– Era of the Wastes, Cycle 215, Season of the Setting Moon, Day 41 –

“‘Bloody rude’ huh?” Sigille snorted amusedly. She had paid a visit to Terry in his room in order to discuss some of his exercises, and they ended up chatting about the upcoming mission.

“I agree with the cultist.” Sigille yawned. “Don’t sweat it.”

“No folk is the same,” said Sigille. “Different values. Different upbringings. Different frameworks for interpreting actions.”

“It is inevitable that someone will take some of your words or actions the wrong way.” Sigille shrugged. “Wastes, even if they take them the right way, it is inevitable that someone somewhere will disagree with you or take offense.”

“Don’t let it get to you.” Sigille stared intently at Terry. “Otherwise, you will never get anything done in your life. You do not need to be friends with everyone.”

“Just keep it civil...” Sigille furrowed her brow. “If possible…” She puckered her lips. “Or at least refrain from getting violent…” She furrowed her brow further. “If possible.” She pushed forth her lower lip and shrugged again.

Sigille smacked her lips. “Which also brings me to your group. Overall, I think you will be fine. Little Derek is a good apple. He had his reckless phase after a tragic experience and paid for it with a permanently crippled mana pool, but since then, he has shown some real grit and determination. Not everyone could become Palmer’s disciple.”

“Harrison…” Sigille tilted her head from left to right. “Seems alright. He was one of the kids that chose to serve in the army to be allowed to learn their spellwork. He was also one of the first cultist trainees here in the outpost.”

“Now, I do not want to badmouth your chosen companion.” Sigille wore a serious expression. “And I want to make it clear that while Harrison seems exceedingly sensitive regarding the Bright Lady, he has shown no problematic behavior as far as I know. Still, there are two things I’ll have to say and then I’ll hold my peace.”

Sigille exhaled a sharp breath of air that came out as a mixture of a sigh and a grunt. “First, well, he is obviously a cultist. As far as cults go, the Circle of the Bright Lady is among the least unpleasant – regarding their official tenets, anyway. However, neither I nor anyone else can verify how much of those tenets are really aligned with their worshipped creature.”

Sigille sighed again and threw up her hands a bit. “I guess it doesn't really matter. What matters is that he has opened his mind to otherrealm influence. So no matter his actual character, you need to keep an eye out for mind influence and unusual behavior. You never know when his creature of worship might choose to get involved.”

Sigille took a deep breath. “Second… How to put it? Uhm, remember what I said about keeping it civil? When I say keep it civil, I mean you can work together towards common goals even with people you do not like.”

Sigille watched Terry’s expression while talking. “I mean that you may choose not to speak if you have nothing nice to say. Civility includes both words and actions, but in the end, actions are what truly matters. The words you choose to speak out loud should match your actions.”

Sigille grunted in thought. “One reason I think Cadence is alright is that she got in my face when my words upset her. That was honest. Honest hostility I can appreciate. I’ll take that over insincere kindness any day.”

Sigille paused and shook her head. “People like the witch have a different understanding. With people like that, you always need to watch your back, no matter how friendly they may seem. There is a difference between keeping it civil and being two-faced.”

Sigille shrugged and looked at Terry. “Nevermind the witch. Not everyone that has chosen the same cult is the same. I do not know Harrison enough to judge where he falls. You will need to judge for yourself.”

Sigille stood up and played the belly drum. “Now eat up and get some rest.” She left Terry’s room without further comment.

After Sigille had left the room, Terry sat down on the floor and took out his equipment for training to cast with his feet.

While doing spellwork with his feet as the focal point, Terry retrieved a rubber ball from his storage bracelet and began bouncing it off the floor so that it bounced against the wall and then flew back to him.

After repeating this three times, Terry tried to catch the ball a different way – with his Immovable Object spell instead of grabbing with his hands.

Terry had already noticed an improvement in his mana reach from his other exercises, but he continued looking for new exercises to try. For now, Terry was happy to transfix the ball as soon as it made contact with his palm, but he hoped to increase the distance step by step…

***

Terry moved his fingers over the throwing needles at his leg straps one last time and then touched the part of his armor that hid the crystal pendant that Sigille had given him. He was checking the mana charge once more.

