Amaq hurried down the passageway, clutching several data tablets within his hand. He was late, but hopefully some of the others would be later. At the very least, hopefully they wouldn’t all be waiting on him.
At the end of the passageway was a set of double doors, made of smooth, polished bronze. Amaq waved his identity tablet as he approached, and runic lines sprang to life that pulled the doors open.
“…can’t be allowed to stop!”
An enraged voice hit Amaq’s ears as soon as the doors creaked open. It took Amaq a moment to realize it was Lord Eliya – he had never heard any of the Lords Magi shout. Whatever the problem was, Amaq hoped his Lord’s anger wouldn’t be taken out on him.
“That would certainly be a lot easier if we still had our Lethridge supplies, Magus Eliya,” Hann said.
“How many times must I tell you? Those fool warriors didn’t have them! I sensed none of our Lethridge resources under that mountain, so even if I had pursued they would still be gone,” Eliya spat back.
“No, we would have something much more valuable. The identity of the traitorous runesmith!”
“You think I could have captured them alive!? Against Takt!?” Eliya exclaimed. “Lab work has made your instincts dull, Magus Hann! If you had seen what they did to that mountain – “
“Enough!” Panai said. Hann and Eliya immediately fell silent. “Please take a seat, Magus Amaq.”
“I apologize for my lateness, my Lords Magi,” Amaq said, pressing his forehead to the ground.
In front of Amaq, two small pillows designed for sitting had been set out, with one of them currently occupied by Kodan, captain of the Inuvik battlemages. Amaq knelt down onto the pillow, tucking his legs beneath him, with Captain Kodan similarly seated to his left.
“Magus Amaq, have all four of the runesmiths who visited Lethridge before the attack complied with your investigation?” Panai asked.
“Yes, Lord Panai. Magus Atuat, Magus Asa, Magus Tica, and Magus Pilip all willingly turned over a list of their personal stocks of resources for our review. Additionally, I have retrieved the records from Lethridge containing the supplies we have distributed to each. Please take a look,” Amaq said.
He wrapped three data tablets within his robes in Force, then sent them hurtling towards the Smoke ranks with a flick of his sleeve. They came to a stop just before each of the trio, hovering in the air until plucked from the air. Panai and Eliya activated their tablets briefly, checking the contents, but Hann’s tablet stayed lit as he examined the information in detail.
“As the tablets show, only Magus Atuat and Magus Pilip took out a large quantity of resources. Magus Asa and Tica only took out a single resource each. Additionally, the personal supplies of all of them look similar, except for Pilip, who had a much smaller quantity than the others,” Amaq explained.
“Please take some time to look over it, Magus Hann,” Panai said, then turned back to Amaq. “And your investigation of the site? I trust one week since the attack has been long enough to gather together all the physical evidence.”
“Unfortunately, I uncovered little of value,” Amaq said with a sigh. “Whoever inserted the counter-ink into Lethridge’s rune array must have done so without touching anything. And other than the seven warriors, I found no traces of anyone who didn’t have a reason to be there.”
Eliya scowled. “Then we really do have a traitor.”
“Unfortunate, but unsurprising. Thank you, Magus Amaq. Captain Kodan, have your battlemages found anything?” Panai said.
“I confirmed that the bird seen at the Mage Hunter’s base was the same one Magus Amaq spotted at our mines. I’ve ordered all our deployed units to keep watch for it, and I sent some battlemages into Inuvik City to search for citizens who may have sightings of the creature. Apparently, it was spotted multiple times atop the building Azaadi was known to be staying at, but hasn’t been seen since.”
“Azaadi was hunting the woman that killed Tulimak, the one that we saw that bird land on. Perhaps this creature belongs to her?” Eliya asked.
“Or another mage working behind the scenes, like our mysterious runesmith saboteur,” Hann said, briefly looking up from his data tablet.
“Very well. Have your battlemages continue their watch,” Panai said. “And what of the warriors?”
“The so-called Mage Hunters have gone to ground, it seems. But this isn’t unusual – in the past years, there have always been weeks or even months between sightings of them. Using the base that Lord Eliya destroyed, they would have been able to completely disappear even from the best search effort. They likely have found another such location out in the wilderness. If so, searching for them would be futile,” Kodan said.
