~~(Kieran)~~
The cadets are training well, though I'm focusing mostly on Noah. Shift change just happened a few minutes ago, and Irina is relaxing in the staff's lounge, after giving me a stern warning to actually stay in the lobby this time.
She knows I won't listen – it's not like anything will actually make it in without me noticing. Except, of course, Caleb and his Teacher. And now that I'm able to meld into shadows, it's not as if I can't be exactly where I need to be. And being more powerful than any other instructor here means that there really isn't a threat I need to worry about.
So I'm watching the cadets, or more specifically, Noah. They just unlocked their aura a week ago, and I'm a little impressed with Noah's aura and his adaptability to it. Not just resisting it, but to using it. He learns fast.
To think I'd find another auratouched is amazing. The only living ones I know of are Caleb and myself, along with the people from Rainbow Village. Stupid name, powerful people. The Quartet are definitely holding back when they use aura, and I pity the foes who think they can be taken lightly.
They will survive. So will Caleb, of course.
With luck, Jared won't.
After watching Noah for a bit, I slide off the table I'm on and approach him. He's currently sparring with another cadet while sheathed with aura. The moment I reshape mine, Noah tenses, kicking the cadet away and taking several steps back, fists up and ready to fight.
“So,” I unwrap my aura, allowing myself to be seen. “You can sense that.”
“What the hell did you do?” He looks terrified as the other cadets stare at me, Fowl looking unhappy at my interruption. “That felt terrifying, like I was going to die. It wasn't anywhere close to bloodlust, either.”
“Something you have the potential for,” I tell him. “Though don't ever think you could match Caleb. When he first awakened his aura, he quickly learned how to utilize it, and almost immediately took over my spot as the best. Caleb is a prodigy when it comes to all things, and before you protest, I know you want to become stronger so that you can prove to him your strength. I know you admired him, and that he overlooked you when you approached him. Or rather, he got scared and left. Until here, Caleb was not a sociable boy. That wasn't arrogance, that was timidness. Learn the difference.”
I turn and walk inside, making my way to the lounge in the staff quarters, and Irina gives me an unimpressed look. I stare at her back, knowing she knows what I want to know.
“They won't end the mission,” Irina tells me. “I've asked them to a dozen times, Kieran. They keep saying 'no'. It's a set mission, and refusing to do it violates a law. The Council of Dreams will have to vote if it's to be ended. They convene in a week.”
“What mission?” A voice asks, and we turn to face Caleb's powerful Teacher. “Enchanted Forest?”
The moment he says that, his eyes widen in horror.
“Please tell me Caleb isn't there,” he says.
“Why?” I ask, and Teacher looks at Irina. “What?”
“How did you make it out alive?” He asks.
“I almost didn't,” she answers. “Caleb and his team are all in there right now, on that training mission. The Council didn't believe us when we told them what happened, though.”
“I will have a word with them,” Teacher looks furious. “That explains why I can't trace Caleb's location. I was going to look at him. Once I finish with them, I'm going to-”
He pauses, frowning, his gaze distant, as if looking somewhere else.
“Those bastards,” he growls. “They are so lucky he's alive. I am still going to have a word with them. This mission should never have happened.”
“Why?” I ask.
“I'm not entirely sure, myself,” Irina says when Teacher doesn't respond. “But when the ancient and powerful magician who taught Caleb everything he knows looks angry, it's probably best to do as he says. Let's hope the Council figures this out.”
Teacher turns and leaves, and I look at Irina.
“What happened in the Enchanted Forest?” I demand, sealing off the lobby. “Why did Teacher react so negatively to it?”
“The Enchanted Forest,” she says. “Is a death trap. That's why so many cadets die. Those who come out leave with powerful aura capabilities, but beyond that, no one knows exactly what goes on within. No one ever remembers what happened inside of there.”
“I'm leaving,” I tell her.
“Why?” She asks.
“To pull them out of there.”
“Your Ability won't work-”
“If I perceive it can,” I state. “It will.”
I meld into shadows and leave, switching between light and shadows until I reach the edge of the Enchanted Forest. So damn glad I put that aura trace on Caleb after he got lost the last time.
