– Era of the Wastes, Cycle 215, Season of the Setting Sun, Day 43 –

Terry and the others were travelling through the desert of black sand.

“I would have never figured your mana signature to be aspected,” said Megumi from the front.

“I’m more surprised that they let an aspect-impaired mage into Arcana Academy,” said Lizzy, who was walking next to the Captain. “You would think if anyone knew how to identify aspect impairments it would be them.”

“It took everyone by surprise.” Terry shrugged. “Everyone thought my mana was unaspected. Actually, I’m not completely sure that it isn’t. Uncle Samuel compared unaspected mana to a transparent glass ball while aspected mana would be like colored glass. My mana seems to be transparent, but it moves on its own for some reason. There were only a few references to the condition in the entire Academy Library. No one has really studied oscillating mana.”

“Oscillating mana?” Lizzy raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t sound like an aspect.”

“I’ve never heard of it either,” said Megumi.

“I have,” said Devon from Terry’s right. Everyone turned to him.

“What?” blurted Lizzy. “You? Where? How? When?”

“The looneys were talking about it once. I remember wondering how to spell that word.”

“What did they say?” questioned Terry. He did not like the idea of an ancient deathcult being the leading experts on his mana type.

Devon tilted his head. “I think that was around the time they discussed the affinity adjustment rituals they planned for me. I only remember the term. They were doing resistance exercises with me. At that point, it was earthfire or darkfire or brightfire or— It was some kind of fire. It hurt. I blacked out shortly after the term was brought up.”

Terry swallowed and did not press the point. He was very curious about the idea of affinity adjustment rituals and wanted to know why oscillating mana would come up. He felt conflicted but did not press the topic. Whenever Terry asked about Devon’s past, the stories from the tower led to some very dark corners that made Terry uncomfortable.

“When we raided the deathcult, we collected all the writings,” said Megumi. “We can submit a research request for you to Guardian management. Although if I were you, I would not get my hopes up. The deathcults are not known for being meticulous note takers. The few that have enough brain cells left to write are usually clever enough to not leave written evidence or any kind of intel that could be used against their purpose. That particular cult managed to avoid detection for more than an era. I would assume they were of the clever sort.”

“What’s this?” Devon pointed at Terry’s hand.

“Mana container,” said Terry.

Lizzy shook her head from side to side. “Arcana.”

“What’s it for?” inquired Devon.

“Mainly mana regeneration training. I siphon mana at my regeneration rate and insert it into the container.”

“Can I try?”

“Sure, but this one already has my naturalized mana. Wait, I’ll have some empty ones.”

In front of them, Lizzy threw up her hands when she heard that.

“Here.” Terry handed over an empty mana container. “Just insert your—”

“It’s full,” said Devon and examined the container curiously.

“Huh? No way. I’m sure it was empty.” Terry received the mana container. He checked the container and fell into daze. It was full alright, but it was full with Devon’s mana. “You’re supposed to only insert mana at your regeneration rate.”

“Hmm…” Devon tilted his head. “I thought I did. Let me try again.” He reached out his hand.

“Sure.” Terry dumped Devon’s mana from the container into the surroundings and handed the container back. This time, he also kept his mana sight on Devon to check for any mana fluctuations that would indicate Devon’s mana decreasing.

“It’s full.”

“That—” Terry tilted his head. As far as Terry’s mana sight could tell, Devon did not even lose any mana. “Huh. Again.”

Terry was getting interested in how often Devon could do that without a change in his mana pool becoming noticeable. Before long, Terry had retrieved another empty mana container and containers were quickly passed between him and Devon.

“What are you doing?!” Megumi stopped walking and turned towards the two.

“Don’t answer that,” said Devon. “That’s a trick question. Elvis explained this one to me before. It really means that she wants us to stop what we are doing.”

“Right and can you think of any reason why I might want you to stop flooding the surroundings with an abnormal amount of abnormal mana?” Megumi raised her eyebrows.

Devon maintained a blank expression. “Is that another trick question?”

