The giant stretched die that was the Cadrian airship landed in the middle of the town square. Normally, the plaza and accompanying main street would have been flooded with people, but the area had been cleared, reserved for government use since early that morning. The local businesses were closed and their projected missed earnings paid out to them in cash. Most of the owners were elated, happy to use the opportunity to take their families out on vacation. But of course, so too was there always a population of workaholics. Their spirits burning bright, they took the chance to peddle their wares on the other side of town and spread word of the products they offered.

Though all the civilians were gone, the square was still packed, lined with soldiers standing at attention. Most of the individuals that'd worked through the night were warriors, but they'd long been replaced with a series of lanky mages by sunrise.

Both supervisors were still present, though one was clearly much better rested than the other. It wasn't the best look, considering the more tired individual also looked much more Vel'khanese, but Claire doubted that anyone else noticed. Amereth was fairly high level and could easily stay up for days on end. At worst, it looked like she needed a bit of a break.

"We completed all of the preliminary work last night," said Virillius. "The canal water is provided by the terraformer. I believe the current configuration should satisfy your people's needs, but we can easily adjust if it's at all deficient."

The whole street had transformed overnight, with the aforementioned canal suddenly eating up roughly half the street's total area. It ran right down the middle of the road and split it into two halves, as was typically seen in Vel'khan. Large bridges, sturdy enough to hold dozens of centaurs at once, were placed at regular intervals to keep the sides connected, and there was an added path suspended above ground to make up for the loss of traversable space.

Most other countries likely would have solved the problem by constructing a series of skywalks—not that there was truly another nation insane enough to attempt such tomfoolery—but Cadria could never settle for a design so drab. The aesthetics board had rounded up the city's brightest minds, provided a functionally infinite budget, and arrived at a more elegant solution.

Throwing out the idea of blotting out the skies, they'd instead built a series of artifacts likely to outlast the festival. Christened by their creators as wind tunnels, they were large circular boosters capable of throwing their users into the heavens. If that was the extent of their function, they wouldn't have differed much from the jump pads placed aboard their warships. But while certainly derived from the same tech, they came with an added, mana-intensive mechanism that no ship's engine could ever hope to fuel. It was a binding spell, one that would keep the user along the path designated by their point of origin.

Any individual that entered a wind tunnel would be carried along and dropped off at its destination. Of course, that alone would hardly have sufficed to solve the problem. It was certainly a passable contingency, but Valencia was a complicated city to navigate; it would be far too inefficient to provide only a means for one to move between certain points. And by themselves, a booster pad and a binding spell would by no means prove so heavily resource intensive. Nay, that problem stemmed from the added flexibility.

The wind tunnels were configured not to put the citizens back down. Hell, they weren't even configured to provide any sort of direction. They simply shot the people that entered them into the air, and carried them to a height of a hundred meters.

That was where the real magic kicked in.

There was a spell cast on the city, configured such that it would activate on any individual that reached the aforementioned height under a wind tunnel's influence. The individual in question would be reconfigured to float back down to the ground regardless of size, shape, or density.

Of course, being only a first iteration, the system was yet imperfect. The users had no control over the speed of their descent, which was configured to err on the side of caution. No matter how hard they tried, they would never drop at a speed of more than half a meter per second, meaning it'd take roughly three minutes to make it back to the ground. Still, the tools served well; no sane foreign guest would think that they'd been invented and implemented overnight. In fact, none of the foreign guests had even come to recognize their function, for they were too busy inspecting the water.

The method was entirely scientific. Chloe crouched down beside it, spent a few moments with her fingers held underwater, and then sampled it with a lick.

"The salinity is fine, but you may want to drop the temperature," she said. "It's just a little too warm for deep dwellers, and surface dwellers cope better with the cold than deep dwellers do the heat."

Virillius nodded, before turning to one of the mages, who quickly channeled a bit of magic into the device he had in hand.

"How is it now?"

"Better, but still a little warm. You'll want to make the same change another two or three times."

"That much?" Virillius turned to Amereth, who shrugged.

"I thought Vel'khan was mostly made up of people who lived near the surface," she said.

"It is approximately an even split, even accounting for those who make land their primary habitat," said Arciel. "I must say, the stones that line the canal are striking. There is much craftsmanship to be observed, not only in their quality, but also their placement."

