"Ugh, and then, after an hour of explaining to her that no, we have no plans to marry Soret to any of the Karanan royalty, she has the gall to point out that my father is also lacking a spouse at the moment." Princess Adageyudi slapped both hands over her face.

"Well, at least that's a new one." Shiara turned her head to look at her princess; walking together like this, sharing the frustrations of their time in Vera, made her feel like she had a real place beside her princess. "Everyone angled for you or your brother, but how many considered your father?"

Arakash and Celeste followed behind and remained silent. Neither had much to say to the other, and both were on the lookout for threats now that they had left the safety of Vera proper.

"Just this one," Ada admitted. "Ugh. I was expecting trade negotiations and explaining our side of the war. But with exception to the Ort-Selucid, it has been nothing but marriage alliances." And even they were borderline. "It's like nobody in this country even cares about prosperity and security!" She raised her arms to the pristine blue skies.

Keeping his voice down, Arakash chuckled. "She brings up a good point." He didn't care one way or another, other than that it let him needle Celeste. "Who does worry about security in Vera?" He assumed that since she was a commander and officer, the answer was she did.

Celeste ignored the barb; there was no point in defending Karana's politics to a noctrel. She wasn't a fan of the circumstances of empire, but she was old enough to remember the days before it existed. Imperfect though it was, all possible alternatives were far worse. She would do her duty as a keeper of justice to ensure the worst abuses were dealt with, and trust in those wiser than herself to guide them to a better future.

Shiara turned toward Ada, still walking if in a rather odd side-step fashion. "It's because to them, marriages are prosperity and security."

Ada looked over as well, confused and surprised by that answer. "You'll have to explain that to me." Unbeknownst to her, Celeste and even Arakash had taken an interest as well, if for different reasons.

"It's all about bloodlines," Shiara said. "Look at me, for example: I have no titles to my name, no royal blood, nothing to grant me prestige or influence. And yet, I would be treated as royalty by any court I walked into, because of my power."

Celeste caught the lie; Shiara might not have titles or royal ties, but she had 'prestige' to spare. Given the girl's natural power, it wasn't a surprise. What she couldn't comprehend is why she insisted on hiding. Otherwise she told the truth, or what she believed was truth.

"That's horrible," Ada muttered. She could not, however, disagree. "People should be treated with the respect they treat others, regardless of bloodlines." Ada's experience as the only 'Unrevealed' mage she'd ever known had shaped a more sympathetic perspective than most royalty possessed toward people with less power.

"I agree, but not even the gods have the power to change the world." Shiara suppressed the urge to lean in for another kiss; there were many things she loved about her princess, but her compassion was what convinced her that said love was justified.

"Yet, compared to those with no magic at all, we might as well be the gods. We have all of the power, can shape the world to our needs in ways that they never could. The forge I've been working at; they've been honing their craft for almost forty years, yet were barely scraping by. In the month that I've been there, I've helped them shape a hundred weapons, some fifty times more valuable than anything they could make." None quite so powerful as that one early sword. Still, she smiled at knowing that first time in her life, her power helped rather than harmed.

"Oh no," Ada gasped. "Are they going to be okay without you?"

"Don't worry, I think they're better off now than ever." Shiara smiled at the memories when she told them she was leaving. "I left them with enough toys to sell that they can live in luxury. Speaking of, this one's for you." Shiara took a moment to extract a pair of leather bracers from her pack. "They've got a few wards to protect you from harm. Most important, I think, is that you should be immune to fire while wearing them." Which gave Shiara peace of mine. "Plus if you have to, they can set the air around you on fire. Like one of my strongest fire blasts strong. It won't last long, however, so don't rely on it."

"Wow." Ada held them up, inspected them with her own arcane senses. Void mages, she'd come to learn from her studies, might not be able to use any other type of magic, but they had a unique way of seeing the intricacies of woven magic. "This is top tier work, are you sure you want to give it to me? Or that the shop can afford to part with it."

"Well, I can't use much and still take my fire form, and I've left behind like eight weapons just as strong, and one that's way stronger. Plus about thirty others that aren't quite as good." Shiara had a busy month, even if she never managed to match her one masterwork again. "They feared they might never be able to retire, but now they'll be able to live in comfort for the rest of their lives." And seeing you smile is payment enough, she found herself unable to say.

