Finally arriving in the floating castle after a day of flying, this time not in cuffs, the Lances and I quickly made our way to the council chambers, where we would report what happened in the attack. Hopefully Windsom or Aldir will have dealt with the Greysunders after I told Seele things would run much smoother without them.

When we reached the doors of the meeting room used by the council the guards saluted the Lances and let us inside. Walking in I felt some semblance of relief when the first figure to appear in my field of vision was elder Buhndemog, or just Buhnd for short as he preferred it.

After going through the formalities VAray began recounting the events of the attack and the outcome. Halfway through her report Bairon and Mica entered the room looking like they just came out of a fight. Once Varay was finished Bairon and Mica gave their reports on similar attacks that occurred in Etistin and Mayburn. Thankfully those were on a smaller scale meant only to distract the Lances, leading to very few casualties.

One round of questioning later the council turned their attention to me. The Eraliths gave me a warm smile and thanked me for helping, Priscilla did the same but in a more professional tone after inquiring about her children's wellbeing, elder Buhnd looked at me impressed and Blaine tried to hide the greed in his eyes but I knew him well enough to see through his acting.

They started questioning me to get a more complete view of the events and I answered to the best of my abilities while sprinkling in some information on Alacryan magic that I noticed during the fight and totally didn't learn about before today.

When they were finished with their questioning I was guided to one of the bedrooms in the castle so I could rest. Coincidentally it was the same one I was given after returning from training in Epheotus, or maybe this was arranged by Virion considering there was furniture for two people instead of one.

"Definitely the old elf's doing." Regis commented after reading my thoughts.

"That means you get to continue living with mama, Arthur. At least after our trip to Epheotus." Sylvie added.

"Guess he knew Tess and I would be sharing a room whenever we were in the castle." I told them as I got ready to wash away all the dirt and grime from my body.

After a nice and long shower I got dressed in the spare clothes I alway carry with, consisting of a simple white shirt and black pants. Looking forward to a quick nap, I lay down in the king sized bed and closed my eyes only to hear I knock on my door.

Opening the door I was greeted by my sister catapulting towards me for a hug, with mom, dad and gramps right behind. We talked for a while, mostly me satisfying dad's curiosity about what happened in the attack. Ellie was worried at the beginning but that didn't last long as she realized I wasn't so much as scratched from the fight.

By the time night fell it was just me, mom and Virion in the room as dad left to finish unpacking while Ellie went to explore the castle. Seeing there wasn't going to be a better time I took out Uto's horns from my storage rune and handed it to Virion.

"I take it the fight went well then?" He asked rhetorically.

"Yep, managed to cut off one of his arms as well for what he did with Alea." A small smile on my face as I spoke.

"And what should we do with the horn?" Gramps asked as he analysed the object in his hands.

"Give to one of the Lances, use it as a battery, your choice really." I told Virion knowing he would make the most of the mana stored inside.

"Alright, I'll think about it later. Any idea when our Asuran friends will show up?"

"Probably tomorrow. Windsom must be reporting what happened to Kezess."

"What about Seele?" Mom asked.

"Either doing the same or her own thing. It's hard to tell with her." I said, not really caring.

"Well, I'll be going to bed now. I forgot how tiring dealing with the council can be. Goodnight you two." Gramps said as he left, leaving only mom and I in the room.

"How are you feeling Art?" She asked after a few seconds, her voice soft and gentle.

"Like I actually succeeded for once. The students survived, Tess wasn't hurt and I was there for my friends when they needed me."

Mom looked at me with a nestle smile and pulled me into a hug before speaking again. "That's good, but try to keep in mind that not everything that happened in the war was your fault. And now you don't need to fight alone anymore."

I simply nodded in response and we just stayed like that for a minute or two enjoying the moment.

"By the way, Art, I have one thing to ask." Her tone shifted from gentle mother to cold detective and her signature scary smile made an appearance. "I know you and Tess have been living together for a while now, and I tried to respect your privacy, but you two haven't gone too far, have you? I'm still too young to be called a grandma."

"C'mon, you know we are smarter than that mom. You should know that you won't be helping us take care of any children before the war is over. Plus, I still don't know how the whole asuran physique will influence the odds of me having kids."

"Just making sure." She said satisfied with my answer. "And why is that?"

"From what Seris told me, it took a couple of decades for Agrona to find a way to make half-bloods. And well over a century for the method to show any results, so I'll need to raid Taegrin Caelum again, this time for the research notes." I explained.

"Can't Seris just send them to you or something?"

"Unfortunately only the members of the Vritra clan have access to those particular papers, and while the Scythes carry the name they are not considered part of the clan."

"Shame, while I am too young to be called a grandma, it would be nice for my cute grandchildren to see me young and beautiful."

All I could do was deadpan at her. "Do you want me and Tess to have kids now or not? Make up your mind."

"I never said you had to wait until the war was over. It's just what would be better for you two and the kids."

We kept talking about the subject for a while until it got late and decided it was better to turn in for the night. But this discussion was by no means over.

Morning came and was woken up by Ellie elbow on my stomach like the good old days, earning her another year without a boyfriend much to her dismay. If my numbers were right, she was now up to nine seven years.

After a quick shower to get ready for today, I stepped out of my room and made my way to the cafeteria to get breakfast with my family. There I found not only my parents and sister but the Eraliths sitting with them making some small talk. It was nice seeing they all got along fine and acting like they've been friends for decades.

Just as I sat down with them, I felt the presence of three Asuras, Windsom, Aldir and Seele. I thought about going directly to them to get whatever talk they wanted to have over with, but the sausages in my plate were looking too delicious to pass up on, so I made the strategic decision to just wait for them to come to me.