Ivory Haven.
In his room, Mark let the weight of his body sink into the chair, the leather creaking lightly under his weight.
'Were the orders clear enough?'
He sighed, shifting his gaze to the open window.
Outside, the sky of Luminaris was tinted with a deep orange, with traces of purple beginning to appear along the edges of the horizon, the three moons showing their faces.
The setting sun now bathed the city in a warm light, typical of late afternoon. Down below, the flow of people remained dense. Hurried merchants, the sound of animals mixed with human voices, conversations and laughter.
Mark watched a carriage slowly pass through the stone street, the sound of the metal wheels hitting the pavement rising up to his room.
'Twenty-four hours...' He thought, stopping the movement of his finger on the table.
Mark knew Hermos would only be able to establish contact tomorrow.
Until then, he was essentially in the dark.
Anxiety tried to creep in, but he pushed it back.
There was no point biting his nails over something that was hundreds of kilometers away and outside his direct control.
Thoughts drifted through his mind while he tapped his index finger against the cover of one of the books.
On the dark wooden table, the volumes Celina had selected were spread out in an organized disorder; maps, topographic records and the map of the Luminaris region occupied almost all the available space.
His brain was aching after having read for a few hours.
Much of the information was not useful.
He had to filter entire paragraphs about the proper etiquette for merchant banquets, an exhaustive list of types of moss that grew on the city's low walls and a ten-page thesis discussing whether the name "Luminaris" was derived from an archaic solar dialect or merely a translation mistake from an old map.
However, in his readings he managed to obtain some information, mainly about the desert.
According to the books, north of the Ash Desert stretched the Vast Northern Void, an unexplored region of the desert.
He did not know exactly where this Northern Void was when looking at the image. Perhaps he had flown over the region with Pippin when he was on his way to the city.
Besides that, there was the immense Sea of Sand, where the Ash Desert was inhospitable with arid terrain where almost nothing survived.
On the border between the desert and the habitable lands stood a line of observation posts, watchtowers connected by protected trade routes that Mark had seen when he arrived at the gates of Luminaris.
These posts constantly monitored the desert and had guaranteed the safe passage of caravans for years.
Well, now that there was conflict in the north, besides caravans there was also the arrival of refugees who followed the same path.
Moving south, the landscape began to change. The sand gave way to fields with low vegetation and small fertile areas, signaling the transition to more habitable lands.
Luminaris stood on the edge.
Protected by walls and defensive posts at its northern entrance, it served as a meeting point between merchants, refugees and travelers who crossed the desert.
This information was mixed with information Mark already knew from hearing others speak, but finding it in a book was completely different.
And one of the reasons was that now he could know what lay beyond. To the east began the Domains of the Solis Empire, while beyond them were the Neighboring Principalities, traditional enemies of the empire.
Mark read the names of the smaller states, the coalitions of minor nobles trying to hold back imperial expansion, and the realization struck him.
Solis was an expanding power, colliding directly with the militarized resistance of the principalities, and Luminaris was close to all of it.
Now he knew who the empire was in conflict with to the east.
Luminaris existed in the delicate balance between the inhospitable desert, imperial power and hostile territories, which explained its current situation and the recent events he had encountered.
In the books, the desert was categorized only as "No Man's Land" — a sterile region infested with monsters.
That gave the guild absolute power over the flow of goods and adventurers.
The battlefront in the east was a meat grinder, and the Ash Desert was the only flank that had not been explored due to the dangerous monsters.
If the Empire managed to cross the desert, they could bypass the principalities' defenses and attack them from the rear.
'Interesting...' Mark closed the book with a dull thud, the sound echoing in the room now immersed in the dim light.
He stood up, walking toward the window.
The street below was quieter.
The lantern lights were beginning to shine, painting the pavement in blue and amber.
Mark crossed his arms, observing the final movement of merchants.
Tomorrow, when Hermos gave the signal, Mark would know exactly how much attention he had drawn.
"Principalities, empires and a desert." He murmured to himself. "It seems I chose the noisiest place in the world to be reborn."
Mark stepped away from the window and began organizing the books into a corner of the table. He needed a night of rest before Hermos's report arrived.
His day had been full of events and he was already exhausted.
Even with a high-level body and attributes that prevented him from feeling physical fatigue, mental exhaustion was another story.
His mind was still processing the world like someone receiving new information every second; so much had happened since he left the Ziggurat that the weight of the information was beginning to take its toll.
It was not a matter of lack of breath, but saturation.
Now he just wanted to close his eyes and forget everything for a few hours.
'Even a vampire needs sleep...'
***
The next day began with a monotonous routine.
