Chapter 53

Chapter 53

A/N: Had to skimp on the PR a bit, since one of my friends suddenly called, and told me that it's my duty to accompany them to get smashed. So have mercy on that. Hope you enjoy.

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After the tournament, Neleh and her companions had made a hasty retreat out of Rhianon. Her performance had made a bit too big of an impact, so they decided that now was a good time to accept the invitation the naga had made for Neleh. Her performance against the Solaris mage team was already a pretty big deal, even though the elves had several warriors capable of doing something similar. Nelehs performance had been much more efficient than what most of those warriors were capable of. Neleh was not the only warrior capable of using techniques directed specifically towards fighting mages, but her techniques were significantly more effective than what the others had seen before, especially when you consider that Neleh didnt use a lot of her internal power to achieve that result. The most important part was that Neleh was too young to be so skilled, as most of the warriors of similar skill were hundreds of years old, if not millennia.

What really got peoples attention was the combination of her performance as a warrior and the spells she used while fighting Aneirin. Aneirins use of Wrathful Skies was already a big piece of news, since it went beyond anything a mage of her age and rank should be able to use, and she was drawing a lot of attention as well. However, Neleh had used two even stronger spells, Gates of Tartarus was about equal with Aneirins spell, but the final frost spell Neleh had used was graded as being strong enough to qualify Neleh as a Great Silver. Some people had suspected that she might be strong enough for the rank already before this, but now she had proven it in front of an audience of millions of people.

A Chosen who had enough power as a mage to qualify as a Great Silver, and was also skilled in warrior techniques, while also being young enough to count as a child? That certainly got everyones attention. Neleh had quickly exited the arena, made her wish to Nimue to have her excluded from any other wishes and grabbed her companions. She exited the capitol before an hour passed after the end of the fight. While their final destination was to go to the underwater empire of the naga, they would be traveling through the duchy of JaoeTinukai, so they might as well check on the progress of things. Neleh was also planning on visiting the mountain range of the dragons, to make sure the dragons didnt find it objectionable if they started mining.

They met Estelar near the border of the duchy, where the tired steward joined them with a group of guards to escort them. It wasnt that he was worried about their safety, but more that he wanted to keep up appearances.

Hello Estelar. You look tired. I hope you havent been working too hard. Neleh ask with a slight tinge of worry in her voice. She had been pushing most of the preparations on Estelars shoulders, and she had made a lot of plans that all needed preparations.

Well, you do keep me busy, but I personally like being busy so thats not the problem. Its the bandits. I had a lot of luck hunting them down until about a month ago. Now it seems like they have all disappeared. Except of course they havent, so they must have something in mind. The fact that they all disappeared at once, like they were all following the same orders, has me worried. Ive ran around trying my best to find them, with no luck, and Ive had trouble sleeping because Ive been trying to come up with countermeasures to whatever they are planning. Bandits dont just suddenly leave. Estelar replied worried.

Any estimates on their numbers? Neleh asked with a frown.

Hard to say. Estimating the size of bandit groups is always half about guessing. Weve also heard some rumors about the bandits from other provinces moving into the duchy, but I cant verify those rumors. If I had to make a guess, their numbers could range anywhere between ten thousand and a hundred thousand. Thats a big enough group to be called a small army. Estelar said in a grim voice.

Whats the situation with the Order? Are there people ready to be used yet? Neleh asked skeptically.

Not a chance. You wanted the training to be thorough and we are taking our time. You cant make the sort of forces you want to make in a short period of time. The fastest people have managed to pass the Test of the Bow, and are training for the Test of the Sword. None of them are even close to the Test of Life and Death. If you threw them into battle right now, they would most likely win, but the losses would be too significant. They dont have the type of skill yet, to ensure their survival. Estelar replied with a sigh.

I thought as much. Draw up a list of potential targets the bandits might have in mind, and lets see what we can manage. They wouldnt gather numbers like that just to raid a few villages. We might have to ask the army for help. This is a bit too much for us alone to handle. The empress should be sympathetic to our requests, considering shes the one who threw this whole thing on me. Neleh said after a thought.

Understood. Estelar replied.

Now, on to other matters. I have a few things to do while Im passing through the duchy. Ill have to pay a visit to the dragons living at the mountain range we talked about earlier. I also have to pay a visit to the center of the duchys ley lines. I think I have enough power gathered to form the Nexus if I utilize the power from the ley lines. I wont be able to form too many doors yet, but that can be done later. Ill also need to pay a visit to the capital. I have a spell we can use to improve our road systems. Neleh started listing things to do.

Oops, my bad. Neleh thought, but of course didnt say out loud. You know, this could work for the both of us. I happen to have great skill with earth magic, but I dont really have the mana to do something big. If you have a few dragons lend me their mana, I could create you a living space big enough for all the dragons in the elven continent. It doesnt have to be a simple cave either; I can make something a bit fancier. It would actually work for everyone involved. Having all the dragons of the continent in one place would allow us to not infringe on your territory, and you could more effectively stop anything like the event that happened with the Sun Elf capitol from happening again. In addition, you would all be within my territory, so no need to worry about the elves coming to interfere with you. Neleh suggested with a sincere sounding voice, which the dragon didnt believe for a moment.

