Verdan and Kai led the five prospective Sorcerers back through the city to the Crea estate. Verdan expected chatter and excitement from Kai’s new pupils, but instead, they were quiet and introspective.

It seemed that whatever advice Kai had given so far, it was more about their connection to their element and the nature of being a Sorcerer than the magical techniques involved.

Feeling somewhat out of his depth and not wanting to crowd the new Sorcerers, despite how interested he was, Verdan left them to Kai’s tutelage and set about his next project. Namely, making the poison protection item for Val.

It was a simple enough design to formulate. A small reservoir would power a construct that scanned the wearer of the ring he’d chosen for traces of poison, and if it found them, it would trigger the second construct, which cast a cleansing spell.

None of that was challenging to thread together, but it wasn’t something he was familiar with either, so the efficiency was poor, but that wasn’t Verdan’s problem.

Enough Aether would be involved to keep it running for some time, and it would only be active when worn, so he considered it more than suitable for what she wanted.

-**-

Everyone gathered together for the evening meal, including the guards training with Kai, which meant there were far too many people to continue using the makeshift eating area inside the workshop.

Verdan hadn’t even considered the logistical issues in housing so many people at the estate, but Adrienne was already on top of the issue and had enlisted help.

It was a strange sight to come into. Adrienne explained what she wanted, which Gwen translated into low imperial, and Aeva did her best to create by pulling up rock from the ground to form long tables and square rocks to sit on.

Johnson, the new earth Sorcerer, and Tom were watching on with interest, though they were unable to assist. For Johnson, that was down to a lack of experience and Essence, but it was a bit stranger for Tom.

Verdan had seen Tom use his Essence to run faster, hit harder and coat his weapons and armour with rock, but apparently, that was different to what Aeva was doing.

Verdan didn’t quite understand exactly how that was different, but it wasn’t the first difference he’d noticed between Wizardry and Sorcery.

The thought sparked a few connections in Verdan’s mind, even as he absently noticed Feli, the green witch, use her power to rapidly grow flowers to go on the tables Aeva was creating.

“Dru,” Verdan asked in low imperial, approaching the other Fwyn, who was watching the goings on with an amused tilt to his head. “Quick question. Are you limited with your magic to doing just one set of things, like Sorcerers are?”

“No, I can do anything I wish with my magic, though I am limited to my element in the same way they are.”

“I see,” Verdan said thoughtfully, tapping one hand against his thigh before glancing down at the small Fwyn. “How are you managing, by the way? I know your people are nocturnal by nature.”

“We’re doing alright,” Dru said with what Verdan guessed was the Fwyn equivalent of a shrug. “We need less sleep than you humans, so while it is not ideal to be awake during the day, we’re sleeping from dawn until mid-morning, and that seems to be working.”

“Good, let me know if that changes,” Verdan said, wishing he was familiar enough with Fwyn physiology to get a good idea of how tired Dru really was.

Leaving the Fwyn to rest, Verdan stepped away from the group, letting his latest thoughts turn over in his head. Sorcerers seemed to be almost a mid-point between instinctual casters like the Fwyn and Wizards. They lacked the variety of Wizards but weren’t quite as free as the Fwyn.

Verdan had considered the general idea before, but this time, he put real thought into it. He’d never heard of the way magic worked in a species changing, but the time frame involved was far higher than anything the Imperium had been looking at, so that wasn’t as absolute as Verdan would have liked.

The problem was that if such a shift had occurred, why had the talent for Wizardry not died out or changed alongside it?

No, there was something more to all this, something that Verdan hadn’t seen or hadn’t understood properly. He didn’t quite have it all figured out yet, but he would.

First, however, he needed to get them through the coming fight in one piece.

-**-

The big meal went surprisingly well, with the numerous groups meshing together surprisingly well and appreciating the food that Henry had made for them all.

“Wizard Blacke,” Delia approached Verdan after the meal had finished, nodding to him respectfully before sitting beside him. “We should discuss any plans you may have for my people.”

“Actually, I hadn’t given it that much thought yet,” Verdan said, a little surprised by Delia approaching him. “I thought you would be mostly concerned with Sylvie?”

