Dinner that evening was nothing short of exquisite.
Jax had many advantages in life. Being the owner of multiple restaurants was one of them. Access to the freshest ingredients was another. It didn't hurt that he often delivered exotic beasts to Grathok personally, ensuring he could select the finest cuts before they ever reached the open market.
Tonight's spread was intentional.
Elven sensibilities were respected — vibrant vegetables, delicate fruits, herbs layered with restraint and precision. But the preparation was uniquely Jax. Techniques no one on this continent had ever seen before transformed the ingredients into gourmet fillets, tender and perfectly seared.
A fusion of worlds.
The table fell silent for several minutes.
Not from tension.
From awe.
Forks and knives moved. Plates emptied steadily. Even the usually talkative Bunny was too focused to comment.
Jax entered last, wiping his hands on a cloth as he joined them.
He took the seat the Vixens always reserved for him at the head of the table. Llandra sat at his right. Nyxian at his left. Bunny and Zee beside Nyxian. Dawnaris beside Llandra.
At the far end, directly across from Jax, sat Vaelrith Moonshadow.
The quiet lingered until one of the elves finally exhaled.
"This may be the finest meal I have ever eaten."
Another elf — the one who had shown the most visible discomfort with Jax earlier — added, "You are quite the chef… for a human."
Several of the Vixens stiffened.
Jax did not.
He smiled warmly.
"Thank you. And to remain undetected in my city for three days without suspicion? I'd say you are quite the spy… for an elf."
Heads turned sharply toward the elf.
Jax's smile never wavered.
The point landed.
The comment could cut both ways.
The elf hesitated… then chuckled awkwardly and returned to his plate.
Tension diffused.
Vaelrith dabbed his mouth with a cloth before speaking.
"So, Mr. Darquebane."
"Please," Jax replied easily. "Jax is fine."
Vaelrith inclined his head.
"So, Jax. We have gathered considerable information about you since your arrival in Solmere."
He folded his hands.
"You defeated a dragon shortly after arriving in this territory. You command shadows. You wield what many believe to be necromantic forces beyond historical precedent. You move with unnatural speed. And some claim your weapons rival ancient relics."
One of the elves added through a mouthful of food, "And he cooks better than the royal kitchens."
Vaelrith allowed the faintest smile.
"Yes. That as well."
He paused.
"But what we do not know… is where you came from."
The table stilled.
Eyes shifted to Jax.
Jax continued eating as if the question were casual.
"Oh, far from here."
Vaelrith did not blink.
"Which lands?"
Bunny brightened. "The ones up north, right?"
Jax nodded immediately. "North. Very north."
Vaelrith listed calmly, "Nordvall? Skarnheim? The Frost Coast Territories? The Highland Principalities?"
Jax shook his head. "None of those."
"What was it called?"
Jax hesitated just half a beat too long.
"America."
A pause.
"I am unfamiliar with that kingdom."
"Full name," Jax added, "The United States of America."
Bunny gasped softly. "Is that why you named us the United Kingdoms?"
Jax coughed lightly. "Yes. Let's go with that."
Vaelrith studied him.
"What of your parents?" the commander asked gently. "What were their professions?"
Jax set down his utensils.
"Interesting story," he said smoothly, rising from his seat. "But I should clean before dessert burns."
He disappeared into the kitchen.
The evasion was clear.
But not hostile.
Vaelrith did not pursue him directly.
Instead, he turned his attention to the others.
"What do you know of his homeland?"
Bunny answered first.
"In his lands, there were no elves. No beastkin. No magic."
Several elves stiffened.
"But they had carriages that moved without animals," she continued enthusiastically. "And flying ones that carried people across the sky."
The skeptical elf snorted.
"Of course they did."
"And," Bunny added proudly, "they still had discrimination. Just not based on race like here. Based on skin color. Or which gods they followed."
The room quieted.
Llandra gently placed a hand over Bunny's.
"Those are Jax's stories to share if he chooses," she said softly. "He entrusted them to us."
Bunny blinked, realizing her mistake.
"I didn't mean—"
Vaelrith raised a hand.
"It is fine."
But it wasn't fine.
It was fascinating.
Flying carriages without beasts.
A land of only humans.
Division not by race… but by appearance and belief.
He filed every word away.
The skeptical elf scoffed again. "Sounds fantastical."
Vaelrith did not agree.
He noticed patterns.
Jax introduced innovations casually — as if recalling them, not inventing them.
Trade models. Infrastructure. Social blending. Governance through interdependence rather than conquest.
He spoke of "lands" oddly.
Sometimes plural.
Sometimes singular.
As if correcting himself mid-thought.
Vaelrith had read ancient records.
Tales dismissed as myth.
Of individuals who appeared from nowhere.
Armed with knowledge beyond their era.
Dawnaris broke the tension.
"You should call your parents tonight," she told Llandra. "Even if they do not answer, someone can summon them."
Vaelrith nearly choked as Jax re-entered carrying elegant dishes.
Individual fruit-topped crème brûlée.
The sugar crust cracked under spoons.
Bunny beamed. "My favorite!"
The table filled with delighted murmurs.
But Vaelrith did not taste it.
He watched Jax.
The composure.
The stamina.
The influence.
The unnatural growth curve.
The shadows.
The dragon.
The impossible homeland.
It aligned too cleanly.
Too precisely.
Vaelrith had spent decades separating rumor from truth.
He felt the answer forming.
Not from suspicion.
From synthesis.
Jax Darquebane was not from the north.
Not from any known kingdom.
Not from this continent.
Not from this world.
Vaelrith Moonshadow set his spoon down.
He had not come to interrogate a criminal.
He had come to evaluate a potential threat.
Instead—
He had found something far rarer.
A Summoned Hero.
And if that was true…
Then the world had just become far more complicated.