When Leon walked into Sid’s workshop, he found the place a hive of activity.  Dozens of people were running around, moving large boxes of raw materials into the workshop while taking entire suits of armor and piles of weapons out.  As far as Leon could tell, the suits were mostly intricate plate, though not quite as fancy as might be required for a unit of Imperial guards.  The weapons, meanwhile, were largely polearms—halberds taking the largest share, though spears, glaives, and all other manner of other weapons were included as well.

His entrance into the workshop seemed to take everyone off-guard as the workers and those supervising them paused a moment as if unsure how to acknowledge his presence.  However, Leon quickly waved his hand and said, “Don’t mind me,” getting them all moving again.

The brief pause in activity caused Sid to poke her head out from around a huge furnace and shout, “What the fuck’s going on out—oh!  Chief Leon!”  She’d clearly been working hard recently; her face was covered in ash and grime from working her forges and fatigue was evident on her features.  However, as soon as she saw Leon, her face immediately brightened up, and nearly all of her visible fatigue vanished.

“Sid!” Leon warmly replied.  “It’s been a while!”

“Months!” she complained as she fully walked around her forge.  “Couldn’t have stopped in here earlier, could you?”

“Busy?” Leon asked as he nodded to all the activity going on in her workshop.

Sid sighed.  “Not quite what I was talking about.  Come on in, let’s talk.”

She waved Leon further into the workshop away from the hubbub around the lift.  In the back of her workshop was a somewhat open area that Sid and her apprentices used as a kind of rest and relaxation area for when they find themselves with a bit of time, but not enough to leave the workshop for any meaningful length of time.  When Leon and Sid reached this area, Leon found that they had it all to themselves.

Sid collapsed into an old, rather beaten-up sofa that had been back there for several decades, and Leon pulled a chair out from a nearby desk.

“So,” he said as he adjusted himself to face her, “seems like business is booming.”

“Business is always booming for Heaven’s Eye,” Sid wearily replied.  “But in times of war, the work of a blacksmith is never done.”

“All that?” Leon asked as he jerked his head toward the front of the workshop.

Scowling deeply, Sid explained, “Replacements for the rank-and-file of the Sunlit Empire.  They’re expanding the size of their army and placed an emergency order with Heaven’s Eye for serviceable gear.  Given the time frame, nearly every blacksmith in Occulara has been working round the clock to get the order finished in time.”

“Damn.  How big was this order?”

“Enough arms and armor for a hundred thousand fresh recruits.”

“That’s… quite the expansion…” Leon murmured.  That was at least as large, if not larger, a force than the Ten Tribes’ central army.

Sid grumbled incoherently for a couple more seconds, though Leon heard the terms ‘fucking absurd,’ and ‘beneath me,’ during the rant.  With a groan, Sid complained a little louder, “I should be working on better things, Leon!  Armor fit for a King!  Not shitting out a few hundred suits of plate every week!”

Leon grinned, seeing an opening.  “Take it as a compliment to your skills,” he said.  “A mortal blacksmith would need weeks if not longer for a single suit of plate; you’re churning out quality suits by the hundreds in that time.”

Sid glared at him.  “It’s easy enough with earth magic.  Have you been practicing?”

Leon anxiously cleared his throat and looked everywhere but at Sid.  “So, a-anyway,” he sputtered, “I was thinking—or rather, I have a project that, uh—”

“Leon,” she sternly interjected.  “You haven’t been practicing, have you?”

“I practice!” Leon insisted.  He called upon his humble mastery of earth magic and slowly bent the floor tiles into a pillar about a foot wide that came up to about his knees.  “See?”

“A fourth-tier mage wouldn’t even celebrate that level of skill.”  Sid stared at him with all the intensity of a disappointed teacher.  “Leon, why haven’t you been practicing?  Just a few years ago, you were so motivated!  What’s happened?”

