[Tian] 1:07 (Patreon)

I FINISH.

“—so, it is from the Seven Heavens I am thus able to use the Essences.”

“Woah...” Seiled gasps as I finish my explanation.

I did not tell him everything— I simpy gave him the basics of how each school works. The boy has been pestering me to tell him more about Jhisie. And while I see no reason to withhold any information about my world, it is a hassle to explain anything beyond the bare fundamentals of Qi, the Essences, and the Dao.

Shaking my head, I lean back against the chair and cross my legs. “However, I am unable to reach the Dao here, let alone the Seven Heavens, hence I shall not use my abilities liberally.”

“Can’t you at least show me one illusion?” he protests. “Like the one you created for Beihal and Keshiy!”

“Unfortunately, that would be a waste,” I say truthfully. Seiled lets out a groan of disappointment, but I smile and eye the cluster of Lifeblood floating between us. “I have indulged you in what you wanted to know so far. Now, tell me more about your… magic.”

The boy beams and scootches over to the edge of his seat. “I told you about how Lifeblood connects you to the Pishtim, yeah?” He waits for me to nod before continuing. “Well, I guess you can think of it as the core of our world— like how your Qi comes from your core, right? And we’re basically just tapping into her Qi to manipulate the elements.”

“Like the Heavens with the Essences?”

“Exactly like that!” Seiled exclaims, slamming his hands on the table. A drink spills— its blue liquid pouring down the side of the table. I raise a brow, and he scratches the back of his head. “Oops.” He quickly grabs a cloth and wipes it down. “The Pishtim is the source of an Elementalist’s power. With it, I can do this, see?” A gust of warm air shoots out of his fingertips as the Lifeblood surrounding us slowly grows thinner. His  magic blows against the cloth, drying it quickly until only the stains of the drink remain on it.

“Interesting,” I remark, tapping a finger on my chin. “In my world, air is not considered an element. The five elements are wood, metal, earth, fire, and water.”

“Here it’s earth, fire, water, and air.”

“A significant overlap, then. Just not entirely the same.” I wonder why there even is a difference. However, there is not much time for deliberation; footfalls approach us from a side hallway. The two of us— the only ones in the empty, large room full of tables and chairs— glance up at the coming figures.

Kalmat’s voice echoes down the hall. “...there is no need to take unnecessary risks. We know our roles. We know what to expect. If anything goes wrong, pull back.”

“Yes,” more than a few people reply at once, followed by a, “yeah, yeah.”

“Nindran…” Kalmat comes to a halt right as he peeks over the corner. The others— Beihal, Keshiy, Nelrel, and a few members I have not acquainted myself with— pour out past him. Only the azure-haired woman stops, her hands crossed behind her head.

She shrugs. “What?”

Kalmat givesher a serious look. “This is not a joking matter. There are possibly hundreds of En in this outpost, and an Esh has been spotted too. We can’t let the plan fail.”

Nindran waves a hand off dismissively. “We’ll be fine! We’ve got a secret weapon on our side now.” Grinning, she cranes her neck to face me. “Tian’ll deal with ‘em for us, so don’t sweat it. You saw what she did to those Esh, didn’t ya?”

“Tian has her job,” he responds emphatically. “Her presence— her sudden appearance— has certainly been helpful for us, but we can’t just ask her to deal with all our problems for us.” He looks over my way as I stand up. “Especially if she’s endangering her life for us.”

“Kalmat is right,” I say as I make my way over to them. My hands rest gently against the novacloth pouch around my waist. “There are a lot of variables to be considered with this mission. Despite aligning myself with the Keepers of the Grove, if you ask me to wipe out this outpost by myself, I will not do it.” I bow slightly. “With all due respect, Nindran, I am satisfied with the job I have been assigned.”

The azure-haired woman scowls. “Aw, fine.”

“If that’s settled,” Kalmat says and sweeps his gaze around the room, “we shall make our move once the ninth bell tolls. The week is coming to a close, and once true day returns, we will lose all the advantages we currently hold.”

“I got it, I got it,” she repeats herself, throwing her hands up. She stalks past me as I meet Kalmat’s gaze.

“Everything settled, then?” I ask with an inquiring look.

He nods. “Yes. We all know our roles. And I’m sure you know yours?”

