I began taking interest in minerals and their properties around the start of my eighth year. It started out innocently enough. The mountains were filled with all kinds of material. Just walking around, I could find anything from precious gemstones to glowing ores that would glow white hot if pressed together.

When I asked the local smith—he was the closest thing our tiny little village had to an expert on the matter—he spent an hour lecturing me about the many stones and their properties. He usually didn't say much, but became awfully talkative whenever there were minerals involved. I'd always thought that he was a bit scary. He was a huge, towering beast of a man, and he looked mean enough to make a warrior cry, but it turned out he was a pretty good guy. My presence inevitably slowed down his work. He had to keep an eye on me to make sure I didn't get hurt, but he never shooed me away. He never said it aloud, but I was pretty sure that he thought of me as something of an apprentice. Apparently, his own son had abandoned the craft on account of an interest in alchemy.

I learned his trade quickly. In a week, I'd gotten good enough with my magic to keep the forge alight, and in just two, I'd been given approval to work on some of the more basic repairs. I was a bit nervous, but the old smith inspected my handiwork when I was done, and silent as usual, simply patted me on the back.

It was a moment I'd never forget.

I don't think I've ever been prouder.

___

The Vel'khanese party took its sweet time heading south. Rather than jumping from dungeon to dungeon, as it had during its northbound trek, it meandered its way across the country and visited every major tourist destination along the way. The first detour was more of a coincidence. Krail, Arciel, and Allegra all needed new wands; they had spent the better part of their training working with semi-magical sticks they'd picked up in the Langgbjerns, following their old weapons' destruction.

Though Allegra had tempered and refined the placeholders, they remained of a dubious quality. And to that end, it was decided that the first item on their agenda, after a bit of rest and recuperation, was to have them replaced.

Some of Amrinia's shops stocked wands, staves, and other magical catalysts, but the best wares they had were standard issue arms intended for the resident soldiers. And for the intended purpose, they certainly weren't subpar—they were configured for those who had hit the 850 wall and rated for a stable output of two million points of mana per spell—but they didn't measure up to the necessary standard. The trio had to find a specialist if they wanted anything better. The closest was in the city of Lavennius, a floating island located near the nation's northeastern coast.

There, they found one of Allegra's closest contacts—the wandmaker who had crafted everything she had used in the last thousand years. Arciel was a little worried that he would be unable to complete their request on such short notice, but he needed only one night for each of their weapons, all of which were manufactured perfectly to spec and included the particular efficiencies that their casters demanded.

With that out of the way, they quickly set out for Nausylla, a town in the western part of the nation where one could find all of the best smiths in Cadria. It was in the dreary mining town that they grabbed a pair of new gauntlets for Lana, a fresh fan for Arciel, and a dozen different things for Chloe. The maid plated the inside of her skirt with metal and ordered a thousand different bits and bobs. Blades, needles, and scissors. Bolts, hatchets, and hammers. All completely obscured beneath her bonnet.

And then they visited the leather workers in Glerin. It was closer to the east, but it was far enough to the south that it made more sense as their third destination. Glerin was where the remaining party members acquired their equipment. As with the wands, they used materials that they had pillaged from the Langgbjerns, all of which was conveniently stored in Sylvia's tail.

Coincidentally, Lavennius, Nausylla, and Glerin were all common vacation cities. Lavennius was home to several coastal resorts, all of which had spas built in. Nausylla featured an experimental colosseum specialized in showing the best golemancers that the nation had to offer. Rather than simply creating their golems and commanding from afar, as most with common sense, Nausyllian mages entered their constructs and piloted them from within. The resulting battles were foolish and absurd, but at the same time, there was just something inexplicably amusing about watching a clash between a pair of metal goliaths.

Glerin was not quite as Cadrian and sported what a foreigner might have considered to be more traditional entertainment. With galleries and theatres all over the city, it was a center for the creative arts that featured not only the most famed and renowned, but many up and coming creatives whose talent had yet to be unearthed.

The three fun experiences spoiled the party rotten. With plenty of time still remaining, and a countless number of things to see, the Vel'khanese delegation soon decided that the rest of the journey ought to be no different. They bounced between historical sites, trade hubs, and famous landmarks in turn before finally arriving before the capital's gates.

Valencia had changed significantly in the few months since their last visit. The city had expanded its borders outwards and created a new set of outer walls to accommodate the influx of tourists. There was still a full week before the festivities began, but people had already come from all over. It wasn't just the commoners who flooded the space. Dozens if not hundreds of floating castles dotted the sky, all of them stationed just outside the freshly minted walls.

