Justin charged down the trail, his heart pounding in his chest. The uneven ground caused him to trip over his feet, but he caught himself.

He tried to focus on a face in the darkness, but there was nothing. Why wasn’t another fireball heading his way?

That was when a familiar voice called out. “Hold your fire! It’s Justin.”

Justin’s eyes widened in relief. It was Eldrin. As he came closer, the Ranger materialized from the darkness, along with a group of three mages, all wearing the violet robes of the Valorian army.

Justin turned his head. “Lila! You can come out. It’s Eldrin.”

Lila appeared from behind the boulder, marching up the trail to join them.

Eldrin watched them both with a quizzical expression. “What in Arion’s name are you doing up here? Alistair and I have been looking all over for you!”

“Shadowflight didn’t tell you?”

“He only told me about the path. We came up here to block it.”

Justin frowned, wondering why the falcon hadn’t relayed that crucial bit of info. Maybe it was because Justin hadn’t directly told him to do so.

“We followed Darian all the way to the Empire’s camp," Justin said. "He was that soldier from earlier who was a real Debbie Downer.”

Eldrin frowned at the colloquialism but seemed to understand what Justin meant. “And?”

“We couldn’t stop him in time. We also ran into the Shadow Army's Arch-Mage, though. Some dude named Zarathustra or something.”

“Zaramund,” Lila corrected.

Eldrin’s eyes widened. “The Arch-Mage? And you lived to tell the tale?”

“Yes. Thanks to Lila’s knives and my sharp wit.”

“And Justin’s dance moves,” Lila put in.

“I feel there is a story for the ages there, but we really must be moving. Alistair is preparing the army while I’ve taken all the mages with access to Earth Magic to bury the pass here. It’s all but certain the Shadowists will attack tonight.”

Shadowists. So that’s what Shadow Empire folks were called. Maybe Justin calling them “Shadowian” had been the slip that had given them away.

Eldrin turned to one mage, who looked sheepish. “And you,” he said sternly, “almost killed our allies with that fireball. Be more cautious next time.”

The mage, a tall male with a bald head, bowed in apology. “I’m sorry, Sir Eldrin. I thought they were the enemy.”

Eldrin sighed, nodding. “That’s understandable, but just be careful. We must save our fire spells for the undead, which are sure to be coming.”

Justin’s eyes widened. None of the Shadow Empire soldiers they ran into had looked pale, like the Baron’s minions, but if the Shadowists truly had undead soldiers, they were likely separated from their human cohorts.

Eldrin continued. “Right, let’s continue our work.” He directed his attention to the mages. “We need to collapse this path. Shadowflight has already scouted the key points, and this is the first. Collapse all these key points, and that should slow them down long enough for reinforcements to arrive this evening. Now, how many Earthquake spells between the three of you?”

“Five,” said a tall woman with close-cropped hair and green eyes.

“Four,” the other two, both males, said in tandem.

“Thirteen spells total,” Eldrin said. “More than enough to collapse the twelve points Shadowflight identified.”

“Earthquake spells,” Justin said. “Sounds strong!”

Eldrin nodded. “Right, then. Let’s get started. Stand back!”

The first mage, the woman, began her work. Her hands became wrapped in an aura of green light, which she directed at the slope above the path. The ground trembled as the spell took effect, rocks and earth shifting and burying the path before them. Justin did his best to keep standing as the ground shifted beneath his feet.

Within seconds, the trail ahead was rendered unusable.

“Let’s keep it moving,” Eldrin said.

They retreated a quarter of a mile before Eldrin directed the same female mage to bury another part of the pass. The work went far more quickly than Justin had believed.

As they walked to the next point of interest, Justin turned to Lila. “So, what is an Elementalist? A class?”

“Yes, it’s a mage class. Elementalists have a Perception Core and access to the Physical Elemental School of Magic: Fire, Water, Air, and Earth.”

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“That’s original.”

“How do you mean?”

“Oh, nothing. Are there other kinds of mages and magics?”

“Of course. Mage is the catchall term for any class that uses magic as its primary base of skills. You see, some classes—like Paladins—are mainly physical, but also have access to Lesser Life and Harmony spells, and as such, are not considered mages. There are many types of mages, each commanding a different School. Most mages have either a Perception or Intellect Core.”

“Can you break down the main types for me?”

“Of course. There are Elementalists, as we’ve already said. Then there are Wizards, who have an Intellect Core. Their School of Magic is the Incantation School. Knowledge gained from books and dusty tomes. Most have to go to school to learn their spells, which are based upon the Foundation Language of Arcanis.”

“What about Vranthillis?” Justin asked. “That’s the Foundation Language Valdrik was talking about.”

“Vranthillis seems to be unique to the Lexicant class, because I’d never heard of it. Arcanis is what most Wizards use, and it can only be understood by them. That’s advanced stuff, though.”

“Elementalists, Wizards…anything else?”

“Quite a few. Spiritualists, Summoners, Illusionists, Enchanters, Druids…I’m probably forgetting a few.”

At the list of decidedly cool classes, Justin couldn’t help but feel a sense of loss. He tried not to imagine how things might have gone had he not fat-fingered his class selection. He probably wouldn’t have been a mage, given the choice, but just the idea he could have chosen anything—anything at all—made him feel like he’d missed out.

