Above the uneasy skies of the Arumar Continent, at the southernmost tip of the Termosad Territory, Mystic King Ravaen Adevok led his forward battalion in scouting the next target of their campaign: a supposed large town of Xerxecians. The barren terrain and endless expanse of Shardon resembled those of the Kra’en territories, albeit without the snow, as it was far north of their current position.
As he flew overhead, he kept a watchful eye over the desolate terrain, taking in a deep breath of Shardon’s damp, cold air. He felt uneasy, as they had already passed the marker on their map that was supposed to indicate their distance from a town. Yet, there was still no sign of any settlement, not even a village.
“Do we have any idea what a Xerxecian town might look like?” he suddenly asked his lieutenant as they flew over.
“It should be like any normal town, I suppose. A bit run down, maybe, my king,” the soldier answered. Clearly he was guessing. But to be honest, they haven’t encountered any full fledge settlements since their attempted assault to these forsaken lands.
“Didn’t we pass the great arch rock on the map moments ago?” he clarified, frustration evident in his voice.
“Yes, sire,” his lieutenant answered.
He then took a deep breath and saw a very peculiar feature. It was a sore against the backdrop that was already eye soring but it was still unique enough to stand out. He descended to the ground, and examined it closely, comparing it with their map, and then surveyed his surroundings.
“Search for any clues. These features stood out too much,” he ordered, and the soldiers quickly obeyed. He glanced at the map again as the imperial contingent assigned to him finally caught up.
“Did you notice anything while you trailed us?” he asked the imperial soldiers.
They exchanged glances, but remained silent. He repeated the order, and they fanned out to search.
Returning his attention to the arch feature, he examined it closely. The rocks didn’t seem natural to him. As he approached one of them, he noticed a dark purple mucus on it. His concern grew as he backed away and surveyed the surrounding rocks. They looked different from the usual Shardon Continent landscape, full of peculiarities and desolate wasteland.
His face puzzled even more than he looked at them.
Removing his gauntlets and gloves, he touched the rock to get a feel for it. For a natural rock, it felt smooth. This confused him even more. He then focused on the mucus, thinking if he should touch it or not.
One of the soldiers came close, and he pointed out the mucus. “What is this?” he asked one of his soldiers, whom was equally dumbfounded. They seemed puzzled as him. One of them even smelled it and then suddenly licked it.
“Oh, for animos’ sake! You don’t just lick something, especially if we don’t know what it is!” he exclaimed to the soldier who had tasted it. The soldier lowered his head, embarrassed, and backed away. He was baffled and disappointed as he took a deep breath.
He will not survive here for long, he thought.
“What did it taste like?” he asked, since he already tasted it. He might as well know.
The smart soldier stepped forward and answered, “It tastes like water from a mountain spring, with a tingly aftertaste, sire.”
Tingly. That word seemed to echo in his mind. It was not something he would use to describe a mucus.
“Everyone, do not dare taste it! I swear I will send you all back!” he warned. “Get a paragus right now and watch that guy,” he pointed to the soldier who had tasted the mucus.
“Look at the rocks and surroundings closely. If you see any dark purplish tree sap or rock sap, report it immediately.” He gave the order once more before hovering over the vast expanse of peculiar rocks.
The rocks seemed to be in some sort of formation, but random enough to throw someone off. He examined them closely from the air, his soldiers looking like ants searching for something.
Opening his map again, he hovered high enough to get a good view. According to the map, the town should be right there. Could it be that the Tigris and imperial intelligence were mistaken?
It couldn’t be, especially since Tamiron’s shadows had provided some of the information and had even vetted those that the Tigris managed to find.
Frustrated, he landed and began to walk around until he stepped on something that cracked. He immediately felt uneasy and looked down to see a scorched skull—a Xerxecian skull.
He was shocked. Looking around more closely, he saw more scorched bones and remnants scattered across the field.
