David and Niala were back at Marshalla's, sitting on chairs facing the woman, who had her clipboard in hand.

  David had been given a metal stick that was connected to a measuring equipment of some sort, and told to push his mana in at a steady pace until the machine beeped or Marshalla told him to stop.

  Once he got started, and the doctor had checked a few gauges and nodded, she had sat back down and looked at Niala, tapping a pencil against her clipboard a few times. “So, Niala, your incarnation powers. You told me previously you weren't certain what you wanted to do about them. Has that changed?”

  Niala glanced at David, who gave her a small smile. She took in a deep breath before speaking. “At first, I just wanted them gone. I thought of them as some sort of disease I caught from my... interaction with the incarnate.”

  Her ears twitched. “But, a lot of things happened since then, and I've had time to think, and talk about it with David.” She locked eyes with Marshalla. “If there is a way for me to learn to use them, without me... changing, in the process, then that's what I'd like to try, if at least to learn how to control them.”

  The doctor narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, her hand absentmindedly tapping the pencil against the clipboard. She nodded and took a few notes. “Understood. We'll begin practising those powers while taking extensive and frequent readings on your mana's aspects. If it shows any signs of deviation, we'll know something is happening. For now, I have all the data I need, so we can get started on some exercises, if you're ready?”

  Niala nodded, with perhaps less confidence than she wanted. Marshalla smiled and got to her feet, motioning for the catkin to follow her over to a sofa positioned in the corner of the room.

  She had Niala lie down, resting her head on a big pillow, while she brought over a few wires connected to more machines, looping their ends on Niala's fingers and arms.

  “Good. Now, I'm going to have you smell some calming vapours. Nothing too strong, just enough to relax you and numb your senses a little, so that your body doesn't bother you.” As she explained, she retrieved a small bottle filled with an oily-looking substance. She put it right up to Niala's nose and uncorked it, slowly tilting it back and forth for a few seconds while looking at her patient's eyes. She soon put the cork back in and put the bottle away.

  The effect was more or less immediate, as Niala's ears and eyelids drooped.

  Marshalla nodded. “Good. Now... you said you became aware of those abilities when you inadvertently used one on a small bird. Since you were able to use it, this means your body knows how to call upon it. Can you try and recall the time you used your ability? How you felt? What was going through your mind?”

  Niala thought for a few moments and then explained how she had simply wished really hard that the panicking bird would calm down and let her handle it. She hadn't wanted the poor little baby to hurt itself by smashing into anything. She had felt strangely connected to the creature, as if it was understanding her, and she somehow knew it did.

  Over the next bell, Marshalla had Niala mentally run through several scenarios to try and picture herself influencing someone or something for their own benefit, just like she had with the bird.

  The readings kept coming back negative, until the very last attempt, where she was asked to imagine David having been enthralled by the same incarnation that her powers came from, and the only way to save him was to enthrall him in turn.

  At that, the instruments did register something, but Marshalla didn't need their help to figure out something had happened; as she described the scenario to Niala, and the catkin's features turned sharp and hostile, clearly picturing something she didn't like one bit, a slight breeze picked up. Indoors. With the windows and doors closed.

  Not the result she had expected, but it was a result.

  The doctor sank her academic fangs into this vein and had Niala run through the exercises several more times, changing the parameters slightly each time.

  By the time another full bell had gone by, Marshalla had found a few triggers that seemed to help Niala harness this ability, and she had gotten quite a bit of data on her physical and mana-physical states each time it did.

  At the end of their session, she hadn't been able to get a glimpse of her other power, but this was a good start, and was confident Niala could quickly learn how to call upon the winds on demand, even if weakly.

  As for the enthrallment, well, she had an idea for next time...

  A few more days of routine passed before something unexpected came up: a summons to the mayor's office, with no reason given.

  That afternoon, they were led into the mayor's office by his bunnykin assistant, Carole, who closed the door behind them, leaving them alone with Caleb.

  The dogkin nodded from his desk and motioned toward the chairs in front of him with his hand.

  As David and Niala sat down, he spoke up.

  “Thank you for accepting my cryptic summons. I would have written more in the letter, but I've been finding my messengers to be a bit... less reliable than before. I have had to limit the amount of details I leave for eyes to read.”

  The lovers shared a glance, but remained silent.

  Caleb's ears spun toward them and back. “Well, none of your concerns, I guess.” He leaned back in his chair. “There were two topics I wished to broach with you. The first is that I received a rather ambitious development plan for Riverwall, complete with monetary and material grants.”

  Niala's ears perked up, while David's eyes narrowed.

  She shifted on her seat. “What kind of ambitious?”

  Caleb picked up a piece of paper and leaned forward, offering it to Niala. She accepted it and positioned it for both her and David to read.

