Lyd Eliza both looked at the letters they had received.

  “Notice of Sassara Training Exercise. All talented Arcadian mages are expected to stand duty. Leaving the territory (Of Arcadia) is not allowed with valid permission.”

  Signed, Divine Essa, Goddess of Magibsp;

  Iliyal finished giving his report to Arascus. He talked about meeting Kassandora, the situation in Kirinyaa, the Clerical Orders, the fact that Kassandora somehow had two-thousand men sworn to her. The rather amicable retionship she had with Kavaa and Helenna. The Juaking of Iniri, Kassandora’s pn to take her back. Arascus sat in his throne, in that war-room where every pn had been fed so far, and listened.

  Iliyal eventually finished and readjusted his folders on the wooden table. There was little to add, Kassandora had taught him the sanctity of suct reports, and it took maybe four mio give a report ohing. Ilwin and Sara sat opposite him, oher side of Arascus. Still in the clothes they had from Arika, Arascus had barely giveime to even ge. “How long do you think it will take for her to get out?” Arascus asked. He sat there, in that throne, like royalty, in a bck suit and with the red cape. The only thing that was missing was a . Iliyal shook his head.

  “I don’t know.” The elf answered holy.

  “But not soon?”

  “Most likely not.” Iliyal said. Arascus leaned bad sighed.

  “Very well, we will not rely on Kassandora for this. I’m gd to hear she’s doihough.” Arascus flicked through the papers. “I was going to tell her we have a prototype for liquid fire already. The one you called about five days ago.”

  “That was fast.” Iliyal ented. Kassandora wanted something to burn the Jungle down with.

  “It already exists, the mixture just had to be refined. Mikhail has been reassigned from guns to vehicles again. He did not like it. Some progress was made on being guns for the beastmen but they’re all in the prototype stages.” Iliyal nodded. “Him and the peam are w on a ptform for the liquid fire, it should be dohin two weeks. We have vehicles rolling off the produ line in Kira in four.”

  “That is good.”

  “Without Kassandora and Kavaa, we’re limited by logistics. We ’t have flights from Kira to Kirinyaa every single day.”

  “What did you have in mind?”

  “For Kassandora and Kavaa to propose a joiure with the Kirinyaan gover. Build whatever Ash designs domestically. It would be the first blo their own industrial foundation too.” Arascus waved. “We still have to wait on the design anyway, and now for them to return from the Jungle. Write that down Iliyal, that’s the move for them.”

  “Uood.” Iliyal started to scrawl. It was the sort of simple move that Arascus excelled at. In one move, it would create a bindiween the Kirinyaans and them, and whatever these vehicles would be, Iliyal was sure that Arascus had ordered them to be easily re-designed for war. Ilwin and Sara sat silently and merely waited with tired eyes. “Small quantities of liquid-fire start being transported for field testing, we’ll use the Peli, although it won’t be flying every day. Neneria is still there, isn’t she?”

  “She is.”

  “If mortals ot approach the Juhen I would have said to build catapults but she use the Legion to haul them into pce. Send a letter with the first shipment.” Arascus leaned bad put his hand on the folder by him. “Now, for the real reason of this meeting.” He pulled sshots of weather reports from various Arikan stations. “What is this?” He said as he threw them into the tre of the table. Iliyal leaned in from one side, Ilwin and Sara leaned in from the other.

  The a elf saw it immediately. It attern that once seen could not be unseen. “Something is moving North, from Artica.” Arasodded as Sara readjusted the papers to be in ological order. There was no doubt about it. Storms faded, turned, winds affected them. They grew and shrank. There was no such thing as a storm maintaining its size and moving in a straight across the o. “The question is what, or rather, who?”

  “I don’t uand.” Sara said.

  “When we killed Leona. She was heading to Artica.” Arascus pulled out a map of the world. He took a pen, marked a point on Olympiada, another in the location they had caught Leona on. Then dreerfectly straight lihat intercepted both of them. The same was doh the path of the storm. They intercepted each other in Artica. “Modern teology is a joy.” Arascus said grimly as he pulled out another printed paper of some stific journal: Unusual seismic activity in Artica. “We don’t have a area, but they’ve been able to narrow it down to this region. He drew a rge circle, the tre was at the interse of those two lines.

  Arascus leaned bad crossed his arms. “This journal is rgely worthless. They report what they’ve seen and then talk about how it’s a one-in-a-thousand-year earthquake made by shifting ice, the low ces of that happening, and how fasating it is.”

  “Earthquakes do happen.” Ilwin said quietly. It was obvious the elf did not believe his own words.

  “We at for natural factors when there isn’t an expnation readily avaible.” Arascus said and smiled. “And I have one which ats for the storms and the quake, and the dates line up too perfectly. Not some one-in-a-thousahquake.” The God of Pride grinned as he looked at Iliyal. “Really Iliyal? I thought you would have worked it out by now.”

  Iliyal did. His gut had told him they would have this meeting sooner rather than ter, but it had only been two weeks and a half weeks since Misfortune. Iliyal would have given it a month, maybe two. “Olephia.” Iliyal said. The mood immediately grew grim from Sara and Ilwin.

  “You mean the Olephia?” Sara asked.

  “The Olephia.” Arascus replied. “Goddess of Chaos. Another of my daughters. She’s woken up.”

  “And she will… She ’t be allowed to make ndfall.” Iliyal said, pn after pn appeared and was swiftly reje his mind. Olephia was rarely, if ever, ated for in the Great War. She was a on, you aimed Olephia, and you fired Olephia and that was that. Back then, he had always stood on the firing side of that on. Once, just once, Kassandora had told him and the enerals that if Olephia were to turn, thereat would be the only optioreat followed by a swift surrender.

  “She will hit the Ausa capital of Igos.” Arascus pointed on the map. A coastal city, straight in her path. “Igos has twelve million people living in it. The city won’t even slow her down.” Iliyal turned as someone opehe door. It was Alee. Dark haired and bck-dressed. Iliyal waet what had happened with her that night of the feast. He had thhly embarrassed himself in front of his grandson.

  “The sorcerers are currently training outside.” She said, her tone prim and proper.

  “Leave them then for today, they’re too te to be part of the pnning stage. Send someoo tell them to e bad stop all training exercises.” Arascus said. “That’s it, you’re dismissed.” The maid bowed a.

  “Two sorcerers ’t stop her.” Iliyal said.

  “I wouldn’t eveertain the idea that they could.” Arascus said. “Sara, you will fill them in on this meeting o is over. Don’t try to uate the severity of the situation.”

  “Yes Sir.”

  “Olephia ot be allowed to march through the city.” Arascus tinued. “With this modern media, news would spread too quickly. There would be no ce to cover it up. A massacre on our hands would be baggage we ’t carry. It would utterly crush whatever ces we have at popur support and it would also give the Pantheon a casus-belli on breaking the Pantheon Directives that stop them from interfering with national politics. Olephia in rampage fulfils the need for aential level threat. She is aential threat.”

  “So is there any sort of thing we do?” Ilwin asked.

  Arascus smiled as he pulled papers out of his folder, a pn had already been fashioned. “We put on a show for the whole world to see.”