When Aydaan first spoke of his home I imagined an ancient, crumbling fortress at first; so I was surprised to see an old but undamaged building instead.

My next logical assumption was that its interior would be as dull as it was outside. But as soon as I crossed the gate and stepped in, my mind was blown away by the fucking palace before my eyes!

The entry hall was large, richly decorated and well-lit, its domed ceiling standing several stories above our heads. The dome was made of glass, letting us see the black clouds swirling outside.

The floor was covered in white marble tiles that fitted nicely with the gold and silver of the walls, large white pennants hanging on them; they were made of silk-like fabric, the Winged Lady emblazoned in gold.

“This place is magnificent!” Shjasta exclaimed as I let go of her.

She approached the large Winged Lady statue placed right in the center of the hall, made of solid gold. “I imagined more of a fort, as you referred to it as a citadel.”

“It is a fortress, My Lady,” Aydaan replied. “Compared to the palace my masters had inside the city, the Sanctum has rather rustic furnishings.”

“You seem to be feeling better,” I said to Shjasta as I took a seat in a large, plump armchair located on one side of the hall.

“I do,” She nodded. “I can’t tell for sure, but it’s as if there’s some sort of barrier shielding this place from outside influence.”

“An Arcana Shield is protecting the Sanctum," Aydaan mentioned. "It survived A’dar’s destruction and countless assaults by the Wastes’ monsters thanks to the barrier.”

Aydaan approached one of the twin staircases that flanked each side of the hall and led to the upper levels of the hall. “It is late, and you are weary. Aydaan suggests you rest tonight. Tomorrow he will help you recharge your Prism, as promised.”

Shjasta thought it was a great idea, and I got up to follow Aydaan up the stairs. The walls of the upper level were lined up with many doors. The Servant approached one, which opened by itself.

I recalled him referring to A’dar as the “Machina City”, and upon seeing this I started to understand the meaning behind that moniker. Everything inside the Sanctum seemed to be automated; the lamps of the room on the other side lit up magically as we stepped in, the light coming from small white crystals attached to them.

“This is so cool!” I laughed my amazement out. “Everything works by itself.”

“That is correct, Master Wraith,” Aydaan replied. “All Machinae inside the Sanctum are powered by raw Arcana provided by the Crystal-forge.”

“I can’t wait to finally see it!” Shjasta said. “I must confess I’m curious to see how it works!”

“We will do so tomorrow,” Aydaan reminded her. “Aydaan will go prepare supper now.”

The Servant left the room, the door whooshing shut behind him.

I was wondering why he had left us in a room with no furniture when two large beds emerged from the wall. The bedding was smooth to the touch, and the mattresses were soft and inviting.

“This is so fucking amazing!” I laughed as I jumped over one bed, reveling in its softness. “Machina City, indeed!”

“Are you going to lay on the bed all sweaty and dirty from the journey?” Shjasta pursed her lips in slight disgust. “It’s been weeks since our last bath!”

“You can go ahead first… If you can find the bath,” I shrugged. “Maybe it’s behind that other door?”

Shjasta got closer to find out. As expected by now, it opened upon her approaching, and she went to the other side. “This is the bath,” she said.

“How do you know?” I asked.

“Because,” her head peeked from the doorway, grinning. “The tub is filling up with water as we speak!”

After we both were bathed and sparkling clean, Aydann came back with lidded trays on each hand. As soon as he entered another wall stirred, and a table large enough to seat four people emerged from it, the chairs rising from the floor simultaneously. The table was already set for dinner, plates and silverware included.

Aydaan placed the trays over the table and removed the lids, revealing a magnificent feast.

“How did you prepare this so fast?” I asked in awe. “And where did you get the ingredients?”

“The Sanctum is equipped with ‘Conjurators’,” Aydaan said as if stating the bloody obvious.

When he saw our befuddled faces he elaborated. “It is a Machina designed to conjure up almost any item, including food.”

Both Shjasta and I knew that the most powerful Arch-magi were capable of creating things out of thin air, even some simple foodstuffs like bread or water. But to think that the A’dari had machines capable of doing just that? And make Arch-magi look like fucking apprentices while at it?

The best part? The conjured food was simply delicious!

Once our bellies were full and got up, the chairs and table, empty trays and all, receded into their original positions.

“Let me guess,” I said. “All of those dirty plates and trays will be taken care of by a… washer Machina?”

“How did Master Wraith know that?” Aydaan asked in his signature unemotional voice, while his eye did a better job at conveying his amazement.

