Edward sat relaxed in the armchair of his room, while his father stood silently beside him. A few minutes ago, they had asked all the servants out of their room and were now watching the city from above. It was late evening, but the streets were still bright and bustling with activity. Hundreds of people were still standing outside the city's front gates, which made Edward wonder how they were even going to feed that number of people. He was used to seeing many residents in one spot, but the numbers in Exarion were beyond his imagination. One of many consequences the lockdown brought.

"I hope we don't end up like Groka", the king began. "You know the story behind this, don't you? Nearly 20 years ago, creatures appeared - without a warning - from the mountains and overran the entire village, over ten thousand people lost their lives that night."

Edward's gaze turned to his father, who clasped his hands behind his back and gazed over the rooftops of the town. Of course, he knew the story.

"We haven't had any problems with the creatures since that day, so I assumed it was just a one-time incident. But then, a good three years ago, a message from the Magistrat reached me. They had already noticed an increased activity of the creatures at that time and advised us to reinforce the borders and monitor them better. At the time, I found the whole thing a bit laughable. Why would the creatures also suddenly start coming over the mountains? What I didn't realize at the time was that dragons were already living in the mountains."

"I thought those were just rumors?", interjected Edward in wonder.

"I thought so too, but the Magistrat disagreed. A few months later, they sent one of their High-Magicians to Sylve."

Surprised, Edward stared at his father, but replied nothing.

"I didn't mind, High-Magicians have a good reputation after all, and I didn't care why he was in our city. I even offered him lodging in the palace, but the man never accepted that offer. As I learned late, he took up residence in a tavern at the northern end of the city and befriended the locals."

The prince was puzzled. Did one turn down the offer of a king just to take up residence in a tavern?

"The months passed, and I had almost forgotten that the High-Magician was in Bellator, when Loys literally pulled me out of bed one morning because an urgent message had arrived at the royal house."

The king sighed and dropped into the vacant armchair next to Edward.

"On the summer night of the 20th, creatures had once again fought their way through the mountains and attacked the village of Kutam in the province of Pistori."

"What?", the crown prince interjected in surprise, looking with his blue eyes at the king, who himself was silent for a moment. "Again?"

"A soldier from Bellator was visiting his family when he saw the creatures coming. Immediately, he sent some children to call for help, one of which ran to the capital. The soldiers at the north gate let the child in and it ran purposefully to the nearest tavern, knowing that there were dozens of Anuxers. Can you guess who he ran into?"

"The High-Magician from Altona?"

"Exactly. I thought it was a strange coincidence, but when you think about it, it was a pretty logical conclusion by the High-Magician. If something was going to happen, the tavern was a good place to start."

At first, Edard was impressed by the High-Magician's thought process, but the fact of how unlikely the situation seemed made him dismiss it as more of a coincidence. But then he wondered why he had never heard that Kutam had been attacked by the creatures. What had happened then?

"This High-Magician, I later learned his name is Caleb Leuen, immediately sent the boy to the soldiers who were training with their troop leader every evening at this time. He himself flew directly to that village. Just minutes after the boy asked for help, High-Magician Leuen was on the scene, single-handedly killing hundreds of creatures. From the accounts of the soldiers who arrived some time after him, it was said to be quite a spectacle. High-Magician Leuen erected a formidable barrier between the creatures and the village, allowing the inhabitants to escape to safety while he eliminated the creatures in droves. The soldiers, who arrived later, helped him afterwards and the whole battle was over in a few hours."

Edward recalled the face of the dark-haired man from today. That at least explained who he was and what his relationship was with his father.

"I traveled to that village the next day, right after the news reached me. The inhabitants had mostly returned and had begun to repair the damage. Duke of Pistori was also there and visibly surprised that I had come. I initially thought the residents and he would show me hatred when I got there, but to my surprise they bowed to me and thanked me. High-Magician Leuen had told them that it was I who had hired him to protect the land and he was just doing his job. When I asked the villagers where this man was, they pointed to a nondescript young mage who was talking with An Perendan."

"First Company An Perendan?"

"She didn't have that rank at the time, but that night was the catalyst for her promotion. Sir Leuen and Madam Perendan had been in contact for several months and he had asked her to be ready to go at any time. How he had managed to convince Madam Perendan, she had not confessed to me at the time. Some months later I learned that High-Magician Leuen had defeated Madam Perendan handily in a fair duel, so she paid her debt by keeping an eye on the situation regarding the creatures. I let things rest at that time, and in return I gave her the task of increasing the daily patrols from today's days and extending them to the mountain border."