“Azaadi was on their trail for two months, and never found them until they intentionally let him,” Eliya said. “Even with our Academy’s far superior numbers, I imagine we would fare similarly.”
“Then we will let them be for now, and focus on defense. The threat of the Great Clans potentially uniting against us is far more pressing, as well as the runesmith that sabotaged Lethridge,” Panai said. “Magus Hann, have you made any progress on that front?”
Lord Hann sighed and shook his head as he switched off the data tablet in his hand and set it to the side.
“If the counter-ink was intentionally designed for our rune array specifically, then our opponent is terrifying. Even I could not simply create a counter-ink for any rune I wish.”
“Will the list of supplies owned by our runesmiths be helpful? If you can isolate the specific ingredients used in the counter-ink, we could potentially tie it to the perpetrator,” Panai said.
Hann hesitated a moment before replying. “I… apologize, Magus Panai. I’ve so far been unable to even separate the original Lethridge ink from the counter-ink. It may be a while yet before I can even begin trying to decipher the recipe used.”
“What!?” Eliya exclaimed. “This runesmith is beyond your ability!?”
“I said nothing of the sort,” Hann growled. “But it is simple fact that they have used brewing techniques unknown to me. It’s as though this counter-ink created a reaction on a fundamental level, changing the Lethridge ink at a level that I can faintly detect but not truly perceive. I fear that the knowledge involved in this ink’s creation goes beyond runesmithing.”
Amaq shuddered, feeling horrified. Lord Hann was the only runesmith in Trurok at the Smoke rank, so if this assailant was beyond even him… Well, it could only mean one thing. And it was a terrifying thought.
“A foreign runesmith must have set their sights on us,” Eliya said. Amaq nodded. He had been too afraid to suggest it.
“They came from Severn, then?” Amaq said. “But, surely that’s not possible.”
“A Cloud rank could do it,” Kodan said. “But I can’t imagine a mage like that leaving Severn and crossing the Nalep Desert just for us. Could they have come from elsewhere?”
“The Chensu Clan knows of a route through the Nalep that’s safe even for Wisp ranks,” Eliya said. “They could be behind this, by escorting a runesmith into Trurok. And that Chensu girl was involved in the attack on our mines.”
Amaq was stunned. The Nalep Desert was the bane of all mages living in Trurok, trapping them and isolating them from the rest of the magic world. And here Lord Eliya casually drops they aren’t trapped at all?
“Really!?” Kodan exclaimed. Apparently, he was just as shocked.
“Ah, right,” Eliya said. “Magus Enn Chensu prefers that be kept under wraps. I expect not to hear any rumors about it around campus.”
“Yes, Lord Eliya,” Amaq and Kodan said in unison.
“Why would the Chensu hide that? They could earn money and remove competitors by escorting other mages out,” Amaq said.
“The Chensu Clan here in Trurok is just a branch of the main family in Severn, so – ”
“Enough,” Panai interjected. “Stay focused. We cannot discount the possibility of a foreign runesmith attempting to sow anarchy in Trurok. I fear no other would be capable of such feats.”
Kodan nodded. “Especially considering the attack at the mine. Magus Amaq, didn’t you say that the rune array was wiped out instantly?”
“I believe so, yes,” Amaq said. “There was very little time between the final message from the guard and my arrival, but it was enough for them to completely remove the array.”
“I would certainly not be capable of destroying the slave array that quickly. It must have been a Smoke rank behind that attack,” Kodan said.
“But how would they have gotten inside the central rune array?” Hann asked.
“They could have delivered a Smoke-tier ink to one of our mages. Then any of our runesmiths capable of Flashpoint Runes could have used that ink to instantly destroy the array,” Eliya said.
“Using Flashpoint with Smoke-tier inks isn’t that easy,” Hann said. “I’m unsure any of our runesmiths would be capable of it.”
“Based on our Lethridge logs, it would likely have been Magi Atuat, Asa, Tica, or Pilip,” Eliya said.
“Magus Atuat is at the late stage of Wisp, so he possibly could… but I highly doubt the others are capable. I think it more likely a Smoke-tier runic artifact was smuggled in, and any of our mages could have wielded that.”
Eliya thought for a moment. “I find it unlikely such an artifact could have escaped our notice. Hmm…”
“Wait,” Amaq said, a sudden realization hitting him. “I know someone who could have destroyed the slave array, and was at Lethridge within the past month.”
