Chapter 14: Creation

Using what he found, Dane forged ahead, examining the samples of Darkness collected over the previous years more closely. He needed to know why The Darkness had controlled him without his noticing. Days became weeks as the temple's laboratory, previously open to all the acolytes of the Order, became a place of residence for Dane alone. At times he would venture from his hovel and join Mars and Vieren on trips to vanquish Omens appearing around the world. But when he returned, he would retreat to the laboratory to test and study further.

His searching revealed that the Darkness took control because his emotional state was similar to that of The Darkness permeating the entirety of Azwan. If that were true, then using The Darkness to create the Ultimate Light would be far more tricky. Ariel's plan could work, but there would still need to be a place for the Darkness to be contained until their child was ready to use it.

His first thought was to absorb it, acting as a conduit and buffer to avoid losing the child to The Darkness. He experimented with containing it within himself, but even the tiniest drops would send him into fits of rage, sorrow, shame, or even suicide; there had to be something he was missing. It wasn't enough to absorb and then use The Darkness. Dane needed some way to ensure that whoever used it stayed in control. What if he combined strong emotions and his Darkness Conversion Theory into one?

If their child drew in The Darkness directly without extensive training, there would be a much higher risk of being lost to The Darkness. But if Dane were to act as a conduit, there would be less chance of the child's corruption, but the possibility of losing himself was just as high. Unless he could contain The Darkness in some other form or container, there would be no safe way to use The Darkness for the Ultimate Light. With each passing day, he could feel the pressure mounting: the famine was only worsening, and Omens were becoming more and more prevalent. Sometimes, even animals became infected and raged like monsters.

"Wait! What if–?" turning pages in past notebooks, he hoped to find some clue he had overlooked in his earliest days. If strong negative emotions allowed The Darkness a foothold, then strong positive emotions should allow him to overpower it and stay in control. Or what if he were to take it a step further, ensure that he felt nothing? His past journals did not indicate this was a sound theory, so the only way to know was to try.

Reaching for a vial containing a less intense shade of Darkness, Dane bolted to the fields behind the temple. With great mental effort, he stilled his thoughts, calmed his breathing, and focused all his attention on feeling nothing. Not anger, not grief, not excitement, or joy. Nothing. Once sure that he was blank, Dane pulled the cork from the bottle unleashing an Omen that howled in grief, speaking of many tragedies long since passed.

Dane remained still and unmoved as the Omen wailed around him, seemingly ignored. Summoning his staff, it snapped to his palm as light flared from the end. Still, the creature didn't react, aimlessly looking for something amidst the surrounding trees and shrubs. With a sweep of his staff, a sheet of pure white light sprang from it, cutting through the trees, but the Omen remained unfazed.

Reaching for his notebook, Dane jotted down the result, then held the staff up again, allowing himself to feel contentment from a memory with Ariel. Immediately the Omen snapped its gaze to him, lunging at him with open arms and agape mouth. Sweeping his staff again, the same sheet of light cut through the Omen's body, wounding it as it slumped to the ground. Quickly reaching for his notebook, he jotted down a note, then readied himself.

Dane held forward his hand, initiating an absorption spell. The Omen turned its gaze to him, lunging at him once more. Dane did his best to sidestep the creature as its claws tore through his flowing sleeve. As the Omen passed, a stream of black smoke pulled from it and borrowed into Dane's hand. Sorrow and fear tore through Dane's mind like a fire, making standing difficult. His legs shook, willing them to stay under him, but the more of this Omen's Darkness he absorbed, the harder it became.

The Omen lunged again, but with little to no strength in his legs, Dane collapsed to the ground, barely missing the Omen's razor-sharp claws. The gesture opened him to a second swing tossing him across the ground. As Dane pulled himself from the dirt, his tears flowed, and his heart felt as if it were imploding. With every bit of will he had to spare, Dane gathered The Darkness he had absorbed, firing it back at the creature in a blaze of silvery light.

The resulting blast blew off one of the Omen's arms, making it back away with wide eyes, clutching at its shoulder. Dane's tears ceased allowing him to stand once again unimpeded. Looking at his hand, the words of The Darkness he had faced when creating Lotus and Orchid's bodies came to mind.

"Darkness may be the concentration of so much pain, but when focused through a single emotion, it can grant one unimaginable power. It could even create a god." Dane clenched his fist hard enough to make his skin creak and turned darkened eyes to the Omen.

