Chapter 030

The Reason They Fight

"Keep firing, men! Whatever you do, don’t stop now!” bellowed Rikter.

Since he’d been updated on what happened, that of how James was successful at subduing Thatch, he ordered each of his men to consistently bombard the ice pillar. Apparently, since its caster was out of commission, it meant that the pillar’s effects wouldn’t be as potent as they were before. This much was proven when the ice it created spread slower and slower until eventually it arrived at a total stop. Not having to fret over keeping their distance from the silver tower, the soldiers were afforded the golden opportunity to maintain their positions and desomate it piece by piece.

Even so, their job wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. As long as the manite crystal resided inside of the pillar, it would continue to stand and repair itself. Seeing as how it no longer spread ice, Rikter theorized its main priority was reconstructing its outer hull, ultimately prolonging the inevitability of its destruction.

A legion of soldiers formed three sets of squadrons, one posted at the front of their group and the other two composing its sides. Each of the men and women fired off their Esteran rifles, spraying the pillar with fast flying lead.

Meanwhile, the mages hailing from Rikter’s very own Mage Bracket 6 provided assistance using their magic. Warrant Officer Peter Anderson specialized in earth magic. The Esteran fisted the ground and sent out a subterranean shockwave. Crumbling javelins out of the crust of the earth and, on his command, launched at the ice pillar. What sounded like the breaking of glass rung throughout the memorial park as the powerful spell devastated its target.

On the other hand, there was the combat mage Aaron Dallas, a second lieutenant.

Hailing from Eywa, the mage practiced a magic that was an oddity in Esteras but seen as rather common in his home village. He stomped forward, and on either side of him towers of sparkling, white crystals erected. They glittered with a foreign, enchanted glow. Inflating his lungs, Aaron screamed something in his native tongue. The crystals reacted, releasing multi-colored rays of energy. Chips of ice scattered, fissures and cracks littering its frozen hull. This was Aaron’s crystal magic. His skills with it had assisted Rikter on many missions in the past. Unfortunately, the pillar was just too strong. Regardless of how many spells they cast, the damage they inflicted would, in time, be repaired by the manite crystal.

“This isn’t working, sir!” shouted Peter.

“I thought Major Griffin said these things would be easier to destroy now! At this rate, I’m not sure I’ll have enough essence to seal the deal!” Aaron added.

Rikter cursed. “Give it everything you’ve got, men! We can’t let this opportunity abandon us! Summon every ounce of your essence, do you get me?!”

“We get you, sir!” Peter and Aaron howled in unison.

He admired their courage and efforts, but he wasn’t as blind as he was reckless. Their magical energy was waning, he could sense it. And sooner or later, the soldiers would have to restock on ammo. During that time, would the ice pillar return to how it was during the start of the Day of Zero? Would all of their efforts be for nothing? No! Riktor furrowed his brow, and shook his head. Keep those negative thoughts out! I’m in no position to get distracted!

He could use more of his own magic, although he had already pushed himself to the limit earlier. Their assault never ceased but, for the sake of avoiding any potential magic rejections, he allowed for his mages to take brief five minute breaks while the Blues proceeded with the attack. And while they were resting and replenishing their essence supplies, the thought of joining them never even crossed Rikter’s mind. He used every spell in his tome to wreak havoc on his target. And the result of that reckless strategy was him draining himself of essence.

Dammit! He hated feeling like this, so powerless. He desired to get back in the action. A leader of a mage bracket was meant to inspire his soldiers with a manly, radiating aura and an unwavering demeanor. When he nearly blacked out from exhaustion, he felt more so disappointed with himself than he was feint. He longed to respect his soldiers wishes of regaining his strength, however, as he watched them give it their all without him, why, it made him want to jump back into the fray. And so, his essence started to flow.

“Brigadier General Leones,” said a voice. Turning around, there was Black soldier with light brown hair and a pair of glasses standing before him. “I’m Second Lieutenant Shane Weaver reporting from Mage Bracket 13. Mind telling me what I’m looking at, sir?”

“Mage Bracket 13, you say? Did Koberic send you?”

Shane nodded. “He did indeed. Told me you boys could use a hand in the capital. From the looks of things, you most definitely need it.”

“Listen, I don't know how much of the situation you’ve been briefed on but this ice pillar has regenerative abilities. We’re trying to reach its core so we can...”

“Destroy the manite crystal, the source of its power, right?” Shane finished.

“Y...Yes...” Rikter stuttered.

“Okay, then. Let’s get this over and done with.” The tome strapped to his waist engulfed with green colored energy. It flung into the air and patiently hovered next to him. The mage then released an uninterested yawn, tears forming behind the lenses of his glasses. “You specialize in metal magic, don’t you, sir? You should have an elemental advantage over ice spells.”