“Last-minute changes?” asked Harrison curiously. He had seen Terry replace two throwing needles.

“Can you transfix those?” interjected Derek when he recognized that the new needles were aspected. “I heard aspected items are harder to target with spells. Is that why you had them aspected with unaspected mana?”

Terry tried hard to control his facial expression. He had been forced to replace the oscillating needles because the distance to the demon fortress required the use of a teleportation scroll.

He had not considered that his action of switching the needles immediately on arrival might garner attention.

“No, I can’t,” admitted Terry. “Not yet. But I still have the others to use with the Immovable Object spell and also some more in my storage.”

Right after the words had left his mouth, Terry cursed himself for mentioning the storage and hoped that they would not wonder why he did not keep the oscillating needles in the dimensional storage as well.

They did not know that the retrieval required him to retake control of any decayed mana while the item was still in the storage, nor how much time this would take and how much worse it would get the longer he waited.

Terry had understood why Sigille had advised him against sharing his findings on the interaction between his oscillating mana and space magic. After all, when someone really wanted to trap you, they would usually go with space magic – as long as the option was available to them.

In contrast to his spell limitation, Terry did not see a reason to share the information with his group, because aspect beings were not known for wielding space magic.

Only demons with a mage host that carried the proper aspect had a chance to learn space magic to begin with, and their group was unlikely to join the fight against any of those in this mission.

Terry let his gaze wander over the whole team that had arrived with them. There were nearly fifty Guardians in total. Apparently, missions in Tiv – or at least in this particular corner of Tiv – differed greatly from missions in Arcana.

Here in the Wasted Zone, the Guardians could not afford to only send trainees into the field and the scope of the threat usually required more people to deal with it.

“Alright, not much time, so I’ll just repeat the main points,” bellowed the voice of Instructor Palmer.

“We are going to face a small-ish demon fortress.” Palmer watched his students closely. “While the size is nothing impressive, this is a mixed faction fortress, which makes things more annoying, so do not take this lightly.

“Elementals of different factions are normally at war with each other as much as they are with us. It takes a demon whose host has a modicum of intelligence to mediate collaboration with a different faction. This means that each of the present factions has at least one demon to represent them. It means further that these creatures of mana have put aside their hatred for each other to focus on their instinctual loathing of mana users.”

Palmer gestured with his hands to remind everyone that this meant their instinctual loathing of them.

“To make it short: The demons lead and unite the different elemental factions and the elementals control the spirits. This means that the most experienced Guardians will go after the demons while everyone else will focus on obstructing the elementals and spirits.”

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Palmer paused to allow the gist of the mission to sink in for everyone.

“Now, we have plenty of experienced Guardians present and they will try to watch over the rest, but this is still a battle and you cannot count on having your butts pulled from danger.” Palmer spoke solemnly.

“You need to keep two things in mind: First, each aspect being has a mana formation that represents its anchor to the physical realm. If you want to kill the creature, you need to damage the mana formation. Unless you manage that, you could hack away at an earth elemental all day and it wouldn’t do a thing except make you tired.”

Terry recalled the additional information he still remembered from his theoretical introduction in Arcana.

The parts surrounding the mana formation usually represented the valuable materials that could be collected from aspect beings.

An earth elemental leaves behind rocks that have been aspected with highly concentrated earth mana or even special crystals. A fire elemental leaves behind some kind of powder with concentrated fire mana. Only higher rank fire elementals would leave behind crystals…

“The second thing to keep in mind…” The booming voice of Palmer jolted Terry out of his thoughts. “...is that things will become chaotic as soon as the demons of a faction have been eliminated. That will be the moment in which the elemental factions will turn on each other. While that helps our eradication goal, it also means that you all will stand right in the crossfire. Stay sharp and don’t get yourself killed.”

Afterwards, Palmer and some of the other present instructors went around to talk to the individual groups.

