"My lord I have failed you."
Tristan, the court mage of the solar empire was kneeling before a hazy figure flickering above a swirling crystal ball. The figure was hard to recognize since it had a hood pulled over its head covering most of the face. All that could be seen was a sharp, well-chiseled chin.
"Report, Tristan."
At the figure's icy words that were spoken with no compassion or kindness the court mage shuddered but began to give his report.
"Everything went according to plan and I was about to finish the prince off when a stranger appeared out of nowhere. He called himself lord Raven and when the prince asked for assistance he accepted without hesitation. I'm unsure of his exact rank as a mage but I couldn't estimate his strength and he effortlessly shattered my grand icicle."
"I see, I predicted for an unknown variable to appear but for someone whose strength even you can't estimate. This will make my plans more challenging to execute..."
"My lord, I can surely succeed in killing prince Gideon if you give me another chance. I'll hire a new group of assassins and try again. Now that I am prepared for this lord Raven I will not fail again!"
"Tristan, I gave you the order to immediately retreat upon failure for a reason. If it is just one attempt we can laugh it off. We'll portrait it as an attempt to besmirch my name. But if you attacked repeatedly it would make their claim more believable."
"But my lord, how would the emperor know how many times we attacked? We can make multiple attempts and say the prince made things up!"
"Fool! A battle of such scale would be traceable. If an investigation would be launched they would doubtlessly be able to tell how many attempts were made. The only place they can't investigate is the mirage lake since the magic power there is always a bit chaotic. Therefore, he has absolutely no proof of his claims."
"Of course my lord! That was thoughtless of me."
"Indeed, now hurry back to the capital. Your alibi must be air-tight. As soon as you arrive I'll arrange for the emperor to visit you and observe your progress, with that Gideon will have an even harder time to prove that you left the capital."
"I obey, my lord."
"Good, but do not fail me again. That is all for now."
The crystal ball's dim light was extinguished and the room was plunged into darkness. Tristan summoned a small globe of light and carefully went to collect the crystal ball. This was a relic of the first emperor, it could instantly transmit images from one place to another and to this day its reach hadn't been determined.
This and a set of small teleportation formations had allowed Tristan to pull off the deception that would cover this assassination attempt.
As the court mage, he couldn't move freely and was constantly observed. So he had announced that he would create a new enchanted mechanism and gone into his workshop. The workshop was built blast-proof with only one door as the entrance and exit. An entire batch of apprentices had their workplaces in front of that door so leaving unnoticed was out of the question.
But with the set of teleportation formations, it was possible to leave unnoticed.
If prince Gideon tried to claim that he an honorable court mage had tried to assassinate him personally this would mess him up. Publically accusing a court mage without evidence was considered a serious offense.
But for all this to happen, Tristan would have to quickly get back to the capital and do so without leaving any traces. If he used large scale ice magic he would create potential proof that prince Gideon could use against him.
If rumors spread that during this period of time a powerful ice mage had passed through this area it could lead to an investigation. And that would certainly spell trouble for Tristan and his lord.
However, Tristan had another ace up his sleeves. He was known as a rank two archmage who primarily used ice and also had an innate understanding of said element.
It was also widely known that he had no talent for other elements. Just learning how to create that small globe of light had taken him much more effort than it should have.
Despite that, Tristan was actually proficient in something else. Only a select few knew of this but he had mastered elementary strengthening magic. He'd originally learned it to counter physical fighters since his ice was prone to shattering. After he had discovered his talent in that area he had kept training until he could match an ordinary mage with it.
Tristan left the inn he had been staying in and quickly exited the city. Once he had put some distance between himself and the city he strengthened his body to the absolute best he could endure and broke into a sprint.
His speed was akin to that of a horse running at full speed. At this pace, he reckoned that he would be able to keep running all night long and arrive at the capital in the late morning hours of the next day.
Even if prince Gideon's group didn't make camp and moved towards the capital as fast as they could he was convinced that they would need a whole day longer than him at least.
Unbeknownst to Tristan, a small wound on his shoulder had started to lightly glow when he had used his magic. The wound was from one of the dark spikes that he had believed to have completely dodged. As he moved a faint red mist was emitted from the wound. The mist was too faint for ordinary people to see but to a sensitive individual, it would act as a trail that could easily be followed.
A shame. Had the small wound been treated seriously instead of being neglected as but a scratch things might have gone differently.