An hour passed, and Tristan with Felicity in tow transported to the Fey Realm. Taking off his armor, he set to his usual routine of maintenance. But it was mechanical. Dull, in a way. He felt numb to the world.

Felicity hopped onto the table next to him, "Hey…you're acting funny."

Tristan nodded as he hammered out a dent with a small, rounded mallet. "I've killed people. I've seen them die. I just want to help end this civil war with less bloodshed if that's possible." He sighed, "I hate how people go into conflict over stupid motives. A dispute over the throne? They could have just split the country in half and equally partitioned."

Felicity flew up to the trees overhead, grabbed one of the fruits that had been growing there – some type of yellow, lengthened fruit. Stripping down the outside, she took a bite. "Well," she said with a slightly full mouth. "You can recommend that if you can get the two princes together."

"That…that's not a bad idea," Tristan said as he came out of his malaise at her idea. "We could get them to divide the land. Two different, smaller kingdoms. Maybe a way to stop the civil war." And, he thought, prevent more loss of life.

"I am a genius," Felicity said as she shoved the rest of the yellow-white fruit into her mouth. After gulping it down, she licked her lips. "We need to get stuff together for tomorrow, right?"

"Yes," Tristan replied. He reverse-spun his essence crucible, filling himself up with the power of the realm and refreshing himself. "You mentioned once I don't need to sleep here. Way back when I first arrived."

"Oh, yeah. But you like your sleep. And the dreams are fantastic."

"I think traveling overland, at night, is the best course of action." He put on the armor, finished polishing his weapon, and then went to work. The craftspeople were busy in the days of oceanic travel, and Tristan was able to fill up several boxes of the trade goods. Jewelry of varying values, soft bolts of cloth, adamant wood weaponry that was the equivalent of steel, but much lighter, and more. All of those goods he pulled to the dirt circle alongside fairy dragons.

Then, he had Onyx and Midnight pulled over. Reactivating his ring, he reappeared in Rigger's Cove, on the docks. It was evening, and the crew had fallen back to the docks leading to their ships. A small barricade was present. "Hey, I've got the trade goods."

Thirty minutes passed and all of the trade goods were loaded onto the two ships. Tristan shared his plan to Obadai, captain Marcus, and admiral Yokain. Shandra was listening in, also. "Here is the plan. I am going to take the horses with Obadai and we set out tonight. I can navigate in the dark, and we'll make for Prince Merrill's land. Captain Marcus, you will head out as soon as your ship is repaired and begin your trade expedition. Remember, you return to Jewel's Point on the week of the sixteenth of Shine Season."

"Yes sir," the Vantir replied with a salute.

"Admiral Yokain, you will keep near Maladonia. Feel free to go to nearby ports to trade, but be ready to answer my call if you hear me over the artificed bangle."

The man grinned and lifted his hand, "Of course."

"Obadai, we head out tonight."

The man sighed, "I hate sleeping in the saddle, but okay."

Tristan looked at captain Markus, "Make sure you scout out an Essence-Weaver on Yustat and hire them on. You have the contract Obadai worked on with you?"

"Yes," he replied as he pulled the scroll out of his pocket. "Since I'll hit the Citadel of Essence before you, any message to pass along to your brother?"

Tristan grabbed the small letter in his hip pouch and handed it to the Vantir captain, "Yes. Please and thank you." As the man took the letter, Tristan looked to Shandra, "For the time being, I need you on admiral Yokain's vessel. Just in case." He pulled out the primer on illusion spells he had picked up in Bhant and handed it to her. "Something to keep you busy."

She practically squealed with delight as she took the book, "Okay! You got it, Lord Winterbloom."

Tristan double-checked his gear. "Then we're off. Stay safe, sailors." He turned to the end of the docks, acquired Onyx and mounted up. Obadai got onto Midnight, and the two men began their travel through the city and out to the east. "We'll cut across the small hilly region in the north of the continent," Tristan began, "Then we can go south until we hit Mont Merrillie."

