The Grand Duchess was no less intimidating in the private of her audience hall than she had been before her people. Her obsidian eyes looked down on Cass as if dissecting a strange puzzle. She sat on high in a throne of black glass, her dragon sprawled behind her, head resting beside the throne, dark eyes matching the duchess's.

The woman was dressed in satin blacks, silver embroidery decorating her long coat like stars. Her hair was braided in a fountain of tight locks, silver beads shimmering from amid the braids. A large sword hung from her chair's back.

Cass found herself wishing for her staff. It would have been a kind of comfort to hold it close, as little good as it would do her if the duchess and dragon in front of her attacked her.

Grand Duchess (lvl 63)

Matron Dragon (lvl 59)

Cass had come a long way since Uvana, but she had only just reached the Gate at level 27. She wasn't even half this woman's level, and not even the advantages of being a slyphid would close a gap of that size.

Be careful. Be respectful, Salos whispered from her soul well. This woman isn't someone you can get away with talking to carelessly. She is power.

I will, Cass assured him. His tension was taut across their bond, a vibrating fear, tightly controlled yet spilling out all the same. On one hand, it was a distraction, tugging at her attention and inciting her own worry. On the other, his mere presence against her soul was a reassurance far greater than her staff would have been.

I know you think you will, he muttered.

She suppressed a quirk of a smile.

The audience hall of the Grand Duchess was no less grand than any other room in her palace. High, vaulted ceilings of stained glass hung above them. Cold marble floors sprawled around them.

"Cass Yuan, mage of origins unknown." The duchess tapped the arm of her chair in thought. "You have done much in your brief pass through my lands."

Cass nodded politely, unsure what she was meant to say in response.

"You cleared Uvana with my granddaughter. You won a Blessing from Alacrity and saw your lord steal another from a far stronger opponent. You survived in a den of men over nine levels greater than your own and favored by a goddess."

There were a few corrections she could make to that statement, but she decided now wasn't the moment.

"You saved my Kaidrach's children," the duchess continued. "It is not every day a ruler bows her head in thanks, but for this," the duchess nodded to Cass.

She made no mention of the grandsons Cass had rescued at the same time. Kohen and Ahryn had been in as much danger as the dragonlings.

"This is one such instance. Thank you again. We had lost too many in these past years. And not only did you save two, you returned another to us. Thank you."

Cass smiled faintly, suppressing the urge to humbly dismiss the praise. She could say she'd done what anyone would have, that she had done it because she'd wanted to save herself, that she'd only gotten lucky. And all those were true.

But in this world, few would have stuck around to save them. Fewer would have tried to save Kelstor.

"In thanks, I would reward you. Tell me what you desire? Skills? Stats? Traits? Weapons? Wealth? Or perhaps something more?"

The duchess's suggestions gave Cass pause. "You can give people Traits and Stats?"

The duchess smirked. "Directly? With the wave of my hand? No. But, there are a few that I can show you how to earn or direct you to a trial ground with the means of collecting them yourself. Is that what you want?"

Cass shook her head. She had very specific goals, and amassing more power was not one of them.

Rather, the question was which to ask about and how much context she should provide?

She had three goals in this world:

1. Find a way home.

2. Find her sibling who had also been kidnapped.

3. Fix Salos. Or, at least, find a stable way of separating him from her.

Of these, Cass was reasonably sure she could manage the second without a special favor from the duchess. With what she'd pieced together from her interactions with the gods and their followers, Cass could narrow down her search on her own.

Between options one and three, three was actually more pressing. Until she found her sibling, going home was off the table. And, until she fixed Salos, going home was ill-advised. She didn't know what would happen to him if she went home while his necklace was still on her body.

But asking for help fixing Salos required significant context. Context like, 'Salos is my demon partner, bonded to my soul'. And that information was unlikely to go over well with the duchess. Alyx had just spent the last week convinced that killing Salos before the duchess discovered him and killed them all about it was the right call.

Volunteering this information was a bad idea.

Which left option one.

"I am looking for information on interrealm travel," Cass said. "Erm, your duchess-ness?"

'Your grace,' not 'your duchess-ness,' Salos corrected.

Oh. Oops?

Salos sighed.

"Interrealm travel?" the duchess repeated, an eyebrow lifting. "What would you want with that?"

Should she explain? It wasn't a secret. It was just usually no one else's business. "I'm not from here. Like, not from this world."

The duchess's eyebrows rose again. "You are a Traveler?"

Cass shrugged. "Maybe? Am I still a Traveler if I was kidnapped?"

"An unwilling Traveler," the duchess muttered. "Then you search for a way home?"

Cass nodded.

"Interesting," the duchess hummed to herself. "This was not the boon I expected to grant."

"Then you have a way of granting it?" Cass latched onto the possibility.

"If it is possible, it is possible for me," the duchess boasted. "The question is if it is at all possible."