I smile, crossing my arms across my chest. “Stay with Seiled and make sure he doesn’t die, correct?” My eyes drift back towards the boy— he is excitedly bouncing on his toes, telling Beihal everything I just told him about Jhisie. “Seems simple enough.”

“It is a simple task, Tian,” he says, patting my shoulder. “Perhaps one where you wouldn’t even need to engage in battle. But by the Grovetender, I cannot stress how important it is you keep him alive. I’d be a failure of a leader to let a boy his age die. So, please try to avoid unnecessary fighting.”

“It is fine.” I take a deep breath, feeling my Qi cycle through my meridians. There is only so much I can expend. “The less I fight, the better.”

“Then let us begin.”

***

The ninth bell tolls its hour, signalling that it is time for the mission to begin. We are divided into different groups— all of us required to play a different role in this assault. Kalmat wants to sever the hold Galgom has over Thornthistle, liberating the city from the En’s constant patrols.

Everyone has a part to play. It is not just a handful of the Keepers of the Grove participating. Dozens of rebels, all experienced combatants— elite Elementalists, as Kalmat calls them— will be working together to crush this outpost. I do not know the faces of most of them. I can only name a handful like Nindran and Beihal.

This mission does not matter much to me, however it is of utmost importance for Kalmat. He believes that defeating the En and Esh here will embolden the people of Thornthistle to join his cause. I am not sure whether I believe in that idealistic vision. I am only aiding them because it benefits me— it lets me gather intel on this Galgom.

I follow Seiled and Keshiy through a forest of kwyer trees. The vibrant, orange bark of the wood almost seems to hide us, although I doubt the constructs— or machines— will be distracted by bright colors. Blobs of Lifeblood flitted around us under the canopy of green leaves. Specks of the red aura follow Keshiy, gathering near her as I sense power exuding from her being. She is an Elementalist, and apparently a capable one at that.

On the other hand, the boy is too inexperienced in magic for it to aid the coming battle. Instead, he carries what looks like the arm of an Esh. Except, it has been redesigned to fit nicely in both his hands. “What is that?” I ask him curiously.

He scratches at his cheek. “You like it? I made it using parts from the Esh you brought back,” he explains, showing the gray, metallic weapon. “Well, Beihal helped me. But we created something similar with the En before, and since we had a few spare parts from the previous Esh Kalamat killed, we were able to create this.”

“What does it do?”

“I call it a lightshooter. It shoots a beam of energy— like the Esh!” he exclaims at first, before continuing in a smaller voice. “Except, it’s not as powerful. And it needs some time to charge between each blast. And this is the only one we have…” Seiled trails off.

Smiling, I give him an approving look. “I think it is impressive that you were able to even create such a thing.” He brightens as I place a hand on my chin. “If you can produce more, I would appreciate it if you provided me with one.”

“Of course!”

The three of us come to a stop when we spot the first patrol of En. They have already been dealt with, but their remains still litter the ground. Some of them looked terribly burnt, while others are crushed and buried in the dirt. However, a few of them seem to be cut up— sliced at the joints into pieces.

“Kalmat’s group went through here,” Keshiy remarks with a small smile.

“How do you know that?” I ask with a raised brow.

She squeaks, caught off-guard by my question. The orange-haired woman works her jaw, slowly answering me, “H-He’s the, uh, only Bladewielder among the Keepers. No one else would be able to do… this to the En.”

I watch her gesture at the cut-up machines. “Interesting. And what exactly does this mean? Are you somehow barred from using a bladed weapon?”

“No, it’s not like that.” We continue towards the outpost, passing by more fallen patrols of En as she tries to elaborate. “A regular sword is just… that. How are you going to beat an Elementalist with a sword— especially if the blade can’t even cut through stone, right? But some people are able to tap into their Aspects. We call them Bladewielders.”

“Aspects?”

“In a way, it is like your very own Lifeblood. It doesn’t matter to them if there is no Lifeblood around. They can channel their own Aura, creating a kind of blade for themselves to fight with.”

Something like Qi, then. I follow Keshiy as she pushes aside a branch and disappears behind a bush. “I take it this is a metaphorical blade?”

“Yes. I’m… not sure why they’re called that. They just are, I guess?” She pauses as she pops out of the bush. We have finally arrived. The outpost of En lies before us. I spot the familiar complex jutting out above the trees— the machines guarding its perimeter the same as before.

