“With the dragonslayer victory against Ignivus, are we seeing increased involvement and interest in the discipline?” King Vario’s hands were pinned to the desk as he asked.

“The old kind of anti-Dragon sentiment is running higher than usual, so I believe the answer to be yes, though that activity is likely to remain mostly clandestine. The degree to which our Dragon liaisons have weakened is actually depressing a lot of people and industries, so there are still solid emotional barriers against showing interest in dragonslaying, despite the widely known example of its continued relevance.” A tilt of the General’s head, as he paused in speaking, reflected the many headaches actually entailed in the aftermath of killing of a Dragon. “Fairly enough, Dragons become unwilling to work in hostile climates – partly in that they lack their best effectiveness, and partly that there are a lot of other things they can do instead. An elemental consciousness can always embody elsewhere.”

Roznmyk jumped into the ensuing space with something she deemed important to add. “There’s a rumor about a new shadownet.”

“I have my update on dragonslayers.” General Claymore took the opening with his top item. “Alisandre Capital has Gerund Aley, the one resident proven. Upon your prompting, Your Eminence, the council decided that it might be wise for each Federet to have a short roster at the ready. A simple request, but tricky to fulfill, since this particular martial art had nearly disappeared under disapproval. Not a lot of people in this generation have dedicated even a portion of their lives to this pursuit; dragonslayers are scarce now, and difficult to find.

“That’s partly due to the mood of distrust they create which hinders our draconid relations, intrinsic to the lives of so many. Where we’ve instated more sanctioned dragonslayer positions, the Dragons become obviously more removed from interaction, where they might otherwise be busy. Those many who agreed to uphold the Viridian Phasing continue to do so on a priority basis.” Claymore drew breath to continue, then just slowly let it out.

“Curfew control is incomplete. There’s a low but definite likelihood of civilian presence on the nighttime streets, if you’re chaos factoring.”

“That’s my department,” said the General, “and thank you for corroborating my expectation.”

“Certainly,” replied Hayze, nodding. “On another note that may or may not seem relevant, we’ve been noticing some neighborhood resource theft. Stores missing part of their inventory, luckily with low amounts of property damage. I don’t think it’s as simple as increasing chaperoned shopping runs; it could be a matter of boredom and lowered incomes, combined with fraying nerves.”