My father came to see me after I had already eaten dinner. He told me some questionable news that my mom was in the Capital, and they needed to stay there for a few days. I knew my mother would have been here if that were the case. She was overly protective. Especially; after the assassin incident.

Whether it was my mother or father, they kept trying to hide certain things from me in order to protect me. It was the type of thing I hated. I didn't need my feelings to be protected. I needed to know what was going on.

When I saw my father, I was excited thinking, I'd finally be going home, but he had to leave again. Even Mr. Pink initially grew excited when he saw my father walk through the doors, but quickly went pale again after he left.

He probably missed my dad just as much as I did.

"Lindt, good job, and keep up the good work. I should be returning in a few days with Elaine. So please watch Darius until Joseph gets back."

"I-I, yes, Tower Master."

My father hugged me before leaving again. I was stuck with nothing to do but mess around with Pinky. "Pink hair, what kind of magic do you use on a regular basis?"

"Young Master, I'm a Red Tower Mage. What kind of magic do you think I use?"

"I'm not sure. Ice Magic? Your face matches what I would expect from an Ice Mage. Sort of blocky and cold looking."

Thankfully Joseph returned by the late afternoon with several people I had never seen before. Had he come any later, I may very well have died from boredom. In the front next to Joseph was a tall, dark bronze man with large protruding muscles. He reminded me a bit of my old self except for the mustache and belly. The man looked strong and gave off a dangerous air, but the jovial rounded belly seemed to disarm your wariness toward him.

It did nothing to dissuade me. My instincts which I had relied on for God only knows how long, were telling me to beware, and I listened.

With a threat right in front of me, it took me much longer to focus my attention on the two women in the back.

One of them had a long brown ponytail that ran down her right shoulder. She had sharp features typical of someone who had entered combat situations many times before. The badge on her chest with the Mayweather house insignia gave away her identity as an ally mage away, but the woman behind her was in a league all her own. She was stunningly beautiful, had golden, almost orange-colored hair with deep sapphire green eyes and lips that looked like they were crafted from pearls. She was exactly the opposite of Darius' type, not to mention he was three and had yet to have an interest in such things.

Her face screamed naive, and her determined expression looked more like she was worried about whether or not her dress matched her outfit than battle. Mr. Keller made his way to his desk and said, "Darius, we have to talk for a bit. I'll come, and get you in a couple of hours. For now, go with Sir Lindt to the cafeteria and get some snacks while you wait."

Mr. Belly Stache said, "Oh, I didn't know you had a child, Lord Keller?" Miss Naivety quickly joined in, "He's adorable! His hair is so red!" She ruffled my hair while giving me the brightest smile I'd seen so far.

"Who's Mr. Belly Stache, and Miss Naivety?"

I probably shouldn't have said that aloud, as the room instantly froze. Stache burst into laughter, "Hahahaha! That's the funniest thing I've ever heard! Belly Stache! He must be your kid, Lord Keller, to have a sense of humor like that! Brat the names Jamie, Jamie Vallas! Hahaha! Belly Stache! The kid's a genius."

Miss orange hair froze as she quickly grew sullen, "M-Miss Naivety? Miss Naivety? Miss Naivety? Do I really look like that?"

I was worried I broke her as she kept repeating herself while in shock. Cough, cough, "Darius, that's Princess Emily. The sole heir to Ayes' throne."

"Princess Naivety?"

Stache laughed and said, "Princess, yours is even better! Pffff Hahaha!"

For some reason, Lindt was smiling brightly, but I was quickly dragged outside the room and taken to the cafeteria. I was curious what the different big names would talk about, but there was no way I'd be allowed to listen in on their conversation. The only way to do so would be to force Qi into my ears and try to focus passed walls and barriers. It would be difficult, if not impossible, in the cafeteria with all the ambient noise. So I had to give up.

The first of several important meetings in the Red Tower had begun. Elion was ready to move on to its plan of action. Jamie asked, "So, who was the brat? I can only imagine a Prince, being able to get away with that kind of behavior."

The Princess seemed interested to as she looked at Joseph for an answer. "His name is Darius Northwood. He's the Red Tower Master's son."

"Ha! What an intriguing brat! He gets his fire from the Red Tower Master, and it shows already."

