Just as soon as the commotion had started, everything had suddenly ended. The matter would be left till morning for further care and research.
Qheria still was finding herself deprived of answers. Last night, she had returned to find Thanrie unconscious and Mhyl using her gift to repair the damaged hallway. Meanwhile, absolutely nothing on the assassin, nothing more than being told it was gone. Qheria had been very stubborn looking for answers, and while she had grown familiar with Thanrie's venomous looks in tense situations, she wasn't used to getting something so similar from Mhyl. In the end, she was forced to simply drop the subject.
It took until morning for Mhyl to realize her own accomplishments. She had not only used her gift to great effect, but had done so without having her stamina consumed. She could remember using her anti-matter trick from before, a terrifying concept in it's own right, but one that had taken her out of the fight previously right after. This time, even Thanrie had fallen long before she had, she was still ready to go for another round.. especially if the first round wasn't enough for a vile abomination like that. It was a hopefully over-dramatic extent of losing herself in the moment that she will never find need to repeat, but even taking from it in example for something less.. repulsive.. that could easily have some great uses. Being capable of standing after one of her attacks was novel itself, all things considered.
Thanrie was starving in the morning, feeling like she had consumed all of her nutrients during her rest. Mhyl had even let her know that she seemed to be suffering from a bit of an iron deficiency or something like that. It was at least similar to what Earth would call an iron deficiency, there was nothing saying that it was the exact same idea with Celese. Still, the irony of it wasn't lost on Thanrie, she was pretty sure Mhyl had destroyed so much of the iron in her body last night in their joint attack. Her weapon is an extension of herself, especially the way she used it last night, and that extension of herself was just consumed in an anti-matter void. That, and the whole cost of the process, added to some berserk rage... To her, it actually made sense why she was the one to pull a Mhyl in the end of that. She could only hope that the experience hadn't also taken a couple of years of her life in the process, practically being akin to blood magic.
Lwyn had thankfully also recovered and was resting in her office. She wasn't told any more than Qheria about what had happened, but it was evidence of their abilities that such a calamity didn't even have much impact on her getting a good night's rest. The High-Seer had purified her of poison, and Mhyl had even found the time and energy before going to bed to ensure Lwyn was completely healed. Lwyn kinda felt bad, after complaining about everyone else not being so tuned to present issues, and then having been caught off-guard herself to an assassin she had been neglecting the whole time. Thanrie at least let her know that the assassin had probably arrived with the Rebellion, and had been present the entire time since. It was foolish to consider, and troubling how much else she might have been missing.
Lost in her wonder, she picked up a stray sheet of paper from the table. It was Mhyl's drawing, still forgotten and neglected on the table, leaving Lwyn uncertain where the paper had came from in the first place. She thought back, and remembered seeing Mhyl was holding a paper, had put it down.. and was sitting right around where she had found this. This was Mhyl's art thing? It looked like art, but nothing close to Mhyl's style, it looked like rough rugged uncoordinated lines in the most random of... Lwyn paused, caught half way in thought, suddenly seeing the hidden picture. Seeing the exact same thing as Mhyl had, Lwyn marvelled at how clear the waves were depicted, how much detail was put into the girl and her dress, how much the whole thing somehow looked like a photograph after staring at it long enough. It was like some kind of trick of the eyes, it was pure genius. Lwyn was amazed, wondering if Mhyl had somehow done this.
Hidden pictures, from hidden pictures, so many things hidden from her. However, just like this drawing, it was only because she wasn't looking in the right places. Lwyn chuckled for a moment, considering this as revenge for when Lwyn had stealthily escaped from the facility. Even Mhyl wasn't aware that people so rarely remember to look up.
Lwyn put the page down, suddenly startled. Never looking up. Lwyn dashed to a window from her high view in the Citadel. Above them was still a scour of clouds, blocking vision, but not as bad as yesterday. Fortunately, the clouds had started to clear up, so the sky was bright again. That wasn't the point, she looked over the skies earnestly searching, until she spotted a subtle movement in the air. She immediately shouted for Yuxzn, who was in her library at the time. "Up in the air, your vision is better than mine. Right about there, I see a small speck of something.. and this is high in the sky we're talking about. What do you see?" Lwyn pointed with the window, leaving Yuxzn to figure out what Lwyn was going on about. Once his elven eyes found the point of interest, the color drained from his face. Lwyn didn't even need to wait for his verbal confirmation, she was out the door.
"Lwyn, what's going on? Suddenly everyone is in an uproar." "Yeah, I'm trying to get everyone's attention. Go get everyone else, Thanrie, Qheria, even like our friends and family, everyone. We have a serious problem. The Fortress will be on our doorstep really soon, we need everything battle ready, now." Mhyl was startled by Lwyn's insight, and ran off as instructed. Soon after, everyone had gathered in the great hall to hear from the Arch-Magus' daughter.
