The sun was sinking down beneath the mountains of Trurok when Uki and Levin returned to the Mage Hunter’s base, still that same inconspicuous hole in the ground that he and Mei had stumbled upon. The two of them rode up to the entrance on horseback, then headed inside the cavern.
Despite riding back, Levin felt like he had just run a marathon. He was unsteady on his feet, and Uki kept a hand on his back as the two walked side-by-side. Levin could only hope sleeping in a bed for the first time in several days would help to ameliorate his symptoms.
“Are you alright?” Uki asked quietly.
“I’ll live,” Levin said. “For now, at least.”
Uki nodded. “Mei should already be back, if you’d like to talk to her.”
“I would,” Levin said.
Uki had explained on the ride back why she had shown up alone to rescue Levin – everyone else was away. Mei had gone to stop the Grinn and Chensu from fighting, Takt was in Knight’s Crossing smuggling weapons, and the five youths were busy organizing and training their rebel army. Other than Mei, none of them had plans to return to this place any time soon.
As they approached the door that separated the man-made shelter from the hewn rock tunnel, a signal tickled at Levin’s mind. Engaging his Y-Link, he was relieved beyond words to find a connection to the only piece of home he had left. He had spent almost as much time worrying about Cho as he had for himself these past days, and tears began to well up now that he knew the robot was safe. It had just gotten stuck in the cave as a result of the damaged wing.
Levin wiped his eyes with a shaky hand, following Uki inside. He smiled faintly as he remembered the time he and Mei had discovered this place, and how adamant Levin was in his refusal to make it their hideout. Back then he had wanted nothing more than to leave this place for Inuvik Academy, but now there was nowhere else in Trurok he would rather be. It did help that all the skeletons had been cleaned out.
“Mei’s in the second room on the right,” Uki said, pointing down the hallway. “I’ll join you in a moment – I need to get some things ready first.”
Levin nodded, then shambled down past her as she ducked into another room. He entered the room Uki had indicated, stepping inside to find Mei standing and stretching in one corner.
“What happened to you?” Mei exclaimed in her native tongue, looking Levin up and down.
“An experiment gone wrong,” Levin said, looking up at her as he took a seat in a wooden chair. He had forgotten how tall Mei was when he wasn’t watching her from a tree branch above.
“How bad is it?” she asked with a frown.
“Terminal. I probably only have a month at most left to live,” Levin said. He couldn’t be sure, since most people in his situation would have died in days or hours, but he was sure his days of resisting the effects of Chaos were ending. He could only hope his longer natural lifespan as a child of Earth would keep him going.
“Oh, Levin…” Mei said, then sighed. “I wanted to see you actually defy the odds and make it back to Earth.”
“I’m not dead yet. If I can remove the Chaos Source that’s inside of me, I think I’ll survive. And this facility we’re in is for making Chimeras – I have the tools I need to save myself here.”
“Let me know how I can help. You might be a little crybaby, but the last members of the Expedition Team have to look out for each other. If you’d like, you can call me big sis!”
Levin smiled. “Thank you, Mei. I’ll definitely need your help getting Cho back out of this cave later. And if I’m going to survive, we need to defeat Inuvik Academy – I can’t think of anyone better than you to help with that.”
“Oh? Uki doesn’t think you can figure out a way,” Mei said.
“Uki was wrong. I’ve found a way to make it work. But I need some time to get everything ready. I just hope my body will last long enough…”
“But if we win against Inuvik, you’ll definitely live?” Mei asked. Levin wasn’t sure, but he thought she seemed genuinely worried about him. He never would have thought something like that was possible three months ago.
“I’m not completely sure,” Levin said after a moment’s hesitation. “We have the tools I need here, but I’m missing supplies that should be in the Academy’s treasury. But even if I succeed in removing my Chaos Source, I’m not sure what will happen. Removing your Source is normally fatal, but we came over to this world without any Source in the first place. I might survive.”
“I’ll just have to trust you on all that magic business,” Mei said. “But I promise to give it my all at the punching business. After all, don’t you remember the first thing I said to you? You aren’t fit for combat. You can leave that to your big sis.”
“Actually, you started by asking if I knew how to fight. Telling me I wasn’t fit for combat was the third thing you said to me, technically,” Levin said.
“Well, close enough. Figures you would know, having a computer for a brain and all,” Mei said with an exaggerated harrumph.
