Chapter 1.2 - Beyond the horizon of dreams, chaos finds him

Captain Thelian leads us to a makeshift camp hastily erected near the colossal gates. The place buzzed chaotic activity; tents were scattered in haste, forming a disorganized array amid the rising tension. Clusters of guards huddled together, engaged in animated discussion, their voices carrying snippets of fragmented information. The air itself pulsed with anxiety as camp was engulfed, a storm of confusion and worry swirling through the camp like a relentless whirlwind.

Captain Thelian, then gestured toward a tent sent apart from the others. Its flaps were drawn, veiling its interior from prying eyes. As we stepped inside, the outside clamor lost into the silence, as though we had entered a different world.

Maps lay scattered across a table, detailing the city and its environment with meticulous precision - every street, alley, and hidden corner laid bare.

He motioned towards the seats. It was clear. He was about to unveil the truth behind the chaos.

“Captain! You’ve returned,” a gate guard called out, rushing forward. His face bore an expression that was a mixture of desperation and urgency. "I have unfortunate news. The Elven square is in flames. Rebels have taken over the area.”

“Rebels?” the boss echoed, his voice low and heavy, the words hanging in the air like a thundercloud. The guard’s eyes darted between the four of us, his brows furrowed in confusion. He seemed at loss for words his concern through hesitant glances as he cast around the tent.

Captain Thelian, reading the room with a sharp instinct, gave the guard a curt nod and spoke in a firm, measured tone. “Sergeant, you and other guards are dismissed. I need a private word with my friend here.”

Without protest, the guard and the rest of the officers exited. The tent flaps fell shut behind them, muting the chaos outside. Inside the tent, a lantern’s light danced, casting shadows on the map laid before us.

Thelian gave the boss a searching glance, then cast a cautious glance toward the three of us, his eyes betraying a moment of internal debate. Sensing the silent message, the boss nodded, slowly, offering a quiet reassurance: “Don’t worry, Captain. They are a reliable lot. You can speak your mind.”

Captain Thelian motioned us toward the war table, his polished cryalume armor catching the lamplight as he took his seat. Outside the tent, the symphony of chaos continued – shouts, clanging steel – but inside the tent, the air weighed with the impending revelation. Captain Thelian’s hand spread across the map as he spoke.

“General. It began on the night of Drachenfeurm the 12th,” His voice, nothing but a whisper. “Around South gate, a local guard station reported two masked individuals holding an elven family hostage in the Elven quarters. Our response team went iin and with flawless execution, we saved the family and apprehended the attackers. It all went flawless. Too flawless.”

He set a beverage cup aside, probably tea with deliberate care as he continued. “Later, they were taken up for interrogation at the local station. Following protocol, the officers kept them in separate cells, Then, mid questioning, one of the attackers started…acting strange. His pupils dilated, and he started mumbling nonsense. Then,” Thelian throat bobbed “the bleeding started. From all holes of his body. Blood gushed out and abruptly he detonated like a bomb. Not just flesh – every bone became shrapnel. And where he’d stood a magick circle, a gateway appeared.”

“And from it, hundreds poured through, General. Hundreds. By the time the station could contact reinforcements, the masked rebels had taken control of the surrounding area. And this wasn’t an isolated attack. From the night of the 12th to the early morning of the 13th, we had four such incidents at four locations around the city.”

Captain Thelain took a deep breath, steadying himself. His eyes flickered overs the map, tracing the ominous red circles scattered throughout the map of Eden.

"The red circles, General,” he began in a hushed tone, voice laced with somber gravity, “mark the areas that rebels have attacked. They have spared no one— men, women, the elderly and not even children. Home, temples, markets –all were set ablaze. The fires are spreading faster than we can contain them. Our forces are stretched thin. The situation is dire.”

Boss absorbed the grim details in silence. The enigmatic Lizardman’s face remained unreadable, but there was a quiet intensity in his eyes. As Thelian finished laying the bare truth, his words painted a vivid and harrowing picture of what had happened in Eden. Boss broke through the tension and spoke with a voice unsettlingly calm.

