Cibiale was a massive city, only Kai hadn't seen it as they approached as he and almost everyone else had been in the communal area with the exterior viewing panels shut off when the Dawn of Hope approached and then was docked.

Even when they disembarked, they were all hustled out of the private dock of the Houses as quickly as possible so that dozens of workers could swarm the ship and start the process of checking her for any faults or flaws that might have come up during her maiden flight.

From there he found himself moved from one building to the next as he was secreted about, jumping in and out of the domain as Syl used one of his anchor stones and her ability to go short distances in her spectral form to sneak about unseen. All so they could set up stable portals to the domain in safe places for their friends to use while they pretended to utilise one residence or another as part of the, we don't know each other, cover.

This all came back to the portal Kai had connected between the two bulky contraptions that The Sage had produced just after the Hope's test flight. The Sages experiments had obviously born some fruit as the devices Kai had anchored domain portals to in Cibiale had been developed by The Sage in the time they travelled from El'alora to the city of adventurers.

The simple devices allowed the portals to be maintained by a mana battery that anyone could charge, removing both the mana draw and the need for constant control of the portal from Kai completely.

Kai and Syl could shut off any portal into the domain with a thought if they wished. But there was also a kill switch on the devices that allowed for anyone to cut off the mana supply to do the same thing from the outside.

The letter The Sage had written, however, laid out several tests to confirm what would happen when the switch was used or the mana battery was allowed to run dry. The question being whether this closed the portal or return full control to Kai. Thankfully; the portals closed.

The only issue was that Kai would have to anchor a new portal to any device when its portal was closed.

A new discovery then being he could actually feel a kind of echo in the devices once they were first used, allowing him to open portals to them again and again from within the domain and without.

He even felt a lingering connection to Hope, as the ship had a portal anchored to it for a good couple of weeks solid.

Then there was the tower that still shone like a beacon in Kai's mind, making him quietly wonder if he could establish a portal between the two cities in the future.

All this meant that within the first few hours after landing, Kai had seen very little of the city as he instead set up a portal at The Sages estate, another at the private residence the Stormvairn siblings were using and another at the main office of the Houses for their contact there to utilise if needed.

Three days later, and Kai still hadn't seen the city.

His team, Temra and Talious, had been set up at a modest inn favoured by modest low ranked adventurers. The unassuming suite had a set of six rooms and a small common area with a little kitchenette they would probably never use. The cost of the place making Alicia's eyes bulge, as she suggested they could rent a closest somewhere else to set up a portal to the domain and make do with that.

Temra pointed out how odd that would look as she stressed the importance of building a believable cover.

When Kai was finally let out, it was to go registered as adventurers at the guild. Everything arranged so that they would meet Cillian, his little sister Niamh, their cousins Maeve, Saorise, and Aoife as well as Orricks kids Orril and Ester when they went to register and had their rank assessment for officially joining the guild in a somewhat believable fashion.

Kai thought he would finally get to see a city in a fantasy world on their trip to the guild. Again, he saw little.

What he did see was sandstone stone built buildings and flat cobbled roads that seemed devoid of any vehicular travel as he knew it.

The street's wide enough for two or three carts across. The streets seemingly pedestrianised everywhere he looked with people of all races going about their morning business.

The few carts that there were all floating along with no wheels, pulled easily by man power instead of any beasts of burden.

Buildings were crammed together to form long streets with a few alleys here and there, breaking away from the main thoroughfare, placed sporadically.

The city must have been doing well, as with shops, restaurants and anything else you would expect to serve the daily wants and need of the populace.

The further they walked from their inn, the more the layout seemed to be purposeful rather than the gradual chaos of the ancient cities back on eath that were built up over with long periods of time without a consistent plan in mind. The streets going on for set distances before curving one way, then back with repeating patterns that Kai couldn't place.

As small craft transporting both people and goods flew low overhead, Kai noticed the stone buildings never seemed to go higher than three or four stories, there being some kind of height restriction in place to keep out of the way of the air-traffic above.

The tallest thing in the city from the street they were walking down that Kai could make out was one of the four main ports of the city. A tall tower rising high into the sky with dozens of lift going up and down between the platforms that reached out impossibly into the air to form docks that severed hundreds of airships.

He didn't know if the design choices were consistent across the city, or if it was just a part of the city they were in. But he soon discovered that another reason why Temra had chosen their particular inn besides its cost was its central proximity to what was apparently known to all as the guild district.

That meant that no more than ten minutes after they stepped out of their accommodation, Temra was leading him, Alicia and Syl, in through the doors of the guild's dedicated registration office.

