September 27, 2152
A pale light peeked through the screen surrounding Emory's room and fell gently atop her covers. As it did, Emory slowly opened her eyes to look at the ceiling above before making any movements. Her body felt sore all over, though not quite as bad as the day before. So, instead of getting up and dressed, she simply sat up and began to circulate her magik throughout her body, revitalizing her muscles one area at a time. Each area took about five minutes, but when she was done, she no longer felt sore or stiff. While she was changing her clothes, a gentle tap on her door caught her attention. She called, "Who is it?"
"It's Soren," he cooed softly, "I just wanted to see if you were awake."
"One second," Emory hastily replied as she threw on a shirt quickly before rushing over to open the door. She half smiled as she opened the door and welcomed him in.
"So, this is your room," Soren remarked as he glanced around the room, "It's a decent accommodation."
Emory nodded as she began brushing her hair, "It's not much, but it is mine. What's going on?"
"I got word from Athos and Bramimond this morning," Soren started quietly, "They said our troops for training should be arriving tomorrow at all four outposts simultaneously."
"That's great news because we should finish bringing the first wave of the human army to their intended destination tomorrow too. Why do you sound so glum about it?" Emory raised an eyebrow.
"They need me back on the battlefield tomorrow," Soren frowned, "We're getting reports of an increase of Mantoan on the field. They need my help on the southern front before we lose ground and our flank."
Emory paused and sighed, "Oh. That's unfortunate. But don't worry, once we get this area secure, I can join you there."
"I know," Soren's head hung low, "I just hoped to spend more time with you." Emory reached out and put her hand on his.
"Just don't do anything reckless until I get there. That's my job after all," Emory tried to joke with him to lighten the mood. Soren forced a smile, but she could see water building up in his eyes. They sat in silence as she finished brushing her and left the room to find Tethys. As they strode through the outpost, they tightly held each other's hand, even as they approached Tethys. She smirked as she met their gaze and met them as they walked closer.
Tethys smiled, "Good morning, you two. Are you going to go get the army?"
"Yep, we just wanted to let you know before we left because we won't be coming back," Emory informed her, "We're going to head straight to Bustrun. Also, Soren found out that the Elandrian help should arrive tomorrow."
"Perfect timing. I'll let Cath know. So, you two, huh?" Tethys winked.
"Oh this?" Emory blushed as she quickly released Soren's hand, "We have just spent a lot of time together recently. Good, no great friends is all it is."
Tethys struggled to hold in her giggles, "Of course it is. Well, you two have fun and good luck." The pair awkwardly walked towards the teleport pad as Tethys stifled her laughter because they kept bumping into each other's hands as they walked away. Once they reached the pad, they disappeared in a flash of light before reappearing on one of the ark ships. The people were still shocked to see the pair but were no longer cowering at the sight of them. Then a younger man Emory didn't expect to see came through the main doors of the command center.
"Emory, you've arrived! Good to see you," Greg stuttered as he extended his hand towards them, "Based on the information from the other arks, I've already given the order to the rest of our ships to fly closer together."
"Greg, I didn't expect to see you here. You seemed like more of a 'behind the scenes' type of guy," Emory remarked in surprise as she shook his hand.
"Command Shepherd thought my planning and strategic abilities would be better suited closer to the war than from a distance," Greg explained, "After all, this is your mission; I'm just here to assist you and your team."
Emory laughed, "So you heard about what happened with Lloyd last time, huh?"
"Yes ma'am," Greg's face got red, "And it appears you've only gotten stronger since then, so I plan to try to stay on your good side."
"Just listen to Tethys and Cath, and you'll be fine. By the way, this is Soren. He's one of the commanders of our new allies. Anyway, tell the rest of the arks to cut their engines for the moment," Emory directed him. She and Soren closed their eyes and began to channel their magik while Greg gave the order to stop the engines. After a couple minutes, he gave the all clear to Emory to which she responded by emanating a growing glow from her body. As the light became too strong to look at, a quake began rumbling throughout the ship. Then the familiar pop sounded as the rumbling stopped. When the light faded, Emory stood with a beaming smile on her face, and Soren had a surprised look on his face since he was much less drained than he had been the last two times.
Greg breathed, "I was even here and saw it, but I still barely believe it. Is this the work of a god?"
"This is the work of a dragon," Emory smirked, "I trust you can take it from here. We'll be on our way." Without another word, they disappeared like a puff of smoke. Greg stood in front of the screen beaming.
"And what about you, Agent 100? Have you grown strong as well?" he whispered to himself before giving orders to start unloading the army.