“Uhm, mana corruption?” replied Terry with embarrassment.

“Right.” Megumi shook her head slightly. “I see the education in the leading empire on magic has not failed you entirely.”

Terry did not know where to look.

Wow, this is incredibly awkward. Well done, Terry!

“Can you imagine what kind of mana-corrupted creature would spawn from this kind of mana? I expect this from Devon, but please don’t add to my worries.”

“If you expect this from me, then why do you seem surprised so often?” asked Devon.

Megumi scowled at Devon. “Don’t test my patience. You know what I mean.”

“I wish I did,” retorted Devon with a pout. “In my defense, I grew up in a tower of looneys.”

Megumi snorted and chuckled. Then, she looked at Terry. “What’s your excuse?”

Keeping ghoul company for an extended period of time?

“Uhm. In my defense, I grew up in the Greenhouse.”

That works, too.

Megumi’s eyes nearly popped out of her eye sockets and she gulped. Lizzy blanched and stood with mouth agape.

I believe you made it worse.

“P-please tell me you’re joking,” said Lizzy.

“Was that a joke?” asked Megumi.

“N-no?”

“Are we seriously taking a Seedling to an undead horde?” asked Lizzy. “If my family knew about this, the Castellans would get a collective heart attack. This is a diplomatic disaster in the making. If anything happens to him and the Arcana government hears that one of their future Council members has come to harm within Tiv borders while travelling with a Castellan, then—”

“I don’t think that’s gonna happen,” interrupted Terry.

“I appreciate your optimism, Terry, but Lizzy is right,” said Megumi. “I can’t bear responsibility for someone related to the Arcana Council and…” Megumi glanced at Lizzy. “Let’s just say, things are even more complicated than you could imagine.” She sighed. “Hmph. Can’t help it. Waste it. This means we have to abort the mission and escort you to the nearest outpost immediately.”

“No, seriously,” stressed Terry. “Aspect impairment, remember? When I got expelled from the Academy, my supposed family rescinded my last name and disavowed me completely. I have nothing to do with the Council. The only people that care about me in Arcana are my accepted family and my companions.”

Megumi’s expression relaxed again. “It sounds horrible to say it out loud, but I’m relieved. This mission needs to be resolved as soon as possible. Thanks for telling us even though it delays your own goals.”

Do you want to admit to her that you did not even consider that part?

“Captain? A group of mana corrupted life signatures has changed course,” said Devon. “They are now moving directly towards us. Fast, too.”

Now look at what you’ve done.

“How many?” asked Megumi.

“Sixty or so.”

“Around here…” Megumi pondered. “Probably a clan of darkblood hyenas. Terry, can you identify the blood and darkness aspect?”

“Yes, I’m familiar with the two.”

“Good. Tell me as soon as you can confirm the aspects. Can anyone provide secure footing here?”

“““I could.””” Lizzy and Terry responded at the same time.

Lizzy looked at Terry in surprise. “I thought you could only cast the Immovable Object spell. Doesn’t that require a target?”

Terry retrieved a tertium slab.

Lizzy raised an eyebrow. “You collect some strange items, but I see. Let’s give Terry a chance. I’ll act as backup.”

A minute later, Terry sensed the creatures. “Aspects match. Blood and darkness.”

“Good, transfix the slab as soon as they come into sight,” said Megumi. The four of them stepped onto the slab.

Terry saw the black hyenas with blood-red spots and cast the Immovable Object spell.

What now? Not very forthcoming with her objectives…

When the Captain judged the hyenas to be close enough, she finished her own Raging Winds spell. Megumi directed the spell into the black sand in front of them.

Isn’t the spell supposed to hit the enemy?

The darkblood hyenas started to sink into the sand. Squeaks could be heard at the beginning, but eventually, everything turned silent.

“I thought you cast Raging Winds,” said Terry. “At least, the spell structure looked like that.”

“I did.” Megumi continued to channel mana into the spell for a few more seconds.

“I’ve never seen it applied in this way. Isn’t the spell normally used to deflect arrows and other projectiles?”

