– Era of the Wastes, Cycle 219, Season of the Setting Sun, Day 18 –
“You know, when Terry informed you about your parents arriving…” Tiana glanced at her elven friend with narrowed eyes. “I don’t think he had in mind that you would use that information to flee the scene.”
“Whatever do you mean?” Siling deadpanned. “When the Spellcrusher asked about being ready for the next raid, I simply replied truthfully that I was.” She grimaced. “I still am. Perhaps we can find another settlement to liberate right afterwards. For duty. And justice. And, uhh…”
“Avoiding the awkward situation with your family?” suggested Elena.
“That too, a bit, but mostly the justice and stuff,” said Siling wryly.
Elena shrugged. “Been there, done that. Seeing my father’s state during his treatment had me take more missions than I normally would. I kind of felt bad about it, but it was simply more than I could take.”
Lori patted Elena on the back.
“Guilty as well…” Jorg raised a hand. “After Ma woke up in the healing chamber and after we hugged it out, I skedaddled to the other side of the city, because I knew there would be an intense ‘discussion’ about how Pa nearly killed himself with a forbidden potion. She could be nearly dying and she would still find the energy to shout about something like that. Or worse…” He shivered.
“Cry.” Lori finished the thought of her brother. “I still prefer Ma’s angry angry over crying angry, even if it’s not directed at me in particular.”
“Just saying…” Tiana glanced at Siling. “Your dad is still around. Perhaps he’s a monster. Perhaps he isn’t. But you won’t find out avoiding him.”
Siling winced. She knew Tiana was an orphan. Involuntarily, her gaze moved to Elena, Lori, and Jorg. All three of them had gotten close to losing their fathers recently. She knew they meant well, but she still felt uncomfortable imagining herself talking to the father whom she had forgotten because of her father’s magic.
“At least the raid went smoothly,” interjected Miguel with a glance. He cringed immediately when hearing the tone of his voice. He definitely wasn’t the one to change topics smoothly. They usually relied on Siling for that. Miguel still tried his best because felt that a topic change was overdue to allow Siling her own thoughts for a while. His elven friend smiled and nodded at him, clearly understanding his attentions.
“Very different though,” muttered Vess, who was walking next to Tiana.
Tiana nodded. “Different without Terry.”
“More my style,” added Patricia.
“More boring,” complained Rafael, which earned him a glare from Patricia.
“You mean more quiet,” corrected Jorg. “I’ve noticed that fewer buildings have collapsed.”
“That’s only because your sister wasn’t pulling her weight,” scoffed Rafael and pointed an accusing claw at Lori.
“His sister is going to put a spear somewhere you won’t like if you keep pointing at her,” grumbled Lori half-heartedly.
“Couldn’t afford our previous approach,” said Tiana. “Chadwick also warned us to avoid outright confrontation without Terry around. I think he had a point. None of us are as good at tying opponents down in one place as Terry.”
Maximilian grumbled quietly.
“Are you okay?” Elena asked Maximilian. “You’ve been awfully quiet since yesterday.”
“It’s nothing,” muttered Maximilian. “Just thinking.” He shook his head and mustered the energy to comment on the actual topic. “It probably has more to do with Elenec and the other two death hunters joining us here. They’re a lot more subtle than… Terry.”
“We’ve avoided detection longer, true…” muttered Tiana pensively.
“I have to admit it took longer though.” Patricia shrugged. Even if it took longer, she preferred slowly infiltrating through the shadows and stabbing the enemy from the back over a frontal confrontation.
“And we couldn’t play to everyone’s strengths as much,” added Tiana. Not all of them were fighting in the style of scouts and rogue infiltrators. She and Elena had been utilized less in the death hunters’ approach than in the ones they had come up with Terry.
“Are we done here?” asked Vess. “The death hunters haven’t sent another signal, so it should be fine, right?”
