Aetherian(Part 1): A War Begins

Oscar

 It was midday when General Blackburn and Major Lawson summoned Oscar to examine the corpse of the snow trikeen that he killed. It stood at General Blackburn's height, with blue chitin and long blades on its arms.

"This thing was stupid enough to come here?" asked the General.

"And to show its face in the first place," Lawson added. "Why would it go so far from its hive?"

"Where would the hive be?" asked Oscar. "Does it need to be dealt with?"

"I should say so," said General Blackburn. "It would be more than a nuisance if we let it go."

"We still have to locate it, of course." Major Lawson reminded. "Did you see where it came from, Oscar?"

"No, Major," Oscar answered. "I just saw it creep into the Great Hall."

"And what was it doing when you saw it?" asked Blackburn.

"It was just standing in front of the fire," Oscar answered. "I shot it, which didn't seem to hurt."

"Your round didn't punch through its chitin?" said Lawson.

"No, it didn't," said Oscar.

"It should have," Lawson admitted.

"Maybe they've evolved," General Blackburn suggested. "It's been what, twenty years since we've seen one of these? And this is just a forager."

"Yeah, I don't want to know what the other types look like," said Major Lawson.

"Where would a hive be?" asked Oscar. "If I may."

"Mountain ranges, icy caves, there are about a dozen places, and the Snowlands are the biggest region in Aetherian," the Major answered.

"Lord Karlon returned to Snowfall a few hours ago," said General Blackburn. "I'll give him a heads up on the situation. Oscar, thank you for your information, and for killing this thing. Go and spend some time with your friends."

"Yes, General," said Oscar. When he returned to the barracks, Yazmin, Michael, Nick, and Hannah were instantly in his face.

"What happened?" Yazmin asked.

"Uh, nothing," Oscar lied.

"Right, sure," denied Hannah.

"Well, don't interrogate him," scolded Nick. "Come on. I found a game you all might like. It's called 'Conquest'."

"Oh, no," Yazmin groaned.

"Conquest?" asked Oscar. "Oh, I've played this game before."

"You can explain it to me, then," said Michael. They gathered around the hearth, sitting beside a large game board with a map of Aetherian printed on it. The Snowlands were colored white, the Swamplands were a dark green, the Craglands were a turquoise color, the Kinglands were gold, the Highlands were a light green, the Sandlands were red, and the Windlands were a brown color. Each region in Aetherian was labeled with the sigil of the respective house that ruled them. A bear for the Vestarrs of Snowfall, a centaur for the Busches of Falcon's Reach, a frog for the Ingrams of Riverford, a saber-toothed cat for the Lysanders of Green Hill, a greyhound for the Williamses of Red Harbor, a burning skull for the Redwalds of Sandstorm, and a dragon for the Karvines of Mistral.

"Is this an older board?" asked Yazmin. "The Kinglands and Sandlands are mixed up."

"This one is twenty years old," Nick answered. "It's a relic."

"So, show me how to play," Yazmin demanded. Nick began to speak, but Oscar didn't listen. He had played Conquest with his uncle and cousins and always lost. As Nick kept talking, the door to the barracks suddenly flew open, and a girl with short, dark hair, wearing the green recruit armor, walked in. She had her hands out in front of her as if she was feeling her way around. Was she blind? It was hard to tell, since she seemed to find her way around just fine, climbing into one of the top bunks and opening a book. Maybe she was nearsighted, but why wasn't she wearing glasses?

"I am blind since you're wondering." she suddenly said.

"Really?" asked Oscar. "I was just wondering. Sorry."

"No, it's fine," the blind girl promised, turning towards him on her bunk. "I'm Amanda."

"Oscar," said Oscar. "So, you're blind, but you can read?"

"Just barely," Amanda answered. "If you're blind, you do an extra six months of aura-sensitivity training, until you're able to tell where you're going and what you're facing, at least."

"And read minds, apparently," added Oscar and Amanda gave a soft chuckle. "I think only the Majors are that powerful."

"It's only the sensitivity," Amanda corrected. "I mean, I've learned how to warp, heal, and I can use a lightsword, but I can't exactly see flawlessly."

"Right," said Oscar. "Did you want to come and play Conquest with us?"

"Sure," Amanda answered. She flashed a blue light around herself and appeared sitting next to Oscar.

"Woah!" Hannah screamed.

"Hannah," Nick scolded. "Don't be rude."

"Sorry," said Hannah. "What's your name?"

"Amanda," Amanda answered.

"Well, I'm Hannah, this is my brother, Nick." Hannah introduced. "And this is Michael, Yazmin, and Oscar."

"Pleasure," said Amanda.

"So, where are you from?" asked Michael.

"I came from a village in the Icewood," Amanda answered. "But I grew up in Snowfall."

"Speaking of which, I heard that Lord Karlon has ordered the entire western side of the Snowlands to double their forces," said Yazmin. "What do you think that's all about?"

"Not sure," said Amanda. Oscar had heard about the recent fortification, too. It was as if Lord Karlon was preparing for war coming from the west, but for thousands of miles, the only thing west was an ocean. There's the Obsidian Isles in the middle of it, but their army isn't large enough to attack Aetherian without massive casualties.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Nick assured. When they started playing the game, it didn't last long. Amanda almost won instantly, smashing the others' armies.

"We should have never let her play!" Hannah whined, storming from the barracks.

"You're just mad because the new girl beat you," Nick teased. "I warned you to attack Green Hill when you had the chance." Amanda must have been able to read their minds to figure out what moves they would make before they made them. Oscar didn't consider it cheating since it was something that Amanda did constantly.

"Nice win," he congratulated.

"Thanks," said Amanda. "So, I did hear of a threat to the west, but also in the north."

"Well, I wouldn't consider it a serious threat," Oscar assured. "They're just bug people."

"That's probably what Brandon Karvine said about Robar Busch," Amanda reminded. "Look what happened to him."