"Through a SINGLE emotion. Perhaps I can use Darkness to create a more powerful Light. The Ultimate Light." Breathing slow and long, he gradually silenced all emotion save for one as a wave of power washed over everything. The Omen lunged with a deafening roar, aiming its powerful jaws at his waist. But as the Omen passed over him, Dane moved aside and swept his hand through it, tearing a piece away, swirling like a cloud in his palm before it seeped into his skin.

He thought of Ariel. He thought of their time together even when she was using a pseudo-body. He thought of the love they had built and how it had brought him out of his darkest times, channeling all the Darkness he had absorbed through that love. When he opened his eyes, the omen shrank back, almost as if it were afraid of him.

Light erupted from the staff with a single swing, cutting right through the Omen and turning it to ash instantly. No sooner had the Omen faded from view than the surrounding area felt as if dawn had come to it; the whole world seemed brighter, and even the air felt lighter. But the revelation wasn't to last; as if water were drawing back into place, the whole world weighed on Dane, nearly bringing him to his knees. After an eternity, Dane opened his journal once more and jotted down his thoughts.

"The Darkness felt pushed aside, giving me a glimpse of the world without it. But it soon pulled back in, and felt like it would break me under its weight. Conclusion: Darkness can be avoided by feeling nothing, though we cannot combat it like this. Strong negative emotions will attract Darkness. I surmise that negative emotions exclusively will draw it faster, but this requires further study.

"In contrast, positive emotions seem to make The Darkness shy away, but the nature of Darkness makes it resistant to a small degree. To create stronger Light, Darkness must first be absorbed and channeled through a single positive emotion, enhancing Light by many degrees." With a satisfied breath, he dotted the page with a period and closed the book around the pen. After writing down his thoughts, a new theory came to mind: putting extracted Darkness into a creature saturated in the Ultimate Light, Or at least channeling it through it, could provide a means to rid the world of Darkness.

"Ultimate Light, now there's a term I haven't heard in a long time," Dane muttered happily, turning back to the temple and his lab. Inside, Mars was searching through a bookshelf for a spectral transmutation manual.

"Oh, master. I hope I'm not disturbing you. Are you alright?" He asked when he saw Dane's dirty and torn robes.

"I am fine, Mars. How are the Acolytes?" Dane asked absently.

"Many are eager to learn from you directly." Dane listened absently to Mars, writing thoughts into a notebook.

"I think it would be in the best interest of the Order if you were to train a few of them tomorrow in the use of their Shining Rods. Vieren and I can only teach them so much after all." Mars continued, noting that Dane seemed distant, annoying him.

"I'm sure you are still able to teach them, Mars. I have discovered something that could lead us to rid the world of Darkness once and for all, and I must pursue it." Dane answered, squinting his eyes in thought as he wrote out an extraction spell. Mars pursed his lips, heat running through his arms and face.

"Master, I must insist that you come and at least address the acolytes. You were the one to start this order and have yet to present a welcome speech to all the new acolytes." Dane stopped writing and turned to face Mars fully.

"Our work here is more than training acolytes and slaying Omens. Must I remind you that our purpose is to find the root cause of The Darkness and stop it completely? Training others will simply delay destruction, not save the world." Dane's grip tightened on his pen, the muscles flexing in his jaw as he spoke, gently pounding his fist on the table with each word for emphasis.

"Then why are we training acolytes if not to defeat and eliminate the Omens and prolong the time you have to find the said cure?" Mars countered, holding his arms wide.

"Do you plan on teaching anyone what you have learned so we can all better combat the Omens?"

"Yes, Mars, I will. But my time is better spent finding that cure, not presenting a welcoming speech. Once The Darkness is eliminated, there may be time for such things."

"What happens once we complete our objective? Do we simply disband the Aurora?!" Mars demanded, slamming the end of his Shining Rod on the fine marble floor.

"No, Mars. Once The Darkness is gone, the order's purpose will shift to ensure Darkness within the world will never reach that level again." Dane got up from his chair, setting a heavy hand on Mars's shoulder, and gave it a firm squeeze, his tone softening.

"I need you and Vieren to continue your work training the Acolytes what I have taught you. I have found a possible solution, but I need time. And that is quickly running out without a way to delay the Darkness spreading." Mars growled in his throat, clenching his fist, making his arms burn all the hotter.

