A migthy treath

A year after Clinton's escape, in the infinite desert, the barrier between the worlds was weakening. The miasma began to slowly invade the desert through small holes. In the distance, a couple of regulators were bored to death.

'This is the most ridiculous mission I've ever had,' complained a water magician to his companion.

'It could be worse; we could be looking for warlocks like the other teams,' said the other regulator, a wind magician.

'By the way, doesn't it seem strange to you? As soon as we discover a bunch of warlocks, the superiors order us to surround them; they come, talk in private to them, and then take them alive. What is going on?' asked the water magician.

'I don't know. Captain Astrid is giving very strange orders lately. After all that Van Ferra drama and the royal mages court... I don't know what's going on anymore, but the future looks darker than that cloud,' said the wind magician.

'Cloud?' The water wizard's eyes opened in surprise. 'That's myasma.'

The two regulators looked at each other, got on a Tumulos carriage, and set off towards Liev's tower. There, after informing the masters of the tower, the water magician departed for the royal city; the wind magician was sent to inform Astrid at the headquarters of regulators.

A few hours later, several regulators, the masters of the tower, Lydia, and other members of the dark court were gathering in the desert. The barrier was weakening, and with every second, the amount of miasma invading the human world increased.

'How long do you think we have until the barrier is fully dissolved?' asked Astrid to Lydia.

'It's hard to know, but a day or two tops.'

'What are we doing now?' asked Heigdal.

'We prepare ourselves for war. We are not helpless; be it just the world of chaos or Clinton's return, we have to fight or we will all die,' Astrid replied.

'The magicians of the court and the warlocks are ready.'

Lydia's words made the regulators feel uncomfortable; the idea of sharing the battlefield with their eternal enemies was not pleasant. The betrayal of the royal court of magicians had generated much unrest among the regulators; many of them only remained in the organization because of their contract with the crown.

'The Masters of the Tower will fight at the front from the beginning. I will go to the neighboring kingdoms, and I will ask the other titled magicians to join the fight.' Emeral offered.

Meanwhile, the Dynasty's troops were preparing for the imminent battle. In the southern kingdom: Xavier, the salamanders and the dragons looked north at the same time.

'What is that?' asked Xavier when he perceived the strange feeling.

'The All Father!' said Temma, rising from the seat.

'What do you mean?'

'That is the All Father; the feeling is weak and strange, but I am sure that is the All Father,' Temma answered cheerfully. "The All father still exists."

'Wait, that means... Clinton, the barrier, the miasma!' Xavier remembered the war of the dragons.

'We have to go to the cave.'

'You go, I need to talk to Delfin; do you think the magicians of the academy are ready enough to fight?'

'They are too green. According to Delfin, the conditions in our academy are not as good as in the Tower of Liev. The other students are pretty much useless; we are a different case thanks to our dragon blood. Don't expect too much from them.'

'I understand. Don't waste any more time; go join your brothers.'

Temma departed for the cave in the volcanoes. Xavier went to the academy to talk to Delfin.

'Clinton has begun to move. The barrier is weakening. Will our magicians be of any use?'

'Not much; they have almost no knowledge of magic; what a noble child of the dynasty read by their own will or under pressure by their parents is unknown here. If the dynasty had not provided us with books and affinity testers, we would not have made so much progress,' Delfin replied.

'I understand. Delfin it is time. It's now or never.'

Delfin nodded.

Xavier went back to his office and asked to meet with the elders; he had already given them some news of what would happen in the future, but the elderly were skeptical. It required pressure from the salamanders for the stubborn old bags to change their minds.

'Gather the warriors from all the cities. We'll march north. The ships will pick them up at the port. I remind you that if we fail, the whole world will be consumed by myasma. Don't forget it!

The elders agreed unwillingly; in their opinion, the problem of the miasma was a matter of the north. A few hours later, four dragons landed in the middle of the city before the astonished gaze of the inhabitants.

'The serpent gods have domesticated dragons.' The locals shouted.

'Long live the snake gods!'