The first thing I notice when I arrive is that Caleb and his team are outside of the Enchanted Forest, standing on one of the roads to it, but they all seem exhausted, and Caleb isn't actually standing…
“Caleb!” I exclaim, and they all look at me, some of the other cadets immediately drawing their knives or flaring their powers.
“Kieran!” Flame exclaims when he sees me, worry on his face. “Caleb won't wake up!”
----------------------------------------
~~~(Brooks)~~~
Dammit! I just lost my partner a couple of days ago, and discovered the corpse of Flame’s partner a few hours ago. My partner died by monsters, but Flame's seemed to have died from what looked like an arrow. Someone tried covering it up and making it look like a monster attacked him, but I know an arrow wound from a claw or bite.
Someone killed Flame's partner. Flame isn't around, and judging by the small camp I found, he wasn't here. They were already separated, and Flame is alive, but his aura trace is gone. I can't sense him at all.
Where the hell did my brother go?
A powerful wind ripples out, slamming me into a tree as it rips limbs off of them and throws leaves everywhere. The ground tremors at the same time, and a single thing fills my mind.
Flame.
Cliff and Gale can use their Abilities here, and they just performed a powerful attack in sync with each other. The only reason they would have forced their Abilities on this level would be if something happened to me or Flame.
Facing the direction the ripples came from, I manipulate the water and burst myself until I reach them, stopping when I see Flame on the ground. He's barely breathing and covered in gashes. Cliff and Gale are fighting monsters, but losing.
All I can do is feel my heart drop. Flame was attacked and is going to die. His life force is probably leaving him as I stare at his wounds, unable to move, and all I can do is remember everything he's done.
Sure, he's hyperactive, and falls in love with every cute guy he sees, and sure, he wears his emotions on his sleeve, but he's also the most powerful Superhuman from our village. He's the greatest warrior and best fighter and the smartest of all of us.
Hell, he can even use a funky fire none of us can explain. He says we all have it within us, but that's hard to believe. Flame says a lot of weird things.
I can't let him die, but my Ability isn't suited for healing, it's suited for combat. I need to do something. What can I do?
Something inside me whispers power, and for a moment, I can sense something different, something in everything around. I grab at that power, and sense it all again. Water. I can sense all the water around, but it's different.
I can sense their life water. Flame's is weak, barely flowing at all. I won't let him die.
“No,” I clench my fists. “I will not let you die, Flame.”
Using this strange power, I grab at his life waters, understanding, at last, what his strange power is. I keep him living, breathing, flowing as my brothers fight, and I slowly walk to my brother, afraid that if I let go for a single moment, I'll lose him.
Kneeling beside my brother, I grab his hand and look down as he smiles, his eyes closed, hair back to its natural brown.
“Flame,” I say.
“You did it,” he says. “You woke it up, didn't you?”
“Yeah,” I whisper. “Flame, you’re not going to die on me.”
“Not...strong enough,” he coughs. “Too weak, Brooks. I can't...cycle aura...move...fire...”
He stops breathing, but I still have hold of his life waters. He's still alive, so long as I keep them rooted. Closing my eyes, I sense their pathways through his body and force them to move, force them to heal.
“You're not dying on me, Flame,” I state. “I need you. Cliff, Gale, Caleb, Kieran, Jared – we all need you, Flame. You're a part of us. You're not dying on us, so don't think that for a moment.”
He doesn't respond, but I can see it working. This power of his...
Ours.
This power – there's a reason he calls it his dragon fire. The water I can use, this power, it feels draconic in nature. There's no other way for me to describe it.
Several long minutes pass before I can finally release my brother's life waters, and when I do, he opens his eyes, smiling.
He looks at me with his crimson, blazing eyes, his hair changing to match as he stands.
“Thank you, Brooks,” he smiles at me. “They stripped our aura traces off before leaving the monsters.”
“The natives?” I ask, and he nods. “So they really did kill your partner?”
“They did?” He looks surprised. “I felt his aura trace disappear, but thought he was attacked by monsters. We were on his way to go see him when they attacked.”
“You weren't with him?” I ask.
“Long story!” Cliff exclaims. “Now will you two help us out? We're losing, here!”
“Right!” I say. “Sorry!”
“I got this,” Flame says, fire swirling around him.