"This all seems in order. You passed the identity check without any issues, Master Stomvairn. Now, you said it was the Forge and Anvil you placed at yesterday?" A pink Goblin lady behind a counter asked Orril.

Orril and Ester had arrived earlier, just as they had planned, the two of them already standing at the head of a short cue for a counter that had the sign 'Labour & Tradespeople' above it.

"Yes," Orril replied.

"If you wish, we can check your application with them to determine your ranking. Or you can have your qualification checked by one of our Team. You are more likely to receive a higher rank if you go through the guild, however, it may take the rest of the day based upon the crafts you have specified. Please keep in mind the higher your ranking, the better commissions you can accept and the better the access to our stores will be."

"I have the time," Orril said with a grin.

"Great. Now, the use of guild facilities is five gold crowns a month or you can have a discount if you rent a station for a year at fifty gold. Those work stations are shared with two or more other people depending on your ranking. You need to be at least silver ranked to rent a private station."

"I'm good," he replied, his grin only growing sharper

"Are you sure? Our facilities are considered the best in the city for the price. Many Forge and Anvil students still use the guild due to the easy access to new commissions and having the first choice on materials brought in by our adventurers before they hit the market."

"I actually have access to my own… facilities."

"I understand Master Stormvairn. I actually expected a member of a renowned family like yours would have had access to the famed private facilities in the House's halls. But regardless, we're required to ask," she sighed, and smiled before continuing. "No commission for me. Now, as you are not using guild facilities, you will need to keep in mind, as we will lack a record of your work ethic and common practices, you will have to go through stricter testing when you wish to improve your guild ranking."

"I understand."

"Thank you for your time and for choosing to join the guild," the clerk finished with a nod of her head.

"Follow me," another human guild clerk said as they came up to Orril after receiving the signal from the goblin who had been seeing to Orril's Guild registration. "The crafting halls take up a good two-thirds of all our facilities within the city. Though they are a little spread out throughout the city, each one catering to a particular rank of adventurers. We do this so that the high ranks do not intrude on the needs of the lower ranks while still…"

Orril glanced at Kai and winked as he was led away.

Ester stepped up to the counter and onto the same block that Orril had been using so that she was at the right height. "I would like to register as an adventurer and a crafter," she said as she pushed a set of papers towards the clerk.

"No team?" the clerk asked as she looked over the documentation, "Not even with your brother who just left?"

Ester shook her head. "I have a potential team, but it's complicated. And my brother is a lover, not a fighter. His paramores would kill him if he even thought of rasing his hand to fight."

"I understand, teams say they love having crafters, but when they realise you actually need time to craft and funds to buy materials, they change their tone. It's a long hard road." She clicked her tongue, "and men, men can barely multitask as it is. This says martial defender?"

"Yes, I make all my own gear."

"I can see that metal, leather, rune, advanced infusion! How do you find the time? With all these trade skills, you could do almost anything you were asked. Any team would be lucky to have you. But I worry you stretch your skills thin, especially when you're also acting as an adventurer."

"I find that the skills complement each other and the essence I gain from crafting a whole piece myself is greatly improved. And time, times not an issue for me. Earning materials, on the other hand, that's an issue. Orril gets everything he asks for. I have to produce something of worth to prove I haven't wasted valuable resources."

"Oh dear, having a brother so close in age can be tough. everyone dotes on the boys. But don't worry, the guild will look after you. Now, you'll have to be tested as an adventurer and a crafter. I recommend you select your two strongest trades as you'll be here all week and we will have to increase the registration fee if you insist on more than that."

Kai was jostled by Syl as they reached the front of their line.

The sign above the counter read, 'party registration' and Temra was laying out four sets of documentation for the distracted clerk.

"Good morning, before we start I must inform you this counter is solely for new applicants to the guild who wish to register as a party. New parties for existing guild members or parties wishing to register new permanent members are done across the hall in the administration office," a rather tired looking human woman said without looking up from the documents she was stamping for the group who had just been led away.

"We're in the right place," Temra replied confidently.

"Good… Do you confirm that all the information you provide today and within the applications you are submitting is and will continue to be truthful?" the clerk said as she continued to sort documents without looking up.

"I confirm, as this team's manager, that all information provided by myself on behalf of this team is truthful."

A green light pulsed on the other side of the counter and the clerk looked up sharply. "Oh, thank the spirits, a manager," the guild clerk said as she visibly lit up with a relieved smile. "You have no idea how many mistakes I have to fix when new teams are set to paperwork, honestly its better that they register individually then submit a team application. Now, are you aiding in just the registration, or will you be acting in this capacity in the future?"