"How does locking yourself away help you find the Ultimate Light? Why haven't you used that to destroy the Darkness you extract? There are dozens of vials here you can test it on." Mars shouted, motioning towards a wall of shelves with said vials.

"And that is what I intend to do, and this Darkness will help to find it, " Dane answered, pausing for a moment, tilting his head and furrowing his brow slightly, a pang of dread settling into his mind.

"Are you losing your faith in our cause Mars?"

"By no means, Master!" Mars answered quickly, jerking his head back with a shake, blinking a few times as the question hit him.

"Good. Because I will need all of you to help me complete this journey." Dane gently shook Mar's shoulder to emphasize his statement before returning to his theory.

"You said that you had come up with a new theory master. Would you care to expound?"

"I am going to use Darkness to vanquish Darkness."


"I thought you promised me your Dark Alchemy would allow me to achieve eternal life?" Hilda spat, her voice rough as she looked over the blackened vial.

"I said that I would help you achieve it. Combining arts such as these has never been attempted; have some patience," Arkarium growled, reviewing his notes and theories. Reaching into a pocket within her skirt, Hilda pulled out a small vial and undid the cork. Light blue vapors sprung from it, which she inhaled deeply. Some small age lines on her body disappeared, giving her the look of a woman no older than 20.

"If you spent less time writing and more time performing experiments, we would be all the closer." Hilda huffed as she walked to a crowded cell filled with a dozen prisoners sentenced to death by the King of Kritas. She threw the cell open, scanning it for a moment before settling on a terrified teen.

"Him." Hilda barked. Robed men assigned to help Arkarium filed into the cell, grabbing the teen by the arms and hauling him to his feet, putting a dirty rag over his mouth to stifle his screams.

"Must I remind you that the King's requirements come first? Only through his aid can I even perform this experiment." Arkarium huffed, drawing out a matrix and altering a character within one of the circles.

"So you have said many times. If you give me some time, I could help to increase our aid and give us free rein to do whatever we wanted." Hilda teased, looking up and down the terrified teen as he was strung up by his shackles in the middle of the room. The teen fought with everything he had to free himself; he had seen what happened to those before him and didn't want to become another victim.

"Must I also remind you that because our kingdom is steeped with Dark Alchemy, much of your charms and magic will not affect the king?" Arkarium growled. Hilda huffed and walked closer to the young man, running her finger across his jaw.

"How many prisoners do we have left?" Arkarium asked uninterestedly, looking over his notes and making an adjustment to something before going to the next page.

"It looks as if we have ten or so remaining. If you don't find anything soon, we'll have to start collecting others who aren't convicts." Hilda huffed with a modicum of pity, holding her palm out to the teen.

"It's a shame. You might have made a cute concubine." She laughed, closing her fist one finger at a time. With each finger that touched her palm, more and more of a blue cloud pulled from the teen into a small bottle. When the last of the cloud had pulled into the bottle, the teen fell limp in his shackles.

"Toss that with the others," Hilda commanded, putting the corked cfgytu0

0ovial into the middle of an alchemic circle on Arkarium's desk.

"Don't waste it this time." Hilda sneered, standing off to the side as the men in robes took down the teen and dragged him off to a door emptying into a cavern. At the bottom were scores of corpses feeding dozens of wild dogs.


Ariel patiently watched as Dane studied his new theory. It was a fresh take on trying to rid the world of Darkness, but at the same time, she felt that it was pulling him further away from her. Ariel could manifest in a small way for a short time without distorting the world around her, but it wasn't enough. She wanted to hold Dane once again physically.

More than simply wanting Dane to be near her in body, she was worried that his research was beginning to affect him negatively. He would perform his tests using small creatures found in the forest, bombarding them with Ultimate Light to absorb, and then thrusting a crystal of pure Darkness within them. While the method was cruel, the creatures seemed unaffected, as the Darkness within the beast and in a large area was cleansed for a short time. This lifting of darkness appeared to be a positive effect, but Dane began to show signs that his research was also affecting him. And after seven months, she could no longer stand by idly.

"Dane, my love. You must cease, just for a little while. Let your mind have time to process and recoup all that you have learned so far." Ariel gently urged, manifesting just enough to put her arms around his shoulders and hold him tightly, breathing in his comforting scent.

