“You chose a very interesting spot,” I hear [Princess] Valarith’s crystalline voice as I was reading a book about foxmen from Marcus’s library.

“I didn’t know that you could already manipulate light to this extent. I couldn’t see you. I had to track you back to here,” she adds.

“I see that your speech is mostly fixed. You don’t sound so weird anymore,” I reply, ignoring the compliment, looking at the book once again.

“Lucinda introduced me to the most common speech pattern during our conversations,” she says. “Lauridiana’s sanctuary inside the dead archmage’s tower... Your spell must be impressive if it didn’t trip the wards the other [Archmages] have laid down.”

“I just remembered this place from when I visited Laura’s siblings. It’s a cool spot and the tower is closed off, so perfect for some quiet. The hat helped with not tripping wards,” I say with a sigh and close the book I had just taken from the library. It’s a book on the history of foxmen. I’d be interested to know more about Liogi’s people, honestly. “Are you here to drag me in front of Lucinda? You know very well I could win a duel to the death. Why did you pit her against me, princess?”

The ethereal beauty looks up at the thirty feet tall statue with a hint of displeasure on her face.

“Lauridiana wasn’t a Human,” she says, ignoring my words. “Supposedly, she belonged to a race of warrior that disappeared. Some say that not even the Vanedenis would have bested those warriors.”

“Wow, how dare they,” I say, getting irritated. It’s incredible how Vanedenis can just ignore you willy-nilly.

“Levener would take great offense with your words, Luciani. I have decided not to involve myself with petty worldly politics anymore. There are greater enemies I need to face,” she speaks while looking straight at the huge statue.

“Going to defy the heavens,huh?” I look at the huge statue myself. “Good for you,” I add. “But Levener can suck it, Valarith. And tell Lucinda to back down.”

The Princess, wearing a simple white robe, moves a few steps toward me with a neutral expression on her face.

“What do you know about Vanedeni, Luciani? I fear you haven’t learned enough about us.”

I raise an eyebrow at her.

“See, we were the only individuals capable of routinely winning wars that no one else could win,” she continues. “At some point, we were so confident in our own abilities that we took on the sky. We didn’t lose to the Ahalis because we were weak, as far as I can tell. Instead, we were punished. Our empire was wiped away; there are powers higher than your simple intellect can even begin to grasp. It is for this reason that only true Vanedenis will be able to withstand the inevitable battle.”

“What? Are you high? What are you even talking about?”

Princess Valarith shakes her head slowly from side to side as if she was scolding a disobedient child.

“You are still so naive, Luciani. I thought you would have grown out of it by now,” she says.

“You will understand, in time. I must warn you, though! There are things in this world that not even the Vanedeni can defeat! I have seen it with my own eyes! Powers lurk in the shadow, you little, pathetic Human!”

She pauses for a breath before continuing in a calmer tone of voice.

“What the hell are you talking about?” I say, getting really annoyed now, putting down the book. “And how has this anything to do with Lucinda?!”

“You are no match for Lucinda, Luciani. You should know that better than anyone,” she says, completely changing her tone.

Is that so?

“Jesus, are you still struggling with your speech? Can you please stop bothering me? I’m reading, here. I don’t need this bullshit.”

“I have no quarrel with you, Luciani. You are not my enemy,” she says. “But I have decided to take Lucinda under my wing and teach her the ways of a Vanedeni. Unlike you, she’s fit to be part of who we are.”

“Listen, do whatever you want. You are starting to sound like a cult. I’m done with this shit. I have enough problems of my own to waste my time like this.”

“Luciani,” she calls out to me, but I ignore her.

I am not in the mood for more of her bullshit. I turn my back on her and start walking away.

“You really think that you can best Lucinda?” she asks after a few seconds of silence.

“What do you care? You just said yourself that I am no match for her, didn’t you? Or are you just trying to get under my skin with your words? And anyway, she got super angry when I just wanted to go back at the academy--and let me say, the only reason she can show her face around is because I made things up with the [Archmages]!”

