Furor

Wait! Seeing Nyris walking away, Richard was startled and reached out to stop him. He caught the princes hand, but for a moment was distracted by a strange sense of coldness coming from the soft skin. His grip loosened long enough for Nyris to jump up like he had been burnt, forcefully pulling free and bolting for the door.

Even then, Richard just stood in silence as he touched a part of his palm that had been scratched by Nyriss nails. It hadnt been enough to draw blood, but even that section was still icy and emitting a delicate fragrance.

Thankfully, he could rest assured that the prince would be safe for now. Marriage engagements were slow and complicated, especially when they involved two individuals of royal bloodline. He only needed five days of time to be able to guarantee the Fourth Princes safety himself. With the time approaching dusk, he took the long-range portal below the castle to the Deepblue.

As Richard left, the entirety of Faust went into an uproar.

In his demiplane in the Mage Association headquarters, Chairman Thor reclined into his chair as he opened a letter that had just arrived, Its from Richard, and looks rather important. Lets see what he has to say.

Sitting across him was a mage who looked to be in her late twenties, but from her robes to the large rings on her hand, she was clearly armed like a legend. One could also see traces of her true age from her eyes as she responded calmly to the Chairman, The Archeron kid? Hes gotten quite the reputation these days, I always hear people talking about him. Some are even saying that he could be a saint runemaster in thirty years, I hope hell manage to craft something good for mages. That damned Lawrence talked about Mana Armament for so many years, but he didnt manage to make it.

Thor chuckled, Thirty years? He wont even be fifty then, can you imagine a saint runemaster under the age of fifty?

I know, but hes already worked miracles with Lifesbane and the grade 4 Mana Armament. Ive already heard of a few old guys travelling to the abyss just for the Archeron bloodline; theyre becoming a popular demon to hunt.

The aged Chairman drank some tea as he started reading through the letter, but after only moments he spat out everything in his mouth until the sheet was soggy! The other mage sat up with shock as well; something that could unsettle a legendary being had to be momentous.

Impossible! This is damn impossible! Thor screamed as he tried to dry the paper immediately.

What happened? Surely, even a declaration of war from the other empires wouldnt merit this reaction.

How else should I react? The Sacred Alliance has another saint runemaster! What else matters?

Saint runemaster? the mage yelped, no longer caring about her own appearance as she tried to snatch the sheet from Thors hands, Who is it? Rufus? Roth? Why would they defect now of all times? Wait No, impossible!

See for yourself! Thor let her take the sheet.

The mage didnt even care that the letter was covered in tea and spittle, carefully reading through every word as though it was an illusion. Her own eyes widened before she seemed to deflate entirely, Kingsteel, Stealthwalker? Isnt he Lawrences student, shouldnt he be crafting Mana Armament?

The Chairman groaned loudly, Have you gone senile? Who cares about the function of the runes, dont you understand the key point to them? If you cant understand, someone else will.

The mages eyes twitched as she returned to the letter, reading through it a few more times while muttering the words Kingsteel and Stealthwalker over and over again. It took her a moment to yell, Theres two!

Finally!

Who announces two saint runes the moment they advance? the woman shrieked, all of the plants within a hundred metres starting to tremble and collapse.

Thor sighed deeply, He announced two rune sets for his first official convention. Now hes announcing two saint runes for his first in this realm. Its no big deal.

The woman knew that this was a huge stretch. A number of saint runemasters in the history of Norland only managed a single grade 5 rune in their lives, just like Saint Lawrence. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down a little, This means we have a reliable source of saint runes in the future. If I can get one that works, some of the secret realms I have access to will become explorable. Why is the convention in five days? How on earth am I supposed to gather enough funds to buy them right there if theyre nice?

She immediately waved her arms, opening up a screen in thin air and pointing it at a constellation of floating islands in the midst of the void, I am the South Star! Listen up, you old coots, come to Faust right now! Get moving, theres going to be a rune convention in five days! There will be two new saint runes! Dont tell me I didnt warn you about this, and get some of my money. I didnt bring too much this time!

The South Star wasnt as impactful a name as it once was. She hadnt returned to Norland often in two centuries, and even when she did she didnt make a public appearance. However, this title still held great power amongst the upper echelons of the Sacred Alliance.

News travelled quickly, and cries of surprise resounded throughout Faust.

A saint runemaster only in his twenties? Goodness!

What is Kingsteel? Such an uncommon name!

Stealthwalker? The name is a little bland, but Im sure its very useful. I want one!

Want? Do you have the capacity to get it?

Within the imperial palace, Apeiron was enjoying a massage from a batch of beautiful youths, her body only covered by a small towel. Every one of these youths were trembling with fear; personally attending to the Empress was a task destined for death. This was especially true now, when there were a number of bone-deep wounds across her snow-white skin. Some of the injuries were spewing black smoke, while others sizzled with rotting flesh or had energy worms crawling in and out of them.

A few priests and doctors were standing by her side, healing her to the best of their abilities while covered in sweat. However, the Empress herself acted as though the multitude of injuries were nothing.

Julian walked into the room and bowed with the grace of a true noble, his voice now magnetic and charming, Your Majesty, the entire Sacred Alliance is in need of your guidance; you cannot take the risks you did before. The Land of Dusk is an issue for all the noble families of Faust, they cannot just push the responsibilities to you.

Dont be annoying, she said lazily, I hadnt been hurt for a long time, it left me itchy. The Daxdians havent improved at all; I killed two of their legends, but they didnt manage to really hurt me. Anyway, why are you here?

There has been a major incident in Faust.

Speak.

Richard Archeron has sent you an invitation to his next rune convention.

Is he dreaming? The kid should know that Id have killed him long ago, whats so special about this convention of his?

He plans to announce two new runes, both grade 5.

It was only now that the Empresss eyes lit up, Two saint runes?

Yes, Julian nodded.

She squinted her eyes, retreating into her own mind for a second before saying, What do you think?

If one of them suits you, we could return to the Outlands for an expedition. We can teach those bastards a lesson they will never forget!