It has been five or six months since Selina was sold into slavery by her countrymen during one cold brisk night. Looking up, she sees the dark sky littered with souls, looking down over these lands. Sometimes she wonders if her little brother and parents are looking down, watching.

Hearing the crackling fire, Selina held herself tightly as she struggled to stay warm. In front are the four mercenaries that have been transporting her and a few others. From what she overheard; they are somewhere near Belatrak. These mercenaries sound like they stop here a lot for their slave trafficking business.

They are celebrating as they finished selling the last girl in the group. This is not the first time this has happened; it is the fifth or sixth time these slavers stopped to make side profit. However, she is the primary package for these men - being taken to Sadera as part of some agreement. That does not mean that these men have not enjoyed their property, being lonely weeks in the wilderness and using the excuse 'who would know.

However, there is a new man. This man seemed different, where the other four showed respect. After giving the mercenaries a large handbag, he walked over to her.

The first thing Selina noticed was how well-groomed he is compared to the other four. Most likely a high paying-loyal customer.

The man brushed his hand over Selina's face. "Hello, little one. I am surprised by how pretty you are. You must get your looks from your mother."

"You know my mother?"

The man chuckled. "Of course not." He slowly grabbed Selina's chin, so they were looking at each other. "I can see you are scared. This is a dark world. Bad things happen, and that is how it is, Princess."

Realizing that her captures must have told him who she was, she tried to hurry away. The man grabbed her leg and pulled her back. "You are noble; you can help."

"That is why you are in this mess, Selina," the man said. "Where I am from, I am a respectable Knight, a defender of my people's culture. I had to endure much, killing many, testing my oath, putting aside personal wealth and interest. As a knight, I have forgone having a family of my own, all to maintain my oath for my city." He chuckled for a moment. "Excluding any bastards I might have, but who cares. To have a great city, you have to do the dirty work, and this is my reward."

"Don't be scared but be honored as the one gift I grant to myself is a pleasure. I never had a princess before, and you will be pleasing to a great man and honorable knight."

***

--- Villa, Directorate Palace, Rondel ---

Date: June 13th, 2026

Selina burst up, placing her hand on her chest as she breathed heavily. She looked around the room with the only battery light on as a nightlight. Seeing Lelei, Tuka, and Yao sound asleep, she felt safe again.

"You ok, little sis?"

Looking over, Selina saw Rory leaning where a window would be, keeping watch. There are times she wished she could be an Apostle, not always having to sleep. "I am fine, Rory."

"The Knight again?"

Selina nodded, not happy by that. "I don't know why I am thinking about him again. I thought I was finally over it, but he keeps coming back." She reached into her purse and pulled out her Smith & Wesson Shield EZ pistol. "Since I got here, I have had this strange feeling."

"Well, this is the first time you've been out of Alnus for a while," Rory said. "And getting here was not easy; I think you might just be stressed out."

After calming down, Selina pondered on what Rory said. Unlike the other times she has been involved, it was usually indirectly, either riding along or was taken. This is the first time she is trying to engage in a mission, be active, be a soldier, and what her father called a leader. In addition, she knows one of her people is somewhere in Rondel, and one reason she wanted to meet them is to find an answer to why they betrayed her. She now wondered if Rory is correct, that this is too much for a near-fourteen-year-old.

“You are right, Rory; I should relax.” Selina stood up and adjusted her nightgown, making sure she was decent. “Is dad still on the couch?”

“Of course, it is where he belongs,” Rory smirked. “If you need to talk, just let me know.”

Selina nodded and left the bedroom to sleep with her dad.

--- Rondel Academic Council, Rondel ---

Sharpe listened to the current debate on the Academic Council floor. He looked above and saw three mages using wind and ice magic to help keep the chamber cool. To his surprise, it is very effective as a makeshift air-conditioning, never considering magic being used in a much better way. Besides being used as entertainment by that one mage called Jaleoa at Alnus, he mostly only saw it used in combat.

Pina, Selina, Yao, Arpeggio, and Lelei were there with them as Tuka was with Soredin and Cato's assistant-slave Welulia. Rory had no interest in watching politics and left to the temple to do her Apostle duties - stating that she should not be involved in politics.