"That's wonderful!" Ada reached out, hesitated for a moment, then hugged Shiara. "I'm so glad."

Shiara accepted the hug for what it was: an expression of happiness and approval, nothing more. When they broke off, she continued. "But that brings us back to my point. On my first day, I was more capable than they were after decades of practice. And they had some magic, just not as much as we do. It's not just in crafting tools, either. On the battlefield, building homes, ensuring good harvests, always the mages do the important work. The usefulness of peasants is to do the things those with power don't want to waste their time on. And those in power know that, so they desperately fight to ensure their partners are the strongest possible bloodlines, to guarantee their offspring remain strong. It's how they keep their power."

In the back of her mind, Shiara considered the possibility of that being her 'in' with Ada. Marrying them for her bloodline. She rejected it moments later; they would demand she conceive children with someone, probably Ada's brother or perhaps father, and she wasn't willing to go that far. Not yet.

"My father disagrees." Ada stood taller, taking pride that her family was different. "Sure, we understand the importance of the line, but we don't ignore those beneath us. Soret regularly goes into the city to help, and the people love him for it. Our father has support programs, and no matter what happens, he makes sure to defend his people. That's how that stupid war started in the first place." No matter what lies Arakash tried to tell me.

Shiara had heard about Prince Soret involving himself in the surrounding cities, but until now dismissed it as rumor rather than fact. "How did that happen, anyway?" Shiara's smile faded, now that they were discussing serious issues, rather than relaxing. "Sira wasn't involved, and it happened almost a decade before I was born. Everyone I know seems to think it was King Sorda's aggression. But I don't know what the truth is. I mean, if it was a war of conquest, why didn't he take any territory?" Shiara hurried to add after realizing Ada might not appreciate the statement.

Celeste kept her face as neutral as possible when the subject came up, but Arakash had begun learning the daeva's tells; hiding her emotions was when one knew she had emotions to hide. This was important to the daeva on a level far deeper than curiosity.

It happened before Ada was born, too, but she had different history lessons. "Piracy and corruption," Ada said. "Mainly along the Tetlet coasts. Father complained numerous times to the local leaders about raids and attacks, but nobody seemed inclined to help. So he arranged an ambush and got some intelligence about the main hiding place of the pirates, and clues they were bribing the Tetlet nobility, or perhaps some were directly involved. Needless to say, the nobles weren't pleased when Tyras troops were found in their borders. Father did his best to keep casualties to a minimum by capturing some important leaders, and used them to ransom for peace. But Tetlet is tied in with Karana politically, and nobody was happy that he directly targeted nobles rather than sending men to the slaughter by way of traditional warfare."

"Oh, no wonder they hate him." Shiara laughed; she knew she liked staying in Tyras over Sira for more than one reason. Taking the fight right to the corrupt bastards at the top was something she would support with a smile. It was power, not merit, which placed them at the time, and she would see them all driven into the dirt if she could.

Arakash glanced at Celeste. "Out of curiosity, how much of what she just said was even parallel to the truth? Or is that some sort of special military secret?" As

he expected, Celeste ignored him. Yet, the way she ignored him was telling in its own right.

They walked for another hour, doing little more than small talk until they reached the small lake which fed the river flowing through Vera. Numerous small waterfalls fed into pool, themselves fed by mountain runoff across much of the chain; fortunately not the same part of the chain which contained the goblin forests. If any goblins got close to Vera's supply of fresh water, there would have been a bounty fit to draw hunters from across the continent.

Instead, the four were treated to a spectacular view of a broad, if shallow, lake obscured by mist and rainbows. Everyone paused to appreciate this wonder of natural beauty, except Arakash.

"Our portal is this way." Celeste stepped up to one of the cliff faces, and touched it. With a burst of magic, some internal mechanisms began moving and a passage revealed itself. "Again, my apologies that security requires us go this far to access a portal."

She entered, followed by the others. Like the last cave, this one was dark and twisting and comprised of exceeding amounts of salt. In fact, it seemed probable it was part of the same cave system as the one they traveled through to reach the goblin forest. If so, then no living being had found the path which connected the two and told the tale.

"Isn't this valuable tactical information?" Arakash asked. "Revealing backdoors into Karana can't be safer than using the front."

