Chapter 58 – Fate of The Watch

Fairweather woke again exactly on the break of dawn. She knew that because she did, an instinctual sense telling her so, another aspect of her feline nature. Why it actually mattered to a Ghost Cat she had no idea, if they were even an actual species somewhere in the world, but either way it had transferred over to her as well. Given the sheer size of Odinsphere and the lack of windows, it was easy to loose track of what part of the day it was, the common areas always fully lit. To counteract that was of course the clock in the lounge area, and that the hanger door was kept open during the daylight hours, closing at night.

She yawned, stretched, and pawed at Clocky. Dawn was not a time to be awake when you weren’t on the road. Pulling Clocky over onto his back, she slid herself on top of him, giving him a quick kiss and running her hands down his bare chest, before she then lay down on him, listening to his heartbeat and gentle breathing.

‘Morning.’ A pair of orange eyes looked at her from the bedside table.

Fairweather groaned, and rolled back onto her side of the bed, taking most of the blankets with her. This was going to take some getting use to. She had no idea how long it had taken Rachael and Crystal to get use to their Arkchildren. They may well just ignore their presence at times like these, but she didn’t quite feel comfortable getting intimate with her other half with someone watching.

‘Sorry.’ Hope did indeed sound apologetic.

Fairweather waved the incident away. It was probably a new thing for the Arkchild as well. Sitting up, she flicked the secondary switch by the table, the room flooded with a soft warm light. Hope looked exactly as she had under the ethereal light last night. She was indeed very cute, and her tail even had a fluffy quality to it as actual foxes did, achieved with a combination of layered scales and other wiry bits. It worked, in an odd way.

“So, what did you have for Clocky?” she asked of the fox.

Hope responded by jumping off the bedside table onto the bed, curling up between her legs on top of the blankets, revealing the object that she had been resting on. She knew what it was instantly. How on earth had one of those ended up here? Leaning over, she picked it up, holding it in her hands and examining it closely. It was old, a much earlier model, but also very hardy and intricately designed. There were likely things in this one that hadn’t been managed since.

She nudged her lover, just roughly enough to rouse him. “Clocky. Wake up.”

“Urmm? What is it?” he asked groggily as he sat up and opened his eye, a startled look on his face as he spotted Hope.

“Gifts,” Fairweather answered, handing the gauntlet to Clocky. His eyes opened even wider.

“This is a Channellers gauntlet!” Clocky exclaimed, tenderly turning it over in his hands. “Where on earth did it come from?” He then went silent as he carefully examined it.

Almost all Channellers had gauntlets. It was as much a status symbol as it was a tool of their trade, and Fairweather could count on one hand the number of known Channellers that had used something else. All of them from the last century, and all bar one on the lowest tier. It had begun with the first Channellers, following the shattering. She didn’t know why they had chosen the gauntlet as their focus and symbol, but records say that is what they all had, and the trend had continued. Some Channellers acquired and used the gauntlets of their predecessors, while others created their own, imbuing them with technology that they acquired along the way. The first ones had been the most powerful of the lot, forged when such knowledge was still fresh, but almost all of those ones had disappeared a very long time ago.

“This had got to be one of the first ones created,” Clocky observed, “but I have no idea whose it was. It’s a priceless artefact, but as to it’s usefulness...”

Clocky paused, his expression thoughtful as he stared hard at it. “They’re designed to help regulate mana flow, amongst other things.”

“--Correct. It will work in that way, be it your own mana or that of the leyline. And if you somehow manage to obtain the ability to tap into the leylines in the way that the Maidens do, then it’d help you there.--”

“Is that even possible?” Fairweather asked, as Clocky slid on the gauntlet. It was a perfect fit.

“--The Maidens can do it, and they aren’t Channellers.--”

“They may be a special case though,” Clocky stated, before he turned to look at fox.

“Our pilot assistance,” Fairweather informed him. “Her name is Hope.”

“You had a choice?” he asked, worry on his face.

Fairweather nodded. “I chose.”

“I guess it’s an early breakfast then,” he said, looking relieved, and swinging himself over the edge of the bed.

