“So you figure they’re friendly?” Lily asked.

Terra shrugged. “Friendly enough,” she replied. “The blonde one, Nalya. She kept Ryan and the old guy from killing each other. But between you and me, I think Ryan would have lost.”

“He had a sword, Terra,” Ryan said. “Of course I would have lost.”

“Oh,” Terra commented. “No I meant if you had a sword, too.”

Ryan looked as though he were preparing a few words of protest, but then decided to stay silent.

There weren’t as many people mulling around outside City Hall now that the power had been somewhat restored. The hospital grid in town was high priority, and while that part of the grid was back on, the rest were still down. A lot of people had gravitated up the hill toward the hospital to try and charge their phones.

Not that it would have done much good. The internet was down. Not just down, Terra thought to herself, but non-existent. The cell phone networks weren’t working either, despite the fact that even her phone showed a signal. She looked up toward the hill across the Harbour in Yellow Point. The cell phone tower there was in plain sight, and was still lit up. Problem was the network didn’t have anywhere to go. She couldn’t make any outgoing calls, nor receive incoming calls. She wondered if she ever would again.

How many cell phone towers were there in Ladysmith? Two at least. More? It was never really something she had to think about. At least her family was well within the area cut off from the rest of the world, and had made the trip across with them. They’d lived out in the rural area of Yellow Point, and knowing her parents, neither were likely aware of what had transpired. They probably just figured it was a power outage and were going about things as if nothing were amiss.

“Ow!” Lily exclaimed. She shook her hand as she pulled it away from the metal railing at the side of the building and looked to Terra. “I’ve been getting static shock all morning. It’s getting annoying as hell.”

“It’s ‘cause you have such a magnetic personality,” Ryan joked.

Lily only gave him a blank stare. “Whatever. How long do you figure they’re going to be in there for?”

“Who can say?” Ryan asked. “Hours, maybe? I imagine they have a lot to talk about.”

“Well I wanna see them,” Lily said. “You said one could use magic?”

“It was crazy,” Terra said. “She could control the dirt with a thought. Gravity didn’t matter, physics didn’t matter. It was like it just listened to her. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“But how does it work?”

“I don’t know,” Terra replied. “They said something about nine foundations of magic. So I think there are nine different types. Earth, air, fire, water… uhh.. Body and mind? I can’t remember the rest.”

“Light and lightning,” Ryan added. “And soul, I think. But they didn’t exactly go into detail on them.”

“So could we use magic?”

“You’d have to ask them,” Ryan said, pointing toward the entrance to City Hall. The four newcomers emerged with Sergeant Boone. He spoke to them near the entrance for a few moments, then went back inside.

Nalya looked to Ryan and Terra and nodded, then approached them.

“The Sergeant is securing us a safe place to rest for the day,” Nalya said. “I have yet to thank you for your assistance.”

“My pleasure,” Ryan said. He pointed to Lily. “This is our friend, Lily.”

“It is good to meet you, Lily,” Nalya said, extending her hand.

Lily shook it. “I’ve never met a person from another world before,” she said.

Nalya laughed. “I could say the same.” She turned to Ryan. “It was Ryan, was it?”

“Yep,” Ryan reached out and shook her hand as well.

“And Terra?” Nalya asked, extending her hand to Terra.

Terra nodded and reached out–

–the sky was blotted out by black smoke rising from the ruins of the town. The smell of flame and fire filled her clothes. Her face was stained by dirt and soot and the blood of those she loved. Around her, the refugees clambered past her, rising further into the mountains. Behind her she could hear the horn of the raiders cry out, announcing their pursuit into the–

–the sky was blue over the clear lake city. She could smell the telltale scent of cooking meat, and thought of street vendors. She was tired and her muscles ached, but the view of the city gave her hope. Hope for a good meal and a comfortable bed. Ryan stood next to her, taking in the view, while Constable Shepherd snapped a photo of the view. Behind her, Nalya and Bayne spoke softly, talking about–

Terra blinked in surprise from her new position on the ground. When had she decided to lay down? Ryan knelt over her while Nalya could only look down at her in shock.