“Probably,” said Tiana, and she didn’t fail to notice the grimace on Siling’s face.
“They’re probably looking into the documents and construction,” remarked Jorg. “Most of the occupied settlements had something going on and there appears to be an overlap in materials. The death hunters might catch something we didn’t. They have more experience with necromancers and stuff.”
“Let’s hope it’s just some normal mana-crafting,” said Miguel with a frown. “I don’t want to learn that I was walking around in the range of some strange necromancer invention.”
It was at that moment, that they all received a warning from Elenec via communication talisman: [Careful! Something escaped from the shadow plane! Headed towards you. We’re on our way.]
Lori immediately moved to fortify their position with stone walls while utilizing the existing streets and buildings to create a bottleneck.
Rafael jumped on top of the fortifications – much to Lori’s dismay since that kind of defeated the point of having them – but she let the felan be.
Patricia, Miguel, and Jorg stepped into the shadows where Patricia would linger while Miguel and Jorg positioned themselves at higher grounds.
Vess prepared a metal-aspected barrier and water-aspected healing spell while Maximilian remained close with his own light-aspected offensive and defensive spellwork. Elena and Tiana positioned themselves to shield the two, if necessary.
“Something else is coming too!” stated Siling while furrowing her forehead. “Wingman is getting agitated. Lots of prey, but weird. I’ll take a look.” She briefly switched to her thunderblood hawk and returned with grave news: “I believe I just saw some of the husk thingies you mentioned.”
“I guess the fight isn’t over then,” groaned Vess.
“Something is weird,” declared Siling with a frown. “The husks aren’t moving any closer.”
“Husks being here means the Spirited Duchess is somewhere around,” said Lori.
“Perhaps they’re aiming to take hostages?” Tiana scowled.
“Death is what they can take from me,” growled Rafael. “As if I would let my brother down.”
[Vampire… Husk? I think! The thing is shrugging off my arrows!] Miguel’s voice transmission arrived. [I believe it’s heading for Siling!] He couldn’t be sure, but the thing had changed trajectory right when Siling had moved to different soul spirits. Once might be a coincidence, but twice in a row during the switch back?
Everyone immediately tensed and changed position to cover Siling.
“Uhh…” Siling blinked. “Should I just go up?”
“No,” judged Tiana. “You, Maximilian, and Elenec are the only flying combatants aside from your soul spirit. The sky isn't to our advantage.”
“Especially not if they have forces hidden somewhere,” added Elena.
“I see it,” growled Rafael. The creature was undoubtedly a vampire, but it was surrounded by a strange haze of purple, black, and red, with the densest glow emerging from the vampire’s eyes. Rafael was about to unleash his Heavenly Wolf Slash when something unexpected happened. “Uhh… guys? The thing just stopped. It’s looking at me. It’s creepy.”
“Si…ling…” croaked the vampire husk. “Sis…ter…”
“What?” exclaimed Siling and everyone’s eyes turned to her. She didn’t remember her sister, because her father had wiped her memory as a child, but she couldn’t help it. Something was drawing her forward, and she climbed up the fortification while barriers appeared in front of her. Maximilian, Vess, and even Jorg from somewhere – they had all cast barriers to prevent the vampire husk from coming closer and to prevent Siling from exposing herself any more than this.
“Sister… You came… I knew you’d come… I always knew… Everyone abandoned me… But… I always knew… You’d never… You… You’d come…”
Siling grimaced, and her bottom lip began trembling. She didn’t recognize the voice. She certainly didn’t recognize the vampiric body. She knew that the husk appearance should creep her out, but there was something. Something deep inside that voice that resonated within her despite the messenger’s horrifying appearance.
“You came for me…”
“I…” Siling felt incomparably guilty, and it showed on her face.
Empty, hazy eyes focused on her. “...you didn’t?”
Tiana jumped next to her elven friend. “She didn’t come to these lands for you, but she stayed for you. As did we all.”