"So, after all of that hard work, we've finally found the Fortress. That's the good news. The bad news is that the Fortress is heading this way, and will arrive pretty soon. I'm guessing mid-afternoon at the latest, but earliest at late morning." "Lwyn, where?" Lwyn pointed up, in answer to Mhyl's question in Izhaethyx. "Mhyl, seriously, it's thanks to your picture I figured it out, but yeah, it feels like my father totally stole your idea. He figured out how to make the Fortress fly, and has taken to the skies with it. He's probably going to descend around the mountain, flying just over it to provide some last-minute cover, before suddenly ambushing us from above." Lwyn got shocked concern all around, people realizing the implications of her statement.
Mhyl was especially scowling. Not just because she remembered she wanted the picture back, but because she had worked hard to try and figure out how to get the facility to fly, with no measures of success. If Khaexyn also had a piano, the things she would have to do to him... Actually, even that paled in compared to her feelings from last night. Using her own unrealized ideas was nothing compared to what he did to Sxeiva's ... corpse. For that alone, she already had some strong feelings against him. If the idiot didn't want people hating him, he should start treating people with even a measure of sanity, and not treating people as things to be defiled like that. She knew Thanrie was of like mind, too. Neither of them wanted the jerk to ever touch Lwyn ever again, not if that's how he treats his loved ones.
Qheria considered the information Lwyn had provided. A surprise attack by air, given how their defenses worked.. that would be really hard to counter. In fact, their ability to deal with an enemy that was strictly in the air was negligible. Mundane things would have no effect, even a catapult couldn't go high enough. She might be able to warp that far, Lwyn could shoot that far, and Mhyl's gift could certainly cover the area, but they still had to worry about the shielding on the Fortress. Reflecting upon their escape from the fortress, there was only one way they could find the pure power they would need for this, they needed to make use of the facility.
Qheria recalled what she had learned about that specific scenario, when the facility's main cannon had pierced the wall. It had not been strictly by the potential of the cannon, even that was not enough to pierce the shield without some inside help. They would not have access to the internal systems this time, they would need to find another way around that. However, Lwyn making point references to Mhyl's flight idea had Qheria wondering exactly how the Fortress was even in the air. All of their work showed considerable vulnerabilities with each approach. She would need more information to made an educated decision on that regards, but she really hoped it was a hot air balloon or something as stupid as that. Germany had suffered a vast history of related problems, failing to float a variety of the same idea into an applicable war solution. If she could bring any of that to Khaexyn, it would feel very apt.
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"Lwyn, Mhyl, can you try and collect information for me, anything about how the Fortress is saying in the air. Thanrie, you and I need to make sure that the Facility is weaponized and ready to go, it's our best bet at a siege weapon to take the Fortress down." "Oh, yeah, I was just there yesterday. Everything is in order, but we did sorta decommission the main cannon, saying Lwyn's attacks were good enough." "Right, that did happen, didn't it. Lucky then that we at least left everything generally in order. See if you can get it setup in time, maybe Ehryinae could lend you a hand." Qheria could remember the decision Thanrie was mentioning, about disregarding the value of their cannon idea for other more dramatic options. It had been a perfectly fine approach otherwise, but they would need something more for the Fortress itself. Additionally, it was done originally to improve the Facility's mobility, which right now wasn't exactly as important as the Facility itself wouldn't be going very far.
Remarkably, the exact location the facility was hidden would probably be the most ideal location to ambush the Fortress, with plenty of cover. The Fortress would be making use of the mountain for the same reason, unaware of this being used against it instead. Still, to make proper use of this, they needed to be prepared. They needed the main weapon online at the very least, but Qheria still believed that whatever was keeping such a thing in the air was made weakest by how it depended on flying. Flying had too many faults, too many dangers, and was something this world hadn't even suffered the constant failures of that she could remember of German stories. Her only real concern was how much damage the crash would cause, a viable problem as well.
Qheria looked over the weapon system being readjusted by Thanrie again, with the smith and Zyuixqs on hand helping out. Ehryinae was also helping with the same process, but in another room, mostly with a small heat test in the intake. They needed this thing to not fail when it counted. Lwyn would be provided controls for aiming, in a placement where she could make the most of her gift. Thanrie was also making sure she could boost the process effortlessly. Both of them however had made extra progress with their gift, and had new ways to apply it. Lwyn had left word that she wanted a chamber for the flame to be charged, a process she would be participating in. Qheria had no idea how they would manage to design something that could take the heat, but Thanrie seemed to have her own ideas.
Rhyde and Yuxzn were also around, organizing staff and keeping things moving. It seems they would be making use of all five power armors they had for this fight, as there was a viably vast estimated need for the additional power. Cracking the egg flying over them would just spill its contents, leaving them with an army on their doorstep, but such an army would probably be coming even if the Fortress did not fall. The Fortress also had it's own defenses, many which might remain online after a crash landing. Meanwhile, Yuxzn would need a good sniper spot, probably within the citadel itself, which would prove useful for long range sniping from an unseen source. Such would help the four armies that would be sent to swarm the fallen fortress.
