Kiran held his breath as he left the council chambers. When Vesper and her aide passed, he'd sent his chakra out and felt their essence for a brief moment. He knew now, without a doubt, that the aide was Amber.

He wished that was all he had felt.

There was something else attached to Amber. Something sinister, matching the eerie sensation he felt every time he came to this place. It can't be another crystal, can it? Vesper had the same wretched feeling, making him truly concerned about what they had or were involved with when others weren't watching. Something was wrong, and he hoped to catch them when he was allowed to leave. To his disappointment, they were already gone.

At least I know she's still in Warfang. If she's hanging around Vesper, I'll have another chance to talk to her.

Lumen bumped Kiran with his tail, knocking him out of his reverie. "Alright you two," Lumen said with a smug grin, "Let's get some things straight before you two make any assumptions."

Kiran exchanged a glance with Mortimer. The latter seemed resigned, leaving Kiran confused. "Assumptions? Like what?"

"So you can listen! Good!" He slung his tail jovially over their shoulders. "I am here only because I serve the council. If my talents weren't required to handle this problem, I wouldn't be here. You two" - Lumen lifted a paw and pointed a claw at each of them - "are of a kind that I don't particularly like. That means I'm not here to make friends, chat, or do whatever else you might be thinking. I'm here to get this done and keep the city safe, ok? So let's skip the pretenses and keep chit-chat to a minimum."

Well, so much for asking him about his element. With his hopes for another potential training partner dashed, all Kiran responded with was a curt nod. Mortimer didn't even bother, but Lumen took his silence as an agreement.

"Great! I think we'll get along swimmingly." The sarcasm in his voice was hard to miss, and it grated against Kiran's ears.

Thankfully, Lumen didn't have anything else to say and walked away, not bothering to wait for either of them to follow behind. Mortimer sighed and took after him, with Kiran a few reluctant steps behind.

"Is he always like this?" Kiran asked, resisting the urge to frown. "He wasn't like that in front of the council."

"Don't take it personally. Lumen is often abrasive."

"Why?"

Mortimer took a moment to consider his answer. "I can't say for sure, but I would assume it's related to his father's disappearance. He vanished a year ago, and Lumen has been searching for him since."

"His father disappeared?"

"Oh yes, it was quite the news. He was a well-respected member of the Guard, and romantically involved with Arca, so his disappearance unsettled many. Lumen still hopes he'll be found, and Arca is one of the few still assisting him in his efforts. It is a shame, as he was one of the only white dragons still alive after the war."

White dragon? Kiran's mind lit up with a vague memory, but he couldn't quite piece it together. He was forgetting something and felt as if an important detail was sitting just at the edges of his memory. What was it? What am I forgetting?

"Do you think this could be related to the other disappearances?" Kiran asked, his brow furrowing. "Strongfang mentioned that he's been investigating similar cases."

"I wouldn't know. I'm not heavily involved in anything of that sort."

Lumen barked back at them, cutting the conversation short. "What's the hold-up?"

"Coming, coming!" Mortimer sang. He shrugged at Kiran, and they quickened their pace to catch up to Lumen.

With a snort, Lumen resumed his march, much to Kiran's annoyance. From his position in front, Lumen strode ahead and rested his silver eyes on their surroundings, as if searching for danger. Conversely, Mortimer was almost skipping along with excitement, and his hands repeatedly flew to his sash to settle on the book that was jostling around. He was eager for what they were about to do, and his energy was strikingly similar to Shimmer. Kiran himself would have been more excited, but not being able to talk to Amber was leaving him vexed.

I should have tried harder. What harm would a few extra minutes have been?

Even if he had caught her, would she have been willing to talk? She had been gone for so long without a word that the doubt felt like reality. Sometimes, people change. He had witnessed others go through a drastic shift in a shorter amount of time back home, and it could have happened to Amber.

For now, I'll wait to see what she does. If she comes to me, great. If not… I know how to find her. I'll talk with her one more time.

Content with that thought, Kiran tuned back to his surroundings. Lumen had led them to an area full of aged and worn buildings covered in dust. Even from a distance, they held the distinct smell of earth and fire mixed together. Stone arches formed a path that opened into a pavilion that branched out to each structure. Every building was short, wide, and had chimneys with smoke rising out of them, and chipped stone columns flanked thick wooden doors at every entryway. Moles, cheetahs, and dragons walked the paths, talking or hurrying along, often sporting as much dust on themselves as the buildings surrounding them. Many carried tools, storing them in pouches or aprons stained black with ash.

