While Drake finally took a well-deserved bath - joined by Frainer and Kniivar, much to his dismay - somewhere else in Menoraz powerful forces were moving.

In the center of the kingdom, a huge city stood, walls taller than mountains. Thousands of soldiers, elites of elites, patrolled the walls. Cannons, turrets, and, more importantly, Iferes, guarded the capital of Menoraz Kingdom.

Sapphire City, the Rest of Wailing Ghosts, Bane of Illusions, The Gray Sky... The capital had many names, only one of them official. Ironically, that name was just wrong. Sapphire City was nothing like the gemstone. It didn't sparkle and shine, nor was it majestic like other capitals.

As the center of the kingdom blessed by Ingenum, Mystic Ifere of Spirit, the metropolis reflected the qualities of it's patron. It was glum and eerie. Grey buildings, grey streets, neverending fog covering the top of any structure taller than four or five meters.

That wasn't to say the city was colorless. In fact, it was bustling with activity, and people went about their day-to-day life like in any other town. They didn't dress or behave differently. It was just that... To outsiders, even those who lived there most of their lives, it was still creepy. They would look at the sky, and see not the white clouds or the shining sun, but fog and mist. That's all.

Every hour, a bell would ring, audible to everyone in the city. When it rang, it didn't signal just another hour passed, but also safety. In the hundreds of thousands of years Sapphire City had withstood, the bell only stayed silent four times. Once when the protector of Menoraz Kingdom died. Twice when the city almost fell to enemy hands. And one last time eight thousand five hundred and twenty-three years ago, when Ingenum himself descended upon the mortal city.

In the center of the majestically gloomy capital sat a palace. It was made of grey stone, each block taller than a house, and heavier than a shoal of Havvals. The palace, while imposing, wasn't aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Surrounded by walls and battlements, it had small windows and arrow slits, ledges from which burning oil and boulders could be dropped on attackers, and countless other defenses. It had been built for war, at a time when blades ruled, and firearms were nonexistent.

Today, the usually quiet palace was bustling with activity. There was, after all, a war going on. Servants, nobles, generals, and advisers walked from one end of the castle to the other, each one busy in some way.

In his chambers, King Ampharus sat on his bed, his head between his hands. It had been already well over an hour since he woke up, and several servants had knocked on the door, warning him about important meetings, but he ignored them all. Looking at the huge and soft bed, he sighed. His wife, the queen, wasn't there, of course. Their marriage had been arranged to tie the royal family to a smaller noble house. They never loved each other, but it had gotten worse as he got older - she was at least thirty years younger than him. How much time had passed since they had last exchanged more than a few words? Years, certainly.

Stretching his hand, King Ampharus wobbly grabbed a half-empty bottle of wine that was sitting on his bedside table, and took a long sip. Ever since that dammed war started, he had been surviving basically on alcohol and anger.

His thoughts inevitably drifting back to King Marcus' grin back at the Meeting of Rulers, Menoraz's king couldn't help but curse loudly. The bottle of wine in his hand flew in a wide arc as he threw it, and shattered against the wall. Instantly, three royal guards kicked open the door to his chambers, weapon in hands, looking for an intruder. Seeing only the king, half-naked, they hurriedly bowed and backed out.

King Ampharus didn't bother with keeping a dignified facade. Over the past weeks, similar scenes had happened at least a dozen times. Growling and spitting slurs, he dressed himself, dismissing the servants who usually did it for him. Then, already having found another drink, he waltzed out of his chambers.

Before long, he entered a huge room, on the center of which was a giant marble table. While the table itself was empty, the walls were covered by screens and maps. Huge shelves groaned under the weight of countless scrolls and books, all of them of strategic importance. This was, without a doubt, the war room of Menoraz Kingdom.

Generals and advisers knelt when King Ampharus strode past them without so much as a word. Taking a random seat at the table, he waved for them to get up, and then beckoned a servant to bring beverages. Something strong, as always.

The men and women in the room were already used to this daily ritual by now. Without missing a breath, they politely took the drinks they were offered, and feigned taking a sip. Well, most of them did. Some just outright downed their's and put the empty glasses aside, or asked for another.

Waving his hand, Menoraz's monarch gestured to one of his advisers, a middle-aged man with a scar over his right eye. The man, a former general, opened a map on the table, and held it down with especially-made weights. Digital versions of the map appeared on the screens around the room, giving everyone a clear view of what the man was showing.

"Your Majesty."

"Don't waste my time. Show us the numbers and the battles and the... Military things."

Nodding, the adviser did just that. Inwardly, he was cursing the useless ruler. Sober, King Ampharus was sharp-witted and sharp-tongued, but as soon as he started drinking, he wouldn't give a damn f*ck about anything anymore.

"We've entered a stalemate at the moment. General Lilac's surprising comeback two days ago gave us the time we needed to recover from Lapidum's offensive. Her suggestion, and I second it, is to bunker down and hold our ground."

"What about the territory we lost?! I was informed Lapidum scum has already started building outposts! We need to attack and take what is ours back!"

A pale man, wearing colorful and expensive clothes, interrupted the adviser, who scoffed. He knew very well why the man - Marquis Vallember - was so agitated. Most of the territory Lapidum Kingdom took was under his oversight. The physical impact that the loss of that stretch of two hundred odd kilometers had was limited. The blow to his prestige in the royal court and to his wallet? Not so much.

"Territory is only important if there's someone left alive to work on it, marquis. We already suffered over ninety-thousand casualties, of which more than ten thousand were civilians."