That it seemed like. Fairweather untangled herself from the blankets, and collected her clothes off the chair where she had put them. Crystal had it easy, being able to summon and dismiss her armour. On the other hand, she did like the clothes that Rachael had made for her.

Both of the gifts were instantly spotted by the others as they joined them for breakfast. Crystal gushed over the fox while Rachael discussed the nature of Channeller gauntlets with Clocky. Once they had eaten they headed off with Myne, Saylin and Abigail in tow, Saylin stating that she needed to find some ingredients and she’d suffer through the flight this one time. While Crystal now had access to the shift array, it was unlikely that they’d use it at this stage, as amongst everything else they didn’t want Arcane to know that she’d been to see Velvet. That left just her, Clocky and Vorsce to visit The Watch.

“They’re going to think you’re one of them,” Vorsce stated as Clocky finished off his sandwich. Still his staple, even after all these years. Fairweather just had a bowl of pheasant meat, the fridge doing wonders for storing their catch.

“I think that is half the point,” Clocky mused. “It means that they are more likely to listen. Add in the skimmer and the Arkchild, and they aren’t likely to doubt. If we had a few more toys we might be able to do a full demonstration, but I’m not sure how much I can actually fuel off my own power.”

“Are you actually going to make the claim?” Vorsce asked.

Clocky stopped with the sandwich partway to his mouth. “I don’t know. I’d rather not if I can help it, least it come back to bite us.

“That likely?” Fairweather asked. The Watch was a bit of an odd outpost, founded during a time when a Channeller had decided that Odinsphere was a threat, and wanted people to be able to provide him with a warning should it ever move. That had been 300 years ago, and while the Channeller was long gone, the township remained. It was off the rail route, but it did have a road route down to Caylinhold and up to Brightswater, which saw a little traffic. Mostly it was self contained, the population their seemingly happy with their isolation and just living their lives in peace. It originally had fortified walls, but those had fallen to ruin, due to neglect, and she was pretty certain that the town had outgrown its original limits.

Clocky looked distant for a moment, before he snapped back into focus. “Yes,” he stated with a frown. “This isn’t going to be a short term affair.”

“--You can manage a lot that a Channeller can under your own power, so the assumption isn’t misplaced.--”

“You seem to know an awful lot about Channellers,” Vorsce said as he looked up at the ceiling.

“--They have been around for a long time.--”

Clocky finished his sandwich. “Let’s have another go at the skimmer then,” he stated as he rose up, packing some supplies into a pack.

Fairweather nodded, giving him a hand.

They chose the same skimmer as they had the day before, the door to it still sitting open. Fortunately nothing rogue had entered it, though there were some Dylite’s perching on top of the defence bots, and by the looks of it some of the birds had also started making nests in the upper reaches of the hanger bay. She was startled however when a mechanical spider the same size as Hope scuttled off the top of the skimmer, carrying something with it in its front legs.

‘Those are Engineer’s Maintenance Spiders.’ Hope informed her. ‘They’ve removed the expired battery bank from the Skimmer.’

“They’re finished?”

‘Yes. They finished during the night. That one was waiting for show and to keep the birds out.’

“Oh.” Fairweather passed the info on to the others. Spiders weren’t her favourite thing, so she was happy enough to have it gone. They obviously served their purpose aboard Odinsphere though. Vorsce just gave a chuckle.

‘Take the pilot’s seat,’ Hope instructed once they were inside the skimmer, Fairweather complying. ‘Clocky can stand behind you – he’ll be able to channel the energy through the chair as the circuitry runs right through it.’

“So, how exactly do you assist with the piloting then?” she asked once she had again passed on Hope’s instructions. The seat was comfortable enough, all of the panels in reach though she doubted that she’d need them at this stage.

‘I’ll interface with the system and directly input your instructions to it, flying it on your behalf.’

“And you’ll know what I want to do how?” Sure, she could tell her, but in some situations that would be too slow.

‘Both voiced instructions and intent. I can read it via our bond, more so if you let me. I’ll teach you what you should be doing as we go, and what everything means, so that over time you can fully take over and I’ll just remain as the emergency backup pilot.’

