“WAR! Traxia Invades Absenstadt!


    “It is with deep regret that we are to inform all our dear readers that the inevitable has happened. Traxia has launched a full scale invasion of Abenstadt’s eastern border. Though two border forts have been taken. Thanks to the heroic sacrifice of the Abenstadtian troops holding the fortresses, they set off enough explosives to collapse the mountainside. A minor delay but a delay nonetheless as Traxian forces suffered heavy casualties from the manoeuvre. Members of the Nautican Admiralty and our own Chamber of Stalwart Justice have convened to discuss a plausible course of action in the days to come. In a rare show of defiance and righteousness of our position, Traxian Prince Carus and Princess Lucinia Trax have made a public statement at the Academy of Arteria, asking for all Traxian students to focus on their studies and to avoid the war. ”


    - Arterian Affairs, Special News Edition Vol 13, “Front Page”


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    Elaria leapt over the log she was sitting on and dashed towards the last wagon. The one that held both her meager belongings and Raylani. Her worst fears were confirmed when she found two of the sentries dead, one with an arrow sticking out of his throat, the other seemingly putting up some fight judging by the cut marks on the tree nearby.


    “Intrud-” She had only begun to yell when every fiber of her being tensed.


    Within her, strange signals were sent throughout her body and the danger it was in. Acting on instinct, she dropped to a crouch as an arrow whizzed past her. Damn, trouble.


    “Intruders!” She yelled loudly, staying low but dashing away.


    More arrows slammed against the wagons that she ran past, the rest of the caravan now scrambling to their positions as well. Dark, lithe shadowy figures seemed to materialize out of the frosty treeline beside the caravan, their darkened cloaks blending into the night sky even as they seemed to just materialize out of nowhere.


    Elaria cursed at the sudden turn of events and channeled her mind''s eye to focus She let her consciousness snake through the gaps between the trees, through the night breeze and up into the expanse of the stars. In her moment of rapture, she felt herself let loose, with a vain hope that none of the local Gods would take notice of this sudden intrusion. In her mind’s eye, she saw it, the monster of the void beyond.


    She reached the last carriage to find it in a sorry state. One of the caravan’s sentries had been completely brutalised, riddled with arrows and cuts, the soldier still twitching in his death throes. Ahead of her was another worrying sight. Around six dark figures were in the midst of retreating, locked amongst them, unfortunately, was Raylani who struggled with mixed success in an attempt to break free. The dark elf was a good fighter and combatant, but she relied on mobility. In the cramped conditions of the carriage and surprise attack that took place, she likely never had a chance to even get ready before she had been kidnapped.


    “Release her at-” Elaria barely had time to speak when two projectiles came flying at her. Ingrates.


    She dropped to the floor immediately, the arrow sailing safely past her. The other was a dagger, and in the instant she had identified it, a tendril snatched it out of the air and flung it back at her attackers. From her back, she seemed to sprout two ethereal looking tendrils that quickly coiled around her entire form, protecting her from attack. Around her, three more tendril appeared into existence from the void beyond, sucking up what little mana was left surrounding her. With the element of surprise falling back into her court, she moved to counteract only for Raylani’s voice to cut through the night.


    “Mistress! Please, don’t worry about me!” Raylani yelled.


    “Shut up, traitor.” A sharp female voice growled, “Get rid of the pest.”


    Elaria was prepared. A wave of projectiles shot forth from the figures, two more throwing daggers and the archer being launched at them. Her tendrils uncoiled themselves to whip the threats out of the air. After discarding the oncoming danger, she launched into her own attack and willed forth a decisive strike. The three tendrils around her curled up into themselves before each focusing on a stray target. With a cold calculating precision, they belched forth lances of pure void energy at each of their targets.


    The world seemed to retch in disgust at the sudden breaking of reality, the silence brought by the void leaving a hollow echo in its wake. Two of the masked beings were incapacitated at once, the lances of energy vaporising their skin and body immediately upon contact, leaving them nothing but writhing messes collapsing to ground. The third barely avoided being taken down but Elaria could see their silhouette losing a chunk of their shoulder from the shot. Worried about hidden assailants in the treeline, she condensed what power she could before pushing it all into the tendrils that had attacked. Engorged with a surge of energy, the three spat forth dozens of small void spikes that cut into the brush.


    Nondescript screams cried out into the night, some from the treeline, some from the caravan behind her. The battle was joined and her opponents looked much more warily at her now that her initial flurry was spent.


    “Sorcerer…” One of the figure’s hissed.


    “Mistress… ugh!” Raylani grunted as she was struck in the stomach.


