"It sounds like a war with the empire is almost certain. I just hope it doesn't start before I get back."

Myria says "I don't think war is imminent. Thanks to the rat tribe we know most of what is going on in the empire. It is mostly one of the dukes behind the attacks on us, but there are other nobles joining his side. There are other nobles opposed to their actions. Enough that the empire is falling into chaos."

"That is probably exactly what the demons want. The more chaos there is the easier it will be for them to gain control of more people."

Myria says "Any new orders for me to pass along?"

"Not at the moment. I have a plan, but I can't put it in motion until I get Lin to the peninsula."

Lin says "Me? What's this got to do with me?"

"Before I left I asked Roddick to work on a spell to reveal demons. If he hasn't finished it I will need your help to finish it. Once we have the spell, you are going to cast it while I enhance it. Taking away the demon's ability to appear human should cause them lots of problems."

Lin says "Oh. I can try to help with that, but to be honest, I don't know much about demons."

"We are heading for demon hunter city, they should have lots of information about them. Even if they don't, the tower does."

Lin says "As long as I have enough information I should be able to help."

Myria says "That's actually a really good plan. Much less violent than your plans normally are."

"Actually, when a bunch of demons suddenly appear in human cities, it will be plenty violent. However, that chaos will severely damage, if not cripple, the demon's plans. Or at least that is my hope."

Myria says "Be that as it may, it sounds like a good plan."

Lin says "I agree, it is a good plan and I will do my best to help."

"I am hoping that it will prevent the war with the empire. Even if it doesn't, it should weaken them so that we can win easier. Hopefully, it will directly weaken the demons as well and give us an advantage in the war with them."

Myria says "That would be a lot of benefits from just casting a single spell."

"Yeah, it would, but that is the best case scenario. It probably won't be that effective, but as long as it causes the demons some problems it will be worth the effort."

Myria says "Based on what we have learned of the empire, I wouldn't be surprised if this causes a civil war. If that happens, I doubt we will have to go to war with them."

"We will just have to wait and see what happens. I would prefer not to go to war until we face the demons."

Myria says "We are basically at war now, just with only about half of the empire. I doubt the rest of the empire will join in considering we have won every single battle so far."

"How are the rest of the clans reacting to us fighting without them?"

Myria says "Several of them look like they are leaning towards joining us. The main reason they haven't already is that you have been gone. The cat tribes in particular have been meeting a lot, but I haven't been able to find out what they are up to yet."

"Well, as long as they don't cause any trouble it should be fine. I will figure out what to do about them when I get back."

Myria says "No, none of them have tried to cause us any trouble. If they do, I will let you know."

"Alright, anything else I should know?"

Myria says "Not that I can think of."

"Okay."

Before I can say anything else, Lin gives me a look and for once I catch the hint. Since she wants me to, I get up and head into the castle to play with the kids. I am not sure what she wants to talk to Myria about, but I am not dumb enough to ask.

If anything, I will ask her after I end the soulscape and it is just the two of us. Lin might want to talk to Brightfire instead, since I asked her to talk to her for me. However, I was expecting her to do that on the ship, not in the soulscape with Myria around.

I am not sure if Myria being part of that conversation is going to be a good thing, or a bad thing. There are things that Lin doesn't know about me yet, but Myria knows a lot more. I guess I will just have to wait and see what happens, I will just play with the kids.

Brightfire yells "Ash, why didn't you tell me you are the king of the elves?!"

It seems that Myria told them, now that the cat is out of the bag I have some explaining to do. I disentangle myself from the kids and head back outside to face Brightfire. Myria is gone, she probably ran away when she realized I hadn't told the elves about me being their king.

Brightfire says "Ash, is it true?"

"Partially. I was recognized by the city and the crown, but not by your people. I had planned to get you all home and let you get to know Core before mentioning me being your king. The beast-people who your people created have recognized me, but they aren't elves."

Lin says "Wait, does that mean you went through the gate and got trapped here because you were looking for the elves?"

"Not really, it was more my curiosity. I hoped to find elves, but even if I knew I wouldn't, I still would have gone through the gate."

Lin says "Well, whatever the reason, I am glad you did. Otherwise, I would have never met you."

Brightfire says "While that is very sweet. I still want to know, are you our king or not?"

"Technically, yes I am the elven king. However, since I am not an elf, I will leave it up to your people to decide. If they don't want me as king, then I will hand the crown to Stillwater."

Brightfire says "I am pretty sure everyone will accept you as king. You not being an elf doesn't really matter. You have done more for us than any elf ever has."

"Maybe, maybe not. I want to wait until you and your people know more about your people's history before letting them decide. Regardless of what they decide, you will have a place in the nation I am building and you will be protected."

Brightfire says "So, you are asking me not to tell the others that you are our king?"

"For now, yes. Let's wait until they have gotten over the shock of relocating to the peninsula before we tell them. Then they can make an informed decision about who they want as their king, or queen."

Brightfire says "Considering everything you have done for us, I will wait."