Conversation rang out throughout the palace when the night was still young. A group of great politicians and military men were meeting for the second time in a month within the Arch Duke's hall. Unlike the gathering previous, this one was kept under a secretive view to outsiders. It was only the servants and soldiers who were running their nightly rounds that would also know. The servants had spread the fear inducing rumor that a war of some sort was about to begin or already had begun. The soldiers on the other hand, already knew that those rumors may not have been far from the truth.

Within the palace's hall, many waited for the host (Arch Duke Bimal) to arrive. They were tired from a long day and a yawn was commonly shared between them. Even in their state, none had plans of sleeping past it. They knew that the future of the Republic rested in the words that would be shared here.

Two of the men who attended this meeting were the High Mage Giris and Captain Sudai. Through their equal fatigue, they had managed to converse the entire time without argument. the High Mage let out a great yawn. "He's a bit late already. Even if I want to see what those geokeys do I may just fall asleep when he arrives." He said as he fell back into his chair, its comfort doubled due to his exhaustion.

"That man is always busy. Shouldn’t be too long now." Yeon said as he attempted to keep a straight posture.

"I hope so, staying up all day to look through the archives was more tiring than I expected."

"Were you trying to learn about those geokeys? You found one didn’t you? Wouldn't it be easier to have a look at it?"

"Yes, but I wanted to know their history. Finding them is one thing but it’s pointless if you don’t know how to use it."

"Tch, I wish I could have, if it wasn't for those damn people."

Jioh looked at him with interest. "I’m assuming someone managed to find it before you."

"Shamefully, while I was dealing with those Brighthawks in white when some group of men in cloaks snuck in and swiped the key before they could get caught."

"And you don't know who they are?"

The captain shrugged. "Some say that they’re cultists or another power that learned about the keys. Nobody knows, the bodies of their dead weren't marked.” He folded his arms, vexed. “At Least the Brighthawks chose the same color for their outfits.”

The room fell silent as the door opened. It was one of the Duke's Shields. At least one would accompany him to every meeting, standing as still as the walls. "My apologies to you all." Said the Arch Duke as he entered, a servant in tow carrying a box the size of a brick. Immediately everyone stood to bow. "I had another meeting to attend to, an unfortunate thing." He gestured for them to take their seats. The Duke waited for the servant to leave before opening the box. I bring you, all four geokeys!" Everyone at the table looked in astonishment at the glowing crystals upon the artifacts. "Not all from the same batch unfortunately but we faced great adversity in this mission. Giris!" He called to the High Mage and gestured for him to approach. "Do you believe that we can work with these four?"

"It depends, your excellency." Giris said as he went to stand beside the duke. "If all the keys from the list were made to show the same location then they will perform their duty no problem. If they were different, then everything we see will be incorrect."

"Let us hope that they were copies then. Being the High Mage, you will have the honor."

Giris nodded and took a duplicate crystal from its key. It glowed with a soft green hue and the mage ogled at it as he held it in his hand. He reached into his pocket and grabbed the jar of orange life magic, the color that was missing from the set of keys. Pouring its contents upon the crystal, its color began to fade and change from green to orange. Everyone watched in intent silence as the mage worked. Placing the crystal back into the key, he stepped back as an image began to form in the air in front of him. It was a map of the continent of Deskaly, made out of white light.

"Incredible!" Praised the Arch Duke followed by exclamations across the table.

It was a map from an ancient time, with the borders of the Brighthawk empire still encompassing most of current human territory. The point that took most of the mages interest was a large red dot, in the north of the Brighthawk territory.

"What is this Giris?" The Duke asked with great curiosity.

"A coordinate of some sort." Giris assumed. "It's pointing somewhere in Tavaranean territory."

"That appears to be in the Turbulent Hills your excellency." Said one of the generals closest to him.

The Arch Duke nodded and quietly pondered for a moment. "Then we start moving tonight!" He said abruptly.

"But your excellency, that's in Tavaranea." Said one of the generals with urgency. "We cannot just enter their territory without permission first, it will ruin our relations!"