The Princess nodded her head in agreement. She thought the red-haired brat was more like his father than she would have liked.

Joseph sighed before saying, "Let's continue with our meeting. Knowing Darien, the contents of our plan could differ drastically when he arrives, but we should still get the barebones; or should I say, the crux of our plan in play. We can go over everything again when the Tower Master arrives, but for now, let's get to the meat of it."

Jamie smiled at the group before saying, "The focal point of the plan shouldn't change. Princess Emily, you are the crux of this plan. Everything relies on getting you to the nobles. If you can get the nobles unified and geared toward our plan, then we are practically guaranteed victory. We should be able to rout out Argon with a two-pronged attack strategy. One from the inside, and one on the outside. It's an old strategy that has been tested and held."

Joseph nodded, "We strike next week. We could have moved sooner, but the Tower Master's wife, Elaine, was heavily injured in battle. He should probably be back to discuss the plan within the next few days after she recovers."Joseph took a second to look everyone in the eyes before saying, "I'll warn you now, Darien is the type to spontaneously take action without any kind of forewarning. We need to be ready to act the moment he gets here. So I suggest we be ready to move our troops and execute our plan immediately."

Jamie frowned. He didn't like volatile fuses in his plan if he didn't plant said fuses himself. "I don't mean to be rude, but surely the Tower Master can be patient when this involves multiple powers. I don't intend to throw out our plans just because of the whims of the Red Tower Master."

Princess Emily was quick to agree, "I agree! The Red Tower Master can wait!" Ann shook her head beside the Princess but chose not to say anything.

Joseph released a long sigh, "Darien, is my closest friend. I've been trying to get through his stubborn head for decades, but I've learned to account for it. If you want your plan to work Jamie. I suggest planning for the unpredictability that Darien brings to the table. You can try to press him into staying or waiting, but he may just ignore you and go to Ayes again by himself. Elion won't throw out their biggest asset, which means if you want your plan to work you need to be prepared for that."

Jamie didn't argue he understood from the beginning that the western part of the continent was going to be annoying to deal with, and he knew it revolved heavily around the craziness of Darien Northwood. "I understand. That means we have the next few days to gather supplies and prepare. If we have less time to prepare, I suggest we start now, because a few days will quickly become a few hours if we continue to dawdle."

Cole Darkbright sat alone in a pitch-black room with a map of Ayes in his hands. His vision was better in the dark as he could see things in even finer detail. He scanned every inch of the map before making Xs on various plots and points. "Shay, Windhorn, Randal, Faircone, Eldertree, Southbend, and Earlstone. That is the order in which we need to attack."

A woman with a voice that oozed with seductive enticement spoke softly behind him, "Tower Master, Duke Shay is the most powerful force in Ayes. If we strike him first we are bound to have massive casualties. Not to mention the time it takes to crush him will give the other nobles a chance to react."

Cole placed his hand above his head and behind his chair. He grabbed her head and ruffled her hair before saying, "Sasha, You aren't wrong, but taking out the strongest foe first will give me an idea of the war's end results. Without the Ayer family, the nobles will take too long to mobilize. That means if we can crush Shay before the other nobles retaliate then we won't have anything, and I mean anything here to stop us. Even if the Salamander returns, victory will be all but certain."

The woman as dark as the blackness surrounding her caressed the back of Cole's shoulders and said, "Master Cole, that's why I'm always amazed by your genius. We typically learn to strike the weakest power first, but you wish to do the exact opposite."

Cole smiled, but before he could speak he heard a knight yelling from outside his door, "Tower Master, Lord Zephaias wants to speak with you! What should I tell him?"

Cole's eyes narrowed to the point of being snake-like slits. The pitch-black darkness of the room seemed to hiss and sway at the noise. Cole stood up and walked toward his door. The woman behind him melted into darkness as she entered the shadows behind his feet.

He opened the door and yelled, "If you ever disturb my peace again, I'll rip out your tongue and shove it down your throat. Dismissed."

The knight ran faster than his feet could carry him as he tripped up several times trying to get away.

Cole looked into the sky and grinned. His time in the hell hole was almost over. He could almost taste the delicacies back home in his own Black Tower. Like a lit fuse, Ayes was on the verge of a heavy storm.