“What in god’s name—”
“My Liege!” shouted an Orderian soldier, who suddenly appeared. “Good day, my Liege. Fine day here down south,” the Orderian soldier greeted with a bit of pleasantry. He, however, was not finding it pleasant, nor was he in the mood for one. “May we be of service to you?” they clarified.
He only looked at them before speaking. “What are you doing here? Tell me, is this the supposed town on this map?” he asked them as he pointed to it on his map.
The soldiers only looked at each other and then at the map. “Yes, sire, it was.”
He was dumbfounded, as if he had presented the landscape to the Orderian soldiers. “Then where in the void is it then? The remainder of the battalions are on their way to take this town. Where is it?!” He exclaimed to them as his suspicion grew of what may have happened. He doesn’t know why his mind would even think of it, but it could be possible that it was because of her.
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But the soldiers only looked at each other until one of them cleared her throat. “I’m afraid, sire, that we are not really required to answer your question. With respect, of course,” the Orderian soldier said.
“Excuse me? Do you know who you are talking to? I’m the Mystic King, for the love of Arumar! As one of the top generals of the Unibeltrasian Forces, I order you to tell me what happened here!” he pressured the two.
The soldiers looked at each other once more before the other answered. “Apologies, your Highness. All we can say is that the Grand Sage gave explicit orders to not tell anyone what happened here.”
But all he did was stare at the soldier and she cracked, “The Grand Sage got impatient for some reason. Knowing there’s nothing special about this town, she—she leveled the entire place."
He didn’t know how to process that. “Wait—tell me that again.”
“She leveled the town, Sire. She wiped it clean. We were actually shocked when she did that,” the soldier’s voice began to crack.
“We had no idea she could do that,” the other chimed in.
“We don’t know who to tell, really,” the other soldier said once more.
“We never saw her this impatient before. The Orderian contingent was actually besieging this town already when she just appeared out of nowhere and did it. All we saw was a bright flash of pink and red,” one of the soldiers said.
“It was like the sun was shaken to rise, your Highness,” the other added.
He was stunned at that point.
He had heard this town was huge. Just a bunch of ruins, a bit fortified because of a heavy Xerxecian presence. But now all he saw were melted foundation stones.
“Then what are you doing here?” he suddenly asked the soldiers.
“We were ordered to keep watch for any Unibeltrasian army coming in. To inform them to turn back,” the soldier said.
His ears suddenly rang. “What did you say?” he got close to the soldier who was shaking at that point.
“I’m sorry, Sire. But we have to inform you to go back for now. Orders from the Grand Sage,” the soldier said clearly.
He was seething with frustration. “Who does she think she is?! She is not the Grand Commander of the Unibeltrasian Forces! We will proceed as we see fit!”
“I’m afraid, my Liege, that if you do that, we will report this directly to the Grand Sage and to Crown Regent Tamiron,” the soldier said again.
“Go ahead, report this to him! Tell him what she did!” he yelled at them.
“I’m sorry, my Liege, but the Grand Sage was well within her authority to do so,” countered the soldier.
He was taken aback. “And who gave her that authority, soldier?”
“It was the Crown Regent who gave her the authority to make a call such as this,” the soldiers said.
He was stunned. He immediately ordered his Owlers to connect to Tamiron. He didn’t know what was going on, but he didn’t like it one bit. The fact that Everess basically had equal authority as he was absurd. Everess’ actions were growing questionable by the day for him. But this one was the last straw.
Tamiron then appeared, and the soldiers kneeled in front of the projection.
“Crown Regent, we’re sorry to bother you, but we have to report to you, as ordered by the Grand Sage.”
Tamiron sighed. “What is it?”
