As soon as the car drove into the private grounds entire scenery changed. From the mishmash of different architectural styles of the city into an alien landscape. Garden grounds were enormous and Todor had to straight up and glare at the strange wonder hidden behind the walls. He couldn't even see the villa but at the moment he was too amazed to even try to spot it. The strangest thing that he couldn't miss was the color of all the flora. The grass was dark blue, hedges were deep purple and the trees had inky pink bark with pastel pink leaves. Everything grew in geometric shapes that were beautiful but totally alien. Among the strange plants, here and there, Todor saw fountains which made water flow in the air around glass and jade statues of famous Anadori. It was a jaw-dropping sight.

"It is my mother's pride and joy," Irry said noticing where his attention was pointed.

"It's incredible. I feel like I am on Pandora or something," he said transfixed with his nose to the window.

"What is Pandora?" she asked unaffected by the scene outside.

"Well, that is a surprisingly complicated question," he said chuckling. "The word Pandora comes from an ancient myth, but the one I was referring to is a fictional planet in a movie."

"Fictional planet? Like the story about a world out there in the void?" Irry asked her eyes glowing with interest.

"Yeah, we should watch Avatar together, sometimes. It is an alright movie about humans landing on a planet and repeating history," he said grinning.

"I will hold you to your word," she responded with a grin of her own.

Todor finally noticed the large building in the distance. The Sunhawk villa, if you could call it a building at all, made Todor inhale the air as if he was drowning. If gardens took his breath away, the building should have stopped his heart. It was impossible. Towers that were too thin to support their own weight, roofs that were held in place with just tiny wires, glass and jade stairways that curved and twisted in all kinds of directions while platforms swam in the air, moving from one spot to the other. Simply put, it was a wonder to behold.

"It's just trickery and magic materials," Irry said following his gaze.

"Everything is trickery when you know how to do it," Todor responded to which Irry just shrugged.

With the help of the potion that still held he could actually see streams of magic intertwine with jade and glass of the architecture which made the sight even more surreal.

The car slowly closed the distance and slowed under the latticework of jade overgrown by a plant with pale blue flowers. He saw robed servant running to open the car door for them. Irry gave him encouraging a smile and exited first. He followed, slightly apprehensive. Last week I was shut in who left his home only when absolutely necessary. And now here I am to meet with Anadori elite. How one simple choice can change a person's life. He thought as he stared around at the other cars arriving from different directions.

"Hey, Soorih," Irry said to the servant that approached.

"Greetings, Miss." the young man said. "Can I ask who is your companion for today?"

"It's my good friend and coworker, Todor," she said grabbing Todor by the elbow pulling him towards her. "Stay close to me," she whispered into Todors ear.

They moved along the path that led to the entrance. There was already a line of people there waiting for security to check their invitations. Irry ignored the line and went straight up to the head of the line where two large Anadori in green and red armor stopped her.

"Excuse me?" she said coldly staring at two armored men.

"I am sorry Miss, but I must ask you to go back in line," one of them said politely.

"Do I need your permission to enter my own home, hireling?" she asked somehow looking down on him even though the guard towered over both of them.

The large men froze for a second and looked at his fellow guard. The other man just shrugged, which was quite the feat, Todor thought, considering the borderline impractical armor they were wearing.

"I am sorry, but who are you, Miss?" he asked confused, his stare going from her to Todor. The helm he was wearing was revealing enough for Todor to see a scowl appear on his face. One more thing that caught Todor's eyes were ears. Every Anadori had longer ears than Irry. That was apparent now that he could see many Anadori around. Even Mab had longer ears and he was a half breed. I must ask her about that.

"My name is Irrindonila Ramadish Hawallo Roddoensole Sunhawk, Scion of House Sunhawk, third in line for Jade Seat of Anadori High Meet. And who might you be?" she asked pulling Todor closer to her.

The chatter in the line died in an instant and all the eyes were aimed towards two of them. Unlucky pair of security personnel shuffled uncomfortable, one of them looking behind himself like he wanted to escape the scene. Todor didn't blame the man, he wanted to escape as well but Irry held him by his elbow like she could sense his reluctance.

"I am sorry, eminence. You can go in right away, you and your ... human," he said motioning her to go on.

Irry grinned and nodded imperiously. Then she dragged Todor with her through the door. As soon as they were in Todor took a deep a breath. Conversion and chatter behind them continued but from a quick glance, he saw many of them pointing at the door they just entered.

"Was that necessary?" he asked Irry moving few steps from her.