“You didn’t…” Seeing a horrifying vampiric husk tremble with a voice of hopes betrayed was a haunting experience for everyone. “You didn’t…”
“I’m here,” muttered Siling weakly.
“You didn’t… A trap? No… No magebane… No soul eater… Where are they…?”
“Come with me!” shouted Siling with a despair she didn’t know she felt.
“No hope… Not my own person… They bind me… Can’t stay… Others are coming… Can’t stay idle… Can’t go against orders… Leave, sister! Leave! Forget me!”
Siling finally regained her composure. Her sister Siyu was telling her to forget her. After Siling had just learned about her existence. After she had just heard the despair and hopelessness in Siyu’s voice. From deep in Siling’s soul, a single all powerful emotion welled up and emerged as a defiant shout: “SCREW THAT!”
Siling watched all remaining life silently fade away from the husk in mere seconds. She couldn’t read the expression in the hazy eyes, but she had already made up her mind. Siling would not leave. She would not forget. Never again.
Elenec dropped down from the sky. “What happened here?” She looked around and shook her head. “Nevermind that, we’ll have to make a decision. The scouts in the outer perimeter have reported a large force moving here.”
“The husks?” asked Tiana.
With Elenec’s arrival, Jorg and the others gathered as well.
“I wish,” said Elenec. “The husks appear to be the vanguard and scouts. Weaker creatures, but many. The bulk of the force appears to be vampires with a smaller force of death aura creatures, which is… concerning. I’ve already informed the Spellcrusher.”
“So we’ll have to decide if we evacuate?” asked Lori.
“These people have barely regained their town. We can’t just abandon them,” protested Maximilian.
“Abandoning the town is not the same as abandoning the people,” reminded Tiana.
“Even with Amelia, evacuating the whole town will take time,” said Jorg with a frown.
“You said the force is concerning. How many are there?” asked Elena.
“It’s not the number, but the composition,” said Elenec. The vampiress put a hand to her rapier while thinking. “The Lich Kingdoms aren’t known for leading an assault with valuable folks. They prefer expendable creatures. Common undead or reanimated hellspawn instead of sapient vampires.”
“Which means what?” asked Miguel.
“Worst case?” Elenec sharply exhaled a mouthful of air. “The Unholy Duchesses are on the move. With most of the forces being vampires, and mostly women at that, we might have to confront the Bloody Duchess if we don’t leave soon.”
“Shit,” cursed Miguel.
Siling clenched her fists and glared with defiance at the direction her thunderblood hawk soul spirit was pointing out. Every fiber of her being was rebelling against the idea of leaving. She would like to say her desire to stay was driven by her desire to help the people evacuate properly, but if she was honest, that was only a small part of it.
Siling refused to leave. She would not leave. She felt a fury she couldn’t remember ever feeling before and she had to let it out.
If the title was more than just honorary, then the Bloody Duchess rivaled her sister in power. Siling had refused to believe her sister was that much stronger than her and perhaps today, she would get a chance to glimpse at the true gap between herself and a duchess of the Lich Kingdoms.
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“We’ve already contacted Amelia, Chadwick, Isille, and Edmund,” said Elenec. “While they make up their minds, the other death hunters and I will set up the town for a fighting retreat. Can you take charge of the evacuation?”
“Can do,” agreed Jorg immediately. “I already have a rough map of the town layout.”
“Can I join the death hunters instead?” asked Siling with burning resolve in her eyes.
Tiana glanced at her troubled friend and then at the others before coming to her own conclusion. “Any other volunteers for the frontline? We’ll have to split up.” That she had stepped to Siling already communicated where she intended to join.
Lori shared a look with Elena and Miguel. “I figure I’m more suited to causing damage, anyway.” She stepped to Siling and Tiana.
Miguel sighed slightly and then shrugged. “I’ll find a spot to support both,” declared Miguel before looking at Jorg’s map.
