Leon submerged the glowing piece of metal in the quenching oil, letting it rapidly cool with a loud hiss to keep its hardness. Aiding him in this endeavor were ice runes inscribed upon the metal barrel containing the oil. It had taken him some time to get it working properly, but the enchantments he’d designed gave him fine control over the temperature of his oil. They were based upon other designs he’d seen used in Sid’s workshop, but he’d managed to create a new enchantment scheme even better than what she had.

Quickly extracting the long sword blade that he’d just quenched, he brought it close to his face for a quick inspection, and after judging it adequate, he took some time to polish and sand it to a glowing sheen and fine edge, and then he summoned his fire magic. At his level, after all of his studies with Xaphan, it was trivial for him to give his freshly-forged blade the perfect heat treatment. The center of the double-edged straight sword was heated more than the edges, not going so far as to start liquifying the metal, but just enough to give it the properties that Leon wanted.

When he was finished with the heat treatment, the blade was a gorgeous panoply of color, the differential heat dying the steel a dark blue, almost purple, in the center groove on both sides, while the sharp edges lightened to a brighter gold. The blade would be springy and tough, but the edges would be hard and resistant to breakage. Adding to its beauty was the rippling pattern that covered the blade from Leon’s working of the metal. He could’ve purchased perfectly forged steel himself, of course, but Sid had taught him to forge his steel himself, and given that he had wanted to learn the art of blacksmithing to have control over the entire creative process of whatever he wanted to make, he couldn’t have agreed more with her instructions.

Besides, if he bought the usual kind of mass-produced steel that earth mages who worked as smelters made, then he’d miss out on the rippling effect that covered this new blade. The extra work was justified by that alone, in his mind.

Once his new blade finished cooling, he then assembled it with the other pieces he’d prepared. A wooden handle of polished oak that had been carved with a feather-like pattern, a curving steel guard that resembled spread wings, and an ivory eagle head pommel were all affixed to his blade, but his work wasn’t yet complete.

Once the sword was assembled, Leon reached for a small stack of a dozen sheets of inscribing paper on a nearby table and started carefully applying the paper to the blade. The paper flashed with arcane light, inscribing their patterns onto the blade, strengthening it, giving it additional properties. When Leon finally finished with the last sheet of paper, the enchantment was complete, and he was able to sit back and admire his newest creation.

It had taken him more than a month to make this sword, counting the planning and design phases. In the end, he was left with a beautiful straight sword with a four-foot-long multi-colored blade of rippling steel, and a foot-long handle. It was light enough that a mortal could use it and faintly inscribed with countless runes that were nearly imperceptible until magic was channeled into them, when they’d glow with magical light. With his enchantments, the blade was practically indestructible, could horribly burn what it touched, could triple its length with projected light magic, and could erect a shield of light to protect its wielder.

It didn’t hold a candle to the Adamant blade of his Ancestors, but Leon was immensely proud of what he’d made. It had been a commission passed Sid’s way by Heaven’s Eye, and she’d in turn passed it off to him. There hadn’t been any restrictive parameters involved with the weapon, allowing him complete freedom to design and forge it as he pleased. He leaned back in his chair in his workshop, just staring at the weapon, a smile on his bearded face.

He’d been working in here for a long time, long enough that he’d barely even realized just how fuzzy his face had become. He wasn’t as diligent about shaving as he used to be, for a few years ago he’d realized that he could finally grow a proper beard. Valeria and Maia seemed to like it, but Elise was a little less enthusiastic, so while Leon occasionally let it grow out, he rarely let it go for longer than a couple weeks.

After his brief reverie was over, he sheathed the freshly-forged sword in a glittering leather sheath made from something that had blue scales, wrapped it up in cloth padding, and then gently placed it in a box. He pulled the box into his soul realm, and then rose from his seat. With a quick glance at the clock, he realized that he’d finished only just in time, and he hurried through his expansive workshop, past his blacksmithing tools and equipment, through the areas he’d devoted to his enchanting work, and then into the workshop’s atrium.

His workshop was locked down with his best wards, only unlocking when either he or the members of his family were entering or exiting, but he’d still built up a habit of ensuring the place was completely locked whenever he was leaving. After he’d shared the designs for his fourth generation flight suit with Heaven’s Eye, he’d drawn quite a bit of scrutiny from the Ilian enchanter’s guild, and while he didn’t seriously think anyone would dare to try and rob someone in his position—that of a Hand of the Director—he wasn’t going to trust in the title alone.

He didn’t regret the sharing of his flight suit design, even though it necessitated greater security around his villa. Heaven’s Eye couldn’t produce the suits fast enough, and he got a hefty cut from every suit sold. He shared a few other of his designs with Heaven’s Eye, letting them handle the production and distribution while he simply let the silver pile up. Thanks not only to his own position, but to Emilie being the Chief of Acquisitions, Leon was able to leverage his enchanting knowledge to amass great wealth in the years since his arrival in Occulara.

