Chapter 376: Ice and War
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Chapter 376: Ice and War
Baron Orlo Fallowstone, High Mage of the College of Arcane Runecasters, could only cringe in horror as the disaster unfurled. It began with the roar of a dragon so powerful that every mage in the Collegium quaked in fear and hid. The High Mage and other high-level professors fought through the fear and staggered to windows, needing to know what was happening. The storm was worse now, obscuring the tower itself except during the brief second when mana from the rift pulsed to the top and back down. No one had any idea what would happen if an Ancient Dragon flew too close to the tower. Such a thing should never happen. Most dragons were spell casters, and even those few who weren't could sense the flow of magic. The Sanitarium and rift would be visible to them. Dragons were intelligent and vain creatures who wouldn't risk their lives to experiment and 'see what happens' the way a human might.
The roaring continued for long minutes, and the High Mage sent for a half-elven journeyman who was known to decipher texts written in draconic. Phileas ran into the room, followed more slowly by two older mages.
"What is the beast saying? Can you decipher his roars?"
Quaking in front of the High Mage, whom he was meeting for the first time, Philleas gathered what little courage was left in him. Reading dusty texts had not prepared him for dealing with the real thing.
"It's difficult, but I have been taking notes. The creature is an Ice Drake from the far north. It boasts about its power and mentions conquering the 'soft, warm' lands. There's a lot of bragging about how powerful it is in battle, how long it can fight, and the surrender of anyone entering combat with it. It repeats that a lot. Then some talk about its hoard, its lineage, and then back to bragging about how long it can fight and how happy its opponent will be to surrender."
What wasn't in debate was the magnitude of what had been lost. In the aftermath of the disaster, it was concluded that the Ice Wizards had found an unguarded weak point and pounced on the opportunity to cripple the Empire's teleportation system. The mana rift was larger and more uncontrollable than ever, spewing out wild mana and icy blasts of cold air, making it impossible to get close enough to begin the arduous task of getting the rift under control. Recreating the magitech that regulated the rift and provided mana for the teleportation system would be impossible to rebuild without years of study, research, and experimentation. The only person with the knowledge of how to reconstruct the siphon, Vladimir, had died in the tower. (Seeking out Damien Franklin was brought up repeatedly but countered by the fact hundreds of bounty hunters and paladins were already looking for him for decades with no success.)
The shockwave of mana that was forced into the teleport system resulted in outages across most of the system and even the destruction of some teleport stones. It took four days to bring the system back up, and mana was so scarce that the Emperor declared that teleportation could only be used for emergencies, the movement of troops and their supplies. No one in the Mage's Guild looked forward to going to sleep each night with mana sickness and no money to show for it.
While a disaster, the event did make some people happy. The teamsters and wagon makers' guilds looked forward to merchants needing wagons to transport goods and the fees that would line their pockets.
And the Ice Wizards, who were slowly mobilizing their troops, were thankful for the opportunity it gave them. They raised glasses of chilled wine and sang the name of Arthamax, King of the Frozen Wyrms, who had the wit and courage to take the battle to the warm lands. The rumors of a female dragon at the tower brought winks and nudges. Arthamax was known for his lust for life and the many descendants he had sired. They wished him a happy honeymoon and a quick return.
The orcs of the southern forests saw the weakness of the Empire as a sign from their gods that it was time to march to war under the banner of their new leader. Orc and Goblin tribes from all over the world traveled the hidden pathways that would take them to join with their cousins for the battles to come.
The lizardmen creating a War Road north to the Empire would find out the news of the disaster soon and would exclaim in wonder at the wisdom of Unca-Varn. Surely, their gods had sent him a vision of what was to come.
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Chapter 376: Ice and War
Baron Orlo Fallowstone, High Mage of the College of Arcane Runecasters, could only cringe in horror as the disaster unfurled. It began with the roar of a dragon so powerful that every mage in the Collegium quaked in fear and hid. The High Mage and other high-level professors fought through the fear and staggered to windows, needing to know what was happening. The storm was worse now, obscuring the tower itself except during the brief second when mana from the rift pulsed to the top and back down. No one had any idea what would happen if an Ancient Dragon flew too close to the tower. Such a thing should never happen. Most dragons were spell casters, and even those few who weren't could sense the flow of magic. The Sanitarium and rift would be visible to them. Dragons were intelligent and vain creatures who wouldn't risk their lives to experiment and 'see what happens' the way a human might.
The roaring continued for long minutes, and the High Mage sent for a half-elven journeyman who was known to decipher texts written in draconic. Phileas ran into the room, followed more slowly by two older mages.
"What is the beast saying? Can you decipher his roars?"
Quaking in front of the High Mage, whom he was meeting for the first time, Philleas gathered what little courage was left in him. Reading dusty texts had not prepared him for dealing with the real thing.
"It's difficult, but I have been taking notes. The creature is an Ice Drake from the far north. It boasts about its power and mentions conquering the 'soft, warm' lands. There's a lot of bragging about how powerful it is in battle, how long it can fight, and the surrender of anyone entering combat with it. It repeats that a lot. Then some talk about its hoard, its lineage, and then back to bragging about how long it can fight and how happy its opponent will be to surrender."
