Ilymhyrra

"Here we are. Durcesa. The city of water. See that lake over there? Mother's tower is in the middle of that. Mind the fog though. It's enchanted to make anyone that goes inside uninvited to be lost forever, wandering in their boat until they die of starvation. That, or the many pets Mother kept around. Though, for a mage your caliber, I'm sure it won't be a problem in the slightest." Elun smirked.

Ilmyhrra stood silent, her eyes wandering around, almost like a curious child. They had just entered the city proper, walking on its well-maintained brick roads.

"How unexpected."

"Hmm? What's unexpected?"

"It's been a while since I was here. And yet, nothing has changed. This brick road, these stone houses, they're exactly the same."

"And how long was that again?"

"I don't know. Maybe 300 years, give or take?"

"Wow, you really are old."

After months of travelling with the sour-faced high elf, Elun was already used to her quirks. For starters, the elf is what you would call a sweet junkie. She'll buy any sweets she found, consuming them without hesitation. She joked about her getting fat once, but she just replied, "Any mage worth her salt knows the secret to eating a lot and not gaining any weight." Elun could only scratch her head. Surely she can't mean those horrible slimming potions quack alchemists would sell. They just give you awful diarrhea. Technically, it works, but do you really want to go to the privy thirty times a day?

"You humans are so quick to change. It's annoying, having to relearn if a town is still there every hundred years."

"Well, blame our short lives for that. We have to evolve quickly if we are to advance as a species."

Ilymhyrra didn't answer. She instead resumed, her white skirt and silver ponytail fluttering in the morning wind.

"Hey, Yulon." Elun glanced at the slime woman to her left. "You go ahead and tell Mother of our arrival. I think Miss High Elf might want a tour of the city first."

"Of course, Milady." The slimekin smiled. She turned into a puddle, disappearing beneath the gaps between the bricks.

"And me, Milady?" The fish man to her right spoke."

"You, Faust? You can go train or something. I don't care. I'll accompany Ilymhyrra on my own."

"...Thank you, Milady." He bowed before making his exit.

Ever since his defeat at the hands of that brat, his love had been even colder towards him. And to fix that, he knew he had to be stronger. Far more than where he currently was.

And so he kept his chin up and shoved his protest back into his chest.

"I can tour the city on my own." Ilymhyrra glanced at Elun. "I'll visit your mother when I like it."

"Oh? And when would that be?"

"Next day, next week, next month, next year—does it matter?"

"It does. Don't you have that promise with the brat that you need to keep?"

"... You're right. I do have that."

Ilymhyrra sent an annoyed glare at the bubble mage's grin.

But, she had promised. And she always fulfilled her promises.

--------

"Well well well, this certainly isn't the time I expect you to show up. And right in my bedroom too? If I don't know any better, you want to sleep with me."

That night, Ilymhyrra crossed the lake, entered the tower, and climbed right into Selendia's bedroom.

How she did it without being detected, no one really knew.

"Please, excuse my state of undress. And the smell for that matter. My husband just performed his husbandly duty, you see."

The blue-haired woman stood up from her bed and walked towards the window where the elf stood, not caring to dress herself first. Her smooth, naked body seemingly shone under the moonlight—proof of her unrivaled beauty.

And then, she went to her knees and bowed.

"You are here without my notice, bypassing every single enchantment I had laid down in this place. You are truly the great Ilymhyrra, the teacher of the Founder. As her descendants, I shall give you my utmost respect."

Ilymhyrra blinked, her face remained as cold as ever.

"I am glad you are quick to understand. The last time I came to this country, I had to destroy half a city until they believed who I was."

The woman stood back up, her bare body towering over the short elf.

"Ah, please forgive my predecessor's insolence." She bowed once more with a smirk. "They simply didn't know any better."

"...Dress yourself. Your appearance is too an insolence."

"Oh?" The woman's smirk widened. "Are you not happy to see my flesh? You may be of the same gender but I assure you, many of my maids will die to see me in this state."

"...You really are like your daughter."

Selendia burst into a giggle. "I have to thank you for saving her. To think some kid was able to overcome her… it seems we have made quite the grave error."

