58th of Season of Water, 57th year of the 32nd imperial era

After spending over two moons with Dandelion Blackfist and letting yet another new year pass him unnoticed, Newt was on his way back home. Unlike the merciless snowstorms around Hailstown, the snow wasn't bad near the Dragon's Rest mountain, merely knee high, and the closer Newt got to the Summersweald, the less snow there was.

As the black castle came into view, Newt smiled, thinking of all he had achieved in the past moons, and of all the problems he had solved and he was about to solve. The two remaining tonics should see Captain Marrow and his former tutor Stronggrow into the third realm, then they could deal with the remaining traitors from a position of strength.

Cleaning up the house was the third most important thing on Newt's agenda, right after getting his parents back and restoring the Salamandras' former glory.

He stopped and drew a deep breath, observing the scene with hope and optimism. He didn't know what he expected when he headed for Hailstown, but the end result was satisfactory, even if the results were unexpected. Newt's efforts earned some resources for training one or two first realm awakened amongst the peripheral branches of his family. He would have to take some twenty-thirty manarium pieces out of the reward money to buy the cores so they could attempt an awakening.

Just thinking about it made Newt nervous. The old books Stronggrow cited claimed the odds of awakening were one in a thousand, but Newt's tutor said that information was outdated. With the passage of time, they improved to nearly one in a hundred, with it being almost one in ten amongst the Salamandra clan. And yet, it meant nine wasted cores for every success.

The thought of the money involved made Newt's skin crawl. The prize he had won at the Hailstown tournament might not cover a single awakening.

Newt clenched his fists. "Don't think about that. You have taken the first step, and you're about to take the second. Keep walking."

Blackfist told him that - just keep walking, and you will get where you want to be. Never stop walking.

Newt liked that piece of advice, but his thoughts about the former townlord remained mixed. Every fiber of his being told him Blackfist was someone he could trust, a friend, but the man's past and the brutal approach to life remained off-putting, fueling the quiet voice in the back of Newt's mind which reminded him to remain vigilant.

As for the present, Blackfist honored their arrangements fully, not a hint of betrayal. The realm blueprint he had given Newt worked perfectly and improved Newt's mastery over earth and fire. The former townlord even promised he would inform Newt of any opportunities he found for him, should Newt join him in Thunderbluff.

Newt smiled, his financial worries forgotten. He had a feeling he could earn more manarium should he join up with Blackfist.

"Patriarch Newstar, you're back!" An unknown, malnourished man pulling a sledge loaded with dry branches welcomed Newt, who took several moments to recognize Plowson, his former sparring partner.

Newt gawked at his former heart demon, or to be more exact, the person who wielded it.

"What's wrong Patriarch? It's me, Plowson. Don't you recognize me?"

"I recognized you right away, but what happened to you?" The muscular man Newt remembered had lost his muscles, walked with a limp, and had dark bags hung under his eyes.

"I spoke against the usurper's changes, said he was ruining the clan and the younger generation, so they sent me to do forced labor. I'm much better now." The man looked horrible, and Newt shuddered thinking what he looked like before he had gotten "much better".

"I am glad you are alive. Thank you for standing up for what you think is right. I'll talk with Teacher, and we'll see if we can compensate you somehow." Newt was afraid to ask, but forced himself. "What happened to your leg?"

"A cart wheel broke, crushed my leg, and they forced me back to work before it recovered."

Newt clenched his fists. "Who forced you?"

Tears slid down Plowson's face. He was overjoyed because his patriarch cared about a distant branch member like him.

"Your uncle," Newt could tell Plowson was lying, but did not press the matter.

"I will see what I can do about healing you, maybe setting aside a core for you when we recover enough, but please don't get your hopes up. The odds of awakening are slim."

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"Thank you!" The man went down to his knees and tried to kiss Newt's shoes, but precisely measured explosions burst under the youth's feet, scattering the snow as he jumped away.

"Get up! What kind of family would I be if I didn't reward your faith and loyalty? Please take care and rest until you recover fully."

Newt continued with a heavy heart, wondering how many others had suffered for supporting his father, their family, and justice in general. He hoped not too many. He didn't wish others to suffer for his sake.

It was still early morning, and with the winter's chill, few wandered the clanhold. Children giggled in the distance while a husband and wife argued in a different direction, but otherwise the castle was peaceful, white against black. Colored both by good and evil which had taken place within its walls.