However, Rory informed Sharpe about Selina's horrible dream again. This is starting to become far too familiar for his taste. Seeing her next to him again this morning, he is beginning to wonder if her past trauma is coming out. Rory thought that she was just stressed as this is a new experience, but he is unsure. Right now, he is hoping for the debate and any life lessons could distract her from that dream.

Looking back at the debate, Cato had already introduced Ambassador Henson, and both stood on the floor. He took a bow as he prepared to speak, "To the nobles of Rondel, I thank you for your audience. My people have heard many stories about Rondel, how this city has been a beacon of light and order on Falmart. Miss Lalena has told me about your history and how much you have shaped this world, playing key roles during historical moments."

"A horse's pie Ambassador," Opoctia declared, getting up from his seat and pacing the floor. "My fellow nobles. Do not be fooled by this man's honey-silked words. He came here, offering many blessings, but all you have is his word. Let us not forget these Americans have killed your friends, loved ones, brothers and sisters, teachers, and more. These savages are the reason why there is so much chaos on the continent."

“Legatus Opoctia is it?” Hanson said. "It is humorous that you call us savages. A savage is someone who slaughters a group of people, established racial hierarchies, using rape as a means of controlling the population, taking helpless individuals against their will, stripping their autonomy of free will, and disgracing prisoners." Stopping for a moment to allow what he said to settle. "Hmm, it sounds like the Empire and the League fits these descriptions as we all know about the current Emperor's current hobbies, so let us be careful about tossing fancy words like savage around this chamber. No need to speak like children."

"Here is the thing that everyone in this chamber should understand," Hanson continued. "We did not start this war. Your city is a part of the Empire, the same Empire that declared war on my people for their own greed. This war was started because a few wanted to expand their wealth and lands, not to make the Empire and its citizenry great. While it is honorable that you fight for your country, we cannot be held responsible for their deaths. The warriors from this city are fighting and dying so corrupt noblemen can gain more land and slaves, leaving everyone else starving and mourning loved ones."

"Who are the corrupt land grabbers, American?" Opoctia asked, shocked by that word. "You are occupying two major regions and have turned Elbe against us. You have killed hundreds of thousands of our brave warriors. At one point, it might have been defensive, but you passed that point long ago." With a loud tone, he pointed to the Ambassador. "You unleashed the infected into these lands and have the gall to point the finger at the Empire for it? Only you brutes would have the ability to create these corrupted abominations and unleash them onto these good people."

"Interesting point of view, Opoctia," Hanson calmly replied. "I can see how people think that the war has been going badly for you, so it is easy to blame us for your failures. And the idea that we would unleash these infected is an insult. The unit that escorted me here almost lost their lives coming here, including me. Miss Lalena was bitten by these corrupted infected, and Lieutenant Colonel Sharpe with his team risked their lives to save her. Even if we could turn people into those monsters, there is no logical reason to do so. We are not losing the war or need to result in such things to win local support."

Seeing how Opoctia is engaging the crowd, Hanson looked at the crowd. "Opoctia here is correct on this point; we are occupying many territories, one of them is Alcatris. Many City-States wished to join us because they realized there is nothing to gain from a dying Empire. Why would we surrender these territories back to the Empire, especially where the Gate is located, and our actions are to prevent another attack, again by the Empire."

"And if you want to talk about Elbe and those allied kingdoms, let me tell you something about them. They were ordered against our position as cannon fodder; I know this as I talked to King Duran of Elbe himself, who survived his assault on Alnus Hill. The Empire used them to buy time so their own legions could regroup. Think about it, and I know you all are wise noblemen; this Empire is willing to throw you away to save itself."

"And here is a fact you might not know," Hanson continued. "Early in the war, we attempted to broker a peace treaty with the Empire as it was not in our interest to continue the war. I have Princess Piña Co Lada here with us to confirm everything I am about to say as she was the one, we were negotiating a treaty with. It was Emperor Molt Sol Augustus and, at the time, Crown Prince Zorzal El Caesar. He sabotaged the negotiations, forcing the Princess to rebel against her family for their crimes to the Empire. Because they sabotaged any hope of an end to the war, we had no choice but to continue advancing."

“As you see, my people had no choice. The reason Rondel is in danger, the reason why there was an infected outbreak, the reason why so many of your mages have lost their lives in a pointless war was because of the power-hungry elites at Sadera. Legatus Opoctia here wants you to remember all the lost ones you have suffered; I agree with him. I think Opoctia should explain why the Empire chose to throw those lives, along with Rondel’s legacy, history, culture, and status away when it never had to happen.”