This isn't his Ability's fire. I can sense the draconic power within these flames, and instinctively take a step back.
“They got us by surprise,” Flame says. “They knew to go after me first. I bet they didn't count on me being this tough and powerful!”
Flame starts laughing as his fire washes over us, and as it does, our brothers' wounds heal.
Then, his fire goes insane, setting trees and monsters on fire alike as Flame stands there, grinning as he manipulates the fire with his thoughts alone.
I've never seen him do that before. He's always used his arms to control his fire. I start damage control with my new power, putting out the forest.
Whatever beings allowed Flame to use fire in a forest – shame on you.
Giggling sounds in the back of my mind, and I look around.
Please tell me a divine being did not just giggle in my mind in response to that.
More giggling.
Flame finally finishes, and I put out the last of the flames, then look at my brother.
“That was a hell of a lot more fire than I've seen you use before,” I say.
“I hold back,” he grins at me. “I feel so alive when I do that, though. Look! All my wounds are healed!”
“I keep forgetting that you're a monster, Flame,” Cliff says, and Gale giggles.
“What?” Flame looks at Gale who doesn't respond. “Whatwhatwhatwhatwhat?”
Gale keeps giggling until Cliff smacks him in the back of the head, then grins at him.
“What?” Cliff asks, and Gale starts giggling again. “Okay, seriously, Gale, what is it?”
“He's hearing voices in his head again, isn't he?” Flame asks, looking at Gale. “You need to tell them to shut up about me! I can't help that I've got a bigger flame than them!”
Gale bursts into full-on laughter and doubles over, clutching his stomach.
“We need to find the others,” I say. “Are any of the aura traces still active?”
“Caleb's is,” Flame looks at me. “I think they're keeping him alive on purpose.”
“Why?” I ask.
“He's too powerful not to,” Gale suddenly looks serious and worried. “If they tried to kill him, they'd probably fail. They're probably going to wear him out in a fight with monsters, then kill him if the monsters don't succeed. Weaken, then kill. Plus, from what we can tell, he's mostly just been attracting monsters to him to kill, anyway.”
“Caleb's been killing?”
“Yup!” Flame nods vigorously. “He's finally gotten over his issues with fighting, and can handle monsters just fine! He keeps attracting monsters for target practice!”
That's… somewhat worrying.
“Let's go find him,” I decide. “With the four of us together, and Flame and I both having this unique ability, I highly doubt they could really catch us off-guard again and take us out – not if they want to take out Caleb.”
“What about Jared?” Cliff asks. “Do we know if he's still alive?”
“No,” I shake my head.
“He is,” Flame nods. “He's at a village near the edge. Or rather, was, before they removed his aura trace a minute ago.”
“Removed it or killed him?” I ask.
“Removed it,” Flame answers. “Though they'll probably kill him soon.”
“We need to go to him!” Cliff, Gale, and I exclaim in unison.
----------------------------------------
~~~(Jared)~~~
These last couple of days, something has seemed off about the villagers. I'm pretending like I haven't noticed, but it's worrying me. I can't quite put my finger on whatever it is. Some sense that something is off.
“Hey, Rige!” Bari runs up to me, a cheerful smile on his face, and I look at him. Something’s off about him, too. Has been all day. For everyone. He claps a hand on my shoulder as he approaches me. “Thanks for the help the other day, the increase of kaennikite has already made an improvement in our battle against the beasts.”
Alarm bells start ringing in my head. I haven’t sensed a single piece of kaennikite leave the village. I can’t connect to them without physically touching them, but I can definitely sense them.
“Nice,” I respond. “So what’s the plan for now?”
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“For now?” He asks. “We train. You’re an excellent warrior, and it would be a shame to lose you. The Divine Formation should be arriving where Lite is now, to assist in the battle.”
The village Caleb is visiting will probably be attacked in about two weeks, they said. A huge horde of monsters is on its way, likely due to his magical ring. They’ve been monitoring the horde. Utilizing aura, we should be able to arrive in less than three days to that village.
Three days?
Why did the Divine Formation take so long to get here, then? One of them came from the village Caleb is in, yet took two weeks.
That is definitely one of the things that’s off.