“Like I said, its regenerative capabilities proved to be too great.”

“I see,” Shane answered. “Do you have enough essence for an advanced spell?”

Rikter narrowed his stare. “What are you planning, soldier?”

“Nothing too ingenuitive. I'm just going to carve a path to victory. By all means, follow it to your heart's content."

The tome flipped its pages. Lines of text illuminated. A shrill of prancing magical energy fluctuated. Rikter grunted as a howling shockwave of breeze relentlessly shot in his direction, nearly forcing the general to his knees. The newcomer mage stood at the center of this hurricane. His hair was rustled by currents of air, and his black uniform staggered and waved with the intensity of a rampaging typhoon. With glowing eyes, the mage muttered under his breath a spell dubbed “Nubis Falx” and held a palm towards the ice pillar. Rikter detected an electric pulse as magical energy blitz fromits caster.

Shane had launched an immense, horizontal blade of wind as long as a bus and as thin as a wire on a fence. It soared through the air in an impressive burst of speed. Had Rikter blinked, he was positive he wouldn’t have even seen it. The sickle of winds voiced a high-pitched screech as it flew over the heads of Rikter’s soldiers and mages, sparing not even a second. In an abrupt flash, the cyclonic weapon bisected the ice pillar in half. The upper portion was launched skyward only to disintegrate into a cluster of shimmering chips. Every soldier present, Rikter included, gawked silently in collective astonishment. They watched as the obstacle they had combatted for so long was eradicated in an instant.

In a trembling voice, Rikter uttered, “...Incredible...”

“Now’s your chance, sir,” said Shane, glancing at him from over his shoulder.

“R...Right!”

The chance he was waiting for had arrived. The manite’s crown had been exposed from Shane’s attack. Rikter saw them clearly, those malfunctioning glimmers. Ironheart concentrated on his magic once more. He summoned his tome, awakening it from its slumber. Using the fraction of essence residing inside of him, he shouted, “Bellator Impuls!” A long rod of metal appeared in a flash of light. It dropped into his hand, and Rikter raised it above his head. It was a reinforced spear with a golden tip and a serrated neck. Firming his grasp, and with flared nostrils, Rikter slammed his boot onto the ground, refixed his posture, and, with the force of a thousand raging bison, flung the spear. As it whistiled out his fingers the weapon hurtled across the partially frozen urban square.

The spear's edge met the exposed crystal. The magic faded, ad the ice perished. An unforgiving shockwave screamed to life, pushing back the soldiers closest to the pillar. The manite was no more. Following its lead, the ice pillar collapsed. Cracks and fissures raided its glistening hide, and a loud creaking noise infiltrated their ears. Pieces and chunks detracted from the monument until it crumbled to the ground in a heap of steaming ice bricks. And along with its destruction, the ice it had spread evaporated accordingly. A proud smirk cracked on Rikter’s face. The threat had been neutralized, once and for all.

“The brigadier general did it!” shouted Aaron.

“Quick, contact Major Griffin and give him an update on what’s happened!” shouted another soldier.

Remaining on his own quivering feet, Rikter stared at his men as they scrambled and screamed. The disinterested wind mage stood idly by, not uttering a word. What could be hiding behind those speculative, judgemental eyes of his? His powerful magic he used so nonchalauntly was rare to come by. Shane Weaver was a weapon that needed to be properly forged. Who better was there for the job than the Ironheart Mage himself? “You were amazing, kid!" Rikter exclaimed, stomping for him. "I want you to join my mage bracket!”

“I appreciate the offer,” Shane replied, dryly. “but I’m afraid I’ll have to turn you down. Mage Bracket 13 is where I belong.”

“I see,” Rikter grumbled in disappointment. “What if I have you promoted to First Lieutenant?!”

“Pass.”

“...I could give you your own military car?”

“Knock it off already...”

Ebony emerged from her shadows.

The battlefield had been destroyed. Strips of wood peeled off the sides of the charred, quaking tree branches. The flooring that used to shift and wriggle with enchanted vitality was now silent. Hanging in the air was a strong scent of ash, almost akin to that of a burned pile of firewood. She advanced with caution.

When she had left Rune to duel the traitorous colonel, while she had full confidence in him to get the job done, it meant not that she didn’t have her reservations. So when she found her teammate crouched on the floor and with a smile on his face a wave of astonishment attacked. She broke off for him. Standing on trembling legs not far away from the fire mage was the colonel himself. He too broadcasted a smirk, or rather a remnant of a smile he slowly lost to the roads of time. However, based off of his appearance and the pathetic sparks of magic his hovering tome constantly spouted, it was evident that he had succumbed to fatigue. He was no longer a threat she needed to take seriously. She also imagined that Yggdrasil would soon follow suit with its master and surrender its majesty and power.

