Vyns continued, “And finally there are the giants. They aren’t in any caste because they’re not controlled by the elves. They’re enemies of civilized folk. Here in Seial, thatmeans titans and their minions: cyclopses. In Elysial, it’s nephilim, and in Urval it’s pyrkai.”
And we were fast approaching the limit of what I could handle for one conversation.
He quickly added, “Oh, you may see a few titans on campus. They’re here as some sort of peace treaty exchange or something. I don’t know, and since Saldrea and her mother are involved, it seems fishy to me. You can tell who they are since they’re even bigger than dragons.”
That was hard to imagine.
We reached the north hall of the lesser residence and Vyns joined me for lunch.
“Okay,” I said, “my brain is full of world stuff, tell me something meaningless. Or, better yet, give me all the gossip on Saldrea.” I wasn’t usually one for gossip, but I was curious how far he’d go, not that I’d know if he was lying or not.
He blew out a breath and shrugged those big shoulders of his. “Other than the whole strange thing with the titans, Saldrea is an open book. She is what she appears to be, spoiled, entitled, vicious and vindictive, generally annoying.” He seemed lost in thought after that.
I ate my hamburger in peace, happy they had hamburgers here and curious if he’d go on.
When he spoke next it was in a very soft voice, very conspiratorial, only for me. “I guess… thereisthe rumor that Saldrea’s mother was complicit in killing the previous royal family.”
My jaw dropped, and I only just managed to keep my food in my mouth.
What. The. Hell?
“And they put this woman in power?” I hissed. “How? Why?”
Vyns shrugged. “Got me. Before my time. Though I have a friend who might know. He served the previous royal family. The sense I get is, Valnea — that’s Saldrea’s mother — had a fair amount of power, even back then, and cajoled the crown council into making her the queen regent.”
“How long ago was this?”
“A hundred years or so.”
My jaw dropped again. I closed it quickly.
“Elves live for thousands of years,” Vyns explained. “So do dwarves and undines and dragons. Nymphs can expect to live for a few hundred years, in case you didn’t know.”
Wait… I’d have a long life?
How long was afew hundred yearsexactly?
I’d have lots of time to find out.
“But you…?” I asked.
“Angels and demons tend to have shorter lives, only a couple hundred years, and that’s stretching it. Most who die of old age are in their one-forties, though many seraphim and salmaeri die much sooner, being on the front lines of our respective wars.”
So, a “short” life was a hundred and forty years?
Wow.
Hooray for magic?
Vyns let me eat in peace after that, while I digested all this information.
After lunch, since I had a bit of time before my water magic class, Vyns strolled with me around campus. We headed north and soon passed out from buildings to a grassy area, a small hill off to our left. In the distance there were bleachers and a sports field.
“What do they play?” I asked. I hoped it was soccer, or something normal, but I had a feeling it wasn’t.
“Dominion.”
Yeah, that sounded right for a “sport” here. I was willing to bet it was somehow brutal and violent.
