"An interesting question, what brought it on?" Sylara asked.
"The fact that we almost died because of one yesterday."
"I’ve got bad news for you - that wasn’t an Ancient one."
"It looked like one, but it was just an avatar bearing a fraction of its soul. If it was the real thing, I wouldn’t have been able to dispatch it with a single strike, those guys are pretty tough."
So the creature that was able wipe them out in a second was just an insignificant pest compared to the real Ancient ones - wonderful.
"If they’re so overwhelmingly powerful, how do the Blightborn deal with them?" Elira asked.
"They don’t. Those beasts are just as much of an issue for them."
The alchemist frowned.
"I thought that with enough power they could control any corrupted creature - are there no Serakhiin strong enough to face them?"
’When did she learn that?’ Calen thought.
Geodor was the one to respond:
"The relationship between the Blight and its carriers is a complicated and multilayered one, at least according to what we’ve observed. It follows a strict hierarchy, which isdependent on length on exposure to the corruption, as well as the aptitude of the individual."
"They can’t control the Ancient Ones because they were with the Blight longer that they have been." Isara guessed.
"That’s one part of it, yes, but there’s in fact a second, much more important reason." The old mage leaned in his chair. "From all our tests, observations and everything we’ve got from Blightborn prisoners, it appears that the old beasts aren’t actually corrupted."
"How is it possible?"
"Good question, there are a few theories, but frankly none of them makes any sense. If I had to suggest a possible cause, it would be that the Ancient Ones come from a source much older and powerful than Blight."
"But why would they follow the corruption then?"
"That I do not know, but since they don’t appear to possess any higher cognitive functions, it must be instinctual."
That was strange to say the least, the most feared predators that appeared during the invasion were apparently a completely separate issue.
"So they won’t go away even if we cleanse this world of corruption?" Calen asked.
Sylara shook her head.
"They still follow the Blight, when it’s gone they’ll leave as well."
"How did you learn so much about them anyway? I understand their behaviour during night, or even their interactions with the Blightborn - but how in the Sun’s name do you know about their relationship with worlds consumed by Blight?" Elira queried.
"Let’s just I have... contacts in higher places"
’She certainly likes to act mysterious...’ Calen rolled his eyes.
"Lydia mentioned that there might be some Blightborn nearby, since your illusion got disrupted, but we haven’t seen a single one - did you already deal with them?" Isara changed the topic.
"You might have not seen the Serakhiin, but you certainly ran into their pets." Alison responded.
"...the Garbors?" Calen guessed.
"What else? Whenever they release their little scouts they remove anything bigger than a Scratcher from the area."
"So those things are supposed to be looking for you?"
"They’re one of the few corrupted creatures which can see through illusions, but they need someone supervising them so are probably two or three Blightborn out there as well."
"How could a herd this big be controlled by so few people?"
"Their mounts can act like shepherds if need be, and they have a bone whistles that scares the fuck out of all the lesser monsters, and deters anything bigger."
"Ally, language!" Tiana looked at the younger woman with a disapproving glare.
Alison shrugged, but Calen could see in her eyes she was slightly embarrassed by the admonishment.
"What are you going to do if they manage to find you?" Elira asked with concern.
"We’ll move." Tiana shrugged.
"You’ll leave this fortress behind? Just like that?"
"You should explain properly dear, we don’t want any misunderstandings" Sylara smiled at Tiana
’look who’s talking...’
Geodor was the one to offer a clearer picture:
"Just like in Greenheart, the main defensive array of the city has a few unique features - the difference is that while their was cobbled together as a last resort, our was designed by experts during the golden era of the Sun Kingdom, and is therefore much more impressive."
The grand mage smiled ruefully.
"Right, what was I- ah, the enchantments. The most impressive ability of this fortress and the city it contains, is the power to teleport anywhere in vicinity of the Emberwall."
"... that’s an incredibly powerful enchantment." Isara commented.