"We have the location of what might be one of the greatest Brighthawk artifacts of all time and we have all our resources at hand." Said the Duke as he stood up from his chair. "I could care less what the Tavaraneans think. You are to go there tonight, lest we be under the will of whoever arrives before us."

A third general stood to face him. "I ask you to reconsider sir! We have barely done any planning an-"

"Sit down will you!" Called out one of the admirals. "I agree with his excellency. This matter will wait for none. Either we go now or lose our greatest chance!"

The general sat down and composed himself. "Fine, I suppose it will be you leading our men to their fate anyhow."

The admiral nodded in respect. "It is a long way to the Turbulent Hills, your Excellency. With the help of whoever is available I can formulate a plan."

"A plan will be of no use to us." Said Yeon to the distaste of the generals above him. "We cannot predict how many other parties will meet us there. That also goes for the size and strength of their forces.”

"Whether we do or do not have a plan is not up to you Captain." The admiral said with contempt. "And I suggest you keep your foolish ideas to yourself."

"Even if he may seem foolish, what the man says should be put into consideration," said one of the generals earning a smirk from Yeon. "We may need to formulate multiple plans, so that we are prepared for any resistance."

The admiral shrugged. "If it guarantees our success then I will do so."

"This matter is settled then." The Arch Duke said as he held himself up against the desk. His eyes drooped, encased with a dark hue. "Now get moving. Better to end this quickly so we can focus on other matters." The Arch duke left the room as those at the table went to either the harbor or barracks.

Giris yawned again. "They better have one of those carriages or I swear I'm going to sleep on the stone." He thought as he sluggishly shuffled toward the main doors where the captain waited for him with a smile of amusement.

Above the Turbulent Hills of Tavaranea, grey clouds began to blanket the sky at a pace that gave no time to avoid its outcome. A bad sign for what was to come. Giris was familiar with the area’s deadly storms, creating tornadoes and inescapable pools of water between hills. Even if it was his one chance to make the greatest discovery in history, he dreaded going down there.

After the meeting with the Arch Duke, Giris had been sent back to the ship of the Shipjacker Brigade. To the misfortune of the Lieutenant, Captain Sudai had decided to take the same ship as the High Mage making him first in command. This led to what Giris believed to be a power struggle between the two men as the Lieutenant poorly came to terms with releasing his command. Giris cared not for their feud and instead spent his days focusing on the geokeys which had been given to him to inspect. He had discovered that changing the amount of Form magic within the green crystal also changed the map’s scale, making the area covered smaller and more accurate. This meant that they would no longer need to guess on the red spot’s exact location.

Just before landing, the High Mage and the two commanding officers sat around the captain's desk, shielding themselves from the rain that they knew would come. They had tasked the pilot with finding a large flat spot that could fit more than one ship, orders given by the Admiral.

The Lieutenant sat at his desk with arms crossed and a restrained expression. "It seems that all of the worst scenarios are becoming true." He said.

"Hold your tongue Lieutenant." Yeon told him. "If those Brighthawks really do show up the worst is yet to come. A little rain won't do us any harm."

"But this is the Turbulent Hills." Giris told him. "There will always be more than ‘a little rain’ here."

"I do not see how it compares to us being cornered in such a vulnerable position." A knock on the door caused all three to turn their heads. "Come in." The Captain said with tiredness in his voice as if expecting what it would be.

The door opened to reveal one of the deckhands. "Sir!" The man said with an anxious salute. "We spotted a Tavaranean fleet directly ahead of us! It's roughly the size of our own!"

"Well Lieutenant." The Captain said as he stood. "Seems that you were right."

The three men ascended to the deck where deckhands ran about frantically preparing for what may turn into a fight. It was starting to rain heavily with cold droplets being blown in under the balloon. The sky was becoming dark, making the Tavaranean ships small blips in the distance. The only proof that they were ships of the empire were the red banners on their balloons, otherwise it was too difficult to see them clearly. "The admiral better have made a plan for this." Yeon said. "You!" The captain pointed to the nearest deckhand. "Bring those four geokeys that we left in the captain's quarters up here." The man saluted and scrambled downstairs. "Pilot!" He called out.