The four dragons were imposing; their gray scally skins and their height of more than five meters made them higher than all the buildings around them. Uruk, Temma, and Moger were riding on the chairs on the backs of the giant reptiles. Thick chains tied to the dragon's necks acted as reins.

'Why are there only four?' asked Xavier.

Uruk replied, 'One of them doesn't want to get out of the cave. When we tried to force him out, the others rebelled against us. I don't know what's going on, but...'

'The All father always gives us what we need,' replied Xavier, holding his right hand to his chest. Since he felt the All father earlier, the burning sensation in his chest increased.

Xavier rode on one of the dragons. 'Delfin, mount with me.'

The master rode on the chair behind Xavier with little confidence. Xavier had already warned him of the existence of the dragons, but it was the first time that the master saw them in person or mounted them. They flew northwestward towards the infinite desert.

As Xavier, Delfin and the salamanders rode the dragons, the troops of the dynasty began their attack on the miasma. The fire mages, led by Master Emeral, cast their fire magic against the black fog and its inhabitants.

'Organize yourself in groups of at least ten fire magicians; at least three must be elite magicians supported by wind magicians. The teams will rotate after each attack to recover their magic energy. This will be a battle of attrition, and the enemy is superior to us in number and strength; do not forget it.'

A knight was rushing to inform the masters and other leaders of an unexpected situation.

'Master Emeral, Captain Astrid, we are being warned from the rear of another enemy approaching.'

This information put both women in a slight state of panic; no one expected a pincer attack.

'What enemy?' asked Astrid.

'Four flying beasts are approaching from the south; the guards believe that they may be dragons,' replied the knight immediately.

'Dragons?' Astrid began to laugh. 'Tell the men in the rear not to attack them; they are not enemies; they are reinforcements from the southern kingdom.' 'What is going on?' asked Emeral.

'You have your secrets, and I have mine. You're not the only one able to influence titled magicians,' Astrid answered with a smile.

'The De Vonder?' asked the master with a frown.

Astrid stood in front of the master.

'Now listen to me and listen carefully; the Vonder are not what you think they are; they are the remnant of the dragons who managed to survive your massacre; they are powerful allies; any personal conflict you have with them, you can save it for later; I have no time for the nonsense of titled magicians and masters with the inflated ego. Are we clear?'

The master showed a face of anger and indignation. 'Who do you think you are?' Her eyes became red as her hands warmed up.

'Drop the act. This is a battlefield, and I'm a strategist. We wouldn't be in this mess if it weren't for the incompetence of the masters of the tower and the members of the court of magicians. So I recommend that you do what you are ordered to do; whether you are a titled magician or not, you're just a woman.' Astrid approached the master's ear and spoke in a very low voice. 'You have made a lot of very powerful enemies, and right now you have just a few allies; the titled magicians are no longer untouchable and all powerful; do not end up as Robalt.'

The master's anger only increased, but Astrid didn't pay any attention to her; she turned around and walked away a few steps to give orders to soldiers, knights, and earth and water magicians. A few minutes later, four dragons landed on the battlefront.

"What is this? What a lame spectacle of shadow magic," Emeral thought with horror when she saw the creatures riding on the dragons. The humanoid reptiles looked repulsive to her; Astrid had already told her that the Vonder's had a different appearance but did not give much explanation.

'It is a waste of energy to keep this illusion; I guess you do it in order to be accepted by the dragons' Emeral spoke with a loud voice.

'This is our real form; does it bother you, master Emeral, the walking flintstone?' Uruk mocked.

'How dare you!'

After Astrid's disrespect and Uruk's words were the straw that broke the horse back, Emeral was ready to attack. She didn't notice that Moger had sneaked behind her.

'Hey, do you want to die like the clown of the heavens?'

The master turned around in horror; Moger's physical appearance only made him more imposing and frightening.

'What kind of warrior gives his back to his opponent?' said Uruk with a voice of disappointment.

A man approached Emeral and took off his hood, revealing his face full of burn scars. His voice surprised Emeral.

'You have lost your touch, Emeral.'

'Delfin?'

'Are you surprised to see me alive?'

Delfin came face-to-face with her.