Strange thoughts sailed the sea of Newt's mind as he knocked on his teacher's door.

"Newstar, you're back!" Stronggrow laughed when he saw his visitor's face. "Come in, come in."

Newt entered the humble residence, and his host closed the door behind him.

"How have you been? It's been an entire season since we parted."

"Fine. I visited Hailstown and got the information on father and mother…" Newt offered a brief account of what had happened in the past ninety-odd days before asking about the situation in the clan.

The state of affairs in the Salamandra clan was concerning. Awakened elders other than Marrow and Stronggrow had wasted a moon searching for manarium deposits, believing Newt had found a new lode. They would never have dreamed that he had located the final pockets miners had missed, unearthing a handful here and a couple dozen there until he amassed the wealth he needed to reach the second realm's second layer.

"You look better," the elder clapped Newt on the back.

"And you don't look well, Teacher." Newt's voice was heavy with sorrow.

"I'm old, young one. When you reach my age, well, I hope you will look just as young as you do right now and that you will never understand how I'm feeling, but I think you see my point."

Newt nodded. "I do."

He took a deep breath and took the two bottles from his leather satchel. "Teacher, I want you to consume these. Given your age and how much mana you must have gathered over the years, this should give you the slight nudge you need to advance your realm."

"Newstar, I cannot—"

"You can, and you have to. I will need your wisdom to guide the family and the younger generations for centuries to come." Newt placed the vials into Stronggrow's hand and forced it closed. "You will take one now and take the other in ten hours if you fail to shatter your realm barrier. If you succeed on the first attempt, please give the other to Captain Marrow, he has served us faithfully."

"This is too precious, Newstar, you will need it one day."

Newt waved his hand dismissively at his teacher. "A friend of mine made it. He will make more if I ask him nicely and help him with one of his tasks. Drink the potion now, please."

To his credit, Stronggrow shed no tears and trusted his patriarch enough to obey him.

"Thank you," he said after swallowing the tonic, the room gaining a faint aroma of strawberry.

"The potion will do everything without supervision, but you may feel hot. I wanted to ask something. Have there been others who suffered unjustly like Plowson? What can we do for them?"

Stronggrow took a silent moment before answering.

"There is little we can do for them." Discomfort seeped into his voice. "We can provide them with resources and means to live without asking them to work to earn their income, but I believe it would be detrimental to their minds and to the clan as a whole. Not the loss of a handful of gold, but the rift we would create. Immediate monetary rewards are good, but long-term favoritism sows seeds of envy and hatred."

Newt could see the dimples in the old man's cheeks as he bit their inner sides before he continued.

"I would pay for a healer to return their bodies to their optimal state, but we have no such healers nearby and the treatment would be prodigiously expensive, not worth it for mortal laborers, no matter how loyal or how hardworking."

Newt clenched his teeth. Again, with their poverty. He swore he would one day be rich enough to pay for whatever his clan needed. If a clansman slipped and hurt his back while carrying firewood, they would have a designated healer ready to help them.

"What if we give them the chance to awaken? Merely awakening their core and reaching the peak of the first realm would extend their lifespan, increasing their physical strength and resilience."

"Newt," Stronggrow was so stunned he addressed Newt with the familiarity he rarely used, "that would be even more expensive than the healer."

"I'll make it happen, somehow. Is there anything else I should know?"

"The other elders are getting restless. They aren't looking for resources to advance, but wealth to support their newfound lifestyle. They might have posed a problem had you not brought back these potions. If Marrow and I advance to the third realm, we could suppress them with careful maneuvering, and they wouldn't dare stir up trouble."

If they stirred more trouble, Newt would banish them. Two third realm mages could mop the floor with six second realm ones, not to mention a third realm mageknight. Unfortunately, the difference in realms wasn't as extreme, three in the initial layers versus six, only a layer or two beneath them, would make for a close fight.

"Do we have enough food and medicine? Is everyone healthy?" Newt changed the topic, inquiring about his people, about what he could do to improve their lives, and fumed because they had no means to fund the possible improvements. Fortunately, everyone was alive and healthy enough, which temporarily eased Newt's worries.

"Do you mind preparing some supplies for me? I will head into the mine to meditate and advance my realm when I'm ready. If I find any manarium, I will dig it out and bring it back. With some luck, you should have enough to purchase a saurian core or two."

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