"Right to the castle?" Obadai asked.

"Felicity had a great idea on how to end this conflict. I need to pursue that option first. Then…if that doesn't work…we'll help this Prince Merrill with his total conquest."

Obadai was able to sleep in the saddle as Tristan guided Onyx with his knees, whispering encouragement. The moon was covered by clouds above, and they were making slower progress than if they were in full daylight, but progress nonetheless. As dawn began to come, and Obadai roused from his sleep, they picked up the pace to a trot.

Throughout their journey, Tristan spun his essence crucible in both directions, ensuring to exercise the source of magical power within him. But he also made a particular mental note to resume training when they went to the Fey Realm in the evening. No more maintenance, relaxing, and then sleep – instead, he planned to train all night and use the essence suffusing the Realm to keep himself refreshed. The combat in Rigger's Cove showed him how much he had let his prowess slip, and he should not have been winded after only thirty seconds of intense combat.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

If I'm going to be fighting on a battlefield, he thought as he envisioned the worst-case scenario for this civil war, then I will need to have better stamina.

The hours kept passing in silence, as Tristan did not want to risk their voices carrying and alerting anyone who might be nearby. They were not following any roads, thankfully, and were just going overland. The plains stretched away in all directions, filled with millions of flowers. All different color blooms that could only truly be appreciated as the sun rose. The buzz of countless bees permeated the air, and Tristan let some of his essence vent to chill the air around them, which kept them from being pestered by the insects.

The hills rose up before them, and the duo turned south to skirt along the edge of the hills. Tristan kept Near Miss and Lucky Instinct active during their travel, re-casting each spell when necessary. But thankfully, their passage was unnoticed. "Most likely," Obadai reasoned, "because they are gearing up for the main conflict to the south. In army combat, terrain is just as important as the skill of the army. Having the right battleground can make all the difference."

The next few hours they skirted the hills, and the sun slowly set. Throughout, the duo played out the possible conversations that may occur between the Fey Lord and Prince Merrill. Every possible scenario Obadai could think up, being a spy and well-versed in politics.

They boiled down the discussion to two theoretical outcomes. The first being that Prince Merrill would be opposed to the idea of splitting the country in half, and war would continue. The second would be that Prince Merrill agreed, and Tristan traveled with his emissaries to the other ruler, Prince Roland, to present the terms of the agreement.

"I would wager war," Obadai stated as the night fully enclosed around them. "These princes dueled each other for the throne, and I doubt that either of them wants to split the realm in half, making rival industries, and driving their own profits down since neither owns a monopoly."

"Money does make the world go around," Tristan replied.

"Of course. Greed – one of the basest motivations." Obadai gave Tristan a sidelong glance, "You've felt it, from what you've told me. Especially when it comes to your Realm's essence."

Tristan nodded, "True. I do not lust for money, however."

"And yet you are rich beyond measure of most."

He shrugged in response, and reached a hand up to scratch Felicity's head, finding comfort in the gesture. "Ready to go to the Fey Realm?" Obadai nodded, and Tristan activated his ring, transporting the group.

Dismounting, Tristan dual-direction-spun his essence crucible, and called out. "Matriarch? Are you busy, or can you help me out?"

He heard her large wings flapping almost immediately as she came down from the top boughs of the Queen's Wood. "Ah, Lord Tristan, you return. I am here to help in any way you need."

Tristan turned to Obadai, gave him a short wave, and the man left to get some sleep. Tristan looked back to The Matriarch. "New plan. Every night, we are training. Not essence-weaving or spellweaving. I need to get stronger, faster, and build up my endurance."

The Matriarch shifted to her elfanoid form and put a hand to her chin. "Of course. Shall I come up with a regimen?"

Tristan shook his head, "No. But, I wanted to advise you of my intentions…and ask a question."

"Go ahead."

