Chapter 16: The Threat From The North

As Rodderick sat in meditation, his gaze turned to the white flame that burned within him, just as he had the last time he meditated. He remembered speaking with Edeus the previous night about his newfound ability to use earth magic. Curiously, he asked him about the nature of the fire.
Edeus had told him that the flame was the manifestation of his very soul, his vital energy and magical reserves. He now understood the true importance of this flickering fire. If it were to ever extinguish, he would cease to be himself.

During his previous meditation, Rodderick had been searching for a way to manifest his will through the elements. Now, he desired to be able to do so without the need for a chant, just like Edeus and Ember could. Ember had explained to him that complex spells still required incantations because the more complex the spell, the harder it was to convey one's will to the element. She compared it to trying to explain what one wanted to do to another person, with the chant serving as a sort of explanation or translation.

But he was missing something, even for simple spells, how could the elements understand his will if he didn’t state them out loud?.
Rodderick grew frustrated with the hand off teaching method of mages. Couldn’t they just come out and give him the answer?, he sighed, breaking his concentration.

“Morning Rick”, he was about to start practicing again when a voice interrupted him.
The prince was now standing in front of him, greeting him with a smile.
“Ah”, Rodderick stood up, he almost forgot Adrian was there.
“Sorry, I didn’t hear you come in. Were you trying to imitate me? Haha, I understand, you want to be just like your great senior”, the prince nodded to himself.
“…right. Actually there is something I wanted to ask you about.”, Rodderick, without contradicting the prince, played along, he wanted to ask him his point of view.
“Yes?”, the prince inquired in a good mood.

However, before Rodderick could ask his question, Barth burst into the room, panting heavily. "Prince!" he exclaimed. "Quiet down, you fool, you'll give us away," Adrian scolded him. "Prince Adrian, they started moving, the demons are coming," Barth said urgently.
“…”
“…”
Rodderick felt a wave of anxiety wash over him as he realized that he was about to face his first battle. He had seen the consequences of war many times before - the wounded soldiers marching back, the carts filled with corpses, the disappearance of loved ones - but he had never been in a battle himself. Adrian, on the other hand, was filled with anger and determination, his fist shaking at his side. "Good, it seems like they bit the hook," he said with a daring smile.

“What now?”, asked Rodderick, unsure of what to do.
“Have you heard anything?”, Adrian asked Barth, however he shook his head.
“No, I merely saw soldiers running towards the walls and overheard them talk”.
“Then we will do the same, if the lookouts aren’t incompetent and detected the demons early enough we should have at least one day until they arrive. Let’s go to the wall and scout what kind of army they are mobilizing.”Adrian said confidently.

The prince pulled his hood over his long hair and led the trio towards the walls. Rodderick noticed soldiers rushing about in organized chaos, some hauling barrels and boxes onto wagons while others pounded on doors and shouted warnings to the inhabitants. "Stock up on food, secure your homes!" they cried, their urgency infectious. The townspeople's expressions changed to ones of mounting concern and terror as they absorbed the gravity of the situation.

"Adrian," Rodderick inquired with a hint of desperation, "couldn't you make us invisible with magic?" He scanned the area nervously, trying to stay out of sight. "Unfortunately, making a moving person invisible is much more difficult than creating an illusion of someone being present," Adrian explained. "Instead of reflecting light to create an image, you have to perfectly replicate the background, add a moving person to the mix, and it becomes an incredibly complex spell." Rodderick's mind raced as he tried to comprehend the intricacies of such a spell, but he came up blank.

The prince cautiously scanned his surroundings as he crossed the plaza, taking care to remain hidden from Edeus.
Barth, Rodderick, and the prince himself moved stealthily from tree to tree, trying to stay out of sight.
"Try to stay under cover at all times," Adrian warned. "I don't see Edeus around, but Athena could be scouting from above."
"Oh, don't worry about Athena," a girl's voice spoke up from behind them. "She was sent out to scout for demons."
“Good, this is the perfect chance then, let’s….”

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“Huh?”, the three of them turned to see a witch with a large, pointed hat and long black hair crouching with them behind a tree. "Hey, Ricky, it looks like you found the prince," Ember said with an innocent smile.
"Geh!" Adrian recoiled in surprise.
"Ah...r-right, I found him, haha," Rodderick stuttered, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
"Well, go on then," Ember said, waving the trio forward. "If you're hiding from Edeus, I'm not going to ruin your fun. Let's go."
Ember said waving the trio forward.
“You aren’t going to tell on us?”, Adrian asked confused.
“Nah, this is more fun, kihihi.” She cackled, amused.
The trio let out a sigh of relief, thankful that the person they had stumbled upon was Ember and not Edeus. The strange witch was willing to let them go for her own entertainment.

They continued running towards the northern walls, finally arriving at their destination. Soldiers were manning the wall, some unloading barrels and boxes, others carrying the load up the walls, and still others giving orders and organizing the rest. The tension in the air was palpable. There was no way for the trio to reach the walls without crossing the soldiers.

"Rick, this way," Adrian waved, and Rodderick followed him. Adrian grabbed both Barth and him and a gust of wind lifted the trio up to the wall. Without the need for stairs, they were able to avoid the soldiers who were frantically setting up the defenses. Ember, on the other hand, simply jumped up to the wall by herself.
Barth positioned himself between the soldiers and the children, along with the witch. Them, unlike the two kids, did not look out of place.

Rodderick attempted to look on the horizon, however, he couldn’t see a thing.
“They are too far away to see…”, he said, straining his eyes.
“I guess you don’t know how to strengthen your sight”
“Huh? You can see them?”, Rodderick asked in surprise. Was that something magic could do as well?
“Yeah, but only the front line. There’s a lot of yoma, I think they should be here in a day or two”

“P-Prince Adrian”, Barth called out with a nervous voice.
“What?”, he looked back and saw an old wizard with a long white beard and gray robes.
“Geh”
“Geh”
Both children reacted similarly at the appearance of Edeus behind them.
“Well, well, well. Seems like my two apprentices have been getting along”.

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