    “You would consort with a witch? Pathetic as you are, how wretched must you be to be bound in servitude to such pests. Lady Tesari wants to have a few words with you.” Her captor growled.


    “T-tesari… is… still alive?” Raylani trembled.


    “Oh, very much so, and very cross with what you’ve done.”


    “But I-”


    “Who is this Tesari person? And release her at once!” Elaria shouted.


    “Insolent pest! You dare interrupt your betters? Finish her!”


    Wordlessly, the two remaining raiders in front of charged at her, inhumanly fast and dodging the void lances being thrown at them. From the treeline, the few uninjured combatants charged her as well. Seeing their lithe forms closer and the glint of moonlight reflecting off their dark skin, she came to one conclusion, twilight elves, like Raylani. Unperturbed, Elaria dropped into a defensive stance, waiting until the last moment to strike.


    When the elves got close enough to be struck by a spear, Elaria held her arms out and spun. The coiled tendrils lashed out and followed her every motion. Most of the elves jumped backwards, having predicted that she would try something in defence. One however, was caught off guard and the tendril dematerialised before rematerialising within the hapless elf. In a moment, the elf exploded from inside out as the tendril tore a jug sized hole from within it. Blood, organs, and bones splattered across the ground in a shower of gore that halted any further advance. Damn, only got one.


    As the elf spluttered to their death in a shocked little gurgle, a tense silence settled over the combatants as everyone tried to take stock of the situation.


    “Mistress!” Raylani wailed.


    “Silence worm, your true mistress would weep at your pathetic state.” Her captor snarled, “And you, who are you, witch? To steal what belongs to us." The elf gestured at Elaria, “Don’t move closer or she will suffer, yes? Now answer me, witch.”


    Elaria’s brow knit together and her eyes snaked across the crowd. Four elves emerged from the treeline meaning that two now remained in front of her, the shoulderless elf struggling to attach their limp arm back together.


    Behind her, the battle raged on as the clash of steel echoed into the night, the campfire illuminating a shadow or two that flickered orange at the edge of her vision. She raised her arm up like a whip, the tendril mirroring its motion  as she stood to strike. Each of the other tendrils tracked one of the elves, coiled and ready to be unleashed once more.


    “I am Elaria. Now release my servant at once, the rest you can have.” She growled.


    The elves stood stoic, waiting for their leader to speak when Raylani broke the silence.


    “Mistress, my kin, they will- ugh!” She crumpled against another blow.


    “Silence wretch, no one was addressing you. And you,” The captor snarled and pointed a knife at Raylani’s neck, “What vile sorcery is that, pest? Talk proper and we will release her”


    At that Elaria seemed to pause, the question having never really entered her mind before. What do I actually do? It’s akin to magic, but not really. And I somehow doubt they’d just ‘let’ her go. That seemed pretty intent on presenting her to this Tesari person. Tsk, intriguing, but infinitely vexing.


    “Magic of the stars.” Elaria answered, not a lie, but not the full truth.


    “Impossible. No astromancer can simply perform conjugation just like that. You lie, pest. Her life is on the line.” The elf wiggled the blade closer to Raylani’s neck.


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    Elaria cared little, only seeking to delay their retreat, “But can you say that this is like anything else you’ve ever seen? For unlike the other magicians that you might know, who can truly say that they call upon the stars for aid? Who could truly embody the majesty of the heavens without understanding the principles that underlay it all.”


    That had caught the captor’s attention, and Elaria saw her eyes trying to process this information. A gambit played out in Elaria’s mind, a chance to separate Raylani from the captor’s clutches. What happened after that, remained a question that needed answers. To find those, she needed more time.


    “Pah, fairy magic. Probably tainted by the highborn.” Another elf snickered.


    “You would deny the evidence before your very eyes?” Elaria spoke without facing the second elf, her eyes firmly locked onto Raylani. Vile curs, to deny the power of the Master.


    “The highborn are illusionists and tricksters pure and simple.”


    “So? They have nothing to do with me. Or perhaps you are blind and foolish if you cannot see that.”


    “Foolish? Perhaps you do not understand the situation, human.” The second elf spat, “Listen? Do you hear that? Your comrades have all perished, the call of battle wanes, the silence reigns. You’re outnumbered.”


    Damn, I was hoping there’d be someone else left to distract them. Trying to get away on foot against them might prove quite futile. Elaria frowned, it was a concerning development and she doubted her own abilities to keep track of even more combatants should any other elves begin flooding over.


    Her moment came however, when the captor raised her blade and pointed it at her instead of Raylani. An opening she needed to take advantage of before it was too late. No more doubts.