“Yes, but in this environment it’s much more efficient than wind blades.”

“‘In this environment’?”

“Desert. Sand. If you direct the right amount of air into sand, you create a fluidized bed and the sand starts to behave like a liquid. Gravity does the rest.” Megumi stopped her spell. “Remove the airflow again and gravity does the finishing touch, too.”

The sand calmed down and it was impossible to tell that moments ago there were sixty mana corrupted walking around on it.

“Captain, the life signatures have entered the Crawly Tunnel from the east,” informed Devon.

Megumi’s expression became austere. “How close is the horde?”

“Close enough to notice them soon.”

Megumi clicked her tongue. “No waster would be that stupid. Not even the scavengers dare enter the Bulwark. Everyone knows the catastrophic consequences of drawing undead to this side of the mountain range. Either they aren’t aware of what they’re doing – which would mean they aren’t locals – or they are intentionally inviting the Wastes.”

“Or they are aware and don’t care,” added Lizzy. “I’ve seen some ruthless people among the self-identified scavengers. Seemed more like bandits to me. I would not be surprised if there were bodies buried beneath their ‘scavenged’ areas. I would not put it past them to use the Bulwark as a way to avoid the elementals outside.”

Megumi grimaced. “It’s also possible that they changed their M.O. to avoid investigations. Much more credible to claim the ‘scavenging’ defense when the victims have visible wounds from wasted creatures. Wastes, I hope that’s not it. The Bulwark and its sense disruption acts as the last natural line of defense against the undead hordes. If they’re led to one of the entrances then—”

Megumi interrupted herself with a grunt and shook her head. “The village did not show any signs of undead. Let’s not make further assumptions for now. It only serves to sour the mood. We’ll see whom we will encounter in the Bulwark. Let’s go.”

“““Yes, Captain.”””

Terry turned to Devon. “Do you have a rank, too?”

“Rank?”

“Like the Captain. Do you have a military rank, too?”

Devon looked to Megumi. “Captain, what’s my rank?”

“Tolerated.”

Lizzy snickered.

Devon looked back to Terry. “I am tolerated.”

I got nothing.

After several seconds of blankly staring into Terry’s face, Devon noticed something was off. “That’s not a rank, is it?”

“We don’t have ranks in the Deathguard,” said Megumi. “Captain is just a nickname that carried over from when I still served in exchange for my magic education – before I officially joined the Deathguard.”

***

“Two unaspected, three earth-aspected, one dual-aspected in earth and metal, four-fire aspected. All ten are mana users,” informed Terry.

The four were standing on a plateau inside the tunnel leading through the Bulwark. Devon casually incinerated a corrupted spider trying to bite him.

“Hmph.” Megumi scowled. “Unlikely to be scavengers then.”

“Thanatos?” asked Lizzy.

“Probably. Two supporters, four shields and four incinerators – sounds like a waste squad to me. I don’t believe the Assembly has changed course and decided to send Tiv soldiers to patrol the Wasted Zone again.”

“Last we talked, Grandpa said that the bulk of the army is still defending the northeast in order to safeguard our spot at Arcana’s barrier and maintain at least one safe border,” said Lizzy. “If anything, they’re doubling down on their course. Grandpa wasn’t happy, but the motion was passed by the Assembly and even the old Founding King spoke in favor of it.”

“They’re probably hoping that their recent integration efforts with the cultists can make up the numbers for the army,” surmised Megumi. “Everyone wants a place at Arcana’s barrier – one less border to defend against the Wastes. Speaking of which, Thanatos wants to claim a spot at the barrier, too. Thanatos uses squad sizes of six to ten soldiers. If it’s Thanatos, then they haven’t suffered any casualties while traveling through the Wasted Zone.”

“Or they had casualties and were forced to combine squads.” Lizzy pointed out.

“And get back to exactly ten?” Megumi stared into the distance. “Possible, but unlikely. Devon, what’s the horde doing?”

