122, Start of Book 5!

Erick stepped back from his summoned chalkboard and considered his new list.

He smiled. This was a good list. Six items was a good number of necessities. They were, of course, six very large entries, but that was fine. He smiled wider. Then he banished the chalkboard and gave a final once-over to his tower…

… Okay!

Done! There was nothing else he needed here! Erick had packed his bags, but now it was time to break the real news to everyone else, except for Poi, of course; the resident Mind Mage already knew everything Erick was planning to do. And what a plan it was!

It was time for a Worldly Path! Or something to that effect. Erick still wasn’t sure, exactly, what all of the [Gate] Quest entailed, but he’d find out. If the last three days were any indication of what was going to happen to him if he stayed in Spur, well then… he just wasn’t going to stay here.

Oohh~

He’d be back. Spur was still home, of course. But he needed to be away for a while, or at least until events stopped coming at him like Script Second cooldowns. The problems hadn’t started with hero worship, or threats of murder for that matter. Far from it. But the current problems had headed in those directions rather fast.

– – – –

The first real action of the first day of the ten-day end-of-the-year Festival known as Triumph of Light, was a telepathic conversation with an antagonistic young woman.

‘Hello, Caizoa,’ Erick sent.

An immediate flare of ‘No’, something that was surely more instinctual than real, severed Erick’s attempted communication, slapping him with a good thousand points of False Damage. He weathered that minor storm without blinking an eye.

And then he went about his day, wondering if Caizoa would call him back, or if he’d be forced to go looking for her.

He started with breakfast. Potatoes went on the grill, eggs became omelettes and went out first, flour and various supplies became pancakes, while coffee dripped down into a glass pot. Erick made most of the food, alongside Kiri, while simultaneously fielding questions from his young apprentice. Justine was in a different room, telepathically talking to people, but Teressa was deep in thought, sitting at the kitchen table, staring off into space, her half-eaten omelette sitting before her like a forgotten foe.

Kiri’s enthusiasm for Erick’s trip through Ar’Kendrithyst had been tempered by Poi, but only after the sapphire-scaled man had given her a hard look, after she asked about the people in Brightwater. From there, her questions changed into the topic of high-level archmage battles, or more accurately, the act of fighting a Shade, and all of what that entailed.

Erick continued, “… I’m glad I never got to see ‘Dorofiend’s second form’, or whatever that was. [Domain of Light] shut that down rather fast, or, more realistically, it just gave me a moment to catch him off-guard with a [Fulmination Aura] from Ophiel. That moment of lightning, empowered by the [Domain of Light] for some interesting reason, was enough to zap him into death. And that was all it took.”

“Ah. Yes. [Fulmination Aura].” Kiri scrunched her face as she flipped sausages on the stove. “I’ve seen your [Fulmination Aura]. Isn’t it only 25 plus Willpower damage per target, per second? Used through Ophiel, that means only 25 damage per second.” She postulated, “Perhaps it is your specific definition of a ‘target’, that makes it so effective?”

“It’s 26 mana per second.” Erick said, “If it wasn’t able to target every individual cell of a person, then it would be a pretty useless magic.”

Kiri’s spatula stilled above the flattop grill, as her eyes went wide. “Every cell?”

Erick hummed, then said, “Maybe it’s not that precise. But there’s certainly more than one ‘target’ per person.” He added, “And I’m pretty sure Shades don’t have cells like you or I. Maybe they’re magic cells? They’re all vulnerable to [Luminous Trap]. I think they’re actually made of Elemental Shadow, which is partially Light-based, so this makes some sort of sense.” He spoke up for Teressa’s benefit, “That was how I killed the Witch.”

Teressa startled. She glanced to Erick, then down to her food. She stuck her fork back in the omelette, but her heart just wasn’t in the meal.

Erick saw the orcol woman’s reaction, and then continued, “She tried to pose as Fallopolis to do something and to catch me off guard with a curse, or something, but I wasn’t falling for that. Mana sense helped to show that she wasn’t who she pretended to be, which I was very happy to learn, but the most ‘off’ thing about that fake Fallopolis was that she didn’t smell right.”

Teressa glared down at her omelette.

Erick said, “So I sucked her up into a black void. But by this time, the Shades had seen this trick with the fight with Hollowsaur. To counter a trap, the Witch had prepared an automatic [Dispel] magic in the air some ways away. This triggered and released the Witch. When she came out of that black void, the torture of being in that super-lighted space had broken her illusions. She was no longer Fallopolis, but instead a grey-skinned orcol with grey eyes.”

Teressa’s eyes suddenly flicked toward Erick. She demanded, “How can you know that was her? No one has ever seen her.”

“I can’t, since the Kill Notification did not list ‘the Witch’. But there are a great many circumstantial evidences that lead me to believe that she was the Witch.” Erick said, “Primarily among them: she used illusions, and when she died, River Tower Gloom in the Swamp erupted in green and grey light, spreading mushrooms and Extreme Light in a heavy grey mist that rushed out into Ar’Kendrithyst. There was also the message that played in the air above River Tower Gloom congratulating those who finally managed to kill her. It went like this:” Erick thought for a moment, then recounted, “To those who finally managed to take my life: Congratulations. Have some poison, some mutative monsters, and my undying curse. Rot on this damned cursed world for the rest of your miserable, short life.” He continued, “I really do think she was the Witch, Teressa.”

Silently, Teressa returned to her omelette.

Kiri ensured the silence didn’t last long, asking, “What about her curse?”

“Ah.” Erick refilled his coffee, then said, “The second time I encountered the Witch, I trapped her in a much better [Luminous Trap]. That second time, I also threw a [Perfect Mirror] around that void, as well as a sunform Ophiel that was equipped with a [Pure Reflection Ward]. Several [Dispel] attempts struck that reflective orby Ophiel and bounced away. Before much else happened, though, I had an Ophiel turn real and then poke a feather into Perri’s prison. Ophiel filled that prison with a [Luminous Beam].” When Teressa just blinked at him, he added, “It’s that one that is all light and power. It bounced around in there and probably killed her ten times over, just by virtue of exposure to the beam.” Teressa slowly nodded. Erick continued, “I think I got really lucky, there. Any number of things could have gone wrong. Her [Dispel]s could have been larger. Her soul could have been split before she encountered me, and likely has been, but if that second version of herself still exists, she’s no longer a Shade.”

Teressa frowned.

Erick continued, “She tried to curse me before that second encounter, back when she pretended to be Fallopolis for the first time, but I stripped that off of myself, while she taunted, ‘This could have gone easier if you would have let that into you’, or something like that.” Erick recalled Perri’s exact words, but he saw that Teressa wasn’t taking this as well as she could have, so he went rather informal in his retelling, “And then, you know, the second time she came before me, she also pretended to be Fallopolis. But then I sucked both of them into their own black voids and then canceled them and Fallopolis came out of one and Perri came out of the other, and then I wrapped Perri in all those previous spells and then killed her with the [Luminous Beam].”

Teressa nodded.

Kiri asked, “But what about the undying curse?”

“Oh? Eh. I think the bouncing [Luminous Beam] killed it. That thing is partially Extreme Light.” Erick said, “I canceled Perri’s prison and nothing came out of it; no flex in the manasphere, no intent in the world, nothing. She’s dead, and all her plans are dead.” He added, “But some of those new monsters still live.” He waved a hand, saying, “And the Swamp is now the Mushroom Swamp, or whatever. Not sure what’s going on there.”

Teressa nodded, again. This time, she spoke, mumbling, “There’s plans to slash and burn the whole place.”

“Do you want to be a part of that?” And then Erick asked the better question, “Or would you rather take a trip to Treehome?”

