Darius strode back into the ancestral cavern with a purpose. "Are there any LandHealers in the Corps?" he asked Amadeus. He knew this was a long shot. Usually even if an Emerald Dragon was not born in Vedanta, they would join the local LandHealer's Guild if they manifested LandHealing.
"I don't think so, my Lord. I can't think of one," Amadeus answered. He couldn't claim to know every member of the Knight Corps, but among the ones active in Silvermoon, he was sure he would know if there was a LandHealer.
Darius nodded. "Wallace, Spencer," he called out. The two guards assembled in front of him.
"My lord," they greeted with slight bows.
"When the array activates, go back to Silvermoon. Summon a technomage from the Corps and contact the local LandHealer's Guild," he said. He gave a few more instructions and then imbued their identity tokens with his authority.
Britiana, Delaney, Evanka, and Isa had come into the main hall but Britiana had halted, waiting for him to finish making arrangements before making her presence known. "I just need ZsaZsa and Raven, and we can activate the array," she said finally as she approached her brother. Her face didn't show much, just a slightly vapid expression that gave nothing of her true thoughts away.
Darius nodded. "Delia, Alistair, find a place to set up a camp," he instructed another two guards.
"It's not safe to stay outdoors during the three nights of the full moon," Evanka couldn't help but remind them, startled at their plans.
Corven came into the main hall followed by Raven, Eve, ZsaZsa, and Lazarus. A frown graced his cold face. "Let's not meddle in their affairs. They have their own considerations," he told his wife, but his voice had softened considerably compared to his face.
He'd just spent a long time learning about these Dragons and their world called Emphyralis.
Britiana finally smiled, her eyes curving slightly. "Don't worry about us. We'll be safe," she assured the woman. She glanced around and saw that many more people had come to the ancestral hall, including many women. "Let's activate the bridge so that people can begin going over before dark," she said to her friends.
Raven and ZsaZsa nodded. Britiana led them to where the array was set up. The four found their positions in the cardinal directions and prepared to activate the spell. Spencer and Wallace followed along so that they could use it immediately.
Meanwhile, Delia and Alistair left the cave to scout for a campsite in the mountains nearby. Darius didn't have to give too detailed instructions. They understood that he would want a spot similar to their earlier camp above the fog.
A dim but eye catching purplish glow came from the chamber where the Bridge was located signifying the activation was successful. Soon, the four mages rejoined them in the main hall. "You can begin sending your people over. I told the guards to inform the Elders there that they should stay where they are for now and that their King would explain everything to them," Britiana informed the Earthborne King.
Corven studied the girl for a moment, feeling slightly displeased she used his name without permission. He didn't like it, but he learned the Dragons were a matriarchal society. While it may seem like the boy, Darius, was handling everything, the one actually in charge was this piece of fluff with big eyes and a bemused expression. However, at this time, her gaze was sharp as she returned his look. She suddenly blinked and that sharpness disappeared, making him wonder if it had ever been there.
"Very well," he finally said. He turned to his people. "Ten people at a time. We'll begin by sending the women and children first," he said. There weren't many children, but in the past forty years, a handful had actually managed to survive.
Britiana nodded and wandered off with ZsaZsa and Delaney. Raven could handle the evacuation of her people. Even just activating the Bridge, ZsaZsa had gone pale.
Without having to be instructed, Isa had set up a resting area for the tired mages with Lazarus assisting on the side, producing some invigorating tea and snacks, as if competing for most thoughtful bodyguard. This earned him a puzzled look from Isa. Lazarus just gave him an unconvincingly innocent look in return.
Darius approached the King. "I have a few questions about the technology that humans use for power," he said.
Corven frowned slightly. "I don't know much about the humans’ technology. We don't need to use it. We can see in the dark so we don't need the light at night. Even if we did, none of us live near their power plants," he explained, wondering what the relevance was.
Darius nodded lightly. "Still, you use humans as food. You have to know about the way they live. When did their technology appear?" he asked.
Corven nodded. It was true that they had to observe humans to better hunt them without being noticed. "About two hundred years ago. They found some sort of substance in the mountains and began studying it," he answered.