“Alright, Derek, you have the most experience against aspect beings in your group, so I expect you to make that experience count,” said Palmer sternly.

“Yes, Instructor.” Derek replied with respect in his voice.

“I understand you had a few encounters already…” Palmer looked at Harrison.

“Yes, Instructor, but only about a handful,” replied Harrison. “Most of my deployments were against undead or as support against Thanatos on the southern border.”

“Mhmhh…” Palmer thought it over. “Your ability to channel the holy aspect will not help you as much against the aspect beings as it does against undead. Nevertheless, you are still one of the more, shall we say, offensively useful healers present. Don’t get in over your head and if you see a way to lend a helping hand to another group, I would appreciate it.”

“Yes, Instructor.” Harrison nodded in acknowledgement. “I will do my best to support everyone.”

Last, Palmer looked at Terry. “You haven’t faced aspect beings before, correct?”

“Yes, Instructor,” replied Terry.

“I have heard that you have a few aspected items and some item-based means to unleash an aspected attack in an emergency, but your main weapons will still be that spell of yours and disruption discharges. Hm…” Palmer paused a moment in thought. “I don’t believe I need to point out applications of your spell. I am sure you understand the role it can play as support.”

Palmer grunted and then continued. “Normally, I would point out that trying to damage an elemental with a disruption discharge is like trying to get rid of a stain by throwing buckets of water at it.” Palmer tilted his head from side to side. “It’s possible, but not the most efficient of plans.” He pulled up one corner of his lips. “From what I could see on the training grounds, you might be able to make it work, but I would suggest that it remains a supplementary or fallback option.”

“Yes, Instructor,” acknowledged Terry. “We have planned for other primary lines of attack and I will watch my mana if I have to rely on disruption discharges.”

“Good.” Palmer eyed each of them one last time. “We have told you already where you can help out the most. You know your target location. Good luck and stay sharp.”

***

“Come here, my precious packets of mana!” Derek shouted gleefully and jumped from one elemental spirit to the next. He absorbed their mana to damage their formation while using the mana to maintain his Haste spell and the effect of his magic boots.

I’m still glad that he wasn’t allowed to use the boots in our combat practice match…

Terry chuckled while Derek quickly blinked from area to area to go after the translucent plumes of mana that defended themselves with weaker abilities that were comparable to low-level spells.

My turn…

Terry examined the odd mana structure that held together the gates at which the fortifications of two elemental factions connected…

Taking their abilities into account, their group was deployed to deal primarily with the earth and ice factions. Some other factions were close by, but only in smaller numbers and with weaker ranks.

Terry had finally understood why people called these things demon fortresses when he saw the castle-like structures towering over the area with connecting barricades between them.

Behind those walls, the elementals and demons worked to gather more mana to strengthen themselves and expand their territory.

Their group’s first task was to clear the way into the fortress by opening one of the gates.

One drawback of allying with another elemental faction was that an earth elemental could not simply move through an ice wall and vice versa. The cross-faction alliance required them to place gates – gates that folks could use as well as long as they bypassed the mana protection.

Terry concentrated on his mana sense and the flow of his own mana. What he sensed in the gate did not follow the exact same rules as shielding in mana-crafting, but it was close enough to get the gist of it.

Good, because otherwise, this would have been an embarrassingly short mission…

Terry had been nervous when he was nominated for opening a gate, but they had assured him that if he can pick a shielded magic item, then he should have no problems at one of the outer gates.

The elementals worked on instinct. They did not have a structured theory for their work, and the younger demons still needed to get used to their newfound intellect and knowledge.

“What’s the status?” asked Harrison with a glance back to Terry. He casually threw a small lightning bolt to eradicate an ice spirit that was approaching from a distance.

“Got it!” exclaimed Terry.

With a rumbling sound, the gates opened, and the three were faced with the elemental welcoming committee that had been obscured from mana sight by the gate.

It consisted of a large earth elemental as well as two smaller ice elementals and their entourage of ice spirits.

Terry quickly took in the situation and his mana sense assured him that Derek had already changed course as well.

Terry placed and transfixed several tertium slabs in front of them so that they would have a secure location to retreat to if required.

