Spellheart 9: Chapter 48 (Patreon)

After pooling efforts with my friends, building bunkers became a lot easier. The days following the disaster in the capital turned into weeks, and our aid workers there shifted from immediate relief to long-term reconstruction.

Most of the other clans went home, but I kept the connection to the Hearthwood open. It was a positive experience for my newer family members. I didn’t like the sterile upbringing of study and martial training most larger clans used for their new young members.

I’d met too many of them who’d been arrogant and thought nothing of the struggles of ordinary elves. They were powerful and yet ignorant, which was a dangerous combination. I didn’t want that for my children. They should understand and appreciate the common elf's struggles.

While I spent my time physically moving earth and building, the underground areas the bunkers would actually go, Dean used his spatial magic to fold the areas smaller and tighter.

I would build something roughly the size of a football field, and then he would bundle it up until it was a pocket of space no larger than a shower stall. Though this would cut off the connection to ambient zeal, it would make the bunkers much harder for a horde of angry golems roaming overhead to detect.

Sam was able to add an extra layer of protection with his Fate cultivation. While he couldn’t dig or twist space, he could distort probability and look into the future. We’d make sure to put the bunkers in places that he said were unlikely to be found, and after we finished construction, he layered on more fate magic to hide the bunkers further.

All in all, it was a remarkably solid combination, and we took a brief tour around my subordinate factions such as the Ancient Tree Temple, Lifekeeper Sanctum, and all the other regions busy building their own bunkers. Given the same treatment, they might just be able to make it through this disaster.

All bets would be off if one of those enormous one-eyed interdimensional golems showed up, but the elves staying in these bunkers would be for Heartwielders, Mage Acolytes, and some of the poorer True Mages. They wouldn’t be worth one of those things showing up. Everybody stronger than that would be well advised to head to the Primordial World and take shelter there. According to Sam and Dean, many already had.

It would have been a pleasant stay in the capital with my friends if not for Queen Lyanva. I had to pay careful attention to her locations at all times because she was quite intent on asking for details about my relationship with Tivana.

And just telling her we were doing well wasn’t enough. She wanted all the spicy details, right down to repeating her request to watch the two of us go at it. I could only think of so many polite ways to turn her down. So I had to do my best to make myself scarce when she came knocking. Thankfully, Sam seemed to understand and cast that same probability-altering spell on me.

Back in the Hearthwood, safety drills became a daily part of life. Elves, both newly manifested and longtime citizens, practiced the route to the nearest bunker, face grim as word of what happened at the capital spread thanks to all the aid workers who’d seen the destruction first hand.

Meanwhile, I made sure my family knew to rush into The Wanderer. I trusted the ship’s ability to survive the Planetary Defense Array’s attention more than anything Sam, Dean or I could make. After all, we’d found human artifacts from who knew how long ago, and they were in better shape than most of the elven ruins.

With the immediate crisis managed and the defensive measures in place, I was finally able to turn my attention back to my personal activities. And right now, that meant my doppelganger.

“What do you think, Dean? Has he stewed enough?” I asked.

Dean shivered. “I don’t know, man. You can’t trust a guy who doesn’t want a little lovin’. Who knows what he could be thinking? He’s basically an alien.”

“Well... alien or not, it’s past time we check in on him.”

The two of us walked up to my Personal Chambers. “Mac, open up the door for me, please.”

I found my evil twin sitting in the chair in my room, much as he had before. His eyes were closed, and he was quietly cultivating. He’d long since stripped the chamber of any and all ambient zeal, which meant there couldn’t be much to do except work on furthering his concept of Strength. Either that or work on picking up a new one.

He opened his eyes and looked up as Dean and I entered.

“Welcome back. Come to make the most of our last meeting?” my twin asked.

I chuckled. “Oh, I still have many more interrogations planned. I hope you had some time to think while you were here by yourself.”

“Plenty. Ask your questions. Make the most of this time we have left.”

My grin dropped. “Why are you so certain that you’ll be out of here soon?”

“Because you’ll pay the price for remaining so passive. Building bunkers, really?” My doppelganger raised an eyebrow.

I felt a chill crawl up my spine. How did he know what I’d been up to the last few weeks? I quickly checked in with Mac, who confirmed that my doppelganger had received no visitors. So, how had he known about the attack on the capital and my current bunker-building project?