Some noticed the group walking by and gave curious looks, but most ignored their presence as they focused on their tasks. Lumen dove through the throng of people, snorting at anyone in their way, and cleared a path to the farthest entryway. Once there, he had no trouble pushing the doors open and ushered everyone else inside.

Kiran was instantly met with a wall of warm, smoky air that made his eyes water. Faintly, he could taste metal on his tongue, and the ringing of a hammer against metal echoed through the halls, standing out against the constant dull roar of flames. Mortimer, invigorated by the change of atmosphere, took a deep breath and motioned toward the dim rooms ahead.

"Isn't it wonderful?" he boasted. "There's nothing quite like the smell of a forge."

Kiran disagreed wholeheartedly and wished for the fresh air he had taken for granted only moments ago. "Wonderful is certainly a word for it."

"It's only great if you're a mud-loving dirt muncher," Lumen grumbled under his breath while blinking his eyes rapidly to clear them of the haze.

Mortimer hurried down the hall, forcing Lumen and Kiran to give chase. The dragon's claws clicked against the smooth, stone floors, and Kiran almost slipped on the dust that had accumulated on the tile. Mortimer, meanwhile, was able to move smoothly while turning this way and drummed his fingers along the strap of his sash with excitement. Kiran sighed and lamented the dust that was now covering his clothes.

I don't know what I was expecting, but I can't say it was this.

They eventually reached a door deep inside the building that led into a dark room. Mortimer shuffled through his sash and pulled out a set of keys that he looked through for a moment before finding the correct one. With a loud click, he opened the door, stepped inside, and activated something to fill the room with light.

Shelves stuffed to the brim with materials filled the room. Gems, metals, equipment, and tools were stored neatly, while various scrolls, notebooks, and labeled items were on a lone counter in the back. A large forge, an anvil, barrels of water, and other items that Kiran couldn't identify filled the rest of the space. The whole room was lit by a chandelier bolted to the ceiling. It sparkled wonderfully from its light.

The room was clean, especially compared to the halls, and a fresh breeze blew in from outside. The complete change in atmosphere helped Kiran relax, and he took a step inside while getting a better look around.

"Is this your-"

Mortimer gasped and waved his hands frantically. "Wait! Let me go over the rules of my workshop before you enter."

Sheepishly, Kiran took a step back and waited in the door. Mortimer sighed in relief and wrung his sash with his hands. "I apologize, but I'm quite particular about others in this space. I have everything set exactly where I like it, so do make sure not to touch anything you've not been given explicit permission to."

"…Right, sorry," Kiran said. Lumen rolled his eyes but nodded in agreement.

"Wonderful! Please, Kiran, why don't you take a seat here" - Mortimer patted a chair near the back. - "and get comfortable. Lumen, feel free to find a comfortable spot to observe but watch your extremities. I'd be quite disappointed if you knocked something over."

Lumen obliged with a frown, sat down in the first spot he could fit into comfortably, and then set his steely eyes on Kiran. Kiran, not wanting to cause an issue, silently went to his seat and tried to relax. The constant glare and the heat made it hard to do so, however, and it wasn't long before he started to sweat.

Well, this isn't off to a great start.

Kiran took a closer look at the room while Mortimer gathered different items. Many of the labeled items on the counters were strange gadgets that didn't look like they were complete. Other items, crystals of varying shapes and sizes, shone with unique shades of their respective color. Their natural light also varied in intensity, making the shelf they were stored on look like an art display. It was beautiful, in a sense, and Kiran found himself getting lost in the colors until Mortimer started grumbling to himself.

"Oh, dragon spit. Of course, it's not here!" Mortimer groaned. "Harriet must have forgotten to return it. Of all the days for her to-"

He spun around with a flourish. "You'll have to excuse me for a moment. There's an important book that I need to retrieve from a colleague of mine. I'll be right back."

Before Kiran could respond, Mortimer was out the door and down the hall. Kiran was shocked at how fast the ape could move and looked to see if Lumen was as surprised as he was. Unfortunately, Kiran was met with a steady glare that left no room for conversation. For a moment, Kiran wondered if this was how Shimmer used to feel around him. He silently apologized to her for his former attitude and turned to sneak a glance at Lumen.

