The news of Reyra Amarin breaking through, reaching the 9th Tier, and becoming the first Ascendri since the Dark Ages traveled through the realm like wildfire. It was not a secret as no living or dead soul could have missed the phenomena, visible from everywhere on Meriath.
"Your mother is something else!" Raufon laughed, raising his mug filled with beer, saluting Lia as the Misfits were having an evening party, celebrating the occasion.
"Ehehe… she is!" Lia giggled, barely able to sit still from the excitement. She wanted to go home and have a talk with Reyra as soon as possible.
"Did she really mix-" Keily asked, but then Aurora signaled with her fingers to remain silent and don't talk about it.
"Yep!" Lia nodded, knowing fully what he was getting at… but it was a secret. A taboo.
Reyra only told Lia and the rest of the leaders of the House of Amarin about successfully merging two opposing elements. When Lia told the rest, she made sure to make them swear they would not tell anybody else. Aurora took it incredibly seriously, placing a punishing spell on everybody. If they were about to spill it to someone else, it would immediately activate, burning their tongue, throats and damaging their brains.
"It is only us here… and Stumpy… I don't think he can even understand it…." Keily murmured, sulking, making Koa laugh, nudging Aurora.
"Don't be so strict! Relax a little! I don't think we are being listened to!"
"Maybe. Maybe not." Lia smirked, glancing at her bracelet momentarily, "Doesn't matter! When the Undead shows up in numbers, they will be surprised! Speaking of surprises!"
“Here… we… go…” Raufon mumbled, rolling his eyes and looking at the rest.
"What?" Lia asked, pouting, looking annoyed.
"I think we had enough sparring competitions inside the group!" Ceiline spoke kindly, trying to say it more diplomatically than Raufon could.
"No, I wasn't about to bring that up! We won't have time for that anymore!"
"We won't?" Everyone turned towards her, surprised.
"Yeah, we must prepare for this year's Egg Hunt!"
"Aren't we banned?" Koa raised the question that was on everyone's lips.
"The Silly Fox says we are going to be the ones holding the Eggs! Eight eggs, eight elements! So I will have to notify the rest of the leaders and make them get ready with their groups! Each of us will get an Egg, and we will set up trials that need to be conquered before we give the Eggs away!"
"Trials?" Keily asked, his floppy ears twitching, sounding excited by the news.
"You mean battles?" Koa grimaced, going by Lia's mood in the past month.
"Not necessarily!" She answered, tilting her head, tapping her lips with her index finger, "I think Lucy-"
"You call me that one more time, and I am going to shave your head bald like your buttocks!" Echoed Lucian's voice from Lia's bracelet.
"I knew we were listened to!" Aurora signed angrily, and as if the Headmaster read her, he continued.
"I am not spying; I just placed a filter on Lia's bracelet whenever she says 'Silly Fox' or 'Lucy.' I had enough nicknames; I don't need a new one every year."
"But you have been acting like a little girl lately…" Lia murmured, making many of them hold back their laughter, except Keily, who lowered his head, knowing it was he who had put the Headmaster in a bad mood many times. He was already flunked out of his class, yet he came back with Aurora, refusing to listen and trying his best to learn to walk No-Space, no matter how many times the Headmaster yelled at him or ignored his struggle.
"Your mind is not gifted to do it... accept it, boy, or suffer its consequences!" He said coldly, and Keily could hear it echo in his mind every night he slept. "I'll replace you in this year's Egg Hunt." Lucian went on while Keily was trying to regain his focus.
"NO!" Lia shrieked, standing up, looking at her glowing bracelet.
"Then stop making up weird nicknames for me! I am your Headmaster! I am more than twenty times your age!"
"I couldn't have guessed…." She added with a soft murmur.
"I will act like I did not hear that." Lucian answered in a monotone voice, "About the Egg Hunt… I don't want every group of yours to be about martial strength! I want to test the participants on multiple fronts, so I come up with something special! Something unique! If you can't, I will be disappointed in your name of Misfits!"
"Can it be… anything?" Ceiline asked, seemingly already having ideas.
"Yes. Anything goes as long as it measures someone's proficiency in their elements. To set up your tests, I will provide anything you may need… so feel free to go wild! The whole reserves and resources of the Institute are behind you this time!"
