The King of Elion, James Aviary was rather humble for royalty. He was widely known to be both a wise and kind king. James, however, didn't see himself as wise, nor did he see himself as kind. He thought treating citizens like people was just a part of being human.

None of the ideas that led Elion to its current prosperity came directly from himself. He simply listened to the advice of competent advisors and made decrees that led Elion to prosperity. Those closest to him considered him to be a wise leader. They thought he was a strong leader because he listened to the advice of those around him and since he had a big-picture view of the world.

James was currently in his personal study with four confidants. Darien Northwood, Lord Winchester, the Royal Knight Sir George, and his most trusted advisor Duke Mayweather. This was a secret meeting that would decide the fate of Elion as a nation-state. He started the meeting with a whisper, "I'm happy to see you all again, healthy and well. Especially you, Darien, I am delighted at your safe return."

Darien bit his lip and frowned but said nothing. James continued, "Ayes has been conquered. Their Royal family has gone missing, and most of the powers at large in Ayes have surrendered. Ayes has the most loyal group of noble followers on the continent. In fact, the loyalty of Ayes has been a subject of jealousy for the rest of our continent for over a century. I'm just making a wild guess here, but I think this is why Argon hasn't moved after conquering them." James took a deep breath before continuing, "The Blue Tower has fallen, and its Lord is missing. Without the Blue Tower Master, Lome has nothing to defend itself. They are weaker in all aspects. The Dil Republic has stopped all infighting, and the fox Jamie hasn't been heard from since. Our continent is on the verge of cataclysmic change. My friends, what do you suggest we do?"

The Duke put his hand on his chin and seemed to think for quite a while before saying, "It's hard to say. We cannot stand idly by. We must retaliate in some way. If we only close ourselves off and prepare for Argon's second attack we are very likely to lose. The moment they take over even one more of the other powers, their momentum will become unstoppable. We have to do something, and we have to do so soon."

Darien frowned before speaking, "I agree with Mayweather. I do not know exactly, what our best response is, but I do know the importance of momentum. We have to give a reason for Argon to become distracted from their conquest of the other powers. The more chaos we cause, the more opportunities the other powers will have to do something."

James sighed before whispering, "I know we have to do something. I know that almost every single noble in Elion wants to hide in their territories and hope the problem with Argon just goes away all on its own. They wish to pretend that the battle of the Black Castle was just a simple skirmish. All of us here know that how Elion acts now will determine our nation's fate."

Lord Winchester walked next to the King's seat and pointed at the map on the table behind him, "Ayes, is a weak point. They've surrendered, but the royal family is missing. The key to Ayes is the royal family. If we can find them before Argon we can overturn Argon's control over Ayes. That would prevent them from taking control of the western portion of the continent. Strategically speaking, if they control Ayes their next attack against us will be devastating."

Darien spoke loudly and clearly, "Every few months, I'll go alone and attack Argon's forces before returning. If I go out and unleash hell on Argon, then the stress of not knowing when I will strike will cause anxiety among them. I will go and disrupt them myself."

James replied while shaking his head, "No, they'll catch on if you do something like that. What will you do, Darien, if they plan out a trap while expecting you to attack? Don't play with your life." Winchester agreed by saying, "He's right, Darien. We can't act on emotion right now. We have to move carefully."

"I'm not acting on emotion! Waiting around and doing nothing is just as much a gamble!" James sighed and tried to change the subject, "How do we go about finding the royal family? Do we have the resources to do something like that?"

Darien started walking for the door, "Tell them if they can make it to the Red Tower alive, they'll be granted asylum. If they are smart they'll be at my doors soon enough." Darien opened the door and left. Mayweather shouted, "Darien, we haven't finished yet, get back here!"

James grabbed Mayweather's sleeve and said, "Leave him. He needs space and time. Mayweather, I'm leaving you in charge of finding Ayes royal family. Be as discrete as you possibly can. Winchester, come up with a plan of attack. We need to strike Argon while the irons still hot. I'll go about and deal with our stupid nobles. The quickest way to get them off their asses is to tell them their lands and wealth are under direct threat." The King stood up and walked over the door before stopping, "Thank you. Truly thank you for coming. I need something from you all before you leave. Just in case something happens to me during this time, I'd like my oldest daughter to inherit the throne. I plan on making it official when she returns, but I can't declare my intention until she returns. I need you all to promise that if something does happen to me, Elion will be in good hands." Winchester and Mayweather nodded their heads and said, "Of course."

