As he arrived at the familiar tower, Leon still had no idea what Apollodorus, the local governor, could want with him. He arrived fairly quickly, though, not wanting to leave the governor waiting for too long. He brought Marcus, Alcander, and Gaius with him as his retainers, but left everyone else back at the guest house. There wasn’t any need for them, and he didn’t want to show up at the tower looking like he was going to invade, so only three retainers was his self-imposed limit.

He and his retainers arrived in a Heaven’s Eye carriage. Like the rest of the carriages in the city, it was both wheelless and horseless, though unlike his assumption when he saw the carriages the day before, they still required a driver. Instead of being outside where they could tend to the horses, though, the driver was secluded in a compartment at the back of the carriage, operating various advanced enchantments to keep the carriage moving.

Leon was fascinated at the level of sophistication on display, and it was all he could do not to try to give the carriage an in-depth examination on the way over. He contented himself by making plans to study these carriages upon his return to the guest house, but for the time being, he forced himself to focus on the point of this excursion.

As soon as he stepped out of the luxurious Heaven’s Eye carriage, he was seen by a seemingly young fifth-tier mage dressed in a dark red uniform. The mage introduced himself as an escort sent by the governor to await their arrival, and without batting an eye at Leon’s companions, walked them inside.

Leon spared a glance backward at the small Heaven’s Eye contingent that had brought them here. He and his retinue were entering the governor’s tower alone, but the carriage and its attendants only moved a short distance down the street where they would wait for Leon to come back outside.

Once inside, Leon was taken directly to the lift in the back, which then carried him and his companions to the tenth floor, several floors down from the ballroom at the top floor that he’d seen the night before.

What awaited him on the tenth floor was a fairly small atrium with several doors branching off to the right and left and one directly across from the lift, opulently decorated with sparkling marble and granite, and glittering mosaics on the floor and walls. He wasn’t given much time to take this in, though, as his escort took him to the door directly across from the lift, explaining as he did, “This floor is typically reserved for visiting dignitaries that His Excellency wishes to entertain personally. The feasting hall is through here, and then down the hall on the right.”

The escort took them into a grand hall decorated just as lavishly as the atrium, though what struck Leon more was the feeling of magical power had grown substantially compared to the first floor. Clearly, the enchantments woven into the building’s structure were more powerful here than on the first floor, though strangely enough, he hadn’t been able to identify many defensive wards. As far as he could tell, security around the tower was light.

If their escort was chattier person, Leon might’ve asked him about it. As it was, though, the fifth-tier mage was extremely serious and barely even looked at them, though his demeanor struck Leon as a man who was just doing his job as quickly and efficiently as he could, with no time or thought given for warmer welcomes.

They walked down the hall, took a right at the T-intersection at the end, and were confronted by a massive set of double doors carved out of what Leon could only assume was Heartwood. The doors were heavily decorated, with carvings of various mythological scenes that he didn’t have the cultural knowledge to identify decorating its surface. Again, though, the escort gave him no time to take it in, walking forward without breaking a step, and the doors opened before him on their own.

“Neat trick…” Marcus murmured in appreciation, and Leon had to agree. He could design something similar, but in his experience, it was an enchantment that wasn’t worth the power requirements, small as they were. It was a useless extravagance, but it served as a small reminder of just how wealthy this place truly was.

The feasting hall on the other side of the doors was just as luxuriously decorated as everything else was in the tower. The room was circular in design, though large enough for at least a hundred people to feast within. The floor was black granite, polished to a near-mirror shine. The center of the room was elevated three steps from everything else, and surrounded by huge marble columns painted blood red. This raised area was further divided from the rest of the room by curtains of a matching shade of red, which Leon realized to his surprise were made of silkgrass.

’Must’ve been ruinously expensive to bring all of that down here…’ he thought to himself.

Interspersed throughout the curtains were long strands of thin silver thread, which Leon detected no small amount of magic power flowing through. Most of the curtains were drawn, though enough were pulled back for him and his retainers to see a huge golden table in the center of the raised section, large enough to seat at least twenty-five, with extravagant golden armchairs surrounding it, each one padded with dark red velvet cushions. The table was set with dining ware of gleaming platinum. Acting as a centerpiece was a brazier, though the white fire burning within wasn’t so large as to obscure anyone who might sit at the table from seeing anyone else. Floating above the table was a ‘chandelier’ similar to what Leon saw in the ballroom the day before, though of a slightly different design—it was a thick ring of gold, set with four glass globes the size of his head that glowed with soft white light. Numerous geometric carvings covered the chandelier’s outer surface, which were highlighted with a reddish light that made them look like they were glowing from the heat.

