Duke sat in Madrigal’s office, smiling at the man as Madrigal explained everything that was going on in the kingdom and the “prosperity problem.” It seemed that Duke’s aura now covered the entire planet. Word had been received from distant lands that crafters of all kinds were seeing all kinds of unexplained gains in ability as well as work output. The same went for farmers. There were reports of cows giving birth to dozens of calves at once. The fields renewed themselves nearly overnight and the biggest problem had become abundance. Even though the fields easily supported the massive increase in the herds, space was running out for pastures and grain storage.

  The more they delved into the issue, the less Duke felt prepared to deal with it. Prices for goods had crashed due to oversupply, making everything wildly inexpensive. The only items that were retaining any value were of the highest quality, so the master crafters were seeing a boom like never before. This is where Duke stepped in.

  “Send notice out to the best crafters across all of Teldin. Tell them that we have built the most amazing of crafting halls and that they are all welcome to join us here. Use whatever lofty language you feel is appropriate. I have, as always, too many things to do just like you. I have to find someone to build a starport for us so that customers can come from really afar to purchase our excess goods.”

  “A starport? I’m not sure I know what that is.”

  “I’m sure you’ve seen Mira’s ship the Iron Reaver. Well, a starport is a place where ships much bigger than hers can come from distant planets to trade.”

  “Where are you going to fit such a thing? It’s not like the Iron Reaver can fit anywhere in the city.”

  “It would take a significant swath of land but I think it will have to be in orbit now that I think more about it. I don’t want others to experience my AURA of PROSPERITY if it can be helped.” Duke shook his head. “So many considerations. So much to do and to prepare for a war on top of it all.”

  “Did you say prepare for a war?”

  “Oh, yes. For got to mention it. There is a large galaxy-spanning organization called the Syndicate. They have made themselves my enemy and I must take the offensive soon. They are still reeling from the last blow I struck but I expect it will only be a matter of time before they come here and cause trouble. So, to prevent that, or at least delay it until we are ready to deal with them, I’m going to go out there and keep them on the back foot.”

  “Good luck, Your Majesty. I will endeavor to keep things going in your absence.”

  Duke paused with a moment of introspection, “I’m really not much of a king, am I?”

  “What do you mean? You have brought peace and more prosperity to this kingdom than it has ever seen in its history. You are a great king.”

  “I am an absent king. I left you to handle everything and you have done an outstanding job of it.”

  “You left someone you deemed competent to act in your stead while you work towards protecting not only this kingdom but the whole planet. And still, you question your worthiness?”

  “That’s…that’s not a perspective I had considered.”

  “That is why you have me here, Your Majesty. Do not worry yourself with the concerns of your single kingdom. Should you have wished it, you could have taken over the entire world. After defeating the Hounds and directly receiving the blessing of all the gods, none would have opposed you. Yet, you were content to stick to your own kingdom and allow others to continue to rule theirs as they saw fit. And beyond that, you are protecting us from threats from who knows where. Do not worry yourself. We all have your back. Isn’t that the phrase you introduced?”

  “It is indeed. Thank you, Madrigal. I have no idea what the kingdom is paying you but it’s not nearly enough. Give yourself a massive raise.”

  Madrigal chuckled. “Of course, Your Majesty. Of course.”

  Duke left content that at least something was handled. Time to check in on Baslin and Sam. Maybe they have the Academy designed. They’ve had some time in the time dilation to do so. With a TELEPORT, he was outside the cave entrance he had created what seemed like so long ago.

  Only, what he was looking at was nothing resembling a cave entrance. There was a wide, winding path climbing its way up the side of a mountain. The path led to an enormous structure that resembled the Reims Cathedral of Notre Dame with its highly elaborate and overwrought series of ever outwardly expanding flying buttresses. Only, this building dwarfed the French church like the Lomonosov Moscow State University Main Building did a one-room schoolhouse. It was vast, taking up the space of another entire mountain. It rose into the sky to dominate the horizon.

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  “Pretty impressive, Your Majesty. Do you know what it is?”

  Duke turned to see Mayor Shellenberger standing on the side of the road with Lord Greengold. He smiled at them and gestured up at the distant structure, “That, my friends, is the Academy. It is the single most impressive school that I have ever seen.”

  “That massive structure is a school? What do they teach there, how to move mountains?” Greengold asked.

  “It is a school for magic, so it could actually have classes on that I suppose.”

  Mayor Shellenberger asked rapid-fire, “So, we can send our citizens there to learn magic? Are there entrance restrictions? Some sort of testing? What is tuition like?”

  Duke held up his hands in defeat, “You’re going to have to speak with the headmaster about all that. And I think I see him coming down the path now.”

