In the howling cold wind of Skyvault Fortress, the massive snow-covered walls and towering towers stood stark against the landscape.
Within the corridors of the castle, Garan witches and female apprentices were everywhere, dressed in flamboyant long dresses and adorned with various bright accessories, moving through the hallways.
This morning, a grand assembly had just begun where female spellcasters voted to increase the dispatch of witches to the Kingdom of Nords, the Imperial Oster Territory, the Hawk Territory, the Bretonnian County of Glamorgan, and the Kingdom of Kislev.
The Garan Council's infiltration into secular noble forces had a long history. In the Empire's affluent south, the Empire's Royal Wizards' Academy dominated, and the nobles preferred to employ wizards from there.
However, the situation in the north of the Empire was different.
In the northern Empire, the southern denominations were weaker, and people preferred to fight in the names of the War God Ulric and the Nature God Taal rather than Charlemagne, favored in the south. Likewise, the northern lords were more distrustful of the Brunwick Royal Wizards.
The schism between the northern and southern denominations began during the time of the Three Emperors when the Empire was first split, and the Empire had three emperors. The legitimate Emperor was Emperor Talabheim, but his poor military capabilities left him without any prestige. Thus, Elector Wolrich of Middenheim, under the influence of the "Great Ulric," Archbishop of the White Wolf Church, declared himself Emperor and denounced the southern denomination as heretics.
The southern denomination was furious, choosing to elevate Elector Sigismund of Reikland as Emperor, named the "Reik Emperor," and in return, declared the northern denomination heretical.
The Empire officially entered the "Era of the Three Emperors," with endless civil wars engulfing the entire realm, until the rise of the von Carstein family of vampires in Sylvania forced the fractured emperors to ally against the vampire threat.
Two hundred years later, as the Chaos armies moved south, the Reik Emperor died in battle, and the imperial capital fell. A rural noble from Nuln rallied all Imperial citizens with his inspiring speeches and strong leadership, uniting the remnants of the Empire's southern denominations.
After consolidating the southern denominational forces, Ludwig sought support from Middenheim. The Wolf Emperor refused an alliance, and the White Wolf Church's Archbishop declared Ludwig a heretic.
Ludwig then demanded to enter the White Wolf Temple and undergo the trial by White Wolf's Sacred Fire.
The Archbishop "Great Ulric" could not refuse Ludwig's request, so everyone watched as Ludwig entered the Sacred Fire, expecting the country bumpkin to be burned alive.
However, a miracle occurred—the Sacred Fire parted for Ludwig, the rural man from Nuln, who emerged blessed personally by Ulric himself.
The Archbishop of the White Wolf Church had no choice but to acknowledge Ludwig's authority. He was forced to declare Ludwig blessed by Ulric, and the Wolf Emperor secretly removed his crown, reverting to the title of Elector and agreeing to ally with Ludwig. The White Wolf Knights and the northern Empire's armies henceforth obeyed Ludwig's commands.
Undoubtedly, the Garan Council wielded significant influence in the northern Empire. The Speaker Margarita and the Savior Ludwig were romantically involved, with particularly strong influence in the Kingdom of Nords and Kislev, where the Queen (self-styled Tsarina) of Kislev, Caroline, was even one of the female elders of the Garan Council. The Elector of Hawk Territory, Edelbrand Ludenhof, and King Harald of Nords also obediently followed their Garan female courtiers.
Now, a new witch star was on the rise. Named Veronica Bernadotte, this witch had just turned thirty but had achieved what many witches could not in a lifetime. She recently announced her advancement to legendary high-rank and also acquired a luxurious wizard's tower for herself.
Clearly, without the help of Ryan Makado, the champion chosen by the Lady of the Lake and the Count of Glamorgan, Veronica would not have reached this point.
At least, that's what Theresa Trowvik believed.
The thirty-two-year-old sorceress also attended today's great Garan gathering, a meeting traditionally held in the deep winter. The frigid environment and high altitude of Skyvault Fortress during this season effectively suppressed the volatile magical elements within the female spellcasters, allowing for calm discussions.
Theresa wore a black down leather coat today, her favorite wide-leg trousers, and long high-heeled boots. Her black hair, shimmering slightly, was casually draped over her shoulders down to her waist. A crocodile leather belt embedded with rubies adorned her waist, and a pearl necklace—a New Year's gift from Ryan—graced her chest.
