Aunt Kat led them over to the adjoining building, following a stream of Royal Guard members who were also heading there after picking up their supplies. Ariom was fairly sure that this building was where the mission briefing rooms were, although he'd only done research and enchantment design jobs for the Guard in the past, so he'd never used them before.

As expected, the inside of the building was one long hallway, with numbered doors set into both walls at regular intervals. The place was swarming with people dressed in the Guard's black combat suits, making the three battlemages in their colored suits stand out. No one acted surprised to see them, though. Cooperation between the Royal Guard and the Magic Corps was a regular occurrence.

Aunt Kat pulled a small piece of paper out of her space pocket and consulted it briefly. "We're in...room eight. That should be to the left."

They went past several doors until they found one with an eight painted on it. Aunt Kat opened it and went inside, with the rest of them trailing in behind her.

There were four men in Magic Corps combat suits already in the room. They were standing around a large board on one wall where someone had tacked up a copy of the base maps that Eteon and the Royal Guard had provided. They seemed to have been analyzing and discussing them, but they stopped and looked over at the newcomers.

"It looks like everyone's here. Good. Let's start with some quick introductions." Aunt Kat gestured toward Ariom. "This is Ariom Denifor. He's an enchanter and a magic archer, and he's going to be helping us deal with traps and barriers. His assistant is one of the people who were kidnapped by the Order, so this mission is a personal one for him." She paused and then let out a small sigh. "And just to get this out of the way...yes, he's Emberhawk's son. And yes, they look a lot alike, especially when they're wearing combat suits. But neither of them like to discuss that, so we're not going to bring it up again, all right?"

Ariom gave her an annoyed look. But the four battlemages simply nodded agreeably.

He wasn't sure whether to be relieved that they understood or further irritated because he knew why they understood....

"I'm just going to introduce everyone by their call names, since that's what we'll be using during the raid," Aunt Kat went on, ignoring Ariom's reaction. "First are the twins, Ironfish and Silverwater. Both metal mages. Silver specializes in liquid metal shaping, and Fish uses swarm formations."

She nodded at two men who were standing together on one side of the group of four. Their faces were almost identical, but their stigmas were slightly different colors. Both had greyish hair and skin—similar to Ariom's but with a noticeable metallic sheen. But one brother had darker, iron grey hair and eyes, while the other's were a lighter silver.

It was likely that their coloring had been the same originally but had diverged after the twins received their call names. A stigma's appearance was partially dependent on the person's mental image of their own magic, so it could shift over time.

It was also possible for a stigma to change abruptly, but that was much rarer and was usually the result of some kind of trauma. Ariom had only personally witnessed one case like that, though he'd heard about a few others.

"The big guy in the middle is Rockbrawler. He's a stone mage, and as you can guess from the name, his specialty is body reinforcement and hand-to-hand combat. He's really sturdy once he gets his rock coating on, so we usually let him handle defense."

'Big' was an understatement. The man called Rockbrawler was a foot taller than Ariom and at least twice as wide, his body covered in bulging muscles. He smiled and gave a small wave when Aunt Kat introduced him.

It was probably an attempt to counteract his imposing appearance, but it mostly served to show off how enormous his hands were, which didn't really help....

"And lastly...you already know Red, don't you? He's our medic."

The fourth man nodded. "Yes, Ariom's uncle is a friend of mine, so we've met before. And I've worked with some of his other relatives, of course."

He was an older man who was on the small side for a combat wizard, especially compared to the giant standing next to him. But it was hard to say which one looked more intimidating.

Red's simple call name had come from his stigma. He had deep crimson hair streaked with grey, ruby-colored eyes, and a web of dark red veins running all over his pale skin. His combat suit was also dark red with a golden droplet shape on the chest.

He was a blood mage—a very rare affinity for humans. It was an ideal magic type for a combat medic, but it had quite a negative reputation among the general populace. This was mostly due to the name and the tendency for blood sorcerers to have uncanny-looking stigmas. But it was also because people associated blood magic with chupacabras, an especially pesky species of magic parasites.

That was actually how Uncle Bero and Red had become friends. They'd met years ago when Uncle Bero had decided to start keeping a small pack of chupacabras on the farm and needed to research their magic type. Since blood mages tended to work for the military, where their skills were better appreciated, General Obarin had been able to put him in contact with a few, including Red.

"All right, then that should do for introductions. Since you'll be focusing on disabling enchantments, rather than fighting, just giving you a general idea of everyone's abilities should be good enough. Let's get on with the mission briefing. Gather around, everybody."

