Eldrian turned to the half-familiar voice. It was no longer truly familiar, the tone in which Boran had spoken was so strange and his voice seemed to have grown older. As Eldrian looked at the dwarf seated on a throne of some unknown metals, the blue light reflecting from Boran''s right arm immediately pulled his attention.


    What used to only be some molten mithril seared into his skin now appeared like the scales of a drake. It reflected the light of the room (from some type of magical apparatus), appearing almost like a light source itself. It covered Boran''s right arm from finger to shoulder. Like some sort of gauntlet, but it was quite clear that this was not a piece of armor or clothing.


    Boran''s clothes looked impressive for sure, but to Eldrian it didn''t fit the Boran he knew, and this added to the distance he had heard in the voice. But of course they would be distant. They had not seen each other for almost two years.


    Boran smiled towards Eldrian, sending nces at the other dwarves from time to time. Silence settled in the room and just as the dwarves wanted to speak out, Boran''s eyes would wash over them and silence them anew.


    "So, your name is Eldrian now. Was Haru an alias? No, our oath didn''t fail. You chose a new name for your..." Boran looked at Eldrian in contemtion, "For this body of yours?"


    "Yes, we call it our avatar. To travel between worlds, we require a physical body to inhabit with our souls. The gods gifted us the avatars and also create new ones for us upon death. Hence why we can resurrect in almost all circumstances."


    "Almost all?"


    "There are some methods circumstances that can truly hurt us. It should be quite clear already."


    "Indeed. If that is the case, then the devils must certainly be your true enemies."


    Eldrian''s smile turned to a fake one. While he had spent most of his time in Taurtania experimenting, he had also learned a bit of noble etiquette. He was still a novice, and he especially didn''t enjoy following the rules of noble etiquette. But he understood that in these circumstantiates he should try to keep up appearances at least until the official meeting was done with.


    Of course, he kept standing since kneeling now would be far toote and actually add insult to injury. "I''m afraid most of us are still, too—how should I put it? Our experiences limit our knowledge and our reach. I''m sure you heard about how many empires recruited most of the Chosen."


    Boran nodded, indicating for Eldrian to continue, and so he did. "Sadly, this means most of these Chosen have lived rather sheltered lives. They had ess to far more resources and even teachers, so you would expect them to have thrived, instead most had stagnated. A peaceful life led to them taking the easy path."


    "So we can''t rely on you Chosen?" Boran asked, prodding deliberately to see where his old apprentice''s loyaltiesid.


    "It would be hard to rely on us. To my knowledge, I am the only Chosen to have reached Tier 5. I know of a friend who feelsfortable in achieving the same within a month. But two Tier 5''s would hardly make a difference, even in a local province such as Kynigo."


    "You say that, but didn''t you bring forth significant changes to Kynigo? Even saving the city itself?"


    "Change isn''t the same as making a difference in a fight."


    "Yet you have done so on multiple asions too, have you not?" Boran decided to not force the particr issue but turned to Viggo instead, who quickly nodded upon feeling Boran''s gaze.


    "Indeed, your feat against the reavers was most impressive. The spell you had used was equivalent to that of a great Tier 6 greatmage or an average Tier 7 highmage and back then you had only been Tier 4, were you not?"


    "That..." Eldrian grimaced. "I would rather not rely on that power."


    "Why?!" Viggo''s surprise was honest and Boran''s gaze was quite cold.


    "It is a type of magic close in nature to what devils and demons use, and if I were to lose control, the consequences could be disastrous." Eldrian''s reply shocked not just Viggo and Boran, but also the rest of the dwarves in the hall. Murmurs quickly spread as many looked at the elf with conflicted thoughts.


    "How is it simr?" Boran asked, realizing that unless Eldrian rified this, things could be quite difficult going forward. While he had ced some guards -both inside his heart and in the hall- against his old apprentice, he wanted to help if possible.


    "That..." Eldrian looked around at the dwarves in the hall. There weren''t many, but he still felt suffocated by their stares. Taking a deep breathe he calmed himself and reminded himself why he hade here. If he were to ask for help -which it appeared they could offer- he needed to gain their trust first.


    "The magic is a branch of casting that I call spirit magic. Unlike normal magic, which simply relies on a spell module or with dynamic casting that High Elves are famous for that relies on thoughts; spirit magic relies on one''s emotions. That is to say, it uses the power of the soul."


    The murmurs grew, but only for a moment, hushed when Boran''s eyes moved across the hall. After making sure everyone had calmed down, Boran turned to Eldrian again. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the elf.


    Boran knew of a power that relied upon the soul, his aura of wrath and destruction was one such a power. It allowed him great power, but at the cost of his rity of mind. To most of his retainers, he appeared like a wild beast when he fought and they feared him despite being his retainers.


    But such a topic couldn''t be discussed in a public setting. "I see. It is good that you fear relying on it. Relying on such a power not part of you would only lead to trouble. However, if this is the case, then what do you have to offer?"


    "Offer?" Eldrian echoed, uncertain why he needed to offer something. He did his best to keep his displeasure from showing as his mind raced to understand.


    "You wish to secure our help in retaking a keep that lies in the region of Kynigo. If I am to give you support, then I will need something from you in return."


    ''That''s fair, I guess,'' Eldrian thought, but he did not know what he could offer. Thinking about it some more, he realized that this was likely not a genuine question of what he could offer. Rather, he needed to make helping him seem worth it, or at least make it appear that it was the right thing to do.


    "I''m not certain what I can offer, but... I''ve already shared the secrets of cannons, and I believe it had been of great help to you." Saying so Eldrian eyed the crowd, noticing many appearing even more conflicted than before.


    ''Seems I was right,'' Eldrian smiled in relief.


    AN: Remember to vote andment if you are enjoying the story.