    “Enough, the both of you.” The captor hissed, “And you, pest. I have a different idea, come with us without resistance. You stand little chance of success. I am certain our lady-” She did not have a chance to finish as Elaria attacked.


    Elaria had calculated the approximate distance and just hoped that Raylani would understand the gesture for ‘duck’. Sacrificing one of her apparitions, she used the stray tendril’s strength to feed her right arm its power. The tendril that mimicked her arm movements suddenly glowed a horrifying amalgamation of dark colors that seemed to swirl around aimlessly. Elaria willed it back under her control and swung her arm from side to side. Buoyed by the sacrifice, the tendril swelled to the size of a tree as she swung it at Raylani and her captor.


    Raylani only understood the message Elaria was trying to tell her a little too late. Recognition had flashed through her eyes a second too slow as she tried to duck, only to get clipped on the shoulder and sent sprawling. The captor however, had even less luck as they received the full brunt of the blow, slamming against a nearby tree as Elaria hurled her away.


    With a roar, she shot her void lances indiscriminately towards the other assailants, taking advantage of their momentary pause to dash toward Raylani. By the time she reached the staggered and absolutely concussed elf, the other dark elves launched their own attacks. A small volley of projectiles were flung at her, the two coiled tendrils expanding to shield both her and her companion, their ethereal forms absorbing the blows directly, but expending the second apparition. Her ranged options were dwindling, and the elves seemed unlikely to try diplomacy once more.


    Raylani weakly stood up, and Elaria reluctantly supported her, keeping her guard up as the dark elves warily advanced. It was an irritating observation as she realised they had adapted to her powers, understanding that she had a limited range and direct combat abilities. Worse still, out of the corner of her eye, she could spy tiny motes of light, gently saturating the air around them. These wispy little lights worried her, for she knew it meant that whatever God ruled this domain had started to shift their attention in response to her magicks, a prospect that she had no intention of ascertaining the truth of. We need to get out of here, fast. Or I won’t be able to keep going without drawing unwelcome attention.


    Elaria used one of the tendrils to lift the elf to her feet, dragging her along as the two of them tried to retreat. Her other tendril slapped at the other dark elves, holding them back even as another void lance was thrown at them. One was grazed by the hit and the others took advantage and pushed the assault. Two lunged at her with spears, Elaria almost stumbling as she tried to dodge.


    “Tch.” She grunted, using her tendril to topple one of the caravan carts, sending its cargo spilling onto the ground.


    “Mistress, behind.” Raylani confusedly called out.


    Elaria twisted around just to see the glint of a dagger slam into the air beside her. Her tendril barely had time to trip up the elf before the two spearmen attacked once more. She pushed Raylani towards the fallen cart before whipping her now free tendril around, managing to grab ahold of the fallen elf and chucking it at the attackers, sending them collapsing into a heap.


    “Raylani, our stuff. Find it. We go. Now.” Elaria commanded.


    Even in her somewhat dazed stupor, the elf seemed to grasp the urgency of the situation and rummaged through the cargo pile. Elaria meanwhile, used her tendrils to deflect more arrows, whilst her void lance blasted at one of the fallen elves, boring a hole of void energy through its skull. The other two quickly scrambled to their feet, now directly charging at her with their spears raised. One was blocked by a tendril, but just as she raised the other to block, she felt a presence behind her. Alarmed, she quickly dropped to the floor just as a dagger flew just above her scalp. It missed her but managed to surprise the second spear wielder, the dark elf backing off just a little.


    Battered, bruised and possibly quite injured, the captor was back on her feet and their hateful red eyes locked onto Elaria’s own. It seems I earned myself a grudge. She kept Raylani in the edge of her vision range and tried to shift the fight away from the cart, buying what little time she could. Green and blue wisps now dominated the air around them, one of the dark elves even taking a brief moment to glance at them before glaring at her. Damn, those wisps are getting stronger, we’re out of time.


    Elaria leapt towards one of the spear wielders, the elf clearly taken a little off guard as he tried to step back. With a heavy tug from one of the tendrils, she pulled the elf forward before yanking the spear from his hands. Too surprised to react, the elf seemed about to say something when she used both tendrils to grab him, using him as a cushion for another wave of arrows. Enraged, the last spear wielder and captor both charged her. Elaria slammed the now dead elf against the captor before trying to replicate her first move and destabilising the spearman. He had adapted quickly however and jumped over her strike and thrusted his spear forward. The blow grazed the skin on her arm, but the captor soon to recover, she needed to go all in.