Aunt Kat went over to the maps hanging on the wall. The four men moved to the sides to let her through and to allow the female battlemages and familiars to go to the front where they could see better. The top of Namyis' head was below Rockbrawler's shoulders, and Ziryi only came up to his elbows, so he could easily see over them.

"You should have all had a chance to look over the layout of the base by now. Well, I realize Ariom and Darkbolt were focusing on the barrier and trap diagrams instead. That's fine. We're not planning to split up, so you two don't need to have the entire map memorized. Just so you have a general idea of where we're going."

Aunt Kat turned and tapped her finger on a map showing an overhead view of the base, leaving a green dot of light magic glowing on the spot she touched.

"This is where we'll be entering the building. It's a delivery entrance that leads down into the research center where we think the captives are being held. It's quite inconspicuous, and they shouldn't be aware that we have access to maps of their complex, so it probably won't be heavily guarded. Especially since the other teams will be causing a major diversion to help us get in more easily."

She made another glowing dot—blue this time—on the edge of the map, not far from the entrance she'd just marked.

"We're going to head to this point on the outside of the base and wait out of sight. Once all the teams are in position, Ariom is going to temporarily disrupt the outer barrier, allowing a few aerial units to attack and take out the power supply. That's here."

She made a red dot near the center of the map.

"Once the barrier is completely disabled, the other teams will all start their attacks on different parts of the base, drawing away the enemy's defenses and making a path for us to rush in. The aerial support team will be monitoring the situation and will notify us when we're clear to enter."

Aunt Kat traced a path from the blue dot to the green dot, leaving a glowing yellow line. Then she moved to another sheet of paper that showed the different floors of the research facility. She continued the yellow line there, moving through several floors and ending at the fourth floor down, which had an area of what seemed to be containment cells. She circled the cells in green.

"That's our tentative route, though we may need to detour if we encounter any obstacles that can't be dealt with quickly. We'll be passing through some relatively narrow corridors, so we'll be in a column formation. Rockbrawler will be at the front, defending against any attacks. Darkbolt, you'll be up there with him, scouting for traps and dealing with barriers. Disable what you can by yourself, and call Ariom whenever you need help." Aunt Kat looked over at Ariom. "Don't consider it a slight that we're letting her handle most of the work. Your void magic is a precious resource. We have to save it for when we need it. Understood?"

"Understood," Ariom said, nodding.

It irritated him, but he did understand her reasoning. There was a huge difference in power reserves between mid-rank and high-rank sorcerers. He would have to use most of his strength just to disable the outer barrier, and he could only go through so many bottles of moondust before recovery sickness made him a burden to the others.

"The twins will come next. You two will probably be doing the bulk of the fighting, though I'll support you with my watermimics as much as I can."

The two metal mages nodded in unison.

"Ariom, you'll be in the center with Red and Kino, except when Darkbolt needs you at the front. Sala can help you move back and forth. She's the most mobile member of the team, so she'll be moving around outside the formation. Red will be monitoring everyone's condition and using healing or defensive magic as needed. Kino, you're in charge of helping us find the captives and alerting us of any approaching enemies. We won't expect you to do much fighting, but feel free to help out if it seems appropriate. All right?"

The storm hound nodded silently.

"That's the same with Ariom. You should save your own magic power for the traps and barriers, but you can use enchanted arrows if you see a need for them. I assume you have a decent supply of them with you?"

"Pretty decent, yes. My quiver holds five hundred arrows, and it's full right now. I have four hundred that are pre-charged with various magic types and a hundred blanks that can be charged as needed or used as regular arrows."

There was a brief silence as everyone turned to look at him. Their expressions were a mix of admiration and disbelief.

"Did this kid seriously just say he's carrying five hundred enchanted arrows around with him?" Red raised one of his dark crimson eyebrows. "And you call that a 'pretty decent' supply?"

"I think the Royal Guard's magic archers only carry around twenty enchanted arrows at a time," Ziryi said. "And they're always reluctant to use them, since they're so expensive. Though if he's a grandmaster enchanter, he probably makes his own."

"Right. They're really good for shaping practice, so I make them as part of my regular magic training." Ariom shrugged. "And I don't use them all that often, so they stack up."

"Well, it sounds like you have a few to spare," Aunt Kat said wryly. "So go ahead and use them as you see fit. Just watch where you aim, all right? This is your first time going into a real battle, and it'll be easy to get confused once the fighting starts. We don't want any friendly fire, so err on the side of caution."