“Jesus Christ, Terra,” Ryan said. “Are you okay?”

“Her eyes,” Nalya said. She looked to Bayne. “They were green.”

“No, they’re blue,” Terra corrected, accepting Ryan’s assistance in standing back up. “That was weird. I’ve fainted before, but that was the first time I’ve ever had a dream while fainting.”

“Terra, your eyes turned green. Like bright green,” Ryan said.

“That’s nae possible,” Bayne said. “There hasn’t been–”

“What did you dream?” Nalya asked.

“Nothing good,” she said. “It was like there were two copies of me. The town was burning down. These soldiers were running around burning everything. A bunch of people were running away into the mountains. Then I was standing on top of a hill looking down on this huge city by a lake, I had people with me. I’m pretty sure you were there, Ryan. I think that cop from earlier. And you two,” she pointed to Nalya and Bayne. “There was something else… a baby crying?” She shook her head.

Nalya looked to Bayne again, a grave look on her face.

“What?” Terra asked.

“It couldn’t be,” Bayne said, shaking his head. “It’s nae possible.”

“Bayne, we have seen a dozen impossible things since last night,” Nalya said. “Her eyes were green.”

“A trick of the light,” Bayne said. “Has to be.”

“Okay, you gonna explain this to me?” Terra asked.

Nalya sighed. “There are nine foundations of magic in our world,” she said. “At least in the layperson’s understanding. It’s what is generally taught at the Academies. Then there is a rare gift that appears only once every few generations, so rare that it cannot rightly be associated with magic. That person is born with the Blue Sight. The ability to see the path laid out before a person, a glimpse outside of time. Seers. My mother’s brother is the one who holds the Blue Sight now. His eyes often turn bright blue when he has the Sight. But… your eyes turned green.”

“So what does that mean?”

Nalya looked to Bayne. “We… can’t be certain,” she said. “There has only ever been one, and he’s been dead for a thousand years.”

“Aye, Wendel Mair,” Bayne said. “Father of the Pact. One of the founders of the High Magus Council.”

“Green Sight is different than Blue Sight,” Nalya said. “In that the Blue Sight only shows absolute certainties to the Seer. The Green Sight shows the Seer different paths.” She looked down to her hand. “Your visions were triggered when I touched you. I can’t help but think it’s because our fates are tied together. You spoke of a city by a lake. Was there a palace? It would have been built into a cliff’s face, made of alabaster and marble.”

Terra blinked. She pictured the palace clearly. “Yeah,” she said. “Yeah, there was.”

“The soldiers, can you describe them? Did they fly colours?”

“They were in the town, but… I can picture it. Purple and yellow,” she said. “Like two capital N’s crossed over each other.”

“Vector,” she said. She looked to Bayne. “She has never seen the banner of Vector, and yet she knows it.”

Bayne could only nod slowly. “Aye,” he said. “Another impossible thing.”

“Terra, the city you saw in your vision was Cilasia. The capital of Halen. That you saw Bayne and I there with you, as well as Ryan… I think your visions are telling you that you should be the ones to accompany us.”

“What do you mean accompany you?”

“Forgive me,” Nalya said. “Your Emergency Committee has yet to share the news publicly. They have agreed to allow us to accompany a delegation to Halen to petition our King for assistance with Vector.”

“And you think it should be me?” Terra asked. She almost laughed out loud.

“I think your visions showed you two paths. One in which you do, and one in which you do not.”

“Well how do we know that wasn’t just a… fever dream or something?”

“Terra, your eyes were glowing,” Ryan said.

“Are you sure you weren’t just seeing things?”

“I saw it too,” Nalya said.

“No,” Terra said. “I don’t know the first thing about diplomacy. You don’t need me, you need… a lawyer or something.”

“I don’t know Terra,” Ryan said. “Think of everything that’s happened since this morning. The planet. The dragons. We saw Arie use magic. For what it’s worth, magic is real here. And… well, it all tracks. If your dreams really are visions of possible futures, we should probably lean toward the one that doesn’t have the town in flames.”

“We don’t know if those are actually visions though,” Terra said.

