The Storm Part 1

A flash of lightning tore through the fog, striking a tree in front of the expanded squad of soldiers. Branches collapsed onto the ground as smoke emanating from the tree merged with the fog surrounding them, the rain sizzling against its exposed trunk.

“HALT!” The squad leader commanded. “Deploy barriers on the ground and to our sides! The storm has gotten too bad to continue with stealth or speed in mind!” If the squad wasn’t so tightly packed together, his words would have been lost in the violent wind.

Dusty tapped the squad leader. “Wouldn’t the lights have already prevented stealth?”

Different colors of light circled around five of the soldier’s staffs.

“This many lights could be seen as will o’ the whisps, kitsunebi, traveling fairies, a merchant caravan, or some other creature. A barrier confirms it’s a team of mages.” The squad leader stared into the fog ahead with an intense, almost concerned gaze.

A palette of lights merged together, forming a rainbow box around them. Fewer clinks of rain against armor could be heard and they no longer fought against the wind just to remain standing.

“FORWARD MARCH!” The squad leader barked.

They marched forward, guided only by an arrow of light resting atop the squad leader’s staff. Their feet lifted off the ground onto a platform of hues as they advanced.

Dusty prodded the squad leader once again. “You never told me your name.”

“It might not be a good idea to tell you this now, but you’ll learn it anyway. It’s Zivot. Sergeant Zivot to you. And that’s the last question I’ll be answering from you until we’re done.”

“Sorry sir.”

———————————————————————————————————————

One of the orphans tugged on Vivian’s sleeve. “It’s been forever, when will Mary be back?”

Vivian recoiled in disgust, a pink light flicked over her, removing the near-nonexistent amount of dirt from her clothes and body. “Don’t do that again, she’ll be back when she gets back.”

Cassius stood up. “Fiivon come with me.” He walked towards the rear exit.

“What are we doing?” Fiivon followed behind him.

“If the skirmishes I endured as a mercenary have informed me of anything, it’s that being over prepared is far greater than being under prepared.” He lifted up his sleeves and put his hands beneath the table in the small room. “Help me barricade the exit with this.” He looked at the window.

Fiivon put his hands beneath the table and helped Cassius move it in front of the door.

“Vivian.” Cassius walked out of the small room with Fiivon in tow.

“What.” She looked irritated.

“It would be a wise decision to strengthen the windows with your magic.”

“Why can’t you do it?” Vivian snapped back.

“The strength of your magic is well above mine.” He patted Fiivon on the back. “It would be quite the learning opportunity for Fiivon as well.”

Fiivon looked at Cassius like he was insane.

“Of course there are more strings attached.” She saw Fiivon’s reaction. “You know what? f*** it. Let's go learn some magic; you like magic don’t you.” Vivian grabbed Fiivon’s arm and tried to pull him.

“W-wait I never said I wanted to.” Fiivon pulled back, breaking Vivian’s hold on him with minimal effort.

They gave each other a look of confusion.

A pink glow surrounded Vivian.

“It would be wise to go willingly, Fiivon.” Cassius suggested.

“Fine I’ll go, I don’t want to be carried around again.” Fiivon walked over to Vivian and waited.

She picked up Fiivon and placed him in front of her then nudged him. “You first.”

“You’re stronger Miss Vivian shouldn’t you be going—”

“Nope.” Vivian went to pick him up.

“I’d rather go first then be carried, at least that way it’ll be easier for me to focus on learning magic.” Fiivon feigned confidence and walked up the stairs

Vivian followed behind, yawning.

———————————————————————————————————————

Five soldiers wearing gleaming armor with a staff in hand and sword at their hip stood in a line in front of sergeant Morian.

The domed room was nothing more than bare concrete with a cheap, wooden table set and a couple of locked but otherwise unremarkable cabinets.

Three passages left the room. Two of them met the room at a sixty degree angle, forming the top edge of a triangle. The other passage travelled above the triangle in a straight line until it bent, aligning itself with the nearest passage.

“Plans have changed. Due to the weather and that heinous bastard’s ‘generosity’, we will no longer be meeting up with Sergeant Zivot’s men. Instead we will flank the orphanage, either cutting off their escape or providing support from the rear. We will head out the moment we receive his alert signal. You are to stand by until then.”

———————————————————————————————————————

Two Consulate scouts rocketed through the trees, their staffs as low to the ground as possible while still remaining airborne. Yellow eggs of light surrounded them, deflecting the rain and wind. Triangles of light hovered in front of them pointing towards the orphanage.

When they breached the tree line, the two split up and circled around Woodside until they were in the orphanage’s blind spots. Neither Sergeant Zivot’s nor Sergeant Morian’s men could be spotted through the dense fog nor were there lights of any kind to signify either their presence or the presence of their target’s.

The scouts waited until they could see a faint, multicolored light, peaking out from behind the heavy fog and dense tree cover in the northeast. They shot at an upward angle onto the orphanage’s second floor, dampening the sound of their landing with magic. 