  As she did, her eyes widened. A regional airport. A new autorail line starting in Longwater and going all the way north to Riverwall, stopping by the towns along the coast, including Bellharbour. An extension to the town's walls, to encompass the mostly abandoned district west of the town, where Niala's shop was situated. A new mana collection array, along with the distributing infrastructure, with enough capacity to power the town twice over. An upgrade to the road linking them to Bellharbour, widening and paving it. A modern, complete sewer system, a-

  “What in the bloody pits is this!” She exclaimed, shoving the paper at Caleb.

  “I had the same questioning, if not the outburst.” He said calmly, quirking an eyebrow.

  “... sorry... But! Why? How? Who?”

  “Again, the same questioning. On the surface, the initiative was signed by two dozen noble families. The accompanying letter claims that Riverwall's economic potential is substantial, and gifting the town with the listed infrastructure would allow it to bloom into a thriving city.”

  David coughed. “Doing what? Sending more people up into the Hungerwoods to feed the animals? I guess we could run invigorating hunting expeditions. Come hunt up north. Hunt the beasts, before they hunt you.”

  Niala looked at him from the corner of her eye before turning her head back toward Caleb. “You said on the surface. Did you find out what the real reason is?”

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Caleb shook his head. “You misunderstand me. As far as I could tell, the development of the town is the real reason. What isn't real is the stated reason. The signing houses were simply made to endorse the paper as a facade. It's still early, but my sources tell me that two very influential names were behind the initiatives, names which should be very familiar to you both.” He said, cocking his head and smirking.

  David and Niala's faces fell. Her ears folded flat, her eyes wide. “You don't mean...”

  Caleb nodded with amusement. “That's correct. The All Brew corporation and the Wardenfels.”

  David hung his head back and groaned, while Niala burrowed her face in her hands. “Dad, I swear to the saints...” She mumbled.

  The mayor cleared his throat. “Nepotism aside, this development plan might have occurred with or without your respective families' involvement.”

  David quirked a brow. “How so?”

  “I received word last night. They found mana crystal veins in the Living Vault, of a purity unheard of, or at least not in that quantity.”

  Niala's ears stood up. “What purity are we talking about?”

  “I was told around ninety percent.”

  She blinked. “You... ninety percent?!”

  “Indeed. I had the message confirmed. It is not a typographical error.”

  David hummed. “What about the fels?”

  The mayor shook his head. “Do you really believe humanoid-eating magical monsters will curtail greed?”

  “...no, I do not.” He leaned forward, eyes hardening. “What about the natives?”

  It was Caleb's turn to blink. “... I had not given thought to them. It does complicate things. Do you believe they are the rightful owners?”

  “I think so. We'll need Jordo to tell us more, but from what we know, they are descendants of the Luminous Reign, the country that built the Living Vault. Amberfall might not recognize the fallen nation's legitimacy, but it would be hard to argue that those people do not have a claim to those lands.”

  They pondered the issue in silence for a moment.

  Caleb leaned back, his ears bobbing. “Perhaps... we could use nepotism to help their case.”

  David looked at the Mayor. Despite appearances, the man was not a philanthropist. He was playing an angle...

  “What do you suggest?”

  The dogkin's mouth tugged at the side. “From what I understand, your golem majordomo considers you to be part of a noble caste from the, what did you call it? The Luminous Reign.”

  David's face fell, to be replaced with a mix of respect and anger directed at the man.

  “You want me to lay claim on the Luminous Reign lands.”

  Caleb dipped his head, smiling. “Merely a suggestion. It would, however, grant you the authority to manage the living vault in a way that could be beneficial to everyone involved, the natives included.”

  “And what do you gain from this, Caleb?”

  The dogkin smirked. “The Riverwall territory is the only practical land route between the living vault and the rest of the kingdom. Since we hold a frontier town charter, the mayor's office is authorized to levy some amount of taxes for trade goods passing through.”

  Niala cocked her head as her ears wiggled. “Aren't you afraid the nobles and merchants will push to have that charter renounced if you meddle with the mana crystals? Or ship them out using airships?”

  Caleb leaned forward and clasped his hands over his desk. “Very astute, Ms. Niala, but I'm not worried. The airspace over the Hungerwoods is rather dangerous to airships, with the many large and aggressive airborne beasts which call it their home. As for the charter, the nobles won't care for a small tax, maybe five to ten percent, especially if a portion of it finds its way to their pocket.”

  The mayor gave them a conniving smile. “I am not greedy. A few percent of the estimated value of those mana crystals would fill our coffers aplenty, on top of the added business we will soon have from the influx of miners and workers.”