Ariom made a face but nodded to show that he understood.

"I'll be next in line, in a position where I can both guard the back and see what's going on. But I'll send some watermimics up to the front to help out, like I said. Ice Queen, you'll be bringing up the rear. That will make you responsible for handling any attacks from behind, of course. But I also want you there to help secure our escape route. Once we find the captives, we want to get them out of there as soon as possible. Throwing up some good, sturdy ice walls as we go in should cut down on the risk of us being ambushed on our way back out."

"Understood!" Namyis said with a cheerful smile. "Leave it to me."

"Good. Then are there any questions so far?"

Most of the team members shook their heads. This was probably a fairly routine operation for everyone but Ariom, so they didn't need a lot of detailed instructions to know what to do.

"Uh...yes, I have one," he said, feeling a little awkward. "I told Sala I was going to need to move to a higher position to hit the barrier correctly. She passed that on to you, didn't she?"

"Yes, she did," Aunt Kat said, nodding. "Sala can move you to whatever position you need. And since you're probably not used to shooting arrows while floating in midair, we'll have Ice Queen go with you to make a stable platform for you to stand on. And...." She glanced at Ziryi. "I think Darkbolt should go along, too. It will be helpful for her to watch and see how you do it. Do you mind?"

"I...no, that's fine."

He did mind, actually. But it wasn't the time or place to complain about things like that. And how much difference would it really make to have one more spectator when so many people would be watching his performance as it was?

"All right, then. Any other questions?"

No one else spoke up.

"Good. Then the briefing is over." Aunt Kat took a couple of potion racks out of her space pocket and handed them to Ironfish and Silverwater. "There should be a transport vehicle waiting for us outside. So as soon as everyone gets their potions, we'll head out."

 

---

 

The transport dropped them off a short distance away from the Order's base, and they went the rest of the way on foot, trying to avoid detection. Ariom's combat suit didn't have any kind of stealth charms, like the others did, but the armory had given him some enchanted bands to wear around his ankles that silenced his footsteps.

It was actually a bit eerie how quiet the area was, considering that there were several hundred combat wizards gathering there, along with support staff. There was supposed to be a command center and a medical tent set up somewhere nearby, but Ariom had no idea where they were hiding.

The rescue team reached their designated waiting spot, in a shadowy gap between two buildings. Ariom's magesight wasn't really adapted for seeing in the dark, but it worked well enough that he could see Aunt Kat tap on the communication device attached to her helmet, presumably letting Hydra know that they were in position.

Then they all stood still and waited.

Time passed. It was probably only fifteen or twenty minutes, but in the dark silence, it felt like hours.

Ariom noticed Sala's and Kino's ears swiveling in different directions, listening to some unknown sounds in the distance. All he could hear was the night breeze moaning softly as it blew between the buildings and the occasional rustle of one of his teammates moving a little. A couple of times he thought he heard the sound of wings flapping overhead and wondered if it was a member of their aerial support team passing by on the back of a gryphon or hippogryph.

But it might have just been an owl. Or even his imagination.

Finally, Aunt Kat touched her communication device again. Then she turned to Ariom.

"All the teams are in position," she said quietly. "It's your time to shine, Ariom. Sala, take them up."

Ariom, Namyis, and Ziryi were all standing together in preparation. The white tigress moved a little closer to them, and Ariom felt a strange lightness come over his body as she used her magic to make them float upwards. Sala had a cloud affinity, which allowed her to control the effect of gravity on the objects or creatures that she targeted.

Ariom had loved playing with her when he was a child, floating around in the Stability Center's garden together. The familiar sensation made him feel oddly nostalgic. Especially considering what he was about to do....

"Tell me where you want to go," Sala said when they'd risen above the buildings.

Ariom frowned a little, focusing his attention on the large building complex ahead of them. With his magesight active, he could see the intricate, glowing pattern of the outer barrier.

"Keep going up. We need to be a little higher."

They kept rising. More of the barrier's magic formations came slowly into view.

"Just a little more.... There. That's enough. Now move to the right."

The upward motion stopped, and they started drifting to the side.

"Almost.... Good. Stop here. I can see the spot I need."

"Are we close enough?" Ziryi asked doubtfully. "There's the risk that they'll spot us if we get any closer, but...that seems like a long way to shoot an arrow...."

The barrier was nearly two hundred yards from where they were currently floating. It was a long way to shoot a normal arrow.