My guard immediately goes up, but I try to ignore it as Bari and I spar. He pushes me harder than normal. He seems more aggressive today, almost like he wants to actually hurt me.
“Bari!” One of the elders calls out during our match, and Bari stops, looking at him. “They survived.”
“What?” Bari looks confused and furious. “They shouldn’t have. We calculated it specifically to end them. How did they survive?”
“Not aware,” the elder shrugs. “They’re on their way here now. And Kilmis Village just got a message to us – they’re under attack.”
“Monsters?” Bari asks. “That shouldn’t be, they-”
“Migar did a trick,” the elder growls. “He knew the whole time. Kilmis Village is under siege – and the horde is much, much larger than we detected moving that way.”
Migar? Kilmis village? I haven’t heard of the latter, and I’ve never heard them reference a Migar before.
Bari looks at me, frowning.
“What?” I ask. “Who’s Migar? Where’s Kilmis Village? Will we be able to assist them?”
“No,” Bari takes on a dark tone. “You won’t be able to assist them.”
He draws a ceramic knife from his hip, and I realize that he’s going to kill me.
“Bad native!”
I have never been so glad to hear that voice in my life.
Especially as it’s accompanied by Bari screaming as fire rips his body apart from the inside.
Then Flame practically appears in front of me, his brothers appearing next to him. They’re using their Abilities here. That was definitely Flame’s funky ‘dragon’ fire that he used on Bari…
And he killed Bari without hesitation, I’m sure.
“They’re killing off cadets,” Brooks states. “They attempted to get us, too, but failed miserably. It seems they were not prepared for Flame’s dragon fire, nor for me to awaken the dragon water within me. We believe they’re leaving all but the most powerful, most intelligent cadets alive, to make it appear as if this place is more difficult than it truly is.”
“You won’t make it out of here alive,” Eldir approaches us, smiling darkly. “If you manage to survive against us, the monsters will overwhelm you. Your little friend in Kilmis might have tricked us, but we’ll get him soon.”
“Our friend?” I ask.
“Migar,” he laughs. “Or, as you know him by, Lite. Your friend Caleb, the boy with so much light in him that he must die. He caught us off-guard, but we’ve ordered the Divine Formation to deal with him before they take on the cave that’s now free of its most powerful guardians – which we knew would come to deal with such a powerful magical threat.”
They plan on killing Caleb.
“How did he make it through?” I ask.
“Doesn’t matter,” Flame drags his fingers through the air, ripping apart several more natives. “All that matters is we run!”
Flame grabs me and pulls me onto his back, then with small explosions, we’re off. The quartet moves insanely fast, exploding their element under their feet. I’m surprised we don’t slam into trees or something. The air grows more humid as I spot a trio of figures standing ahead. I can’t make them out, but I can feel intense power radiating off of them.
“Incoming!” I yell.
Flame raises his hands up, then stops, coming to a halt. The rest of the quartet does as well.
Standing before us, looking calm as can be, is a trio that includes a cadet I’ve never seen before, Owen, and Caleb.
“Come here,” Caleb states, looking unimpressed. “All five of you.”
We approach him.
“They’re giving chase,” I inform him as he approaches. “They’ll be here soon.”
“I know,” he answers. “I can sense them. This is almost unnecessary, but just in case,” he places a hand on my shoulder. “In this Reality, you’re not affected by Enchanted Trees.”
Immediately, I feel a rush of power as my Ability and magic become fully accessible again. He does the same to the quartet.
“Why aren’t your eyes all glowy, if we’re in one of your Realities?” Flame asks.
“I can explain that later,” Caleb says. “Owen, Jared, if you two would be so kind. Flame, Brooks, we’ll need a fog screen in a moment.”
“There’s not much metal for me to work with,” I say.
“In this reality,” Caleb says. “Every piece of dirt with one mile of my current location is torikkite.”
The ground turns into corrupted kaennikite – prime for using magic and Abilities on. I’ve never heard it called torikkite, though.
“Thanks,” I say. “Torikkite?”
“It’s the reverse of kaennikite,” Caleb nods. “Teacher told me about it ages ago. He said that there are creatures with torikkite shells and scales and stuff, but he wouldn’t tell me where he put them as guards.”
As guards?