“A co-ordinated, well-planned attack using space-time arcanography…How could…” He paused, lost in thought. His face twisted with an expression that revealed how much he detested the words forming in his mind. Finally, with a hesitant resolve, he said, “Excuse, my rudeness, captain, and correct me if I'm wrong, but by any chance, are all those rebels…. Mlecchians? Because, from your account, the magick style used was mlechha type.”

The question hung in the air like a loaded weapon. The captain hesitated, his silence betraying a truth he was afraid to confess. His fingers drummed against his holster as seconds turned into minutes, the soft tapping amplified the unnaturally silent room. As the room braced for a revelation, breaking the uneasy stillness, Izel interjected abruptly with his stern and cold voice, addressing Boss directly.

“Boss, I don't think the captain can answer that and it makes no difference. To the state, all terrorists are the same; their race hardly matters. Isn’t it, Captain?”

The captain, taken aback by the unanticipated response, looked back and forth between Boss and Izel and with a half-hearted yes, he reluctantly agreed. Boss shot a serious glance at Izel, conveying his dissatisfaction with his interruption. The fiery tension in the room escalated, as Ludwig and I shared a look of mutual bafflement.

Boss, unfazed by the diversion, ended the silence as he stood from his chair with a grunt. He leaned in, placing a finger to the map’s center. “Elven sanctuary in the central plaza. Have the Eden forces taken control of it? The movements of terrorists say that they aim to control it.”

Thelian gaze fell like a heavy curtain, his posture folding inward, as if bearing the weight of Eden’s chaos. The words he spoke seemed to bleed from the wounds of failure. “My apologies, General...but we have already lost that area. We’ve faced them in countless confrontations across Eden. Though we’ve eliminated many of their ranks, yet our attempts to take back our strongholds have shattered like glass upon stone. "Then, as he glanced down at the maps, the flickering light of lantern casted an odd glow at the detailed description Of Eden.

“We apprehended a few of them” he continued, walking up to the board where sketches of a few individuals were pinned, each of them depicting a face of the enemy. The other thing I noticed was what Boss had hinted at, the five of them seemed to be mlecchians. “We tried everything to extract information out of them, but it seems they anticipated our line of thought and had gone through a ritual of magical oaths. Since, the instant we extract even a syllable of their secret plan or leader, their bodies turn into bombs, and they explode. To prevent that, we have halted the interrogation.”

Izel studied the map, his sharp eyes scanning the captain and his subtle movement before he spoke. His voice, laced with an air of intellectual authority. “How about the casualties on each side?”

“As of the moment” he continued, as he pulled out a few other maps and photos and handed them around, then sat back. "We have lost more than 200 people. About 75% of it has been civilian life, lost to fires, destruction, and also the hands of rebels. At the same time, the remaining 25% casualties have been the brave warriors of Eden”. While he explained all of it, our eyes uneasily shifted between the maps and photos and, like an uninvited guest, the horror descended. Their photos were silent screams, each image dagger twisting in the gut, revealing the raw, unfiltered brutality on innocent lives. The faces of elves stared back at me, hollow and haunted, eyes that said I will not forgive you.

“Captain…” Boss murmured.

The captain’s face etched with hopeless frustration. “General...Hm… These are photos of mutilated bodies we found in an abandoned inn on the west side of Eden. These victims differ from the other casualties in two aspects. One, all of them were missing for weeks, long before the attack on Eden. Our research also indicates that they have been dead since then. The other terrifying aspect is that they all are missing various organs such as liver, intestine and the heart. We are yet to figure out the reason behind this or whether this is related to the rebels or not, but we couldn't ignore it.

As the enormity of the information sank into our minds, a whisper slipped from my lips – what I assumed to be just a thought confined to my head unexpectedly escaped as a quiet mumble. “But how did this many enter the city?” The murmur echoed in that stillness. It was the captain, with a confused face, who interjected and said “I explained, didn’t I? They used bodies as magickal circle.”

