Alsace heard the Emperor before she saw him. His raucous laughter coursing through the halls of the palace. She was a little confused, given that from what she heard, the first wave of his undead army was annihilated.

“Emperor Eradin, sire, your genius plan was a success. We now know exactly where the traitors are, who is sheltering them and what we face on the Northern front; without expending much of our forces.” Horace snivelled as usual. Alsace thought that if he was to prostrate himself any further up Eradin’s backside, they would be one person and Horace would finally be happy.

“How are the preparations going for our regular forces?” Eradin asked as they walked into the library. Alsace rushed to put away the book she was reading, though she knew the Emperor kept tabs on everything. “Practical Applications of Thundering Water Runes” was quickly stashed into its resting place on the shelf. As a Class One, she was allowed to read whatever she liked. The more she studied and the more she read, the more she knew that being a Mage was simply a privilege of having enough time on your hands to practice. After that if you could remember the runes, which wasn’t too hard, you could do what you wanted.

She had learned to read the runes incredibly quickly, from there she simply had to pull on enough of the Emperor’s spirit and the essence did what she wanted. Though there seemed to be some references to her spirit which she didn’t understand, it didn’t seem to matter. It made her even more furious at the state she had been living in. If she could be made a Class One, surely so could everyone.

However, some of the benefits were nice. She had been designated as a house maiden from birth and taught to channel water and fire essence from a young age by her mother. Now, combined with her new levels of power, she was learning much more advanced techniques. Things that she wouldn’t have thought she could learn in a hundred years.

“Thanks to my diligent efforts your grace, we are on track to meet our targets of five thousand Slummers.” Horace didn’t even glance at Alsace as they came closer. Eradin was wearing fine white and silver robes, with intricate designs in the shape of a griffin embroidered over the shoulder. His hair danced lightly in a blonde wave.

“And is that true Alsace? My scouts say you are most popular with the recruits.” He gave her a soft smile. The kind which melted the hearts of the other girls in the palace.

“Yes, sir. Horace here is doing an excellent job. We are close to our target.” She said, doing her best to not grit her teeth throughout.

“Horace you may go. Could you prepare for this afternoon’s parade?” Eradin smiled at his attendant but didn’t watch him leave. Alsace saw the look of disgust on his face as the attendant’s eyes flicked to her.

“I thought you might like to know that I have seen your previous husband. Not in person of course. He helped to fight against our scouting party a few days ago with the squabbling forces of Molinia.”

Alsace kept her expression neutral. She may be growing bolder with some of the Emperor’s subordinates, but she wasn’t stupid. “As you know your grace, I no longer care for my ex-husband —-“

“You can drop that while no one else is around. I know that nobody changes their allegiances that quickly. Nevertheless, I like you. You’re resourceful and without you, Horace would never have actually gotten the buy-in of the Slummers. No matter what he says. Or what you pretend to say. We don’t need an army just in it for the money you see, otherwise, they could simply be bought. Problem with mercenaries is that usually at the first sign of trouble - they’ll run.” Eradin looked at her as though expecting her to speak.

“And there are things coming to the Empire which we need to be prepared for.”

“Thank you, your grace. But I truly mean it, he was nothing to me in the end but a disappointment.” She tried to sound convincing.

Eradin smiled and brushed her hair aside. He was too close for Alsace’s liking, but she held herself back. To do anything might only provoke him. “Know that at any point, I could reach through space itself and kill your husband. Remember it. I ask no more of you than to help gather my forces. They’ll listen to you. Command them, even lead them in my stead. But betray me. Well, you’ll end up like Dariea’s little friend from the Guard.”

He opened a small hole in reality, sparks fizzed around the circle as he pushed his arm through and grabbed the book she had been reading from the shelf. He pulled it back through and examined it.

“It’s an interesting text, but I always thought that the best part of magic was its application and practice. Go and find Marlow, my Archmage. Tell him that I sent you and that he is to help you put this theory into practice.” He began to walk away, still glancing through the book.

As he got closer to the doorway, he stopped and opened a space in reality once more. His arm stuck out in front of Alsace, holding the tome and she took the book from him. “Don’t forget, I can take your power away at the snap of my fingers.”

He left the room and Alsace let out a deep sigh. Immediately her mind began to race. He obviously couldn’t kill Jano as simply as he suggested, or he would have probably done it by now. Unless he intended to dangle him over her as an incentive to build his army.

She didn’t know, but she suppressed the hatred she felt. She just had to stay alive.