There were no rules to restrict their entry; they very well could have simply floated into the city and parked wherever they wished. Their choice of location was but a demonstration of their respect and magnanimity. To move their castles further downtown would be to worsen the view of the royal palace for everyone else.

The lack of a confusing layout aside, the freshly constructed outer ring was nearly identical to the rest of the city, though it was closer to downtown than the neighbouring region. The main difference stemmed from the buildings' distribution. Though there was certainly the odd house, the newer district's housing was mostly made up of inns, manors, and apartments. Business ruled the rest of the landscape, with restaurants proving especially common. Shops targeting tourists came in at a close second. Many of the stores had Valencian specialty wares, but there were many others that sold illusive goods from the country's other regions. They were more expensive than they were in their respective lands of origin, but such was the price of convenience.

The temporary district—it would likely be torn down following the festival—was also just as busy as the downtown core. Tourists and residents alike wandered its busy streets. The proportion of wealthy individuals was through the roof. Every fourth person was wearing a fancy outfit, and precious gemstones almost seemed unfathomably common.

It wasn't just the dressing up that ascertained the presence of visitors. There were subtle differences in hair and clothing styles indicative of regional preferences and the demographics were clearly abnormal. There were far more young people than usual, and families moved as individual units with less-than-happy teenagers in tow. Many of them were integrated into larger groups being careened around the city by tour guides. Frankly, they were unnecessary in the outermost district, but for many of the city's visitors, such guides served as the easiest way for them to navigate the labyrinth that was Valencia proper.

"When the heck did they build all this!?" shouted Sylvia, as she entered the city's main gate. She was in her fox form, sitting on Claire's head as usual.

"It's usually done about a week before the festival. But it's a lot bigger than usual this time," said Claire.

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"Wait, so they do this every year!?"

"Twice," said Claire. "Once for the winter festival, and again for the summer one."

"That seems like a lot of work," said Sylvia.

"Yeah, what the fuck's the point of taking it down if you're just putting it back up every few months?" asked Jules.

"I know it sounds like a stretch, but doing it this way saves time and cash," said Panda.

"How the fuck?"

"Sounds inefficient," said Lana.

Panda shrugged. "Don't believe me, then ask the squid. I'm sure she gets it. Least, she should if she ain't a talentless quack."

"It appears rather unintuitive, but I do believe I see the reasoning," said Arciel. "Many of these buildings appear to be made of earth magic."

Most were built from solid pieces of limestone, arranged precisely into the wanted shapes without any brick stacking or deformation. Even their roofs were a part of the same cohesive piece of material—a sign that the process had involved little traditional labour.

"I presume you are familiar with the types of magical constructs?"

"You're talking about how you can either spend a bit of mana to make something, or spend more to make it permanent, right? Of course I know. Why the hell are you asking me something so basi—oh."

"I suspect it is as you have concluded," said Arciel. "The buildings and walls are but temporary constructs that will tear themselves down with time. There needs only to be a cleanup following the pop-up town's disintegration and the army is sure to serve well for both tasks. More importantly, the time-limited nature of the expansion's presence adds novelty for visitors and residents alike."

"Yeah, that's pretty much it. The only thing you forgot is that it brings in more cash than it costs, since you're already paying for the army," said Panda.

"I guess when you put it that way, it kinda makes sense, but it's still a bit weird," said Sylvia.

"You get used to it," said Claire.

"Mmmnnnn, I mean I guess that's kinda true 'cause you can get used to anything, but it's still weird."

Claire shrugged. "What's the plan, Ciel? Are we heading to the castle right away?"

"Hey! Wait a second! You can't just ignore me and change the topic!"

"Well I can and I did." Claire pinched the fox's nose with a smile before turning back to the squid. "Well?"

"I do believe that would be for the best. It will be necessary for us to discuss the logistics and iron out the details surrounding the proxy war's format."

"Is the king even present? Wasn't he training in the mountains when we left them? We did take quite a few detours, but it seems unlikely for him to be back already," said Krail.

"He's back," said Panda, with a chortle. "He got back three days ago and has been banging his head against a whole ass pile of administrative work ever since."

"Excellent. I presume they are already expecting us?"

"Yup." The raccoon raised his two front paws overhead and stretched. "I'm gonna go ahead and make myself scarce. No telling what he'll do if he realises it's me with you, and I'm not about to throw any dice when the mod is down to negative ten."