All eyes turned to Amaq.
“Levin.”
“Ah, yes. Chaos magic would certainly wipe away the array instantly,” Hann said.
“Then he accompanied Magus Pilip to Lethridge? Do you think Magus Pilip is a traitor as well?” Eliya asked.
“Actually,” Amaq said, growing more confident in his assessment as he tossed it around in his mind. “Levin went alone to Lethridge the last time. And right after he did, the Mage Hunters attacked.”
“I thought you ruled him out as a suspect during your original investigation into the mine attack,” Panai said.
“I did, initially. But if we assume a foreign runesmith has been supplying inks, then everything makes sense. Levin has even gone to Lethridge multiple times – it’s not impossible he acquired a sample of the rune array to bring to the foreign runesmith.”
The others went quiet. There were no counterpoints raised. After a second, Panai broke the silence.
“Magus Amaq, here are your orders,” Panai said. “You are to immediately place Levin under arrest. Imprison him under constant watch – do not forget that with Chaos, none of our locks will hold him. If he resists, subdue him. Do not kill him, or we risk a Chaos reaction. Then interrogate him and attempt to find out the identity of this foreign runesmith.”
“Yes, Lord Panai,” Amaq said, dipping his head.
“A shame,” Eliya said. “A Chaos warrior would have been useful against the Great Clans.”
“Magus Kodan, I wish for you to take a squadron of battlemages and – ”
An explosion cut Panai off. Immediately, all five of the mages entered combat mode.
The ground trembled beneath their feet, and the mages present all looked around in surprise. Kodan was the first to move in reaction, pulling a transmission tablet out of his robe and immediately sending a message through it. As a response came back, indicated by the flashing lights on the tablet, his face twisted into an expression of shock and horror.
“My Lords, it’s Silla!” he shouted, jumping to his feet.
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Everyone else stood up in shock as well at these words, including the Smoke ranks, all wide-eyed in surprise.
“That brat thinks he can attack us in our home!?” roared Panai, long robes flowing behind him as he rushed towards the exit.
Amaq formed a hand sign as he rushed after Lord Panai, the other following along. The central rune array reacted to his command, and an ear-piercing siren rang out on campus. In such an emergency, Inuvik Academy procedure was to gather at the Smoke Hall.
They were already in the Smoke Hall, and rushed out of the entrance. All around the campus, wide-eyed and fearful mages stood stock-still, eyes locked to a single point in the sky. Amaq and the others traced their gazes, looking up to the sight of Blackbolt Silla floating in the air, four wings of black lighting extending from his back while a violently churning stormcloud floated in the air, covering the sky in all directions above Mount Inuvik.
Silla pointed downwards, and the black cloud instantaneously unleashed several thick bolts of black lighting that hurtled towards Inuvik Academy. However, the central rune array sprang to life, erecting a dome all around the mountain that intercepted the powerful attack, though the runic shield trembled in response.
“A flight spell…!” Hann said with a gasp.
“He’s only just reached Cloud rank. That must be the only Cloud rank spell he knows. Our array will hold, but Captain, you must assemble the Academy into battle formation!” Panai commanded. His steady voice helped calm Amaq.
At that moment, Silla noticed the three Smoke ranks who had just emerged, and took a deep breath, filling his lungs with air before bellowing mightily.
“Old fools of Inuvik! I’ve allowed you to live long enough! That ends today!” he roared.
“They can probably hear him all the way in Inuvik City!” Amaq thought as his ears stung. Silla was amplifying his voice with Cloud-tier Force.
“Magus Silla! Our Inuvik Academy has done you no wrong! We have not interfered with your Cloud promotion or your Lightning Corp!” Panai shouted in response, his words far quieter despite also being bolstered with Force.
“Absurd! I would not have been trapped in this accursed land for so long if it weren’t for you greedy geezers! The price for not capitulating when you had the chance is death!”
Amaq glanced to the side, to see that Kodan was sending several messages into his transmission tablet. Along with the alarm sounding out, the Academy quickly began to mobilize all around them. They would face Silla in a unified stand, or they would fall.
***
From within Pilip’s laboratory, Pilip and Levin stood together near the window, looking up at the sky through the window to where Silla hovered in the air. Suddenly, the central rune array formed without Pilip’s command, floating in the air as a lone sigil near the center of the room.
