It was a warm day. The birds were chirping and the flowers blooming. Or at least that was the case in the gardens of the palace. Everywhere else there was still great dilapidation to the structures of Greifenburg and hardly any green. Two guards from the Martyrs' Brigades were patrolling outside the seat of power when they suddenly saw a small black dot moving in the sky. It was against the sun, so they could hardly make out what it was. They tried to look, but had to hold their hands in front of them as the radiance of the star was far too much for their eyes. A little later, a person suddenly landed in front of the stairs to the palace. When they looked closely, they saw that he had another person with him. Wenzel had arrived. When he strolled in at the main entrance, the soldiers recognised him immediately and saluted. He asked the nearest guard he could find: "Where are Brahm and Ferenc? I really need to speak to them. They need to know that I have returned." - "Brahm has gone on a search for you, my lord. But Ferenc is still here in the building. I will bring him here immediately!" - "Yes, please do."

  Wenzel had not stopped him from addressing him as "my lord" this time. Only now did Amalie, who had of course come along, actually realise what Wenzel's position here was. He had hardly said anything about it himself, as he always wanted people to treat him as a normal person. The boy now turned to her. "Do you know what you want to do now or where you want to go?" - "No," she replied briefly, but then added, "I'd like to see my parents again. I hope they're just at home." Of course, that was difficult to say given the current situation in the country. Wenzel would soon order someone to look for her parents in Olemar. "In the meantime, you can just stay with us. I'll just tell the others." - "Is that really no problem?" the girl enquired out of politeness. "No, of course not."

  Finally, Ferenc came running down the corridor. "Wenzel!" he called from afar. When he reached him, he stopped abruptly. It looked as if he wanted to say something for a moment, but then he scrutinised the young man from top to bottom. His gaze lingered a little too long on the lad’s eyes. A small glittering star, that he had never noticed before, could now be seen in them. With a kind of quiet curiosity and wonder, he put his hand to his chin. He realised that the Chosen One was radiating something that he never had before. "Is everything okay?" Wenzel, of all people, interrupted his staring and continued, "I'm fine. I was able to save her." He then introduced his friend to Amalie, who curtseyed politely, as she had learnt was etiquette. The rather uncouth Ferenc, of course, was unfamiliar with all this and simply said: "Hello." But then it was time for Wenzel's rebuke. "What were you thinking, boss! Why didn't you tell us? We would certainly have helped you as much as we could, because we're on your side. Just lying to us was completely wrong!" The wizard replied: "You're right! I'm really sorry! I was just afraid that you would try to stop me. It was clear how dangerous and reckless this undertaking would be." On the surface, the man of Kashar descent was still reprimanding the one he was supposed to protect, but everyone could clearly see that he had already forgiven him.

  However, his stay in the city wouldn’t last long. That same day, he was visited by August, who was now using a walking stick. The chief of staff paid lip service to his relief at Wenzel's well-being after the recent incident and then informed him that they would soon be moving back to Meglarsbruck, the "true" capital of the empire. And that’s exactly what they did. They had already received news of their army's impressive victory in the Battle of Archfeld, as well as the defence against the Kashar invasion. After a few days of tough trek, the wagons rolled and the troops marched in at the western gate of the old imperial city, the very gate, which they had marched out of just a few months ago at the start of their campaign. They followed the street, which was flanked on both sides by the huge columns, whose former saint statues were still missing. Much life had returned to the city since the revolution. Almost simultaneously with them, a large part of the revolutionary army arrived in the capital from the north. While Ulrich was still ensuring the withdrawal of the remaining hordes, Theodor returned in the meantime.

  All the important representatives of the Holy Ordanian Empire, including Wenzel and August of course, but also Theodor's wife, Irnfrid, were waiting for his arrival on the steps of the great palace. Hooves clattered on the cobblestones as the victorious men rode up. There was no pomp and ceremony. That would have to wait. At first, they couldn't see what was wrong with Theodor, but they noticed that he looked rather cool in temper. However, when he dismounted his horse and climbed the long steps up to his reception committee, they realised that his right hand was missing. Everyone was very surprised, but Irnfrid in particular covered her mouth. When he reached the top of the stairs, he greeted them soberly with their standard greeting. "Praise the martyrs!" they all replied almost in unison. Nobody addressed the obvious about Theodor.

  Soon after, they had their joint meeting. Another war council was convened. In the large meeting room, everyone sat on a long table strung together like pearls on a necklace. Theodor, August and Wenzel sat at the head of the table, followed by a whole host of generals and other military officers. Theodor seemed absolutely down. As always, August began to elucidate, "In view of our victories on the battlefield, we have received pronouncements of recognition of the legitimacy and sovereignty of the Holy Ordanian Empire from almost all the countries of Ordania. This is very good news to begin with, but it is by no means the whole story. Corakia and Kasharovar have also announced their submission to the Holy Ordanian Empire as the successor of the Ordanian Confederacy. It seems that the Zeemark, to which the court of the usurpers has fled, is still tottering. They know that they cannot win a war with us, but they are also not in a position to simply surrender. I recommend that we wait in this regard, as according to my sources, a coup against the regime forces in Zeemark is looming."