“What about White Wizards? You mentioned them once. Are they different from regular Wizards?”

“They’re an advanced class. I think it combines a Wizard Core with a Spiritualist Core. They get access to the Legendary healing spells and support spells, basically.”

“Interesting. So, a mage is just a general term for a magic-user?”

“That’s right. When you say White Wizard or Fire Elementalist, you’re being more specific. But both are mages.”

“Fire Elementalist? Is that a unique class?”

“Technically, no. It’s a Focus chosen by an Elementalist if they choose to develop their Fire Magic at the expense of others.”

“A Focus?”

“Something you choose at Level 10 that influences how your class develops. It's sort of like a passive skill, but unlike a skill, it shapes the skills you are presented from then on. Think of it like a class specialization. Not sure what that would be for you as a Socialite, but at least for a Bard like me, the main Focuses include Singing, Instruments, Acrobatics, Dancing, Storytelling, or something similar. However, you don't get to choose just any Focus. The choice you are presented with is largely determined by the actions you have taken ever since you first absorbed your class core.”

“Neat! Why wasn't that something I could see on Eldrin's character sheet? He's Level 10.”

"I think it's because you need to unlock a Focus yourself before you get the ability to see others. And again, you can only see it, along with a person's skills, if the person allows you to."

"Wait," Justin said. "I thought you could always see someone's skills as long as you were in the same Party."

"By default, yes. But you can change it with just a thought. If you do change it, you will receive a message asking if it's okay for someone to inspect your character more fully."

"Seriously?"

Lila smiled at him strangely. "Wow, you really aren't from Eyrth, are you? Of course, some characters have a skill that allows them to inspect other characters, even when not in the Party."

"Like Eldrin and his Ranger's Intuition."

"Exactly like that. Very useful for scoping out threats. However, you will always be able to see a Character's level, class, and stats if they're in your Party at a minimum."

"I see. So, back to Focuses..."

"Right. So basically, Fire Magic is a Focus some Elementalists select. Some Elementalists are generalists; they’ll learn from all four Elements, but as such, can't have access to higher tiers of spells. Those are called Red Mages, and they’re basically spellswords who wield rapiers.”

“Very cool!”

There was so much to learn, but already, they had arrived at the next location. Justin and Lila hung back while the pass was buried, and they moved onto the next one.

By the time the female mage had exhausted all her Earthquake spells, the short and stout one had taken over. For the first time, Justin noticed he was wielding a thin, curved sword. He must have been a Red Mage.

Shadowflight came from nowhere, landing adroitly on Eldrin’s shoulder. The Ranger inclined his head toward the falcon, nodding.

“They’re on the move,” he said, his face grim. “Both through this path and the main pass. We need to hurry.”

Justin felt a surge of determination. “Let’s go.”

They worked quickly to bury the rest of the pass. When the tall bald mage had buried the last bit of trail, Justin felt assured that they had done all they could.

The group made their way back to the Valorian camp, walking with urgency. Eldrin led the way, his sharp eyes scanning their surroundings for danger. The mages followed, their faces set in concentration as they prepared themselves for the upcoming battle.

Back at the camp, the atmosphere was tense. Soldiers were preparing for the impending battle, their faces a mixture of fear and resolve. The mages left to join their division while Eldrin led Justin and Lila to Commander Thalon’s tent.

As soon as they entered, they found Thalon, his senior officers, and Alistair.

“There you are!” Alistair said. “We’d feared the worst.”

“It’ll take more than the Shadow Empire to stop us,” Justin said.

“You can tell us about it later,” the Paladin said. “What of the path?”

“Buried, as best as we can do,” Eldrin informed him. “These two were the ones who got the message to Shadowflight just in time.”

“You have Valoria’s gratitude,” Commander Thalon said. “But I will save my thanks for when we stop the Shadowists dead in their tracks.” He turned to his officers. “There’s nothing left to discuss. Prepare the troops for battle.”

Eldrin turned to Justin and Lila. “You two need to stay out of the way. Neither of you is equipped for frontline combat.”

Justin nodded, though a part of him wanted to argue. “We understand. We’ll stay back and do what we can to support.”

“We can run messages if needed,” Lila said.

Eldrin nodded his thanks. “You’ve already done much. It would be a shame to throw it all away.”

“Good luck, Eldrin,” Justin said.

With that, Eldrin left with Alistair, Thalon, and the rest of the officers, leaving Justin and Lila alone in the tent.

“So, I guess we just twiddle our thumbs now?” Justin asked.

“Maybe we can find a good vantage point,” Lila said. “I noticed a wooden watchtower of sorts out there. It might be a good place to see what’s going on.”

“Sounds like it would make us an excellent target for the enemy’s mages!”

“The mages will be focused on the front lines, not us,” Lila said. “At least, I would hope so. Either way, I want to know what’s going on. If things get dicey, we can always get off.”

Justin almost wanted to tell her it would be much safer to stay right here but thought better of it. He was curious to see what a battle from above looked like, complete with mages, fire spells, and the undead. He’d get to see something no human from his world ever would.

“All right, Lila, you’ve sold me. Lead the way.”