“We don’t know they’re not, either,” Ryan said. “Occam’s Razor.”

“What?”

“Say it’s fake and you stay. If it’s fake and you stay, everything might be fine. If it’s fake and you go, there are risks involved we can’t really foresee, but maybe nothing happens, you return and everything is fine. But if it’s real, Terra… if it’s real and you stay, the town burns down. But if you go, maybe it doesn’t.”

“Or maybe the town burns down whether I go or not,” she said.

Ryan sighed. “Maybe. But if one way is a certainty, and the other way is a risk, I say we take the risk.”

“You were in that vision too. Do you really want to drop everything and go? You’re not exactly trained in diplomacy either.”

Ryan nodded. “I know.” He sighed. He remained silent for a moment. “School’s out for summer session. Not to mention that both the university and my job are an entire planet away. What else am I going to do here? I’ll go.”

“Terra, I believe you hold the Green Sight. We plan to meet with my uncle in Arronay, and if we do, I believe it must be you who speaks with him. You spoke of one other in your vision?”

“Yeah. That cop.”

“Constable Shepherd?” Ryan asked.

She nodded.

“He is even-tempered,” Nalya said. “Familiar with your laws and customs. He would be a fine choice to speak before the House of Hillbreaker if he can observe ours.”

“Well, hold on,” Lily interjected. “That’s all well and good, but will the town even let you two go? Ryan, Terra, I love you both, but neither of you have any experience with this sort of thing.”

“I will not force anyone to go. It is clear to me your people value consent,” Nalya added. “However if you agree, I will insist upon it to your leaders. You two, and the Constable.”

Terra blinked in surprise. “What, you want me to make a decision now?”

Nalya shook her head. “No. I would like you to think it over. But we will need a final decision by tonight. I will speak further with your Emergency Committee after we’ve rested. I suggest you make your decision. One way or another, we will accompany people from your town to Halen starting tomorrow morning. Time is not something that is in our favour, but I do fear that should you stay, your first vision will become a reality.”

“Oh,” Terra said. “So, no pressure, then?”

----------------------------------------

The room they were provided with was more luxurious than Keltz would have expected in the Disputed Lands. There were two beds and a sofa, more than enough for them to get a few hours rest. In the corner of the room was a countertop equipped with a metal basin, which to their surprise had a spigot from which ran hot and cold water. On any other day, it would be a wonder to behold, but Keltz had his fill of wonders since that morning. Nonetheless, Bayne had busied himself testing the running water of the toilet after they’d had it demonstrated. Keltz was used to unsavoury conditions in which to relieve himself, and the mention that in the strange town of Ladysmith, one was expected to relieve themselves inside first made him queasy. Yet, there was something convenient about it, even if the thought of it turned his stomach.

“If only we had a Water Mage,” Bayne said upon flushing the mechanism for the seventh time. “To tell us where it goes. Do you think they store it beneath the floors?”

“I’m certain the wooden floors would rot if they did,” Keltz replied absently. As strange and curious as the devices in the room were, from the light switches and ceiling fan to the refrigerator, they were only mere distractions from what he really wanted to say.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“Aye, maybe into the aether it goes.” He flushed it again.

It was true that Nalya was his friend. It was true that they were once equals. But now, by station and by birth, she was his superior by far. He was bound to follow her orders unquestioningly, but he found himself questioning her wisdom whether he wanted to or not.

Nalya, to her credit, knew Keltz well enough to know when he was bothered by something. “You may as well speak your mind, Keltz,” she said.

Keltz looked over at her from the sofa and sighed as he gathered his wits. “I am not certain this is the right way forward. It goes against our orders. We were to observe and report, not return with these… people in tow.”

“I am sure the House of Hillbreaker will forgive,” Nalya replied. “The Green Sight is a–”

“The Green Sight is something we only know of from legend,” Keltz interrupted. “There have been false Seers before. How do we even know she is telling the truth? We do not know these people. This town. Bayne said it best– it’s impossible.”

“We sit in a room with lights that aren’t made from the will of a Light Mage. With a box that makes ice from water without an Air Mage. Like they said, it is not magic. It is something different. Techknowledge. That alone is wondrous, why would she lie about her visions and be so hesitant?”