A hunter who was hovering nearby showed a surprised expression. "I remember that. It was actually discovered almost a hundred years before that. I was traveling around quite a bit. Once one nation found it, others began to look for it. They seemed to suspect it could be used as a powersource to replace steam, but they weren't sure of the applications yet. Soon, more sources were discovered," he seemed quite knowledgeable about the matter. Corven gestured for him to approach and say what he knew.
The hunter was glad to be helpful. He explained that the substance was hard to find at first, but eventually they managed to find several deposits on a large scale. The hunter himself didn't understand the human's technology, but first cities were powered. Then they began to build power plants at regular intervals along established train tracks that powered the trains.
Smaller cities and towns were slowly beginning to adapt the technology, but it was said to be expensive. With the environment getting worse and worse, it was becoming harder for small towns and villages to survive, much less afford this power source for lights at night and some machinery.
Although she was resting, Britiana was listening, a frown on her face getting more and more pronounced. She didn't want to speculate and neither did Darius. It was why he sent for experts in their respective fields. It was hard not to jump to conclusions, however.
"Were the power plants along the train routes built within the last forty years?" she asked quietly.
The hunter and Corven both expressed some surprise. Even though humans contained the vital energies they needed to survive, they didn't really think much of them, seeing them as something akin to intelligent sheep.
Britiana nodded seeing their reactions, but she frowned again. "What is the chronology of human history? When did they enter the bronze and iron ages?" she asked. Most intelligent races followed basic patterns of development, beginning with hunting and gathering, slowly building communities, learning to use tools, learning to plant and domesticate animals to build villages, towns, and cities. Even Dragons, with a slight head start thanks to the Dragon Gods, got to where they were after several hundred thousand years.
The hunters looked blankly at one another. They didn't pay attention to humans until they learned that they had to use them as food. Only then did they begin emulating them in order to hunt them better only about a thousand years ago. They said as much.
"Were there any strange phenomena around that time?" Amadeus asked. He'd read a travelogue as a child written by the head of a Dragon Gate exploration team. The book documented that a meteor shower had affected the races and environment on that planet several thousand years before. The races overcame the difficulties and built a new society while remembering the lessons of the past.
Again, blank expressions met this question. Evanka rolled her eyes. "We'll check the records. We should also consult the Elders Bystrika and Graylock," she said.
Darius nodded. "Fetch the Elders," he instructed Amadeus.
Amadeus nodded and went to the Bridge chamber to cut the line on his young lord's orders.
--
New Bienskurr, Emphyralis
Almost twelve hours had passed since the delegation had left for Cruinog and the Earthborne were getting restless. Even Lorena was beginning to become concerned. She put away her knitting and began to pace a bit. Niklaus watched her, trying to convince her to sit back down. She gave him a dark look.
Finally, an exclamation of excitement came when someone saw the array shimmer slightly. Lorena finally sat back down heavily. Only a few moments passed before two of the young guards who had gone to Cruinog appeared. The strong looking Spencer Ironstryke and the delicate Wallace Moonlight appeared. They had a mission, but Wallace obeyed Lady Britiana's instructions to inform the elders to stay put for now.
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"Cruinog is dangerous. Your King will be sending over the women and children soon. He'll explain everything himself when the time comes. No one should go over unless they've been summoned," Wallace explained patiently. He was an Empath, but nowhere near as strong as Lady Britiana, and the emotions that erupted at his announcement made him wince.
Spencer noticed his discomfort and scowled. "Control yourselves. Go demand answers from your King if you're bold enough. Now, excuse us, we have orders from our young lord and can't linger here," he said. He cleared a path for himself and Wallace despite the Earthborne wanting to detain them and ask more questions, especially Graylock and his people.
"Enough!" Elder Bystrika scolded. The Earthborne quickly reined in their emotions and actions and allowed the two young guards to pass. He leveled his people with a fierce look. "Something has changed. We can ask when people start coming over. Now let's prepare to settle those coming over," he began to organize the sudden relocation of his people from Cruinog.
