“If you add the fact that the last year you invited no official of the Kingdom to your birthday, that you held a private party instead of a gala, and that the Overlord of the Desert visited your home, you can understand why your standing in the Court has become precarious.” Brinja said
“That’s not true. I invited the Ernas.” Lith replied.
“It would have mattered only if Lady Jirni and Lord Orion attended.” She said. “But the only Ernas that came to your party are the very same that turned their backs to the Kingdom shortly after you did and followed you in the fold of the Emperor Beasts.”
“After that, you left for the Desert for over a month now and you even brought Friya Ernas with you. After I just connected the dots for you, are you still surprised that the Royals feel the need to make sure that it’s still worth investing in you?”
“Point taken.” Lith nodded.
‘Fuck me sideways. Between my apprenticeship with Faluel, becoming a Tiamat, and breaking up with Kamila, I’ve sealed myself in a bubble. Even if Mirim was still alive, it would be just a matter of time before it burst anyway.’
“I want to be honest with you.” Brinja snapped him out of his reverie. “If you plan to permanently move to the Desert, feel free to refuse this mission. If you or your parents plan to live here, however, you must take it.”
“Do you want to discuss the matter with them before giving me your answer?”
“No. I accept. I have one question, though. Is my situation really so bad that the Royals need to threaten the safety of my parents? I destroyed the lost city of Kogaluga recently. Doesn’t that count for something?” Lith asked.
“That’s one of the reasons we are having this conversation in the first place.” Brinja replied. “As I said, the Royals hold you in high regard. The problem is that the Kingdom’s forces are spread thin.
“Fighting the undead, searching for Thrud, dealing with the famine in the north, and protecting those who received the Balkor cards are all tasks that can be entrusted only to powerful mages with years of field experience.
“The attack on Zinya Yehval and on your kids has cost the lives of dozens of members of the Queen’s corps. Now that you have left Lutia, there is no point wasting good men to protect a backwater small city if there’s no return.
“Not after the disappearance of the lost city of Huryole. I swear to the gods that I can’t believe that the Ranger who succeeded you managed to lose something that big.”
“The what?” Lith dropped his cup in shock, but a single strand of Spirit Magic was enough to keep it afloat without spilling a single drop of tea.
“You heard me. Huryole is gone, leaving behind a crater and a set of perfectly working arrays that failed to register anything worthwhile. It’s as if the entire city just walked away.” Brinja shuddered, thanking the gods for the lack of lost cities in the Distar region.
‘Shit! The Royals know that Huryole is actually the Golden Griffon academy, one of the legacies that Arthan the Mad King left for his heirs. Its disappearance means that Thrud got there and she’s probably going to collect the remaining gifts of daddy dearest.
‘It’s no wonder that the Royals feel antsy and want to put me to the test. They need to know if they can rely on their Archmages or if they will run away the moment the situation gets dire.
‘If I’m right, then Manohar and Vastor will receive a similar mission. Marth can’t move without compromising the safety of the White Griffon.’ Lith thought.
“Your mission is to recapture several cities in the Nestrar region.” Brinja put her communication amulet on the table and pressed the blue gemstone at its center.
The mana crystal projected a 3D holographic map of the Kingdom that she zoomed in on one of the central regions. Lith noticed that aside from the cities with a Warp Gate, everything else was glowing red.
“Recapture?” Lith echoed.
“The Ranger of Nestrar took advantage of the winter lockdown to become the ruler of the region. As you already know, only the best mage soldiers can become a Ranger. This bastard used his rank and abilities to take out the local forces one city at a time.”
Brinja touched the blue stone again, conjuring the hologram of a man in his early thirties wearing the Ranger uniform. He had hair so black that it almost looked blue, red streaks, and green eyes.
From the tag attached to the image, Lith learned that his name was Alman Quaron and that after the boot camp he had been ranked as an M ranked soldier as well.
“How the heck did he pull it off and how could no one notice such a thing until now?” Lith was flabbergasted.
“Unlike you, Quaron is a people person and has considerable political skills.” Brinja replied. “He has never antagonized his hosts and built good relationships with them. He used the isolation from the harsh winter to make people dependent on him.
“They already worshipped him as a hero when news of the famine started to spread. At that point, he only had to frame and execute anyone who could pose a threat to him with the charge of hoarding food and selling it to the black market to succeed.
“Mages are a rarity and without a Warp Gate, the Kingdom can’t deploy Constables. The local and central authorities had to trust Quaron’s judgment and the evidence he presented.”
“How could the death of so many people not raise any red flag?” Lith asked.
Yet he reminded how during his service as a Ranger he might have wiped out entire cities and no one would have realized until it was too late.
“Because he was smart about it. First, he started intervening late whenever there was an emergency so that upon his arrival the local forces would be weakened if not decimated.
“Then, whenever he discovered someone who had really hoarded food, Quaron only had to frame a few people at a time as accomplices to get rid of anyone who might stand against him.
“It didn’t take him long to become the only mage capable of freely moving through the region with dimensional magic. He cured people who couldn’t afford a healer, killed the monsters that breached inside their houses, and punished those who tried to starve them.
“After a while, people lost all trust in the local authorities and stopped asking questions about his methods. After winter ended, he continued his tour as if nothing had happened until the Royals sent orders to ration the food and send everything they could spare to the north.
“Quaron fanned the flames of fear and hunger to trigger a rebellion that led us to this.” Brinja pointed at the map.
“Why hasn’t he been already arrested and executed?” Lith said.
“Because after the war with the undead started, even medium and medium-small sized cities have been equipped with air blocking arrays. The forces of the Kingdom cannot get in without tearing down the walls.”
