October 8, 2152
When Emory awoke the next day, she found a missed message from Sam blinking on her wrist. Jolting awake, she quickly sat up and read the report she had sent which caused her eyes to widen. Luckily, it wasn't a call for help; instead, they had done better than Emory's team with the invading force. But what shocked her the most was the gift Perceval had received from Myrrh. Once she reread the message a second time, she closed her eyes and found herself on the edge of her mana pool once again. She called out, "Ninian! I have an urgent question!"
A few moments later, Ninian popped into existence beside her in her mind's eye. "Emory, you called? What's wrong?" Ninian asked with a worried expression on her face.
"Are humans descended from fire children?" Emory questioned, "Also, do you know of a spell that can fix the human core problem?"
Ninian sighed, "In a way, I suppose they are, but I'm not sure of the full connection. Actually, your father was researching the answer to that question. Unfortunately, that was the reason we split up, so I don't know what he uncovered. Why do you ask?"
"There's a being who can tell the difference between humans, Elandrian, and fire children which she refers to as gods," Emory explained, "She performed a spell that sealed up his vessel and transformed it into a magik core. She also said he smells like we do."
"Hmm. Well, that sounds like my brother's work. Other than that, I don't know much more about it. We both split up to pursue our own agendas, so it sounds possible. That would also explain the presence I sensed appear in our galaxy last night," Ninian responded.
"Wait, we can test it!" Emory exclaimed, "Perceval! If you can hear me, close your eyes and imagine yourself at the edge of your mana pool." Ninian closed her eyes for a minute before she snapped her fingers. Another light, green in color, started shining brightly next to the pair of women. When it faded, Perceval stood before them, though he looked much younger than he had the last time Emory saw him. His blonde hair which bordered white before was now a deep golden color, and the wrinkles that once covered his skin were now gone as well.
Perceval blinked a few times before slowing asking, "Where am I? What is this? I thought I heard Emory's whisper, so I followed the voice's instructions."
"It must be true; you really are a new kind of fire child," Ninian gasped, "We are the only ones with this kind of telepathy. But how is this possible?" She eyed him up and down before moving around him while continuing to inspect him.
"Perceval, it seems that whatever spell Myrrh used changed you into what I am. Not a Hexblood but something called a fire child. There's a lot to go over, but unfortunately, we don't have time to go over it now," Emory beamed as she put her hand on his shoulder.
"This is the power you feel all the time?" Perceval's eyes widened, "No, what I'm feeling is only part of the power you feel. Still, I feel the power in me continuing to rise. I'm at a loss for words."
Ninian reached out her hand towards Perceval and inquired, "Would you mind if I inspected your core? I'd like to see the spell this person used on you." After Perceval nodded, Ninian delicately pressed her hand against his chest and closed her eyes. A couple of minutes later, she removed her hand and shook her head. "That's indeed my brother's work, but I don't recognize the spell which doesn't surprise me," Ninian informed them, "In theory, you could use this spell on any human to transform them into another one. However, the closer a person is to this state, the smoother the process will go. And I'm not sure how well this will work on Hexbloods as they already have a borrowed core."
"What does this mean for me?" Perceval questioned.
"At the very least, there are three major benefits you should notice over the next few days," Ninian rubbed her chin, "First, your body is restructuring into a magik body; typically, we are immune to damage below fifth level spheres. Second, because you have a magik core now, you should see your effective sphere level grow to ten for a single sphere or fifteen while using your True Form. Though I'm not sure if you should use your True Form around allies for the time being as ours is much different than humans. Third, you should start to sense your gift. My gift is Clairvoyance, so I can tell you have the Vitality gift, a rather rare one. It means you have unlimited stamina which means you won't tire no matter how long you cast magik as long as you have some. Finally, you can now draw in magik continuously which is a result of having a fully formed core. If it wasn't fully formed, you wouldn't have that ability."
Tears streamed down Perceval's face as he replied, "Thank you for telling me. I can't believe this is happening, to be honest."
"Take some time to come to terms with it," Emory grinned, "I'll check in with you both soon, but for now, I need to get back to the others. Perceval, if you need to reach me, stand before your mana pool and call out to me." She bowed to the pair before blinking a few times and returning to Nephenee's bed. With the wonderful news she had received, she had a bounce in her step as she quickly got ready for the day.
Once she was ready, she set off to find Clarine, Innes, and Nephenee. As she walked out into the camp, she saw the rest of the army had woken up as well, which didn't surprise her given the star was already fairly high in the sky. Eventually, she found Innes and Nephenee near the outdoor mess hall eating breakfast.
