A solid start of a new arc. The (human) Ailean Empire makes an appearance. The changes Annis' magi-tech is making, is drawing the attention of their neighbors and not all of it is good and I like the world building behind it as well as the new (and old) characters. If I have one minor nit pick, it is that it is a tad short, which is better than adding filler content or an abrupt ending of the volume, but still not optimal (especially when you pay the normal price).