“The people of our world seem to think that we are on this constant decline, they haven’t lived back then though. They didn’t have to live through the shaking plague, the Taronian Famine, or the many many wars that surrounded those events. I thought that if I could illuminate as to why these things occurred, at least from the perspective of someone who has lived through them, perhaps you’ll see that all this death and pain didn’t just come down to ‘cultural differences’.” Salindor Lichtbringer 1611, The Southern Empire Secedes.

1509.04.01 N’vesstar, Varsh

Light thankfully washed over Nico’s face once again but not before a splash of water. Nico’s head hurt, in fact the noises outside of his head were comforting. They were in comparison to where Nico had been though they didn’t make much sense.

“Oi lad!” Nico finally realised he wasn’t alone. Nico was lying down in a small room decorated with a single bed and chair. The remains of an end table was across the room from him and and a short stout woman with brown and an eyepatch eyed him up and down. She was scarred and tanned, dressed in worse clothes then Nico’s, her tunic was simple and brown and had cloth trousers. Their leather boots were notably much nicer.

“I said Oi!” The woman moved closer and Nico’s voice finally found itself.

“Yes, ma’a-”

“You are new here so I’ll give you some advice,” There was the smell of hard work and chewing leaf. “You don’t call me ma’am. Second, everybody on the boat has to do something. I don't care how much your friends are paying.”

“I was in a cave I don’t remember being here at all!” Nico felt betrayed, had his mentor just threw him to the wind? How much trouble was his mother in? What about the formerly enslaved?

“Where is Oakarn?” Nico wasn’t yet having another unknown person dictate his life though he was at a loss as to how he could stop her. The woman started chuckling.

“That must be the wizard Kelly is working with now, my name is Captain Teratha and we have a long ass ship ride to the Mage Autocracy.” Nico stared at her in disbelief, Nico thought he was supposed to help but clearly this had not been the case.

“Honestly Kelly tries her best to keep folks safe and this slaver business is probably more dangerous than any of us originally thought,” Teratha eyed Nico again.

“So are you gonna help prep food on the ship or what?” Nico felt a bit put on the spot suddenly.

“I also need you to keep your magicks off my ship lad,”

“What about my familiar?”

“What about ‘em?”

“Could I have them around?”

“Will it cause trouble on my ship?” Teratha didn’t like magic at the best of times but there was something about this black haired boy that she felt he didn’t mean any harm. Wizards rarely meant harm when magicks went wrong however.

“I’ll keep them out of trouble,” Nico promised “Could even make them a cat if you had some rodent problems?”

“Could use another cat for sure” Teratha then backed off and moved to leave the boy to his summoning. “If there is a fire from this room however I will flog you to unconsciousness.”

With that the Captain left and Nico hesitantly pulled out a piece of chalk.

How did the spell go again? Nico shook his head, he knew he was just being tested. Nico rummaged through his things to find the bone Sal was attuned to. He did find something strange in his belongings however. A runed stone with markings that made the rune look similar to that of an eye. In the same pouch was the bone he was looking for, there was a small black ring that circled the bone. The ring was more a fine line; he knew that he could only summon the familiar a set number of times.

Illuminilimeld vous

Nico held the bone in his hand as it began to summon the bird Sal with a small tendril of magic slipping loose from the bone causing the ring to darken.

Do you know how to turn into a cat? Nico mentally communicates with the creature.

I can turn into anything I have been created with, if there was cat fur, gut or bone in my initial creation then I can turn into those things.

Nico then tried to send an image of a cat or so he thought. He kept picturing what a cat would look like. The bird nibbled and bit Nico’s ear causing him to lose concentration on the thought.

I don’t think that’s going to work.

I need you to become a cat. Just think about being a cat!

You sound ridiculous!

Nico found himself looking the poor bird up and down and sighed loudly. This was something he’d just have to figure out. Panic was just starting to leave Nico’s mind when he started to feel the slow sway of the boat itself. Shaking his head in hopes of dissuading the nausea from taking hold he left the room and began trying to navigate this ship.

_________________________________________________________________________

1509.03.40 Du’vesstar, Saister

“Oakarn what in the name of the gods have you done?!” Ada stormed at the wizard after he pushed her son through the newly made portal.