Nephenee waved, "Good morning, Emory. Have some breakfast and sit with us." Emory waved back, grabbed some food, and sat down across from the pair. It was a plain breakfast with dried fruits and dry bread, but it was still better than food pills.
"Where did the food come from?" Emory questioned as she sat down, "More gifts from our allies?"
"Lady Clarine had it sent over from her clan. It sure beats food pills. How did you sleep?" Innes answered happily.
"Good. I checked in with Gatrie and Sam's outpost this morning, and it sounds like they did better than we did with Myrrh's help," Emory replied, "How have things gone here since last night?"
Nephenee smiled, "No more incidents since you left. It seems like they were not prepared for us to be so capable in the dark. My aunt is in the Command Center watching their movements."
"So, what's the plan for today, Emory?" Innes asked, "It doesn't look like they plan to attack anytime soon."
"After we finish, let's go to the Command Center. I want to see what kind of defenses they've set up. Then we'll probably send some scout teams to get the full picture of their camp. Ideally, we'll finish them today or tomorrow," Emory carefully explained.
With that thought in mind, they quickly finished eating and headed off to the Command Center. Just as they had said, Clarine was already there studying the Apleem outpost. She greeted them heartily as they entered the room and hovered around her to study the materials she was looking at.
For better or worse, the Apleem hadn't set up any automated defenses or even walls to block people from coming in. The land around them was rather marshy, so they had a little bit of natural protection. Otherwise, their only defense was a rotating list of guards which patrolled the grounds around the tipped-up dreadnoughts. Still, only one percent of their remaining troops was involved in the rounds while the rest of them were inside the ships.
Clarine pointed to one of the photos, "They've got a solid guard rotation. And since they're in a small area, they have more than enough troops on patrol."
"Combined with the lack of large trees or really any substantial cover, it'll be difficult to launch a surprise attack," Innes added, "Our best option may be just a normal frontal attack."
"We can't wait for them to prepare much longer either. Since it doesn't look like they're coming to us, we need to go to them," Nephenee mused.
"Let's suit up then," Emory prodded, "Jask, send a message to the troops; we'll move out in half an hour. This ends today." When she said the last three words, her eyes flared gold and a slight pressure came outwards from her body. The others shivered for a moment before they nodded their heads.
Since Emory was already wearing all her armor, she headed straight to the entrance of the outpost and meditated. She practiced the technique Ninian had taught her because it required virtually no stamina. That was important so she wouldn't tire herself out before they attacked the Apleem. As she continued training, soldiers started showing up a little at a time at first. However, it was a steady stream of people that didn't stop until the full thirty minutes had passed. Just like yesterday, she had assembled the whole army except the Elandrian, Witches, and the twenty-three students from the original squad.
With the entire army assembled and her three leaders beside her, the army marched towards the Apleem outpost. The enemy had landed about seven miles away, so with their marching pace, it would take roughly two hours to arrive. Since the Apleem had landed at the river delta, the army began to spread out as they got closer. This formation would allow them to cut off any potential escape routes and provide adequate protection for the ranged troops as well.
Besides the sound of metal army jingling, a deep silence overtook the army the farther they went away from their outpost. And as time ticked on, the weight of what they were about to do only pressed down harder on all of them. Still, if they prevailed today, it would cement their position as a real force in the war to come as opposed to a token force of the Elandrian. Then they arrived at the crest of the hill overlooking the enemy and surveyed the scene before them.
Although they had pictures of the enemy outpost, they didn't prepare the humans for the true nature of the landing. First and most importantly, the ships up close were absolutely massive, stretching a couple thousand feet into the air and a few hundred feet across. They were a bit bigger than the ark ships humanity had just created, and they weren't even the biggest ships the Apleem had. The exterior was made of a shiny black metal that looked similar to tungsten carbide and completely devoid of any obvious windows or structural weaknesses. But what was more horrifying was the dark stain on the land emanating from the ships that couldn't be seen in the photos. All the plants that once blotted the surface of the swampland had wilted and died in the day since they had landed.
Anger surged in Emory's heart at the sight which was shared by many of the soldiers. Magik began to pour out of her and blanket the field while her eyes began to glow brightly. As it touched the diseased ground, new life began to pop up along the marsh edge. Since they were only a mile away from the ships, the Apleem had been alerted to their presence. Strangely, no more troops came out of the ships, and the patrolling forces only reacted by staring at the army that had surrounded them. Or rather, they weren't staring at the army as a whole but at Emory's growing red face. She pointed her palm towards the ships in the distance and began forming a basketball-sized orb in front of it. With a terrifying roar, Emory yelled, "How dare you pollute this land! You are nothing more than a blight upon the land!"