“I did not expect Hanson to be this good,” Pina commented, leaning in. “And I am shocked he spoke so nicely about me. I did not rebel against my family like that.”

“Sometimes, It is not important to get boiled down into the details,” Sharpe replied. “The point is that your family intentionally prevented peace, and that is why everyone is suffering right now. No one here cares how you rebelled against your family; the fact is you did.”

“But why are they speaking like this?” Selina asked, confused. “Why don’t they speak plainly? It sounds like they are talking over each other.”

“Because that is politics,” Pina said. “They are not trying to convince each other; they are trying to rally support. Consider it as a dance, Selina; they must address what each other said but say it in a way where they are speaking to each person in the crowd.”

“Pina is correct, Selina; watch closely,” Sharpe said. “Pay attention to how they speak. You see, Selina, every person here has their own opinion and questions on the topic, either pro-NATO or Empire or Royal. What Hanson and Opoctia are doing is using each other to answer those questions while countering what the other said. This is what we call framing. There are two truths in the world, the objective truth, and the framed truth. The truth is the truth, but what a person does is take that truth and change it, leave out some details, or excite other parts of it to fit what they are trying to sell. Both Hanson and Opoctia are doing that now, framing each fact to their need.”

“Never accept what you hear, Selina. Always think critically because controlling language is key to either connecting with someone, convincing someone to aid you, or fight you.”

As the two debated, Sharpe found something interesting in the debate. Opoctia has been better than he expected; however, everything he says ends in an open statement. An open conversation like this is not one of Sharpe’s strong points as he prefers talking directly to the person.

“I see,” Selina said.

The debate went on for about another hour with no significant accomplishments. Opoctia and Hanson know this was only round one, and neither wanted to dive deep just yet, saving whatever tricks they have for the later debates.

Cato and Hanson walked up, chatting among each other.

"Good counters Ambassador," Sharpe said.

"I think you got him good!" Selina said.

"I don't know," Pina added, placing a hand on her chin. "I felt like Opoctia was holding back. I feel like he sacrificed this debate to the size you up."

"I do agree with you, Princess," Hanson said. "I noticed his wordplay was well crafted.

"I believe it would be wise if we meet up later tonight to discuss our further plans," Cato proposed. "Now that you all have an idea of the current situation, we can better plan our next step. In the meantime, Sharpe, I would like to introduce you to some of our allies."

Mimoza bowed. "If you don't mind, I would like to take your daughter with me."

As planned, Mimoza wanted to take Selina to begin some basic training on her healing magic. "Alright. Yao, go with Selina."

While Sharpe trusts Mimoza, he does not feel comfortable having Selina alone and thus he sent Yao and Alicia along. Yao is her nanny and acts as the big sister while Alicia enjoys acting like an aunt. "I will pick you up when we are done here."

Once they left, Sharpe, Pina, Arpeggio, and Lelei followed Cato. As they passed through the chamber, the nobles who had not left were talking amongst themselves. The architecture here in Rondel is vastly different from Sadera's more Roman-Greek design. Rondel, while having some similar designs seen at Sadera, other unrecognizable designs seem to have been infused into it. Based on past conversations, he assumes elves with a hybrid of other races' designs. "By the way, Lelei, what is the core architecture for Rondel? If the city has been around for three thousand years, I doubt it is Human or Imperialist."

"I don't know," Lelei replied. "I never cared about such things. I just thought Rondel looked like Rondel."

Sharpe looked at her confused. “That doesn’t make any sense. It’s just like saying America looks like America just because. The inspiration had to have come from somewhere.”

Arpeggio giggled. "Finally, something Lelei does not know." Seeing a glare from her sister, she just laughed. "Neither Humans nor Elves established Rondel. However, the Elves did take over and install their culture. If I remember correctly, the Draconian built the city with some other races like the Pooka, who acted as the city merchants. As the city grew, more influences from other cultures influenced the design, the most current being from Sadera."

"That is correct, Arpeggio."

As they entered what appeared to be a conference room, Sharpe noticed three men standing in the room. Two are middle-aged men - one in dark blue rob who spoked and the other in a decorated silver, red colored Knight armor, both Human. Much to Sharpe's shock, the other is a Green Orc in brown with green lining robbing.

