-The next day at 3 pm-

Richard was at his table, trying to get things straight. While he had been fighting Edward, someone had stolen the Seisan core. The more troubling thing was that nobody could find the trace that the cores left. Nobody stole cores for two reasons: one they were almost impossible to dislodge from their resting places and they left a trail that anyone belonging to the nation which the core belonged to, could follow. If there was someone out there with the ability to steal cores, then that would mean trouble for everyone. It was a universally recognized fact that all the core, once they were gathered, would grant the possesor's wish. A knock from the door and Dina, hale and hearty, walking in signaled some good news and more work. He had questions for her as well, not to mention this was the day he would have that friendly duel with the new Faedom ruler. "How are you doing?" Richard asked as Dina slung herself into her hammock. "Much better. The food and sleep helped a lot." "I never knew you could turn into a dragon." Richard said, eyeing her. Dina looked back at him, her black eyes holding his blood red ones. "The brightflame clan 's greatest mistake. We tried to tame dragon fire, a hotter fire that burns until there isn't anything left, but we failed to tame it and instead gained the ability to change ourselves into dragons." Richard nodded, satisfied with Dina's answer and replied, "is there anything else you haven't told me?" Dina shook her head in a negative way. "No. I only hid that from you because I wanted to surprise you when something like what happened at the ball last night." Richard sighed, relieved as he got up from his desk and grabbed his crossbows and sniper rifle, and strapped on his red armor. "We should go. We don't want to be late for the duel." Dina looked at him sourly as she slid from her hammock and buckled on her swords. "One of these days, you are going to fight someone and you won't win against them." Richard gave a daredevil smile as he boarded his war Leviathan, "Let's hope that day is still far off."

-In the Faedom-

Dame awoke in her bed on the Lightchaser, utterly famished. That ball had taken a lot out of her. First she and Celest had to scale a five hundred foot obelisk in dresses, and proceed to dislodge the core of Seisan without alerting everyone to their presence, and she didn't even want to remember those ten hours flight back to the safety of the Faedom. She and Celest, once they had gotten to the dock in Ainesgrove, had gone straight to their beds, completely ignoring Matthias and the core. Dame got up, changed from her dirt stained party dress back into her leather pants and long leather jacket, and walked back to the guest seats, where Matthias had sat, still as death, the Seisan core in his hands,during all the ride back to the Faedom. Matthias had been slowly and surely lulling the Seisan core to sleep. A dormant core couldn't leave a trail, but it was an extremely taxing thing to do, especially since Edward had used up a lot of Matthias's aura fighting Dina and Richard. Matthias had gotten up and stumbled his way to the grand cathedral where the Faedom core rested. Once he had set the Seisan core in a alcove next to the Faedom core, making sure it was securely in place, he slid the panel over the two dormant cores, hiding them from sight. Matthias lurched forward, exhaustion weighing him down. Dame and Celest had gotten to the temple just in time to see Matthias fall to his hands and knees. Dame rushed to his side and, with Celest's help, half helped half dragged him to a bed in the cathedral's emergency infirmary. "Thanks." Matthias said gratefully, his breathing ragged and worn. Dame sat on the edge of Matthias's bed and turned to Celest. "Celest, can you get us all something to eat. I think I can vouch that we could all do with some food after the exhausting night." Celest nodded and left the room, already talking to herself about what to get. Dame turned back to face Matthias, his eyes half-closed with exhaustion. "What did you want to talk to me about?" Dame asked. She had gotten quite good at reading Matthias over the months, even though Celest proclaimed that Matthias was as readable as a blank book. "Dame, you know about the Soraj trading council right?"

"Yeah. The nine leaders that govern all of Soraj and manage it's business and development. What about them?"

"I want you to infiltrate their meeting and steal the core." Matthias said, his eyes almost completely shut.

"What!? What do you mean steal the core!?" Dame asked, her voice rising with incredulity. "Do you even know that the core is there?"

