We rush back to the school Natalia and I still riding on Daenerys’ back and Kano carrying our new addition in his arms. The man who looks worn and beaten had passed out shortly after he had delivered his message, probably out of exhaustion. I feel bad for him. Poor man, and who knows what happened to the rest of the people in the castle. We knew that this was going to happen eventually but just not so soon. I know the point is so that we never see it coming but still we hadn’t even gotten a chance to warn somebody.

Through all of this, all I can think about is Ashley’s warning and how this is most likely pertains to the king’s plans. Or whatever he’s doing to hurt the queen but that’s not the point. The question is what is he planning? If he truly wanted to, he could lay seize to the castle without truly hurting anyone. Nobody would be caught in the crossfires in this ridiculous quest for power. This unnecessary violence just seems too much. I guess though, that people who want power never have enough even if they’ve gotten so much that they can’t even control it anymore. They always need more and they enjoy the control that comes along with it.

On the other hand, could this be the ploy of someone else at work and they’ve been setting up the king all along? If that was the case though then what was the point of Ashley’s warning. And who has so much control over the power-hungry king? For someone who loves dominance so much there’s no way that he will easily accept someone with so much authority over him? Is whoever it is behind this that strong?

“Thalia snap out of it!” Natalia yells in my face, my eyes snapping up to meet hers. “What is going on in that head of yours? We need to get inside and warn the others before taking action and you’ve been sitting there for the past five minutes.” I sigh and decide to tell her about my thoughts on the subject matter. Maybe she could offer some opinions of her own to shed some light on some things.

“I was thinking about Ashley’s warning, especially the part pertaining to the king. Don’t you find it peculiar that she knew something was going to happen at the castle and that we were to leave the king behind?” I can see her head churning in thought, thinking about all of the possible answers she could give in response to the question.

“Personally, I think that the king may be behind this specific plan of attack. Though I suspect that he is not the mastermind behind this war. He doesn’t seem very intelligent and he mostly relies on strength. That is something we can use to our advantage in the future. Anyways, most likely he is but a mere puppet to someone with far more nefarious plans.” She tells me as we speed walk into the school. I nod my head in agreement before we both speed up in consensus that we must hurry and tell the headmaster about the attack before we could swoop in as the in all probability cavalry.

We met up with Ashley and the headmaster to let them know of what had happened at the castle. Although now that I think about it why didn’t she tell the headmaster so that they could begin preparing while we were on our way back? She’s a seer so she probably knew about the attack as soon as it happened. I get why she probably didn’t tell us before so we didn’t go and try to change the future but still it sucks knowing innocent people died when we could have stopped them.

The headmaster sent out a silent alarm to some of the most talented minds in the school to help set up a battle plan in the war room. At least that’s what I had assumed but I’m honestly not sure if that’s the case. We all rushed to gather around a table staring at two different maps. One of the town and surrounding areas of the castle and one of the interior floor plans of the castle including hidden rooms.

When everyone else had gathered into the room I was shocked. Either there are a lot of genius people in this room or they’re all here because they’re going to be fighting. Considering that their war room itself was a hidden room I’m not surprised that the castle would have some as well. Still, it’s intriguing to see when you actually have the plans laid out for you to see. Mostly though, I just stood back and watched as they planned everything out.

Although I didn’t agree with most of them I still decided to just stand there quietly and go along with everything they said. But eventually, my temper rose and it all got to be too much, especially when some dude named Asher said that we should use some of the students as bait to draw out attention from the castle and into the forest.

“Okay seriously?! Are you guys really gonna go along with this?” I ask incredulously. What’s the point of fighting a battle to save lives just to unnecessarily put others in danger? It’s redundant and outplayed in military tactics. Why does nobody ever try to figure out a better way?

“Well do you have any better Idea then, because I haven’t heard you say a word?” Someone across the table said aloud, causing the others to look at me. I look around trying to find the person who spoke giving everyone in that general a look of annoyance.

I walk my way through the small crowd and up to the table slamming my hands down on it. I could feel Adira simmering with rage and I tried to suppress the feeling blocking her out to keep her from distracting my thoughts.

“Don’t yell at me because you’re incompetent and upset. I get it you’re scared and worried but you don’t take that crap out on the people who will be fighting on the frontlines. Especially when you know nothing of they're strength or prowess or how they perceive revenge. And just to be clear, I won’t tolerate disrespect and I will respond to it in kind.” I say looking around the room briefly, making sure everyone heard me.