Leon silently groaned and slouched into his chair.  “What hasn’t?  Became a Chief in Heaven’s Eye, got married again, started tons of projects that demand my personal attention, ascended to the ninth-tier…  I barely sleep and there’s still not enough time in the day for everything.  This is part of why I’ve come today—other than checking in on an old friend, of course.”

“Uh-huh.”  Sid was the very picture of unimpressed.  Before Leon could truly get into why he’d come, she didactically stated, “A good earth mage can manipulate stone like water.  A great earth mage can manipulate metal in just about any way they please.  If you ever want to leave the ranks of amateur blacksmiths, you’re going to have to become great.”

“There’re few things I’d rather be, honestly,” Leon said.  “Unfortunately, those few things are quite time-consuming.”

Sid didn’t take his tacit invitation to respond, choosing instead to just stare at him—though her disappointment softened a bit, to his immense relief.

“So, look,” Leon continued, “the Director and I have had… a private project going on for some time.  Well, a few private projects, actually, but there’s one in particular that I was hoping to get your opinion on.  First, though, I’d like to get your honest opinion of what’s going on in the south.”

As he spoke, Leon summoned a privacy spell and laid it down on the stone pillar he’d conjured.  With a bit of applied magic power, the spell activated, ensuring that anyone who wanted to listen in on his and Sid’s conversation would have to work quite hard to do so.

Sid, however, began sitting up straighter as Leon spoke and looked downright anxious as Leon activated the spell.  “I… I have responsibilities up here,” she said.  “I can’t just… what are… why?”

“Please, just humor me.  I don’t want to create any problems for you, and no matter what, you can always turn my offer down without any fear of repercussions.  I value your work and our friendship, Sid, so when this project came up and called for the best… well, the person I thought of was you.”

“It must be quite the job if you’re being so complementary.”

Leon looked aggrieved for a moment before smiling.  “I suppose I need to work on buttering people up, don’t I?”

“Do so; I quite enjoy a good buttering.”  She flashed him a teasing smile and Leon made the choice not to pursue that line of conversation any further.  “I have no strong feelings about what’s going on in the south.  I’d rather not waste all my time on designing weapons and armor for a bunch of grunts, but it’s necessary right now, isn’t it?  Why?”

“I have a lot of people who need weapons and armor.  Thousands.  I have many blacksmiths already working on that, but I want someone I trust to make the good stuff, the gear for the best.  The best needs the best.  And you’re the best.”

“Yes, yes I am,” Sid quipped as she shifted around and threw her legs up on the sofa.  “What are you expecting from ‘the best’?  Do you want me to make a hundred suits?  A thousand?  Ten thousand?  And the weapon, too?  I can’t do that quickly to the standard I demand of myself.”

“A thousand to start, and you’ll have the time you need; they already have good gear that you’ll be upgrading.  I will also have some of the best metallurgists and materials researchers on the plane working with you.  Even Titanstone could be on the table.”

Sid’s eyes about bulged out of their sockets; she suddenly shot up and stared at Leon in disbelief.  “Titanstone?”

Leon nodded.  “And more, besides.  I have a personal project that I need help with, too.”

“Your sword…?”

Leon nodded again.

Sid sighed as she leaned back again, though she remained upright.  “What are the terms?” she asked.

“You can stay here or move to a new location,” Leon said.  He paused a moment before glancing back at the workers still moving Sid’s armor and weapons out of her workshop.  He checked his privacy ward, ensured it was still working, and then leaned in.  “I can trust you, Sid, can’t I?  What we’re going to be doing is a massive secret.  For now, anyway…”

Sid leaned forward again and whispered back, “Yes, Leon, you can trust me.”

“Heaven’s Eye is helping to mediate a truce between the Sky Devils and the Ilian and Sacred Golden Empires.  They’re meeting in Occulara right now.  If some kind of peace is established, I’d want you to move to Kataigida ideally, but you could stay here in Occulara if you wanted.”

