“Is that the best you can do?” I asked the mage.
“What,” he panted, “What the hell are you?”
I had been testing the mage's powers for several days now. It was really quite interesting. He seemed to be able to manipulate fire, although in a limited capacity. His fire was most definitely stronger than the robed man the bandits had with them, although not enough to destroy a Montana.
“You may continue your attempts.”
“I… I can’t.”
“Can’t?” I asked menacingly, stepping towards him. “Or won’t?”
“No, no, you don’t understand, I physically can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t have any more vitae,” he told me.
“What is ‘vitae’?” I asked him. I recalled that the mage asked Aurea to make an oath upon her vitae, but I had forgotten to ask her what it was.
“How do you not know what vitae is?” the mage asked me suspiciously.
“Answer the question.”
“Vitae is a sort of energy that we use to fuel magic. It's in our bodies, and when we manipulate a Law, we expend vitae. I’ve used up all of mine, and it’ll return slowly over time.”
“Very well. You may leave now.” I opened the door for him, and stood out of the way.
“What? No strings attached?”
“Did my master not make an oath to let you go free?”
The mage looked at me, suspicion clear on his face. He kept his eyes on me the entire time as he slowly made his way through the doorway, and then took off into the woods. I gave him 5 minutes to run before I sent Eve after him using Peregrine. I wasn’t about to let someone like him expose my location. Besides, I had to dissect him to see if there was a physical difference between a mage and a normal human. I tried to justify it by saying that it wasn’t me who made the promise to let him live, but the guilt wormed its way deep into my soul.
7 minutes later, Eve returned, dragging a still warm corpse with her. I couldn’t help but avert my eyes, but I forced myself to look at the man that had been alive just a few moments ago.
“[Detecting host distress. Would you like me to temporarily suspend your emotions?]”
“No. This is the result of my actions. I refuse to be a coward about it.”
Using the fabricator’s many tools, I did a dissection similar to the one I did to the bandit corpse a few months ago.
“No physical difference between a mage and a normal human. That’s definitely surprising. How do they harness this vitae? It seems my assumption of a special organ was incorrect.”
“[Suggestion: Examination of the blood may reveal more information.]”
“Huh. That’s not a bad idea.”
“[I know. That is why I suggested it.]”
A centrifuge inside the fabricator whirred to life, and I deposited a sample of blood into the machine. I let it spin for a good 10 or so minutes, until the blood had been separated into its base components.
“Well, that's interesting. Aside from the usual cells and plasma, there appears to be an additional type of cell. They are shaped like red blood cells, but are a little different.”
“[Theory: Maybe this new cell is designed to carry this ‘vitae’ the mage spoke of? More testing and analysis is required.]”
Year 0, Month 4, Week 1, Day 3, Hour 4, Minute 56
I spent several days analyzing the blood. I managed to isolate the strange new cells, and even took a sample of bone marrow for examination. I concluded that the strange cells were similar to red blood cells, but instead of transporting oxygen, they transported another chemical around the body. I assumed that the chemical would be the vitae, but I still wasn’t sure.
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“I should try capturing another mage. Maybe then I can understand how this new cell works.”
[Warning: A Large group of humans are approaching.]
“What?”
Forgetting the new cells for the time being, I took control of the drone that had sent the alert.
It had been circling the road that led out of the village, and in the distance I could see a large red blob moving closer and closer.
Flying overhead, I tried to estimate how many soldiers were in this enormous army.
“10,000 soldiers. Some are Peace Corp members. Others wear a new insignia, a manticore in front of a setting sun. Thousands of wagons for supplies. Hundreds of mages.”
Noticing something strange about one of the mages, I zoomed in and examined him from head to toe. He was an older man, evidenced by his wrinkles and graying hair. He had extremely pale skin, and his right hand was covered in severe burn scars.
“He’s different. A commander maybe? He wears an insignia that shows a skull with its mouth open.”
Not wasting any time, I rushed to Aurea’s cabin at the top of the hill.
“Aurea!” I called out with urgency.
