Upper Parliament made a grand gesture of voting on whether they'd allow Witchborn refugees into Emphyralis or not the day after the testimonies concluded. The vote was overwhelmingly in favor. Following that, each Lower Parliament voted whether to allow them into their countries or not. Again, the votes were overwhelmingly in favor.

It should have been the end of it, but there were still discordant voices. Seemingly grassroots groups loudly proclaiming things like "Emphyralis for Emphyralians" in the attempt to stop welcoming not only the witchborn, but also other groups that have either already settled in Emphyralis or may in the future.

A week later Britiana met up with her brother and his team in the courtyard of the Keep. She was reading a pamphlet. It was about calls to oust the Eoduun from Emphyralis. It was an Elven group. "I suppose these people have forgotten that Elves aren't native to Emphyralis either," she said sourly. Different groups of Elves have come from many different places at different times throughout history. 

"It's just hate mongering. This is for the government to deal with, not us," Darius said. He looked around. "Is everyone here?" he asked. Aside from his team, ZsaZa would be responsible for transporting them to Thale. Their Mom also told them that she found a bodyguard for Britiana. She didn't say more but she smiled very mysteriously.

"ZsaZsa isn't here yet. Neither is my so-called bodyguard," Britiana said.

Amadeus raised a brow. "Bodyguard? Is the Grand Duchess suspecting we can't protect Lady Britiana?" he asked seriously.

Darius shook his head. "No, but it's not a bad idea to have someone outside the team solely responsible for her safety," he glanced at his sister, "She may be a majestic and powerful third-tier mage mage but she's not a very good fighter," he said. She often teased him about being a lower tier mage than herself because he concentrated on military and martial matters rather than magic ones. Now it was his turn to tease her back.

Britiana sniffed. "No one wants to play soldiers with you," she said dismissively. She didn't argue about having a bodyguard. She admitted that she wasn't a very good fighter. 

Before they could continue their bickering and amuse the team further, two shadows moved overhead. They glanced up and saw two Dragons coming toward them. One of them was an Amethyst Dragon on the smaller side. The other was a Silver Dragon that almost appeared white in the dim sunlight. The dreary weather continued to persist to this day.

Both Dragons landed nearby. The Amethyst Dragon predictably transformed into ZsaZsa in her silver-gray and lavender Mage's robes with her long hair pulled back at the temples. She hustled toward them. The Silver Dragon took the shape of a young man. He was tall, with a straight nose, square jaw, and deep eyes. He was slightly on the pale side with brown hair, icy gray eyes, and pointed ears. He seemed to also be in the Changing Age. He wore the usual gray uniform of a royal guard. Britiana's eyes widened slightly when she recognized him. 

He approached more calmly than ZsaZsa. When he arrived at the group he bowed slightly to them then presented his identity token. "Isaviel Silverstorme reporting to Lady Britiana and Lord Darius," he declared officially. Britiana and Darius both verified his identity.

Darius handed the token back to him. "You were at the banquet. Your father is Ambassador to Isaz?" he asked.

"Correct, my lord," Isaviel answered. 

Darius nodded. "Even though your main duty is to guard Britiana, I need to know your abilities in case I need to use you elsewhere in the future," he said.

Isaviel nodded. "My lord, I have a hypothermic body and cryokinesis. I haven't manifested any Silver Dragon ability other than a ten foot Perception Field, only recessive Platinum ones," he answered.

Everyone was surprised. Even hybrids would have a little something from both races. Like Britiana and Darius. Their mother was fully Silver and their abilities were mostly psionic abilities, but because their father was an Amethyst-Sapphire hybrid, they also inherited the All Hearing ability of Sapphire Dragons, and uniquely, some Void abilities of Amethyst Dragons. Britiana even suspected she had some sort of low level Patternweaving ability while Darius suspected he had a low-level Truthcalling ability. So it was very rare for recessive lineage to completely overrule parentage. The existence of the Perception Field need not be mentioned as it was an innate talent all those with Silver Dragon lineage possessed.

"Which ancestor was Platinum?" Britiana asked curiously. She remembered him mentioning this before.

"My great grandfather. Since then everyone's been Silver except my mother, who is a Frost Giantess," Isaviel answered easily.

Even in Dragons, magical creatures, genetics could be a funny thing. "Well, maybe you'll be one of the lucky few who can Astral Project or Heal," ZsaZsa mentioned in a friendly manner. Healing was a one in a thousand ability and Astral Projecting was a one in a hundred ability that usually runs in families. It mainly occurred to telekinetics but it wasn't completely unheard of for it to happen to those who weren't.

Isaviel smiled slightly. 

ZsaZsa grimaced. "Sorry, I butted in. I'm ZsaZsa, a Mage. I'll be the transportation to Thale today," she explained.

"Magus ZsaZsa," he greeted with a slight bow. "Everyone calls me Isa," he said. 

Britiana suspected that this was her mother's "surprise" she had planned. How that woman knew about a short dance with no one else around was beyond her. But she naturally introduced the rest of the team to Isa. "Were you equipped with a stasis cloak?" she asked him.

Isa glanced at her and couldn't help his smile growing slightly. "Yes, my lady. I'm ready to go whenever the word is given," he assured them.

Darius looked suspiciously between his sister and her new bodyguard. Something was strange. He gave her a mental poke.

<Later. We're in a hurry. The Countess is waiting for us,> she breezily brushed off her brother. "Then let's get to it. Are you ready, ZsaZsa?" she asked her friend.

ZsaZsa held up the pouch slung across her body. "Ready," she declared.

Darius nodded. "Very well, then. Let's go," he said. He and the rest of his team covered themselves with a magic cloak. They spoke a magic activation word and suddenly shrunk into fist sized cloth capsules. Isa and Britiana glanced at each other before activating their own cloaks.

Only ZsaZsa didn't activate the cloak. She picked up each capsule and put them into the pouch. When everyone was tucked away safely, she briefly turned into a purple mist that shrank into a small, house-cat sized glittering purple Drake with the pouch still slung around her body.

She hopped forward, flapped her wings until she gained suitable altitude and began to fly in circles, picking up speed until she slipped into the fabric of space with a loud crack.