In front of the Council, the hum of conversation within the building buzzed loudly, carrying across a few dozen meters from the scene. Several key members of the village stood at the entrance in small groups, animatedly discussing the day’s events.
Children, siblings, wives, and cousins of the Councilors and warriors gathered nearby. Their faces reflected curiosity and concern for their community’s fate. They blended seamlessly with the ordinary villagers, residents of this well-established and nearly complete section of the community.
Jonn observed how the central square of the area lay eerily empty, a stark contrast to the usual hustle and bustle anyone passing through the village’s walled perimeter would expect. While the dwellers typically adhered to early bedtimes and wake-ups, the community’s growth and new opportunities had gradually led some to stay up later—some out of duty, others for leisure. Yet today, the main street was deserted except for the vigilant presence of the village guards.
Shutters were drawn on the properties along the main street, and the residences on adjacent lanes stood silent, amplifying the tension within the Council.
A few men approaching the most prominent building in the area caught sight of Jonn and slowly ceased their conversations, fixating on him in silent scrutiny.
Jonn took the last steps down the cobbled street, halting before his concerned companions. “Brothers, I’ll speak with the Councilors now. We can discuss more informally later,” he said in a measured tone, his worry clear about the surrounding issues and the potential changes the earlier revelations might bring to the village.
Petyr stood at the entrance of the Council, waiting for Jonn alongside Asher and Sarre, both still clad in their battle-worn armor, dirty and perspiring heavily from earlier engagements.
“Elder,” Asher and Sarre greeted him as they walked beside Petyr towards Jonn.
Jonn nodded to both and heard Petyr inquire, “Did you gather anything? Will you be able to strengthen the local mages and beasts for our next encounter with the enemy forces?”
Jonn responded with a nod, though he hesitated to offer false hope. “I’m not sure how much we’ll improve, but we’ve got a few things that might help us.”
Petyr appreciated Jonn’s measured demeanor and, pointing towards the main Council hall, added, “We’ve won a lot of interesting items from the enemies. Besides the carriages you may have seen, 11 horses survived. We also captured some pigeons.”
“That’s good. We’ll need those pigeons,” Jonn said as he followed the staircase leading up to the main part of the building, moving away from the many villagers gathered at the entrance and heading towards the quieter section of the Council.
Petyr continued, “In addition, we have over 100 uniforms from that enemy battalion that can be repaired and reused. The same goes for the armor and weapons of the cavalry, infantry, and archer units. Most of these enemies died before they could use their weapons, so most of these artifacts are in good condition. The biggest issue is their armor—much of it has been destroyed or is defective. Only 32 pieces of armor remain almost intact.”
Jonn wasn’t surprised. His beasts had taken down several of those enemies, naturally damaging their defenses. He had personally put a significant number of foes in dire situations by casting [Meteor], which decimated part of the battlefield and many people.
“The good thing is that we recovered almost all the gold, silver, and bronze coins they were carrying. We should have around 80 gold worth in the vault now.”
“So the village’s wealth has exceeded 150 gold coins,” Jonn said with a slight smile. “The two enemy mages left quite a bit of wealth for us.”
As they reached the corridor leading to the Counselors’ hall, just a few steps further, the three guards glanced at him. For the first time, they couldn’t help but consider the benefits of war. Despite the risks and their reluctance to have conflicts near their people, battles like today’s could amass wealth at an unprecedented rate!
They had killed almost 150 people to achieve this, averaging less than 1 gold coin per person. While that might not seem substantial, for the inhabitants of the still poor and troubled Eternal Village, it was an extreme value they had never before reached in a single day.
“That’s an impressive number,” Asher murmured.
But Petyr could only regret hearing that. “There was a time when this could have changed everything for the village, at least temporarily. But with our current numbers and our problems, I’m afraid that’s too little.”
Jonn nodded in agreement before asking, “Is there anything else relevant in your compilation?”
“Not much,” Petyr said as they stopped in front of the hall entrance. “Books, maps, common items, clothes, in short, things that a large group like that would take with them. We got some meat and firewood, and also whale oil. Good things. But some of them we still need to analyze better to understand their value.”
“That’s good for now.” With those words, Jonn entered the hall, leaving Sarre and Asher behind, entering only with Petyr.
All the councilors, some standing, and others sitting, talking about their concerns, changed their postures, welcoming Jonn after hours since his disappearance for questioning and analysis of the enemy mages.
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Jonn did what he always did. Gesturing for everyone to sit down, he took his place and began the meeting by getting straight to the point.
“Well, let’s start with what I promised earlier. The village has mages. In particular, I’m the oldest mage in the area and I’ve been hiding for some time.” He alternated his gaze between the people there, observing them seriously and calmly.
“Why have you been hiding, Jonn?” Arber, a farmer, and Elia’s aunt, asked. She treated her niece and the Village Elder no differently because they were mages, but she wanted to better understand the youths’ motives for concealing the truth.
“Concern, I’d say,” Jonn exhaled, uncomfortable with the conversation but adhering to it. “My main motive was that this would somehow attract trouble to the village… I know my actions may have brought challenges to the village in one way or another, but if I’d been open about it from the beginning, we’d be dead by now.”
Petyr nodded silently, recalling the traitorous enemy who had leaked information about the village.