"Woah!" All of them exclaimed simultaneously, looking at each other.
"I want an extraordinary Egg Hunt this year too! Got it?"
"Yes!" Lia said, almost saluting. "You can count on us, Lucyeaaaaha?!" She jumped as red sparks jumped out from the bracelet, blasting her in the face. "My hair?!" Lia screamed, looking at the others who were shocked and then burst into loud laughs; even Keily could not hold it back, forgetting his sour mood at once.
Hurriedly lifting up a silver spoon and looking at her reflection, Lia couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh before laughing at herself too. Luckily, her hair remained intact, it just became extremely curled up, and now she looked like she wore a pale blonde, fluffy helmet instead of her usual, long hair.
…
….
……
"Mhhmm… how different! The air is so… lacking here!" Yuya stretched as she was occupying a new body, that of a young village girl. Nobody discovered when it happened… the kids, playing in the nearby meadow, enjoying the warming weather, welcoming the spring when Undeads appeared, capturing all of them. It was the most effortless body to occupy, and Cabrao did as ordered, planting his master's soul into one of them.
"You chose well! I like this one!" She said, watching her reflection in a mirror that Cabrao, now occupying a man's body, held up to her. She saw as her hair turned white instantly, and her eyes switched from brown to bright green.
"Thank you, Master." The man smiled, speaking in Cabrao's voice. "What about the other kids?" He asked, watching the unconscious children, guarded by a dozen normal Undeads.
"I will control their souls and play it safe." She waved her hand uninterestingly, fixing her lengthy hair and making braids. "How many live in the village?"
"Around a thousand souls."
“Find Dolores, Kaspian and Freina.” She named a few of her core disciples who should be already down in Meriath. "I want them here to keep the village under control when I venture out. I can alter their perception, but if a competent mage walks in here, he or she can spot me easily!"
"Yes, Master… but… that may take a little time. I don't know where they are now."
"Do it in under a month."
"I'll… try!"
"Go!" She nodded, finishing her hair, and Cabrao disappeared along with the rest of the Undead, and the children started to stir immediately.
When they sat up, they could swear that their friend, Lilia was different… something was… off about her… but they couldn't tell what. To their eyes, the white hair looked normal, the green eyes the same as always, never realizing that their mind, their soul was under her influence already, accepting her subconscious suggestions without any chance to fight back. Walking back to the village, anybody who looked into her eye was affected. They lost the opportunity to scream or realize she was already an Undead and simply forgot it… why would they scream for help when Lilia always looked like this… always.
"Mom!" She said with a playful giggle when arriving home at a small, modest house where her mother was just finishing cooking the stew for dinner. "Where are we?"
"Silly girl!" She laughed, rubbing her head but answering without seeing a problem with her question, "We are in the village of Temrial!"
"Under which empire?"
"Empire?" The woman laughed, proudly grinning, "We are not under any empire! We are a village under the rule of the strongest House in all of Meriath!"
"A… House?" Yuya flinched the first time her green eyes flashed with worry. This… was not good. Now she knew she had to be extra careful."
"Yes! Silly girl! You couldn't have forgotten it? Not when we are to celebrate the fact our House produced the first Ascendri in 4000 years? Once again?"
"Amarins…" She whispered, subconsciously gulping.
"Ahaha, of course! Are you afraid of the news? Of sighting Undeads in our territory? Don't worry! They have been dealt with! Lord Kawu himself descended into the Sub-Realm they appeared from, and with his sons, they rooted them up completely! We are in the safest place on Meriath! Now…” She patted her head, "Go, wash up before dinner! Your father should be home soon, and we can start eating!"
"O-Okay!" She murmured, going to the back of the House, biting her lip before calming down. "Well… it can be turned into an upside too… I can gain information on them, and… those bodies my brother is interested in are in possession of the Amarin boys. Hehe… well, well, well! Maybe I can surprise him early? Fufufu…”
…
….
……
In the castle of the Amarins, in its main hall, roughly forty people stood around, speaking with excitement as if they met for the first time… which was true for more than half of them. At one point, they were all prominent figures in the House. They were either their strongest mages or outright Heads of the House. Those who wore the principal features of Erias, the blonde hair and blue eyes at once, were ancestors of Reyra, coming from her branch. Those with only blue eyes were part of Koadriana's line, while those with only blond hair belonged to the current 2nd Branch.
