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He had gone to Valagonia as she asked, and she had ensorcelled him. She never treated him unfairly, but life seemed too rosy. Too perfect. He had built her the school system she had wanted and set the groundwork for a public education system that would rival that of Trisk or the Free City of Bashinol. But eventually, Thomas realized the overt perfection and was able to inscribe an array to rip himself out of it. Stealing the wyvern egg, he fled to Khrelardia.

In the present, he looked at Hector. He had trained the wyvern exclusively using English. So, he switched to Triskol. "Hey, Hector, are you hungry?"

Hector looked at him and made the gesture for \'hunger\' that Thomas had taught him.

Fuck. I am trapped in some mindscape. He turned away from Hector and flung the books from the table. First let\'s try the easy way. He inscribed an articulate inscription in a circle he could stand within. One that should force his mind out of whatever trap it was in. Pouring mana into the words…he felt only a trickle. What happened to my mana core? He tried again, but only a tiny trickle left his mana channel. Not enough to power the inscription. "Well, then, the hard way," he muttered. I have to shock myself out of this. And there\'s only one way to do that.

He went to the balcony and scratched Hector\'s head. "It\'s been nice here. But reality is waiting."

He stepped off and fell headfirst.

The travel back to Lynhold was quick and effortless. The few Newen that Lyn passed on the way were given the information of her return by her traveling companion, and the few Duskari patrols that she came across – squads training in the forest terrain, as well as securing the Valley – bowed as she went by.

As soon as she reached the clearing in front of the dread fortress, she saw something that was quite a pleasing sight. Several wooden buildings were being erected. Housing and other facilities for the incoming Newen that she saw roaming the area. She made directly for the area that was marked out as a garrison and training ground. Remora and Poweno were instructing several groups of Newen, and as Lyn approached, they saluted with their fist to their torso and bowed. "Lady Rivers," Remora stated before standing upright. "We have received volunteers."

"This is Strike Commander Slanosh, from one of the Newen clans to the South-East. He will be serving directly under you both as a Military Advisor. His role is to provide information as to how best to utilize his people." The two nodded and she continued, "I also have created fortifications at the gap leading to the Valley. Henceforth, it is known as The Dragon\'s Maw. We need a sturdy gate there, and warriors on the walls."

Remora nodded, "We will recall some of the squadrons and send them to guard the entry."

"And," Lyn followed up, "I\'m going to send Gael to guide a detachment to a hidden entrance to the Valley, behind Shiverburn Summit. I want it to be trapped and a heavy guard stationed at all times, including a rockfall trap to seal it should a force try to enter that way."

Poweno nodded curtly, "We shall see it done, Destroyer."

Lyn turned to the serpent-man and dipped her chin towards him, "Slanosh, I leave you in their capable hands. Serve my interests well, and your people will be among the first I reward richly."

Slanosh prostrated himself, "Your will be done, Lady Rivers."

Lyn went into Lynhold. To her immense pleasure, the building was in the process of being repaired, cleared, and cleaned. The inner Conclave would still be where she kept her chambers, she was sure, as well as her inner circle and most valuable assets. But the fortress itself would be an excellent location for the representatives of her allies to reside. Properly luxurious, eventually, where I can see to matters of the realm. That thought brought a smile to her face. She had set herself on the path to world conquest. Fixing the wrongs. And it felt righteous.

She was welcomed with graciousness and little ceremony – as soon as they began to proclaim her arrival, she shut that shit down. "We have work to do," she told them. "Taking time to celebrate may cost us."

She got to her chambers, and the twins were outside. She sent Gael out to the exterior to guide her forces to the hidden entrance to the Valley, and sent Vael to get the smithy. He came after a few minutes, and she had him present his work. It was a sheet of metal that could fold in on itself several times over. Each quadrant of the sheet was inscribed with a simple divination spell that would open a small, magical sensor – invisible to the naked eye – on the emblems that Volio was delivering. Thank God that Duskari have more mana than the average person on Ghomar. If she didn\'t have access to divination spells herself, having underlings with that spell type available would be invaluable. Thankfully, this divination inscription she had designed was extremely easy to create, even for a smith who did not normally inscribe items.

