– Era of the Wastes, Cycle 216, Season of the Rising Moon, Day 67 –
The Tiv soldiers cautiously approached the local command center from where flames were raging high into the night’s sky. A hunched, dark silhouette stood in stark contrast to the bright flames in the background. The hooded figure was dressed in shadows that could not be explained by the fire or the night itself.
“Identify yourself!” barked an officer among the soldiers. “Are you responsible for the fire?”
An eerie cackle resounded in the air as two red pupils became visible underneath a hood that was otherwise filled with nothing but shadow.
“Look at all the little fishies jumping into the net to pay their blood…” The hoarse voice of a woman sent chills down the backs of the Tiv soldiers. “I do not need to identify myself to a dead person,” sneered the woman and cackled again. “For every drop of blood that has been spilled in Arcana, I’ll extract a gallon here in Tiv.” Her red pupils flared up.
Despite the heat of the fire, cold sweat appeared on the foreheads of the Tiv soldiers. “You and you.” The officer pointed at two soldiers. “Run and send a message to inform headquarters about this.”
Before the two soldiers had moved more than a few steps, one of them exploded into a bloody mist. The remaining soldiers all stared at the scene in horror. The cackle resounded once more, and they all turned to the hooded woman.
“One messenger should suffice,” snarled the hooded woman. “Considering Tiv’s sins, more than a single survivor appears excessive to me.”
“We don’t know what ‘sins’ you are talking about!” One soldier shouted with despair.
“Tsk tsk tsk, when has ignorance ever been an excuse when judgement awaits?” The hooded woman spoke derisively. “Tiv broke Arcana’s barrier. I’ll break your necks. It is as simple as that.”
“Move!” The officer ordered the surviving messenger once more.
“Straighten your backs, soldiers!” shouted the officer. “If a fight is what she desires, then a fight is what we’ll give her. Take her down!”
As the soldiers charged towards the hooded woman, her cackle resounded loudly once more. “Bringing metal armor to face a true mage? How amusing.”
For a moment, everything was illuminated in a flash as blindingly bright lightning danced from the hooded woman’s hand to every single soldier.
It was the first time that the soldiers got a glimpse of the elderly face underneath the hood.
It was the last thing they saw in their lives.
***
Late in the night, Terry was inside another special training room. He had been unable to sleep and thought he might as well use the time for something productive. Something that would keep him distracted from his own thoughts.
It was not working.
While dodging and transfixing the incoming ice projectiles, Terry’s eyes repeatedly moved to the location of the alchemy lab. Bjorln had locked himself in the lab from the moment he had arrived. Terry could sense the mana fluctuations of whatever his accepted father was doing in there, but he had no idea what it could possibly be.
Terry snapped out of it when he noticed the machine was already one gear further than he had intended to use. He flung some mana into the deactivation trigger. At this point, Terry realized he had already progressed into the difficulty that fired seven ice spikes at once.
Initially, this exercise had been intended to test Terry’s current mana intensity. The ice spikes were guided by mana, which meant that Terry had to overpower the existing mana or shield his spell structure if he wanted to transfix them.
Terry was staring at the ice spikes that remained transfixed in the air. He had dodged two and transfixed the remaining five. While looking at the positions of the transfixed ice spikes, Terry became aware that he had not relied on his bodily focal points for casting. He had subconsciously cast directly outside his body, leaning on his improvements in mana reach and parallel casting.
This was perhaps the first time that Terry had undeniably achieved truly hands-free – and feet-free – casting. If it had been any other time, Terry would have been giddy with excitement, but whatever happiness this could have sparked was dwarfed by the sorrow of what was going on around him.
Terry mostly felt numb.
Terry hated feeling numb.
He caught the movement of familiar mana signatures in his mana sense and a pang of guilt pierced through his numbness.
“I hope I did not scare them again,” muttered Terry. He left the training room and looked towards the direction of his approaching siblings. Terry sighed. He had not warned them about leaving for the training grounds in the middle of the night. He had even forgotten to write a note. Again.