“All mages and acolytes are to assemble in central rune array battle formations!” shouted a voice from the floating rune, echoing forcefully around the room.
Pilip immediately jumped in surprise, and a moment later he was racing towards the exit of the lab.
“Levin, stay put!” he shouted, slamming the door shut.
***
High up in the air above Inuvik Academy, Silla looked down at the mages scrambling beneath him like a god observing ants. The central rune array of Inuvik Academy glittered brightly, covering the entire mountain in a dome that kept Silla and his magic out. Trurok’s greatest runesmith’s creation revealed itself in its full power and splendor.
The mages of the Academy sat down in the cobblestone paths around the Smoke Hall, while the several hundred acolytes were directed to an open space near the rear of campus. As the mages and acolytes sat and crossed their legs in meditative positions, the central rune array descended, linking to each one with glowing purple lines.
The Force Distribution System, its war mode engaged.
Panai, Eliya, and Hann all simultaneously formed a double-handed hand seal, summoning the purple lines around them as well. But they were not sources, they were targets – the Force of every member of the Academy flowed into them, enveloping all three in brilliant rainbow cloaks. But though all colors were present, orange dominated the bunch from the abundance of fire-element Force being provided.
And with the support of their entire Academy, each of its Lords grew in power an entire level! Hann and Eliya, both at the early stage of the Smoke rank, immediately grew equivalent to a mid-stage Smoke rank! Panai, a mid-stage Smoke rank, grew to the late-stage, just shy of the peak! Decades of meditation, consolidated into a single burst of power!
“Magus Silla, this is your last chance! Leave now, or suffer the full might of Inuvik!” Panai commanded, his voice echoing much louder in the ears of Silla.
Silla tilted his head back and began to roar in laughter in response, the noise encompassing the entire mountain and the surroundings beyond. They may be stronger, but they were still mere Smoke ranks.
“Black Lighting Rain!”
Waving his hand outward, the dense and churning clouds above immediately all condensed into countless bolts of black lighting, falling down like a thick rain towards Inuvik Academy. The central rune array’s shielding held against the attack, but the continually falling bolts of lighting caused an anxiety to rise up in every mage who watched from beneath the protective shield, including Panai, Hann, and Eliya.
“A Smoke rank spell, even bolstered by Cloud rank Force, can’t break through our protection quickly. Magus Hann, Magus Eliya, let us drive this child back together!” Panai said, with the energy of a man much younger. Together, all three concentrated.
“Phoenix Arrow!” “Eruption!” “Flame Hegemony!”
Panai, Hann, and Eliya all released their attacks simultaneously, two fire-element spells joining with a magma-element spell in a magnificent eruption of fire that raced towards Silla, piercing through the spread-out black lighting rain to hurtle towards him.
“Blackout!”
But Silla had been preparing his own spell as well. He immediately counterattacked, squeezing his fist tightly before opening it and unleashing a sphere of crackling black lightning that arrived before the three combined Smoke rank spells in an instant.
Panai’s earlier hunch had been correct – Silla knew only a single Cloud rank spell, the one keeping him in the air. But despite casting a Smoke rank spell to defend, Silla’s attack was bolstered by the power of Cloud rank Force, and immediately ripped through the combined flames of Inuvik’s strongest with little resistance. However, his orb of black lightning lost much power in the process, falling impotently against the runic defense alongside the continued rain of black lightning.
The massive consumption of Force caused the weakest of Inuvik Academy, the level one acolytes, to immediately fall unconscious. Level two and three followed suit a split second later, collapsing as the massive draw of Force from the rune array sucked them dry in an instant. Panai frowned as he watched the wave of spent acolytes fall to the ground.
“Magus Hann, manage the rune array. Ensure it holds. Magus Eliya, open our treasure chamber and retrieve the feather,” Panai commanded.
The two Smoke ranks immediately obeyed, both rushing together back into the Smoke Hall, leaving the defense solely in the hands of Inuvik Academy’s original founder, and one true master.
“Silla! The leader of a pitifully small organization could never understand the combined might of over a hundred mages, and hundreds of acolytes! Retreat now before you burn yourself out against our power!” Panai roared.
“Pathetic! Three Smoke ranks, a hundred Wisp ranks, hundreds of acolytes, yet you try to beat me with words! Open the array if you’re truly so confident!” Silla shouted with a laugh.
