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29th of May, 1971 – Hogwarts, Avalon

Emily POV

"Welcome to this year's Hogwarts Duelling Competition!" the seventh year Hufflepuff announced with cheer, a cheer returned tenfold by the packed crowd in the stands. Row after row was filled by students, by parents and by those fortunate enough to be favoured by Slughorn.

The Quidditch pitch was transformed into a duelling arena about a hundred square metres in area with twice as large an area around it containing rocks, bushes and a small pond.

The students would find themselves able to use whatever they wanted from their surroundings in order to win. It was markedly different to the duelling competitions she'd participated all those years ago and she thought it was for the better.

After all, the best wizards and witches used their surroundings to the best of their abilities.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaand, for the first time in almost five years, Her Majesty the Queen, His Majesty the King have come to watch this year's competitors!" the cheer they received was near riotous and they dutifully waved to the adoring crowd.

It was useful to show themselves once in a while to the public at events like this.

It reminded them of their existence, it reminded them of safety and security they provided amidst the darkness that strangled most of Europe, a darkness that was ravaging the European nobility who supported the Ravenites.

"They love you, Your Graces." Slughorn said with a beaming smile as he clapped just as the others did. "The heart grows fonder with absence as they say" Slughorn chuckled.

Emily eyed the man for a moment as the cheers and claps died down.

The past few years had gone well for the man. You could see it physically too. The man had grown larger since her days at Hogwarts and she could see that he was too indulgent in the prestige and benefits that came with the title 'Headmaster of Hogwarts'.

Still, she couldn't say that the man wasn't still capable. Hogwarts was only third to the Pandrosion and SIMS now, the other eleven Great Schools trailed behind them.

"Then it is best that we stay as absent as possible." Atticus said with a polite smile to Slughorn as they took their seats in their sectioned off area in the top row of the stands.

Emily tapped Atticus leg, a light smile on her face before she turned to address Slughorn "Don't mind my husband, he's grown a humorous side over the years."

Slughorn chuckled before his eyes flittered across the faces of both her and Atticus "Age will do that to you." Slughorn commented with a trailing chuckle though his subtle curiosity was not unhidden. To neither her or Atticus.

They knew full well that their youthfulness was getting more and more noticed. Still looking like they were in their mid to late twenties whilst they were approaching their fiftieth birthdays tended to do that.

"You learn to take things a lot more lighter." Slughorn said as he folded his hands across his large belly, a mild look of fond exasperation on his face.

"Kids these days. They tend to think they're the centre of the world and feel so strongly about everything." Slughorn shook his head.

Atticus smiled before he veered his gaze towards the competitors who would be first up. "That has always been the case" Atticus said to Slughorn. "And it is a good thing too for it is the younger generations to provide the greatest impetus for change."

Slughorn eyed her husband with surprise on his face before he smiled gently, a throaty sound escaping from his mouth "Quite." Slughorn said with a serious nod.

There was a lull for a few moments before she spoke up "Who do you think will qualify for the final rounds?"

Slughorn's eyes lit up and began to enthusiastically detail the competitors.

There were thirty-two students competing for the five spots reserved for Hogwarts students. It wasn't a straight out knockout kind of competition. Not completely.

The scoring criteria looked at creativity and at ingenuity as well.

Those who progressed to the semi-finals would all be automatically through to the inter-school duelling competition where they would be competing against studetns from SIMS, the Pandrosion, Mahoutokoro, Uagadou and a select few others from Ilvermony or Castelobruxo invited to take part of the inter-school competition.

Those who knocked out of the previous rounds today would have a chance to earn the final spot in a straight knockout…the best of the rest.

Slughorn was enthusiastic about a number of students, many of whom were Slytherins and the offspring of her most loyal. Carrow, Shafiq, Malfoy and Ms Black were the best of the Slytherins with only a few challengers from the other Houses.

Amelia Bones of Hufflepuff, Gideon and Fabian Prewett of Gryffindor, Frank Longbottom of Gryffindor and surprisingly Xenophilius Lovegood of Ravenclaw were the best of the other Houses.

Atticus' eyes showed glimmer of interest when Slughorn described Lovegood's strengths in charms and unconventional unpredictabilityand she sent a note of amusement through their bond and she got back what she could only describe as 'So what' from him that also rang of excitement.

He had a strange fascination with the family and it wasn't hard to notice that he was clearly excited when Pandora begun dating the year-younger boy.

Well it wasn't completely strange.

It wasn't hard to notice that there was something about them that was unique. The Quibbler was startling accurate in many things they wrote about, even foreseeing Illos once you stopped and actually read between the lines of they wrote about.

The family were a family of Seers, that was quite apparent.

…and extremely eccentric. She wondered if it was their eccentricity that enhanced their strange Sight or if it was the other way 'round. Likely it was the other way around. They were all in a way touched by whatever it was.

Every single one of them.

She remembered all too well of that singular truth when she met her first Lovegood decades ago at her first Beltane.

Soon enough the first duels went apace. Most accounted themselves quite well, especially the fourth year – James Ricard – a squibborn orphan who faced Shafiq and lasted nearly ten minutes before he was swept aside.

Given that the competition was to be completed today, round after round, the duellists were cautious and preserved their magic as much as they could.

Of course, this was a risky gambit since all of the duellists were the best amongst the student body. There were some early rounds duels that definitely sapped some after they weren't able to knock them out quickly.

Most of the duellists were capable of at least some wandless magic – there was a Hogwarts class to teach it – and they didn't disappoint as they used it in their duels, often banishing or summoning or even disillusioning themselves or their conjurations.

Though the stand outs through the first and second round were certainly Black, Malfoy and Bones. Longbottom was capable but he was unlucky to face Malfoy in the second round and exited after giving himself a good accounting despite his youth.

Bones had the strength of magic and skill to become a very formidable witch if she honed her magic and her aptitude in battle magicks.

Black, Emily mused to herself as the girl began to walk up to her position in the arena, however…well she was quite something.

Ruthless, fast and efficient, she was a marvel with a wand. It seemed like she has indeed improved over the past few years and the power boost she got from her fourth magical maturity certainly helped.

"And now, in the first match of the Quarter Finals, please give it up for Ms Bellatrix Black and Mr Fabian Prewett!" the young announcer called out and the crowd roared in cheers, feeling that they were soon to witness a fascinating spectacle.

Her eyes fell towards the area in the stands where the Black family were congregated.

The Prewett twins were powerful – probably Sorcerer level once they matured out – but they were disappointing in their scope of magic despite their talent.

Slughorn had said that they were more focused on entertaining and finding new ways of using common – especially prank – spells in their casting.

Which they both certainly did in the previous two rounds.

"It looks like Mr Prewett will take this more seriously." Atticus commented as he watched with interest. Slughorn hummed with a serious nod.

"The Prewett twins have a bit of history with Ms Black." Slughorn said with a grimace. Slughorn noticed her curious look and expanded

"She retaliated quite harshly after one of their pranks in their third years and got worse after Ms Black put Gideon Prewett in the hospital wing after badly harming the boy in a duel in their fourth years. Since then we've avoided pairing them as much as we could." Slughorn said with distaste.

"In truth, I'm quite glad all three are graduating this year…for different reasons of course." Slughorn added before going quiet.

Emily sat back in her chair, mulling over the Headmaster's words whilst the two duellists were priming to start the duel. Her eyes observed the pair below and she could see the agitation in the magic of both though they were different significantly.

Prewett was all agitation, excitement and grim anger whilst Black was significantly darker in her emotions. All fury, all sadistic glee and all excitement stormed within her. It reminded Emily of her younger self.

As soon as the referee commenced the battle to begin, a flurry of spells rippled out of their wands, spells that raced and tore away at the arena in a way that hadn't been done in the previous rounds. Neither were holding back.

Black danced around the spells that could incapacitate her and it was clear to see she loved it. She moved like a viper, her returns sharp and fast, faster than the spells that Prewett flung at her but his defence was still solid enough. For now.

