June 12, 1429 AD, a hundred years after Akilo was first integrated.

Uthica watched from dragonback, squinting against the evening sun as the last of the Thenite Cruisers crashed into the Isle of Kyosis, its long thin frame twisting under the stress. The quest update confirmed the war was almost over. The latest wave of invaders had been brought down.

Where am I? Wow, that's a big ship.

She relished in the sight of the Droneship, burning as her advisor Pelthin reported on the status of the other teams. She flinched internally when Pelthin mentioned that Thalis had been lost. Young, with a rare class and bright future ahead of her. Even after decades of fighting, it still weighed on Uthica that she couldn't keep the young away from danger.

"Not that young, my queen," her advisor reminded her when Uthica commented on it. "She was fifty-three with two grown daughters."

Uthica couldn't help but laugh even as her eyes grew moist. Had it been so long? She still remembered Thalis when she'd been a cub, playing in the great gardens. "I'm getting old, Pelthin."

"It only happens to the best of us, my queen."

Uthica sighed at Pelthin's continued use of her title. Trying to convince her otherwise was a lost cause.

Well, she's not wrong, Uthica.

Uthica glanced around for a second. She'd heard something. Something familiar. "Did you hear that?"

Pelthin nodded, "The new riders are rather excited, aren't they, my queen?"

Uthica turned her head to the dragonriders to the south. Three full Flights of riders and their dragons flew with whoops, cheers and the occasional burst of dragonfire. Uthica was tempted to let them celebrate, and once they were finished with the cleanup, she might even join them. But for the moment, they had a job to do. Turning to her other companion, her aunt Jethico, she instructed her to get the Flights ready. "Hopefully, the drives aren't completely ruined. There's still much to learn."

Wait, you're studying the drives?

Uthica led her people in, personally dealing with the Thenite Freedom Fighter, disintegrating the walking insect, a species she hadn't seen before, with a prepared void rune. It was expensive and represented over a month of work, but actually fighting the idiot would have damaged the ship more than knocking it out of the sky had. Thenite Freedom Fighters were notoriously hard to defeat without collateral damage. Which is why the other teams had brought their ships down over deep ocean where the Lords of the Deep could deal with them. It was an uneasy alliance, but Uthica found their Deepest Lord Helthome easier to get along with than some of the members of her own court. Such as her Aunt Jethico.

"Do we really have to do this? You've already established a Stronghold. This flying city idea of yours defies belief," her aunt asked as they made their way through the now-defunct hanger bays for the Thenite Skyscreamers.

That’s the crazy woman who took over Ivicka! Her voice is practically identical.

Uthica was impressed she'd waited this long to complain. Jethico had never been one for understanding how magic worked, her focus was on the fights themselves. And she was an exceptional warrior, Uthica admitted that. It was why she still served as Uthica's strong upper hands despite their frequent disagreements. Besides, it was important to have someone who offered a different point of view. Or so her father liked to remind her.

"You don't have to be here," Uthica reminded her aunt.

Jethico grimaced as she wiped off an unknown slime from her armour. It was probably what had compelled her to complain, Uthica realized.

Jethico shook her head. "I'm not leaving you alone in the heart of a Thenite Droneship. Who knows what sort of traps they have waiting. And since your pu… father isn't here, you need someone to watch your back as you work."

Uthica nodded, not slowing. She'd expected as much. Her aunt might be cranky and disagreeable, but she was loyal.

However, they didn't encounter any further resistance. The engineers in the Drive chamber practically threw themselves on her mercy. It was a unique experience for Uthica. They'd never managed to bring a Droneship down with the crew alive before. And Thenite soldiers tended to choose death before surrender. As she understood it, they even had suicide upgrades in their interface.

It was remarkably annoying.

The next few hours were an astounding lesson on the principles of the mana-navigating principles of Ripple drives.

Apparently, mana-infused space was lumpy and the Ripple-drive took advantage of that?

Uthica had a general understanding of space, and their solar system, but it was all academic. She needed specific knowledge.

At this rate Uthica, we're both going to be able to build a Ripple drive from scratch.

Once more Uthica looked around, searching. She swore she'd heard it again. She spent several seconds searching for the sound.

Wait. Can you hear me Uthica?

One of the engineers came running up to Uthica, a pad filled with information held out to her. Already, they were proving that they were willing to teach her in exchange for their lives.

Wait, no! Don't fade to black!

Uthica was starting to like engineers.

……...TPWM……...

Uthica hated engineers.