Teressa looked up at Erick with hope in her sparkling emerald eyes.

Erick added, “I said I’d like to go there for the Triumph of Light, or for some sort of vacation, and last I recalled you wanted that. Plans have only slightly changed since the Shades have died.”

Teressa allowed herself a small smile. She said, “Making definite plans for the Triumph before the Triumph is bad luck.”

Kiri spoke up, “Which is why all the hotels are booking up right now.”

“Not all of them.” Teressa pulled a fake-scowl at Kiri, saying, “I can find some good places.” She looked to Erick with hope in her eyes. “If you want to go?”

“Yes, I want to go.” Erick said, “So best start making some plans. I’m counting on you for our itinerary.”

Teressa laughed, faint, and then it was gone. She nodded, then said, “Yes. Of course, boss—” She froze. Over a moment of thought, she thawed, asking, “I’m going to need some private time to see my… to see my old home, though. If that’s okay with you?”

Erick had hoped that she would want to see her old home. He easily said, “Whatever you need, Teressa.”

To the side, Kiri kept her smile to herself. Erick didn’t openly show his joy at Teressa’s words, either; he knew better than most how fragile someone in Teressa’s emotional state could be, and she wasn’t the only one recovering from a great tragedy in this household. Erick knew he would be ‘walking on dragon eggs’ for a while, but that was fine. As Erick set out the second serving of breakfast, and everyone came to the table, and he saw the burgeoning light in Teressa’s emerald eyes, and a similar, if more nuanced light glimmering in Justine’s red eyes.

After breakfast, Poi spoke privately to Erick, sending, ‘Caizoa is trying to contact you.’

Half a second later, before Erick had a chance to respond to that, came the voice of the woman in question.

‘Hello, Archmage Flatt.’ Caizoa asked, ‘Why did you call?’

‘To coordinate.’

‘I don’t have time to go on the offensive right now for the Angel has infected my homeland. We are clearing that up and then we will move on to the Angel itself. It will be several days.’

‘How long do you expect that to take? What are the problems? Can I help?’

‘These problems are our own. The Angel’s soul infection is nefarious but easy to spot now that I have the Black Star. The best thing you can do is stay home and out of danger.’

Erick smiled. ‘Can’t do that. You know more than most what has happened and I need to be a part of this, Caizoa.’

There was a deep, angry inhale on the other side of the line. Caizoa sent, ‘Fine. Let us coordinate. What is your itinerary? Where can I meet you without any guards nearby?’

Erick teased, ‘So that you can know where I am and kill me?’

‘I don’t feel like killing innocents, but I will make an exception for you.’

‘Ha! I didn’t expect such honesty from you.’ Erick said, ‘Anyway. If we can’t agree with me helping you, then Candlepoint needs trade routes, and the Wasteland is the closest to them. Can you secure some of those for me?’

‘… What is with this sudden change in topic— No. I will do no such thing.’ Caizoa’s voice raised, as she sent, ‘Of all the stupid things to ask for! I am not a merchant! Don’t talk to me about that! Why would you even ask me about that?’

‘The topics on my mind are many and few, in that there are many different ways to secure safety and prosperity for the people who need such assistance.’ Erick added, ‘And besides, I’m just giving you the opportunity to help me, here. There are many others that I can personally go to with this desire, and many who have been working on this for a while who I have yet to check in with. But you’re there and we’re going to work with each other for a while, so I figured ‘why not?’ and gave you a call to lay out some of my concerns and questions.’

Erick knew that asking Caizoa for trade routes would be useless. But with that Black Star affixed to her young self, she was now a power that would be written about in the history books. Who knew what kind of doors were opening up all around her?

But besides that, Erick wanted to curb the woman’s tendency toward violence with regard toward himself, at least. Asking for trade routes seemed like a good way to show that he was not just some human archmage, on the ‘other side’ of the Quiet War.

Caizoa went silent, but the connection remained open. Erick got the impression she was thinking.

Erick decided to get back to the main topic. He said, ‘I’d also like to know what a ‘converted’ looks like, so that I can identify them myself.’

‘That is easily done.’ Caizoa said, ‘Everyone is to know what the enemy looks like, and it is thus:’

An image came down the line of a normal-enough incani man, except for the binding chains that locked him down upon a heavy iron chair. He was bloody and unwell, as though he had been beaten and starved and made sick, somehow. But they couldn’t have had the man in custody for more than a few hours, could they?

Erick fought down his urge to decry the inhumane conditions, and sent, ‘I could use a location so that I can view the man myself. What you’ve given me is nothing but sadness at the man’s treatment. No soul image. No blood image. No mana sense. And… Caizoa… Don’t you have better ways to fix him than whatever this is?’ He tried to be diplomatic with his words, at least.

After a moment, Caizoa sent a location, along with the words, ‘He’s just the latest in a line of people captured and contained, and the tenth to be cured today. He won’t look like this for long.’ She warned, ‘They’re going to try to fight you off when Ophiel shows.’

‘I would like your help to ensure that a fight does not occur. It will make working with you in the future easier for me.’

‘Look to others if you need more help than this, Erick. I’m already at the end of my patience with any of these fuckers, and would love it if you brushed past their meager defenses with overwhelming power. All too often these nobles around me forget that they are but mice in the face of the true dangers of this world.’ She repeated Erick’s own words back to him, ‘It would make working with you in the future much easier for me.’

She cut the connection.

Erick sighed.

And then he looked to Poi. “Can you contact the Baroness Xelxex for me, please?”

Poi nodded, and then did so.

Three minutes later, while Erick sat in his library reading a copy of a copy of a book that he probably shouldn’t own or display in the open at all, the voice of a certain magenta incani came to Erick.

The Baroness spoke, ‘Archmage Flatt. I have heard some interesting stories and seen some interesting reports come across my desk this Triumph of Light. If you could, tell me what happened?’

Erick considered not telling her for a brief moment, but he quickly discarded that idea. Having the Baroness know what happened, from him, was better than the alternative. He sent, ‘Melemizargo has withdrawn his legitimization of his Clergy, and because of that, all but seven Shades are dead and the rest have mostly been Blessed into submission by the divine force of Koyabez, with myself as a conduit for that force. But that is not why I called.’

‘And why have you called?’

‘Your people in the Wasteland have captured some victims of the Converter Angel. I need to see them so that I can identify the symptoms myself, for when I go hunting for the monster myself.’

‘I’m sure we have, but I cannot give you leave to do as you wish with those victims. You are not a member of my people, Erick. If you’d like to change that, we can certainly talk about that process, if you wish.’

‘Ah. Sorry. A misunderstanding.’ Erick said, ‘I am asking for forgiveness for I am going to check up on the man, myself. Right now.’

Keeping her tone even, but not able to keep her sudden anger completely hidden, Xelxex asked, ‘Is this truly how you wish to play this engagement?’

‘We have had a good working relationship so far, and I wish to continue this into the future, but I will not let anyone get in the way of my obligation to keep the Angels and the Demons out of Veird. Everything would be much nicer if both sides would lay down their arms, but until then, a bit of force is necessary.’ He added, ‘If it makes you feel better, I am going to approach Helix and demand he find a way to send the Angel back to Celes so we can avoid this—’

‘Ha!’ Xelxex laughed; a hurtful sound that became real as the laugh continued for ten seconds. She said, ‘Good luck, Archmage Flatt! I’ll smooth over some waves for you, but try not to make a tsunami.’

‘Thank you.’ Erick added, ‘And one more thing: I am looking to open trade routes for Candlepoint—’

She cut him off, saying, ‘What do those shadelings produce besides worry for the rest of us, Erick? This is my problem with that shadeling city. Nothing but a problem! Just look at them, so close to the Wall! Unless they can give us a reason to appreciate their proximity then there is no reason to have any ‘trade routes’, as you call them, with that city.’