“I hope you both enjoyed the entertainment in today's debate,” Cato said.

“It was a much more enjoyable debate, compared to the others.” The man said.

The orc chuckled. “It was beginning to become stale. I am glad to finally see someone put Opoctia where he belongs.”

“Ambassador Hanson, Lieutenant Colonel Sharpe, Princess Pina, the humans here are Atticus and Albus and the Orc here is Skrotarot,” Cato said. “Albus is the leader of the Rondel Knights and the other two are on the academy High Council and support joining NATO.”

“It is nice to meet you, Lieutenant Colonel,” Albus said.

Skrotarot stepped forward first, hands together. “Finally, we met the famous Major… I mean Lieutenant Colonel Sharpe and student Lelei La Lalena. We have heard so many stories about you two and the others. Is it true that you defeated the Flame Dragon using Earth magic?”

“If I knew that term was going to become the standard, I would have come up with something else,” Lelei said. “When I wrote Earth Magic, I meant Earth inspired magic, based on the science I learned from them. It was not a spell I learned there; it was a spell I created from the group up.”

“Trust me, I have a scar from practice.” As Lelei lists a few spells she invented like her sonic and hypersonic projectile spells, Sharpe couldn’t help himself but keep an eye on Skrotarot. Orcs were the main race that slaughtered many 1st Cav at the Battle of Balkin Hill(1) and have proven to be just as a pain in the ass as the standard Legionnaire. They have become so common you usually see them together in the Dumas Mountains. Many NATO soldiers have lumped them with the other barbaric Dark races like goblins based on their brutality and looks.

“Is everything ok Colonel?” Skrotarot asked.

After a short hesitation, Sharpe nodded. “Everything is fine.”

After a moment Skrotarot laughed. “I should have known; your people have only seen my kin as an enemy. I am sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed. My kin is divided into two types, the blue Orcs, the barbaric ones, and the green Orcs, who are civilized. As you can see, I am one of the green folks.”

“So, you are going to tell me that the Greens are these peaceful, misunderstood hippies?” Sharpe asked in a cautious tone before Lelei elbowed his arm, warning him to be more respectful.

Sensing the hostility Skrotarot crossed his arms. “Man and Orcs are much alike. We can be peaceful, or we can be at war. The deep reason our two races have always warred against each other is that we see each other in the mirror. The Orcs were once one of the great people of Falmart long, long ago. We tried to reclaim that glory during what you common races call the Dark Age.”

Atticus stepped forward. “I assure you Sharpe that Skrotarot here is not your enemy. He has been a big portent of siding with your people. He has been living in Rondel for decades now, even being a young student. It is rare that we accept dark races, but he earned his position.”

“Why would a Darkling want to side with us?” Hanson asked.

The term ‘Darkling’ confused the councilman. Lelei quickly explained that the US wanted to create a new term to help separate the good dark races against the bad dark races because they met a few good ones like the Batgirl Mentiv. The other reason was to make it easier to exterminate the bad dark races like trolls and goblins.

“I am thrilled to see that Lelei letters are truthful about racial equality,” Skrotarot said. A nation with no hierarchy nor caste system is very strange and interesting. I am very excited to learn more. Please tell me, it is all true, right? A place where you can be free for who you are?”

To Sharpe, surprised, still struggling with this orc. While up to this point he has to directly dealt with a orc he has only heard negative things about them. However, this orc sounds so genuine about meeting him. He has no idea what Lelei said about him in her letters, but it was powerful enough to convince an orc.

Seeing that Sharpe was partly talking about Skrotarot and his people, he took a breath and held out his hand. "Ok Sharpe, I understand that I need to establish trust. Your people are at war with mine so I understand but I hope we can at least be friends." He then held out his hand. "In Lelei's letter it said on Earth a handshake was considered a sign of trust."

Not wanting to take the hand, Sharpe noticed the entire room staring at him, waiting to see what he would do. Seeing Skrotarot's makes him uncomfortable for some reason, probably because of the lack of interaction with orcs and for what orcs done during the Battle of Balkin Hills. "I try to live by a philosophy. Judge a man by his character, not by what he looks like."

