Awake

POV Callum

Standing up from my bed I stretched to my full six-foot height "Man transformation ability is awesome" 

The past few months have had increased prosperity for Minas Tirith, not only has the population grown but also its economy. Azula was also doing quite well for the position she was given, I guess growing up a royal gave you some advantages in matters of state. One of the biggest events though was the establishment of a new town west of the city, it helped to create a steady stream of rarer materials normally hard to transport due to their far locations. Minas Tirith has also seen more climbers as of late, more and more people have been able to make their way up to this floor, both from increased levels and people finding the easiest way to beat the monsters while climbing. 

Walking over to my closet I threw on my standard pants and shirt with a green cloak. It was just too comfortable to stop wearing. Using some magic I quickly combed back my hair letting it settle behind my ears leaving two thin strands frame my face. I was really trying to go for the standard elf look at this point. 

Opening my bedroom door to leave I came face to face with Arin "Do you need something?" 

"Yes my lord. Lady Azula has a request for you" he replied. 

"What kind of request" 

"From what I could gather she needs permission to open a new mine as well as an increase in budget. Normally I would handle budget requests but I felt it warranted your attention" 

"That's fine, I'll go talk to her" 

"Thank you my lord. She is currently in her estate, specifically she is in her office"

"Thank you Arin. I will go over immediately" 

"Would you like an escort?"

"No" I drawled out "I'll just teleport over. Also tell the chefs I'm going to have breakfast over at Azula's" 

"Very well. I will return to my duties then"

"Paperwork killing yeah" I taunted. 

"You have no idea" he said, tiredness showing. 

"Good luck with that," I said, patting his shoulder. After the third consolidation pat I just disappeared, arriving in front of the estate doors. 

Lifting my hand I knocked the metal rings on the large wooden doors letting the sound echo through the estate. Soon enough a male dwarf opened the door, waving me inside. 

"I thought you were a chef?" I asked the familiar dwarf. 

"I am, but with the smaller staff everyone takes turns on some of the more mundane duties" he replied. 

"Fair enough, should I be sending more people?" I asked. 

Letting out a hearty laugh he said "No, even though the staff is small it just means that the estate isn't in a constant state of chaos"

"Welp, if you end up needing more help let Azula know" 

"Will do my lord. If you are looking for her she is currently in her office" 

"Thanks" 

Taking my leave I ascended the center stairs and made my way down the hall rapping my hand on her office door.

"Come in"

Opening the door, I saw Azula sitting at her desk. She currently had her hair in a braid going down her back and wore a loose red shirt and a long skirt. 

"I soo you are wearing the birthday present I got you" I commented on the silver glasses. 

"Yes they are quite useful" she answered without looking up.

For her birthday a month or so ago I wanted to give her something helpful as it was her first birthday here in Minas Tirith. So I gave her some silver wire glasses enchanted to help her retain what she is reading.

"I have to say you acclimated quite well to your new roll"

"Thank you, my lord," she replied. 

"No need for formalities" I said with a wide smile. "Now I was told you needed something" 

"Mam, I have breakfast" Faunalyn said entering the office with two trays in hand. "My lord. You're here" she quickly said, finally seeing me. 

"Yes and I see you already have breakfast ready" I replied. 

"Yes my lord" she said setting the two trays down on an empty part of the desk then leaving out the door with a small "Excuse me" 

Sitting down in a chair I looked at the small breakfast consisting of some wyvern eggs, country potatoes and some toasted bread. Picking up the utensils, Azula and I began to eat the meal. 

"You had a request for me?" I said, swallowing my first bite. 

"Yes, one of the miners I sent out has found a good spot to mine some high grade metals and mana stones I would like to set up a mine" 

"Where is this location?" I asked to take another bite. 

Placing a utensil down, Azula pushed a small map of the area over to me. Picking it up I saw the red mark that indicates the mine. It was just fifteen miles from the city; a day by acreage; a great spot for both transporting materials and from what I remember that is one of the spots I placed rare metals at when redesigning the floor. 

