The Castle in the middle of nowhere.

I was watching the events unfolding right before my eyes on the giant war table. The region's capitals, cities, towns, and every single small settlement we could find were perfectly modeled on the vast map. The growing train network and symbolic two roads. My Legions, Mortal Armies, ships of the Royal Navy, forts, and fortified borders. I saw everything within Arcadia. However, I wasn't fond of what I was seeing. Most of the northern swathes of my Kingdom were flashing in various warnings, creating an interesting pattern of many-coloured patches. The situation I faced was somewhat ironic. Despite the unprecedented might, my Kingdom could collapse. The expansion was too rapid. The victories were too decisive. The vast territories of Arcadia were empty, filled only with barely touched wilderness and untamed forests and mountains. There was too much space and not enough people. The kingdom's administration was just taking its first steps and the organisation was rather loose at this point. History was full of ghosts of the empires that had fallen under such circumstances. The only smile of fate in my case was the fact that all my neighbours were too busy to take any real advantage over the weakened Arcadia.

General communication was at least easy, allowing for quick notification of any minor-scale attacks. While the largest cities were equipped with magi-radios and dungeon cities' cores that could communicate with me directly, the smaller towns and settlements were left dependent on the Eagles' postal system. It could have been a huge problem a few months ago, but not anymore. Amber, Irene, and Hestia concluded that the most efficient system of schools, medical services, and temples would be a fusion of all three into one building. Since any priest doubled as a healer and all were skilled enough to teach at the elementary schools, the three Queens simply pushed the necessary legislation. Priests were employed mainly by the state and received a stable income, along with free accommodation at the settlement they were assigned. If they had families, their accommodations were covered as well. Amber decided that even the smallest temple would have at least two priests assigned, so even if one fell ill, the second one would be able to help. Thanks to this system, the priests lined up for that job and the illiteracy rate of the Kingdom was drastically reduced.

That left me with only one huge issue that I just hoped wasn't being overlooked. While the recent Jester's report was even more interesting than usual, it brought to light the one thing I found highly concerning. The range and effectiveness of the Dispel he used were more than just alarming. It could potentially compromise Avalon's defenses or even critically disrupt airships, causing them to crash. Sitting with my hands crossed in front of my chest, I watched my Queens read Jester's report. They laughed here and there, but after they finished, they seemed utterly unbothered.

"You look nervous, Theon." Luna finally noticed my growing impatience.

"Well, yes!" I exhaled heavily, slightly offended by their carelessness or, what was more probable, my ignorance that no one bothered to correct. "The part where a single Dispel compromised the entire city's defences is my number one concern!"

"Why so?" Irene was visibly puzzled.

"If the Dispel was enough to nullify not only the enchantments of the prison cells but also render most of that city defenceless, don't you think it's something we should be worried about?"

"Not really?" Amber looked at the other Queens, who simply nodded. "Berna's magical science and their magitech were inferior to ours."

"Explain it to me." I sighed and rubbed my eyelids. "From my perspective, a well-timed Dispel has the potential to nullify all barriers and other defensive measures of Avalon."

"Pffff... What? No!" Luna snorted in amusement. "This is not how Dispel works."

"Exactly!" Amber giggled. "Dispel only works on active spells or enchantments. It’s ineffective against runic magic, which forms the foundation of our defenses and our magitech overall."

"Precisely." Luna agreed. "Don't you think the simple existence of a Dispel would render the airships obsolete if it worked against them?"

"I still don't see how that's connected. Are you absolutely sure that a high-level Dispel can't nullify runic magic?" I asked calmly.

"Of course it can't. I can hardly imagine a higher-level Dispel than one cast by Luna. Well... In your defence, we know that you are mostly ignorant about magic and the different types of it." Lavender grabbed a few things available on the table and started setting up a simple experiment. She took a tea cup and enchanted it to make it glow. She then took the candle and, using a fork, carved a crude rune in it, making it glow as well. Lastly, she extended her finger and used a spell that produced light. "Of course, there are different types of magic in the world, but these three are the most prominent ones used across Arcadia. While I'm no Runesmith, I can carve some basic runes. Anyway. Luna?"

"Dispel!" The Kitsune used the spell, and I hadn't a single doubt that while she wasn't holding up the power she limited the area of effect.

The glowing, enchanted cup and illumination spell instantly died out. However, the candle with the carved rune was unaffected.

"See?" Lavender opened her hands over the cup and candle.

"How does it work?" I asked, forming a pyramid with my hands and tapping the tip of my nose with them. "And why?"

"How does what work?" Luna asked, even more confused. "That's how magic works, Theon. Dispel can only affect the enchantments and spells. Making a good enchantment takes less time and basically no resources, while runes require both materials and specialised knowledge. The offset of enchantment, however, is Dispel, which can simply erase it."

"So it can disrupt our spatial enhancements?"

"Only in theory." Luna shrugged. "Dispel looks easy, but it's a level eighty spell and requires a considerable amount of mana to cast. Simply put, it isn't worth using to simply disable a single enhancement. It would be like sending Dauntless to hunt a single mosquito."

"Wait a second. Jester used a Dispel scroll. Wouldn't that be a workaround for magic consumption?"

"I made that scroll, Theon. Trust me, it wasn't easy to make it, and I'm a bit angry that Jester stole it from Elisabeth." Luna sighed, but then she lightly smiled. "But only a little bit. He tested it after all, and according to his very detailed testimonies, it wasn't worth it. While I do not doubt that such a powerful Dispel would be most certainly helpful for some diversion teams or someone like Jester, it's useless for general use."

