(Sorry for the delay! Had some end-of-year business to attend to at the office.)

@Eviledd1984

"I'd love to, th-thanks!" Kara took a look at Smith before walking alongside his mother, eager to see the garden. As much as she wanted to get her mind off of his predicament, she couldn't. "How long will he be out for? Is there any chance that he can join us later today?"

@bloonewb

Prince Seleucus led his army to meet the kobolds. Several thousand strong and well-equipped, they posed a formidable force relative to their size. Each soldier was equipped in shining steel armor, recently polished to give the best impression possible. Unlike the coats of chain mail which clad many of Hekaga's lower-ranked troops, these soldiers wore suits of plate armor from head to toe; helmets, pauldrons, cuirasses, greaves, gauntlets, and that most rare of armors in the dracon lands: plates which covered the top of their feet.

He called a halt when recon announced the approach of the kobold army, having seen the red-scarfed arrow. They would have to come to him, as he couldn't be bothered to go another kilometer for their sake if he didn't have to. He considered it a generous gesture to even meet them in person at all. As the kobold force wasn't advancing either, this led to an awkward situation. The two armies just stood there for a few hours, which passed in awkward silence. In fact, the only sounds were the distant din of the city, punctuated by the occasional hoof beats of a passing caravan.

Finally, a small force of dracons riding on bipedal riding lizards issued forth from the city walls. It was Mazdak and several cavalry assigned to his attache. Seleucus could see the city's flag waving from Mazdak's saddle, and he assumed that the lizard riders would turn his way. To his surprise, they made tracks for the kobold army instead. Mazdak dismounted as soon as he came in sight of Rebat and his staff officers, a parchment scroll from the Grand Prince clutched in his hands.

"Rebat, I am so sorry for the delay. When Prince Seleucus didn't meet you, one of our oracles had a vision. He told me to give you this. It seems that we were, ah, close to an incident between our cities. They had to rush me out to fix it. Here you go. It's a writ authorizing you to keep command of your forces during this operation, with the proviso that you cooperate with Seleucus. That last part will be tricky. He's not the easiest dracon to work with."

@SilverPaw

"Then your mother has good sense. Come with me. If you need anything... ah, you know to let me know. I don't need to keep saying it. Bit of a bad habit there." Aerta led him to a bathroom before heading downstairs again to resume her meditation for a couple of minutes before getting some food ready.

"Well, let me think. Since we both share sorcerous ability, we have no need to study our magic. I'd recommend practice over lectures or book learning. As for something specific, it all depends on what you want to accomplish. Basically, if you want to get good at combat magic, I'd recommend target practice. If its ritual spells you want, just follow the procedure outlined in the tome where you learned them. Sorcery is truly a personal journey; what works for me, a female dracon, will probably not work for you. Truly, it will fall to you to discover it yourself, although I suppose I can help in a few small ways. One of the few universals among sorcerers is concentration. You'll need to concentrate hard in order to achieve more powerful and useful effects."

She put a hand on his shoulder. "Deep down, you know as well as I do that we sorcerers don't deal in clear answers. Those answers- and the desire for them- belong to the wizards. Knowledge is all and good, but beware the lengths it takes to get that information. Greater mages then either of us have sold their souls for it, and many a wizard has wasted centuries toiling away in vain for the answer to some esoteric problem. If you can understand that mystery is a vital part of your magic, then you've already taken a big step into a larger world."

@Aristocles

The two of them heading towards quite the large and lovely looking garden, The garden was filled with many fauna that had rows and rows of fruits and vegetables. "Well it depends on the person, When a male fey going though their transformation it depends on how long they their body will take to complete the transformation" She said now tending to a lone plant.

Kara's eyes widened at that word. "Tra- transformation? What do you mean? Smith is... he isn't sick? Is this something like a meta-metam... shoot, lost the word. Uh... metamorphosis? And how's it different from female fey?" She planted each foot in front of the other very carefully, so as not to step on the neat rows of vegetables and other succulent morsels growing in the garden.