“Probably saving his life.”

“Probably?!”

“Yes, probably.” Oakarn’s tone certainly had resignation to it though it most certainly sounded annoyed

“I can’t send more than one of our number and I didn’t think risking a brilliant apprentice like that boy. He quite literally learned what he could from me, I was never a great teacher in spite of my own ability to absorb knowledge.”

“Oak, where did you send Nico?” Kelly’s voice was also quite sharp, she too was glaring at Oakarn.

“I think I sent him to your ship.”

“How do you know you sent him there? Or think you know at least?”

“Well you folks still have a side business selling Sande right? Means you are probably using the same smuggler’s caves.”

“I… Uhhh huh,” Kelly looked very shocked about this shift in tone that Oakarn had taken. Ada glared then at Oakarn, though she did feel grateful her son was no longer in danger. She didn’t however like being a part of the more dangerous part of this expedition. Why was there so much effort to just put her son out of danger? Oakarn pulled out a bag with red resin and began mixing it with some oil he’d pulled out from a different pouch.

“This requires a lot of magical stability,” Oakarn’s tone was cold. “Which requires a certain level of calm under pressure.”

“I can get us through this but this sort of thing for those more magically inclined it can be devastatingly draining.”

“This explains nothing, Oak!” Ada knew she wouldn’t be satisfied with any of the old wizard’s explanations but she still needed to hear him apologise or something to acknowledge this string of failures that this trip has so far been. Now she had no idea where this smuggler’s cove but it was the first time in her life she felt that she at least had an idea where her son was and that she had no idea felt too eerily close when his father had left too. Her own parents she remembered earlier on leaving. Her mother was quarter blooded, barely enough elven blood to retain their sharp eared trait. Ada lived in a city much warmer and farther north in her youth but there were other differences from Atalar and the Southern frontier of the Empire and the Northern Empires more centralised isles. Easier to control these larger swaths of territory and to enforce the will of the larger imperial authority through their naval supremacy. Ada’s thoughts drifted of home often under stress, but it was unusual that her thoughts went here to where she was born for the few years that she was raised there.

“Ada, your son is safer where he is,” Oakarn then glared at Kelly. “What the fuck happened back there, we just might’ve have started a war!”

“Wait back up!” Ada felt taken advantage of now. She was here for her son not to play hero in some unforsaken land. “I get that Nico might be safer where he is but that isn’t safer then being in our town at least”

“I promise you Ada you are safer here than in your town,” Kelly retorted interrupting the other two. “While you and I were separated Oak it appears that Elantrans were planning an attack into the territory. A proper invasion.”

“We need to get our town to safety!” Ada angrily stormed over to Kelly “Not hide like children in this cave then!”

“You wanna know why that big ass fort is so under populated?” Ada shook her head but turned away knowing just what Kelly was about to say next.

“They are gathering forces for a push to the north, more than likely to surprise the Empire by taking the Tall River and Ralden’s Creek before the garrison can even come south to make a stand.” Kelly froze as the words from Ada’s lips were dropped into the room like bomb.

“The villages surrounding have been worrying about that for a while but we have a militia and we have to warn them! Are you not heroes?” Ada gestured to the remaining sheepish and somewhat beleaguered mercenaries. Kelly opened her mouth like she was about to say something but stayed herself.

“Ada is right,” Rotkar cut in. “We need to help those people too, we also have to get these kids out of here.”

“I do have a plan for that,” Kelly then pulled out some parchment and a piece of sharpened paint and started scribbling and drawing out a small map.

“We have to head east over that canyon we left earlier, we are gonna have to go through that fort.”

“That dead dragon outside sorta implies that's more dangerous than one might guess.”

“We will have to head south and deeper in a bit first,” Oakarn pulled out a single piece of bright purple wax fashioned into sort of a writing device and began marking out a long twelve foot long and eight foot wide.

“I don’t feel as though you are as in control of this situation as you make yourself out to be otherwise you wouldn’t have sent Niko where he has to go.”

“I can do the same for the rest of us but we need to be in a lower section of land, I don’t quite want us arriving too high,” Ada and Kelly both looked confused for a moment until Kelly sparked an idea in her head.