Quite notably, everyone would have to be sent to the fallen fortress, even the ones who shot it down. Qheria knew such was her role, to be on hand to mass teleport those needed for the firing process, along with maybe being a backup shield. Mhyl might not have any roll in the firing process, but Qheria wanted her there too, also as a backup weapon. Right now though, Mhyl was working with Chyurae and Lwyn at the highest level of the Citadel, trying to spot details to establish how the Fortress was flying. All of their estimates had been spot on, the Fortress had actually lost a lot of altitude, as if it was trying to hide behind the mountain. This made it very difficult to spot anything below it, the angle was just horrible.
Lwyn was nearby, going over the book they had recovered from the Fortress, pressuring it to see if it would reveal anything on top of what they could see. She had a lot of blank sheets of paper nearby, providing a way to take notes. Mhyl was getting tired of this, tired of just trying to see what she needed to see, wishing she could just see it anyway. Like that drawing she had made, the things she wanted just showing up on paper, knowing what she needed to know. "It's annoying that the gift can't help with all this, we're getting no where with the normal solution." "I'm not sure how the gift would just hand over information, letting you know.. wait, it does. Father is doing exactly that with his gift. The gift can do information, we just need the right way." Mhyl might have a good idea, leaving Lwyn to ponder the extent of her own gift. Exactly how would she use its principle to change to an information delivery. Throw a camera bullet that came back? The control required for that would be stupid, and she had no idea how they would give that shape.
Mhyl pondered the same idea, as Lwyn started playing with the assassin knife in contemplation. Mhyl was happy that they had at least got the poison in that thing removed, it wasn't nearly as dangerous anymore. It was thankful that her mother could remove the poison, just as it was thankful that Qheria could protect them from it. She herself was scared of it, unable to heal the poison itself, only the wound caused by the blade. The most she was able to do was at least to identify... Mhyl turned from the window back to the knife. Wait, how did she just know it was poison? It wasn't until that moment that she realized she had achieved something that didn't seem to fit with her own model of the gift. However, if her gift was actually capable of such a thing, that could be useful.
Mhyl turned to the book Lwyn was searching over. That's exactly what they needed, information like this. Mhyl brought a blank sheet and some writing tools to the window, finding a flat area to write upon. She pinned the sheet to the wall, both with an hand and her gift, as she focused on an unfinished drawing. She looked out at the fortress, only the twelve spires still visible, and closed her eyes. What did it look like below that, the walls, the gates. She pulled from memory until she had none left, then she just kept drawing. She did not think about what she drew, her guesses could not be trusted. They could have done anything, used anything.
Lwyn was watching Mhyl in wonder, no idea what she was doing, to then notice the green light that had fallen upon the Fortress. She could see even at this distance, the shield system had turned on, not certain what was going on either. Pulses of green energy descended upon the Fortress, passing below her sight. All through it, Mhyl continued to draw, her eyes closed the entire time. She didn't even know what she was drawing at this point, making considering it very hard. A quick stroke to the left, a small turn upwards. She kept drawing until she felt there was nothing left to draw, that her incomplete picture was finally completed. She opened her eyes and looked upon the drawing in front of her, bringing it also to Lwyn's attention, who had noticed the green pulsing rings had thus ceased.
The picture was visibly a photo-realistic view of what would be the underside of the fortress, if you were standing below it, slightly off to the side. Lwyn hadn't realized it at the time, but even with only the simple chocolate brown ink, the entire picture was in full color. Her enhanced vision could spot the smallest details, something that would have been far too difficult to draw, but which was fully visible on this page somehow. Lwyn put everything together and started to understand, Mhyl had completed a photocopy scan of the fortress, capturing it from the bottom in full color. Which was weird, because it looked like the rings had descended, but instead... Lwyn shrugged, realizing it probably made sense to someone, it didn't need to be her.
What was making sense was the photo itself. A ring of fire under the fortress, looking like an array of rockets generating super heated force towards the ground. Mhyl was really feeling cheated, this was so much like she wanted to do. Pressure jets, with probably no small measure of thermal energy generating some kind of thermal-chemical reaction. Mhyl put away the sheet angrily and stormed out the door, upset at this sheer intellectual theft. Sure, he probably didn't scan her mind.. not like she scanned his stuff.. but it was still her idea. Technically, he did steal it too, from the internet. She felt totally justified in her fury as she walked out the door, ignoring Lwyn's concern. Lwyn was less worried about the picture and more worried about Mhyl having just done a huge display of her gift and not even giving herself time to recover. Mhyl hadn't even thought about it, not actually becoming very tired in the process.
Qheria looked upon the sheet Mhyl provided her, still at a loss exactly where this had came from, but very thankful for the information. She was trying to hold back signs of her laughter, realizing just how many flaws this idea could hold. Super-heating could cause a vast number of meltdowns and explosions, especially within the engine itself. Not only had they suffered an incident like that themselves, but she knew many tales of flaws in this design. Beyond that were even countless tales in fiction, making a mockery of this exact idea. Being so prevalent and common, that's probably why Khaexyn had used it. His massive shielding could probably deal with a lot of concerns too. However, she still remembered their escape, when Thanrie had overloaded the pipes. She was certain they could deal with something like this.
Lwyn then took the opportunity to rush into the room to report to bring a status update. The Fortress had arrived at the mountain, and should be in firing range very soon.