On the other side of the curtains and columns were additional tables that followed the curve of the circular walls, illuminated by additional white fire braziers and magic lanterns hidden in long, thin slits where the floor and ceiling met the walls, filling the room with soft, indirect light.

For all of this displayed opulence, though, as he walked in, Leon’s eyes were taken by the only man sitting at the central table, who radiated the aura of an eighth-tier mage.

Apollodorus, dressed once again in his dark red gilded toga. Several other Ilian officials were quietly talking around one of the outer tables, but Apollodorus was alone, sitting in silence as he waited for Leon’s arrival. He didn’t even seem busy, without even a single sheet of paper in front of him.

“Leon Raime!” he called out as Leon walked in. He rose from his seat and opened his arms in a gesture of joyous welcome. “Please come in and join me up here!”

Leon paused a moment, not immediately walking up to the central table. He couldn’t help but wonder why none of the governor’s attendants had joined him up there, and he presumed that whatever had driven the man to invite him here wasn’t necessarily something he wanted shared with anyone else.

Whether or not that was true he couldn’t yet say, but a sense of unease quickly made its way into his heart. However, to not seem rude, Leon caught the eyes of his retainers and jerked his head toward the outer tables. Without a word, Marcus, Gaius, and Alcander began walking towards Apollodorus’ people at their table. Leon wasn’t too worried about them since the Ilian officials weren’t particularly powerful, largely matching his retainers in strength, though given where they were, Leon didn’t take that for granted. There were likely guards and defensive enchantments he missed everywhere in this building.

With that, Leon climbed the steps and joined Apollodorus at the central table, though he didn’t sit just yet.

“Wonderful of you to join me!” Apollodorus exclaimed with nothing but good-natured cheer that struck Leon as completely genuine, though it did little to quiet his mild suspicions. As he finished his welcome, Apollodorus snapped his fingers, and those few curtains that were open were suddenly drawn shut, and magic surged through them. Leon dropped into a defensive stance and almost summoned his power in response; he got so far that silver-blue lightning was surging through his veins before he calmed down, realizing what kind of magic was flowing through the curtains.

The curtains and columns faded as white light spread across them, while the sound of conversation from those at the outer tables quickly quieted. Then, the white light resolved into a projected scene that made it appear as if the central table was on a platform at the top of a snowy mountain, surrounded by a sea of fluffy white clouds.

The projected illusion was good enough that Leon found himself instinctually relaxing even though his conscious mind knew that he was still deep within the governor’s tower.

“A little jumpy, are you?” Apollodorus said in good humor. “Please, have a seat with me, there’s a few things I was hoping to discuss with you.”

Leon acquiesced, sitting in the proffered seat just to Apollodorus’ right.

“Thanks for the invitation,” he said a little stiffly as he took a seat, the words almost having to be forced out of his throat in his attempt to be polite. “It’s an honor to be invited personally by a mage of your power and a man of your standing.”

“Oh, please, that’s not necessary,” Apollodorus responded, though the smile on his face told Leon that he appreciated his words, nonetheless. “A mage of your power and standing surely warrants a personal invitation, wouldn’t you agree?”

Leon shrugged, relaxing a little more as it became clear that his anxieties had just been baseless paranoia. “I suppose you’re not wrong,” he stated carefully. “Though, I can’t help but be curious why you invited me, and not, say, Damien Makedon, or Lady Emilie.”

“While I would certainly love to have more members of Heaven’s Eye here, I’m afraid that they would probably refuse my invitation,” Apollodorus said with a hint of remorse in his tone. “Heaven’s Eye must remain ‘separate from politics’, and all that.”

“Ah,” Leon replied with an awkward smile, wondering if he’d made a mistake in accepting the invitation.

“However, you, Leon Raime, are not officially a member of Heaven’s Eye, are you?” Apollodorus lightly inquired.

Leon’s smile thinned slightly and he said, “Not officially, but Lady Emilie is my mother-in-law; her daughter is my wife. It is my intention to go to Occulara and join Heaven’s Eye.”

“And a fantastic choice you’ve made!” Apollodorus exclaimed, not letting anything but happiness be seen on his face, though Leon wondered how true that was. “I can understand the allure of Heaven’s Eye to a provincial, they’re an honorable group. By the way, how do you find my city, so far? You’ve never been to the Central Empires before, have you?”

“No, this is my first time this far south,” Leon admitted, easily brushing off Apollodorus’ ‘provincial’ comment after having spent years being called barbarian and savage. “And I have to say, Ancon is quite impressive. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more affluent place than this before. No slums, no slaves that I can see, and the people who live here seem quite wealthy—I’ve never seen such carriages before in my life. Your city planners and engineers must earn their keep maintaining all of those bridges and the sewer system. I’ll be here for a few days yet, and I hope to see more of your city before I go.”