Teacher put them down as guards?
“Um, about that,” I say, and Caleb cocks his head to the side. “I, um-”
“Oh,” Caleb says. “Well, we’re nearly to those mines, anyway. I can replace them. I did some experimenting a couple of years ago. No animals or monsters were hurt, I made sure of that. I’ve got some torikkite beasts.”
That’s...interesting.
Wait. Did Caleb just hear my thoughts? How is he supporting this Reality Marble? Why is his Ability so powerful here?
“Let’s do this,” Owen interrupts my thoughts, stepping forward.
I turn and stand beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Caleb turned all of the dirt within a mile of us into torikkite – including underground. That’s a hell of a lot of torikkite, and my Ability easily slides into it.
Adjusting the properties a little bit, I make sure we won’t be affected by Owen’s Ability as the force of natives and monsters enter the area around us.
Then, I shift the ground under them as Owen transfers his electricity through me and into the ground, shocking the natives and monsters in range. Immediately after that, a thick fog begins to fill the air.
“Let’s go,” Caleb’s voice says.
Why can I still see everything?
Did Caleb already set that rule? He needed to touch us to make our Abilities work again.
Unless he set that rule without saying it. Caleb is quite the strange ally. Uses his words to set one rule into this Reality, but not another.
We take off running.
----------------------------------------
~~~(Caleb)~~~
Taylor is talking with them again. He spends too much time with them. We need to train. That's why I keep attracting the monsters to us – so we can train in combat. Especially him, so he can become better at wielding his aura as a weapon. The powerful monsters will be here tomorrow, and we need to be ready for it.
“Come on, Taylor,” I walk over to them. “Let's go. We need to train.”
“We trained for three hours earlier,” he tells me.
“So?” I ask. “We need to train some more. You're still rubbish at cycling aura and using your aura to enhance your defense isn't a strong point. You need to be ready when they come.”
Something about this place is bothering me. Cadets are dying too fast, and even the elders are worried. Something isn't right.
I really wish the Moon could talk to me more. He'd know what to say to make me feel better.
“Lite,” Kilar looks at me. “It's best if we rest up for tomorrow.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” I snap at him. “But Taylor might not survive the battle. Taylor, come with me.”
“Caleb-” Taylor starts to protest.
“Now,” I order and begin walking, knowing he’s going to follow me.
Ten minutes outside of the village, I stop walking, and Taylor looks at me.
“You were unnecessarily rude,” he snaps.
“They want to kill us.”
“What?” He says, and I turn to face him.
“They want to kill us,” I repeat, waving a hand in front of my face, removing the glamour. “I can hear their thoughts.”
“You’re using your Ability?” He asks in astonishment.
“Layering it upon itself,” I nod. “It’s exhausting, but with the smaller field, it’s not too hard. I’m drawing on the power of the Enchanted Trees to fuel it. The monsters aren’t a week out.”
“They aren’t?”
“No,” I shake my head. “The majority of them are already here. I’m pulling us out of the Reality I have surrounding us.”
Existence shifts a little as we change Realities, and Taylor stares around us, eyes wide, looking at the monsters that fill the forest as he draws his knife.
“They won’t attack us,” I inform him. “We have an understanding.”
“Yes,” one of the larger monsters approaches us. “We will leave your teams alone, though there aren’t many left. Master Lusvar, the message did not reach all. It appears that not too long ago, the Elemental Quartet, as you said they were called, were attacked. The one known as Brooks lost his partner, then later found the partner of the one known as Flame. The one known as Flame had rejoined the other two brothers, and Brooks came across them as the one known as Flame began to die. He awoke the draconic waters within him.”
“No fair!” I exclaim. “I can’t wake the dragon territory in me! How did he do that?”
“Dragon territory?” The monster asks, then laughs. “You are an interesting creature, Master Lusvar! The powers of the dragon… what would you have us do?”
“I’m releasing my Ability,” I state, feeling the power fade away as I say that. “They’re all yours.”
I look at Taylor, whose mouth is open and eyes are wide as he stares at the monster.
“It can talk!”
“Of course he can,” I roll my eyes, then place a hand on his shoulder. “In this Reality, you are not affected by the Enchanted Trees.”