He vanished as soon as the words left his lips, leaving only a puff of smoke behind. The act almost seemed sure to draw attention, but with the street performers often employing similar effects, no one could be bothered to look his way.

Claire doubted that he was really gone. He was probably still observing them from afar, but much to her chagrin, something about his method of observation allowed him to circumvent her senses. The same couldn't quite be said for the many Cadrian agents scattered all around the city. Only two of them were explicitly assigned to watching the Vel'khanese. The rest only occasionally glanced in their direction, their gazes seemingly meant for another party.

It didn't take much thinking to determine that it was the alliance. The proxy war was one of the largest events that the nation had seen in decades. It would be foolish for their enemies not to meddle. After all, a grand festival served as the perfect opportunity to leave a stain on Cadria's record, or at least, that was how the outsiders mistakenly saw it.

For the westerners, a terrorist attack that claimed any number of civilian lives would be seen as a hallmark victory. They would execute with every intention of demonstrating that they had the upper hand—screaming that no Cadrian was safe lest they bent the knee. But her countrymen would never balk. They would only condone their enemies for cowardice and become inflamed to war. The end result would be excitement; the people would scream for blood and seek the alliance's destruction; the long ceasefire between the two powers would be brought to an abrupt conclusion.

The outcome of any such clash was given, but even with his victory all but carved in stone, her father wished to avoid the confrontation. Perhaps Ferdinand's memory played a part in the decision, but in all practicality, it was because he was already swamped with work and the last thing he wanted was more.

There was a part of her that was tempted to add to the chaos. It would certainly be fun to see him squirm under the pressure, but Claire dismissed the idea with a shake of the head. She already had a plan, and veering off course was a surefire way to spoil it.

Between the outer ring and the downtown core, there was a small pocket where the city was just a little bit quieter. The residential area didn't have any terribly loud restaurants shouting for the next in line nor any wayward bards in the midst of demonstrating their talent, but neither was it devoid of activity. The people were happily throwing parties in their yards and day drinking to their hearts' delight. Some of the particularly keen merchants were peddling supplies required for the parties; ingredients, board games, and fluffy desserts were flying straight off the shelves.

Soldiers were far more common inside the second wall. Stationed all around, they aided people in finding their way around the maze-like city. They weren't quite as helpful as the tour guides, who escorted their customers to their destinations, but they did point anyone who asked in the right direction.

Not all of the soldiers wore the same uniforms. In fact, only about half flew the usual Valencian colours. The remaining helpers were effectively outsiders, extra hands deployed by the many feudal lords on vacation in the capital. It was hardly a surprise that they knew their way around the city. Valencia was a common training ground, a place knights and warriors sought in hopes of proving their skill. And in fact, many had only been hired following a run in the colosseum.

One could argue that their knowledge was a potential hole in the city's built-in security, and in fact, many senators and officials had done just that. Some had argued for the city to be periodically rearranged, but the idea had been dismissed following the first attempt. It was far too messy already, and the inconvenience of readjustment far outweighed the benefit, especially considering the rate of enemy infiltration. Or at least, historic enemy infiltration.

Many of the rarer species, especially those from the western alliance, were present in disproportion. They weren't exactly all over the place. Centaurs, cottontails, and thorae still made up the bulk of the population. There was no point drawing any comparisons there, but even ignoring the giant bipedal moths fluttering all over the city, the foreigners' numbers nearly matched those of the elves.

Of course, not all of them were spies. It was normal for people to want to see major events, and a proxy war was sure to attract all sorts of attention. But that therein slotted the difference between Cadrians and the alliance's members. Cadrians were far more likely to view the duels as a means of entertainment, whereas out west, such activities were considered barbaric and enjoying them was often frowned upon. Even if it was a historic moment, it didn't make sense for so many to visit lest they had the worst of intentions. Whatever the case, it was none of Claire's business. It was up to her father's agents to differentiate between those that needed silencing and those that they were fine to leave alone.

The snake-moose continued to debate such topics as they made their way through the labyrinth city; it wasn't until they arrived at the castle that she was finally pulled from her thoughts.

It didn't feel like much time had passed.

The year had come and gone in the blink of an eye. But there she was, back again and stronger than ever.

Claire smiled.

She almost couldn't wait.

It was ironic, how Cadrian of her it was after she'd spent so much time running from her blood and identity, but she couldn't wait to fight him.

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