Chapter 71 - Whispers

"Are you guys not going to bid Staxius farewell?" Julius stood, he waited for the strangers to react. "Not necessary, he'll take care of everything." Millicent walked to the entrance and left for the throne room. Everyone except Fenrir followed her out. "What about you?" He turned to Fenrir who stretched and hopped in place. "No clue," her attitude changed massively. Out on the battlefield, none could be more diligent, responsible, and immaculate as her. For some reason, the moment Staxius arrived, her persona changed, it grew playful, like a pet seeing its master after a long time. "You should probably go speak with Millicent, Staxius welcomed you into our council, right? Better learn how things work here." She walked side by side with the siblings. "If I remember correctly, the throne room is to the right?" Julius asked as they reached the doorway. Fenrir nodded and took a sharp left, her stomach growled. Autumn hesitantly looked at her brother, "fine you can go too, I'll meet with Millicent first." Two days of living out there were hard, but it was now behind them. "Thanks," she smiled and followed Fenrir. Julius waited, he watched her sister joyfully skip down the curved hallway. "You haven't changed a bit now have you, little sister." He headed to the throne room.

"Avon, why is there two of you?" a crowd of people approached the car, the door opened, and another Avon walked out. "-again I ask, why is there two of you?"

"Its because two is better than one," they replied simultaneously with enthusiasm, their eyes sparkled. "No, we are not doing this whole thing again," Staxius carefully maneuvered around the people and reached Void. The car was covered with dust, snow, and dirt. The black body didn't help either, it just made the whole thing look more disgusting and repulsive. Nevertheless, the interior looked clean as usual. As carefully as he picked her up earlier, he laid her down on the passenger seat which was reclined a bit just as smoothly. The door shut, he went around, "Avon, we don't have space for you – and I don't want you to sit on my lap either." He sternly fixed Avon's eye, as he made his way around, the people had left already. The car was too dirty for them to care for. The spirits kept standing still near the front, they returned the gaze with a hint of friendliness.

"I did stay in your shadow the entire time you stayed in Arda, or have you forgotten?" the once separated spirits merged once more. "Of course, I haven't," the door opened, Staxius entered. *Knock, knock,* Avon's mood was playful, he tapped the window. "Let me in," he said, Staxius rolled down the window. "Calm down, just return in my shadow will you," he didn't want to play, Ayleth's health became a priority.

"I apologize for the rather late introductions, I'm Julius Garnet, a battlemage as well as a duke." A thunderous roar made its way inside, Staxius left. "Greetings duke Julius." Millicent sat on her seat, that looked down upon anyone. Her height was slightly more elevated than anyone else. "I know we may have been adversaries in the past, but I'm honored to join forces with you." He didn't seem fazed nor frightened. The remaining members sat at their respective seats and watched without the interest to jump in. The air felt tight, Millicent and Julius weren't that keen on speaking to one another. "Can you please turn-off that light behind you?" Julius asked. The menacing lights behind Millicent were bothersome. "No, I'd rather not." She defiantly refused. "Listen to me, Millicent," his tone grew serious, "-that isn't a request, you're going to turn that light off right now. Don't make me remind you who I am, I'm the mage who slaughtered so many lives in the previous war and a duke by title, you shall show me the respect I deserve." Everyone held their breath, this display of strength made everyone on edge.

"Fine," Millicent rolled her eyes and the lights turned off, the room as a result grew brighter. The other lights turned on, "way to throw around your weight." Undrar spoke, she sat in Staxius's place next to Millicent. "Well done," the girls spoke amidst themselves, none looked that scared as he had hoped for. "I apologize for that, my old habits came back for a moment there," he scratched his head. "You needn't worry, we're well acquainted with such outbursts," Undrar reassured him.

"Staxius has decided to include you in Dorchester's noble council?" Millicent asked, to which he nodded. She sighed, "we were recently enemies and now you want me to be courteous towards you?" Millicent didn't want to accept it. "I think that's enough being childish for one day," Annet spoke out, "-this man here has saved and helped strangers just because we were Staxius's friend. Did going against our leader give you wings? I'm afraid, dearest Millicent, those wings can melt at any given time if you fly to close to the sun." she took a quick pause, her eyes looked firm and relentless, "-I don't mean anything bad by it, don't get over your head just because we obeyed you once; if you do something to hurt this man here, I swear, Staxius won't blink twice before killing you."

