Blood Desert, Salaark"s tent. An hour after the Death Star"s destruction.

Salaark hated having unexpected guests. Ruling the biggest of the three great Countries, slaying Abominations, and keeping the borders safe were all full time jobs she did by herself.

They left her little free time that she enjoyed spending tending her personal matters. New fas.h.i.+ons designs, love interests, books, magic, martial arts training, patronage of the arts were only a few of her many activities.

Unlike the other two Guardians, Overlord Salaark hadn"t detached herself from human society. Quite the contrary, she was deeply invested in it and kept herself active in many fields. In a sense, she was the most human of the three.

That was the reason she hated guests. Every second she spent solving someone else"s problem was a second wasted. Soon she would resume her duties, no matter how much fun she had or missed.

Her furious expression released enough killing intent to turn any sane man"s hair white. Yet her guests were unaffected. Tyris has seen her in way worse moods and Glamus"s hair was already grey.

Salaark had the appearance of a stunning woman in her mid twenties. She had silky black waist long hair, emerald eyes and a bronze tinge of skin so clear that it seemed to emit a gentle radiance.

She sat on her throne, wearing a flaming scarlet robe, the Blood Desert equivalent of a c.o.c.ktail dress, that left exposed her fair shoulders and her crossed legs from a side slit. The beer in her right hand was getting warm, while the food on her plate was getting cold.

"You disappointed me greatly, Glamus Clein. You did not only violate my laws, but you also brought shame upon me and interrupted my first party in a month. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"He was my only relative." The old man cried, yet his voice remained steady. "I know I shouldn"t have Awakened him, but I couldn"t stand watching the last of my kin die."

"That"s not the issue." She stood up in anger, making the ground quake.

"An imbecile like Treius wouldn"t be able to devise a multi function array even in a thousand years. He used your library to learn Kadurian language, your resources to set the array, your Warp Gate to cross the borders. Why didn"t you stop him?"

"He was young and foolish, my Overlord. I hoped that he would learn from his mistakes. That seeing the horrors of Kaduria would turn the boy into a man. Someone worthy of inheriting my legacy."

Glamus was old even by Awakened ones"s standards. He had spent centuries ama.s.sing power and wealth, but with his death approaching, he realized that nothing of him would be left. He had no family nor apprentices.

The world would forget about him the moment he pa.s.sed away.

"Please, spare my life and I"ll be your loyal servant. I need to find an heir. I refuse to die without leaving a single trace on Mogar. No one knows my name or my achievements." He said bowing down with his head pressing against the floor.

"Youth is Treius"s excuse, but what"s yours?" Salaark replied.

"Because of you, the Griffon Kingdom now has learned about one of my arrays. You almost unleashed a cursed object upon my lands, even though you knew how even researching them is against the law. You are not an a.s.set, only a liability."

A light flickered in her eyes and a purple flame set Glamus ablaze. It turned his body into ashes before he could even scream, yet left his clothes and all of his enchanted items intact.

"Old fool. He knew that the reason the Blood Desert has no lost cities is because of me. I"m not a softie like the two of you." She said to Tyris.

"I keep track of certain materials and if I catch someone creating a cursed object, I kill them along with everyone involved. Even the merchants that supplied them with the resources."

"What will happen to his legacy?" Tyris asked.

"I"ll have it collected and examined to see if there something worth using in my schools of magic. The rest will become part of my personal collection. Once you have collected your share, of course."

Tyris was both the offended party and the one that had captured the rogue Awakened. According to the Guardians" treaties, she was ent.i.tled to half the spoils.

"Well, time to get back to the party. Do you want to join?"

"No, thanks. I have still much to do today." Tyris replied with a grateful smile.

"Still grieving after all these years? You need to get a life. Spend too much time alone and it"ll breed desperation. You have seen how desperation leads to madness." Salaark pointed at the ashes dirtying her carpet.

"The lizard at least has his apprentice, daughter, whatever, but what about you? You pa.s.s your days locked up in a bas.e.m.e.nt with no contact with the outside world except for those fake Awakened of yours. When was the last time you had fun? Live it up for once!"

"When I was still the queen." Tyris sighed. A wave of her hand turned her dress into a copy of Salaark"s robe, except it was silver colored.

"I like your style, sister." Salaark linked her arm to Tyris"s and led the way.

***

City of Belius, now.

Lith checked his pocket watch for the time. It was a magical item he had crafted while he was working as a.s.sistant Professor at the academy. Aside from the army and the Mage a.s.sociation, very few used clocks.

Because of its complex function, a watch needed to be made of silver and required a green magic crystal. Like any other enchanted object, only the one imprinting it could use it. Between the materials and the craftmans.h.i.+p, they cost a pretty penny.

Hence they were considered too expensive for their use. Commoners made their own schedule while n.o.bles preferred sundials and hourgla.s.ses.

"Seven sharp. Let"s hope I"m not overdressed nor underdressed compared to her. The first impression is vital." Lith was wearing a beige coat over a red s.h.i.+rt and white pants.

He loved dressing in dark colors, especially in black. Unluckily, all the women in his life, from his mother to his last girlfriend, agreed on them making Lith look like a mortician. Light colors emphasized his brown eyes and olive skin, instead.

Kamila was already there. She was talking with Xilo, the receptionist, and he seemed to be a really funny guy since Lith could hear her laugh through the solid wood door.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Have you been here for long?" Lith inwardly cursed at the apparently unreliable pocket watch.

"Don"t worry, I arrived early. Xilo here was telling me an unbelievable story about a mage so stingy to make faces while reading the menu."

"Sounds like a piece of work of a guy." He said while nailing Xilo with a stare that held the promise of an excruciating death. The poor receptionist avoided the need of changing his pants only because when Kamila turned toward Lith the killing intent disappeared.

"Let"s go, I"ve already chosen our table." She took his hand and dragged him to the adjacent room.