Fairweather nodded. That sounded fair enough. She looked up at Clocky nervously. “Shall we get started then?”

Clocky nodded, placing his hands against the seat.

“SYSTEM 122 BOOTING...”

“ERROR. BATTERY MISSING...”

“...UPDATING SYSTEM PARAMETERS.”

“SYSTEM UPDATED.”

“ALTERNATE POWER SOURCE DETECTED. POWER STABLE.”

“INITIATING FLIGHT...”

The panels all lit up, the ones at the end of the pilots seat a soft teal, while the larger one shone brightly with an assortment of symbols, what she assumed was the power symbol sitting in the top left hand corner of it, around three quarters full. The entirety of the skimmer hummed, Clocky’s power coursing throughout it.

“Take us out of the hanger for a start then I guess,” she instructed Hope.

Symbols flashed on the panels as the skimmer lifted itself up off the ground, moving forward smoothly, then turning and making its way towards the hanger door.

It was a pleasant ride out of the hanger, and then things got a bit rougher once they were outside, the skimmer rocking a bit in the gusts of winds, before Hope quickly compensated. Had Saylin being with them it might have gotten a bit messy inside the vehicle, though Hope did assure her that that shouldn’t happen again. She just had to get use to the environment, and adapt to the particularities of this particular machine. Getting their bearings, Hope then directed the skimmer towards The Watch as they quickly dropped down to ground level, the skimmer hovering a couple of meters above the ground as they flew along. Apparently the most stable height for it, and why they were called skimmers rather than planes.

The trip was short and otherwise uneventful, Hope instructing her on what everything meant and how she would go about controlling it as they went, Fairweather having a go at steering it for a short while in the middle. It involved in the two panels on the seat, and it was both intuitive and foreign at the same time. It was going to take her some time to get the feel for piloting. Fortunately she did managed to avoid plummeting them into the ground. Clocky was holding up rather well, able to talk and observe the surroundings at the same time as maintaining the power for the craft.

The Watch was pretty much as it had been described, a cluster of thirty to forty buildings surrounding an aged but still standing stone watchtower, the purpose for which it had been built. She could see the remains of the wall surrounding most of the buildings, some sections still surprisingly intact, while other parts sat little more than waist high. A dozen farms sat around the outside of the wall, occupying more space than the walled town itself, the buildings for them scattered lazily over their expanse. Some grazing cattle looked up at their approach, and she was pretty sure that she had seen someone at the top of the tower, but they were no longer there.

“There’s been some battles here recently,” Vorsce observed, pointing to a smouldering bonfire near one of the fields.

‘Monsters detected moving through the southern most farmland. I don’t think they’ve been noticed due to our approach,’ Hope said to her, the fox’s ears twitching.

“How many Wildlings?” Fairweather asked.

‘Five.’

“Take us to them please.” Fairweather watched out the front window as Hope manoeuvred the skimmer around, the Longhairs quickly spotted, and apparently oblivious to their presence as they stalked their way through a field of pumpkins.

“It’s unusual to see them this far away from the mountains, and in that number,” Clocky commented. “We should probably deal with them though.”

Fairweather grabbed her crossbow once the skimmer landed, loading and cocking it as she made her way out of the vehicle and onto the farmland.

“We would have been short a few members for this kind of engagement,” Vorsce said as he drew his sword and stood at the front of the trio.

“We are also more than what we were,” Clocky stated, levelling his crossbow as the Longhairs closed in on them, having finally taken note of their presence.

That they definitely were. Fairweather called her magic to herself, reinforcing her body with it, her senses, reflexes and strength heightening, ethereal tails waving gently behind her. Levelling her crossbow she sent the bolt flying towards the lead Longhair as she followed up behind it, crossbow ditched and daggers drawn.

The battle was over quickly. Their teamwork if anything had improved with the changes to them, the blows that they dealt more powerful. Clocky seemed better able to read his opponents than he ever had, his blows swift and striking true, always one step ahead of their retaliation. She was pretty sure that the gauntlet glowed during the skirmish as well. Vorsce swung with the power of a bear, his sword now cleaving where before it would have just cut, and Fairweather struck quickly and precise, jumping between the Wildlings with easy, her tails lashing out at them, tearing or tripping. Sure, they had been like that too in the battle in Old City, but it was much more apparent when they were here by themselves.