Sid stared at him like he was crazy, her expression frozen on her face.  After Leon finished speaking, a long silence followed as she processed what he said.

“Are you fucking joking?” she finally asked.

“No,” he answered.  “That’s where I’ve been these past few months: Kataigida.  This peace has been my personal project for a while.”

“Is this why the Lord Protector and the Grand Druid made those announcements recently?” Sid asked, realization dawning on her face.

“Yes.  A show of commitment.”

Sid frowned and sat back.  She stared at Leon for a long moment, then said, “I’m not doing a fucking thing until the paper’s fucking signed and made public.  Working with the Sky Devils could get me executed.  Until I know for sure that it isn’t illegal, then no fucking chance.”

Leon couldn’t deny feeling a little disappointed, but he smiled and bowed his head slightly.  “Perfectly understandable.  Expect me once this peace works out.”

“Did you hit your head recently?  You should get yourself checked out by a good healer.”

“I’m fine,” Leon said with a dismissive wave of his hand.  “You’ll see soon enough.  Anyway, I’ve taken up enough of your time.  Don’t forget what we spoke about, but if it’s all right, don’t go spreading it around, yeah?”

Sid nodded, though her look of concern and slight accusation remained.  Such was how Leon left her, and when he stepped into the magic lift and began descending, he groaned in disappointment.

’Shit, shit, shit!’ he silently repeated.  He’d been hoping Sid would sign on a little easier.  He could understand why she refused, but after the string of good luck he’d been having, he hadn’t been able to stop himself from expecting to walk away with another victory.  It seemed gear for the Tempest Knights and help with his Adamant sword would have to either wait or proceed without his most trusted smith.

When he arrived on the ground floor and was greeted by his entourage, things didn’t improve.  Gaius was there, a worried look on his face as he stood by Leon’s wheelless carriage.

“Leon!” he called out as Leon exited the building.  “We have a problem…”

---

Leon stormed into the sitting room, his heart racing, his eyes wide, and his aura roiling.  Upon seeing the two waiting for him, he slammed the door shut behind him, waiting only long enough to ensure that his privacy wards had activated, and said, “Did I hear right?  The Sunlit Emperor is on his way here?”

“Yes,” Anastasios said.  He’d been pouring himself a drink and chatting with the Grand Druid while waiting for Leon.  A smile hadn’t been on his face, but even his stony look darkened as he confirmed what Leon had been told by Gaius less than an hour ago.

“Does he know what we’re doing?” Leon demanded as he began pacing by the window.

“Hard to say,” the Grand Druid acknowledged.  “We keep an eye on the boy as best as we can, but he’s a paranoid bastard, and getting access to the reports he’s given isn’t easy.”

Leon scowled.  “Coming to Occulara now of all times can’t be a coincidence.”

“It could be because you’re back,” Anastasios pointed out.  “Now that you and young Princess Cassandra are in the city and not being too discrete, he may see this as the only chance to come and visit.”

“We also publicly pulled support from the war in the south,” the Grand Druid darkly added.

“Is the Sunlit Emperor coming in force, then?” Leon asked.

“No Emperor travels without force,” Anastasios pointed out.  “Already, I’ve received reports of at least a dozen arks, six of them large enough to classify as war arks, nearing the border.  The Emperor will be here in just a couple days, assuming they don’t stop for any reason.”

“Then it seems we’ll need to prepare…” Leon said.  “Under no circumstances can he learn about the peace negotiations.”

“No, absolutely not,” the Grand Druid agreed.  “If he does, it could mean war with us, not just with the… Ten Tribes.”

“And with the Keeper…” Anastasios reminded them.  “I don’t want to fight the Keeper.  I respect him quite a bit.  We rarely see eye-to-eye, but I still don’t want to fight him.”

“Then we’d better not give them reason to fight us,” Leon said.

“Hmm…” the Grand Druid hummed in thought.  “I’ve given some thought to this, Leon.  How long until the next batch of Hesperidic Apples are ready?”