Damn it. Terry was disappointed in himself.
“Hey.” Jorg’s weak voice greeted Terry.
“I had a feeling you would be here,” said Lori. Her eyes were puffy and red.
“Has Pa come out?” asked Jorg.
Terry shook his head. “Can’t sleep either?”.
“I don’t understand how you can still find the resolve to train,” said Jorg with some self-reproach.
“It helps me,” said Terry. “Don’t know what else I can do.”
“I tried practicing spellwork when I could not sleep,” muttered Jorg. “But it mostly ended in spell failures.”
“We could lift some weights,” suggested Lori. “Not much concentration required there.”
Jorg shrugged unenthusiastically.
Suddenly, Terry jerked his head around. “He’s coming out,” said Terry while staring at the entrance to the alchemy area.
Not long afterwards, a dwarf that resembled an ashen ghost rushed towards the three. While Terry was too dazed to react, Lori and Jorg were rushing to meet Bjorln. The three dwarves hugged each other tightly.
Bjorln placed kisses on the heads of his two children. “I’m so sorry that I could not protect your mother. She risked her life to protect the citizens, and I was too late with my discharge. It’s all…” He glanced up. “Terry, my boy, come here!” He motioned with his hand.
Terry went down on his knees and joined the sobbing bundles.
Bjorln kissed Terry on the head as well. “I’m so glad that you’re safe. You can’t believe how happy we were to hear that you’re safe.” Bjorln’s face contorted in a grimace of pain. “And I can’t even thank the old lady anymore…”
Terry’s stomach sank another floor at the reference to Sigille.
Bjorln sobbed and inhaled deeply. “I won’t let my Isille go like this. I’ll save her.” He hugged his children tightly to himself. “I’ll save her.”
Terry had never heard his pa like he was now. The despair and resolve in Bjorln’s voice almost scared him. He forcefully suppressed the urge to ask how he planned to save her.
“I’ve already begun the concoction,” muttered Bjorln distantly. “The first phase of preparations is finished.”
“Come, I’ll make some snacks for you,” said Bjorln with a sad smile. “You can’t just stay up the whole night like this.”
Terry’s mind was a haze as he followed Bjorln and his siblings.
A faint scent of blood lingered in Terry’s nostrils.
***
Inside his office, Kipkoi stared at the report in front of him and held his head in his hands.
“How could they be…” Kipkoi’s eyes were glazed over. “Why are they so stupid? I can’t believe this. This isn’t what we wanted. This isn’t what we need to do.”
“This… HARRGH!” Kipkoi lost control of his impotent rage and he shoved all the items from his desk to the side.
An elven man calmly snatched a few papers from the air before they fell to the ground. “Twenty garrisons completely eradicated.” Clarence read out loud. “Five high-ranking generals assassinated and… Wow, really? Two of their heads have been sent to the Assembly and king?”
Clarence fleetingly glanced up at Kipkoi, but the minister was in no mood to respond. “More than fifty mobile squads taken down in a single night, two major supply routes completely torn apart…”
Clarence skimmed the next sheet of paper. “Emptied magic supply stores, burned down food stores, sabotaged constructs, several dozen imperial censors dead in the streets…
“They don’t mess around, do they?” Clarence exhaled a sharp breath. He looked at Kipkoi. “Any chance that this is Thanatos’s work?”
“No,” replied Kipkoi in a grave tone. “As far as we can tell, Thanatos has pulled out of Tiv territory.”
“‘As far as we can tell’, huh?” Clarence smacked his lips. “Why would they do that? If these reports really indicate retaliation from Arcana, then wouldn’t now be the best time for Thanatos to act? They do seem the type to place a hard kick when an opponent is down.”
Kipkoi raised his gaze pensively. His eyes opened wide, and he shook his head with a horrified look in his eyes. “This…” Kipkoi gulped. “Because it’s not over yet.” He abruptly stood up. “I have to go to the Assembly.”
“What for?” asked Clarence with a raised brow. “I don’t see how you can help in this situation.”
