“Yuri…you began hostilities already without going through the formalities,” Marron sighed. “I don’t really blame you given your spotty education, but whatever possessed you to begin by using a powerful spell? And for that matter! Since when did you initiate into Sorcery?”

“Indeed! I’d like to know that as well!” Eilis Merill said cheerily. “Nevermind the formalities, they began this without just cause, so we’re within the proper, civilised response.”

“This still sets a bad tone, especially since we’re in a weaker position,” Constable Andersen noted, but she didn’t look too sorry about it, actually. In fact, there was a light of hope burning behind her eyes.

It wasn’t Aspiration, was it? Did she unconsciously revert her Mien back to its original form? The difficulty with the Mishala Mien was that there was nothing to observe when she envisioned her Anima, and if not for the Mishala Clan’s education, she wouldn’t even have known about the inherent ability. She felt at the pulses though, she could do that much, and noted that yes, the Mien had somehow reverted back to Charm.

The first few times she switched her Mien’s focus had been more fumbling around than anything else. She still hadn’t really gotten the hang of switching out, and it took several minutes to get to the right mindset.

That was the key, actually. Mindset. It was all about how she felt and what she wanted to happen. The annoying thing was that the Charm aspect was the default, meaning if she wasn’t in the Inspire or Terror mindset, it came back to that.

Anyway, she wanted to change to Inspire, but circumstances weren’t quite right for it, so she had little choice but to let it be. At least, it was easier to restrain the Mien, and by focusing it on someone, the effects were less on everyone else. So, she focused it on her brother, mainly to get him to stop being so grouchy, ehehehe.

While she was lost in thought, Andersen leaned over the railings and stared at the distant fiery hilltop. Marron grumbled under his breath but didn’t say anything else to Yuriko. Instead, his fingers rubbed the handle of his Plasma Caster absently as his eyes glowed with purple Animus.

“They were trying to set up an artillery platform,” Yuriko said.

“You’re right. But it doesn’t look like they’ll stop anytime soon. Well done seeing and reacting to this,” Constable Andersen said, “even if it was a bit…” She trailed off and shook her head. “It looks like we’ll have to rely on you to destroy the rest.”

The army outside the walls…aside from the units near the hill, none of the others reacted much. She realised that she could also attack the encampment, and when she mentioned it to the others, Marron said, “Don’t waste your strength. We don’t know how many Adepts they have, or how many Masters are part of this group.”

Yuriko frowned. Faron’s Crossing only had one Knight-Captain, Virgil Davar, but he wasn’t here right now. Three or more Knights should be able to match up to a Knight-Captain, but with how few there were in town, this was looking somewhat grim. Given the fact that their army outnumbered them nearly seven to one…

“Yuriko, focus, please,” Spellweaver Merill snapped her fingers a few inches from her face. Yuriko blinked in surprise, not just because of the action, but that her perceptive aura didn’t notice it…for that matter, her Anima was wavering and her mind kept wandering.

“Is this the first time you’ve cast a spell?”

“Spell?” Yuriko murmured. Was it Sorcery? But… “Was that a Spell?”

Her mind reeled. Didn’t she already know it was a spell? How though?

“You didn’t know?” Spellweaver Merill tilted her head in confusion. “You spent nearly ten minutes shaping the ambient Chaos around you into that blast.”

“Ten minutes!” Yuriko gasped. It hadn’t felt that long. She thought she used about a minute or so, but not ten.

“At least ten, actually,” Eilis said sheepishly. “I mean I only noticed it ten minutes ago. A bright light like that is quite rare on the night of the Dark Moon. Anyway, your mental energy must be exhausted, since what you did was free Shaping. You need to rest and meditate. Then, envision your Anima and see if your efforts managed to create a Sorcerous Implement.”

“Eh, what’s that?”

“If you have it, you’ll know. Come, let’s get you back to your home. Marron, do you mind taking over this district?”

“Not at all,” Marron replied absently. He was gazing intently to the south, waiting for the Federation’s reaction. But none was forthcoming, not tonight at least, Yuriko felt.

Tomorrow, there will be Chaos.

The two of them walked slowly down the internal staircase. Yuriko finally realised the depths of her exhaustion when her vision blurred and she almost missed a step. She gritted her teeth, shook her head and tightened her focus and managed to get to the ground level without tumbling.

However, the strange thing was that her Radiant Essence continued to produce excess energy, and that excess was taken in by the Radiant Body Refinement’s circulation. Even though her Resistance aura was off, the Radiant energy dove into the depths of her body, and slowly ground away at it, replacing what was there with Radiance. A couple of blocks later, all exhaustion was gone, and Yuriko shook off Eilis’ helpful hand.

“I’m feeling better, thank you.”

“You sure?” Eilis asked curiously. “Exhaustion of Will usually takes a day or so to recover from. Most sleep it off and the next day usually brings clear thoughts.”

“Well, I was feeling a bit muddled a while back, but I feel better now.”

“I see. Then, I guess I can answer some of your questions if you’ll answer mine.”

“Sure.”

“Thank you. Well, first off, how did you do such a thing?”

“How? I mean I just used my Ennoia…”

“You’ve touched upon one?” Eilis gasped. “So young!”

“Oh, uhm, my friend Gwendith touched upon her Ennoia, too, and earlier than I did. We’re the same age,” Yuriko grinned.

“Remarkable.” Eilis shook her head. “Wait, Gwendith Sharine? The Sharine Earl’s granddaughter?”

