Hazelmere entered her personal tent with Galizur in tow. She wasted no time:

“Can I please ask you to promise me something?”

“You can ask, but I can’t promise I will promise it.”

“… fair enough. Can you, please, promise me you won’t bicker with the dwarves.”

“Ok, I promise. Despite their many flaws, they are also the children of the gods. I have nothing against getting along with them.”

“Then, why did you start that argument?”

“What argument?”

“Maybe I got the wrong idea, but it looked as if you were trying to tick their leader off.”

“That is certainly not what I had in mind. Although, it doesn’t take much to tick a dwarf off.”

“First you said the dwarves consider the hairiness to be the proof of masculinity, and right in the next sentence you said that it is funny how their leader is bald.”

“That is not what I said.”

“Yes, it is!”

“No, it isn’t. And your order is completely wrong. First, I said that I have never seen a bald dwarf before, and then I started talking about their culture. I didn’t say it is funny, I said I have never seen one.”

Hazelmere clicked her tongue: “Details! The point is, you’ve connected the two way too easily.”

“You are talking as if it is my fault their leader is bald. All I did was reach a logical conclusion.”

“And you have framed it in a way that implies their leader lacks masculinity!”

“There is no reason to get angry, miss Hazelmere. The dwarf himself said that the gods were generous enough to compensate him for the lack of hair. If that is true, then I don’t see how his culture can question his masculinity. After all, he is leading the other dwarves. They wouldn’t follow him if his masculinity was questionable. You are thinking too hard about this, miss. No offense has been taken on their part.”

“Regardless, I want you to promise me you won’t start any fights with the dwarves!”

“I have already promised you that.”

“Although,” Hazelmere’s ears and tail fell slowly, “I don’t think you will have the chance to start anything.”

“Did something happen?”

“I’ve … I have had an audience with the Emperor. We talked about many things.”

“Is something wrong?”

“He wants you out of this camp.”

“Wha … why?”

“He said you should either … no, his advisor said you should either bring the angelic army with you to help us or leave. I know you don’t have such power, you don’t get to choose where the angelic army will go, but they didn’t care. They want you to send a message to the heavens and ask for the angelic army to be deployed here.”

“But … that makes no sense!” Galizur looked passionate about something for once, “That was supposed to be decided at the summit! All the kings have gathered there to decide how the armies will be deployed! Surely, your Emperor jests! The angelic army can’t be sent anywhere without the common agreement!”

“Our Emperor didn’t go to the summit.”

“What?”

“He was worried it could be a trap to capture him. He and his advisor were very displeased with the location of the summit. In the high-elven lands, our enemies can do as they please.”

“Where else was it supposed to happen, up in the heavens themselves? Your mortal kings wouldn’t survive up there!”

“He says that, if you want to negotiate, you must come to him.”

“That is absurd! It is his realm that is the most endangered! People who need help don’t get to dictate the terms of it!”

“The way he sees it, the rest of Greadinall is as hostile towards our Empire as the demons are. With the exception that the demons have actually sent us some books. Twice.”

“So, that is how he sees it,” Galizur almost sounded dejected, “when a child misbehaves, a parent has no other choice but to reprimand it. However, it seems that your Emperor is spoiled beyond belief. What he is doing is extremely foolish.”

“Still, it is hard for me to make a convincing argument when the demons are sending us gifts instead of threats.”

“We aren’t threatening him!”

“I didn’t mean it like that! It is hard for me to convince him he should let the other armies join us while the hosagians are attacking us as we speak. Oh, yes! How could I forget it! He and his advisor have said they have nothing against the other armies joining us if the angels force the peace between our Empire and its enemies. If you do that, then he will negotiate.”

“Hmm …” Galizur stroked his hairless chin, “that sounds good on papyrus, but it is much more complicated to achieve in practice.”

“His advisor claims the heavens can do it. She says that, without the peace treaty, it makes no sense to let anyone in. And, as much as I hate it, I have to agree with her on that one. We can’t just let the hosagian armies into our lands without making peace with them first.”

“We can demand from the other nations to stop attacking you, but there is no guarantee they will oblige. They may pretend to agree while raiding your territories behind everyone’s back. Achieving peace is much harder than it seems. You don’t get to say ‘it is peace now’ and everyone drops their weapons all of a sudden.”

“The point is, we can’t let our enemies in, which is why the Emperor would like the angelic army to come. He will have no complaints with that.”

“Once again, it is not that simple.”

“I know, you don’t get to decide yourself.”

“It is not about me. Sending our army to help you could be seen as betraying the rest of Greadinall.”

“How so? You are sending an army to fight the demons, not the other nations!”

“Thanks to which your Empire can focus all of its forces on the other nations. Right now, it has to keep a reserve in case the demons invade.”

“AArrrgghh!” Hazelmere let out an irritated grunt, sitting down while cradling her face in her hands, “None of this makes sense! The entire world is in danger, and everyone is only thinking about nailing the other side!”

“I share your frustration, but that is how it is. You mortals aren’t the most logical creatures. Your Emperor won’t change his position until the demons invade, but then it will already be too late.”