I’ve never acted like this before but I’m not really surprised. I’ve just reconnected with the other half of myself so I know that things will change. I’ve also never been put into a situation where a reaction like this would even need to occur. But even If I had been in a similar situation before I know I won’t be the same person who tolerates people controlling me and disrespecting me and I surely won’t stand for something as unjust as using people as bait.

I know that not everyone will survive especially in a situation such as this ne, but I won’t put these people which I barely know in more danger than needed. I look down at the maps thinking of a way that we can use the Omada systems to help in strategy.

“Okay, so how many of you have already been assigned to an Omada and have already undergone training?” I ask looking around the room to see how many hands are raised. More than three fourths of them have their hands raised which means that most of these people are the older students.

I wonder for a second where the rest of the younger students went after taking the nature test before focusing back on the objective. I know that the headmaster would never let any of them get hurt but that doesn’t mean I can’t still worry. Besides, I’m technically a younger student so I’m surprised no one has mentioned it. There are a few other first years here based on how many people didn’t raise their hands but not too many. Maybe I could ask one of them about it afterwards.

“Okay, can each of you separate into you're Omada’s Venandi in the right, Umbra in the left, Lanista in the back right, and Faber in the back left.” I notice some of them looking around bewildered before getting into place. Natalia leans over to whisper to me in confusion.

“What are you doing Thalia?” She asks me mystified as she watches everyone sort themselves into groups. I whisper back to her watching as they finish separating into their groups.

“Please just trust me Natalia I know what I’m doing.” She looks at me in disbelief before shaking her head and giving a quite okay and moving back over to where she was before. It was obvious she didn’t trust my thinking but if I were her I wouldn’t trust me either. I’ve never even been in a real fight before and now I’m presiding over a tactical meeting for what could be the breakout for the continuation of an all out war.

“Okay, so we’re starting here.” I say pointing to the area on the map south of the castle.It’s a small town mostly used by travelers to gather supplies and rest before continuing on there journey. What? I hd to learn geography for the knowledge test too.

“To reach the castle from the town you have to traverse through a small area of trees. There’s not a lot but it’s enough to provide cover. We will have some of our Venandi placed here waiting with bow and arrows as well as a few trained with swords to protect them.” I then moved my finger up to the roof of the castle on the floor plans.

“We will have some of the Umbra infiltrate the castle through the roof.” I say looking up to make sure everyone was keeping up before pointing towards the ventilation shaft.

“Although this is a castle they still have more modern installations. We will use this to our advantage as our way in. One Umbra, for stealths sake, will sneak in through a balcony and shut down the ventilation system. Once the fans stop blowing we will be entering the castle through the shafts.” I then move my finger back to the map up towards the northern side of the castle where another forest awaits.

“I don’t want all the Umbra stationed on the castle roof though. I want some of you here hiding in the forest to get anyone who may try to retreat into the, what we call on earth realm, portals. Those of you who would otherwise be placed on the roof but can’t fit into the vents will be placed by the portals.” Someone takes that particular moment to interrupt.

“We call them Fernweh. They mean an urge to travel even stronger than wanderlust.” Everyone looks in their direction to stare them down, some looking annoyed questioning why they thought now would be an appropriate time to speak.

“Was that really the moment to explain?” Someone else in the crowd asked looking at the first person in bewilderment. The first person just shrugged their shoulders in looked down in embarrassment. I look back down at the map focusing back on the matter at hand. My main priority right now was to figure out how to use the Lanista in battle.

“Sorry if I offend anyone, especially since I should probably know this but what exactly do the Lanista do?” Natalia looks at me bemused, probably wondering how I didn’t know something so simple when I had stated that the knowledge test was easy. Even people with high intelligence forget things sometimes too.

“The Lanista are our nature connoisseurs I guess you could say. But most importantly in times of duress and war, they are the ones that connect us with nature, including the creatures in this realm. For example, you’ve ridden on Daenerys correct?” I give the headmaster a nod indulging in her thoughts. “Than you know that she is bonded with Natalia?” I nod again, wondering where exactly this train of thought is going.

“Well, that is because she has a connection with her. If it were anyone else Daenerys wouldn’t le anyone else ride her without express permission from Natalia. Abd even then Daenerys is a being with a will of her own so if she decided not to help others she wouldn’t need to. This example directly correlates to the relationship between Lanista’s and creatures.

Now, not all Lanista’s connect with every creature or animal but it is much easier for them to do so then for others. Lanista’s are inherently more in tune with nature and therefore more in tune with the creatures.