"The location of portals is hardly dangerous," she said. "They can only be accessed or manipulated from within. So long as the Sacred City itself remains hidden, Karana is unassailable. We must, however, avoid the main path for security purposes."

Arakash wondered how accurate that statement was. Sure, daeva couldn't lie or be lied to, but misinformation took on a life of its own so long as one didn't seek to uncover the truth. "Then why hide the entrance?"

Celeste considered the question for a moment. "My assumption is to make it more difficult for invaders who've already taken territory, and to circumvent the threat of thaumivores. This cave network is ideal for both purposes."

"What's a thaumivore?" Shiara hadn't heard of them, but they sounded dangerous.

"It's the general term for creatures which can consume magic," Ada said. "They're usually tough, and while not all that dangerous, they can be nightmares since they grow stronger the more magic they're exposed to. Portals generate a lot of energy for them to feed on."

"Huh." Shiara set herself alight, so they could see their way. The moment she did so, several bats screeched and flapped their wings. They were large, the size of a medium sized dog, with several pairs of eye-like color patterns on their wings. Or so they seemed, until the eyes blinked at Shiara, then clenched shut. "Gaaah!!!" Shiara jumped back.

The noise startled the animals, which flew away in a cacophony of screeches and flapping wings.

They followed Celeste through the inscrutable tunnels full of strange bats, formless specters of mist, and large rock-encrusted worms. None so large as the one they encountered last time, which was a great relief to all involved. Over an hour later, they found their destination: another dead-end. Celeste took the time to activate that mechanism as well, revealing their portal.

Arakash gave an appreciative examination of the walls. "Have to hand it to whoever designed these tunnels. They were a people who cared about security." He didn't want to admit it, but in spite of having been led here, he didn't think he could find the path again without Celeste's guidance.

"Even centuries later, Karana has not forgotten the lessons of the past," Celeste said. "We may not desire war, but when war comes, we are prepared."

"Have to admit, Sira could learn from this sort of paranoia," Shiara said. She was right behind Ada, with Arakash taking up the rear as they passed through the portal to Karana. There was no transition, no sense of distortion in space and time. One moment they were on one side, the next they were on the other.

The first impression they had of Karana was how vast it was. Fields stretched out in all directions, dotted with houses, barns, and other structures. A well-maintained grid of roads allowed wagons and individuals to travel as they needed. Near the horizon stood a wall of ivory and sapphire. Even in the day and from so far away, they could see the magical lights that maintained the city's vaunted invincibility.

"It's more beautiful than any of the stories I've read." For Princess Adageyudi, the beauty was well beyond the visible. As she looked, she could see the zone of warped reality that protected this sanctuary. We're not in real space. She said nothing; she didn't know if her hunch was correct, but her limited experience as a void mage showed her how reality buckled and twisted. The reason Karana could not be found was because it existed outside of reality. If she was correct, she would still say nothing for fear of revealing dangerous secrets.

"I've never seen anything like it," Shiara agreed. She moved closer to her princess yet again.

"Welcome to my home," Celeste said.

"I don't like it." Arakash stepped back, through where the portal should have been to them back to the other side. It didn't take him back. "Something is very wrong about this place. We have to leave."

Shiara rolled her eyes. "You would hate this place."

"No, you stupid brat, this is something different! Dangerous." Arakash glanced around, seeking the source of his fear. "There is a predator here. Ancient, powerful, and it's starting to awaken."

"I think I feel it too," Ada said. "The compression between when lightning has struck but the thunder has not yet followed. It's massive, whatever it is."

Shiara and Celeste looked as well. Neither were inclined to trust Arakash, but when Ada agreed with him, they started listening. "I'm afraid I feel nothing of what you describe," Celeste said.

"No!" Ada grabbed the sides of her head. "No no no no!!! We have to get away! We're g-" She fell to the ground screaming.

The sky split open. The bright stained-glass afternoon scene cracked, revealing the empty black sky outside. The unreality of Karana had collided with a separate unreality, and both shattered. Soon they would collapse together, merge as two bubbles might.

A glow of red marred the otherwise perfect black on the other side of the crack in the universe, grew closer. An eye the size of a building looked through the hole in its long prison. There was no recognition, no curiosity, no life. It was a dead thing powered by a hatred purified and distilled for millennium. Rotting clawed fingers, each as large as a war ship, slid out of that empty Nowhere into the one where Karana stood.