The necklace on her wrist transformed into her staff. Tapping it once on the floor, water surged forth from its tip, circling around the woman before forming a dress for her to wear.

"Come. Let's speak in a more suitable place, shall we, Master Ilymhyrra?"

"...You're not going to wear any underwear with that?"

Selendia only replied with another giggle.

-------

The two left the bedroom, ignoring the sleeping man on the bed. He too was naked, making Ilymhyrra avert her gaze completely.

Outside the bedroom, they found themselves walking across the tower. The place was striking, with polished marbles covering the floor, walls, and ceilings. They were so polished they became reflective akin to a mirror, to the point that Ilymhyrra's panties were visible under her as she walked.

Not that the high elf noticed.

Occasionally, their steps would leave a splash, even though there wasn't any water under them. And the sound of running water and falling droplets could be heard everywhere.

As for the air, it was cool and damp, even more so than the air outside.

"This place… you have so many enchantments running through it. Aren't you bothered by it?" Ilymhyrra suddenly asked.

"Bothered? Why would I?"

"It's gaudy. I know you're a water mage but making your lair be like this—it's distasteful."

"Ah, so my home displeases you. I apologize, Master Ilymhyrra. But I assure you, this is exactly to my taste."

"Milady!"

Their walk was interrupted by the arrival of a teal-haired girl. Finns were attached to her head, signifying that she was not quite human. She wore a white and light blue maid uniform that ended halfway up her thighs.

"Ah, good timing, Lucentia. Prepare a meal for two at once. As you can see, I am entertaining a guest now."

"A-A guest, miss? This late at night?" The maid looked at her mistress with a disbelieving look before eyeing Ilymhyrra up and down.

"...Understood. I shall depart to the kitchen as well."

She gave a quick curtsy before leaving.

"...That girl. She's no girl at all. She's your familiar."

"Very perspective." A smile appeared at Selendia's lips. "There really is nothing I can hide from you, Master Ilymhyrra."

"A Leviathan. To think you could bind a monster of that caliber to your will…"

"Oh no, you misunderstood. It's a long story of my younger days. I can tell you all about it if you wish."

"No. We shall talk about why I came here first."

Ilymhyrra took a step forward.

"...Oh, one more thing."

"Yes?"

"You are just as lascivious as your daughter, aren't you?"

"Excuse me?"

"Your floor… It's too shiny. I could see your maid's underwear on it. And I assume it's the same with mine as well."

Selendia laughed. "Oh yes. Don't worry. White suits you perfectly, Master Ilymhyrra."

"Just like your daughter has no qualms showing her panties, so too you have no qualms showing other people's panties. I believe such a thing is unacceptable in human society."

"Oh, don't be silly. Only prudes from the Holy Land think so. I myself don't believe in hiding the beauty we have under the stifling wrapping of clothes."

"So you're a nudist." Ilymhyrra's eyes narrowed.

"Not quite. Clothes are necessary as both protection and image projections. I wear long, flowing dresses like these because I wish to project my wisdom and elegance. My daughter wears her short skirt because she wishes to project her youth. And you wear such simple clothes because you wish to be seen as a simple adventurer."

"...I see. Humans are indeed as vain as ever."

After their short chat, they resumed their walk, making their way to what looked like a meeting room of some sort. There was a single long, oval table in the middle, surrounded by a number of chairs. Fishtanks decorated the room, filled with all sorts of fishes, including a giant eel.

The two sat facing each other across a long table, each keeping their staves with them.

"I'll cut to the chase." Ilymhyrra spoke. "Marina Greenwood. I assume you know her?"

"Ah, that's a name I hadn't heard in quite a while." Selendia smiled.

"Leave her alone. What your compatriot did to her—your Founder wouldn't approve of that."

"Compatriot? Ah, you mean Vera. I agree. It's a shame—what she did to her and her family. But, that decision is made by the Council, not me alone."

"Gather your other compatriots then. I have to make sure you all agree on the matter."

"Excellent!" Selendia tapped her staff to the floor. "We do wish to meet you as well, Master Ilymhyrra." She sat up. "For we have something we wish to show you."

Ilymhyrra stared at the blue-haired woman in silence, eyeing her with suspicion.

"Excuse me, Milady! I brought the food!"