The moment I set that rule into this Reality, he gasps.
“I can feel my Ability again!” He exclaims, then frowns. “But wait – you released your Ability.”
“So?” I ask. “Let’s go. Our allies are dying.”
“Where are they?” He asks.
“Thankfully, near each other,” I say. “It seems that, apart from the Quartet, only Owen and Jared are still alive. We can use that.”
I grab Taylor’s hand, then manipulate gravity so he isn’t just dangling behind me as I fly toward Owen, who I then do the same thing to, leading us to the point where we will intercept the Quartet and Jared.
“What just happened?” Owen asks. “I was kind of enjoying my nap.”
“The natives are killing everyone,” I place a hand on him. “In this Reality, you are not affected by the Enchanted Trees.”
“I thought Abilities don’t work at all in the Enchanted Forest?”
“I’ll explain after we leave here,” I tell him. “I’ll do the same to the Quartet and Jared after they arrive, they’ll be here in less than a minute. In short – the natives are killing cadets off, and have for every batch. Due to a flower that grows on the Enchanted Trees, no one remembers anything that happens in the Forest after they leave it, so no one knows that the true threat are the locals. They’re here.”
Looking at them, I think about Flame and Brooks. They can create a smokescreen.
“In this Reality,” I weave two more Laws of Reality. “The humidity of the air is akin to a rainforest, and cadets of the GSDF can see clearly through fog.”
----------------------------------------
~~~(Flame)~~~
As soon as Brooks and I create the heavy fog, the seven of us take off. Caleb’s somehow allowing us to see through the fog, and that’s totally awesome. I like how he just casually let us use our Abilities again, too. He’s totally awesome.
I just wish I was his type.
We arrive at some caves, and Caleb just snorts when he sees them.
“Teacher,” he rolls his eyes. “Did you really think that would be enough? Then again, probably so. Had I not been interfering, it’s unlikely the Divine Formation would’ve worked here. Here you go! Have a new home!”
Caleb twists his ring, and monsters start to appear, running into the caves, and I look at him curiously.
“They’re my babies,” Caleb says. “I made them. They were so fun to make. I promise that I didn’t hurt any animals or monsters when I made them. They all liked it. I made them stronger and more powerful than they were before. Judging by the essences left behind, Teacher’s were pretty weak compared to mine.”
“Why did they dissolve into shadows after the boss was killed?” Jared asks.
“Huh?” Caleb looks at him. “Oh. That’s weird. Oh, that’s why. Yeah, that makes perfect sense. They weren’t the actual creatures designed, they just came from where Teacher actually put them, as directed by Teacher. The boss was the only actual creature here – the others were all drops of its essence that took on physical form. The other place still has plenty. I just crammed a lot of physical ones here, and they can all make more through drops of their essence. I doubt the Iniri will be going back in here. Shame they managed to acquire more kaennikite, though. Teacher definitely didn’t want them having it, if he did that. Let’s head up to the surface. This is my Reality, now.”
Caleb’s eyes glow, and then we begin to float upward. Every now and then, he momentarily releases the Reality Marble as we draw close to its end, but creates a new one immediately after. The shift of nearly dropping to floating again is fun, and I wonder if Caleb can do that to me sometime later.
We float to the surface, and gently touch down on a paved path that leads from the edge to somewhere off in the distance, nothing but fields around us.
Caleb’s eyes lose their glow, and he looks at the Enchanted Forest.
Energy begins to crackle around him, and his eyes turn violet, the air rippling with magic, distorting my vision. I look around, and notice that it isn’t distorted behind us, only around the Enchanted Forest. When Caleb ends whatever spell he’s casting, I look at him.
“What did you-” I start to ask, but then Caleb’s eyes roll into the back of his head, and he passes out. “Caleb!”
I catch Caleb and try to wake him up, but he won’t wake up. I lie him down on the ground and keep trying to wake him up.
“He’s not breathing,” Gale comments, kneeling by Caleb, putting a hand to his neck. “No pulse, either. Did he just die?”
“No,” I say. “He’s alive. His fire’s still burning. It’s so hot right now! Wake up, Caleb!”
Kieran shows up, and I look at him. “Kieran! Caleb won’t wake up!”