“I need to hand myself in so that they can offer me to Arcana.” Kipkoi spoke in a daze. “Perhaps that will appease the… I never wanted… I never thought that…”
Clarence blinked a few times without saying anything. “Losing the barrier always meant bloodshed. You knew that.”
“Yes, but…” Kipkoi shook his head. “But how could they be so stupid?! I wanted them to finally fight against the Wastes.” He shook his head more forcefully. “Like they ought to have all this time. Force them to finally see some sense. I…”
Kipkoi lowered his gaze. “Why is it like this? This is madness. Not only are they not using their full force against the Wastes, they are abusing their powers to attack us. This isn’t…”
Kipkoi raised his head again and spoke with determination. “I need to stop this if I can. Now.”
Kipkoi rushed to the door. Suddenly, he felt a sharp prick at his neck. He turned around to see Clarence grimacing at him with a needle in his hand. Kipkoi was overcome with drowsiness and stared at Clarence, who was softly holding him so that he would not fall to the floor.
Clarence shook his head with sympathy. “You may be willing to give your life for this damned empire, but I’m not willing to let you do that. I won’t let you throw away your life for this shithole.” Clarence heaved the minister’s unconscious body onto his shoulders. “Even if it means that you’ll hate me for it.”
Afterwards, Clarence disappeared from sight while carrying the unconscious Kipkoi away.
***
Terry stepped into the mana isolation room that allowed a view of the chamber in which Isille was treated.
Emaldine, Lori, and Jorg were with him.
“I…” Emaldine shook her head. “If Ma was still alive…” She sighed deeply. “I can practically see her ripping the Preacher into pieces with her teeth.” She bit her lips. “I’m almost thankful that she does not have to see this. It would break her apart.”
Two people stepped out of the chamber. Terry turned around to recognize his former mentor. He muttered weakly: “Greetings, Instructor Pelliana.”
“Oh?” Pelliana blinked. “Terry? Is that you?” She examined him with a dismissive attitude. “I can see that you at least took your mana foundational training seriously.”
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Terry swallowed the words in his mouth. He sensed the remaining traces of Pelliana’s healing spells on the unconscious Isille and he spoke from the bottom of his heart: “Thank you, Instructor Pelliana.”
Pelliana leaned her head back slightly and gave Terry an appraising look over her nose. “There is no need to thank me, boy. I am, after all, a healer. This is what I do.” She narrowed her eyes. “And I am not your instructor anymore. You can address me as Pelliana.”
Terry nodded, and his gaze finally washed over the second person. A young woman with curly blond hair was staring at Terry with mouth agape.
She seems familiar somehow. Have I met her before? Terry tilted his head slightly, but could not bring himself to care very much.
“Clarity, can you bring me the recharged blood purifier?” asked Pelliana. “Clarity?”
“What?” Clarity flinched and turned to Pelliana.
“Hm?” Pelliana looked curiously from Terry to Clarity. “Have you two met before? Terry left the year that you joined the Academy. When would you…?”
“No,” mumbled Clarity. “Not really.”
Lori whispered to Jorg. “Haven’t we seen her before?”
“Sorry, Instructor,” apologized Clarity. “His mana signature surprised me.”
Terry realized he was currently not cloaking his mana and another breath later, his mana signature was fully cloaked.
“Wh-what?” Clarity uttered faintly.
“My bad,” muttered Terry. He was not looking at the young woman and instead stared at Isille’s unconscious body in the chamber. “I didn't mean to distract you. Thanks for assisting Inst— Pelliana in the healing.”
“Clarity, if you want to have a chat with your failed predecessor, you can do that later,” interjected Pelliana. “The recharged blood purifier, please.”
“Yes, Instructor.” Clarity rushed off with hasty steps.
“How is she?” asked Emaldine.
“She has been touched by a reaper. What do you think?” Pelliana scoffed slightly and her tone became matter-of-factly. “With a mark that advanced, there is not much I can do except try to stabilize her condition as much as I can. The chamber that Brynn has created helps, but even if she manages to improve the chamber even further, all we can do is buy time.”