When Emory and Soren landed in the snowy landscape, Soren was shocked as he looked around. Sure, he had seen snow before but never a whole world of cold and ice. Through magik, the Elandrian were able to make any planet they colonized into a veritable paradise, and every Apleem planet he had fought on was generally tropical in nature. However, this was a small sample size since humans were only the third species to try to establish a multi-system presence in the galaxy according to the Elandrian's recorded history. It made him wonder what the human settlements looked like in their home system.
A cloaked man with longer dark hair came rushing over to Emory and Soren from a group of people training a short distance away. He called, "Lady Supreme! We've been waiting for you." He bowed as he stopped a few feet away.
"Galle! Please call me Emory out here in the field," Emory smiled, "How are you adapting to life here?"
"It's quite chilly here, miss. But otherwise, Gwen and Tana are great commanders, and the training is going well," Galle commented.
"Speaking of the girls, where are they?" Emory asked, "I have some information to go over with you all."
Galle nodded, "Of course, let me take you to their private training area." Emory raised an eyebrow at the comment but decided to reserve her remarks until she fully understood the situation. Galle led Emory and Soren towards the main building, yet instead of the main entrance, he took them to a cellar door on the side. As they descended underground, the sound of fighting bellowed towards them. At the bottom of the stairs, there was a little platform and a locked door with a keypad on the side. Galle typed in the code which popped open the door where Gwen and Tana stood panting.
"Emory! Great timing, we were just finishing up," Gwen wheezed.
"What is this?" Emory wondered aloud as she stared at the room, "I see you two have been especially busy."
Tana grinned, "We set up a little practice area for sparring. Galle put repair enchantments on the surfaces, so we could have contests without destroying the surroundings. Mostly Galle, Gwen, and I have been using it, but when the big army gets here, it'll get a lot more use."
"It's good to see improvements built beyond what they had planned for this mission," Emory congratulated them, "And you two look like you've been training hard. Good job."
"Umm, Emory, who's your friend? It's rude not to introduce guests," Gwen teased.
"Sorry!" Emory's face turned red, "This is Soren. He's one of the commanders of the Elandrian."
Tana looked him up and down before spouting, "You look pretty young, Soren. Are you a genius like Emory or hiding your real age?"
"Bold of you to ask such a question," Soren chuckled before answering, "I'm twenty-nine, so I really am only as old as I look. However, I spent a decade in seclusion training, so I don't know if I'd call myself a genius either."
"Before you play fifty questions with our guest, let's move this to somewhere with chairs and beverages," Emory laughed as Gwen and Tana continued to size up Soren. Galle led the group to the Command Center. As they walked, Emory told the trio from Bustrun about her confrontation with Selena and her visit to the Elandrian home world. They were shocked by the level of automation with just magik, especially Galle and Gwen who had grown up around magik processes as part of the Council.
When they finally reached the Command Center and had drinks, Emory reached into her bag for the gifts she brought back for Gwen and Tana. Since both the ring and the sword had unique features, she went into great detail on how the items worked. Then she pulled out the last two suits of armor and waved her hand over the top of them.
"Level five protection enchantment: Arcane. Active Skill: Drain."
"Level five protection enchantment: Arcane. Active Skill: Elemental Body."
"Gwen, Drain is a simple but powerful skill, much like your ring," Soren explained, "Anytime a creature with magik comes within five feet, you can choose to start taking their magik. It's a slow, cumulative effect, so the longer they stay in range, the more you take."
Gwen took the armor and asked, "Does it stack with my ring, or can I only take magik from one source at a time?"
"No, they're two separate functions. Your ring will use their magik instead of your own; the armor steals magik and adds it to your own," Soren clarified as he put his hand on his chin, "Now that you mention it, the armor would mask the ring's skill to a point. In essence, if you only used a little from your ring, you could fool an opponent into thinking you're just draining them."
"Tana, the armor for you is very straight forward as well. Basically, you can turn your body into ice," Emory chimed in.
Soren corrected her, "Magik ice. Instead of covering yourself in ice from your magik, your body becomes magik ice itself."
"Thank you for the gifts," Tana smiled brightly, "Between the armor and the sword, I feel like a fantasy ice spirit or something. The Apleem won't know what hit them. So, what do you two have planned for the rest of the day? We could spar, two on two."
"Actually, we need to go see Ninian. We found an artifact of some sort," Emory sighed as she brought out the box and opened it for them to see. The trio's jaws dropped as they admired the incredibly beautiful crown.
"What remarkable craftsmanship," Galle whispered, "And the magik just coming off it is powerful as well. Where did you find such a piece?"
Emory answered, "In a lockbox or sorts. None of you have any ideas about this, do you?"