Octavia put her hands on her hips and spoke with a grin on her lips. "Thank you, Your Majesty. I was worried for a second that it wouldn't turn out as well as it did."

Claire's second cousin had already earned a few curious looks from the Vel'khanese, but most were too busy commenting on the water and otherwise scrutinizing the construction to give her more than a casual glance. But now that she had made herself the center of attention, and given them a much better look at her features, they found themselves taken aback. Lana even went as far as looking back and forth between the cervitaur and the snake-moose, as if scrutinizing the differences, even though Claire was in her humanoid form and completely covered in armour.

Octavia was surprised by the attention at first, but soon puffed up her chest with pride. Her giant assets responded in kind, jiggling with just enough force that one couldn't help but notice them. Large breasts were the norm for centaurs and centaurian subspecies, but Octavia's went a full step further. She was nearing the realm of competing with Arciel, even after Chloe had worked her demigod's magic.

"Finally! Someone is finally noticing my beauty!" she said, under her breath. "This might just be my lucky break! The elf looks a little too old, the Kryddarian is rather dashing, but already married, and the weirdo with the shell is out of the question but…"

A shiver ran up Claire's spine as she soon found her cousin's passionate gaze upon her, her eyes growing crazier and crazier with every moment that passed. She'd finally stopped expressing her thoughts aloud, but the rest of her body language said everything she needed.

Of course, she wasn't the only one to pick up on the change. She could tell that her father had noticed as well. And for a moment, just a teensy, forgettable moment, she felt like she caught a glimpse of amusement on his lips.

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But that was impossible.

He was never anything but cold.

"I believe you mentioned, during our previous night's dinner, that you would be creating a gate?" As if to prove it, he spoke in his usual, controlled demeanour.

"Yes, I shall," said Arciel. "I presume it is to be placed atop the platform?"

She turned to the elevated rock formation in the center of the square. Just one day prior, it had featured a massive fountain that had depicted the goddess of war. The relief in question had been temporarily relocated, returned to the castle's treasury until they could either return it or find it a brand new home.

"That is correct," said Virillius.

"Then so it shall be." Smiling, the vampire squid raised a hand just high enough for everyone to see, and gave her fingers a snap. The space in front of her distorted, twisting, turning, writhing as it was wrenched apart and forcibly turned into a wrinkle that connected two faraway places. It took almost thirty seconds, not because Arciel was incompetent, but because she added a thousand extra steps all for dramatic effect.

Even with the unnecessary flourish, the process was entirely effortless.

But of course it was.

It'd been a long time since Claire had last struggled with the simple task, and Arciel had just partaken in her blood just the other day. As a matter of fact, she sampled it at least once a week, more often to enjoy its flavour than to copy her abilities. The constant refreshes didn't hurt, of course, but neither were they useful. It wasn't Claire's fault. Her growth had certainly slowed, after she'd returned from Llystletein, but she continued to work on her skills and abilities. The inability lay with the Vel'khanese queen.

Her copies could only grow so powerful. The precise limit of their strength fluctuated with the amount of mana she invested, but even draining it all, she found that her blood shade was yet incomplete. After all, the original had an infinite supply of magic, and Arciel had to provide it from her very finite pool.

The limitation was key in battle, but effectively non-present outside of it. Hence, the portal's completion.

After just thirty seconds, the massive, ten-meter-tall gate opened to reveal the Vel'khanese capital beyond it. Like the Valencian portal, the one in Vel'khagan was placed in the center of town, just a stone's throw away from Claire's shop, Arciel's castle, and the beach all at once. The scene was accompanied by the squawking of gulls and the roaring of waves. That, and the humid heat pushed through by the billowing coastal wind.

"Woah," said Ragnar, quietly. "That's a crazy spell if I've ever seen one." He looked at Allegra, who only shook her head with a frown.

"I've seen several sketches in the reports, but this is the first time that I've laid eyes on Vel'khagan myself," said Virillius. "It is a beautiful city."

Arciel smiled. "It stands as our pride and joy, the crown jewel of our nation."

Virillius nodded. "I can see that it is truly handcrafted for cohabitation. There are as many aquatic routes as there are terrestrial ones."

"They're beautifully integrated," added Octavia. "I must speak to the artisan responsible for its design."

Arciel smiled softly. "Unfortunately, she has long passed, but I presume she would have been elated to hear your praise had she not."