"She's definitely talented." Atticus commented with curiosity.

"She is." Emily agreed. This is the first time that Atticus was physically seeing her fight in any detail. She'd seen her in the junior divisions a few times.

"But she lacks control." Emily added. Whilst she's markedly improved her technique and grown more powerful, she let herself consumed by the battle.

This was something that was apparent even from a young age and…unfortunately…it seemed like it was getting worse, she mused as she watched Black cast progressively darker and darker spells.

There was, not so much as rules against dark magic as there was rules against spells that caused permanent injury.

Over the years, she's gotten most magicks previously classified as dark downgraded in illegalness though there were of course heavy penalties attached to the use of such magicks against civilians or against the police force.

With unwilling blood magic, sacrificial necromancy and other such magicks affecting form, function and free will carrying death sentences.

It also, of course, necessitated having a police force capable of such magicks and understanding it which wasn't a huge problem given that many over the years studied at SIMS before becoming an Auror where it was a requisite to study at least two semesters of the Dark Arts.

Under the watchful gaze of under the Director of the MLE, one of her most loyal and competent people.

In any case, she refocused and lost herself to the haze of the battle as Prewett continued to offer resistance to her barrages.

"Which she will be." Atticus idly stated, looking completely unconcerned. The referee shouted out warnings to Black who seemed to heed enough of it that she stopped casting the more dangerous spells.

"The Illosian Guard will demand it from her."

"That's right" Slughorn perked up, excitement once more filtering through the deep look of concern he previously had as he watched the duel. He'd always been a soft man at heart and duels of this kind unsettled the man.

"The first Avalonian to be accepted into the Illosian Guard." Slughorn remarked before continuing "A prestigious honour. I hear her family was very satisfied with that."

Emily doubted they were satisfied with her choice and her admittance to the Guard. It meant that Bellatrix Black was out of their control…not that she was much in their control anyway.

But she was powerful and promised to be High Sorcerer level which they could have used to project their family's power. And now…well, as an Illosian Guard, her first and foremost duty will be to her and Atticus and Illos.

A factor that was not done without good reason. Atticus had Seen Black in his visions and in the most likely timelines, she was a steadfast and loyal subject to Atticus but mostly to her specifically.

And in the timelines where she was kept at a distance, she grew more and more of a problem that necessitated in her being put away to prison which further broke her down into severe mental imbalance.

A large crash echoed from the arena and turned their attentions once more to the field.

Black had created uprooted one of the larger rocks and crashed it towards Prewett who was now on the back foot after having scrambled out of the way and now was pinned by the vicious barrage of spells Black sent his way.

Yes...she thought.

It would be a waste for Black to go into the dark without blooming to her full potential. Even if she thought it was curious that Black had such a deep…fascination with her.

Which was amusing considering all of the opportunities Black had to speak with her directly, the events and so on, Black never once spoke with her let alone approached her.

Black finally broke Prewett's defences and after launching the boy off of his feet and summoning his wand, the referee declared her as the winner.

The cheers were riotous and Black lapped up as she heaved in and out. Prewett did give her a good challenge. Black clearly turned her gaze towards the top of the stands, to where Emily and Atticus was sitting and bowed deeply towards them.

Atticus stood up and clapped his hands, an act that delighted the young Black. Emily stood up and did the same, an act that made the young Black daughter visibly flush in delighted embarrassment.

"Do I need to be concerned wife?" Atticus said with a mild smile and his words caused Slughorn to choke on air.

Emily raised an eyebrow, a smile dancing on her lips. "Maybe" she said airily with notes of dismissiveness in her tone and Atticus chuckled at it.

She would be lying if she didn't think that Black's magic and her skill wasn't unappealing. There was something magnificent about her dark and chaotic magic. The look on Atticus' face said as much that he knew what she was thinking.

The rest of the duels proved to be not as entertaining as Prewett v. Black had been but nonetheless they were good duels, certainly for their age.

Black, Bones, Malfoy and Gideon Prewett all progressed towards the semifinals, automatically qualifying for the inter-school competition and the final between Bones and Black was another highlight though a little more controlled, and Black ended up winning the Hogwarts competition.

She and Atticus made their way towards the podium where the teachers and the four finalists stood with Black at the front. Both her and Atticus held four medallions in their hands, one gold, one silver and two copper and Atticus, after handing his medallions to Prewett and Bones, began speaking with the two students.

"Congratulations, Heir Malfoy" Emily said as she handed over the medallion to the young Malfoy. The boy bowed deeply from the hips.

"Thank you, Your Grace." The boy said with calm respect before he eyed his medallion, a slight look of displeasure creeping on his face. Becoming third clearly dissatisfied him and it should. Knowing how much his father has invested in the boy's education, he should have been able to beat Bones.

Granted, Bones and Malfoy had been well matched but the young Hufflepuff should not have been able to trick Lucius at the end as well as she did.

His father would likely point that out anyway later today.

Emily turned her gaze towards the young Black girl who seemed to be tense whilst staring at a spot on the ground, unwilling to pick up her gaze.

She had a mane of striking black hair, an angular face – half obscured – with prominent cheekbones that bore all the aristocratic traces of Druella Rosier and that of Cygnus Black. She was a beautiful young woman, worthy of the magic she possessed.

She walked a few steps towards her, the medallion in hand. "Ms Black." Emily said and the girl seemed to stiffen before she, almost mechanically, picked up her head.

Her violet eyes were almost storming and it bore similarities to a cyclone over the Pacific she once watched rage from high above the Earth.

Excitement, trepidation, fear, yearning for approval. Emily almost winced from the assault of powerful emotions. She'd met thousands of people over the decades.

People who hated her. People who loved her. People who feared her. People who trusted her. People who were jealous of her. People who wanted to impress her.

But never someone like Bellatrix Black who seemed to yearn with her entire being for Emily's approval. She was quite sure she did nothing for Black to earn from her such…need.

It was…new.

Useful though, she supposed with an idle thought.

"Your Grace." Bellatrix Black managed to say with a strange quietness in her voice, so different from the imperious and ruthless young woman she'd been throughout the competition.

Emily smiled at the young woman "You have impressed me, Ms Black. You have greatly improved since the last time I saw you." Emily said as she handed over the medallion to Black.

Emily felt Black explode with relief and delight through her magic, it was almost suffocating to feel how much the young girl felt…and how deeply.

"You remember?" Black said with a kind of innocent awe that made Emily feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"I do." Emily said with a smile as she pushed away the discomfort "I am gladdened to see that you've maintained your passion for duelling and magic. It will suit you well once you're at the academy."

Black's smile could have lit up the Great Hall and from what she sensed from Malfoy, incredulousness and confusion, it seemed like it wasn't something normal to see.

"Of course!" Black said quickly before continuing "I do nothing else but to improve! Not after watching your duels countless times and seeing memories of you and the King using magic like no one else!" The cycling emotions emanating from her was disorientating, even more so when a deep sense of mortification took hold of her.

"Your Grace." Black nearly snapped her head down into a bow, her voice nearly quivering as shame began to fill her likely because she thought she spoke wrongly.

"Ms Black." Emily began and the young unstable woman was still tight as a rope under tension "Bellatrix." Emily said, this time gentler and it did the trick as Bellatrix raised her head and stared at Emily with wide eyes.

"I appreciate your candour." Emily said with a faint smile and she felt Bellatrix's tremendous relief as much as she could see it on her face.

The girl's comment about watching memories of her and Atticus did not surprise her one bit. In fact, she preferred it. People had short memories. Even magicals once enough time had passed. Storing memories of their capabilities and passed down generations would do well to make people pause in their plots.

And Emily supposed it would inspire others to try and reach the pinnacle they have set.

"And my husband and I appreciate those talented ones who value self-improvement and it is clear that you will fit into the Illosian Guard well."

Bellatrix smiled once more, her smile struggling to be contained in her face.

