Chapter Eight: Imminent Conflict

*

Rather than rush back to Zion, Aiden flipped open and started looking through the compendium. At some point through transcribing, he’d fallen asleep. Luckily for him, Blizzy had been with him to keep the monsters at bay.

The notes he’d taken started with a singular isolated Formation, then he’d expanded that to cover the array as a whole. Well, the entire room looked like one connected array, so he’d only copied down one array within a giant formation of arrays.

“This isn’t gonna be easy,” he muttered, flipping to the next page.

He’d detailed all the Patterns within each Formation, the Inscription ability able to help him with that much. Why each Pattern was used where it was and to what effect? Way beyond his current level of competence. The more he looked at the array, the more he felt something tugging at the back of his head, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint whatever it was.

There seemed to be some kind of sense within all the chaos of the array, there had to be. When he looked at each Formation on an individual level, little made sense. He figured he could’ve determined some kind of pattern, but the only thing he could recognize with certainty was there would always be some kind of centralized Pattern and a bunch of supporting patterns on the layers surrounding the Formation.

How the Formations connected, what that did, why they needed to be connected, what each connection added to the isolated arrays and the overarching array as a whole? All of those things were still as much question marks as when he first started, but it was progress. Learning an advanced magical language was never going to take a single night.

“It’s progress,” he said as he shut the compendium and tucked it under his arm. “Time to get back though.”

Blizzy chirped from where she pranced about ahead of him. Once he took off into a full run towards Zion, she fell in step next to him, her feather wings carrying her forward in playful bounds from time to time.

Just as the day before, they entered the lower level of Zion. The fanfare was noticeably less, each person intensely occupied and driven by some invisible force. No matter where he looked, he couldn’t find the normal casual chatter. Today, everyone moved with a purpose.

Anybody who noticed him gave him silent nods and went about their business. He made it through the entire lower level without a single person stopping him to talk or ask questions. When he made it to the slope up to Zion main, he looked back and watched for several long seconds. On every person’s face, he saw determination.

He smiled something bittersweet and turned back up to ascend the slope, almost sad that the guards shared the sentiment as the people below. When he entered the gates, grim determination was omnipresent. The level of concentration on everyone’s face was almost unnerving and made him wonder what had happened since he’d left. The happy go lucky feeling that created a sense of homeliness and hospitality seemed to have fled overnight, and he wanted to know why.

Blizzy pushed past him up the stairs of the town hall, and he followed quickly behind. She waited for him at the top and continued inward when he finally caught up. Her antics eased a bit of the tension he felt, but even those he saw in the town hall looked the same as the rest.

It looks like everyone is at a funeral, he thought, feeling the strange aura of determination edging on desperation. His heart skipped a beat. Was… was there an attack?

Even without an answer, guilt started to creep into his chest. His heart seemed to want to compensate for dropping in his stomach by trying to leap out of his chest. Counterintuitive? Sure, but it surely got him moving.

Almost frantic, he stopped the first person he saw—Tricia. “Where’s my sister Olivia?”

Her eyes widened and nostrils flared in surprise for a brief moment, then she collected herself and pointed towards the stairs. “Top floor.”

Whether or not she had more to say, he didn’t wait to find out. He took the steps three at a time, nearly leaping up the steps to reach the top as fast as he could without launching himself upwards with Dancing Winds.

Blizzy only barely beat him to the top. When he reached the top, he stopped and looked around, his concern only growing by the second. “What is this?”

“Thanks for joining us,” Isaac said from the podium. He gestured for Aiden to take a seat at the front. “We left a spot for you in hopes you’d show up. Good thing you’re here, because you’ll want to hear this.”

Aiden tried to calm his racing heart as he passed by all the people assembled. For as many as there were present, he expected Zion to look far less busy than it had. The fact he didn’t even notice meant that almost everyone was up and moving, only further making him uneasy.

Taking the spot next to Olivia, Isaac met Aiden’s gaze. “I’ll catch you up to speed really quick so we can continue.”

“Thanks,” Aiden said, nodding.

“Last night, shortly after you left, the Valkyr infiltrated the Celestial’s Town and assassinated the Candidate. They’ve taken control and have already started preparing to raid the Dragonborn with their bolstered numbers.” He pursed his lips and let out a frustrated sigh.

“Who reported this information?” Aiden asked as he sat up in his seat, his heart stilling. Nobody in Zion had died, even if their Valkyr problem was actively escalating where that might be a near future possibility. “And how current?”

“I did, and I’m getting direct feed from Shadow. He’s keeping an eye on things from out of sight. I’ve got an ability that allows him to share his sight,” he said, pointing to his eyes as they glowed darker than black. “Situation’s still the same for now.”