“Her hair lies,” Bayne said.

Keltz nodded. Her hair was indeed strange. An unnatural shade of red, bright like a poppy, and yet from her roots she could tell her hair was blonde. “I hesitate to agree with Bayne, but how can we trust them? It may yet be that they can stem the tide of Vector without our assistance, that her visions were–”

“Perhaps they can,” Nalya admitted. “Perhaps her visions were little more than a ruse. Perhaps she and this town itself are already tools of Vector, meant to confuse us. Of course it is a risk. But think what these people stand to lose if they are being truthful. Think of what we stand to gain.”

“You think these people will willingly share their techknowledge?”

“I believe it’s worth the risk,” she said.

“And if they intend to harm Halen? Harm you and Bayne once out of sight of us?”

“Ha!” Bayne exclaimed. “Harm us? How? I’ll make short work of all of them. I’ve not seen a single sword since we’ve been here. No bows, not a single arrow. The only weapon I’ve seen is that small hammer the Constable wore at his belt. A lawkeeper without a sword is as useless as a musician without a flute.”

“But do you truly think they can be trusted?” Keltz asked.

“I think we must risk trusting them,” Nalya replied. “And I think that risk is for the betterment of all. Even the Free Men.”

Keltz sighed, then looked over to Arie. “Do you have nothing to say of this?”

Arie shrugged. “I’ve little interest in the affairs of Halen,” she said. “What you three decide does not involve me.”

“Nor should it,” Bayne added.

“But I will say that I get a sense that these people are lost,” she said, grasping the Widow’s Tear at her neck. “And I know what that feels like. I had sought to disappear into these lands, perhaps go on to Caede, away from the laws of the Pact. But perhaps… perhaps I can be of use to these people.”

“Bah!” Bayne exclaimed. “You would turn your back on the glue that holds the Tribes together so easily?”

“The Pact does not help everyone,” Arie replied. “Some, it hurts. I don’t expect a boot-licking Raszan to understand that.”

“Bayne Dalon licks nobody’s boot!”

“That’s enough,” Nalya exclaimed. “Bayne, she has renounced the Pact. In the Disputed Lands, there is no requirement to adhere to it. We must respect that, regardless of our beliefs. Besides, you willingly joined me, knowing full well we may be working against the High Magus Council.”

“My oath to your father is a far greater thing than my oath to the Pactkeepers,” Bayne said.

“Nonetheless, Arie is of the Free Men now, and her fate is not our concern,” Nalya said. “She is free to choose. As an Earth Mage, she may be of use to the people here. If Terra truly does have the Green Sight, I suspect it won’t be long before others here start to see signs of magic. We have other concerns.”

“I would accompany you, then,” Keltz said.

Nalya remained silent for a moment. “No,” she said. “Keltz, I need you here. Syrel cannot command the men alone.”

“Syrel is capable of–”

“I do not trust Syrel as much as I trust you,” she said. “The people of this town do not know what to expect from the Pactlands at large. Having you here would give me peace of mind, and prevent Syrel from interpreting his orders differently than I intend.”

Keltz remained silent.

“If she wills it, Bayne and I will return to Halen with Terra, Ryan, and the Constable. That is what she saw in her vision. I believe we should do our best to ensure that is what comes to pass.”

Keltz thought it over for a moment. Even if her visions were true, she only saw a moment in time. What if Keltz was meant to be with them, but was lingering behind, or was injured? The thought was sobering. “Very well,” Keltz said. “If my Lady wills it, I will comply.”

She looked back at him silently. “Keltz, you need not be so formal.”

“But I do,” he replied. “Our past is our past. But the present requires formality. You are a Lady of Halen, my commander, and my better. If you command me to stay, I will stay. I will do as you command, and no more.”

Nalya sighed. “Very well,” she said. “Let us get some rest, then. We will return to their City Hall in the afternoon and state our case. Let us just hope that Terra makes the right decision.”

----------------------------------------

“You can’t seriously be considering this,” Lily exclaimed.