"Well duh, I asked you to come with me so I can make them eat their shoes from cringing. And that will echo around!" she said giggling between words. "And I am doing good work. They must realize you are not slaves anymore, that you are our equals," she added more seriously.

"I didn't like the feeling of all those elves looking at me like I am some kind of trained monkey," he said more gently.

"I am sorry. I never think how others would feel unless when I want others to feel something specific." she started talking but Todor stopped her with a raised hand.

"It's fine. Now, where do we go?" he asked looking around. The building from the outside looked like it came from the alien planet, but the interior looked rather mundane. Sure, expensive things were everywhere, but nothing that would make him be amazed. Magical flying chandeliers mixed with electrical bulbs made quite the contrast, but other than that it looked like any modern high-end interior.

"Mingle with the so-called elite!" she said raising her fist in the air enthusiastically. It made her look like a child even though she probably was in her late fifties. Which is probably the young adult age for Anadori. Todor mused.

They made their way across the hallway when a small figure slipped from behind one of the curtains.

"That was quite the entrance, Teddy." boys voice declared. Todor smiled when he recognized Mab.

"Oh, hello there. You know him?" Irry asked cheerfully.

"Yeah, we met. And hey there Mab." Todor said shaking the diminutive boy's hand.

"Oh, this will be even better! One black sheep consorting with a human that consorts with other black sheep!" Irry said happily. "I am Irry! And you must be Malabahtorh Takashon Sutrulash Leafblade!"

Mab looked her up and down few times and then winked at Todor so that Irry couldn't see it. He shook hands with her with a small smile on his boyish face.

"Yes, but ditch all that and just call me Mab," he said.

"And here I thought that you elves hate nicknames," Todor said flatly.

"Oh, Anadori hate nicknames, when you call a person you do that with at least two names," Irry said.

"And I am guessing that is why two of us go with only nicknames," Mab added.

Looks like they understand each other quite well, even though they just met. Todor thought as he observed them.

"So let's mingle!" Irry said swooshing her skirt, walking incredibly fast. Mab and Todor followed her, trying to keep up.

"Does she know about, you know what?" Mab asked him when he was sure Irry couldn't overhear them.

"No, didn't have time to tell her. But, I somehow managed to translate a few chapters." Todor answered knowing all too well what was Mab referring to.

"Really?" he squealed, his eyes glowing with zeal.

"Yeah. I made a potion too." Todor said looking at Mab, noticing the similar lack of flame in her chest. But when he looked longer he did saw a small pinprick of flame, barely noticeable. But it was different then all other Anadori his potion augmented eyes saw today. So, half breeds have half a soul? He thought amused, not understanding what all of that meant. He then explained what he found out from the Ezezu and his preparation of the potion.

"Amazing," Mab said when he was finished. "So, you know the name of the book and her author."

"I still can't cast magic, Mab," he said. And neither can you. He thought sadly. He didn't want for the boy to get his hopes up and then be disappointed.

"I know that!" he said angrily. "But it is more than I had before. And you will find a way."

"How do you know that?" he asked surprised by boy's conviction.

"You opened a maharoon, for the Maelstrom of Entheogen sake," he said annoyed. "It is something no one has done before."

"What are you two whispering about?" Irry asked noticing how much they lagged behind her.

"Irry, I have something to tell you," Todor said. Ezezu, are you there? He wasn't really surprised when the presence awoke. Do you mind if I reveal our connection to Irry? The sense of deliberation came from the book even though the tome was still in his home. Then approval flooded his mind.

"Alright. Shoot." Irry said.

"Can we go somewhere private? I have important things to tell you that I would rather not become public knowledge," he explained.

She just shrugged and motioned for them to follow her. Mab and Todor looked at each other and imitated her shrug before following her. Irry led them to a room filled with bookcases that covered entire surfaces of the walls. In the middle was a huge table with comfy chairs around it.

"Alright. What is so secret that you couldn't have told me in the hallway?" she asked. She then put her left palm upwards like she is holding the invisible tray. Todor saw a glow around the room moving towards the furnace in her chest, swirl around and then flow through her hand before exploding and turning into the translucent bubble around them.

"What kind of spell was that?" Todor asked with a smirk looking directly at Irry.

Her eyes went wide open and her grin disappeared.

"How did you ... ?" she started but was too surprised to finish the question.

"I opened the maharoon," he said. Suddenly he felt the presence of Ezezu so strongly he felt like he could just reach out and touch it. And he did just that. A second later the heavy tome appeared in his hands with red glowing smoke swirling around. As soon as he moved his hand a bit the smoke was gone but the book was still very much there.

