Tbate-The Reincarnates

The beginning of tomorrow's death

From Zaneri Indrath's point of view

A sea of ​​mist moved in the unconscious rhythm of land and air, swirling around the base of the mountain and under the multicolored bridge that guarded Castle Indrath. Wide, white rivers flowed farther, away from the tumultuous currents near the stone cliffs.

It was almost as if one could sail the wild river of clouds away from Castle Indrath and into the far reaches of Epheotus, where politics and intrigue were a distant, meaningless shadow.

My fingers traced the story carved into the wall where I stopped to think. It told the story of an ancient prince Indrath and how he defied Geolus, the living mountain. Hundreds of miles were torn apart by the ferocity of their battle, but in the end, Arkanus Indrath split Geolus nearly in two, and the mountain lay still.

Eons later, the descendants of Akranus built their home on the back of the mountain. As a sign of respect, they forbid the use of mana when climbing or descending Geolus, a tradition that has continued to this day.

A trickle of earth mana trickled from the runes and along my outstretched fingers, imparting to me the impassive essence of ancient rock. My mind quieted as my spirit calmed. This story was one of my favorites; it conveyed the passivity of rock and stone, allowing for more rational thinking.

As I turned a corner, I noticed that to my right, a training room was open to the hallway, separated only by a series of columns carved in the shape of serpentine dragons. Four students practiced a coordinated series of moves and strikes, each in near-perfect unison with the others.

I stopped to watch for a moment. I've witnessed a thousand, maybe even ten thousand, such displays in my life, but now I couldn't help but see it as much more than the slow perfection of form, speed and delivery that we teach our youth. With every attack and block practiced, they learned a strike with the intention of disarming or killing an opponent. If the asuras continued on their current path, these young warriors would have reason to use them soon.

When one of the instructors saw me, he immediately turned around and gave a firm military salute, with his students doing the same.

I simply motioned for them to continue before continuing my way towards the throne room.

From a window I could see a sky swimmer rising from the clouds, its iridescent scales glistening in the sunlight. The long fish-like body was supported by triangular wings that folded and unfolded to navigate the air currents. I watched as the mana beast glided along the tops of the clouds for a moment before folding its wings to its sides and invisibly plunging back into the depths.

Arriving at the door, which gave access to the throne room, the two guards fell on one knee. One of the two guards was a woman with a kind expression on her face. She looked a bit like a boy, with her green hair cropped short just below her ear, but the distinct curves visible beneath her pale leather armor showed otherwise. The man beside her looked much fiercer, with sharp eyes and a jagged scar that cut across his cheek. The only visible weapon I noticed on them was a short dagger strapped to each of their waists.

Inside the throne room I felt the presence of Windson and kezess, I listened intently, but there was a layer of wind mana creating a sound barrier around the room.

As I focused on the mana, it rippled and the sound of muffled conversation reached my ears. I remembered swimming with Sylvia, her mother and her Lady Myre taught me how to focus my mana in different environments and how the water distorted the voice of those outside the pool. It sounded exactly like that. I swam close to the metaphorical surface and the voice became even clearer. I broke through the sound barrier and suddenly I could hear Windsom as if he were standing next to me.

I walked past the two guards and opened the door, which closed on its own after my passage.

"If Agrona were so easy to predict, he would never have gotten this far, Windsom." I reluctantly acknowledged it as I entered the throne room of Indrath Castle. "He, like all other asuras residing in this world, is prohibited from directly participating in this war, so he has been devising ways around this, being the almighty hand that moves his chess pieces, at least to his side. "

"And who is the almighty hand that moves the pieces to our side?" Windsom asked with a raised eyebrow, he wore his uniform as usual, which denoted his position as a servant of Lord Indrath. The midnight blue fabric was embroidered with gold thread at the cuffs, shoulders, and collar, and a braided gold cord dangled from his right shoulder to the middle button of his jacket. I'd allowed myself more comfort, wearing a simple gray training robe tied with a silk cord.

"You are the one who will lead this war together with Aldir, aren't you?" I reminded him in a very sarcastic voice, do a good job so you will end your role of guide for the minors, which you have suffered for so long?"

Windsom straightened his uniform. "I will do as Lord Indrath commands, now and always. But the truth is, it was easy for you, Lady Zaneri. The little ones became more boring every day."

"I suppose."

"What brings you here Zaneri?" Lord Indrath who was seated on the throne that was burning in a shimmering white fire questioned me.

"My Lord," he said, bowing his head. "I've heard that we've finally found Sylvia's daughter, so I humbly ask you to go get her immediately."

"I'm glad to hear you care about my granddaughter, Zaneri, but I'll have to deny your request after all you're not the discreet type, if you meet any of the mutts of the vritra clan I don't know if you'll be able to hold back. "

"Well that mutt has the audacity to show his fangs, I'll have every right to intervene. We can't sit lazily while Agrona expands his control over the little ones."

"Alacrya was a sacrifice I was willing to make, allowing him to keep busy with his mutts and experiments, but with the way the Vritra side has been planning it all creating half-breed asuras, mana-beast mutants I can't imagine. how long has Agrona been planning this. And I can't help but think that this war is more of a game to him than a passionate effort."

"Dicathen is just a stepping stone towards Ephetous." I clicked my tongue angrily, "I refuse to let that traitorous snake bring this war here."

"I think the same way, so let's stop Agrona and the vritras still in Dicathen." Said Windson.

"For generations, we've worked to make sure Dicathen can fight back against Agrona, but I feel they're not ready for that yet." I pointed.

"The citizens of Dicathen have become lazy," Windsom said lazily. "With a white core mage with a soul contract to protect them, the royal families never had to defend themselves, and their magical strength faltered. As for the mages who benefited from the artifacts..." Windsom scoffed angrily. "They never learned to be strong. They became strong. It's not the same thing."

Lord Indrath did not smile, but there was a victorious light in his eyes. "Until now, Agrona has used minors as a shield, holding their lives hostage to protect his own. But if Dicathen fails in his mission, and we have to choose between giving him the power to move against us or destroying the world, so we'll see it all burn."