“Don’t worry about the evacuation,” said Elena. “Jorg and I will manage.”
“I’d feel more comfortable if you had a second support,” said Tiana with a glance at Vess, who got the hint and joined the evacuation team.
“I’ll join our marksman,” declared Maximilian. “To keep us both more mobile.” Ironically, he was feeling calmer after he had heard about the incoming forces. Nothing like being attacked to cut straight through whatever moral conflict he had felt about his involvement in the town liberation raids.
“If you wish…” Elenec looked appreciably at the Guardians in front of her. She didn’t know many that would have volunteered to step up on such a battlefield at such an age. She could only hope that their powers matched their resolve.
***
Matteo started talking: “Spirit Tower Master, I’m—”
“Mina is fine, thank you.” The elven woman slightly pulled her elegant dress up and sat down at the table. “As fellow tower masters, we stand on equal footing.” She put a strain of dark hair behind her ear. “No need for titles.”
Mina observed the reactions from the three newly ascended tower masters with curiosity. Their feat had impressed her. Some in her tower were afraid, but she saw no cause for concern just yet. On the contrary, gaining three powerful tower masters was a blessing.
Mina’s eyes moved to the troublesome one that was still injured. Her light blue eyes traced the martialist’s remaining injuries in mana sight. Wounds that were as much self-inflicted as caused by her opponents. These martialists and their forbidden techniques.
This new Martial Tower Master was bound to invite trouble to her country, but honestly? That tower always invited trouble.
Mina decided that the stronger alliance with the Crafting Tower and Elemental Tower could be worth a bit more trouble. “I have to admit, though, that I’m not sure how to address you. Aparicia? Or do you prefer Apex?”
“Apex,” declared the irritated martialist, who evidently had little patience for their meeting.
“Very well.” Mina smiled agreeably and nodded. “As for the purpose behind this meeting…” She looked at Matteo and then at Brynn. “You don’t have to explain. I can guess enough. As can the neighboring countries, probably.”
“Then you understand that this is urgent,” stressed Brynn.
“I can see that it is important,” said Mina. “But urgent?”
“Don’t repeat the mistakes of the Era of Upheaval,” warned Matteo. “The Lich Kingdoms won’t stop.”
“Possible,” agreed Mina. “But not certain. I won’t try to judge the Lich Kingdoms’ intentions, but while you are free to support a nation of the union with volunteers from your towers, a declaration of war or invocation of the Union’s alliance is another topic.”
“We understand that such an act has to be unanimous,” said Brynn. “Which is why we are here talking to you.”
“Then let me talk,” stressed Mina. “A call for an alliance would fall on deaf ears unless the threat warrants it. Worse, it would diminish our country’s standing in the Union.”
“You don’t consider the current invasion a threat?” asked Brynn.
“Surely, the ‘One Mage Army’ can understand the opinion,” retorted Mina. “An invasion that, according to rumors, was quashed by a single crafter and her constructs, doesn’t meet the standards of an empire-level threat.”
“That was before the Unholy Duchesses made a direct move,” stressed Matteo.
“So far, we have only heard about a single duchess moving,” said Mina. “And that one is the most problematic for our Spirit Tower, given the nature of her abilities. Pointing out that the Spirited Duchess is on the march makes me more hesitant to get involved at this point, not less.”
Mina raised her hand to preempt any interjection. “Please, consider the implications fully.” She looked from Brynn to Matteo.
Mina firmly held Matteo’s gaze. “We can’t rightfully call on the Union unless we are fully committed first, and that’s an unreasonable ask from our Spirit Tower against the Spirited Duchess. That would be like sending the elemental summoners as the vanguard against you, against the Elemental Fury. Self-destructive at best and empowering the enemy at worst. I can’t agree to that and given our rules, I therefore can’t support the rest of your demands either.”