"This is a great find, you are welcome to establish a mine here. Your cut should be substantial as well" 

"Why do you do that?" she asked. 

"Do what?"

"You know this tower like the back of your hand but you don't tell anyone about these areas rich in materials or the hidden quests you have around" 

"Because I can't hold people's hands. I was happy to help the nations establish themselves near and in the tower but if I keep helping as I did nobody would truly be doing anything themselves" 

"So you just want people to make their own choices? Seems a bit lazy don't you think"

"Perhaps a bit Lazy but if I spent all my time helping people I never would have the time to make Minas Tirith" 

"Understandable" 

Finishing up the food I asked "You also had something else to ask?"

"Yes, with the mine being established I need an increased budget for labor, tools, and materials" 

"By how much?" 

"About 23% increase would be fitting. Can't you create money?" she asked. 

"Yes, but if there's too much of it, it becomes worthless" 

Dropping her head into her hand she sighed "Right the economy. I am too tired for this" 

"You should take a vacation then. Just sit around your estate or go see the new town, I can assign someone to your work for a week or so" 

"I will have to take you up on that as soon as this mine has been started" 

"I will make sure to find someone to take over for a bit" I said standing up "As much as I would like to stay I have a sparring session with Ilbryen to go to. In fact would you like to come"

Giving me a rare smile Azula replied saying "Not this time, I would like to get my vacation as soon as possible"

"Alright then see you later" I said, giving her a mock salute and disappearing to the guards training yards. 

Walking into the yard the many guards employed in the city stopped training and watched me making a beeline for Ilbryen. Ilbryen was a tall elf standing at almost seven feet, he had brown hair and an unusually square jawline for an elf. He was the current captain of the guard's, I sought him out a few months ago wanting to test out my skills without the use of my abilities as he was quite adept at weapons. 

"Ilbryen" I called waving. 

"My lord," he said, bowing. 

"No need for that, I just want to get started" I replied. 

"Of course my lord" he said then turned to the guards occupying the field "Everyone clear out!" 

As everyone moved to the very edges of the field Ilbryen walked to one side and used a storage item to pull out a glaive made of a black wood and some quicksilver. Using my own abilities I pulled out an entirely metal sword that looked very similar to Alucards from castlevania. 

"You ready?" Ilbryen asked. 

"Ready" I called back, getting into a two-handed stance. 

Ilbryen burst forward swinging his glaive in a vertical line. Bringing my sword into a guard I was ready to block the attack, but it was just a feint. Ilbryen twisted around bringing his glaive down from above, at the last second I was able to bring my sword into a diagonal guard letting the glaive slide off the blade to my side. Staying in my guard position I then started my own attack swinging my sword aiming for his neck. Blocking my strike Ilbryen jumped back moving into a thrusting position aiming for my center mass. 

Trying to move I realized that I couldn't, my body started becoming hot and a surge of adrenaline rushed through me. It was like a sudden burst of energy swept through me locking me into place. Using mental commands I stopped Ilbryen's glaive from reaching me. Realizing something was wrong he backed up as I still just stood there. 

"My lord are you alright?" he asked. 

The effect wore off and I dropped to a knee causing him to run and kneel next to me.

"My lord, are you alright?" he asked again. 

"I am fine, but what just happened?" 

"Did you use an ability?" 

"No, why?"

"Well, your eyes and hair both started to glow a bright blue, it was almost blinding" 

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Somewhere in the south pole.

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"Will you go penguin sledding with me?"

"Ah…Sure"

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Well, we are finally here, Aang has woken up and we are about halfway through the planned story. I thank you all for reading to this point and I hope I have done well enough to keep your attention and I hope you are enjoying the story. Please if you haven't left a review yet please do so it is a great way for me to tell how well I'm doing.