Oh, they were all very useful if she needed to understand anything related to Ripple-drives or how to build deep space mines (which had made repelling invasions simpler). But they were worse than a dragon in its hoarding phase when it came to collecting useful materials, 'just in case' or because they 'wanted to see what would happen.'

A habit she allowed in reasonable doses, but this time they'd gone too far.

What? What did they do? Can you hear me Uthica?

Uthica stomped into the engineer's quarters, headed straight for Fethix. Fethix had been their unofficial representative when Uthica had met them aboard the crashed Droneship. Uthica had decided she'd liked Fethix enough that she'd appointed her as the head engineer once they'd worked out terms.

Fethix was a slender elvenoid that stood at slightly less than a metre tall with bright pink hair instead of a mane. The rest of her body was completely furless, a fact that was readily apparent given her adoption of K'tharn clothing practices. Uthica had found the sight disturbing at first but had grown used to it over the years. Outlanders had all sorts of strange forms.

Holy crap, it's a Christmas elf. Except those are not PG-rated overalls.

"Uthica, sweetums. To what do we owe- urck," Fethix's question was cut short by Uthica lifting the elvenoid by the straps of her overalls as Uthica locked the other engineers in place with nothing but a grin.

"Where's my locket?"

"What? I don't know- glurk."

"Small object. About this big around. Has a power output equivalent to the sun. And is in this room!" Uthica snarled the last part, carefully watching each of the other engineers with her upper eyes while not letting her lower eyes leave Fethix's face.

Seems like a dangerous locket to leave lying around.

"Oh, that locket!" Fethix chuckled nervously, waving one of her engineers forward. An elvenoid with green hair that Uthica thought might be male. It was hard to tell under the thick brown work robes he was wearing.

He looked nervous as he stepped forward, but Uthica didn't see her locket.

"Get me my chest. No, not the gold one. The other one," Fethix squirmed as Uthica relaxed her grip slightly.

The green-haired elvenoid approached with a small black box, inlaid with silver runes. He handed it to Fethix who proffered it to Uthica.

Uthica snorted, "Open it."

Fethix nodded quickly, shifting in her harness uncomfortably. She retrieved the locket from within, the glowing blue seashell a perfect replica of the one Uthica's mother gave her when she was a cub.

Uthica almost grabbed it but thought better of it. She'd been burned by these engineer's 'practical jokes' before. She pointed at the green-haired elvenoid who was trying to slink away. "You. Take it from her."

Fethix's eyes widened in shock, snatching the locket away as she clamored, "Are you trying to kill- I mean, I put a ward on it. One moment."

Uthica almost sighed as she finally took the locket from Fethix, not receiving so much as a shock. With the locket back in her possession, Uthica could admit this was partially her own fault. She shouldn't have left it on her bedside instead of storing it in her inventory. But in her defence, she'd been up for five days straight, and it'd slipped her mind. She'd also been too lenient with the engineers, not punishing them for the many other objects they appropriated.

But then, they'd never stolen anything from her private quarters before.

You didn't sleep for five days? You need to take better care of yourself.

"You didn't know better, so I'm going to tell you this once. Next time one of your engineers steals something from my bedchamber, one of you dies. Understood?" Uthica informed them, her tone pleasant now that her locket was secure. A simple promise they'd be able to remember.

Fethix nodded, sweat dripping from her forehead as she clumsily tossed the box at her companion. "Understood, my queen."

Uthica nodded as she turned away, then paused and turned back causing Fethix to straighten herself. "Oh, and Fethix."

"Yes, my queen?"

"Good work on the Stabilizers. Exactly what we needed. You'll have the mana-essence and infused uranium you asked for in a couple days." Uthica watched as Fethix's face went from sweating to blank to a small smile.

"Thank you, my queen."

"With a deduction to cover the inconvenience of having to retrieve my locket of course," Uthica finished before leaving Fethix behind.

She could practically see the steam rising from Fethix's ears as Uthica chuckled happily while stroking the locket that was once more around her neck.

Nice moves Uthica. Totally had me convinced.

Uthica paused halfway to her quarters. "Are you there?"

Holy crap. You can hear me!

"Damn. I was certain…"

Wait, no… not…

……...TPWM……...

Uthica took a deep breath as she stared up at her statue.

She hated it. It was a prime example of useless vanity. She was tempted to smash it.

But she'd made a promise.

And the Stranger had earned more than a statue. Still, Uthica couldn't help but wonder what the Stranger's real motives were. It would be easier if Uthica could just talk to them.