Her icy face bore a
hint of distress as she stared at the small note in her hand, her little hand clad in white lace gloves holding a quill pen, indecisive.
Should she vote for Veronica to join the Garan Council of Elders?
Personally, Theresa felt a strong dislike for Veronica. If it weren't for her, Theresa might have already established a relationship with Ryan. From the beginning of their interactions, Veronica had been nothing but troublesome and often instigated conflicts.
If it were the Theresa from a few years ago, she would have undoubtedly cast a vote against Veronica, even seeking her mother's help to prevent Veronica's entry into the Council.
Just because she didn't like her.
But that was the Theresa of years ago. Since departing from Winter City and traveling with Ryan through Nords for several weeks, the sorceress had striven to grow. Her journey to Ryan's lands had been both a blow and a form of tempering. The current Theresa was more willing to think things through.
Finally, Theresa gently shook her head and picked up the quill pen.
"Approve."
...
Veronica successfully entered the Council of Elders and would establish a branch in Bretonnia as a special envoy elder. In the future, the Garan Council would allocate more resources to her.
After the meeting concluded at noon, the witches dispersed, with the next session scheduled for three days later. The Garan witches had accumulated many matters that needed to be voted on one by one.
As the doors opened, hundreds of Garan female councilors exited the meeting place, their heels clicking continuously on the ground.
"Our Speaker has achieved another small victory," said the mature and beautiful Aurora, linking arms with Theresa. The Sanctuary Witch stood tall, like a straight pine tree: "But that is not important. What's important, my daughter, is that you voted to approve. I am pleased."
"Ryan is a piece of cake, now a cake that has become very large, too large for one person to consume," Theresa gently shook her head. "Veronica has already cut away a large slice. Now it's my turn to cover the remaining part. On this matter, I must support Veronica."
Aurora nodded with closed eyes: "You are doing the right thing, my daughter. You have truly grown up."
"Tonight I will dine with Speaker Margarita and Her Majesty Caroline. Recently, the northern border of Kislev near the Lynsk River and the northern barbarians of the Troll Country have been restless," Aurora spoke softly. "Will you join us?"
"I..." Theresa pondered for a moment, then shook her head: "No, I'd rather not. It wouldn't mean much if I went."
Aurora was somewhat surprised, as her daughter had always enjoyed accompanying her.
"Alright, manage your time then," Aurora said no more. The Sanctuary Witch had tried to dissuade her daughter; Ryan was already engaged to a duke's daughter and had Veronica by his side, leaving little space for Theresa. But seeing Theresa's firm attitude and Ryan's potential, Aurora decided to continue supporting her daughter.
She's just like me.
Leaving her mother's room, Theresa returned to her own luxurious sorceress room, which was filled with various magical scrolls and books, and also featured a large mirror. On the right were several large wardrobes stuffed with numerous dresses, shoes, and jewelry.
A soft bed stood in the center of the room, where Theresa had been resting lately. On the bedside were several thick books, Gothic language textbooks given to her by Ryan, along with epics in Gothic provided by Morgiana. Recently, the sorceress had been struggling to learn Gothic, feeling as if scenes of Grail Knights battling evil sprang up before her eyes whenever she closed them.
The sorceress found some comfort only by imagining Ryan's face on those of the Grail Knights.
"Miss!" A witch apprentice named Emma, who was one of the new Garan witch apprentices this year, possessing a high talent in ice magic, stood in the room. Aurora had pulled many strings to bring her under her wing.
"Emma, you can leave for now. I need to rest."
"Yes."
After the apprentice left, Theresa sighed softly, took a bath, changed into a fresh white nightgown, letting the pearl necklace given by Ryan hang over her full chest, and then leaned back on the bed.
The soft mattress and feather pillow made Theresa feel slightly comfortable, but as she tried to read the Gothic textbook, fatigue quickly overcame her, and she instinctively set the book aside. The icy sorceress sighed softly; Veronica's matter was actually secondary. Since Ryan became a count, the two witches had reached a consensus.
What truly troubled Theresa was the construction of her wizard's tower, which required a budget of twenty thousand gold crowns.