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"Oh believe me, I know. I have been hired for the foreseeable future."

Kai could see the clerk's attitude change as she collected the documents. Checking the top document, the clerk smiled wider, "And you're already registered as an accredited manager, and an ex-adventurer… out of the Tranquil Isles of all places. Do you have your guild or identity token so I can confirm that before we proceed with the other three?"

Temra handed over a token that looked like a little shield with wings, the clerk taking it to do something under the counter before handing it back and giving Temra quick look before glancing at the paper that appeared for a sec before it turned to dust and her smile never faltering as she said, "That's all in order. Now your party." She lay the documents on a smooth flat stone to her side and they lit up with a faint glow.

"Kai, Syl and Alicia… no last names, or are these pseudonyms? Pseudonyms are allowed, but please keep in mind there is an admin charge if you wish to change them once registration is complete and your application is approved? And I must stress this will not bypass your identity checks."

"Just no last names, I'm afraid," Temra sighed dramatically. "Their families did not approve of their elopement at such a young age. Kai's family was especially furious when he decided to tie himself down instead of going to stud. They have abandoned their family names and decided to make a name for themselves as adventurers instead. I'm an old family friend who was asked to keep an eye on them despite their reckless abandon… Kai especially. Just look at him."

Kai froze as the clerk did just that.

This wasn't part of the plan, at least if it was, no one had deigned to inform him.

The pendant around his neck went cold as it caught the woman's examine and she studied a piece of paper that appeared in front of her.

"Such a waste, so young and so handsome, too," she said as she then looked at Alicia and Syl and let out a low chortal. "I don't blame him... You girls might want to carry a big stick when you take him out into the city. And don't take him out after dark. That's when the real lecherous adventurers come out to relieve some stress. Please keep in mind violence can result in expulsion from the guild and criminal charges."

Kai had to pick his jaw off the floor as Syl and Alicia both nodded as if it was a given that they do their best to keep Kai on a short leash.

"What else? Arcane Archer, Arcane Swordsmen… battlemage in parentheses?" she chuckled, "You'll be surprised about how common that one is, the official designation and what it means is a little muddy. Oh, and Arcane Scout slash Rogue. That one is uncommon. Most people who go that route rely on equipment, not actual magic. The magician's collage hates them. Now this is interesting…"

The clerk stood up and looked at the three of them. "It is fine if you do not wish to share your stats or the totals values. But listing an inaccurate perfect fifty-fifty split between your cores could be considered deceptive. The guild does not look favourably on those that submit-"

"No, that's accurate. The three of them have worked very hard to maintain an even stat distribution to give them a solid foundation," Temra interrupted.

The clerk looked down at the pulse of green and sunk back down into her seat in surprise. "I, er… well, it's rare to see it, but it does happen. It's just so hard to achieve at this level. But three at once. Could I ask them to confirm?"

They confirmed one after another that their cores were balanced to the pulse of a green light below the counter.

"Well, then let's move on-"

"You probably want to check the familiars section of the documentation," Temra said cooly.

The clerk skimmed one document after the next at a rapidly quickening pace before she then checked them a second and then a third time. "Are these documents correct?" she said finally when it seemed that checking them again and again didn't change what she was seeing.

"They are," Temra said to another green pulse.

"Forgive me, but familiar registration requires, at a minimum, a visual confirmation… you see there have been incidents or people passing off one animal as another. Furthermore, sentient beings such as you claim to have required an additional confirmation of willingness and a further check for slave collars and mistreatment."

Temra turned to the team and pursed her lips before she turned to the clerk and asked, "Private room?"

"You have them with you?" the clerk asked in confusion as she looked about and saw nothing.

"They do…" there was a green pulse. "But I think we would prefer if we could bring them out in a private room."

"Ah yes, that would be prudent… actually. The manager on duty usually verifies these things… Forgive me, the manager is with someone at the moment. I will be right back."

Five minutes later, they were led into a private room. One occupied by a fidgety elderly el'vei woman and a relaxed, laid back Talious.

"Are these the ones claiming that they have two dragons?" the elderly el'vei woman asked.

The clerk that had led them to the room nodded emphatically but said nothing as she moved back to stand by the door.

The el'vei woman let out a stressed sighed. "Let's get this over with. You may bring in the lizards in and we can get this over with."

"I promise you, these are not lizards. I am assuming you are both work for the guild and can be trusted?" Temra asked.

"No…" the el'vei woman turned to look at Talious.