Walking into the room would stun anyone who was not part of the Six Houses, as everyone present was either a 7th or 8th Tier mage, meaning everyone here was a Three Ri. Some still looked young, barely above the age of twenty, while others let the passage of time show on their faces.
"I couldn't have done what you did." A blonde woman with brown eyes sighed, looking at an older-looking man who smiled with a calm, peaceful expression in his blue eyes.
"Living amongst those who can't use magic makes you see things differently. Spending centuries wandering the land on foot makes your mind come into acceptance with time itself." He answered back.
"That is how you reached Legendri?" She asked, and more people walked closer to hear his answer.
"Yes. But Ascendri still eludes me. Something is missing."
"Self-acceptance." A new voice interjected as a blonde, blue-eyed man walked next to them, holding his hand behind his back. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, his face smiling and showing a bit of childish playfulness at the corner of his mouth.
"Maybe…" The man nodded, unbothered by his tone.
"If it is so, why are you still at the eight?" The woman asked, her voice a bit sharper. She knew full well the speaker as he was her own, distant ancestor on a maternal side from the 2nd Era. He was a man who was talented and strong, climbing to Legendri rank but consistently refusing to take up the role of Head of House Amarin, shrinking responsibilities whenever he could, sometimes running away for decades.
"Because I struggle with it." He answered with the same smile, shocking the rest. "Don't look at me like that…" He sighed a little, "I always feared this day… being woken up to face the time when I can no longer run away from the responsibilities of being an Amarin."
"Others would call you a coward." Another man spoke as now everyone was centering around them.
"I know. Yet if I truly were, I would not be here now, would I?"
"None of you would!" A sharp laugh interjected as Reyra walked in, turning all of the Amarins to her and letting their gazes scan her body and feel the aura of someone in the 9th Tier.
"Ascendri…" The oldest-looking Amarin murmured, going to his knees first as everyone else followed suit without questions.
"Greetings to the Head of the House! Glory to the blood of Amarin!" All of them echoed in unison, speaking as one, kneeling, their hands on their heart, saluting Reyra in earnest.
"Please…" She looked at them, the smallest of them all, feeling a little bashful now. "You are all my ancestors!"
"We may be, but we are yours to command!" A voice echoed from them, and they remained kneeling, only raising their heads.
"I am sorry to call you back from your slumber or well-earned retreat." She continued, glancing at each and every one of them. "But it had to be done. Our own country was already invaded by the Undead. My husband and my sons are out, same as the rest of the House and our 4th branch. We are scouring the land to find and root them out."
"We are at war then."
"Yes." Reyra nodded, not looking for the voice that spoke. "I know you need time to regain your bearings and catch up with our current Era. Please peruse the library and ask me anything you want… but I need you all out there, traveling the continent by next month."
"Are the others also waking up?"
"They do." Reyra explained, "We are yet to wake the dragons, but we, the Six, have started the process to bring back our own. We need as many eyes out there as possible and find the point of origin before it blows! This time, we can't be caught off guard like in the times of Erias!"
"Agreed." They said in unison.
"The rest of our forces are still only being woken up from hibernation… We started with you, who was in the Three Ri stage." She watched them as many smiled, nodding, finding it logical. "Those who are weaker need more time to regain their bearings! Until they are back and ready to stand under you and act as your personal armies, we need reconnaissance!"
"If we find something…"
"Don't act yet!" Reyra answered at once. "Watch, study, and report back to me! Wait until we gather our armies! If they do as much as smell you, they will retreat then we are back at square one! Our plans are clear and prepared! Whenever we locate one, we strike with all our might! Seal their retreat and eliminate everything that is in the vicinity!"
"Everything?" Another voice asked, sounding cold, wanting to hear it from Reyra's mouth, who simply nodded.
"Everything. From the animals to the people living there. For Meriath."
"For Meriath." All of them echoed, without hesitation, without questions, all of their gazes watching Reyra, looking firmly at her, their bodies unflinching, unquestioning. They all knew… the moment they woke up... The moment they heard the call back to the place where Erias Amarin died. The time has come…
The war has begun.
