Darian was grilling fish for dinner at Dragon Lake when the sky screamed, [HELP!] Darian jumped. [Sky…? No, wait. That voice… that’s… Mindy?!] [Song Chen? Song Chen, is that you?!] Darian’s face fell. [No. Sorry, wrong mind. Bye.] [No, wait! Darian! It’s Darian, isn’t it? Help us!] [Sorry, I’m busy right now, please try again later…] [Talia’s in trouble! She needs help!] Mindy burst out. [She’s going to die!] [Oh? Is she somewhere near Dragon Lake?] Darian blinked. [She’s… she’s in the middle of the war, deep in the neutral zone between La Vive and Germat.] Darian snorted. [Too far. Can’t get there in time. Please try someone else.] [There is no one else! There has been no other response!] [Of course not! How many people around here do you think has the kind of Psionic power to reach all the way to the Neutral Zone?! You’re lucky you even reached me! How DID you reach me? Not even the Lords of th

Three days of observation from the highlands plateau gave Phoebe and the others a rough idea of what was what. First of all, the closest combating forces to the plateau were the Bulrak and Bellas forces. The Bulraki had a huge lot of cavalry, a great many of which were heavy cavalry, including their famous Bull Riders. They trampled just about everything in their path. The Bellai, on the other hand, had fortified positions up and down the entire highland range where their plateau was at. Tall, sleek guard towers dotted the hills, armed with ballistas and crossbowmen. To be honest, Phoebe had expected the Bulraki to wipe out the Bellai in short order. The Bulraki were generally a physically strong people, if a bit coarse in culture. The Bellai, on the other hand, were people of a country that was basically founded by beauty. An old emperor was so enamored of a beauty that he offered her anything she wanted, even up to half his kingdom, in the similar fashion as an old legend. Who knew

The second day, it was Sandra’s turn to scout ahead, and then later, Gammie’s. Mindy and Remian simply camped out and waited for their signals to move ahead, and then moved the Wasp farther along their route. In the meantime, he studied magic. Just before coming to the war zone, they had dropped off the families of the fallen magi from Ecclesia, Father Petrov, and Sir Ivan. Father Petrov started a recruitment desk at the academy for them with a slogan saying ‘Come to the Wildlands – We have Dragons!’. He also gave them access to the Church library, and pointed out the archaeological section pertaining to the Black Ruins… Remian brought back one particularly interesting little booklet from there entitled ‘The Black Ruins’ Different Magic System’. The first line on the first page was enough to convince him of the value of this booklet. It said, “According to the Black Ruins Civilization, the magic that we practice today only accounts for half of their system.”<

She wasn’t far now. Remian could sense her getting closer and closer. Just over the next rise, he felt. Talia was coming to meet him partway on this dirt road. He glanced about. The area here was an open space, sparse brush and hard dirt on either side of the road heading north. Ahead was a crossroads with a signpost. On the right, Germat and Auria. On the left, Ashdale and La Vive. To the south, Itarim, and to the north, the sea known as the Dalish Channel. Talia was coming down this very road. Remian narrowed his eyes. Was that them? That little speck in the distance? [Talia?] Remian sent out a thought-burst. [Remian!] Talia lit up. Ahead, at the little speck, he saw movement. Someone was waving both arms frantically. [Over here!] [Talia!] Remian made a quick decision. [We need to find a place with more cover, enough for the Wasp. I don’t want to call the airship out here into the open.] [There’s no cover of that level on the north s

“We’re going to be in trouble.” That was the conclusion Phoebe came up with upon hearing the scouts reports for the morning. Aurian forces were swarming all over the area. Surveyors were all over the highlands. Heavy construction machinery was starting to arrive one after the other at a new base site two hills away. Phoebe felt quite certain that Auria was intending to fortify these highlands, and the plateau where the Red Fang was sitting on was soon to be a building site. In a matter of hours, somebody, maybe one of those surveyors, was going to come up to the plateau and spot their airship. “What do we do? Do we fight or flee?” Alex asked. “We’re leaving.” Phoebe decided. “But not without our people. We’re going to pick them up.” “Is that even possible? They’re hours away even by airship, and there are soldiers all over the place.” Phoebe turned to a lynxmouse. “I need you guys to steal something.” “Squik?” [What is it?] “It