"That's a bit harsh, why did you have to say it that way?" Adelana jumped in. "-she's just making sure that Julius is trustworthy." An argument soon followed; part agreed with Millicent while others with Annet. "Ha…ha…ha," laughter stopped the fight, they were taken by surprise. "I can't believe you guys are the ones who Staxius thinks as friends. Take a good look at you, you can't even agree about anything. I was invited to join this noble council by a friend, I don't have the time nor pleasure of getting belittled by commoners. Frankly, I'd have chosen to send you all to die in Frostrest if I were Staxius. Indecisiveness can bring about total chaos; a weak foundation can't support a growing kingdom."

"I agree with him," Undrar added, "-we need to be working together, and not quarrel amongst one another. We've just fought a losing battle and won. By all means, we should be celebrating but instead, we're here fighting about letting the one who most certainly saved Annet and Ayleth join us. We should be ashamed; how can we have the audacity to question his integrity." Everyone fell silent, the words she spoke gave them a needed reality check. "On behalf of this council, I apologize for this rude and inappropriate display." She stood and bowed. "You needn't lower your head, and you're right, we should be celebrating." His serious tone changed to a more friendly one.

"As you wish," Millicent spoke, "welcome to the noble council," she forced a smile. "Welcome," they all replied simultaneously and left. "Do join us in the tavern, we're going to drink till we pass out; let's party the old way." Annet cheered. "No need to tell me twice," he followed close behind, the throne room door closed. "Did I say something wrong earlier?" Millicent asked and Undrar listened. "You did nothing wrong, being cautious is something admirable. Sadly, that man is unlike any other, the expertise and talent that he brings will amaze you." She in turn left, Millicent sat alone. She was frustrated, her fist clenched.

"Do you want power?" a faint whisper tickled her ears. "Who is this?" she quickly fired back and looked all around. "Don't you wish to be listened to?" she gave up on trying to find out where the sound came from. "No," she replied unwillingly. "Aren't you just being used, you're just a stepping stone for that man to walk, can't you see?" She shook her head and covered her ears. "No, I'm his friend, without him I'd have been left to die." The whispers stopped. "Call out to me if you desire power, the power to destroy and rule."

"GO AWAY," she screamed, her breathing got out of control. "T-this presence, I've felt this before…" her head felt light-headed.

"Come on in everyone, we've got food and drinks for all. The best thing about it? It's free!" the barkeeper shouted, she was young and was helped with many others. Everything was provided for free, that was one of the conditions. Practically every day and every night, this place was never empty. Though the food was for anyone to take, people still paid, not much, only what they could give. The inhabitants of Dorchester were very considerate, neither did they waste nor acted ungratefully. May it be children to a.d.u.l.ts, they ate and helped around the castle, some helped with the cleaning, some helped with general maintenance, and most helped in the construction of the inner-camp. The camp outside the castle's progress was regretful, most of the builders and skilled craftsmen were too busy with their daily workload and too focused on building the inner camp. Days had gone by, it began shaping up. Left of the castle as you came in, the merchants and travelers hailing from other provinces had set-up a small market. Next to them, the local blacksmiths, and such. Opposite them, on the right side, small shacks were built, it was the new sleeping quarters.

Day by day, the number of people rejoining castle Garsley was mind-blowing. With the inhabitants of Frostrest, the already crammed castle was now harder to work with. Left as you went into the castle; the room was given to the people; it was bigger than any other. Mainly children and women slept there, on the rock cold floor. Lucky were the ones who got anything remotely smooth to sleep in. The people weren't angry, they were happy, getting food and water was more than enough.

It shone through their eyes, as Julius walked into the fabled tavern. People smiled, and had fun, the kids were livelier. "Welcome stranger," the young barkeeper signaled Julius. He smiled and sat down; the counter was filled with familiar faces. On the opposite end of said counter, his sister was gobbling down food like there was no tomorrow. Fenrir desperately tried to get her to calm down, in the end, she choked – Fenrir laughed and shook her head.