They dragged the corpses of the Longhairs off to the side in a pile, then stood and waited. It didn’t take long for a group of people to appear over the wall, a dozen all up, longswords, leather armour, and a couple of pitchforks. The group was led by an older, heavyset man, his skin deeply tanned and his hair still dark, a leather apron over his front. He looked confused as he looked them over, worry on his face as they walked up to them.

“I am Alzmer, mayor of The Watch. To what do we owe your presence in these troubling times?” the blacksmith asked as the group stopped a few feet from them.

“My name is Clocky, and I am a Caster, rather than a Channeller. We come with regards to Odinsphere.”

Alzmer, and his entire group, looked obviously confused. He motioned to the gauntlet. “That is the symbol of the Channellers, is it not? Are you pretending to be something you’re not?” There was an edge to his voice that said that he did not like deception. And caution as well. She had no doubt that some of them had witnessed their battle. The Skimmer had been landed after all so as to not block the towns view of the fight.

“The gauntlet was a gift, and there are some similarities between what I can do and what a Channeller can achieve, such as the use of that.” Clocky motioned to the skimmer. “There is more magic in the world now that just what the Touched exhibit. It is up to you whether or not you believe what I say, but I am making the point that I am not a Channeller as I have no desire to deceive you.”

Alzmer appeared to consider Clocky’s words, before sighing. “We’re not imagining things are we. Odinsphere is indeed moving, and making straight for us? It’s still far away, but the people are on edge and are swearing that it looks larger than it ever has.”

“That it is. It will just be passing over your town though, as it is heading for the coast. There is a more pressing matter than that though, as it wont pass over the town for a few days yet.”

“More pressing than the ball of death making it’s call?” one of the men behind Alzmer blurted out. “Can’t it go another way?”

“No, it cannot. And that is the other issue.” Clocky replied. “The Watch sits on a leyline, the one that Odinsphere is using to travel. There is no alternative path. The density of the leyline is currently increasing, and it is going to get to a point where you won’t be able to survive with in it. Nor any of us either actually,” he added.

The mayor gave him a blank look. “I didn’t understand a thing you said there son.”

“We need you to evacuate out of the town and to the edge of the farmland before mid afternoon today, until Odinsphere is overhead. If you don’t, we can’t guarantee what will happen to you, or if you’ll even survive.”

Alzmer gave him a dark look. “That is a tall request. How is it that you even know this much about Odinsphere?”

“Because we’re involved in its movement.”

“If we kill you, will that make it stop?” The same man as before spoke up again.

“Even most of my team have more respect than your man there,” Clocky stated causally. “And no, that it wouldn't. You’d probably have a couple of rather angry dragons paying a visit if you actually managed it.”

“What assurance do we have that you’re telling the truth, and that you won’t just try and kill us or rob us if we vacate our home. Not to mention that trying to look after an entire town in a makeshift camp for however many days at such short notice is going to be near impossible.”

“You just have my word.” Clocky replied. “That is all we can offer. If you want proof, evacuate as we have asked, and then try and re-enter the town after mid-afternoon. You will see what we mean at that point.”

“Could we house them in the Odinsphere till it passes over?” Fairweather asked.

‘It might be possible,’ Hope answered. ‘I’m not sure what Mother and Guardian would think of that, but they’d probably relent.’

Alzmer shook his head. “I don’t think many of our people would be willing to go into that sphere. It is a myth after all, and most want it to stay that way. That it is moving in the first place is enough to cause terror. Let me talk to our people, and we’ll get back to you. I’d appreciate it if you waited out here for our answer. Can we have your assurance though that you’ll do what you can to protect us should we agree to your request. The Wildling attacks have been increasing in number as of late, and I doubt that they’d ignore such an opportunity.”

“That we could do. You’ll need to make a decision quickly though.”

“And know that we will be sending to messages to the other close Channellers, to both Bowser and Catlin. They need to be informed of what is happening irrespective of our decision.”

