“Commander Branford, I’ve got a report you should take a look at.” A man in a predominantly green Mage uniform wearing glasses walked over to a large desk and handed over a several pages thick report.

The Commander looked up from his paperwork, a slight frown on his face. He was a man of average height and build, with light brown hair neatly braided down to his lower back and gray-blue eyes that currently looked wearied. He was the type of person that, if dressed casually, would be indistinguishable from the masses.

“Thanks, Stills.” He said casually, taking the report and reading it. Before he’d finished, he’d started cursing up a storm. Scholar Mage Stills knew this was coming and only nodded his head in understanding.

“As if I need more bad news!” Branford spat out, slamming the report on the desk and cursing some more. After getting the worst of his frustration out verbally, he finally calmed down.

Leaning back on his chair and looking at the ceiling, he said with despairing grin: “Fractures, huh? And from a damn Slypa of all things…”

“I was surprised too.”

Scholar Stills had been keeping an eye out for anything related to “Fractures” per the Commanders request. He’d expected it to come from a much stronger monster based on the criteria he’d been given.

“How did he even figure it out?”

“I don’t know, and he doesn’t seem to be aware that what he did was unusual.”

“Oh? Did you ask?”

“I asked him the method and he said he used Information 5 on it. So then I used the same spell on the fragment he had, and the the Fracture information wasn’t there.”

Commander Branford sat in his seat properly again, eyebrows high in surprise. “I’ll be damned! How’s that even possible?”

“Hm…” Stills rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “An inborn skill perhaps…?”

“Shouldn’t his Information have reflected—?”

“Well, doesn’t the Imperial Family have inborn skills that don’t show up?”

“It’s not that they don’t show up, they just—” Branford suddenly stopped, a look of confusion on his face. Then, very slowly, with his brow crinkled he continued, “…could be a raw power thing, maybe…?”

“Of course he’s powerful, he’s an Archmage. But other Archmages, such as yourself, have also been looking into this.”

“That’s not what I meant, exactly…” Commander Branford muttered before he shook his head and then stood up.

“I’m going to the Vault, Stills.”

“Eh? Right now?”

“Yes, clear the schedule for the rest of the day.”

“As you wish, Commander.”

——

“Bran, this better be important, calling me out here with no notice.”

“Of course it is.” Branford ‘tsked’ at his older brother’s behavior. Travis never quite let go of the fact that Branford was the youngest of the family. The ten year difference between them and his mischievous tendencies into his later years didn’t help any.

Travis was a lean man, a head taller than Branford, with dark blond hair, and sharp blue eyes. He took very much after Travis II, who supposedly took after the first Emperor. Not that there were any pictures to prove it.

They were currently standing next to a small, narrow metal door. It had elaborate carving etched into it, as well as precious gemstones. This door, plus the entire room it was connected to, was heavily fortified with magic and good old fashioned fortress architecture. Do one thing wrong, and it was instant death.

Travis rested one hand on a red gem and the other on a green one, and spoke, “Emperor Travis Aurelian the Third, plus one guest. Please allow entrance.”

The door flashed red and green, and then several clicks could be heard as locks were released. Finally, the door creaked open. Only after it was completely open did both men step through.

Inside, the lights were already lit for them. It was as bright as if it were outdoors on a summer day, and not hundreds of feet underground. Besides national and historical treasures, there was an extensive “forbidden” library too. Branford made a beeline for a section of books in the library, Travis trailing behind him.

All the children of the Emperor were allowed down here, but only the Emperor himself could unlock the door. Branford had often come to read the books related to magic when he was younger so he was familiar with the library.

Today he was in the history section. This he hadn’t read much of, not being a history buff himself. After thinking about it, he reached for the oldest looking book on the shelf.

When he opened it and realized it was in an archaic form of a foreign tongue, he immediately closed it and put it back. Thinking again, he grabbed the newest looking book instead. When he opened it, he was relieved to see words he could understand.

Travis had been watching and was surprised to see him go to the history section of this library.

“What are you looking up?” He asked, walking next to his younger brother and peeking down.

“Fractures.”

Travis frowned slightly.

“You still can’t be thinking—”

“I do.”

The older man’s frown deepened. They’d been arguing about the cause of the monster violence for months now.

“Ah!” Branford pointed at a line of text. “Yes, there were side affects like what we’re seeing. Strange mutations, increases in monster strength and activity too.”

“We’ve been over this before. If there are Fractures, there must be Fracture Demons. So. Where are they?” Travis pointed out stubbornly.

Branford simply nodded and then put the book away. He thoughtfully stared at the covers, then walked over to the Nature Section before selecting another book. The book cover read “A Comprehensive Guide to Rare & Unusual Monsters”.

He flipped through the book until he got to the section under Fractures. After reading for a while, his gave a grimacing nod.