"I knew that it was the only real option for me!" Bellatrix enthused. Emily silently thought to herself that Bellatrix could do nearly anything she wanted. Smart, capable and a knack for magic that a fraction of the magical population possessed.

Emily smiled at Bellatrix. Well, who was she to refuse someone who clearly wanted to serve her. "Good." Emily said as she reached out with the medallion and Bellatrix gingerly took the medallion out of Emily's hand before holding it with both her hands as if it was the most precious thing she owned, could ever own.

"The Illosian Guard are the best of the best when it comes to combat magicks." Emily pinned the young woman with a firm but not ungentle look "Learn from them, listen to them and you will find yourself reach heights you did not think possible."

Bellatrix once more cycled through an array of emotions before she settled on fierce determination "I will not let you down, my Queen." She said with her head bowed, her voice laced with reverence and a kind of possessiveness.

It wasn't long after that the guests departed and the students returned to the school leaving behind only a select few teachers, Slughorn, Atticus and a couple of their guards to restore the Quidditch pitch after Atticus had offered to assist.

Too bad one of the teachers was Charlus Potter. He was the Defence Professor, her old teaching position, for the past twelve years. She had to work to keep the disdain off of her face. Disdain that was certainly not all that hidden from his face.

Even after all of these years of peace wasn't enough for the man to get over all that has happened. It was almost as if he was a jilted lover.

Only…if anyone had the right to feel that way, it was certainly Atticus whom the man had consistently betrayed over the decades because of his inability to separate away his so-called morality over what was clearly needed to be done.

It was men like Charlus who were the most infuriating to deal with…men of so called principles who would let the world burn away as long as they kept their hands clean. Men who would rather see her and Atticus dead for pushing the magical world to heights hitherto never seen before simply because he didn't like them personally.

Soon enough, with hers and Atticus' help, the Quidditch pitch was restored.

"Headmaster." Charlus called out and Slughorn turned the man curiously. "I'm going to head back inside." The man said gruffly before he turned on his heel and walked away without once acknowledging her or Atticus.

The two other professors were appalled at the rudeness of Potter and Slughorn looked equally appalled but also concerned. "I apologise about Mr Pott-"

"Don't be Horace." Atticus assured Slughorn with a kind smile

"People are free to their opinions."

'As long as they were opinions' Emily thought, a dark look flashing briefly.

That seemed to settle the man and it wasn't long before Slughorn was escorting them towards the gates. They bid Slughorn goodbye before they walked towards the skymobile which was descending down and that would take them to Morfay station.

The station was heavily warded against any kind of transportation with only a few floo terminals. They could take a portal home but they were in no rush to return.

As the skymobile rose in the air, she turned to Atticus. He was gazing out of the window as his head lay against the back of the seat, a considering look on his face.

"They'll be here in two days." Atticus said suddenly without taking his gaze away from the outside as they travelled over Morfay towards the station.

She knew immediately it was Gaius and the others coming back to Earth from Celestis. They were slated to return this week based on when they departed.

"They're pushing the ship." Atticus turned to her, a warm smile on his face. "They're keen to get home and see their families."

She hummed noncommittally, her finger tapping against her thigh, a tapping that stopped when Atticus placed his hand on top of hers.

She sighed slightly as she felt him caress the back of her hand, care and affection from their bond soothing her soul even more so than his hand did.

A year and longer he would be away.

Tens of thousands of light years where even magic had difficulty reaching.

She regretted not pressing for Quantum Entanglement Communication stations to be created along the path to Celestis, concerns about the Covenant or other aliens discovering them be damned.

"I'll have Pierce notify the families when we return." Emily stated, choosing to reign in her unhappiness about his leaving in three months' time.

Atticus nodded affirmatively and there were a few minutes of silence as the station drew nearer.

"Bellatrix is unbalanced." She commented. Very unbalanced to the point that it was probable she was never going to last a month with the academy.

The girl was all emotion, seesawing emotion that was disturbing in its intensity and how quickly it changed. Atticus hummed before he sighed "She is."

He met her gaze "If she isn't treated, she will continue to get worse."

Emily was silent for a few moments as she eyed him intensely. "You have a cure." She merely stated already knowing that he had it from the way he spoke.

"I do." Atticus confirmed before his hand went into his pocket and a small vial emerged. "She has a severe case of bipolar disorder, one that is made worse by her strong attunement to the Black family magic which is volatile to say the least."

He floated the vial towards her and she grabbed from the air. "That will permanently cure the chemical imbalance in her brain. It won't affect her personality nor her impressions" Atticus paused for a moment as he shot her a look of pleased amusement and she knew that he was hinting towards Bellatrix's irrational devotion.

"But it will stabilise her."

Emily looked at the vial intently before she pocketed it away and Atticus spoke again. "She will be your Parelius, Emily." And she turned to him. His hand rose from atop hers and gently stroked her cheek with the back of his hand.

"Your most devoted…" Atticus smiled wryly "My competition." Before he lost the smile and looked at the vial "And that will secure that devotion forevermore."

She took his hand from her cheek and brought it to her face before she kissed it tenderly. It was a marvellous gift. There were plenty who were loyal to her, devoted even. The Illosian Guards were all but practically willing to die for them.

But Parelius was special. He was absolute in his loyalty to Atticus and his moral compass was virtually non-existent when it came achieving Atticus' and Illos' goals.

Highly capable, powerful and unbreakably loyal of their free will was difficult to find. Not even Rasmussen Lestrange could be trusted with the lion share of their secrets like Parelius could be and was entrusted with.

Even Gaius, Atticus' own former apprentice, raised in Illos, would doubt them if he ever knew the extents of which they were going to secure the magical world.

And now after properly speaking with Bellatrix, she believed Atticus was right. She was going to be her confidante. Her own Parelius.

"Thank you." She said sincerely and affectionately with a fond smile after as she stopped kissing his hand.

-Break-

29th of May, 1971 – New Norgrost, Illos

Netmuk Forgeback POV

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! TSHHISSSS! CLANG! CLANG! TSHHISSS!

A hungry smile bloomed on his bearded and aged face as they walked down the Street of the Fourteen Forges, the sounds of hammers striking metal akin to the music of the Gods amidst the dewy morning air and he could hear his people sing that music with their sweet and blood.

It roused the drum of his heart's beat into an electric storm that long ago he thought permanently extinguished.

Smoke billowed from atop of the buildings from chimneys, thick grey and black smoke that churned and blew out before being vanished away mere seconds afterwards by the array of runes on tall spokes that ensured the mountain air remained clean.

Regulations and health concerns!

Their ancestors had been strong and hale working in the heat and in the smoke of the forge. He shook his head. The Illosians were a strange bunch.

He'd happily suck in the smells and taste of burning oak that flamed the forges much like how their ancestors did so long ago. Bah!

In time, they would line entire city streets with forges, craft-houses and factories!

Fotrac chuckled gravelly, his rumbling sound mixing with the clangs and the chimes of metal. Fotrac knew him well and long enough to know what he was yearning for.

Perhaps that was because he too yearned for the same.

"You're too old for that, old maðr. You'd sooner dislocate a disc than be able to beat metal into shape." Fotrac descended in a coarse laugh.

Netmuk eyed his companion.

Fotrac was an old dwarf, almost as old as he. His famous red mane he used skilfully to seduce dwarven maidens was now mostly a scraggly and shallow grey.

There were hints of his former glory, of course, a few orange hairs here and there, traces like there were traces of his old strength and his vigour of life, but they were old dwarves now and did as all old dwarves do. They bickered and they lectured.

"You speak as if you'd fare any better." Netmuk said with a fearsome scowl though there was little bite in it. Fotrac let off a harsh bark of a laugh.

"Aye, aye." Fotrac agreed as his gaze swept across the street, traces of a lingering look of longing apparent on his face. "Lucky rascals." Fotrac grunted.

Yes, Netmuk agreed as he glanced at a young dwarf hammering what seemed to be steel, likely folded several times already and he could feel the yearning within him strengthened.