The news of Reyra Amarin breaking through, reaching the 9th Tier, and becoming the first Ascendri since the Dark Ages traveled through the realm like wildfire. It was not a secret as no living or dead soul could have missed the phenomena, visible from everywhere on Meriath.
"Your mother is something else!" Raufon laughed, raising his mug filled with beer, saluting Lia as the Misfits were having an evening party, celebrating the occasion.
"Ehehe… she is!" Lia giggled, barely able to sit still from the excitement. She wanted to go home and have a talk with Reyra as soon as possible.
"Did she really mix-" Keily asked, but then Aurora signaled with her fingers to remain silent and don't talk about it.
"Yep!" Lia nodded, knowing fully what he was getting at… but it was a secret. A taboo.
Reyra only told Lia and the rest of the leaders of the House of Amarin about successfully merging two opposing elements. When Lia told the rest, she made sure to make them swear they would not tell anybody else. Aurora took it incredibly seriously, placing a punishing spell on everybody. If they were about to spill it to someone else, it would immediately activate, burning their tongue, throats and damaging their brains.
"It is only us here… and Stumpy… I don't think he can even understand it…." Keily murmured, sulking, making Koa laugh, nudging Aurora.
"Don't be so strict! Relax a little! I don't think we are being listened to!"
"Maybe. Maybe not." Lia smirked, glancing at her bracelet momentarily, "Doesn't matter! When the Undead shows up in numbers, they will be surprised! Speaking of surprises!"
“Here… we… go…” Raufon mumbled, rolling his eyes and looking at the rest.
"What?" Lia asked, pouting, looking annoyed.
"I think we had enough sparring competitions inside the group!" Ceiline spoke kindly, trying to say it more diplomatically than Raufon could.
"No, I wasn't about to bring that up! We won't have time for that anymore!"
"We won't?" Everyone turned towards her, surprised.
"Yeah, we must prepare for this year's Egg Hunt!"
"Aren't we banned?" Koa raised the question that was on everyone's lips.
"The Silly Fox says we are going to be the ones holding the Eggs! Eight eggs, eight elements! So I will have to notify the rest of the leaders and make them get ready with their groups! Each of us will get an Egg, and we will set up trials that need to be conquered before we give the Eggs away!"
"Trials?" Keily asked, his floppy ears twitching, sounding excited by the news.
"You mean battles?" Koa grimaced, going by Lia's mood in the past month.
"Not necessarily!" She answered, tilting her head, tapping her lips with her index finger, "I think Lucy-"
"You call me that one more time, and I am going to shave your head bald like your buttocks!" Echoed Lucian's voice from Lia's bracelet.
"I knew we were listened to!" Aurora signed angrily, and as if the Headmaster read her, he continued.
"I am not spying; I just placed a filter on Lia's bracelet whenever she says 'Silly Fox' or 'Lucy.' I had enough nicknames; I don't need a new one every year."
"But you have been acting like a little girl lately…" Lia murmured, making many of them hold back their laughter, except Keily, who lowered his head, knowing it was he who had put the Headmaster in a bad mood many times. He was already flunked out of his class, yet he came back with Aurora, refusing to listen and trying his best to learn to walk No-Space, no matter how many times the Headmaster yelled at him or ignored his struggle.
"Your mind is not gifted to do it... accept it, boy, or suffer its consequences!" He said coldly, and Keily could hear it echo in his mind every night he slept. "I'll replace you in this year's Egg Hunt." Lucian went on while Keily was trying to regain his focus.
"NO!" Lia shrieked, standing up, looking at her glowing bracelet.
"Then stop making up weird nicknames for me! I am your Headmaster! I am more than twenty times your age!"
"I couldn't have guessed…." She added with a soft murmur.
"I will act like I did not hear that." Lucian answered in a monotone voice, "About the Egg Hunt… I don't want every group of yours to be about martial strength! I want to test the participants on multiple fronts, so I come up with something special! Something unique! If you can't, I will be disappointed in your name of Misfits!"
"Can it be… anything?" Ceiline asked, seemingly already having ideas.
"Yes. Anything goes as long as it measures someone's proficiency in their elements. To set up your tests, I will provide anything you may need… so feel free to go wild! The whole reserves and resources of the Institute are behind you this time!"
