Bloodthirsty. Arrogant. desding. Secretive. Pretentious. Maniputive. Selfish. Greedy. Disho.

  Arascus’ other daughters are at least likable. I have nothing positive to say about Anassa.

  - Excerpt from the secrets texts in the White Pantheon’s closed library. Written by Goddess Maisara, of Order: ‘Doting the Daughters.’

  Edmonton led Fleur and Eliza to the Divine Library. It was the middle of the night, they waited for Arcadia to go to sleep before visiting it again. They had visited several times before, Edmonton smirked as he remembered that first entry when he bickered with Ly testing the door. Now, after spending so much time with Arascus, after downing Leona’s pne and training everyday… Well, it much like entering any other library to him.

  The huge building was hidden by the trees of Essa’s Divine Gardens, further North and away from the main plex of Arcadia, people rarely frequented here unless it was fhtseeing or taking someo on a date. The building suddenly rose out of the ground, its dark ste bck against the blue and starry night’s sky. All towers tall towers and sharp roofs as if it was a serious of spikes cast into the ground.

  They had agreed to rescue Lyca ter. Edmonton and Fleur both preferred having their presen Arcadia be unknown, they had stayed in Eliza’s room the whole day. Edmonton had sent a report to Iliyal and informed him that tonight he’d receive his information, and then that Edmonton and Fleur would be staying in Arcadia and to inform them of the time so they could free Lyca. Eliza said she visited him once a week still, when he had his visitor hours and that generally he was taking impriso well. Better than she would at least.

  Edmonton looked around, there was no one about, and quickly disappeared through the front door of the Divine Library. Fleur and Eliza followed him. They all wore the casual clothes of students simply going outside, somewhat darkly coloured as to not stand, but there was no reason to try and blend in. Looking as if you belonged perfectly was a far better disguise than pying at some childish dream at subterfuge.

  “Goddess Anassa!” Edmonton shouted into the library. It was empty as always, with the grand bookcases stretg into what seemed like eternity. They were perfectly , without even a speck of dust. Nor a hint of shadow, the entire pce was well lit by a series of magiterns that hovered in mid-air. A stair-case with a red carpet draped over was at the end of the grand hall, leading up to the sed floor. Anassa had never allowed any of them to travel up there.

  “I do not appreciate being called for like a dog.” Anassa’s cold voice came from behind them. Edmonton hated how she did that, he had no clue how her sorcery worked, he could not eve her appearing behind him. She circled around the group of three youths, brilliant bck hair flowing down her back. Her long red dress trailed behind her, it was low-cut and revealed a healthy slice of pretty leg. And she was tall, easily twice the size of Eliza, Edmonton reached to just below those sizable mounds on her chest. Edmonton could not help but look, and he felt Fleur’s elbow in his side when she caught him. “You have returned.” Anassa said. “And I sense you’ve been training, not the most you could have been, but trainiheless.”

  She turo face them as the library shifted. Darkness cloud around them, and then they were in a different room. With rge chairs and couches obviously sized for devices, Eliza sat on a couch, her legs dangled off the front uo reach the floor. “Sit, I did n you here to stand.” Anassa said as she sat down. The woman kly what she was doing whe one leg over the over. Edmonton tried to look away a Fleur’s elbow in his side again. “So? Has Arascus gotten bored of you yet?” Anassa asked.

  “He has not.” Edmonton spoke up, his voice crag as he tried to look away from the gap in her dress. Anassa smiled in self-satisfa when she saw him looking. Fleur kicked Edmonton’s leg and took over the speaking for the two of them.

  “We’ve e back for you, there’s a pn to free you from here.” Fleur said and Anassa exhaled tiredly.

  “So you have been productive then.”

  “We o know about whatever is holding you here.” Anassa sighed and leaned back. She put one long arm around the back of her chair.

  “Who am I unig this to?” Anassa asked and zily flicked a finger. Her nails were painted red, like her lips. “Obviously it’s not just you.” Fleur looked to Edmonton, then back at Anassa.

  “I don’t… I don’t know what you mean?” She asked and Anassa rolled her eyes.

  “Who’s anising this? Is it just Iliyal Tremali?”