Thankfully, he had turned away. His white scales shone, brightening the room further, and Kiran felt an awful wave of familiarity. This sense grew the longer he stared until he wanted to beat at his head to remember what it was. I've seen scales like this before, haven't I? But where? It wasn't in Warfang, so- In that moment, everything clicked. On the journey to Warfang, when he touched the other crystal, he had brief visions. It was vague, but he remembered seeing a white dragon among those that flashed through his mind. A white dragon. It couldn't be Lumen's father, could it?

Kiran tried to remember if there were any distinguishing features to recall. Nothing stood out aside from the scales, and as he struggled to hold the visage in his mind, Lumen growled.

"You'd best stop gawking. I don't take kindly to being stared at like a slab of meat."

Kiran flinched and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, I was just-"

"I don't care what you were doing. I expect you to listen and shut up, or I'll give you a reason to."

Kiran almost let his mouth fall open from how astounded he was. He understood that Lumen was an ass, but he hadn't expected him to be outright hostile. "Look, if I upset you-"

Lumen hissed at him. "Let me make it crystal clear. I don't want to be your friend. I don't want to talk to you. I'm tolerating you until your stupid issue is solved, but outside of that? I don't want anything to do with you."

Kiran bit back some choice words and turned away with a sour frown. So much for trying to talk to him about anything. He's worse than anyone I've ever dealt with.

The silence between them was thick and heavy until Mortimer came back.

Seemingly unaware of the dour atmosphere, he walked up to the table with a whistle and slapped a thick tome onto the stone. "And here it is! This will be our guide into the uncharted waters ahead."

"What is it?" Kiran asked, thankful that there was something else to focus on.
Mortimer sighed, though it was wistful, rather than disappointed. "A compilation of everything we know about dark crystals, which amounts to roughly… three pages of text. With any luck, we'll fill the rest of these pages with information we haven't yet discovered."

"With luck?" Kiran asked dubiously. "Aren't you supposed to be an expert?"

"Hah! Good one, Kiran. I didn't know you could be funny," Lumen said sarcastically.
Mortimer stared pointedly at Lumen. "Ahem. I've worked with dark crystals before, many years ago. That doesn't make me an expert, however, and this is the only tome left that details anything related to them. The rest were destroyed when Malefor cursed the apes and the Destroyer ravaged the lands."

I'll just pretend I know what any of that means.

Lumen looked disgusted by what Mortimer said. "Good. No one should have access to that knowledge. It's vile and dangerous. You're burning the tome when we're done, right?"

Mortimer shrugged and slid around the table to grab various equipment and crystals, ignoring his question. With sudden foreboding, Kiran drummed his fingers on the tabletop. He felt sweat run down the back of his neck, and only felt his worry spike as Mortimer turned to him with an enthusiastic gleam in his eyes. He unrolled a set of tools from a leather case on the counter and rubbed his hands together like a mad doctor.

Oh, that's not a good look. Why is he looking at me like I'm a delicious bowl of ramen?

"Well! I might need to grab other items as we progress, but this should be enough to start with. Kiran, are you ready?"

"Hey, uh, Mortimer? You're going to be careful, right?" His voice was tinged with nervousness.

Mortimer had enough sense to smile and cleared his throat. "Hm? Oh, yes, yes, of course! Your safety is one of my top priorities, I assure you."

Lumen nodded and lay on the floor with his chin on one of his talons. "Yes, the mad scientist here is absolutely keeping you in mind as he experiments with the crystal. He promises."

"I am not a mad scientist!" Mortimer cried. "I am merely showing my enthusiasm for the research we are about to conduct! Hardly anyone has had the chance to interact with, let alone study a dark crystal before! This could be revolutionary! Monumental! Historical! World-changing and-"

"Dangerous? Disastrous? Horrible?" Lumen interjected. "Don't forget about what we're messing with, Mortimer. I recall terrible things happening to your kin because of these cursed crystals."

Mortimer frowned heavily. "I am well aware. Don't worry, I intend to take every precaution possible. I would hate for anything to go awry and deny us the chance to further our wealth of knowledge."

"...Or for something to happen to me, right?" Kiran asked.

Mortimer blinked a few times and then smiled shakily. "Right! Of course! That would be terrible too."

Kiran fell back into his chair with a sigh. He glanced up toward Lumen, who seemed to revel in his discomfort, and felt the room grow smaller.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all…

Kiran felt his patience waning as Mortimer pelted him with an assortment of questions designed to give him a basic understanding of Kiran's overall well-being. Nothing was off limits as he was asked about lifestyle, diet, mental state, relationships, and more. Kiran went along with it, not understanding why it was important until Mortimer breached the topic of sexual history. It was something that Kiran had never thought about before, nor had he needed to, and it caught him completely off guard.