@Aristocles

"It seems when a half fey like my son is going though, He's fey blood is slowly reconstruction his DNA. In a way it is like a larva cocooning to become a butterfly" She said watering what looked like a peach with some water.

@Eviledd1984

"So, what does that mean? Is he going to come out of it different somehow? Will he look the same as before? I mean, you don't look too different from a human, and you're completely fey. Smith should come out of this with... well, you tell me. I-I honestly don't know." Kara leaned over to examine a particularly bright blue flower, examining its rather fragrant petals.

@Aristocles

Leonore was watering a large yellow flower, "My apologizes for not explaining further, His appearance will change to look more fey. It is something most male fey's go though, Even a half fey male will go though a transformation. His personality will be the same but after he recovers i plan on training him...if he allows me too" The queen said sadly now tending to a row of tomatoes.

@Eviledd1984

"Why only the male fey? Don't females of your species also change?" Kara wondered as she beheld the beauty of the garden.

@Aristocles

"Well female fey also go though the same transformation" Leonore said stopping for a moment, Inspecting a few strawberries picking the rotten ones placing them in a basket below the rows of fruit. "Since he is of royal blood his transformation is quite special" She added now walking over towards a row of eggplants.

@Aristocles Sorry for the late reply. I honestly wasn't feeling up to writing, before. IC:

Yssil nodded, pleasantly surprised and very pleased at Aerta’s immense hospitality. He had known coming here was a risk and he honestly hadn’t though that such great heroes as the dracons who hosted him could be so gratuitous. But they were, and he was glad for it.

“I’ve practiced with my powers on my own, certainly, and I dare say I’m fairly good at meditation. However, concentrating swiftly and keeping that attention when truly needed is still…a challenge. If my training with Adykon permits it and if you agree, I would also like to practice with you when possible,” he confessed.

Yssil listened to Aerta’s last bits of advice earnestly. “I know,” he said with a sigh, briefly bowing his head. Then he looked at her again “That is very sound and wise advice, thank you. I admit…Accepting that something so innate to me, something so natural will forever be a mystery…It’s hard. But I will do my best. I do realize that there are plenty of secrets in the world that just aren’t meant to be known after all.”

What he left unsaid but what he thought Aerta probably understood was that a secret inside of him, however, was simply more frustrating in a way, and more stressful to leave alone and unknown. At least for him. But Yssil meant what he said – he would instead concentrate fully on polishing his skills, both physical and sorcerous.

@Eviledd1984

"Special? How is... could you explain everything, please? I don't want to keep pestering you with questions, so if you could just tell me about everything that is going to happen to Smith, I'd appreciate it" Kara retorted, growing increasingly concerned for Smith.

@SilverPaw

Aerta shifted her weight a few times from leg to leg as Yssil spoke, trying to keep herself comfortable, as her feet were planted on a rather coarse part of the rug, and she didn't want to appear impolite by moving away from him in search of a more relaxing place.

"Accepting the mystery of your magic is only hard if you make it so, although I admit that shifting mindsets isn't something anyone can expect to do overnight. I won't give you the whole 'unlearn what you know' bit, as you still can make use of what you already understand. Just... be open to other ways of thinking. That's all I can ask of you in that matter. Now, are you ready to practice with Adykon, or is there anything else you need first? You can practice with me tomorrow, as I didn't make room in my schedule for training today." Aerta responded.

@Aristocles

"My apologies for not explaining it better, Because of Smith's royal blood his internal organs will change to be more like a fey, His skin color will become paler and his hair will turn green as you saw somewhat. He will get taller and his ears will change as well, And that is well the main changes he will go though" She said softly.

"It is well quite hard to explain, I am sorry but he will be as tall and his magical abilities will rival mine in time" She said softly tending to some peaches.

@Eviledd1984

"Rival? I'm counting on him to surpass you. He is male, after all." Kara replied, serious about it despite her chuckle. "But that's fine. Those changes sound kinda attractive, now that you mention it. "I guess he'll take over as king someday? Even if that could take a long time? How long do nymphs live for, anyway?"

