On the morning of the seventh day after the battle initiated by Hank and William, the Eternal Village seemed to have regained its usual tranquility. The crowing of roosters echoed early, rousing the weary workers from the previous day, who nonetheless faced another busy day ahead. The weather favored the residents with a pleasant temperature and clear, cloudless skies arching over the black “desert” of the Barren Hills of Deepshadow. As dawn broke, the village stirred with renewed vitality.
The rhythmic sound of hammers mingled with the creak of wooden cart wheels rolling along the cobblestone streets. Voices carried through the air as men barked instructions at construction sites, while guards, ever vigilant, kept watch on the perimeter, their sharp eyes scanning for any threats.
At the street of the Council, the heart of the village bustled with heightened activity. Communal establishments were already in full swing. Tim worked at his forge alongside a group of apprentices, sparks flying as the forging process took shape. Nearby, Urian instructed his men in woodworking, their tools clanging as they toiled in the workshop behind the forge. Meanwhile, at the Council, Alis tended to her duties in a temporary room Jonn had assigned her to care for the sick and injured of the village.
Beyond the lingering effects of the prior battle, the village had been grappling with an outbreak of flu among the locals. Since her arrival, Alis had diligently addressed the health crisis, easing Jonn’s burden and allowing him the time and space to continue studying the books taken from their enemies.
She had excelled in her role. Having reached level 1 during this period, she could now prepare medicinal pastes and potions with increasing skill, while her ability to diagnose and treat patients improved day by day.
Alis began her morning in the farthest room of the Council, where seven patients lay on makeshift beds, isolated from the rest of the community.
“Good morning, everyone,” she greeted with a warm smile as she entered, taking in the sight of the bedridden patients and the presence of her lone helper—a young apprentice studying the art of healing.
“Miss Alis,” said the teenager, one of the many new arrivals in the village. “Huget seems to have improved since yesterday, but Lady Ella is getting worse.”
Alis turned her attention to Ella, a woman in her sixties resting in the leftmost corner of the room, her frail body barely visible under the thin blanket. Concern crossed Alis’s face as she responded, “Then we’ll start with her.” She glanced briefly at her apprentice before adding, “I’ll speak with Jonn later about him coming here to see her.”
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While Alis busied herself with her morning duties, the rest of the village hummed with activity. Men labored to craft items for both everyday use and combat, while construction projects moved forward at an impressive pace. In the meantime, the animal caretakers tended to their flocks, refreshing water troughs and distributing feed, while the farmers diligently cultivated the crops spread between the greenhouse and the enclosed walled area.
Jonn and Elia, however, were absent from the village. They were among the over fifty villagers occupying the surrounding territory. But unlike the advance guards patrolling the area or the miners working around, the two were on a strategic mission.
Deep within the magical cave once belonging to Count Francus Riverash, Jonn and Elia sat in the cave’s rest room, finalizing a strategy to determine their community’s next steps.
A week had passed since the last battle—ample time for them to comb through many of the books recovered from their defeated enemies. During this period, both Elia and Eliot had mastered new {Spells}, and they had each begun studying a second {Spell} tome, courtesy of William and Hank. Jonn, on the other hand, had devoted himself to two of the most advanced {Spells}: [Aegis of the Bronze Dragon] and [Prism of the Imperial Seal]. While three other {Spells} were available, he deemed them more useful for training others in the village than for his own needs.
Beyond the {Spells}, Jonn and Elia had dedicated time to the general texts retrieved from their enemies. Several books delved into the basics of magic, providing insights into elements, affinities, the distinction between {Skills}, {Spells}, and common magical techniques, as well as details on ranking within the magical hierarchy.
This foundational knowledge was invaluable for expanding their understanding of magic and was already being shared with the village’s current and aspiring mages. While ordinary villagers would need to wait longer to gain access to it, Jonn had plans to make the materials available to everyone soon.
He and Elia had already initiated plans for a small library at the heart of the village—a place where these books and other valuable resources could be made accessible. For now, however, priority was given to those with magical abilities as they sought to develop and strengthen the village’s defenses.