  The pair turned to look up the path and saw Baslin floating down to them on what appeared to be a large fluffy red pillow with golden embroidery. His royal blue robes were similarly embroidered with unknowable arcane patterns. Duke didn’t recognize them as any runes or runescript that he knew, and his XENOGLOSSIA refused to acknowledge them. He immediately decided that they were just fancy squiggles. Baslin sat comfortably cross-legged with a serene expression on his face. When he got close to the trio, he set the cushion down on the path and stepped off to greet them.

  “Hello and welcome. I am Baslin, but I suspect you may already know who I am if you are here with our king. Above us is The Academy, a school for all manner of magical arts and I am its headmaster.”

  “Well met, Baslin,” the Mayor started. “Having such an impressive establishment appear so close to our city bore investigation. What can you tell me about this Academy of yours?”

  “Investigation? Indeed. I suppose it would and to not send soldiers or even adventurers – that impresses me. I feel we will get along very well here. As to the Academy, it is for the instruction of all things magic. From training new mages to alchemy to enchantment. There is even an area for teaching runescript, not that I would expect many to truly know what that is, but I digress. All who wish to learn are welcome at the Academy but advancement is solely based on merit. No amount of political clout or wealth will influence your class ranking or advancement. Anyone who attempts to influence others with such things will receive one and only one warning before being expelled. This is not the place for bullies or those who expect the influence of their parents to extend beyond the walls of their own home.”

  “Laying it on pretty heavily there, Baslin.”

  “Yes, Your Majesty, I am. And there is good reason for this. In my youth, I attended an academy myself. It was rife with the corruption and ill-temperament of privilege. I will not allow that to happen at this Academy. And I do have the backing of a rather influential figure to brunt the ire of the overprivileged when they find out that their pushing will not avail them.”

  Lord Greengold smiled as he spoke, “I’m already thinking of ways to market this school. Maybe we can sell it to people from all of Teldin.”

  “We will not stop there,” Baslin countered. “I will open the Academy to all of the Cosmos. I will have to find some additional talented staff, but I am fairly certain that Duke can find a way to entice them into coming here.”

  “I might have something that will work for that. There must be something I can do to put my victory to work for me.”

  “Your victory, Your Majesty?”

  “Yes, Mayor, there was a Cosmic Contest of sorts not too long ago. I won the thing so there is likely some leverage that I can use from it. There would probably be more if I didn’t wind up killing everyone in the stadium afterwards.”

  “You what?” All three responded in unison.

  “Oh, did I leave that part out of the story, Baslin? Oh well. Must have slipped my mind.”

  “Slipped your mind!”

  “Did I not mention that the closing award ceremonies were sponsored by the Syndicate and that they had filled the stadium with their people? It seemed like the perfect time to strike at the heart of our enemy. I’m still not sure how they didn’t know that I would do that. But, yes, that is one of the reasons I have to head out. I have to cripple their capacity to make war upon us.”

  “You are taking on a Cosmos-spanning corporation all by yourself?”

  “No, Ophirian is going to join me when he is ready.”

  Baslin just shook his head and stopped trying to figure his former apprentice out. Instead, he turned back to the other two, “I would be happy to discuss entrance requirements if you would like. The standards of conduct are extremely high but the barrier to entry is equally low. Then again, I expect at least a seventy percent failure rate. Maybe even ninety percent. All will be welcome to try, but only the truly talented will advance past the basic classes. That is not to say that someone only receiving the basic education will leave without something valuable. Even the basic classes will allow someone to undertake a magical occupation.”

  “If I may, headmaster?” Lord Greengold paused before receiving a nod from Baslin. “What will the advanced classes teach then?”

  “A fair question and one I will not be answering. In order to even understand what the advanced classes will teach, you need to complete the entire basic curriculum. I’m sorry, but that is just how it is.”

  “And anyone can attend?”

  “Enrollment is open to all but remember that our standards are extremely high for both conduct and performance. Do not send someone here if they do not intend to give it their all. Even mastering the basics will give them more knowledge and capability than most any mage outside of the school on Teldin so the effort will have tremendous payoff.”

  “You seem right proud and confident in your new school.”

  “It has been centuries in the making. It’s only just now that it is open to enrollment.”

  “Well, is there any way we could get a tour of the campus?”

  “I thought you would never ask. Climb aboard.” Baslin offered a wide sweeping gesture towards his big pillow.

  With only a slight hesitation, Greengold and Shellenberger climbed aboard. When they looked to Duke he shook his head, “I have too many other tasks to accomplish right now. Enjoy your tour.” Baslin did not wait for them to settle down before taking off. The pair flopped down awkwardly on the pillow as they sped off. Duke departed as well with much on his mind.