“Just a guess, pal…” I shrugged while Shjasta giggled.

After such wonderful dinner sleepiness soon got the better of the Princess and me. We went to bed and had an amazingly great sleep.

When we woke up the next morning I’d almost forgotten that we were still in the middle of a wasteland, with an important mission yet to complete.

After the breakfast provided by the Conjurators, Aydaan said it was finally time to recharge the Prism. Shjasta carried the artifact in her hands as we followed the Servant out of the room. He led us down, back to the main hall, and then through another set of stairs going further down, located in the back of the hall, opposite the gate.

The lower level wasn’t as ornate as the ones above. It was a clean and well-maintained corridor, its decorations simpler, almost utilitarian. This part of the Sanctum did look more like a military fort of sorts.

Aydaan led us through the corridor to a door on our left. On its other side laid a large, tall chamber, most of its volume occupied by a golden column that went all the way to the ceiling a hundred feet or so above our heads. It was cylindrical and quite wide, about a hundred feet so, by my mental reckoning. A nondescript semicircular table stood in front of it.

“This is the Forge chamber,” Aydaan said. “Please give Aydaan a few moments to set it up.”

The Servant approached the table, and several panels emerged from its interior. Aydaan placed his hands over them, lighting up with a bluish light similar to the one emanating from his eye. Right in front of his face a series of floating, glowing images and glyphs started to appear. Neither Shjasta nor me understood them.

“They serve to inform Aydaan of the Crystal-forge’s status,” he said after we asked. “The panels allow him to control the Machina. Aydaan is almost done with the preparations.”

A blaring sound filled the chamber, and the golden cylinder started to groan as it split-opened, revealing a glass cylinder inside.

Inside the glass chamber floated a large, glowing blue crystal. A wide cone of faint bluish light coming from the bottom of the cylinder bathed the crystal, while a narrower, brighter bean came from the crystal’s top, disappearing into the ceiling. The crystal emitted a soft humming noise that felt quite pleasant. Finally, a metal box emerged from the table.

“The Forge is ready for the charging process. Lady Shjasta, place your Prism in here,” Aydaan pointed at the metal box next to him.

The Princess approached and carefully placed the Prism inside the container.

Once done, Aydaan placed his hands over the glowing panels again, and the floating symbols and letters started to change as he operated the Forge. The box slid back into its original position.

A few seconds later we saw the Prism floating inside the glass chamber, going up until it was right in front of the Forge’s much larger crystal, which started to glow more brightly. The Forge crystal's humming grew louder as a very bright beam of energy erupted from it, hitting the much smaller Prism. As the latter absorbed the energy provided by the former, it started to shine as brightly as it did the first time I saw it.

“Gods be praised, it’s working!” Shjasta exclaimed very excitedly.

“The charging process has started,” Aydaan informed us. “It will take a full day to completely restore the Prism.

“Do you guys mind if I go take a stroll outside in the meantime?” I asked. “This light show is cool and all, but I’m starting to get a bit bored.”

“I want to stay a bit longer,” Shjasta said, totally absorbed by the dazzling lights. “It’s kinda pretty...”

Aydaan didn’t say a thing, busy as he was operating the Forge’s controls. So I sneaked out of the chamber back to the corridor and started to explore the Sanctum's lower level.

Some of the rooms had furniture like beds and chairs, while others were empty. I explored a few of them to see if I activated some clever A’dari contraption, but nothing happened.

My snooping around eventually took me to the end of the corridor, where another door stood; this one was much larger than the others and was emblazoned with the Winged Lady. Unlike the other doors, however, this one didn’t open automatically at my approach.

“What are you doing, Wraith?” came Shjasta’s voice from behind me.

Once she was at my side she looked at the closed door “And this is…?”

“Dunno,” I shrugged. “It doesn’t open.”

“This door leads to a part of the Sanctum even Aydaan does not have access to,” the Servant said as he approached us.

“Do you know what lies behind it?” the Princess asked Aydaan.

“A powerful weapon the masters were working on during the war,” was his reply.

“A weapon?” I arched my brow in curiosity. “What kind of weapon?”

“Aydaan does not know any more details, he remarked. “Only a few select Servants were allowed inside, and they never left.”

“So there’s no way to open this door,” I concluded

“It can only be opened by the masters,” Aydaan replied.

I rolled my eyes. “Of course they can, but your masters died a long time ago, no?”

