Silence reigned in the room, everyone staring at Anastasiy with varying degrees of concern.

"So..." began Serafim, disturbed by the lack of panic in his brother. "So you've met Ezsyn? The Guardian of the Abyss?"

"Probably? I mean... I'm sure I haven't but... I really feel like the person who tried to kill me was literally that to me: Death." He explained, puzzled by his perception of his attacker.

"But why the Abyss? It makes no sense since you've been to the Ilknur... Unless..." The rest of Ewald's sentence was lost in his mumbling as he made hypothesis after hypothesis.

"Again, that's how I perceived it in... my dream?"

"And how do you feel?" Asked Serenity, who hadn't let go of Anastasiy's hand since the beginning of his tale.

"If I had to compare between the two... flashes? memories? Anyway, between these two, it would be like day and night. For the first one, I was scared but also determined. For the second one... for this one I was happy, relieved as if I was going to receive the reward of all my efforts until that day. Even my vision of the attacker is different... Like they're two different people... It's really confusing."

"We would definitely need the opinion of a member of the Temple of Ezsyn. Preferably a high priest, or even the Oracle," Eadwig began.

"But that is currently impossible," Serafim pointed out.

"Indeed. That is why, Anastasiy, you focus only on the attacker. Try to remember as many details as possible about him and write them down. Or pass them on to Veronica. Ewald, I want you to concentrate, with the Tower, on the stones-"

"Father. I would like to participate in the research."

Serafim and Ewald exchanged a worried look between them. On one side, their father was staring at their brother, his eyes clearly saying "No". On the other, Anastasiy's eyes dared him to give a negative answer to his request. The two brothers didn't know the youngest. But they could say with certainty that if their father were to deny his request, he would do something stupidly dangerous. Their father must have sensed this as well, for he agreed, but not without making several demands, more than one of which made Anastasiy roll his eyes.

"Father, at this point, it would be easier for Veronica to marry me."

Anastasiy's retort caused more than a few in the room to chuckle, while Eadwig nearly choked on her saliva. Delicately, Serenity helped her husband to calm his cough while hiding her amusement at her husband's embarrassment, who had just realized that everything he had just said could indeed be interpreted as a father giving his daughter in marriage.

"Hem! Let's get back to the discussion."

"The one where Anastasiy takes Veronica as his husband, or..."

"Serafim..." Warned her father.

"I'm going to Eamon's Wall and I'm bringing back that Sorley," he finished, his hands raised in appeasement as he was already calculating what he would need for his trip.

The wall, separating the continent of Draeshura from Pasias, was located in the east of the territory. Drakagas, the capital of Draehion, and the Central Station of the Eamon Wall were on the same latitude. However, it took at least a month to get there. Although the territory was one of the most peaceful in the Empire, there were still bandits roaming between each vassal's domain, attacking travelers or merchants. And of course, the Creatures of Awyll.

In addition to Men: humans, beasts, elves, dwarves, daemons, and other races not very present on the continent of Draeshure, there were also creatures, monsters that weren't born from the will of Thrymgia. Pale imitations of the Goddess-Mother of Life, Awyll's creations; husband or child of the Goddess according to some, a parasitic entity for others, were devoid of any intelligence. These creatures only obeyed their instincts, which demanded the eradication of Men. They gathered in isolated places and proliferated until famine hit them, pushing them to attack gatherings of Men. But before this period, which always came in the winter, these creatures would prowl around the paths, looking for some easy targets.

That's why Serafim decided to go around the domains of the vassals, to eliminate the hordes of creatures that had been spotted. So instead of taking a month to get to Eamon's Wall, he would take three or four, maybe even more if more tracks were found in the meantime. But this was necessary to ensure the safety of the inhabitants of the territory.

After fine-tuning Serafim's travel route, everyone was about to leave Anastasiy's room to let him rest, when there was a knock at the door. Entering the room, Calogero walked towards Eadwig, his face dark, with an envelope in his hand. When the Duke took it and looked at the wax seal, his expression changed drastically, leaving rage and disgust for all to see. The eagle holding a sword between its wings, frozen in the yellow wax, was the emblem of the Prime Minister.