When Leon emerged from his workshop, he took a moment to look around. His villa had changed quite a bit since it had been purchased ten years ago. The general layout was the same, but the façade had been completely redone in a style more reminiscent of the Bull Kingdom, while the grounds had been renovated into unrecognizability. Gardens and huge plots of land grew magical herbs of all kinds, though not usually in great numbers. Elise and Helen were more interested in trying to grow more exotic herbs, figuring out their uses, and trying to make them more economical to grow. The herbs that they’d brought to the Central Empires had only been the tip of the iceberg; in the past ten years, Elise and Helen had contributed just as much, if not more, to the coffers of Leon’s family than his enchanting work had, with their work in alchemy and herbology.

As he walked outside, he projected his magic senses, feeling for just a moment the wards he’d set around his home pressing in on him, resonating with his magic and confirming his identity before allowing his magic to proceed. He saw Elise sitting in the back courtyard, the sun catching in her radiant red hair and causing it to glitter. She was dressed all in red today and was keeping an eye on the gardeners tending to the villa’s land. They employed about twenty workers to see to the gardens that stretched over their two hundred acres, including all of the team leaders who were now surrounding her, listening to her instructions and observing as she marked several locations on a map of their estate.

Maia was also nearby, but she was meditating in a more private garden. Valeria was training in one of the villa’s smaller training rooms. Helen was busy in her alchemy lab. The rest of Leon’s retinue wasn’t present, as their training for the day had concluded several hours ago. They had all made great progress in the past decade, and Leon couldn’t have been prouder of them.

Anshu and Valeria had both ascended to the sixth-tier, while Gaius, Marcus, Alcander, and Alix had all reached the fifth, as had Elise. Helen hadn’t increased her magical power all that much, but her alchemical skills had grown as much as the others’ magical skills had. Anna, meanwhile, hadn’t managed to ascend to the seventh-tier, but she’d still grown in strength.

With a quick wisp of intent, Leon’s magic suffused his being like the shadows that fall with the setting of the sun; his element-less magic shifted into darkness magic, and Leon reached out with his magic senses, touching the minds of Maia and Valeria. He whispered into their minds, asking them to join him with Elise.

They were both closer and arrived at the back courtyard before he did. Elise had already given the garden supervisors a break when the other two showed up, and she smiled radiantly as Leon appeared. Maia and Valeria, too, shone like suns unto themselves. Maia was more expressive than she’d ever been, a smile gracing her bronze features as she strode confidently over to Leon and pressed her lips against his. Valeria was a little more circumspect, though she played with her silver hair, braided as it was and slung over her shoulder to rest against her chest.

“Husband,” Elise whispered in greeting. “Did you finally finish it?”

“I did,” Leon replied as he swept Maia off her feet and carried her over to Elise’s table. Elise glanced back and gestured to one of her assistants waiting in the wings, and the young woman darted forward, clearing the table of the maps and documents that she’d been pouring over with the gardening team leaders.

“Then let’s see this thing that’s kept you from our beds for weeks,” she said with a sly smile.

Leon, without missing a beat, put Maia down in one of the nearby chairs, and then with a theatrical flourish, retrieved the box with the freshly-forged sword from his soul realm. Valeria opened it and uncovered the blade, drawing it from its scabbard.

“Wow,” the silver-haired woman whispered as the sun caught the multi-colored blade. “I’m not usually one for swords, but this is quite beautiful…”

“It really is,” Elise gasped as she saw the weapon for the first time. “I’m almost tempted to ask you to make one for me.”

“That option is always available to you,” Leon reminded her, as he’d done many times in the past decade. Elise had taken to training with his retinue, including brushing up her skills with various styles of weaponry. However, she lacked talent—or so she often claimed. She wasn’t one that needed weapons in her daily life, so she’d always refused Leon’s offer to make her something sharp and dangerous, though that didn’t stop each other from teasing the other about it when the situation allowed for it.

“Do you know who this is for?” Elise inquired. “I have to admit to being extremely curious about who is so important that you’ve dedicated so much of your time to making this thing.”

“I have no idea,” Leon replied.

None? Maia silently asked.

“Not a clue,” Leon confirmed. “The commission was passed to me, and I wasn’t too interested in pressing for details. I suppose I’ll find out when turning the blade in, if anyone cares enough to let me know. I don’t care enough to pry, though.”

As Valeria gave the weapon a few test swings, the runes that covered the blade lightning up as her magic flowed through the blade, Elise rose from her seat and stalked up to Leon, a hungry look in her eyes.

“You should really be more curious,” she husked as she pulled him closer and pressed her lips against his. She pulled back just as quickly and continued, “Is there anything more you have to do today other than turning that in?”

“No,” Leon said, relishing the word.

“Then we ought to do something, just the four of us.”

“Sounds like fun,” Valeria replied as she slid the sword back into its sheath.

Did you have something in mind? Maia inquired.

