Chapter 45: Side Chapter 5.2- The Split

“…And so, we hereby declare the foundation of the Joint Aekan Liberation Force. The purpose of the J.A.L.F. is simple: retake Aekan from the Clockworks. Are there any objections by those present?”

-Ending remarks of the founding meeting of the Joint Aekan Liberation Force

 

*=====*

 

“So, to summarize, mana travels through the soul then into your body. This puts the mana under your control unless some other mana, like say a disruption mana, takes the control away. From there, you can condense the mana with intent, concepts, or whatever they like to call it. Doing that gives it an effect, which can be given more mana to cause said effects. Do you all understand that?” Bella asked the few dozen people who had attended her offer of teaching magic. While Philip believed it to be much more interesting than learning about tailoring or machining, he did have to agree that it was something that took a bit more effort to wrap his head around than welding. 

One person raised her hand, “I have a question,” she said, “What do you mean that it can be given more mana to cause an effect? Isn’t that just what a mana gem does?” 

Bella waved her hand a bit, “Well, in a way, yes. In another, no. Mana gems imbue the raw mana with a certain intent, concept, you get the point, while pushing mana through something like, say, a sigil, causes the effect without generating more intent-ed mana. It’s kind of like how, hmm… I don’t know, you need to put kinetic energy into getting a golf ball onto a tee but you need to put more energy into it to send it down range? I don’t know. Mana doesn’t really work by the same standards as most other energy,” she stated, “Does everyone understand?” They all nodded, “Good. Now then, did everyone choose [Multi-sigil Casting]?” they shivered, nodding. Choosing a new spiritual Trait was said to be extremely unpleasant, but the words had not prepared them for the searing pain they felt when they chose the Trait. Fortunately, they were able to move past the pain and got to play with complex magic as a result, “Good. I personally used one of my Trait slots to get it as well. So, let’s start out simple. Imagine how to make fire. The oxygen that goes in, then the tiny little explosion that burns the oxygen and fuel, then how it repeats. While doing that, try putting the idea into some mana,” she explained, holding out her hand. A dull red glow soon came from her palm, bursting into flames, “Something like this.”

Nods were passed around and people began concentrating. Philip himself focused on his palm as well, trying his best to pull mana from the air around him. It followed his desire, resting in his palm. With it secured, he tried imagining fire as he knew it. It took a while to do so, but he soon was able to get it all to click as he thought about the embers of a campfire fanned to bigger flames. Smiling, he pushed a bit more mana through his palm and a small flame sprouted, “I did it!” he yelled, grinning. He looked around and saw that he finished in the first half of people. The others who had finished were all grinning at each other and him. He followed suit, smiling as he played with the small bit of fire mana he had created. 

It took a long while for the rest of the group to create their fire mana, but once everyone had a small flame in their hand Bella coughed, “Now then,” she began, “Let go of the mana,” she said. Looking at each other, they reluctantly let the fire mana dissolve back into pure mana, “Good. Now, do it again.” They nodded and recreated the mana they had just let go. It took Philip a few less minutes to make the mana than before. Once everyone had their fire mana, Bella spoke, “Now do it again. According to the book I got, the best way to get better with mana is to remake and unmake it over and over again,” she explained.

Some groaned, but most got to work without complaint. It was indeed difficult to get right, but after a few hours of practice, he felt much better at condensing mana together. With a final flick of his wrist, he let the rest of the fire mana go, “Alright then,” he said to Bella, “What’s next?” 

The woman smiled, shrugging, “I honestly don’t know. The book was really basic, and I haven’t had the time to read too much. For now, just try to make new mana types. Maybe some more basic stuff would be better to start with. Right now, I’m working towards something that can help me with my passion, so don’t expect help. If you want the book, just ask,” she said as she sat back onto her chair and closed her eyes. Mana came to her palm, resting on her lap, and the rest of them began to leave. Philip was the only one who stayed and decided to sit next to the door while trying to make a cooling mana type. While fire was easy, cooling was much harder; he thought about trying to use ice, a much more simple concept than simply cooling, but realized that using a mana type that relied on water in the desert would be a poor choice. After a few moments, he went back to trying to make a cooling mana. 

Before he got far, however, someone knocked on the door he sat beside. Opening his eyes, he opened the door and greeted the man standing there, “Hey, do you need something?” he asked.

The man, with a single thin horn growing from his forehead, nodded, “Yeah, the Captain has an announcement. We’re going to the main hall for it. I think it’s important, seeing as though everyone needs to be there,” the man said, nodding towards the main hall. 

Philip reluctantly nodded, feeling a bit cautious at the unusual bit of news. He walked over to Bella, who was still sitting in her chair, “Hey, we have to go to some meeting. You can do that later,” he said as she opened her eyes.