"Woah!" All of them exclaimed simultaneously, looking at each other.
"I want an extraordinary Egg Hunt this year too! Got it?"
"Yes!" Lia said, almost saluting. "You can count on us, Lucyeaaaaha?!" She jumped as red sparks jumped out from the bracelet, blasting her in the face. "My hair?!" Lia screamed, looking at the others who were shocked and then burst into loud laughs; even Keily could not hold it back, forgetting his sour mood at once.
Hurriedly lifting up a silver spoon and looking at her reflection, Lia couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh before laughing at herself too. Luckily, her hair remained intact, it just became extremely curled up, and now she looked like she wore a pale blonde, fluffy helmet instead of her usual, long hair.
…
….
……
"Mhhmm… how different! The air is so… lacking here!" Yuya stretched as she was occupying a new body, that of a young village girl. Nobody discovered when it happened… the kids, playing in the nearby meadow, enjoying the warming weather, welcoming the spring when Undeads appeared, capturing all of them. It was the most effortless body to occupy, and Cabrao did as ordered, planting his master's soul into one of them.
"You chose well! I like this one!" She said, watching her reflection in a mirror that Cabrao, now occupying a man's body, held up to her. She saw as her hair turned white instantly, and her eyes switched from brown to bright green.
"Thank you, Master." The man smiled, speaking in Cabrao's voice. "What about the other kids?" He asked, watching the unconscious children, guarded by a dozen normal Undeads.
"I will control their souls and play it safe." She waved her hand uninterestingly, fixing her lengthy hair and making braids. "How many live in the village?"
"Around a thousand souls."
“Find Dolores, Kaspian and Freina.” She named a few of her core disciples who should be already down in Meriath. "I want them here to keep the village under control when I venture out. I can alter their perception, but if a competent mage walks in here, he or she can spot me easily!"
"Yes, Master… but… that may take a little time. I don't know where they are now."
"Do it in under a month."
"I'll… try!"
"Go!" She nodded, finishing her hair, and Cabrao disappeared along with the rest of the Undead, and the children started to stir immediately.
When they sat up, they could swear that their friend, Lilia was different… something was… off about her… but they couldn't tell what. To their eyes, the white hair looked normal, the green eyes the same as always, never realizing that their mind, their soul was under her influence already, accepting her subconscious suggestions without any chance to fight back. Walking back to the village, anybody who looked into her eye was affected. They lost the opportunity to scream or realize she was already an Undead and simply forgot it… why would they scream for help when Lilia always looked like this… always.
"Mom!" She said with a playful giggle when arriving home at a small, modest house where her mother was just finishing cooking the stew for dinner. "Where are we?"
"Silly girl!" She laughed, rubbing her head but answering without seeing a problem with her question, "We are in the village of Temrial!"
"Under which empire?"
"Empire?" The woman laughed, proudly grinning, "We are not under any empire! We are a village under the rule of the strongest House in all of Meriath!"
"A… House?" Yuya flinched the first time her green eyes flashed with worry. This… was not good. Now she knew she had to be extra careful."
"Yes! Silly girl! You couldn't have forgotten it? Not when we are to celebrate the fact our House produced the first Ascendri in 4000 years? Once again?"
"Amarins…" She whispered, subconsciously gulping.
"Ahaha, of course! Are you afraid of the news? Of sighting Undeads in our territory? Don't worry! They have been dealt with! Lord Kawu himself descended into the Sub-Realm they appeared from, and with his sons, they rooted them up completely! We are in the safest place on Meriath! Now…” She patted her head, "Go, wash up before dinner! Your father should be home soon, and we can start eating!"
"O-Okay!" She murmured, going to the back of the House, biting her lip before calming down. "Well… it can be turned into an upside too… I can gain information on them, and… those bodies my brother is interested in are in possession of the Amarin boys. Hehe… well, well, well! Maybe I can surprise him early? Fufufu…”
…
….
……
In the castle of the Amarins, in its main hall, roughly forty people stood around, speaking with excitement as if they met for the first time… which was true for more than half of them. At one point, they were all prominent figures in the House. They were either their strongest mages or outright Heads of the House. Those who wore the principal features of Erias, the blonde hair and blue eyes at once, were ancestors of Reyra, coming from her branch. Those with only blue eyes were part of Koadriana's line, while those with only blond hair belonged to the current 2nd Branch.
