“As you know, Lucina arrived in her flagship called the Intercessor yesterday at 1732 hours. Upon arrival, she launched a direct orbital strike straight to the surface. We believe that she was targeting Effie, though Sophia was also caught in the blast. Luckily, we can thank our training, because both our beloved sisters Effie and Sophia are still with us. Since then, she has dispatched 6 regiments to key geographical locations, as displayed on the map. We know that she has the means to locate us based on our gemstone signatures. Therefore, it would seem that Lucina plans to garrison cities to form a perimeter around Al Dherjza. From there it would be logical to assume that she will ‘tighten the net’. Once she has us pinned, she’ll send in her main force, and no sooner, knowing her obsessive personality.” So explained an energetic young man with sharp blonde hair to a room of barely a dozen individuals.
“Thank you for your report, Charlie. Does anyone have questions?” Rolynd asked the war council, seated around a round table.
A lethargic-looking man with long platinum-white hair raised a hand.
“Aleister,” Rolynd said.
“Do we have any idea if Lucina will have any reinforcements from her imperial fleet?”
“I’ll let Charlie answer that.”
Charlie cleared his throat. “By my best estimates, Lucina’s fleet should’ve arrived at the latest by 1900 hours yesterday if they were equally equipped.”
“If what you say about Empress Lucina’s power is true, why hasn’t Lucina simply blown Al Dherjza apart with her Orbital Cannon?” The First General of Al Dherjza asked. Sweat glistened off the top of his shaven head. To Rolynd, he was nothing more than a political pawn. A pawn who was only necessary for the local knowledge he possessed.
“She could have, but the fact that she hasn’t, shows that Lucina’s objective isn’t our death; it’s a perverted ‘Justice’. She wants to have us captured and publicly executed on her homeworld.”
The general seemed satisfied with this response.
Sophia raised her hand.
“What’s our next move?” she asked, staring directly at Rolynd.
Everyone turned expectantly to him.
Hands clasped together, elbows resting on the elevated, heavy-set granite table at the front of the room, the strained twenty-year-old king took a moment to compose himself. “We need more time to get our armies in order… By that time, Lucina will have established a perimeter. With their resources, superior technology and most significantly, the orbital cannon, we are cornered, there’s no way around it.” Rolynd sighed a deep, heavy sigh. “To avoid unnecessary loss of life, we must avoid fighting a war abroad at all costs. Aleister, Phee and The Masquerade will make guerrilla attacks at vulnerable locations in Lucina’s network to buy time, as soon as said vulnerabilities are identified.”
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Aleister, Phee, and the leader of The Masquerade, Quarrell, all nodded in agreement.
Rolynd continued: “We need time for Effie and the Magic Corps to finish the Aegis Expansion Project. After which, the Orbital Cannon will no longer be a threat. We have a key advantage, Apolaphia is not a normal planet, with magic, Gifts, enchanted items and unique lifeforms, there will be many opportunities to catch her off guard. Speaking of, I will work with Sophia to open the Labyrinth. After all, it lies beneath our very feet. I can think of no better power than ADAM to resolve this whole situation - for good.”
A glance around the room told Rolynd that the last part of his plan left more than a few people uneasy. He lightly pursed his lips, a facial micro reflex that lasted only a moment.
The Labyrinth had never been opened before, though many had tried.
Was that the best way for King Rolynd to spend his time? That question weighed on everyone’s mind. Rolynd did not wait to listen for a positive response to his proposal.
“Dismissed.”
#
Kari and Elwin were continuing ever deeper into the mysterious silver structure, looking very out of place as they were, covered in dirt and grime amidst the sterile white surroundings.
There were many more doors. However, the vast majority of them were studded with red lights. Locked.
Yet at times, one of these locked doors would open with a ping when Kari and Elwin approached.
Was it just a coincidence?
Sometimes they would walk through rooms with ceilings full of strange contraptions, glowing panels and devices, other times it was just empty corridors. To keep themselves distracted from the predicament they had found themselves in, Kari and Elwin found themselves talking.
“Any idea who Empress Lucina is?” Kari asked Elwin.
“No. I’ve never even heard that name before.”
“And those soldiers’ weapons… well, the closest thing I’ve seen to that is a spell at the Timatus Light Festival. But to produce that with a magic circle so small, it’s unbelievable.”
“…I was just wondering when we were trapped in those flames… did you have a plan for us?”
Kari looked at Elwin. “I turned on my stasis bracelet, but beyond that… no, I didn’t.”
“Just so you know, the stasis bracelet would’ve done nothing against magic like that.”
“I get it, you saved my life.” Kari retorted, trudging forward without so much as a second glance.
Elwin looked at Kari’s shrinking figure with an inscrutable expression.
Soon they came to a stairwell. It was upside down, but still climbable, though the handrail was inaccessible in its upended state.
Such a familiar structure in an unfamiliar environment; somehow it perfectly encapsulated the whole situation that had turned on its head so quickly.
Elwin never could’ve imagined that his life would be in danger so soon after leaving Ellenia, and he was beginning to regret his decision to leave. Especially so after hearing from Kari that they were alive just because of dumb luck.
“Do you know what that magician wanted from us?” Elwin asked.
“I have no idea,” Kari said, lying right to Elwin’s face. “I have never seen him before.”
That second part was true at least. But Kari could not surrender the book, no matter the cost. He had sacrificed too much to part with it so easily.
Besides the staircase, there was also another doorway, with a button high on the wall next to it. Upon pressing the button, the doors slid open to reveal a plain metal box. When Kari stepped through, he found buttons high up on the wall, but startlingly, the doors started to close behind him automatically. With a yelp, Elwin quickly held the doors open. What would’ve happened had they become trapped in the box?
Feeling uneasy, the two of them decided to take the stairs.