“If you’re looking for any recommendations, I would suggest the north side,” Apollodorus said. “Ancon has been inhabited for a long time, and ruins of older sites are very well preserved in the north.”

“I’ll be sure to check them out,” Leon replied. He knew that Ancon was old; one of the points on the map from the Cradle was here. Since Nestor hadn’t said anything about Ancon, Leon assumed that this place was nothing special, relatively speaking, especially now that whatever was left was now being recommended as a tourist attraction, but he still thought that it might be nice to go and see what he could see. For all he knew, there might be something there that hadn’t been discovered in the eighty-thousand years that people had been living here.

Apollodorus gave him a few more possible locations to visit, but Leon wasn’t as interested in them. He still filed them away in his head, though, just in case Elise or Valeria wanted to explore the city.

“… but if you truly want to see some spectacular sights, Leon, then you have to visit Ilion,” Apollodorus continued. “The colossi of the Brilliant Eleven, the gardens around the methuselah archtree, and the Ward of Pleasure are my personal favorite haunts whenever I find myself in town.”

“Those all sound delightful,” Leon responded politely, though he’d almost checked out of the conversation by now. He wasn’t that interested in touring too extensively, not with all the studies and training he had on his plate, but he didn’t want to just shut the governor down.

“Indeed, Leon,” Apollodorus said, “there’s no better place to live than the Ilian Empire. No better place for new experiences, to raise a family, to live. Under the generous stewardship of Emperor Adam and the protection of Lord Protector Anastasios, the Ilian Empire simply cannot be beaten in any category that you can think of, whether that’s quality of life, entertainment, or future potential.”

Leon’s eyes were glazing over at this point, but he snapped back when Apollodorus leaned forward a little.

“You know,” the governor whispered conspiratorially, though the curtains seemed to do a fantastic job at muting their voices so that no one could eavesdrop on their conversation, “the Empire will always have room in it for men of your caliber…”

Leon smiled and cocked his head, the true reason for why Apollodorus had invited him here now creeping out into the sun.

‘He’s trying to recruit me…’

“And what,” Leon replied, not addressing the conversation’s new direction quite yet, “is ‘my caliber’? Is it just my power?”

“Should it be anything else?” Apollodorus asked, his eyes narrowing mischievously.

“Well, I find it somewhat odd that you say that there’s room for me in the Empire, yet you know nothing about me, really. Just that we’re the same magical tier.”

Apollodorus leaned back in his chair, his smile not wavering in the slightest. “You’re with Heaven’s Eye,” he said simply. “There can be no greater endorsement of your character. Heaven’s Eye doesn’t recruit fools, no matter who they might be married to.”

“You’re putting a lot of faith in Heaven’s Eye to have properly vetted me,” Leon replied. “Besides, maybe I have qualities that Heaven’s Eye is specifically looking for, but which might make me a poor fit to serve your Emperor.”

“I never said anything about serving my Emperor,” Apollodorus gasped with mock surprise. “But if that’s something that’s on your mind, then I’m sure His Imperial Majesty will surely give you a proper interview. In fact, if that’s something that you’re interested in…?”

With a wave of his hand, Apollodorus conjured a sheet of fine paper in front of him, with an almost comically oversized quill in a pot of ink right next to it. He picked up the quill and gave Leon an expectant look.

“I can write you a letter of recommendation right now, if it so pleases you. This would not only give you an private meeting with the Emperor himself, but also with the Lord Protector…”

Leon hummed as he pretended to think it over.

“And what, may I ask, would this letter of recommendation cost me?” he asked with a light tone.

“Nothing at all,” Apollodorus exclaimed, looking almost offended. “I seek only to strengthen my Empire, and maybe make a few friends while I’m at it. You could consider this a gift from a friend, if you must consider it anything at all!”

Leon resisted the urge to snort in derision. Perhaps he was just cynical, but he didn’t believe a word that Apollodorus just spoke. It might be a ‘gift’ right now, but he was sure that Apollodorus might want favors in the future, or ‘gifts’ to be given to him in turn. Leon didn’t come all this way to prostrate himself before another monarch, and he certainly wasn’t here to put himself into anyone’s debt.

“I appreciate the offer,” Leon said, “but surely such a thing isn’t needed. Even if I was considering this, I would rather enter on my own merits. Your thoughtful offer warms my heart, though, and for that, you have my thanks.”

Apollodorus continued smiling, but the corners of his lips seemed to strain slightly for just a moment, and then a moment later, his smile looked as natural as it possibly could.