Mina shrugged and raised her hands in a gesture of helplessness. “If other duchesses make an appearance, we have a better justification, but it would still not solve the problem that I cannot support our country – and by extension our Spirit Tower – moving first in the current situation. That would go against my duties to my tower.”
Matteo sighed. “Just because our country has to commit fully to the battle first, doesn’t mean that the Spirit Tower has to face off against the Spirited Duchess.” At least he believed that was the case. He had asked a few pointers on books about the laws in the Lands from his cousin.
“Still…” Mina shook her head. “The closest significant country to the Freedom’s Cooperative is the region of the Rising Blood Sect. Your efforts would be better spent there—”
Apex snorted derisively. “I know that sect and any word spoken to them is a waste of breath.” She stood up and looked at Matteo. “I don’t know what you’re wasting your time with her for. The woman said everyone is free to take volunteers and join the fight. If you want to fight, just fight.”
Apex left the room without another word. As expected, this meeting had been a giant waste of her time.
Matteo looked from the departing Apex to Brynn. “The Rising Blood Sect… I think that’s the one Terry mentioned. The one that is blocking the path to circle around the forbidden zone near the Cooperative. They’re anything but friendly or reasonable by reputation.”
Brynn rolled her eyes and glared at Mina. “Hardly a worthwhile suggestion, then. I guess we’re back to our initial plan.”
Mina raised an eyebrow. “So you’re going to aim for my Spirit Tower next?” She drew back her lips. “Might I know who is supposed to challenge me for my position? I don’t recall any former or current disciples harboring such ambitions.”
Matteo suppressed a frown. He had known that the Spirit Tower would become the toughest to topple, which was why he had come up with a custom-tailored approach. “You don’t know him, but you know his daughter.” He caught himself scratching his own nose with his pinkie finger – a habit of his accepted mother Sigille. “In fact, you’re too scared to face her with our entire country combined.” He stood up and moved towards the door. “Ying is the father of the Spirited Duchess.”
Brynn smirked when she saw the effect that Matteo’s words had on the Spirit Tower Master. Perhaps they could figure something out to make it work for everyone. It was difficult for Brynn to know how much she could push the point.
This wasn’t just politics inside the Academy’s instructors’ lounge. She didn’t know Ying or his abilities first hand either. She would have liked to reconfirm with her nephew, but unfortunately, Terry had departed as soon as the matter of the Martial Tower had been finished.
***
Terry had known the locations of everyone in the Freedom Cooperative before he had even stepped through the gate. Regular mana sense might be obstructed in many ways by a dimensional gate, but his mana touch did not suffer from such limitations.
It didn’t take long for Terry to surmise that the reason he couldn’t sense Siling and the others was that they had joined another raid to free a region from Lich Kingdom occupation.
He frowned slightly when sensing the signatures from Syn City – Ying, Logan, and Romana – as well as Daiyu. The fact that they were in the city while Siling was gone either implied that they had never talked or, worse, that the talk had gone badly.
Terry guessed that an important meeting was going on from the fact that Edmund, Thiago, Intira, and Akemi were all gathered in the same spot. He further guessed that it was something unexpected and urgent to deal with, because aside from Intira, they didn’t have any of the usual second-in-line advisors.
When Terry emerged within the boundaries of the Freedom Cooperative city state, he glanced toward the meeting before shaking his head and darting directly towards Ying’s group on layers of divine mana.
The city had enough people to worry about it. Terry had already prioritized the city by dropping everything and accompanying Apex to challenge the Martial Tower, but now it was time to focus on the family situation of his best friend. He hoped Ying had a good explanation, because otherwise…
If Siling challenged the mayor of Syn City to a ‘spar’ in the vein she had challenged Terry after his recovery, Terry knew which side he would join and he doubted Ying would have as easy a time against him now as back in Syn City.
Terry didn’t forget to undo his mana cloaking while running. Just in case the participants in the urgent meeting had anything to request from him. If they knew he had returned, they could come if they needed anything.
