A gentle breeze swayed the leaves, distorting the rays of sunlight that weaved through the trees. The ambient sounds of nature would usually soothe a frantic soul, it would denounce a calm not usually seen in cities. “You’re wondering what I could possibly want, young one,” the elven deer asked as it walked closer, bringing my Magnet even closer to manifesting into physical form.

“Yeah, I am.” My hand raised with crackles of electricity around it, “Stand your ground. Tell me who are you, what are you, and why you’re here.”

She stuck her spear in the ground and placed her leafy hair behind an ear. “I am called Aerellis. I am a dryad, heir of the guardian of nature. I am here to request your aid in killing my mother.”

A gentle wind blew again, bringing with it more complications and confusion. How nice. First Moken, now her. Maybe they should hook up, seeing they both like killing really powerful creatures that normal beings shouldn’t really interfere with and stuff. I rubbed my neck, going over her words in my mind. Moken was still a little dazed, and to be honest, I was of no mind to trust this dryad and ultimately wanted Moken to make that decision. I’d assume his wandering days made him a better judge of character than I.

“I uh, this is a little much, miss Aerellis,” so many thoughts passed through my mind at such a fast pace that I couldn’t properly articulate them. “Do you mind waiting until my friend here wakes up? I mean no disrespect, but there’s absolutely no way I’ll trust you right now.”

“I see. That’s a shame. Very well, young one. I shall abide by your request.” She walked over to a tree and laid down, “Or,” she paused, “I could simply awaken him.”

“How do I know you won’t kill him?”

“You have permission to ready any spell you’d like and strike me down if you judge me to be dishonest.”

Hmm, that’s daring. Okay then, I nodded and armed a Convergence orb to pull her away from Moken in one hand, and an Arm of God to do away with her in the next. She nodded back and hovered her hand over Moken’s head; within seconds he was awake.

“What…” he asked disorientated, then grabbed his sword and jumped back when he saw Aerellis, “What’s going on?!”

“Calm down, we’ll both know soon enough.”

She brought Moken up to speed, then explained what happened. Apparently, the story August’s mom told us about the dryad was true, at least most of it. The dryad, Aerellis’ younger sister was drained of her magic until she died, that was the gist, but what wasn’t mentioned – or perhaps was unknown – was that the dryad was never forced. She did those things willingly.

“No one knows why she did it, but the fact of the matter remains it was of her own volition. Liana doesn’t grasp this, and only knows anger. She has been greatly misusing her powers these past years, and so, I fear she’d befall a calamity upon the surface world.”

“Okay, not minding how distracting your breasts are, tell me… Did Liana control Ashfur?” I asked and she nodded. “What about the Virai orcs?”

“Do you mean the orc tribe west of Methelia? Yes, the masses of them are under her control.”

Moken was unusually quiet, especially at a time like this. Her explanation of our little skirmish must’ve stuck on his mind. She attacked us simply to prove she was still on Liana’s side. Even our little stand-off was only possible because Liana waited on Aerellis to make a move, having suspicions about the dryad’s loyalty. I guess those suspicions were right.

“Okay, I think it’s best we return to Aquan and get help.” Pretty sure I can kill her myself, but something doesn’t feel right about this. I should at least have Donna and a couple others with me. At that point, I thought of Dawn, Volt, and Pyro, but dragging them into it felt irresponsible as their spirit mentor. But, in terms of raw strength, I couldn’t deny they were probably the best of the Order. Those top-tier spirits were no joke.

“So be it. I’ll be waiting. Remember, your time is short, young one,” the dryad warned.

We flew back to Aquan, a week’s travel once more. Moken laid low in my house until morning, which was quite strange considering his determination to slaughter me. He sat against the wall and was fast asleep, as if the hard floor didn’t bother him at all. Just when I sat down on my bed, I got teleported away somewhere and found myself rolling off a boulder in the middle of a field.

“Really, Emily?! That was the best way you could’ve summoned me?” I stood back up. The witch just smiled and pat the spot next to her. I flew up, “You got some explainin’ to do, missy.”

“I do, don’t I? I’ll keep it short. Your mind is tied closely with the use of magic. If it survives a close call with a mental breakdown, then it becomes significantly stronger. That is why your magic power increased. For humans, this level can be raised, but there is a limit.”