No one would argue with him. Now that the shock passed, they understood the situation must be dire. Soon enough, the first group of women and children came over. They'd long prepared resting places within this cavern for the people coming over.
What proceeded next was a steady stream of people every ten minutes for the next hour. The person on the other end was giving them time to clear the Bridge before sending the next people through.
They were surprised when Amadeus arrived with one group. "Elders Bystrika and Graylock should come back with me before the next group comes through," he explained.
Both Elders were a bit surprised, but they quickly arranged people to take over their duties. They stood on the array with Amadeus who activated it. They disappeared in a flash. Less than a minute later, a new batch of people came through.
From the mouths of those who came through, they were learning about the state of Cruinog and the attacks by the Dullahan. Some of the women even began to whisper about the Wild Hunt. Many of them thought about it before, but were hesitant to say it, but now the relief of safety loosened their restraints, though they were often shushed by others.
None of them wanted to think about the death of the fae.
Watching from the side, looking for a certain figure was a relatively young man. He flattened his lips. "They aren't sending the banshees," he said to his wife, clenching his fist and his eyes reddened slightly. "At a time like this, are they really abandoning them?" he worried.
His Dragon wife reached out and held his hand.
The young man pale slightly.
He suddenly nodded. Their child was already visiting his wife's parents and brother in Silvermoon. If it was untenable to live here after this, they'd simply live there. They made their way to the Bridge as if trying to get a closer look. As soon as it cleared but while there was still a bit of commotion nearby they stepped onto the array and his wife activated it. She was a mage herself and had already heard Amadeus activating the array. Before anyone could react to their actions, they disappeared.
Niklaus frowned when he finally realized what had happened. Others began to complain and wanted to go as well. "Stop!" he ordered, raising his voice.
Lorena, who was nearby quickly threw out a bolt of shimmering purple cloth. It ripples as if blown in the wind and disappears from sight. Anyone who tried to come within several feet of the array felt a barrier.
"What's the meaning of this?" someone demanded.
"Do you also want to disobey the King's orders?" Niklaus demanded. "The Graylock boy had a reason strong enough to disobey. Do you?" Niklaus demanded.
That Earthborne man was someone who aligned with Elder Graylock and no longer wanted to live on Emphyralis. "What's his reason?" he demanded.
"His sister is a Banshee. No Banshees have been sent over," one of the young man's cousins answered.
Someone scoffed. "Why would they send banshees?"
"Are Banshees not our own people?" another person, who also had a Banshee relative demanded. An older man who had hoped to be reunited with his daughter almost broke down. That young man was much braver than him. His wife's eyes turned red as well and patted his shoulders.
Soon, another batch of women and some older hunters were sent over. Lorena controlled the cloth to let them through, but not let anyone else in. The argument over the banshees was disrupted as the people had to settle this group of people.
Niklaus was frowning still. If the boy had mentioned it to him, he would have arranged things. He didn't have to take the risk of angering the King. He didn't have any banshee relatives, but after what happened to his aunt turning into a Woman in White, he could understand the feelings of those with banshee relatives. He always wished there had been a way to save her.
Sensing her husband's subtle mood, Lorena reached out and squeezed his hand. He collected his emotions, squeezed her hand back, and continued to handle the relocation as if nothing happened.
--
Icestorme, Emphyralis
Darkness fell over Thale, but there were still people conducting business and millin around in the city. It took several more hours before the city fell into a quiet. It wasn't that there was no activity in private residences, but by ten or eleven evening, no one was on the streets anymore.
Therefore no one noticed the four cats that crept through the city heading toward the new transit plaza. No one noticed that each cat wore collars with little jewels embedded into them engraved with their names. No one knew that these were specially crafted storage devices just for these cats and their family.
These cats found the plaza and separated. Each cat found a specific spot. The jewels of their colors glowed and produced a crystal disc. After each disc was placed, the cats moved to different places, and produced another disk from their storage spaces. Once eight discs were placed, they glowed with a power and began connecting to each other before a shimmery octagonal wall appeared around the plaza. It was so high that they almost couldn't see the top of this octagonal place shimmer into place. The discs enclosed the plaza into an independent space. It was high level magic.