“Uh!” caught in a web of stares and confusion, anxiety washed over me, but continuing, I explained my reasoning. “What I meant is that Eden is surrounded by mountains and thick vegetation with no nearby cities. The nearest habitable city is Irene, but that is ruled by the Low Elves. And the distance is more than 150 kms. The amount of space needed to draw that circle would scale with the number of people that would traverse through it. And as per report there were two hundred of them, and that’s a lot of them. So, it doesn’t make any sense how these many terrorists entered Eden. It defies the principles of logicas.

The question pulled the room into a bottomless pit of silence. One where the truth hung in the air, yet everyone looked away, as if refusing to acknowledge it. Thelian’s eyes wavered, his hesitation expressed through his downcasted eyes, crumbling under the weight of truth and his values.

“Hu-hu. Brat, if you don’t get that much, you got a tough road ahead of you, Kid,” a deep voice interjected, drawing our attention as it shattered through the facade of glass.

“They didn’t enter or infiltrate. They have been living here in Eden for years. The terrorists, or as the captain used the word ‘rebels'. They must have had sleeper members of the faction acting in Eden. Not to forget, they purposely chose an area where Eden forces had low connectivity and planned an all-out attack to control it. Just like pesky durants that eat away the place where they live. The rebels are none other mlecchian citizens of this city.” the man finished, his red eyes glimmering with beastly rage or perhaps excitement. His wolf ears perked up, and the massive scar stretching from his left eye to edge of his lips added a rugged edge to his demeanor.

“Isn’t that right, Thelian Estentoniem?” He spoke, ruffling his hands through his silky gray hair as he leaned back in his chair grinning.

“ You... have quite harsh words for me, Beastman.I have no obligation to partake in such foolery of a statement. Do not forget that, I am the captain. That tone might end up bringing your end right here and now.”

“Harsh words? spare me with that lip service? It’s spelled TRUTH in my tongue” the beastman responded.

“That is enough, Fenris!” Boss began, slamming his fist on the table, and silencing the bickering between Thelian and Fenris. “This is not the hour to have such childish talks. We came here with purpose.” He glared at the two men.

“For the present, Fenris, Izel, Gurit and Ludwig, we are all bound by a sacred duty. Sworn to the solemn oath of my liege, we must lend a hand to the captain. It appears the rebels have ambitions far greater than mere guerrilla attacks. We can't just let it happen.Such machinations cannot go unchecked.The pattern, especially the pattern of red circles suggests that all onslaughts we have witnessed are but a ruse.”

"A ruse!” Thelian exclaimed, his voice tinged with incredulity at Boss’s abrupt deduction.” What led to such a deduction, General?” Thelian finished.

"The Esoteric art. Are you familiar with it, Captain?” inquired Boss, his voice a low murmur that carried the weight of the impending doom.

"Eso-teric?” Thelian echoed, the syllables foreign on his tongue, his brow furrowed in bewilderment.

“It’s a clandestine branch of magick.” Izel interjected, elucidating as his features contorted, a furrow etched between his brows as he surveyed the map, a chilling realization dawned in his eyes. With a short breath he continued. “The art involves magickal geometries, captain. But...”

“But?” Thelian prompted.

“Human sacrifice.” Boss intoned apathetically. “Esotericism wields unimaginable might. But the cost for such incredible power has a macabre toll. Human flesh and blood are offered at the altar of power. Captain, observe the sites of the onslaughts. If you connect these red circles, you get a pentagon- an esoteric sigil, a rune of conjuration and a gateway to void. When you add those mutilated bodies and organs in the picture, it makes even more sense. The rebels ultimate aim is a ritual of esoteric summoning.”

"How can this be? But that implies we must thwart their ritual before its culmination. I must relay this information posthaste. General, if you will excuse me?”

“Stay your haste, Captain. I fear we are too late; the hour is already upon us. As we speak, the rebels are likely enmeshed in their dark incantations, teetering on the brink of mass suicide. No, perhaps they may have already commenced. My apologies captain, but we are powerless. The clock ticks inevitably towards chaos.

“General… No, this cannot be…. There has to be a path, we must….”

FLASH!!!

….

