Chapter 6

When will we be free ?

“We are the 11th Uni, first month of the year 147. During our history classes, we studied the arrival of the first men, the two wars for the Independence of the colonies. Last time, we talked about the emergence of magic and its impact on our society. Who can briefly resume our lesson ?” asked the Instructor. “You.” pointing at a student.

“The newborns capable of magic were first treated like an abnormality caused by a possible side effect of inhabiting the planet for a certain period of time. The same phenomenon has been noticed in the animal kingdom. This drastically changed Aglion’s landscape. The outside was much more dangerous.”

The Instructor interrupted the student and designated another one.

“Follow up.”

“The number of non-magic users decreased with time. New technology, combined with magic, was created. For example there is the climate regulator, the ray ways, or the new weapons induced with magic. There was also a change of social status. The non-magic users, who were at the top of the society, became lower. They created a conservative party, the rebels. This party is mostly composed of non-magic users who fight against magic-users. They believe that they should be ruling the government. They started committing acts of terrorism.”

“That is correct. This party still exists and is still actively fighting against us.” said the Instructor. “Now we are going to focus on the most important battle against the rebels. The battle on the mountain of Milesra”

A world map appeared as a hologram in front of the students.

“The 12th Duni of the thirteenth month of the year 135, the colony of Arnier, which is located on the west side of the main continent, was attacked by the conservative party, the rebels. The terrorist took advantage of the triptoidite. The triptoidite is a phenomenon that happens every nine years and lasts ninety-three days. It is the period of time in which Triptoen is the closest to Aglion. During the triptoidite, the air is unstable. The animals are much more aggressive and dangerous. Storms and floods are more likely to happen. That day, the Arnier colony was caught in a flood. The damages were severe. They were having a hard time saving people and could barely send help as a woulcean nest is located nearby. The rebels infiltrated a storage building and stole mostly weapons and batteries. The attack was immediately notified to the principality of Yellen. The army was sent, led by the hero Syenah. They were able to track down the rebels to the mountain of Milesra.”

The hologram zoomed on the place mentioned by the Instructor. It was the biggest mountain among the mountain range. Located near the sea and surrounded by a dense forest.

“ From the fourteenth to the eighteenth of the thirteenth month, it is the breeding period of the thunder cougars. It is a dangerous time to be around the mountain of Milesra. Gigantic waves collide with the mountains. The cougars attract thunder. A single wrong step on those mountains could kill a man. But the army couldn’t miss this chance. They were finally able to pinpoint the exact location of the terrorists. One team of soldiers was sent to the mountains to evaluate the hazardous nature of the site. Another team was to stay put, hidden in the forest, to forbid every possibility of fleeing. And once the first team was able to find a somewhat safe passage to the rebel’s hideout, a third team went down on them.”

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The hologram switched to a picture of a desolated campsite.

“This battle is called one of the deadliest battles that ever happened on Aglion. The racket caused by the fight startled the thunder cougars, who descended into battle. The rebels tried to escape through the forest but were cut off by the soldiers stationed there. They ran off towards the seaside of the mountains. Followed by the remainder of the army. Violent waves were shaking the grounds. But something even more unexpected and dangerous than the waves was standing in front of the soldiers. A young woulcean who was one or two months old at least. At this age, woulceans eat a lot. Most of the soldiers were sucked into the young woulcean. The rebels were able to safely escape. We lost more than half of our soldiers that day, and the rebel’s whereabouts are still unknown.”

“I have a question !” said Yeetlhy.

“Sure, go ahead.”

“How were the rebels able to enter the Arnier colony ? What was the patrol doing ? They are non-magic users, shouldn't it be easy for the patrollers to fight them ?”

“Not all the colonies possess a defense as good as Yellen. Even though Yellen’s decision center tries to fairly divide the number of soldiers between the colonies, some of them are still understaffed. First there is the Independence law. Each colony gets to decide where their soldiers are going, and Yellen sends reinforcement if there is a need to. The main problem with the colony of Arnier is its location. As I said earlier, a Woulcean’s nest is located nearby, which makes life harder there. The population is low and tends to migrate to other colonies. The number of soldiers available there is proportional to the number of inhabitants.”

Another student asked a question.

“What is a woulcean ?”

The whole class started laughing before getting reprimanded by the Instructor.

“It is okay not to know stuff like this. I’m here to answer questions like that anyway. Woulceans are huge stonelike worms living in the sea. They live for 35 years and are about 30 meters above sea level. They have multiple orifices that they use for eating and breathing. Those orifices are very dangerous. They suck up whatever is around them: water, air, dirt, and animals. Woulceans tend to live alone but, for an unknown reason, there is a little group living near Arnier. Since this situation is a literal hole in the military resources, Yellen decided to send less soldiers, patrollers, and hunters. Their skin is thick and solid. It has been impossible to hurt, even less kill one, since we’ve discovered their existence.”

“How were the rebels able to survive the sea waves and woulcean on that mountain ?”

“There is a theory, it says that woulceans feed on the magical energy of each being it eats. We think that since the rebels aren’t able to use magic, they might have been able to escape from the woulcean. As for the waves, we think they knew enough about the mountains to safely escape.”

Yeetlhy raised her eyebrows.

“But if the woulceans suck up anything around them, even dirt. Why wouldn’t it suck the rebels too ?”

“We actually don’t know. It is but a theory, nothing more. There is no certainty. Now this battle …”

As the Instructor carried on the lesson, Yeetlhy got lost in thoughts. The mountain of Milesra was the place where she was born. She was a child of the battlefield. There was something attractive about this. A mystery that she thought she would be the one to unveil. It made her feel even more special.

Fighting for our survival, that’s what awaits us. Who will follow me ?