Parks Dragon personally invited Landen to the Magic Association. Officially, he was there to announce the results of the investigation into the Devil Race—or rather, to tell Landen that his family had abandoned the Devils who had tried to assassinate him, leaving Landen free to deal with them as he pleased.
In private, under pressure from Red Dragon Rock, he was there to reach a ceasefire agreement with Landen. The Magic Association would send a team of Mage enforcers to patrol near Landen's Chamber of Commerce.
In other words, the Magic Association would officially guarantee that Landen's subordinates stayed out of the fighting in Night-Kirin City. Though neither side publicly admitted defeat, the Flying Dragon Family's Archmage had made his stance clear through his actions: We can't afford to provoke you anymore. We recognize your interests in Night-Kirin City. From now on, we'll stay out of each other's way.
Landen was very pleased that the Flying Dragon Family had taken the initiative to seek peace. Only after confirming that they would no longer target him that evening did he turn his attention to Night-Kirin City's trade center and the fighting in the north.
The strife in Night-Kirin City did not stop just because the Flying Dragon Family and the Gallop family had temporarily made peace. The smoke rising from the outer districts had only grown thicker.
All morning on the ninth, Landen was in the Meditation Room at the top of the Magic Tower in the palace. At times, he watched the smoke rising beneath Dragon Terrace Mountain outside the window; at others, he studied the enormous map of the Gallop Plains beneath his feet.
At his side, Antrechi, a young man from the Blue Dragon Family, stood cautiously and respectfully, not daring to say much.
A year ago, Antrechi