  “Oh.” Fleur said. “No, we have Iliyal, Kassandora and Arascus helped make the pn.” Edmonton saw the Goddess’ eyes widen and her mouth turn into a smile of pure delight. “Fer is going to be running the operation. Neneria won’t be attending.” Fleur finished and the woman leaned forwards. Now that Edmonton had to pull his eyes away from! It was simply sdalous! She was a Goddess! A Divine!

  “So many have returned?” Anassa licked her lips. “And Irinika? Olephia? Baalka?”

  “Olephia is back, but I don’t know about the other two.” Fleur said carefully, Edmonton tried to keep his gaze on Fleur, and he saw her own eyes sliding downwards. “And… Yeah. That’s it.” Fleur finished, a blush developing in her cheeks.

  “It’s Irinika and Baalka for you.” Anassa hissed. “Not other two.” She reed again. “So it’s Fer, Iliyal, Kassie and Arascus I’m talking to.”

  “That’s the pn. The others are away to draw Essa away from here.” Fleur replied in an apologizing tone. “I don’t know how, that Iliyal didn’t tell us.”

  “Very well. They’ll know so tell them this. I won’t repeat myself, listen well.” Anassa said. Fleur and Edmonton both nodded. “My soul is bound to a prison shard. There’s ten-by-ten of Theosius’ Sentinels, the turion models around it. They’re all grafted with dwarven materialisation runes, crafted out of the same brohril alloy Alsaria’s chosen used. It’s the five styles of Sentinel-turions, twenty each. Their design has been altered, they don’t have cores anymore, they’re powered by Arcadia’s leyline fluctuations. Did you catch that?” Anassa raised a bck eyebrow.

  Fleur nodded and Edmonton replied. “I did.” He knew precisely what half of those words meant. The rest may as well have been gibberish.

  “The shard is ohird floor. I’ve marked it already, if it’s Fer though, she’ll be able to smell it out. The upper levels of the library are flooded in mercury, the air is toxic there. The orances are the doors, the Library itself is reinforced with structural magic. Olephia would break it, but Irinika would not. I could if I was unstraiell Iliyal that, he’ll know what level of strength we’re w with then.” Anassa crossed her arms. “Uood?”

  “Yes!” Fleur half-said, half shouted.

  “Great.” Anassa said. “That is all they hen.” Edmonton blihat was it? Only that? He expected… he didn’t know what he expected. Something more… Something he could uand at least. “Make sure you don’t fet.” Anassa cracked a smile. “It’s good that you’ve returned.”

  “We’re happy too.” Edmonton said coyly.

  “Oh I wouldn’t be happy if I were you. But I am very happy.” Anassa smiled and the couch below them disappeared. The three youths fell to the floor. “Who’s been teag you?” Anassa then raised a hand. “Actually no, it was Arascus, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes.” Fleur said as she stood up and rubbed her rear. “How di-“

  “I’m the one asking questions here.” Anassa interrupted, she did not even ge her voice from the purring leopard voice of hers. “But it’s obvious, you’ve grown in strength but not awareness. If little Kassie taught you, it’d be the opposite.” Edmonton had not met Kassandora ever, but from the way Iliyal talked about his favourite Goddess, little Kassie would be the precisely the st words he would ever use to associate with Of War. “I’ve been training little Eliza here too.” Anassa said. “But Eliza is a team-pyer.”

  Darkness clouded over all of them. They stood in a pitch bck space, there was h to the floor, no ceiling, no walls. If Anassa didn’t stay there, still reing on her chair, Edmonton would have no way to tell if him and Fleur and Eliza were falling or not. “Go on then.” Anassa said. “Show me how much you’ve advanced. You have duties to attend to, so I’ll give you thirty seds to scratch me or my dress.”

  Edmonton wished he had the ce to scowl in front of Anassa. He had e to save her! And this was the thanks he got? Eliza stepped forwards immediately, her hands didn’t move, nothing about her posture ged, and then a red beam appeared, as thin as a needle sparked from her chest and aimed at Anassa. It didn’t even cover half the distance. Anassa smiled. “Straight for the heart, very good.” She said. “But I know what you’re capable of Eliza, this isn’t your examinatio your two friends have a ce.” Eliza stepped backwards with a bow and Anassa angled her eyes to the two. “You have twenty seds left.”

