I looked at my mom with a playful smile after she asked why Dad’s face looked so ashen. “It’s nothing crazy. I just annihilated a football field-sized area in my fight against a war god. No biggie.”

  “Be serious,” Mom demanded.

  I chuckled dismissively. “Can I have some of that hand cream?” I asked Felio.

  “Don’t ignore me.” Mom turned to Dad. “Doug.”

  Dad sighed. “What? She told the truth.”

  Mom’s face was priceless.

  She wanted the details, but we cocktailed our way out of it, and soon, she had forgotten about it, lost in another beauty product and good food. The night ended with family time, and the next two weeks were the same. At some point, we blinked and found ourselves in dressing rooms as tailors helped us with our dresses. It was Tyler’s wedding, and the whole family was present.

  I was wearing a pink bridesmaid’s dress. Tyler explained that it was Sarah’s favorite color, but I think he just wanted to embarrass me.

  But the joke was on him—I was going to rock it.

  That was only natural. I asked for Elana’s help in making Sarah the most beautiful woman at the wedding, and to my delight, she actually showed up. Elana was in the next room with Sarah, berating the poor hairdresser and makeup artist.

  “Do you want to stay in the First Domain forever?” Elana snapped on the other side of the door.

  “N-No…”

  “Then why are you treating this like a job? You’re never going to gain resources like that! You should always do makeup so well that your patron wants to take you to the next domain. Now repeat after me.”

  Felio covered her mouth to prevent herself from giggling. “I know it’s not funny, but…”

  “It’s not funny,” I said. “It’s hilarious.”

  Felio giggled and sighed. “I just hope Sarah’s okay.”

  “Oh, she is. Elana’s a bit rough, but her results are stellar.”

  Elana teleported before me, likely prepared to chastise me, but paused when she heard the compliment. She then returned to the room without comment, and I heard her say. “Oh no, you’re going to pad that bra. If you’re not more beautiful than Mira, what’s the point?”

  I sighed, prepared to complain about Elana’s philosophies and practices, but I decided not to. Elana was a god; cruel, brash, and disagreeable as she was at times, she was who she was, and no one was going to change that.

  Instead of engaging, I checked my dress and talked to Felio and Jaylin over a glass of wine. Two hours later, a very stressed-out Sarah stumbled out of the room, holding her dress up with a huff. She was going to complain, but then she froze when she saw our faces.

  “What?” she asked.

  “What do you mean, what?” I asked dryly. “Have you even seen yourself?”

  Sarah’s face flushed red with frustration. “I haven’t. That’s the problem. I’ve been poked and prodded and—”

  Felio nudged her head to a mirror, and when Sarah saw herself, her eyes welled with tears. She was gorgeous, perfect even—more perfect than me. Unlike me, she also had crown braids and a dress that made her look like a goddess. I wouldn’t’ve blamed her if she did cry, but it wasn’t in the cards.

  “If you cry and ruin your makeup, I’ll spend vast resources to give you a reason to cry,” Elana snapped, walking out of the room as a black silhouette.

  “Why are you dressed like that?” I asked.

  “Because the bride must be the most beautiful woman at her wedding at any cost,” Elana lectured.

  The corners of my lips curved slightly. Just the idea that she’d have to completely black out her appearance to prevent her from being the most beautiful woman hit levels of… personality.

  “Now stay stoic,” Elana said. “You can slobber on your husband during your vows or whatever you called it. Crying is charming at the right time—not before. Now move.”

  I smiled wryly when Sarah jumped into action, afraid of being chastised. The poor woman was going through the ringer. That said, when she looked at herself in the mirror again, she complied gleefully.

  The ceremony was a classic Western wedding, held in a meadow so that every Wraith could be present, in addition to Halten, the Lurvine, Kyro, Nethralis, Reta, Trant, and representatives from Serenflora and Helfine.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  None of us remembered the finer details of a Western wedding, but Mom—who was deeply religious—gave a well-paid officiant a silver request to learn our customs and to do things the way we were accustomed to. She also paid the entirety of her personally earned income during the last few years on the wedding. It was a considerable sum, considering that I was paying her bills, but it was touching that she had saved all her money for her child’s wedding.

  Tyler was a Momma’s boy—and vice versa. Their bond was special and charming.

  As for Tyler, he was a big man in a nice Western suit, dapper and dashing and all that, but he broke down in tears when he saw Sarah. She flashed him the most beautiful of smiles when it happened. I watched from the stage and couldn’t help but smile, basking in what was surely the most beautiful part of the wedding.

  The vows came next, a kiss followed, and then Drokais flew into the air with lanterns like fireflies as their musicians played hypnotic music.

