nemorosus

Chapter 363: Irreplaceable

“Be careful,” Argrave told Anneliese as he held her hand. “I think’s it’s pretty well-established you can take care of yourself, but I always hate sending you off.”

“I know. You want to protect me.” She leaned in and kissed him. “But need I remind you… that you still have to catch up to me?” With a cheeky smile, she turned away and walked off, and Argrave’s hand slid off hers. “So, go do that. And you be careful.”

Argrave chuckled and smiled, w...

Chapter 362: Stepping Outside

“This isn’t the same continent,” Argrave explained as his people looked around the vast open grasslands. “This isn’t even the same world. This is a different realm. Bridges between our realm and others can only form in specific, connected places—in this case, the bridge was that of a mirror image. On one side, trees as tall as anyone can imagine. On this one… only this,” he declared, spreading his arms out and gesturing about.

As far as the eye could see, there was only ...

Chapter 361: Looking Into the Mirror

Argrave reached into his duster’s breast pocket and pulled free a silver medallion. It was of crude make, with strange letters and a worn image of a woman pouring water from a horn. He twisted it between his fingers as he looked out at the gathering crowd of centaurs, using it to allay his fears. He’d felt it weighing on him the whole journey—a reminder of what was coming as constant as the bronze hand mirror.

When the half-man, half-equine race gathered in one place like this, th...

Chapter 360: Holy, Holy Mother

The capital of the wood elves in the Bloodwoods was not grand at all. It couldn’t be, for it never stayed in one place for too long. The only thing notable about it was that it was a true building, and presently surrounded by an army well-prepared for war. It looked like a longhouse placed atop a thick branch, supported by curling branches. It had only two entrances, one on each side. Within its largely empty halls, four stood with a rigid posture and alert red eyes.

A man entered int...

Chapter 359: Wire Net

Orion stepped up a mound of roots, using several separate branches like steps of stairs until he crested the top. He looked out across the vastness of the Bloodwoods, then up, up, and up, at its towering branches far removed from the earth. He turned back and waved, shepherding people onwards.

With the signal given, Argrave’s party advanced fluidly up the mound of roots just after him. The van of the formation was Veidimen bearing large tower shields, though just as many without shiel...

Chapter 358: All Converging

“I trust your journey here wasn’t difficult?” Princess Elenore asked from her desk, staring at the two in front of her. She had four golden-armored royal knights standing behind her.

The red-headed siblings Elaine and Rivien Vyrbell shook their heads fiercely. “Not at all,” Rivien began, a statement which Elaine agreed with a mumbled affirmation. “We were accosted by the undead. Fortunately, my sister recently ascended to A-rank.”

“I had been meaning to thank you f...

Chapter 357: A Measured Response to the Unmeasurable

When Grimalt’s new liege returned, he thought that king looked rather trepidatious. He always had a keen intuition about how others felt, and the times he was wrong was more so misinterpretation than mistake. Nevertheless, Argrave had a strong composure in wake of whatever crisis he faced, and he gave orders to the three Veidimen officers—namely, himself, Bastal, and Rasten.

King Argrave’s order was simple: fortify this frontier fortress better against the Bloodwoods. It stressed ...

Chapter 356: Coast to Coast

Argrave stared at Nikoletta without batting an eye even as her eyes wavered on the point of frustrated tears. He couldn’t blame her for being distraught that he’d not come to help when her father had been captured. Were his reasons understandable, logically? He thought so. He had to prioritize stabilizing the country over saving one man. But with her father caught by Vasquer loyalists and dragged across almost the whole of the country, reason probably didn’t factor into the equation for...

Chapter 355: Sea of Land

It was the morning of the next day. They had slept in a separate tent with the Veidimen. Argrave stared at a piece of soft bread with distinct finger marks. That had been his doing—in grabbing the bread, he underestimated his strength and crushed it. There had been several other similar incidents this morning alone to the point where Orion had even given him advice. That wasn’t something he thought he’d ever be dealing with.

Fortunately, he wasn’t alone in this. Anneliese, too, ...

Chapter 354: New and Old

The night came and went very quickly. Argrave and Anneliese spent a lot of time together, but they seldom did so while doing nothing more than enjoying each other’s company. In this manner, the joining ceremony was a precious opportunity that reminded him of the good fortune he’d had in meeting her. Argrave had been complaining about not having a proper wedding, but by the morning he came to realize that this was a far nicer way to celebrate than with expensive pageantry and large groups ...

