London — two days before the battle on the coasts of China.
The alarms began to sound almost at the same moment that the first emergency messages appeared on the assistants' screens. Within seconds, the atmosphere in the complex where the world leaders were gathered changed completely. Phones vibrated without pause, encrypted communicators flashed urgent notifications, and advisors moved quickly between the rows of representatives.
None of the leaders present yet understood what was happening.
Glances were exchanged between delegations as each leader received fragments of information transmitted by their own intelligence teams. Some listened with a deep frown; others demanded immediate explanations. Assistants murmured fragmented reports: energy anomalies detected by satellites and unusual movements recorded by different global monitoring systems.
While the leaders tried to understand the magnitude of what was happening, Ciara ÓBroin quietly left the main hall. Dmitri walked beside her with firm steps, observing every corner of the corridor as they moved toward the private area reserved for the representatives of the guardian families.
The doors closed behind them when they entered their room.
"It's time to speak with Maeve," she said calmly.
Dmitri secured the door and activated the privacy measures before Ciara initiated the communication with Ireland.
Ciara took her phone and dialed her daughter's number.
Maeve answered almost immediately.
"Mother, you're already aware of what's happening."
"Yes, I am," Ciara replied calmly. "We received the reports from Atlas' communications division. Gather everyone in the main hall. I will connect through the transmission seal in ten minutes. We need to make very urgent decisions."
"Understood," Maeve said before ending the call.
Ten minutes later, the main hall of the mansion in Ireland was already occupied.
Maeve sat beside the central table. Daniel and Orla had arrived a few minutes earlier. Arley was reviewing the latest reports on a screen while Natasha remained silent, observing the map projected before them.
A moment later, the transmission seal activated above the table.
Ciara's figure appeared before them. Everyone stood up.
"We have little time," she said bluntly. "So I'll go straight to the point."
Arley nodded and spoke.
"Natasha, show us what we know so far."
Natasha nodded, took her tablet, and continued.
"The Minamoto mansion has been attacked. The latest signals indicate combat inside the perimeter."
"And multiple infiltration attempts have been detected in facilities connected to the families."
The room fell silent.
Ciara looked at each of them before speaking again.
"This confirms what we feared," she said calmly. "If they manage to break the seal of the Minamoto mansion, the Kartnod fleet will be released, and we can no longer delay this. Let it be recorded: I, Ciara Milesnova of ÓBroin, as head of the ÓBroin family, give the order to deactivate the magical veil and activate all magical armed forces of the five families. The order is to be executed immediately."
"As you command, ma'am," they all replied in unison.
She then looked directly at Maeve.
"Maeve, I leave the family fleet under your command. You will serve as Admiral in Chief. Orla and Daniel will be your seconds. I still have matters to attend to here. Prepare yourselves, because we are at war."
ÓBROIN FAMILY RECORD
At nine hours and ten minutes on the fourteenth day of December of the year three thousand fifty-four, Lady Ciara Milesnova of ÓBroin, in her position as head of the ÓBroin family and supreme leader of the guardian families, authorized the deactivation of the magical veil that for millennia had hidden magic from ordinary humanity.
In the same order, the immediate activation of the magical maritime, aerial, and land forces deployed across different points of the planet was commanded, forces that had been preserved for generations as a containment measure in the event of a total rupture of the balance.
The transmission seal shut down and Ciara's image vanished from the table.
For a few seconds, no one spoke.
The silence in the room was not uncertainty. It was the kind of silence that appears when everyone understands, at the same moment, that something irreversible has just occurred.
Everyone understood that the moment they had tried to prevent for generations had finally arrived.
Maeve took a deep breath and stood.
"Then we begin."
Arley was already working on the communications console.
"Secure lines are open," he reported as multiple communication seals appeared above the table. "I can contact all the main houses."
"Do it."
The channels activated instantly.
One after another, the communication seals opened across different parts of the world. The emblems of the guardian families appeared above the table while the Atlas network transmitted the encrypted messages.
Maeve spoke firmly.
"This is ÓBroin. By direct order of Ciara Milesnova of ÓBroin, supreme leader of the guardian families, the magical veil will be deactivated immediately."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"All magical maritime, aerial, and land forces enter full mobilization. I repeat: full mobilization."
Confirmations began arriving within seconds.
In Russia, ancient defense systems were activating beneath hidden military installations.In Japan, the bases of the Minamoto family began deploying their combat protocols.In the United States, research centers linked to Atlas opened chambers that had been sealed for decades.In Canada, several hidden installations in the north initiated the awakening of magical containment systems.In Mexico, underground complexes connected to ancient energy nodes began activating.In southern Africa, hidden stations in desert regions awakened dimensional defense networks.And in Australia, isolated installations deep within the continent began preparing their aerial squadrons.
Systems that had remained inactive for generations were beginning to awaken.
Maeve closed the channel.
"It's time."
Minutes later, several vehicles left the mansion heading toward the coast.
The journey was short.
About ten minutes from the main residence stood a small rocky island barely visible on civilian maps. From a distance it looked like a natural formation lost in the middle of the Atlantic.
But at its center stood one of the oldest mechanisms in the world.
The seal that maintained the magical veil.
The helicopter descended onto the stone platform.
Maeve was the first to step out.
Daniel and Orla followed behind her, accompanied by several guards of the family.
Ocean winds struck the rocks as they walked toward the center of the island.
There, embedded in the black stone, lay the circle of the seal.
Ancient runes ran across its surface, forming a perfect lattice of energy.
For five thousand years this seal had kept magic hidden from the rest of humanity.
Maeve stopped before the central symbol.
She looked at her children for a moment.
Then she extended her left hand.
One of the guards handed her the ceremonial dagger.
Without hesitation, Maeve cut her wrist.
Blood fell onto the center of the seal.
For a second, nothing happened.
Then the runes reacted.
Light traveled across the entire circle as if the seal itself had awakened after centuries of silence.
Maeve's blood spread through the grooves in the stone as the system began to activate.
The ground trembled.
A wave of energy traveled across the island and expanded toward the ocean.
Far away on the horizon, the surface of the sea began to distort.
First one silhouette appeared.
Then another.
And another.
The massive steel structures began to emerge from their dimensional camouflage.
One after another, fifty destroyers appeared off the coast, aligning themselves like a floating wall.
Behind them, a much larger structure began to materialize slowly above the ocean.
A massive aircraft carrier emerged from the dimensional distortion, followed by several support vessels that took position around the fleet.
On its deck, several advanced combat aircraft could be seen lined up, ready to take off the moment they received the order.
While the seal continued to shine with intensity, the entire fleet finished appearing off the coast.
The magical veil was disappearing.
Maeve watched the horizon illuminated by the fleet's lights as the Atlantic wind moved through her hair.