To Terry, Pelliana’s voice sounded very distant. He had expected as much.
Lori and Jorg grimaced and clenched their fists. Lori raised her head to glare at Pelliana. “But Pa said that—”
“Let me be blunt,” interrupted Pelliana curtly. “I don’t know what that dwarf is planning, but in my professional opinion, you need to be prepared to say your farewells. There is nothing more cruel than false hope.”
Terry took a deep breath. He glanced at his siblings, whose faces had lost all color. Lori, in particular, looked as if someone had slapped the life out of her face.
“And you can tell that dwarf that there is no point in staring at the chamber the whole night,” said Pelliana grumpily. “On the contrary, any mana presence is an unnecessary risk that might worsen the situation.” Pelliana moved her eyes over the people present. “And allow me to be blunt again: That includes all of you, too.”
Emaldine’s face flushed with anger. “You—”
“Thank you, Pelliana,” interjected Terry in a flat voice. “Thank you for… everything you are doing here.” He turned to leave. “I won’t disturb you any further.”
***
“…this is the list of ingredients I still require that we do not have in stock,” announced Bjorln. Intensely dark shadows were underneath his eyes and the skin on his face appeared to droop. Bjorln handed several copies to the people in the room.
Terry was practicing his cloaking and observing the people present. Aside from his family, there were many people whom he had seen and interacted with before. Terry bit his lips while waiting for a copy of the ingredients to reach him. He had already placed a new notebook on the table in case there was any additional information he should write down.
“Whaka Brynn has already issued a request to the Guild,” said Bjorln. “But some of the ingredients are difficult to come by.”
Terry recalled how Brynn and Samuel had met up with Bjorln earlier in the day. The two were currently not present. Terry received a copy of the ingredients. He was still not sure if all of this was real. Bjorln seemed so sure that he could save Isille, and yet it clashed with everything that Terry knew.
From the corner of his eyes, Terry spotted a frown on a Guardian whom he had met a long time ago. Terry recalled that the woman was called Leah. She seemed to have some connections with his accepted parents.
“I think I can get the crystallized tears of the ice tyrant,” said Mirabilia. “And I can call in a favor for the soul draining weed.”
“I may have a lead on the pseudo phoenix feathers,” said Emaldine. “But I would need to get to the Union for that.”
“Most of the dimensional mages are unfortunately not available,” said Tamar. “But we can find a way. The livid frog eyes we can acquire. I only need to send a missive from the Guardians.”
Terry furrowed his brow. He got the impression that he was missing something to make sense of the whole situation. He scanned the list of ingredients. He did not recognize most of the entries, but a few caught his attention.
The first such entry was an arcane mana core of a specific size. Unfortunately, Terry already knew that the purplemist lynx core was too small for the requirement.
“If I can get to Ferrow, I can get three arcane cores that match the requirements,” said Verecund.
The next two entries that caught Terry’s attention were a freely fallen leaf from a druid tree that was at least a hundred years old and a pinch of earth that had harbored a druid tree seed that was not older than a hundred days. Terry looked up to meet Matteo’s gaze.
“I know where to find the two druid tree related ingredients,” said Matteo. “But they are way west in Tiv. I have some transfer scrolls that can cover some of the distance, but not the entire trip.”
“We could prepare scrolls to cover the distance within Arcana beyond the primary gates as quickly as possible,” said Tamar. “Some walking distance can’t be avoided. Unanchored transfers over longer distances are too destabilizing. That being said, while druidry is rare and the time limits make it very difficult, we should first search in Arcana.”
“The biggest problem is the four-leaved blood tulip,” a man spoke up.
Terry recognized the man as one of the orientation instructors he had spoken with in the past. His name was Dwayne.
“Right,” agreed Tamar. “From what is written here, it only grows in areas with intense blood-aspected mana that is also free from practically all the core aspects.”
“Under Arcana’s barrier, such a place did not exist,” said Dwayne.
