Leon stood in his back courtyard, most of his people around him ready to see him off. For the past few weeks, he’d been getting his affairs in order to ensure he could take as much time in the north as he needed. The Director and Penelope were aware, and Talal had his standing orders. Elise had his villa and Valeria, his retinue.

He’d been surprised to find that his ladies’ lack of desire to send any messages back to the Bull Kingdom with him were shared among his retainers—Heaven’s Eye was perfectly capable of sending letters back and forth even to that most remote Kingdom, and his people had stayed in contact with their families. Even Alix, who was from a common, no-name family, was easily able to send messages back home with the salary that Leon paid her.

Still, that didn’t stop them from seeing him off with his family. Even Anastasios and the Grand Druid had stopped by that morning to say their goodbyes. Of all of them, however, the two he found most notable were Valeria and Anzu.

Valeria’s reaction to the informal goodbye ceremony was quite easy to see through. Her face flushed red every time she looked at him, even as she fought to keep a smile off her face. She grew even more awkward when Elise pressed herself against Leon and gave him a long goodbye kiss. Given how much of a show that they’d given her the night before, though, Leon could understand her embarrassment. He’d satisfied all of his ladies the night before, but Valeria had mostly seen to herself while watching Leon with Maia and Elise. She didn’t ask for her turn until late in the night, after Elise and Maia had been practically knocked out from pleasure.

The other one that drew Leon’s attention was Anzu, and for a more concerning reason. His new little brother was upset, though not particularly vocal about it. He wanted to come with Leon, and every time Leon glanced in his direction, the griffin-in-human-form only pouted more. It wasn’t long before Leon relented and asked Anzu if he wanted to come with. The griffin’s joy was a thing to behold, and he transformed back into his griffin form and practically bounced all over the courtyard.

Goodbyes could only last for so long, of course, and soon enough, it was time for them to wrap up.

“It’s about that time, I suppose,” Leon whispered.

“Is it already?” Elise complained as she tightened her grip on his arm.

“Yes, unfortunately,” Leon bemoaned.

“Hey Leon!” Alcander called out. “Make sure to bring back presents!”

“I only bring presents back for those who deserve it, Al,” Leon shot back.

“Yeah, Al,” Alix jumped in, “have you been eatin’ your veggies? Washing behind your ears? You been a good boy?”

“Sofia’s seemed to think so,” Alcander said with a proud, provocative smile. “She’s done nothing but compliment my performance so far.”

“She must be rather sheltered then,” Marcus lanced from the side. “But that’s not the point. Good luck on your journey, Leon! May your Ancestors walk with you. Or fly, as it may be.”

As if on cue, Nestor came walking into the room, his golem frame instantly taking everyone’s attention and dampening their spirits.

“Luck shouldn’t be relied on,” he intoned, his voice resonating metallically from his new artificial body. “Lightning is a better crutch.”

“One that will see liberal use should it be needed,” Leon said as Nestor walked over.

“Leon,” the dead man began, “I… I know that I decided to upgrade your tools while you were gone, but… I would like to offer my services for what’s to come.”

Nestor was careful around his words, which Leon appreciated. He hadn’t told his retainers exactly why he was heading north just yet, in order to keep the reason from leaking. He trusted them implicitly, but the Lord Protector and Grand Druid were staying beneath his roof, and he didn’t want to pique their interest any more than was necessary.

“That shouldn’t be necessary,” Leon replied. He didn’t want Nestor with him for this. If the Thunderbird was correct, having others support him when he went to claim the Iron Needle would only harm his chances. He had to take the Needle himself, or it wouldn’t listen to him. “I’d rather I have some new toys when I get back!”

Nestor cocked his head slightly, nodded after a moment, then turned around and left without another word.

“That guy’s **in’ creepy,” Alix loudly stated before Leon thought Nestor was out of hearing range—not that Alix seemed to care.

“He knows his runes, and I wouldn’t want to provoke him too much if I were you,” Leon darkly stated. “But, enough of that. I can only delay this so much. You ready, Anzu?”

The white griffin chirped happily and lifted his forepaws off the ground in excitement.

At the same time, Leon gave Elise one last smile and disentangled his arm from her grasp. “I’ll be back soon,” he promised.

“You’d better be,” Elise replied as she gave Leon one more kiss.

As she stepped back, Maia wordlessly took her place, planting a big kiss on Leon’s lips while flooding their connection with love and affection. Leon reciprocated in kind.

Then it was Valeria’s turn, and she overcame her embarrassment from the previous night’s indulgences to give Leon a quick hug and kiss, though neither as heated as Elise or Maia’s.

Once that was over, Leon had everyone step back, while using his villa’s enchantments to shroud him in a dark cloud. When the cloud lifted a few seconds later, Leon stood before them all in his Thunderbird form, standing a couple feet taller than he did when he was only eighth-tier. His feathers, too, appeared a little glossier, and his golden eyes a little shinier.

