Rosalinda Dam once again felt the call of the wizard assembly, which filled this wizard’s wife, traveling south with her husband towards Carterburg, with glory—she had been invited consecutively, a rare opportunity even within the wizarding world, one that many of Eighth and even Ninth Order did not have the luck to experience.
She walked through the pitch-black corridor, gazing towards the distant exit with confidence. Last ti, she and her beloved had found redemption, and this ti, she was determined to accomplish the task assigned by Malin... no, by His Excellency the Star Observer.
As she neared the exit, Rosalinda heard the humming of a Dostic Fairy.
Hmm, a Dostic Fairy?
When Rosalinda was young, there were such creatures in her family. These little fairies often humd songs in a low Elvish tongue, incomprehensible to many aside from their own kind, but... she was very fond of them, for they were the only beings she could communicate with at ho besides her mother.
Upon exiting the corridor, Rosalinda saw His Excellency Malin sitting in his seat, with a hawk perched sharply atop the back of his chair, eyeing her intently.
A legendary creature, Rosalinda keenly sensed it all, feeling reverence towards this life form, as she picked up the hem of her dress, "Teresa sends her regards, Your Excellency the Star Observer."
"You are the first to arrive again, Lady Teresa. Speaking of which, how is your Mr. John?" His Excellency asked with a smile.
"Quite well, we are en route to Carterburg. The train has stopped service due to Sydney’s campaign in the North, so we’re left with no choice but to walk there." Rosalinda felt a touch of helplessness as she ntioned this—if the trains were still running, they would have arrived at Carterburg by now.
"You’ve had a hard journey." His Excellency smiled, gesturing for Rosalinda to sit down, and so the lady obligingly took her seat.
At the sa ti, she noticed three half-grown Snow Leopards weaving through the tables below. They eyed Rosalinda for a mont before playfully scampering to the opposite side, revealing the Dostic Fairy standing before a transparent wall.
This Dostic Fairy had her back to Rosalinda, but her clothing revealed to everyone who saw her sothing about her true identity.
A woman.
Outside the transparent wall she faced, Rosalinda saw a pitch-black world where gigantic sea creatures occasionally passed by at alarmingly close distances. Yet, they seed utterly oblivious to everything as they appeared before her—ugly, terrifying, or colossal beings she did not recognize at all.
And the fairy was singing.
Resonance?
Rosalinda had heard stories of Dostic Fairies. Resonance occurred when these little creatures encountered the perfect environnt for themselves, and they would start singing, often becoming stronger through such harmony.
Yes, if Dostic Fairies did not possess awakened bloodlines and achieve the transcendental, they were re weaklings. But once they beca Transcendents, their strength would multiply.
As Rosalinda pondered the identity of this Dostic Fairy and His Excellency Malin, a hole the size of a door opened on a distant wall.
A fox-girl with three tails ca in, carrying tea.
She noticed Rosalinda imdiately, "Am I the first guest here?"
"Yes, and you should give yourself an alias too," His Excellency the Star Observer suggested.
The fox-girl thought for a mont, "Ludmilla Mira, from the wilderness."
"You may call Teresa, Lady Ludmilla Mira," Rosalinda said with a smile and a curtsy, then addressed the newcor with respect—she had confird now that the woman by His Excellency Malin’s side was none other than Lady Matilda, the Paladin of Naless. Her presence might not be as radiant as that of other ladies, but no one could ignore her identity.
A Paladin of Naless, Rosalinda wondered what her presence ant—whether she was planted by Naless at His Excellency Malin’s side, or if it was simply pure love.
But there’s a saying that goes, the more you know, the more pain you endure; the more you gain, the deadlier it becos. Sotis, to live more comfortably, one has to play the fool.
"My dear, ti for tea, don’t stare at the outside, there’s nothing worth seeing in the sea," said the Dostic Fairy, now known as Lady Ludmilla Mira, as she looked towards the Dostic Fairy.
"You should call Lady Milan," the Dostic Fairy turned around, revealing human features on her face to Rosalinda.
A half-blood? How interesting, it seems His Excellency Malin has quite a generous heart.
As Rosalinda thought this, footsteps echoed from the corridor behind her. Soon, a girl’s voice spoke out, "Ah, it looks like I’m the second to arrive." The owner of the voice then sat down beside Rosalinda, "Good afternoon, Your Excellency the Star Observer, Lady Teresa, and the two newcors."
"You may call Lady Milan, I am the wife of His Excellency the Star Observer," replied the Dostic Fairy, smiling as she took her place next to His Excellency Malin. A high chair woven from the young branches of the world tree lifted her to the height of the table.