“That’s a shame,” he responded. “But please, if you won’t accept my letter of recommendation, at least let me write you a letter of introduction…”

Leon shook his head. His mind turned toward the letter of introduction that ‘Ambrose’ had given him, and he couldn’t help but wonder once again just what all of these people might want from him. If he were to join Heaven’s Eye, then at least in Apollodorus’ case, the answers could be endless. Making friends with powerful individuals in Heaven’s Eye couldn’t be a bad thing, after all.

But he didn’t think he’d be able to ferret out a proper answer from the governor even if he tried, so Leon simply continued to decline as gracefully as he could, and eventually, Apollodorus dropped the topic, pulling the paper and ink back into his soul realm.

The conversation continued for a while after that, though, with Apollodorus telling Leon much of his own life story, and Leon reciprocating in kind, but keeping many of the more personal details to himself. At one point, the illusion was disrupted when a handful of servants arrived carrying several large platters of food for them to take at their leisure, but Leon didn’t take that much. It was a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables, along with a large platter of various meats and cheeses, but he just wanted the meeting to be over. He took the minimum he thought he could get away with while remaining polite, and after a couple of hours, he made his exit, taking his retainers with him.

Apollodorus seemed sad to see him go so soon, but Leon departed anyway, making as graceful an exit as he could, having felt quite uncomfortable the entire time following the governor’s attempt to recruit him. He supposed it would’ve been fine if he were to make friends with the man, but that relationship would have to be cultivated at a later time, when Leon was more comfortable speaking with the man.

As his group walked out of the tower’s front door, Leon was fairly quiet and contemplative. He hoped that Apollodorus’ attempted head hunting was just the governor trying to snag a new eighth-tier mage for the Ilian Empire, but he had a bad feeling that this wasn’t quite so cut and dry. The man hadn’t seemed all that surprised when Leon told him of the goings-on of the Bull Kingdom, and he wondered just how much he already knew. He supposed the lack of surprise wasn’t anything indicting, but it still struck him as odd, and the whole conversation lingered on his mind for a long time, even as he and his retainers got back into their carriage and returned to the Heaven’s Eye guest house.

It took a couple hours of quiet relaxing with Elise, Valeria, and Maia, during which he relayed everything that had been discussed, before Leon was able to truly focus on his studies with Nestor, the Thunderbird, and Xaphan again.

—

On the fourteen floor of the governor’s tower, Apollodorus knelt on the ground, both knees pressed into the hard granite floor, his hands likewise, his head bowed so low that his forehead almost joined them. Before him, on a pedestal that was almost an altar, sat a crystalline orb the size of the governor’s head, glowing a soft blue, and flashing with brighter color as a smooth, cavernously deep voice emanated from it.

“And he refused completely?”

“Yes, Lord Protector,” Apollodorus responded, his tone one of the utmost respect, and tinged with a hint of fear and apprehension at the way the Lord Protector might view his failure to accomplish the task he’d been given.

But without missing a beat, the Lord Protector responded, “Oh well. That’s how these things can go, I’m afraid. It’ll take a lighter touch to bring Leon Raime over to our side. Keep an eye on him for now. It’s fine if Heaven’s Eye gets him, at least for the time being, but if the Sacred Golden Empire—or, gods forbid, those degenerates in the Sunlit Empire—get wind of his arrival, then they’ll start making moves of their own, either to kill him or recruit him for themselves. I’d rather not have that sort of trouble on our land.”

“My eyes will be open for anything at all out of the ordinary,” Apollodorus stated. “So long as I’m here, there will be peace in Ancon.”

“Yes, yes,” the Lord Protector replied. “You’ve done well, Apollodorus, don’t beat yourself up over it. Just keep me apprised of Leon Raime’s movements. I want to know everything that he does, everywhere he goes, and everyone he interacts with. Be discreet, but thorough. We don’t want to scare him away…”

“Yes, Lord Protector,” Apollodorus replied.

“Mm. Then I shan’t keep you.”

With that, the crystal rather unceremoniously ceased to glow, and Apollodorus was left on his own in his communications room. He remained kneeling there for a few seconds longer, though, wondering just who in the hell Leon Raime was that he’d attracted the attention of Anastasios, the only tenth-tier mage in all the Ilian Empire, and its de facto highest authority—practically a god unto himself, as far as most people were concerned.

Just an eighth-tier mage, Leon Raime was not. That much Apollodorus was certain. But he wasn’t sure how much he’d be able to see; Leon Raime wasn’t going to stay long in Ancon.

With a sigh, Apollodorus rose to his feet. He’d do what he could, but whatever the reason the Lord Protector wanted Leon Raime specifically, it was now in his august hands to convince the young boy to play ball.