—The White Night.

—The Eternal White Night.

—Endless White Night.

It was a moving catastrophe; a wandering calamity that swallowed up entire kingdoms and left empty husks of nations in its wake. It was one of the great calamities of Arca Archa.

Through the ages, this phenomenon had been called with numerous variations of the name, yet all those who have borne witness to its terrific power would come to terms with the same thing. It was a fog of white so blanketing that it was a tsunami that washed out the sky. And once drowned within, the fog would be so thick and all encompassing that one would not be able to see their own hands even as it pressed against their own face.

—Just as if it were the darkest night, only white, hence where its name, the White Night, derived.

Rare survivors of the great calamity have vividly recalled the ordeal as an out of body experience where they began to lose their senses the longer they wandered within it.

The first to go was their sense of sight as it was doused by white. Then was their sense of touch as their face became numb to their own hands brushing up against it in their panic. Next to go was their sense of balance as they fell, tripping over nothing. And their feeling of pain soon after that as they come to realize their bodies missing.

As the moments stretched towards eternity, their sense of time, hunger, and weariness departed as dreary nothingness was all that was left around them. Before finally their minds too as there was nothing left to keep it shackled down. The only thing that remained was the everlasting and eternal White Night.

…

…

Sanders was quite the older gentleman.

With streaks of natural gray bands running through his hair, a face filled with creases that showed especially well under an overlight, and a silver crucifix of the Agios saint hanging from his neck, the man looked much more like a clergyman than the head of the entire Sieges department at the guild of Singapore. Befittingly, he was quite the religious man and was even rather open about his past affiliations with the Agios-Papal Church, one of Earth's most prolific religious bodies.

Naturally, with this affiliation, he was a human pure and all, unlike the head of Scouts who was a woman of Avis descent. But what did that translate to really? It only meant that he was as old as he looked and had physical capabilities befitting of his appearance. The notion that a department head had to put themself in the line of fire was simply one brought about by the head of Scouts's own accord. There was never a need for her to step beyond her responsibilities as an organizer just as there was no need for the director to be on the forefront of every rift event. She was the exception, not the norm.

The head of Sieges was someone perfectly suited to his role in the office, managing the many thousands of field operators under his supervision. His appearance as an old monastery monk only matched that. After all, perhaps 80% of the field operators belonging to the guild of Singapore were members of the SGs, whereas only 10% belonged to the SCs, and whatever remaining being either stragglers, VGs or a part of the SPs.

*Knock knock*

"I will speak with you later… Come in!"

Hearing the knocks on his office door, the hunched Sanders ended his call and then looked up from his mountain of papers to see who it was at his door. When it slid open, the lanky frame of Quies and her coat took up only a fraction of the space the door once covered.

"Head of Scouts Quies! For you to come see me in person, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Taking off his spectacles, Sanders raised his arms and greeted the Avis woman warmly with a tone suggesting a long kindled friendship.

"Tch." Quies clicked her tongue in response. Her nose scrunched up the moment the door opened. She disliked visiting here. As always, the room reeked with the vinegar of eldened books and scriptures, neither of which had any business being here at the guild. She walked in.

"I see your nose turn, but 'tis the smell of knowledge, aren't you aware? It is the wisdom of the ages passed on from ancient ancestry to guide the uninformed young. It's already a bit late into the night already, but do you fancy a cup of tea? Does pu'er suit your tongue? I think it's quite lovely."

"I'm on the clock so cut the crap, Sanders. You know why I'm here. Why didn't you send out the FBDSs?" She scowled. The air around her shimmered then, with the slightest suggestions of her artes.

Sanders kept his calm as he got up from his desk. His gait was slow, but steady, as he walked over to the sink to collect water into a kettle.

"Careful now. Your artes are leaking. That's unbecoming of someone with your stature as the head of Scouts. What would the newcomers think if they saw you now? I don't imagine any admiration would be glinting in their eyes."

With a click, the electric kettle began the process of boiling water.

"The worst unbecoming is to feign ignorance in the face of calamity. So stop playing games, there's no place here in the guild for the inactioned, Sanders."

"You claim that I play games when I don't, Quies." The head of Sieges stopped his hands as he touched the cupboard where he stored his tea. Unable to help it, he felt quite hurt by that accusation.

"Bullshit." Quies's tone said it all. She did not buy an ounce of what he was saying.

"Let us try to remain civil here, friend. A few sets I could afford to send because of the situation, but 'everything?' A rift event would rarely need two sets, and I have never experienced one to need more than four."

"Unrealistic?" Quies's agitation edged. "I am being very realistic considering what we are dealing with and the consequences of failure."

"Right now there are sixteen rift events contained under our jurisdiction, with these rifts utilizing just under 5,000 personnel and 22 of the 31 sets of FBDSs we have at our disposal. This is also discounting the three rift events that have already appeared tonight. I understand your fears and concerns, and I answered them accordingly. I sent three sets of FBDSs, but any more than that is too much I'm afraid. How do I spare you what we don't even have to offer? A buffer exists for a reason and should by principle never be touched."