"I cannot. This research is providing a way to rid the world of–"

"Dane. Please. Come away to my temple, just for a short while." The pleading of her voice made Dane stop, realizing that Ariel had put her arms around him laying her head on his back and pressing herself to it. A weight built in his chest, plaguing his mind with guilt. Had he been so obsessed with his work that he had forgotten the woman who brought him out of his own storm of Darkness?

Putting the pen down, he sighed, reaching up to Ariel's hand around his shoulders and kissing the inside of her wrist.

"I apologize, my goddess. I have been lax. But it will take some time to reach you. Your door is still in Haim's tree." Dane groaned, leaning back against Ariel.

"That isn't the only door I can make. You just need to say, 'in the name of my contract, I call to Ariel', and it will open the door to my temple wherever you are." She answered softly, smiling and kissing the side of his neck. Dane felt a hole grow in his chest, realizing how long he had been away from her and how comforting it was to have someone he loved nearby.

"Very well; I will be there shortly. But I cannot stay long; time is a funny thing within your temple." Ariel smiled and stood back up, holding his hand as she faded.

"I await you, my love." She said, her voice echoing long into the breeze as Dane felt her touch disappear. He gathered his staff, now fitted with tiny chips of the Aurora Crystals and one large one in the center at the top of the main shaft, and turned to leave. But his research strewn about the table made him hesitate at the door. There was so much that still needed to be done, so much that needed to be pursued. He only needed a few more minutes to finish the new method he had created to extract and solidify Darkness.

He slowly walked back to his table, his mind warring to turn around and walk out the door. But still, he walked, placing his hand on the notebook, grabbing the pen, and setting his wrist on the edge of the paper, ready to write. A heavy sigh escaped his nose as he put the pen between the pages, closed the notebook, straightened up the papers, then turned and left.

With a word to Vieren and Mars, he left the Aurora temple and ensured he was far enough away that no one would see his summoning of Ariel's door before speaking. As before, he was awed by the design of the temple. His mind was still not used to the fact that he was not only able to come to the home of a goddess on a whim but was also essentially married to one. It was only moments before Ariel came to greet him, putting her arms around him tightly and pressing her lips to his for a long while.

"You know that I can only stay for a short while, my goddess," Dane interjected, at which Ariel's smiling face fell, and her eyes saddened.

"Please, don't speak of something like leaving only when you've just arrived. But I promise that I won't keep you long." She pined, taking him by the hand and leading him through the temple silently. Despite the time they had known each other, they still felt as if there were an immense rift between them.

"Dane, my love. Do you truly love me?" Ariel finally asked as they walked through an empty hall. Dane stopped cold, his whole being frozen in place.

"What?" Dane asked with a shocked tone.

"Do you love me, or am I merely a device for furthering your research?" The question made Dane unsure of himself as his fingers fidgeted. Had he just been using her for the creation of Light? Had he been neglecting her to the point that his goal overrode his love for her? Did he see her as only a tool? Ariel waited with bated breath, her chest tight and eyes brimming.

"I…why do you…" Dane's mind raced, thinking back to the time that he had spent with her in Usoria as Ephenia. Would he be in the same place if it wasn't for her? He tried to speak, but words wouldn't come. Ariel bowed her head and released her grip on his hand, a tear clinging to the edge of her eye. With a wave of her hand, the contract she had forged with him appeared and spoke with a breaking voice.

"If your goal is truly to rid the world of Darkness, then I will not stand in your way. But please, tell me that I am wrong. Tell me that I have meaning in your life. If not, I will release you from this contract and never interfere again. I will find another way of averting the disaster." The warmth left Dane as he watched Ariel summon a flame to her hand, holding the contract in the other.

"No! I can't! I won't lose her as I lost Menodora!" Dane screamed in his mind. He thought of the loneliness waiting for him away from her forever, which terrified him. With a swift reach, Dane grabbed the contract in one hand and her wrist with the flame in the other. Taken by surprise, Ariel tried to back away but was backed against a column as Dane's lips met hers with an almost desperate passion. At first, she did nothing, but she relented and returned his kiss, putting her arms around him and holding him close, careful not to crush him. When Dane finally released her, he leaned his forehead against hers, his eyes closed, and his breath slow.