Why is that even relevant!? It's not like it matters here!

Kiran threw his face into his hands to hide the red blush that covered his cheeks. "Ok, that's enough with the questions! Let's get on with this! Your dumb questions aren't going to give you some secret insight into the crystal."

Mortimer gasped, looking horrified, while Lumen burst out with laughter that didn't suit someone so grumpy. "What? No! We have to form a baseline! Every variable must be accounted for! Please, it's not a difficult question, and it's nothing to be embarrassed about."

Kiran lifted his head just enough to glare at Mortimer. "Being dead would be infinitely better than answering a question like that. What could you possibly glean from my answer? Why would it matter? It doesn't, and I'm not answering the question."

"But… the baseline…"

"Just give it up, Mortimer," Lumen snapped. "We're here to investigate the crystal, not his personal life, and I'm going to do something rash if I have to listen to this human whine any longer."

Mortimer clearly didn't agree, but thankfully listened to Lumen. With a dignified sniff, he shifted his chair closer and grabbed a small loupe that he set over one of his eyes. "Fine. If it's that much of an issue, I suppose we can begin. Kiran, could you remove your shirt for me?"

Aware of the pair of eyes on him, Kiran sighed and took off his shirt. Mortimer leaned in close and muttered something to himself while looking at the black tendrils that spread out from the crystal in his shoulder and into the skin surrounding the area. Lumen also watched closely, though he held a frown on his face, and Kiran could have sworn he saw him flinch away.

Can he feel the crystal from over there?

Mortimer adjusted the loupe and felt around the crystal with his hands. He then pressed on Kiran's skin, which made him wince and shiver as he ran a finger along a tendril. "Interesting. I wasn't aware that dark crystals could embed themselves into organic matter without any clear side effects. Dragons and apes that have come into contact with them have all of their energy sapped from them to the point that they perish and nothing but a husk is left behind. You're not affected in such a way, however. Why is that? Are you immune? Is this particular crystal different? How can we remove it? I wonder if…"

Mortimer rambled on, asking himself more and more questions. His hands moved to grab a pair of calipers to measure and prod the crystal, much to Kiran's dismay. Every touch sent jolts of irritation shooting through his neck and arm, and Kiran could almost swear that he could feel the tendrils squirming in protest to the attention.

Unfortunately, this was only made worse when Mortimer placed a thick glove on his hand and gave the crystal a gentle nudge with a finger. Kiran felt his skin crawl as the tendrils visibly shifted and writhed underneath his skin. He wanted to shove Mortimer's hand away to stop the horrible feeling but gripped the chair firmly and allowed Mortimer to poke and prod the crystal more.

After a few minutes of this, Mortimer leaned back, wrote down some notes, and nodded to himself. "Well, the crystal seems to be strongly embedded. I have a theory, however, and I believe there may be a way to remove it for further study."

Kiran felt his heart leap with excitement, sharply contrasting how unnerved he was. "Really? How?"

"The crystal seems to react to stimuli," Mortimer said. "I'd like to give it a certain form of stimuli, but I'd like to ask first: You are able to use an element like a dragon, correct? Does the crystal siphon any of that power from you?"

Kiran started to answer. "I don't-" He stopped and crossed his arms. "…I'm not sure. I never thought to check. Give me a minute."

"Of course."

Kiran closed his eyes and calmed the chakra flow in his body until it was as gentle as a small stream. With this settled, he allowed excess chakra to flow through his arm and into his hand, as if he was preparing a jutsu. There didn't seem to be anything noteworthy at first, but as his chakra coursed freely, he focused his attention on his shoulder and felt it; There was a small draw of energy trickling out of him and into the crystal.

"Damn," Kiran cursed. "I never noticed before because it's faint, but it's definitely sucking some of my chakra."

Mortimer leaned forward excitedly. "So it does! That may sound terrible, but I believe this will be a blessing in disguise. If my theory holds, then I can make this particular attribute work for us, rather than against us. Hold still for a moment and we'll see if my theory is correct."

"What are you going to do?" Lumen asked, narrowing his eyes with concern.

Mortimer waved his hand in a shushing motion, making Lumen growl. From his satchel, Mortimer pulled out a large green crystal and held it in his hand. "Kiran, if you can, please try to prevent the crystal from taking your energy."