“True, there are no demons. And it’s all out of order, but—” He turned the book around and pointed at what he’d just read, “We’ve got a confirmed sighting of a fractured monster.”

The older man read the text, a slight frown on his face. “ ‘Giant Slypa: And Other Strange After Effects of the Fracturing’. Eh, Giant Slypa? Is that even a thing?”

“Apparently it is… I wasn’t sure until just now either. And we actually found one, a Giant Slypa.”

Travis stiffened. “Where exactly was this Giant Fractured Slypa found?”

“Slypa Hill.”

Travis’ face paled. “Right outside the Capital?!”

“Yes.”

“And you’re SURE it was Fractured? Not just a rare mutation?”

“Absolutely sure. They had a Fractured status. Many of the plants on Slypa Hill had the same thing.”

“This doesn’t make any sense! None of this is like the legends say—-” Travis kneaded his forehead angrily, before suddenly switching gears: “How could this be right outside the Capital and no one noticed?!”

Branford was quiet for a moment before delivering more bad news.

“Brother… the Fracture curse isn’t showing up on our Information spells.”

“WHAT?!”

“This is why I came down here. I’ve never heard of this happening either.” He held up the book. “I’m going to have to take this out and use it as reference. There are mutations that only happen when Fractures appear. If I know what to look for, I can have the Mages in the field look for it too. It will help get a better idea how bad things really are out there.”

Travis let out a pained hiss, as if he’d been physically hit in the gut by the news. While he was plenty prideful, he wasn’t to the point of denying reality. He could admit when he was wrong. To be wrong about something this important was enough to make him feel nauseous from the shame. It took him a few minutes to get a hold of himself, his young brother looking at him sympathetically as he did.

“If… if the Information spells aren’t working, how did you find out about the Fracture curse?”

“One of our Archmages happened to be in Slypa Hill and saw the Giant Slypa. Killed it in fact. And… I don’t know why… but his Information spells work properly. He saw the Fractured status and reported it.”

“Which Archmage was it?”

“Acanthio.”

It took Travis a bit to place a face to the name. “Ah, I remember! The one who killed a fire breathing dragon! My son insisted on giving him a medal personally for it… Wasn’t he recently promoted?”

“Yes.”

“Why can he see the Fracture and no one else can?”

“I just told you I have no idea.”

“Ah… right, you did say that.”

They were quiet for a moment, thinking deeply about the possibilities.

“I’d like to meet him personally, if I could. Without drawing a lot of attention to the fact.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“Branford.”

“Hm?”

Travis’ face was pale now, with no trace of his usual arrogance. “If it’s all out of order… what if the Fracture Demons come first, and we’re left to fend for ourselves?”

“We’ll die a horrible death with everyone else, I suppose.”

Both men were silent again, the weight of their knowledge pressing down on them.

The older man looked upward, as if through the ceiling to the sky and asked, “What did I do to piss God off this much…?”

Branford began smacking his brother on the back, both to encourage him and also as stress relief for his own fears. Travis was sturdy enough that the over enthusiasm didn’t hurt him.

“What kind of talk is that? As if this has anything to do with God… these are Fractures, dammit! They’re equal-opportunity killers, and we both know it. But this isn’t the Dark Ages, we aren’t unprepared. Wasn’t our forefather Travis the Great? Don’t we have the vast knowledge of the Holy Golden Empire, spanning hundreds of years? Why wait for a Savior to save us, when we can start saving ourselves?”

The other man gave a wry smile at his younger sibling and ran his fingers through his hair.

No matter what Branford said, they both knew: if they had to fight alone, they wouldn’t last. Fracture Demons were the stuff of nightmares and neither were pleased to be alive to witness their resurgence. But thinking that way solved nothing, nothing at all. So it really was better to be positive and proactive.

“Right, right! I guess it’s a good thing the Church Patriarch insisted on fortifying churches… I thought… he was just being paranoid…” Emperor Travis sighed at his own foolishness and then paused for a moment. “We can’t push the military anymore than we have, without tiring people to the point of making serious mistakes. A tired military will be useless against Fracture Demons, much less the Monsters that accompany them. I increased recruitment tempo but it will take time for that to show. I think it’s time to call the Lord’s Council.”

“Ah… that’s going to be a pain in the ass.”

“Yes it will.” Travis gave a strained chuckle. “They’ll need to start stock-pilling resources and working together properly for once, not to mention the money they’ll have to fork over to start arming the Imperial army and their own militias…”

Branford groaned in annoyance, “Not local militia… I hate dealing with local militias…”

“Oh shut up. It’s better than dealing with Adventurers. Or would you rather I go to them first?”

“Aiy! Imperial Majesty, mercy! Mercy! I’d rather teach cats to jump through flaming hoops!”

——

“Commander,” Thio began carefully. “While I do appreciate the bonus and the medal, the invitation to His Imperial Highness’ birthday party is… too good for such a lowly personage as myself.”