  Edmonton raised his arms, Fleur flicked her fingers and Anassa spoke again. “You’ve both failed, but go on, try.” Edmonton poured all of his energy into the bst of energy. Red light burst from him. Strohan anything he had used before, enough to fell at least five-doze oaks in a single beam. The pnes he had downed in Artica would have had nothing but scraps remaining of them. Fleur’s flick created bdes of red light as Anassa rolled her eyes, obviously unimpressed. “Very much Arascus’ style.” She said.

  Edmonton’s giant beam and Fleur’s swords of sorcery ploughed through the darkness at Anassa, ready to destroy her, and then… And then they weren’t there. Anassa whistled as spun her finger in a circle and picked at her nail. “Examination over, I’ve revoked the twelve seds you had, you’ve shown enough.” Edmonton’s beam appeared above him, hurled into him, and then it was below him. Fleur’s bdes ged dires and hurled into the two.

  Edmontohe blood drain from his fad Fleur let out a tiny squeak of fear as the bdes reappeared above Anassa. Edmonton’s beam split in the air. Was that even his beam of magiymore? It was, he could feel himself from it. It was his, but it wasn’t simultaneously. “Let me give a little lesson. Eliza has heard this before, but repetition is never bad, is it?” Anassa asked.

  The show went on as Anassa began to stretch, her dress tightly hugging her. Edmonton’s beam split again and made two pilrs around Anassa. How did she hold his sorcery still? Fleur’s bdes made an archway among them. “I’ve talked with Eliza a great deal about this, since you were mages before you were sorcerers, and I know how magic works, it’s ged somewhat since my days, but then again, it hasn’t.” Anassa flicked a finger and the ns of red energy rolled over.

  “Fually, magic is one’s will exerted over the elements. Somewhere, someone, some time in the past, found out how to move things with his mind, and thus magic was born. It is irrational to some extent, but perfectly uandable, we rus to measure potential, we create theories, put them into practice, we ge and evolve magic as time goes on. There is a certain stifid mathematical structure to it.” Anassa flicked her finger and the ns ged into people. They bowed to the Goddess.

  “Sorcery was much the same. Somewhere, someone, some time in the past, found out how to move things with her mind. The only difference was that this was a broken mind. It was not sane.” Anassa looked at the struct of light o her, tapped it, and it shattered into a thousand butterflies that burned away like fmes. “Where magids the ws of physics acc to rational thought, sorcery bends them acc to irrational thought. Do you uand?” Anassa asked.

  “No.” Fleur replied as Edmonton shook his head.

  “I thought you wouldn’t.” Anassa said. “Sorcery is ultimately delusional thought ma into reality. You ot defeat, nor at your current stage will you ever be able me, no matter how much you grow, because you ot see yourself defeating me. In a test of sorcery, you stand you against me?” Edmonton tried to uand what the woman was even talking about. She was the Goddess of Sorcery! How could he defeat her in her own field?

  “No.” Edmonton replied and Anassa nodded sadly.

  “Hoy, at least I appreciate.” The rest of the sorcery around disappeared, the darkness melted away, and they returned back to the room with the couches. Anassa flicked her finger, Edmonton and Fleur were sent crashing into the wall. “You are still trapped by s of logid sanity. Arascus trains well, because he trains soldiers, step-by-step, you get better. It works for muscles, which you grow, it does not work for Sorcery. Sorcery, an insane man who’s mind knows no limitations, could outdo you in a day. Lyca, your friend, is like that. He thinks himself top of the world, he es at me with no limitations, and even he’s still failed to touch my dress.”

  “I see.” Edmonton did not see at all. He just hoped it would save him from another bst like that.

  “I know you don’t see whatsoever.” Anassa said. “Simply said, you are not delusional enough to stand against Divines.” She smiled at him. A beautiful, deadly smile, a she-wolf inviting a child to her ir. “Are you staying in Arcadia?”

  “We are.”

  “Go the to Iliyal. I expect to see the three of you here for another lesson tomorrow.” When Edmonton heard those words, he wao colpse onto his knees and cry.