Noah stared at the elders who awaited his words. It was in moments like these that he questioned his place at the proverbial table, though the sentiment came less and less with time. Yet something about the eager anticipation in their faces gave him pause and reminded him of the weight of his words. He took a deep, cleansing breath.

  “To prepare for the beast swarms, we will need infrastructure, planning, and most importantly—strength. For the first bit, we will need defensive structures, cleared supply routes, weapons, armor, and natural resources. As far as planning goes, we will need a team that can consider the larger picture and find the best ways to support our greater efforts. One question I have been struggling with is whether it is an advantage or disadvantage to remain here. Given the power-limiting effect, I am leaning toward keeping everyone Iron and below at the lowest level. The limiter goes both ways however, and Coppers like myself would give up a large portion of their strength to fight at this level. I want other minds working to maximize our effectiveness in this manner.” Noah paused and met each person’s eyes.

  “Furthermore, we need people working to expand the kingdom’s population in this lower realm. I have to imagine that there are more people in this endless forest, and if so, we need them.” Noah stopped as an elder stood.

  “On that matter, we have another outpost on the far end of the forest. It would take most of us several weeks to make the trip, but we may not need to. With the oath being broken, they will likely send runners our way. There is another orc settlement that we have had limited dealings with, and their numbers are quite sizeable. Last we heard, the outpost was manned by 500 elves as well. I believe that direction will be the most promising for immediate growth.” the elder explained before sitting down. There were several murmurs of agreement as Noah took in the new information. There are more orcs. If he had the time to spare, he would have loved to meet them and judging from Ta’Ku’s expression, he agreed.

  “That’s encouraging to hear. Orcs would make invaluable allies if we can convince them of our cause.” He didn’t really doubt that they would take up arms in aid, but he also didn’t know how relations between them and the elves had gone so far.

  “That takes us to the final matter, and frankly the most important. When the swarms come, we will need strong warriors to hold them back and cull their numbers. As wonderful as crafters are, once the beasts arrive, their part will have ended. Every able-bodied combatant needs to be equipped with the very best gear that our crafters can produce, and they need to advance like there’s no tomorrow. I would like to see every one of them reach Copper if possible, but at minimum, they should be advancing their grade and level. The greatest strength in our kingdom will be the orc tribe, Recter, and myself. To stand a chance, however, we need to get at least one of us to Bronze.”

  Noah finished his initial speal and the elders began to debate which items were of the greatest priority. Ultimately, it was decided that everything was for not if they didn’t get at least one Bronze before the time limit, so their efforts would lean in that direction. Noah would return to the human settlement accompanied by Saban and Melody to establish a new relationship and to invite them to join the kingdom. Ta’Ku, however, decided that he would visit the orcs. He assured Noah that he would catch up with him as soon as possible but believed it would be necessary to have an orc present to bring them to their side. The other elders split up into task forces, set on carrying out the various agreed-upon priorities. Their final words to Noah were that he was not alone in this fight, and that when the time came, he would find allies at his back.

  With those words in his mind, he set out for their return to the human settlement. They had kept Julie waiting long enough, and it was time to get his fellow humans back to their homes. Not every captive human was treated as poorly as the two Noah had encountered on their way to the elven city, but few had been treated like Kyle. There were 30 of his people, both men and women, who had been freed since his arrival and were waiting eagerly for an escort home. There were several healers, who, low leveled as they were, helped to restore them to peak condition before the trek. Noah, however, didn’t have the time to escort the group on foot and instead loaded them into a pair of flatbed wagons that had been used to haul materials from settlement to settlement.

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  The linked carriages made a sort of train that bumped along at a steady clip as Noah pulled them through the woods. Even with the well-worn road, it made for a bumpy ride that had the others holding on with white knuckles. At their pace, it was only a few hours before the southern gate came into view, and the fearful expressions turned to relief as the gates opened to familiar faces. Julie and Kyle shared a long hug that had her in tears, and Noah greeted Recter with the customary embrace.

  “Any news?” Noah asked. Recter nodded.

  “They are not happy. I believe they will gladly come under your banner but many will not be content to live so close to the elves. Julie made it sound like she would insist that you escort them up the mountain, though she didn’t realize that there was a barrier for those below Copper. Either way, something will have to change.” Recter explained.

  “Something always does.”

  ~

  Alure Galaxy, Sector 849

  Livia had been stuck with her cultural education tutor for hours, and while the topic usually held her attention, today she found herself distracted. It was tensday afterall, and the charge on her viewing device would finally be full. He showed up in her dreams now, his face ever-present in her mind. She watched him as often as she could, finding herself more and more fascinated by his every move. That was why she had asked for the tutor, wanting to gain every bit of information she could about her future husband and the world he had come from. Little was known about the world before initialization, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t any information to be had. Her future mother-in-law had been more than happy to share the information she had collected, but now that very information was keeping her from seeing him.

  The tutor sighed, noting her lack of attention. Before she could call for Livia’s attention, however, the doors swung open as the queen entered the room.

  “Ah, good. You’re still here, Livia. I have something to show you.” she said with an amused grin, an expression rarely seen on the queen’s face in public. The tutor was quick to catch the hint and left the room with a polite bow. When doors clicked ever so softly shut, Livia giggled.

  “Mother, you know you frighten her every time you barge in like that.” The queen shrugged.

  “Even I get to have my fun every once in a while. More importantly though, it's here!” she replied.

  “Crescellia found it?” Livia squeaked. Her mother nodded and pulled out an ornate box. With wide eyes, Livia took the box and carefully opened the lid. Inside was what Noah would have recognized as a magazine. She gingerly lifted the booklet and examined it with awe.

  “How did she even get one of these?” She whispered. Her mother shrugged.

  “Who knows! It took our scholars some time to translate it, but here’s a copy of the words with corresponding pages.” she said, handing over a metal disc. Livia beamed as she took it, wrapping her mother in a tight hug.

  “You’re the best. Will you stay and look at it with me?” Livia asked. The queen nodded, her eyes already glued to the cover of the magazine. She pressed a finger to the metal disk and the foreign characters on the page rearranged themselves into recognizable words.

  ‘A New Bride’s Guide to Weddings in the 21st Century.’

  Livia turned the first page and gasped at the scantily clad woman in white. Her face flushed as she looked up in horror at her mother.

  “Don’t tell me he’s expecting something like this!”