Levin smiled. Talking with Mei helped lift some of his tension, even if she wouldn’t be able to help him much directly.
The two settled into a comfortable silence, and a few seconds later a knock came at the door. It had been left ajar, and Uki pushed her way in. In one arm she carried a stack of papers and bound notebooks, and she walked over to Levin and deposited them in front of him.
“What are these?” he asked.
“Reports from the scouts, a few maps, and my personal notes,” Uki said. “If your last message was true, then we’re going to need to review them together.”
Levin nodded. When Cho had gone to tell Uki that he had been imprisoned, he had included another detail – that he had found a method to assault Inuvik Academy directly. His Y-Link was still running simulations to crack the exact counter-ink recipe, but the progress he had made in the past few days convinced him it was possible.
“If you can do what you did to Eliya and the others again, a direct attack should be easy,” Levin said.
“I can’t do that again,” Uki said with a shake of her head. “I had intended to use that power sparingly at key moments throughout the next few years, but I’ve decided to trust you. If you really can find a way, then it will have been worth using all my stored Force up at once. Even if not, you’re too valuable to just give up. But I’ll have to work with just the small amount of Force my Soul produces for now.”
Levin was surprised, and more than a little touched. Under normal circumstances, hearing that would have put a great deal of pressure on Levin’s shoulders. But this time, his life already depended on raiding Inuvik’s treasure stores successfully. The fate of the Trurok rebellion felt like a small matter next to that.
One way or another, it would all end soon. And it would happen on the wooded slopes of Mount Inuvik.
“I see,” Levin said. “Let’s get to work, then. I’ll start by explaining my plan…”
***
The news spread around Trurok quickly. In one day, the Mage Hunters had foiled both the Grinn Clan and Inuvik Academy, preventing two major battles from occurring and delaying the start of all-out mage war. Trurok was large and rural, but even the most isolated of locations heard the news within a couple weeks.
Reactions amongst the common people of Trurok were mixed. Nobody could really understand why the Mage Hunters would want to stop mages from killing each other. Of course, none of them knew about Levin either – unlike Mei, he had completely flown under the radar for the average citizen of Trurok.
If those people could have seen Levin at work, it would have been a different story. He wasted no time in migrating his runesmithing tools and ingredients to the ancient Chimera laboratory, and spent his days and nights working on brewing inks. And with his newfound freedom in the wake of Levin’s jailbreak, he had all the time he wanted to work on his plans.
Of course, there was no way an average person in Trurok could have known that. But what they did hear were whispers of a gathering army, made up of all the slaves the Mage Hunters had freed over the years. In reality, it was very far from all of the slaves – only a relatively small percentage actually answered the call to arms. But the rumors of a hidden, gathering army were very much true.
And the mages seemed to know it too, because they were all staying holed up in their bases. Inuvik Academy had sent out a mere quarter of their battlemages, securing only the most valuable locations left behind by Silla. Between the trained battlemage forces and ordinary mages, that meant Inuvik Academy had over eighty Wisp rank mages stationed in their walls. They were prepared to meet any army head-on.
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It would soon be time for that army to make its debut, before the chill of winter takes hold. But the coming ice and snow was not a truly pressing time limit – the former slaves who made up the army had, by necessity, become rugged survivalists in order to live outside the reach of slave hunters. They could put up with some cold. Instead, it was Levin’s impending death that meant they had to act now. As well as simple opportunism.
It was fortunate they had been toughened by the wilds, because there was no other way a hastily-formed militia with barely a month of training could take on experienced battlemage regiments otherwise. And under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for normal people to defeat a mage army even with overwhelming numbers and any amount of training. But with the resources from Lethridge and Levin’s dedicated work, the odds are greatly evened in our favor.
“But we know all this already, Takt!” Miki said, shuffling anxiously on his feet.
Mei chuckled at Miki, watching the excitable young man look between Takt and a few stacked crates behind him. To her side, she noticed Jess and Yotti sniggering along with her while Kana and Nano had their focus trained on the boxes Takt had just arrived with. They were in a burlap tent, the flaps wide open to let the sunlight come streaming in, and Uki sat near the entrance, working on her usual notes.
It was the first time they had all been gathered in one place since they had scattered across Trurok to gather their army. Mei felt comfortable and warm in their presence, even though the weather had begun to take a turn for the cold in the past couple weeks. Plus, they were preparing for a massive battle – how could Mei not be happy?