“The Crawly Mountain blocks them from traveling further south. If they follow the mountain range towards our location, their path will lead them to the entrance. Unless something else catches their attention, they will spill into the Crawly Mountain soon.”

“We can’t let them through here. Even if it’s only a small horde.”

About that…

“How small is ‘small’?” asked Terry.

“Small horde is up to two hundred,” explained Lizzy. “Normal is up to a thousand. The big one has more than fifty thousand and counting. The bigger the horde, the more likely it is to contain stronger undead.”

‘Only’ two hundred. E-A-S-Y. Right, Terry? Terry?!

“Lizzy, prepare to seal off the tunnel behind us,” ordered Megumi. “While the corrupted crawlers will not leave any of their tunnels blocked permanently, we can still block it temporarily. Our guest should soon—”

“Eeek!” An involuntary exclamation rang through the tunnel. Apparently, their mana sensors had finally noticed Devon’s mana signature.

“Hehe,” chuckled Megumi. “Always cracks me up. Terry, keep your distance. Lizzy, wait for my signal. Devon, let’s go greet our guests.”

The Captain burst her air-aspected mana. The aspected burst led to a phenomena similar to the air coating ability. In the blink of an eye, she had dashed behind the guests. Devon greeted them from the front.

Megumi recognized the crimson uniforms. “So it really is Thanatos paying our humble empire a visit.” The Captain spoke in a loud voice.

“POSITIONS!” shouted the Thanatos squad leader.

The soldiers moved to have one wall at the back. The soldiers at the flanks summoned large tower shields and one-handed hammers. They raised additional earthen walls. Next, a spherical barrier appeared around them.

“Kill the woman!”

Terry recognized the familiar spell structure from Rock Spear.

Megumi dodged the spears without trouble.

“Squad leader, there!” shouted a soldier. He pointed at Devon.

“What the—”

Devon charged towards the barrier and struck out with a palm bringing hellfire. The barrier shattered immediately.

“Lizzy, now!” shouted Megumi. Then, she herself cast a succession of empowered Wind Blade spells towards the tunnel from which the soldiers had arrived.

*WROOOM!* The two tunnels collapsed simultaneously.

“What the Wastes are you doing?!” yelled the squad leader.

“Ready to talk?”

One soldier whispered: “They’re four in total, squad leader.”

The squad leader glanced around. They had the advantage in numbers. However, Megumi’s casual attitude and Devon’s abnormal mana signature made him wary. He decided to address the Captain.

“You’re in our way. Why?”

“You’re in Tiv territory. Why?” retorted Megumi.

“We’re at war, haven’t you heard?” sneered the squad leader.

“Normally, I don’t care much about guests as long as you don’t harm the citizens. I’m only obligated to report your positions.”

“Then why are we talking? We haven’t harmed any citizens.”

“Oh? What would you call drawing the attention of an undead horde towards the tunnel entrance of the Bulwark?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You don’t just walk through the Bulwark Mountain. The Bulwark is a naturally formed cloaking barrier. It obfuscates life signatures and makes them harder to detect but only those outside. Inside the tunnels, your life signatures light up like a blinding flash for the undead outside. You have attracted a small horde here.”

The squad leader examined Megumi’s face for traces of a lie. “If that is true, then how would you know? Obfuscation would mean that you don’t know what happens on the other side of the mountain range. Also, you are here as well. Wouldn’t your life signatures cause the same problems?”

“Naturally, we have our ways to know what is happening on the other side. You don’t expect me to reveal the precise means to an enemy combatant? We’re at war, haven’t you heard? We are here, because we detected your actions. I won’t disclose how we did that, either.”

“If you want us to get out of the Bulwark, then collapsing the tunnels is an odd strategy to go about it.”

“The horde is already at the tunnel entrance.”

The soldier’s frowned as realization dawned on them.

Megumi watched them sternly. “You’re uninvited guests that have invited trouble for the citizens. We have sealed off the entrances so that you can clean up after yourselves. I assume you want to be remembered as helpful guests instead of as enemy combatants. Otherwise, we can continue where we left off.”

