Zalia stood there as Faian, Hildebrandt and General Ballast all stared at her incredulously.
They were in the living room of her house, Ro-ak also perched nearby. After a short greeting, Zalia had told them what she had done.
“You did what?” Faian asked.
She wasn’t usually the type to get nervous when confronted, but she had definitely overstepped the original reason she had given for being near the Astar.
“Attacked their town and liberated a bunch of people, mostly because they found and captured Ember and Aylie. I do apologise for being the cause of this in the first place but I won’t apologise for doing what I had to do to save them.”
General Ballast looked thoughtful as if considering the implications of the news while Faian paced with obvious anxiety. Hildebrandt remained calm, a stone wall of a woman as always. She did eye Ro-ak every now and then, however.
“Tell me what you did, exactly, please,” Faian said, trying to regain a semblance of sanity.
Zalia obligingly went through everything that happened in more detail, explaining the mist, how they had found the town, her infiltration of the place and then the capture of Ember and Aylie. She paused there for a moment, the anger at herself for what happened resurfacing again, before explaining what the mist creatures really were and the attack on the town. The fact that they had freed hundreds of slaves while simultaneously destroying a good portion of the town was the nail in the coffin of peace.
Faian had turned from anxious and angry to concerned and thoughtful now too. What was done was done and they needed to plan for the future.
“Okay, that will mean war in no uncertain measure. We are just going to have to figure out how to fight a war against them. It’s not going to be like it was with the demons, a close contact, bloody war. I have a feeling that isn’t how the Astar play things.”
Both Ballast and Zalia shook their heads but it was Ro who spoke.
“They do not. You should expect strike teams of small but extremely powerful foes.”
Ro was still staring into the fire, not looking at any of them as he spoke.
Zalia looked over at him inquiringly.
“How do you know that?”
He finally turned to her.
“I have been in talks with the other Ascendant beings here, the ones who remember times long past. Whether you might believe it or not, this is not the first time that events like these have happened. You will not be the only ones fighting a war here. The Astar have many Ascendants of their own who must be combated by the Ascendants of Endaria.”
Ballast looked up at Ro.
“The Ascendants of Endaria? I wasn’t aware we had any.”
“You do not. At least, not in the way you might be thinking. The gods of nature who live here are your Ascendants and though they might be mostly unwilling to act against their nature, they will listen to me.”
It was Faian’s turn to gain interest in his words.
“Why would they do that? Zalia told me that The Starlight Wolf once tried to get them to act and was unable.”
“The Starlight Wolf is a powerful, guiding aspect of nature, it is true, but the others are powerful aspects of nature too. Scour of the desert who destroys all unwary life without judgement. It of Heat and Stone, the bringer of heat who will nourish life but burn the unwary. Esser who rides the winds, ever free and never seen. These are the aspects of nature that live in Endaria and the lands surrounding it. The reason they will listen to me, Faian, is that I am nature.”
Faian nodded slowly, looking like she barely understood but accepting the statement anyway.
Ballast spoke up as Faian considered.
“Alright then, we go by what the nature bird says. With the Astar’s powerful spatial magic, I can see why they would favour small but strong strike forces capable of taking out single targets. Get one or two Diamond rankers, send them on a spree across Endaria killing the leaders and important figures and you have yourself a kingdom so unstable that it can’t wage war any longer. It sounds like a terribly effective tactic, how do we counter it?”
A heavy silence encumbered the room.
“That… that’s a terrible thought. I’m not even sure my anti-teleportation magic is capable of stopping a Diamond rank Astar. I know they have at least one of those, too.”
Faian, who was looking paler by the second, snapped to Zalia.
“How do you know that?”
Zalia shrugged.
“Well, I did free all of those slaves. Many of them have had their aging stopped somehow and worked under the Astar for hundreds of years. One of the older ones said they had been to a bigger Astar city, perhaps their capital, and saw a Diamond rank Astar there. Just the one.”
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Faian put a hand to her forehead.
“And here I was happy that we finally got the anti-teleportation protection in the capital up and running.”
Hildebrandt put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t fear, that protection is important. If there really is a Diamond ranker amongst them, I’m not sure there is anything any of us can do, no matter their powerset. Not even me.”
Zalia looked at Ro.
“Surely you could stop a Diamond ranker?”
His big, leafy head shook in a jerking motion.
“No, Zalia, I could not. It isn’t that I lack the power, it is the rules of interference that block me. In a fight that their Ascendants take part in, yes, I could do this. However, they won’t be so stupid as to involve an Ascendant unless necessary as they have more strength in the pre-Ascendant ranks than you do. I could take part in the war with the demons as the Thousand-eyed one killed an entire city of your people. This opened up avenues for both my and the Starlight Wolf's intervention. Here, however, they have only interfered once and I have already reacted to that.”