With a happy smile from Skrotarot, both groups shook hands and did a quick introduction of each other in a more personal way. Once complete Albus walked over. "Colonel, as one military man to another I am glad I can meet you. I just want to let you know you do not have to worry about the Rondel Knights. Most of the Knights are on your side."

“If you are on our side then why don’t you enforce it?” Lelei asked. “You have the Knighthood, no one can oppose you.”

“Except for the Imperial Army Lelei,” Hanson said. “And even if you control the majority, staging a military coup will only spark a civil war.”

“That is correct,” Albus said. “If we are going to do this, we have to do it right. My nobility has a reputation of honor, and I swore an oath to serve this great city. That is why I was not there to greet you at the gate yesterday and not with you at the debate. I must act neutral for the sake of the city otherwise blood will be spilled.”

“Clever Albus,” Pina said. “I am impressed how well you have managed the situation here. It must be hard balancing both sides and keeping your own bias in check.”

“It is not easy but as long as I let the Secessionists and pro-Empire sides speak their minds everything should be fine,” Albus said.

“Until the final vote is cast,” Atticus pointed out. “There will be bloodshed once the High Council makes their final decision.”

“Well, I believe that is all the time we have,” Cato said. “We should meet up later to better coordinate our efforts. Right now, I have to go meet that lovely woman.”

“With your permission sir, I would like to spend some time with Albus,” Pina asked. “I would like to pick his mind and see how he handles his Knighthood. It isn’t every day we meet a friendly one.”

“Permission granted, Pina,” Sharpe replied. He then looked to Lelei and Arpeggio. “If you two don’t mind showing me the place? We have a few hours.”

--- Cato Dorm, Rondel Magical Academy ---

"So, you work here?"

"Yes, I do."

"I have never seen so many scrolls before."

Tuka feels the large wall shelf with her right hand, shocked by the wealth of knowledge. Piles upon piles of rolled-up scrolls, some looking ancient. She then looked to Cato's personal slave Welulia. "You must love reading through these, assuming you are allowed to."

Welulia chuckled. "I never heard it be stated like that, but I heard your kind are opposed to slavery." She talked over and placed her hand on the shelf, feeling around. "This is not like most places; I might be a slave, but I do have a quality of living here."

"What do you mean?"

"I am Cato's loyal assistant," Welulia replied. "Don't they have assistants in the Other Worlders world?"

"They do," Tuka replied. She realized she has gotten used to the American bias of slavery, that it is only hard labor and oppression. She has almost forgotten about clerk work. "They do, but they hate that term. You might want to avoid using it around them as they won't understand."

"Understood, thank you," Welulia said. "I still cannot believe there is a world without slavery."

"It still has it," Soredin replied as she sat at Cato's desk. "It is just by discrimination or in failed states."

Sensing an acquired silence, Tuka tried to change the topic. "How many of these scrolls have you read?"

"Oh, none," Welulia said. "I cannot read them as I am blurry."

"Blurry?"

"Yeah," Welulia said. "My eyes see objects as blurry. Right now, that is how I can see you. I can tell you are a High Elve and-." She leaned forward. "Yellow hair. But I cannot see you in detail. When it comes to reading, I cannot read words as they are too small."

Hearing this upset Tuka. She remembered one of the villagers from her past home having such a sickness once. While able to do a primary task, they were not able to fully contribute to the village. The worst part about being blurred is the long life an elf has, unable to correctly see for almost a thousand years, must be torture.

As an idea appeared in her head, she snapped her fingers. "I have an idea."

"How did you do that?"

"What?"

"The snap, with your finger." Welulia grabbed Tuka's arm and looked closely. "I never heard that before."

"Oh, it was something I learned from the team I am on," Tuka said. "I just did it because I had an idea. Many NATO soldiers have vision problems where they wear a device called glasses. It is two small clear pieces of glass that correct your vision."

Welulia laughed after hearing that. "Impossible. Even if you are telling the truth, I never would be able to afford glass."

"It is actually quite cheap on Earth," Soredin pointed out. "You should ask Jerry. He probably has an app that could see what kind of glasses you need. Then he can order it."

The technological wonders of the Terrans have continued to impress Tuka. "Maybe I can take you to Jerry, and he can order some glasses on our next supply drop." As she spoke, she can tell Welulia is slightly confused, not fully understanding how any of that is possible.

Welulia looked at them, confused. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

Tuka giggled. "I am sorry, sometimes I forget people don't know Earth terms. It means they have a device that could help with your eyes. I could get you something that could let you see normally."