“The Celestials have been vigilant until now, so what changed? How did this happen?” Aiden asked, getting up and pacing around at the edge of the stage, forgetting the existence of the room’s occupants as he took stock of the situation.

Isaac’s knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists. “They’re using Adam and the rest. Most of them are useless when it comes to fighting, but there are some in there as strong as you. There’s the one with lightning. She caused a distraction, and then some of the others infiltrated. Since they’re under the direct command and seen as subordinates of the Valkyr Candidate, the credit went to him.”

“That’s not great, but I think we can do something about it. How spread out are they? Who remained behind to defend their Town?”

“Thinking of claiming the territory?” Olivia asked.

Isaac quickly chimed in. “Even if we took it, the Candidate would still be a Candidate because of the Celestial Town. Taking it doesn’t solve the core issue of us being outnumbered. They’ve been receiving as many reinforcements a week as we have, but now they have the numbers of the Celestial and Valkyr Factions.”

“I do understand, but we can’t sit and do nothing as they get stronger,” Aiden calmly responded. The weight of the compendium felt like lead under his arm. If he could produce the golems like he wanted, then he’d be able to even out the number issues. However, that would also require Claudia and Magnus. “What news do we have of the smiths in training?”

Olivia perked up. “Claudia has requested a meeting as soon as possible and sends her apologies for not making the meeting yesterday.”

“How’s that important right now?” Isaac asked, earning a scathing glare from Olivia. He stared back and gestured to the rest of the attending audience. “Remember, it’s not just us three here. They’ve done well to let us talk so far, but we can keep them informed. You saw how things are out there.”

“It feels like everyone out there is preparing to die,” Aiden said, turning towards the crowd for the first time. He saw the same level of grim determination in their eyes, and each person stared back at him. He saw hope and trust in them. Turning back, he continued pacing. “I’ve got a couple things in the works, but those will take time. What can we do to ensure Zion’s safety for now?”

“Truthfully, I don’t think the Valkyr will move against us until they’ve fully subjugated both the Celestials and Dragonborn. Their conflict is the primary reason the extent of aggression has been limited to small skirmishes and not a full blown conflict,” Olivia said, looking deep in thought. She stared at the floor as she continued to speak. “I think we might have to move to liberate our people from their forces as soon as possible. The Valkyr are using them as tools, and they’ll probably go along with whatever is demanded of them if it has any chance of keeping them alive.”

“I agree,” Isaac said, clenching his fists even tighter. “You haven’t had to sit by and watch what they’ve done. Even if Adam and the lot of them were jerks back at the school, nobody deserves the hell they’re being forced to experience. It’s not right, and I’ll go alone if I have to, but I won’t sit by anymore.”

Aiden nodded, pinching his chin between his thumb and forefinger idly as he spoke aloud. “Let’s identify what we can do. Just like they used a distraction to attack, we can use a distraction to get our people out. Even if their Faction Town isn’t important after acquiring the Celestial’s, I think the arrogance of the Valkyr and whoever they’re working with won’t let them just leave it be.”

He took the compendium out from where it still rested in the crook of his armpit and gave it to Olivia. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

“I took notes. Help me figure it out when you get the chance. It’s priority number one,” he said, his eyes locking her in place. “I’ll deal with the Valkyr and retrieval of our people, but while I do that, I need someone I trust helping with this.”

“Is it that important?” she asked, frowning. “If you’re just trying to protect me—”

“This is more important than anything else right now. Figuring it out is the key to our future so shit like this never happens again, ever,” he said, letting a small amount of the wrath bubbling under the surface show. She flinched away, and he clamped his iron will over the feelings. “If this wasn’t important, I wouldn’t ask you to stay. In fact, please start working on it now. Time is of the utmost importance, and I’ve detailed everything I know on the first few pages so you can get yourself up to speed. You’re a quick study, so you’ll probably figure it out way before me anyway.”

Like the others, her face set into a look of grim determination. She nodded, took the book, and disappeared into the backroom containing the Town Control Hub.

Aiden turned back to Isaac, his face set in stone. He had to keep the mask in place and display strength for the sake of his people, but the imminent conflict harkened to something deep within him—an almost bestial desire to crush the Valkyr so absolutely and inflict pain upon them manifold for what they’d done. Even if Adam and the rest of the group hadn’t chosen to come with him when he left, they were still human, and therefore, they were his people.

The Valkyr would come to fear his name.

Nobody hurt his people.

He turned towards the crowd, a plan already forming.