In the end, I can’t convince any of my Bound to stay behind. Though, if I’m honest with myself, I don’t try too hard. I don’t like admitting it, but I’m feeling uncomfortably vulnerable here. It’s like it’s my first day at a new company. I don’t know the people, barely know the etiquette, and am almost certain that I’m going to put a foot wrong at some point. And the knowledge that Nicholas is going to vanish sooner rather than later to do this mysterious business of his doesn’t help. Surrounding myself with my family, however, does.

  So I pretend that I haven’t seen the faintly questioning look Nicholas gives me. He doesn’t object so I figure that it’s not wrong to take so many of my Bound with me, just a little strange, perhaps. But I’m probably destined to be odd in the eyes of the people here one way or another, even with my best efforts. I might as well be comfortable in doing so.

  Nicholas’ eyes also pass over the clothes I’m wearing, then he nods in approval.

  “We will visit a tailor before the ball – you will need to be outfitted appropriately for your debut. While your own efforts are commendable, they do not have the flair that a true tailor would be able to bring to their work. Consequently, if you come dressed in one of the outfits you have recently created, beautiful as they are, you will stand out – and not in a good way.”

  “Will we do that today?” I ask, not arguing with the need for better clothes. I know how important clothes are to first impressions and I’m not insulted that my own creations are not up to snuff.

  Nicholas shakes his head.

  “I will not have time to take you, and I would prefer to combine it with a trip to the enchanter as well. It will likely be tomorrow or the day after. I will let you know.”

  “Alright,” I agree and we head towards the main doors. Not only are we accompanied by Sarran and all five of my Bound, but Mathis and Laeman have joined us too. It makes a rather large party, but I’m not going to ask two of my Bound to stay behind just because the guards have joined. Just before we step through the doors, Nicholas pauses and looks at me seriously.

  “Now, remember what I taught you last night – if anyone approaches us, do not speak to them unless I do. It is for the higher-ranking noble to acknowledge or to start the interaction with one of a lower rank. You may look at them briefly, but an elongated stare may be an invitation to approach, and a word, even if just a simple greeting, is an invitation to interact. As my heir, you are only slightly lower in rank than I am, which puts you above all but the other Great House lords and their heirs. You will therefore almost certainly be higher rank than any we meet today.”

  “What if we meet another Great House lord or heir?”

  “Follow the same guidelines. The heir will be lower in rank than I am, and it would be better to follow my lead with my peers, just as you did yesterday when we encountered Lord Torrent. However, I think it unlikely we will meet any of them. Just as I must, following this morning’s events, the other Great Lords and Ladies will all be busy with allies, working out how the landscape has or hasn’t changed as a result.”

  “It’s that influential?” I ask, surprised. Nicholas gives me a slightly exasperated look.

  “Consider: Titanbend now has a declared heir, which will soon be official, and a means of interworld travel has been proven possible for people to traverse safely. Yes, it’s that influential.”

  Yeah, maybe that was a stupid question, I reflect as we finally move out of the wing where I’ve been for almost a full day. I simply hadn’t fully considered the implications. Though, I still don’t know exactly why Nicholas has never had an heir if it’s so important. Sure, I know he’s said that he was managing well enough without one, and he wanted to have the right person in place, but I can’t believe that among however many thousands, millions, or even billions of people in this country, that none fit his criteria.

  And yes, it makes sense that finding a means of interworld travel is also important, but they’ve already got something almost like teleporting already so I hadn’t considered that being able to travel between worlds might be so game-changing. Then again, if what I saw when I exited the portal was anything to go by, travelling between worlds is even more expensive than travelling between places in the same world so that might end up being prohibitive. Though, if gathering Energy to level up is as much of an issue in this world as it seems to be from Nicholas’ words, what would people be willing to pay to gain access to, say, the Pure Energy stream of the samurans’ world? And often the first iteration of an invention is highly expensive – it’s only after further research and industrialisation that cost-saving measures can be found.

  It does make me wonder briefly whether one day it might be possible to return to the samurans’ world – to see how things are getting on. I don’t let the idea of returning to Earth one day coalesce in my mind – I don’t even know if I would want to, even if it’s possible.

  “So that’s what you’ll be doing? Discussing alliances and so on?” I ask as we stride through the corridors, travelling at least twice the speed of most people around us, even without putting much effort in – the benefits of increased physical stats.

  “Yes,” Nicholas answers briefly. “Having an heir, and one entered into the competition, will make some Lesser Houses look to us who might otherwise have gone with another Great House. As I mentioned last night, I’ve already had overtures due to telling certain lords that Titanbend will definitely be taking part in the Competition. And I must meet with the Lesser Lords of our territory to officially inform them of the new succession planning. You will need to meet individually with them too before you leave for the Lost Continent – they need to know who will be their new lord should I die in the near future.”

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  I send him a sharp look, then, remembering what he said yesterday about the walls having ears, I move closer to him so I can speak quietly – hopefully quietly enough that any listening enchantments won’t pick up my words.

  “Is that likely?”

  Nicholas sends me a piercing look in return.

  “Gods willing, not anytime soon,” he replies in a similarly quiet murmur. I search his expression for a moment, but he’s not giving anything away. With a nod, I move back to a more comfortable distance for walking without risking bumping into each other.