"I am sorry to keep you all," Cato said as he walked through the door. "The debate lasted longer than expected."

Soredin got up from the desk, and both began to talk, exchanging information about each other's institutions.

Welulia approached and whispered. "I heard there is a place for High Elves. Something called a nation, is that true?"

"Correct," Tuka said. "The Americans gave us some land they didn't want, and in return, we will help them defeat the Empire." She then shares the history of her people. The betrayal of her people by the Edras Kingdom though explaining that she and Selina are friends. The eight-year journey from her original home, the struggles her people had faced and how it transformed them into fine warriors. Their capture by the Imperial Army at Legrath and then freed by Vanguard-7. And now they have their own nation by Earth International Law.

"We are still young, but it is nice to finally have a home," Tuka said. "I plan on having my own treehouse high so I can see the sunrise and set each day. Walk around with my future mate naked as I start a music career."

"That sounds nice," Welulia said, blushing. "I never had a home. My village was destroyed sixty years ago by bandits, and since then I wandered from town to town finding work until I was sold into slavery. But there was no need for an elf with blurry eyes, so I remained caged up, usually doing basic chores. Cato bought me when he learned that I have good note-taking skills because of my special hearing."

"How can you take notes if you don't know what writing looks like?" Tuka asked, confused.

Welulia's ears bent. "It was not easy, but I had to learn the movements with my hands, but in time I figured it out. Now, tell me more about your adventures."

---

Noticing the two cute elves chatting and giggling, Soredin smirked and then looked back at Cato. “Enough with the flirtation. I am not letting you feel my clothes.”

With a snarky chuckle, Cato leaned into his desk. “Fine, fine. Maybe when all this war business is over, I can show you that nice sunny spot I know.” He then got up and poured two glasses of wine. “I think you might enjoy this. It is created by a toxic fruit from the East at Istria, at one of the other Imperial Crown Jewel cities. They water the toxins out with lime juice, so there is just enough toxin for that sweet kick without killing you. Then they add the grapes for the flavor and color.”

“Fancy. A little complicated but fancy.” Soredin took her glass and drank it. Her cheeks squeeze a bit as her mouth adjusts to the taste. While powerful and alien, to her surprise, she enjoyed the blue drink.

In all her life, Soredin has only met a few men like Cato. He is nothing like how Lelei described. So far, she has enjoyed his personality, brings a unique charm.

As Cato sat, he took a long drink. “That was an interesting story. From what I heard from Lelei the other day, I am surprised Sharpe did not just shoot you.”

“Me too, but it was a gamble I needed to take,” Soredin said. “The truth be told, we were on borrowed time because of technology.” In the past, people like her could have stayed away from major population centers, use rural communities, using their isolated nature to keep hidden. The Internet and Smartphone changed all that, giving the most flawed person in the middle of nowhere the means to record and post to the wider world. “Because the Americans were accepting people like Lelei, it was a sign that people have changed.”

“I will say, though, this city is amazing,” Soredin said. “We always wondered what it would be like if history went a different route.”

“How did that happen?” Cato asked.

“It is a simple story, Cato,” Soredin said. “The story says that we thought we were superior to the non-magical humans. It is Man’s nature that if you have power, you abuse it and abuse it we did. All the old kingdoms and republics hunted us down during what we call the classical era, around two thousand years ago. The two major Empires of the time, the Roman and Han, erased us from the pages of history. The Muslim expansion a few hundred years later hunted and slaughtered us as we were seen as unholy. There were a few other attempts to rebuild like my ancestor Merlin, but he was betrayed and murdered by what you would call a Dark Mage. Today, there are less than ten thousand of us left scattered across Earth.”

Cato nodded. “I am sorry to hear that. I am happy to say that we have no such record of magical races trying to overthrow civilization, not saying there have never been power struggles before. I think that might be because of the number of different races there are here. It is more important to be cooperative than dominant. But it is just a theory.”

At first, Soredin wanted to reject the theory but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. If one group of mages tried to do what they did on ancient Earth, the other races would unite against them. The incentive is to work together, while there was little incentive to do that on Earth.

