Zinya remained in the Verhen Household until Professor Vastor contacted her to apologize for his sudden disappearance. She could tell that there was something different about him even by just looking at his hologram, but she was too happy seeing him safe and sound to care for small details.
“Mom, Dad, Kami, I’m leaving in a while. Faluel has just contacted me about the details of my apprenticeship and she says that until I’m done with this task, she won’t teach me anything else.” Lith said while playing with Aran and Leria.
“Where are you going and how long will you stay there?” Elina asked.
“I don’t know, Mom. This isn’t your usual fetch quest, but a trial of wisdom. It could take hours, days, if not even weeks.” Lith shrugged.
“What if something happens again while you’re gone?” Raaz asked.
“Well, the Beasts Council has assured me your protection and I’ve got that huge Dragon’s contact rune on my amulet. I’m going to call her the moment I see any of your amulets become unavailable so keep them always at hand.” Lith said.
“Are you going alone or does Faluel allow you to have companions? I could ask for a leave if you need my help.” Kamila didn’t like the idea of hearing from him only through the amulet like it happened when Lith served as a Ranger.
She had gotten used to dine together, to listen to his snoring while falling asleep, and to him being the last thing she saw at night and the first in the morning. With her work as a Royal Constable, Kamila found the routine reassuring.
On top of that, she liked the fact that Nalrond was the only other man in the group even less. The idea of Lith spending so much time with Phloria or Friya made her stomach turn into a knot.
“I don’t know that either. Faluel only told me to pack my stuff and to be ready to leave as soon as she’s done with the preparations. Which is quite odd since there is no place in the Kingdom and beyond that I can’t reach with a simple Warp Gate.” Lith said.
“I don’t care about your wisdom. If something bad happens or if the test is unreasonable, get back home in one piece. It’s the only thing I ask of you.” Kamila hugged him tight, feeling as if Lith was going in a place where she couldn’t follow him.
“I couldn’t have said it better.” Elina joined them in the embrace, quickly followed by Raaz.
“Not to be that guy, son, but have you recharged all of the house’s defenses? You know, just to be safe.” He said.
“Yes, Dad. I even replaced the mana crystals fueling the arrays with others bigger and of better quality. Also, I’ve notified my absence to the Royals who promised to increase your detail until my return.” Lith replied.
‘If push comes to shove, I can always get back here with the tower warp. Let’s hope that wherever I’m going there is a mana geyser nearby, otherwise I’m really screwed.’ He thought.
Much to everyone’s surprise, it took Faluel hours to summon Lith to her lair, calling him in the middle of the night along with only a few members of his group.
Lith, Tista, Solus, and Phloria had received the call as well while the others had followed them only out of curiosity.
“I know this is an odd time to hit the road, but soon everything will be clear.” Faluel took three yellow-collared potions out of her dimensional item and injected their content into their bodies with Quylla’s spell.
“Solus, you’d better hide because this is an official mission for the Council and soon a few people will get here to help you moving.”
“What’s in the potion?” Tista asked, feeling a little unwell after the administration.
“The cure to Jiera’s plague. Even though you’re all Awakened, it’s better not to take any chances.” Faluel said while Solus quickly slipped at Lith’s finger.
“Are you really sending me to Jiera?” Lith was flabbergasted.
“No, the Council is sending all of you to Jiera. I don’t know anyone on the other side of the ocean and I needed their help to arrange your journey.” Faluel replied.
“I don’t speak a word of whatever Jiera’s language is called. How am I supposed to communicate with the locals?” Lith asked.
“Don’t worry, I got that covered. Jiera became a shithole because those assholes of the Guardians on the other continent hate Tyris’s guts and never introduced her universal language with the excuse of preserving traditions.”
Faluel couldn’t believe how someone could be so ancient and yet so petty at the same time.
“Are you saying we all speak Tyris’s language?” Phloria said.
“Well, yeah. How do you think we achieved such a long-lasting peace? People have much better chances of going along when they are able to understand each other without the need of learning dozens of languages.” Faluel nodded.
“Who cares about the language? I want to know why they are allowed to go there and we’re not!” Quylla’s thirst for knowledge knew no bounds.
The idea of meeting a society where most people had magical powers and to have the possibility of comparing notes with countless experts made her feel butterflies in her stomach.
“Again, this is Council business. You are no Awakened and I wouldn’t even send Tista or Phloria if they didn’t belong to Lith.” Faluel said.
“What do you mean, belong?” Phloria and Tista asked in unison.
“He Awakened you, hence you’re his responsibility for the next one hundred years. On top of that, you also followed Lith in his apprenticeship so he has the duty to make sure that you don’t abuse advanced powers like Shapeshifting and Spirit Magic.
“The Kings of the woods not only have a duty toward their packs and turfs, but they are also helping the Council to keep Lith’s family safe whereas you have no bonds that can keep you from running away.” Faluel said.
“Is it safe for me to spectate?” Nalrond words made little sense to the others but Lith and Faluel.
“Yes, as long as you don’t do or say anything that can betray your identity. Now be quiet. We’ve got guests.” Faluel pointed at some blinking runes of her Warping array that had suddenly become visible to the naked eye.
The Beasts’ Gate network worked on a voluntary basis because it gave direct access to an Emperor Beast’s home. Each Warping array worked akin to a communication amulet and could be easily updated to add new contact runes.
Such runes identified the caller and its spatial coordinates, working as a double layered security system. Only the Beast who owned one of such arrays could contact another and they could open a Gate only after receiving the authorization on the other end of the dimensional tunnel.
Both parties could cut the communication off the moment they detected foul play and activate their lair’s defenses against the intruders who had eventually managed to sneak in.
This way, killing a Lord of a region also caused the destruction of their Warping terminal and even forcing them to open one would lead to a sure demise.