“Unfortunately, I've never had much interest in gathering missions,” said Matteo. “But Dhruv, the druid from Tiv I was referring to earlier, might have an idea. The problem is that I’m not exactly free to leave at the moment. I am barely keeping up with the elemental subjugation missions and the suppression treatment for those that have been possessed.”
“The four-leaved blood tulip is optional,” interjected Bjorln with a firm voice. “It would be good to have it, but there is no need to focus on it.”
Terry caught a movement from Leah. She was lowering her head until her eyes were not visible anymore.
“More importantly, there is a strict time limit,” stressed Bjorln grimly. “The potion has to be used right when the mark’s effect hits its peak. The potion has to be fully prepared and ready at that time. The four-leaved blood tulip is not worth any delay.”
Terry furrowed his brow. Something was off about Bjorln’s tone.
“We can only work with the time that we’ve got,” stressed Bjorln. “The healer and the inscription chamber can’t buy time indefinitely.”
“I believe there are a few more of these that I can gather,” said Mirabilia. “But I need to confirm a few points first.”
“No time to dawdle,” declared Verecund, and took his leave. All the others stood up as well.
“Mira, could you stay back, please?” Leah spoke up.
“Huh?” Mirabilia froze in the doorframe. “Y-yeah, okay.”
“Bjorln.” Leah spoke in a low voice.
Bjorln met Leah’s gaze calmly. He remained standing where he was.
Terry sighed and stood up as well.
And again, there is nothing much I can help with…
Again.
Not again.
Terry bit his lips and left with all the others.
Only Bjorln, Leah, and Mirabilia remained in the meeting room.
Leah sensed for the surrounding mana signatures without speaking. Mirabilia felt that the atmosphere was odd and sat down again.
Outside, Terry discovered he had forgotten his new notebook. He walked back to the room when he heard heated voices.
Leah, who had not sensed Terry’s approach because of his active mana cloaking, had begun staring daggers at Bjorln.
“Bjorln, what the Wastes are you doing?!” demanded Leah.
“What’s going on?” asked Mirabilia.
Bjorln looked at Leah calmly.
“I may not have kept up with my alchemy lessons as far as you…” Leah swallowed. “But I still remember the introduction to forbidden potions.”
Bjorln’s expression did not change.
Mirabilia’s mouth opened without leaking a sound.
“These are the ingredients for the life sharing potion,” accused Leah. “And without the four-leaved blood tulip, it’s a life sacrificing potion.”
Bjorln’s expression did not change.
“What does this mean?” asked Mirabilia. She looked from Leah to Bjorln and back. “Explain it for someone that has never had an interest in potions or medicine.”
“A life sharing potion takes one person’s remaining life span and cuts it in half,” said Leah. “The other half goes to the person that consumes the potion. It would not heal Isille. She would die and then awaken with the shared life force.”
“What…” Mirabilia inhaled sharply.
“A life sacrifice potion is worse than that,” said Leah in a low voice. “Where the life sharing potion takes half and gives half. The life sacrificing potion takes all to give half.”
“What?!” Mirabilia jumped up from her seat. She stared at Bjorln. “Is this true?”
Mirabilia found her answer in Bjorln’s stoic expression. She turned to Leah. “Is this even legal? It’s called a forbidden potion, right?”
“It’s complicated,” said Leah. “Yes, it’s called that, but the name has nothing to do with legality. There are heavy regulations around it. It’s almost like a ritual. A person has a right to pay such a price if they wish, but there must be witnesses to testify that the person is sharing their life on their own accord and without being coerced in any way…”
Leah shook her head. “Yes, this is legal, but it’s fucking stupid!” She glared at Bjorln. “Do you think she would want this?!”
Bjorln’s expression did not change.
“If you die because of this, she will kill you!” snapped Leah.
“She would probably stab us, too, for good measure,” muttered Mirabilia. She pleaded: “Bjorln, Isille is one of my best friends. She would not want this.”