“I explained all that so you remember how critical the coming days are, Miki. If we mess up this chance, we may never get another,” Takt said.
“Just let him open his present already,” Mei laughed.
“Fine, you’ve all waited long enough.” Takt moved over to the stacked boxes, prying the tops off and revealing the contents.
A small pile of swords was inside, each one etched with dimly glowing lines up and down the blade. A multitude of colors was present in a jumbled rainbow of runic artifacts. Miki gasped loudly.
Takt reached into the box, but what he came out with wasn’t swords – it was a cluster of thick wooden staves, tied together with string. Like the swords, each was alight with the glow of a rune. Takt passed the entire bundle over to Miki, who took it with an expression of mirth.
“These are for practice. According to Levin, they have no power and can be used repeatedly without using up the rune. I want you to get a feel for wielding runic artifacts with them, and then teach everyone else,” Takt said.
“Yes!” Miki exclaimed. The others nodded in agreement.
“Are all those boxes full of enchanted swords?” Yotti asked.
“Most of them,” Takt said, walking over to another crate. “But not all of them.”
“Then what else do you have?” Miki said, passing the bundle of sticks over to a curious Jess.
Takt opened the box. Mei had thought the collection of runic swords was eye-catching, but Takt had apparently saved the best for last. A glittering silver-white greeted Mei’s eyes, cast by a multitude of scales meticulously woven together. Takt pulled the top piece out, the scales clattering together as he unfurled a dragonscale cuirass.
Miki’s jaw fell open, and hung there limply as he stepped forward and ran a hand over the armor. No one giggled at him this time, everyone equally entranced by the masterwork. Takt handed the piece to Miki as the others crowded around him, then pulled out a matching set of bracers and greaves. There were five sets in total, and he handed a full set of dragonscale armor to all five of his disciples.
“Try them on, then go to Goro for the final alterations. He’s in the tent across from us,” Takt said.
The five rushed off, none quite as eager as Miki, leaving Takt, Uki, and Mei alone in the large command tent. Takt took a seat, resting on the edge of the table in the center of the tent.
“Sorry you didn’t get a set,” Takt said. “There were already barely enough for five.”
“Ha! Don’t need one,” Mei said, pumping her bicep.
Takt smiled, but Mei could see the weariness and stress behind his expression. Not only did countless lives rest in his hands, but this battle represented the culmination of Takt’s life goals.
"Thank you, Mei. You and Levin have been a great blessing for us. We always thought it would take years more of struggle… I never could have imagined that a gamble like this, no matter how risky, was in the cards. From the bottom of my heart, thank you."
“Thank me after we win."
"If I can, then I will,” Takt said, smile fading. “I’m sure you’re aware that we’re going to be throwing ourselves into the most dangerous part of the fight. It’s going to be up to the two of us to hold off the Smoke ranks of Inuvik Academy, three versus two. This will be the hardest battle I’ve ever been in.”
“I’ll blow them away,” Mei said with a smile. “They can be the first to hear my weapon art’s name.”
“I look forward to hearing it, Mei. I can’t say how reassuring it is to have you watching my back. With yours and Levin’s help, we can finally shatter the strength of mages in Trurok.”
***
Levin sat down his engraving tool, examining the bright green lines that criss-crossed a pair of leather boots. It had been a fairly straightforward task to tweak the same wind rune on Cho’s wings to fit footwear, and Levin was pleased with how they had turned out. Even though his head thrummed with exhaustion, the quality of his work wasn’t suffering. Of course, his Y-Link was essential for that, but it was only sheer willpower that pushed him to create runic artifacts day and night.
He sat the boots down by the wall of his tent, next to five other sets. A night breeze blew through a crack in the cloth doors, and Levin shivered, pulling tight a blanket loosely draped over his shoulders. He had a large tent all to himself, lit by a small lantern and the glow of his runesmithing furnace, currently alight with another batch of ink.
Levin had resisted moving out of the cave containing the Chimera equipment and to the Mage Hunter’s army base camp for as long as he could. The facilities in the cave were perfect for his runesmithing – it was an ancient alchemical laboratory, after all. But the others were gathering in the forests near Mount Inuvik, preparing for the assault, and Levin finally joined them nearly a month after his rescue.
