Two glorious days had passed since the marriage treaty, and finally, the Silva Citadelʼs developments were moving better than ever. With my engagement to Eris, we had also fostered a better relationship with the Feral Dominion. But it wasn't just that, we had all the necessary requirements to make our Citadel a grand one. It was time to head back to the Royal Capital and report to Lord Randolph about how things were going. I needed to give him the lowdown on how our dwarves, Beorn, Kipper, and Thrain, were handling things. Those little guys were the real deal!
As soon as our treaty with the Feral Dominion was settled, King Kaelin sent us an envoy, Verpace, to our territory. The King insisted that we put him to work, so we did! I made him one of Mojito's subordinates, and boy, was that going to be fun. Considering he slugged Mojito in the past, we all know the kind of treatment he was going to get. Mojito could work him to the bone and do whatever he pleased with him.
Now that we had builders, blacksmiths, magical engineers, textile and medicinal experts, and trade and commerce experts, we were one step closer to making our Citadel a dream come true. We weren't lacking in anything.
To top it all, General Gorus of the Beast Kingdom appointed some beastpeople to take guard of our splendid territory. Mimosa and Fasit taught the beastpeople some of our major skills like cloth making from Auroraslikas, how to integrate magic cores and crystals to produce magical items, and even my unique architectural knowledge! Everyone was eager to learn, and we were ready to put all our skills into play.
And so, it was finally time for Serena, Isadora, and me to head back to the Royal Capital.
Gathering the council members took longer than I expected, but I had to break the news to them - I was leaving for a while. I mean, I'm the son of the king, but that's just a detail, right?
I explained to them that Fasit and I had agreed that I should take a break after developing the village into a grand citadel of consolidated powers.
Bazirta voiced his concern, but I was already prepared for that.
"What is it?" I asked.
Skarz responded, "If something were to happen to you, we wouldn't be happy."
I laughed and told them that nothing could happen to me in the Royal Capital. "Besides," I added, "I'll have Serena and Isadora with me."
I could see that Fasit wasn't entirely happy, so I reassured her that they had nothing to worry about.
Martini bowed his head and said that they would miss me.
"Aww, thank you! I wish there was a way I could teleport back here, but unfortunately, that's not possible." (Lumiere)
I assured them that I wasn't just visiting to see everyone, but also to try and improve relations with the other Cross Kingdom so that grygans and minotaurs were as important as the beastpeople outside the Great Forest.
They were ecstatic with this idea.
"You're such a kind man, my lord" said Serena, smiling at me.
I chuckled, "Oh, stop it."
Fasit was still unsure. "Wouldn't you need to have a lot of influence to achieve that?"
I looked at her intently and replied, "Trust me. Don't worry about the details."
They respected my wishes, and I made a mental note to bring them back some souvenirs from the Royal Capital.
---
Upon receiving instructions from Fasit, I was instructed to call everyone to the newly-built City Hall in the Central District. Upon arrival, I was accompanied by Isadora and Serena, both of whom stood by my side. The City Hall was a magnificent and grand building that served as the city's central administrative hub. As we entered the building, we noticed that all the grygans had gathered, creating a sense of confusion within us.
Amidst the confusion, a commotion began to stir as Thrain and Kipper arrived with a mysterious object wrapped in black cloth. As soon as Thrain handed it to me, I knew it was something significant.
"For you, my lord.." said Thrain.
As soon as Thrain handed me the mysterious object wrapped in black cloth, Isadora and Serena eagerly chimed in, "What is it? What is it?"
"I don't know yet," I said, trying to calm their excitement down. "Let's wait for Fasit to arrive."
Moments later, the group (Fasit, Bazirta and Skarz) emerged, and Bazirta informed me, "We have selected the best materials from the ancient grygan dungeon to create a staff befitting of a powerful mage such as yourself."
Skarz added, "Kipper has taken great care to ensure that only the finest materials were selected, and Thrain has painstakingly crafted the staff."
Fasit then revealed, "It wasn't an easy task to obtain the materials, as the dungeon was full of monsters."
Mojito, who was present in the crowd, couldn't contain his excitement and shouted, "I love you, Boss!"
I laughed awkwardly, while Isadora poked me on the cheek and urged me to unwrap the object. "Open it already!" she exclaimed.
Finally, Serena wrapped her arms around me and urged me, "Yes, open it! Let's see what it is!"
"Alright, Alright.." (Lumiere)
I carefully unwrapped the black cloth to reveal the most breathtaking staff I'd ever seen. The intricate engravings and stunning design indicated that it was a masterpiece, crafted with the utmost care and attention to detail. Thrain introduced it as <
I read in some of the scrolls that Gryphan was the name of the mythical God of the Grygans.
Thrain provided additional vital details regarding its features and components.
He revealed that the staff's unique magical properties were derived from a large golden manastone at its tip, known as a magic crux. This component was an impressive combination of rare magical cores and crystals that would help produce and amplify mana output.
Barely anyone was able to create a magic crux, so kudos to Thrain.
The rest of the body of the staff was made from two highly conductive materials; white wood, a prominent substance found within the dungeon, and mithril acting as both conductors for the mana energy flow and circuitry.
The magic crux alone called for a fortune of 1,500 gold coins, comprising fire, water, wind, earth, and lightning magical cores and crystals, making the synergistic effects challenging to achieve.
Wow, go Thrain.
The synergistic effect of this staff would resonate with my mana, amplifying any elemental spell that was of the five aforementioned elements, making it five times stronger. The mana output would only be half the usual output, which is reasonable, given the enhancement to the elements' spells.
However, for spells not of the five mentioned elements, it would only provide a boost of 1.5 times the ordinary value, which was still quite impressive.
The grygans cheered and applauded, and I was speechless, taking it all in. "Wow," was all I could finally manage to say.
"That, my lord," Serena said, patting me on the back, "is one fine staff."
"Thank you, all of you," I said, holding the staff in my hands. "It means a lot to have something like this made for me."
"We are grateful for all that you have done for us," Fasit replied, "and this is just a small token of our appreciation."
I was overwhelmed with emotion as I gazed upon it in awe.
"Serena, Fasit, Skarz, Isadora, Bazirta, Magenta, Mojito, Beorn, Kipper, Mimosa, Sangria, Thrain, everyone... I don't know what to say," I stammered.
Fasit looked alarmed by my sudden display of emotion, "Is something wrong, my dear?"
"No, no, not at all," I hastily reassured them. "It's just... I'm speechless. This is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
Skarz cut in, "That staff is the result of many long hours' work. Are you saying it's not good enough?"
I shook my head vigorously, tears starting to spill down my cheeks, "No, no! It's more than good enough. It's perfect! But it's not just the staff. It's everything. You all mean so much to me and I couldn't be happier to have you all in my life."
Isadora stepped forward and gently lifted my chin with her hand, "We feel the same about you, master. We are all family here."
Serena nodded in agreement, "We may come from different backgrounds, but we have all found a home here together."
Bazirta, who had been wringing her hands anxiously, finally spoke up, "Why are you crying? Did we do something wrong?"
I chuckled through my tears, "No, Bazirta. You did everything right. You all did. I'm just... so grateful. I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me. I feel truly blessed to have you all in my life."
Thrain beamed with pride, "And we feel blessed to have you in ours, my lord. That staff is a symbol of the bond we share, and we hope it will serve you well."
I wiped away my tears and gripped the staff tightly, feeling the love and warmth of my newfound family emanating from it. "It already has," I whispered.
On that day, love was born.