Terra wasn’t certain how to respond. Did she want to go? No. Absolutely not. But for some reason, the thought of the town in flames kept popping up. Not to mention the strange sensation of nausea when she considered ignoring the whole thing.

Thankfully, Ryan responded for her. “Look, if she goes, I’ll be with her. We’ll have guides. It’ll be like a hiking trip like the one we all did last year.”

“This isn’t the West Coast Trail,” Lily argued. “What about the dragons? For all we know there are even worse things. Who knows what else is out there?”

“Look,” Terra said. “I can’t explain it, but… my brain is telling me this is a bad idea. But every other part of me feels like… I need to do this. If they’re right–”

“Right? That you can see the future? You don’t even believe in tarot readings, Terra!”

“Those… visions were so realistic. I could smell the smoke. If I stayed, and that came to pass? How many thousands of people live in town? How many die?”

“But we don’t even know–”

“Twelve hours ago there were a lot of things we knew. Dragons didn’t exist. The moon didn’t have an ocean. Other worlds were the stuff of science fiction. Magic was something you saw while in Vegas. I think it’s safe to throw all that out the window,” Ryan said. “This is uncharted territory, and we have a guide–”

“A guide we only just met. A guide we don’t even know,” Lily argued. “You say you saw magic, but how do you know? What if it’s just like back home? Sleight of hand and misdirection?”

Terra shook her head. “I don’t think that can be explained by stagecraft,” she said.

“But you don’t know for sure.”

“Exactly. I don’t know. Just like I don’t know if I ignore it, it won’t come at the cost of lives.”

Lily removed her glasses and gripped the bridge of her nose. “This is all giving me a headache.”

“Do you need some Tylenol?”

“No, it’s not that sort of headache,” she said. “Besides, I think we should start using Tylenol sparingly. Can we even make Tylenol? I don’t even know.” She sighed. “This is… something else.”

“I need to talk to my mom,” Terra said. “Before I decide, I have to go talk to her.”

“She’s going to tell you you’re crazy,” Lily said.

“Maybe,” Terra replied. “But I still need to talk to her. If she’s even aware of what’s going on, she’s probably beside herself.”

Lily sighed. “Do you need to borrow Lucille?”

Terra looked up to her, then nodded. Lucille was Lily’s prized possession. Under normal circumstances, she’d never have offered to let anyone else drive her, but these certainly weren’t normal circumstances.

Lily went over to her purse and rummaged through it, pulling out her keys. She winced as she picked them up, then held the bridge of her nose again.

“Are you sure you don’t need any Tylenol?”

Lily shook her head, then went to pass the keys to Terra. Terra reached out to grab them.

She then recoiled her hand in surprise as a three-inch long static shock emerged from the keys, striking Terra firmly in the hand and causing them to fall to the floor. Both girls yelled out in alarm.

“Jesus, what the hell was that?” Ryan asked. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Terra said, rubbing her hand. “I didn’t–” she paused. “Lily? Are you okay?”

Lily didn’t respond. She only looked down at her hand.

“Lily?” Ryan asked.

Terra suddenly noticed what had her so distracted. Between her fingers, webs of electricity crackled and danced between them. Lily’s eyes were wide, and soon so were Terra’s.

“Jesus, Lily!” Ryan exclaimed. He reached out to her hand, but she pulled away.

“No,” Lily said. “It… it doesn’t hurt.”

“What is causing that?”

“Hold on,” Terra said. “Lily, make a fist.”

Lily looked up to her, then did as she asked. She closed her hand, and the sparks between her fingers disappeared. Lily opened her hand again. She looked at the back of her hand carefully, and after a moment, the sparks once again appeared.

“I can control it,” Lily said.

“Holy shit,” Terra said. “Lily, you’re magic!”

“Bullshit,” Lily said, although it was clear to Terra she didn’t quite believe it was bullshit. She turned her palm up and formed a crackling ball in her palm. She closed it again.

“Lightning,” Ryan said. “Nalya said there was Lightning magic.”

“Magic?” she said aloud. It appeared to Terra that Lily was trying the word out to see if it fit. Lily’s hand flipped over again, and the sparks dulled until they died out. “My headache’s gone,” she said.