Talious just nodded with an authority that was impossible to fake as she took a sip from a fine tea cup.

"This is Mistress Talious. Also known as Scarlet Talious, Talious the red, the red dragon and many more titles… She was here discussing… things, when the clerk informed me of the familiars you wish to register. She has graciously offered to confirm the validity of your claim. I hope you understand the foolishness of wasting her time," the woman said, doing her best to stress Talious's identity in as many ways as possible so there could be no confusion.

Temra looked at Talious skeptically before she turned to back to Kai and Syl. "Do you mind having them show themselves?"

Kai put on his best. Yeah right, I don't believe this shit tone, and said, "If it will speed things up. I was led to believe a simple examine would do."

That made the el'vei woman, the acting manager of the registration office if he wasen't mistaken frown in annoyance at him.

He didn't care.

Kai was at a loss again, with no option but to play along, and if he wasn't mistaken, few people on Alea knew dragons could transform into humanoid forms.

The only thing that was going as he was told was that they had hoped to keep the existence of Castiel and Fayriel contained for as long as possible and that they had always planned to ask for a private room when they came up during registration.

Talious being present was not part of that plan so far as he knew. But by the feeling of surprise and amusement he had felt through his bond with Syl and Alicia, neither of them had expected to see one of the most powerful dragons on Alea just lounging there when they were led into the room.

One of a few things was happening.

The first possibility was that this was part of the plan, but the three of them had not been informed.

But that didn't make sense to him.

The second and most likely possibility. The one that, by the look on Temra's mildly annoyed face, was what was actually happening, was that Talious had found her way to inject herself into their lives as adventurers earlier than expected. Hopefully, in a way which wouldn't raise too many questions to those who knew her true identity.

The only issue, Kai thought, was someone might think there were too many coincidences. Like how she was staying in the same suite at the same inn, for example.

She had expertly positioned herself in the right place at the right time, talking to the manager for some reason. And if Kai was following the situation right, she now she had a reasonable interest in them because of their dragons. Now that they had met this way at the guild, it would be more suspicious if she didn't take an interest in the new adventurers with two little dragons?

Her sticking with them now shouldn't raise too many questions to anyone who did a less than thorough investigation.

Of course, none of this mattered to the two hatchlings, and they performed dutifully when asked to show themselves.

Castiel appearing on the table to paw at the extra, empty teacup on the table while Fayriel appeared on the guild managers head delivering a cyan bolt of flame that burst below the high ceiling to bathe the room in a blast of warm air.

The nervous guild manager froze, her posture sinking as Fayriel did his favourite trick of slowly increasing his weight while he sat on someone.

Syl groaned upon seeing Fayriel display.

Talious chuckled. "I believe these are indeed not lizards. Already bonded..." she said as she made a point of taking in a deep breath through her nose and showing a sharp, toothy grin as she caught a scent. "As a founding member of the Free Riders. I acknowledge these dragons are free."

"Free Riders?" the guild manager asked, as she was relieved of Fayriel's weight when Syl stepped forward to collect him.

Fayriel, for his part, immediately escaping Syl's arms to pounce on the extra teacup.

Sicily appearing in a surprised yip as she jumped into Talious open arms to escape the two hatchlings.

"Oh. Do the Free Riders no longer exist? That's a shame. The march of time is so cruel. I haven't been involved with riders much since mine passed."

"I know of the riders association… I don't think I have ever heard it called the Free Riders Association," the manager tried to clarify.

Talious tsked, "Riders Association sounds so formal. And the free riders were distinct from just riders. Anyone can ride anything, people can ride bloody Orruks if they're determined. There was a reason we called ourselves the Free Rider's back in my day. Do they have a presence in the city?"

The manager nodded, "Yes, we will have to inform them that there have been two registrations…"

Talious waved her hand dismissively. "I will see to that. I wish to go by there and re-introduce myself… fix the appalling lack of freedom in their name. Should they still hold to the values I once held dear, maybe I will even have Sicily here inducted as my rider," she said as she stroked the pouting little white and pink kitsuné.

The guild manager looked to the clerk standing by the door, communicated something quietly, then licked her lips and turned back to say, "I'm afraid we have no choice but to inform them, in fact, as soon as the documents were scanned they would have received a notification. We have a long-standing contract with the riders and are obligated to inform them when any adventure even attempts to register a dragon as a familiar. It happens more than you think, though actual dragons are more than rare. But people still try for some reason."