"Oh… I'm sorry," said Octavia.

"There is hardly such a need. We were never once acquainted. Her time passed many moons before mine began."

"I don't think everything looks exactly the same anyway," said Sylvia. "I'm pretty sure we messed up the city really badly when we axed the old queen, and the gaps were kinda filled in with whatever."

"Did we? Seems unchanged to me," said Jules.

"I admit, the city no longer appears precisely as it did in the past. Many of the details have changed following our repairs, but we have succeeded in retaining the overall aesthetic."

"It's beautiful in either case," said Octavia. She shot Claire another vomit-inducing glance, begging for a compliment by batting her lashes, but Claire continued to pretend that she didn't exist.

"Its beauty shines greater from within." Arciel stepped through the portal. "Follow me. I shall demonstrate that which my nation has to offer."

Having long grown accustomed to teleporting all over, the Vel'khanese were the first to advance through the gate. They were followed soon after by Rubia and Virillius, both of whom were also accustomed to similar spells. Octavia was a little more hesitant, but she had no choice but to go through when the honour guard advanced. In reality, the soldiers served no purpose. Virillius didn't need a guard, and as far as they were concerned, the same could be said for "Claire." They were simply decorative pieces meant to demonstrate the Cadrian monarch's authority.

There was a small group of Vel'khanese officials already gathered on the other side of the portal. Like the Cadrians, they came with transport prepared, a series of boats that would be able to support even a moose-sized cervitaur.

A short, raven-haired lady with disappointing proportions emerged from one of the boats following the party's arrival. She wore a set of dark, priestly robes, alongside a giant pointy hat styled much like Arciel's own.

"Arciel, members of the northern brigade. Welcome home," she said. "As for the rest of you, good morning, and welcome to Vel'khan," she said. "I am Arceline Vel'khan, imperial bloodkraken, Arciel's aunt, and the nation's provisional administrator."

She briefly eyed Rubia before lifting her robes and performing a curtsy.

"Good morning. I am Virillius Augustus, King of Cadria, and one of the war goddess' aspects. Beside me is Claire, my daughter." He bowed while Rubia curtsied.

"Ragnar Unfrid, King of Kryddar," said the moth standing beside him.

"And I am Octavia Augustus, swifthoof cervitaur, and one of the nation's leading aestheticians."

Arceline smiled. "We have arranged for a number of transports that will assist you in navigating the city. As I believe Arciel has explained to you, we will be conducting a brief tour before moving into official talks. I hope to have the portal open for public use by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. We've long spread news of the joint summer festival, and expect a large number of people shortly inbound."

"You've long spread the news?" Virillius turned his gaze to Arciel.

"I was confident you would not refuse." She hid her smile behind the fan she'd pulled out of her sleeve. "It so happens that my contacts are familiar with your preferences."

Octavia backed off while the others were chatting and moved to Rubia's side. "Hey Claire. Long time no see."

Rubia didn't say anything out loud, but she returned the gaze and nodded.

"How have you been? I don't think I've seen you in months."

Rubia paused for a second before lightly twisting her lips into a smile.

"That's great, me too," said Octavia. "Say, you wouldn't happen to know anything about our Vel'khanese guests, have you? I assume your father is making you socialize with them?"

Rubia nodded before lifting her hands and emulating a series of fork and knife movements.

"You had dinner with them!?" Octavia was barely whispering. Her voice was loud enough that Virillius shot her a bit of a look, not that she'd noticed. "Does that mean you've seen the knight without his armour?"

Another nod.

"W-what does he look like? What species is he? Elf? Or maybe human? Oh my gosh, I hope he's human! Oh, but what if he's a lizardman or a large goblin? That might be fine too, I guess."

Rubia blinked.

"Oh, that's right. You can't talk." Octavia smiled wryly. "Something with a yes or a no then… Oh, I know! Is he handsome?"

Her conversation partner paused for a second before nodding with a radiant smile. She did think that Claire was fairly handsome, and she was happy that she was being praised.

The person in question, however, was nothing short of horrified. Even if it wasn't her intention, Rubia was feeding precisely the sort of fire that she never wanted to witness.

Their blood ties and long-standing relations certainly played key roles, but they weren't even the biggest drivers of her disgust.

At the very least, she wanted her admirers to be closer to sentient than not.

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