“The land is lower here but higher there so if we were to teleport,” Kelly looked around and then to Rotkar. “What exactly is this place Oak?”

“A terrible mistake of magic of some kind, this plane isn’t shaped like ours. We know that for a fact last I knew since the university.”

“What exactly does that mean?” Ada wondered still wondering when she and them could finally get out of this dark place. The walls themselves seemed to sap the warmth out of the room. The poor children that had joined them also huddled close to whatever firelight that Kelly and Rotkar got them to hold on to.

“Why are we being encircled?” Jet asked as they were finally handed a torch.

“The walls have a tendency to enjoy eating souls, not sure if your new friend told that to you or not.” Oakarn gave Jet a stern look then relaxed himself. Jet gave the old man an unscrupulous look.

“I don’t think you get it! Any of you!” The shouting boy caused the walls to echo with his anger.

“You free us to only maybe kill us because these walls want to eat me? While this is technically fucking better then that camp we all just came from its still not my fucking freedom.” Jet was breathing heavily in anger and his face was darker and flushed.

“Blowing up emotionally is going to make this worse, if you knew so well like you claim you’d be calm right now!” Oakarn’s voice came to a whisper but it only made him seem more menacing. “Now for something that you aren friends and hell I'd even wager some of our number that don’t know”

“Whatever this plane is or was somehow intricately connected to our own plane, we use this plane to travel because it allows us to amplify the distance we could otherwise travel.”

“Thousands of miles to the mile, that also goes for sounds, emotions, smells, anything to one degree or another but regardless of how much they are amplified they are amplified!”

Silence overtook the cave, Liliana who’d been silent up until that point finally broke that silence when it became unbearable.

“Oak I can hear very well and I don’t think I hear anything coming.” Liliana’s face was concerned though, that statement in most situations would allow for the reprieve of the party but it seemed like Oakarn was expecting something up until this point.

“The worm isn’t coming” Oakarn then hurriedly started collecting whatever he could scavenge from the ground. “Kelly I need you to take this wax and make a door shape where we came in, we need to leave now!”

“What is going on now?” Jet’s voice hadn’t quieted even now. Bits of shadow began to creep from underneath anything the fire and magical light could not touch. Eyes lurking unseen and unheard seemingly able to slip into any place where darkness is to be expected. To lurk and hitch a ride to the material plane. To escape this seeming end of time. Oakarn was the first to finally sense it managing to at least get Jet into the group but the moment that Kelly disappeared into the darkness and was barely able to make more than a scream. Roth came barrelling with other teens that had managed to escape the edges of the room. With but a thought Oakarn had half a dozen glowing balls of light escape his grasp flooding the room with a new golden hue. Behind the recoiling shadows a loft here you could see the bodies of two of their number. Kelly and Yarsh, bodies drained of colour and bite marks that looked more like a perfect circle with thirteen holes with the remnants of their innards.

“Yarsh!” Ekralla’s voice was the first to cut the stunned silence stuck between all of them, no one moved a muscle and deeper self preservation fear emanated from the room with whatever that creature was. Oakarn moved even faster now, Rotkar shook his head and tried to shepherd the remaining group to where Oakarn was finishing the remnants of his spell. A ring of purple light surrounded Everyone now and the stone began to shift downwards almost as if the light was cutting free the stone and something was pulling them. Balls of golden light began to follow them down and the blue light from earlier now winking out of existence. Rotkar, Oakarn, Liliana and Ada were the only able bodied adults left and the remaining Elkralla, Jet, V’stall, J’varr, Ame, Vesk, and Roth of those saved.

“Even now we have to work from no plan!” Oakarn glared hateful daggers at Jet, the elevation of rock slowly coming to a halt. There was a pressure in this long deep bright hole, a nagging feeling that made one’s ears feel sharp with pain.

“I’m sorry…” Jet felt very small and the platform came to a stop. No one answered as it seemed no one knew what to say.

“In my old life it was glorious to die in battle” Rotkar then forced Jet to look at him, pulling his chin up. “We are not done when we finally make it to our destination however where we are taking you will be attacked soon as well.”

