The College was buzzing with activity when Megan returned. While this was not out of the ordinary for the busy campus, she could tell at once that the atmosphere was completely different. For one, everyone was moving quickly to and from the buildings, clearly moving with an intense purpose. Masters and Proficients alike were directing the younger students along in groups, guiding them deeper onto the College property, where they could be more easily safeguarded.

Several masters could be seen going around the wall that separated the College from the rest of Milagre. They stopped every few feet to weave enchantments and protective spells to reinforce the walls, then moving along to repeat the process. Yet more Proficients were positioned strategically across the grounds, message spells at the ready. They were the nerve points of communication, Megan realized.

Only one group stood apart from the majority of the activity, positioned in the exact center of the green grass of the courtyard. There were about fifty of them, all dressed in an identical manner. Dark blue robes trimmed with silver thread, sleeves cut short to leave their arms free. They were all equipped with various weaponry that radiated powerful magical auras, and the back of each robe bore the swooping hawk crest. She knew that crest to be Samuel’s personal insignia.

So these were the elite Spellblades, she realized. The men and women who were at the top of their rare branch of magic, hand-picked by Samuel to be his personal, mobile force. Sometimes, when a student found themselves in dangerous situations or captured by hostile forces, Samuel would send one of these people to the rescue, with nearly perfect success every time. They were all trained in anti-magic fighting techniques and had exceptional skill in physical magicks to harden their bodies.

Samuel himself was in front of them, pacing back and forth as he addressed them. He had removed his Archmage’s robe, she noticed with a frown. He wasn’t representing the College in this battle, then. He wore the robes that marked him as a Lord of Milagre, and Champion of Arcana. His robes were in the same style, but with gold trim instead of silver, and the unlidded eye of Arcana was stitched over his own insignia. She wondered briefly why she hadn’t noticed him first, as his mana was at full power today, nearly radiating over the entire campus as he paced. His sword was at his waist, the legendary weapon that was rumored to have come from Arcana.

“Alright, you lot,” he said briskly, turning on his heel to cross in front of them again. “We’ve got a hard mission today, handed to us from the Queen. We are to act as the mobile support, and try to locate their command center.”

The faces of his colleagues were blank and expectant. They showed no sign of fear or hesitation for the battle they were about to take part in. It was likely to be much, much worse than what she’d gone through, but they were facing the prospect with such calm expressions. They looked bored, if anything, waiting patiently for Samuel to give them the word so they could have some fun.

“Richard, you’ll take your squadron to the West Gate. Use flying spells to get around them. I want you to come up from behind. Morgan, you’ll go through the gate. Your squad has the best defense, so you’ll take the brunt of the fighting. Jonathan, you’ll provide ranged support to those two. My squad will shift behind their main force, and attack the command battalion.”

“Master Bragg,” one of them interrupted, his voice polite yet firm. “Are you sure that’s wise? Their main body could easily turn and surround us.”

“That is true, Jonathan,” Samuel agreed. “But Enri will be leading a flanking force from the north and Calemviir from the south. Markus Ciayol is bringing the main body out through the wall. They’re going to tear them down to do that since they likely won’t last long anyway.”

There was a moment as the men and women digested this information. Then the man on the far left spoke up. “So you’ll get in there and hold the attention of the command battalion long enough for us to come from behind and help you out. Then we and Johnathan will suppress and finish off the fighting.”

“Correct,” Samuel said, turning yet again. “It all depends on how distracting Morgan be, of course. You’ll be heading out before Markus moves, so you’ll have the hardest time.”

The woman to which he referred, a broad-shouldered, powerfully muscled Welsik woman, lifted her chin and replied confidently. “It will not be an issue, Master Bragg. With your training and our experience, that rabble from Attos cannot hope to overwhelm us.”

“Glad to see you’re taking this seriously,” Samuel retorted, a faint smile breaking through. “Alright. Get going, then. Morgan will begin in… eighty-four minutes. Five minutes after that, my squadron will move in. Take a wide path so you’re not noticed, Richard.”

With that, three-quarters of the small force departed for the College entrance, speaking quietly to each other, making plans, discussing timing, and casting enchantments over their gear. Only Samuel and his squadron, fourteen in total, remained. Samuel looked over at Megan now, his smile widening slightly, and beckoned her closer.

“I’m glad to see you’re alright,” he said, gripping her shoulder kindly. “Though with Eric and Ehran to watch over you, and your own skill, I wasn’t worried.”

“It was closer than you think,” Megan admitted with a heavy sigh. “So, what do you want me to do now?”

“I need you to go find your friends,” Samuel said. “You’ll need to fight your way through, and reach Rabanul.”

“Rabanul?” She asked, actually taking a step back in surprise. “Why?”

“I have a feeling, from what I saw of the force outside, that most of the Black Hands didn’t join Hazaam against us.”

“Right,” Megan said slowly. “Their force did seem small. But will they help us defend? And why do I have to go all the way there in person? Surely, it would be faster to send a message spell.”

“That’s normally what we’d do,” Samuel agreed. “But since Hazaam defected, we can’t know who is still there. If we send a message to the wrong person, it could hurt us in the end.”