“Why is it that they can interfere first but you cannot?”
“I can, I just choose not to. It is not wise to give your opponent the freedom to interfere as they wish without repercussion when there are other ways to solve the issue.”
Zalia frowned.
“So how did they interfere already? To do what?”
“To find your family in hiding, Zalia.”
Flashes of her family being found by the Astar town went through her mind, the fear and pain at Ember and Aylie being taken. The Astar Ascendants had interfered to do that? She had thought Boreal’s children had given them away somehow.
“And you were able to react by sending Lumen to solve the issue.”
“Yes.”
“I’m confused about these rules. Why is Lumen able to act and not you? Why are there rules to your actions in the first place?”
“You already know the answer to this, I believe. Your wisdom is great enough to see this.”
Zalia thought about it, really thought about it, and found she did know.
“Because if Ascendants could freely destroy and create as they wish, to interfere with the lives of the lower ranked then they would not be able to live their lives. In a war, Ascendants would just destroy the lower ranked and nothing and no one would be left to even fight a war over. That's why Lumen is able to do what they want, too. Their power isn't that of other Ascendents anymore and may not be for a long time.”
Ro nodded.
Faian spoke up, obviously thinking about other things still.
“This is interesting but there are more important matters to speak of. How do we plan for these supposed Astar strike teams? Other than informing the leaders and influential people to be wary of attacks, what can we do?”
Zalia had already been worrying about such things for a long time, ever since learning that it was possible the Astar were ferrying away the powerful people of the kingdom.
“I haven’t figured out a good response to it yet. Anti-teleportation, localised and personal types, as well as being aware of the danger both help. I’ve been able to fight off Astar ambushes several times now. These have seemed like the weaker Astar though, not the type that Ro is warning us of. Perhaps civilians or hopefuls attempting to prove their worth?”
She had rarely seen Faian so troubled but being a leader of the council put her firmly in the court of the people the Astar would target.
“Well, whatever their skill, the issue is in the time frame with which they can get in and get out.”
Ballast tapped his chin thoughtfully.
“We should have at least one Silver rank member of the Morning’s Shade or army protecting each of the council members at all times, as well as any other particularly important figures. In addition, we need to find a type of magic that each person can use to protect themselves against teleportation. Other than that, there isn’t anything else we can do, is there? It’s not like we can hide in a clump of fear until it all passes us by.”
“I agree on both parts,” Faian said.
Zalia pulled something out of her vault and handed it to Faian. One of her anti-teleportation armbands.
“These are a one-use protection against being teleported I designed in the Astar lands. I can mass-produce them since they’re pretty easy to grow. Perhaps your enchanters can find a way to design something like this with more traditional materials, maybe even something that can be used more than once?”
Faian took it with thanks, inspecting it closely,
“Well, I don’t understand how it works at all, but I’ll have some people get on it.”
She slipped it onto her arm, then looked up once more.
“Right, well keep brainstorming on that front as I’d like some more precautions we can take in regards to the strike forces of Astar. We do need to talk about what we’re going to do about potentially striking first and bringing the war to the Astar. We will need to convene the council for this talk, though I would like to have you and Ro there Zalia. You too Hildebrandt.”
Zalia nodded assent.
“I would also recommend bringing a few of the people I freed from the Astar. Their knowledge will be invaluable. Ember, Aylie and Boreal should come too, they know as much about the Astar as I do.”
Faian and Ballast nodded agreement then turned to Hildebrandt.
“Yeah, yeah, alright. I suppose I can’t avoid getting more involved.”
Zalia looked at each person in turn but it seemed everyone had said their part.
“Alright, I guess that’s all done then. There are a few of the freed people who don’t want to stay here and are looking for family. Since most of the population moved to the capital I wouldn’t be surprised if they were there, if they’re still alive. I’m sure these people would go with you and tell you what they know in payment for help finding their friends and family.”
“Excellent idea.”
Zalia gestured to the door, then tapped Ro on the wing.
“I want to talk to you in private if you’re happy to stick around for a bit, I’ll be back after showing Faian out.”
Ro dipped his head slightly and Zalia led Ballast, Faian and Hildebrandt to the exit, quickly running upstairs to tell Ember where she was headed before leaving.
She took Faian to the Ancient of Wisdom who told them which of the freed people wanted to leave. After finding and talking to those people, most of which agreed to Faian’s offer, Zalia showed them to the town exit. Waving farewell to the group, she went back home to find Ro-ak with anger boiling in her veins.
He still stood where he had been, staring vacantly into the fire.
“Tell me, Ro, who the fuck is this Ascendant that would interfere to get my family killed.”