“We are part of a much bigger exodus aren’t we?” Ada looked to Oakarn in hopes he’d come to a better conclusion. Oakarn seemed to not hear her and instead was marking out a archway with white chalk

“Oak talk to me!”

“I don’t know, Kelly had a plan she had not let me in on yet and I still don’t know.”

“I know the plan or at least some of it.” Ivalinna cut in “We must head to Fort Julius to the north east along the river and attempt to cross into the empire’s border before the Elantrans can get us.”

Haos Votra Intreme

An archway of light is rippled into existence and inside one could see the village of Atalar just waking up as the sun rose in their destination’s horizon.

“We don’t have much time, come on let’s go!” Oakarn positioned himself in such a way as to let the rest of the group through. As they proceeded to walk through the newly formed portal the smell of life finally started to fill everyone's nostrils. Ada breathed in the air here, Oakarn finally closing off the place where they once were.

“Now we have to convince a few hundred villagers an invasion is coming”

“I think I am going for a drink first! Ada, come join us!” Rotkar attempted to guide Ada with the rest of the group, Oakarn left immediately to head into town before the rest of the group could gather themselves. The sun shone brightly in contrast to how many felt though the refugees seemed to have much brighter spirits now then the rest even in spite of Yarsh’s and Kelly’s deaths.

“I think we were very lucky,” Rotkar ran his hands over his scalp. “I managed to see what killed our compatriots, unsettling worms that exist in the walls.”

“Worms? Like earthworms?” Oakarn gave Rotkar a curious look.

“They were larger than that Oak, the size of my arm and pale as a vampire!” Oakarn shook his head.

“We need to make a plan, Kelly not being here compromises much!”

“I don’t think we have a choice but to go through with the plan but hopefully the Imperials can hold out in Fort Julius.”

“As our ship is going to be a month late before we can take anyone out of here ourselves for now.” Rotkar waved off Ivalinna's worries.

“Only way to rouse the humans like this is through word of the month which means we’ll have to be drinking with them.” Ivalinna sighed incredulously “We can wake for the fallen as well.”

“We don’t have time for a wake!” Everyone looked to Ada at the outburst

“There are evils coming to Atalar that cannot be rectified, and we are just supposed to let the Elves come and take our settlement?”

“There is honour in a warrior’s death Ada but I fear the elves will not honour much.”

“Rotkar speaks truth Ada, as many as we can get to leave with us but Ada is also correct in that we need to get a move on as well. I need to gather supplies from my hut as much as I had left behind anyways. I might not be able to get us out like that if they ambush us.” Ada could see now just how weary Oakarn looked as well, energy spent wherever its nameless source was now taking a toll on the old man, not to mention the last few hours of tense hiding and running.

“WE-” Ivalinna stopped herself “We need rest, and we need to recuperate.”

“The Elves aren’t going to jumpstart an invasion just because of a little raid on a fort.”

“Their notes say otherwise Rotkar” Oakarn held out a letter, a bit of white ash seemed to coat the entirety of it. Rotkar snatched it and opened the letter and rolled his eyes.

“Course it's in sharp ears.” Rotkar then handed the letter to Liliana who dusted as much of the ash off as she could. White speckles showing up on her unnaturally black clothes almost like stars in the nighttime sky.

“Dear Knight General F’Starra Keeper of Isgal Castle Front, we are three weeks away from the preparations of the invasion being complete. We expect to make landings north in an attempt to put Vallae to siege. We expect you to keep the Imperials busy to the south. Burn what villages you can and take the rest as Dolls and slaves. That should spur the Imperials, take care of your numbers as you cannot afford an engagement but you can also ill afford the Imperials taking and cutting off our southern provinces. It is pertinent that we don't lose that supply line otherwise we won’t just have Imperials to deal with. Until then keep the fort safe and our special guests in tow as I have acquired the cream top this desert we have found ourselves in. Signed Knight Marshal Saellus Commander of the 3rd Grand Army and Keeper of the Fleet.”

“That sounds much worse than what Kelly said that was!” Rotkar slumped down somewhat

“I just wanted a bloody ale, curse you Ares!” Rotkar shook his fists at the sky.

“So we aren’t safe here either…” Ekralla overheard Liliana.