The windows were dark and no one could be found inside. The scouts reasoned their targets were likely downstairs; after all, in a storm like this, it would be safest to keep away from windows.

According to Sergeant Morian, one of the front facing windows could be opened from the outside. They each circled around the building then pressed themselves up against the outer walls surrounding the correct window when they reached it.

Rain poured down the barriers surrounding the scouts as they waited to receive the go ahead from Sergeant Zivot.

———————————————————————————————————————

One of the orphans, the same one who tugged on her sleeve earlier, approached Vivian. “Mary came through the window upstairs, do you think the bad guys will do the same thing?”

“No, why would they? Not like they’ll be able to break through my magic anyway.” Vivian didn’t bother to look at the child. She looked disappointed.

“Um, miss Vivian, you never put a lock on that window.” A look of concern spread across Fiivon’s face. “They could just open it and walk inside.”

“Vivian. Will you magically lock the window?” Cassius asked, rubbing his temple.

“What’s the point, Mary will probably take care of everything anyway.”

“Mary is only a single person, Vivian. With the Consulate of Mages located nearby and our handling of their scouts, they would most certainly be deploying far too many troops for Mary to be able protect us from when we are separated like this. We would do well to defend ourselves as best we can.”

“Fine. Since it will make their lives harder, I’ll do it.” She stomped upstairs, a steam-like glow of fuschia trailing behind her.

———————————————————————————————————————

The tall shadows of nearby trees barely visible through the fog disappeared, giving way to a large clearing. A gap in the fog rolled through Woodside, allowing the squad to see glimpses of buildings and the grass underfoot.

Sergeant Zivot broke course from the arrow, heading to Woodside’s only road. The squad only knew they arrived at the road when the triangle above Sergeant Zivot’s staff pointed away from the direction they were heading at a ninety degree angle.

They turned in unison with a single step before marching forward.

A bolt of lightning struck an abandoned hut nearby causing the thatched roof and wooden walls to ignite only for the heavy downpour to suppress the flames almost as soon as they appeared. The brief flash of light revealed the green coat of a towering figure standing roughly twenty meters in front of them.

“HALT!” Sergeant Zivot commanded.

The figure disappeared into the fog.

“You are currently wanted by the Consulate of Mages for the murder of two soldiers and the suspected murder of eight Consulate citizens! If you come willingly, you will be granted the ability to negotiate your freedom in exchange for your assistance in our fight against the Brass Armada!”

The figure didn’t respond.

All of Sergeant Zivot’s men were still there.

“If you and your accomplices cooperate, we will be granting them the same deal!”

Nothing.

Dusty tapped Sergeant Zivot. “She might not even be there anymore.”

“She is, you can still see her faint outline through the rain. She still hasn’t moved which means she’s likely willing to talk.”

“Or she’s just waiting for us to let our guard down.” One of the soldiers chimed in.

"Or somethin' else is goin' on." Another soldier spread unease throughout the squad.

———————————————————————————————————————

A flash of red light erupted from Sergeant Morian’s staff.

“That’s our signal, get in formation.”

The soldiers organized themselves in a single file line.

“FORWARD MARCH.” His voice echoed throughout the bunker.

The soldiers marched forward followed by General Morian who kept some distance.

There’s that feeling again; something isn’t right. His pace slowed and he fell behind the others.

The Door swung open, hitting the crystal Mary set that morning. A black crystal with red streaks fell into view.

Sergeant Morian dove onto the ground away from the door.

A loud boom shook the bunker as an all encompassing flame shot from behind the magically enhanced door slamming it into the falling crystal. A second boom followed by another burst of flames disintegrated the door, shrouding the first soldier in flames and shaking the Earth. The other four saw the falling crystal crack in the center of them.

Their eyes went wide for a brief moment, their mouths unable to form words before a third explosion wracked the passage, covering it in flames.

Sergeant Morian heard the screams behind him and watched as the soldiers' bodies were torn to shreds by the sheer force of the explosion, turning their now charred remains into ashen human shrapnel. The heat of the flames above him, caused sweat to leak from his body. The air became difficult to breathe.

Chunks of dirt and concrete fell from the ceiling as the passage began to collapse. Sergeant Morian got up and ran as fast as he could, hoping to receive another miracle and survive once again. He nearly made it back to the safety of the dome when a large chunk of concrete slammed into his shin, crushing it and pinning him to the bunker floor. His staff slammed into the ground. Skin was torn from his hand as it bounced through it and clattered onto the ground, out of his reach.

The pain coupled with an intense burning sensation and the extreme heat produced by the flames nearly caused him to pass out. He reached for his staff, stretching himself further and further, increasing his exhaustion. He struggled to breathe, black dots invading his vision. He felt his hand grasp the familiar wood of his staff. His lungs emptied as sigh of relief escaped his mouth. It felt as though he was breathing through a straw, then breathing became nearly impossible as the darkness overtook his vision and he lay motionless on the ground.