When Terry dropped out of the sky, he could feel the shocked stare of everyone from Syn City on himself. “Greetings.”
“Greetings, Terry.” Daiyu was the first to react given the others’ moment of stupor.
“Terry?!” The cyan flames in Logan’s eye sockets danced with incredulity.
“Wastes, what the…?” Romana blinked. “I thought a freaking monster was coming towards us. What happened to you?”
“Since when can you run that fast? Through air?” asked Logan. “And why do I suddenly feel uncomfortable?”
“Uhm…” Terry furrowed his brow. Could it be the light intersection in the divine aspect? He shrugged. “Long story…” He moved his gaze to Syn City’s mayor. “Ying, where is Siling?”
Ying blinked twice before regaining his composure. “You’ve certainly changed. I haven’t met…” An uncertain glance towards Daiyu. He still hesitated to call Siling his daughter. “Our daughter. We arrived recently, but apparently they left with the Spellcrusher shortly before then.”
“Unlucky,” said Logan.
“I doubt that,” mumbled Terry, which raised a few eyebrows. He cleared his throat. “I told them you were getting close before I left to support Apex in challenging the Martial Tower, which worked out well, by the way.”
“Like father, like daughter apparently…” Romana shook her head with a wry expression.
“It seems I was right,” said Ying wearily. “I don’t blame her.” He looked at Daiyu. “Can I please just go to the Lands to take care of the Spirit Tower?”
“““No.“““ Replied the other four in unison.
Ying sighed, visibly uncomfortable. “Then what…?” He focused on Terry. “I still can’t believe that you got Apex to work with us. We’re only missing a single tower and I can’t… I can’t fail. I owe it to Siyu.”
“Did you really wipe Siling’s memory to make her forget you and her sister?” asked Terry, without breaking eye contact.
“Yes…” admitted Ying with a sigh.
Terry nodded. “Did you help create whatever Siyu is now?”
Ying grimaced and shook his head. “Yes and no. The karmic rot was killing her body and infected her soul. Vampirism had failed, so I was certain that simply fixing the bodily regeneration wouldn’t be enough. I started looking into necromancy, but time ran out before I could even remotely grasp what I would need to know.
“That was why I turned to what I already knew with a last desperate idea: I sacrificed most of my soul to externalize one soul spot that could serve as the basis for a completely independent soul spirit.” Ying clenched his fists. “I thought I had failed.”
Terry scratched his head and sighed. “So you had no idea that she was…?”
“In the Lich Kingdoms?!” Ying’s eyes hardened. “If I had known, I would have never left. I would have returned the moment I learned about it. I would have… My little Siyu…” He took a deep breath to steady himself. “Siyu died in my own arms. I saw her die.” He clenched his fists. “I thought I was lucky when I escaped the Lich Kingdoms with the help of the Progenitor, but to think that I unknowingly left my little Siyu in their…” His voice trailed off.
“Alright then,” said Terry, and nodded. “Now you just have to explain that to Siling. We can go immediately.”
“What?” Ying frowned.
“You’re a dimensional mage. I’m sure you can get us there in no time,” said Terry. “I can point out the way.”
“You can point…” Ying tilted his head. “You said that you told her we were coming? Was that serious? You could sense us more than a single transfer away?”
“Yup, now get packing, wait…?” Terry turned his head. “Crap. I suspect someone wants to talk to me. Okay, I’ll deal with that first. Come. If we’re walking towards them, we can get this settled more quickly, and you can own up to Siling.”
“I’m not sure if a battlefield is the best place to talk about this,” interjected Daiyu. “I know it’s just liberating a small town, but still.”
Terry shrugged. “I first met my aunt and cousin in a battle against an undead horde. I don’t see the problem.” He pointed at Ying. “He was there too, actually. We can always postpone the talk until after everything has settled, but we’re going.”