“Yes, but we know well enough that the best way to keep her alive is to win this battle as quickly and painlessly as we can. To that end, you may call upon us to fight the enemy as part of your plans.”

“Thank you, that’s very much appreciated,” Verdan said, nodding to Delia as she rose and left him to the remnants of his drink.

Kai had spotted the interaction and gave Verdan a questioning look, but Verdan shook his head. That was a conversation for another time, one when they weren’t surrounded by people who had excellent hearing.

Not that Verdan intended to say anything that he thought the Airta would find insulting, but he wanted to get Kai’s honest opinion on their capabilities.

Taking a step back from it all, Verdan found himself looking at the gathering with fresh eyes. There were Airta, Fwyn, Sorcerers and Witches, all together, all intermingling without issue. The language barrier was tough for Dru and Aeva, but they were managing well enough.

Sharing the testing device with the guard was still a risky move in Verdan’s mind, but seeing the new Sorcerers here like this was worth it. For all his worries, this sort of cooperation was completely different from what the Sects seemed to favour and was, in Verdan’s opinion, much better.

-**-

The morning saw a joint training exercise between the new Sorcerers and the Witches, with each group being tutored on some of the finer points of magical combat by Kai, Gwen and the Fwyn.

It was odd to see Gwen doing her best to teach the things that Verdan had taught her, but she’d gained a substantial amount of experience since they met, and it showed.

The Airta were a good replacement for magically enhanced fighters, though they lacked the magical abilities that most Sorcerers would have alongside increased speed and strength.

Still, it was a good starting point, and Verdan appreciated seeing everyone working together like this.

The new Sorcerers did their best to keep up, but they hadn’t mastered their abilities yet, so it was more an exhibition of what was possible for them.

-**-

Verdan watched on with interest as Kai led the new Sorcerers through a session of group meditation, detailing the proper way to breathe to best circulate the air through their lungs and restore their Essence.

Out of interest, Verdan tried the technique himself, combining what Kai was saying now with some of the past instructions he’d given to Verdan. He’d been intending to try it himself anyway, so this was as good a time as any.

Sadly, Verdan saw no noticeable increase in his Aether levels from his attempt. Kai did say that this was only a basic technique to help with growing Essence, so it might not make enough of a difference for Verdan to notice, but it was still disappointing.

Thankfully, Kai’s trainees seemed to have more success, with Auger and Vanada saying that they could sense the Essence growing within them.

“Verdan, Lieutenant Silver is here with a group of guards. Says it’s about some sort of test,” Pawel said, coming up to stand next to Verdan.

“Ah, of course,” Verdan said, lifting a hand to get Kai’s attention and gesturing toward the estate’s entrance.

Pawel left to go continue his duties while Verdan and Kai made their way to the gates.

Sure enough, Verdan saw the Lieutenant’s familiar, rigid posture at the gate, with a group of thirty or so guards waiting on the street.

“Wizard Blacke,” Silver greeted them as they came closer with a serious expression, one that was grave even by his standards. “Can we speak in private for a moment?”

“Of course,” Verdan said, frowning a little as he led Silver off to one side, Kai joining them as he shared a concerned look with Verdan. “Will this do?”

“Yes, thank you,” Silver said after glancing around to make sure they were out of earshot. “The Commander has asked me to inform you that we’ve made some progress in our investigation into the attack on your estate.”

“From the secrecy, should I expect that the news isn’t good?” Verdan asked, somewhat apprehensive by Silver’s tone. After all, bringing them good news was unlikely to cause the Lieutenant to act this way.

“I’m afraid not, you see, Sergeant Falk was able to follow the ownership of the building back to a wealthy family within the city. However, they told him they had been letting a family friend use it for his associates.”

“What family friend would that be?” Verdan asked, his brow furrowing as he tried to figure out what was causing the Lieutenant to be so cagey.

“Lieutenant Michaels, who we’ve also found to be the source of the missing uniforms,” Silver said, his voice heavy with anger and regret. “He’s been antagonistic to you since you arrived, and if what we’ve found is correct, he may be an agent of the Weeping Death.”