Erick offered, ‘Food? I can make the farms there rather large.’

‘No one is going to eat anything that comes out of Candlepoint and the Wasteland is much more self sufficient than the nonsense farming that you tried with Spur. No. We’re not accepting any foodstuffs from Candlepoint, for a hundred different reasons. Try again.’ She cut off further communication, saying, ‘Understand, Erick: I am very busy. I only answered your call because I needed to, but if you want to talk trade, then come up with something better or— I’ll send an envoy to Candlepoint. That is the best I can do. They’ll arrive in a few days, or something. One of my people will contact one of your people. Farewell, Archmage Flatt. Thank you for killing the Shades.’

She cut the communication.

Erick turned his attention back to the Wasteland.

His Ophiels had already slipped through a dozen [Ward]s, circumvented a dozen more, and tripped the last several because people were already spotting them and time was more important than subterfuge. Deep below the surface of Veird, Ophiel reached the captured agents of the Angel. Erick took a good long look at the five men and four women locked up behind heavy doors and under heavy chains. He saw their weird souls, their shifted blood, and a strange, bright mana that they held in the center of their being.

If Erick had to guess, he would have called that bright spot ‘Holy Mana’, but he wasn’t quite sure.

With several concentrated thoughts, Erick extricated his Ophiel from that darkened hole in the ground while dozens of mages and warriors tried to blast or cleave those sunform blobs of Ophiel apart. Some people just stood to the side on the surface, watching the whole thing, making no effort to be involved.

Caizoa was one of those who stood to the side of the exit, hovering in the air, waiting for his Ophiel to emerge. She waved her giant blue sword; a greeting, perhaps. Ophiel waved back, mostly ignoring the spells flying at all of his [Pure Reflection Ward] protected selves; he did try to angle the reflections away from the casters, though. No need to accidentally hurt someone with a bounced [Fireball].

With several quick lightsteps, each Ophiel vacated the field of battle. They headed for Candlepoint, and took up their usual patrols across the skies of that darkened city.

Then the calls started coming in.

Erick answered most of them, since they were all from people who were able to demand his attention.

There was Silverite, who mostly just asked him if he had really done what people were saying he had done. Erick told her he hadn’t hurt anyone, but yes, he had invaded a secured compound inside the Wasteland. Silverite didn’t seem to really care past that.

Then there was Sirocco, then the Baroness, again, Caizoa, that magister Iordex with his purple and gold robes, and then Mephistopheles, actually. That last one was an odd one. Erick had never telepathically communicated with the man in charge of Candlepoint before, but it was nice to do so. Mephistopheles just wanted to know about this envoy from the Baroness who was supposed to show up in a few days.

Erick took some time to speak to the nominal ‘mayor’ of Candlepoint, since this was an important discussion. He said, ‘I am glad you asked. So. What kind of products can Candlepoint make? I’m trying to get some trade routes for you guys and the Baroness seems to think that you can’t offer anything.’

Mephistopheles sent, ‘We’re not very stable right now, Erick. Those minotaurs just showed up and everyone is on edge from the news we’ve received about Ar’Kendrithyst.’

‘… You know what? I think it’s time I came to Candlepoint in person. See you soon!’ Erick cut off that communication before the man started speaking too loudly and questioningly. He said to Poi, “Time to go to Candlepoint. Want to come?”

“I’m ready.” Poi asked, “But what about your mana?”

“Eh. I have a high enough base pool, and Intelligence drops almost everything to negligible costs.” Erick said, “But you’re just saying that to make me aware of my limits more than I already am. Don’t worry, Poi. I’m fine.”

“Very well, sir.”

– – – –

Candlepoint looked more or less the same through his own eyes as it did though Ophiel’s, but this was still Erick’s first time in the shadeling city, in person. It was Poi’s first time in Candlepoint, too. Erick looked to his right-hand man, and the scattered city around them, and wondered at how different things might be now that the Shades were gone.

Erick had landed the pair of them in a rather central location, where the landscape all around them was dotted with singular buildings surrounded by greenery, with nice roads connecting everything. There weren’t many people, though. It was near noon, and most shadelings were crepuscular. This was good; Erick decided he didn’t need to meet more locals right at that particular moment.

He did, however, need to get some of the city’s defenses up and running while he was here. In the interest of being proactive, he hopped on that task as soon as he saw that task looming above him.

The Black Crystal was fifty meters tall, and just as black as Erick remembered it being. However, being here in person conveyed something that Erick didn’t really recognize as a problem before now.

Waves of the lake lapped against the coastline not two hundred meters to the west. This proximity to the lake seemed to be asking for trouble, but that could be fixed with a bit of lakeside construction. But besides that, the Black Crystal was already fully exposed to the world. Unlike the few Crystals he had seen in the Brightwater during his short time there, this one was vulnerable. A concentrated blast of firepower could probably snipe the thing to shards from kilometers away.

That was probably by design.

Either to keep Candlepoint from looking like too much of a danger, or to leave its primary defenders vulnerable to whatever plots Melemizargo demanded, the Crystal was not very well defended at all.

Erick could change a little bit of that, but that base vulnerability would require…

A giant dome put over the thing? Some unknown defensive magic already inside the artifact? A self-repair function that Erick didn’t know about? Having some shadelings constantly monitoring the Crystal and protecting it from attackers?

Any of those solutions would likely keep the Crystal intact.

Erick turned away from the Crystal, to take in the rest of the Crystal Courtyard, and to watch as shadelings appeared. He and Poi were no longer alone. A pair of people had popped out of the shadows near a general store to the south. The store was closed, but it was not unoccupied. Erick briefly nodded at those new shadelings. One tentatively waved. The other bowed.

Ah. Good. They knew who he was.

To the north, other shadelings had appeared next to Melemizargo’s Church. Those people were now frantically either moving away, or cautiously coming closer. Those people knew who Erick was, too. Erick briefly wondered why some of them would run, before he put those worries out of his mind, and re-considered the Crystal.

The new arrivals in the Crystal Courtyard were in for a show, or a failing; Erick wasn’t sure which it would be. But first, he would have to switch this artifact from Darkness, to Light, if possible.

With a Shaped cast, Erick began to slowly conjure a [Domain of Light] down into the black Crystal. The spell did not take hold instantly, instead, Erick had a pillar of light gently fall through the center of the shadowed Crystal, from top to bottom, and then expand outward in all directions, pushing out all the shadows and darkness within. The slow start to his investigation of the Crystal turned out to be a smart move, for it had lost its [Prismatic Ward] protections while Erick had been inside Ar’Kendrithyst, and some people had decided to move into those deep shadows.

Or something.

Erick wasn’t quite sure what people were doing inside the Crystal, but whatever the case, they were kicked out, now.

Three shadelings fell out of the shadows in the Crystal into the waiting arms of a few Ophiel, who set them down outside of the Crystal’s space. Two of those shadelings looked rather pissed, but they quickly got over that emotion when they saw who had evicted them. The third just screamed a little while he fell from thirty meters up, screamed some more when Ophiel caught him, and then he ran, as soon as Ophiel set him down on the ground. Erick paid the runner no mind.

Soon enough, the [Domain of Light] brushed through the entire black Crystal. All the shadows inside became little more than Gloom that sprung from the solid surface of the artifact like steam from a kettle, to filter away on the morning wind. Soon, the shadows were gone. The Crystal was a bright white and yellow-gold structure of quartz or maybe some kendrithyst derivative. Maybe it had been mined from the Brightwater District? Whatever the case, the Crystal looked a lot better like this, Erick thought.