"Can't believe days ago we were nearly killed; you people are amazing." He thought out loud seeing everyone happy. "That's the Dorchester we want to build, a haven for anyone who seeks shelter, a place where nothing is ruled by prejudice. A place free from hate and anger, a place welcoming everyone." Adelana replied. She overheard Julius thinking. "That's indeed a nice dream, I'll help however I can." The barkeep slammed down a mug of beer, the celebration begun.

The scenery went by faster than expected, the black car passed Savaview bridge, and had made it half-way to the capital. "don't you think we're going a bit too fast?" Avon asked. The spirit was one with the car. "Not really, we need to get there before sun-down, otherwise, it's going to be a pain to get in contact with Jona." He continued injecting mana; the car accelerated without any sign of stopping. A few hours had gone by, "Come to think of it, we're now in range to use the radio." The long drive to the capital continued.

"Thank you all for tuning into the afternoon news, I'm your host Aceline, and you're listening to radio Amber." The boyish voice stopped and music began. "As you all know, we've been through a lot these past few months. New inventions and new magical appliances have taken the market by storm. Not to mention how efficient long-range weapons are growing against mages. All and all, this is probably some bad news for some of you out there. However, there isn't a thing to threat about, the Order has finally announced when the next inter-magical tournament is going to take place. Massive celebrations will happen throughout Hidros. It's an edict straight from the emperor; all fighting shall be stopped, the Order is working hand in hand to find out which magical school will come out on top, this calls for festivities. Inter-magical tournament for the listeners who aren't informed is a competition that pits the students from schools around the kingdom against one another." The music resumed, Staxius intently listened. "I've just got news from my producers that this year's inter-magical tournament is special. The Order has decided to allow any free-roaming mage or anyone below the age of twenty-five to partake in the quest to be known as one of the chosen ones. More information will be available at any magical school. You, young ones who want to try and test your might; head over to the nearest school and try your luck. Preliminaries will last a total of three months. I won't bore you with any more detail, if you're interested, do check in with your local school or just use the information network. On second note, fighting has stopped…" Staxius turned off the radio. "Is something wrong?" Avon asked. Something felt off.

"N-not really, I'm just getting goosebumps thinking about the tournament, I vividly remember the images of my dad fighting."

"Isn't it weird that the Order is allowing anyone to participate?" Avon raised a good question. "Not really, the tournament has always been something only the privileged could enjoy. However, students nowadays aren't from noble factions, sons of wealthy traders and more powerful mages are being recruited each day. This is just an act; all they want from what I've guessed is promising talent. There's been a fall in people who can use magic, it's already rare enough to be a sorcerer, it's even harder now." He concluded, the giant castle walls finally came in sight.

"How do you know that mages are getting rarer, aren't you just lying?" Avon asked sarcastically. "It was an educated guess, don't underestimate me, I've told you before. "

"How though, explain further." Avon was trying to get Staxius on edge.

"Simple, I haven't heard any rumors or anything about the Order and the inter-magical tournament for ages now. Well, it's maybe because I was in Dorchester the whole time, but that's beside the point. My trip to Dundee revealed something – usually right out this time of year, streets would be filled by people gossiping about a new prodigy or someone amazing. Sadly, it was quiet, all and all, it brought me to that conclusion. This may seem confusing for you, but that is what I think about the whole situation anyway.

"I was only joking, but you've piqued my interest." The car drove, the capital grew closer. The previous inter-magical tournament occurred five years ago, Staxius told the truth. People born with the power to manipulate mana grew few, instead, another kind was born. This alteration had been happening over decades, human's as a species were adapting to survive. New and more powerful humans were born as a result, not mages, but adventurers. Not the common adventurers who Staxius met in the past, but once who had the boon to gain strengths and ability surpassing the living. They could acquire skills without training, the only thing they said about this matter was, "I don't know, I get a feeling like I can do a move, and then bam it happens and I feel stronger somehow." Their bodies were also incredibly resilient to poison and healed twice as fast, they were like mages who didn't have to cast nor use mana. These group of people became known as adventurers, the meaning of that title changed massively. They were essential for a kingdom to survive, though not as important as mages, their strength was on par. The whole ranking system was revised, guilds grew more popular.