“Moving on to Fort Julius is our Priority whether these folk leave with me or not children. Liliana I need you and Rotkar to scout the path south for the elves while we rest in the meantime ” Oakarn then passed Rotkar a small mouse.

“If he leaves you it means he saw something is trying to lead you back, please heed this better then Jatar did.” Rider made the short landing as he transformed back into a small cat from being its former raven it once embodied.

“Oakarn we know the people here they might listen to us over the others Liliana but we also know how stubborn they are. They are gonna try and stay and fight.”

“We have to hope that they will see reason but those that won’t leave could perhaps be persuaded in slowing the enemy down” Ada thought about Nico just then and their home together. She also wondered if Barton and Sally would have a home to come back to.

“You are certain Nico is safe?” Ada’s tone suggested that was more to the question then just that but as Oakarn waited awkwardly for the moments between statements it became clear to him that no other nuances to the question were coming.

“Nico is a smart lad, we will check out the hideout when this mess for us is over though I believe I might have to teach Jet magic as I feel they are adept.” Oakarn gestured to the refugees milling about town and their interactions with the various locals. The morning market was never very full but with the addition of the seven of them now remaining, you knew as a peasant of Atalar that there were strangers to their little town. Ulima was selling technically, though she was careful to charge just adventurers as magicks aren’t always affordable for the local peoples. The priestess saw the wounds as Ekralla and Jet as they came by the temple’s market stall, immediately you could see Ulima fret over the two teens like they were her own children. Ame, Vesk and Roth left to a small grouping of houses near the Widow’s River, they disappeared with a group of the local kids and it seemed strange. These were Henry, Sofia from the Tark household, Andes from a nearby Hound village no one really knew his parents though like many of the other Wolfkin peoples family units often travel from village to village amongst the peoples of the south here. Ada knew there were more that she had seen but hadn’t gotten a clear enough look to know who they might be. J’varr looked as though they had seen a ghost.

“I can’t find V’stall!” J’varr finally came running into ear shot Oakarn then pointed to a barn they’d walked by moments earlier. V’stall was alone on the roof of the building staring back out to the forest they had returned from, J’varr kept running past.

“Keep your bags packed, we are moving tomorrow morning at the very latest!.” Ada shouted after, there was this nagging feeling deep down that Ada couldn’t quite shake.

”You are alright?” Oakarn put a hand on Ada’s shoulder.

“Just can’t shake this feeling like the world is going to end.”

“Just the world as you know it Ada”

“Nico has no idea this place is about to become a burning ruin.”

“He’ll know eventually”

“And we need to warn the people and our mayor.” Oakarn sighed, his other hand holding himself upright with his walking stick.

“Rotkar and Ivalinna are safe by the way” Oakarn shook his head as if to clear it. Ada still seemed on edge. Something still didn’t feel right, like Ada had forgotten to put out the cauldron fire at their shack but worse.

“Oak, we need to leave town as soon as we can, how long can we afford to rest because I do not think I can go to that horrible place again.”

“We lucky for you I am out of dragon’s blood which means we are walking from here on out.”

“How much was left on the wagon we left behind?”

“Enough that it makes the travel to Fort Julius impossible without getting supplies here and we are limited on coin and food until we can get these refugees to the fort.” Oakarn began to shuffle through his belongings until it seemed he remembered something. Oakarn mumbled something under his breath until he sighed thankfully, unlocked the door with the key he’d just found.

“I have letters to send to try and get supplies or some kind of promissory note so we can afford the caravan northward.”

“I’ll try and convince the mayor to hold a town hall meeting, maybe we can all go together. I am sure with the supplies of the entire town we can manage to get to the fort.”

“I don’t think we have any other options if we want to leave sooner” Oakarn perked up.

“Well well well… lightning ash, mulberry, oak resin…” Oakarn’s voice returned to mumbling again making it much harder to hear and it seemed the old wizard had sort of dismissed himself from the conversation leaving Ada in his shack while he lost himself into scrawling words to parchment.

“We should all meet at the tavern this evening to discuss plans further whether the town agrees to leave or not.”

“Of course of course… Sorry we are on a limited time table and the Empire only accepts official diction in terms of aid requests.”

“Right, I'll get this done then.” Ada left the shack then headed towards the mayor’s house.