Her piercing gaze was interrupted by a voice on the door.

"Come in!" Selendia smiled as she sat back down.

As the maid prepared their food, Selendia began to brag about her territory, saying how honored she felt that Ilymhyrra would visit her first over the other Council members. Ilymhyrra quickly tuned out said speech out from her mind, however, as she inserted the bread given to her into her mouth. She had no need for pleasantries.

There were two objectives she would do during her visit to this ancient nation built by her pupil. The first one was of course—fulfill the promise she had made to the kid about his sister.

As for the second one…

--------

Ilymhyrra departed for the capital in the morning after taking her rest inside Selendia's tower. Selendia and Elun came with her, riding inside the former's jellyfish. There was a riverway they could take from the city straight to the capital. Of course, it was made intentionally to facilitate travel between the two places. It wasn't open to the public, however. Selendia wanted it to be her private road.

The three promptly made their way to the Tower of The Sages, the seat of the Magocracy's government. Selendia introduced the high elf

Ilymhyrra then spent a few days touring the city as the other Council members needed to be summoned first from their territories. As before, she preferred to do it alone. She even sneaked into the Academy, watching the magic practiced by the students there.

Her second goal was to see the fruits of her apprentice's efforts. And so far, she was satisfied. The citizenry had barely any complaints and the place looked to be prosperous.

And then, one by one, the other Council members arrived.

First came Merlinus Salamander and his granddaughter Alincia Salamander. The former arrived in his phoenix form, awing the citizens of the Capital, no matter how many times he had done it before. Alincia, on the other hand, rode on her flying sword, a far less impressive entrance to be sure.

Second came Monas Vehta, Lord of the Crags. In complete opposite of Merlinus, he simply dug his way into the tower, stealthily avoiding the masses. He had always been the reclusive one after all.

Last came Opal Lestat with her great lightning show. It was in the middle of noon when her spell struck the top of the Tower of The Sages, landing the old woman. As a Grandmaster of Thunder spells, she had mastered the art of transforming herself into lightning bolts, it seemed.

And of course,

The four Council members of the Magocracy, the four Sages. There used to be five but thanks to a certain person, one was missing from their ranks.

Once they were assembled inside their meeting room, named quite pretentiously as the Room of Wisdom, Ilmyhrra was summoned.

The Room was a marvel of runemancy and magical engineering. Five thrones floated in mid-air, with the background being an endless dots of stars, mimicking the night sky. Ilymhyrra would enter from a floating platform traversing from below, making her be forced to cock her head upwards to speak with the Council members. The stars were created by illusion magic, emitted by the runes carved into every inch in the room.

Four of the thrones were empty, of course, as they had yet found Vera's replacement. Only the Council members were there. Their attendants had to stay outside, for it was a great crime to enter the hallowed Room when you were not one of them.

"Ooohh, are you truly her? The great Ilymhyrra, mentor to the Founder herself?"

Merlinus was the first one to speak. To Ilymhyrra's surprise, the old man jumped off his throne and promptly went to his knees, touching his wrinkled forehead to the ground.

"Please! If you would, take me as your student!"

His exclamation elicited instantaneous reactions from the other mages. Selendia giggled, Monas shook his head, and Opal let out an audible "Hmph!"

"No. You're too old," was Ilymhyrra's swift reply.

The old man then stood up with a grin on his face, showing his yellowed, hole-filled teeth.

"Of course! What did I expect? The great Ilymhyrra will never take me as her apprentice!" He declared with excitement. "Oh, where are my manners? My name is Merlinus Salamander. A pleasure to meet you." He bowed.

The other mages descended as well, or rather, their thrones. Monas Vehta was the first to stand up and kneel in front of the high elf, lowering his bald head in the process. He was younger than Merlinus, and yet, he looked older than him, looking like a skeleton wearing human flesh. His cheeks were sunken, his fingers bony, and his forehead protruding almost unnaturally.

"Monas Vehta. At your service, Milady."

The next one to kneel was Selendia. She too declared her name and her oath to serve her.

The last one was Opal Lestat. Unlike the others, she did her kneel with a grump, eyeing the high elf in a somewhat hostile manner.

