"What happened?", William gave to word, irritated, as he was suddenly jolted out of sleep by Julius Venlan. It was already light, but he was supposed to be allowed to sleep for another hour until he would join the morning training. It took the prince a moment to realize who had awakened him, which is why he was abruptly wide awake.

"The Magistrat has reported in and is currently speaking with King Leonhardt, Crown Prince Edward and you are to join them as well", Julius brought to the point, remaining beside the door with his eyes lowered as William stood up. He recalled the events with Marion and abruptly became afraid that this was another problem with the Thormods. Within two minutes he slipped into his uniform, which hung neatly in a closet in the next room, brushed his hair back, and followed his father's advisor outside. Several servants who worked in the palace bowed wordlessly to him as the two men walked briskly down the hall. A moment later, Ben's father - Duke Loys of Freigoud - and Crown Prince Edward emerged, both with similar serious expressions on their faces.

"Do you know what's going on?", William whispered, after the two parties had greeted each other and were heading for his father's office.

"The Eldest of the Magistrat is supposed to have received a warning, that's all I know", Edward replied, dropping his gaze to the floor. With surprise, William noticed that the black cat had appeared beside him. "It seems that something has happened."

"Definitely, if father calls for both of us", William confirmed, looking ahead again. The large, dark red door appeared in front of them a few minutes later and with a careful knock, Loys announced himself. The four men then entered the almost empty room. William was almost a little surprised. Even if both advisors were assigned to bring Edward and him, he wondered why none of the ministers were in the room. But his father's scowl told him that this was dangerous information that no outsider should receive.

"Sit down", the king ordered, and accordingly Edward and William took seats in the chairs in front of his desk. Loys remained standing behind the princes, while Julius went to the king's side. Fengari, on the other hand, remained inconspicuously seated near William on the floor, keeping as still as the wind itself. In front of the king lay a communication crystal, which the royal family had received as a gift several months ago. William could dimly make out that his father had been talking to a blond and dark haired man and guessed that one of you must be the Eldest. "I just spoke with the Eldest and the 5th seat, Odin Ander. They have reason to believe that Altona will be attacked by a 3rd creature wave in 10 days and are evacuating the entire country."

Surprised, Edward and William flinched as the king turned the crystal. Now William could also clearly see the faces of the High-Magicians, but when Odin subsequently took a step to the side, Cale appeared beside them. With his usually carefree look, he spotted the princes, but he did not smile as William had expected.

"Sylve we will take a large part of their refugees and we will also prepare for the attack."

"Are you going to dispatch soldiers to Altona, father?", Edward gave a worried word, but the king shook his head.

"Why not?", William retorted at once, questioning his decision. It was always said that Sylve would support Altona in an emergency, but now he was doing the exact opposite?

"With all due respect, you would be in our way, Prince William", Odin spoke up. "The battle will be bigger than what we've been privileged to see so far."

"We will take the people and draw a defensive line as well. All the inhabitants of the villages north of the capital will be taken to the south until we know how serious the situation is", the king calmly explained.

"We will not make the mistake of not following the Magistrat's recommendations again", Loys spoke up in support, to which Odin nodded and Cale smiled.

"The Magistrat is working with the dragons", King Leonhardt interjected without warning. Everyone present, including the advisors, cast a horrified look at the mages, who didn't even blink at the comment.

"WHAT?", Julius almost shouted, covering his mouth a moment later. William could understand the reaction, if it hadn't been Julius screaming, it would definitely have been him. Horrified, he stared at his friend while the counselor apologized for the exclamation.

"Dragons? The Magistrat has contact with the dragons?", Edward asked cautiously, leaning forward slightly as the king held his head with one hand. He seemed to dislike the statement as much as the others, but he restrained himself. Probably the Magistrat had already tried to reassure him, but that doesn't change the fact of how hated the dragons were among the people.

"Yes, we have been in contact since the incident with Grischa Vonstetten," the 5th seat confirmed calmly, turning his head in Cale's direction. To William's amazement, the Eldest did the same, which gave him goosebumps. Why were the two mages looking at him so... reproachfully? Suddenly, he recalled the events of the past few months and realized all at once why Cale had disappeared for a good week.

"Cale... when you went to the mountains that time... are you... the Dragon Rider?", William stammered out. Cale, on the other hand, looked at him wordlessly for a few moments, but closed his eyes and nodded.