"Yes. I didn't want Celest to know about this. This is your special mission." Matthias said, yawning and closing his eyes. Dame gave an exasperated sigh at Matthias's sleeping form. Dame heard a knock on the door as Celest came in, a bunch of sandwiches and drinks in her arms. "He's asleep already?" Celest said as she set the drinks and sandwiches on the table next to Matthias's bed. "Should we wake him?"

"No. He needs his sleep and we need to eat, so pass me a sandwich." Dame said, grabbing a bottle of water and drinking it. Matthias's eyes opened as Celest set a sandwich on his chest. He grabbed the sandwich and devoured it greedily, spewing crumbs all over the bed. "Celest. I have a job for you."

"Finish what's in your mouth before you talk. One of these days I need to teach you some basic manners." Celest said, brushing crumbs off of her pants. Matthias hurriedly finished chewing his sandwich, gulped it down, and continued speaking. "I need you to get the citizens in Ignation's capital to want peace, and want it so much that they are willing to revolt. I'm sure they don't want to kill just as much as Roxy did." Celest held up her hands, a panicked look on her face. "How do you think I can do this?"

"You have a way with people and peacefully convincing them." Matthias said.

"If you want this done so much, then why don't you do it yourself?" Celest said in a irritated tone.

"Because I will be in Glacius figuring how to take their core from their most holy temple." Matthias said calmly as he slid out of bed and grabbed a bottle of water. His bodysuit had changed to a plain white v-neck shirt, a voluminous black cloak around his shoulders, tough cotton pants covering his black legs. His feet were bare, a stark contrast to the grey of the cathedral stone. "I will be in Glacius for four weeks. If I can't get the core by then, I will come back here. If either of you finish your jobs, then please come back here and wait for me." Matthias said, walking out of the cathedral towards the Leviathan docks. Dame and Celest followed, each one thinking something different. Celest was trying to figure out the best way to get the massive amount of people in the Ignation capital to conform to the idea Matthias had charged her to deliver. Concern was chief among Dame's thoughts. The mysterious and disconcerting Edward Hyde could be anywhere and Matthias had been acting stranger and stranger, and there was his obsession with the cores. It was all one big mess. Dame hoped Matthias would pay her for this. "Hey Celesct. I'll drop you off at one of the border towns, that okay?" Dame asked as the two smugglers got into the Lightchaser. Celest nodded as she sat down and buckled up. Neither of them said it, but they both were worried about Matthias. He was playing a dangerous game, and the cards were stacked against him in every possible way. Dame cleared her mind of Matthias's she had a job to focus on. The Lightchaser's familiar musical hum as the engines roared to life helped her tear her mind away from Matthias. Matthias looked right from his Leviathan at the fast disappearing shape of the Lightchaser. He said a silent wish that both Celest and Dame would complete their tasks and stay in one piece. He sat still as he heard Hyde creep into his conscious mind. "Not yet." Matthias thought, forcing Hyde down with an effort. "We have to wait till we get to Glacius." Matthias felt Hyde settle down with a mental grumble. Hyde was impatient and wanted to be in control. Matthias settled down, maybe he could catch a nap before he let Hyde loose in the Glacius streets.

-Meanwhile at a Ignation border town-

Lucina was waiting, rather impatiently, for the figure the watch had spotted to get to the gates. Lucina's mouth curled with dislike as she saw the approaching figure of Celest. "What do you want with this place?" Lucina said, her tone as acidic as her poison coated daggers. "I want to see the sights of Ignation; this war is boring and I want some excitement." Celest said, walking through the open gate. Lucina gave a inward sigh of annoyance as she prepared to take the smuggler to the capital and make her someone else's business. The Leviathan to the capital was ready in minimal time and Lucina and Celest got on, each wanting to be free of the other as soon as possible.