These cats who hadn't been on Emphyralis very long weren't capable of it. It was given to them by Morganna Icestorme.
Morganna was never meant to become the Countess of Icestorme. This privilege was for her cousins. At fifteen, Morganna left the general education system and joined the Icestorme Mage's Tower. After a year as a novice, she became the apprentice of the First Mage at the time. At that time, Eldrin had been the second Mage. The current second mage was just one of many mages.
Her master had been a fifth level mage, infinitely close to being able to break the space-time barrier without the need of high level spells. Then the Plague came. Her master died, her parents, aunts, uncles, older siblings, and siblings all died. Morganna gave up her dreams of being a mage and became the Countess. She inherited many things from her master, who had devoted herself to magic and didn't have any offspring.
The multi-disc formation was one of them. They could shift whatever was inside into an independant without anyone outside of it being none the wiser. She gave it to the Crowleys to help them with their covert actions of building the Bridges to the other continents.
She also supplied them with items to hide the traces of new Bridges during the day. Morganna didn't trust anyone at this moment. Not even her own Mages. The Crowleys didn't have an opinion of this one way or another. They were just doing a job they were entrusted with.
Once the formation was in place the cats turned back into women. The specially crafted storages were moved to their wrists. "Do you think we can do all five tonight?" Lysithea asked her oldest sister.
They would be quicker than Britiana and ZsaZsa in laying down the array. They had displacement skills that allowed them to move long distances instantaneously.
"Even if we can't, we will. This space will last twelve hours. If we can get each array laid within three hours, we should get it done before it stops functioning," Amalthea said. They also had to consider the time it took to rest after laying the arrays, carving them, filling them, activating them, and then camouflaging them.
Helena nodded. "Then let's get started. Phryne and I will do Starshadow. You and Lyzzie do Varmur," she said. Luckily for them, the pavilions had been labeled in both Emphyralian and Common. They split up. They disappeared and arrived on their respective platforms.
Helena and Amalthea took out the corresponding stacks of papers and began to lay the arrays. With their ability to move instantaneously, what took ZsaZsa several minutes running back and forth, took them several seconds. Amalthea was satisfied with their timing. "Let's keep up the pace. We can drink some Dragonwyne once we've laid down the marks," she said. Her sisters and niece agreed and worked hard to get done what they needed to do in the shortest amount of time.
Even though their displacement skills were innate, they were still nearly exhausted after laying the first array. Sweat wet their hair and clung to their skin. They met at the base of the pavilions. The Sunfyre and Starshadow pavilions flanked the Silvermoon pavilion. Amalthea took a large mouthful of Dragonwyne. She blew out a sharp breath. It was like fire going down, but it hit her stomach and spread warm flames through her entire body in a comforting way, almost instantly invigorating her.
"We're not overestimating ourselves, are we?" Phryne asked, even her darker complexion was pale.
"Are you okay, sweetie? Maybe I should have had Nira stay instead," Amalthea said with a frown.
Phryne shook her head. She was on par with Britiana and ZsaZsa in terms of mage tier, but unlike them, she didn't have a Dragon's stamina, her divine blood was one generation weaker than her aunts. "I'll be fine," she assured them and took a drink from her flask of Dragonwyne.
Helena patted her shoulder. "You rest a little longer. I can activate the carving alone," she assured her niece. Phryne nodded. Carving would take half an hour. Reasonably they could start the next array while the first one was being carved, but there was no need to push themselves that hard.
Amalthea and Helena went to their respective pavilions again. They spread their arms and said a spell in Emphyralian Draconic. It would take them more than a month before they learned the language of Dragons, but they knew these words. The floating lines of both pavilions began to glow and crash into the pavilions' floors.
They were used to the shaking so they rejoined their family and decided to have a snack while they rested.
Outside the transit pavilion, all was peaceful. No one knew that in the dead of night, four mages were working tirelessly to connect them to the rest of the world.
--