“But, will they invade though? We keep assuming all these things about them, yet we didn’t have a single confrontation with them. Even after shooting the arrows at them, or burning their books, they didn’t retaliate.”

“That is how smart demons get you. They pretend to be your allies, your friends, but they will eventually stab you in the back.”

“You said these cubus demons aren’t interested in exterminating the other races.”

“They aren’t interested in exterminating them through slaughter. They prefer to do it through corruption, by slowly swallowing the entire civilizations, twisting and subverting them how they see fit. We know that, in Slainall, the cubus demons have tricked some other races into joining them. Now, those who have joined them are fighting their own kin.”

“That is what I am talking about! What if they have no intention of invading but are trying to get on our good side so they would ally with us? After all, that is what you have said is the most likely scenario, before I went to see the Emperor.”

“That sounds like it is not such a bad thing, until you realize all the decision making power will be in their hands. It is certainly better than being exterminated, but the end result isn’t any different from the military conquest. Your Empire would lose its agency in both cases.”

“What I don’t get is, if there really is a chance of that happening, if there is a chance that these demons may trick us into joining them and turn us against you, then isn’t it in your best interest to force the peace as soon as possible? Isn’t it in the best interest of the entire Greadinall to show how its nations aren’t interested in harming our Empire and are actually our friends?”

“That …”

“I mean, who would you rather fight: the demons or the demons and the timkiks? If what you have said about these demons is true then, wouldn’t you think that unifying the entire continent has no alternative?”

“It is not that easy. And I have already told you why.”

“Then, why don’t you convince the other races? Yes, our Emperor and his advisors are stubborn, but isn’t the same true for our enemies? Hosagians especially! No matter how much they hate us, they certainly hate the demons more.”

“And that is why I have told you that the mortals aren’t very good with the logic. We are trying, but you mortals are too selfish, too greedy. You won’t listen to reason, both your side and your enemies. So, what are we supposed to do, force all the nations of Greadinall into submission? That is not how the heavens work, that is something the demons would do.”

“Ok, but, now what? No matter how much I hate the stubbornness of my Emperor, how am I to explain it to him that the demons, who are sending us gifts, are the greater threat than the people killing us as we speak?”

Galizur sighed, his big wings lowering themselves as he did so: “We are just going in circles now, and I am starting to think that this conversation is just a waste of time for both of us. I understand you are reasonable and want to stop the demons as much as the heavens do. But this is much bigger than you and me, and you aren’t the person who needs convincing.”

“I am just trying to explain that the situation everyone else has created is making it impossible for me to construct a valid argument.”

“Yes, I know. And I am not in a better position either. However, I am glad to see that the timkik royal archmage is a logical person who understands where the true danger lies.”

Hazelmere’s ears started twitching: “I … thanks.”

“However, it looks like that is exactly why you have no power at all.”

“If it were up to me, I would never summon the portal in the first place! I protested, but nobody listened!”

“I believe you. You do look like someone who isn’t obsessed with power. Which is why I have wondered for quite some time: how did you get such a privileged position? All the royal archmages are aggressive people who are only interested in obtaining more power and influence. And yet, here you are, even though you lack such a predatory mindset. But, everything is slowly starting to make sense. The truth is that you don’t really have any power, do you? You have nothing but blame and responsibilities.”

“Well … that isn’t necessarily true,” Hazelmere shifted in place while twiddling her thumbs, “I can give orders to people which they must obey. It’s just that nothing good ever comes out of it.”

“I see …” Galizur turned around and started walking towards the exit, “you don’t feel comfortable with the power your position entitles because you are too pure for it.”

A twisted smile appeared on Hazelmere’s face: “I don’t think I’m pure. That’s certainly not how I would describe myself.”

“A person’s purity isn’t defined by the filthiness of their body, it is defined by the cleanliness of their soul. Even a filthy, dark-skinned slum-dweller can be pure. You mortals have a twisted, superficial understanding of it. Everything is skin-deep for you because you are carnal, emotional creatures.”

Reaching the exit, he turned around to take a last look at Hazelmere: “But, that may be their worst mistake. Maybe the gods are playing their own game and have placed you here for a reason. Whatever the case may be, I am not welcome here anymore and should therefore go back. It appears that both you and I may be in a similar situation. After all, nobody told me your Emperor didn’t show up at the summit, even though I was in the heavens recently. I need to go back and see what is going on. Creatures of light, like me, don’t appreciate being kept in the dark.”

“You will always be welcome here Galizur, no matter what anyone else says. I am starting to understand just how little I know, but the one thing I know is that I need all the help I can get. No matter what his majesty says, I won’t refuse the help of the heavens, even if it is coming from an unofficial source.”

Galizur gave her his characteristic, gentle smile: “Understanding our ignorance gives birth to our wisdom. I will get to the bottom of this and, once I do, I will return to deliver my findings to you. You can consider that to be proof of my trust in you.”

Hazelmere bowed her head slightly: “Thanks Galizur! Once again, you will always be welcome here.”

“Good luck.”

“And may the good gods be …”

Hazelmere started laughing in the middle of the sentence, covering her mouth with her hand.

“Well, I guess the good gods are always with the angels.”