Activating each in turn, she learned he had only delivered two. One showed an empty, austere room – save for the dried animal hides and drawings depicting lusty women. I\'d guess that\'s Kory\'s room. Looking at another panel, she saw a few children, and heard James\' familiar voice filtering through. And he went to Khrelardia. The rest showed naught but the white cloth they were wrapped in.

Last, she peered through Volio\'s emblem. She saw the courtroom of the Shereldian monarchy. Right. Valagonia, since that bitch apparently took it over. She saw the woman on the throne, the person she disliked the most amongst the summoned heroes, and listened in…

Cecily drummed her fingers on her throne. Volio had arrived that morning, and insisted he see her immediately. She let him stew in the outer chambers for an hour. Always best to keep your opponents on their toes, she thought. He was an obsessive fanatic. She had no way to play him for any type of gain. The man was a nuisance. But he had to be there for a reason. And I doubt it\'s to ask me for another expedition. She cleared her throat, "Well, Volio Mori…what brings you here to Valagonia?"

Volio bowed and reached into his hip satchel, offering up a white cloth package. "I have this for you, Que- erm, apologies. Princess Cecily."

She gestured for a servant to grab it and bring it to her. The servant did as instructed and opened the package on his way up the stairs – a habit she had gotten into after avoiding an assassination attempt with a rigged package. Luckily, this one did not explode, and the servant knelt with two items on the cloth wrapping – a wrought metal emblem, and a letter. "Open it," she commanded.

The servant took several steps away before opening it. I\'m not getting another letter bomb, either. She had dealt with that once before, as well. After all, a dictator makes enemies. Or rather, made enemies. Hers were all dealt with – internally at least. The servant looked at her, "Your grace, I cannot read it."

She gestured for it and read it.

And for the first time in many, many years, uncertainty gripped her. She\'s alive? No, there\'s no way. Looking back at Volio, he had that creepy smile on his face. He\'s not a metal smith, she thought as she looked over the object. And he\'s not that good at inscription, either, unless he\'s gone through some serious training. She tried to read the script, but it was – annoyingly enough – written in the Elenthir version of cursive. Something that only Misty knew, and she only taught it to Lyn and Thomas. She set that on the arm rest of her throne. "Volio…did you meet her?"

"Oh, yes! It\'s totally her. She spoke flawless English, told Thomas and I the story about Thomas being called \'Tommy two-shoes\' because of that time way back-"

She gestured to him to stop. "What else did you do?"

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"She let me stay at Lynhold – what she\'s calling the dread fortress, now – for three days. We had a lovely picnic, and she asked me to deliver these letters to the heroes. Speaking of," he reached into his satchel and pulled out another one. "I have one for Brad, but I have no clue where he is. Last time I saw him, he was in Valagonia."

Cecily nodded. He\'s been a good pet. She tented her hands as she put the letter aside, next to the emblem. If Lyn is back, then she is a variable I had not considered. Reversing the history erasing spell was out of the question.

If she does have the power of the Destroyer mana core, then she is going to be a threat, even if she just stays inside her Valley. And coming clean about the Demonic Dragon\'s defeat? Out of the question. It could foment rebellion. If the people discovered that she had not actually participated in the Demonic Dragon\'s defeat, her legitimacy might be brought into question.

"If you don\'t mind, Princess Cecily, I\'m in a hurry," Volio said as he stood up and straightened his jacket. "I really want to get this package to Brad and then be on my way to Trisk."

And I can\'t allow that. Cecily stood up and allowed her mana to flow through her body. Her mana core was advising her at this point, directing the course of her rule to the most pragmatic and practical option available. "Seize him."

Volio cursed and turned to run. Several guards closed in around him. He incanted some spell that Cecily could not hear, and pulled out what looked like a toothpick-sized crossbow that fired a projectile out the main doors. He vanished from sight, reappearing where the arrow was fired.

Cecily raised her hand, "You will bow. En ethiel an le / thalion min / an adhano na nin ir / a rautho inath en-iath bo nin / britha hain theled / a mador hain enni." The spell surged through her, and her bright-pink mana surged out in a near-invisible beam of light that shot at Volio. It impacted…and yet he kept running down the stairs and into the city, followed by her guards.

"What?!" she screamed. "Why didn\'t that work?!"