“Who do you think you are?” The squad leader stared into Megumi’s eyes. “Thanatos won’t bow to threats.” He signaled using mana.

Several Fire Spear spells flew at Megumi. An earthen wall turned to stone and developed spikes. Then, it got propelled towards Devon. A metal hammer grew in size and was flung at Terry, who was keeping his distance on the ceiling.

“Barrier up! Earth mages, get ready to clear the tunnel! Fire mages—” The squad leader’s eyes opened wide.

A wild wind surrounded Megumi and blocked all fire lances. Before the spherical barrier could be reestablished, Megumi threw out a Wind Blade at the nearest earthen wall. The wall got cut in half and so was the unprepared earth mage behind it.

The spiky rock wall collided with an angled sheet of condensed metal-aspected mana – a courtesy of Lizzy’s finished spell. From behind the deflected rock wall, Devon charged at the Thanatos soldiers.

The metal hammer collided with a bracer that did not budge an inch. The hammer did not return as it was supposed to, either. It was trapped between an immovable bracer and a transfixed septimum needle. The squad leader raised his hand and channeled more mana into the Move Metal spell but to no avail. For the first time, he examined Terry more thoroughly.

“HOLD!” shouted the squad leader. “We can talk.” Another spherical barrier appeared to protect the Thanatos soldiers.

“Devon, ice ring,” ordered Megumi.

Devon cast the netherfrost Slick Ice spell variant. The black ice surrounded the soldiers. It did not touch them, but the netherfrost did touch the spherical barrier. Shortly thereafter, the barrier collapsed under the effects of mana absorption.

“Forgive me if I take precautions for this talk from now on,” said Megumi while holding the gaze of the squad leader.

“Netherfrost,” cursed the squad leader and looked back towards Terry – or more specifically at the Academy insignia on Terry’s bag. Then, he looked at Devon and clicked his tongue.

“I don’t hear you talking,” said Megumi. “Or do you want me to start? You can try to free the tunnels, but it will take longer than it takes for the horde to arrive.”

The squad leader continued to move his gaze from Terry to Devon. “I was not aware that there were Arcanians among you. I apologize for any previous incivilities. Thanatos does not mean to offend Arcana.”

Megumi glanced over to Devon and was relieved that he did not show any reaction. If the Thanatos soldiers had developed the wrong idea, there was no need to correct them.

“Scared of Arcana, are you?” derided Lizzy. “Invading the Tiv Empire is fine but offending Arcana is off-limits?”

The squad leader eyed the armored woman near the second collapsed tunnel. “Thanatos does not fear strength. Thanatos respects strength. That respect has to be earned. The Arcana Empire has earned it. By contrast, the empire of the Cowardly King has not.”

“Keep the hammer, Arcana,” shouted Megumi. “Thanatos desires to make reparations.” The hammer had by now returned to its original size.

The squad leader frowned but did not object.

“So? The horde?” asked Megumi. “What’s it going to be? Are you going to fight the horde or are you going to fight us and the horde?”

“We’ll fight. First, the horde.” The squad leader looked at the dead woman who had been cut in half. Afterwards, he growled at Megumi. “You’ll regret that, Tiv woman.”

“I prefer to be addressed as Megumi, thank you.”

The squad leader raised an eyebrow and recalled the intel on notable Tiv combatants. “The Captain?”

“You’ve heard of me? Well, now I feel special.” Megumi kept a blank expression.

“We’ve been briefed on all of the Nine Blademasters.”

“Do we get reparations, too?” quipped Megumi.

“No, but you have earned a fair warning. A soldier’s life is negligible to Thanatos. To reuse your earlier words, I am only obligated to report it. I am not oath bound to enact vengeance. That being said, losing blood to unacknowledged outsiders is a dishonor for the whole bloodline. In Thanatos, blood debts are sacred and to be repaid drop for drop.”

“Lovely,” said Megumi.

The Thanatos squad leader addressed the soldiers under his command. “Salvage Fernanda’s equipment. Incinerate her body. Signal the platoon leader and inform him about her death.”

***