“No one is more concerned about the defense of the Hearthwood than I am. That’s why I’m building the bunkers. That way, I’m ready for anything that comes our way.” There was an edge to my voice. Once again, he'd caught me off guard.

My doppelganger shook his head. “Were I in your shoes, I would not waste time building bunkers. You know the names and faces of the enemy. Crush them. Only then will you be safe.”

I laughed. “If someone of my level could destroy the Planetary Defense Network, it would have long since been disabled. It would swat both me and you aside like a bug.”

“It is a tool that lies in the hands of your enemies. They will use it against you. Your bunkers will not be enough when they direct it to attack us. Or when they attack us themselves.”

I rolled my eyes. “Who are these enemies you’re talking about? And just how are they going to send the Planetary Defense Array our way?”

“Someone sent the dragons toward the Hearthwood. You shifted the planet to prevent it. But they could use the same trick again. Or they could simply send their forces to crush this city to rubble.”

My brows tightened. “You know who did that?”

“I know our enemies. The Cult of the Unblinking Eye and the Satyr King both have the means and will. It could have been either.”

I scoffed. “So you don’t know who did it.”

“Does it matter?” My doppelganger rose to his feet. “We know who might have done it. We have targets. It's best to destroy both of them.”

I sighed. “You know, I feel bad for you. I really do. You’re nothing more than a murder bot. It’s a sad way to live.”

His eyes lingered on mine. “You will know true tragedy soon. Mark my words.”

I turned, deciding to mark this down as one more unproductive interrogation, just like all the ones before it. “Maybe you’ll start talking sense the next time we meet.”

Dean glanced between me and my evil twin. “Uh, good talk, robot Theo.”

“Goodbye, Dean.”

Mac shut the door behind me and cut the Personal Chambers off from the Hearthwood.

“That guy has a way of really putting me on edge...” I muttered to Dean as we left.

Dean chuckled. “Yeah, well, I guess I know why you’re so paranoid. You literally do it to yourself.”

***

Before the sunset, my evil twin’s dark prophecy came true. Disaster came for the Hearthwood without any warning.

I was going to work my frustrations off with a bit more Dual Cultivation with my matriarchs when an alarm blared loud through the Hearthwood.

I opened my window and bent my ear to hear whispers of conversation, hoping I could figure out what it was about. I was pretty sure that I didn’t have another bunker drill scheduled for tonight, but I’d delegated enough of that task by now that I couldn’t be sure.

What I heard was mostly the dull chatter of thousands of voices, all speaking over one another. Night never truly came for the city since, by now, we’d reached enough size to develop a nightlife. More than that though, at higher cultivation levels, elven bodies needed less sleep, and eyes pierced the darkness much better, so the higher-leveled cultivators were usually up and about later than the rest.

Many stores catering to more powerful cultivators didn’t open until the sun set when the heartwielders and mage acolytes had gone to bed.

The conversation was dying out already by the time I listened to it. The blare of the sirens was supposed to catch everyone’s attention and wake those who’d fallen asleep.

“Is this another drill? We’ve never had one at night before.”

“Perhaps it’s the real thing. We’d best get to the bunker ahead of everyone else. They might shut the doors early. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“Is anyone else feeling sleepy? Really sleepy?”

I used all my Mind-magic-enhanced thinking speed to puzzle through thousands of comments, but that last one caught my attention. She sounded tired. Quite tired. And yet, when I extended my senses toward her, I sensed a true mage of decent power.

She should only feel that tired after a long day of work or battle. Something was wrong, and there was one thing that could put a True Mage to sleep rather easily.

Mind magic.

Sure enough, I found a thin blanket of Mind magic settling over her. No... it was settling over the entire Hearthwood!

Someone powerful was trying to put the whole city to sleep. And if Mac hadn’t caught them, I might not have noticed until the entire city had collapsed where they stood.

I was out the door in seconds and spinning mind magic of my own to counter the effect. If whoever was attacking us wanted the Hearthwood asleep, I planned to keep everyone awake.

The trouble was that I was up against a spell, and a powerful one at that. Spreading this much power over the entire Hearthwood would take a Demigod. Or several Demigods working together.

