"Aretuza will deploy all sorceresses who meet the requirements, and will invite experts from the Wolf School and Bear School to join the expeditionary force!"
Tissaia de Vries suppressed the roar burning in her chest. She swept a cold glance over the scheming faces below, then glanced at Narses de la Roche beside her.
Narses de la Roche stayed silent for a few seconds, then let out a relieved sigh: "The Free City of Novigrad will fund the invitation of the Griffin School and will be responsible for all logistics and supplies. I will also join this expedition."
As soon as he finished speaking—
Because of Tissaia de Vries' scolding earlier, the Gallery of Glory had already fallen into deep silence. Now that silence was so absolute that the fall of a single needle could be heard.
'This is the high council meeting of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers I imagined…' Fringilla Vigo swallowed, her eyes shimmering, her fists tightening.
Although Artorius Vigo loved pranks and was a mischievous elder, he still understood what mattered.
Transforming someone into a pig was only embarrassing, but knowing nothing—going into a journey completely clueless—would not only make a junior achieve nothing on this trip, but could even invite disastrous trouble.
Therefore—
Although Artorius Vigo did not talk about the "fierce" clashes during the high council meeting, he introduced every faction that might participate, and made Fringilla Vigo memorize them all.
Among them, two forces were unquestionably the most important—Tissaia de Vries' Aretuza and Narses de la Roche's Free City of Novigrad.
There was no need to elaborate on Tissaia de Vries' Aretuza. Even though Fringilla Vigo had always received elite family-style magical education, she had long heard of Aretuza and had interacted with many sorceresses from there.
Narses de la Roche's Free City of Novigrad, however, was one of the most powerful and internally complex forces on the Northern Continent.
Novigrad was a free city located within Redania. It sat on the Pontar River—the main river running through Temeria, Redania, Kaedwen, and Aedirn, the four richest and strongest kingdoms of the North, with its tributaries flowing through almost the entire Northern Continent—right at the river's estuary. It was the most important seaport in the North, even in the whole Continent.
Its population was around thirty thousand, with twice as many travelers and merchants passing through.
Thus, Novigrad was often called the capital of the world by Northerners.
Such geographical advantage and population made it the brightest gem of the whole Northern Continent.
Whoever controlled this city could sit atop endless wealth—and the greatest wealth meant the greatest power. It was easy to imagine how many forces coveted Novigrad.
In fact—
Hundreds of years ago, before humans arrived on this land, elves occupied this city, building plazas and living here.
But when the first humans migrated from the far side of the Continent, the elves were forced to abandon their city and retreat into the forests. Novigrad was abandoned.
Afterward—
Redania began to shine with true brilliance—brilliance soaked in blood.
At the time, Novigrad was the capital of the Kingdom of King Sambuc. That kingdom eventually evolved into modern Redania. Seventy years ago, all accumulated conflict, jealousy, and greed exploded at once, igniting a war that engulfed half the Northern Continent and lasted seven full years.
The Seven Years' War—that was the name of this vast conflict.
Redania's King Vistibor, at the height of his reign, clashed with many Northern kingdoms over territorial disputes.
Temeria, Kaedwen, Hengfors, Malleore, and Caingorn formed the Northern Alliance.
The war ended with Redania's defeat. The Northern Alliance took the fertile river valleys near Buina, Nimnar, and the Pontar. Novigrad, still the capital at that time, was annexed into Temeria. Vistibor moved the royal seat to Tretogor.
But even though the Seven Years' War ended, minor conflicts never stopped. Novigrad's walls were never intact for long.
Until thirty years ago, during the reign of Radovid III—perhaps because constant wars had drained both nations, or because Radovid III was angrier at the drifting independence of Kovir and Poviss—The Redanian king known as "the Bold" negotiated with Temeria, and eventually they reached a compromise.
From then on, Novigrad became a Free City.
Any official or position in the Free City could only be elected by native residents with local rights, free from external influence.
But the negotiation itself was strange.
The Brotherhood of Sorcerers' shadow was present—subtle yet impossible to ignore.