“What?” Kieran looks panicked, rushing to Caleb’s side. “Teacher said Caleb was okay. How long ago did he pass out? He feels dead.”
“He’s not,” I shake my head. “He’s alive. His fire’s burning, even hotter than before. It feels so weak, though, so distant. He’s still alive, though! He’s not dead!”
“We popped out a few minutes ago,” Brooks says.
“A few minutes ago?” Kieran sounds confused. “It took me over an hour to get here, after talking to Teacher. There’s no way you guys have only been out for a few minutes.”
“Time was distorted, here,” a voice says, and I look up to see Teacher. “Calm, Flame. Caleb’s alive, and he’ll wake on his own. I’ll need to verify, but I have reason to believe that he simply placed himself into stasis, after the spell he unwove.”
“Unwove?” Jared asks. “What do you mean?”
“That powerful magic Caleb did,” Teacher says. “Before passing out? He was unweaving the Reality Marble he’d woven across the Enchanted Forest. It distorted time a little bit, and granted minute access to magic and Abilities. Caleb didn’t want to affect it too much. How he managed to pull it off without me noticing… I’m quite impressed. I’m surprised he didn’t catch anyone’s attention, to be honest. For him to do a spell of that caliber...”
“That Reality,” Jared says. “That wasn’t his Ability?”
“No,” Teacher says. “That was Caleb’s magic. Different in a few ways. Since he’s inexperienced with it, he probably had to set each rule verbally after creating it. Even I have to do that, still, with major shifts. I’ve never tried creating one of that caliber before, though. I can typically do it about four times as powerful as I can with my Ability.”
“Then that’s nothing, for Caleb,” Kieran says, and we all look at him. “His passive Territory is probably hundreds of miles by now. I remember this one time, he created a Marble that covered a hundred miles out of boredom, then decided to make it a playground. We had so much fun in his playground Marbles.”
“That’s not possible,” Teacher says. “Caleb’s passive territory isn’t even as big as mine is, and he can’t create a Reality Marble greater than about ten miles.”
“He just did,” Kieran says. “He definitely can. He did it all the time before the massacre.”
“No, he can’t,” Teacher says. “I know his ranges, and he definitely cannot. His passive Territory is far too small.”
“You’re wrong,” Kieran insists. “Caleb used his Territory all the time for mischief, and we always used his Marbles for fun. I’m just waiting for him to be comfortable enough again to start doing that. Caleb’s changed a lot.”
Teacher stares at Kieran, frowning.
“Your memories certainly suggest that,” he looks at Caleb. “But if that’s true, then Caleb is far, far more powerful than I have ever hoped to be. He must be subconsciously suppressing his Ability, then. But why?”
“Probably because he can’t get over what happened?” Jared asks. “What are you, an idiot? So can you fix Caleb or not?”
“I can see why he went into the stasis,” Teacher kneels down by Caleb. “But until then, I can’t know for sure what I can do.”
Teacher places a hand on Caleb’s head, then recoils, jumping to his feet and taking several steps back, looking at Caleb in horror.
“What?” Kieran asks, and when Teacher doesn’t respond, he moves forward in a flash of shadows and grabs Teacher by the collar of his shirt. “Why do you look so horrified?”
“Ever since the Calamity,” Teacher swallows. “Passage in and out of this realm has been impossible. Caleb somehow managed to move himself out of this realm, and somehow, he went into the one realm no human should ever go into.”
“Why?” Kieran’s tone sounds dark and threatening, his fire burning really hot. Teacher’s fire says he’s scared, but only for Caleb – he knows Kieran can’t do anything to him. “Why should no human ever go into that realm?”
“Because,” Teacher pushes Kieran away, giving him a small look of disapproval. “Almost everything there wants to eat a human. That, or kill them, or torture them, or any number of very unpleasant things. If I could travel there, I’d be fine, but again – I can’t. How the fuck did Caleb leave this realm?”
I thought Caleb said Teacher doesn’t swear?
“Caleb said you didn’t swear,” Jared says.
“Really?” Teacher looks at him, stunned. “I swear all the time. Caleb’s heard me swear probably hundreds, if not thousands, of times. I’ll take Caleb’s body to my island, where it’ll be safe. Once he wakes up and I’m sure he’s fine, I’ll return him. You seven take care of yourselves, and whatever you do, don’t return down there. Since you don’t remember-”
“I remember just fine,” Cliff says.