His next thought was that he would never openly call what he had done a ‘[Cleanse]’, for that would have implied that shadows were an evil that needed to be cleansed, and that would simply not be right; Candlepoint was full of shadows that deserved life and liberty and all that, after all. But Erick had certainly shifted the Element of the Crystal.

Back in that first day of the Shadow’s Feast, Fallopolis had said a curious thing to him, asking him why he hadn’t played around with this Crystal yet. As of right now, with the Crystal realigned to Light, Erick realized why Fallopolis had asked him that. He had seen the other Summoning Crystals in Brightwater, but this one was much different than those other, mass-produced artifacts. It was much larger, for one. For another, it had a much greater inner magical signature than the other Summoning Crystals he had seen.

Maybe it had more self-defense options than simple summoned guardians?

There was another option, though.

Since this whole ‘reintegration of Shadows into the Script’ plan of Melemizargo’s pivoted around Erick taking control of Candlepoint, that Dark Dragon had probably either made this thing able to explode, at the worst case, or to accept all sorts of variable inputs, at the best case. Since, according to what had happened since then, Melemizargo’s plot didn’t seem like an initially destructive one, Erick was betting that this thing couldn’t explode at all.

Or at least not without a great deal of overrides.

… Erick was rather confident that he could mitigate any explosions of the Summoning Crystal’s size.

The three people had barely fallen out of the Crystal when Erick reached for the interior of the artifact with a tendril of light, with his mana sense, and the senses of several Ophiel.

The woman had done nothing but watch, until Erick started touching the Summoning Crystal with light tendrils. She yelled, “What are you doing?!”

“Being proactive.” Erick found the enchantment in the Summoning Crystal. He offhandedly answered the woman, “It probably won’t explode, but be prepared to run.”

The woman said, “Don’t touch it! I almost had it figured out!”

She almost figured it out, eh? All the more reason that Erick was here, now, working on this as soon as he could. He ignored the woman, and continued to poke at the Summoning Crystal’s interior.

The interior was not just a single enchantment. It was a complicated spiral of enchantments, actually. Several dozen artifacts lined up together, in complementary structure, with each of those artifacts powered and maintained by soulstuff. Erick’s eyes widened. These were real artifacts. Greater Artifacts.

… And this woman here had almost figured them out?

Hmm.

Erick looked to the two people who had fallen out of the Crystal. A human man and an incani woman. The man stood as still as stone, not wanting to draw attention to himself, while the woman glared hatred at Erick, her grey eyes swirling with shadows. She had very quickly gone from disturbed to disbelieving to angry, all in the span of the last few seconds. She wasn’t hurt, though, and neither was her partner. The third one had run away upon being ousted from the Summoning Crystal, but he peeked out from behind the edge of a far-away building. He noticed Erick noticing him. He quickly returned to the shadow.

Erick told the woman, “I didn’t break it.”

“Yes you did!” She continued, “I was just about to solve it all! And then you flooded out the miasma! How’s it supposed to make suits of armor for us now! SHIT!”

The man at her side touched her shoulder. The woman barely calmed at all; in fact, she probably got more mad, but she did regain a small level of self control.

She said, “Archmage Flatt, sir. I heard you were a support. Please allow us to support ourselves first, sir.”

“I am not going to stop you from supporting yourselves, but I need to know what this artifact does. People are going to ask me about the giant artifact in the center of this town, and I’m not going to lie to people when they do.”

The woman seemed to lose much of her anger.

Erick added, “And I really didn’t break it.” Erick said, “These things are pretty damn sturdy, and this one, I think, was made especially for me to play around with.” He tripped a few obvious switches inside the Crystal. “See?”

Three armored summons appeared a few short steps away from the four of them, each of the conjured armors made of matte white light and glows. The first was the warrior summon that Erick was already familiar with, and that had been set all around Candlepoint back when Bulgan was in charge. It was two and a half meters of thick armor, with a sword to match magically locked to its back. The second summon was a robe of similar size to the warrior, but this one came equipped with a staff. Erick suspected it had [Force Beam] spells, or something similarly powerful and cheap. The third summon was a meter-tall munchkin made of floating knives.

None of the summons did anything but stand upon the open ground next to Erick.

The woman almost spoke again.

But a person Erick had wanted to talk to appeared just down the street. Mephistopheles was already hurrying their way. As Erick’s eyes turned toward the new arrival, the woman followed Erick’s gaze, and also saw who was coming.

She whipped back around to Erick, gleefully smiling.

Ah. She probably thought she was getting her toy back, didn’t she?

… Maybe she would? She certainly seemed to be here on someone’s orders, otherwise she would have run away as soon as Mephistopheles appeared, but instead, she turned happy.

It looked like it was time for politics.

Mephistopheles was exactly as Erick remembered, but without the over-the-top flamboyance of his previous position as Master of the Garrison. His lacquered red horns and fancy clothes, which were just a touch nicer than everyone else’s, still set him apart from the rest of the shadelings within sight, while his grey eyes wholly marked him as a part of the people here. He wasn’t alone, though. He had brought another.

Ava stood a woman apart. A shimmering stripe of green makeup had been slashed across her eyes and face like someone had taken a pearlescent green paint brush to her visage, while her bright green dress billowed in the morning breeze. She looked at Erick with hungry green eyes, and aside from Poi, she was the only other person here who was not a shadeling. While Mephistopheles rushed toward Erick with the stride of a man in charge, Ava lightly walked forward, her bare feet helping her along her chosen path as though the very ground wanted her to be where she wanted to be.

With the appearance of those two, others came out of hiding. All around the Crystal Courtyard, people stepped out of the shadows, into the light. Almost all of them looked upon Erick, and the bluescaled dragonkin behind him, with questioning looks upon their faces. Only a few spoke in hushed tones, ‘That’s Archmage Flatt’, as though the presence of the Ophiels above weren’t already indication enough.

Mephistopheles approached, and said, “—”

“Hello, Mephistopheles!” Erick spoke before the other man could, “I hope you’re ready for a new world order.” He announced for the crowd, too, saying, “In case you haven’t heard, almost all of the Shades are dead. That includes Bulgan and Tania.” The crowd, while not gathered close at all, heard what Erick had said. Some gasped. Others exclaimed, ‘It’s true!’. Mephistopheles and Ava did not flinch; they must have already known. Erick said, “I can set up some defenses for Candlepoint with this Summoning Crystal by appointing certain people as users of the Crystal, but I’d also like to talk to you about the minotaurs and whatever is going on there. But first: Are they doing okay? Are you doing okay? The city looks great, by the way.”

Mephistopheles frowned a little, then said, “—”

Ava spoke first, “The minotaurs are like young shifters; barely able to control their form. They will learn, or likely seek out the Lifebinder. Rumor has it that she was active in the region not several months ago.”

“She was; that rumor is true.” Erick almost frowned. Would some of the minotaurs actually do that?

… Of course they would.

Duh.

Ava’s composure solidified.

Mephistopheles frowned at Ava, then pointed at the less-angry shadeling woman who Erick had kicked out of the Crystal. “I already had someone on figuring out the Summoning Stone. You did not need to do this Archmage Flatt.”

Erick acknowledged the woman, then said to Mephistopheles, “I know I did not have to. But I’m being proactive while everything is in turmoil and I needed to see how this worked, myself. Other people are going to ask me about the giant artifact in the middle of Candlepoint. Everything is going to go weird, and fast. Even if the Shades were evil, the Shades were the most stable, powerful force in this world. I have no idea what is coming, but I must act upon the world before it acts upon me, and that includes certain things like this Crystal, here.” Erick returned his eyes toward the Crystal, then asked, “In that regard, there’s options here to appoint people who can then control the various summons. You’d be one of the appointed, of course. As well as Ava here, and then Slip, and Zaraanka, and maybe Valok. We can appoint whoever you wish, later, after we talk.” He added, “I’m not too sure how the Summoning Crystal works in practice, but you could use them, yes?”

