Tristan’s routine played itself out over the next few days. He would travel all day, practicing the First Order spells at his disposal through rote memorization, whilst Felicity kept an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. They would return to the Fey Realm after nightfall, and Tristan would socialize for a short while with the new residents who were taking quite a liking to the Fey Realm and expressed interest in staying.

  Then, Tristan would go over to the new crafting center and marketplace, with an enormous awning overhead made from trees woven together and transplanted from all over the Fey Realm so that different types of trees designated varying types of craft or trade. Maintaining his armor and equipment, he then went into the Queen’s Wood, slept, and returned to traveling the next day.

  As they traveled across the lowlands of the Sapphire Coast, Tristan was struck by how busy the trade roads were. He had been using his Disguise Form spell stored inside the family crest to keep himself in the guise of a traveler from Bhant, and Felicity stayed invisible atop his head almost the entire time. The people going by were seemingly from all walks of life, and as Tristan inquired with the passers-by, he learned the reason for the large amount of movement.

  Not too far to the east, a Demon Realm Incursion had occurred; the same one that took the families and livelihood of his newest additions to the Fey Realm. Creatures from that Realm, most notably Demon Bats like what he had slain previously, attacked at night. They were large enough to carry off grown men, and so people were leaving the sparsely populated smaller villages and towns to instead join the growing underclass of the towns and cities.

  As one of the passersby put it, “The more people we surround ourselves with, the less likely we’ll be picked up and carried into the night by those things.”

  Felicity kept her eyes and focus peeled and intent on the skies around them, but the creatures seemed to primarily attack at night, and since they were in the Fey Realm at that time, there was no overlap.

  On the twentieth of Building Season, the last day of the hottest week of the year, as night began to fall, Tristan’s amulet vibrated. Fishing it out from under his armor, he held it up, “Tristan, here.”

  “Ah, you live.”

  “I do. Are you well?”

  “No, and that is one reason I am reaching out to you. I have a confession I would like to make, and the reason I tell you what I will in a moment is because I seek succor in your Realm’s safety.”

  Oh, Tristan thought, if he’s going to reveal something damning, he must be desperate. Clearing his throat, Tristan replied, “Go ahead, Obadai.”

  “I was the one who opened a rift to the Demon Realm in the Gredo Expanse and lured a demonic dragon out of it. I am an agent of the Empire of Dorcelli, far across the sea to the east.”

  Tristan tried to recall the maps that his grandfather had shown him, but Tristan was not skilled at geography and his recollection was mostly blurs of the different landmasses. He did know that one could sail from the continent of Gvand he was currently on, over the Abyssal Sea, and arrive in far-off lands. “Why did you do that?” Tristan asked. “People could have been hurt.”

  “The Empire wants to conquer the kingdom of Bhant’s territories to encourage a flourishing, growing population. I was sent to infiltrate King Arinclex VIII’s court, destabilize it, and incite the surrounding regions to seek allies. The Empire would be the ally, and then we could have two beachheads to assault the kingdom’s heartlands.”

  Tristan felt angry. The anger boiled up from a deep place inside him, and he expressed that rage through his words as his voice took on a harsh tone. “You could have killed hundreds in the Gredo Expanse. There are demon bats on the Sapphire Coast right now, abducting people in the night! You’re responsible?”

  “I didn’t open…Our time grows short. I want to explain more. May I travel to you?”

  “Fine,” Tristan said as he glanced up at a now-worried-looking Felicity.

  “Give me a minute.”

  Tristan used that minute to fill Felicity in on the conversation, and then he saw the characteristic shimmer of magic in the air – right beside him. Dismounting, Tristan made to pull his sword, but let it fall still in the sheath as Archon Obadai Grimtome appeared next to him. There was a burst of gold and blue energy that fizzled out, and the two horses shied away from the sudden commotion.

  “How’d you get here?” Tristan asked.

  “Teleportation, Seventh Order, given the range limitation I adhered to,” Obadai replied as he put his hands on his knees and sucked in deep, shaking breaths. “I thank you, Tristan.”

  Tristan went and got both horses under control, whispering soothing words as he guided them off the road and toward a small copse of trees. He began spinning his essence crucible as the Archon followed him. “Explain what you wanted,” Tristan stated, feeling suspicion towards the man.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Obadai nodded and scratched his slightly scruffy beard. “I am responsible for bringing the demon dragon to the Gredo Expanse – I knew they were relatively harmless and could be reasoned with. But I am not responsible for any in the Sapphire Coast. I have heard of something called Sympathetic Incursions, where one leads to another, but those were only ever theorized, much less well-known phenomena!”

  Tristan ran a hand along Onyx’s mane and sighed, keeping a hard edge to his tone. “Fine, you state you are not responsible for the Incursion down here. You also wanted to destabilize the surrounding regions to create a holdfast for an invasion. And you claim it is because you desire the farmlands of the kingdom of Bhant.”

  “That is all accurate.” Obadai looked around the small grove. “Waiting to go back to your Realm, yes?”

  Tristan nodded, “That is what I am waiting on, yes.” He gestured to the Archon’s poor, ragged attire. “You look like you have been through the wringer.”

  Obadai chuckled, “Chased around the capital, yes. I was found out. Teleportation is exhausting, and I needed a sympathetic connection – you having interacted with me in the flesh worked for my purposes.”