“I know,” she chuckled, “I could hear you guys,” she said while pointing at her ear. Philip smiled and left the room with her following. The trade company’s building was more like a large manor than a business building. It had three wings that all converged into a central hall that was the base of a large tower. As they walked, they noticed all of the other earthborns following along with them. After a short walk, they found the central hall, a large room with decorated walls and a dominating staircase in the center, full of people. Most smelled of grease and oil while some others smelled of gunpowder. The atmosphere of the room was heavy, heavier than any of them had felt since arriving in Granulous. Pain was evident on many people’s faces while rage occupied the faces without grief. “What the hell happened?” Bella whispered to him. He shrugged in response. 

After a few more moments the hall quieted down as the merchant company owner, the human Eaner Ductur, walked down the central staircase with Soren and Alex behind him. Unlike what Philip expected a leader to do, the man walked all the way to the bottom of the staircase and stood on equal ground with his ‘skiffers.’ The man swept his gaze over the crowd slowly and methodically, the breath of the men and women present catching in their throats when his gaze landed on them. Eventually his eyes landed on the group of earthborn, his gaze lingering on Philip and Bella for a moment before sweeping past them. As he looked upon the last of those present, he sighed, “As you have heard,” he began with a voice that both boomed with authority and rang with familiarity, “Aekan has fallen.” With his sentence finished, the grief and rage in the room, a faint wisp before, became tangible and oppressive. The earthborn had no idea where Aekan was, nor what it meant to ‘fall,’ but they most certainly feared the worst after such intense emotions were laid bare, “I know what you all want to do,” Eaner continued, “You want to bring the fight to the Clockworks, to avenge your families and country. You want to, as Soren said, pay them back in scrap. You want to fight, and I have no doubts that you will no matter what I say. 

“You are all my second family. We have been through so much together, fought so much together, traveled so much together, that I cannot imagine letting you all run off to die. For that reason, our plans have changed,” he said. The room became so quiet that the ticking of a clock hanging on the far wall could be heard, “We will be joining the Joint Aekan Liberation Force. I will not let you throw your lives away, but the only way I can help is by doing this.

“You all have a week off to do with as you please, but when you do not have anything you need to do during work, I expect you to train. No matter what your specialization is, you need to become stronger. If we are to become even a single grain in the fury of the desert, then we have to temper our resolve and forge our might! No matter who you are, you must be able to hold your own!” he yelled. Looks of determination spread across the crowd as Eaner let out a breath, “I cannot imagine losing any of you. It may be a sin for merchants, but it is true. I care about all of you. You are dismissed,” he said with a final flourish, walking up the stairs. For a moment none of them moved, but a stream of people was soon leaving the hall. 

Philip himself was feeling a headache coming on, “Bella, I need your help,” he said to her. 

She nodded, “Figure out what the hell’s going on? Got it. You’re gonna get a meeting going?” 

“Yeah,” he stated, sweeping his own gaze across the crowd, “Make sure you have something tonight. Okay?” he asked. 

Without a word, she gave a thumbs up and flowed with the crowd. Before they could be the last ones left, Philip began moving the earthborns back to their corner of the barrack wing. ‘This might be where we break,’ he thought to himself. Hearing the man’s speech, Philip was under now illusion as to what they would be expected to do in Aekan, and he was far from confident that a gaggle of tourists traveling to the United Kingdom would be willing to take up arms against whatever a ‘Clockwork’ was. ‘Only time’ll tell.’

 

*=====*

 

Philip shut the door as the last of the earthborn entered the room. All of them were there with the notable exception of Bella. Philip stood next to the door as people began getting themselves situated around the room. There were only a few dozen chairs for eighty nine people, so most had to stand. That did bother some, but they were in no position to demand a larger meeting room when they were explicitly holding them behind closed doors. 

After another few minutes, a quiet knock came from behind the door. Philip pulled it open and looked confusedly at Bella, with the orc woman Helga at her side. “So… did you invite her?” Philip asked Bella. 

The woman gave a guilty smile, “Well… Helga found me snooping and wanted to know why. I couldn’t really lie so… she kind of invited herself. She does want to help, though, if that helps.” Bella said with a less guilty smile. 

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Philip looked over the green amazonian standing next to the lithe busybody and sighed, “Alright, no harm in it,” he acquiesced, “But don’t be angry if we decide to leave. I doubt any of us have any real experience in a warzone, so… you get the point.”

The orc rolled her eyes, “I know,” she said, “None of ya have to fight. It’s more than a bit rude, if you get my meanin’, to force someone to do that. It’s also against the Great God of the Death Tide’s rules, but ptoat ptoat.”

He eyed the orc again, “Good,” he said, “We should get started before too long.” He opened the door and let the two women in, “The hell’s a ‘ptoat?’” he mumbled behind their backs. 

The quiet conversation in the room silenced at the arrival of the last earthborn and the six foot tall orcish woman. Philip took his spot standing at the head of the table and leaned against it, “Alright, we all know why we’re having this meeting and only one of us- er, two of us, know what’s going on. Take it away, Bella,” he said, letting the woman step forward. 