“So now what?” Ryan asked. “Is that it, you’re just magic now?”

“That girl,” Terra said. “Arie? She’s an Earth Mage. Maybe she knows about lightning magic too?”

Lily sat down on the couch silently, then looked over at Terra. “I think,” she began. “I think you better go talk to your mom. Then you should probably start packing for the trip.” She looked to Ryan. “I want to talk to this person. Arie? She’s with that Nalya girl, right?”

----------------------------------------

Goose looked out into the crowded hall. There were so many people present in the auditorium that they had to limit attendance. The outside hallways were packed with people, and even the lawn and sidewalk in front of City Hall were packed. Over the day, news had spread far and wide, and even people from Yellow Point and Cedar, the more rural communities outside of Ladysmith that had come across with them, were eagerly awaiting some kind of answer.

Goose really didn’t know what to tell them. The entire day had been one think after another. First the reality of where they were. Then the dragon sightings started to flood in. No casualties yet, and that gave Goose some level of hope, but he wasn’t sure how long that would last. Then there was Nalya Ruus and her small entourage, and their plan. He knew that would be a hard sell. By noon, electricity had been restored to most of the town, but it would be weeks before the outlying communities had power again. After noon, as if everything weren’t already so complicated, a dozen reports of townspeople exhibiting signs of magic came to his attention.

By late afternoon, there were well over a hundred reports, some of which included injuries. The Emergency Committee was in attendance the entire time, with the exception of a short lunch break. Measures had to be taken and acted upon with haste, and they hadn’t even publicly announced most of their decisions.

The town rumour mill being what it was, Goose knew they needed to make a public address before people started to take matters into their own hands. At six, the Emergency Committee was in full attendance, and the doors opened to allow the public to enter.

“Ladies and Gentlemen,” Goose said into the microphone. It was only slightly louder than the chatter coming from the crowd. He cleared his throat and spoke louder. “Ladies and Gentlemen, I ask that you please remain silent for the duration of this address.”

Goose didn’t like to be too serious. But when he had to be, he was damn good at it. The crowd grew silent, and he felt all eyes on him. He glanced over to Nalya and her small entourage. She nodded to him.

“First, I’d like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who pulled together this morning and afternoon to assist. As you’ve noticed, we’ve put a temporary moratorium on commerce. I know some of you had planned to shop for groceries today, so the Ladysmith Food Bank has agreed to hand out food on a provisional basis, donated to us by the staff of 49th Parallel Grocery and Save-on-Foods. These measures have been instituted to prevent price-gouging and hoarding of food, gas and other essential goods, and falls within accordance of the Canadian Emergencies Act of 1988. Additionally, the difficult decision has been made to enact a dusk-til-dawn curfew. As you’ve no doubt already heard, there have been reports of… unique animal life in the region, and we need to assess how dangerous they may be before we take too many risks. As such, when tonight’s meeting has concluded, I ask everyone who is not already authorised to please go home and stay indoors.”

There was a small amount of chatter, but it silenced itself quickly.

“Rest assured, our first priority is to the safety of every citizen of this town, and every person in it. With that being said, at the time of the event this morning, over sixty people including commuters and workers were travelling on the highway when the event occurred. Many have no connection to Ladysmith and are stranded here. The homeless shelter has a limit of ten beds, five of which were in use as of this morning, which means they can only support five more. We were able to negotiate free rooms for some at the Microtel and Blue Bird motels, but we still have roughly twenty displaced people in need of a place to lay their head. If you have extra space and are willing to provide lodgings for some of these people for any reasonable length of time, please speak with Shannon Driscoll with the Ladysmith Resources Centre Association. They will be open to assist anyone up until curfew.”

Goose waited a moment before continuing. “With that out of the way,” he began, “what we know of our current situation is very little. New information is coming to our attention by the minute, and I expect everything will be very touch and go until we can get all of our ducks in a row. First, as I’m sure you’ve all figured out by now, we’re a long way from home. Worlds away, as it were. The blacklight event from this morning has somehow managed to carve out an area roughly fourteen kilometres in diameter from Planet Earth, and dropped us into another world. I know some of you have trouble believing this, but it has been independently confirmed by numerous sources.” He gestured to Nalya and her entourage. “We have made contact with Nalya Ruus, who is a representative of a nation somewhere to our north in this world, which I’m told are called the Pactlands, and she has graciously offered us a lot of information that frankly, we’re still processing.”