"I'll try."

Kiran raised a hand to his shoulder, just before the crystal, and pressed on a pressure point. It hurt, and his arm protested angrily at the action, but the chakra that was once flowing stopped abruptly. As it did so, Kiran felt a tendril move and wriggle towards his chest.

"Ok, it's done! Hurry up!" He grunted with panic.

Mortimer pressed the green crystal against the black one. The tendril that had been moving stopped, and the green crystal started to dim. Slowly, carefully, Mortimer pulled the green crystal away, and, as if following his hand, the tendrils began to recede.

"…It's working!" Mortimer cheered.

Kiran sat as still as he could as the process continued. Thirty seconds passed, and the tendrils were almost entirely back inside of the crystal. After sixty seconds, the crystal was seemingly straining away from his skin. After two minutes, the crystal was tugging his shoulder as it attempted to reach the green crystal, but it seemed to not dare to come loose.

Mortimer grabbed a pair of pliers with his free hand. "Hold still. I'm going to try and coerce it further."

Kiran gritted his teeth but nodded. There were a few different sensations in his shoulder and arm now, and none of them were pleasant. The pain he felt was getting worse with each passing second, and he didn't know how much longer he could remain still without moving.
"Hurry. Please."

Mortimer carefully placed the pliers around the dark crystal and pulled. Kiran let out a hiss of pain but held firm as the crystal shifted further and further away. Out of the corner of his bleary eyes, Kiran saw Lumen watching the spectacle with a surprising amount of worry, but he figured it was only because of the object, rather than the person.
Just as the pain reached an unbearable point, there was a loud ripping sound and Mortimer fell back with a yelp. The crystal flew into the air and smashed into the light above, instantly shattering it and enveloping the room in darkness. Glass rained down from above, showering everyone with sharp pieces of glass, and there was panic and chaos as other objects were knocked around or broken. Mortimer yelled, but Lumen ordered him to shut up before a ball of light lit up the room again and the damage could be surveyed.

The entire room was a mess. Glass and tools were over every surface, and the experiments that Mortimer had been so careful with lay broken or displaced on the floor. Even more worrying was the fact that no one knew where the dark crystal had gone, and everyone spent the next few seconds searching for it until Kiran found it.

"Mortimer! Don't move!"

Mortimer froze in his spot and looked at Kiran with wide eyes.

Kiran pointed right next to him. "The crystal is next to your left hand. Be careful when you get up, or you might accidentally touch it."

With trembling hands, Mortimer slowly and carefully located the crystal and then slid away from his spot, shoving a good amount of glass out of the way as he did so. Once he was safe from immediate danger, he scrambled to his feet and looked over himself, and then at Kiran, his eyes bulging out further the longer he looked over his shoulder.

Kiran pulled back, fearing the worst, and looked for himself. The skin where the crystal had been jammed in was an angry red, but there wasn't a cavity in his shoulder like he was expecting. Kiran ran his hand over his shoulder, feeling oddly happier than he had moments ago, and felt all the tension from the past several minutes spill out like a bucket of water. "I can't believe it. It's gone! It's finally gone! Mortimer, look!"

Kiran expected Lumen and Mortimer to be cheering as well, but they weren't. Instead, they were staring at him with confusion and concern, respectively. Lumen in particular was scowling and turned his eyes down to the dark crystal. Mortimer opened his mouth to speak, but instead of understandable words, garbled sounds came forth, unlike anything Kiran had ever heard before.

"What? I don't understand what you just said."

Lumen said something unintelligible to Mortimer and the two had a brief conversation with each other, looking at Kiran with disbelieving looks all the while. Kiran himself was stuck in his cage of disbelief, trying to wrap his head around what was happening.

I don't understand what they're saying anymore… But why?

After what seemed to be an argument between the two, Mortimer placed a glove over his hand and gingerly picked up the dark crystal. He inspected it closely, looking at all sides of the crystal, and mumbled to himself. After a moment, he set the crystal down on the counter and ran off, shouting something to Lumen as he left. Kiran looked to Lumen for some kind of answer, but he only growled and garbled nonsense. Kiran, dissatisfied with the sudden situation, tried to stand up from the chair, but Lumen's tail pushed him back down. Lumen shook his head sharply, pointed his tail at Kiran and then the chair, then huffed.

"So, what? Do I just have to sit here? That's not fair."