“The very short version goes like this: killer robots have taken over a place called Aekan, the home of pretty much all of the crew. For cultural reasons, everyone who can fight wants to go off and, well, off these robots,” Bella explained, “And this whole merchant fleet just so happened to be going there.” She stepped back next to Helga, who was wearing a complicated expression on her face. 

Philip nodded, “Thanks, Bella. Now then, here’s the question: what do we do? Anyone have any ideas or should I start throwing them out?” he asked.

A few hands raised, and he pointed to the first one he saw, “Are we allowed to fight?” she asked nervously. Philip raised an eyebrow but nodded, to which the woman smiled, “Then I’m going to fight as well. I trained in the military, and a giant hive of killer robots seems like a good place to get good use out of the training,” she said.

“You could die, you know,” a young man standing beside her said, “It’s not a walk in the park.”

The woman glared, “Of course I know, dipshit,” she spat, “But I want to fight these stupid buckets of bolts. That’s it.”

From Philip’s side, Helga gave the woman a smile which was quickly reciprocated, “Alright, alright, enough of that. For now, is there anyone else?” he said. A few more hands shot up, “You,” he said, pointing at the former pilot of the plane.

“Well, do we have to fight to help?” he asked, “Actually, who here wants to go off to what is, essentially, an active warzone?” he asked the people. At his words, a group of five dozen people stepped back from the table.

Helga sighed, “I don’t think Capt’n would mind a buncha more people taking care of the hall while we’re gone. I think. I’ll have to check with him on that,” she said. Those who took a step back breathed a sigh or relief and rejoined the rest at the table. Despite not wanting to join the expedition, Philip could tell that they cared about the rest of them. 

In truth, a sense of camaraderie had been developing over the previous few days because of their situation of being strangers in a stranger land. With a final nod to the group staying, he turned back to the pilot, “So, you had another question?” he asked. 

The man nodded, “Yeah. Do all of us have to be on the front lines fighting? I mean, half of us are planning to become mechanics and the like, so it’s not like we’ll be able to just pick up a sword or gun or whatever and start fighting.” 

Philip had no idea on how to answer that question. He had a feeling that he would be one of the crazy ones to fight on the front lines, but he understood the pilot’s opinion. With a lack of a better option, he turned to Bella, who shrugged. Philip then turned his gaze to Helga, who was standing next to Bella, “What do you want me to say?” she asked, “It’s not like I know everythin’. Best guess, though, is that there’ll be a good number of support types working to make the whole thin’ not fall flat.”

Philip nodded, turning back to the pilot, “That means likely, but not guaranteed,” he said to the smirking man. The pilot nodded and leaned back, “Anyone else?” he asked. None of them raised their hands, “Seriously? All of you wanted to know if you had to fight to help? Whatever. Well, since no one has any other questions and the people who aren’t going might have a place, that means that this meeting’s adjourned. Helga, can you tell us where to go if we want to give our decision?” 

The orcish woman smirked, “Talk to Alex if you’re stayin’, talk to Soren if you’re in the back lines, and talk to me tomorrow if you’re fightin’. I should have said this before, but you have no idea how much you’re all gonna help. You’ll see soon enough,” she assured, quickly leaving the room. Like a floodgate, most others followed her out, going off to their own barracks. Before long, only four remained.

“So, let me guess,” the pilot said, “You’re fighting with Miss Stars and Stripes over there?”

The ex-military woman glared, “Hey! Uncalled for! Just because I want to fight doesn’t mean I’m that patriotic!”

Philip shrugged, “I am. Going to fight, that is. Call me what you will, but I don’t want to just sit back and die. This world is hardly peaceful and knowing how to fight some killer robots is a good idea, you know?” The pilot sighed, nodding as the woman got in his face.

“Well, I guess I’m just like you then,” Bella said from behind, “Though, I wonder if my whole sneaking thing’ll work when fighting something with a camera for a head.”

Philip shrugged, “Dunno. Why’re you asking me? Aren’t you the one who has all the info?” he asked sarcastically.

Bella shrugged, “Dunno. Why are you asking me? Aren't you the one who knows everyone’s skills?” she shot back. She then chuckled, “Alright, looks like it’s one more thing for me to research. Though, you’re helping me this time. Meet me in the library tomorrow before breakfast.”

Philip grinned, “Oh? Odd place for a first date,” he quipped. 

Bella’s face went red, then she stepped back, “W-What the hell are you talking about!? Just be there b-by sunrise!” she said, storming out. 

A moment of silence passed before the pilot whistled, the military woman grumbling off to the side, “That’s one way to shoot back. Be sure to know if you mean it or not, or else she’ll make fun of you for it if you didn’t mean it and get hitched in the future. My ex-wife certainly did!” he laughed. Philip smiled and shook his head as he left the room and the two to their bickering. 

He knew he did not have a crush on Bella, as they had a good working relationship at best, but he had a feeling that it could change if they were to go off to war together. ‘Eh, that’s for future Philip to deal with,’ he thought to himself as he went to bed early, as he did not want to miss his appointment in the morning.

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