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Everyone present agreed with him. Then he continued, "The biggest problem for us is arising in the south. Camenia has apparently declared itself independent and renamed itself the 'Teleiotic Kingdom of Camenia'. Sounds to me like an advertising strategy to convince the population of their country, most of whom agree with the goals of our revolution, that their current regime stands for "the right thing" and can therefore remain in power. That would all be find and dandy, but as far as I've learnt, they're also massing an army on their border with Ordania in the same breath! We can't possibly tolerate that. Or what does the council think?"

  The men looked at each other. Wienand confirmed him by saying: "Camenia has supported the tyranny of the old regime, or at least offered no resistance to it. This has made it just as illegitimate! We should should put the wind up them, just like we did with the other rulers!" Many agreed with him, but one very specific gentleman now took the floor. His name was Andreas and he was a Martyr with Camenian roots. "What I know of the circumstances is that for the duration of the Alethics' reign in Ordania, the royal house always tried to preserve their traditional religious practices. They knew they couldn't win against the Confederacy, so they came to terms with them. This does not mean that they actually supported them. Still, they're obviously not the smartest people to declare independence now. I suspect they believe that we raised our troops by levying the able-bodied population and not because they joined our cause voluntarily. Therefore, they probably think that we will now have to disband the army to a large extent."

  Even August listened with interest. Then he replied: "Would make sense, if they believed that. But it also means that they have mobilised their men just in case and are not prepared for a real war. I recommend we seize the opportunity and solve the problem once and for all. What do you think?" Everyone now loudly agreed. The Chief of Staff then said: "Good, then we can...." - "Wait a minute!" Theodor interrupted him. August looked at him askance and asked: "Doesn't the field marshal agree?" - "Oh, yes, I do! And I'm ready to lead the campaign again. But I won't do anything without the approval of the Chosen One." At that the room suddenly fell silent. Even August was visibly surprised. He exhaled and didn't say a word, but simply turned his gaze over to Wenzel. The lad had been sitting there quietly the whole time and hadn't said anything. Everyone's eyes now fell on him. They knew what Theodor's statement ultimately meant. Wenzel was embarrassed by all this, but then simply said: "I agree with the field marshal. He will know whether the campaign makes sense or not." A few seconds passed. Then August said: "Good, it's been decided."

  A few days later, Brahm finally returned from his "excursion". In the end, he wasn’t angry with Wenzel either, but simply glad that the boy was safe and sound. When the magician asked him who he had met in Münzberg Castle, however, he received a surprising answer. "Nobody! The castle was deserted. I did try to find out from the locals where the so-called queen might have gone, but nobody knew anything about it. Otherwise, I would have set off in pursuit." Wenzel replied: "Well, let's be glad about that, because otherwise you would have wasted even more time searching for me in vain." The two were visibly relieved that they had all survived the events in one piece. Nevertheless, Brahm was also a little perplexed and he immediately noticed that Wenzel somehow seemed a little different. He didn't ask him about the white streak until later. Even then he only received speculation from Wenzel in response, as he had no idea where it had come from. However, Brahm surmised, that it was a sign of overwhelming stress. "I've heard of people turning grey overnight from worrying about their loved ones. I'm sure you know the saying: To go grey over something."

  Thus, the friends sat down together in the evening, just to spend some time together. They also invited Amalie, as Wenzel realised that she didn't know anyone here yet and didn't talk much to others. Brahm actually wanted to take some beer with him to celebrate their reunion, but Ferenc talked him out of it as it "wouldn't make a good impression". Brahm huffed and puffed, but was persuaded by his colleague. The four of them then sat down together before sunset and chatted about anything and everything. Brahm made a few more of his jokes, which, as always, totally cracked up Ferenc. Amalie and Wenzel just laughed along out of politeness. Brahm was a really nice guy, but his humour wasn't to their taste. Then it got dark and lighting became necessary. The magician simply flicked his finger and from one moment to the next the candle at their table was lit. Amalie looked at the candle in awe, but also the other two were equally impressed. "I've never seen you do that before, boss? Where did you learn to do that?" Ferenc asked him. The lad’s reply was a blank expression. "I.... don't know. Haven't I always known how to do that?" At this answer, his two bodyguards looked at each other. Without further ado, they declared, "No."

  The rest of the evening was actually really entertaining for everyone. Amalie also got to know his friends a little better. However, she didn't talk much about what had happened to her this last year, but rather about the time before that. Just like Wenzel she wasn’t very talkative. The others, on the other hand, reminisced about their training last year and described their impressions of the battle for Greifenburg or the raising of the huge army of the revolution. They also raised the almost forgotten issue, that Wenzel still only had two bodyguards. They agreed, that they would have to deal with this matter soon. Eventually, it was getting late and everyone went to bed. It had been a nice evening.