The king was silent as he sank wearily into the armchair and turned his gaze outside.

"Did anyone perish back then?"

"Not a single one. Not even the soldiers were greatly injured, which they surely owe to High-Magician Leuen. In Pistori they worship him like a fourth god, and every now and then I meet people who thank me for back then. Even years later."

"How come I never heard about that?"

"That was also because of High-Magician Leuen. He had asked the people of Kutam not to make a big deal about the incident, because otherwise he would no longer be able to protect the land properly. They believed him, and the little lie suited me just fine. The fact that we were overrun by creatures for the second time and Altona had to help us would have put the royal house in a pretty bad light. Not to mention what this information would have caused unrest among the dukes of Ameluxen, Gallymune, Caplens and Taovern. The duchess of Caplens was upset anyway since the story with Groka, and that rippled throughout the four northern provinces."

Edward nodded his understanding and looked outside as well. This would have ended in a heated argument if the attack had gotten out to the masses. Now the crown prince also understood why his father was always very friendly when the Duke of Pistori visited. At first, he always thought it was because of the relationship between his teacher Julius Venlan and the Duke of Pistori, but this attack put the king's behavior in a completely different light.

"I thanked High-Magician Leuen several times afterwards and also addressed the Magistrat in gratitude, both politely accepted the thanks. In the beginning, I was quite happy about the situation, but at some point it seemed strange. Why did they let a High-Magician protect the city and ask for nothing in return?"

"In anticipation of the conversation today?", interjected Edward, causing the king to turn to him with a smile.

"I have come to think so, too. They knew they needed an ally, so they simply prepared well. Moreover, I also believe that Altona have been aware of the danger for considerably longer, but it is hard to ask for support without proof. But...", King Leonhardt explained and paused for a moment "... I didn't know that at the time, and I asked Sir Venlan to make inquiries about Caleb Leuen. How old do you think he is?"

"If I may guess, I would say in his early thirties, although he looks quite young."

"He was twenty at the time."

"Twenty!?", gave Edward a shout, before putting his hand over his mouth in surprise. His father didn't seem to mind the exclamation. Sir Leuen was barely older than William and he had been protecting a village from creature attack all by himself back then? When Edward was 20, what had been his greatest achievement? Leaving the palace without bathing in his own sweat from nervousness, perhaps?

"Caleb Leuen is considered a genius of our time. He was appointed as the 12th High-Magician of Altona at the age of 16 and is said to have had a hand in many developments and decisions in the Magistrat in the background. But what surprised me most was where he came from", King Leonhardt pointed out. The blue eyes of Edward and Leonhardt met in the dark, only the lights of the streets illuminated their space. "He is from Groka."

, Edward repeated in his mind as he finally understood the meaning of initial statement.

"Caleb Leuen was 5 years old at the time, making him the youngest survivor of the attack. You must have overheard people complaining about the creatures and always calling a poor boy who lost everything in the attack on Groka. That boy was High-Magician Caleb Leuen, 12th seat of the Magistrat."

Silence enveloped the two nobles. Edward leaned back in his chair and went over the only information step by step. His respect for this man, who was younger than himself, had increased drastically. It was as if he had been dealing with petty matters for years while someone was waging a war against the dragons on his own.

"Do you think he was protecting the city for personal reasons, father?", asked Edward after a few minutes of silence.

"Honestly? A definite 'yes.' I invited him to dinner at the palace early last year, out of courtesy, of course. At the time, I deliberately asked if he was in Bellator for personal reasons, which he denied."

"He was lying?"

"With absolute certainty. I hadn't had someone lie to my face that clearly in a long time. I don't know why, but the High-Magician has a lot of riding on Sylve's well-being. Maybe because of his parents, maybe not. I didn't want to be that direct. I knew he had spent much of his life in Exarion, which is why this will probably remain a mystery forever."

"What about Sir Venlan and Duke of Freigoud? Do they know about all this?"

"They know, yes. The two of them, some ministers, and the shadows know. Apart from that, only you", the king explained calmly, turning away from Edward again.

"Do you know why Kutam in particular was attacked? It seems kind of strange, considering how far away it is from the mountains", Edward spoke up a moment later.

"I don't know, I wondered the same thing, and I asked High-Magician Leuen the same question, but he couldn't explain it either. He just said to me that we should take the situation more seriously because he couldn't protect Sylve forever", Leonhardt countered before uttering an amused clearing of his throat. "That kind of really reminded me of your mother Kiana. She used to admonish me all the time, too, when I let you guys get away with three things she'd scold you for."