  The rest of our journey is quiet – out loud, at least. Our Bond network is pretty active, though, with Lathani, Bastet, and Sirocco commenting on different features of the palace halls through which we walk. Lathani doesn’t like how few shadows there are – the crystalline lights which look like faceted glowing beast Cores are set regularly enough in the walls and ceiling that the shadows around, even those cast by us, are thin. And though there are plenty of decorations too, both set within the walls and separate from them, they’re either shiny with gold, inset with reflective gems and beast Cores, or both. She’d probably struggle to walk through any of the shadows cast – which is exactly what she keeps complaining about.

  Sirocco is more approving of the height of the ceilings – the corridors are at least twice as high as I’m tall, and that leaves plenty of space for my bird-like Bound to fly. She stays on my shoulder most of the time, though – Nicholas suggested that the other people in the corridors might not like to have a beast flying over their heads. Since we’re inside, I reluctantly agreed with him. I know that Sirocco is smart enough to only deposit her fowl waste on the heads of people I ask her to – or those she really doesn’t like – but not everyone we meet will be so cognizant. And considering I’m supposed to be making a decent impression on the palace populace, threatening them – intentionally or not – with receiving a new hairstyle from above probably isn’t a good idea.

  Bastet, on the other hand, is uneasy about the number of people around us, especially the further we go from the Titanbend rooms. Ninja too – she’s less vocal about it but I can sense her discomfort. Fenrir is the only one who has nothing to say – he’s just content to follow us at my heels.

  Now I see why Nicholas brought us at dinner time yesterday – I appreciate not having to traverse halls as occupied as they are now. It’s not that they’re packed, but there are groups of people everywhere and they all stare at us even as they bow with varying degrees of inclination. Honestly, I’m barely more comfortable than Bastet and Ninja are – and I used to live in London! It just shows how much being in the wilderness for a year has affected me – this has nothing on rush-hour crowds.

  I just swallow and do my best to follow Nicholas’ example: striding through the corridors as if they are as empty as they were when we started our journey, looking neither to the right, nor to the left, and expecting those ahead to make way for us. And honestly, they do, stepping aside and bowing until Nicholas has moved past. Unlike yesterday with Lady Deepdelve and Lord Torrent, no one intentionally steps into our path, perhaps interpreting Nicholas’ set expression and fast pace to mean – correctly – that he doesn’t want to be stopped.

  The people are generally colourful – that’s something I notice even out of the corner of my eye. There’s plenty of flashy embroidery too, though I see very little gold or silver. Most are other colours – bronze, ruby, sapphire, emerald, and more. Some are more ornately dressed than others – we pass one group of people wearing dark red hooded cloaks which have no embroidery or inset gems at all, and then not long after that, pass another group who are almost as covered in glittery stones as Lady Deepdelve was yesterday.

  Embroidery or not, it’s a riot of colour and patterns that almost makes my eyes hurt – I wonder whether visiting the Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans or the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro would be any less of an attack on my visual senses. At least there’s less variation in the cut of the clothing here than there would be in either of those two places – almost everyone seems to be wearing a tunic, trousers, and an overrobe, though there are differing styles. Some have a closed overrobe, while on others, it’s open; some overrobes are barely longer than the tunic below, while others trail on the floor.

  Finally, we make it into another section of the palace. This one is less ornate, the corridors still well-lit and well-made in carved white marble, but the absence of the mosaics, statues, and other decorations which had been all over the main part of the palace is marked. And the people here are far more calming to the eye – apart from a few ornately-dressed people who are probably visitors, the rest are garbed in plain pale blue tunics and trousers. They also seem to be very busy, scurrying in and out of the rooms that open off the corridor, their arms frequently piled high with scrolls or sheets of paper – or parchment, perhaps.

  I peek into a few of the open doors as we stride past, Nicholas’ pace needing to slow a bit so as not to accidentally collide with other people also moving fast. They’re very clearly offices – it seems that the existence of a desk in a room with a person sitting behind it is something which is universal. Or would that be multiversal? As is the fact that most of those desks are piled high with pages and scrolls. The only thing missing which would make it look like an environment within which I used to spend almost all my waking hours is a computer. I even spot something like an open office structure through one archway which sends shudders down my spine.

  The familiarity is both soothing and disturbing in equal measure – I didn’t think I’d find something so similar to my life as an office drone. Even so, every so often, I see something which makes it very clear that we’re not suddenly back on Earth.

  The man who’s dictating to five pens which are all writing in unison, pens and pages hanging in the air, is one example. Another is the woman who puts her hand on top of a single document which glows golden, and then duplicates itself. At least, I assume that’s what’s happening when the single page suddenly becomes a pile of them. But we’re moving too quickly for me to do more than just catch a glimpse of each of these and other moments.

  Finally, we come to a stop outside a closed door.

  “The Palace Genealogist," Nicholas explains briefly. “He is responsible for tracking the descendents of all the Houses. Once he has included you and your crest in the official Records of Ancestry, you will be officially my heir, and none can gainsay that.”

  “Wait, my crest?” I ask, but it’s too late. Nicholas has already opened the door and is walking inside.

  here!

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