Clocky nodded. “Fair enough.”

“Do you think they’ll do as we’ve asked?” Fairweather asked. It had been a couple of hours now since they’d talked to the mayor, and they hadn’t seen any additional movement from the town outside of the walls. She was currently lounging on the roof of the skimmer, enjoying the suns warmth, and somewhat bored. Vorsce was sitting up against the side of the skimmer while Clocky was pacing around in a circle near its door.

“For their sake I hope that they do.” Clocky stopped his pacing temporarily, to look back towards the town.

“You’re sixth sense not giving you anything on the town folk?” Vorsce queried.

“No. There’s too many of them, and they’re not reading as a cohesive group. But it is telling me that they are running short on time. And to top it off, something is amiss.”

“How so?”

“We’re going to be seeing Crystal and Rachael a lot earlier than we anticipated, and for the life of me I can’t guess at any good reasons.”

“It’s gonna be related to the leyline though.” Fairweather couldn’t see any other possibilities.

“That is a given.”

Fairweather sighed, and Clocky resumed his pacing. They had done what they could. The rest was in the hands of the townsfolk. Yes, it was a big ask, and with little proof of what could happen, but there were occasions when people just had to listen, and this was one of them.

Fairweather’s ears twitched as she caught the sounds of numerous wagons and horses moving about, snapping her out of her doze.

“I think we finally have a resolution,” she said as she stretched, peering towards the town. It was now early afternoon, and the townsfolk were really cutting it close.

Sure enough, after a few minutes a small train of horses and wagons appeared out of the western entrance of the town, quickly turning off the road and making their way to them. Fairweather counted a total of eight wagons. Walking alongside them were a number of armed people, some from the group before, as well as some that she didn’t recognise, and a behind the wagons were some more people -mostly youth to middle aged, packs on their backs but a lack of weapons amongst that group.

“That’s not enough,” Vorsce muttered as they watched them draw near.

“They’ve all made their decision,” Clocky stated.

Alzmer dismounted from the wagon as they drew up to the skimmer, walking up to Clocky. “Some of us have decided to take your word, at least at this point, while others have opted to stay. We shall see soon enough if your warning was founded. It was not enough time to prepare properly, so we have the bare minimum with us.”

Clocky nodded. “Thank you for your efforts. I suggest we move to the edge of the farms as quickly as possible. Time is running short. We’ll move the skimmer there, Vorsce will walk with you as assurance that we aren’t about to abandon you.”

“Fine.”

Fairweather caught a few astonished and jealous stares as she manoeuvred the skimmer to the edge of the farmland, Hope doing the bulk of the work as she practised at the steering of the craft. She was rather proud that she didn’t run it into any of the trees or somehow crash it, but Hope would have probably intervened anyways. The wagons reached them shortly afterwards, forming a circle with the skimmer at its eastern most point. The children and elderly that had come along were ushered into the middle of the circle, the bulk of the armed men standing around them protectively, while the remainder gathered around the skimmer, or went to the other points of the circle to keep watch for Wildlings.

“Now we wait?” Alzmer asked, arms folded across his chest, his blacksmiths apron gone.

“Now we wait.” Clocky confirmed.

“Is the rest of your group all Touched?” the middle aged woman standing beside Alzmer asked as she looked between Vorsce and Fairweather. She looked motherly, a practical blue dress on, her brown hair tied up in a bun. She looked only a little tanned, Fairweather assuming that she was Alzmer’s wife and that she probably didn’t have a lot to do with his forge. She assumed that if they had kids, which was quite likely, that they’d be with the rest of them inside the circle. Fairweather had seen quite a few touched amongst the people that had evacuated the village, so hopefully the discrimination against them wasn’t too bad here.

“We all have some measure of magic,” Clocky answered. “Some more than others. A number of us were touched, but we are all more than that now.”

“Where is the rest of your team then?” Alzmer asked.

“In Odinsphere or in its vicinity.” That got a few confused looks from some of those around them. Obviously Alzmer hadn’t told them everything. “How many remain in the town?” Clocky followed up.