"Yes sir!" The man said without turning away from the horizon.

"Have you found a good place to land yet?"

"Not yet sir, I can’t imagine a walking fitting down there let alone a ship!"

"I know that, just find a place where we won't tip over. We may be the only ones in the fleet who will be able to land.”

"It will be done!"

The deckhand hurried back with the geokeys and Giris took them. He quickly placed them on the floor and connected them into a single plate. The map worked just as well in the rain as it did anywhere else, the light being bright enough to illuminate the quarterdeck. They were getting very close. Giris looked starboard towards where the marker specified. Everything below them was nearly pitch black. The High Mage groaned. "If we could see from here someone would have found it already. We need to descend Yeon, may even need to go under the fleet.”

the captain nodded. "Do as he says pilot and keep your eyes peeled for any suitable land."

Everyone held on to the edge of the ship, the descent made sinking stomachs out of even most veteran of deckhands. Giris especially hung on for dear life. He had never experienced such a maneuver and immediately hoped he would never again. The pilot kept it in that position for nearly ten seconds before centering it with the horizon. They were now under the main fleet, a large one composed of about twenty ships. They could see the Tavaranean ships, approaching in a wedge formation. There was an especially large ship in the center, one with a steel shell and a balloon nearly twice its size. "What is that thing?" Giris asked as he felt his stomach sink again.

Yeon frowned as he looked towards the opposing fleet. "What terrible luck." He said with frustration. "They've brought a dreadnaught."

"Dreadnaught? Is that the one made out of metal?"

"It’s just a thin sheet of it on the frame. Still makes it impossible to pierce without magic."

"That thing must use an unimaginable amount of fuel."

"You're right. They wouldn’t bring one here without knowing that there would be a fight. I bet someone tipped them off. Damn! To think our luck was bad enough. The worst part is that I don't even get to participate!"

A deckhand came running to them, nearly slipping over all the water spread across the deck. "There's a suitable spot just up ahead! Should fit about three ships from the look of it."

Yeon nodded, "Good. You hear that pilot? Start descending. Best we get out of the way of this fight."

Giris looked fearfully back to the Tavaranean fleet. "They're going to fight? They don't even know our intentions."

"If they do signal for negotiations they're going to ask us to leave. We're obviously going to decline which is when the fighting begins. That's the only thing I can imagine happening."

A combination of lightning and thunder caused most of the crew to jump as they hung onto the sides. "To think I could have stayed home." Giris said.

"I fear speaking too much will bring us more bad luck." Yeon said. At that moment a red orb was shot up into the air. The Tavaranean fleet was nearly obscured at that point but the orb pierced through the clouds like daylight. The intentions of the Tavaraneans were now clear: they wanted to fight. "Why must I speak as well?" Yeon said with a facepalm.

“Good thing we won’t be doing the fighting right?" Giris said trying to cheer himself up.

"Shut up!" the captain said in frustration. "I would rather be killing Tavaraneans than getting my boots dirty with mud." They watched as the ships began to exchange fire. Large bolts glowing with magic power flew through the sky like a stream of comets, exploding in a brilliant display of color against the opposing ships.

Giris stared at him with disbelief. "Of course you would." The formation of Honea ships split in two in an attempt to avoid the massive hail coming from the center of the Tavaranean formation. They were focusing on the small ships at the edges of the group. Another deafening sound of thunder echoed through the air as another lightning bolt came down, this time striking one of the ships and causing a short inferno. "How are they able to see each other in this mess?" Giris asked the captain as he continued to hang on to the railing.

"You see those glowing red bolts?" The captain said as he pointed toward the exchange. 'They're trying to use flares to gauge where the enemy is. If one of them manages to fall on the hull or stick to a ship then they have a place to start firing at."

Giris focused on the battle and noticed that the bolts that glowed red were the most frequently used. "You sure know alot about naval combat for an infantry commander."