Lumen rolled his eyes and tapped his claws on the floor. A few moments later, Mortimer stormed back into the room with an old leather book that was barely holding itself together. He gingerly set the book down on the counter and sifted through the pages until he found what he was looking for. With a nod to himself, he looked over the crystal and pointed out various symbols that were present within the book to Lumen. Lumen nodded, but for some reason, he didn't seem nearly as excited about what Mortimer was saying. In fact, Kiran could almost swear that the scales on his face were whiter now than they were before.

What's making him so worried? Mortimer doesn't seem to be upset.

Kiran couldn't tell. Resigning himself to his situation, Kiran sat back and waited for Mortimer's endless prattling to end. Eventually, he set the book aside and started to discuss something with Lumen. This seemed to upset the dragon, and the two started to bicker passionately. It took them a few minutes of arguing before they settled, and when they did, Lumen stepped back with a sour look. Mortimer was also disgruntled but nevertheless nodded to Kiran politely.

"Yeah? What's up?"

Mortimer picked up the crystal with his gloved hand and turned to Kiran. He motioned in a way that Kiran assumed was to stay calm or to sit, and Kiran narrowed his eyes.

What is he doing?

Mortimer moved the crystal closer to Kiran, making him flinch and grab his wrist before the crystal could touch him. None too gently, he squeezed Mortimer's wrist, making him wince in pain. "The hell are you doing?! We just got that thing out!"

Mortimer sighed and motioned with his free hand toward his shoulder. Kiran crossed his arms angrily and looked to Lumen for support, but he was no help and only glared back with a pissed-off expression. Kiran turned back to Mortimer, who was pointing between the crystal and Kiran with a clear purpose.

"...Do we really have to do this?"

Mortimer's expression was resolute, if not sincere.

"...Fine. But if I get sucked through some sort of horrendous portal, I'm taking you with me."

Kiran let Mortimer's wrist go and looked away. He felt Mortimer's glove hand press against him, and his skin crawled as the crystal melded back into his shoulder. A sickening feeling coursed through his entire body, and Kiran shivered in disgust as his chakra was once again being drained. How had he not noticed this before?

Before he could follow this train of thought, something clicked in his head and Mortimer's voice was once again clear and understandable.

"Kiran, do you understand what I'm saying?"

Kiran's head whipped around, and his mouth dropped open in awe. "Wait, what the hell?"

Mortimer slapped a fist into his open palm and jumped. "I told you, Lumen! I can hardly believe it myself, but this is irrefutable proof that I was right!"

Lumen was scowling deeply, sending ire toward both the book that Mortimer had referenced and the crystal in Kiran's shoulder. At least, Kiran thought it was his crystal this time, instead of him.

"Right about what?" Kiran asked.

"The dark crystal isn't just a crystal, Kiran," Mortimer said while smiling brilliantly and slapping his gloved hand against Kiran's shoulder. "It's a conduit with written instructions for magic!"

Alright! It looks like we're finally diving into some of the mysteries surrounding the crystal. I have to say, this chapter was a blast to write and I hope that you all enjoy it as much as I did! As always, please leave a review to let me know your thoughts! I appreciate everyone who already has, and I can't thank you enough for your kind words! You all are great!

Huge shoutout to Author-san 9001 for his help as my Beta Reader. If you haven't already, check out his own work!

Endlessness - Anyone as hotheaded as Vesper and Amber will be fine, especially once their only means of power has been stripped from them. I see no long-term consequences from actions such as these and expect a full and dignified return from both of them very soon! (I have been known to be wrong on these matters, so do not take my word for it.)

The Silent Insomniac - It was hard for me to focus on what to keep and cut. There were a lot of things that I wanted to add or explore, but doing so would add a lot of fluff or unnecessary content for the main plot. It's very interesting how a bit of background or information on a few non-essential characters can bloat something into a monster that can take over a chapter.

So, with that in mind, thank you for the feedback! I'm glad the meeting held your attention.

Yes! Adding another perspective the story was something I decided on after I wrote several chapters, including this one. It took some time to re-write, but I felt that the effort was worth it. We've had a lot of Kiran. I felt a change of pace would add a breath of fresh air.

Having a council member be re-instated was something that I had to think about. Considering how different traditions and cultures mash together in Warfang, it made sense to me that some interesting articles would exist that could shake things up. Not to mention, it adds a bit of spice to what's already a mess.

When you have a lot of time sitting around and waiting while others argue, you tend to get bored. Why not read some of the documents and papers that explain how things are run?