A loud, resounding knock on his door startled him awake from his nightmares. He sat upright on the mattress, allowing himself just a couple of breathes worth of time to calm his racing thoughts. He pushed the already fading memory of his nightmares to the back of his mind before climbing out of bed. He threw a woollen robe over his nightclothes, then dragged his feet toward the door.

  Whoever it was knocked again. “Fine, fine,” he grumbled as he pulled the door open to see Alistair.

  “You look terrible.” The young noble blurted out as soon as he saw Midhir’s face.

  “Thanks.” Midhir dryly replied. He turned around and walked towards a basin by the mirror. “Come in, close the door.” He glanced at the mirror. Alistair wasn’t wrong, he did look terrible. There were dark circles under his eyes, and the whites of his eyes were bloodshot. “What brings you here this early?”

  “Instructions from Principal Aoidh.” Alistair replied. “Since his majesty the Emperor’s return is expected tomorrow at dusk – and the ambassador’s, of course – she wishes to speak with you about the preparations to be made.”

  “At the crack of dawn?” Midhir sighed as he bent over the basin and washed his face. He then grabbed a towel and dried his face and the bits of hair that also got wet. “Surely this could have waited until after I was awake.”

  Alistair just shrugged. “Doesn’t look like sleep was doing you any favours anyways.”

  Midhir shot him an annoyed glance. The young Orlein heir wasn’t wrong, but at least he was warm under the blankets. The halls of Derwen Hold were perpetually cold, and even when he was dressed for it, his hands and face always felt somewhat numb.

  “Putting that aside,” the young noble folded his arms. “I came across Arwen yesterday evening. She seemed a bit distraught. About how you said you didn’t notice the change in spiritual power around us.” He broadly gestured towards the door. “She’s worried about you.”

  This again… Midhir closed his eyes and breathed a sigh. “I’m fine.” He was fine – better than he was before, at least. “I appreciate her concern, and yours,” he added quickly as he opened his eyes and turned to face Alistair. “But there is so much to worry about – I honestly didn’t care about how much spiritual power is around us. I didn’t notice, I didn’t need to cast resonances since we arrived.” It was hardly a lie, though it did hurt to not speak the full truth.

  Alistair’s lips formed a thin line. “Are you sure you’re fine?”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Midhir forced a smile. “I’m tired,” he shrugged. “I’m worried because Father isn’t here, and he left some of his responsibilities to me. I’m worried because the Theocracy making a move now is just weird, in any way you look at it.” He folded his arms and paced the room. “Why now? Are they frightened of Calador? Or this an attempt to proselytise?” He tapped under his left eye. “The Theocracy coming out of their seclusion just as the Old Gods are starting to stir awake seems too perfectly aligned to be a coincidence,” he paused. “Not to mention that we still have the cultist leader captive and haven’t even been able to learn his name.”

  Alistair lowered his gaze. “I… understand.” He hesitated. “I didn’t notice how much was on your mind. We’ve been dealing with a lot less. And a lot simpler things.”

  “You also joined the same exercises as Arwen yesterday, didn’t you?”

  Alistair nodded. “It was difficult – I’m used to drawing as much power as I can. Limiting myself to a comparatively tiny amount of power is… well, difficult.” He shrugged.

  Midhir chuckled. “You’ll get used to it.” Alistair, Arwen and Willow were all incredibly skilled resonance casters. They could adapt to pretty much anything.

  * * *

  The raven was heavy in her arms as she walked down the submerged tunnel. Water simply moved out of her way as she walked on.

  “It’s odd, isn’t it?” Her raven companion softly cawed.

  She nodded. It was odd – the distance they walked wasn’t long at all – it had taken her perhaps the entirety of a minute to reach the large, submerged cavern at the end of it. She watched the wall of water in front of her for a few moments, then closed her eyes, and directed her mind into the earth.

  Veins of spiritual power ran under the whole world, though they were most concentrated in Eldoria and the young nation that called itself the Theocracy of the Sunlit Summit. These veins – called ley lines by most scholars – commanded the winds of power, the flow of spiritual power across the whole world ran through the ley lines.

  Closing her eyes, she reached for the nearest lay line, running deep underground, filled with immense power. It was easy to locate them for someone like her. Once she did, she walked a few steps back. Her brows furrowed as she repeated the process a few more times, until she reached the other end of the tunnel.

  “The distance is all wrong…” she whispered, walking back towards the cavern. What was only a couple dozen steps for her was almost an hour-long walking distance outside, in the surface. “Reality is broken here.” She breathed out.

  The raven tilted its head but remained silent in her arms.

  Stood at the edge of the tunnel, her gaze turned down.. She could see the surface of the cavern below – a white floor, dimly lit by unseen lights. Above was an oddly smooth surface, almost like a man made ceiling.

  Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward.

  * * *

  Sunlight shone through the rose window behind the golden throne as the gold embossed wooden doors closed behind an older man who stepped inside. His mere presence was enough to silence the nobles and soldiers alike. Even the young man sitting atop the throne paused his conversation with one of the high ranking soldiers.

  “Your Majesty.” The man saluted. His lips curled up as he saw the map spread across the table at the centre of the throne room. “Shall we begin?”