Walking into the room would stun anyone who was not part of the Six Houses, as everyone present was either a 7th or 8th Tier mage, meaning everyone here was a Three Ri. Some still looked young, barely above the age of twenty, while others let the passage of time show on their faces.
"I couldn't have done what you did." A blonde woman with brown eyes sighed, looking at an older-looking man who smiled with a calm, peaceful expression in his blue eyes.
"Living amongst those who can't use magic makes you see things differently. Spending centuries wandering the land on foot makes your mind come into acceptance with time itself." He answered back.
"That is how you reached Legendri?" She asked, and more people walked closer to hear his answer.
"Yes. But Ascendri still eludes me. Something is missing."
"Self-acceptance." A new voice interjected as a blonde, blue-eyed man walked next to them, holding his hand behind his back. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, his face smiling and showing a bit of childish playfulness at the corner of his mouth.
"Maybe…" The man nodded, unbothered by his tone.
"If it is so, why are you still at the eight?" The woman asked, her voice a bit sharper. She knew full well the speaker as he was her own, distant ancestor on a maternal side from the 2nd Era. He was a man who was talented and strong, climbing to Legendri rank but consistently refusing to take up the role of Head of House Amarin, shrinking responsibilities whenever he could, sometimes running away for decades.
"Because I struggle with it." He answered with the same smile, shocking the rest. "Don't look at me like that…" He sighed a little, "I always feared this day… being woken up to face the time when I can no longer run away from the responsibilities of being an Amarin."
"Others would call you a coward." Another man spoke as now everyone was centering around them.
"I know. Yet if I truly were, I would not be here now, would I?"
"None of you would!" A sharp laugh interjected as Reyra walked in, turning all of the Amarins to her and letting their gazes scan her body and feel the aura of someone in the 9th Tier.
"Ascendri…" The oldest-looking Amarin murmured, going to his knees first as everyone else followed suit without questions.
"Greetings to the Head of the House! Glory to the blood of Amarin!" All of them echoed in unison, speaking as one, kneeling, their hands on their heart, saluting Reyra in earnest.
"Please…" She looked at them, the smallest of them all, feeling a little bashful now. "You are all my ancestors!"
"We may be, but we are yours to command!" A voice echoed from them, and they remained kneeling, only raising their heads.
"I am sorry to call you back from your slumber or well-earned retreat." She continued, glancing at each and every one of them. "But it had to be done. Our own country was already invaded by the Undead. My husband and my sons are out, same as the rest of the House and our 4th branch. We are scouring the land to find and root them out."
"We are at war then."
"Yes." Reyra nodded, not looking for the voice that spoke. "I know you need time to regain your bearings and catch up with our current Era. Please peruse the library and ask me anything you want… but I need you all out there, traveling the continent by next month."
"Are the others also waking up?"
"They do." Reyra explained, "We are yet to wake the dragons, but we, the Six, have started the process to bring back our own. We need as many eyes out there as possible and find the point of origin before it blows! This time, we can't be caught off guard like in the times of Erias!"
"Agreed." They said in unison.
"The rest of our forces are still only being woken up from hibernation… We started with you, who was in the Three Ri stage." She watched them as many smiled, nodding, finding it logical. "Those who are weaker need more time to regain their bearings! Until they are back and ready to stand under you and act as your personal armies, we need reconnaissance!"
"If we find something…"
"Don't act yet!" Reyra answered at once. "Watch, study, and report back to me! Wait until we gather our armies! If they do as much as smell you, they will retreat then we are back at square one! Our plans are clear and prepared! Whenever we locate one, we strike with all our might! Seal their retreat and eliminate everything that is in the vicinity!"
"Everything?" Another voice asked, sounding cold, wanting to hear it from Reyra's mouth, who simply nodded.
"Everything. From the animals to the people living there. For Meriath."
"For Meriath." All of them echoed, without hesitation, without questions, all of their gazes watching Reyra, looking firmly at her, their bodies unflinching, unquestioning. They all knew… the moment they woke up... The moment they heard the call back to the place where Erias Amarin died. The time has come…
The war has begun.