There was a competition to see who could achieve twelve hundred layers first as Dvalin claimed was the only recognisable True Damascus Steel.

They'd found some deposits in Lebanon of the rare magically conducive iron deposits, the same kind of iron ore their ancestors used to create True Damascus Steel. He rarely wished to be younger, but on days like these…

He wanted to ignore his aching joints and his weary bones and join in with his brethren in striking metal, to forge and craft in the ways of their ancestors.

Fortunately, he was wiser than to do that despite the sight of burning fumes which had an invigorating quality. He quite liked being able to walk without difficulty.

When he reached Valhalla, he'd have all the billets and ingots to strike at.

"Come, you old goat. We're already late."

They'd come back from a trip to Aziza to discuss an Orichalcum bridge with interwoven Baobab branches in its structures. An interesting project. Expensive too.

"What did I tell you about calling me a goat?" Fotrac scowled, his face contorting into a disgusted look as he followed Netmuk's steps. Back in the day, when they were but young dwarven fond of Gaint's ale, they'd been a wild bunch.

There were many a stories and one of them included an eventful night for Netmuk as he slept with a nanny naked.

For the life of him, he still couldn't remember what had happened and ever since then, jokes about him being a goat fucker had stuck through the ages. It might even be true, Netmuk mused with an internal shrug.

The nanny did have some delectable buns.

Of course, none of them liked it when he started to include goats in his insults.

There were many a fights and Netmuk was no weakling. He won them all. Without them being able to defeat him every time he turned the jokes and insults around on them, the jokes lost their appeal to them after that, he darkly chuckled.

Of course, now and again he still made sure to poke at them.

"Ya fucking goat fu…." Fotrac raised his fist angrily as he stopped his retort midway. Fortrac looked comical.

"I'm not too old to beat your bony body black and blue!"

Netmuk barked a laugh. "You couldn't do it back in the day and you sure as Niflheim can't do it now!" Their angry banter continued for a little while, the working young dwarves chuckling and laughing as they overheard chunks of their conversation.

Ah, these were good times indeed and he hoped he'd live long enough to see it grow on their new home.

A new home with cities and towns and villages in virgin lands that would be wholly Dwarven with little restriction on how to tend to the lands, a new Nidavellir, a greater Nidavellir, he thought with delighted glee.

They would become the greatest industrial hub of all of Celestis!

Netmuk caught a sight down the bowels of the merry street and it made his heart warble and his blood that sung cool into fond warmness and pride.

Dozens of little dwarven childes were huddled over by a group of female Dwarves, their minders, entertained and awed as they played with the products of the newly Master Blacksmiths.

He could not remember seeing a Dwarven childe that happy in his entire eighty six years of life. He could not remember seeing so many in one place, at all.

"Ya soft bastard." Fotrac muttered though it was said with a faint smile. Aye, even for old bastards such as them, the sight of their bright future was a warming thing.

How it could not be, after they'd lived such a half-life for centuries?

They'd lived a half-life, one without the warmth and licking fires of the forge, without the runes and enchantments their ancestors mastered and used to craft the greatest works in the whole of the magical world.

A weak people who lost the forge and with it lost the fires of life within their souls.

Childes were born only to replace those who had died merely to ensure they continued their half-lifes and their purposeless roles as bankers.

They were a broken people without a true hearth and home, without the teachings and labour of their ancestors, saved only from extinction by the grace of the great Grerr, the Saviour King.

A people who hid behind their great fortress Bank and followed the path of their most hated enemies, an enemy to whom they lost their homes to, their treasures, their arts and their honour and pride.

They gave it all up for the sake of survival, even the quest to regain their sacred writings by master Crafts-Dwarves from the hands of the thieving Goblins, and instead made do to protect the coins of Wizards within the bowels of their fortress Old Norgrost in Switzerland.

Where they were once envied, feared and respected for their works and their prowess in battle, they became pitied and forgotten, a hollow people with hollow lives with only gold coins to live for.

"Reikdrack, fetch me that bar of Orichalcum!" Netmuk heard bellowed from within one of the Blacksmith shops and his hungry smile deepened to the point that it was akin to a wolf's snarl.

"Never again…" Netmuk growled to himself, his beard flaked with whites and greys shaking as his mouth twisted in angry resolve.

Never again would they allow themselves to be those wretched not-Dwarves who had lost what they were meant to be.

They had no excuse or reason to abandon the forges now or ever.

"Aye…never again." Fotrac agreed with a growl of his own, a youthful fire returning to his old face.

They left the Street of the Fourteen Forges and made their way up-hill towards the towering fortress etched into the side of Norgrost Mountain, the third largest mountain some thirty kilometres away from Celestis Mount along the southern curve of Illos.

The lands around Norgrost Mountain was alike the rest of the Illosian lands near the mountains. Hilly rocky lands with rich green valleys with river streams cutting through them and it was one such river stream New Norgrost town was built by.

It was a worthy home, temporary as it may be.

They passed the Street of Dvalin, the street where the artisans and the Crafts-Dwarves enchanted their works and mastered their craft.

Shops of all kinds inhabited this street, from homeware to braces empowered with one thing or another, and weapons and armour that were improving in quality and power with every passing year as his people feverishly improved their skill.

The shops were few but in time, he knew the street would grow in size as their population grew.

The street was busier than the Street of the Fourteen Forges and it wasn't just Dwarves that dwelled the street. Wizards, witches, Veela, even a few Lycans that he could smell and sense, looked at and purchased goods from the Crafts-Dwarves.

Most of them were Illosian citizens though there were a few that made the trip from abroad or from the other countryships.

"Councillor" a few of his people greeted him, even a few of the Illosian who recognised him from the media, and he returned the greeting gruffly but politely.

A quarter of an hour later, they made it passed the Great Gates of Hammerbeard, gates carved out of mountain rock and that protected the entrance of Norgrost, and his gaze latched onto the curving grey silver metal that towered over the towering gates and fortress.

Norgrost Mountain hugged the grey silver metal like a babe hanging off of a mother's teat and his heart felt like it was going through a complicated somersault.

It was a great reminder, every day, of who they owed their fortunes too.

Netmuk grumbled moodily. That wizard made Netmuk and a great many of his people feel many conflicting things.

If it was the great Dwarven King Grerr who saved them, it was the Wizard King Sayre who helped to revitalised them, the wizard who gifted them what was theirs, the priceless works of Dvalin the great…

The only works that survived the burning of the Goblins once they butchered their ancestor's works and writings before twisting it all for their own.

Fotrac parted from him once they made it inside the fortress and he continued on his way towards his destination, his mind flung back into the past.

He remembered that day eight years ago as if it just happened yesterday, the day that King Sayre had come to their fortress.

The Ravenites and their sycophants had grown brave and dangerous over the years.

Demands of turning over the wealth of their enemies had grown difficult to resist and news of the butchering of magical races in Greece and elsewhere had reached the halls of Norgrost. Their threats could no longer be considered idle.

Even if Norgrost's defensive wards and their defensive mechanisms were second to none. In the end, no fortress could hold against a horde of enemies without allies to call upon. Their history had taught them well to guard against such arrogance.

It was during that turbulent time that King Sayre had come to them with an offer that seemed too good to be true. They'd kept abreast of the situation in the magical world – never would they have allowed themselves to be blindsided by anyone or anything – and they knew the man was dangerous. Beyond dangerous.

His prowess in magic was reminiscent of the great Norse Mages that once roamed the earth and his defeat of Grindelwald was truly worthy of song.

The years afterwards only proved that he was far from simply just an Archmage with too much magical power.

His butchering of the magical world economy was calculated – and it did hurt them very much when he left with his family's gold – and what came afterwards only proved that the man wielded his Sight much like a Dwarf wielded his battle axe.

They were not keen to enter business with such a ruthless wizard, especially when it became known the King and Queen of the wizards had utterly and totally subdued the British Goblins. They had feared the same fate.

They had partied like they had never done before but nevertheless, they feared he would do the same if they agreed to his offers of safety. Wizards were never known to keep to their word. The last honourable wizards were long dead.