"I'm sorry that wasn't the right time or place for that. It wasn't right to spring that on you so suddenly. It is my sincere belief that Elion will stand strong through any storm that comes our way. May good luck follow the both of you!" The two men left the King's study before heading in their own directions. The King sat back in his chair and sighed, "I truly hope Elion is safe."

Darien jumped straight off a balcony and flew in the direction of Renee at tremendous speed. "Elijah, I promise Argon will regret ever stepping foot in Elion. I guarantee they will regret it soon."

While Darien was on his way home, Darius went with his mother to the training ground. "Darius, are you sure you are ready to start training again?" Elaine looked at Darius with a worried expression. "I'm ready, mom." They both stood in the center of the training ground before getting into a fighting pose. Darius got low to the ground while bending his knees, slightly lifting his heels off the ground. He started focusing on his mana. He whispered, "Airflow, Wind Steps!" Before charging at his mother at high speed. She countered simply without chanting, using just enough wind to catch Darius in the air. He used the airflow that was still surrounding his body to cancel out the air she had used to grab him before firing another spell in Elaine's direction. "Fireball!" His mother barely moved, and seemed to just swipe the fireball away with her bare hand before sending a fireball back at Darius. "Rock hand." Darius wrapped his fist with earth and punched through the fireball while landing back on the training ground.

Elaine bit her lips and said, "I can't baby you anymore, Darius. Wind Blade!" Darius used another wind steps spell to increase his speed yet again. He jumped out of the attack range, just barely dodging it. "Air Grasp!" He focused his mana on his mother's shoe. He regained his footing and charged at her again. His mother used the inertia of her foot being dragged forward to charge at her son. Darius tried to dodge her hands, but his mother's speed was too fast. She managed to grab the back of his shirt and hold him like a lion holds her cub. "I lost." Darius sunk his head. He knew he'd lose, but he hoped the training session would last longer than a few seconds. "Yes, you did. You better get used to it, son. Let's go again."

Darius and his mother continued to train until sunset. Darien had already made his presence known to them and had gone into the house to his study. The sweet smell of dinner being made led their training session to come to an abrupt end. Elaine looked at her son who kept glancing at the kitchen of the house before saying, "Darius, I'm starving let's go inside and have some dinner. I think training is great, but we need to eat something." Darius nodded his head, saliva unconsciously dripping out of his mouth.

As they walked into the house, Elaine said, "Darius, let's get cleaned up first. Rhea! Can you please come and help Darius get ready!?" In less than ten seconds, Rhea came running in, "Of course! I'll get Master Darius looking sparkling clean!" Darius could only frown as he was dragged to the first floor's bathing room. Elaine walked up the stairs and went directly to Darien's study. knock knock "Come in."

She opened the door before walking slowly to her husband. Darien was practically buried in his paperwork. "Glasses, we need to get ready for dinner. Would you like to join me in getting ready?" He responded gruffly, "I'd like to be left alone."

"I'd like to be an archmage, but that won't happen overnight, Hon. It's time for dinner. We need to be there together for Darius." Darien sighed before taking off his glasses. He rubbed his eyes and said, "I'm sorry. There are just so many things to do. There's not enough time in the day to do everything." She walked behind him and started massaging his neck. "We can start by being parents. We're human Dar, we just need to take care of our priorities one at a time. Family first."

"I need to prepare for the squire search. In less than three years we will have to look for squires for Darius. We'll need to get him some decent squires who will grow up with him. The search is just around the corner. Then he'll go to an academy in 7 years or so, but I'm wondering if he should even go. His talent will only be wasted in a place like that. Should he go to the academy in Renee or should he go to the Capital? Should.."

"Let's go." Elaine lifted Darien straight out of his chair and hauled him over her shoulder while walking to the bathroom. "Wait!" Her patience was never her strong suit. "We can talk all of that out later!" Elaine laughed while throwing her helpless husband into the bath. The scene of Darius and his father struggling was almost identical. The Northwood family knew that its moments of peace were rare and precious. The winds were changing, and the world was changing with it.