My mind went back to the Cult of the Unblinking Eye. I’d sent a letter explaining everything about Ethan's unfortunate demise to them, but it seemed like they weren’t satisfied with it. If this wasn’t them, I didn’t know who else it could be.

The problem with trying to counter the mind magic I was up against was primarily one of speed. I could dismiss all the hostile mind magic with a bit of concentration, but my opponents were clearly using a practiced and defined spell. Something ingrained into their cultivation so keenly it was fast and efficient and could be used without thinking. The process I’d come up with for dismissing their sleep spell was anything but.

Getting through everyone in the Hearthwood would take weeks, and I suspected I didn’t have weeks.

“Mac! This isn’t working. We need to try something new. Expel as much mind magic as you can from the ground. That should weaken the spell. Then keep those sirens going and try to get as many people as you can to the bunkers. Make sure every member of my family is in The Wanderer.”

[Consider it done. The Wanderer is impenetrable to foreign magic, so Sava in the Alchemist’s Laboratory and Argona in the Drafter’s Study are unaffected.]

“Good. Now, I need you to direct me to my companions. And warn Sam and Dean in the capital that the Hearthwood is under attack by mind magic!”

The elves that were still awake enough to make their way to the bunkers did so, though unfortunately, all the Mage Acolytes and Heartwielders who were still asleep in their beds wouldn’t be waking even if someone were to barge into their rooms and stab them. On top of having a lower cultivation base and less innate resistance to hostile spells, they’d already been asleep. The sleeping spell had been twice as effective on them.

I’d need rescue teams. The obvious people to turn to were my matriarchs. They were powerful enough to make a difference. Plus, I really wanted to make sure they were alright. The anti mind magic amulets they were wearing weren't built to fight off a spell of this caliber.

“Get Sava to focus on protecting our family. I want her in the castle and out of sight, assuming this has something to do with the Satyrs. I’m sure Illiel’s fine thanks to her own mind magic. Tell her to make sure the others are awake. You’ll have to direct me to any of my matriarchs out of her reach so we can wake them all up at the same time.”

Mac directed me to Assyrus and Eltiana, who were both passed out face-first in a pair of ale mugs at a bar. A bit of mind magic later, and the two of them were wiping drink from their faces and pulling themselves together.

“Theo!” Assyrus went pale as I saw the deadly scowl on my face. “Uh… I swear we don't drink until we pass out every night! I don’t know what got a hold of us…”

“Quick! Take off your clothes to distract him while I make my getaway!” Eltiana shouted as she jumped to her feet.

Assyrus reached for the buttons on her shirt.

“There’s no time for that,” I interrupted. “The Hearthwood is under attack! You two were under the effects of a sleeping spell. I need you to grab as many people as possible and haul them to the bunkers where they’ll be safe.”

“Oh… Oh! So it wasn't the ale? Got it, Patriarch!” Assyrus and Eltiana scurried off.

Tivana and Illiel had been in the clan library reading. The two of them hadn’t even noticed the sleep spell descending on the city, likely thanks to Illiel’s passive defenses against mind magic. She probably would have seen the spell in the air around her, but the two of them looked like they hadn’t looked up from their books for a long time.

“You two! The city’s under attack! I need you both on rescue operations now!” I ordered. The two of them rushed to the window I was flying outside, and Illiel gasped when she saw the scope of the magic at work.

I retrieved the rest of my matriarchs one by one, gathering them up and getting them in action. I still wasn’t sure what was happening, but I was certain I wouldn’t like it.

My eyes caught a figure running through the night streets. I would know that green hair and dress anywhere. “Hey, Sava! I need you in the castle! What are you doing out here?”

She turned her head ever so slightly, but instead of the skin of her face, I saw only green jade.

Son of a bitch.

So that was where that statue had gone.

My doppelganger had always intended for me to take Sava back. He’d split off a chunk of her cultivation base to clone her the same way he’d splintered off from me. No wonder Sava had fallen to the Wizard realm after we rescued her. Now, she had a doppelganger of her own.

I would have chased after her doppelganger then and there, but she was running fast, and I had greater problems.

Mainly a booming voice overhead, along with the booming voice of a Satyr.

“You’ve disrespected the Satyr King for the last time, Theo of the Hearthwood Clan!”