"I love you more than words can describe my goddess. I often feel unworthy. But I cannot; I will not let you go. Please, forgive my absent-mindedness for–"

"Dane, I am not simply a goddess. I am more; I am your wife. Stop seeing me as something unattainable. I've chosen you, of all mortals through time and the world. Let me love you as an equal." Dane sighed and nodded, opening his eyes to meet hers. Time seemed to stop as Dane took her hand, leading her back to her bed chamber. After closing the doors, he slipped her dress from her shoulders as they lay down together, running his fingers through the silky soft feathers of her wings.

"Ariel, I vow that I will come to see you every month in mortal time. I wish to make up for the time that I have lost." He whispered to her. Ariel smiled as she reached above her and took her silvery crown from her head, setting it aside and spreading open Dane's shirt allowing skin to meet skin.

"I accept," Ariel whispered as she pulled Dane to a sitting position and began to lose herself to the feel of Dane's lips on her neck.


Will was a teen of many interests, history being chief among them. For the past few months, he'd been researching the beginnings of Kritas, and the various methods of creating Anti-magic. But on this day, something else caught his attention, something more extensive.

Jean Mor Antas discovered Anti-magic, or as others knew it, Dark Alchemy, nearly 200 years ago. A system of spells and matrices that mirrored magic and alchemy in every way within a negative space, bypassing all limitations presented by modern magic and alchemy. Its drawback was in its negating effect in the area long after its use to ordinary magic in any form. After a few decades, Kritas' citizens lost the spells to time, and all that remained was the Dark Alchemy.

What Will discovered about its properties is what made him nervous. Usually, an alchemic reaction uses the energy of electric generators and the atomic combinations of the materials to allow reactions and formations to happen. Dark Alchemy's energy for reactions couldn't come from these sources and instead used an unknown, unnamed energy to power the reactions within a given matrix. It was this energy that Will pursued, wanting to find its source. Kritas' expert on the art, Arkarium, and the King, Hekaton, seemed to care little for where the energy came from, only that it allowed them to do the impossible.

For days, Will searched through every book in the library and even traveled to the Great Library of Eline. After eight weeks of searching, with tired eyes and a pounding head, Will found the answer. Someone called "The White Mage" had been studying the same phenomena and dubbed this energy "The Darkness of the World." Will searched for more information about this White Mage, but everything he could find would only cite the mage as a source of information, telling nothing of where he lived or what had happened to him.

With the lead of The Darkness to spur him on, Will plunged head first into everything he could find about it with renewed vigor. Within days, he'd discovered that the Darkness wasn't just a random energy from the world; it was the collective sorrow, rage, and fear of people that died in the past. And after using that energy in alchemic reactions, what was left was a haze of pure hatred, preventing every kind of magic or alchemy from being used other than Dark Alchemy, and amplifying the energy further in a loop of constant amplification.

With this discovery in hand, Will decided that he needed to speak with Arkarium, especially since it seemed King Hekaton was pushing the old wizard to create the Thrall Knights for an invasion of the Dracova Empire. But if these negative emotions drove Dark Alchemy, it could spell disaster for the world, especially if mixed with normal magics.

Will's requests to meet with the old wizard were ignored or denied, even after requesting an emergency-level audience. With all his requests unanswered, Will brought his findings to the king directly. Hekaton appeared to listen with interest, but when Will finished with his findings, the king berated him, roughly escorted him from the palace, and told him that if he spread his findings further, he would be charged with treason and imprisoned.

Picking himself up from the cobbled road, something in him began to boil. Anger surged through his being: the energy behind Dark Alchemy was dangerous! Couldn't anyone see that? Will needed someone with authority to listen and help him stop using this destructive power.

"The White Mage. I need to find the White Mage!" he thought. Yes, the White Mage would have the standing he needed to make The King and Arkarium see how dangerous Dark Alchemy was! With renewed conviction, Will was about to return to his apartment when something struck him over the head, and all went black.

When he woke up, he hung from shackles in a damp room. Candles and wooden desks with different colored liquids inside surrounded him on the outer edges, separated by an open, heavy door. Guards dressed in heavy-looking armor stood beside him, almost like a statue. The chains loosened as he stood, allowing a better view of his prison when he once again toppled over as the pain in his head rushed to him.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" he called, listening to the unnerving echo. Quick footsteps approached as a woman with fire-red hair and revealing clothes entered the room.