Regular warp gates that could teleport a single person were already considered an enormous feat of magical engineering and cost a fortune to build - Calen couldn’t imagine how complex and expensive was one that could transport an entire city.
"It’s indeed very impressive, but still it has a few issues. For one, it takes several months of all our mages charging it day and night to activate it. Then there’s the matter of location restrictions to consider, the mountain we attach ourselves to has to match certain criteria-"
"Geo, how about you don’t reveal all of our most guarded secrets to a bunch of people you’ve met an hour ago?" Alison snapped.
Sylara lifted up her hands.
"It’s fine Ally, even if they wanted to, I don’t think they would be able to do anything to the array. Besides, the chances that they will betray us are astronomically small."
"But not zero." Alison argued.
"How many times did you have to activate the enchantment so far?" Calen interjected.
"Three, but it’s about to be four because of Geo’s stupid trainee." The Capitan snarled.
"I told you many times before, and I’ll say it again - I submitted a request for Konrad to be detained twice, but someone at the logistics kept rejecting the paperwork-" The Grand Mage sounded quite annoyed.
"Now hold on old man, the fact that you can’t keep your students in check is hardly my problem, if you can’t do that then maybe you shouldn’t teach in the first place." Tiana responded in an agitated voice.
"He was clearly unwell, and shouldn’t have been admitted into the program in the first place, it’s your people’s fault that this tragedy happened!"
The table descended into a full blown argument between Geodor and Tiana, with Alison throwing in snarky remarks every now and then.
Calen could swear he could see a vein pop up on Sylara’s forehead.
"Enough!" It was the first time the Guardian raised her voice. "You all act like children, take some responsibility for once. We’re all at fault for this incident - yes, even you Ally, don’t act like it doesn’t concern you, the city guard failed that day."
She exhaled sharply, and addressed the party:
"I’m afraid we’ll have to cut our meal short, as any further discussion will only agitate them more. The food will be delivered to your room." Sylara turned to Alison. "Accompany them, you’ll have some time to think about what you did."
There was a storm brewing in the Capitan’s eyes, but she obeyed the order without commenting.
"...what happened with that trainee? It seemed like a big issue." Isara asked cautiously.
Alison looked like she was about to yell at her, but then decided against it, and sighed.
"Konrad was a mage-in-training who has lost his family not long before taking the apprenticeship. He was quite talented, but unstable mentally - we don’t know what happened exactly, but it seems like someone else convinced him he could use the array to bring back his loved ones."
"But it obviously didn’t work."
"No. instead it killed hundred and nineteen people who were working nearby, and destabilised the illusion protecting us for almost a month. Geo and Tiana are both pissed at each other for allowing it to happen, but just like Lady Sylara said, were all responsible."
"I don’t see where’s your fault on alm of this." Calen scratched his head.
"My subordinates were the ones to let him inside the restricted section of the array, if I was more strict in enforcing the rules this wouldn’t have happened." Her eyes darkened and she added in a quiet voice: "I can’t do that now, dead men don’t follow orders."
"Just like Konrad, you can’t change the past - but you can influence the future. Learn from your mistakes and build a stronger foundation for a better tomorrow." Elita put her hand on the Capitan’s shoulder.
"Thank you... I’m sorry I don’t know your name."
The Alchemist smiled.
"I’m Elira, but you can call me Ellie."
The three of them were back in their room, snacking on the cold remains of the breakfast.
"Why is Geodor called a ’grand mage’? How is it different from an Archmage?" Elira asked.
"’Grand mage’ is just a title bestowed upon the head magic user in a city or kingdom, it doesn’t carry any weight since it’s technically just a function - many grand mages are Archmages, but it’s not a requirement, Geodor isn’t one for example." Calen explained.
"He’s old - Archmages don’t have a strictly limited lifespan and can appear as any age. Who in their right mind would want to be old?" Isara said.
"Huh. Anyway, what are we supposed to do now? Cass will get here in the evening, and it seems like Lady Sylara doesn’t have any plans for us until then."
"We can do whatever we want I guess"