Valarith’s fair features darken as I speak. She scowls and starts talking with the solemnity of her station.

“If she had really wanted to, I could have granted her free passage in any city of this world, Luciani. Do not flatter yourself. No one would have opposed my decision. The entire Elven court would have bowed in front of me, and pissed themselves in their fine robes. Lord Juler might have been a great hero, but you are not a Vanedeni and not worth of being called his disciple. It's long past time that a shadow was held accountable for its mistakes..”

“I’m happy for all of you, then. You clearly fit together, you and Lucinda. But keep Lord Juler’s name out of your fucking mouth, Valarith. I don’t understand why Lucinda would want to fight me in the first place and where this bullshit is coming from. I thought we were friends, me and her! Sure, we had our differences but--”

I take a slow, deep breath.

“You know what? Explain it to me, then. What’s Lucinda’s problem?”

“Rarely one can find someone proud and strong enough to deserve to mingle with Vanedenis. Lucinda is a welcome exception to the rule. The problem is that when she didn’t agree with you, you simply discarded her. You have slept together. That’s a stain on a woman’s reputation, Luciani. I told Lucinda that a true Vanedeni would have had severed your genitals. Now, you run away. No Vanedeni would do something like that once challenged. Vanedenis win, Luciani. Even after she insulted your pathetic mother, whom I understand you hold so dear, you couldn’t fight like a man, much less a Vanedeni.”

Heartbeat after heartbeat, I can feel the blood rushing to my head, making the veins in my neck pulse wildly. There’s only so much nonsense I can take. But then, I get a jolt of clarity. Probably thanks to the hat, once again.

Or maybe I’m not that clear.

“Wait a second. You didn’t tell her to attack me, did you? You just suggested what a Vanedeni should have done, didn’t you? Oh, you sly, little fox. Well, isn’t that something that those spineless cowards on Teiko would--”

When I open my eyes again, I’m looking at the floor and I taste blood in my mouth. I cough and spit out a clump of bloody saliva on the ground before slowly raising my head and looking around.

Princess Valarith is exactly where she had been before the world went dark on me. On the contrary, I am at least several feet from where I was standing.

Fuck.

My jaw is in terrible pain.

“Ouch, fuck,” I swear.

“What the fuck did you just do?” I say with a quiet voice, trying not to move my jaw too much. It feels like all my teeth are about to fall out. I’m barely able to form words. The impact felt like being hit by a truck. I try to move, but my body feels like it’s made of lead.

I start summoning some Mana, letting anger get the best of me.

“Don’t even think about it, Luciani. I can kill you with a thought,” she says in an eerily calm voice. Suddenly, I can feel all my Mana freezing up.

“[Archmage] is a title that people give out too easily, nowadays,” Valarith says nonchalantly. “Mauser could have destroyed this entire country in a week. Even your little friend, King Tiberius, wouldn’t last a minute against a true Vanedeni [Hero].”

I try to stand up, but my head is spinning wildly. I can barely sit on my ass without puking out breakfast and last night’s dinner.

“What you said warrants the death penalty. But, for once, I am willing to give Lord Juler’s some face. And this is going to be the extent of it. Utter more nonsense and I’ll release Lucinda of the burden you gave her.”

“Gotcha,” I say with my eyes squinted and my jaw partially clenched. I spit some more blood and try to form a sentence.

“So... What’s up?” I breathe out. “Why are you here?”

“I’m revoking my protection,” she says. “Lucinda will back down and I’ll continue to teach her. But you, Luciani, are not Vanedeni nor you can aspire to be. A shadow of Lord Juler is not enough to make you so. Too long has passed and his judgment was clouded in allowing you to keep two priceless relics that belong to my people.”

“You want to take the hat and the book?”

“I think you’ll find it wise to give them back to my people. I’ll ship them to those who deserve it more than you do. Lord Juler’s lineage is still alive; they deserve the heritage that has been denied to them by a senile soul.”