Mephistopheles said, “Of course, Archmage.” He gestured to the unknown woman, and said, “When we get around to it, I wish to also appoint Willow. She’s quickly become my second-in-command.”

Erick looked to the not-so-angry incani woman. “Oh?” He narrowed his eyes. “You were not near Mephistopheles until today.”

Willow weathered Erick’s gaze with her own strong visage. “Correct! I only came out of the fugue yesterday. I’m not sure why, but I used to work under Shade Lapis five years ago, and now I’m here.”

Erick withheld judgment, but silently vowed to check up on Willow every now and then. He turned his attention back to Mephistopheles and said, “So why do you trust her?” He rapidly added, “No. Nevermind. I’ll not pry into your business.”

Mephistopheles said, “Thank you for your consideration.”

Erick got back on track, saying, “A lot of things are going to be happening very fast— Ah. I sound like a broken record. Anyway. Stuff is happening. I want you all to be safe. I don’t think it’s a good idea to throw around too many shadow magics, if possible, which is why I turned the Crystal to Light magics.”

“I can appreciate the sights we’re sending with such an artifact, as well as the timing. This is fine. Thank you, archmage Flatt.” Mephistopheles bowed, then said, “I’m also glad to finally welcome you to Candlepoint, in person. We have been informed of your accomplishments—”

“I really don’t mean to interrupt you, but I was only barely involved. I have to clear that up, right now.” Erick said, “Melemizargo denounced his Clergy. That was why the Shades died.”

More murmurs went through the crowd.

With unbridled and quiet rage, Willow whispered, “Good riddance.”

The force of her conviction almost caused Erick to derail the conversation again, but he did not.

Mephistopheles nodded, then said, “It is how you have said, then, Archmage Flatt. But I digress: While we are happy to welcome you here, finally, why are you here, in person?”

Ah.

Erick might have made a mistake in coming here so fast. Not only was it rude, but it had caused a misunderstanding.

Mephistopheles wasn’t asking that question with regard to current problems or solutions. He was asking that question because he was scared of losing his current level of power over Candlepoint. Eh. He didn’t need to worry about that. Erick could see that the town was doing fine, and no one seemed to be too angry at Mephistopheles. The guy was doing great, and Erick wanted nothing to do with managing a town.

Though, with Justine waiting in the wing, Mephistopheles had probably been wondering at his expiration date for a while.

Erick waved off the need for such a concern, saying, “I’m not here for anything drastic, and nothing is changing with regard to how you want to run things. I had originally planned for Justine to take a role as the non-shadeling face of Candlepoint, but she’s—” There was no need to spill Justine’s fragile emotional state all over the Crystal Courtyard. Justine was still picking up the pieces of her life and her self from the tragedy that had been her life as a shadeling, and Erick wanted to let that happen. He said, “I don’t think you have anything to worry about with Justine. She might be going on a lot of missions for Candlepoint, though. I just came here so quickly because I needed to get a very fast jump on everything, before other people started making decisions for me and about me and about what all of this might mean, going forward. I am here to stabilize anything that needs stabilizing, to fix up this Crystal to see what it can do since I will likely be traveling for a while, and to check out to see if any Shades are hiding in this town.” Before anyone’s visible emotions spiked too high, Erick told the truth, “I already put an Imaging out over the waters of the lake. I can’t find any Shades in this town. So that’s good news, right?”

Mephistopheles’ politician-face barely cracked. But it did crack.

Oh? Was he expecting a Shade to be in Candlepoint? Who?

Erick had expected Slip to be a Shade, but that was not to be! The Guardmaster of Candlepoint really was telling the truth this whole time; he wasn’t a Shade. The man in question stood to the side of the Crystal Courtyard, almost out of sight. According to all the sights and scanning Erick had, the man was just a normal shadeling with a normal rad inside his chest, atop his heart.

Erick added, “I do want to know if you guys like the name of the town, though. We can certainly change it from ‘Candlepoint’ to something else now that there’s no Shades to care about. Also, I’m going to try and open some talks with the Wasteland, to see about getting trade routes. Gotta strike while the iron is hot, after all! Maybe I can throw Justine at that? Eh. Her choice.” He spoke up again, “Also! Do you guys want another party? I hear that’s what we’re supposed to do on the Triumph of Light.”

By now, there were a good forty people standing a good distance from Erick, Mephistopheles, Ava, Poi, and Willow. With Erick’s final words, almost everyone’s eyes brightened.

Ava said, “We still have all of those other beds and blankets and food that you gave to us just yesterday.”

Erick smiled. “Yeah, but you can always use more, right?” He gestured to the rest of the city, saying, “Where are those minotaurs? Let’s go meet them. And whoever else you want me to meet. We can walk and talk and then come back and assign users for the Summoning Crystal.” He added, “I already talked to Baroness Pirazel Xelxex, and she said that no one was willing to do food trades with Candlepoint, and I sort of agree with that. I don’t like it, but I can see the point of not disturbing established markets too much.”

Mephistopheles nodded, then gestured toward the north, saying, “Then let us walk this way, and speak of possible products.”

Erick walked north, and others followed. Willow stayed behind, her eyes firmly locked on the Summoning Crystal. Erick turned away from her to focus on the people around him.

Ava began with, “Textiles is always a profitable business. With the controlled weather, we could easily raise silk spiders or cotton fruit.”

Erick asked, “People would be comfortable working with spiders?”

“It’s actually quite easy for a shadeling to work with monsters like silk spiders.” Mephistopheles said, “I’ve done a lot of work with those types myself. If Tania is dead, we could even rush in and grab some from the Weaver’s Quarters. She had some specialty spiders that she never let anyone have.”

Erick winced. “That place was on fire, last I saw.”

“That just makes them mad.” Mephistopheles smirked.

“If you guys want to do that?” Erick said, “Sure. I don’t care. Like I said when Bulgan went away: I’m just your support. Everything that this town is and could be is up to you.” He added, “But if all goes well, then in a hundred years when my World Tree has grown to be an actual World Tree, or maybe before, then Candlepoint could be a stepping stone to the stars, with [Gate] travel happening right here in this city.”

If he figured out [Gate]s before then, then maybe Candlepoint could become a hub-town; Erick did not voice this idea, though.

Mephistopheles’s eyes went wide as he stopped in his tracks.

Ava recovered faster than him. She laughed, loud and happy, then asked, “Truly?”

“It’s the truth. Yggdrasil is growing out in the lake right now, and I expect him to be the size of two stacked mountains in a hundred years.” Erick pointed to the air above, at a particular [Scry] orb. “That’s him. Hello, Yggdrasil.”

Yggdrasil’s [Scry] orb bounced in recognition.

Mephistopheles and Ava stared at the hovering ball of invisible intent.

Ava waved, and happily rolled with the situation, saying, “Hello, Yggdrasil. I’m the Sewermaster of Candlepoint, and I like pretty things. Can you use [Telepathy] yet?”

Erick was taken aback at Ava’s casual attitude. It was kinda nice. It would also be nice to see what Yggdrasil would do.

But… apparently what he would do was ‘nothing’.

Ava looked to the air, waiting. After a moment, she said, “Ah. Shy?”

“Maybe.” Erick said, “I know arbors advanced at a very fast rate, and Yggdrasil is more than that. Ah. He hasn’t talked to me yet, either.”

Mephistopheles asked, “Do you wish for us to protect your… He’s still a [Familiar], then? He hasn’t split from your soul yet?”