Mab squealed with excitement, jumping up and down clapping. Irry on the other hand just stared at him with amazement. He sensed from Ezezu satisfaction and joy. Can I send you back home the same way? The book communicated something that for a second confused Todor. After a second of thinking, he realized it was a sense of no importance. What does that mean? That you don't show up unless I summon you? Todor wagered a guess and nod came from the empathic pages.

"That is huge." finally, Irry said in a quiet voice.

"Not as huge as you might think." Todor said "I can't cast magic. I mean you can see that my anima is not flaming."

Both Mab and Irry snapped looked at him with astonishment on their faces.

"What? What did I say?"

"Not everyone has Wraithfull Eyes," Irry said. "So all that talk about apelings being soulless doesn't matter much to me. I can't see anima other than my own. But how do you know that? Or wait, better question. How did you saw that I summoned the privacy bubble?"

"I made a potion," he said and mentally dismissed the Ezezu. The book turned into red smoke and disappeared.

"Such a potion doesn't exist. I know. I looked over all Anadori and Morg textbooks." Mab said with satisfaction for some reason.

"I am sure it doesn't. This potion works only on humans. It makes Morgs horny and Anadori angry." he explained, recalling what he read.

Mab laughed at that while Irry rose her eyebrow.

"This is going to change everything nonetheless. If humans can do something that other two races can't, it changes the playing field." Irry said with a surprisingly calm tone.

"You are overestimating it. Not humans, only me." Todor said in response.

"Yes, only you for now. But there will be some other human who will come to a similar discovery by accident," she said sternly.

"If it's going to happen it is going to happen eventually no matter what," Mab said thoughtfully. Irry glanced at the boy then at Todor.

"Yeah, nothing to worry about now. Teddy is not going to spread that knowledge around anyway." Irry concluded with a smile.

Todor was quite unnerved by how Irry reacted to this revelation. Nothing like Irry he knew, cheerful, absentminded rebel of an elf. But cold and calculated aristocrat with a new dangerous foe that dared to show at her gates. Maybe he just imagined it.

"Before we go mingle, I have to ask you something," Todor said measuring Irry with renewed interest.

She looked at him with a familiar grin on her face.

"Your ears, they are much shorter than any Anadori I saw. Even Mab over there has longer ears and he has human blood," he said looking at her closely.

"That is not the question but observation," Irry said flatly, grin strained on her face. Then she relented. "I cropped them, alright. I like them shorter."

Todor didn't want to dig deeper. Whatever the reason it made her uncomfortable. They exited the study in silence. Todor saw the bubble of magic disappear behind them.

After a short walk, they came up to a tall door guarded by two Anadori in fancy clothing. The cut of their uniform showed much skin revealing the chiseled abs of perfect physique. They raised their arms with palms towards them in unison.

"Who goes there!" one said looking at the trio.

Irry repeated her introduction from the entrance, every single name and title of hers strung without breath. Mab followed with his string of names and titles. Todor looked at them a bit annoyed at all this pomp and unnecessary posturing. The eyes of guards fell at Todor who smirked. Is that how this game is played, eh?

"Todor Corpus, The Scarab Lord, Owner of Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian, The Undying, The Magic Seeker, and three hundred and twenty-seven years old human." he declared staring at the guards, daring them to deny it.

Confused security looked at each other than at Irry next to him. Both Mab and Irry were struggling not to giggle but they nodded like they knew this was going to happen and agreed beforehand.

"You will be allowed in." one of them said and opened the door.

The trio entered the large dancing hall that was filled with people dressed in fancy clothing. Servants swirled around carrying trays with food and drinks and trying their hardest to avoid collision with a noncaring elite that ignored them. Todor swallowed as he saw that Anadori were not the only species here. Pale looking people with distinctly human ears and long hairs were among them as well. Vampires? Are those freaking vampires? He thought as his eyes scanned the surrounding.

Mab pulled his sleeve drawing his attention.

"What was all that about you being a lord and some such?" he asked.

"Those were my rarest World of Warcraft titles. I worked my ass off to get them. Don't disrespect," he said jovially. "No world shifting can take them from me."

"That game hasn't existed for centuries," Mab said chuckling.

"Yeah, well I will bring back internet and revive it," he retorted right away.

"I have to go check something," Irry said, "You boys mingle, I'll be right back."

Todor sighed andnodded while Mab waved at her. Irry thendisappeared in the writhing crowd of people.