Bah!

It was a refusal that they had to reconsider when even those families who were even slightly rumoured to have creature blood were leaving to France or Iberia lest they be exterminated like the Sirens of Macedonia or the Satyrs of Greece.

And when the light Swiss families of so called pristine pureblood heritage were emptying out their gold from the banks, theirs included, and began to flee like rats from a sinking ship, that was when they knew they had to begin talks again.

As the Manager of the Central Bank of the Dwarves, that honour fell to him.

He grumbled, his long beard that touched the bottom of his belly swayed under the act. King Sayre knew how to appeal to him and he had to remind himself during the negotiations that King Sayre was no Dwarf even if he could speak like one.

The wizard offered the Dwarves safety and equality on Illos, to make them citizens equal to mages and the other races, an offer that he'd known would not be offered to them by any of the other Ministries and it was an honest offer made under blood oath in the ancient Dwarven ways.

Whilst he did not know then how the wizard knew of the ancient way, what he did know, then, was that the wizard King had no foul desires to make them submit as he had done to the goblins. He wanted their alliance.

An unbalanced alliance, true, but it was an honest one.

Their steps clanked around them as they walked through the massive hall of Norgrost where dozens of twenty metre tall statues of Dwarven Kings and Princes adorned in brilliant golden armour greeted him. And towering above them all, was the statue of Grerr, the king that saved his people from the brink of extinction.

He spent many days speaking to his advisors, other elder Dwarves who knew the precariousness of their situation and they came to the simple conclusion that it was simply a matter of time that the Ravenites would cast their gaze to their mountain.

Grungotts of Germany had already been destroyed a year prior and the wealth of the bank split amongst the wizards and the Ravenites. Their satisfaction had been grim.

Other banks in Ravenite territory were appeasing them as much as they could…for all the good that it did for any of the non-wizard banks.

And so…

They agreed.

He withheld a laugh.

It was the best investment they have done in centuries!

The Central Bank had never been wholly independent and been tied to the Swiss Wizards for protection for centuries, a fact that continued now in this deal he'd negotiated with the Wizard King but the one thing that had not changed was that his people were only answerable to themselves in Old Norgrost nor would they be forced to accept the wizard King and Queen as their monarchs.

They gained the protection of the most powerful nation and wizard in return for their near permanent alliance with the country-ship and its people.

An innovative people who made more advancement in magic than the rest of the magical world had in decades the previous century. His people could only stand to gain and they had gained in that respect. They gained much.

Ha!

It would be less than a decade before they would see the first dwarves produce new Dwarven magicks.

That alone had been worth tying themselves to the dangerous Wizard King.

Yet that was not what made this agreement the deal of the century, no, that had come after the wizard King brought to their attentions the greatest news they have heard in nearly a millennium.

He had the works of the great Dvalin himself!

A master Crafts-Dwarf whose name was still remembered in children's stories, one of the last great Crafts-Dwarf and blacksmith.

The wizarding King, instead of offering it for their fealty as he expected the wizard to do, had instead offered Dvalin's works to them without any cost or requirement!

'This was always yours. Your legacy and your way home to the forges. I could not demand of you of anything. You are my citizens, my people. I can only ask you rebuild your people as you ought to be' the wizard King said to them.

The cynical part of his mind considered that the wizard must have had it for years and that he had only gifted it to them now that it worth doing so but he also knew that the wizard could have kept it all to himself with them none the wiser.

Bah!

The wizard King was a wily calculated one with the wisdom and cunning of Odin himself and any anger he might have felt had gone away when he held the works of Dvalin in his hands, written in the ancient Dwarven tongue.

Any Dwarf worth his axe would have sacrificed fifty mountains full of gold for what he had held in his hands that day.

"Councillor" the guard by the gleaming silver gate acknowledged with reverence before he tapped the gate three times with the side of his fist.

The silver gate creaked open and he walked through it. It wasn't long before he made it through the chasm of a tunnel towards the hollowed out part of the mountain where a maze of low buildings was revealed within the chasm of the mountain.

From the rocky ceilings, crystalline rocks gleamed and shone illuminating Old Norgrost, the light of the sun reflecting down at the town via their enchantments.

This was where the bulk of their people were. Two thousand strong. And growing.

The town of New Norgrost held about five hundred of their numbers and it was their compromise with the wizard King.

Old Norgrost was hallowed ground and it was too soon for their people to interact completely freely with the peoples of Illos even if they were tolerable.

But, he mused to himself, he doubted it would take very long for his people to grow more comfortable with the wizards of Illos. They were as strange as the wizard King.

Easily accepting of the Dwarves and the other magical races that inhabited the lands and the waters of Illos when so many of their wizard kin would not.

Even their children's books were not immune to such acceptance and adventures of multi-racial children were amongst the most popular stories of the wizard children.

Stories that he knew were also being consumed the little Dwarven childes.

He made it to the Central Hall that stood at the centre of Old Norgrost, where once upon a time would have served as the Bank Management Offices, and passed through the building and its offices where Dwarves were working on a number of projects that they were commissioned to build or create.

With Dvalin's works now in the hands of every Dwarf, his people had gone through an unbelievable metamorphosis, a revitalisation that would be sung by futures generations as eagerly as the songs of Grerr or Helgotir.

They worked feverishly to learn Dvalin's works like the back of their hands, learning and applying the works and even creating new teachings, and as a consequence, their labour and works was highly sought after in the magical world beyond Ravenite Europe.

The Rail Network of Avalon, the Bridge of Heaven in Ame-No-Ukihashi and the Praying Statues of the Vodun in Aziza were amongst the best of their works thus far.

He made it to his office and sat down with a few of his staff.

He was no longer Bank Manager of the Central Bank but he was the Governor of Norgrost, a Councillor of the Council of Magical Races and a sometimes advisor attached to the High Council.

His duties were more stressful than they had been during the latter years as Bank Manager but he liked it despite having much more to do. It all had great purpose.

Projects left right and centre, potential and current, occupied his time along with acting as the representative of his people whilst also governing Norgrost.

The next few hours he spent discussing with his staff about the potential project in Aziza whilst also covering everything from the new homes that would be built to encourage young dwarven to inhabit and create families to discussing political agendas that was on the cards in the Council of Magical Races.

After all of that was finished, he spent another few hours reading through some amendments to old laws that were no longer necessary or were needlessly complicated and by the time he was done, it was already late evening.

He spent the late afternoon with his granddaughter and his great grandchildren, his most preferred way to spend his time. Nagholir, the youngest great grandchild, was already shaping up to be a prodigy in enchantments!

He of course favoured that child though he did not show it. Not too overly.

It was in the middle of dinner with his family that he received an unwelcome message via the magi-com.

What could he want at this hour? He thought with a tired sigh.

"It's late. You can tell the wizard to call on you in the morning tomorrow." Thirim, his fool of an in-law said dismissively. Even the children knew it was a foolish thing to speak so cavalier about the wizard King who had a thousand and one eyes.

His granddaughter Yardesli pinned the fool with a hard look and the fool shut his errant mouth shut. Netmuk did not know why his granddaughter had decided to accept the fool's courtship years ago and he still hated it as much as he did then.

Yardesli turned her gaze to Netmuk "Do you need a ride to the gate?" she asked him, referring to the skymobile parked outside of her home. Yardesli favoured much of Illosian magi-tech, so much so that she was creating versions suited for dwarves.

The skymobile she owned was specifically created for dwarves funded by the gold she'd made herself from her business ventures. Ha!

He did know now why she favoured the fool. The fool was quite adept in running the business side of things and knowing how clever his granddaughter was, she likely thought of that from the moment the fool desperately sought her courtship.

Plus, Netmuk grudgingly thought, it wasn't as if the union was entirely fruitless. He did like his great grandchildren despite their fool of a father.

Netmuk shook his head as he rose from his chair. "No, I will stretch my old bones. I've been sat for too long anyways." He liked to walk. It made him feel less old.