"And is it?"

The duchess drummed her fingers over her throne's arm in thought.

Cass shifted her weight from foot to foot. Could this really be this easy?

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"Summon Thaycer," the duchess shouted over her audience hall. The air rippled. There was a feeling of movement, displaced and unattached to any particular object.

Cass shivered. Had someone else been listening? Definitely a good thing she hadn't brought up Salos's condition then. This was just a reminder there was always someone with more skills than she possessed.

"As Warden, he should know if our Vaults have anything that might help you," the duchess explained.

"Should I come back after—"

"He will be here soon," the duchess interrupted. "No reason for us not to finish your business today. I dislike letting owed favors linger."

He was going to drop everything to come at his mother's call? That was the power of the duchess.

Cass stared at the floor as they waited, a tentative hope rising in her chest. Maybe the duchess would have some rare artifact in their Vault which Cass could use to return home? Maybe there would be an ancient spell collecting dust for this purpose. Maybe this first task would be simple, and she could focus on finding Robin or Kaye.

In a matter of minutes, the audience hall's doors swung open and Thaycer Delim Veldor strode in, his head held high, his dark eyes stormy.

"I greet her grace," he said with a low bow as he stepped past Cass.

"Yes, yes," the duchess said. "Interrealm travel. Can it be done? Do we have anything in the Vault to facilitate it?"

He flinched as he straightened. "Interrealm travel? As in the legends?"

The duchess shot him an impatient glare.

He coughed and shut his eyes. Something pulsed off him. Faint and indistinct. Not mana exactly. Mana Sense didn't even stir. "No. The Vault contains nothing with such a power."

Cass's heart dropped. This was a dead end? After everything?

Some part of her had known it was a long shot. Travelers were the stuff of legends and distant ages. Salos had warned her.

The duchess tapped the arm of her chair, displeasure filling the wrinkles between her brows. "Perhaps it is time to expand our Vault stores again."

Thaycer opened his eyes, and the something pulsing off him stopped. "I look forward to our next campaign, your grace."

The duchess snorted. "Eager to send your boy out in your name already? Or will you stand and fight on the front with your siblings this time?"

Thaycer didn't quite flinch, but something inside him flickered.

His soul.

Cass closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The strange soul sight had neither left her nor coalesced into a proper skill. But she had no doubts that was what she was seeing.

Even with her eyes closed, she could 'see' Thaycer's soul beside her quivering under the immense pressure of the duchess and her dragon. His was a slick grey, seated just above his heart and little bigger than her thumb.

The duchess's loomed before them, radiating power like a Tesla coil, the core a pitch black and as smooth as polished onyx. A thick tether ran from it to her dragon's identical soul. Power didn't so much pulse between the two; instead, it was filled to bursting.

"Enough," the duchess said, ending whatever sidebar they had continued down while Cass had gotten absorbed in staring at their souls. "We don't have a means of interrealm traversal."

"That is correct, your grace," Thaycer said.

"Well, you heard him," the duchess said to Cass. "I find myself humbled again. Yours is a reward I cannot grant. But my debt to you remains. Choose another boon. What can I offer you instead?"

Cass took a deep breath and considered the question. If the duchess couldn't get her home, who could?

"The Custodia," Cass muttered. That was her next best lead on both finding a way home and fixing Salos. "Was there anything in the Vault about the Arcanum Custodia?"

"The legendary world leaders of the last age?" The duchess shot Thaycer a look.

He closed his eyes again and, again, something pulsed off him. A moment later, he nodded. "Yes. I think so."

"Well, go get them," the duchess snapped.

He bowed deeply and power walked out of the room.

As the door closed behind him, the duchess said, "In truth, I would rather poach you than send you away."

Cass's eyes widened. What? Poach her? As in, "You want me? Why?"

Cass's mouth snapped shut. She looked away. A woman like the duchess was unlikely to appreciate the disrespect in the questions.

The duchess snorted. "I have been known to collect combatants that catch my interest. Your lady's mother, for example, was a knight who I picked up on my travels because she possessed promise. She took up my sword skills like a bird to the open skies."

Again, Cass restrained herself from correcting the duchess. She seemed to be under the mistaken impression that Cass had sworn some sort of allegiance to Alyx. That they were just friends and traveling companions did not seem to have occurred to the woman.

"She was an excellent knight in my service up until the end," the duchess continued. "And, though she bore the blame for losing a generation of dragons, her talent with the blade was unmatched. I see the potential of promise in you."

"Thank you, that is heartening to hear." Kind of. It was also a little macabre for her 'promise' to be compared to a woman the duchy had reviled as a failure for years. "But I really am only a combatant out of necessity. I don't think you should—"

"Necessity is the forge," the duchess interrupted. "And you are good steel."

Cass restrained herself from grimacing. She had no interest in being forged into a better weapon.