“Same here,” Jared says.
“I remember it all!” I add.
“Seriously?” Teacher frowns. “Nothing I’ve ever done has made me remember what, exactly, is down there. I even tried Reality Marbles, both magical and through my Ability, I’ve tried giving myself the circumstance where Enchanted Trees didn’t affect me, and probably hundreds of other things. What little I know of down there comes from bits and pieces of knowledge that comes with no memories. Dammit, Caleb! Stop defying logic!”
I don’t think he can do that.
“Agreed,” Jared looks at me. “Caleb definitely doesn’t seem to care.”
“Did I say that out loud?” I ask, and he nods. “Oh. Sorry.”
“I’m taking Caleb to my island, now,” Teacher lifts Caleb up, looking at him with love and care, like a father look at his son, probably because he sees the boy who could be his brother as a son. I really think they’re related. Maybe he is his father? “Kieran, you have your radio on you, you can call for a helicopter.”
Teacher and Caleb vanish, but their fires are still there. It moves up into the air, then disappears at a high speed toward the south.
“I do?” Kieran reaches into his pocket, then pulls out a small walkie. “Huh. I do,” he presses a button on it. “This is Colonel Kieran Rivers, at EFR-17. I need an emergency helicopter to our location, we’re at the cliff now. Seven cadets have ascended from the Forest, the others have passed. They have important information regarding what rests within the Forest as well, their memories intact. One cadet is incapacitated and has already received an emergency medical transport. Over.”
That’s one way of phrasing it.
“We are en route,” someone responds over the walkie, and Jared tenses up. “We will arrive in approximately five minutes, Colonel Rivers. Over.”
“Received, over,” Kieran replies, then looks at Jared. “Why did you tense up?”
“That was one of Father’s pilots,” Jared says. “Why is he on a GSDF radio? He only flies for Father?”
“Rivers?” Brooks looks at Kieran. “You and Caleb have the same last name?”
“The orphanage we were at,” Kieran nods. “Everyone there was given the same last name. We can figure it out later, Jared.”
A few minutes later, we spot the helicopter, and when it lands, Kieran tenses up, drawing a gun from his hip. It’s a huge transport helicopter, designed for dropping soldiers. We all prepare for a fight as the door opens up and a dozen GSDF and GMDF soldiers unload, followed by a man in a suit.
“Lord Fuller,” Kieran puts his gun away. “What brings you here?”
“You’re talking,” the man in the suit looks at Kieran in surprise. “And it’s not to Caleb.”
“He’s worried about Caleb,” Jared says. “He’s just hiding it. What are you doing here, Father?”
“I came with a unit,” Lord Fuller looks at Jared. “To bring you out of the Forest, the moment I heard of what happened. You seven are those who survived? What happened to Caleb?”
“He survived,” Kieran answers. “I wasn’t down there.”
“I’m aware,” Lord Fuller nods. “I’m assuming he’s the one you said had already received an emergency medical transport. How did you arrange one so fast?”
“I didn’t,” Kieran responds. “Caleb’s Teacher showed up and took him to his island. Will your entourage escort us back to base?”
“Yes,” Lord Fuller answers. “However, Jared will be returning home with me. I will not allow my son to have his life risked for training missions like this. There was no need to put him on that mission. Survival rate is less than a fifth, and-”
“It’s a law,” Kieran interrupts the Councilman. “They had to.”
“Yes, I’m aware,” Lord Fuller states. “And the fact that my son was forced onto it is unacceptable. You mentioned they had information about the Enchanted Forest?”
“Yes,” Jared states. “And I’m not going home.”
“You will be returning home,” Lord Fuller states. “There is no exception to that, Jared. How do you have this information? No one remembers anything about what went on down there.”
“Caleb did something funky,” I say. “Then he passed out.”
“This information,” Jared says. “Will likely force the Council to remove the law requiring it. The natives down there tried to kill us, and even Caleb’s Teacher had done stuff down there to hinder them, due to how they are, and he doesn’t remember it. They’ve been doing this to every batch.”