Lanista’s establish a non permanent bond with creatures who are willing to help out in times of need. Plus they are able to communicate with them which is always an advantage . It comes in handy when we need the strongest of magical creatures to help us in our fights.” I nod along in thought as she finishes speaking. I can definitely understand the job of Lanista’s better because of the direct correlation between Natalia and Daenerys’ bond.

“Okay, now that I have that question answered I know what I wanna do. Lanista’s I want some of you in the woods near the castle with whatever creatures you can contact that are willing to help and the rest of you will split into two groups. One group will go to the north quarter lying in wait for the people who try to escape through the Fernweh and the rest will be in or near the village with the Venandi.” Everyone seems to nod in agreement as I finish with my plan and honestly I’m surprised no one objected on the count that I left both the east and west quadrants near the castle open. They probably assumed that I had already thought of it which I had.

I want reinforcements for them to be able to come in. The more of them we can get rid of during this surprise counter attack the better. The Fabers do seem slightly upset that they weren’t given a task though.

It’s just that I can’t put them at risk. Yes, they’ve had training but it was certainly much less than the other groups. After all, they are the craftsmen and artisans of the groups. They are meant to make the weapons not help use them.

The headmaster gives everyone a nod letting them know she accepts my plan before telling them to gather their things and to go get ready. Everyone breaks apart leaving the room to grab their armor, stealth uniforms, and weapons.

Whilst everyone else is going to get ready, Natalia and the headmaster both walk up on either side of me and place a hand on my shoulder.

“You did good.” Natalia says giving my shoulder a light squeeze and giving me a small adorable grin. Okay yes, it was still a bit restrained and conservative but it was cute to me.

“She’s right you did great, especially for your first time. You took charge of the situation and in all honesty, you made a great plan. There are some areas that could probably use tweaking if we had the time but for a first draft plan with no time for critical thought you did excellent. You could be one of the greatest tacticians in the making.” She tells me giving me a bright smile before patting my head.

My heart warms with the small show of affection, something that I never really had from a parental figure. I smile back at her, a full one that I can tell reaches my eyes and flashes off my canines.

“Natalia I want to show her what we talk about before.” The headmaster says. Natalia nods and then walks off probably to get here gear while we do whatever the headmaster was talking about.

“Come with me. I have something to show you and we must be quick.” The headmaster tells me hurriedly leading me out of the room and towards what I now know is Ashley's office. She walks to the wall behind Ashley’s desk and starts feeling around the wall. She knocks around the middle of the wall for a second before she pushes down on a part of it and it opens up into a small room.

How many secret areas are there in this school?

She guides me into the secret area and towards a beautiful piece of armor. It’s silver and looks like similar to the scales covering Kano’s body suggesting that it’s made of dragon scales. Having felt the dragon scales myself I know that it will definitely be strong and sturdy. She pulls it out of the clear tube it was floating in and brings it towards me.

“Ashley told me that you would be needing this soon. It was specially made and fitted for you apparently by one of your parents. I’m not sure how exactly they had you're size but I suppose it had something to do with Ashley’s power or your bond with your parent. Ashley did say that she didn’t have to wait till the future to see it because she was there when it was made.

Maybe she was the one who gave you're mom measurements. Then again the armor could just be bonded to you. In which case it may have fit you no matter what size you were. How intriguing, I wonder if that’s really the case.” She speaks out loud in wonder as she hands it over to me. I I run my hands over the armor slowly, feeling over each and every ridge before looking up at her with watery eyes.

“That’s not all. Put it on real quick and you’ll see.” She turns around so that I can put it on and after I do a sword materializes into my hand with intricate patterns flowing on the blade and a gold handle. I drop it in shock and the headmaster turns around before smiling.

“I guess you figured out what I was talking about. I don’t know who you're parent was that they were able to make this but they are a genius. And the best part is that whenever you don’t want to carry the sword in you're hand you can transform it into a bracelet. No magic needed curtesy of the armor. All I know is that whoever made this for you must’ve loved you very much.” Se says as I pick the sword back up and spin it around to examine it.

It’s the perfect weight, not too heavy but holds enough weight to cause damage. It’s not a katana but more like a broadsword similar to the type you’d see portraying the sword excalibur. The moment is broken though, sadly, as Natalia comes jogging into the room. In red armor encrusted with many different patterns making out a depiction of something I can’t quite describe.

“Hey guys it’s time to go. Everyone’s got their gear on and their weapons ready. It’s showtime.”

Well then, let’s do this!