Then, it hit her. And she laughed. "Of course…I can\'t do that to him." He\'s already enthralled to someone. Making him my thrall is impossible. Fucking bastard. Mind spells normally took hours or even days of slowly working their effects on the target, but she was powerful enough that she could dominate a person on first meeting them. But not this Archer hero. He was too far gone, his mental wall just a sheer image of the woman he loved.

She took a deep breath and looked at the letter from Lyn, and the emblem. She picked up both and dropped them into a brazier. "Servants! Bring me my war council! And bring me Volio Mori\'s head!"

Lyn stopped channeling mana into the metal device and folded it up until it was the size of a deck of playing cards. Channeling mana into her storage choker, she placed the item into the extradimensional space. She dismissed the smithy, and took a nice, hot bath. After cleaning up, she re-manifested her armor, left her room, and ordered Vael to fetch the council. Cecily is going to be a problem, she thought. She\'ll get word from Fort Watch about the new wall going up. That will confirm the letter. Then…she\'ll make her move. I have to be ready. She might try diplomacy, she may try to outmaneuver Lyn using politics and forge an alliance against the new Destroyer. A coalition. I don\'t have the strength to fight one major kingdom, let alone all three. Sure, she could destroy an army herself with a large-scale lava spell…but her desire for world conquest would require allies in the short term, and vassals in the long term.

Within thirty minutes, the council room was full. Vehenna, Bhlearm, Remora, and Velenna each sat on designated seats, with a small table in front of them. Lyn\'s simple, wooden throne was flanked by Vael. "Thank you for convening on such short notice," Lyn stated. "I require an update on your efforts. Vehenna, you first."

The elder bowed, "With all due respect, Lady Rivers, my sister should speak first."

Lyn looked to Velenna, "Very well."

Velenna nodded, "My thanks. We have one of the younger Duskari who is skilled with external spells that enable her to speak with animals. Finala. She has begun to negotiate with several groups of ravens to enlist their services as messengers."

Lyn let out a guffaw at that before resuming her regal demeanor. Fucking bird talkers. Freddy, the deceased Beastmaster hero, could talk to animals at will, without the need for animalism spells. "Continue the report," she muttered, trying to push out the memories of Freddy talking to squirrels and raising them as his personal army to do shenanigans in Kor\'s Hold, the capital of the kingdom of Khrelardia. He had trained them to swap out people\'s coins for nuts and became the richest man in the realm. Focus on the now. She pushed those memories back as she listened.

"Last, you requested to have an assassin at your disposal. A young warrior, but one of the swiftest, and their skin is dark enough to pass for one of the other Ari. His name is Bolvon."

"I should like to meet these two," Lyn stated. "Next?" she asked, looking at Vehenna.

The Chancellor cleared her throat. "My sister also found us a Diplomat. A Vharthon woman named Rashanna. She is on her way to the Valley."

"Is she coming from Vharthos?" The woman nodded, and Lyn looked at Vael, "Take a squadron, show them the hidden passage, and seek this woman out. We don\'t want her going the long way around."

Vael nodded and left the chamber. Vehenna continued her report, "I have had no luck tracking down an individual to fill the role of scholar as you requested."

"That is fine. When I track down Thomas, I\'ll offer him the position."

"Whom, my Lady?"

Shit. Well, in for a penny. "The Knowledge hero." There were gasps from the chamber, but she held her hand up. "You all knew that I spoke with and hosted the Archer hero. I have ways to manipulate them; knowledge of the language of the world they were summoned from. And, the heroes have fallen out with each other. What better way to establish my empire than with those best suited to specific roles. Additionally, if I show the world that I am willing to work with my once-enemies, then it will demonstrate we are accepting of diplomatic efforts."

Vehenna nodded, "Controversial, my Lady. But if you can manipulate them as you say…who are we to question your decisions?" She chuckled, a raspy, dry noise that rattled in her throat. "Lastly the role of physician. I have several apothecaries who would do well. We may wish to send for a student from a prestigious school for healers in Trisk. We still have some contacts within that region, and the former Healer hero began a school there for medicine."

Trisha starting a school. Who would\'ve thought. Lyn nodded, "Send a messenger that way – use the hidden entrance Gael is showing our troops to get there quickly. Offer them a salary. Work out the details with Bhelarm. Speaking of," She turned to Bhelarm, "Your report?"