"Yes. As a matter of fact, I was. I am the one who made contact with them at that time. Please understand that I couldn't tell you about it."

"But... I thought that the Dragon Queen..."

"It is not as you think it is. The history between the dragons and the humans is a lot more complicated than I could explain right now. The only important thing is that you know that the dragons will support us in the fight against the Thormods. The chiefs have also been informed of this", Cale stated formally, straightening up again. "Therefore, please do not attack any dragons should they show their faces in Sylve. Their leader Velence and I are in constant contact with each other and there will be a reason if they should show up at your place."

William's gaze fell on Julius Venlan, who literally went white in the face. For a moment the prince was afraid that the man would fall over, but he held himself in check. His father, on the other hand, covered his expression with his hand, probably because he didn't want the High-Magicians to notice. But William himself was surprisingly relaxed about the statement. While he was definitely afraid of the fact that dragons might approach his home, his trust in Cale made those concerns disappear. Mostly.

"I understand, we will take care", William finally confirmed, ignoring the fact that he placed his right to decide as prince above that of the king of Sylve. But only a quick glance at his father showed that he agreed.

"Please be honest with us, how big do you think this attack will be?", Loys of Freigoud gave to word after a moment.

"If you count what happened to Exarion in the second wave as 1, then the coming attack is a 20", Cale clarified monotonously.

William remained seated in silence for the remaining minutes while Odin, Loys, and his father conversed about precautions. His gaze lingered on Cale, who appeared to be listening to the conversation but made no comment. Perhaps he was so quiet because the king of Sylve was there in person, or perhaps he had already discussed the matter with his colleagues. But when his name suddenly came up, he suddenly brightened up again.

"William should... do what exactly?", the king repeated irritably, looking to his youngest son.

"Stay in the capital", Cale repeated Odin's statement. His father had mentioned that he would take his sons south, but the High-Magicians asked him to do something else. William had listened, but needed a moment to understand what the statement meant.

"Cale... Do you want me to...?", he only managed to mutter, which is why the eyes of those present turned to him.

"What are you talking about?", Loys was the only one to speak up, stepping to the side of the two princes and stopping between them and Fengari.

"Prince William is able to use my Igrikum, my magical barriers if you remember. If he stays in the capital, then the creatures shouldn't be able to invade", Cale stated matter-of-factly, even though he didn't seem to like the statement.

"If you're saying that it won't stop your abilities, then it sounds like a good plan. But won't that be painful for you?"

"For sure, but I will survive that. I will also entrust Aletta Merensen with my Igrikum so that she can protect Frignez in case of emergency, but especially with you, it is extremely important. We can't send our High-Magicians to Sylve, because they have to concentrate on the battle here. However, we will send some of our mages to Sylve and Frignez to secure your defensive lines. My Igrikum should only be a last resort, please."

"Do I understand correctly that you want to fight alone? Aren't you overestimating yourselves there?", the crown prince now interfered again, but William immediately understood why Cale made this statement. Just the thought of the 12th High-Magician unleashing his true power sent shivers down William's spine. Now, if eleven more High-Magicians with similar power suddenly started fighting, then all the other people would just be little ants. Not to mention the danger posed by the Thormod's ability.

"You're probably right, we'd just be in your way, but can't we help you at all?", William added, leaving his brother's statement unanswered.

"You can help if you distance yourselves from us as much as possible and protect the people. If we fail you are the last defense of humanity", Odin stated matter-of-factly and with a polite nod the king pulled his crystal back to him. His complicated facial expression had subsided and he now looked seriously again at the representatives from Sylve.

"You can both go, we'll talk about it again later", the king announced, indicating to his sons that they should leave him alone. Julius Venlan escorted the two princes outside, while Loys of Freigoud took a seat and began to work out a more detailed plan with the High-Magicians. William suspected that Frignez might also become involved in the conversation, which is why he would love to listen to it. But he understood that the subject was too delicate. The last comment he heard from his father was that Julius should convene all the ministers.

William walked down the hall beside his brother as his thoughts drifted. Ever since he had left Altona, the whole world seemed to go crazy. He couldn't help remembering that time he had been out on the plains with the group and Cale had told them about the first wave. It almost seemed a little ridiculous to him, but since the second wave, he took the situation a lot more seriously.

"I'm going to wash up and change. Shall we eat first after this and wait to see what father says?", Edward indicated, looking at his brother. You could see the concern in his eyes, though he was smiling.

"That sounds like a good plan."