“You prepare the big one and I’ll distract the little ones,” said Harrison to Terry.

“Sounds like a plan,” interjected Derek, who had joined the two. “Better to take out the ice elementals as quickly as possible though. Once they are out, the mindless spirits will be less trouble. And you get a glimpse into the chaos that awaits us in the future. Without the elemental of the same faction in control, the ice spirits may even turn on the earth elemental.”

Derek looked at Terry. “Think you can keep the big guy occupied for a bit?”

“Depends on its mana abilities, but…” Terry nodded. “I think so.”

“We only need a bit of time,” said Harrison. “The ice elementals are lower rank and their bodies are perfect targets for lightning.”

“Alright, no time to waste. Plenty of other elementals to squash today,” said Derek. “On three. One… two… THREE!”

Derek used his boots to blink forward while Harrison used his light-aspected spell for the same effect. Derek moved left to avoid the earth elemental, while Harrison moved right.

How nice it would be to learn that spell…

Terry grumbled inwardly while bursting his mana in a technique that emphasized leg-speed and reaction time. It had a slightly better mana efficiency than a full-out burst.

Terry charged at the giant earth elemental… and was promptly greeted with a boulder hurled towards him.

Terry air-jumped above the boulder and was greeted by another that forced him to dodge to the sides.

Screw you!

Terry retrieved a set of bolas and used the gap between two incoming projectiles to throw.

The bolas roped around the elemental’s arm and then transfixed themselves. The earth elemental seemed surprised and irritated at the unexpected resistance when trying to hurl its next rock.

Terry quickly followed up with a second pair of bolas for the elemental’s other arm and then dashed forward.

Terry’s mana sense warned him of a mana-charged rock that was flying at him from the sides.

For a moment, Terry wondered if a disruption discharge would be worth it, but then he dismissed the idea. Too many targets and besides that, a mana ability was instinctual, which meant that it was less of a bother for the elemental to recreate the same effect than it was for a caster to reshape a spell.

Instead, Terry quickly retrieved two tertium slabs with handles and continued his dash. He transfixed the slabs at the latest possible moment to block the incoming projectiles and half a second later, he was already charging further.

Terry air-jumped up and retrieved two pairs of roped rings. He threw the rings to the left and then dashed to the right. As soon as the rings had moved past the earth elemental, Terry used his bidirectional attraction gloves to pull the rings back towards himself.

In this manner, Terry entangled the rock elemental further and then transfixed the rings.

Terry dodged two rock spears flying at him and closed in on the earth elemental. He scanned the elemental for its mana formation and quickly stepped up the hardened earth surface towards the elemental’s back from where he also had a clear sight towards his companions.

As a safety measure, he immediately summoned a flattened tertium cube he had folded to cover his back and the neighbouring four directions at an angle.

Just like old times… Terry snorted. Only better prepared.

Terry retrieved a giant nail from his storage item and pressed it into the hardened earth. He had bought a set of giant nails in the Chara Settlement. As preparation for this mission, this nail had been coated in gold with the help of Harrison.

Terry retrieved a U-shaped tertium piece he transfixed to hold the nail in place.

Afterwards, Terry retrieved his resizable one-handed war hammer and hammered away…

When Terry judged the nail was deep enough, He put away his other equipment. He distanced himself from the earth elemental and shouted: “Ready!”

A moment later, Harrison threw an intense lightning bolt at the elemental. The lightning snaked its way through the air and then to the gold-coated nail.

*Zap*

When the first lightning bolt was not sufficient, a second followed, and then a third. The nail guided the energy into the most vulnerable section of the formation…

*RUMBLE*

The giant earth elemental collapsed into rubble as soon as enough damage to the formation had accumulated.

“Good work!” shouted Derek, who was clinging to the icy body of the last remaining ice elemental and finished it off with a fire-infused palm strike.

“You prepared the big one faster than I expected,” said Harrison. “I thought you had never faced elementals before?”

“I hadn’t,” replied Terry. “But I once had to face a giant earth construct.”

***