“Around half,” Alzmer answered.

There was an uneasy silence after that as people milled around, not sure at all what they were waiting for nor what they should be doing. The children seemed to be having fun though, Fairweather hearing laughter and happy shouts from their direction, as well as some grumbling from those looking after them trying to make sure that they didn’t get out of hand or stray too far. Fairweather walked a few meters away, to a large tree stump at the edge of the field that had probably been felled some time ago so that it didn’t drain the nutrients from the crops, or something like that, and took a seat, watching the group. She couldn’t see the rude man from earlier, and she assumed that he’d stayed in the town in defiance of their warning.

The people of the town didn’t seem that wealthy. Their clothes were mostly a combination of cotton, wool and leather, with a faint scattering of other materials that would have been imported from the larger cities. There wasn’t a lot of jewellery either – every one just looked plain. It made her feel a little sad actually, but it was the type of life that they had chosen. The Watch really was a town in the middle of nowhere, and unlike Cannonsgate it wasn’t on a rail route or trade route.

A young woman, probably a few years younger than herself, peeled away from the group and approached her nervously, stopping a couple of meters away. She had dusty red hair that was tied into a rough ponytail, brown eyes and a pleasant face that was covered in freckles. She was around Clocky’s height, her body well tone and tanned, her hands rough and dirty. She was wearing a simple pair of pants and boots, and a loose sleeveless t-shirt, all of which were dirt stained. A farmers daughter Fairweather assumed.

“Umm...” she said, hands fidgeting nervously at her side. “Are those flames real?” she finally managed to ask. “I’ve never seen anything like them before.”

Fairweather gave her a welcoming smile. “Very much so, depending on what you consider as ‘real’. Unique to me as well I believe, at least at this point in time.” She passed her hand over her ears, catching a small plume of flame, and then stretched her arm out, the ethereal flame dancing in her palm.

“That’s so cool!” the farm girl exclaimed. She then shuffled a bit, before picking up her courage again. “You’re really pretty too! I like your ears, and your clothes are really awesome.” She then look downcast. “We don’t see anything like those around here.”

Fairweather chuckled. “To be honest I hadn’t till recently either. I’m Fairweather. What’s your name?” The flame dissipated as she brought her hand back in.

“Oh. I’m Raewyn.” She gave Fairweather a smile.

“Are you a Touched Raewyn?” Fairweather asked.

“No.” Raewyn looked downcast again. “I’m just plain old me. The ears and tail though, I wish I had been touched by the Avatar and gifted with them. Don’t know about the bear ones though,” she added. “Cat, dog, wolf or fox. All those are so cool.”

“Not all Touched have animalistic characteristics you know.”

“I got nothing. You’re so lucky.”

Fairweather cringed. She did now consider herself lucky, but once upon a time she did not. There was a cost to her features. “It ain’t always easy. There’s a lot of hate out there for the Touched.”

Raewyn shrugged. “It’d be worth it.”

Fairweather motioned for Raewyn to sit beside her. The tree stump was large, there was plenty of space. Raewyn hesitated, and then moved over to her, taking the offered seat.

“You work on your parents farm?” She asked.

“Yup. Till I’m married off, then bearing kids instead I guess.” She sighed. “Not that any of the decent men here actually want me. Plenty of prettier girls, especially since a lot of people have moved to the cities, and I don’t have much going for me.”

“You don’t like your lot in life? You wish for more?”

Raewyn stiffened. “I’m happy with what I have. Food to eat, shelter, loving family.” Fairweather could tell that she wasn’t being truthful, her words strained.

“I’m not going to judge you. I personally don’t see anything wrong with wanting something better for your life. It’s what you do with those desires, and how you let them effect you that matters. Opportunities will come.”

“I’m stuck with this lot,” Raewyn said sadly. She then looked over at Hope, who was sitting in the skimmers door. “What’s that?” she asked with curiosity.

“It’s an Arkchild, a creature of technology and magic from Odinsphere.”

“Is it the Channeller’s?”

Fairweather laughed. “He’s not a Channeller. That was the first thing he said to Alzmer. Though he can do some similar things. And no, Hope was actually given to me.”

