The rain poured down in streams onto the steps of the fortress. It was as if the sky itself wanted to wash away all the blood that had been spilled within this castle, but in vain. It was engraved into the very essence of the fortress, just like the countless symbols that glowed with a faint shimmer.
Nero and his generals stood halfway up toward the main gate. If Nero had still been a normal human, he would have avoided this rain at all costs, which had turned into acid rain due to the thick black clouds in the sky. But now he stood there, unmoved. It did not take long before he was completely soaked, but he didn't care.
He slightly raised the small blue stone, which immediately began to glow. He had charged it with the help of the fortress, and now this massive stored energy was released all at once. Nero focused on the last world he had visited and used the small artifact as a bridge between here and there. The space first began to shimmer before it silently tore open. A window into another world revealed itself, from which bright sunlight poured through. As it reflected in the raindrops, a beautiful rainbow formed.
It had already been one year since the battle of Gloris. The wounded Polykenas had all been healed where possible. If not, they had been released into new chaos energy. Even so, the total number and strength of the army were still significantly lower than before the attack on Scur.
It was like a wounded animal whose injuries had healed but had turned into painful scars. It would still take some time until even the last traces had healed. However, there had also been some positive outcomes. Of course, the most important one was the Chaos Shard that Nero had obtained from the heart of the city. He had already used it, which once again gave him a new surge of power. He was now almost as powerful as Xersies and therefore the second strongest in the army. Only the queen Kreta was still far superior to him. .
Besides the Chaos Shard, there had been another surprising discovery. In the heart of the fortress, many artifacts had been stored. While all of them were a useful addition to Nero's arsenal, the manuscripts that had been found were far more important. They explained in detail how the humans on the planet Scur had managed to develop magic and become stronger.
A human can only obtain magic if a special plant is given to them, which is widely known as the golden star. This golden star only unfolds its core when a human with the talent for weaving light approaches it. Otherwise, it remains closed within itself. When a human then consumes the seeds of the plant, a magical heart is created within them.
After that, it had taken some research, but it seemed that humans could only cultivate their magic in certain places. There, with effort, they were able to grow stronger over time. People had built monasteries or churches in these places to train the light weavers.
Nero had visited some of these places together with Ester, but he had not been able to strengthen his magic. It was as if he were darkness itself trying to step into light. He had clearly perceived the magic around him, yet he could not control it. It would definitely require further research to understand how it worked. In addition, they still had not figured out how mages of other types of magic had obtained their powers, since such texts were mentioned but always burned due to being considered blasphemous.
Suddenly, Nero lifted his head as a movement came from the bright world behind the rift. A fast black figure jumped upward and broke through the space. It landed on the wet steps, where Fril came to a halt, panting. He was covered in blood. Wounds ran across his fur. His left front leg hung loosely downward, and a white bone protruded from the flesh.
Nero immediately severed the connection with the other world. The rift closed within a single heartbeat before anything could come through. Nero knelt down and touched a symbol of the fortress. He connected himself with the collective mind of the Polykenas and gave a mental command. Immediately, several Polykenas rose from the rows on the walls.
Surrounding Fril, they placed their claws on him, as he had already collapsed. Healing magic began to glow warmly as Fril's wounds slowly closed. Unfortunately, they could not regrow the missing limb. Ester could later create a prosthetic made of flesh that would at least allow Fril to use it, but it would be a permanent impairment that would weaken him significantly.
Nero could already feel the battle instinct of his generals, who would have preferred to take advantage of the small Polykenas's weakness in order to eliminate their rival, but Nero suppressed their urge with a burning gaze.
"What happened?" Nero asked, addressing Fril.
Fril breathed heavily as he looked up at his Duce with shame in his eyes. "I made a mistake," he hissed, and surprisingly admitted his fault immediately.
Nero looked at Fril's stump. "Where is your limb?"
"It was cut off. It lies about twelve kilometers away from the rift."
Nero nodded. "If possible, we will try to recover it, but first you must tell us what happened."
Fril nodded.
He explained how he had explored the world over the past year. The name of the world was Noira, which in their language translates to home.
The world consisted of three dominant species. One were humans, another were the Lizzians, humanoid lizard beings, and lastly there were the Reils, who were best described as beastmen. For a long time, the races had lived side by side peacefully, but about four centuries ago, something suddenly changed, which Fril could not fully understand, and the greatest and longest war between the different races this world had ever seen began, lasting till this very day.
It had been extremely difficult for Fril to find out more details. Due to the constant conflict between the three races, the inhabitants of this world had become hardened by continuous fighting. They were trained in magic from a young age if they had the talent for it. In contrast to Scur, the inhabitants were not only open to different types of magic, but they were constantly searching for new and stronger forms. Strength was rewarded, weakness was punished. This resulted in a much higher number of powerful mages than in Scur.
"Take care of him," Nero ordered Ester, "and then come to the conference room. We have a lot to discuss!"
Hours later, the generals had gathered in the council chamber.
"In my opinion, we shouldn't beat around the bush—we should just go find a new world. We don't have to attack every planet we visit!" Ramor kicked off the discussion.
"But this planet is full of powerful and new types of magic, and for the first time, we have encountered intelligent beings other than humans. What do you think they are like? With the right tools, they could give me an entirely new insight into the nature of magic and how it affects different beings. I think we should take as much as we can from this planet," Ester added to the conversation.
"After our last war at Gloris, the strength of our army has decreased significantly. We have still not recovered, and because we are using so much of our chaos energy to bring our home into reality, only a few new Polykenas have been born. We do not know what the inhabitants of Noira are capable of, but we already know that they are stronger than the inhabitants of Scur. We cannot risk another war," Ramor argued angrily.
"You are a coward, old Polykenas. How can you withdraw from the prospect of a battle?"
Ramor looked at Ester with anger. Once again, the two began to argue. Fril sat silently at the end of the table, his new leg grotesquely stitched onto his stump. Shire did not take part in the conversation either and remained silent as always. Xersies and Nero looked at each other. Nero knew that his highest general was thinking the same as him.
Nero waited a moment while his generals argued, then he slightly raised his hand. Ester and Ramor fell silent immediately.
"I agree with Ester. Before us lies a treasure, and we will not let this opportunity pass. But I also agree with Ramor. We would not win a war, or only at great cost. But luckily for us, this time we don't have to go to war ourselves."
"What are you planning, my Duce?"
Nero smiled faintly. "Why should we risk our lives when the planet's inhabitants are just waiting for an excuse to tear each other to pieces?"
Nero waited while his generals tried to make sense of what he had said. Only Xersies had already had a similar idea.
"But before that," Nero continued, "we need to obtain more information about the planet."
"I will not disappoint you again, my Duce," Fril swore immediately, but Nero shook his head.
"I am sure you will not, Fril, because next time I would have to consider whether you still deserve to be one of my generals. But this time you will not go, because we already have someone who can blend in among the population without drawing attention."
He grinned.
"Who draws less attention in a land of humans than a human?"