He said his goodbyes to his family and ignored the fool and made his way to the gate that would lead him to a gate nearby the Main Tower.

It was about forty five minutes later that he arrived to the High Council doors and he was let in by the guards that stood post by the doors.

His expression soured and his already irritated mood worsened as he took sight of who was amongst the wizards.

Though…his mood brightened when he thought about the goblin's title and a grin grew on his face which got him an angry sneer from the Goblin Prince.

The ugly rat, Ragnok Gringott. Prince of the Goblin Peoples.

A Prince who no longer held a title to a nation but instead, in all reality, an honorary title that was given in pity than it was out of respect. Bah! And the creatures knew it too, no matter how loyal and happy they appeared to the world.

Netmuk knew that it was only superficial and likely as a result of some kind of binding the wizard King had done to the goblins much like how Merlin had done many centuries ago.

Netmuk would have preferred them all dead.

The goblins were more beast than they were a branch of people.

Even if Merlin went to great pains to humanise them.

They would sell their own mothers for coin if it proved to be more profitable than not to and one day, if they were ever freed as Netmuk thought they might be many years from now, Netmuk knew that the goblins would try to betray the Wizard King who could have easily sent them to extinction.

He would pray to mighty Odin for the opportunity to see it happen with his two eyes.

As foolhardy the Wizard King and his Queen were with trying to civilise the beasts, they were anything but weak should they need to be ruthless.

"Councillor Netmuk" the Wizard King greeted and his attentions returned to the matter at hand. The Wizard King stood with his arms behind his back by his throne with the Queen by his side.

"Wizard King. Witch Queen." Netmuk grunted politely before his gaze veered to the other mages in the room. Chief Representative Doyle, the Spymaster Parkinson and High Councillor Silas Merek were also here. Curious.

Not everyone of the High Council was here, like those crafters Bell and Bishop but the most important ones were.

'Well, at least it is probably not for nothing that I came' Netmuk thought grudgingly as he moved towards a seat at the far end of the table.

Thankfully they got right into it and Wizard King Sayre began to explain about the returning mages from Celestis and his departure in autumn.

Netmuk had listened with rapt attention once the wizard King mentioned Celestis.

Netmuk had been made aware of Celestis system a few years after they arrived on Illos. That the Illosians had the ability to sail the Void as if it were an ocean.

He doubted the wizard's words and it was doubt that fled from him like the putrid smells of rot from a Draugar when he'd set foot on the world of Mars through a gate.

He could never forget the feeling of that world nor could he forget the awe he felt when a huge ship, Gradus, descended down towards them.

The magic in the environment of Mars was so much lesser than that of Earth, and he had thought that the world had earned its associations with war and death for it was as dead as a Draugar.

He knew the treacherous goblins were just as reluctant to leave the Earth but the promise of the Wizard King that the new worlds were or would be richer in magic than even Earth was what made both of their kinds agree.

Not that they had much room to really disagree.

For all of the wizard King's charisma and fairness, no one was under the illusion that he and his wife could not make them agree.

The binds the wizard had on the monstrous goblins and the Geas that were in place to prevent anyone speaking out about Celestis were proof enough of that.

Netmuk grunted. At least the Folóï Centaurs confirmed, in their own wishy washy ways, that it was to be a place that magicals could have only dreamed about before.

"The Merpeople have agreed to accompany me to our future home. As have the Centaurs. The Grecians and the British." The wizard King informed them once he finished explaining and Netmuk immediately knew what this meeting was about.

And the wizard King said as much "I would like both of your peoples to send a few, perhaps half a dozen to a dozen, with me to see the progress we are making."

Netmuk narrowed his eyes whilst the rat spoke up "King Sayre…whilst my people would be honoured to join this expedition" the rat paused in his words momentarily before he spoke again

"I do not see the reason why we should go"

Netmuk grunted annoyed and it drew the attentions of the rat – along with everyone else's. "You do not see the reason? I knew you goblins we-" Netmuk stopped before he threw in an insult and took a deep breath. Foul goblins! He let go of the breath.

The wizard King and Queen had shown their displeasure once when he got into a spat with the rat or that Gobchoke. They did not like the animosity to creep into their halls at all. That one time was enough for him to resist the near impossible.

"The reason" Netmuk ground out with forced calm as he addressed the rat "Is straightforward." Netmuk turned to the wizard King who had an expectant look on his face.

"You want us there for more than just to see progress. You want us there for political reasons."

The wizard King and Queen did not need them at all and he doubted they truly needed the Illosians either. There was nothing the Illosians created that wouldn't have had the touch of the King or Queen.

No…Netmuk believed the wizard King and Queen were driven by desires. Desires for a unified magical world, desires of a unified people of multiple races and beings.

That had been his measure of the wizard King when he'd met with the wizard again before agreeing and it was his measure now.

The wizard King and the witch Queen wanted a strong unified magical world and worked towards it even so far as going against their own kind for the sake of those that, for generations, were considered to be lesser by their kind.

"We do." The wizard King said with a faint smile as he leaned back slightly against his throne. "When we move to Celestis, I want it to be more than just wizards moving the magical world to Celestis."

"A cooperation of peoples." The rat muttered.

Netmuk was highly amused by the choice words of the rat and the irony of it all. A cooperation of peoples except for the goblins who were very much acting at the whims of the wizards. A fitting sentence to a race of uncivilised monsters.

Of course he did not voice such truths. "I see." Netmuk said with a slight nod. It was at least a noble sentiment. The wizards had explained – and the Folóï Centaurs alluded to it – that Exposure of the magical world to the humans was inevitable.

He had difficulty believing it at first but he'd seen enough of the human world to know that it was grudgingly possible. They'd even set a human on the moon only a few years before. They were catching up to the wizards and with their numbers…

Yes, conflict was perhaps inevitable given how similar the humans were to wizards.

"What of the Veela and the others?" There were after all another three magical races on the Council of Magical Races beyond the centaurs, merpeople, dwarves and the rats in the form of the Sirens, the illusive Drow and the long thought extinct Wood Nymphs.

Both the Drow and Nymphs were few in numbers, fewer than even his people. The Drow had found sanctuary in the far reaches of Siberia after being chased out of their forests in Anatolia many centuries ago. The Wood Nymphs had a similar story.

"The Veela have integrated within Illosian society, just as the Sirens have. Their representatives know of Celestis and have waived any distinction between themselves and the wizards of Illos." The witch Queen said before she continued

"And the other races are only here to assess Illos for the present and until they decide to join completely, they will be kept at arm's length."

"Very well." Netmuk said after a few moments of silence before he eyed the wizard King with a sharp look. He had not had an opportunity to broach the topic but this was as good as any.

"And should my representatives find one of the Moons to be most suitable for my people?"

The planetary system they'd be moving to had a number of worlds and moons that were being terra-formed, and from what he understood, a kind of magic that could transform worlds like one would encourage growth of a garden.

The main one, Celestis, would be where Illos would settle and where most of the magical world would eventually move to with the exception of perhaps Aziza and Ame-No-Ukihashi.

But that still left a number of moons and worlds that could be settled and Netmuk wanted one of those worlds for his people.

And after seeing the greedy goblin's eyes, it was obvious they wanted one for themselves too. Good. At least then the magical world could confine them to hopefully a cold and dreary desert of a world. Out of sight, out of mind.

"Then you will have the opportunity to settle it." The Queen stated easily though her gaze pinned Netmuk "There will be a price however."

Netmuk suppressed a scowl before he sharply nodded and his back straightened.

"Of course." He said with a blank expression, the decades long experience of being a Bank Manager coming to the forefront.

-Break-

Slipspace

Gaiu Volusenus Hardy POV

The changing patterns of the complex magnetic fields flowed like the ebbing and flowing of water by the shores, and Gaius could imagine the rush of water, the rolls land crashing of water as he looked at these projections that represented the health of slipspace.

There was a parallel between the vast distances of space to that of the vastness that the oceans seemed like…once upon a time.