“We’re here,” a voice behind me whispers. I look over at Seiled as his hands begin to tremble. His nervousness is evident.

Keshiy inhales deeply, steeling herself. “Beihal’s group is going to cause a distraction soon. When they do, we’ll sneak into the outpost through the western side. Once inside, Seiled will disable the defenses.” She glances back at me. “We, um, will have to rely on you, Tian. To not get caught.”

“I am aware of what the plan is,” I state flatly.

“R-right,” she murmurs, “just making sure.”

We wait in silence, carefully observing the large complex for our opening. A patrol of En marches around the perimeter, moving robotically until they spot a glint in the forest. Smoke plumes up, and a spark is lit.

The patrol charges towards the burning tree, hands raised and ready to open fire. They stop when they see nothing but flames dancing and eating through the orange wood. Turning back, they resume their programmed route.

However, that was enough. Keshiy, Seiled, and I had already snuck past them. My feet lightly touch a metallic floor as we make our way towards the main building in the center of the complex. We reach its heavily armored door, avoiding the other En standing around the complex.

The three of us wait closeby for the patrols of En to switch. The door opens up, and a fresh batch of En head out as the ones previously guarding the perimeter return. We scurry inside before the door slams shut. Keshiy is quick on her toes. She helps Seiled move swiftly, so that he does not fall behind.

We find ourselves in what is almost like a gray labyrinth— it has multiple branching hallways, each leading down different paths. There is very little light here. The walls are dimly lit by these vertical slits, letting us see. Or, letting them see, I think as I look over at the two rebels with me. I can see just fine, even in the pitch black. As long as I expend some Indigo Essence.

Sneaking our way through the large building, it takes a while for us to find our bearings. There are a few close calls where we nearly run into a group of En, but Keshiy proved herself to be rather competent at being stealthy. I have no trouble keeping up with her— the only problem here being Seiled.

The boy is, unfortunately, a boy. That means he lacks experience in multiple ways. One of them being the art of stealth. Keshiy’s support can only go so far, and Seiled actually stumbles and falls when we are trying to flee from the approaching En.

“Pishtim bleed—” Keshiy curses, running back to grab him.

I see the shadows getting too close. There is no chance she will save him. So, I simply exhale and cloak us in a blanket of illusion. The orange-haired woman realizes what is happening and sighs in relief. But Seiled does not.

“No, no!” He snaps his eyes shut and spins around. “I can’t believe I screwed up!” He holds up his lightshooter, aiming for the En— and blinks when they pass us without issue. “What…?”

“You said you wanted to see the School of Phantasm, did you not?” I ask him with a grin. “Here it is.”

“Woah…”

“Let us continue.” I nod at the pair, and they follow after me. We continue on until we reach a large hall filled with boxes that expands upwards. “We are looking for some kind of room of control, correct?”

“A control room,” Seiled corrects me and peers around at a few of the rooms near us. Most of them have glass panels, revealing what is inside. Judging by his reaction, I assume not a single one is the control room. “Kalmat says it should be big and heavily guarded.”

“Kalmat has been here before?”

“Not here.” Seiled bobs his head about in search of the control room as we hide behind a stack of boxes. “But another outpost. A few years—” He is cut off as a nearby door slides open.

The three of us shrink back as heavy footsteps make their way by us. I spot a few Esh amongst passing figures. They gather around a smaller, blue figure— one that almost looks like it is not made of some kind of metal.

I narrow my eyes. That is not right… I think as my gaze fixes itself on the figure between the boxes. It— no, he is not made of metal. I turn to Seiled and Keshiy, perplexed by the presence of a person.

Only to see the orange-haired woman collapsed to her knees, hands on the ground. I blink and look over at the boy instead. He has the exact same reaction. He is no longer standing. His eyes are filled with fear. I reach over to tap him in the shoulder, but he opens his mouth before I can.

Seiled works his jaw as his face turns pale. In a whisper, he lets out a shaky voice.

“W-why is Galgom here?”

Author's Note: 

Melas chapter soon. 

Also, if you guys have enjoyed Tian so far, consider dropping a rating over at RoyalRoad. It would genuinely help me out a ton. Thank you! 

Tian | Royal Road