-In a small border town of Glacius-

Matthias landed in a small town, far away form his goal of the High Temple in the capital of the thousands of islands connected by bridges of ice that made up the kingdom of Glacius. He had wanted to start in a isolated village like this, and his reason was quite simple: it was isolated from the main island where the capital was. Matthias's main goal was to get all the cores, and he knew that one day he would have to fight Richard and Dina for the last time and for him to be sure of victory he needed to figure out and control Edward Hyde. As he walked out of the Leviathan into the chill sea breeze of the Glacian coast, Edward made a mad grasp for control, trying to gain complete control of the body them both. Matthias relented control but made sure to not let Edward have absolute control. Matthias would sit back and observe Edward's actions and figure out what Edward wanted before taking back the reins. Edward dropped on all fours, sniffing vigorously, searching for something only the heightened senses of Matthias's rebuilt body could find. Once Edward had apparently found what he had wanted to find, he leaned back onto two legs and sprinted, black fire dancing around his fingers as he ran through the town, dancing and reveling in his freedom.

-Two weeks later in Soraj-

Dame walked through the hallowed halls of Soraj's high meeting hall, greeting officials as she walked through the doors that led to the grand meeting room. Calling it a room didn't do it much justice though as it was easily as big as the Seisan ballroom where the Seisan core had rested. The core itself rested about forty feet in the air embedded in a huge stone pillar, just as steep and smooth as the Seisan pillar. Dame had figured out a plan to get it, and this plan relied on quite a bit of stealth and just a little pit of well planned luck. The meeting dragged on, boring and tedious, just like all the other previous meetings. She was waiting for the end of the meeting, feigning interest in the details about Soraj's precarious wartime economy. It seemed an eternity until the meeting ended and the high council members got up and started to leave, two members lagging behind as usual. Dame walked out with the other members, sliding casually into the ladies bathroom and, after quickly scanning the room, turned invisible and walked out as another lady walked in. Dame was thankful that her invisibility was a complete invisibility, it made not only her own body but also her clothes, effects, and even her shadow invisible to the naked eye. She still had a body though, so she could bump into other people and magic that affected an area would still hit her, but every ability had a flaw. She slipped back into the room and silently crept toward the two remaining members, getting close enough to hear them, but not too close. "What should we do?" the member on the right said to the other member, concern clear in his voice. "Ignation is getting closer and closer to us, and we are slowly losing our technological advantage." Dame kept listening, all the while thinking of how any nation could be catching up to Soraj technology. The left member replied, is voice flinty and worn, as if he hadn't gotten much sleep. "Well, that's natural considering the previous leader of Ignation stole our core." Dame almost stumbled out of her hiding place, this new sending her mind reeling. It explained Ignation's immense success in the war with Glacius and how Seisan, a usually stubborn kingdom, bent so easily. If Ignation had Soraj's core, then their weapons and technology would be increasing by leaps and bounds, a factor strong enough to scare any kingdom, even Seisan. Dame stayed there, crouched behind a pillar as the two members finished their conversation and made for the doors. Dame walked slowly behind the two members and, after they had left, sprinted through the crowd, dodging bodies and running, still invisible, to the Lightchaser. She turned visible as she got to the cockpit, readying for takeoff, her destination the capital of Glacius: Kooriakus. She had to tell Matthias about this development, no matter what Matthias had told her. If Ignation had not only their core, but Soraj's as well, then whatever plan Matthias had would have to be reworked around this.

-Meanwhile in Ignation's capital-

Celest arrived in Ignation's capital, Novus Helios, with both excitement and worry in her leather boots. It was her dream to travel and see all of the world, and this might be the only time she would get to see Novus Helios in all its glory, but she also had a job to do: to sow the seeds of peacemaking in the capital's citizens. Celest looked up at the quickly darkening sky. She would have time to do the seed sowing tomorrow, but for now, she had time to sample the cuisine and check into an inn, maybe see some nearby sights. Celest made off, leaving Lucina behind, making use of every last bit of daylight she had. Celest didn't see Lucina slink away, melding into the shadows thanks to her stealth ability, or make her way to Richard's rooms to tell him of Celest's arrival. RIchard in his turn ordered Lucina to keep an eye on her and authorized her to attack the smuggler if she did anything untoward. Events started to move fast, Dame speeding toward Matthias, Hyde running wild in Glacius, and Celest, under the suspicious eye of Lucina, seeing the sights and sowing some seeds.