"Ah, you're finally awake. Hold him," she commanded as the guards reached out and gripped his arms hard. Will breathed quicker as his eyes widened. The woman approached, holding her hand out as pale blue smoke began pulling from his body, making a chill envelope his being.

"Come now, can't you give me just a little whimper? It makes your soul much more enjoyable." she teased, her fire-red hair almost shimmering in the dull light surrounding them.

"Who are you? What do you want with me?"

"That doesn't matter; you'll be gone soon."

"But the energy providing the power–"

"Provides what we need to continue our research." the woman sighed, coming closer and placing a hand on his chest, feeling his heart pounding.

"If I let you continue, you'd no doubt attempt to stop me and my wayward practices, and I can't let you do that, not when I am so close," she whispered into his ear, her red lips grinning with a malicious smile. She held her hand back again, drawing more of the pale blue smoke from Will when Arkarium walked in.

"What are you doing, Hilda? I thought you would use this man's life force for the next leg of our research?" he asked, setting down his staff with a gentle metallic clap.

"I will be. I was just hoping to have a little fun before I did." Hilda pouted. Will chuckled nervously, drawing her ire again and her firm grip around his jaw.

"With all due respect, ma'am, you're not that scary. Attractive and intimidating, but not scary." Will fibbed, hoping he sounded confident. Dark clouds gathered around them as Hilda reached for his throat, drawing her free hand back as more ghostly smoke began to pull from Will.

"There is a reason I am called The Reaper of Azwan, boy. Shall I give you a demonstration?" She asked, her eyes wild as Will began to feel his chest tighten and his breathing become labored, but still, he dared not show any fear, despite the complete panic he felt.

"Hilda, wait a moment," Arkarium commanded. Hilda glared back at him, releasing Will with a frustrated huff, letting Will hang limp in the chains.

"You have quite the fortitude of personality to face your death unflinchingly. I could use someone like you in our line of work," Arkarium said, eyeing him from over his nose.

"Not to sound rude, Master Arkarium, but if you're going to make me an offer, you might want to do it without my hands in chains or my life on the line." Will countered. Arkarium flipped his hand, unlocking the shackles and dropping Will with a solid thud.

"Now I remember: you're the welp begging to speak to me about something. What could be so urgent?" Arkarium asked, putting a hand behind his back and standing with a prideful glare.

"I've made terrible discoveries about Dark Alchemy and the energy powering its reactions. Kritas needs to stop using it, or disaster will fall upon the world." Arkarium raised an eyebrow, putting a hand to his chin.

"Is that so? Then tell me what you have found." For the next hour, Will presented his findings on the energy powering Dark Alchemy, its residual energies, and what it was doing to the world. Arkarium listened stoically, occasionally asking for clarification as Will finished. For a long while, nothing was said. Arkarium walked to the far side of the room and looked over a formula he'd written out within the last few days until Hilda leaned over and whispered something into his ear. Arkarium glared at her before turning around and putting an arm behind him.

"You have provided quite a lot of information to me. Some of which I was aware of, but not all, such as the effect Dark Alchemy had on the world. For that, I am grateful." Walking to a country map hanging on a wall, he drew Will's attention to it by holding his staff against the yellowing parchment.

"But Dark Alchemy is an integral part of Kritas and cannot simply be erased from use. From this day forward, we can use it more responsibly if you join me and ensure we do not become careless. You have a sharp mind, a gift to propel Kritas to new heights." Turning back, Arkarium held his hand to Will, waiting for him to take it.

"Join us, and help the citizens of Kritas." Will hesitated, unsure about the quick acceptance by Arkarium and even asking for his help. But the impression of willingness to change his ways eased Will's mind, especially if it would help Kritas and, by extension, the world. With a firm grip, the two shook hands as Arkarium's expression softened into a welcoming smile.

"What do I call you?"

"Will Seren."

"Welcome, Will. one of the Thrall Knights will escort you to your home. Tomorrow, I eagerly await your assistance." Will grinned nervously as the large knight walked through the halls, guiding the young man to the streets. Hilda leaned against a desk, crossing her arms while glaring at Arkarium from under her brow.

"What is it, Hilda?" Arkarium sneered, looking back to her over his shoulder.

"You realize The King already doesn't want him messing with our work, so why invite him to work with us?"

"I have no intention of heeding his concerns. But letting him run free would be a much greater risk. He is young; I only need appeal to his love of this city, and he will see things our way soon enough."