Hey, again Uthica. Please hear me?!

Uthica felt the presence. She glanced around the empty square, nodding as her long-time companion and advisor Pelthin joined her.

"It's a striking pose, my Queen. It captures your essence," Pelthin offered with only the barest twitch of her lip. Uthica stared at her for a second, trying to discern whether Pelthin was teasing her or trying to suppress her satisfaction. She'd wanted to erect dozens of the horrendous things.

Thankfully, Uthica hadn't needed to indulge her. This statue was the only one she'd promised to build. She didn't understand why this was so important to the Stranger, especially with the powers they'd displayed during the Thenite Incursion. "I suppose we should all have one. I'm sure father wouldn't mind."

Pelthin’s eyes flared open, as she shook her head. "I could never. It would be inappropriate, my queen."

Uthica, why can't you hear me!? Gah, this is so annoying.

Uthica slapped Pelthin's shoulder, chuckling as she turned away, searching for the presence. But it looked like there wasn't a physical manifestation this time.

This time? Wait, are you saying there was a time when I appeared?

"My queen?"

"Nothing." Uthica hadn't revealed the Stranger who visited her occasionally. The visits were… personal. As if spending time with an old friend. She didn't allow herself many indulgences, but she spent several seconds basking in the Stranger's silent presence before returning to the moment.

Wait. So, you can feel me.

Once she was certain this wasn't one of those passing visits where the Stranger only brushed against her mind for a second or three, Uthica tugged on the hand of the statue. The hand moved only a fraction of a degree, but it triggered hidden Runework to capture the Stranger's mana-signature. She was hoping it would allow her to establish a clearer connection. The hand also opened the stairway to the Node they'd been preparing to Seal. This was the fifth such cache of information and equipment they'd produced, though it had a great deal of extra preparations. The Stranger had indicated this location was important.

"Wait here," Uthica instructed Pelthin as she descended to the room below, sealing the entrance behind her.

The room wasn't large, a dozen paces deep and half that across. But it was filled with books and scrolls. Physical copies of the old histories, records of the Integration, maps of the world before and after. And everything they'd been able to learn about the System. It was inspired by a discussion with an Outlander who hadn't known they were talking to the Queen of Akilo. He'd been cute and Uthica hadn't wanted to spoil it. He'd been proudly proclaiming the benefits of having everything recorded by the System, talking about how his family's history went back for thousands of years. How the System ensured nothing was lost.

Except as Uthica's curiosity got the better of her, she'd pressed him for more details. He'd admitted they had no knowledge of the time before Integration. And even the records that came after implied they'd always been integrated. It was as if their culture had been systematically replaced with the System's. When Uthica had her followers surreptitiously question other Outlanders, it was discovered that none had records of their pre-System origins.

Uthica couldn't allow such a thing to happen to her people. While many of her people had once scorned the written word, they'd still kept records.

"Now this is a Legacy worth leaving behind," Uthica said as she set the final runework on the door, completing the Seal. It would keep the contents in stasis until opened. Even then, the contents would be locked to the chamber. Unless her Runework was destroyed, the contents would be preserved for thousands of years.

That's a lot of books.

"Well, I think it's working. Hello Stranger."

Uthica, you can hear me?

"So it would seem. I'm not certain if it's the location, or if capturing your mana signature and imprinting it on my locket was the key. Either way, it's best to be as prepared as possible."

Uhm. Totally.

"If it wouldn't inconvenience you, I was wondering if I might know your name. You clearly know mine, and I feel as though I've known you for years. It's rather off-putting, simply thinking of you as the Stranger."

Right. My name is Alexis. But you can call me Lex. Or Lexi.

"As you wish, Lexi. With that addressed, I believe we have time. And I have many questions for you."

Oh, cool. I have questions for you too!

"We'll get to them, but first I have one that has been haunting me since I was a cub."

Go for it.

Uthica paused as she considered her words. Eventually she decided to ask as simply as possible, "What is ice-cream? And how do I make it?"

Uhm, that's your first question?

"Yes. I sincerely hope you can help. I've had a craving for as long as I can remember. I've questioned hundreds of Outlanders, but no one knows what it is. It's rather maddening."

Uthica sat calmly as she started noting down what the Stran- Lexi knew about ice-cream. Even as they talked, Uthica knew something had changed. The craving she'd been feeling receded.

Perhaps it hadn't been the ice-cream she'd desired.