  David crossed his arms. “And why me? Won't the other nobles try to lay claim to the lands up north, to be in control of the crystal deposits?”

  Caleb nodded. “They will, but there will be equilibrium. I always found it strange that nobody had tried to stake their hold; a land replete with old ruins and exotic beasts would surely hold some economic or strategic value. And it does, but nobody has a direct claim to the lands up north, at least none that I could find over the course of my posting here. Everyone who attempted to fabricate a claim was mired in political debates, their opponents doing their best to deny them an advantage.”

  Niala snorted. “Snakes making sure everyone stays inside the snake pike.”

  “Indeed, Ms. Niala. That is why, if Mr. David has a valid claim, they will be ill-pressed to dispute it, especially if we factor in two rather influential parties who would support you.” He smiled. “Nepotism, but to our benefit.”

  David stared at the man, while Niala scowled, her dislike of the political game on full display.

  “Let's say I do lay claim to the land. The only justification I have is Jordo. Nobody will take that seriously.” David countered.

  Caleb dipped his head. “What if it were not so? What if you had supporting documents?”

  Niala recoiled. “You want to forge documents?!”

  The dogkin blinked. “Oh, certainly not. No, I have something much more promising. As you know, I keep abreast of the adventurers' findings and reports. A few years ago, a group of adventurers reported finding a large, mostly-preserved building to the north-west, near camp Last Chance. They were able to explore the outer rooms and claimed it looked like some sort of archive or library.”

  At those words, Niala's ears popped up, and the tip of her tail began swishing.

  Caleb's mouth displayed the tiniest of smirks for an instant. “Unfortunately, they were soon confronted by what appeared to be defence golems. Ancient ones, who spoke in a broken tongue, a description that might remind you of your majordomo.” He looked at the two of them.

  Seeing interest, he continued. “Given the size of the building when observed from outside, we can surmise this was an important building. It will most assuredly hold legal records.”

  David arced his brow. “And what makes you think we would find anything to support our claim?”

  Caleb shrugged. “Simple deduction, and the fact that many of the older noble houses can trace their lineage thousands of years ago, their oldest records starting where the records from previous realms stop. It is by no means a guarantee, but were I a betting man, I would put my money on there being records of noble lines that exist to this day, especially the ancient ones, such as yours. Additionally, given what I understand of your noble status under the Luminous Reign, a simple book of law would be a good start in validating your claim.”

  Niala frowned. “But, if we find documents that show an existing noble house dates back to that time, wouldn't they use that to make a claim on the Living Vault?”

  “That would be the case if you were to find documents which supported a single house. My guess is that you will find many such documents, and we will have, once again, equilibrium. Before you ask why your claim will not be disputed: it will, but the claim will be skewed in your favour. For one, your legitimacy will exist from outside of the current ecosystem. For two, their meddling will encounter opposing forces in the form of your respective families.” Caleb explained, smiling.

  David and Niala stared at the man, their thoughts leap-frogging each other. It certainly was a solution to helping the natives, but it felt like stepping into a giant quagmire. If they laid claim, with legitimate documents to back it, they would essentially be founding a new noble house, with everything that it entailed.

  Did they really want that? Just for the sake of safeguarding the perceived ownership of a colony of complete strangers?

  David looked at Niala, meeting her gaze, and seeing herself asking the same questions.

  He turned back toward Caleb. “We'll think about it. We both ran away from politics. I'm not so certain we'd want to jump back into it.”

  The mayor nodded. “Understandable, but you might not need to.”

  David frowned. “What do you mean? You basically told us we should found a new noble house.”

  “Oh, of course, I did, but I never said it was to be founded as part of this kingdom.”

  That stopped them both.

  David's mouth remembered how to work. “...you mean, to found a new realm. Isn't that even worse?”

  Caleb shook his head. “New, or very old one. Claim the land as the heir to the Luminous Reign. Declare your allegiance to the Amberfall crown, ask to become a managed state. The crown will appoint an administrator who will oversee the Luminous Reign's affairs. Vest the administrator with an indeterminate charter of rule. The Luminous Reign will then be a state in name only, a puppet to the crown. Put to writing a few demands, such as proper reparations to the natives in exchange for their lands, and you will have none of the responsibilities while ingratiating yourself to the Crown for handing them a very strategic piece of land on a silver platter without all the machinations they would have to go through themselves to lay their own claim.”

  The mayor's smile turned machiavellian. “Given how close the Wardenfels are to the Amberfall dynasty, I'm sure it would only reinforce their ties to the crown, hereby insuring the crown's interests in keeping you, and this town, as part of their demesne.”

  While Niala stared in open shock at the man, David found himself unable to do anything but be impressed. And a little bit scared.

  Caleb was far from being a simple mayor.