“Another reason is that this world has that we don’t are Apostles. Frayen once told me that Apostles act as a balancing force,” Soredin elaborated. “He said this kept the relationship between different followers to the gods in check, the relationships between non-mage and mages intact and acted as a buffer to help mediate opposing groups. We didn’t have that kind of luxury on Earth. The church, the ruling class, and the common folks just blindly and abusively branded us as demons with little to nothing to stop them for centuries.”

As Soredin is in deep thought, Cato took a long drink and leaned forward, looking directly at her. “I must ask, are all Earth Mages witches? I am shocked Lelei would take lessons from someone who practices the dark arts.”

Noticing Cato’s mood had changed, Soredin maintained a relaxed demeanor, expecting this conversation to happen sooner or later. “So, you noticed? I had a feeling you would have but I am impressed. Please let me correct you on this point, we call ourselves witches for female mages or warlocks for male mages but that is more of a general name from tradition. Sometimes, we are also called wizards instead of mages. I am a Wiccan mage while there are Gypsy mages and so on. The reason for this is because we are decentralized, which means each group has their own unique style and names.”

“The moment I saw you I thought I felt something was off,” Cato said. “I did not want to make a scene yesterday but I would rather work with the Empire than a Dark Mage. Dark magic has brought nothing but trouble to these lands so I must investigate. I will say, it shocks me how different your world is.”

“I actually consider that an insult, Cato, but I understand your feelings,” Soredin replied. “But we are nothing like your Darlko Mages. I saw what they do and they twist the natural world in a barbaric way and I know of the battle against Darlko Lord. I can assure you we are nothing like that.”

“Let me explain mine for example,” Soredin continued. “Just like your magic, Wiccan magic is based on nature and elements. We can use the environment around us and the elements within it. From what I have seen from your mages, this is the key difference and I don’t mean any offense by it. Your mages see the world as a tool for your magic, even Lelei. My witches, we consider ourselves one with nature and the elements of the world. That is what a witch is in my world. The term has become a way to generalize who we are.”

Cato refrained from responding quickly, thinking on what was said. “That is why you call yourselves witches? Just because you embrace nature? I find that hard to believe and my people will think so too.”

“It doesn't matter what kind of magic it is, Cato,” Soredin said. “What matters is how it is used. Take a gun or a sword for example, they can be very deadly in the wrong hands. But in the right hands, they could be good, saving lives. You cannot just look at the surface and conclude you like or dislike”

“And you're going to tell me your kind has no dark magic? Especially how your ancestor was assassinated and that you tried to overthrow the civilized world?” Cato asked. “Once the Council and the rest of the city finds out that you are witches they will rush back to the Empire.”

“Which is why I am being honest with you,” Soredin said. “The closest group I can think of are the Voodoo practitioners. These witches believe in the existence of two worlds, one visible and the other invisible. They believe both worlds are intertwined with each other and that allows them to reach or touch people with this spell, regardless where they are. But that doesn't mean it's dark magic. We don’t have spells that summon skeletons from the ground nor turn people into zombies or what you called them, the infected.”

“I believe you,” Cato said. “And Lelei seems to trust you but one thing that is bothering me. Why do you want us to become you? When I agreed to help leave the Empire I was not expecting to reform Rondel to your ways, becoming witches or Wiccan. I am also confused why you come here in the first place? You could have convinced your American brethren to support you and ignore us.”

Soredin shook her head. “Not at all. The truth is I need you Cato. This is an amazing city and we still need that. It is too late for us to become an institutional power, there are too few of us left and much of the knowledge and magic craft that we need has been lost for centuries after many witch hunts. Even if we start today, fully embraced by the US government and get all the funding we want, it would take decades if not longer just to rebuild what we once had.”

“Is that why I have yet to see you have a staff or some other kind of magical tool?” Cato asked.

Soredin nodded. “We used wands and staff just like you but when our people were almost pushed into extinction, we lost much of our knowledge to craft them. It took us a long time to reinvent them but as technology advanced, conventional weapons became more deadly. We had to learn to use our hands to flexibly access the Aether to counter them so wands and staffs became obsolete. I guarantee you, if you use staffs and wands to cast magic against NATO, you have more of a chance to get killed since they will slow you down in a gunfight.”

