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"A-authorization permits?" Radagad stuttered, his forehead moist with sweat.

"And identification papers." The icy beauty repeated blankly, holding out her hand. "I\'m waiting."

Two of the armored monsters brandished their heavy cleavers menacingly, and both Asselin and Malia immediately clutched the hilt of their swords, unsheathing them an inch. Toby would have followed suit, but he was unarmed. The unfortunate consequence of having spent most of the trip sleeping on a stretcher.

Ellie was obviously the same sniveling coward as always. If she didn\'t cry this time, her eyes quickly misted up with tears when she saw that Radagad sported a stiff grimace, a trace of anger and resentment glimmering fleetingly in his only valid eye.

\'Orym, you screwed us!\'

"Is it coming?" The deadpan woman barked impatiently.

" ... "

"We have no ID and no license." Ikaris confessed truthfully, relieving the ranger of his burden. "And no money either."

The last sentence was to avoid getting ripped off. The woman slowly turned her head toward the boy and her emerald eyes narrowed as she met his composed, serene gaze. Disregarding the ranger, she walked around the desk and stopped right in front of him.

Less than a foot of distance separated them and Ikaris found himself self-conscious when, wanting to look straight ahead, he found himself staring at her bountiful breasts that threatened to spill out of her bodice. He immediately looked up, but as he met her emotionless gaze he became aware of how tall she was and how small he was.

It was the first time he felt so vulnerable and insignificant in front of a woman. Noting the twitching of his facial muscles, especially those of his eyebrows and lips, the lethal beauty identified without difficulty the emotions and thoughts that were running through his mind. She had seen this kind of reaction thousands of times, she was used to it.

"No permit and no papers, uh?" She said cheerlessly. "You must be either stupid or desperate to show up here without money or authorization."

"Or brave." Ikaris retorted, holding her gaze.

Her lips pursed in a tight line curled up slightly.

"Just because this is the first time I\'ve met a Crawling-Thrall as arrogant and clear-headed as you, I can forgive your impertinence." She nodded to herself.

Ikaris\' expression changed dramatically. The woman in the black dress raised her eyebrows with genuine surprise this time,

"What? Didn\'t you know that any Sorcerer with a Bloodline can identify any type of Thrall just by his scent? And you still came here? What kind of fool or ignorant person are you?"

"What?! You\'re a Crawling-Thrall?!" Radagad yelled. "Goddammit! Orym really screwed me this time! I should have charged more money..."

The beauty ignored the ranger\'s ramblings and stated, glaring at Ikaris and then at the rest of the group.

"The identity documents can be recreated as long as your background is clean. We don\'t want spies and double agents working for the Confederation in our Warring Lands. Luckily, I have the ability to sort out the truth from the lies. You will answer my questions. The first falsehood and you will be banished permanently from the Warring Lands. If you are unable to pay for the Transportation Portal activation for your return trip, you will be culled on the spot.

"Am I clear?"

"Crystal clear." Ikaris and the other young people replied with a slightly higher pitch than they would have liked.

"Duly noted." Radagad cleared his throat with a grim face.

"We start with the Thrall." She declared with a snap of her fingers.

His friends and the bison were pushed back by a curtain of dark energy, pushed back dozens of steps before being firmly grabbed by the armored monsters. Ellie tensed, but she did not dare to voice any protest. The others slowly and reluctantly dropped their swords.

Ikaris looked at the pitch black place where he stood and realized he couldn\'t hear anything at all except his own heartbeat.

"What\'s your first name?" The young woman\'s placid voice echoed in his head.

"Ikaris."

"And your name?"

"I don\'t remember it. Only Ikaris."

"Where are you from?"

"Earth."

A silence.

"...Where is it?" She asked shortly after.

"Another planet."

"An Otherworlder then?"

"Yes."

"When did you wake up in this world?"

"About ten or eleven days ago."

"Only ten days?" He sensed the surprise in her tone.

"Give or take a few hours."

"Why come here?" She then questioned.

"We were driven to flee when the Great Wall fell. The Warring Lands are reportedly the perfect place to make a fresh start for people like me."

"The Great Wall fell? Where?" She seemed interested in the news.

"South of the Barren Bush."

"Never heard of it."

"Hadrakin?"

"...Mm, I see where it is. A small kingdom."

Ikaris almost choked on his own saliva at her offhand remark. A Rank 3 Kingdom with 100 million people and 8 million soldiers was a small kingdom to her. Weren\'t the Warring Lands supposed to harbor no fiefdom more developed than a duchy?

She then asked him more questions, including whether he was secretly serving the Confederation, whether he had other allegiances, and all sorts of probing questions to make sure he wasn\'t a danger to Tartarus Shade and the Warring Lands.

At last came the last question.

"Are you in possession of a Stele?"

Ikaris froze. It was his most important secret, but he couldn\'t lie either at the risk of being banished upon arrival.

"...I do have one." He confessed anxiously, his hand clenching so hard on the hilt of his sword that his knuckles turned white.

"Relax. Just routine." She reassured him with the same indifferent tone.

Paradoxically, her lack of interest in their conversation soothed the boy more than her pathetic attempt to placate him.

"Which Saint?" She then asked.

"Elsisn."

"The interrogation is over. You\'ll have your identity papers in a few hours." She informed him in a dull voice. "Since you have a Stele, you are exempt from the permit. You can choose to have your companions as retinue to exempt them from the permit as well, but it legally binds them as long as they live in Tartarus Shade.

"When the questioning of your companions is complete, I will take you to choose the piece of land where you want to settle, and then I will notify you of the rights and duties that your position as a prospective Lord entails.

"Any questions?"

Ikaris thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"What would have happened if I had not owned a Stele?" He asked out of curiosity.

"If your background is clean, you would have been granted a temporary stay of 48 hours limited to the confines of Tartarus Shade. To make it permanent, you would have needed to either acquire a Stele or swear allegiance to another clan or lord. Selling yourself as a slave is another way out. The other way out, the way most permits are obtained, is simply to get a signed authorization from one of the 6 Ruling Houses of Tartarus Shade. Even with a Stele, you will have no choice but to get backing from one of these Houses if you want to establish yourself smoothly in the Warring Lands."

Ikaris took her last words very seriously. He didn\'t want to see his village attacked by another Lord within minutes of establishing it. It wasn\'t a big deal if it was another destitute immigrant like him, but if it was an army of driven Sorcerers it was a different matter.

"What are the names of these six Houses and how do I contact them?" He asked humbly.

An amused laugh echoed in the darkness all around him. The blackness shrouding him melted away and the gray wood desk, malachite floor and black-robed beauty reappeared before him.

"You have a representative of one of these Houses right in front of you. Let me formally introduce myself. Anaphiel Morgunis, of House Morgunis, the most powerful family in Tartarus Shade."

Ikaris realized then why Orym hadn\'t given them a permit. It had never mattered at all.