When he opened his room and saw the rainbow column drifting in the center, he sent a flow of madra into it. Instantly, the nine-colored light unfolded, presenting his prize: a majestic golden cloudship the size of his palm, drifting on a cloud of the same size.

Reigan Shen’s voice echoed throughout the room.

“Eithan Arelius,” the Monarch’s recording said. “This is a model of a full-sized cloudship, The Bounding Gazelle, among the fastest my Soulsmiths have ever produced. You can use the help, can’t you? I know how much you love running away.”

The Monarch’s self-satisfied voice faded away, leaving the model of the golden cloudship drifting in midair.

Eithan let nothing affect his mind, his expression, or even his spirit. Reigan Shen’s spiritual perception could be on him, so he did not allow himself to feel any cold anger, any desire for revenge, and certainly not any flicker of contemptuous amusement. If any emotion showed in his spirit, Shen might annihilate him.

With a smile locked on his face, Eithan thanked the empty air.

~~~

A woman’s voice lectured Mercy from within the column of rainbow light. “An Archlord’s archery is very different from an Iron’s. You should be studying deeper principles, or you’ll just be propelling sticks with string forever.”

A mundane-looking scripted stone, a dream tablet, floated in the air. Mercy might not have been excited except that she recognized the voice in the recording: it was Larian, renowned archer of the Eight-Man Empire.

She had the best archery tutors in Akura territory, but other than Akura Malice herself, none of them could measure up to Larian.

“I’m going to study it right now!” Mercy promised, settling down into a nearby chair and diving into the tablet.

~~~

Ziel rolled a smooth, round pill between his fingers. It was an inch across, far too big to swallow, and glossy as though sealed in wax. It was colored cream and pink, and it smelled of a thousand types of flowers.

Emriss Silentborn’s voice was rich, motherly, and relaxed. “My Herald Chryleia refined this herself, from fruits and flowers gathered throughout the world as well as a drop of my own sap. It will not restore to you the power you’ve lost, but with time, it will begin to loosen your knotted madra channels. This will be painful. It will take time, and your soul will need great nourishment. However, with the blessings of heaven, you may function as a normal Underlord one day.”

Ziel’s hands trembled as he held the medicine. Just like that, Northstrider was proven right.

Unraveling his madra channels would not undo the damage done to them or to his body. It wouldn’t make him an Archlord again, or put him back on the path that might have made him a Herald one day.

But it would allow him to use his madra without pain and to exert the skill he had earned. When the pill finished its work, he would be a sacred artist again.

He placed the pill in his mouth and sat down to cycle, holding it on his tongue and drawing lines of power away from it and into his core. He had to fight back his hope. Something would stop him. The pill wouldn’t work, or the Monarch would take it back, or he would restore his channels only to find that the damage was even more extensive than he’d realized.

Something would go wrong. It always did.

Sure enough, the Monarch’s voice continued after a long pause. “…do not push yourself too hard,” she said, “but I see only one way for you to become the man you once were. It will take the direct intervention of myself and several other Monarchs. Do you understand?”

He did. There was only one way he would get such attention: if he won the Uncrowned King tournament.

~~~

“It’s an elixir,” Altavian’s voice explained to Yerin. “I know it doesn’t look like one.”

Yerin looked down at the fist-sized diamond in her hands. She’d grabbed it immediately, thinking it was a construct.

“Put it in a bucket or a bowl and run your madra through it. It will dissolve into a liquid, and then you drink it one spoonful at a time.”

Yerin held up the crystallized liquid to the light, wondering if it was worth the trouble, then dug around her rooms for a large bowl. She didn’t see why anyone wanted to live with so much space; it became a nightmare finding anything.

“It’s called a Diamond Veins elixir,” the voice went on. “You have to cycle it a little at a time over the next three days, but it’s said to make your madra channels as pure and resilient as a diamond.”

She raised her eyebrows as she dug through some cabinets. If the elixir did what it sounded like it would do, she couldn’t see why Altavian hadn’t taken it himself.

He hadn’t finished talking, it turned out. “In our fight, you avoided straining your channels.” She had, but only to the degree that any sacred artist did. More durable madra channels would allow her to put more power into her techniques and use them more often.

“Now you won’t have to,” he said, his voice now tinged with amusement. “You’re the one who beat me. You’d better win.”

~~~

Lindon’s prize looked like a heart cast in dark gray metal. It was so detailed that he half-expected it to start pumping blood.

[Do you think it’s a threat?] Dross asked.

“Upon examination of your last several rounds,” Veris Arelius’ disembodied voice said, “we’ve determined that you rely on your Iron body for healing, but that isn’t its primary purpose. It’s far better suited to fighting off venom and disease.”

[They have been watching you, haven’t they?]

“House Arelius,” Lindon said. “I’m sure they’ve been watching everyone.”

“This Divine Treasure was crafted by our Soulsmiths from the cores and blood essences of a hundred Lord-level Remnants. Take it into your spirit, and it will supplement your Iron body. Every bit of madra you funnel into your Bloodforged Iron body will be a hundred times more efficient, and it should enhance the regenerative effect of your body tenfold. Incidentally, it will strengthen your lifeline as well, though that is more of a byproduct.”

With every word, Lindon’s expectations grew until they were sky-high.

“This is a reward for your hard work so far,” Veris continued, “but we also consider this an investment. House Arelius needs allies now more than ever, and we hope we can count on your loyalty.”

Lindon ran his spiritual sense through the Heart, letting Dross get a good feel.

“It looks like our debt to the Arelius family is getting deeper and deeper,” Lindon said aloud.

[Absolutely right,] Dross agreed, [except it is your debt. I know that’s what you meant; I just want to be clear.]

~~~

Sophara bowed as she finished listening to Reigan Shen’s voice, holding a bottled elixir of her own.

The Monarch of House Shen had made a deal with her divine ancestor. She did not know the details, did not need to question the arrangements of Monarchs, but she knew that she had his support.

Which explained the royal prize he had bestowed upon her.

Advancement elixirs for Truegolds and lower were common sights in powerful families. There were no elixirs that would give enough insight to raise a Truegold to Underlord. There were, however, elixirs to help Lords advance. They were obscenely rare, even for Monarchs.