Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 327 - 326: The Secret Gathering

The young mage Cohen stood in the Duke’s mansion, listening to the surrounding spellcasters whispering about the mysterious developing regions at the southern borders. He occasionally nodded along but was actually preoccupied.

Cohen was well aware that half the people here were not seriously drawn by the recruitment.

Behind them were small families in decline, newly rising nobles striving for higher status, and wealthy merchants eager to forge connections with the aristocrats. Their real intent was not to become developers at the southern borders but to leverage this opportunity to establish ties with the Cecil Clan. While the Cecil Clan had indeed fallen, the resurrection of the founding king had brought a glimmer of hope to this declining family. Over the past few months, news of the southern frontier occasionally trickled in, showing that instead of perishing in that desolate land, the Cecil Clan was gradually gaining a foothold. This made some opportunistic people stir with anticipation.

Almost everyone agreed on one fact: Even if the founding king went to the border for development, it was only a matter of time before the Cecil Clan returned to the kingdoms’ political stage. Whether for the royal family’s own legitimacy or to maintain the aristocratic order, the King must reestablish the Cecil Clan as a pillar of the royal family—the King may have reservations about Gawain Cecil, but he must acknowledge the "Cecil" name, now sheltered by its ancestors once again.

If so, then the distant Cecil Clan naturally became a worthy investment.

But regardless, the "Cecil" name remained sensitive, and their investment value was still unclear. Hence, many great families were still observing and cautiously deliberating, pushing out their smaller dependent houses to forge initial connections. This recruitment of transcendent individuals by the Duke presented such an avenue.

Besides this group with ulterior motives, others in the scene were also not single-minded in purpose. But one thing was certain: hardly anyone was truly here to answer the Duke’s call.

Without a family mandate, a transcendent professional with such power had no reason to venture to the barren borders for development, even if the Duke promised substantial rewards. What could be gained on such barren land? Supernatural practitioners valued the prospects of advancement in the transcendental field first, the development in the upper echelons of society second, and money third.

As for leveraging this opportunity to build a rapport with the Cecil Clan... Spellcasters without a family background wouldn’t count on it. In this world of lineage and family heritage, what worth could a small mage of humble origin offer to the Duke?

Cohen knew he was no different. Although he had some personal ties with Santis and only decided to take a look after receiving a personal letter from Santis, he never planned to genuinely respond to the Duke’s recruitment. His purpose, like other young, downtrodden spellcasters, was to seize the networking opportunity this place offered. Those seeking to invest in the Cecil Clan may be on the fringes of the aristocratic system but were nonetheless valuable connections for a mediocre mage like Cohen. Two-fifths of the people in the hall were here with the same idea.

There were only two types of people here: those who wanted to build relationships with the Cecil Clan, and those like Cohen who wished to connect with the first group.

A young man with brown curly hair and an aquiline nose, dressed in a fine silk outfit, approached. Cohen recognized him as a peripheral member of the Strahl Family, immediately stood up with a smile, raised his glass in greeting, and attempted to engage in a short conversation.

With no prior rapport, the conversation didn’t last long. But Cohen believed he’d left a small impression. After the young master from the Strahl Family left, the young mage eased his stiff smile, exhaled gently, and set down his glass, leaving his seat.

The attendant in a red vest quickly stepped forward to ask if he needed assistance. These attendants were all hired and dispatched by the royal family. After Gawain Cecil’s resurrection, the royal family, in an attempt to show goodwill, continued funding and staffing this property while the Duke ventured to the southern borders. Cohen waved him off, indicating he just felt a bit stuffy and wanted a walk.

He left the brightly lit hall, stepping outside into the cold breeze. The giant sun was gradually setting, the sky growing dimmer.

Cohen sneezed, rubbed his nose, and turned to have another glass of precious Carna Wine before heading home.

But just then, he saw a dark-skinned young woman in a long gown named Giply walking towards him.

Santis was really fortunate to have such a beautiful lady by his side.

Cohen thought with a tinge of envy and then nodded slightly to the female mage apprentice before him, "Miss Giply."

He needed to greet the Duke’s envoy but also maintain the dignity of a bona fide transcendent, as she was only a mage apprentice after all.

Giply lightly tapped her forehead with her finger, returned a standard mage salute with a smile, and asked, "Mr. Cohen Bonart, correct?"

"Yes, that’s me. May I help you with something?"