Leon gave her a rather disbelieving look.  “A few months; why?”

“You share them with your family and retainers, do you not?”

A frown spread across Leon’s face as he realized what the Grand Druid was driving at.  “Yes, and I intend to continue doing so.”

“Leon…” the Grand Druid said almost condescendingly, “I understand that you’re new to this, but, to be honest, you need to be stronger.”  She got up to her feet and walked over to him, taking his hands in hers despite his clear lack of desire.  “A ninth-tier mage cannot parley with a tenth equally.  We can sit here and discuss all we want, but in the end, it’s strength that matters the most.  You have the Ten Tribes behind you.  You have me and Anastasios behind you, and our Empires.  You have my Cassie, your retainers, and Heaven’s Eye.  Your allies are formidable and your followers strong.  Now you need to get stronger.  When the next batch of Hesperidic Apples ripens, you need to eat them.  You need to reach the tenth-tier as soon as you can.”

Anastasios grinned playfully and added, “Until you do, you can never truly stand amongst us as an equal, can you?”

Leon spared him a glare but didn’t argue.  He could see their argument and even agreed with it in principle.  However, to take away the allotment of Hesperidic Apples from his retainers for this… he wasn’t sure he was willing to go that far.  At least, it was a difficult decision.  As far as he was concerned, those apples were already their property.  To take them away even before they’d been given out just felt dishonest.

And he knew that it was probably the right thing to do, as bad as it felt.  He could even imagine most of his people agreeing with the decision, however begrudgingly.

“We don’t know how many it might take,” Leon groused.  “I’m still relatively new into ninth-tier…”

“All the more reason to get stronger, faster,” the Grand Druid said.  “How much will you worry about our degenerate colleague once you’re of equal power with him?”

“Quite a bit; a tenth-tier mage can cause a lot of damage even if I can match him pound-for-pound.”

“Something you can’t do right now,” Anastasios said.

‘But Iron-Striker can,’ Leon thought, though the thought of relying upon the former Thunderer deepened his scowl considerably.  The thought of delegating a fight that important made him feel almost physically sick.

“Just… think about it, Leon,” the Lord Protector said.  “We don’t even know why that boy’s coming here; could be nothing at all.  Could be he’s angrier at us than you.  Let’s not assume anything until he’s actually here.”

“But we should still prepare as best we can,” the Grand Druid said.  “Let’s start now; we don’t have much time!”

---

The Sunlit Emperor couldn’t keep the smile off his face as his ark sped toward Occulara.  He stared out the window into the distance, his tenth-tier gaze easily picking the city out at the altitude they were flying.  His small armada of arks was being escorted by a matching flight of Ilian arks, but not a single one of them merited so much as a glance when the object of his desire was in sight.

It had been a long time since he’d visited Occulara.  His mother had once taken him on a journey through the great central sea and then up the Scamander River.  He clearly remembered sailing up that river, awed at the sight of the forest of golden towers surrounding him.

The sight was no longer as awe-inspiring.  If anything, it angered him to no end.  Such power, such might, all of it his by right, and all of it turned against him.

But that would change.  Perhaps not in days, weeks, or even years, but that would change soon enough.  The key was in that city, finally resurfaced after several months spent somewhere even his agents couldn’t find.

Leon Raime, and all his deliciously awakened power.  Sunlit found himself almost salivating at the thought of meeting the boy again.  He despised vampires and their ways, but if getting what he wanted involved splitting the boy open and drinking every drop of blood in his body, Sunlit would do it in a heartbeat and savor every swallow.

Of course, the inconsistent shit stains were there—the Lord Protector and Grand Druid weren’t just going to let him have Leon, he’d have to be cleverer about this.  He was fortunate that they were stupid enough to give him just cause.  Leon, too, had given him all the pretext he needed to come to the city.

And he wasn’t going to leave until he had what he wanted…

—-

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