Suddenly, a deafening blast ripped through the silence. The air quivered with the reverberation of a thunderous blast, accompanied by a blinding flash of light that penetrated the fabric walls of shelter. The tent trembled with the force of explosion. In the wake of the blast, a heavy silence settled over us. Each of us, momentarily stunned, exchanged glances that spoke volumes more than words ever could. The last conversation echoed in our minds, rendering questions of ‘what’, ‘why’, and ‘how’ redundant. We knew- it was the, the one which we feared. Yet not a single word escaped our lips.

Thelian, overcome by a sense of duty that outweighed the shock, inhaled deeply, his breaths heavy. With a resolve born of desperation, reflected by the deep lines etched on his face, mirroring the tumult of emotions raging within. He rushed out through the tent’s entrance, the fabric flaps falling limply behind him, a silent testament to the urgency of his departure.

Even then, we remained frozen, our body refusing to budge, as if tethered to ground by an invisible force. I couldn't help but wonder why. Was it the certainty of calamity looming over us, casting a shadow so dark that even movement seemed futile? Or was it the unbearable weight of facing Thelian, knowing the burden of his gaze? The thought gnawed at me, paralyzing in its intensity.

As we stood there, grappling with our inertia, the chaos outside intruded upon our sanctuary, its murmurs penetrating the fabric of our tent like haunting whispers of unfolding tragedy.

…

“Captain.”

"That sound and the flash of light? What was it?”

"There in the sky, captain.”

The guard’s finger quivered as it pointed skyward, where a malignant glow teared through sky like clawed hands reaching from the depths of the abyss. Its ghastly glow cast ominous shadows that danced menacingly across the landscape. It was as though the very specter of death had unfurled its cloak, a tapestry woven from the darkest fears of man. Thelian, witnessing the celestial omen, felt his resolve crumble; his legs gave away and his knees buckled beneath him as he collapsed to the ground. His fists pounding the earth in a futile protest against fate. Tears blurred his vision, as he grappled with the crushing weight of failure and loss. "How could this happen.” he gasped, the words mere whisper against the cacophony of destiny.

Fenris, his voice a low murmur amidst the chaos, intoned, “So, this is the esoterica of death.” His words hung heavy in the air, a grim acknowledgement of dire circumstances.

In that moment of despair, the boss approached, his presence a comforting anchor in a storm of despair. He crouched before Thelian, placing a reassuring hand upon his downcasted head.

“Captain..I cannot hope to understand your despair. We may be powerless, but surrender is a luxury we cannot afford.” He said, his voice was iron wrapped in fire. “The cursed conjuration may break our bodies. Death may march upon us, inevitable and unyielding. But hear this – we are not yet defeated! If we can save even one life, we stand and fight. Even if this world would crumble to dust, we fight. Not with hopes, not with prayers but with teeth bared and blade screaming. Let the blood paint the earth before we yield our hopes and dreams.

This is not the end. It is the hour in which great men are forged. So, rise, Captain – not as just a soldier, but a light that pierces darkness. I know, you are a man that does not beg salvation but forges one. Now wage war – let the heavens remember the name of Eden and its mighty force.

…..

“What is that you fear?” Boss inquired once.

At that time, I was lost in a sea of uncertainty, unable to anchor my thoughts to a response.

But, then that day, with a smile so uncharacteristic, it seemed to warp his very image, he revealed his own. “For me,” he confided, “it is the day I fall to despair. To not falter until every ounce of my essence is crippled, to wage war against the inevitable until my breath wanes. To face death with a smirk, to mock it with the audacity of hope.”

“A classic cliche…” The words slipped from me before I could catch them.

His stare, intense and unsettling bore into me. “Hmm?” he intoned.

“Nothing” I replied hastily, my head oscillating in a silent bid to the gravity of our exchange.

Yet, in the quiet that followed, I thought to myself, could he truly smile in the face of death, and greet the end with a grin?

A beacon of hope, strong enough to shatter the darkness, what if it was a tainted chalice, its content leading only to greater tragedy? What if the truth we sought was grotesque revelation, better left shrouded in mystery?

The musings haunted me. But with those words of Boss to Thelian, a flicker of defiance sparked within my eyes. As I glanced towards Thelian, as he rose not just in stature but spirit, ready to confront the looming chaos with the valor of a thousand suns.