Terry moved his attention to Logan and Romana. “How is everyone? Did you bring some of Gretchen’s cookies, by chance? Oh, right, Romana, are you still aspecting arrowheads? I learned an unbalanced aspecting technique after leaving Syn City, but I wonder if everyone is using the same approach or if there are differences…”
Terry chatted with Logan and Romana while Ying and Daiyu were walking in silence until they met up with the group looking for Terry.
“Guardian, you have perfect timing,” said Intira. She glanced at Edmund. “That should help calm you down, no?”
“You didn’t get yourself injured again, did you?” asked Akemi with a suspicious glare towards Terry.
“No,” replied Terry with a wide grin. “Entirely healthy. Barely any fighting, really.”
“‘Barely’?” asked Intira. “I thought the martialists were supposed to fight? What did you have to butt in for?”
Terry ignored the narrowing eyes on Akemi’s face and suggested: “If you could send a few of your healers to help Apex recover more quickly, I’m sure that would be appreciated.” If not by Apex, then by me and everyone else in the Lands.
“I’m not sure this is the best time for that,” interjected Edmund gravely. “We’ve heard reports from the rookies and the death hunters that joined them. A larger force of vampires and a smaller force of skeletal warriors are moving towards the town they liberated. They need to buy time for a proper evacuation, but we’re not sure if that’s workable. It’s probable that at least one duchess is on the move, most likely the Bloody Duchess, and I’m not sure buying time is possible, nor if we can still afford to send healers to other countries.”
Terry scowled and raised his hand. “Sending a few healers over there now is worth it. I doubt they can get the entire country or empire moving anytime soon, but Matteo and Brynn should have enough sway to send some support, and I can assure you that the moment Apex has recovered, she and those like her will itch for a fight. Since we already have a target in mind, the sooner that happens, the better. Plus…”
Terry could already read the faces of Daiyu and Ying. “I suggest we won’t just be sending out a few healers. If they’ve mobilized a larger force of vampires, then that is an opportunity. We can flank them with something they wouldn’t expect.”
“And what would that be?” asked Edmund skeptically.
“Everyone,” said Terry pensively. He glanced at Ying and placed a hand on the vampire’s shoulder. “And a bunch of dimensional gates where the enemy can least afford it.” He moved his gaze back to Edmund. “Your concerns about sending troops on the offensive were based around not leaving the city exposed. I understand that, but dimensional gates should serve to properly address that concern to everyone’s satisfaction.” He looked at Intira. “You can tell Thiago that you’re free to let your undead rampage as long as they get placed behind the enemy forces.”
Terry involuntarily recalled the large undead horde tearing into the Divine Division while they were blocked by Syn City’s barrier on the other side.
Speaking of channelers…
Terry looked at Akemi. “I hope you can spare a few holy spells to intercept an invading army of unholiness?”
Akemi rubbed her eyes. “If it means not having to patch you up again for weeks afterwards, Guardian, I’ll see what we can do…”
“This will take too long,” growled Ying. “If they’re aiming for Siling’s location, then I won’t wait around to—”
“I suggest you do.” Terry cut the worried father off while he subconsciously rubbed his chin. “I don’t think Siling or the others would be happy to hear us spoil a good chance, because we didn’t want to rely on them.”
Terry retrieved a piece of paper and channeled mana into it. “I’m sure that they will give the vampires more trouble than they’re prepared for. And I’m going to contact them right away to make sure. I trust their judgement and if they say they can hold on until everything is ready, then I suggest we focus on making sure we won’t be late.”
Terry began shaping finger runes in front of the Magebane he could feel hanging around the outer perimeter of the city. Terry currently didn’t have a communication talisman for the Spellcrusher, but Dargones’ voice could always reach Amelia, and coordinating their two dimensional mages was paramount for getting the best ambush for their mana. With Ying to place dimensional gates, Amelia would be free to focus on rushing essential people to the scene instead of evacuating bystanders.
***