of me was something that would bring fear and suspicion in the empire."

"And how does a kid with no need for fancy crystals to shoot fireballs do that exactly?"

"A reminder of the return of a dark part in our history," Gerhard answered. "This power... you know that we were taught that the human link to true magic was severed to prevent its abuse. It was believed that humans who wielded the power to create magical energy from their bodies tend to become crazy, or evil. The Academy was afraid that my plain existence in their halls will be used by the nobles against them, which meant that Luminberg was to lose its prestige as a center of magical studies."

"You don't look crazy to me." Cornelia looked at Gerhard's face, but her focus returned to finishing the sausage seconds later.

"Thanks Cornelia."

"And you're here because you want to sit down, talk with your teachers and tell them they were wrong?"

"Actually..."

Gerhard stood up and put the last piece of the sandwich to his mouth. He looked at the great cone that watched all over the city. A whiff of air blew past them; Cornelia had to hold her hair on one side away from the gust.

"I want to prove them right. I will destroy the Academy, and then Luminberg."

"You may be going a little too far, but you look like you're really up for it."

"I never felt being a part of this place anyway."Gerhard pulled a handkerchief from his pant pocket and wiped off small smears of oil left by the sausage on his hand. "Forgetting this city will be easy."