“The Mystic King, along with a battalion, arrived moments ago. We already informed them of the orders of Grand Sage Everess to steer clear for now and to not proceed further. But it seems that the Mystic King has a problem—”
“Yes, I do!” he abruptly cut off his own soldiers. “What kind of joke is this, Tamiron? The Grand Sage ordering me to back off? Or any of the top commanders of the united forces. What kind of mushroom or leaves is Everess even smoking? She has no right to—”
“I granted her autonomy, Ravaen,” Tamiron interjected calmly but firmly. He appeared taken aback. “After considering her reasoning, I granted her the freedom to act as she deems necessary. If she must act alone, I will respect that decision. And I will stand by her command.”
His fists clenched in anger, embarrassment creeping over him. “Tamiron, what in the gods’ names are you thinking? For five years, she’s been going at this like this! I am tired of her always getting her way! We already changed our plans and strategies because of her! Now you’re making it official?! What is she even doing here? I can’t simply turn an entire army around!”
Tamiron sighed wearily. “Ravaen, please. I have no time for your petty tantrums. Just comply with Everess’ directives and stay out and follow her command. That’s the end of it. Additionally, recent developments require your return. We need to convene, all of us.”
“I will do no such thing. She is not the Grand Commander; you are! So I will proceed as I see fit—”
“Fine, if you want to make it official, I will. I order you to return at once,” Tamiron commanded abruptly.
His anger surged; he hadn’t been properly informed about Everess’ newfound autonomy.
“I fail to grasp the logic of having two commanders of the United Forces. This will only sow chaos and breed confusion. You know that as well as I do, Tamiron,” he declared, his voice seething with fury.
Tamiron sighed once more. “Look, Ravaen. I will explain once you’re back. For now, return at once, as you are ordered by me,” he reasoned.
“The others will not take this as likely. You know that,” he retorted, his dissatisfaction palpable. “Do they even know the extent of Everess’ autonomy?” he demanded of Tamiron.
Tamiron avoided eye contact, focusing instead on the papers scattered across his desk. “I will explain everything once you return. For now, please turn around,” he said tersely, offering no further explanation.
Feeling frustrated and realizing he would get nowhere with Tamiron, he turned away, knowing that even the crown regent was in the dark about the current situation. As the projection ended, the owl returned to its handler. He turned to the two Orderian soldiers and forced a smile.
Approaching them slowly, hands resting on his waist, he gripped one soldier’s shoulder. “Inform your Grand Sage that the Mystic King eagerly awaits news of her conquest,” he said with false enthusiasm before his expression soured, and he swiftly departed. His men, taken aback, followed suit.
“Are we really turning back, Your Highness?” his lieutenant asked, confused.
“I have no other choice. I pressured Tamiron into issuing the order. Defying him now would be unwise,” he explained, though inwardly he seethed at Everess’ newfound autonomy.
As the skies above echoed his tumultuous emotions, the same turbulence unfolded over the Orderian capital of Sanctum. Everess remained atop the tower, sensing an inexplicable disturbance. Baffled, she focused on the energy emanating from it, straining to block it out. After a deep breath, she succeeded once more, though a sense of unease lingered.
She stood up, determined to put the unsettling feeling behind her. With a swift motion, she surrounded herself in a protective pink aura, forming an orb that enveloped her. When it dissipated, she found herself inside a tent.
Stepping outside, it was revealed that she was already on another continent. In the continent of Shardon, south of Termosad. Despite the hour, darkness pervaded the area. A soldier approached her with a message.
“Grand Sage, we’ve received word that one of our soldiers stationed in a former town intercepted the Mystic King. They followed your orders and were backed by the Crown Regent himself. They left promptly after,” the soldier reported.
She regarded the soldier with a nod. “Good. I don’t want him near our destination. He might interfere with my plans,” she said, taking a deep breath.
“Fetch my cloak from inside,” she instructed the soldier.
As she observed the soldiers preparing to settle in their current encampment, her cloak was handed to her. “Proceed as planned. I won’t be long,” she told the soldier before being enveloped in the same pink aura, which transformed into an orb before vanishing.
End of Chapter IV