“But that doesn’t change anything now. After today’s battle, we’ll have problems one way or another. So we can afford to talk openly about the truth. Though, I won’t lie to you—part of me was worried about the reactions of the Council and the villagers.”
Tim placed a hand on the table between them and said, “You shouldn’t think like that. We wouldn’t mistreat you!”
“Wait a minute, old Tim. Jonn’s right. We might have handled it better, but what about the others? We can’t guarantee anything. Some of the village elders grew up terrified by the war of the mages. Their children and grandchildren have learned from these traumas and are naturally influenced by the collective fear of mages,” Urian said, siding with Jonn on the matter.
Petyr finally broke the silence, “Remember that Jonn is our Village Elder, the leader of our community. Some matters must remain confidential. It’s not our place to know everything.”
Elia observed Petyr silently, refraining from commenting because of her direct involvement. Still, she couldn’t help but admire his warrior spirit. This man truly embodies the essence of a fighter.
Jonn spoke again, “I apologize to the Council and ask for your understanding. Grappling with the complications of magic, a subject so alien to me, isn’t easy. I’m learning gradually, and there’s still much I can’t fully explain.”
Tim sighed, acknowledging the uniqueness of Jonn’s situation. To their knowledge, most continental mages belonged to established magical organizations or families. With mana control being hereditary, most were born into families equipped for proper magical education. Jonn, however, saved by Hewet from an unknown origin, had grown up as an ordinary person in the humble Eternal Village, without formal magical instruction.
“What’s our next move?” Urian inquired after a momentary lull.
Jonn turned to the elderly carpenter. “We’re facing a big problem. Our adversaries belong to the noble house of Eldoria, a formidable force, to say the least. We can remain passive, accepting their inevitable crushing assault in a few months, or weight our current knowledge to deceive them.”
The gravity of Jonn’s words visibly intensified the Council members’ expressions. His statement instantly shifted their focus from the village mages to a chaotic battlefield scenario, where they found themselves surrounded by enemies.
They had heard from Elia and Petyr about Jonn’s initial strategy to feign submission to their enemies, ostensibly joining the Dayflare Family’s forces. Contemplating this high-risk alternative, they recognized it as tantamount to suicide. Yet, the alternative seemed even more dire, offering far less time to prepare.
Jonn continued, “We lack viable alternatives. We must deceive the Dayflare Family while preparing for the inevitable failure of our ruse. Make no mistake—this marks the beginning of a war for the Barren Hills of Deepshadow!”
“Sigh!”
“What a horrible thing!”
“We’ve barely started and we’re already on the brink...”
The elders murmured among themselves, lamenting the tragic error of allowing a traitor like Baynard into their ranks. Yet, they couldn’t assign blame. They had expected such risks when initiating recruitment, recognizing that the alternative—remaining small and vulnerable—was equally perilous, especially without allies to confront their enemies.
While the impending conflict with Eldoria’s noble forces now loomed as their most pressing concern, until recently, the exotic beasts of Arcanis had posed the greatest threat—creatures potentially ten times more dangerous than humans or mages.
Should they have disregarded the dinosaur menace and opted to maintain a smaller presence?
Informed of these complexities, the group could only express their collective regret.
Elia broke her silence and asked, “Did you extract any further information from them?”
“I need more time with them to fully grasp their limitations and potential contributions to the village,” Jonn said, avoiding terminology his people might not comprehend. “I believe I can have them draft a letter to the Dayflare Family, buying us valuable time. Beyond that, my current focus is on leveraging their presence to expand our magical knowledge.”
“Oh?” Elia’s surprise was evident, not having considered this approach.
“That could indeed prove helpful,” Tim remarked, his tone more intrigued than concerned. “Given our lack of magical expertise and the growing magical interest in our village, acquiring such knowledge has become imperative.”
The others nodded in agreement until Urian addressed Jonn, “Elder, is it possible for you to induce our awakenings, similar to what you did with the animals?”
“Unfortunately, no,” Jonn expressed his disappointment. “All I know is that if you possess any predisposition, maintaining good nutrition, staying active, and remaining healthy may facilitate your mana control awakening. Perhaps studying magical history and fundamentals might help, but I can’t guarantee anything.”
“Thus far, eight mages, including myself, have awakened in the village. This doesn’t prevent the rest of you from awakening similarly. Genetic aptitude seems to influence awakening, along with external factors I’ve yet to fully understand. I believe some among our current group, though perhaps less innately talented, will eventually awaken as well.”
This was Jonn’s genuine belief. In his assessment, the seven village mages besides himself had awakened rapidly because of advanced talent or mana sensitivity. Did this show exceptional talent? Did it guarantee others would awaken? Not necessarily. However, this alone didn’t eliminate the possibility, and given the remarkable growth of some villagers, Jonn sincerely believed that talent among his companions was not insignificant—naturally leaving room for less gifted individuals with potential to exist in the village, even if he couldn’t identify them yet.
“Nevertheless, we shouldn’t drastically alter our routines or plans. Continue working to strengthen and enrich the village. Our guards and beasts units will maintain their training for village defense while I handle the two mages. We’ll reconvene in a week to complete our strategy.”
With these words, Jonn concluded the meeting, leaving possibilities open for the next Council gathering.