When Bjorln remained as expressionless as before, Mirabilia took a deep breath. “Can this potion be distributed? Can I help in paying the price?”
“No,” replied Leah firmly. “It can only connect a single life and a person can only consume it a single time.” She scowled. “From the looks of it, he has already connected his life with the first phase.”
Mirabilia shook her head. “Bjorln, you can’t do this.”
Bjorln closed his eyes for a single breath. “I can and I will.” He stared resolutely at Leah and Mirabilia. “I chose to share my life with Isille a long time ago. It is my life, it is my choice what I do with it.”
“Then think about your children!” exclaimed Leah. “Like death, the tulip is ‘optional’. What about Florine? What about Jorgen? What about Terry? Are you just going to abandon them all?”
Bjorln’s gaze wavered, but only for a moment. “They are not little children anymore. We have raised them as best we could. I trust them to take care of themselves. They have each other as whaka. They have found good friends, of whom some will most likely become their whaka. I trust them. This is my life. This is my choice.”
“Bjorln…” Leah shook her head. Her eyes were red.
“She would not want this, Bjorln,” pleaded Mirabilia. “She—”
“She promised!” Bjorln almost shouted. Tears were streaming down his face. “She promised me she’ll be here.” His voice turned into a whisper. “That she’ll always be here.”
For a moment, they were all silent.
Mirabilia raised her head to stare at the ceiling before turning back to Bjorln. “That tulip is not optional, you hear me? If I have to tie you down and beat you into a pulp, that tulip is not optional.”
Bjorln’s expression did not change.
Outside, Terry was staring at the door handle he had not pressed. He staggered a few steps back. Then, he ran to find his uncle Samuel.
***
Terry barged into the classroom without so much as a glance for the seated Academy students.
A small part of him was surprised at how weak their mana signatures seemed, but most of his attention was on Samuel at the other end of the room.
“Continue with the third shaping exercise for now,” ordered Samuel. He approached Terry, who was obviously deeply shaken by something.
“Did you know?” asked Terry.
Samuel realized what was going on and sighed. “Come.”
Terry furrowed his brow. He followed Samuel while breathing shallow breaths.
They entered an empty discussion room.
Samuel caught Terry’s gaze. “Yes. I did.”
“But…” Terry opened his mouth repeatedly before he found the words to say. “But we can’t let him do this. Pa… He…”
Samuel took a deep breath. “On the contrary, I can’t stop him.” He smiled bitterly. “I have no right to.”
Terry creased his forehead. He subconsciously shook his head.
“Whaka Olgorn gave his life for a chance to protect mine,” said Samuel. “I would have done the same for him.” He lowered his gaze. “I would do the same for Whaka Brynn.” He looked into Terry’s eyes. “I would do the same for you and your siblings.”
Terry exhaled an unsteady breath.
“More importantly, Whaka Isille is no different,” continued Samuel. “If it was Whaka Bjorln in danger and the situation could be tackled with a good spear arm, don’t you think Whaka Isille would be the first to move?” Samuel smiled faintly. “No matter the odds? Even if it meant charging into a fight, she has little chance of winning? Even if it meant getting herself poisoned or severely injured or killed? Even if Whaka Bjorln would prefer she didn’t?”
“I regret with every fiber of my being that I don’t have any other option,” said Samuel dejectedly. “But I can’t stop him. I can’t blame him for trying what he can, either.”
But giving all your life so that no more than half of it reaches another person?
“Stupid…” A word escaped from Terry’s lips as his exchange with the Preacher intruded his thoughts.
“Well, it’s certainly not entirely rational,” admitted Samuel wearily. “But these things generally aren’t.”
“Is there really no other way?” asked Terry faintly.
“I wish there was,” said Samuel sadly.
“The four-leaved blood tulip is not optional.” Terry murmured, almost in a trance.
Not like this.
Not again.
Never again.
Terry raised his head and declared: “I have to speak with Matteo.” Terry rushed out the door and out of the Academy.
If he can’t go to Dhruv, then I will!
***