“Yes.”

“Wow,” Eilis muttered while looking lost. “And I haven’t even come close.” She laughed. “True Sorcery requires it, you know. Otherwise, when you try to bend the ambient Chaos to your Will, without any aid, you’re more likely to become Chaos touched.”

“Uhm, alright…but what was that you mentioned, Sorcerous Implements?”

“It’s the Anima form of your Spell.” Eilis shrugged. “I’ve been struggling to become a Jade Circle Sorceress myself, and I’ve read all the details. It took you that long to Shape a single spell, but with the Implement, it allows you to cast the spell quickly enough to be viable in combat. Of course, the spell will be weaker than when you Shape it like before, but it's either speed or power.”

Yuriko nodded. So she had finally trod on the path Mum had set out for her. Soon enough, she found herself in front of her house.

“Thank you, Spellweaver Merill,” Yuriko said.

“Just Eilis. You’re a Knight as well, and a neophyte Sorceress. We’re colleagues now. Go rest. Tomorrow is sure to bring its own challenges.”

______________

The molten remnants of Steam Cannon No 3 was surrounded by blackened earth. The surface had sunk several paces down, mainly because the slope allowed the liquid fire to flow downhill. The metal was still tinged orange, and every now and then, flames would burst from it.

Commander Frederik Holster bit the bottom of his lip, and he wanted to let out a resounding curse. However, Commander Nikolas Campbelle of Kadrac was right next to him. The relationship between each city-state of the Federation was a complex thing.

The most war-like amongst them was Ivala, but Kadrac was rather competitive too. The city-state’s character mirrored its Prince, who was someone who did everything with the fullest gusto. If one was to wage war, one must devote one’s entire being to winning, and if one was to raise cattle, then one must raise the best-tasting ones in the plane.

Ever since word of his daughter’s capture, Nikolas had been driven. Everyone knew it was foolish to siege the Watchtower. Its depths held too many secrets, and the structure itself could hold against anything the Tidelands threw at it, much less, humans.

Anyway, Frederik mused, the events of the night either meant that Faron’s Crossing would resist to the last, or they were trying to frighten the combined army off. A Sorcerer could help mount an effective defence since the assault command group didn’t have one of their own. Sorcerers were as rare as Grandmasters, the number of which could be counted on the fingers of a single hand. The fact of the matter was, support from Ekelus and Garamus was the most the eastern cities could give, and of course, support from their allies in the Tellurian and the Asheron Court.

However, that was like allying with a ravening beast. Sooner or later, it would turn on them and devour them.

Frederik didn’t know what the First Councilor planned, but the ancient treaties between the then seven tribes bound the spirits of their people. It was time to reclaim this plane from the invaders, and the keys to unshackle Rumiga lay within the Watchtower and the caverns underneath the Verdanian city.

A conundrum, wasn’t it? How to attack the Watchtower successfully when no force has ever breached the main tower. There have been several times when the walls had been breached but never had anyone entered the tower itself unless invited. Ancient wards ensure its sanctity, and the addition of the Verdanian Gemheart laid the foundations of a powerful Domain. Fortunately, the Verdanians' lack of manpower meant that only a Knight-Captain would be stationed there. And now, that Knight-Captain had disappeared.

There was that pesky Chaos ship anchored to the tower, but if this campaign went right, then they would be a non-issue. Now if only…

“What does this mean for the plan?” Nikolas asked.

Frederik merely shook his head, “Nothing really changes.”

“Proceed with the challenge and the assault?”

“Do you think they’ll answer?”

Frederik snorted. “Look at their defences. A single-layer wall around the entirety of the town, and it’s barely five paces high. Your rangers could make that jump easily.”

“Field raptors are precious,” Nikolas answered coldly. “We will not risk them so easily.”

“Regardless, we outnumber them greatly.” Frederik swallowed, “As long as their populace don’t pick up the spear.”

His counterpart nodded. That was why they didn’t press the assault immediately. The Verdanians…they could all use Animus to a certain extent, and each of them was a reserve fighter. A direct thrust at a civilian population would galvanise them into an entire unit, and instead of the five hundred or so militia, they would be faced with a powerful and desperate force of seven or eight thousand.

Corner a man and one would find out just how dangerous desperate people were. So, instead of pushing them to the wall with a dagger to the throat, they intended to bombard their defences to rubble.

But it looked like the Steam Cannons needed a better emplacement. The other eleven wagons were already being towed away, and the new emplacement would be behind a hill instead of on top of it. The only reason they hadn’t before was the ease of targeting and the belief that the town didn’t have Plasma Carronades.

The Protective Dome was powered by a single Animus engine, but extended use of it required Chaos Shards. With how close the town was to a Tideland, their stockpile now must be deep enough to last them throughout a siege. Especially after going through a Wyldling Wave just a couple of years ago. If they weren’t so foolish as to send away all of their loot. That was the reason for the cannons. Now, they had to be wary of counterattacks from the Sorcerer. He was confident that his cadre of Adepts would be enough to ward off the remaining Knights from the town. Nikolas was close to becoming a Master, while he was an Adept. He had the nominal command though.

That was why, the next morning, the battalions had formed up into loose squares and marched into the field.

Animus gathered into his throat and his next words reverberated across the town.

“People of Faron’s Crossing! We of the Federation give you a chance now. We are not asking you to surrender, but to face our might openly across the field. We give you this chance to offer a proper battle!”