“Anyway, this is why we cannot do enchantments and alchemy like you,” Soredin said. Taking a deep breath she takes another sip of her blue wine. “The truth is that we lost our institutional power. Living in hiding, we cannot reinvent many of the old spells, craft designs or infrastructure. We need to make magical weapons, powerful arcane artifacts or enchant equipment. One of the reasons I worked so hard to come here was to figure out how you guys do it.”

Soredin noticed Cato taking everything that had been said in. For a silly old man she can tell he is grasping on every word.

“Because we could not rely on tools, we had to develop some unique spells that relied on our hands and were able to move around,” Soredin stated. “From what I have seen from Lelei she usually picks the powerful, mana intensive spells to fight her enemies. I assume that is the norm?”

“I would not say that is the norm but it is common,” Cato said. “As warfare advances, it became important that we teach mages how to kill their enemies quickly so they can move on to the next threat. You must remember, not all of our threats are just humans. Of course we teach them to use the right spell against the right opponent, however it has become a personal preference, especially when fighting against NATO weapons.”

That is a point of view Soredin can understand. Her mother, the previous Grand High Witch, Veronica Soredin once told her when she was a little girl how technology progressed in the twenty-century, to the point she was afraid of a second genocide of the Wiccan and mages in general if it was ever discovered.

“My people understand what you mean, we watched those technology developments ourselves,” Soredin said. “We were forced to adapt, realizing that if we were ever discovered we couldn’t rely on powerful spells as they are not fast enough to catch up with the efficiency of firearms. We developed a way to turn low power spells into lethal weapons. Short, quick, efficient.”

“What do you mean?” Cato asked. “I think I get the basic principle but these rapid fire spells. My question before still stands, if you have those advanced spells why do you need us?”

“While we have those advanced spells, a lot of powerful magic types like; rune enchantments, smithing, accurate weather spells, summoning spells that can summon corporeal beings or necromancy have been lost to us.” Soredin answered. “As I said before, we need an institution like Rondel to recover our lost magic and the arcane infrastructure. Furthermore, we also can contribute to Rondel magic types that are only available to Earth like Wiccan, Shamanism, Voodoo, Hoodoo and Asian magic. I heard that no mages in Uros know exorcism, scrying or curse spells but we know so we can teach you all that”

“On Earth, there is a saying among scientists. They believe that science should be above politics. The reason is that science is about chasing the truth and improving the world, unlocking the secrets that God has left for us. I would like for us to have the same philosophy.”

Cato nodded his head like he was having a debate among himself. “Alright, Soredin, I believe you. Besides that, you call yourselves witches. It sounds like we are more similar than I expected.”

“And I hope to prove that over time,” Soredin said. “And together we can keep Rondel great but let me ask you, why are you doing this? You seem like an honorable man; you wouldn’t betray your people without a good reason.”

Cato took a deep breath. “I am old, and I have seen many things, accomplished many more. None of my past deeds will be remembered for what I am doing today, and only history will judge if it was good or bad.”

“The days of the Empire are coming to an end,” Cato boldly stated. “Let us assume the Empire wins this war for a moment; they will be so exhausted that they will fall apart soon after. I have always been loyal; I fought many wars for the Empire, but this is no longer a war; it is a slaughter. Many of my students are dead because of this war, and I have to put a smile on my face sending more out to die.”

“This isn’t like the Thirty-Year War where we had no choice but to fight; this war we have a choice to become something better,” Cato continued. “I don’t normally pay much attention to Imperial politics, but once Legrath fell in less than a day it was clear the war was lost. Zorzal is an illegitimate Emperor of the Empire, married a Succubus for her armies, and for what? I will not wait for Sadera to gain their sanity back, and the sooner we can get Rondel out of the war, the sooner I don’t have to look at one of my students, knowing they will die in a few weeks or months after graduation. Furthermore, Lelei has elaborated to me about Pina’s revolution. I can see that her revolution is the only way for Falmart to move on and become the next better stage of civilization, much like Earth.”

That was not the reply Soredin expected. Now that she thought about it, she did not know what she expected. While most of the Empire had used the losses to continue the war, Cato realized there was no point. For all his goofiness, he cared a lot about his students.

“I know Lelei is important, but for me, all she did was offer a way out,” Cato said. “And it is a good deal. The people in charge are also the problem for allowing our students to go to war so easily. Something has to change, and if half of what Lelei said about your people is true, it will be worth it.”

“I understand and respect that, Cato,” Soredin replied. “We will make it happen. One way or another.”