“No, but…” Elise trailed off, a frown passing over her lips for a moment as she turned back to Leon. “I hate to say it, but it occurs to me now that I’m thinking about it: Talal was looking for you earlier, but I told him that you were busy and didn’t want to be disturbed. Perhaps you ought to go and see what it was he wanted with you before we make any plans?”

Leon sighed and drew the sword back into his soul realm. “I suppose I should. I’ll get back to you three as soon as I can. Thanks for your patience this past month; no matter what, I don’t think I’m going to be taking on any more long-term projects like this for a while. At least, not for anyone else.”

Elise nodded in gratitude, Valeria gave him a quick hug, and Maia smiled at him. With that, Leon projected his magic senses again and began scouring his home for his personal assistant.

He found Talal in the man’s office, quietly pouring over a map of Occulara, and Leon’s heart skipped a beat in excitement, despite this not being the first time he’d seen the dusky-skinned Samarid doing something similar. He hurried to Talal’s office, knocked on the door, and then entered without waiting for a reply.

“You were looking for me?” he asked as Talal turned around to see who was entering his office.

The man looked so different compared to how he’d been ten years ago that Leon sometimes had to marvel at his transformation. His body had filled out with muscle thanks to Leon’s insistence on his joining the rest of the retinue for training, and he’d adopted the clothing style of the Ilian Empire. Gone were the oils and perfumes that he’d worn when he was Heaven’s Eye’s manager in Akhmim, gone were the flowing white robes of his native Samarid Kingdom. Instead, he dressed in deep reds, his clothes tightly tailored to show off the body he’d earned from training. He was a handsome man now that he’d finished losing his excess weight, filled out a bit, and gotten rid of his haughty attitude.

His and Leon’s professional relationship had started off quite awkward after the Director transferred him into Leon’s service, but in the years since, Talal had calmed down and relaxed significantly. Leon hadn’t been intent on holding any grudges, and after Talal had proven his capabilities as an administrator, Leon had fully welcomed him into his retinue, which no doubt greatly helped the man to settle into his new role. At this point, he managed Leon’s personal affairs, but when he and his family were still getting settled into the city and had yet to hire other people to staff their household, Talal had managed essentially everything about Leon’s life other than his finances, which Elise still kept a close eye on.

Without so much as a blink of surprise, the sixth-tier Samarid replied, “I was looking for you; I found another site.”

Leon smiled and approached the map Talal had been pouring over, which had more than a dozen points marked and crossed out all over Occulara. In between his other responsibilities, Leon had tasked Talal with looking into old ruins within the city. It had been ten years and he’d yet to see hide or hair of his Clan’s arsenal, but he hadn’t stopped looking.

He kept Talal looking for any sign of Thunderbird Clan ruins, and he hadn’t come back empty-handed. In the ten years he’d been in the city, Leon had visited a dozen different sites that held some promise, though only seven had truly been built during the time of his Clan. Of those seven, none were related to the arsenal. Most were little more than buried chambers discovered when someone was renovating their home, or when a building was demolished to make way for new construction. With Leon’s status as a Hand of the Director, it was simple to gain access to these sites and poke around a bit. Unfortunately, none of these investigations had turned up anything of note.

Still, Leon was undeterred.

“It’s over here,” Talal said as he indicated an area in the suburbs north of the Scamander River. “Apparently, a villa has been unoccupied for about twenty years, its owners unable to sell it. Neighbors claim the place is haunted, and after the owners decided to cut their losses and demolish the place, the workers they hired to knock it down claim they saw a ghost and refuse to work anymore.”

“But they found ruins there?” Leon asked, seeking confirmation.

“They did,” Talal replied. “Apparently, it was what convinced them that the ghost was real. Parts of the villa’s basement fell out during their preparations to demolish the villa, and one of the workers fell in. I couldn’t get anyone to give concrete details about what exactly they found down there, but if anything, I think that lends more credence that this is a more significant find.”

“Hopefully it’s more significant than just some ghost stories,” Leon said only half-jokingly. With Nestor and the Thunderbird, he interacted with the dead quite frequently, so he didn’t immediately dismiss the ‘ghost’ as not being real in some sense, but he doubted it was truly a ghost. “I need to drop off this blade, and then we’re going to go and check this place out.”

“Got it,” Talal replied. “Do you need me to arrange transport, or will you take care of that yourself?”

“I don’t need any carriages to take me into the city,” Leon responded with a sly smile.

“Then I suppose I’ll meet you there,” Talal stated as he indicated the marked point on the map. “The owners are quite desperate to see this issue resolved, and the interest of an eighth-tier mage has them both anxious and excited beyond measure. I’ll need to make sure they’re ready to show you around.”

Leon nodded as his eyes turned back toward that point. He wondered just what he might find there, if the site was inspiring stories of ghosts. At the very least, none of the other points had come with such stories, which made sense given that there had been nothing to find at them aside from some broken stones.

He couldn’t wait to see it.