Because shortly before Novigrad was freed from warfare, Narses de la Roche—a native-born sorcerer—suddenly "emerged," published a series of shocking research achievements, and quickly passed the review of Hen Gedymdeith, Tissaia de Vries, and others, becoming a member of Chapter of the Gift and the Art, which had a sudden vacancy at the time.
Then, because of his legendary history and Redanian origin, he was naturally supported by the citizens to become Novigrad's magical advisor, a position he has held ever since.
Because Novigrad had no actual lord—only the highest-ranking Founders' Association influencing the city through the Council—
Although Narses de la Roche lacked the supernatural dominance of institutions like Ban Ard, Aretuza, or Rissberg, he was practically the uncrowned king of all supernatural forces in Novigrad.
Moreover—
It was said that the largest academic institution on the Northern Continent, Oxenfurt University, located near Novigrad, was established under Narses de la Roche's influence.
Oxenfurt University, besides the famous Faculty of Narrative and Poetry (commonly called the Bard College), also had the Faculty of Alchemy, Faculty of Theology, and departments specializing in extremely practical occult studies.
Although it was undoubtedly a sign that the Brotherhood of Sorcerers was testing waters in secular influence—
There was no concrete evidence to claim a grand conspiracy.
Radovid III's wars were the true cause—wars born from resentment of the Seven Years' War, followed by another. Tracing it further became nearly impossible.
Moreover, over the decades, aside from founding Oxenfurt University and speaking occasionally in the city council, Narses de la Roche was practically invisible. No one truly knew the extent of his power in Novigrad—
Until…
Today!
"Lady Vera, can Novigrad really meet Lord Narcisse's conditions?" Fringilla Vigo whispered timidly through mental transmission.
The reason invading Dol Dhu Lokke, The Valley of Thousand Monsters, was called an expedition was because its scale and cost rivaled that of a full-scale war.
Especially when the main force consisted of delicate and extravagant sorcerers—plus the hiring fees of an entire Griffin School—the cost was far beyond Fringilla Vigo's imagination.
The reason the high council meeting of the Brotherhood became such a chaotic mess—wasn't because these mighty figures stopped caring about dignity.
No!
Who wanted to turn into a pig in front of colleagues, juniors, and enemies?
The reason they acted so desperately was because the price of maintaining dignity was far beyond what most could accept.
Even though the Gallery of Glory appeared silent, Fringilla Vigo could sense storms of thought brewing beneath the surface. Countless sorcerers were using mental communication just like she was.
Vera glanced at her and replied quietly in her mind: "He is Narses de la Roche."
Fringilla Vigo fell silent.
Yes. He was Narses de la Roche—one of the few who stood at the absolute pinnacle of the supernatural world.
How could he possibly make a promise he could not fulfill?
"The world-capital Novigrad… belongs to the Brotherhood of Sorcerers?!!"
As a member of the Brotherhood, Fringilla Vigo—who had at least some sense of loyalty to the organization—couldn't help feeling excited.
But Vera kept her gaze on the cold, frost-faced Tissaia de Vries, murmuring in her heart with worry: "Has the Brotherhood's situation really deteriorated to this degree?"
Did they need to rely on the claim of controlling Novigrad just to intimidate the council?
Vera did not believe Narses de la Roche had complete control over Novigrad, allowing the richest city in the North to be drained by the Brotherhood.
No one knew how much had to be traded behind this promise.
And Tissaia de Vries was paying even more. The Brotherhood's interest in Novigrad was probably merely entrusted to Narses de la Roche, but Aretuza belonged entirely to Tissaia de Vries.
No one knew how many would survive after entering Dol Dhu Lokke, the Valley of Monsters.
Tissaia de Vries was placing Aretuza—and the future of all sorceresses—on the scale.
And naturally—
The promises made by Tissaia de Vries and Narses de la Roche had effects matching their staggering cost.
Since the highest authorities had paid such a price, the other high council members merely had to contribute personnel. With magical resources scarce and Novigrad's wealth backing the expedition, the others would likely still profit financially. No one wanted to stir trouble anymore.
The meeting quickly reached consensus.
