The Gate Opens (1/3)
We see some men and women in uniforms attaching enchanted bracelets to their arms and ankles, which is linking them to the war golems in their possession.
All of these soldiers are wearing plain grey uniforms devoid of any armor. Yet… the complex runes woven into their clothing renders their clothing stronger than any steel.
Oddly enough, all of the soldiers have transparent masks covering the lower halves of their faces. It's unclear what these masks are for, but they're heavily enchanted.
At their hips are straps full of mana stones and small plates written with complex talismans. They're ready made spells that they can cast without having to waste time making their own spells – handy in an emergency.
Lumbering behind these soldiers are long lines of war golems – huge hulks of steel and mana stones, and armed to the teeth with mana cannons and other weaponry.
The golems aren't solid stone or metal either. They're many different moving parts all put together expertly, with each part being enchanted. This enchanting technology dwarfs what the mages of the Threshold could do.
As the soldiers are all forming rank and getting ready to head through the portal in front of them, one of them holds up the pendent that's shimmering black and silver. On the pendant is the emblem of a round clock resting in the middle of a simple crown.
"God-king of Lareen...," the soldier prays in a low voice, "Please, give us good fortune and protection as we travel to this foreign land."
Everyone else takes out their own tokens and offer similar pleas. As they all do so, a golden light envelops them all, and a warm feeling fills their hearts. At the same time, a hot wind sweeps their backs, and they feel a powerful magic touching them briefly.
The leader of the expedition - an older looking woman - is startled by the divine touch. She goes stiff, and her forehead trickles with a nervous sweat. "Well!" she announces sternly to all her soldiers. "Lord Lareen is watching is all. We can't fail now!"
All the soldiers look up at her with identical, resolute faces… though they're all experiencing differing emotions.
Some of them feel happy about being touched by their god, but the rest are feeling anxious. What could be so important about this portal that even their god is paying attention to them. Isn't he a busy man?
Suddenly realizing the gravity of the situation, they all realize… If they fail…
No! Failing a god can NEVER happen! They MUST return safely, and with results!
The battalion finishes strapping up and putting all their equipment on - prioritizing the important things to around their waist - within easy reach, while the rest is kept in the space bags on their backs.
Nobody had to be briefed on their mission, as they all knew their task weeks in advance. Their captain had come to inform them all personally, and individually. He was even sure to remind them that this mission is strictly confidential.
Namely, their mission is to search for any signs of life, then return with the news immediately.
Apparently, their Lareen Federation had already tried piloting scout golems remotely through the portal, in case the place was dangerous.
It's better to risk a few magical artifacts than put their own lives in danger, after all.
However, the moment those golems crossed into the World Gate, the soldiers immediately lost the connection with them.
It seems that their magic technology isn't good enough to stretch a spiritual bond across that much physical space to another world.
Realizing that they have no choice, the Federation government sent live soldier – these live soldiers – to test the waters.
When they accepted the assignment, they were all warned that they may not be coming back…
Gulping, sweating, and other nervous ticks... Everyone here is doing one of these things as they approach the portal.
One of the men asks his comrade next to him in a nervous whisper, "Do you think there's really monsters on the other side, like the stories said?"
"Meh," his comrade shrugs. "Those are just fairy tales, anyway. Do you believe that stuff? Are you still a child?"
"Well," the first soldiers says, "I didn't know the world gate was real either until a few days ago. The monsters may be real too."
"If we do die on the other side, it's more likely that the air is too close to their star, and the surface is hotter than lava. We're more likely to roast alive or something than getting eaten," another soldier butts in.
Indeed, humans have learned a lot of science and astronomy over the years. They know enough about the heavens in the sky to realize that most planets aren't actually habitable.
Naturally, upon realizing that this portal they recently discovered is a World Gate, their first assumption is that the world on the other side must have bad air, or some other environmental hazard that makes it unsuitable for life.
That's why all the soldiers have face masks on – to give them oxygen to breath. On top of that, their clothing is enchanted to create a pressurized shield around their bodies that's also insulated.
"Enough chatting!" their captain barks at all of them. "It's time to go through the Portal!" She points to the two soldiers in front. "You, and you." Step in the portal, then immediately come back. Tell us if the other side is safe for the rest of us to follow."