The recovered texts also included information about Valorian, particularly its history and geography. While not up to date, these books painted a vivid picture of the region’s past, recounting the events leading up to the three mage wars and offering glimpses of Valorian’s evolving political landscape. Unfortunately, there was little information about the continent’s current state.
Some materials, like letters and books yet to be read, remained unexplored. Jonn and Elia hoped these would shed light on Eldoria’s current standing and provide extra insights into the challenges their village now faced.
Among the other recovered texts were books detailing various professions. These included a guide on herbs, two manuals on crafting and maintaining weapons, and a treatise on Valorian magical professions.
While this last book brought no immediate changes, it opened Jonn’s eyes to the many transformative possibilities that professions could offer. Skilled professionals could revolutionize society—enhancing daily life, bolstering a city’s defenses, and fostering incredible growth. For a small community like the Eternal Village, gaining even a handful of such professionals could spark significant and lasting improvements.
The knowledge they’ve gained over the last few days has helped Jonn and Elia better understand their possibilities, creating mental pathways to futures they hadn’t even imagined before.
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But as valuable as all their latest learnings were, what was on their minds was the situation with the Dayflare Family!
Sitting opposite each other, alone in that cave’s rest room, Jonn and Elia were talking about what he had achieved by talking to and studying the two hostage mages.
Jonn had invested a lot of his time studying the runes marking the souls of those two, but he had also listened to them about magic, Eldoria, and the Dayflare Family itself. He had tested out a few theories and arrived at the current moment of having to make up his mind.
“You’re seriously considering risking a fake deal with them?” Elia asked after a heavy silence, turning Jonn’s words over in her mind before voicing her concerns.
Jonn had explained that while he could potentially counteract the Dayflare Family’s seal, he’d need deeper knowledge of incantations. Over the past few days, he’d grasped the fundamentals of Hank’s and William’s seals, but only enough to execute minor deceptions. Their options remained limited until he either mastered enchantments or ascended to a level 4 mage.
Hence his proposal: a calculated deception where they would feign willingness to strike an agreement with the Dayflare Family, manipulating the two hostages into writing the letter he wanted.
“We’re out of options,” he admitted wearily. “I could advance faster with more runic objects to study, but working with just one type of rune and two men isn’t enough to master this. Enchanting—whether it’s living beings or inanimate objects—defies the natural order. It’s far more complex than it appears.”
While [Essence of Life] excelled at making intuitive leaps and guiding him toward truth, its utility was confined to living matter. Runes were artificial constructs; their intricacies couldn’t be interpreted in the same logical way used for living beings.
“Fine. Then let’s proceed.” Elia rose, her palms slick with anxiety. “I’m just fearful of Duke Dayflare’s reaction.”
“We have a chance at deceiving them—try not to expect the worst,” he offered, adding a note of optimism. “We’ll be in the Dayflare Family’s uniforms and armor, posing as members of their battalion. According to Hank and William, guards from different battalions rarely interact closely. That gives us a shot at passing off our villagers as family members. Meanwhile, we’ll play the part of minor allies to a superior force.”
“It’s risky… We’ll be welcoming enemies into our homes.”
“We’ll need to stay vigilant for any suspicious elements that infiltrate the village,” he acknowledged, fully aware of the plan’s dangers. “But we can turn their presence to our advantage.”
She fixed him with an intent gaze, wordless but clearly following his train of thought.
“The dinosaurs will inevitably become a problem. But Duke Dayflare would certainly have a vested interest in keeping the village and the Barren Hills of Deepshadow secure from external threats…” He let a knowing smile play across his face.
“So we’ll gamble on using our enemies as unwitting shields,” she concluded, catching the full weight of her leader’s strategy.
He rose from his chair, nodding in agreement. Since they were already neck-deep in trouble, surrounded by enemies poised to crush them at the first sign of resistance, why not leverage that pressure to their advantage?
They descended the stone staircase in contemplative silence, making their way to Hank and William’s holding chamber.