"It's your job to make it happen, Sanders, even if it means taking them from SGs at existing rift events, or by god taking it from your buffers. Some things are uncompromisable. Not all risk is born equal. Otherwise, if you can't even comprehend that, then step down. Step down and let someone else take your position."

"You are right. Some things are uncompromisable. Which is why I can't shirk on my obligations either. There's no shame in protecting those whom I ought to protect. You feel the same, I'm sure. That's why you're this adamant in the first place." He closed his eyes and shook his head.

"And for what?" She asked. "Know that there will be no SGs left for you to protect if the White Night successfully encroaches upon this world."

"No matter if the world ends tomorrow, I will continue to plant seeds today. For if the world doesn't come to an end, I would still have food to eat. And if it does end, I at least won't be hungry."

Quies felt a vein pop in her head talking to this man. She had wasted her time here. For every moment that passed, the dangers of the White Night grew more imminent. She looked down at her artefact and clutched it tight.

"Humans… none of you have ever known true terror. The history of my world is rife with it. Know that an end of death that your kind fears so greatly is, for many, the sweetest mercy one could hope to relish." Quies said before she turned to leave. Her tone was deep and foreboding. 'Great Calamity,' there was meaning behind that name, for a great calamity was one which man could never hope to solve, and it would take all of a civilization's joint efforts just to mitigate. There was a reason why the many great calamities were worshiped as deities and forces of nature all around Arca Archa.

"Quies, wait." Sanders reached out. "Then why don't you explain it to me so I do know?"

"No, I won't wait. Though you want to talk, I have nothing left to say. If you don't plan on sending out the FBDSs, then I will get it elsewhere, anywhere. If you change your mind, let me know. Otherwise, I have no more time to waste with someone who clearly thinks me mad."

Quies left the room. The door shut quietly behind her. Moments after that, the kettle shut off, its water having finished boiling.

…

Quies took a breather outside of the head of Sieges's door. As much as she would have loved to take off flying to her next destination, she needed time to think about her next move. To help with that, she called the Director again.

"Yes, this is Oryza speaking." Oryza's voice came through fairly quickly this time.

"You should have told me sooner that Sanders refused to send out more than the minimum FBDSs." Quies complained.

"I apologize. I'm dealing with a lot of things at the moment."

It was difficult for Oryza to tell if she was angry or not just by her voice, but at the very least he discerned that she was certainly irate to some degree. He did not blame her. He did make a mistake here.

"It doesn't matter now. I still need to get my hands on as many sets of FBDSs I can. It's been over an hour since I left the airport, the White Night should have enveloped the rift by now. Time is of the essence. A barrier constructed from three single sets of FBDSs won't be anywhere near enough."

"You're more agitated than normal." Oryza commented. If he had to be honest, though he knew Quies for two decades now, he barely knew of her personal life outside of work, or of her past prior to joining the guild.

"I've just seen a lot." Quies answered merely.

"Have you checked the Specialists department yet?"

"No I haven't, but it's a good place to start."

"Then I suggest you check there. They may be able to lend you a hand. If not FBDSs, then there are still the barrier Specialists siblings who may be able to help you."

"Right, I am familiar with them. What were their names again?"

The line suddenly went silent after Quies's question. After several long seconds, Oryza apologized.

"It's on the tip of my tongue, sorry."

"No matter. I'll find them when I get there."

However, Mathas's voice suddenly barged in on the call. "Sir, wait! I pulled out their files for you."

"Good timing as always." Oryza praised his aid, before going into the details. "The siblings are Youkai born of Kitsune lineage. The younger sister is called Azusa and the older brother is Azura. They both have deeply seeded knowledge and expertise with talisman artefacts, of which, their shikigami talismans are their trademarks. They can also produce barrier talismans that function similar to barrier sticks and are able to link up together to envelope a large area, just like FBDSs. However, it looks like the only downside is that the talismans aren't generally reusable."

"I see. Is there anyone else of note?"

It was then that Mathas once again joined in to show why he was the chief of organization. "There's someone who specializes in array formations. I'm sure she will be of help to you. Her name is Samantha, a Felid."

"I'll let them know you're coming. And I'll have Mathas send you their files digitally."

"Many thanks."

"Will that be all then?"

"Yes— wait. Just one more thing." Quies managed to catch herself right before she ended the call. "The labs were empty when I dropped the sample of the White Night in the preservation unit. I wrote a quick message using a sticky note, but I think it would be better if you could send them a message anyways."

"Will do."

The call ended there. With a new destination in mind, Quies once again took off into the air and swiftly navigated the hallways. She wanted to reach the Specialists department as quickly as possible.

…

The door which Quies left behind slid open, with the head of Sieges being so close to it that he could have easily heard a conversation from the hallway.

". . ."

The head of Sieges was quiet as he stepped out. He watched the direction of the departed Quies and only when he was certain that she was gone and would not return did he move. His direction, the exact opposite of hers.

…

…