Veronica's wizard's tower had cost about twenty-eight thousand gold crowns to build. If not for her luck in joining Ryan in the extermination of the Cult of Beauty
in Marienburg, which led to a substantial income, and Ryan's generous nature, her tower would not have been so easily funded.
Theresa couldn't find the money. She wasn't as fortunate as Veronica, who happened to know the Grand Duke of Marienburg, who was an acquaintance of Ryan, then stumbled upon the cult, and met a good man like Ryan who wouldn't embezzle Veronica's earnings.
It was a lot of money, enough to turn any man against her.
Often, Theresa wondered how so many coincidences could exist in the world, but that was reality.
She couldn't discuss this matter with her mother anymore. Knowing her family's financial situation, Theresa understood that Aurora agreeing to provide eight thousand dinars (eight thousand gold crowns) was already a significant sum. She knew she couldn't ask her mother for more.
She had to find a way herself.
These days, Theresa had considered several options, including selling her magical scrolls and using her contribution points within the council to obtain funds. The council had also lent her some money, but she still had a gap of at least six thousand gold crowns to fill.
How could she manage that?
The simplest method was to borrow in her mother's name from some Empire or Marienburg merchant guilds or lords. Gathering six thousand gold crowns shouldn't be too difficult.
But again, she couldn't and didn't want to burden her mother further with her affairs. After a series of events, the sorceress understood that only her own excellence could match Ryan, and relying too much on her mother's power would actually lower her status in Ryan's eyes.
Just like their travels from Nords, Ryan's accommodation and tolerance were not out of affection for her but purely out of respect for her mother, Aurora, who had taken great care of Ryan's foster father, Norman, and his territory of Otten. Naturally, Ryan couldn't treat Theresa poorly.
So, Theresa was left with two options: borrow in her own name, seek loans from the Garan witches, or try to secure loans from large merchant guilds.
Theresa decided to rest for a while and then go find someone.
Meanwhile, in Skyvault Fortress, within the Falcon Tower.
Newly appointed Garan elder, Veronica, sat in front of the fireplace, with two other witches in the room talking to her.
A Garan councilor with brown hair and dressed in a lake green Nord court gown, who had a melon-seed face and small eyes, was named Nor. She was a legendary life witch with one-quarter elf blood.
The other, with black bobbed hair and wearing a black wizard's robe, paired with high-heeled short boots and gray stockings, looked pretty despite some darkness under her eyes. Her robe was frayed in places, and her cuffs showed wear, but she didn't seem to mind.
This councilor, named Felice, was a legendary witch of death and shadow magic. Her husband had recently died in the suppression campaign in Nords, a major blow that couldn't break her but was enough to leave her depressed for a while.
These two were among the few friends Veronica could talk to in the Garan Council.
Veronica wore a brown fur coat over a scented coffee satin dress today, her black-brown hair draped over her shoulders. Red agate earrings from the wood elves and a platinum necklace gifted by Ryan glittered brightly. Her slender black-stockinged legs were elegantly crossed, her petite feet in black velvet high heels. Her sweet, youthful face still looked like that of a girl in her twenties, but after years of experience, Veronica's demeanor had become more aloof.
"Felice, I'm truly sorry about this," Veronica said more relaxedly in her room. "Koen was a good man, just unlucky."
"Ah~" Felice didn't say much, her gaze fixed on the burning fireplace. "Let's not talk about that now, Veronica. Today is a good day for you. Congratulations."
"Yes, Veronica, congratulations." Nor also spoke, her long brown hair braided down her back. The life witch said enviously, "Among us, you're the most successful."
"I just won the gamble," Veronica humbly shook her head. "With gain, there is loss. I'm lucky to have met Ryan."
Nor and Felice felt a bit awkward. They had also tried to persuade Veronica in the past, and now it seemed that Veronica's choice was the right one, and they were wrong.
That's the power of decisiveness. Envy can't be conjured, and who would have known that the quiet young ranger knight, Ryan, would become the chosen champion of the Lady of the Lake and be elevated to a count in less than a decade?
"Mentor!" At that moment, Veronica's apprentice, Catherine, suddenly knocked on the door. "Mentor, someone is looking for you."
"Who is it?"
Today, I added some background, so I wrote an extra 500
words. I hope everyone enjoys it, and don't forget to vote!