PROLOGUE
The wind was strong that night. It felt especially strong to Alexis, standing on top of the Hliðskjálf.
He couldn’t actually see it right now from the top of the sacred tower, but a great town lay spread out in the blackness below him.
He was in Bilskírnir, capital of the Lightning Clan, in the western regoðion of Yggdrasil known as Vanaheimr. The Lightning Clan controlled the entire northern stretch of Vanaheimr.
This city, which overflowed with bustling energy during the day, now lay dark and silent. Most of the residents had already retired to bed in preparation for the next day’s work.
Alexis was a goði, a high official and priest of the empire which ruled over all of Yggdrasil, the Holy Ásgarðr Empire.
It had been some time since the Empire had lost the ability to actually control and govern its distant territories, but its symbolic authority still remained. As a representative of that authority, his main duties included presiding over affairs related to the Chalice and serving as a neutral mediator between warring parties. His official social standing was above even the clan patriarchs ruling each territory.
Normally, such a person shouldn’t be sneaking around in the middle of the night like this. But this was the beginning of his true job.
“Right...” Alexis rummaged around in the pocket of his robes and took out a small mirror.
Illuminated by the crescent moon above, the mirror’s surface shone with a strange light.
He closed his eyes and recited the incantation.
It wasn’t long before he heard the hoarse voice of another man. “Hm, right on time.”
There was no other figure besides Alexis atop the Hliðskjálf.
“And, how did things go?”
Alexis heard the words not with his ears, but directly inside his own head.
This was one of the powers of his rune Gnævar, “Traveler of the Skies.” Utilizing a matched pair of mirrors made with elven copper, also known as Álfkipfer, it allowed him instant communication with another person over great distances. In this world, normally the quickest method of long-distance communication was a clay tablet carried by a messenger by horseback, so his ability was both rare and incredibly valuable.
Alexis came from a humble peasant family, with no education or skill in martial arts. His rise to the position of goði had been due, in large part, to this power.
“Yes, sir. As you wished, I spoke with the Lightning Clan’s patriarch, but he remains quite the fickle man.”
“Go ahead and indulge a few of his selfish demands. Do what you must in order to make him willing. But it mustn’t go public that we were involved in any way. Do you understand?”
“Completely, sir.”
“Good. Before the Black One has a chance to grow powerful, do whatever it takes to send him to his grave.”
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