Chapter 124: Storm
After Dreha left, there was a tense silence in the room. Wide eyed lieutenants t the glares of the somber senior NCO’s. Eric was the first to speak. He turned to Tryasche.
"Dragon King Trysasche, what is a mana storm?"
The Dragon king sighed. He looked out the window and held his hands up. Mana swirled spherically in his right hand, while in his left was a mass of mana chaotically revolving around itself.
"Within the next few days, the residual mana from Mithrael’s actions will appear in the form of the mana in my right hand. It will be like a rainstorm, but in the form of small balls of mana. It will be beautiful and harmless. After enough Mana coalesces, it will beco like the mana on my left. Imagine a hurricane of steel needles. The shape will fluctuate, and the power behind the needles will grow or lessen depending on how close we are to the summoning sight. Colors will change sporadically, and spells will beco unusable. The very laws of reality will distort. Consequently, he may have just sprung the rging of the two worlds at a more rapid pace."
Eric crossed his arms and looked at the Dragon King.
"In our world, hurricanes are destructive and can lead to massive loss of life. Will this mana storm be along that magnitude, or will it be worse?"
Tryasche shook his head. "The worst that will happen to infrastructure is windows being blown out. Roughly built huts and structures like sheds may be destroyed. The mana overload will not be powerful to destroy well built structures. The problems will arise after the mana settles. Monster tides will beco commonplace."
Remory looked at Lilith, apprehension clear on his face.
"Dragon King Tryasche, is there anything we can do to prevent the mana overload?"
Trysasche shook his head.
"I am afraid not, King Remory. This is the mana of a God. His mana will destroy or over fill any collection attempts we try."
A woman’s voice ca from the hallway.
"You are correct, Dragon King, but you are also incorrect as well."
Every eye in the room turned to the woman as she entered. Eric’s eyes narrowed, and the Dragon King nodded. "Goddes Trephania. To what do we owe the pleasure?"
Trephania shook her head as she sat next to Michael. "I am no longer a Goddess, King of Dragons. I forsook my immortality because I did not want to associate with Mithrael any longer."
Trysasche blinked.
"You gave up your seat?"
She smiled and left the question unanswered.
Mana flowed between her hands, bringing the map closer to her. She began to draw large circles on it.
"Think of this mana storm as an earthquake. My beloved Grandfather loves to be cryptic." She eyed the area above Eric with a glare.
"What you do not know, Dragon king, is that my ex husband is weakened. He has been losing the faith of his people since the loss of the siege. Furthermore, the atrocities towards the beastkin have now beco more known. I have been spreading the word to the population of Cartharic about what has been happening to the Demi-Humans."
The room went quiet as she began to speak. Eric had to clench his jaw so it wouldn’t drop, and Mia hugged even closer to his body. Her hands had stopped trembling, but her body was tense. He ran his thumb along hers.
"What do you propose we do, Lady Trephania?" Remory asked.
"Evacuate near Esponia." She said as she looked at the map. She put the marker to her lip, narrowing her eyes. "Mithrael’s mana will be dense and powerful nearest your Earth city Austin. As I am to understand it, the buildings there are made of steel, are they not?"
Eric nodded. "Yes. They are made with much more durable material than the buildings here in Brishan."
"Then that city should be alright. Just make sure to ssage the public. If any human is caught in that mana storm, they will turn into wicked beings."
Eric saw Remory and Tryasche nodding, but Milano and Miher remained silent. He sighed.
"What is a wicked being?"
Trephania stifled a giggle before looking at Eric.
"A Wicked Being is a human who becos corrupted through divine mana. The soul disintegrates slowly, and the husk remaining becos attuned to sin. They will still retain human functionality, and will commit the most grievous of sins until the remainder of their soul is devoured."
Eric’s eyes widened.
"That’s... horrible."
Milano looked up from his notes. "Thank you for your warning and for coming here, Lady Trephania."
Trephania nodded before leaving the room. "I will go back to Cartharic. I am going to work on freeing the slaves that are still being mistreated illegally. I trust that they will have refuge in either Riemskin or the Earth territories?"
King Remory nodded. "Yes. They will be treated well in Riemskin."
Milano nodded in agreent. "I concur. If they do decide to co to the Earth territories, we will take care of them as best we can."
He then stood up, walking over to the projection. "Dryer and Michael, you will be in charge of evacuating the villages near Esponia. If the people do not want to leave, do not try to force them. Simply save as many as you can."
He then turned to Hammond. "First Sergeant Hammond, go take command of the Esponia region once more. All units near Esponia will retreat back to the foothills area. Once the mana storm subsides, we will secure Esponia again."
Hammond nodded. "Yes sir."
Milano then turned to Mia. "Mrs. Dryer, please return to Freedom town and inform Kar of what is happening. All residents of Freedom town should stay in their hos until further notice. We will let Freedom town leaders know when the coast is clear."
Once the orders were given out, the world leaders stayed back, and Eric left with Mia. He shared a look with Michael. "Better get so rest tonight Michael. Can’t have you reading the map upside down again."
The captain shook his head and walked off.
Mia sighed and leaned against Eric.
"n."
The next morning, Eric stirred to Mia stroking his hair. Her head was on his chest as she ran her digits along the top of his head.
"It seems we don’t have much alone ti anymore." She whispered, seeding kisses along his chest. "Each ti I say goodbye, I always worry if it will be the last."
Eric sighed as he wrapped his arms around her. "I know." He paused to breathe in her scent before closing his eyes. "At least this ti I am not saying goodbye because of war." He kissed her head.
"I still worry."
He stroked her head, smiling down at her. "Dont. This will be a cake walk."
She rolled her eyes. "Yes, because driving into a storm of soul devouring mana is a cakewalk."
"Compared to infiltrating an encampnt at the top of Esponia and walking into a secure facility to rescue POW’s it is." He said with a sigh.
She shook her head, and they both heard Liara crying.
"Since you leave today, its your turn." She murmured sleepily.
He grinned and hopped out of bed. He kissed her on the head before going to Liara’s room. Liara was sitting up and staring at Eric, her eyes filled with tears. As she saw Eric, she stopped crying and lifted her arms towards him.
Eric laughed and picked her up. "Well good morning to you too!" He said cheerfully, kissing her head. "I see those crocodile tears." He held Liara against his arm as he walked out to the kitchen.
"Let’s get you so breakfast."
After breakfast and the final preparations to leave, Eric stood in front of his family at the front of their house. They shared a hug, with him peppering Liara with kisses (Jessica refused the sa treatnt). "I love you all, and don’t worry about . I will be back in a few days."
Mia looked at him as he broke the hug, shaking her head. "Telling us not to worry is like trying to climb a waterfall, my love. It doesn’t work."
He patted his wife on her head.
"I know, but I will still do it anyway."
He got into the truck, sparing one last look at his wife and two daughters before driving away.
Eric looked back in the rear view mirror until his family was out of sight. When he crossed the intersection that took him to Hood Hill, he counted the amount of LMTV’s that were going with him. He sighed. "At least I don’t have to sign for them."
Michael walked up to Eric after he got out of his truck. He joined Eric in smoking a cigarette, looking at the convoy. "Do you think any of the villagers will stay behind?"
Eric nodded. "People would rather die in comfort then live in the unknown. It is just a fact of human nature."
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