"Lady Ludmilla Mira, from the wilderness," said the fox-girl as she placed tea in front of her husband, then her sisters, and finally, two cups levitated by Spiritual Energy moved in front of Teresa and the newcor, Miss Lover.
"Miss Lover, I’ve found the Stoneheart you asked for; it’s very fresh," His Excellency Malin said with a smile, lifting his hand as a small birdcage containing two stone sparrows materialized from his grasp.
"This is quite fresh indeed, Lord Malin, but I am still ever so grateful to you," the Lover Miss appeared very happy as she took the birdcage and then brought out the exchange materials he had ntioned earlier.
"It’s nothing, since it’s a trade, it ought to be done perfectly," Lord Malin’s face was all smiles, "Speaking of which, do you need any more help from ?"
"No need, my lord, but I have so free information for you, about the Dark Zone east of the Eastern Kingdom. There’s been a lot of trouble there recently, so Chaos that has never appeared before." As she said this, the Lover Miss looked sowhat worried, "My lord, do you think there will be a problem?"
"It’s quite normal, Miss Lover, the Tide of the Dead is nearing."
Lord Malin’s words made Rosaline sense danger—Tide of the Dead?
The last Tide of the Dead was less than fifty years ago.
"My lord, are you speaking the truth? It hasn’t been fifty years since the last Tide of the Dead," she looked at Malin, hoping to hear so good news from him.
But she was disappointed because Lord Malin nodded, "Yes, a larger scale invasion. If you can make it to Carterburg, then hurry over. I need every person willing to fight for our civilization during the Tide of the Dead, but I don’t mind if you seek refuge elsewhere."
His words left Rosaline breathless, but quickly, she realized sothing—indeed, the Carterburg area is one of the closest to Subspace, but if the Tide of the Dead cos, what place could be safer than Carterburg?
None, so, after this eting, she must speak with John and hasten their journey.
"Too soon." Miss Lover murmured, her oddity making Rosaline curious—why would she say that?
But footsteps from behind distracted Rosaline’s attention to the other side; she turned her head and saw a young man.
"Has the host changed?" The Wizard squinted at Malin, seemingly unable to recognize him, and asked a question.
"Yes, I am Dorothy, Mr. Chariot, no worse for wear," the chanical body crawled out from under the table, sizing up the young wizard, "Mr. Chariot, it seems you have grown stronger."
"Correct, Mrs. Dorothy does have a keen eye. By the way, who’s the new host?" after saying this, he looked at Malin again, "And, there seem to be many newcors this ti. Has sothing happened that I’m unaware of?"
"Nothing of the sort, Mr. Chariot. This gentleman is Lord Star Observer, Madam Ludmila and Madam Mira are his lovers," Dorothy introduced once more, "The lady with Miss Lover is Madam Teresa, a new mber of our society."
"Ah, Madam Teresa, good afternoon," the wizard raised an eyebrow, his smile devoid of any friendliness as he greeted Rosaline.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Chariot," Rosaline was unconcerned, having seen her share of such arrogant youths over her lifeti.
Then, new Wizards arrived, and Rosaline frowned at the sight of the boy before her.
But the boy received a warm welco from Dorothy, "Good afternoon, young Mr. Tim."
"Good afternoon, Dorothy. I heard about the new host from Lord Sun, quite awe-inspiring, Lord Star Observer."
"Hello, Mr. Tim, I’m curious, is this your true appearance?"
"Of course not, look, I’m already an eighth-ring Wizard, this is rely one of my crafted shells," he said with a smile, turning to Mr. Chariot, "Speaking of which, how co I’ve ended up eting little Mr. Chariot here? Fate really is a troubleso fellow," he said, a content smile on his face.
However, Mr. Chariot didn’t seem too pleased.
Rosaline took it as a personal grudge between them, and just like before, she chose not to concern herself with affairs that didn’t involve her.
"Welco to the eting, Lord Fate," Dorothy’s greeting made Rosaline turn her head, and then she saw an old man dressed like an Astrologer. He took a seat to the left and then bowed to Lord Malin, "Fate has inford of the reason you preside over the grand sche. I am Fate, the eldest of the Fates, and now I have returned to your service."
"Welco, Lord Fate. Is there anything I can assist you with?"
"Not at the mont, but I suspect one day I might make a request, a request for you to forgive my impudence. So, please accept my apologies in advance, my lord."
The old man spoke in a language entirely beyond Rosaline’s comprehension, which surprised her. But what puzzled her more was that Mr. Malin did not bla him; instead, he smiled and nodded.
"Then I shall try to forgive you now," he said.
Rosaline felt completely out of the loop with their conversation and could only sit there, listening to new footsteps approaching from behind her.
Another new mber had arrived.
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