“No need for any of those concerns. Thank you, though.” Erick said, “It’s all very new to me, but I’m a hundred percent confident that Yggdrasil can protect himself, and he’ll eventually protect you all, too. All I can ask is that you be polite, but don’t coddle him. I heard that was really bad for arbors, and I bet that goes double for World Trees.”

“Usually…” Mephistopheles said, “Usually, they have to become real beings before people consider them arbors, and no one considers their still-[Familiar] tree [Familiar] as a World Tree… How sure are you of this fact?”

“Fully and completely sure.” Erick said, “It’s just a matter of 100 years.”

“And this time table? You seem sure of that, too?”

“Yes.”

Mephistopheles scrunched his face in thought, as he looked away.

They walked in silence, toward the north. They passed houses and apartment buildings, where large trees lined the roads providing shade to all, but very few people were out and about. It was a nice walk.

Ava changed topics. “Back to trade, then? I am interested in all the finer things in life, so I want theaters and music halls and the international connections to make those happen, but the basics come first. I’ll help with whatever is necessary, but where do we start? I was hoping for some sort of food trade, but if that is off the table, then I really do think that textiles would be a good primary market.”

Mephistopheles said, “Food is sorted, thanks to Valok, so we can accept Xelxex’s warning away from the food trade. But not everyone is happy with the options of this city, for we still have a ways to go with the normal necessities, like bakers, clothiers, cooks, cleaners, meat farmers— Now there’s an odd problem. We needed cattle and otherwise, and I understand that you promised Valok’s man, Mister Ooragh, to procure such goods. But now we have the minotaurs.” He looked to Erick, saying, “They just… showed up! I’ve spoken to them all, and they seem perfectly nice, but… People want beef and goat and some even want spider, but when the first minotaur overheard the farmers talking about some of our plans for the future and the inclusion of cows in those plans, there was an altercation.”

Erick frowned.

Mephistopheles said, “It’s sorted, for now, but the problem is here.”

Erick decided, “I’m not having a conversation with them about how they feel over nearby cattle farms. Let us avoid the issue for now and stick to chickens and fish.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Mephistopheles said.

Ava said, “Everyone is learning to live differently. The problem with the minotaurs is that they’re still in the middle of their war response, so we’re walking on dragon eggs. Some fool boy got up in their face when they first got here— the boy is fine, but these people are all high level adventurers.” She added, “Luckily, shadelings are high level, too.”

Mephistopheles pointed forward, saying, “We put the minotaurs in their own compound, across the street from the orchard. Most of them crashed out once they were out of danger, but we should be able to find a few still awake.”

– – – –

Erick glanced ahead, and all around, with the help of his Ophiel, his [Greater Lightwalk], and several senses beyond the norm. Mostly, he liked what he saw.

Dark-walled apartment buildings were scattered here and there, with some in clumps and others on their lonesome. Most were occupied by people who looked like they just moved in; Erick didn’t investigate those places more than a cursory glance through the windows. The empty houses, however, all had plumbing and kitchens and all of that, ready and waiting for someone to move in and turn the place into a home.

Glass in the windows, chimneys for fires at night if it got cold, thick doors for safety. Locks. Erick readily noticed crystal panes in some of the walls that seemed out of place, but upon putting a tendril of light down into those shadowed depths, he understood them as shadeling pathways; something for someone to [Shadowblend] through, similar to the crystals of Ar’Kendrithyst.

With a touch deeper underground, a smile crept upon Erick’s face. There was an entire second layer to the city of Candlepoint, just below the surface.

Erick turned to Mephistopheles and Ava, and said, “I like the underground crystal areas.”

Mephistopheles said, “They’re mostly bunkers in case of attack.”

Ava lightly complained, “Not everyone can get into those bunkers, or take part in the markets that are growing down there.”

“When did that start, anyway?” Erick asked.

Mephistopheles said, “The first crystal roads were laid a week ago.”

“They’ve been expanded, since,” Ava added.

Erick let that conversation drop as the four of them walked down the street, and a fifth separated from the shadows of a tree to join their party. Slip, the Guardmaster with bright white eyes who everyone thought was a Shade. He certainly looked the part, with black skin, horns, and bright white eyes. The man had never done anything to dissuade those rumors, either.

Erick greeted him, “Hello, Slip! How goes the fishing?”

“Sir.” Slip bowed his head a fraction, then righted himself. “It’s only been a day since last we spoke. Nothing much has happened, except for everything, apparently.”

Erick nodded, saying, “I suppose that is true.”

“The lake looks good, though.” Slip said, “It’ll take a while for the new plants to spread and restore a balance to the waters, but that’s just a matter of time. Just a matter of time for more fish to spawn, too.”

“Got any ideas for various markets for Candlepoint to take part in?” Erick asked.

The guardmaster surprised everyone, saying, “News and printing machines and various other propaganda to ensure that we aren’t attacked out of some misguided attempts to ‘cull the last Shadow holdouts in the world’.”

Erick froze. “Please tell me you are exaggerating for effect.”

“Only a little.” Slip said, “That Summoning Crystal will go a long way to ensuring safety, and I like that you rid it of all those shadows, but we will be attacked. With your help, I feel we can defend ourselves from all but an archmage attack. To that end, I am asking for permission to contact you in the case of such oversized threats.”

Erick was startled again. “Of course you can contact me for such a thing! Have I not explicitly said as much? I feel like I might have… Or maybe not?” Erick returned to what the man had originally said, “But propaganda machines? You all don’t want a society built on false ideas, do you?”

“We wouldn’t be dispersing lies.” Slip said, “But it would be good for Candlepoint to be seen as the world healing from the atrocities of the Shades, rather than as a holdout of shadows.”

Well. When he put it like that… Erick could agree… To a certain extent.

Mephistopheles said, “Being under the auspices of the man who ended the Shades should be good for that.”

Slip said, “Which is why his appearance here is good for us, but it is not enough.”

Erick suddenly saw what was going on between Mephistopheles and Slip, though it appeared Ava was slightly out of the loop. Perhaps the two men had had this conversation before, and were just now including Erick? Whatever the case, Erick smiled, and played along, “I will be telling people that Candlepoint is still under my protection. I only hope that when I send people here that you treat them well.” He added, “I’ll tell you before I send people here, of course.”

Slip allowed himself a smile, as he said, “Candlepoint is one of the safest places on Veird, and I aim to keep it that way. Invite whoever you wish, and the Guard will ensure their safety with our very lives.”

“I mean…” Erick was uncomfortable with Slip’s level of zeal, but he said, “Acceptable. Thank you, Slip.” Erick stopped walking forward, since they were close to their destination, and turned to the three members of Candlepoint, “And be sure to contact me if any large monsters come for Candlepoint, too.” He gestured to Poi, saying, “Or contact Poi. I don’t think you have met, but— Mephistopheles, Ava Jadescale, Slip, this is Poi Fulisade, my head guard, and one of my closest confidants. Please treat him as you would me. He already knows who you are. A lot of people do, actually, but it’s past time for certain bilateral information exchanges.”

Ava, Mephistopheles, and Slip, each bowed to Poi.

Poi took a half-step forward, coming to stand beside Erick. He barely bowed at all, before righting and saying, “Greetings. I am a Mind Mage, and if I may be so bold: I humbly suggest less talk of propaganda, and more consideration to honest trade.”

All eyes widened.

Erick barely held himself back from flinching. Poi just came out and said that he was a Mind Mage? And then he offered an opinion?!

New things happened all the time, apparently!

Erick recovered, and said, “I agree with Poi. So let’s come up with some ideas for industry that don’t involve food.” He added, “Or unique magics. Or propaganda. Something that isn’t a valuable resource of the area, either. Something that is only purchasable through the people who live here.”

