2693 Dimensional Magus (Part 1)

"I was afraid your marriage would be one of the shortest in the history of the Griffon Kingdom." Solus said.

She wore a golden evening dress with a V neckline and a silver parure shaped like flowers that were actually comprised of small Forgemastering tools. The silver of the jewels brought out the gold of her dress and hair, while the precious gemstones gave them color.

"No way!" Morok waved his hand in denial. "I worked too hard to get where I am. I would never divorce, but I have no qualms about putting my foot down when needed."

"He's right." Quylla blushed a bit in embarrassment. "By the way, thanks for your help, Solus. I don't know what I would have done without you."

Among the many places Quylla had brought her husband, there was Mogar's moon, but the only way to get up there was with the Tower Warp.

"Don't mention it. Did you like..." Solus pointed at the sky.

"It was gorgeous and dangerous!" Quylla glared at Morok. "He demanded we explored the place and visited the neighbors."

"Really?" Solus was flabbergasted. "How did it go?"

"Well with Leegaain. Sort of." Quylla blushed again. "Salaark was there too and judging from her glare I'm afraid we interrupted something."

"Gods!" Solus burst up laughing at the idea. "I hope she didn't go feral."

"No, no." Morok shook his head. "They were really nice and offered us a cup of tea."

"Poisoned?" Tista asked.

"No, but they pointed us out at Inxialot next!" Quylla pinched her nose. "We almost got captured. The crazy bastard was already listing on his fingers all the experiments he wanted to perform on us."

"Almost?" Solus echoed. "How did you escape?"

"I pointed behind Inxialot, yelling to watch out for the flying pig." Quylla replied. "It was just a hologram, but it distracted him long enough for us to Spirit Warp away."

"The weird part is that he wasn't surprised so much as scared." Morok tormented his chin.

"He started yelling 'Not again! Gods no!' or something."

"After that, we decided to skip Fenagar and go back to Lith's turf. We found an enchanting glade with a small lake. The fish there were simply delicious."

At the same time, Nalrond and Friya were wishing Lith a happy birthday.

"Thanks, guys. Where's the present? I need to cover the expense of this shenanigan and every bit helps." He said.

"What a cheapskate!" Friya punched his arm, hurting herself. "It's the red-wrapped one with the golden ribbon in the huge pile."

"Don't listen to him. We are glad to have you guys here." Kamila said.

"I don't want to steal your thunder so this is no public announcement, just a friendly heads up." Nalrond said. "After we came back from the Fringe, I asked Friya to marry me and she said yes."

"Wait, what?" Lith was flabbergasted.

"He means congratulations!" Kamila nudged him. "He's just surprised because Nalrond seemed adamant about waiting until he fixed his life forces."

"I was." Nalrond sighed. "But after two visits to a Fringe solved nothing and no one knows what to do, I've decided that waiting any longer would be a waste of time. I need to live in the moment.

"If I fail to Awaken, I won't have much time with Friya and even if I do, my late Awakening would still make my lifespan shorter than hers. I prefer enjoying what I have rather than chasing what I don't."

"Wise words but, late Awakening?" Kamila furrowed her brows and flared her nostrils. "I'm older than you and I've Awakened less than nine months ago. Do you expect me to drop dead at any moment?"

"No, no, no!" The Rezar perceived the nuclear threat and acted accordingly. "Your case is different. If Lith fixes his life force, he'll outlive us all whereas Friya and I won't have the same lifespan unless I merge my life forces."

"I see." Kamila calmed down immediately, turning her frown upside down. "Well, congratulations, then. Consider your invitations already accepted."

"Man, if this is boring." Aran pointed at the musicians who were taking place on the bandstand. "Let's go out and do something really fun."

The kids jumped on their respective steeds, taking two guests each and 'conveniently' leaving the most obnoxious kids behind. Garrik was shapeshifted into human form and Fluffy could carry four more people, making him pretty popular.

Lith had set up a magical playground to make the night memorable for the kids. There were swings, literal sand castles with sand golems guards, and hard-light weapons.

The latter were meant to play war or just a magical version of paintball with unlimited ammo.

"And there they go." Syrah, the Hati Queen, inwardly prayed that nothing wrong would happen.

She and the rest of the members of Zelex's senate were among Lith's guests and were drawing a lot of attention. The silver fur of the Hati brought out the black of her dress, giving her the look of a ray of moonlight in the darkness of the night.

She hated being used for a political ploy but at least Lith had been upfront with her.

"Your people are going to Jiera and soon mine will follow. When they meet, there are only two possible outcomes. Either the mistrust keeps them apart and they start killing each other at the first accident, or we give them a reason to work together.

"By taking part in the gala, you are going to prove to everyone that the fallen races are not the monsters everyone believes. By associating yourself with me, the people of Zelex will fall under the protection of my political umbrella. Your choice." Lith's invitation didn't sound friendly and wasn't meant to be.

Syrah had ended up accepting only because her friends had convinced her, Rena included. Despite their inhuman appearance, Br'ey and Urhen were garnering a lot of attention.

The orc looked like a dark-skinned elf and elves hadn't been seen around for millennia, making her a being out of a fairy tale. The Balor, instead, had six eyes and blue skin but her beauty was stunning.

"Are you a member of the Verhen family?" Many asked her, believing that the multiple eyes and wings were a family thing.

"No, I'm just a Balor." Her reply was even more shocking than the answer they were expecting. "Thank you for coming." Lith gave the Hati a warm smile and a deep bow as if they were best friends. "Queen Syrah, allow me to introduce you to King Meron and Queen Sylpha."

"The pleasure is all mine." The Hati gave the Royals a deep bow before exchanging pleasantries. "Also, I find your choice in furniture quite distasteful, Magus Verhen."

She pointed at Trouble.

"That's the corpse of a Balor. Why didn't you consider Urhen's feelings before displaying such a thing?"

"For the same reason I invited Emperor Beasts and yet I displayed Raptor." He pointed at the corpse of the Vagrash. "When I kill my enemies, I don't worry about the feelings of their kin. Only about making the best outcome for me."

"You'll have to forgive my brother." Rena stepped between them. "He has a hard time being polite toward those who threaten his life, just like you."