  Tristan crossed his arms and stared at the man’s heterochromatic eyes, “I want to know why you seek refuge in my Realm. Aside from running from your treason in the kingdom of Bhant.”

  The Archon bowed deeply at the waist, “I am asking you to return the favors that I have shown you. I ensured you were safe whilst in the capital, as much as I could keep you safe.” Obadai stood and his face hardened into a grimace. “I will not lie to you, as I think we can help each other. The Empire does not just seek farmland, it seeks world conquest. A world that does not see heritage as a dividing force, where all are treated as equals. I think you would be a valuable ally.”

  Tristan shook his head, “I don’t want any part in world-spanning politics.”

  “Like it or not, Lord Winterbloom, you are part of it now. Ruler of an entire Realm – you could hold massive political sway if you chose to wield your influence.” The Archon paced back and forth, “Let me ask you, Tristan; if you could change the kingdom of Bhant so that half-breeds and other heritages were not the subject of discrimination…would you?”

  “In a heartbeat,” Tristan replied.

  “That is what the Empire seeks. The farmland in the kingdom of Bhant can feed two continents’ worth of people. Enough to ensure that none go hungry. That is one of the cornerstones that the empress seeks to use in her foundation of a world-spanning, glorious empire.” He held up a finger, “That none go hungry.” A second finger, “That none are looked down upon by virtue of heritage alone.” A third finger, “Equal trade rights and religious protections. A fair deal for any who find themselves offered a position.”

  Felicity turned visible and flapped down to flutter in front of Obadai’s face, “And what about the people who don’t want to be part of this empire? What happens? Force them into the fold?”

  Obadai sighed and nodded as he put his hands inside the folds of his robes. “Yes. That is correct.”

  “I don’t want to be involved in worldwide politics,” Tristan stated. “And while I want the kingdom of Bhant to change, it won’t without violence…and that violence can cost a lot of lives.” He walked over to Midnight and patted her mane, “I seek my half-brother to pass on the family legacy. Then healing my grandfather. But after that...” he trailed off. “I don’t know what comes after that,” Tristan muttered.

  “May I propose something?” The Archon asked.

  “You may,” Felicity replied as she flew over to sit on Onyx’s saddle.

  “I will reside in your Fey Realm, and after finding your half-brother, you will travel to the continent of Dorcel to deliver me to the country I call my home. In exchange, I offer to teach you essence-weaving. And, to add another incentive, I will use my divination to continue to seek the identities of these assassins.” He frowned, “I would offer to help your grandfather, but you mentioned taking him to see a healer.”

  “He needs a mind spell to bring him out of it,” Tristan replied.

  “I am not trained nor have those memorized,” Obadai replied.

  I’m not sure, Tristan thought as he mulled the Archon’s offer. I don’t want to give a man this powerful and obviously duplicitous access to the Fey Realm. Who knows what he could do with all of the Realm’s ambient essence without me there to stop it if necessary? I need to be cautious now that I know he was a spy and hostile agent to the land I once called my home.

  Then, an idea occurred to Tristan. “I have a counter proposal,” Tristan said. “You will travel with me. We will take our evenings in the Fey Realm, as I have been doing the past few weeks. From what I learned speaking to the Realm Protector of the Fey Realm, divination from inside a Realm to a different one is almost impossible. After finding my half-brother, we shall travel to your empire. We’ll find a mind spell user along the way, or a spell book so you can cure him.”

  Obadai sighed but nodded in acceptance, “I accept your terms. We shall travel together, Tristan. I will teach you what I can.”

  Felicity flew over to Tristan’s head and plopped herself down, “You will stay in one of the guest houses,” she stated succinctly. “And you will not draw on the Realm’s essence.”

  The Archon chuckled, then laughed aloud – a boisterous, deep laugh. “Oh…you don’t know! That is…” he shook his head, “Only creatures who trace their heritage back to a Realm may draw upon its essence. If a non-Elf traveled to the Fey Realm, they could not do anything with the Realm’s ambient essence.”

  He looked at Tristan with a slightly raised eyebrow, “But…your family’s bloodline might be an exception, with how you can consume dragon’s essence crucibles to add spell types and drink their blood to gain resistance to said spells. That would need testing.”

  “Can you open Realms at will?” Tristan asked. “That’s how you got the demon dragon, right?”

  The Archon nodded, “Yes. Realmwalking is what the spell type is, to travel from one Realm to another.”

  Tristan held up his hand, “Odd, my ring uses a spell called Interrealm Warp from the teleportation spell type.”

  The Archon winced as if he bit into something sour, “That is an old method. Archaic, even. Far more essence intensive than necessary.”

  Tristan chuckled, “Well, I look forward to learning more about essence-weaving from you. And, once we find Bertram, we’ll make for your empire.”

  Obadai smiled, “I look forward to it. And thank you, Tristan. You won’t regret this decision to help me.”

  “This makes us even,” Tristan replied. “It is hard to trust a saboteur, but you have shown me and my grandfather nothing but kindness thus far – but your goodwill only branches that gap so far.”

  Obadai nodded his head as if pondering a deep question about the realities of the world. “I mentioned you were wise for your age, once. Once more, I am astounded by your wisdom.”

  Felicity tapped Tristan’s head, “When you’ve got a good heart like this one, and a fantastic guide like myself, then there’s no going wrong.”

  My other book is hitting Amazon today! Go check it out, read Book 1 on Kindle / Kindle Unlimited / order a print copy / listen to the audiobook!