The Way Ahead

Epilogue

Epilogue

Tara Lisana sat down, relieved, at her desk. Never in her entire life had she been so grateful to be back from a mission, but Edwin always managed to surprise her.

And surprise her he had. She hadnt been certain why Emperor Xares had decided against scouring the entire region to bedrock immediately after her Remote Report, but once again his clarity proved prudent. Ultimately, it would only be a minor headache for others to deal with, and thankfully not her. The new magistrate would need to be dealt with by the governor, of course, and the Registration Council would need to dispatch practically a legion of Registrars to come to terms with the new city of mages they had to deal with.

At least the Blood Hive had been dealt with, once and for all. She had even gotten a Champion of the Empire path for slaying a moderate threat to Liras, so she knew that it had genuinely taken the last time.

She still did not understand what exactly the Adventurer had done, but it apparently involved setting people on fire from the inside, and Tara was starting to feel slightly relieved that he seemed at least nominally aligned with the Empire. Updated from

Not that he would present any kind of grave threat, of course, but he would definitely be a nuisance if he so chose, and with him aiding them he might prove an even more valuable asset in time. It had only been two years, after all, and he had already revolutionized Skill acquisition and the entire path of Alchemy.

She idly sorted her way through her reports, fingers brushing against stone upon stone as each informed her of something ongoing. There were reports of a minor elven incursion in a town by the Verdant, a new band of Outlaws had sprung up further north, Lefi had picked up a new protege and was flagrantly defying several ordinance laws in the towns hed been passing through, shed have to pick him up and and assign him some banal task as punishment. Or perhaps she could throw him at the elves.

Regardless, there was more work to be done.

First, however, she was going to take a well-earned day to decompress.

A faint ripple of magic bursting out from the northwest, echoing of blood, fire, and flowers, swept over their little campground, and Lefi looked up in surprise. He most certainly hadnt been expecting to feel a magical pulse originating from Edwin, Inion, and the Snowbird. Just what had happened, and what was the bloody sensation which underpinned it all? He would have to wander that way once he got the chance, but for now Bob- Lefi chuckled to himself once again at the little trick hed lifted from Edwin, and the levels it had come with- needed time to find his feet away from any other major influences.

Its not like he really blamed them, their Registrar program did exactly what the System itself was designed to do, but it did mean there were very few novel Skills which passed across his metaphorical desk for review and more in-depth study. But with the splash that Maxlin and the Seasonal Dancer had made- with a little nudge from him, anyway- he was bound to see all sorts of new mages pop up once the Registrars figured out how to unlock magic within people. And new mages meant new spells, and new spells meant better Skills for everyone.

He took another sip of his wine.

To the True Outsider!

It had been quite some time since she had felt at peace, but Inion could safely say that she was enjoying it. While as a fairy, her thoughts were unusually constrained compared to how they normally were, it also meant she was able to experience emotions in a way typically impossible for fey. She could see why so many of her kin liked it, though she was still somewhat undecided.

After all, the drawback of her Rules linking her to a single individual was that if that person was, oh mistrustful and skeptical of everyone, that same attitude would bleed over to her. It was akin to, if she were understanding the phenomenon properly, waking up on the wrong side of the bed. Though sleep was still something of a novel experience, she definitely could relate. And even with the downside, she could hardly blame Edwin for what shed done to herself.

That was another change! She was far more liable to blame herself rather than anyone else. Considering how antithetical the concept had been in Arcadia and how the Bond tended to lessen the others tendencies slightly, she could only imagine how much Edwin must blame himself for everything, at least by default. He was remarkably well-adjusted for someone with so many bad habits, and now that hed seemingly gotten a handle on his fundamental mistrust of others, she had finally found herself once again at peace.

Rillah was a pleasant conversationalist as well. While her memories of first meeting the woman were distorted by the emotions theyd been tainted by in the succeeding months, Inion was able to once again properly appreciate the half-elfs music and insight into the world. It was quite refreshing, and so very mortal.

That was why she had decided to come along for this grand experiment all those years ago. An escape from the gods, an opportunity to strengthen her own soul, and a mortal experience? It was all so perfect.

Perhaps she would be able to nudge Edwins Skill acquisitions. His Arcadian Elixir was in almost the perfect position for an Agelessness Skill, and Feys Caress made him so close to transcending mere humanity he might well manage true Immortality as soon as Tier 4. Once hed accomplished that, the entire cosmos opened up to them, not just this tiny little bubble of reality.

She couldnt wait.