Intriguing, however, I needed a gauge. “Well, how powerful would you say I am now?”

“Hmm,” she put a finger to her lips playfully, “I wonder…” and suddenly sent me back to my room.

Well, that wasn’t a lot of explaining at all. But at least I know how my mana got stronger. I rubbed the back of my head. Talk about ends not justifying means. Think I’ll pass on increasing mana power for now. That was something I never wanted to experience. Hell, the mere fact that I even was in any sort of contact with her was something that rubbed me the wrong way every time I met the woman. Should I really be talking with her? Should I be seeing her? Should I have even known she was real? What about all the things she did for me, what are the costs of those things? Damn, whatever. I shrugged those things off and went to sleep.

~

After some introductions, and a total lack of surprise from my parents in the morning, I had dad cast Invisibility over Moken and we went to the Order of Mages. “Are you sure involving the heads are a good idea? We could get a hired hand or two from anywhere.” Moken was justly worried about how a body like the Order would view his kind in these times, especially after the attack.

“I’m not, I’m just hoping they’d listen. Eh, don’t worry, we’ll be fine.”

After an hour or so of waiting, all councilmen were rounded up and seated. My callous dismissal of whatever matters they had to attend to piqued their interest and so they dropped what they were doing to convene at their usual room.

“Weren’t there some others?” I asked, looking around the table, “They out of Aquan or something?”

Keagan sighed and Meagan followed suit.

“Mr Archibald,” Elder spoke, the usual casualness from him fleeting, “whilst you were gone, there has been,” he closed his eyes, wondering if to even say what needed to be said, “double assassinations. Two rank fives are dead and there was no sign of a fight.”

My eyes opened, and my lips did as well, but I retracted the confirming question of whether or not he was being serious. “I-I’m quite sorry to hear that. I trust there are no suspects then?”

“For a question of which person, there are none. But, a question of which race, then it is obvious those damned orcs had a hand in it,” one of them offered their two-cents, and I assumed the rest thought the same due to their silence after that very assuming comment.

“The murder of two councilmen of the Order of Mages is indeed a crime of immense proportions, but think carefully about the question I’m about to ask all of you and then answer.” Their eyes lit up with even more intrigue. “You all suspect the Virai, yes. But, what if I told you the Virai wasn’t in their right mind, literally. Almost the entirety of the tribe is under mind control, the same mind control that affected Ashfur, and I know who the caster is. If we killed that caste–”

“Nonsense! No one is capable of mind control on that scale!”

“Hydra’s ass, dude. We’re all supposed to be scholarly people here! Would you let me finish before you make a comment?”

He calmed down a little after, especially remembering Elder’s defence of me during a situation similar to this. Although, I’m not sure if he’d be quite as willing to take my side after I fought against him and won to rescue Sek’hana against his will. Hell, I wasn’t even sure how I was still in the Order of Mages. “If we killed the caster and returned the Virai to their right minds, do you think we can still stop the war even at this stage? I’m talking diplomacy.”

Although it was a question any of them could answer, they sort of quieted down and left the question hanging in the air. “Meagan, Keagan, what do you guys think? Tell me honestly.”

“You want honesty, Eric? If it is we manage to get evidence pointing towards the assassin, I’d very much like to rip his throat out, whether or not it’s an orc. About stopping the war, we’re all for it, but, our victory is all but certain. An army of prepped battlemages and mages cannot be stopped by mere orcs.”

Hmm, my exact thoughts. I gue–

“What does it matter anyway? If even one mage dies, that’s a lot. This isn’t even a war, this is merely a culling of overabundant animals,” the old councilwoman commented. I could smell the trouble around the corner like a good Sunday dish now.

“Now, that’s not a nice thing to say, is it?” Moken commented, and he subsequently cancelled dad’s Invisibility. Keagan stood up and flared his hands with magic in a hot second and so did three others. The only thing between them and obliterating Moken was me.

“Now, I know how this looks but I’ve brought an orc here before, remember? Let’s settle down, eh?” I said, a rather strong argument I assumed none of them could dispute, but of course assumptions are often wrong. Thank Hydra’s sweet ass for Avatar of Lightning, I thought, although it really came from Tarit. I was able to act as a physical barrier before Keagan could even get a spell out, which he cancelled in the nick of time.

“Yes, but she was an Ingen orc, and they’re intelligent,” one of them argued.