"You meet the criteria. Mr. Santis asked me to give this to you."

The young female mage apprentice handed Cohen a folded letter and a seemingly ordinary brooch. As he accepted the letter, he couldn’t help but frown slightly, hesitatingly saying, "But... I’m not prepared to..."

"This isn’t a registration form for heading to the southern borders. It’s simply an invitation to the next gathering," Giply smiled, "Please don’t miss this opportunity—the brooch proves your participation."

Cohen wanted to ask more questions, but Giply just smiled mysteriously, shook her head, and walked away. Cohen had no choice but to lower his head and open the folded letter, looking at it curiously.

Only one sentence was written: Remain here after the first bell tolls tonight.

But there was also a small symbol after that sentence, a symbol featuring lightning and an eye.

"A mage meeting? What is Santis up to... planning to host his own private gathering while running errands for the Duke? Does he still intend to return to the royal capital’s mage community?"

Cohen muttered curiously, furrowing his brow, but he carefully put the letter away.

No matter what Santis was planning, it was still necessary to attend such mage gatherings. The exchange among the spellcasters was a good opportunity to enhance their power and gain knowledge. However, organizing a decent gathering was not cheap. Since someone took the initiative to arrange it, and there would be fine wine and delicacies at the Duke’s residence, Cohen believed most people would not miss this chance.

He glanced outside and noticed that the sun had almost completely dipped below the horizon: the first bell chime was not far off.

Returning to the living room, he saw many people had already gotten up to leave, but some still remained seated. Cohen glanced around and noticed someone in the corner already had a pin on their clothes.

It seems I’m not the only one...

Cohen relaxed and also pinned the badge onto himself.

After another ten minutes, a senior attendant appeared and announced that the gathering had ended. The guests’ details were recorded, and visitors were free to leave.

So, a few more people stood up to leave, but Cohen saw others still seated, all wearing badges.

Waiters in red vests and maids in black-and-white dresses entered the hall, beginning to clear away the plates and glasses left by guests. Slightly uneasy, Cohen sat back down, and a waiter passed by him, their gaze briefly pausing on his chest badge, then nodded respectfully. Instead of asking him to leave, they brought a glass of refreshing herbal water.

Only then did Cohen truly relax.

A little while later, Cohen noticed some new guests entering the living room, carrying a chill from outside. Their first move was to warm their hands by the fireplace, obviously having just arrived.

Were they the "invited guests" from earlier in the day, specially returning to attend the evening gathering?

Santis planned quite a sizable gathering this time... truly befitting of someone who spends aristocratic money.

As Cohen’s thoughts wandered, he became aware of something unusual:

Among the attendees, many were familiar faces, which was not surprising given the limited numbers in the mage community. However, none of them belonged to noble families or specific mage factions!

After all, even a fallen figure like Santis should have known one or two individuals from these families or factions... or at least have acquaintances from his time at a Mage tower?

Was it a deliberate exclusion? Or perhaps this gathering was truly special, specifically excluding all family and faction members?

Cohen’s heart skipped a beat, and he couldn’t help but heighten his focus.

He instinctively felt that tonight’s so-called "second gathering" might not be simple...

Amidst these musings, the first bell chime sounded within the Capital.

The tinkling chime rang out amidst the calls of church bells urging believers to pray and praise the Lord. Cohen realized the attendants had quietly exited the room, leaving the heavily armored soldiers from Cecil to guard each entrance. The sound of bolt locks came from the door direction.

The guests became slightly uneasy, but soon the side door opened, and Santis, dressed in a black mage robe and accompanied by Giply and Pierce, entered the hall.

Santis quietly scanned the room of attendees, finding himself calmer than anticipated now that the moment had arrived.

He then spoke up:

"Ladies and gentlemen, is anyone interested in the magic techniques of ancient Gondor and the knowledge of the lost realms?"

In the southern borders, within Count Hosman’s castle, Earl Carloff Hosman, dressed in gold and red noble attire, stood at the banquet hall holding a goblet filled with Carna Wine, smiling as he surveyed the attending guests.

Amidst the music of a melodic seven-stringed harp and tambourine, this Earl loudly declared, "Ladies and gentlemen, is anyone interested in the ’Magic Web’ technology from the Cecil territory?

"I have good news to share with you all—the Hosman family’s clever magic consultants and scholars have cracked its secrets!"