Panai grimaced. “Your opponent isn’t us! The Mage Hunters killed Tulimak and Azaadi!”
“No, it is this foul land itself that killed them. The Mage Hunters are mere rats, hiding in caves. And if rats are flourishing, it’s the decrepit house cat that needs to be put down!” Silla roared in response.
“The Black Clouds Roil!”
As the last of the churning storm clouds had condensed into raining bolts of black lighting, Silla immediately resummoned them, covering the sky once more in dense and ominous clouds.
Panai took a deep breath, bringing forth all the Force offered by the rune array into his body. As Hann and Eliya departed, they both relinquished their portion of the available Force, which Panai now absorbed into himself.
From the late stage of smoke rank he closed the distance to the peak of Smoke rank, and then went even further, halfway between the Smoke rank and Cloud rank – the pseudo-Cloud rank! Panai controlled the entire might of the magic academy he himself created, and he wasted not a single moment in unleashing it against Silla!
“Burning Heroic Spirit; Superhuman Blaze; A Countdown to Destruction!”
An inferno consumed Panai, rising higher and higher into the sky, nearly to the edge of the runic shield. However, just as the blaze reached its peak, Panai doubled over, pushing his hands together near his navel but unable to close them together. His arms trembled as he struggled to maintain this posture, the surge of Force delivered by the array overwhelming what his own Source could control.
“I am Panai! Founder of Inuvik!” he roared, his own indomitable spirit from centuries of dedicated focus and training flaring up to forcefully wrest control of his entire Academy’s power, combining it with his own strength.
His Source cracked, and the Force nearly spiraled out of Panai’s control.
Panai fought through his wound, bringing into being a towering creature of flame modeled after his own body, from the slight hunch to the long beard, composed entirely of fire on the giant. The creature of fire rose higher and higher into the sky, reaching far past the limits of Inuvik’s rune array and nearly brushing the storm clouds high above.
Silla looked up at the giant made of flame in surprise, but he quickly reacted, focusing his own Source in response. Panai trembled violently as he continued to struggle with controlling the magic, but managed to take a single step forward, stomping down with his right foot as he reached out with his arms.
As Panai moved, the giant of flame mimicked his movements, surrounding Silla in an all-encompassing embrace of burning fire. As the destructive fire collapsed on Silla, he completed forming his own spell in response, pointing his finger up towards the clouds above.
“Lord of Dark Thunder!”
In response to his command, the storm clouds above surged forward, forming a bulge directly above Silla’s pointing finger. The bulge quickly took shape, forming into a face that greatly resembled Silla’s own. Suddenly, the face made of storm clouds opened its eyes and mouth simultaneously, the expression of a screaming man.
An ear-shattering boom descended from the stormy face, concentrated onto the giant of fire created by Panai. The Force-charged noise crashed into towering fire, forcing its movements to a halt before the attack could reach Silla. The mountain itself quaked as ripples of power burst out from the explosion, but Inuvik Academy’s rune array shield glowed in resistance as it guarded everyone within from becoming collateral damage.
Despite the incredible destructive power contained within Panai’s flame giant, it couldn’t withstand the thunderclap Silla summoned, collapsing without inflicting damage to Inuvik’s attacker. However, most of the energy of the roar of thunder was unable to pierce beyond the giant and assault Inuvik’s runic shield directly, only causing the array to flicker slightly as both parties returned once more to a standoff.
But as the upper body of the giant disintegrated into sparks that dissipated harmlessly, Panai collapsed down onto one knee, the cost of controlling such powerful magic extracting a heavy toll from him as he desperately focused to prevent his own Source from falling apart any worse than it already had.
Silla smiled maliciously at the sight of Panai falling alongside the level four, five, and six acolytes of Inuvik Academy, able to tell that the total Force of Inuvik Academy was beginning to dwindle, alongside the rune array which glowed far dimmer than before.
However, just when Silla thought the rune array was on the verge of disappearing entirely, it suddenly flared back to life, the renewed vigor once more just as eye-catching as when Silla first arrived.
“Good job, Magus Hann…” Panai muttered to himself as he struggled with maintaining control of his Source.
From high in the sky, Silla frowned as he looked down at the reinvigorated rune array that shielded Mount Inuvik.
