§ In the basement of the mansion of the Pendor estate in Atianus, one can find all the expected usual contents. The chef keeps well-stocked, climate-controlled cellars of wine, cheese and cured meats, as well as more mundane stores of root vegetables and dry, canned, and pickled goods. The house steward maintains a lumber room for spare furniture and other …

§ Reia settled gently onto the broad front lawn using up a lot less distance to land than if I were piloting, then taxied our direction while the technicians restored the shield over the estate. The fairy warrior escort landed near the aircraft’s hatch once it halted perhaps twenty paces from where the house knights, footmen, and maids were properly …

§ I arrived at my destination to find powerful defensive mana walls surrounding it, preventing any entry. This was an impressive installation. It would be normal to expect something like this around the property of a powerful and wealthy mage in Relador, or surrounding the grounds of a royal retreat, but it was beyond anything a reasonable person should expect …

§ “You’re with us, Lady,” Ceria cooed into my ear. She wasn’t at all shy about wrapping herself around my arm, right there in the dining room. “My Lady Ceria, you need to be a little better behaved in front of others,” Melione scolded, with a very nostalgic tone. It was exactly the way she used to lecture Tiana. “You …

§ While infantry squads worked their way through the city, supported by mages using demonic mana detecting tools, I went to check on the only people I knew in this town. The ruin, a labyrinth of dilapidated mansions rebuilt into tenement houses, then later abandoned and rebuilt again by successive generations of squatters, was as difficult to navigate as before, …

§ The moment he heard the news, Ged’s eyes told me he was not expecting any aircraft arrivals. Turning the direction that the soldier had pointed, I pushed my fairy sense through the city wall and into the open field beyond. I recognized the aircraft immediately. I reported, “It’s Miröen Fairling’s launch, Your Highness.” For a little over a week, …

§ In the early morning hours, before dawn lit the sky, after a short night and a field ration breakfast, while our soldiers were forming up, preparing for an assault at first light, I and Aenëe again hovered high in the air above. Captain Macias and the Cavalry would kick things off with a demonstration pass in front of the …

§ Ged remained anxious to go find his father, but he agreed in the end not to leave his army in an unstable situation. It wasn’t just to prevent morale dropping because the commander suddenly departed; Ged’s officers were adamant that his troops fought better with him present. They needed him to deal with the matters they currently faced. Dealing …

§ On Huade, instant communication does not connect the world 24/7 the way it does on Earth. The cost of communication puts the world at the information level of the telegraph age. Despite the existence of ‘video call’ magic, most news travels between regions in dribbles and bits through much narrower bands of communication. Information passes from one station to …

§ I stood facing the dragonkin woman and carefully considered my words before answering. I didn’t expect to lose to the dragonkin questioning me, but I didn’t want to fight a woman who was clearly on the same side as me. An Elder’s masters dwell beyond this world, she had said, and asked me, Is it Heaven’s blessing or Heaven’s …