After two days of planning and preparing, the time had come for Lee to venture forth into the magical, god-made portal that has been taking up residence in his temple.

Throughout the two days, Regina had done as she said. She made plans, organized a team of full-time security for the hospital, and spoke with Lord Blight to inform him of Lee’s leave, and to explain—Or rather, blankly tell him about what had transpired at the Healer’s Sanctum’s building and why.

While Lee was slightly surprised about not having been summoned for a meeting about the incident, he was glad that he didn’t have to attend a meeting about it. What happened there will happen again, except next time, it might be in his hospital. It depended on who made the first move, and Lee was making his move now. By gathering support.

Looking over his shoulder, he spotted Em fidgeting in place in the corner of the temple. She was doing her best not to slam her feet into the wooden floorboards, and Lee could see that she was nervous about splitting up. “If anyone comes to cause trouble, Em… You know what to do.” Lee said, trying to reassure her.

“Fatalina has been informed of your arrival, and the military are on standby to find your exit point. It’s time.” Regina said from beside the swirling black and gold portal, directly behind the altar.

Lee released a heavy sigh as he strode forward to stand before the void that would take him to a place known, but unknown. For all he knew, this portal would take him right to Fatalina’s doorstep. Or, he might end up being on Bardum’s side of the war.

“Remember. If there is something you can’t deal with here, check the box I left on my bed. Don’t open it unless the situation is dire.” He said to Regina before giving Em a solemn nod. “Protect our home. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Then, without any further ado or any fanfare, Lee stepped into the swirling magic.

If he was being honest, Lee would have said that he expected some weird spaghettification or phantasmagoria of swirling colors and nausea. Both to his happiness and horror, that is not what happened at all.

In the blink of an eye, Lee stood on top of barren dirt and viscous mud. Vicious clangs of metal, shouts of fury and pain, and the smell of blood assaulted him in a crash of confluence. Going from the quiet atmosphere of his temple, to what was a raging, full-on battlefield was not what he expected.

He appeared to be on the very edge of the current skirmish, as he’d be a fool to think that a fifty v.s fifty amounted to the full extent of a war between two countries. On one side, was the familiar armor of the Kingdom of Thexis, having seen them everyday for the past few weeks made their garb readily apparent, so at least he knew which ‘side’ he was on.

But, the other side made him freeze in both a mix of shock and surprise. His feet felt like they sank another inch into the surrounding mud as he watched a group of fifty elves, dressed in light brown leather skirmish with rapid, quick blows as they weaved about the battlefield.

Lee had appeared only fifty or so feet away from the two groups, and as they were too focused on slaughtering one another, he currently went unnoticed.

This was the first time since the Shadowgrove Forest that he’d seen Elves. Unlike their Dark Elven counterparts, these elves were what he thought of when he imagined the elves of fantasy. Light colored hair, lithe frames, sharp pointed ears, dressed in the greens of nature and swift and nimble. These had to be the Wood Elves that Neia had mentioned. Why had he never seen any elves in Thexis? Why did he just now realize this?

From what he could tell within the short ten seconds since he’d arrived, nobody had died yet, and both sides appeared to be evenly matched. Not wanting them to die, given his past with their elven counterparts, Lee decided to make his entrance.

With a flick of the wrist, Lee cast Wall of Earth. One after one, thick earthen slabs rose from the ground in a growing wall, separating the two forces from one another. Shouts of “Mage!” sprang up from both sides in a panic, the alert causing both groups to form into defensive positions.

Right as Lee finished separating the two groups, he was noticed. After a sea of failed identify notifications, the Thexian military looked both surprised and pissed. It was apparent that they knew who he was, given the lack of complete shock, but they very much did not want to be the ones to deal with him and take him back to safety. He could understand that sentiment.

The elves looked on with wariness and bafflement as Lee gave them a simple nod and a wave. Judging from the murmurs of “two titles!” they judged him as someone solidly in the ‘do not fuck with” category.

Lee took a deep breath and spoke aloud so that both groups could hear him. “Hello! My name is Lee Barnes, a healer and non-combatant. To the Thexians, I assume you know why I have appeared.”

The one full plated military member gave him a salute and a nod. That was good enough for Lee.

“To the wood Elves…” More gasps of shock rippled through their ranks, more than likely caused from the fact that his ability Language Comprehension was kicking in, causing him to speak their elven language. “... I would ask that you retreat. I have no ill will towards you, and I am very good friends with your Dark Elven cousins. I shall leave a circle of healing on the ground for you to rest in as I depart with the Thexians. This is not a trick, and I mean you no harm. By my word.”

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Lee did something he hoped showed his sincerity. He put both of his pinkies and thumbs together, pressed the thumbs against his forehead, and held them there for a few seconds.

More murmurs sprang up from within the ranks, and the one elven soldier riding on what looked to be a horse, gave him a nod as he trotted back and forth.

Lee cast Widespread Renewal, using the variable effect to spend twice as much mana to use twice as much space. A sixty foot diameter magical circle materialized on the ground emitting a soft dull silvery glow. He pointed at the spell and gave the elves a nod as he walked over to the Thexian squad.

“Okay! Get me the fuck out of here. Stand near me if you’re injured.” Lee said as he used Healer’s Beacon to launch a white and silver aura out, healing those nearby with his Healer’s Touch.