“So, they replenished the ink…?” he muttered as the wings of black lightning behind him slightly flickered.
Before Silla could come up with a renewed counter strategy, Eliya emerged from the building, holding a single crimson feather in his hand. This long feather, nearly the length of Eliya’s forearm, had clearly seen better days, but despite its ragged state, it was still eye-catching to behold. Eliya initially moved towards Panai with the feather, but seeing the state Panai was in caused him to pause and hesitate.
Panai immediately noticed Eliya emerging, and he responded by forming a simple hand seal that released all the Force the central rune array had been bolstering him with. Eliya’s gaze hardened as he saw Panai’s actions, immediately understanding what he must do.
Eliya tucked the feather beneath his arm as he formed a double-handed hand seal, identical to before, once more calling the concentrated Force of Inuvik Academy to him. As the Force Distribution System switched its target to Eliya, he combined the Academy’s Force with his own and channeled it all into the feather.
The feather absorbed the Force like a dehydrated desert wanderer who finally found an oasis, bursting with overwhelming energy that threatened to escape Eliya’s grasp. The Immortal Phoenix’s Feather, a treasure so vital to Inuvik’s history it had been immortalized in the statue of Panai.
Eliya struggled to control the energized feather, but didn’t suffer the blowback Panai did because it wasn’t his own Source manipulating Inuvik’s combined Force. Instead, the feather trembled as it took on all that power itself, rising out of Eliya’s grasp and into the sky.
Eliya brandished his arm, causing the feather to immediately react to his command. The Force took corporeal shape around the feather, forming a fiery image of a bird with a wingspan larger than any human and tail feathers nearly twice the length of the bird’s body.
The summoned phoenix let out a piercing cry before flapping its wings only once and shooting into the sky. A second flap, a third flap, and the fiery image of a phoenix reached a speed nearly untraceable by the eye as it raced towards Silla, surrounded by a wave of destructive energy.
Silla had begun planning his counterattack the moment he saw the feather, immediately understanding the implications of Inuvik Academy bringing out their most powerful treasure. Despite that, the phoenix had significantly closed the distance, already exiting the area protected by Inuvik’s rune array by the time he finished forming his spell. But Silla managed to complete it in time, throwing his arms wide as Force surged around him.
“Rod of Black; Rod of Transcendent Ages!”
The Force gathered around Silla into a towering spire, a black lightning rod beckoning to the storm clouds he had previously summoned. The gathered magic power in the sky above him all collapsed and condensed into a single bolt of black lightning that raced towards Silla, colliding with his own concentrated Force.
The two spells combined into a power unachievable by any individual attack, and as the phoenix of flame hurtled up onto Silla’s body, his own focused black lighting erupted outward, coursing through the bird and wholly destroying it, causing nearly all of the vanes of the feather to disintegrate into nothing.
Despite the incredible power contained in Silla’s combination spell, which fused two spells powered by Cloud rank Force, it was barely enough to resist the power of the feather, and for the first time in the battle, Silla was forced backwards, tossed away through the air by the power of the attack.
Silla coughed violently after struggling to bring himself back to a floating standstill, but as he finally returned to his senses, he felt a stinging in his arms. Looking down, he saw the sleeves of his robes wisping into smoke, revealing burns all across his arms which had absorbed the brunt of the attack.
Silla scowled at the sight, even though his burns were in actuality quite minor, none reaching beyond first degree. Turning his gaze back to Inuvik Academy below him, Silla saw Eliya looking dejectedly at the ruined feather while Panai struggled back to his feet. However, most of his attention focused on the runic shield, which continued to glow defiantly before him.
“They have more ink reserves for their array than I thought…” Silla thought to himself.
The next moment, the black lighting wings holding him aloft flickered dangerously, and Silla suddenly felt gravity affect him once more as he lurched downwards. A moment later, he regained control of the black lighting wings on his back, halting his descent just as fast as it began.
“And I’ve only just reached Cloud rank, so my Force isn’t up to this task,” Silla thought with a grimace, able to tell he had reached his limit in this battle.
Suddenly, all of Inuvik Academy saw Silla turn into a black streak across the sky as he departed, allowing every mage to breathe a sigh of relief. The rune array slowly faded back to invisibility as the conscious mages and acolytes, each with their Force significantly drained, set themselves to the task of getting the Academy back in order.