“You’re so lucky,” Raewyn said again, quietly this time, staring at Hope. “I’d love to go see Odinsphere.”

“You may get that chance.”

Fairweather’s ears pricked up as some commotion started from the group by the skimmer. “What the $@$%# that?” A man shouted, pointing in the direction behind Fairweather. A couple of the others bolted towards the inside of the circle. She turned, looking in the pointed direction, and it was easy to spot what they were worried about. Racing across the landscape, and flying rather low, was Light. She assumed that at the least Crystal and Rachael would be on her, but why were they heading in this direction, and why at this point in time.

‘The Maidens are indeed on the dragon,’ Hope informed her, probably noting the presence of the cat-foxes.

They had only mentioned dragons very briefly in passing, which had likely been taken as a hallow threat, so it was no wonder that the townsfolk were starting to panic.

“What’s going on?” Raewyn asked, fear evident in her voice.

“They’re with us,” Fairweather replied, scouring the area. “The question is, why are they here?”

“Is that a dragon? You have a dragon in your group?!”

“It’s a little more complex than that,” Fairweather answered, waving her hand dismissively. “I’ll introduce you to them later if you want.”

She then spotted what she was searching for, in the most obvious place. Just ahead of Light, the ground was being torn open and thrown everywhere as if a great force was flowing its way through it at a rapid speed. Looking, she could just make out a trail behind Light as well. What the hell was going on? Fairweather gasped as the realisation hit. It was the leyline.

The panicking and shouting intensified as the rest of the group seemed to work out something of what was going on, Fairweather doing her best to ignore them. Whatever was about to happen was in Crystal and Rachael’s hands, and they had warned the townsfolk to vacate the town. Not necessarily for this reason, but they had.

The shockwave, or whatever it was, was heading straight for the town. If it hit it, it would tear through it like a knife through butter, obliterating everything in its path. Light had been pacing just behind it, but as she got within the last few kilometres of it she sped up, passing the front of the shockwave, heading straight for the town. Dropping down till she was just about at ground level, she then disappeared in a flash of light, Crystal and Rachael appearing out of it, fully reinforced, wings, tails and horns glowing brightly. Crystal landed first, spinning around, claws digging into the ground to break her speed as slid across the ground, coming to a halt half a kilometre away from the town. Rachael twisted, changing her direction, flying partially around the town in their direction, before she too dug claws into the ground, bring herself to a halt. While Crystal then stood up, summoning her shield and he orbs of light, Rachael remained in a crouching position.

Fairweather watched as the spearhead of the shockwave tore straight towards Crystal, the deep dragon just staring it down. The shockwave slammed into her, light flaring around her as Crystal was pushed back, deflecting it off its direct path and partially away from the town. Rachael then sprung into action, leaping over the shockwave and seeming to grab it as she went, dragging it further away from the town. The shockwave then continued past them, ploughing through the fields as it curved around the town and then continued on past it, a trail of destruction in its wake that had fortunately been isolated to just open ground.

“What just happened?” Raewyn asked, mouth hanging open.

“At a guess, I’d say that they just deflected a flash flood of mana.” Fairweather answered. Their anchoring arrays and whatever else they had done had obviously worked a lot better than they’d expected, but she was sure that none of them had anticipated that kind of result. It was working though. She could feel the intense flow of mana saturating the town. Not at the Nexus Temple level, but far above any other leylines that she had felt since Crystal was made complete.

“Would you like to meet them?” she asked Raewyn.

Raewyn just nodded, still in shock.

‘Can you get Crystal to come see us first?’ Fairweather asked of Hope. She was being a little selfish, but was sure that Crystal would probably be happy to avoid all the extra attention that they were about to get. It would also save spooking the horses, not to mention that they would also be very busy very soon.

‘Sure thing,’ Hope confirmed with amusement in her voice.

mogust

Just asking them to leave their town, as well as stating that you weren't what you appeared to be, is certainly a big ask, but sometimes these things happen. Especially in times such as these ^^

As always thanks for reading. Comments are welcome.

The next chapter (59 - Aftermath) will be up early next week.