  Kyro fluttered around, drinking with anyone who wanted to drink; Trant talked to Felio and Jaylin about alchemy and botany, and Mom and Dad sobbed their hearts out as they congratulated my Brother and his beautiful bride.

  Elana left after congratulating Sarah in private and telling me, “See how people treat Sarah? That’s the value of looks. Now stop slacking off.” She disappeared after that, leaving me and Kai alone.

  Kai was so cute. He kept eyeing the small object in his hand, searching for a good time to give his present to the bride and groom.

  I eventually took it from his hand to march it over, but he snagged it back.

  “Just do it,” I said.

  He pouted. “Fine.”

  We walked up together. Tyler looked overjoyed when he saw me. He gave me a big hug and then Kai before looking down. “What’s this?”

  “The first magic seed,” Kai said. “Technically, it’s the first certified seed. With this, we’ll be able to harvest magic crops that can feed people mana through eating like we eat aura through meat. I’d like to plant it in your honor.”

  Tyler’s eyes blubbered. Two hours later, Tyler was tipsy, yelling, “This man is the best man in the history of men!” while pointing at Kai. He grabbed Kai’s shoulder and held him close. “And don’t let me hear anyone say otherwise.”

  “You’ve had enough,” I said, taking his drink. “The wedding’s for your bride, remember?”

  Tyler looked at Sarah, who was looking at him strangely, and said, “Good call. But let me have that back. It’ll look better if I put it down.”

  I handed it back, and he put it down instantly.

  “Thanks…” He shot me a wide grin.

  “What?”

  “It’s just… you’re cool, Sis. Don’t know when it happened, but you ended up really, really cool.”

  “Same, kid.” I hugged him. Then, we split off and partied it up.

  The next day, we had a smaller ceremony, this one to sow the first magic seeds in Hill Farmstead, which was in his and Sarah’s name. Sarah was also part of the ward team, so she got to present the ward system for distributing mana cores into the crop fields.

  There was a large ceremony and lots of clapping, and when it was over, Tyler walked up cheekily. “Can we honeymoon now?”

  I smirked. “Yeah. As long as you stay in Wraithwood.”

  He laughed. “I know this’s going to sound weird, but…”

  “But what?”

  “My present? Everyone gave me a present but you. And while I know that you’ve given me a thousand, I know there’s one by the way you keep putting it off.”

  I smiled strangely. “It’ll take a couple years. But assure you, Tyler—it’s worth the wait.”

  He frowned. “Can’t you at least tell me what it is?”

  I thought about it and said, “Enjoy your honeymoon. Then I’ll show you.”

  Tyler suddenly didn’t want to honeymoon, but Sarah dragged him off anyway. They had a huge, five-story hollow tree house, and we showered them with chef-cooked meals, beauty specialists, a new bath and spa treatment, and just about everything we could think of for their home. They also went out to a week's worth of dinners in their honor. It was the best we could provide—and it was grand.

  A week later, they had cabin fever, and Sarah went back to work at the arraycraft guild, and Tyler loaded up with me.

  “Where are we going?” he asked.

  “To your present,” I said, and didn’t elaborate further.

  It was a five-day trip up the Cable River to reach the sight that left Tyler in awe. It was Rall’s Fort, the legendary outpost that we had passed through on the way to Misty Row. Once he saw the ghostly fortress, he shivered. “What the hell’s this?”

  “This is Rall’s Fort,” I said. “This was the fort Jacksmore the Little had his commander make up the river. It was once a grand location that housed the strongest people this side of the Third Domain, and it was the fort that allowed people to challenge the Fifth Ring. It was damn strong, too. These people took the life of the guardian of this forest.” I turned to him with a serious expression. “And the invaders will know that. That’s why, instead, you’re going to restore this fort to its former glory.”

  Tyler didn’t know what to say. It was clear he didn’t know what to think, either. Part of him was probably worrying about social isolation and ending up in a ghost town. The other part was ambitious, but I was still worried about resources, so I continued.

  “You’re going to be a leader, Tyler. We’re going to recruit ten thousand Wraiths to live here, and we’ll import plenty of resources. Your job will be to build up our forces and prepare for a serious confrontation. Can you do that?”

  His eyes shone like stars, but he was nervous. “You really think I can do it?”

  “If I can do it, you can certainly do it. And by that, I mean that you’ll have Trigan, which means that you literally can’t fail.” I hooked my arm over his neck when he got butt hurt, and said, “You’re gonna be a king, Tyler. So learn as much as you can from Trigan. I’m going to make you his assistant in between lessons with Malo. Got it?”

  He nodded excitedly. “I can’t wait, but…” He looked at the ghostly, rusted fort that had been torn apart like soda cans shot with shotguns. “You mind if I change the paint?”

  I laughed. “You can do whatever you want. Wanna check it out?”

  He agreed, and we entered Fort Rall.