Would their people one day think nothing of it?

As something common and merely a part of life like travelling on the sea or through the air was? He knew the answer was yes, Gaius thought to himself as he leaned back against the backless bench in the observation wing of the ship.

People had the greatest capacity to accept change over time. To not even consider it as unusual once enough time had passed. He'd seen it enough over his lifetime…a lifetime where he'd seen so much already.

"Here again?" he heard the familiar voice of the man who commanded the ship.

"As always." Gaius answered easily without turning around. Tirtayasa walked around and sat next to him. For a good while, neither of them said anything.

They had an understanding of sorts, an understanding granted to them by way of their responsibilities. Tirtayasa, of this ship and their people, and Gaius of the mission to prime Celestis granted by their King and his mentor.

There was a kind of loneliness in command, one that was alleviated by having capable people – as they both had – that could be trusted – which they also both had - but even so, the hard choices fell on them, the weight of responsibility, a weight that consisted of the hopes and future of their people and magic as a whole, was not something that could easily be spread across the shoulders of their subordinates and in truth…

They would have been unsuited for the positions they were in had they been so easily willing to do so. They sat in silence for quite some time before either one of them spoke, both simply watching the flowing curtains of magnetic fields that ebbed and flowed and ebbed and flowed. It was peaceful.

And it was also coming to an end soon now that they were only days from home to their people. Gaius was looking forward to seeing his mother and his siblings.

And his mentor.

"Do you know why I accepted this position despite it taking away from my family for years at a time?" Tirtayasa spoke up and Gaius looked at him curiously prompting Tirtayasa to continue.

A small smile crept on his face as he stared at the beautiful undulating curtains.

"My ancestors, and the ancestors of all Indonesians, have a rich history of seafaring. Sturdy ships that navigated through storms and weathered the fury of the seas, hardy people who explored deep oceans with bravery and curiosity in their hearts."

Tirtayasa stopped and hummed softly "In a way, I am connecting to my ancestors by being out here." Both allowed his words to settle in before Gaius spoke up.

"You were orphaned young weren't you?" The story of the Fisbililah family was well known by nature of their remarkable rise in influence, not only magically or techno-magically but also culturally.

Them being squibs at birth added to the meritorious appeal of the couple, one that was already enhanced by their orphan status. Two sides of the same coin of the 'ideal Illosian couple' the media had taken to call them.

Science and culture going hand in hand. Knowing the man as Gaius did, he didn't think the man would have appreciated the celebrity status he and his wife gained.

"I was. My parents died in the revolution back in Indonesia." Tirtayasa confirmed before he smiled with a pained grimace "I doubt I would have remembered them as well as I do without Occlumency and my children…" Tirtayasa shook his head.

Knowing how close they were back to their families, it was natural for anyone to think of their families…even a stoic man like Tirtayasa. "Do you regret it?"

Tirtayasa seemed to mull the words over. "Yes and no. Leaning mostly towards yes." He finally said and Gaius eyed him curiously and Tirtayasa expanded "I'm missing much of my children's childhood. Time we will never get back. When I left, they were only four years old." There was note of regret in his voice.

They were ten now and already enrolled at the Pandrosion most likely.

"No because of much this means to me and how much it will mean to my family many years from now." Tirtayasa continued and Gaius understood. Anyone working in the Celestis system would have their family names etched into history.

The Fisbillilah family name even more so as the first captain of the first interstellar ship. "I know how it sounds…that I am willing to stay away most of my children's childhood for things as vague as residual ancestral calling and prestige for my children and their descendants but…"

"I understand" Gaius said assuredly and truly, he did understand.

Well, not the ancestral calling bit but a calling…yes.

He hadn't known it at the time of his youth, before his apprenticeship with His Majesty, but there was always that call in the back of his mind.

A call to make something of himself, become noteworthy, to change the world in a way that is defined by his own contributions, his own hands and mind and sweat.

To become great.

His indecision to take a direction had stemmed from this unknown calling, this drive to become great as so many others were becoming in their own way.

William Bell, Walter Bishop, Ben Woodman, Coby Slynt and other dozens of pioneers who were paving the way in their fields. He wanted to be like them, better than them, he wanted to leave a greater legacy than them.

"A venture into the nothingness to light the way forward for others following in your footsteps." Gaius said quietly remembering some of the things his mentor once told him. 'The scope of greatness is as vast as the universe itself' echoed in his mind.

Tirtayasa hummed agreeably "Quite."

They remained silent for the next hour or so, silently watching the flowing curtains that laid behind a panel of transparent aluminium until he was once more left alone physically and with his thoughts.

Atticus had taught him that the scope of greatness was as vast as the universe itself.

Could a man or woman who raised their children in such a way that led them, later in life, to change the world be constituted as great in their own way?

'I also believe one ought to differentiate between greatness of achievement and greatness of personality' Atticus had quoted Freud's words to lead him towards a certain line of thinking, a line of thinking that had stuck with him years after.

Atticus had wanted him to understand that there were different ways to leave behind a legacy. That to leave a mark did not have to mean to slave away trying to invent the next great miraculous finding in the fields of magic or science.

In a way, he understood his mentor more now after six years in Celestis.

Atticus achieved a great many things, more than anyone else has done in history save perhaps Merlin but even Merlin paled in comparison to his mentor.

And yet, it was not because of his inventions or his research that would leave the greater legacy, no, it would be his leadership, his creation of Illos that paved the way for the magical world to rush forward into the future that would prove to be the single greatest legacy any magical would or could leave behind.

And Gaius' work in Celestis was the same.

More than his own contributions, it would be his leadership to make the planets habitable that would be his legacy for the magical world.

And Gaius was satisfied with that.

He left the observatory hours later and proceeded to walk through the ship in a sedate pace onto the walkway that would lead him to his quarters, deciding not to take advantage from the Hub-Ports that would teleport him straight to the quarters-deck.

Gradus was a marvel of a ship, the first of a line of ship class.

Completed in 1962 after two years of construction within the fifteen kilometres long Moeniae Assembly Complex in the underground aft section of Illos, it was the perfect fusion of magi-tech and Ancient Human technology.

It fashioned as a command station, a mobile factory that could churn out mining drones and replacement parts all at the same time as functioning as a military ship.

Its crystalline computer system was highly magical and intuitively attuned to magicals, so much so that experienced officers could work in a synergetic way with their stations allowing them to work closer at the speed of thought than not.

And he expected such efficiency and speed to only improve once neural and magical interface control systems like the captain's chair became standardised in later generation of Gradus class ships and other classes.

Perhaps there would be a new Algorithm like the Mahameru PA too, though more along the lines of artificial magical intelligence, to assist in further improving automation and reaction speed.

Though as much as Gradus incorporated the best and newest magi-tech – at the time of launch anyway – it was the technological that Gaius thought won out.

The hull and interior was made from Adamantite-Nickel alloy A-N-C and it was by far the hardest, the most shear resistant and most heat resistant metal alloy created.

Only Mithril or enchanted alchemic metal could rival it but unlike them, the alloy could be created non-magically and in huge quantities.

The A-N-C alloy had subatomic particles made up of forty-four protons and fifty-six neutrons within the atomic nucleus and the atomic structure of the alloy was such that it was twice as dense as Osmium.

It was also molecularly strengthened even further via heat treatment and gravitic manipulation – which super-hardened the alloy – to produce a near unrivalled non-magical metal with mechanical properties that surpassed the stated properties of Neutronium that they discovered within the data files of the Ancient Human Scout-ship.

He eyes glanced at the walls of the ship.

The gravitic manipulation was done at fifteen hundred g's during the age hardening process and it induced extreme internal tension in the crystalline matrix and it made it near impossible to damage even with hours of exposure to plasma at over eight thousand degrees Celsius and lasting for minutes when subjected to weaponised cold plasma could run into the tens of thousands of degrees Celsius.

And despite the density of the alloy, the A-N-C plates only weighed a fraction of what should weigh based on the density of the elements.