Thio was currently sitting in Commander Branford’s office. The Commander was radiating power like an overly hot fire, a typical occurrence for an Archmage in the Warrior Class. Thio’s jawline had been tight the moment he’d stepped in because of it and he was developing a slight headache from the tension.

He’d been surprised to get any type of reward for his report, and even more surprised that the Commander had given it to him personally. However, he wasn’t ungrateful. Money was money, and the medal was a nice bonus.

But an Imperial Party was a whole different thing. That was not a reward, that was torture, punishment. He absolutely did not want to go.

“Archmage Acanthio, you can’t possibly think you’ll be able to turn down an Imperial invitation?” The Commander raised his eyebrow.

“Sir, I am from the lowest cast of society. I don’t know how to behave around such venerable guests, much less the Emperor himself. I would bring shame to yourself and the Air Defense.”

Commander Branford leaned back in his seat, steepling his fingers.

“But you think you’re mighty enough to refuse a personal invitation from the Emperor?”

Thio’s face noticeably stiffened. “Personal…?”

“That’s right. The Emperor personally invited you.”

Despite his bland expression, a cold sweat had broken out on Thio’s forehead. Why had his report garnered the attention of the Emperor himself? To the point of getting a personal invitation? What was going on? Was this some kind of political maneuvering? But to what end? He didn’t know enough powerful people to be used as a good pawn!

“Well?”

“…I suppose refusing isn’t an option then.”

“You suppose?” The Commander gave him a sharp look, his magical pressure causing a shudder to run down Thio’s spine. Wasn’t being an Imperial Prince enough? Why did he need to push Thio around with his damn magic too?!

Thio inwardly lamented his horrible luck but said aloud in a very polite voice, “Pardon my rudeness, Commander. I meant to say: it will be a great honor to go.”

Commander Branford gave him a winning smile, his overflowing magical power lessening, causing Thio to slump slightly in his chair in relief.

———

“But isn’t going to an Imperial Birthday Party really exciting?”

“Of course not!” Thio gave his wife a horrified look. “Do you know what they make you do at those?”

“E-eat fancy food…?”

“If it were just that! But no, you’ve got to present yourself before the Emperor and spew out some nonsensical birthday congratulations. As if I know what to say to an Emperor—! And then you’ve got to hobnob with Royalty AND Nobility. Say the wrong thing, make one of them angry, and your life is a living hell! And then.. The worst thing..” He covered his face with his hands, causing Caroline to get anxious in the silence that followed.

“…the dancing.”

A “pft!” escaped her before she could stop it, which earned her a glare.

“Haven’t you been to parties with dancing before?”

“I have.”

“Then why is it so bad?”

“Because I’ve been able to find a corner and hide there before! I don’t ever dance. Period.”

“Oh, come on… I’ll teach you how to dance! It’ll be fun!”

“You… know how to dance?”

Caroline puffed up, chest out, hands on her hips.

“That’s right! I learned from Mariel!”

He gave her a very curious look and then smiled slightly.

“Can you show me?”

“Sure!” Caroline was quite proud of her dancing and didn’t mind showing off.

She held her hands out, as if clasping people to her right and left. She then began a rather impressive foot dance: step forward, back, side, side, jump, opposite side side, back, forward, twirl. She did several variations of that, some slow, and some face paced.

Thio watched her for several minutes, eyes twinkling and throughly entertained. When she finished, breathing heavily and sweating, he clapped enthusiastically.

“You were right, you’re good at dancing.”

“Why thank you ver—”

“Folk dancing, anyway.”

“F-folk dancing?!”

“Yes, what you did was a classical southern folk dance.”

Her lips pursed and she glared at him.

“…I take it they don’t folk dance at Imperial Birthday Parties.”

“They do not.”

“Then why did you ask me to dance for you!”

“I thought you’d look cute.”

“Why you—!” She threatened to hit him, and he threatened to run. After a few minutes of feinting and tricking each other with pretend violence, Thio landed a passionate kiss on her lips.

Cheeks blushed and lips bright red, Caroline instantly forgave him.

Clearing her throat, she got back to business.

“Since it’s not ‘folk’ dance, I guess I’m useless to you. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to be sorry. We’re both in the same boat at this point.” When she gave him a confused look in response, he sighed. “Caroline, you’ll have to go with me.”

She pointed at herself in surprise.

“Yes, you.”

“But… but I don’t know anything about anything!” She squeaked out in horror. It was one thing if Thio went, he could just put on his “I don’t care” mask and be fine, no matter what he said. But Caroline was useless at hiding her emotions and her limited experience with her local Lord didn’t give her any hope at dealing with Nobility, much less Royalty. And now she knew she couldn’t dance either!

“C-can’t you turn them down?!”

“I tried already.”

She walked over and sat next to him, her face the exact same expression as his had been when he’d come home.