After some very awkward back and forth about slaughtering the elves with his help, Lee eventually got it into the lieutenant that he wasn’t going to lift a finger to help them win their little skirmish which meant nothing in the grand scene of the war. He had his own war, he didn’t have time to fight two of them, nor did he want to.

According to them, they were near the border of Bardum, far north of where the actual battles were taking place. They also said a bunch of stuff that Lee had no interest in learning, such as them stopping the flanks from Bardum’s forces, some stuff about supply lines, and a bunch of other impressive sounding military affairs.

Within the rough, battle hardened members of the squad he was following, he’d been asked many questions about how the regions of Thexis had been doing. Many asked about their homes, which he had never been to or heard of, so he disappointed them all. Some asked about him, such as how he learned the Elven language, magic, and gained his titles.

These soldiers were starved for information, likely having run out of conversation topics between their friends long ago, and him being a new face was one of the more interesting things that had happened to them in ages.

After traveling for a few hours westward toward a so-called ‘citadel of defense’ named Emerson, they ran into another squadron of military members who had the means to get into contact with General Fatalina Castana, the woman Lee had come to meet. Shockingly, it seemed that explaining his being here wasn’t necessary. They also knew who he was and what he was doing out and about the frontlines.

Fatalina was apparently very proficient in disseminating information to her troops. After taking a small break as they waited for instructions, Lee was informed that he should stay at the logistical base another hour or so away, and that Fatalina herself would come to him.

The two squads he ran into looked pleased about the news, probably getting a break and small reprieve from the battles of the ongoing war as they escorted and protected him around the unfamiliar lands.

Along the walk, Lee had some time to think. Most of it was about how he would ask for help, but another part was about how he was going to get back to Felispar. When he arrived on the frontlines, he didn’t come through a portal. He appeared out of thin air. If he had to make his way back the old fashioned way, it would take months. Months of being away from his friends and patients. That wasn’t going to be acceptable.

When they arrived at a long shoddy dirt road lined with hundreds of wagons going up the road with supplies, and returning with nothing, they caught a ride on the empty wagons back toward Selldun, the name given to a small bunker-like keep which acted as the forward logistical outpost.

After another ten minutes, Lee got sight of the so-called keep, and realized that this ongoing war might have been a tad larger than he had presumed.

Selldun, the logistical keep, was easily as big as Felispar which was built into the side of a damn mountain. It was built with towering white stone walls of what looked like granite, unblemished by the elements and appearing brand new. The walls were flat, with overhanging lips hanging over the sides, to prevent any absurdly long ladders from creating an entrance. The main gate would be more difficult to enter than trying to tunnel through the stone exterior, as extremely thick steel grated gates, three deep, filled a tunnel a hundred feet long. Tiny slits and multiple walkways adorned the inside of the tunnel, manned by men and women alike with bows, bolts, and probably spells.

Anyone who tried to fight their way through this tunnel would be committing suicide. It was a tunnel built for destruction and decimation.

They didn’t lapse in their security either, as every single wagon entering or exiting was inspected on each of the three portcullis by a band of heavy armored and armed soldiers. It took another ten minutes just to get through this murder tunnel, to arrive at a fully functioning city filled solely by the military.

Everywhere he looked, Lee saw the familiar dark green uniform of the Thexian military. They were in the exact same uniform Jeremy and the rest of the members from the wall of shadows wore. Unlike a normal city, there was no meandering about or idling about. Everyone was on a mission, knowing exactly where to go, where to be, and what to do. It was startling, to say the least, and Lee grabbed a lot of attention being the only person around wearing white and silver in a sea of dark brown, blacks, and greens.

Lee was efficiently escorted to a large parlament-esque looking building. Reminding him of a fancy city hall on Earth, and was brought to an extraordinarily clean and quiet room. As soon as the door shut, all sounds of the bustling military city ceased to exist. He could hear the minute scraping of his robes and he subtly shifted in his seat. He gazed about the room.

The room looked like the set of a movie. There wasn’t a sign of a singular spec of dust, stray paper, or scratch on the ornate desk in front of him. Each article of the office tools were arrayed precisely in their specific spot, not a millimeter out of place. Around the room, several bookcases were lined with binders, neat and orderly marked for efficient organization. In the corner of the room, a small trolley filled with several expensive looking glass cups and a pitcher of water rested stock still, not a single vibration causing the surface of the water to budge.

Lee could hear his heartbeat and blood pulse in the dead silent room, the sound hammering in his ears and making him uncomfortable.

With nerves, he tried to flatten his Robe of the Genesis to unwrinkle it the best he could, feeling more and more out of place as time ticked on.

He wasn’t sure if it was ten minutes, or an hour, before a loud knock jolted him in his seat. He turned to look over his shoulder as the door swung open, the noises of the keep flooding into the pervasive silent room as a figure walked in with confidence.

The figure—no, the woman spared Lee a look with her silver eyes before walked around the desk in front of him, sitting down. She sent a nod toward the door, where another military member stood to close the door, bringing silence to the room once more.

“Hello, Lee.” Fatalina Castana said.

“Hello, Fatalina.” Lee said as he took in the unexpected visage of the general in front of him. The first and most obvious thing he noticed was that…

She wasn’t human.