The two prisoners remained chained to the walls, though their conditions had markedly improved from days prior. Even with their mana suppressed, both Acolytes had shown remarkable healing capabilities over the past week.
Alis’s medicinal pastes, applied every other day, had contributed to their recovery. Yet, their innate regenerative abilities had proven to be the decisive factor in bringing them back from their previously critical state.
Complete recovery would still take weeks. But the excruciating pain that had wracked their bodies a week ago had dulled to manageable levels. The burn blisters that had covered their skin were now drying out, leaving patches of brownish, peeling flesh across their forms.
The prisoners’ eyes tracked Jonn and Elia’s entrance with barely concealed anticipation. They were aware of time’s passage, knowing their captors must be ready to advance whatever schemes they had been planning.
“Well?” William prompted, uncertain of Jonn’s intentions.
The past week’s interactions had left them both bewildered. Most Jonn’s inquiries had focused on mundane matters—magic systems and Eldorian life. When the conversation turned to Dayflare family matters, Jonn’s approach had been unpredictable, alternating between harsh threats and displays of vulnerability.
Despite his initial adamant refusal to surrender, a week of these complex interactions had left William and Hank unable to predict whether Jonn would maintain his defiant stance or pivot toward either aggression or capitulation.
Elia observed the prisoners while Jonn closed his eyes, visibly wrestling with his next words. Drawing a measured breath, he declared, “I want you to write that letter. The village is prepared to enter an alliance with the Dayflare Family.”
The two men straightened, their expressions caught between skepticism and cautious hope, too uncertain to dismiss his statement outright.
“Let me be clear,” Jonn elaborated, “we won’t become your family’s vassals. But I acknowledge we’ve taken on more than we can manage alone. If the Dayflare Family grants us fair autonomy and a protected territory, we’ll assist them in repeating our village’s success throughout the Barren Hills of Deepshadow.”
This proposition aligned more closely with what the men considered workable—neither too generous to raise suspicion nor too harsh to suggest deception.
Both William and Hank were convinced that a settlement like the Eternal Village would face annihilation without powerful backing!
“What’s the catch? What aren’t you revealing?” Hank probed.
Jonn met the veteran commander’s gaze steadily. “I’ll agree to these terms on one more condition: you two must keep the nature of my abilities confidential. Share it only in person with your supreme leader. No written records, no discussions with future envoys after your letter.”
“That’s reasonable enough,” William responded, his voice carrying more authority than it had in days.
“This includes, naturally, discretion about our discussions. I’d rather not begin this alliance being known as the man who confined and interrogated two of the Duke’s mages.”
Hank thought that was reasonable. As for the losses of ordinary men, he didn’t worry about that. Mages were the real deal in today’s decaying world. The magical ‘race’ of humans was almost extinct. There were few human remnants with the ability to manipulate mana, and most of them wouldn’t get far. Slaying mages invited severe consequences, but ordinary humans? Leaders wouldn’t bat an eye at thousands of common casualties.
Jonn added, “You’ll be representing the Duke in the village for a while. We’ll deal only through you and nobody else.”
Hank flexed his fingers, recognizing this would delay any direct report to the Duke. But the preference for familiar intermediaries seemed logical.
“We can present these terms in the letter,” Hank said, raising one hand. “What exactly should we convey?”
Jonn handed over a book, parchment, and brush. “Begin by mentioning our initial conflict and later agreement. Detail our terms and our acceptance of you as the Duke’s emissaries. Emphasize that the Eternal Village stands ready to cooperate.”
Though parts of Jonn’s narrative clearly obscured recent events, Hank proceeded as instructed.
‘The reinforcements will grasp the battalion’s fate upon reaching the village… So be it. If you choose to conceal portions of the truth, I’ll comply. I just pray your desire for alliance is genuine, or this will end badly.’ Hank cast a sidelong glance at Jonn while composing the letter.
Meanwhile, Jonn watched each word materialize on the parchment.
There’s no turning back now. I hope the Duke doesn’t send too many reinforcements. As long as it’s a small group, I think I can manage it in the best way for the village.