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"Lord Athtar, do you not want to send some people to help in the effort?

" Itireae, the supreme commander of the Elven Empire, asked her emperor.

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"For what reason would we mobilize? We were caught off guard by this invasion, the prophecies told us it would not be for another thousand years.

" Athtar replied calmly as they walked out of the hall and into the royal garden.

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"More the reason, they need our leadership... My lord!

" Itireae pleaded, almost forgetting her etiquette in her haste.

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"I understand what you are thinking, but you must know that you cannot change things alone. One empire can not change things.

" Pausing Athtar turned towards Itireae and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I know you want to show me you can fill your father's shoes. That you are worthy of being the supreme commander.

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"Know this, I only choose the worthy. If I thought you were not, then you would not be at my side.

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"Thank you, Lord Athtar.

" Itireae placed her hand against her chest in reverence. Tears forming in her eyes from the praise.

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"You are right that we should not do nothing.

" Athtar said after some time, having simply been walking through the garden, enjoying its beauty.

"Take a small squad and go to one of the kingdoms. Any kingdom would do, but I advise to not go to one losing too badly.'

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"Second-hand reports never match reality, even if it is brought through illusions and magic recordings. They just aren't able to record the emotions, the feel of the war.

"

nItireae saluted again and quickly set off. Happy to be able to show her worth to the Emperor.

nYoung ones. Athtar shook his head as he saw her enthusiasm. It was not wrong to have, but hers came from the wrong place.

nLooking down to his capital, Athtar wondered if he should also start moving. Doing so would certainly cause massive waves, so large that he did not know what the results would be. Once someone at his level started doing something, prophecies lost their accuracy.

nLet's wait for a little longer. The situation is not too dire. Not yet...

nAthtar's gaze moved from the capital to his court, then to the other floating islands. He thought back to his partner in the previous war. Agamemas, have you moved? He asked himself as he looked at the many waterfalls which formed an array over his court.

nIt was a beautiful sight to behold, always astonishing those who came to the capital of the Ahevell Empire. Certainly, the capitals of most empires were simply breathtaking. Epipleon stood above all the others, the oldest civilized city in history. The city with a history past the dark ages.

nTime to call the heroes. Athtas thought with apprehension. Their might certainly was great, and due to this working with them was difficult. They all had quirks, they all did not wish to listen to orders.

nThe worst thing was that you could not even pay them, they were all rich beyond measure with countless treasures in their hands. The amount that was in Epipleon might not even equal the amount that ten heroes had.

nI hope these bastards will work for the good of the world. Like the name hero implies. Athtas hoped with sarcasm, knowing that it was unlikely. Most of them had long since lost the drive to protect the weak. The reason was simple, even if they did, those they saved would still wither and die soon.

nIn the blink of an eye.

nThey could not fight age for others, only for themselves. Something which made many heroes bitter.

n...

nEldrian returned home mostly still thinking about the meeting. Having completely missed what his last class was about. He simply could not focus.

nIn the end, he had agreed to the offer of testing new headsets. He could not think of a reason not to, especially since he would be the last step in testing them. He would not be at risk of the device failing, at least not more than he was with his current headset.

nLet's just get into it. He told himself, quickly getting some food to eat first. Too often he would wake up insanely hungry. Once done he directly entered the game, not bothering to go over the forums today. His drive back having been slower than usual due to his running thoughts.

nIn the game, the first thing he saw was all the women sleeping peacefully around the many fires. They all had clothing now... Revealing and gorgeous blooming clothing.

nTheir clothing was made out of leaves, vines, and flowers. All of which impressively weaved together to form around each woman. Through magic, these plants were kept alive and full of green, contrasting with the light skin of these women.

nEldrian looked at them and felt astonished that they were all looking so well after just a few days of treatment from Floyd. The blooming flowers certainly helped in making them look better than they actually were.

nThinking of treatment he turned to where Vivian was still sleeping. Not having woken for three days now. Each day he grew more and more worried, but Floyd assured him that she was simply recovering.

nNo one had taken it onto themselves to dress her, but they had made a blanket to cover her and offer her more heat. A blanket made out of flora was not too impressive, but it was certainly better than her torn clothing.

nDon't get trapped in worrying. Eldrian told himself, standing up and moving further from everyone. To somewhere he could practice using his new sword without bothering anyone.

nWhile at it he also moved the mana in his body, using what Zamia had taught him as much as he could. She did not know how he should move his mana, nor what was needed to reach Tier 1. Having only met Tier 5 and higher High Elves during her life.

nShe had explained how far their mana reached, how it seemed like a web through their entire body. Tier 10, she explained looked like their body was mana, but she did not know if this was because she was too weak to see it well enough, or if it was actually how their mana flowed at that level.

nBut this informed Eldrian that the mana flow needed to increase. He had intuitively thought this, but now he had some standard. He certainly could not jump to a final state, having only just managed to let his mana flow through his hands too.

nHe wondered if there were more requirements than simply letting mana flow through him. He knew there was, Zamia having mentioned that mana can come in different purities and intensities. These two were strangely not connected, but rather clashed with each other.

nIt had been a hard milestone for her. To find the balance between purity and intensity right for her. Each person needed to find a different balance and it could not be achieved quickly.

nEldrian did not know how this linked and would work for him. As such he did not focus much on it, rather keeping at his normal practice. To try and complete the basics.

nHe did not just do these two things, routine and meditation. He also cast simple Tier 0 spells. Trying to do this without invoking the spell module. He kept failing, his mana memory simply causing him to form it through the spell module.

nHe did not understand it, but it felt like muscle memory. In a sense. Once you practiced enough you can do something without thought. Unlearning it was not easy.

nSlowly he did manage to move away from it, but even now, he still cast spells through the spell module. His actions were not conscious, rather the mana would form into the spell module right before actually turning into the spell he had cast.

nIt really is hard to unlearn. Eldrian thought as he let the spell die again, allowing him to cast a new one. He now understood why most never started with static magic. He did not regret it though, if he had tried it that way, then he certainly would still not be able to cast any spells.

nIn this manner he continued for four hours, making sure to pace himself properly. Always allowing himself to become tired, but not drained. Once done training he headed to Zamia, where she shared more of what she knew.

nEldrian loved these simple days of training, he could feel himself improving each day. He was even just a little bit away from managing to move his entire mana pool while meditating. Leaving nothing stationary. This would happen when he included his feet in the rotation, toes and all.

nSo the day went on, until Eldrian noticed that Vivian woke up. As soon as she did he asked Zamia to stop their lesson and headed over.

nReaching the group, he stopped when seeing Floyd going over to make sure she was alright. Eldrian stood dazed, simply enjoying looking at her as she took the offered food and water. Eating slowly as she tried to recollect her thoughts.

n'She's finally awake!' Cephaphyr came next to Eldrian, happy that the one Eldrian had been worrying about is okay.

nEldrian smiled as he heard Cephaphyr's happiness. Rubbing Cephaphyr's mane Eldrian replied, 'Yes, finally...'

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