“Rune...” the girl started, crouching beside him. Decorated in red and welcoming fractured bones, it came as a shock to Ebony how he was able to stay conscious. Then again, this was Rune she was talking about. He wasn’t normal, even by combat mage standards.

“Did you do it? Are the civilians safe?” spewed Rune, wiping away lines of crimson seeping out his mouth.

“I destroyed all of the outside branches, yes. Though, I’m starting to suspect Colonel Andrew’s threat was a bluff.” She regarded the veteran combat mage with a frown. “He barely had any magical energy left. It’s why Yggdrasil wasn’t as active as it was before. Even if I hadn’t made it in time, I doubt he would have been able to hurt anybody.”

“Is that so?” Rune smirked. “Yeah, I had a feeling.”

“And you sent me away anyhow?”

“I can’t help my selfish habits, sorry. This was something I had to do on my own. You can understand, right?”

“No, I don’t think I will ever understand," she admitted, partially annoyed. "In any case, as long as you're okay, that’s all that really matters.”

“I imagine that Griffin has started his counter attack, yes?” inquired the colonel with a cough. Ebony refused to speak with him. To her defiant showcase of dismissal, he released a broken chuckle and continued, “How pitiful of a man am I? To be bested by my former student, and to have a seemingly unbeatable spell halted even after its activation. The last handful of years of my life, why, were they all meaningless, I wonder?”

“Well, you can afford yourself as much time as you need to mull over the pondery. As of right now, I’m placing you under arrest. You have to answer for your crimes,” Ebony called over to him. “And it would be unwise to resist. Should you choose to do so...”

“Don’t worry, he won’t be any trouble,” Rune interrupted. “Will you?”

Jacob shook his head. “I don’t possess enough energy, I couldn’t even if I tried. However, I advise you not to approach me.”

Ebony scowled. “Come again?”

“I’m doing this for your sake, you young fools. You don’t want to be caught in it, do you?”

It was then that Ebony detected the essence fluctuating his core. The magical energy mercilessly pulsated in an attempt to break free from its mortal husk. It was unnatural, and behaved in a manner comparable to a wild beast. Her eyelids stretched open. She had already foreseen the outcome of this peculiarity. Colonel Andrew was right, there wasn’t a point in apprehending him, much less approaching him. His was a doomed fate.

“Wh...What is he talking about?” asked Rune.

Ebony lowered her subdued gaze. “It’s too late. He’s...having a rejection.”

“What?!”

Sparks of green energy zapped at his clothing and exposed skin. Gusts of wind bolted from him, kicking up scattered branches and dying, brown leaves. The very wood he stood on betrayed him. They lashed out like angered, restless beasts, not hesitating to strike anything or anyone that harbored too close for their own good. Meanwhile, scaling up from the soles of his boots and to his knees was a creeping layer of aching and eternal wood. Before them both the Arbor Mage was rapidly transforming into something else. Ebony imagined, by the time of the rejection’s completion, he would no longer be considered human. Such was the travesty that was a tome rejection.

“No...” Ebony glanced at Rune. Horror and surprise were permanently preserved on his paling face. Of course, they both already had experience dealing with rejections. But, based on her partner’s reaction, it was quite clear he had never gotten over witnessing a punishment take place. He hurriedly ascended from the ground only for a single step to send him back to where he started.

Ebony quickly rushed to his side, catching him before he could collapse. “There’s nothing we can do now, Rune. I’m sorry, this is just how it’s going to be.”

Rune cursed. “I can’t...I can’t just leave him like this! There’s gotta be some way we could...”

“Look at your right arm!” Ebony countered. “Was there any way to stop that? Or how about me? Ryas smiled on me the day of my rejection. I didn’t receive a punishment but it resulted in innocent lives being lost. Whether you like it or not, we won’t be able to save him. If we try to interfere with a rejection's punishment once it’s already underway, we might be put at risk, as well. Is that what you want?”

“So what are you suggesting? We just stand here and watch him die?!”

“Not at all,” Ebony denied. “A part of me is furious he won’t be able to answer for all the damage and destruction he’s caused. Nevertheless, we have to face reality for what it is. Take a look around us, Rune.” He did just that. Yggdrasil was perishing. The enchanted, towering tree howled in pain as its branches fell, its trunk trembled, and its helmet of leaves lost their green and fled into the cascading breezes as thin, brown husks of the past. “Can you see it now? If we don’t leave, and fast, we’ll be crushed underneath this spell. I would also like to remind you that, according to the reports, there are still one or two ice pillars yet to be dealt with. Rune, our comrades need assistance, as do the civilians of Savanis. We can’t afford to waste any more time here.”

