The three Archmages felt their knees so weak that to hide their inability to stand up, they pretended to kneel in a sign of submission.
“Archmage Verhen, thanks to the Mages Ernas we know what happened in the mines. It’s up to you to reveal the fate of the two armies.” Queen Sylpha said.
Lith told them how he had received Orion’s call and then left for the nearest Emperor Beast’s lair located near Ynca. To hide Solus’s existence and justify his quick travel, he had to use the Beast Warp network as a cover.
“I contacted my master who arranged for my transportation, her own, and that of some helpers.” Lith said to justify the presence of the mysterious mages that the survivors had reported.
“I met Kallion Nuragor on the battlefield and after disposing of him, I took care of the dimensional sealing array’s core.” He used his new mastery over light magic to project a hologram of the entirety of the camp as he remembered it, replaying both his fight with Kallion and Raging Nova.
In his version of the story, only a part of the human battalion had turned traitor while the rest had fought by his side.
Quylla became inwardly green with envy. Her level of Light Mastery was nowhere near Lith’s now.
“The spell left me helpless, but without the arrays, my master could Warp away as many people as she could. After that, we left as soon as another of Faluel’s disciples rescued the Ernas.
“At that point, the Hydra took us to safety and we spent the following hours to recover from our injuries. I’ve no idea what happened to the undead or to the rest of the army.”
“Outstanding.” The Royals nodded in amazement.
“Have you made progress with your Light Mastery and would you be interested in sharing Raging Nova with the Kingdom?” King Meron considered the death of so many valiant soldiers a tragic loss, but an Archmage capable of such feats gave him more reasons to celebrate than to grieve.
“Yes, Your Majesty. While Professor Manohar refused to teach me Light Mastery, Master Faluel found me a tutor.” Denying Nalrond’s existence was pointless since he had saved most of the people.
Lith chose his words carefully, to make the Royals understand how once again humans had let him down whereas the Beasts supported him unconditionally. It was a big fat lie, but the Kingdom had no way to discover the truth.
Xedros and Scarlett were known Light Masters, making the appearance of a third one hardly a surprise.
“As for my spell, I’m sorry but I have to decline. It’s a last resort weapon that cost me countless hours to develop. If I share it, my enemies will know how to counter it.” Lith said it while looking straight at Deirus.
The lie would make people believe that Lith could cast Raging Nova anytime he wanted instead that only in the presence of his tower, turning misinformation into a powerful deterrent.
“No need to apologize, Archmage Verhen. We are glad to hear about your success and we regret not being able to help you as well.” King Meron inwardly cursed at Manohar for making him lose face compared to the Beasts.
“Mage Verhen, thanks for accompanying your brother. What have you seen on the battlefield?” Queen Sylpha asked.
Tista confirmed Lith’s version of the story, claiming that Faluel had brought her and a couple of her disciples to help Lith rescue his friends. The Royals didn’t ask to interrogate Protector nor Nalrond because having disguised themselves as Emperor Beasts, they weren’t under the Kingdom’s jurisdiction.
“Archmage Verhen, Mage Verhen, the Kingdom owes you a debt of gratitude. You will both be rewarded for your deeds and so will be your master. Is there anything in particular you want?” King Meron said.
“At the moment, I’m too busy with my studies to learn new spells. I’m focusing on Runesmithing and to practice it I require several ingredients. I’d like to receive enchanted metals and raw mana crystals.
“I’m developing a new cutting technique that I hope will allow me to bring out more power from the crystals than the one taught at the academy.” Lith said.
The last part made no sense to both the Royals and Orion. The crystal cutting technique had been perfected centuries ago and not even geniuses like Manohar had ever found anything wrong with it.
“We can provide you with violet crystals and Orichalcum, but white crystals and Adamant are too precious. Once you have completed your studies, bring us a catalog with the workings you’re willing to share.
“If you can give the Kingdom powerful equipment, we’ll be glad to trade all kinds of magical resources with you.” Queen Sylpha handed Lith the newest catalog that Professor Wanemyre gave to her clients as reference material.
Most of her workings had a price that could be paid in both money or ingredients, while the most powerful could only be paid in magical resources.
“Thanks for Your generosity, Your Majesty.” Lith gave her a bow, understanding what she meant.
‘Before handing me priceless resources, the Royals just want to make sure that I can tap into the ingredients’ full potential and craft unique artifacts. Anyone can claim to be a Master Forgemaster whereas results can’t be argued with.’ He thought.
“I second my brother’s request. I’m following his footsteps as Forgemaster as well, but unlike Healing magic, I can’t practice without powerful metals.” Tista said.
Tista’s request flabbergasted the Royals who cleared their throats in embarrassment while looking at Lith for help. As far as they knew, Tista was nothing much. She had managed to join the Mage Association only thanks to Kwart’s attempt to exploit Lith in Othre.
“I can vouch for Mage Verhen.” Lith avoided referring to her just as ‘his sister’, wanting her to escape from his shadow. “She learned Forgemastering from me and has reached a level of mastery above that of any academy student I know.”
Lith nudged Tista who projected holograms of her creations while explaining their properties.
The Royals could barely hold the enthusiasm of seeing the third human mage in a single day to perform Light Mastery and having confirmation that Lith’s magical legacy would belong to his bloodline.
‘Teaching me my ass.’ Tista inwardly sighed. ‘I learned only the basics from him, everything else I learned from Solus. I hoped to avoid revealing my Light Mastery, but it seems that keeping my talents for myself has both protected and limited me.
‘I need to make a name of my own, otherwise I’ll always be seen as nothing but Lith’s sister. The crystals will empower the tower’s mines, but I need Orichalcum to devise my personal Forgemastering technique.’
After Tista, the Royals interrogated Kamila, the staff of the Flying Griffon, and even the personnel of Ynca’s military base to determine how quickly the Beasts’ Warp network could work.
They assessed that it worked no better than their own, it simply had different access points. Being able to use both the human and the beast network made Lith an even more precious asset.
The Royals decided that it was time to follow the Empire’s lead in building a better diplomatic relationship with the Emperor Beasts living in their territory instead of treating them as wild cards.