Mark woke up with the soft morning light filtering through the curtains. He went downstairs for breakfast and exchanged a few short words with Elias.
The food at Ivory Haven remained rich and sumptuous, fitting the level of the establishment.
The main dish involved cuts of monster meat prepared with expensive spices.
Mark was still getting used to the exotic flavor and dense texture of those meats; some parts, which he considered too strange for his human palate, discreetly ended up under the cloak.
Pippin, hidden in the shadows of the fabric, accepted each piece enthusiastically, devouring everything with impressive speed.
After eating, Mark did not feel like wandering through the city.
Luminaris was still a place to be explored, but he did not want to lose himself in distractions before receiving news.
He returned to the room and buried his face in Celina's books again, reviewing them until the words began to dance before his eyes.
The hours passed slowly.
The silence of the room was broken only by the turning of pages and the occasional sound of the city outside.
It was only when the sun began to descend on the horizon again, painting the walls of the room with shades of amber, that the atmosphere changed.
Pippin, who had been quiet in a corner, suddenly stirred. The small servant jumped onto the table, ears upright and milky eyes shining with a different intensity.
"Sovereign..." Pippin's voice sounded low, but filled with urgency. "Master Hermos... he calls."
Mark slowly closed the book and straightened his posture, feeling the adrenaline finally awaken.
The twenty-four hour wait had ended.
"Connect him." He ordered, his calm voice hiding the expectation.
Pippin closed his eyes, his small structure trembling lightly as the ability of his clan stabilized.
When he opened his mouth, it was not the thin voice of the servant that came out, but Hermos's solemn and deep tone.
[ "My Lord..." ] Hermos began, with an audible reverence in his voice. [ "I hope your stay in the city of humans is being fruitful, there is nothing—" ]
"Hermos, straight to the point. What is the situation from yesterday?" Mark did not have patience to hear Hermos's praises and asked directly.
Hermos let out a dry cough, sounding embarrassed through Pippin's voice. [ "Ah, forgive me, Sovereign. It is just that... hours away from your presence feel like years of isolation. I end up getting excited with the opportunity to speak with Your Greatness." ]
He cleared his throat and resumed a professional tone.
[ "The Sanguine Knight, The Sutured and The Dragonfly Hunter have returned. The mission was completed with total success. Those lizards, the Cindralisks, are safe and secure. They should, in fact, raise monuments of gratitude for the immeasurable kindness of the Sovereign in protecting them against such insolence..." ]
Mark ignored the servile praise. His mind was focused on a single thing. "Did they kill anyone?"
[ "No, My Lord." ] Hermos answered quickly. [ "The three servants reported that they acted exactly as the Sovereign ordered. No one was killed directly by them." ]
Mark immediately caught the nuance.
"Directly?" He frowned, a bad sensation rising through his chest. "People died, Hermos?"
[ "Well, some perished due to collateral consequences of injuries, friendly fire among the humans themselves in panic, or injuries caused by falls... However, their General was captured alive, although the vice-commander managed to escape." ]
Hermos answered naturally, as if he were commenting on the weather.
[ "The wounded soldiers who remained in the desert were taken prisoner along with the General and are now contained in the lizards' nest. As for those who did not resist, we took the care to collect their bodies. We are merely awaiting the Sovereign's orders on how to proceed with the spoils and the prisoners." ]
Mark remained still.
The word "bodies" echoed in his mind.
"You are telling me that there were deaths? Even after I was explicit in my orders?"
Hermos, completely oblivious to the change of temperature in the room and Mark's expression, continued in his pragmatic tone:
[ "It is inevitable that something like that happens when servants of such scale of power go out to face humans, My Lord. As I said, the three did not kill anyone directly, they were surgical in their containment, it is only—" ]
BOOM!
Mark slammed his fist on the table. The solid wood split in half as if it were a dry twig, sending splinters in all directions. Celina's books flew, falling in disorder across the floor, while his aura changed drastically, becoming cold, heavy and suffocating.
"You had only ONE JOB. And you failed."
For the first time since arriving in that world, Mark's fury exploded. His expression was hidden under a mask of shadow, his head lowered.
[ "!!!" ]
On the other side of the connection, even hundreds of kilometers away and using Pippin's body as a bridge, Hermos felt absolute terror.
The impact of the Sovereign's fury struck him like a mental whip.
Had he said something wrong?
Why was the Sovereign angry with him?
[ "M-My Lord!" ] Hermos's voice, coming from Pippin, stammered violently.
The small servant shrank, trembling. [ "P-please, I... we tried... the containment was... I can explain, the humans..." ]
He had never heard that tone in the Sovereign's voice, and it made him feel as if his very existence was hanging by a thread.
Hermos was in panic.