Megan caught onto the hidden words he didn’t want to say out loud. If she went to Rabanul, she’d be away from the fighting. That way, her chances of being hurt or worse were lessened. As touched as she was by the concern, she felt annoyed by it. Drawing in a deep breath to steady her nerves, she squared her shoulders. “No.”

One of Samuel’s squadron members looked around at her, eyebrows raised. Samuel, meanwhile, was frowning slightly. “No? You are my apprentice. One would think you would obey my orders.”

“You know, just as well as I do, that there’s no need for me to go all the way to Rabanul,” she said. She kept her tone respectful but wanted it to be perfectly clear that she wasn’t backing down. “But you’re right. I am your apprentice, and that means I should be fighting your fight.”

“You cannot fight beside me,” Samuel said immediately. “It is not a question of your bravery, but of your skill. You can’t keep up with us, and we won’t have time to shield you from our spells. We’re trained to fight together as one unit. Adding another, no matter who they are will harm our teamwork.”

“I don’t have to fight right next to you,” she said. “I can join literally any other force. But I know of one person we could message. You can even scry on them, to make sure that they’re not with Hazaam.”

“If they are with Hazaam, then they’ll notice my scrying, and tell him.”

“So what?” Megan retorted at once. She knew that this point was ineffectual, and she pushed on, seizing the advantage. “Worst case, it won’t make a difference, because they’re already here, fighting. Best case, you’ll know that he can be trusted. He’s high rank, too, so he could actually muster them to come to our aid.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” the same woman who had reacted to her refusal spoke up now. “It would also save the greater part of a day.”

Samuel quelled any further response from her with a quick look, then returned his frown to Megan. She could see him thinking quickly, trying to come up with another point, however valid, to keep her away from the brunt of the fighting. She was growing impatient, however, and decided to take matters into her own hands. She cast her thoughts directly at Samuel, instead of speaking them aloud, so that he could have no chance to pretend to ignore them.

This is why I’m here, Samuel. This is what you’ve been preparing for. We both know it.

“How could you possibly have been training for this?” The woman said, frowning in confusion. Megan looked around at her in confusion. How had she heard the thought that was directed solely at Samuel? The only way that was possible was if she’d read the Archmage’s mind. That was out of the question, given how strong Samuel’s mental defenses were. Then, judging by Samuel’s slightly guilty expression, she realized that there was something in effect here that she didn’t know about.

“Err,” he said, shocked out of his thoughts by the surprise. The woman turned to face him. “Right. Well, no point in trying to hide it now. But don’t repeat this in front of anyone else.”

“Repeat what?” The woman asked, her expression now suspicious.

“The fact that I’m not from Ahya,” Megan interrupted impatiently. “I’m from a faraway world called Earth. Samuel summoned me here to help in some future chaotic event. This is that event.”

As expected, the members of Samuel’s squadron reacted with blank, shocked expressions. She couldn’t really blame them. The mere idea that someone could be from another world was such a strange thought to consider, let alone hear someone say aloud. They stared at her with gaping mouths, then swung to face Samuel.

“Is this true, Master Bragg?”

“Have you always known about other worlds? Why haven’t you told us about them?”

“Why didn’t you inform us about this sooner? We could have helped train her, at the very least.”

“Enough!” Samuel said loudly, spreading his hands out to silence them. “That’s enough. Yes, Megan is from another world. Yes, I summoned her here and created an Ahyan body for her. No, Marina, I did not do it on the Queen’s orders. Arcana told me to do it.”

Another opened their mouth to speak, but Samuel talked over them. “I didn’t know about other worlds for long. I found out just over a year ago when Arcana told me.”

They absorbed his words in silence for a moment, quietly thinking it over. A silent exchange seemed to pass between them for a few seconds, then they all nodded. Again, Megan was confused, sure she was missing something critical. Samuel noticed her glancing between the mages and seemed to sense what she was wondering.

“It’s a spell,” he said shortly. “Our minds and souls are linked so that we can share thoughts and energy instantly.”

“What? I didn’t know that magic like that existed. You can instantly share energy, just like that?”

“Of course you haven’t heard of it,” one of the mages said. “Master Bragg was the first to learn and master it.”

“Where did you learn such a spell?”

“I learned it when I was away from the world for a hundred years,” Samuel said. “I was stuck in the ethereal plane, and I learned it from the people that live there.”

She opened her mouth to ask another question, but before she could get the words out, he gave a lazy flick with one hand, and she felt a wave of mana wash over her. There was a gentle tug to it as if whatever spell he’d used required her permission to fully work. She reluctantly gave it, and the thin connection between her and Samuel broadened. Images, words, and sounds suddenly filled her head, thoughts that she knew hadn’t come from her own mind. At the same time, her depleted reserves of mana and stamina were instantly refilled, and her body was thrumming with power.

Do not repeat knowledge of this spell to any other. That was Samuel’s voice in her head, despite the fact that he hadn’t cast a message spell or used his mana. The uses of this magic are powerful, and we don’t want the wrong people getting their hands on it.