But Ariom wouldn't be using an ordinary arrow.

"It's fine," he said, shaking his head. "Magic arrows fly further than physical ones. If I can see it, I can hit it." He looked at Namyis. "Go ahead and make a platform here."

She nodded and held out her hand, palm facing down. She released a brief rush of power, and a large slab of ice appeared beneath their feet. Sala gently lowered them onto it and then released her cloud magic.

"Is that all right?" Namyis asked.

Ariom tested the ice with his foot and then nodded. It was held firmly in place with stasis magic, making it feel as stable as solid ground. And she'd even made the surface textured, so it wasn't slippery at all.

He hated to admit it, but she really was quite useful....

He took the grey longbow out of his armament pocket, tightened the string, and carefully checked the tension. Then he simply held the bow in his hands for a moment, looking down at it. He couldn't see the bow itself clearly with magesight—what he saw were the glowing lines of the enchantment matrix inscribed on it. But he already knew every inch of this bow. He didn't need to see it.

The bow's name was Ashenstar. Ariom's mother had used it when she first became a combat wizard, and she'd given it to him when she'd started teaching him archery, even though he was much too young to use it at the time.

This bow was the reason he'd never given up on his archery practice, no matter how much he'd wanted to at times. No matter how bitter and angry he'd been when he realized he'd never be able to join the Magic Corps. No matter how much he'd come to resent and hate the military. No matter how pointless it sometimes felt to keep shooting arrows at lifeless targets, alone in his training room.

This bow—the burden and the promise that it represented—had kept him going, all these years.

He'd given up on ever using it for anything besides practicing, but...here he was. About to use his mother's old bow in a real fight for the very first time. All because of an unstable boy that his dragon had randomly met and taken a liking to.

Such a strange twist of fate....

Ariom sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, calming his swirling emotions and focusing his thoughts. Then he opened them and shifted the bow to his left hand, moving into a shooting position.

He didn't take any arrows out of his quiver. Instead, he put the fingers of his right hand lightly on the string, as though he were nocking an invisible arrow. He released several tendrils of magic, carefully weaving them together into a long, thin cylinder.

The tip was a variation of the disruption formation he'd learned from Eteon, tailored for the purpose of breaking apart this specific enchantment. The fletching was a formation that would convert part of Ariom's void magic into wind type, increasing the arrow's speed and range and ensuring it would fly straight at its target. And the shaft was a dense coil of magic that would act as a power source for the two enchantments.

Ariom could feel Ashenstar resonating faintly as it helped him draw out and gather his magic into the form of a single arrow. The bow had been created specifically for this purpose. It could shoot normal arrows well enough, but it was originally made for producing and shooting magic arrows.

And not just any magic arrows, either. They were called 'voidshots'—arrows made almost entirely of pure void magic. Those highly-prized arrows that could break through a behemoth's armor or bring down a powerful magic barrier.

They were part of the legacy that Amara Denifor, the battlemage Starfall, had passed down to her son.

Beads of sweat appeared on Ariom's forehead as he poured as much power into the arrow as he could, packing it densely with his grey void magic, until it glowed a bright silver in his hand.

Then he fastened off the tightly coiled chain of magic, adjusted his posture, found the spot on the barrier that he needed to hit, and took a slow, deep breath.

No need to feel nervous. It was just an arrow. He just had to make it reach the target, the same as he always did.

Nock the arrow. Take another breath. Draw the string. Breathe. Aim. And....

...release.

The silver arrow streaked across the dark sky, flying toward the barrier like a shooting star. It sent up a shower of sparks as it hit the magic formation Ariom had aimed at, disrupting the flow of power and starting a chain reaction that pulled formation after formation into disarray, just like Iggy had predicted.

Shouts of alarm could be heard coming from the ground underneath the barrier as it crackled and distorted.

Ariom lowered his bow and let out a small sigh of relief. He'd done it. The barrier was down.

He was just starting to turn to Sala to suggest that they go back down to where the rest of the team was waiting when he suddenly froze, his eyes widening in shock.

A tiny flame had just flared up in the sky, high over the center of the barrier.

The small fire fell toward the ground, rapidly gaining speed and growing larger and larger, until it turned into a huge plume of orange and yellow flames that hit the building housing the barrier's power source with a crash that echoed through the surrounding buildings and sent waves of fire spewing out in all directions.

Ariom watched it happen in stunned silence.

"Huh," he heard Namyis say from somewhere behind him. "It looks like Riomel showed up after all."