“And the Virai isn’t? Listen, I used to think the same thing actually. I literally viewed them as nothing more than cows that could walk and talk,” I turned a bit to Moken, “no offence, mate. But, obviously, I was wrong. How many times are we going to assume we’re the alpha and omega of this world guys? Let’s show other races that we have some semblance of awareness and consciousness of other intelligences, ya get what I’m sayin’?”

My arms were up and hands open in a preventative stance, for about a full minute of silence. “Okay guys, what’s going on? My arms are hurting. Could you at least retract those spells?”

“Retract your spells, councilmen,” Elder stood up and took a book from the shelf, strolling over to Moken and I. “Mr Archibald, I’ve to admit, your actions surprise me no matter how much I tell myself I won’t be surprised. Do you remember when we fought?”

Of course, I do, man. Please don’t tell me you’re bitter.

“That was the first fight I’ve ever lost. Mentally, I was rampaging, my mind didn’t know how to comprehend the feeling of losing. Heck, I couldn’t even fight back. Once you were hitting me with those spells, I had to put all my focus on defence, else I’d be dead now. You fought me to rescue a friend, commendable I must say. Now you bring an enemy into a room even normal humans aren’t allowed in, stop us from attacking, ask us to side with you to take down some mind controller in hopes of preventing a war and expect us to comply. Even though I lost to you once, don’t think I’d be afraid of challenging you again. Your request for aid is denied. You break rules left, right, and centre, which – in the name of the Order – may be overlooked, however, siding with your Virai friend does not benefit us. You’re only a kid, Mr Archibald, it is not your place to poke your head this far into matters of war.”

“Oh, you mean that thing that affects people regardless of age? I didn’t know!” I gasped in sarcasm, “Please, carry on.”

“Your witty remarks won’t make this situation any better. You’re suspended until further notice. Go home, lay low. Don’t put yourself in such dangerous business.”

Moken scoffed at Elder. “You’re a stupid old man,” he commented, driving the councilwoman off the edge. She stood up in a rage and Moken instinctively grabbed the hilt of his sword. Elder noticed and fired off a Fire Blast at Moken’s face, but it hit an impromptu Ice Wall, shattering the flimsy thing. Moken ducked and swung, a cleaving riposte about to sever Elder’s body in half. He used his strange teleport magic and avoided it, going back to where he was at his seat and firing an assortment of fire spells with a couple other councilmen. A couple of level one Divergence cancelled those spells and slammed the attackers back to the bookshelves.

The Garrans stood frozen, their minds going back and forth on which side to pick. “Don’t!” I said as Meagan’s eyes glared over at her fellow councilmen. “Just, don’t,” I repeated with a much calmer tone, and she in turn composed herself and stood upright. Keagan followed her over to me.

“Eric Archibald!” One of the fallen councilmen stood up, “You will be tried for treason if you defend the orc any further! Think this over! Hand him over!”

“Chill out, man. You’re making this a bigger deal than it is. But, if that’s what you want councilmen,” I summoned my Clone and every spirit lord, cast every buff and flared my magic to the brim, “you’re welcome to try me!”

After that show, we left. Well, that wasn’t how I thought it would go…

Gale flew Moken back to his mountainside home. Our plan would be to gather those willing to vanquish Liana then rendezvous in seven days.

“Why’d you guys do that? Walking with me meant–”

“That we’d be in trouble?” Keagan completed

“We were thinking of leaving anyway. There’s something off about the councilmen,” Meagan pointed out, “I trust Keagan’s nose to sniff out corruption.”

“Guys,” I stopped them, “you sayin’ they’re corrupted?”

“Yeah, but probably not like stealing money or fraud, no. It’s something more malevolent but I can’t seem to understand it. Even after the assassinations, they were much too, indifferent. Something’s up, and I’ve felt so since joining the damn rank fives.” Keagan was visibly perturbed. It felt like they were already mostly out the door, they just needed someone to give them that last push.

The morning sun began getting horrendously hot. We dispersed on promise that we’d meet up again tomorrow. For now, I wanted to see that cheeky queen and her worrywart girlfriend. They greeted me warmly, as I did, them. Volt and Pyro were there hanging out with Dawn, Donna and May. Even Violet and Kira made an appearance.

Quite the lively crowd to witness my arrest.