“But...”

“Of course, I’m not heartless. I get where you’re coming from. Still, we have a duty to uphold,” she told him, bridging his arm over her shoulders. “We must use our magic to protect others. That’s what you told me, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but...”

“Listen to your friend, Young Ransford. She might be a corrupt hypocrite, but in this instance, even I find myself agreeing with the devil.” Like her partner, Ebony shot a stare at Jacob. At this point, crawling wood had reached the upper portion of his abdomen, having permanently encased his arms, waist, and legs in a brown plating. “My time on this Earth is rapidly approaching its end. There isn’t any purpose in trying to avoid the inevitable.”

“Master...” Rune croaked.

“Funny, I’ve always hated that word so much. When you say it, it bothers me not at all,” he grinned to himself. “Revenge, it really is such a lethal poison. Had I not submitted to it, maybe I wouldn’t be in this predicament to begin with.”

“You fool! Why, why did you have to do this?! You’re dying for nothing! Your plans failed and the terrorists you’ve sponsored and allied yourself with are being captured as we speak! I have to ask, was it really worth it?!”

“To be made a fool of by fate? No, no I can’t say it was. For it was I that taught you the importance of controlling your emotions. I couldn’t practice what I preached apparently, and my lust for revenge took control of the steering wheel. This punishment is merely a byproduct of my own recklessness.” Ebony spotted the colonel’s eyes begin to fill with water. Tears streaked down his cheek in a line. “I can acknowledge my mistakes, and while I personally wanted the sovereign to pay for what he’s done, it doesn’t mean I take back what I said. I still believe this country is doomed.”

“You give us too little credit,” said Ebony. “Not everyone is as corrupt or incompetent as you think we are.”

“Yes, well, I believe everything that happens is a result of Ryas’ intervention. She sought to show me something I failed to realize. Esteras, she isn’t as vulnerable as I once thought, at least, not if there are mages like you, Rune Ransford, keeping her safe.” Ebony heard a gasp leave his fractured voice. “She still has a chance to be saved, should you choose to rise to the occasion and do what’s necessary.”

Rune hung his head. “This country needs healing, there’s no question about that. And I have every intention of lending it a helping hand, as a combat mage, and as a concerned citizen.”

“Very good,” Jacob smiled, his punishment reaching the peak of his neck. He next looked at Ebony and said, “I’m aware I’m not exactly in the position to make requests, however, my former apprentice is going to need people he can trust. You seem to care dearly about him, yes?" Ebony flushed, but didn't justify his assumption with a response. She kept quiet. "I ask that you stick by his side when the time comes.”

Ebony dropped her gaze, reflecting. "You’re right, you aren’t in the position to be demanding anything. And I have even less of an obligation to follow them.” Ebony liberated a sigh. “Then again, Rune is my teammate, and I believe in loyalty. I won’t forsake him, as long as he doesn’t stray away from the path of justice.”

Yggdrasil’s moaning transformed into unhinged roars, and the tree branches they stood on quaked profusely.

Ebony frowned. “It’s time to go, Rune.”

“Wait!” he denied. “I still have more I want to say.”

“We don't have the luxury of sticking around any longer.” Ebony pulled him closer and recited the words, “Umbra Couno.” A puddle of shadows appeared underneath their feet. Slowly, they pulled them inside of its bubbling belly. Rune struggled and resisted to be freed from her grasp but it yielded no results favorable to him. He had long since expended his energy. As such, his “resistance” materialized as feeble shoves and flails.

“Colonel Andrew!” Rune shouted. “You’re a traitor. History will remember as a genocidal maniac who attempted to overthrow the country’s peace! You’ve lost every ounce of the respect and admiration you once had. Even so, I can never begin to repay you for the lessons you’ve taught me. And I will use your teachings to make Esteras a better place! It might not be the spitting image of what you have envisioned for its future. Still, as a combat mage, I give you my solemn vow to keep its people and destiny secure from men like you! Monsters that seek to harm it! This is my undying promise!”

They had disappeared before the colonel could issue a response. However, at least to Ebony, she thought she could discern the traces of a fulfilled smile as rotting wood covered him whole and she sank into the depths of her hazey spell.

So, on that day, Esteras' Archives recorded that Jacob Andrew, the Arbor Mage, had purchased his final breath. And the capital city Savanis ventured forth on the road to reparation.