A small silence descended.

Ava suggested, “Adventuring guides? Every shadeling is a Classed individual at level 55 or higher. That’s almost four times the worldwide average. Power leveling youngsters was good for goodwill in my previous life.”

“Yeah. But that’s the Underworld,” Slip said. “And even that has fallen out of favor in recent centuries.”

Erick frowned at Ava’s suggestion of violent work, but he said the word to see how it felt, anyway. “Mercenaries?”

“We wouldn’t be calling it ‘mercenary’ work, Erick! Guides. Not mercenaries.” Ava said, “It’s a rather unique service that brings a lot of prestige with it, as long as behavior is maintained, of course. High level insular communities do that all the time in order to showcase talent and honor and the like. Guides were particularly prevalent over in Nelboor.” She looked to Slip. “Is that still true?”

“Yes.” Slip said, “Somewhat.”

“But… Mercenaries?”

“Monster-only hunts, of course.” Ava said, “It’s something that Zaraanka and I have spoken about a few times.”

Mephistopheles said, “I’m not sure.”

Ava frowned at the man.

Erick did not like the idea of mercenaries— Or rather, ‘Guides’… And yet, there was something about it that sounded… Almost good? Shadelings as guides would allow the rest of the world to see them as agents against the darkness of this world… And yet, Erick’s frown only deepened, killing the conversation in the process. With a few deep thoughts rattling around in his head, Erick resumed his walk toward the minotaur encampment. The other four followed, in silence.

Erick reached the minotaur house not one block later.

It was a rather ordinary series of buildings, three total, shaped like a U with the northern winds flowing into the center of the three structures. It was only ten small houses, and with a quick glance inside, Erick recognized three bedrooms per house. There weren’t enough rooms. Some minotaurs were sleeping on the ground, or in the same beds as another. A quick count showed at least 45 people, all of which looked mostly the same, but with slight variations.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

They all had bronzed skin, either almost shiny as gold, or as deeply brown as stained wood. Cloven hooves for feet. Reddish hair, but only on their heads… And none on their arms or legs? Erick wasn’t about to violate anyone’s privacy any more than he already had, but from what he saw, they did not have normal mammalian hair distribution. Most of them wore conjured armor, which was a bit of a shame. Maybe no real clothes fit them? At least not yet, anyway. All of them had horns similar to those of incani, but more to the sides, and with about as much variation as incani horns, too. Some had no horns at all, but Erick saw bald, hard spots on a few heads where their horns should have been. Some of them had already carved off their horns.

And now, as he looked, he saw some people crying into mirrors and touching their hair, or the rest of themselves.

Erick hoped the body dysmorphia wouldn’t be that bad, but it obviously was. These ‘minotaurs’ were a people created from all of the various races of Veird, save for the wrought, and each one of them had been soul and blood warped into mutant magical cows, then mutated back into mostly-bipedal bodies, and then changed again into what and who they were right now. Though the Shrouds of their souls seemed strong as steel, with all that body and soul modification, there was going to be mental trauma, too.

But even knowing a bit of what to expect, Erick still felt his heart lurch hard when he spied a woman trying to cut scales into the golden skin of her muscular forearm, while a second woman desperately tried to stop her from hurting herself. The second woman almost needn’t have bothered. The knife failed to cut more than a thin red line into the gold woman’s skin. There was no blood.

Erick turned his attention back to his surroundings.

Slip gave a nod to a pair of shadelings in guard uniforms, stationed outside of the minotaur compound. Those guards bowed toward Erick as Erick’s small group of people walked past them, toward the communal part of the central building. Slip slipped to Erick’s right side, while Mephistopheles and Ava held back a bit, and Poi stepped to Erick’s left side.

Most of the minotaurs had crashed out, sleeping, or trying to sleep, but as Erick approached, a few industrious and wide awake cow-people caught sight of him. Events proceeded fast. Someone yelled out about ‘company coming in’. This call repeated twice through the compound, rapidly becoming murmurs as everyone who wasn’t totally wiped out quickly hopped to attention, coming out of their homes to stand at the doorway to watch, or coming all the way forward into that communal space in the front.

As Erick stepped onto the dark stone under the central pavilion, others were already waiting for him to speak, or for someone else to come forward and demand Erick explain his sudden presence among them.

All before him, Erick saw strong people in a weird situation.

Except for a few particularly large guys and girls, every one of them was still shorter than an orcol, but they stood tall all the same, providing a more united front against Erick’s intrusion than he had expected to find.

“That’s him!” came the startled voice of a bronze-skinned man taller than Erick, with curling white horns on his head. “That’s Archmage Flatt!”

Murmurs erupted as recognition and shared words enlightened everyone to Erick’s identity. And then, like a switch flipping, the entire gathered group of twenty-odd people casually dropped to their knees. Tears fell. They prayed several different ways. Some with their hands clasped together, others with their heads bowed and arms to their sides, and still others who kowtowed, going as low as they could.

Shocked to silence, Erick said nothing. And then he got hold of himself. Words rushed out, “Please! Don’t do that. Stand, please.” When they didn’t immediately comply, he stepped forward, almost ready to lift them off of the ground himself, but the first people he approached shuffled backward, their eyes going wide. Erick stopped. He stepped back, and they seemed to relax. Still, he said, “Please don’t do this worship thing.”

“It’s not worship.” A strong-looking man got back on his cloven hooves, saying, “It’s honor. We honor you for what you have done for us.”

Another stepped up, a woman, saying, “We honor you.”

“Honor to the Archmage!” said another, and then another.

Soon, they were all standing again. Most of them took up the call, “Honor to the Archmage!” But a few remained quietly reverent, their amber eyes sparkling in the light.

Erick felt their emotions wash over him like a warm wave in the ocean. As it passed, he asked them, “Are you all physically okay? Is there anything I can get for you?”

The strong-looking man stepped forward. “Is there anything we can do for you, good sir?”

“Nothing I can think of, but—” Erick instantly asked, “How did you get here? Where is Hollowsaur?”

At the mention of their torturer’s name, the entire crowd turned ugly. Some spat on the ground. Others openly cursed the Shade’s name.

The strong man said, “That Shade is gone! And good riddance!”

A woman said, “We couldn’t kill him, but we tried. Sorry for failing, sir.”

Before the gathering turned more ugly, Erick said, “Don’t worry about it. You’re all okay, and that’s what matters.” As some people frowned at that, Erick added, “Or at least you will be okay, now that the danger of that man has passed.”

That seemed to restore some of the relief on the faces in front of him.

The strong man said, “That Shade tossed us through a [Shadow Gate], dropping us here, telling us all the while that he was sorry.” He glanced toward Slip, then back to Erick, saying, “Some of us already knew this place and its people, and so it was easy enough to get temporary housing. We are making the best of it, and hope to be out of here as soon as we can. But some of us won’t ever be welcomed home as we are. I know I will not be welcomed back home, and I know several of my fellow people won’t be welcomed to their homes, either.”

Ah. It was time for more politics.

Erick picked up what the guy was putting down, saying, “If it were up to me, I’d offer you permanent residences here in Candlepoint, but—” He gestured to Mephistopheles, silently asking the mayor of Candlepoint to come forward, as he said to the strong man, “Mephistopheles is the man in charge around here, along with his other contemporaries. They have final say on any immigration.”

Mephistopheles immediately accepted Erick’s approval of his position by cementing himself in that position, by saying, “Of course they can stay.” He turned to his new people, and said, “You will be bound with the same rules as any citizen of Candlepoint, and you are encouraged to find or make jobs. We’re a growing city, and could use all the help we can get.”