"When I came here and my heritage awakened, I got stronger, faster, my reaction time improved, and my stamina also grew. Is there…this sounds foul to say…a way to cheat this development I seek?"

She grinned, "Cheating? Well, I mean, if you want to call it that. I can put you through the trial of the sap, if you desire. But that is risky."

"Oooh! What's that?" Felicity asked.

"It involves submerging Tristan into the pool of sap at the base of the Queen's Wood as he spins his essence crucible in both directions. The tree will absorb all outgoing essence, and instead of pulling in essence from the Fey Realm, he will pull in the vitality of the Queen's Wood itself. But…it has risks."

"What risks?" Tristan asked.

"Primarily, drowning. You must be fully submerged, and nothing can be touching you. Swimming in sap is tricky. Very tiring. We cannot pull you out if we see you struggling. Second, is the pain. It will be excruciating, if not incapacitating. The vitality you draw in will improve every aspect of your physical being, which is an intense, painful process."

That sounds dangerous, he thought. He then spoke softly, "I thank you for the offer. But I do not need the improvement right this moment, and it is not a pressing issue. I will improve the old fashioned way. Hard work and grit."

The Matriarch nodded, "Very well. I will instruct my children to prepare your training grounds."

Tristan went over to the smithing area, stowed his gear, and then stretched as he walked over to the large clearing. Fairy dragons were flying about, bringing over all manner of pieces of wood, shaping them with spells into weights. Some tamped down the grass to make a more consistent running surface. Within minutes, the clearing was transformed into an enormous training field. Half dedicated to weapon and essence-weaving training, the other half filled with heavy chunks of wood, ironwood, and adamant wood in varying shapes.

Felicity transformed into her elfanoid form, and began stretching next to him. "What are you doing?" Tristan asked her.

"Well, if you are getting stronger, I should get stronger, too. Can't have you being better than me!"

Tristan grinned and made his way over to one of the sets of wooden weights. "Now…let's get to work."

The night passed with exertion and effort. Tristan was sore, incredibly so, and he knew he would feel the same soreness even more as the day progressed. But as he munched on some starberries post-dip into one of the clearcool pools, he felt accomplished.

Felicity did not fare as well. She was back in her fairy dragon form, and was splayed out on his head, panting with exertion despite them being done with the workout for almost an hour at that point. "So…much…work."

Tristan chuckled and fed her a starberry that she lazily chewed. "It'll be worth it. Just keep doing this routine for a few weeks, and we will be unstoppable on the battlefield."

She groaned, then moved her hand down to Tristan's and plucked another starberry out of it. "More traveling?"

"You know it."

They met with Obadai and the horses. Geared up, they transported back to The Mortal Realm and resumed their travel. The same routine played out over the next two days, and Tristan noticed some decent muscle growth despite the relatively short duration. Obadai theorized that it was due to the Fey Realm's essence – while he was both-direction-spinning his crucible, his body was redirecting some of the essence to repair the muscle.

Felicity was worse for the wear, and she tried to keep up with Tristan, but she had to cut back to half of the time and activities he was engaged with. She bemoaned her situation, complaining that Tristan was cheating, and he made sure to praise her ingenuity, which brightened her mood.

On the last day of Building Season the trio encountered a patrol. They were dressed in light armor and rode mounts. A mounted scout regiment. "Halt!" the lead one shouted. "Who are you?"

Tristan waved at them, having cast Near Miss, Lucky Instinct, and Persuasive Charm once they were spotted on the horizon. "I am Lord Tristan, of the Fey Realm. I freed Rigger's Cove from the control of the Founts, and seek an audience with Prince Merrill."

The scouts conversed in the distance, and Tristan could not make out what they were saying. They were a mix of heritages, but all half-breeds. Their brief conversation ended, and the one who had been speaking yelled back, "Well, come on, then. We'll escort you. But keep those hands off those weapons! One false move, and we let arrows fly!" The group rode closer, becoming an envelope shape around them, and they were led further east.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.