On his left leg appeared a fancy silver ring large enough to have fit quite loosely over Leon’s human bicep. It was decorated with carvings of birds in flight and fern-like lightning patterns. The largest bird held in its talons a large sapphire, while all around it were tiny diamonds studded into the ring.

Leon filled the ring with power and the sapphire glimmered with arcane light while the diamonds flashed in sequence, helping to amplify and stabilize the enchantment placed upon the ring. The magic in the ring caused a shroud of darkness to fall upon Leon, and he faded from view, his entire massive avian body disappearing from view.

At the same time, Anzu put on a ring of his own, this one over one of his forepaw’s ankles. Upon it was a similar enchantment. Once he faded from view, both he and Leon took off.

These new invisibility enchantments were much refined from what they’d been five years before. These ones weren’t quite advanced enough to make any of Leon’s people intangible or allow them to sink into shadows, but a new function had been added to the rings to allow Leon and Anzu—and whoever else might be wearing one of his dark invisibility rings—to track each other. They’d be invisible to everyone but themselves, finally patching that particular hole in their design.

And so, Leon and Anzu, invisible, climbed high into the air, then turned north. It would be a while before they stopped.

—

With Leon’s magic senses, he was able to see the Bull Kingdom long before he and Anzu reached it. It looked much the same, and though he’d been eager to get out of it once he’d reached seventh-tier, returning now at the ninth felt rather nostalgic, due in no small part to the bit of the Bull Kingdom that first came into view: the Bull’s Horns.

He’d stayed at the twin fortress for about a year and a half, training and studying under Prince Trajan. Of all the time he spent in the Bull Kingdom’s Royal Legions, his time there had been his happiest. There was a large part of him that grew depressed as he flew closer, tempting him to slow down before he reached it, thoughts of his mentor coming to the forefront of his mind. But he kept moving at a steady pace, thoughts of the Iron Needle spurring him onward.

He examined the Bull’s Horns in more detail, seeking to distract himself with whatever he could on his approach. The main fortress, and Ariminium at its foot, was almost exactly as he remembered it, save for a well-constructed moat dug in front of the first of the three walls blocking the pass. Several more permanent fortresses made of stone and concrete had been built out in the pocket of land before the border, instead of the wood they had been before the war with Talfar, and were now connected to the fortress by several walls and towers, acting as forward barbicans for the fortress’ main defenses.

Leon was gladdened to see that most of his favorite haunts in Ariminium were still around; the restaurants he frequented, and the parks he liked to train in.

Do you remember the Bull’s Horns? Leon asked Anzu as they flew, still invisible far above the surface of Aeterna.

Not well, Anzu responded in common speech, putting his practice on full display. A few brief flashes. A room with a sandpit.

The barracks I was assigned, Leon replied, half to himself.

I remember the villa in the capital better, Anzu said. My body grew there, though sapience didn’t find me until later.

Maybe we’ll stop by there, then, Leon suggested. Unless someone’s bought it and doesn’t want us around, or something.

I’d like that, Anzu replied.

The two kept flying onward for more than half a day. Leon’s magic senses had a range of quite a bit more than a thousand miles, and from the air, the two could see a long distance. They both saw the Bull’s Horns long before arriving.

Despite their familiarity with the fortress, Leon didn’t want to step on any toes, so he directed Anzu to land on the southern edge of the Gulf of Discord, on the outskirts of the Samarid city built opposite Ariminium. There, Leon and Anzu became visible again, and Leon returned to his human form. Once that was taken care of, they took to the skies again, and flew the last handful of miles to the edge of Bull Kingdom territory. Once there, they landed a second time, and began walking down the road toward the fortress.

They arrived fairly close to nightfall, falling in with a caravan that had been rushing to reach the fortress gates before they closed for the night. They just barely made it. It still took the guards at the gate a long time to process the entire caravan since it numbered more than a hundred, and had many pack animals and goods besides. The tired, annoyed-looking Legion Tribune watching the gates made damned sure that once they were let in, they’d have their goods searched and tariffs would be applied, his tone making it clear that he didn’t want to be dealing with such a large caravan at a time when, Leon guessed, his shift was just about to end.

So, they moved through the gates slowly, the Legion watching every one of them as they funneled through, checking IDs and doing preliminary searches on the carts. Leon noticed quite a few people take notice of him and Anzu, who was still in his eye-catching white griffin form, but it wasn’t until he and Anzu at the back of the caravan finally reached the gates that anyone realized his identity.

In a way, Leon was somewhat disappointed. He’d had some thoughts of returning the Bull Kingdom and dramatically announcing his identity, to the amazement of the soldiers on guard. He wasn’t one for drama, but he’d thought it would go at least a little more dramatically than it did.

Instead of him having to announce himself, stunning the watching guards with his obvious magnificence, the Tribune remained both attentive and professional, his eyes only widening slightly as Leon and Anzu walked up, the last in the caravan to be processed.