Relief passed through much of the minotaur crowd.

And then Erick had an idea. He sent to Poi, ‘What I’m about to offer does exist, right?’

‘Yes. A lot of us specialize in this for our own communities, though the help you’re thinking of is considered beyond extreme by almost every culture except the Mind Mages.’

Erick suddenly felt a lot better about the broken, yet strong people he saw before him. He spoke, “If anyone wishes for some Mind Mage emotional support or therapy, I will be looking into that sort of assistance not only for you—” He said to Mephistopheles, “But also for the shadelings of Candlepoint. I really should have done this sooner, and so I can only apologize for not acting in your interests faster.”

Even though Mephistopheles grinned at Erick’s side, and then wiped that expression away, the relief of the previous moments became something more spiky, and worrisome, as grumbles passed through the gathered minotaurs.

And then the strong man spoke again, playing a role that he saw needed to be played, “Thank you, Archmage. I will be the first in line for such a service, and I can only hope that some of my compatriots will follow my lead.”

With that simple statement, the strong man seemed to lose a lot of his support all around him. One suddenly-disgusted man stepped away, deeper into the crowd.

But Erick couldn’t help but smile. “I’m glad to hear that, and I can safely say that after all that has recently happened it would probably be good for me, too, to see a therapist.”

A few awkward chuckles passed through the group. And that was okay. Erick was fine with putting himself out there like that, exactly as the strong man had done.

Erick asked, “What’s your name? I’ve just been calling you ‘strong man’ in my head.”

The man smiled at his moniker, then said, “Danarin Longtusk. Former orcol, newly-created ‘minotaur’, and unexpectedly finding himself overjoyed at the true beauty of life ahead.”

Every single large person in the group smiled at that, and even a few of the smaller ones. Erick recognized the sentiment Danarin expressed; by saying ‘true beauty’ he was referring to a life lived outside of Aloethag’s divinely-imposed standards of beauty, and outside of the goddess’s control over any part of him, even if that part had been his empowering Rage. The man had even crouched his language in common idioms instead of directly calling out Aloethag, and that, more than anything, let Erick know that he actually had been an orcol, before all of this soul mutilation. With that revelation, Erick turned a slight attention to the smaller minotaurs, and wondered if the Angels or the Demons were still talking to the former humans or incani, telling them of wars to be fought against their eternal foes, or not. Erick guessed that those smaller minotaurs, too, had been severed from their usual divine overseers. Probably.

Maybe.

Erick considered how to bring a bit more joy to everyone here, and tried, “So as you all know, it’s the Triumph of Light.” A few of the orcol-sized minotaurs gave a quick ‘whoop whoop!’ leading Erick to smile again, as he continued, “Keep in mind that Candlepoint is a city of refugees, though, so our ability to party as we should is a lot lower than it usually is, but even so, I will be trying to supply some good cheer and beer and all of that before the end of the day. Has anyone spoken to all of you about the various people in power around here? And the various help that everyone is trying to give each other? I can’t direct you around much, since I am just an assistant here to help everyone else get back what was taken from them, and so in that way, people like Mephistopheles here should prove much more helpful to you and yours than I.” Erick ceded the floor to the mayor.

Mephistopheles spoke up, “We’ve not gone over much more than the preliminaries.” He turned to the crowd. “But if you’re all willing, then we can begin to integrate you into Candlepoint, as guests or residents, or whatever you want.”

Danarin, who was still a step more forward than anyone else, said, “We’re glad to receive assistance, and to help, and more than ready for the celebration of the Triumph of Light. We’re all well over level 50, too, with many of us having many different skills from classical Arcanaeum training, to warrior training, to self-sufficiency training.” He acknowledged Mephistopheles, then turned to Erick, saying, “We will not be a burden on Candlepoint or on your good graces, Archmage Flatt.”

Erick couldn’t help but continue to smile. “I look forward to it.” And then he conjured images of the various other people that were in charge of Candlepoint, and said, “So this person is Valok Greentalon. His home is over that way, and he was the head man of Spur’s Farmer’s Council before he was assassinated and then resurrected as a shadeling, here in Candlepoint. He is my friend. You can probably seek him out in order to get work at the Farm over there, or to find food.” Erick conjured another person, saying, “This person is Zaraanka Checharin, a competent woman who is currently in charge of the various rad gathering and other adventuring-ish forces of Candlepoint. If you’re into that, seek her out.” He gestured to the other people with him, except for Poi, and said, “And these people can introduce themselves.”

Ava went first.

Soon, small groups of minotaurs were talking in small groups with Ava, Slip, or Mephistopheles.

Erick hung back, and let others come to him, if they wished.

And they did.

He spent an hour talking to various minotaurs, while he had Kiri run around in Spur, searching out caterers and such, while Poi also, but remotely, helped organize a Triumph of Light feast that Erick would surely need to [Duplicate] to make work for an entire town.

Two more hours passed rather fast, with Erick talking more to shadelings now, than the minotaurs. A lot of people just wanted to talk to him, to either thank him, or submit a request for certain items that they thought everyone should have.

Somewhere in all that, Valok showed up.

Erick saw his friend, and smiled wide. “Hello, Valok!”

Valok smiled back, as he walked closer. “I heard you fucked up more shit.”

“I did indeed do that, and more.” Erick grabbed the man’s offered hand and pulled him into a one-armed hug. “Glad to see you in person. Sorry I didn’t show up sooner.”

“It’s okay. It’s okay.” Valok quietly asked, “My daughter isn’t with you, is she?”

“No.” Erick said, “I wouldn’t spring that on you. Not after what you said last time.”

Valok’s white-grey eyes turned slightly whiter, and brighter. “Good.”

Somewhere in all of that, Erick heard the grumbling stomachs of some of the people around him. He started asking what people wanted to eat, knowing full well that he had most of a feast on its way, eventually. He was just gauging the crowd. But Valok heard Erick and rushed in, saying that they had Triumph of Light supplies, but the cooking wouldn’t start for another few hours.

… Erick still had Poi and Kiri continue to find some bulk food sellers. It turned out that the people Erick used before, Palasio’s Caterers, were already booked for the entire week. Most caterers were booked, with those bookings mostly taking place in the dawn hours of that very same day; it was bad luck to make plans for the Triumph of Light before the Triumph of Light, after all.

And then Danarin threw a wrench into the whole thing by coming right up to Erick and saying, “I want beef.”

Erick’s face became a mask, as talk around him seemed to end. “Really?”

Danarin glanced around, then promptly declared, “Everyone is too freaked out by it, but—” He opened his mouth wide, and showed Erick some impressive pearly-white chompers, saying, “Oo hee hese?”

Erick’s mask broke, as he saw what he saw. He smirked, saying, “I see those; yes.”

Danarin spoke normally, “I may have molars, but I still got incisors and fangs. Grass ain’t gonna cut it with me; no sir, archmage sir.”

Erick couldn’t help but chuckle. “Okay— Then! A normal feast. I’m already working on it, but I can ask for some beef, too.”

Danarin cheered up, smiling wide, saying, “I can cook! Just need some supplies! A lot of us can cook.”

Valok interjected himself into the conversation, saying, “We got grills that need manning, if you’re up for it.”

“After the torture I’ve been through, I’m up for just about anything!”

A few happily shared Danarin’s sentiment, with cheers and joy. A few others just gave small, hard smiles, as they tried to keep from breaking all over again.

– – – –

The sun set as a party of unique proportions began, in a land claimed by shadow but liberated by light. There were more musical instruments now than there were hours ago. There was more food than there had ever been before. Songs from a hundred different homelands raised to the sky, as different people got up on impromptu stages that had been scattered all throughout the cosmopolitan city of shadelings.