Youre not doing this out of the goodness of your heart. Youve got too much dragon in you for that, so you should know better. Whats the catch? Zamekh asked while narrowing its large eyes.

Two things. Firstly, as it happens, there are quite extensive mining opportunities below this mountain range. If I relocate you, then I dont have to worry about you getting angry about the mining. Secondly, youre probably not aware, but Im also the Chosen of the elven people, for some strange reason. So if one of you gets too much out of line, like what happened with the Sun Elf capitol but without a proper reason this time, this little sister will have to put an end to it. It would be much easier if you were all within a province I control, so I dont have to go running around the whole continent. Neleh said with a grim voice.

How did that happen? Why would Elune lay a claim on one of us? Neleh was still a little bit confused how the dragon seemed to consider her a dragon as well. Though she could imagine several reasons for it, it was still a bit odd. No matter, that sounds fair enough. Ill have some of the dragons gather up for the spell. Having a single large location for us would make things a lot easier for several reasons, and we can deal with you also being the Chosen for Elune. At least youll have more sense than some knife-ear. The dragon finished.

Neleh suggested a location near the southern edge of the province. It was close enough to the forests to work as a food source, and would also make sure that the southern border of the province would be secure. No one would want to march an army past a mountain full of dragons. It was far enough away from the main road leading towards Rhianon to not bother trade, though Neleh wasnt sure how Nimue would feel about having all the dragons of the continent living so close to the capitol

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They quickly traveled to the assigned location. Nelehs companions were a little confused about the change in plans, and she refused to explain too much preferring to keep things as a surprise. She just said that they would see a something worth the wait. By the time they reached their destination they could see a large gathering of about thirty dragons with sizes ranging from a large barn to a huge fortress. The others were clearly confused and a bit scared, but Neleh confidently approached them.

Calls of little sister from the dragons surrounded her, and many of the dragons gave a nod of their head to acknowledge the Chosen. They all turned to watch her. Zamekh was the first to approach.

So how shall we do this? The blue dragon asked.

Allow me to link your mana pools with mine. Ill draw from them to cast the spell. You can them review my handiwork and I can use the remaining power Im holding to make any changes you want. Now would be a good time to make suggestions. Neleh replied.

The dragons were all too happy to make suggestions. The basic plan included a single huge mountain with a network of wide tunnels reaching into the earth. The interiors would be similar to a huge temple of Satai, and the lower levels would have vents into veins of magma so hot air could get in, and some fine sand for a good environment for the eggs. Some male dragons also asked for some smaller separate caves for the times the female dragons got on their nerves.

Time to show the difference between the mages of this world and the mages that have seen the universe a bit. Neleh thought. She drew heavily on the mana of the dragons, and made several complex magical patterns in the air. These were something the people of this world had never seen before. They were magical formation called Ri Majon that afforded much greater control over the magical elements than normally was possible. When taken further, they could also be used to change the form of the spells completely, but that was not necessary for the moment. This time Neleh was only using them both as a catalyst, and for control, since drawing a magical circle big enough for a mountain would be too much work.

The dragons knew approximately how much power a large spell such as this would require, but with the Ri Majon Neleh could severely cut down on the magical power used, yet she still drew the original amount of mana from the dragons. She did this, because she intended to store the excess mana, and use it for her own purposes later on, effectively scamming the dragons for extra mana. Not that they would mind terribly, since they would regenerate the mana used in a few days.

At Nelehs gesture, a huge mountain started rising from the ground. She masterfully controlled the formation of the mountain, forming the caverns even while the mountain was still rising. The formation of the mountain resulted in slight earthquakes in the surroundings, but not as much as one would assume, because Neleh controlled the forces released very carefully. The large expenditure of mana was felt all around the continent, and by the time the mountain had stopped rising, it was tall enough to be visible from the edge of Rhianon, even without any sensory enhancing magic. Of course, elves had sharp eyes, so they didnt much need enhancing. The mountain was now the tallest within the whole continent, and possibly the whole planet. If anyone ever asked, Neleh would pin the blame for the magic on the dragons, and no one would most likely go and ask them.

Once the spell had finished, the dragons flew into the caverns to check their new abode, and were beyond impressed. Much of the inside had the shiny appearance of a marbled temple. The roof high enough to allow entry of the biggest of the dragons, supported by marble looking dark columns thick enough to require thirty men with arms spread to surround it. The dragons were happy. They would be able to make any necessary small changes on their own, and they thanked Neleh for her efforts.

As Neleh was walking away from the lonely mountain, she chuckled to herself. She was still holding to almost half of the mana she had gotten from the dragons. She could use this to cast several of the large scale spells she had been planning for her duchy, and didnt have to expend the mana she had been storing within the gems in her storage ring. Not only that, she had alleviated any problems on mining below the mountain range the dragons used to inhabit, and the dragons now even owed her a favor. This had been a very productive day