"You forgot to mention how absurdly high level that Dispel was." Hestia shrugged. "Don't forget that Luna is a Sage, Theon. The spells and scrolls she creates are vastly superior to other mages."

"That's true. She also has finer mana control than any of us." Amber pointed out. "She can create scrolls that are impossible for anyone else to transcribe."

"Okay... So a normally used Dispel is effective as protection against incoming spells?" I tried to rationalise it on my own.

"Precisely. That's the usual application of Dispel," Luna agreed with a smile.

"What about Dispel runes?" I sighed and rubbed my chin.

"What?" Amber looked at me in shock.

"I assume you can make runes that cast Dispel."

"No? Ummm..." Luna's smile slowly turned into a thoughtful seriousness as she exchanged uncertain gazes with Amber and Lavender. "Hmmm..."

"I don't think that anyone has tried that..." Hestia chimed in; however, she wasn't certain of her claim.

•••

"Hmmm... A Dispel rune, my Lord?" Ragnar slowly rubbed his beard.

"Exactly." I nodded.

"I think it's possible to make one, but it has to be made of silver... No! Silver won't do. Probably gold or even orihalcum." The Dwarf scratched his head. "But I don't think it's worth..."

"Just make it, Ragnar." I interrupted him with a sigh. "My paranoia won't let me rest until we test a Dispel rune made by a master Runesmith like you."

"All right, my Lord. I'll prepare it immediately." He smiled. "It shouldn't take long, my Lord."

He excused himself and disappeared into his workshop. We were left with Ruby who was talking with Irene about something. We helped ourselves with the excellent blend of tea that Ruby advertised as their favourite. It was a light and tasty green tea with the addition of oranges and a fruit similar to cherry. It seemed that Quaia, under Lord Tride's guidance, rose to become the primary tea producer in Arcadia. They were known to provide not only various blends, but most of them were also quite affordable. The presence of a few Dryads improved their capabilities even more, which helped them perfect their craft even further. Ragnar returned from his workshop half an hour later with a hard-to-read facial expression.

"I made it, my Lord..." He scratched the back of his head. "But it's much bigger than even the biggest high-grade runes we have produced. Please, follow me..."

We went to his private workshop passing through a few corridors. The rooms we crossed on our way were full of some of his unfinished works and raw materials ready to be used at any time. When we entered Ragnar's and Ruby's workshop, we first noticed a giant lump of metal, easily as big as the Dwarf who forged it. He approached it and slammed its side with his hand.

"This is the thing, Your Highness."

"Okay..." I went to him and inspected the rune. "It really is big."

"The rune should have about two hundred metres range. I couldn't extend its range any further because it's already consuming a massive amount of orihalcum." Ragnar sighed. "I don't think it has any practical use."

"That depends on how it works," I mused.

"What exactly do you want to achieve, Theon?" Luna asked in confusion while her ears wiggled on the sides of her head.

"Do you have any other runes here, Ragnar? Preferably of various grades." I asked, ignoring her for a moment before smiling apologetically. "It will be easier to show."

"All right..." My Kitsune sighed, continuing to observe me.

Ragnar brought a few additional runes, mainly those used in the Guardsmen's armour, which were perfect for my experiment.

"My Darlings, can you enchant something and use various, non-destructive spells?"

Once everything was ready and everyone more or less already guessed what I was trying to do, we lined up the enchanted items and activated the runes. My Queens used their spells, and I even summoned Excalibur while Ruby and Ragnar prepared a few more enchanted items.

"All right... I think we are ready. Fire it, Ruby!"

A strange, cold feeling swept through me. It was like a sudden chill that sometimes crossed your back without a reason. I looked at my Queens, but they seemed not to care or hadn't noticed it at all. Excalibur was intact, and I was sure Dispel couldn't affect it.

"Anyone have something to tell me?" I looked at some of the runes that stopped working.

"I wasn't expecting that..." Luna looked at the broken runes begrudgingly. "However... The Dispel rune worked only on the low-level runes and accordingly levelled spells and enchantments. As you can see, all the enchantments and runes embroidered into our clothes and items are untouched. So I still believe that I was right."

"Are you sure?" I pointed towards the ceiling, and all my wives followed with their gazes before grimacing and teleporting away.

They returned moments later with grey faces and started examining the rune with much greater interest.

"My King?" Ragnar looked at me uncertainly, and Ruby hid behind him in concern.

"Don't worry. You have done nothing wrong." I smiled. "Nevertheless, the rune you crafted managed to partially disable a hundred-metre circle, which took out two of Avalon's twenty shields. Although these two shields are only designed primarily to defend against various indirect attacks, the breach is still concerning."

"Oh, Gods..." Ragnar gasped.

"Turn off that rune, Ruby." I rubbed my temples and the Dwarfess quickly did what I asked.

To my relief, the disruption in the shields instantly disappeared. What surprised me slightly was that the low-level runes resumed their work as if nothing had happened. "That's interesting..."

"I don't know what to say... I'm sorry, Theon." Luna tugged me by my arm. She gave an apologising look and laid her ears back. "We have to run more tests and for that, we will need Ragnar's and Ruby's help."

"Don't worry. All of you were sure that couldn't work, so I think everyone around the world assumes the same." I sighed. "This has top priority, Ragnar, Ruby. Until we learn enough, I want you to focus on this research solely."

"Yes, Your Highness!" Ragnar smashed his fist on his chest and bowed.

"We will assist and help as much as we can!" Ruby curtsied and looked at the rune in slight concern.

"Oh, don't worry... I already have some ideas on how we can weaponise this discovery." I smiled widely.