The journey was difficult on his failing body, but he still had enough strength left for the assault. And fortunately he was actually holding up better than he had initially predicted, though his skin was graying and withered, with wrinkles covering every inch of his body. But he could still walk and carve runes, though that was quickly becoming very difficult.
He had a couple hypotheses as to why his Chaos Sickness was developing so much slower than past Chaos wielders, and hoped he would have enough time left in his life to scour the Academy’s library after the battle. The crux of all his ideas was the fact that Mei had developed a Source of her own, just like any other native of this dimension – he had tested her with his analysis rune.
So Levin would also be developing a Source of his own, except his Chaos was destroying it the moment any formed. Or perhaps Chaos was blocking his Source from forming in the first place. Either way, the analysis rune said he only had the single Chaos Source inside him – so Levin hoped that if he removed it, his own Source could develop normally. Though he didn’t think that would fix the damage already done to his body.
For now, he pushed those thoughts from his mind. He would need more supplies from Inuvik Academy to make the necessary inks anyways. He turned his attention back to his runesmithing equipment, where a batch of ink was just finishing up, the heatstones blinking out. He pulled out the electric-yellow ink, examining the crackling, simmering liquid under his sensors and analysis rune.
It was a success. Levin wrapped it in his palm and picked up his engraving tool again, then set out into the windy night. The forest of trees was currently occupied by a forest of tents, but very few were fortunate enough to have one all to themselves like Levin. Even Mei was sleeping with Kana and Jess.
Levin walked through the camp, heading towards the outer edge. A few people were still milling about, gathered around small campfires, but they paid him no heed in the dark. Soon enough Levin reached a clear stretch, coming to any empty clearing that slightly sloped up towards the closest mountain.
Cho swooped down from the sky, touching down gently in front of Levin. Levin emptied his vial of ink into his engraving tool, then pricked his finger and squeezed a drop of blood in. He tucked the empty glass tube into a pocket, then stepped up to Cho.
“A vial of peak Wisp rank ink,” Levin thought as he touched the tip of his tool to Cho’s body. “I burned nearly a fifth of all the resources we got from Lethridge on this one vial. I had planned to complete this rune before my fight with Amaq. But I’m glad to have it now, at the end.”
This time, for the first time, he was going to be fully prepared for what was coming. Now it was his turn to be on the offensive. He was done having his life be continuously derailed because he wasn’t strong enough.
Levin focused in, setting aside errant thoughts as he drew his engraving tool, sparking repeatedly from the ink within, across Cho’s body. The green wind rune filled Cho’s wings and chest, and the head was splayed with a vibrant spattering of red, leaving only one large patch left untouched on Cho’s robotic body – the lower back, and the upper side of Cho’s wings. Levin traced up and down the spinal chassis of Cho, etching the golden yellow into a beautiful pattern, unfurling like a flower as his work progressed.
“This reminds me of Pilip,” Levin thought, his motions bringing up images of Pilip turning an engraving tool onto his own flesh. Suddenly, he felt the weakness of his body far more acutely, a sagging tiredness that had accumulated over the past weeks. But the fatigue, both mental and physical, would not dull his precision.
But his mind kept wandering back to Pilip. Despite how his Chaos magic had turned out, Levin couldn’t fault Pilip for it. The man had genuinely thought Levin would be immune, and that was true for a time. If anything, the fault for Levin’s predicament lay with Levin himself, for not explaining his circumstances to Pilip. But even then, how could they have known Levin would acquire his own Source simply by living here?
“Pilip will probably die when we attack.” Levin found that the thought saddened him, even considering their last interaction. Pilip had almost always been willing to patiently answer Levin’s questions, and he had even taught him runesmithing and come up with the idea to use an analysis rune. For all his faults, Pilip had been very generous with Levin, and he was grateful for that.
As Levin finished Cho’s newest rune, he decided that he would save Pilip’s life if the opportunity presented itself. Levin wasn’t going to go out of his way and jeopardize the plan for him, but Pilip at least deserved a chance. He didn’t think the Mage Hunters intended to slaughter every last mage, anyways.
With his mind made up, Levin headed back to his tent as Cho took off back into the sky. The night was stretching on, but there was still more work to be done.
“Now all that’s left,” Levin thought, “is to brew the ink that will destroy Inuvik.”