Chapter 353: The Reunion Union

Anneliese pushed open the fur flap of a traditional Veidimen tent, walking within. The first thing she saw was a wood-burning iron stove, its makeshift chimney piping smoke through a hole in the top of the circular tent. These dwellings could be constructed in thirty minutes by veteran Veidimen, and the fur padding outside and wood stove could stave off the coldest conditions. It brought back memories, and seemed far out of place in the warmth of the summer they found themselves in.

Nex...

Chapter 352: Familial Mending

Argrave stepped into the courtyard of the grand fortress that had been constructed at his behest some months ago. It marked the northern entrance to Blackgard where they’d tunneled through the mountain to bridge the Indanus Divide. The garrison had made the place much more habitable since he last visited, building ramshackle if effective homes like some sort of castle town. He didn’t intend to stay long. Still, someone waited for him: the two-eyed, red-haired Elias of Parbon.

“You...

Chapter 351: First Session

Completely slipped my mind to mention that 350 was the last chapter in volume 6. We're now on volume 7.

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A few dozen people occupied a spacious stone hall. They looked about the place and spoke to each other in hushed tones so as not to send their voices echoing on the unadorned and immaculate walls brightly lit by yellow magic lamps. There were three sections to this room, divided by two separate and gently sloping stairways. These sections had long, thin, continuous tables in ...

Chapter 350: Dynastic Troubles

“I know that it might seem ridiculous,” Argrave said, one hand hovering near the other which held a wriggling salamander. “But these things… they’re the key.”

Reinhardt shook his head. “We’re the ones to ask you for help, Your Majesty. Why would we doubt what you do?”

Argrave looked down at the margrave. It had been perhaps three or four months since last they spoke, and now the situations between them had reversed entirely. It was a very strange thing to see Mar...

Chapter 349: A Malleable People

Argrave crossed his arms as he stared at Dras. “You’re poaching my talent? Really?”

Dras held his arms out as he sunk back into the purple couch. “I’m borrowing an old friend for a few months.”

“A few months.” Argrave nodded intently, then countered, “Just when I’m at the pivotal moment, you want to borrow Galamon for at least a month?” he pointed his hand at Galamon. “He’s my knight-commander! He’s pivotal for developing our standing army! As much as I...

Chapter 348: The Little Things

“As it turns out… I was right the entire time,” the brown-haired Duke Sumner said with a dignified triumph as he looked out across all the nobles of the south arrayed before him. “Argrave was allied with the Veidimen.”

“But wrong in all the ways that mattered.” Margrave Reinhardt, who was standing across from the duke, rebutted. “The snow elves are allies, not conquerors.”

A great many sat and parsed through documents, some Veidimen in origin, and many others bro...

Chapter 347: Guests from the Motherland

Galamon opened the door for Argrave and stepped through it ahead of him. Argrave followed after warily, keeping his eye on the knight-commander as though searching for a reaction. Within, Rowe and Dras sat on pristine purple couches that looked out of place in the battered and worn stone palace. They had been talking, but with Argrave’s arrival their exchange stopped.

“There he is.” Rowe turned his body and rose to his feet, leaning on his staff. “I see you had to upstage me by ...

Chapter 346: Puppet Chain

King Argrave’s unequivocal denial of the Order of the Gray Owl’s terms sent the throne room into a brief silence. Castro, who’d been keeping his eyes closed and stating his demands mechanically, opened them wide. When the old spellcaster set eyes upon Argrave’s cold gray eyes, a smile rose to his face. He quickly hid it with his hand until he regained control of his features.

“What about the offer was unacceptable, Your Majesty?” Castro followed up, hard-pressed to hide the ...

Chapter 345: Terms for Survival

After Elenore’s declaration that the summit could begin, there was a prevailing indecision in the parties arrayed before Argrave. Despite not having been declared the leader of this summit, his bombastic displays made all defer to him despite the undeniable fact the group of Magisters held the most personal power in the room.

And so the king seated on his living throne spoke first. “To begin, I will clearly establish something for all parties. It’s the reason that the Veidimen tur...

Chapter 344: Summit of Dragons

Argrave hefted a crown in his hand—it had a black metal band, chicken egg-sized gemstones at several points, and gold decorating it gaudily. Everything seemed to be in order with it, so he looked up and said, “Thanks for bringing this, Leopold.”

“Hmm,” the wizened old man grunted. “Let’s not forget I provided even more manpower for those forts you took. Some of them had only seven loyal men inside. You really overextended to seize this place.” He wore black clothes in Re...