Pushing her door open, she stepped out of her cabin. Her long brown hair was a rat's nest, suggesting she had only recently woken up.
Hearing the slight panic in my voice, she asked “What’s wrong Evan?”
“What does an insignia of a manticore in front of a setting sun represent?”
“The imperial army,” she answered with a confused expression.
“Damn it. Are they coming after me?”
“And how about an insignia of a skull with its mouth open?”
Hearing those words, Aurea paled. “Evan, are you saying there’s a Deathwalker nearby?”
“There is an army of 10,000 on its way towards us, including several hundred mages. One of them wore a patch like the one I just described. What is a Deathwalker?”
“Deathwalkers are mages that deal with the Law of Death. They are called Deathwalkers for a reason. When they manipulate the Law of Death, everything around them dies. Everything, Evan. Friend, foe, plant, animal, golems, everything. You can’t stop them. There are only 45 Deathwalkers in the entire empire.”
“Why would the imperial army send 10,000 this way? Could it be possible they are trying to track down the life mage or coven they think is in the area?”
“I highly doubt it. 10,000 is way too many men to send to deal with a coven in such a backwater place. Unless…” Aurea said before pausing to think.
“Evan, did any of the scouts find you?” she asked.
“No. None of them ventured within 2 kilometers of the mine.”
“What if one of them was using the Law of Dark or the Law of Light? The Law of Dark specializes in hiding people and things, and I’ve heard that the Law of Light can give their mages the power of clairvoyance . What if one of them found you, and you had no idea?”
“Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it! I hadn’t considered magic could be used to find me. If that’s the case then…”
“Evan, we need to get out of here.” Aurea told me firmly. “You can’t take on an army.”
“Can I leave in time?”
[No. If you chose to leave now, you will run out of power in 23 days and 4 hours.]”
“Fuck. Without a portable fabricator, I can’t make more batteries even if I did leave. Taking the nuclear battery from the fabricator would take 2 full days at least. Their army would definitely get here by then. Plus, everything I’ve built over the last 4 months would be lost.”
Taking a second to control a drone, I checked on the army’s progress. They had reached the village now, and appeared to be setting up camp.
“Eve, what’s their ETA?”
“Calculating…if they continue at their current pace, they will reach our exact location in about 12 hours.
I quickly explained to Aurea why I couldn’t leave. She didn’t understand why I needed power, as she had no idea what electricity was, but I compared it to humans needing food. “If what you said about Deathwalkers is true, you need to leave. I won’t be in danger since I’m not technically alive.”
“No, not happening,” she refused outright. “With an army of 10,000 on the way, you’ll need all the help you can get.” I argued with her for a few more minutes before realizing that it was futile, and accepted her proposal knowing time was of the essence.
Without further delay, I began production of a set of special gifts for Aurea. It would take several precious hours to construct, but it would be worth it if it could keep her alive in the coming battle. I also made sure all my robotic units were fully charged and ready. Taking control of a drone, I did a low fly by of all the Sentinels scattered around the forest and on the hill, ensuring all were functional and fully loaded. GARs were sent out to dig spike pits and other traps, using the knowledge stored in my memory banks. Some of the traps were pretty brutal, and I pitied the souls that fell into them.
Activating several more drones, I gathered as much information on the enemy army as possible. The soldiers wore 2 layers of protection on their torso, a layer of chainmail and a piece of plate armor. Their extremities were protected by studded leather armor, and each wore a steel helmet with a Y-shaped gap on the front for visibility and breathing. About 50% were equipped with a small buckler and a steel shortsword, while a further 20% used large rectangular shields and long spears. The rest were archers and mages, with the former wearing lighter leather armor, and the latter were unsurprisingly clothed in baggy robes.
Noticing they only wore leather boots, I made a mental note to fabricate caltrops to scatter around the forest floor. I ordered the drones to continue monitoring the army, and took control of Peregrine once again, who was still at the mine.
“I should wait to attack once they enter the forest. Either they will have to break formation to move through the trees, or chop the trees down and create a road. Either way, they will be distracted.”