"You are young yet," the duchess continued. "And are growing at a pace which few match with little sign of slowing. Your ability to handle opponents far above your level is not to be ignored. I have heard of some of your exploits, and your willingness to seize victory through unconventional objectives is admirable. Enviable, perhaps.

"I imagine you will be pushing the mid-30s in the next few years. Perhaps you'll even hit 45 in the next nine. It would be all but guaranteed if you joined me."

What had the duchess heard?

But more to the point, "I intend to go home."

The duchess waved her hand. "So you say. But consider this offer as well. You, Cass Yuan Veldor, First Mage of my court. Hm? A promising future, no?"

Cass blinked. "First Mage?"

"Not right away, of course," the duchess continued. "You are far too young for the title. Your rivals would devour you alive if I named you such right away. But I could support you through the Academy. You could claim those levels I know you capable of taking. In nine years, you might be one of the most powerful people in Vaisom. Why wouldn't I want such a person to bear the name of my house? Why would I withhold a title rightfully earned?"

Cass shook her head. "I'm not interested in marrying into your family. I'm sorry." There were probably other options, but she certainly wasn't about to marry Kohen, and Ahryn was far too young.

"Marriage? Oh. You come from such a culture." The duchess shook her head. "No. I was suggesting I adopt you. It's been a while since I've adopted a Veldor."

Cass's eyes widened again. "Why?"

"My children, and by extension their children, have grown complacent," the duchess said. "Competition is the only way to hone one's strength. Otherwise, it languishes." There was something almost bitter in her voice.

The dragon nudged the woman's shoulder. She reached up to stroke the dragon's cheek.

That was how the duchess saw family? As honing blades for one another?

"Are you worried you will stagnate if you stay?" the duchess asked. Cass wasn't, but the duchess continued as if that was the hesitation. "I could promise you missions to areas well suited to your current power. Missions that will push you to your limits and accelerate your growth."

Cass shook her head. "I'm just trying to go home."

"What opportunities does your place of origin have that I cannot meet or beat for you?" the duchess asked.

"That isn't—"

The duchess clicked her tongue. "What if I reversed Alyx's banishment?"

Cass stiffened. "What?"

The duchess rolled her eyes. "You think my idiot son's power is greater than mine?"

"Then you could reverse it now?"

"I could."

Cass stared at her expectantly.

"Not now." The duchess waved the idea away. "If the girl had asked me to as her boon, I would have done it in a heartbeat. She didn't.

"But she'll be back eventually, banishment or no banishment. Her Kelstor won't want to leave forever. She'll find some achievement I can't ignore. Much like this incident with the dragonlings. She knows what it would take to return. When she's ready, she'll be back."

Cass frowned. The duchess was so flippant about it. As far as she was concerned, Alyx could only return triumphantly or die in shame. Convenient if she lived, unimportant if she didn't.

"But if you wanted to stay, if you wanted to join me, I could expedite that for her," the duchess continued.

All Cass needed to do was say yes and their futures as powerhouses of Velillia would be assured. Cass and Alyx could both be favored by the duchess. Alyx could become a notable dragon knight. Cass, a powerful mage.

If nothing else, it was what Alyx wanted, wasn't it?

Did Cass owe it to Alyx to accept this deal?

It's not a bad plan, Salos said. It's a dangerous world to survive in without backing. But there was a hesitance to his words. If you stayed, you would have a lot of cards to play.

He was approaching something he knew she wouldn't like.

Savior of the dragonlings. Friend of two of the duchess's grandchildren, grandchildren who are dragon knights themselves. His soul pulled away. Here it came. Master of Kohen.

There it was. He isn't a card to use.

He is, though, Salos whispered. He's yours. Pretending he isn't is a waste.

None of this bothers you? Cass's disgust crept into her voice. She doesn't have to make this conditional, much less on me.

It's the powerful playing their cards, Salos said. It isn't about Alyx.

Cass's teeth ground together. That was the problem. But she couldn't just shout that at the duchess, even if the heat in her chest demanded it.

"No," Cass said. The word was sharper than she'd meant. A manifestation of her rising frustration. She inhaled, forcing her voice to soften. "Thank you. But no."

The duchess's eyes narrowed.

Cass got the distinct feeling the duchess was looking at something deeper than her face. Like she had access to the leanings of her thoughts. A skill for reading people, perhaps? Or maybe it was just the experience of decades? Maybe a little of both.

Cass met that gaze as if daring her to dig into the less-than-polite thoughts running under the surface. Maybe that was impertinent. From the tension coiling in Salos's soul, it probably was.

"I see. Interesting." The duchess smirked. "If you're sure. Who am I to pressure young talent already so sure of their path?"

Salos shivered. Must you challenge all of them?

I was very respectful, Cass protested.

Which part of that staring match was respectful?

What else was I supposed to do?

Sometimes it's wiser to bow your head to power.

Within reason, Cass agreed grudgingly.

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