Zalia stood in the marshalling yard, the scene unfolding before her much like one she remembered from so long ago only on an entirely different scale. Back then, she had gone on a mission with twelve people, now there were around fifty. Fifty of Endaria’s most powerful people, all of them with classes specifically chosen for the art of killing. While usually not something that could be considered truly good in nature, when it came to saving their kingdom it could become so.
From where she stood, Zalia could see the twins who were as much a part of the shadows as she could remember. The last time she had seen them they had summoned a large shadowy storm cloud that had rained acid down upon the Gold ranked elemental which had ripped itself out of the mine further south. They had a way of combining their magic together, much as Those Born of Heat and Stone did but on a deeper level. That way, their magic was much stronger than their rank might lead one to assume.
That day, they had been Bronze ranked, helping to take down a Gold ranked elemental. Now they were Silver and she was looking forward to seeing what kind of power they would have now.
Hildebrandt was standing nearby, directing operations as people hustled about. Using Aura Observation, Zalia could tell that she was actually close to ranking up. She knew that Hildebrandt had spent some time before the rituals had gone off helping to take down Emerald rank elementals and it had apparently paid off. While Zalia had never seen her actually fight, she knew that anyone who was Gold, and close to Emerald, would be a force to be reckoned with. She might even stand a chance by herself against the worst of the demons.
Despite how quickly Hildebrandt had organised things, Zalia couldn’t help but feel impatient. She had arrived the day before but Hildebrandt had insisted they wait until morning to begin packing. Now that they had started, Zalia just wanted to run all the way back to Ostoss without waiting so she could make sure the others would remain safe while the group travelled.
Letting the impatience get to her, Zalia moved towards Hildebrandt. She had to push her way past a couple people busy packing bags and even a few carts that looked to be self powered.
“Hey, I wanted to ask. Would it be possible for me to return to Ostoss with just the twins immediately? I fear with how long all of these people will take to get there that it will be too late. The twins and I can get there much quicker.”
Hildebrandt looked to think for a short moment before nodding her assent.
“Sounds like a good precaution. Go.”
Zalia nodded and looked around for the twins, finding them already standing just behind her.
“Ready?”
They looked at her, only a nod so small to be almost imperceptible their answer. She couldn’t actually recall ever hearing them talk.
“Right, wonderful. Let’s go.”
She went slowly enough as they picked their way back out through the city. The damage to the city was somewhat superficial so she wondered where everyone had gone. There wasn’t a single person outside of the keep as far as she could tell, the entire population having abandoned the city or… something worse.
If the majority of the Morning’s Shade had been out on some task or another when the ritual happened, as Zalia knew they had, what had the people that were left done? Larel, Indis and Ember had all left, so had they all gone south, or perhaps north?
She would have to ask Hildebrandt about it later, if the woman even knew. As Zalia knew, she hadn’t been in the city at the time either.
Once they left the city bounds, she began speeding up her pace until she was travelling at a comfortable speed once more.
⪼ ⪢ ℋ 𝒶𝓃𝒹 ℋ ⪡ ⪻
The entire journey back, it almost felt like she was travelling by herself. The twins were so hard to see most of the time that if she wasn’t looking for them, she couldn't see them at all. The only time she actually saw them was while they slept.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
While they definitely slept less than Ember and Aylie did, they still had to sleep a lot more often than Zalia did. That meant that the journey back was somewhat slower than it had been getting to Endelbyrn. It took five days of travelling and even with the increased hours of rest, the beginning of a burnout that Zalia had felt while travelling to Endelbyrn made itself much more apparent on the way back. When she ran, her legs were sore and heavy, each step much harder than they should have been. She would have expected Healing Presence to take care of that pain but it apparently wasn’t something that it could heal.
It was the third day that she actually got to see the twins in action as Silver rank beings. They spotted one of the larger flying demons that was Bronze rank and where Zalia would have thought about whether it was worth fighting or not, the twins performed a piece of joint magic that summoned shadowy arms from the treetops that grabbed the demon and tore it apart, limb from limb, in a matter of moments. Zalia was certain she could have won such a fight as well but it would have taken her considerably longer.
The power of two Silver rank beings performing joint magic was not something to laugh at. It made her wonder how powerful they would be in further ranks. As Gold rankers, Emerald or even Diamond should they make it that far. What feats would they be capable of achieving?
On the fifth day, Zalia began to feel a sense of dread. They were only an hour away by her measure, yet the feeling built within her until she realised that it wasn’t coming from her at all. The emotion was being sent to her by Ember.
She was still too far away to communicate with Boreal despite their deep bond and the emotion made her speed up despite the pain in her legs. There was no way to tell what the feeling of dread meant yet she was suddenly glad that she had decided to leave earlier with the twins. It may yet turn out to be a worthwhile precaution after all.
A few minutes out from the city, she dismissed all notifications so she could focus entirely on what was to come.
Congratulations! Mobility has gained four levels reaching Bronze 7.
Still running, she was finally able to communicate with Boreal through their bond. She sent a questioning feeling through and received back an image of a group of creatures trying to break through the dome. They were Bronze by the looks of it, about twenty of the same flying creatures Zalia had seen the twins tear apart just days before. The dread faded away and she actually smiled. It would be ok.
The twins sprinted on ahead, faster than she was by just a bit.
By the time she burst from the edge of the forested clump she had been in and saw the city ahead, things were already well in hand. It looked as if the shadow of the forest was rising up over the city to swallow the demons as they tried to flee for their lives. One by one, they were torn to pieces, until only a few were left. The few managed to escape but Zalia could see the flickering shadowy forms of the twins running after them, on the hunt.
Zalia didn’t worry about giving chase with them, knowing they would have it well in hand. She could feel the flood of relief coming through from Ember and Boreal, her own bouncing right back down the bond towards them.
The ground went by in a blur as she sprinted towards the city, trying to figure out from where Boreal had sent that image. It felt like it had come from the park, so that is where she went.
She ran through city streets that were still filled with people. People that were actually looking a little better than they had. The buildings and smooth stone street beneath her flew by as she found herself running down the bounds of the beautiful green park. At the centre now stood a wonderful little farm, the crops having been propagated and grown further still. Happiness and relief melted away the frozen worry from her veins. Ostoss would be ok.
Her eyes finally found Ember and Boreal, standing near their little living house by the wooden bridge that crossed the stream. That stream was now flowing, a young mage nearby using some type of spell to create the flowing water.
Her sore legs ached as Zalia slowed down to a walk, striding straight up to Ember and hugging her tightly. It had only been just more than a week yet she had missed her quite a lot.
“Hey.”
Ember hugged her right back.
“You’re sweaty. And you stink.”
Zalia laughed a bright happy laugh, not disagreeing at all. She let go and knelt down to hug Boreal as well, receiving a deep bass-y purr in return. At least Boreal didn’t complain about how she smelled.
“I missed you a lot too, little one.”
She heard Boreal huff and laughed again, before sighing into Boreal’s thick fur. Moments later, she felt an impact on her side as Aylie latched onto her.
"You came back!"
Zalia put one of her arms around Aylie and hugged her tight.
“I did, and I think we’re gonna be ok.”