Just before the sun began to set, we passed through the walls of the city of Veldya.

  Veldya had been the capital of a kingdom carrying the same name, long before the Empire was formed.

  When our first Emperor united the various kingdoms under his rule, it was decided to move the region’s capital from Veldya to Navar, which had meanwhile become a very developed city.

  Veldya still showed, practically unchanged, the legacy of its former status as a royal capital, displaying majestic structures that had withstood the passage of all these years. High stone walls stood strong and pristine as the day they’d been built, surrounding the ancient city in their defensive embrace.

  About every five miles or so, a large gate opened into the walls, allowing for a smooth regulation of the constant flow of people.

  Like everyone else in the line before us, we too were stopped by the gatekeepers for a brief questioning, right below the city’s insignia looming on top of the gate’s archway.

  Father had made arrangements in advance with an old acquaintance of his to find us accommodation for the night, so Johannes had no trouble handling the questioning. This friend of his was an old local nobleman who had been entrusted with the royal palace to look after as a reward for some task he had carried out for the Empire.

  Since, over time, the rooms had gradually emptied out and ended up being unused for most of the time, he decided to put them to good use.

  And so we ended up spending the night in the old royal palace.

  Baryon and I were staying in one of the rooms that once belonged to one of the princes of the time. My parents, along with Lelya, would occupy the old queen’s chambers. The signs of time were obvious, but the rooms were still magnificent. Large tapestries hid the bare stone walls from sight, while the ceiling was frescoed with landscapes and battle scenes.

  They probably once depicted some of the battles that made the old kingdom of Veldya famous, but they were now damaged beyond repair.

  My teacher was reading one of the books he had brought along with him, leaning against the wall beside his bed. He illuminated the pages with the tip of his staff, which floated beside him, emitting a faint warm glow, bright just enough for him to read without disturbing me.

  “What are you reading?” I asked.

  “The Ars Almadel,” he replied, slightly closing the book while keeping his finger on the page. “As far as I know, it’s the most authoritative and advanced grimoire on barrier magic.”

  Raising a finger, he conjured on a whim a few glimmering floating barriers of different shapes and dimensions.

  He left them hovering in the air for a few seconds before dismissing them with a flick of his wrist.

  “In this single volume are written some of the most advanced defensive techniques ever created.” He said, poking absently the fading residuals of a barrier. “Many of them I’m still learning to use, but I’ll get there, eventually.”

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  Is this a pattern I see? I wondered. Ars Incantandi, Ars Almadel…

  “Is the author, by any chance, Edel Adornin?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “Sorry to disappoint you, but no. Its author is known only by his nickname, ‘Aegis’, the Shield of Humanity.”

  “Pretentious, but indeed quite accurate,” he added with a chuckle. “Most of the names of these ancient mages have been forgotten,” he said, his tone suddenly tinged with sadness.

  “Is there something bothering you, master?” I asked, sensing a shift in his mood.

  “Nothing in particular. I just regret that so many things about our past have been progressively forgotten.”

  I wasn’t sure how to respond. I didn’t have much experience in the field of magic, so I had never really thought about it before. But I guessed he may be feeling the same nostalgic feeling I felt when reading the old times’ chronicles.

  “Is there anything troubling you, Arda?” He asked, giving me a curious look.

  I thought I had hidden my fears well enough, but not well enough to fool my teacher.

  Cornered, I had no choice but to respond.

  “You wouldn’t happen to know a spell to prevent me from dreaming, would you?” I asked in a flat tone, trying to mask my embarrassment.

  He placed his book on his bed, grabbed his staff, and walked over to me. The sudden change in luminosity made me squint.

  “Oh, I apologize,” the light from his staff dimmed to a bearable brightness, what was needed for us to see each other.

  “I’m afraid such a spell hasn’t been invented yet. But why don’t you want to dream tonight?” He asked as his eyes carefully searched mine for an answer.

  “I’m quite positive that I dreamt something really bad last night,” I confessed. “I know I sound much like a baby, but I’d rather not go through that again.”

  Baryon accepted my explanation without much fuss, and his face softened into a warm smile.

  “Don’t run from dreams, Arda. Not all are pleasant, that I can concede. And not all of them will always be what you expect, but I find they can be quite revealing sometimes,” my teacher whispered, getting back to reading in his bed.

  That night, I fell asleep peacefully in the darkness of our room, with the dim light of Baryon’s staff keeping me company.

  * * *

  The journey resumed without any hitches.

  This time, we took a path passing through the forest outside the capital. It was called the Dragon Grove.

  As the name suggested, these creatures once inhabited the forest, forming the first and most effective line of defense for the city.

  Legends had that a long time ago, when one of the first kings of Ardelar ascended to the throne, the dragons had taken off to the sky, leaving the grove as a form of protest, settling beyond the Inner Sea.

  They said that the dragons hadn’t approved of the new ruler, which was why they’d decided to withdraw their support and leave.

  This king would be remembered as Braev the Short-Reigned, due to the brief duration of his reign.

  Thanks, Braev, you effectively erased the chance of us encountering a dragon, I mentally scolded the old king. Thank goodness I have my very personal one in my mental landscape.

  According to Johannes, the passage through the Dragon Groove had been safe for a long time. Bandits and monsters steered clear of the road, perhaps because of the proximity to Ardelar, perhaps out of fear that the dragons might return to their past nests at any moment.

  Still, my father and Baryon always stayed alert for trouble.

  With the two of them on guard, it was unlikely we would have any problem while traversing. Right?