Should there be a pit of lava or something on the other side, it's better for only two soldiers to throw their lives away than a whole battalion.
The two sacrificial soldiers gulp nervously, and they step through.
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The captain, as well as everyone else, fully expected their two comrades to only be gone for a few seconds at most.
Instead, several minutes start to tick by, and many of the soldiers are already silently offering their condolences.
However, after about 15 minutes, just before the captain is getting ready to dismiss them all, the two soldiers stumble back through the gate – gasping and panting.
A few of the soldiers break out of the line and help their two comrades to their feet. Those two, poor b#stards can't even stand properly.
"What is it?" the captain asks with crossed arms. "What did you see?"
Instead of answering, one of the soldiers starts throwing up on the ground.
With the first soldier indisposed, the other one stands to attention and explains…
…
"We went through the gate, and we found ourselves in outer space. However, we seemed to be moving impossibly fast through space – the stars were moving so fast that it gave the illusion of being in a tunnel made of streaking light."
"After a few minutes, we arrived at another gate on the other side. The feeling of tumbling through the tunnel gave us both motion sickness."
"Heh," the other soldier adds, "You forgot the part where the portal spit us out several thousand feet up in the air."
"Yeah… about that…," the first soldier continues saying, "When you get through the portal, it's best to have a levitation spell primed and ready. It'll save you from almost getting killed."
"Duly noted," the captain says. "Keep talking."
"Once we exited the other gate, we immediately saw a large, grassy plain, as well as overcast weather. We didn't have any equipment with us to check the content of the air, but it's safe enough for us to travel through, at least."
Indeed, all of these soldiers are equipped with special enchanted equipment that gives them their own pocket dimension full of air to breath – just in case the atmosphere on the other side is unbreathable.
"Good work," the captain says. She turns to some of the staff, who are standing at the back of the room and staring at her.
"These men are too sick to continue the mission," she tells them. "Take them to the medical bay."
One of the men in the back nods his head, then takes the two soldiers away.
"All right!" the captain claps her hands and announces. "We're going through now!"
Without another word, she steps through the gate and disappears. All of her 18 soldiers are right behind her.
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Several minutes later, the battalion of 18 soldiers all stumble out of the World Gate – some immediately vomiting their breakfasts out, while a few manage to keep their bowels under control.
As they all get their bearings, the captain is one of the first to recover. She immediately pulls out a device from her pocket, which looks like a flat piece of stone with small, complex glyphs bunch up on one corner.
With this artifact in hand, the captain runs her mana through it.
As she does this, the device emits colorful lights containing graphs and numbers.
Before she even looks at the result of the test, she hands the artifact to the mage next to her. "Yesee!" she says addresses the young girl next to her – the youngest mage on the team. "I was told by your boss to make sure you had this.
A young, 12-year-old girl looks up at her captain. Of course, she only looks 12 because she's a mage. Since she's a 1st Gate mage, she's really around 48 or 50 years old.
The young-looking Yesee takes ahold of the slate and pockets it. She's going to need it to get a quick and accurate analysis of the climate - basic stuff like "is there breathable air" and "are the temperatures suitable to expose bare skin to without burning or freezing?" - basic stuff!
Yesee bends her head down and studies the slate for a few minutes. Occasionally, she taps on the slate, and the glowing images change and react to her touch.
"Hmm…," Yesee murmurs thoughtfully.
"What?" the captain asks anxiously. "You got something yet?"
"…Yes," Yesee says. She hands the slate back to her captain. "Everything seems to be breathable, and the temperature is around 56 degrees."
"Oh, good!" the captain says in relief. She takes off the stuffy mask and breathes in deeply. "Ah… That's better…" She turns back to Yesee. "Did the analysis slate give us anything else?"
"Yes, I was about to get to that," Yesee says slowly. "In fact the mana here is about 11x richer here than in our own world. Plus, the Spiritual Aura here is… off the charts too! I don't think this thing that properly read how large it is."
Yesee, Captain Lena, and the other 16 soldiers all look around and take in the beautiful scenery. All around them are rolling hills covering in lush, green grass. The sky is foggy and grey, though given how bright it still is, they can tell that it's still early in the day.
"All right!" Captain Lena says to her men, "Let's go poking around."