Chapter 343: Blood's No Bond

Argrave stared at the dark gray corpse of the Shadowlander from his place at the entrance to the Dragon Palace. The monstrous humanoid had been laid across a makeshift wooden platform and secured by ropes, and now twenty men carried it by wooden poles fixed to the platform. Despite the days gone by, its corpse had not decayed even slightly. Nothing, not even the ants, would touch it willingly. Even after death, its flesh felt as hard as stone. Facing two… indeed, facing hordes of t...

Chapter 342: Everyone is Here

Crackling from flames echoed against stone walls, the sound rebounding countless times throughout the vast chamber. These flames burned in braziers before grand statues of stone owls, illuminating the stony birds and casting twisted shadows on the walls behind. Active enchantments kept the braziers alight. These enchantments all came from black chairs in a tight circle at the center of the room, each occupied with gray-robed figures with owls stitched on their shoulders. Some braziers were un...

Chapter 341: Rightful Heir and Usurper

Argrave’s hand hovered near a heavy wooden door. He clenched his fingers into a fist and then slackened them time and time again, taking deep breaths all the while. He glanced backwards where Galamon and Anneliese stood by as silent, if impatient, support. Argrave rolled his shoulders, and then as if he was jumping into cold water, hastily knocked thrice on the door.

Instead of a vocal response, the door opened. Argrave looked up at the man beyond—not something he was used to doing�...

Chapter 340: Settling Dust

Anneliese held her finger up to the air, and her Starsparrow settled atop it as a perch. Argrave looked out where he could see the dust clouds left by the retreating army.

“I think they head to Rovostar’s fiefdom,” Anneliese guessed. “Whitefields. I remember seeing it on the map.”

Argrave nodded. “It’s a poorly defended place, considering it’s both newly constructed and in central Vasquer. But... they still have Enrico of Monticci. And Nikoletta, Mina, those two…...

Chapter 339: Incomprehensible Mind

Argrave judged Traugott with cold, calculating eyes, the two of them standing atop opposite roofs with the city square between them. Though they’d not had time sufficient to interrogate Orion as to the source of the humanoid monster lying dead between them, no one else could reasonably be responsible for bringing the Shadowlander to this city. That he helped put an end to it after it’d killed hundreds of Sumner’s men and devastated both the city and the palace only stoked his rage.

Chapter 338: After All This

Elenore had absolute focus on the area where the Shadowlander had tumbled down the mountainous path to the Dragon Palace. Sumner’s men were hardened warriors, fiercely loyal, well-equipped, and prepared for what was to come—prepared enough to stake their lives. That dedication to a leader did not come easy.

And these factors working in tandem were the only reason they did not break against the Shadowlander immediately.

The moment the titanic creature of darkness landed on the ...

Chapter 337: Ground Control

Elenore stepped into the grand chamber housing Vasquer, ancient ancestor of all the royal family of House Vasquer. The now freed serpent appeared emotionless, but it curved its huge body slowly around, snout facing Elenore. It was like some sort of embrace, and Elenore held her hands out even as her royal guard seemed nervous from the prospect. A small white bird settled on her shoulder, and though it turned its head from side to side it did not flee.

As soon as she touched the large sn...

Chapter 336: Return of the King

“It’ll be hard,” Argrave stared at Anneliese, both now on foot. “Not to mention the other problems we might encounter in the city. Everyone will need heavy security.”

Argrave’s whole inner circle had gathered, and everyone sent nervous glances towards the distant blackening Dragon Palace. There was someone else with them—Duke Sumner.

“But it could be all we have,” Anneliese reminded him. “Orion’s presence is the only reason this thing has not spilled out onto...

Chapter 335: These Shadows Grow So Tall

Duke Rovostar crouched at the top of a hill, watching the Dragon Palace radiate shadow with morbid fascination. He, just as all his men, had felt the strange force that emanated outwards… and now witnessed what seemed to pull the world inwards. And as he did, he recalled the conversations with Traugott.

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“Why are you doing this?” Rovostar had asked, his scarred face dancing in and out of light as a single torchlight flickered.

Traugott, the dark-skinned Magister, ...

Chapter 334: Ignorance of Haste

Orion stepped into the throne room of the Dragon Palace. He didn’t especially like coming here. It had grandiose carved marble walls depicting the gods, but that was about the only part of this place he’d ever liked. Ever since he’d learned the truth, nothing of this place appealed to him. And now, he entered armed and armored. The point of the sword in his right hand dragged just above the floor.

The banners of Vasquer hung above the gilded coal-black throne. A velvet carpet fill...