Tista’s family clapped the loudest and the Royals let her bathe in the first glory of her own until even Elina’s and Raaz’s hands gave out.
“Mage Ernas, you have long performed your duty in the secrecy that the Council required from you, living in the shadow of your sisters. Now, however, that’s no longer necessary and your mentor, Lady Faluel Nyxdra, has shared your achievements with us.
“Also, Magus Verhen backed her claims about your talents and there’s no better proof of that than the blueprints of the power core of the DoLorean which also bear your signature.
“For any of those who find these words hard to believe, I invite you to speak to Professor Rudd who taught Mage Ernas dimensional magic, or to just look at her hair. The seven streaks are something that only people like the First Magus, the Forgemaster Magus, and our dear Queen share.
“Based on the mastery Mage Ernas proved with the DoLorean and her contributions to the War of the Griffons, we can hope that she’ll rise to their same heights. I wish you’ll become a Magus in the future, but for now, I can only appoint you Great Mage.”
The King repeated the ceremony for Friya and the Royal Guards brought her a deep green mage robe as well. Once the Royals started clapping their hands, the Banquet Hall almost came down from the booming applauses.
Jirni and Orion exchanged a look, leaning against each other since their hands were busy, both inwardly wishing that Phloria could be with them on that day.
“Professor Vastor.” The Queen took a long pause after drawing everyone’s attention. “It feels weird to me calling you Professor when I know you are far more than a mere academic. You are a former member of the Queen’s Corps.
“A Spellbreaker. A Master Warden. A Colonel of the army. The Duke of Essagor. You were once the candidate for the title of god of healing and your achievements are far too many to list in a single day.
“It pains me to admit that when we relieved you from your duty during the Battle for the White Griffon, we believed your talents to not be up for the task. Yet we were wrong. You proved us wrong.
“Even when we lost faith in you, your loyalty to the Kingdom didn’t falter.
“You came back for us, protecting Supreme Magus Verhen with your life. Then, when your body couldn’t stand the battle anymore, you helped Headmaster Marth with your wits, allowing him to tap into the true power of the academy.”
Vastor’s eyes went wide in surprise and he tilted his head just enough to see from the corner of his eye that both Marth and Lith winked at him. They had agreed upon their version of the battle in order to not leave their friend in the shadows.
Marth and Lith both knew that Vastor had been there, yet only Lith knew the full scope of Vastor’s contribution and why it had to remain hidden. Marth didn’t care about the details, only the fact that Vastor had helped him and had saved their students mattered.
“For that, you have our eternal gratitude. Alas, we can’t promote you to the rank of Brigadier General, unless you are willing to resume active duty in the army.” Vastor shook his head and the Queen nodded in agreement.
“We can’t make you a Magus either unless you have knowledge to share with us along with the magical prowess you used to defend the Kingdom.” Vastor shook his head again so Sylpha resumed speaking.
“What we can do, however, is to promote the Duchy of Essagor to a Grand Duchy. It will increase the funds you have at your disposal each year for the development of your lands, the number of Warp Gates that can be built, and the glory of the Vastor bloodline.”
The audience clapped their hands, but Sylpha raised her hand with the palm out to silence them.
“We can also offer you the seat of the Chairman of the Mage Association. It is in dire need of a new guiding hand that will hopefully bring to Association to its former glory.”
Vastor couldn’t believe his own ears and neither could Kwart. Becoming the Chairman of the Association meant wielding a power second only to the Royals and also coming out of Marth’s and Manohar’s shadow.
For Kwart, however, it meant that he had lost the trust of the Royals and that his policies had been found wanting.
‘Dammit! If they waited until now for the announcement, it means that if not for the war, they would have replaced me already. Peace means change, but for me, it marks the end of my career.’ He thought.
“I thank you for your generous offer, Your Majesty, but I have to refuse. Becoming the Chairman would mean having even more responsibilities and subordinates than I already have as Head of the Light Department.
“I’ve been a Professor all my life and I’ve grown accustomed to my role. Nurturing the new generations of mages is what I love doing and I’d like to keep doing it.”
The offer of the Royals was indeed generous, but too little and too late. Had they offered him the position ten years ago, Vastor would have disbanded the Organization before they achieved any significant success.
Back then, the number of victims that his experiments required was small and he took them solely from the criminal underworld. Vastor had long since crossed the point of no return, sacrificing so many lives that they had weighed on his conscience until it had been crushed.
He knew the exact number and some nights it haunted his dreams, but he didn’t care anymore. That same weight pushed the Master forward since stopping would have meant that those deaths would have been for nothing.
Vastor had made too many breakthroughs, giving the Eldritches new bodies and permanently altering his own. He couldn’t let them nor Zinya down. She just wanted to experience motherhood, and to Vastor, he had denied her that joy just like Fallmug.
A wrong that the Master was hell-bent on righting.
The Royals looked at each other before replying.
“It’s a wise choice indeed. Manohar, Marth, the Verhens, and even the youngest of the Ernas have all received your guidance. You have given us a Magus and several Archmages. We approve of your decision and hope you’ll nurture more for us.” Meron said.
“Is there anything you desire that the Crown can give you?”
“Yes, there is, my King.” Vastor nodded. “Many people say that Zinya Yehval is a gold digger without a drop of blue blood who clings to me only for what I have. I ask you to rectify this situation by giving her something that will belong only to her.”
‘This way, even if my crimes are exposed and the entire Vastor’s fortune is seized, Zinya and her children will be safe.’ He thought. ‘I just need to make sure they are not caught up in my schemes.’
“Well said, Grand Duke Vastor.” Meron nodded. “Let’s see what those people dare to say now that you are married to Baroness Zinya Yehval.”