What wasn't in debate was the magnitude of what had been lost. In the aftermath of the disaster, it was concluded that the Ice Wizards had found an unguarded weak point and pounced on the opportunity to cripple the Empire's teleportation system. The mana rift was larger and more uncontrollable than ever, spewing out wild mana and icy blasts of cold air, making it impossible to get close enough to begin the arduous task of getting the rift under control. Recreating the magitech that regulated the rift and provided mana for the teleportation system would be impossible to rebuild without years of study, research, and experimentation. The only person with the knowledge of how to reconstruct the siphon, Vladimir, had died in the tower. (Seeking out Damien Franklin was brought up repeatedly but countered by the fact hundreds of bounty hunters and paladins were already looking for him for decades with no success.)
The shockwave of mana that was forced into the teleport system resulted in outages across most of the system and even the destruction of some teleport stones. It took four days to bring the system back up, and mana was so scarce that the Emperor declared that teleportation could only be used for emergencies, the movement of troops and their supplies. No one in the Mage's Guild looked forward to going to sleep each night with mana sickness and no money to show for it.
While a disaster, the event did make some people happy. The teamsters and wagon makers' guilds looked forward to merchants needing wagons to transport goods and the fees that would line their pockets.
And the Ice Wizards, who were slowly mobilizing their troops, were thankful for the opportunity it gave them. They raised glasses of chilled wine and sang the name of Arthamax, King of the Frozen Wyrms, who had the wit and courage to take the battle to the warm lands. The rumors of a female dragon at the tower brought winks and nudges. Arthamax was known for his lust for life and the many descendants he had sired. They wished him a happy honeymoon and a quick return.
The orcs of the southern forests saw the weakness of the Empire as a sign from their gods that it was time to march to war under the banner of their new leader. Orc and Goblin tribes from all over the world traveled the hidden pathways that would take them to join with their cousins for the battles to come.
The lizardmen creating a War Road north to the Empire would find out the news of the disaster soon and would exclaim in wonder at the wisdom of Unca-Varn. Surely, their gods had sent him a vision of what was to come.
Chapter 376: Ice and WarBaron Orlo Fallowstone, High Mage of the College of Arcane Runecasters, could only cringe in horror as the disaster unfurled. It began with the roar of a dragon so powerful that every mage in the Collegium quaked in fear and hid. The High Mage and other high-level professors fought through the fear and staggered to windows, needing to know what was happening. The storm was worse now, obscuring the tower itself except during the brief second when mana from the rift pulsed to the top and back down. No one had any idea what would happen if an Ancient Dragon flew too close to the tower. Such a thing should never happen. Most dragons were spell casters, and even those few who weren't could sense the flow of magic. The Sanitarium and rift would be visible to them. Dragons were intelligent and vain creatures who wouldn't risk their lives to experiment and 'see what happens' the way a human might.The roaring continued for long minutes, and the High Mage sent for a half-elven journeyman who was known to decipher texts written in draconic. Phileas ran into the room, followed more slowly by two older mages."What is the beast saying? Can you decipher his roars?"Quaking in front of the High Mage, whom he was meeting for the first time, Philleas gathered what little courage was left in him. Reading dusty texts had not prepared him for dealing with the real thing."It's difficult, but I have been taking notes. The creature is an Ice Drake from the far north. It boasts about its power and mentions conquering the 'soft, warm' lands. There's a lot of bragging about how powerful it is in battle, how long it can fight, and the surrender of anyone entering combat with it. It repeats that a lot. Then some talk about its hoard, its lineage, and then back to bragging about how long it can fight and how happy its opponent will be to surrender."What wasn't in debate was the magnitude of what had been lost. In the aftermath of the disaster, it was concluded that the Ice Wizards had found an unguarded weak point and pounced on the opportunity to cripple the Empire's teleportation system. The mana rift was larger and more uncontrollable than ever, spewing out wild mana and icy blasts of cold air, making it impossible to get close enough to begin the arduous task of getting the rift under control. Recreating the magitech that regulated the rift and provided mana for the teleportation system would be impossible to rebuild without years of study, research, and experimentation. The only person with the knowledge of how to reconstruct the siphon, Vladimir, had died in the tower. Seeking out Damien Franklin was brought up repeatedly but countered by the fact hundreds of bounty hunters and paladins were already looking for him for decades with no success.The shockwave of mana that was forced into the teleport system resulted in outages across most of the system and even the destruction of some teleport stones. It took four days to bring the system back up, and mana was so scarce that the Emperor declared that teleportation could only be used for emergencies, the movement of troops and their supplies. No one in the Mage's Guild looked forward to going to sleep each night with mana sickness and no money to show for it. While a disaster, the event did make some people happy. The teamsters and wagon makers' guilds looked forward to merchants needing wagons to transport goods and the fees that would line their pockets. And the Ice Wizards, who were slowly mobilizing their troops, were thankful for the opportunity it gave them. They raised glasses of chilled wine and sang the name of Arthamax, King of the Frozen Wyrms, who had the wit and courage to take the battle to the warm lands. The rumors of a female dragon at the tower brought winks and nudges. Arthamax was known for his lust for life and the many descendants he had sired. They wished him a happy honeymoon and a quick return.The orcs of the southern forests saw the weakness of the Empire as a sign from their gods that it was time to march to war under the banner of their new leader. Orc and Goblin tribes from all over the world traveled the hidden pathways that would take them to join with their cousins for the battles to come.The lizardmen creating a War Road north to the Empire would find out the news of the disaster soon and would exclaim in wonder at the wisdom of Unca-Varn. Surely, their gods had sent him a vision of what was to come.