“Affirmative. Which means it cannot be opened ever again,” The Machina sentenced. “Only those carrying the Blood of the Angelai can unlock this door.”

Aydaan pointed to a device next to the door. “This is a ‘Blood Lock’. It is attuned to Angelai blood.”

“So if I put my hand there…” Shjasta said while approaching the device and placing her hand in it.

The Machina illuminated for a few seconds, and Shjasta winced, saying it had prickled one of her fingers. But after a few seconds it turned off again, and the door didn’t move a single inch. The Princess sighed.

“It was worth a shot,” she giggled. “I was hoping I had a bit of Angelai Blood coursing through my veins…”

Her last words resounded in my mind like the ringing of a giant bell, while having my damned head stuck inside it.

I was hoping I had a bit of Angelai blood… A bit of Angelai Blood… Angelai Blood… Angelai Blood…

The words hung inside my head like an unending echo, suddenly realizing I’ve been so fucking dumb this whole time.

The damned answer to the pendant's question, of course!

“Why did an artifact of the Angelai end up hanging from my neck?” I muttered while approaching the Blood Lock very slowly.

“Wraith?” Shjasta asked. “Is everything alright?”

“What are the odds of a random Yeonbrookean child ending up in possession of an artifact of A’dari made, belonging to one of its Ruling Houses no less? Pretty much less than zero!” I said. “Then… what does it mean?”

I motioned Shjasta to step away from the lock, while she gave me a puzzled look. Aydaan’s eye was blinking rapidly as he kept his attention on me.

I turned to face my friends. “The answer is so damned evident I don’t know how the fuck I didn’t see it until now!” I laughed. “Turns out I’m no Yeonbrookean at all!”

“What do you mean, Wraith?” The princess asked worriedly.

I didn’t reply. Or rather, I didn’t reply with words. I simply turned again to face the damned device and placed my right hand over it.

The Blood Lock was little more than a crystal sphere protruding from the wall, about the size of an apple, so it was small enough to fully grasp it with one hand. As soon as my hand rested over the sphere it started to shine. I felt a sharp but brief stinging on my index finger, and after a couple of seconds the sphere started to glow brightly. I heard a series of clicks and bangs, and the door started to open. The Princess and Aydaan both gasped in surprise.

“I’m no Yeonbrookean,” I repeated. “But an A’dari. Probably the last one in the whole World carrying the Blood of the damned Angelai.”

“By the Gods…” Shjasta muttered, her amber eyes wide open in sheer amazement.

“There is no doubt about it,” Aydaan said. “Master Wraith belongs to House Angelas; the Blood Lock proves it.”

It was my turn to surprise when the Servant bent his knee in front of me. “The honor of entering this chamber first is yours… My Lord.”

“Hey, hey! Easy now, pal!” I said while raising my hands. “I’m no one’s lord!

“We can discuss that later,” Shjasta pushed me. “Just go ahead!”

Grumbling, I approached the open door. It was so dark inside I couldn’t see a thing. But as I stepped in the lights turned on in sequence, starting from the doorway.

Once all of them were lit I realized it was a very large room. And standing on the other side was what could only be described as a suit of full-plate armor that only a person around seventy feet tall could wear. It was made of the silver-like metal A’dari seemed to be so fond of.

Its right hand held a lance similar to the ones used by those silly knights from Bretus that love jousting all day. The damned thing even had a tabard, made of the same white silken fabric as the pennants in the main hall, the Winged Lady prominently displayed on its chest.

“So this is the ‘ultimate weapon’ the Angelai were working on, Aydaan?” I laughed. “A giant suit of armor?”

“It is not a hollow suit of armor, My Lord,” Aydaan said, his eye fixed on the giant. “It is a ‘Paladin’, a War Machina of immense power.”

“I thought you didn’t know what was inside this room,” I said while eyeing the Servant with a certain suspicion.

“I did not know a Paladin was stored here, My Lord,” the Servant excused himself. “But Aydaan saw the Paladins built by the other Five Houses in action. It seems my masters’ wasn’t quite ready for battle back then.”

“So… is this Paladin thing dead?” Shjasta asked.

“Not dead, my Lady,” Aydaan replied. “Only slumbering.”

As soon as Aydaan finished speaking a pair of blue lights lit up behind the slits in the giant’s helmet. Then a loud, deep roar came from inside it, like thunder that shook the entire room. After that it spoke in the A’dari tongue, its voice deep and overwhelming. Aydaan quickly translated its meaning.

The Kingfisher had awakened.