He sighed. Now came the hard part. “She warned us that we are in a region whose ownership is in dispute, and that a potentially hostile force is looking to claim this land. The fact that Ladysmith is now a part of this land will not deter them. She has offered to escort some of our people north, to her country, in an effort to secure diplomatic relations and petition for assistance in dealing with this threat. During this period, she has offered to lend us use of an expeditionary force under her command. This committee has agreed to her proposal, and tomorrow we will welcome the soldiers from Halen, which will be temporarily stationed at the High School field. They are unfamiliar with our laws and customs, and even more unfamiliar with our technology, so we ask that everyone treat them with respect and try to stay out of their way.”

There were several cries of concern that erupted from the audience. People shouted questions, he caught more than one swear word, but kept his cool.

“Please, there will be time for questions after the address, but rest assured they will not get their run of the town,” Goose said. “Unfortunately, no assets of the Canadian military crossed over with us. We have no armoury, no bases, no equipment. All we have are off-duty members of the Armed Forces, reservists and veterans. So, we ask if you have any military experience, be it with the Canadian or any foreign Armed Forces to report to the Royal Canadian Legion hall on First Avenue to volunteer. We intend to take the lead on our own defence, but welcome the assistance of a military force more accustomed to the local political and natural environments. I know many of you have guns, many legal, and some of you no doubt have unregistered weapons. At this point, the Committee has voted to offer clemency on illegal weapons, but ask that you consider donating or lending use of your firearms to our temporary militia.”

He quickly moved onto the next point. “Many of you have heard rumours that some people in town have begun to exhibit certain abilities. We now understand that the concept of magic is a reality here, and this has been demonstrated to our satisfaction. We are told there are up to nine different types of magic that may manifest in anyone over the age of puberty. These abilities will more often than not manifest as control of fire, water, earth, air, and lightning. These abilities will manifest at random, and there have already been several injuries reported. I’m told that these are the five abilities most likely to manifest, but that other abilities may include the manipulation of light, the healing of injuries in others, as well as so-called mind and soul magic which may take many different forms. Please, if you think you may be in possession of these abilities, we ask that you report them to the Ladysmith Resources Centre Association beginning tomorrow morning. Some of these abilities are more dangerous than others, and if you think you are at risk of losing control of them, particularly fire and lightning, we ask that you try to stay away from others. We do have a resource at our disposal concerning these abilities. A young woman from this world has chosen to avail herself to us for the time being to advise in how to keep these powers under control.” He gestured down to the young girl standing next to Nalya. “Her name is Arie, and we’re glad to have her.”

“Unfortunately, we have very little information as to how we came to be here, or what caused the event. Our secondary priority, after ensuring everyone’s safety, is to discover just that, and potentially secure a way back home. However, we can rest on our laurels seeking that hope. As hard as this may be for some to hear, for now we must act as if there is no way home to ensure our continued survival and way of life. And that means reaching out and engaging in the geopolitical landscape here in the Pactlands. Some may think this a quick decision, and you would not be wrong. It is. But we can’t afford to play wait-and-see here, folks. We have too many things to worry about.”

“Starting tomorrow, we are seeking volunteers to enact an emergency census. We need to know how many mouths we need to feed, and we need to inventory and ration food, medication and goods for the foreseeable future. Doctor Jonhson has requested if anyone is in possession of medication they are no longer using, particularly antibiotics, analgesics and cardiac medications to please donate them to the hospital. If you no longer need it, it may save someone’s life.”

Goose remained silent for a moment, looking out at the crowd. Many were stunned into silence. Some faces were angry, others confused. A few wore looks of acceptance.

“I’m going to open the floor for questions. Please line up to the podium, and keep it to a single brief question.”

To nobody’s surprise, the line snaked out of the room.