    She consumed the last of the apparitions to quickly empower the remaining tendril. As it swelled up in size she hurriedly flung the spearman away, the elf’s eyes widening in what felt like fear as he flew towards the archers.


    “Raylani, now!” Elaria yelled.


    The elf tried to nod but was still fidgety and rummaging  through the pile of cargo in a confused panic. With a growl, Elaria dashed over, kicking away boxes here and there until she spotted their travel packs. Without a word, she pulled her tendrils back, using one to bring her the bags and the other to drag Raylani along.


    “Eep.” Raylani squeaked.


    Elaria pushed the bags into Raylani’s hands, before breaking out into a sprint, the elf barely keeping up. She scanned the rest of the caravan, looking for a way out only to find a scene of devastation. A bunch of wagons were in the process of being looted, the dark elves wasting no time in securing the spoils of battle. Another few had begun cutting open corpses, ripping out guts and other organs with a cold, calculating look in their eyes. A few of the civilians too, had their mutilated bodies left strewn across the ground, all missing their innards. Could it be… would they really be making… she shuddered at the thought and turned to Raylani for confirmation, but the elf was too dazed to notice. The last batch of elves were guarding the few guards and civilians who not just survived, but had surrendered, the prisoners now cowering where the campfire had been. The feline guard and red robe were there, amongst a dozen others, but yellow robe was nowhere to be seen.


    Overall, her brief look around drew her to the conclusion that fighting would be an astronomically poor idea. That left running, but she somehow doubted they would shake off any pursuers given Raylani’s condition. Unless…


    “Over there! Stop them!” The captor screeched.


    Elaria’s thoughts instantly returned to instinct as all the dark elves seemed to turn towards her. Blasted stars! She reacted at once and used her tendril to hurl some debris at the closest elf, catching them off guard but missing in the panic. The elf however, fell backwards trying to dodge and Elaria used her tendril to complete the manoeuvre, tossing them aside. Dark elves started pointing before shooting or throwing things at her, a few more charging in from the front. Her options were looking bleak as she fended off another wave of projectiles, steeling her heart for battle as they closed in.


    In nothingness, salvation. Elaria recited the mantra and drew power from herself into her remaining tendrils. With a small burst of energy, she lashed them out at the oncoming elves, barrelling through sword, spear, and body like they were paper. The immediate backlash of drawing upon her void energy without having absorbed any mana recently slammed against her mind like a brick. She gasped out loud but held it in, the adrenaline forcing her to escape first. Ugh, that… my fault for not practicing, argh, my head.


    Her pain was matched with equal parts relief as she spied their salvation. One of the caravan’s horses remained tethered to a cart, frightened, but alive. The duo sprinted past the recovering elves and Elaria wasted no time hurling the cart’s cargo as projectiles, forcing the nearby elves to hold back for a moment lest they were struck. She used the lull to quickly haul Raylani into the cart before wrestling with the frightened creature with her tendrils, asserting her control through overwhelming force. The neighing and braying of the animal had led the elves to renew their attacks and Elaria barely spurred the animal just in time before another volley of arrows slammed into the side of the cart. Obeying out of sheer terror, the horse began galloping away, pulling the cart along with it as the elves were left momentarily befuddled by the strange escape.


    “Shiana Nelass! You won’t get away with this!” The captor yelled, the unmistakable tone of hatred in her voice carrying through the night sky.


    But they were free, whatever threats the elves could muster, it mattered little in the moment. She was certain they had no mounts nearby or someone would’ve heard them earlier. Maybe even stopped the ambush in time. Furthermore, they had also killed most of the caravan’s own mounts, thus also denying the caravaneers an easy escape, but in a situation like this, now they would be hard pressed to catch up.


    Looking back, she could barely focus on the fact that the caravan now seemed to be growing smaller and smaller, no traces of dust clouds kicked up by riders either. They had escaped. Relief flowed through her veins as she then turned to find Raylani looking rattled but mostly unharmed. Wordlessly, she beckoned for the elf to take the horse’s reins. Elaria groaned, the pain flooding back in now that a modicum of calm had returned.


    “Mistress?! Are you hurt? I can help!… I-I… this unworthy servant also must thank you for-”


    Whatever else Raylani wanted to say was lost in the ether as Elaria’s wound in the arm now flared up as well, her senses all overloading at once. Knowing that she had succeeded, she grimaced and let out one last smile, at what she did not, yet the feeling of success was there nonetheless. In agony but also satisfied, she finally let her tendrils dissipate and without even letting out a sigh, immediately passed out as exhaustion took hold.