Beneath the skin of the interior and beneath the skin of the outer layers of the hull, there were tens of thousands of runic schemes that made this half-a-kilometre long ship, an already near indestructible ship, into an actual practically indestructible fortress that could fly like a fighter if it needed to.

So much so that it was quite likely that it could potentially shrug off Forerunner and Ancient Human Heavy Cruisers weapon's fire long enough to escape to safety.

Gaius wasn't as confident as the Magineers were about their chances against those two ancient peoples.

They successfully tested the en-runed hull plating against antimatter infused streams of concentrated explosive particles, one of the more commonly used type of particle weapon the Ancient Humans and the Forerunners used on their cruiser and destroyer class ships, but they did not know the thickness nor the rate of anti-mass flow of the anti-matter streams, a factor that was shown to exponentially increase the damage from the weapons.

Even runes would eventually wear off under the assault and even this alloy would wilt and be annihilated against such weaponry.

Still, it was doubtful they would face such weaponry anyway given that both races were dead and in time they would improve especially given the kinds of projects and research that being conducted as they deciphered and began to understand more of the science and technology of the Ancient Humans – with the help of the Seelie and Alice.

And if energy field science improved as much as material science was expected to improve, it would be quite possible that hull plating wouldn't even be necessary.

The Gradus employed Hard Light technology, also known as boson-photon field, as its primary source of shielding that surrounded the ship in a perfect bubble once activated through an interplay of coherent high-energy light and gas particles.

In the Void, this would have been impossible to generate if it had not been for Magnus', his brother, brilliant runic scheme that transported highly structured and perfectly arranged gas molecules around the ship that the hard light shield would interact with within eighteen picoseconds and it ensured the gas molecules didn't have time to disperse from the required arrangement.

With a large scale cold fusion reactor, one of three Antiox cold fusion reactors on board, specifically just powering the shield matrix, the shields were resilient to all kinds of weapons fire, including annihilating weaponry.

For a time.

Still, the Gradus was a mighty ship that used everything they had been able to reverse-engineer and understand from the Scout-ship and Gaius had little doubt the ships that succeeded the Gradus would be truly be marvels.

He made it to his quarters and hardly left it over the course of the next few days as anticipation became palpable amongst the crew though once they were out of slipspace and by Jupiter, he'd chosen to be on the bridge next to Tirtayasa.

They'd already sent back communication to Illos about ten hours ago that they were returning and did so again once they dropped out of slipspace.

"Is it unfair to think that Gibridis pales in comparison to Jupiter?" Tirtayasa commented idly. Gibridis was the gas giant in the Celestis system, a gas giant that was about two thirds the size of Jupiter with similar colourings as that of Saturn only its blues overpowered the yellows in its atmosphere.

"Yes" Gaius said with a small smile as Tirtayasa turned to him with a raised eyebrow

"Gibridis has its appeals. It's smaller yes but it is also vibrant in its colours. It does not host as many moons as Jupiter does but it does boast eight moons larger than Ganymede with some nearing or at the size of Mars."

"Jupiter may be more impressive, in both role and in appearance, but it is Gibridis that bears the true treasure in its bosom." Tirtayasa wasn't the only person keenly listening to his words as he could feel the rest of the crew's gaze on him from all directions.

"The intense gravitational interactions between Gibridis and the moons has allowed five of the eight moons to have liquid cores and consequently enough atmosphere to make terraforming them easier and less of hassle to make them sustain life. At best only one or two moons could be said to be terraformed anywhere near as successfully or easily." Gaius turned to Jupiter.

"In that, Gibridis is a nurturer, a saint that watered the earth waiting for us to plant the seeds for beautiful gardens and for those reasons Gibridis will be loved more than Jupiter ever was by the magical community."

A minute of silence reigned before Tirtayasa broke it by chuckling, an impressed albeit curious smile on his face. "I stand corrected."

The next hour and minutes after that was more quiet once they deployed their refractive shields that functioned much like an invisibility charm.

The mundanes were getting improving with technology and the last thing they wanted was for them to sight of their ship however improbable it was.

The mundanes were already violently off-tilt anyway with the cold-war in its full throes and seeing what they might come to conclude as extra-terrestrials would not create an environment that the Earth needed even slightly.

That was the same reason why they were heading towards the dark side of the Moon instead of making their way towards the Earth.

Surprisingly it took a significant magical energy to maintain an invisibility bubble wide enough to encapsulate Gradus which was also a research topic as they tried to veer away from utilising magical batteries and instead developing ultra-efficient harvesters of ambient magic from the Void.

They made to the dark side of the Moon and moved to an incredibly slow approach, less than 5 metres per second in a direct vector to the surface though it concerned none of the bridge crew.

Moments before they looked to crash into the surface, they passed through an illusion which revealed a deep crater, one and a half kilometres deep, with a giant ring a kilometre wide at the very basin of the crater.

The pilot sent a signal to the gate and the runes on the gate sprang alive before the inside diameter of the ring changed from showing them the bottom of the crater to a complex on the other side.

The Docking Complex was huge, some twenty kilometres in radius, and was adjacent to where the Moeniae Assembly Complex was. It boasted sprawling mechanical arms and, from the look of things, new ships with one in particular that seemed even larger than the Gradus.

It took less than five minutes for them to clear through to the other side and once they were through, Tirtayasa spoke up "Well done everyone. We've made it home."

The bridge crew descended into a raucous cheer as the ship paired with the automated docking computer system as they moved through the docking complex and Gaius couldn't help but also smile happily.

The welcome from the engineers working in the Docking Complex was warm and triumphant when they disembarked off of the ship and Woodman, the Operations Director of both Complexes and typically surly and particularly foul-mouthed, was there personally too and was very uncharacteristically polite and even…happy.

"Your families and friends are waiting on you at the Port." Woodman explained to the crew as they walked towards the direction of the only gate in and out.

Their families and friends – except those who directly worked on projects related to Celestis and the Scout-ship or those in high political places – were ignorant of their mission in the Void and thus as far as they knew they were on a multi-year long expedition to find Atlantis and other rumoured sister cities in the seas.

The reason for their multi-year absence – and limited communication – was because of the threat of the Ravenites and the ICW and with the memory of the almost-war with the ICW still fresh in the minds of their people, it was a cover that most accepted.

"And Their Graces?" Tirtayasa questioned.

"They decided to speak to you, the crew and the other personnel after you've seen your families." Woodman explained and Gaius could see a look of relief on Tirtayasa's face. He didn't blame him. He also wanted to simply see his family and spend some time with them after so many years of absence.

They passed through the gate to Belva Hallos and he could see hundreds of people who cheered and cried as they came out of the gate one by one.

The stoic and professional crew wilted with the sight of their families and the crew almost ran into the arms of their families, tears and laughs of joy were not spared.

And for him…

Well, he just about spotted his mother running towards him before she engulfed into a bone-crushing hug "Oh Gaius, my boy, oh Gaius" she cried again and again as her hands roved across his upper body as if she was trying to see if he was real.

He did not mind one single bit as he melted into his mother's embrace. "Mother." Gaius said with a warm and emotional sigh which made mother only cry ever so more.

"Should be ashamed of yourself, brother of mine. Making mother cry." He heard the familiar voice of his brother and Gaius couldn't help but let a happy laugh rip from his mouth as his mother finally ceased in trying to hug him to death.

He looked up from the crook of his mother's neck and saw Fortie grinning madly at him, a grin that was wiped away when his sister Emilia smacked Fortie's head.

"He's barely back and you're already making jokes" Emilia said with a growl before she turned to Gaius, her scowl fading away and a happy beaming smile making an appearance instead "Welcome back, Gaius" she said warmly.

"Thank you Lia." Gaius said just as warmly before his gaze looked around and saw the rest of his siblings. Livia, Magnus, everyone was here and it wasn't long before he was engulfed by a swarm of bodies into a great big hug.

And he didn't mind.

Not one single bit.

After all…

He was home.