@Aristocles

"Indeed when i pass to the undying land he will take over as king of the fey, However he will need guidance which i do not think he will take. Because of our strained relationship" She said tending to some plants. "The longest record lift span of a fey would be two hundred and thirty four years old" She answer her question.

"Really? That short? I've heard of nymphs who have lived for thousands of year. Must be a different kind of fey" Kara replied, stretching out with a little moan. "If its any of my business, how old are you?" She leaned over to brush some dirt off of the pale soles of her soft feet. "I need to know if I have decades with my lover, or decades, or... however long it is."

@Aristocles

"I am around fifty seven years old" She said softly watering what looked like a venus fly trap. "Their is a way to expand our lifespan but...it has a terrible past associate with it" She said petting a moth that had landed on the back of her hand.

"And since Smith is half human his life will be expanded form his fey blood but not by much" She added looking sadden by this fact.

"Well, wouldn't you just outlive him long before he can become king of your people?" Kara asked, not sure if she was following it. "And I know that there are nymphs who naturally live for millennia, as long as their trees continue to live, they do too. Some live as long as their mountain stands or their river flows, but I get the sense that those aren't your species, are they?"

@Aristocles

"No I have foreseen his reign as the king, I know it will happen, We are much different then the Nymphs of far" She answered her moving towards rows of juniferberries.

"Alright. I'll take your word for it" Kara replied, having brushed off enough dirt to feel clean again. "So, when will Smith be done with this transformation? The sooner I can speak to him again, the better."

@Aristocles

"Well usually it would take two or so days but with royalty it could take up to two weeks" She said taking a seat on a chair near a row of plants.

Rebat took the scroll, nodding. "Nobody's easy," he said, mostly to himself. Least of all Merat, his old commanding officer. Merat was one who demanded too much, then became furious when not every single order was carried out to success. When the wars for Traeton came to a close, Rebat was given a promotion he could not refuse. He promised himself he would never act as Merat had. It mattered not that this Seleucus was no diplomat, nor did it matter that the soldiers following him were undisciplined and itching for a fight. With a sharp command, the columns of kobolds descended upon the city. Time to pay their respects to the Grand Prince.
_____________________________________________________
"Order! Order!" Came a shout from the front. Kutur craned his neck and looked up at the buildings around him. Mighty statues, endless columns and arches, a stained-glass dome above his head. Built, he knew, by a grateful Basileus to usher in the end of the suppression of magic in Constantsea. This was where the academy of scholars in the Bythesea Empire met, and where the archmages of old were buried, as the case is now. A slender, hunchbacked woman hobbled up to the front of the crowd. "Magisters, exarchs, and secular rulers! Today we mourn the loss of our greatest, our wisest, the Archmagus Lionus!" a mutter went through the crowd. Someone to the left of him, a Strategos of some sort, wiped a tear from his eye. "Tomorrow, our most harrowing choice will be made once again. All wielders of the three disciplines must now choose a new archmage. May the Titans guide your hand." With that, the crowd began to disperse.

"Alexius, a word," said someone, just as Kutur was about to leave. He turned, and saw one of the exarchs, a stern orc who always kept the library strictly enforced. "I trust you have contributed to our library, with all the wisdom you've seen." Kutur fumbled about in his robes, and eventually pulled out one of his books.

"This is one I wrote, exarch," he said, handing it over. "It details the rise of the Son of the Dragons from the far continent."

"I'm not familiar with any of that name," the exarch muttered, adjusting his spectacles.

"It's quite new," Kutur explained. "He was once in talks with the Basileus himself." The exarch nodded.

"I trust your word, Alexius," he said. "I wish you well on the far continent. I have not seen it like you have, but I am told there is much unexplored there, and many evils. I hear of great rebellions, and cities burning to ash." Kutur gulped. A lot of what he said sounded familiar. "But as I said, I have not seen it like you have. I encourage you to continue observing this Son of the Dragons. For history."

"I promise," Kutur said.