"But!"

"That's enough, Lew. And Adviser Fuute, remember Marquis Vallember's position. He has the right to be worried."

"I beg your pardon, Your Majesty! I overstepped!"

While he knelt, Adviser Fuute had to suppress a growl. The marquis was one of King Ampharus' oldest friends, from when he was just a carefree duke. If only his brother, the former king, hadn't died without an heir...

Getting back up, the adviser took the chance while his monarch was grabbing another drink to sneak a glance at the other people in the war room. The important ones, old warriors and strategists, not those greedy nobles. One of them nodded back, almost imperceptibly. They knew this meeting was just for show, and to - hopefully - scare King Ampharus into taking action. The real decisions would be taken later, amongst themselves.

The war meeting went on for two more hours, during which King Ampharus was getting increasingly angrier. There didn't seem to be any good news, only reports of their army being crushed, and their frontlines falling. The fact that General Lilac was barely managing to keep everything under some semblance of control didn't help. He hated her, and the feeling was mutual. He was very aware she wasn't loyal to him.

"... Our best option is to retreat until Kallen Ridge. There, as long as we have enough artillery and rock-type Iferes, we can..."

The four-star general who was talking was suddenly interrupted by the sound of glass breaking. As it inevitably happened every other meeting, King Ampharus had smashed his glass on the floor.

"F*ck! F*ck, f*ck, f*ck! I'm going to kill that f*cking c*nt Marcus! I'm going to cut him to pieces and feed him to his own... F*ck!"

Cursing and making a sling of threats that would have landed him in prison if he was anyone other than the king, King Ampharus ended the meeting, and dismissed the generals and advisers, leaving with his group of lackeys, Marquis Vallember included.

Without the pressure of having their sovereign in the same room as them, Adviser Fuute and the others sat down, and sighed. Rubbing his forehead, the former general glanced at his counterparts. Most of them were old veterans, like him. Right now, he could see in their eyes the same mirthless look he knew he had on his.

"Well, that was fruitless."

Lighting a cigar, an old woman cursed. Looking back at the open door through which King Ampharus had just left, she gestured for one of the aides to close it. She half-trusted everyone in the room, even if she didn't like most of them, but one could never be too careful, especially if they were planning on bad-mouthing the king.

"Bah! What did you expect? He can't hear Lilac's name without flying into a rage!"

"His f*cking problem! And Vallember! Three thousand f*cking people died yesterday, and he is worried about a dip in his taxes?!"

"That's enough, Katara."

Interrupting the woman before she said anything too dangerous, another adviser looked at Adviser Fuute, and frowned. He could see from the man's face that something was bothering him. And for something to trouble a man who could watch thousands die without a change of expression, it had to be big.

Following the adviser's gaze, everyone fell silent. The people in the room were all able to make Menoraz Kingdom shake with a wave of their hands, but there were some people they held a deep respect for. General Lilac, Minister Snow, Duchess Falia, Royal Archiver Lamberth... And Adviser Fuute.

"There's something. It might become a problem... Or not."

The others said, nothing. Instead, they waited for him to recollect his thoughts and continue.

"Isabella contacted me. A patrol squad... A Menoraz Army patrol squad... Attacked a civilian farm. Robbed, killed, and r*ped."

"Sh*t... Media caught wind of it?"

The old woman crumpled the cigar in her hand, letting out an oath. She knew that happened, they all did. However, this was the first report in this war. If news spread, it would be a terrible blow to the Menoraz Army.

"Not yet."

"Thank the gods. We don't need those f*ckers sniffing up our asses right now. What happened to them?"

"They were... Eliminated."

"Lilac?"

Adviser Fuute shook his head, one finger rapidly thumping on the surface of the table. The frown never left his face.

"No. It was one of her special scouts. Well, he used to be. Walked into the squad just as they were finishing, and tore them apart. Quite literally. He's got a powerful Kniivar companion, not to mention a Frainer."

The man scanned the faces of the other people around the table, waiting for one of them to catch on. It didn't take long.

"A scout with a Frainer and a Kniivar? Isn't that the guy who discovered that sneak attack by Lapidum? He left because of that? What a pity. Seemed like a good seedling."

"We could still give him a medal after this war is blown over, and try to convince him to go back. For Lilac to take a fancy for him, he must be something."

There were several nods of agreement, which stopped as soon as they saw Admiral Fuute was shaking his head.

"The scout lost it after killing the patrol. Marched onto Isabella's headquarters, knocking out any soldier who tried to stop him. Threatened her, and almost blew a third-rate general's head off."

Silence followed his words. The old woman let her second cigar fall from her hand, and several of the other high-ranking officers had their mouths open in shock. They knew General Lilac's temper very well. They wouldn't dare to do what the scout did. It took more than guts to pull something like that.

"She let him walk away after that?"

"Uhum. I asked her that, and she said he saved Ruli from execution in Lapidum. I'm not too sure of the details."

"Well, sh*t. Can't say I blame her for that. So what? Should we be worried 'bout him making a mess? Telling the media or something like that?"

"Ha! If only!"

Suddenly, Adviser Fuute laughed. It was a defeated, self-mocking laugh, the kind you wished you didn't hear.

"I could deal with bad press. No, it's a lot worse than that. The boy is missing but a badge to become a ranger."

After a few seconds of processing the information, all the generals and advisers hid their heads in their hands. Why did it have to be a ranger of all things? At this moment, the old woman rested her forehead on the table, and cursed, saying what they were all thinking.

"F*ck."