As Hildr was busy plotting for her future, Amelia was finally fished out of the lake where she had fallen after Hildr's last attack. She had been at the bottom of the lake for over two days before someone thought about checking the lake for missing students.
Amelia had failed to swim out of the lake because it was a weakness of hers. She was a Strigoi, one of the children of night. The Strigoi were weak to water just as the Draugr were weak to fire. Water was not enough to kill a Strigoi but this much water left Amelia completely powerless. She remained at the bottom of the lake, drowning, dying, and coming back to life over and over again. When she was fished out, she was rushed to the Dragon Capital with the other survivors.
There were only sixteen survivors from an academy that had thousands of students. Hildr had been completely merciless, especially with the last blow she delivered. The students that had survived were the most powerful of the lot. Fortunately for Amelia, Adrian and Charlotte were among the survivors. Adrian had used all his power to make sure that Charlotte survived. The young girl was still sleeping even after two days but this was because of what the principal had done to her before his death.
In the capital, the students were taken into an imperial building and interrogated for information about what happened to the academy. Even though Hildr had worked very hard to make sure that there were no witnesses, these students had survived. With the hatred they now held for the Draugr, the students did not need convincing before they spilled everything about the incident.
Amelia made sure not to say anything about the Crown of the Endless. This was due to the instructions she had been given by the principal. She did not know why she could not tell these people about the crown but she trusted the old man more than any of these people. She followed his instructions, only telling the middle-aged man in charge of interrogating her about what the Draugr had done and the fact that the Draugr had been led by the Cursed Princess.
When the middle-aged man heard about the Cursed Princess being the one responsible for this attack, he shook visibly as his eyes widened. This was because tales of the Cursed Princess were known all over the world. Even though she had been sealed the past few millennia, when she was awake in the past she had been a true threat to all that was alive. Amelia did not know much about the Cursed Princess but she could see the fear that filled the man's eyes.
After the interrogation, the middle-aged man rushed through the magnificent building until he reached his superior's office. This was the office of the Premier of the Lemuria Empire. The handsome young man was seated behind his desk when the middle-aged man violently pushed through the door. The handsome young man was the Premier and he was less than pleased that someone actually dared burst into his office in such a manner.
The young man looked to be in his late twenties but on the Lemuria Continent, he held authority only below the Soul King. Since the Soul King did not much care for ruling, this young man was actually the one who made most of the decisions in the empire. He was simply known as the Premier. The young man was of course not young at all. He was thousands of years old but due to what he was and the great power that flowed through his veins, he remained this young for all this time.
"How dare you?" he barked out in a voice that could make most humans fall to their knees immediately and offer their lives as an apology. The middle-aged man was used to the Premier's nature and so he remained unflustered as he moved as fast as possible to give the Premier the report. When the Premier saw that it was his closest friend and aide, he just sighed and put away his anger.
"What has you so shaken?" he asked as he grabbed the report. He read through the entire thing, over one hundred pages, in less than a minute. When he was done, his face was grim. He did not say anything but the waves of power that spread from him were enough to show the rage that was bubbling within his heart.
"We need to deal with these Draugr before they cause any more trouble," he said. The aide shook his head in agreement. The Draugr had truly crossed a line this time around.
"I will order the Lemuria Guard to march on the Draugr at once," said the aide. The words pulled the Premier out of his thoughts. He looked at his friend as though the man wanted the world to burn.
"Are you crazy?" he asked jokingly. The aide just smiled at this. He had only said this to pull his friend back to reality and stop him from making a decision out of anger.
"King Harald is not just any normal king. He is the Night King. He rules over the Children of Night. Attacking King Harald is the same as attacking the Children of Night. With their power, even the greatest army on the continent, the Lemuria Guard, would be hard pressed to gain victory. This would be a war that would shake the continent and cause rivers of blood to flow. The blood and the war would make the Children of Night even more powerful and that would make them even more powerful. Things would go to hell from there on. We cannot attack the Draugr Domain so blatantly," the Premier said.
The aide just kept quiet and listened as though he was being enlightened. In truth, he already knew all of this. He just wanted his friend to reach the same conclusion on his own. Since it would be his idea not to attack the Draugr, there would be no need for him to be convinced later on that attacking was a mistake.
"Still, we must do something about these Draugr. Not only did they kill a saint proclaimed by the Soul King, they killed all the students. This is something we cannot overlook."
The Premier and his friend began discussing what to do about the Draugr but their options were very limited due to the great power and wealth of the Draugr.