Tissaia de Vries, expressionless, announced the results: "Two high-ranking sorcerers from the Hand of Withering, eleven intermediates…"
"One high-ranking sorcerer from Thornbird…"
"The Pale Ascetics…"
"The Primal Essence Inquiry…"
-----------------------------------
"The assembly time is set for the sixth day of the Elven Calendar's Month of Souls—one month from now. The gathering place will be Maribor of Temeria. I will ask Prince Theodoric of Maribor to lift the restrictions and arrange stabilizers for the teleportation portals outside the city…"
"Any other objections?"
Tissaia de Vries' icy gaze swept across the Gallery of Glory from her high-backed chair.
Fringilla Vigo trembled under the invisible pressure and quickly averted her eyes.
Vera also met Tissaia de Vries' eyes expressionlessly for a second before looking away.
"Why not invite the secular nobles and kings?" A young male mage sitting on the northern edge asked, puzzled.
"Even if we want to save time, we could still request help from Temeria—at least from the Prince of Maribor. We can hire knights the same way we hire witchers…"
Before the young mage finished speaking, he was interrupted by waves of laughter.
"Does the Primal Essence Inquiry have no one left? Why did they send a brat who hasn't even grown all his hair?"
Across the oak table, an elder sitting on the southern side—beardless and with a withered face—let out a night-owl-like rasping laugh.
The young mage's face flushed red from the mocking laughter.
"Kings and nobles are all cunning foxes. If we rely on their men to save Ortolan, who knows which we'd need to guard against once we encounter monsters? Don't make this already difficult expedition even harder."
Not far from the young mage, a black-robed wizard—likely from an allied faction—amplified his voice with magic, suppressing the laughter ringing through the Hall and giving him a way out.
The withered-faced old man only snorted coldly at that and said nothing more.
The meeting continued.
But the young mage's embarrassment made substitutes like Fringilla Vigo even less willing to speak, and the high-ranking sorcerers all shared an unspoken understanding.
For a moment, the Gallery of Glory fell quiet again.
Seeing this, Tissaia de Vries prepared to end the meeting: "In that case, this session of the High Council will—"
Before she finished—
"Wait!" A young yet gloomy voice echoed from the southern side of the Hall.
After recognizing who it was, Tissaia de Vries frowned instinctively. "Belendil Rogrides, what else do you wish to discuss?"
Belendil Rogrides…
Upon seeing the speaker, Vera also furrowed her brows.
Tissaia de Vries was reminding her—
Because the Rogrides family, a secular ducal house with a seat in the Intermediate Council of Sorcerers, was the suspected mastermind behind the Drakenburg plot against the Wolf School.
He belonged to the Intermediate Council. He had replaced… the seat of Rissberg's civil cooperative organization, Evolution of Principle…
The next second.
Vera happened to meet Belendil Rogrides' gaze.
Belendil Rogrides curled his lips, lowered his head slightly in a polite bow, then looked away.
Vera immediately felt something was wrong.
"Speaking of hiring witchers, someone suddenly came to mind… no—one witcher…"
Belendil Rogrides said loudly in a praising tone. "Many of you must have heard of him…"
"Our time is precious. It's not for listening to an intermediate sorcerer play guessing games."
Belendil Rogrides' nonsense and deliberate, clown-like pauses made several hot-tempered male mages express annoyance. "Apologies, but this is important—because he is also related to the Crimson Fox, Lady Vera's apprentice."
Belendil Rogrides lowered his head modestly.
Hearing that it involved the Crimson Fox, the short-tempered mage glanced at Vera, muttered a few words, and fell silent.
Vera also remained silent, staring coldly at Belendil Rogrides, fists tightly clenched beneath the table.
Belendil Rogrides continued as if unaware: "His name is Allen, Wolf School… no—since the birth of witchers, the youngest Witcher Master. And he has several even more well-known titles…"
"The Crimson Fox's genius alchemy apprentice, the May Festival King of Ellander, the Spirit-Slayer, the Great Griffin Knight, Melitele's Blessed Son, and a title closely connected to Your Excellency Tissaia de Vries—"
Belendil Rogrides paused, the smile on his lips deepening, and pronounced each word heavily: "God… Slayer…!"
.........
(T/N: New year, new adventures—make it count!)
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