"Opal Lestat, Light of The Firmament. Pleased to meet you, o traitorous one."

Ilymhyrra's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?"

The old woman lifted her wrinkled face and hooked nose, staring right back at her. "You left her. You left Mira. You let Milicis and her zealots kill her that day."

"...She had committed a great crime, overstepping her bounds as a mortal. I let Milicis do it because she deserved it."

The old woman’s glare intensified further, a glare that Ilmyhrra readily challenged with her own.

In the end, the younger human was the one to back down.

She knew what the high elf was capable of. Even as a Grandmaster-level mage, she was nowhere near her level.

And in the world of mages, a lesser mage should always bow to the whims of the greater mages.

And Ilmyhrra—she was the greatest mage in this room.

---------

After their introductions, Ilymhyrra didn't wait until she declared what she wanted. Though not before she climbed onto one of the thrones. For some reason, she had an urge to do so. Perhaps she just wanted to look down on them instead of craning her necks upwards like she had been doing so far. Thanks to her small size, however, she looked quite out of place there, almost like a child who sat on her father’s large chair.

"Marina Greenwood. I assume you're all familiar with her?" She rested her right cheek on her hand.

Merlinus was the first to answer.

"Of course." He brushed his beard with a smile. "Such a brilliant mage. It's a shame… what happened to her."

"You approved Vera doing it to her.” Ilmyhrra’s eyes narrowed. “Kidnapping a girl, forcing her to marry a man he doesn’t like, just to strengthen your bloodline… you’re all a disappointment as mages in my book.”

“Quite easy for you to say. For one who sat on the pinnacle of magic.”

The one who spoke next was Monas Vehta. The old man chuckled, giving her his skeleton-like grin in the process.

“...No. That would be Mira. I’ll never be able to do what she did.”

“You’re right.” Opal followed. “You’re never going to be like her. The very foundation of modern magic was kickstarted by her. Before she came, mages like us were akin to blind worms that could not even see where they crawled.”

“So you should know that your desire for more and more power is pointless. Give it up. Mira did what she did not because she was a power hungry woman.”

“Oh, now this is interesting.” Selendia smiled. “Inventing necromancy, sacrificing the entire continent to open the Gate to the Flow—you believe she did all that not because of a quest for a higher power?”

Ilmyhrra sent a glare at the blue-haired woman. “I won’t tell you the true reason why she did it. For none of you deserves the knowledge. Rest assured, however, that she did it for a good reason.”

“A good reason that you rejected.” Merlinus chuckled.

“The path to hell is paved with good intentions. She dug her own grave when she tried to break the laws of this world.”

Crossing her legs, Ilmyhrra changed the subject back to Marina.

“I want all of you to leave Marina Greenwood alone. Her family included. I would tell you to ask for her forgiveness but we both know your arrogance is too large for that.”

“Oh, we already do.” Merlinus grinned. “We know where she is. Yet we still have yet to send an assassin after her. Do you know why?”

“...Not because of your common decency, I presume.”

“Because our Founder, Lady Mira herself, told us not to.”

Ilmyhrra froze.

“Oi, Merlinus!” Opal yelled. “Why are you—”

“It’s fine.” His grin grew larger. “We can tell her. After all, there’s no one in this world that loves our Founder more than she does.”

“...What are you playing at?” Ilmyhrra straightened herself, grabbing her staff tightly.

“Lady Mira never truly died that day, one thousand years ago when Milicis pierced her with her Divine Spear. No, she managed to store a part of her soul beforehand as she had predicted her defeat.”

Ilmyhrra stood up, sweat crawling down her forehead. Never before had the high elf look so terrified.

“Yes. She’s still alive, in quite the loosest definition, unfortunately. Only recently did we manage to return the ability to speak to her shattered soul.

Merlinus raised her hands upwards, now openly laughing as his eyes bulged out from their sockets.

“And now, we are working on our great mission—to return her glory and magnificence back to this world!"

For once, the high elf didn’t know how to react.

She was now aiming her staff at the old man. But she didn’t fire. Even though she knew what they were doing was another sin similar to what her apprentice did a millenia ago.

For if part of Mira’s soul was still here in this world…

...She had to apologize to her.