The man nodded and placed a notebook on the table in front of him. "Our treasury currently sits at 18,000 Gold Eagles, 50,000 Silver Kestrels, and 260,000 Copper Owls. Monies were spent for several tasks, most notably bribing the mercenaries at Fort Watch to allow us to send agents outside of the Valley. Now, however, with this new hidden entrance you are telling us about…we can avoid that expense." He pulled out a different notebook and set that down. "Food is plentiful, as is timber. What we lack is metal. Raw ore. Obsidian is excellent for arrowheads, spear heads, and the like. But we need iron and coal."

"I can provide that," Lyn stated. "What of the roles under yourself?"

"I have yet to find an appropriate Seneschal to handle affairs at Lynhold. As for antiquarian and handler of your non-coinage in the treasury…I have found a suitable candidate. Menora. An excellent young lady of impeccable breeding-"

Vehenna scoffed and crossed her arms, "Yeah, because she\'s your daughter."

"That\'s beside the point," Bhelarm barked back. "She is just as good as anyone else. She takes after me in her organizational skills. She is a valuable asset"

Lyn leaned forward and tented her hands, "An antiquarian must also be able to find the location of inscribed items out in the world for recovery. Is your daughter capable of this?"

"If Velenna will provide access to her burgeoning spy network."

Lyn glanced at the woman, and she nodded, "Anything for the Destroyer\'s will."

Bhelarm cleared his throat to draw attention back to him, "Lastly was the question of an architect. I do not have any candidates at this time."

Lyn nodded. "Very well. If that is all?"

The twin women stood up and bowed. But Bhelarm stayed seated. "I have one other item, your Ladyship."

"And that would be what?"

"Forgive me for my overreach, but sharing your bed with two warriors seems highly improper."

Lyn smirked and willed her armor to vanish, leaving her nude as she stood up and ceased suppressing the spell that hid her draconic features. The elders all stared, mouths agape, at the draconic-Duskari before them. "I am the Destroyer. I will do what I please with my underlings. If you have a problem with that, then you may leave my service." Lyn lowered her voice to the growl of the Demonic Dragon. "And by leave my service, I mean die."

Bhelarm prostrated himself immediately, "Forgive me! My Lady!"

Lyn willed her armor to cover her form once more but kept the draconic features present. "Good." She pointed at Velenna and Vehenna, "You two, my chambers." She strode past them, and they followed. After she went inside, the two women followed her, and Lyn wheeled on them as they bowed. "I want you two to deal with Bhelarm," she shifted her eyes to Velenna. "Let this Bolvon prove his worth."

Velenna nodded slowly, "Your will be done, my Lady …"

"It sounds like there is a \'but\' coming next."

"Yes, my Lady. He is an integral component of your organization right now."

"And he insists on nepotism. I want to make something extremely clear; my empire is not going to be run by nepotism. It will be a meritocracy. Just how I examined all our warriors to find the most capable leaders and strategists, so, too will you find someone skilled to take his position." She waved her hand dismissively, "He keeps his role, for now. Vehenna, advise him that he is being watched. Him and his daughter. And if they do not meet my standards…they will be stripped of the position and serve in lesser capacity."

The two women bowed, "Your Ladyship," Vehenna stated. "Does that include us?"

"Yes. It does. As it does for Vael, Gael, and Remora. Everyone can be replaced by someone more skilled than them. For the time being, you two are more than secure in your positions. Hence, why I want you to have underlings. The best should train and oversee the next generation of capable individuals. Eventually, I want you two to be able to retire in luxury, assured in the knowledge that your successor will serve me as well as you have." Lyn smiled, "Neither of you have struck my sensibilities as untrustworthy. And while capability plays into my decision of who should help me rule this new empire…if I can\'t trust those Advisors, then they are of no use."

The two women bowed deeply. "Thank you," they said in tandem before departing.

Lyn sighed and laid on the bed, willing the armor to shrink down before dismissing it to the storage choker. Looking up at the mirror, she saw the full draconic features of her change. And she had to admit, it did not just look dangerous… the features had their own allure as well. She chuckled before closing her eyes.