The manager turned to address them. "I hope you will forgive me for the misunderstanding. Today has- well, today has been interesting. Now that it has been confirmed, I believe you still have to complete your registration and you have an assessment to get to. Normally applicants such as yourselves would have my full attention… but I still have things to discuss with Mistress Talious here," she said, the dismissal clear.

But before anyone could move, Talious spoke up, "I have thought about it, platinum rank would draw too much attention. Gold, however, would make the most sense to anyone who can see my level, though I'm over the range you mentioned. Please start me off as a third grade. While I believe I could crush any of your adventurers, I'm still getting use to fighting in this humanoid transformation and it would be good for me if I learned how the guild does things by rising through the grades as anyone else would."

"Understood. It will take some time to expedite the process, but I believe I can have you discretely registered in an hour or two-"

Talious waved a hand again as she casually remarked, "As long as it is discrete, take all the time you need. Remember, I would like to enjoy my anonymity for as long as I can. There is a reason I'm not walking around in those splendid horns and scales I showed you. Now, I'm interested in this assessment you just mentioned. Since I am effectively skipping the process, it would be nice to see the qualifications of those that these two young hatchling chose to bond so soon out of the shell. You could say they have piqued my interest. Perhaps they will do something outstanding, attain what was it, bronze or low silver."

The comment was out of touch with the way the guild did things, and as the manager turned to the team, Kai felt his pendant go cold once again and the manager was scanning a piece of paper like the clerk before her.

"That is unlikely," she said carefully as she shook her head, the paper burning away.

"Even with their hatchlings?" Talious asked, sounding surprised.

"The hatchlings are registered as familiars. I'm afraid they will not be part of the assessment." She looked over to Castiel and Fayriel before continuing, and after reading the two pieces of paper that appeared when she examined them, she continued. "Even with Castiel and Fayriel's impressive levels I'm afraid they can not contribute to their bonds rank or grade…" she trailed off in a moment of thought before saying, "Unless, of course, one of the applicants is specifically registering as beast masters or some similar class?" The manager finished as she looked to the guild for confirmation.

When the clerk shook her head, the manager turned back and said, "At their level they should expect mid tin, it is policy to not go higher than that. Once they start submitting dungeon runs or completing commissions, their grade will probably rise quickly, their rank rising naturally with their level."

Kai had been coached on the different ranks that the guild used. He learned that the ranks for adventurers started at TIn, then moved up through bronze, silver and then gold with theoretical or honorary ranks above that.

Each rank having a range of around thirty levels, with some overlap for adventurers that excel and rise up in rank a bit faster than the average adventurer.

Tin starting at level five and rising to thirty. Bronze was twenty through to fifty, silver forty through to seventy, and finally gold, sixty through to ninety. This all meant platinum should be eighty to one-hundred and ten, but there was no one on Alea was within that level range besides monsters, beasts and dragons like Talious.

Each rank was then split into three grades of third, second, and first. Also known as low, mid and then high. The grades themselves are a measure of the adventurers' competency at their rank based upon their career working with the guild.

There were other identifiers the guild used, such as the sword, shield, staff, star and flower. But at such a low rank, it wasn't something Kai would have to worry about for a long, long time.

"No matter," Talious put her cup down and cradling Sicily she stood up, "Let's go see how you humanoids assess their young. It's probably changed since I was small enough to visit a city such as this with my rider all those centuries ago. Your kind change so little and yet so much, it really is fascinating to actually be amongst you."

The clerk and the manager both looked flustered.

"I need to confirm their id's and a few other details such as the registration fee," the clerk said, speaking up for the first time, the woman somehow sounding more confident and firm than the manager who had been dealing with Talious when they arrived.

Temra coughed, catching everyone's attention. "I have everything needed to complete registration, identity tokens and so on. I believe there should be no problems. If I go with you and complete registration, I'm sure Mistress Talious here will take care of the young ones until I catch up."

"On my scales I will make sure no harm comes to them," Talious said with a slight bow of her head.

"All of them, not just the dragons?" Temra asked pointedly.

"Scales and membrane tear, you wound me with words. A dragon and their chosen bond are one. This is sacred among my kind. How have I offended you?" Talious asked, laying her mock indignation on a little thick.

Temra's eyebrow twitched, and she sighed as she subconsciously rubbed at her pregnant belly to calm herself. "You have not… things merely have not followed my expectations today. Meeting the red dragon, of all things, was not on bingo card today."

Kai let out a slight groan, and everyone turned to look at him. He hated bingo. Now that Temra had mentioned it and the term had translated perfectly, he knew Alea had a variation of the game he would have to avoid. "Sorry, I just hate bingo."

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