"I don't, it’s just a common tactic. I've used it once before when I was fighting in Eaglecrest. It doesn't work quite as well on land but it’s still useful."

Everything atop of and within the ship was pushed forward as the ship began to slow down. "We're approaching the landing zone!" Yelled the pilot.

Feeling as if he had nearly been thrown off, Giris' grip tightened. "Why are we still going so damn fast!"

Yeon chuckled. "Better than being in the fight. Didn’t you say that? You have to admit, this is quite exhilarating!"

"If you say so, I feel as if I'm about to vomit."

Yeon rolled his eyes. "Why must the Magikaynium be so dull?"

"If a lack of bloodlust is what you consider dull then I am quite fine with it." A violent lurch in the ship made him hug the railing tighter, it was entering its final approach. The pilot pulled up, the movement did not bode well with the High Mage's stomach. He looked over the railing and let out the contents of his last meal garnering laughter from Yeon. "Don't worry Giris, you can have some rations on the way there." He continued to laugh uncontrollably as the High Mage groaned from exhaustion. With a final light shake the ship came to a complete halt and slowly began to lower itself.

"Sorry about that High Mage." Said the Lieutenant from the opposite end of the quarterdeck. "My crew is always quite energetic during times like these. Thankfully the pilot remembered that the two of you were on this ship and took care in not being hasty."

With a chuckle, Yeon finally went back to standing straight on his two legs. "I have a feeling that your crew were almost accomplices of manslaughter not too long ago Lieutenant."

"It is the fate of those who fight unconventional opponents. You begin to become unconventional yourself and therefore have a chance of meeting an unconventional demise. Being thrown off the ship is one way that can happen."

The three men looked around, they were surrounded by a wall of hills and grass covered with large puddles. There was a lack of foliage for cover, only a few small bushes were spread about between solitary trees. Giris knew that traversing it all would be especially terrible. "Let's get a look at what's over those hills." Yeon said. "Lieutenant, can you get your men out here. We'll need all hands I believe."

"Yes sir, but what about the ship?"

"You and the deckhands can stay here and take care of it. We'll need the ship ready at all times in case the situation gets any worse."

The Lieutenant saluted and quickly ran back up the ramp.

With a swift gesture, the captain invited Giris to follow him. "Let's get a good vantage point, see if we can find where that map points to.

Going towards the top of one of the hills was an unforgiving experience for the High Mage. Immediately the wet surface of the grass made him feel as if he were in a constant state of slipping. Then the rain on his robe weighed him down, which strained his muscles and made them ache. Finally, his recent experience on the ship made him dizzy and weak, putting him on the edge of consciousness. Thankfully the captain noticed and lended him a hand at the very top of the hill with a mocking grin that the High Mage was too tired to care for. He looked out towards the horizon. The view was an endless span of similar looking hills. The captain used his checked the immediate area with a spyglass. "Bastards!" He said suddenly, getting a jump from Giris. "Get your head down High Mage!" He said as he forcibly pushed Giris down to his stomach.

"What are you doing!" Giris whispered angrily after having his short rest disturbed..

"We've got those damn white coats up ahead. A whole formation of them is marching towards where we're supposed to be going."

"Let me see!" Giris took the spyglass out of his hands and pointed it in the direction that the captain referenced. The rain made it hard to see but the white coats stuck out easily. It was them for sure, three lines of armored men with halberds resting against their shoulders followed by many mages and crossbowmen. Giris knew that it had to be them, no other force of that size would be quicker to appear at such a place besides the Brighthawks. "What are we supposed to do now then?"

"I hope you can still run with those weak legs." the captain said as he stood up. "Hurry up! We have some catching up to do!" The captain yelled to the soldiers who had just started coming up the hill, single file. Looking at his mud stained robes, Giris questioned why this special day had to have such terrible weather. "Now I'm curious on how this could turn out worse." He knew the bad luck that would come from his thinking but it was close to having equal precedence over unraveling what the Brighthawks had hidden in the hills.