“Leon Raime!” the Tribune exclaimed, drawing a few more curious looks Leon’s way. “Move right on in, Sir! I’ll have word of your arrival sent to the Horns!”

“Thank you, but drop the ‘Sir’,” Leon replied with an easy smile, mildly disappointed.

The Tribune just smiled and waved him through while a Centurion next to him was hurriedly waving a couple of flags to those on the top of the wall, undoubtedly sending word of his arrival ahead.

Leon’s pride was tickled at least a little bit when, just before the fortress doors closed behind them, he heard the guards start whispering frantically amongst themselves.

—

Leon, upon passing through the triple-layered wall, was met on the other side by a sixth-tier Legate, and shown immediately up to the fortress itself. He and Anzu passed by familiar baileys and stables, Leon pointing out where Anzu had been frequently taken to train and play when he was still the size of a dog. When they reached the main courtyard in front of the citadel, though, Leon went quiet, for installed in the center of the courtyard was a large statue, three times larger than life, of Prince Trajan himself. The Prince wasn’t striking any heroic poses, but instead stood with his arms crossed, a contemplative look on his face as he stared westward, toward the rest of the Kingdom.

Leon couldn’t help but smile and pause there, admiring the craftsmanship in the marble. It was a startling likeness.

He was jerked out of his reverie when a loud, booming voice bellowed from the front door, “Leon Raime!”

If there weren’t ten thousand eyes upon Leon before then, there certainly were after that; Leon was aware of just how many soldiers there were stationed in the towers and buildings around him.

He turned his head slightly to the front doors, and there striding out of them, was the familiar sight of Sir Constantine, the knight who, during Trajan’s tenure as Consul of the East, had been the third-in-command behind Trajan and Dame Minerva. Leon actually expected the latter to walk out and be the first to greet him, not Constantine.

“Sir Constantine!” Leon replied in greeting, moving forward to clasp the other man’s arm. “It’s good to see you!”

“And you, young man!” Constantine replied, a warm smile on his face. “It’s been too long, or not long enough, I say! What brings you all the way back here? The south too soft and cushy for you? Something draw you all the way back to our little isolated corner of Aeterna?”

Leon chuckled and replied, “No, I’ve actually enjoyed my time there. But I found myself with some business that brought me north and figured I’d stop in and see how the place has been doing in the past few years.”

“Ahh, you’re welcome anytime!” Constantine declared. “Please, come on in!”

Leon acquiesced, but as he was led into the keep by Constantine and a hundred of his assistants and retainers—a veritable welcome party had been set up for his arrival despite the short notice—he asked, “Where’s Dame Minerva, if I might ask? I was looking forward to seeing her again, too.”

“Ah, Minerva’s been promoted, of a sort,” Constantine answered. “She was Consul of the East for twelve years, and then was brought back to the capital to assume the post of Consul of the Central Territories. I was named Consul of the East after her—upon her recommendation, too.”

“I can’t think of a more worthy man,” Leon said, though disappointment ran through him like ice water.

’Time stops for no one,’ Leon bitterly thought, hoping he’d have just a bit more familiarity than just stone and concrete upon his return to the Horns. However, it wasn’t long before he found a bit more of what he was looking for in the form of the Diplomatic Corps. Aquillius and his Legates were waiting to greet Leon in the keep, and soon enough, they were all feasting in the great hall, laughing and reminiscing about the short time Leon had been with them.

Fortunately, in the past sixteen or so years, the stone giants had remained peaceful—and Leon figured he’d go and spend at least a day with them before leaving for the south again—so the Diplomatic Corps had largely been focused on the Samar and Talfar Kingdoms. The Samar Kingdom’s ire had cooled since the incident with Leon and Asiya, but Talfar had finally resolved its war with the Han Kingdom in the east, and there were rumors that Queen Andraste was looking to avenge her brother’s defeat in his ill-fated attack on the Horns. Leon didn’t like her chances, if she ever let that arrow fly.

It wasn’t long before Leon had had his share of nostalgia at the Horns and begged off further celebration. It had been a long journey, he’d argued, and he needed rest. He’d never gotten specific enough in his stories of the south to mention that he was now ninth-tier, but even though they thought him eighth-tier, his lack of need for rest was never brought up. They simply accepted it, and he was shown to the same luxurious quarters that had been set aside for Andraste above the Diplomatic Corps when she’d arrived following the previous war to negotiate peace.

Leon allowed himself and Anzu to stay only one more day, visiting a few of his more favorite places in Ariminium, despite Constantine and Aquillius’ attempts to get him to stay in the keep and spend his time with them. He had nothing against them, it was just that his desire to see them was less than others in the Kingdom.

Anzu was quite interested in the places they traveled to in the city. He was much bigger, but at a few local places, he was recognized more easily than even Leon, and at one place even came away with a belly full of steak sandwich, given to him for free.

So, though their return to Ariminium and the Bull’s Horns hadn’t gone exactly as Leon had envisioned with Minerva gone, when they left the following morning, he was satisfied and ready to move on.