Jackal Among Snakes

Chapter 659: Reforging Reality

Traugott gave them one last hex from beyond the grave—specifically, a headache. That was truly the only thing they gained from this interrogation. Anneliese had already cracked the code, so to speak, on his bid to use Sophia’s power contained within the shell of Good King Norman. Any information about the Heralds was precisely as they possessed—uncertain, imprecise, and further confirming that they were opposed to any finality to the cycle of judgment.

It did confirm, at least, that they were right to focus on Traugott before shifting gears to deal with Gerechtigkeit. His knowledge about their situation was frighteningly accurate, and even Anneliese had to concede that some of his plans for the tide of Shadowlanders he’d brought beneath his banner would probably be impossible to counter. With him gone, a threat to their safety, Vasquer’s safety, and Sophia’s safety were wiped, all in one.

Anneliese erased the shell once again. Given time, she would forget the precise intricacies, and the psyche of Traugott would be forever lost—not with the death that he’d wanted, but with a rational hand deciding his fate with the same compassion he’d shown all of his subjects of experimentation. It was a feat that deserved to be declared grandly to the mortal realm and the heavens both, but Anneliese was content with the deed itself as her reward.

With that final dragon slain, it had finally gone to the point where only the last enemy remained—the one who, in large part, might be considered responsible for it all. It promised to be a brutal struggle even after only the first skirmish—Orion versus the silver knight. More enemies of that caliber might join the fray in the final months cresting the horizon.

Argrave had taken away so many of Gerechtigkeit’s natural allies. The threat of the undead, brought about by the Order of the Rose on Berendar, had largely been culled—every day, the reports of attacks on travelers and rural villagers lessened. Beings like golems had been largely dismantled or subdued—and to that end, Durran collaborated with a large team to ensure the subterranean people of the Burnt Desert would not be turned on by their creations. Elsewhere, he actively worked to deprive Gerechtigkeit of minions, uprooting necromantic sects and lich enclaves.

Around the world, similar crusades carried on at the behest of one of the largest coalitions in the world. The Blackgard Union had seen the threat firsthand, now, and rumors abounded about Orion between the gods himself. Some people in the kingdom suggested that Orion himself should be king after his display of immense bravery while the king hid away. The knight-commander practically tripped over himself to correct the record and refuse kingship at the same time.

that he had established contact with the Shadowlands, and had a plan of action to prevent their incursions for this cycle. With the Kingdom of Vasquer and to a lesser extent that

them, then came Garm and Llewellen, the last of whom was written down as a casualty in the battle for simplicity’s sake. He gave credit to the countless who deserved it, describing

only caused them fear. Elenore was instrumental in allaying that fear. They had been massing the army at Blackgard both to facilitate training and to centralize power, but this most recent demonstration clarified that the soldiers weren’t at their most effective

the entire kingdom to maintain order, improve the infrastructure, and undermine the influence of regional gentry. Soon enough, their well-trained standing army had permeated the whole of the kingdom of Vasquer. They built roads, mitigated the effects of floods, assisted migration, and improved the garrison of the towns and cities. They were

been taken without consent.

deliberately corrupt soldiers. They proved largely fruitless, much to her satisfaction. They had a standing army that was loyal to the crown alone. Such a thing would prove invaluable in the times to come in the following months, and the

foot. It would strain further under the enormity of what was to come. There was a large power vacuum, and those who remained might do something desperate to preserve their autonomy. They already felt threatened by the prospect of a constitution dictating how magic ought to be used. To calm them, Anneliese and Argrave both did something to give robust assurances that the

a tower master. Tarah, Castro’s successor, had died in the battle against the silver knight. Their application was merely a very subtle indication that the crown had no intention of taking overt advantage of the power vacuum, and that the living Magisters should get their Order in order quickly and peacefully. Covertly, however, Elenore had some angles. She intended to push Moriatran, a wizened elder and Castro’s

attack. It was partially due to their intellectual curiosity, partly due to incentives offered by both Artur and Elenore, and partly out of fear. They feared being left behind for another frightening innovation, as seen with soul magic. Argrave was especially gung-ho about cementing Blackgard as a center of scholarly research, as he