"Hello, pot. My name is kettle and I'm black." Quylla glared at Tista with fury. "I can afford patience even less than you. Orpal already killed me and soon he is going to kill my parents whereas he promised to keep yours for last.
"To make matters worse, Phloria is now dealing with the Council, proving her worth. Friya is helping Faluel craft her new equipment, learning how to use both the Hands and the Hydra bloodline's Forgemastering techniques.
"What am I doing, instead? I'm watching you train from the sidelines. I'm tired of being the eternal third wheel. Tired of being a burden. Tired of always being left behind when dangers approach because of my weakness."
Nyka and Tista looked at each other, not knowing what to say aside from hot air that would only make Quylla angrier.
"You know, your sister wants me to become the Warden of the group." Tista sat beside Quylla, hugging her slim shoulders. "Yet I hate arrays. They are so slow and dull compared to flashy tier five spells."
"Yurial thought the same." Quylla smiled at the memory of her lost friend. "Gods how I miss him. He would have loved true magic. I can almost see him hit on every woman in the Council before begging Raagu to take him as her apprentice."
Neither of the other two women had ever met the heir of the Deirus Household but since his memory seemed to console Quylla, they both nodded enthusiastically.
"Why are you training bare-handed, Tista?" She asked after she calmed down. "Your brother is a great Forgemaster and he just got heaps of Adamant. I can't believe that Lith is so stingy that he wants you to fight unarmed."
"I never received formal training in the army and no matter how many weapons I try, I suck with all of them." She replied. "Luckily, I've been beating people ever since the academy. Mom, Lith, Faluel, they all taught me self-defense."
"Oh, yes. The curse of being beautiful." Quylla replied with a tinge of envy in her voice.
"After defeating Syrook, Lith got his hands on Sunder. Claws are the thing I'm most skilled with and thanks to its blades being an extension of my fingers, I proved to be a decent swordsman."
"I suck with weapons too." Nyka sighed. "That's why Auntie Scar gave me a mace. She said that with my monstrous strength I don't need any technique, just to swing and hit."
"Was she right?"
"Yes. My opponents can only dodge my attacks. Even if they manage to block, their weapons bend and their bones crack."
Suddenly, their communication amulets lit up and the hologram of the King celebrating the recapture of Mandia appeared.
***
Vastor Household, at the same time.
Unlike Lith, Vastor had spent those last few months traveling across the Kingdom, taking back cities in his role as Highmaster. His armor allowed him to ignore the city arrays and once inside, he could take on Thrud's forces alone thanks to his Chaos spells.
Yet Vastor knew that not even that was enough to kill the army of Awakened. No matter how many he destroyed, they would always be regenerated at the Golden Griffon.
For each city that he captured, two more fell. It disheartened him and made Zinya worry to death. After the marriage, even when he was home, he would spend most of his time in his secret lab, supervising the work of his hybrids.
Nandi was using his talents to manipulate the mana geyser below the ancestral mansion of the Vastors. He combined the natural flow of world energy with his powers to refine at uncanny speed the magical metals and crystals that his siblings seized.
After meeting Solus and obtaining her forgiveness, Bytra's skills as a Forgemaster had soared. She had long since crafted a Forgemastering hammer that eclipsed the Fury, yet she had always refused to use it in order to never forget her past crimes.
Bytra's Absolution had been forged based on Vastor's studies on the Fury and crafted with his help. The Master was an Awakened with access to Spirit Magic while the Fury could split and turn different energy signatures into Bytra's.
By following her instructions and using the copies of Menadion's prized weapon, the Abomination hybrids and the Master had worked together to craft Bytra's Absolution.
Ever since the marriage, she had been working non-stop on the equipment necessary for her siblings. Equipment made of Adamant that fitted both their human and bestial form.
Nandi's mines couldn't produce the tons of metal that such a feat required, but there was no need for it. While the Raiju relentlessly worked in her Forge, the other Eldritches enacted the revenge of their adoptive father.
Vastor hated Thrud, but to him, she was just a secondary objective. More than anything, he wanted to see Orpal die suffering after being completely humiliated. He wanted to see Orpal beg on his knees before ripping his head off like he had done to Manohar.
Yet Vastor would do it while Orpal was still alive to enjoy his screams.
Thanks to his connections with the criminal underworld, the Master was working to find out the locations of the branches of the Undead Courts in the various cities of the Kingdom.
As soon as they discovered one, they would notify the Awakened Council and then raze them to the ground. The undead possessed uncanny powers and equipment, especially Night's Chosen, but they could do nothing against the power of Eldritch Divine Beasts.
Kigan, Xenagrosh, Cyare, and Hushar raided the undead bases in pairs and took away everything valuable they found. The resources that the Undead Courts had hoarded for centuries were immediately given to Nandi who refined them until they were ready for Bytra's hammer.
"Hide as long as you want, Meln." Vastor said while helping the Fourth Ruler of the Flames to craft a proper weapon for Xenagrosh. "I'll just keep hitting you and your Mad Queen friend hard where it hurts the most.
"And when you come to me like lambs to the slaughterhouse, I will be ready."
***
Trawn woods, Solus' tower, a few days after the recapture of Mandia.
After the successful recapture of Mandia, Princess Peonia had commissioned Lith another mission that had ended just as well, taking back the city of Temia from Thrud's army.
After that, Lith had asked to be left alone to make use of his spoils of war and take the time he needed to celebrate the joyful event that the Spring Festival was. Or better, one that took place very close to the Spring Equinox.
"Happy birthday, Solus." Lith hugged her and kissed her forehead while she was still stirring in her half-awake state.
"By my Mom, not only did you remember about it, you even managed to be the first to say happy birthday to me." She said while returning the embrace and losing herself in his warmth.
"It's not that hard since I slept here." Lith said, half-joking and half-embarrassed.
Ever since Solus had regained her human body, she went back to the tower for the night whenever she could, to further stabilize and feed her power core.. Yet after Bytra had told her the truth about Elphyn's and Menadion's death, Solus often suffered from terrible nightmares.