'Enjoy this war; after I am done with Clinton, I will settle scores with you.'

Emeral laughed. 'Have you gone mad, Delfin? The Vonders are one thing, but you? You're a worthless little man, you'll always be too weak and useless.'

Delfin merely smiled.

'You have got more ego than brains,' said Uruk with a voice of disappointment, turning around and walking toward his dragon.

'What kind of warrior gives his opponent his back?' asked the master, smiling.

'You are not a worthy opponent. I'll give you some advice; set your things straight and make arrangements for your funeral. Delfin is going to kill you,' replied Uruk, without stopping his walk.

Emeral wanted to refute Uruk's words, but Uruk didn't listen; nobody paid attention to her anymore; even Delfin had gone away. She looked around. The fire magicians around her were a little embarrassed.

'How is this possible?'

'They just disrespected a titled fire magician.'

'Well, the master does not seem keen on retaliation.'

'I hear that the de Vonder have already defeated Emeral once; she is afraid of them, and they also killed Robalt.'

'Uruk, the destroyer, and his brothers are dangerous.'

A lot of jokes and rumors spread among the magicians, who were resting after using their magic. Emeral saw the de Vonder and Delfin approach Astrid to discuss strategies. She wanted to throw herself against them and prove everyone her power, but her legs didn't move. She stood there, paralyzed by the realization plaguing her mind. "I'm afraid!" Meanwhile, Astrid and the others were talking.

'What's going on? Why does the miasma progress so slowly?' asked Xavier. He remembered the battles of the past. Back then, the miasma advanced rapidly and was only held back by the fire of the dragons. The monsters went out in hordes without fear of their enemies.

'The dynasty generals have come to the conclusion that the forces of the world of chaos are being commanded. We believe that Clinton has achieved his goal somehow. We have not been attacked by any enemy native to the world of chaos, just a few golems and resurrected insects from the sand,' Astrid replied.

Xavier and the salamanders turned to look at the miasma; the feeling that led them to the All father was still present, but something did not feel right. Now that they had come this close, they noticed a certain discomfort.

'We will coordinate with the forces of the...'

Uruk interrupted Astrid. 'We will take part in the war. But we will not join the army; we will fight for ourselves.'

'I understand your opposition to joining forces, but it is a misuse of resources,' protested Astrid.

'The answer remains the same. No!' confirmed Xavier.

Astrid dropped her shoulders in defeat. After a year of trying to convince the Vonder, she had achieved nothing; even in view of the battle, they still did not trust her or the other humans. Lydia and some members of the court approached.

'What are you going to do then?' asked Astrid.

'We will fight in our own way,' replied Uruk.

'Our response must be as organized as possible,' insisted Lydia.

'The barrier has not yet fallen. Clinton must be busy breaking it down by force; there is no life to sacrifice in the world of chaos, and using arcane magic is almost impossible. The barrier is a product of arcane magic; only arcane magic can break it completely. We believe that Clinton is consuming his power right now. If we let the barrier fall, we'll give him time to recover. We have coordinated with the other kingdoms. Master Telman, the spirit of earth from the Orphen kingdom and earth-titled magician, and Master Pelana, the ici one, water-titled magician from Veldat Kingdom, and their armies have already joined our ranks. We will form a united front and carry out a massive attack. It is a blessing from heaven to have the fire of four dragons on our side,' commented Heigdal.

The way humans counted on the dragons angered Uruk. 'I am sorry to disappoint you, but these dragons have no flames. Our flames come from the All Father. To whom you have betrayed and murdered!' replied Uruk.

The faces of the members of the court became pale.

'Do whatever you want, but don't include us in your plans,' added Xavier.

The de Vonders and Delfin were moving away from the group.

'We can work together; the magicians of the court can strengthen the dragons...'

Temma interrupted Heigdal's speech. 'Like they did the last time? Like when they betrayed us and destroyed my world!'

'Temma!' called Xavier. 'We don't have time for this.'

The Vonder moved away from the others. Out of the reach of curious ears, Xavier explained his plan.

'Uruk, Temma and Moger, go on the attack. Delfin and I will go into the miasma and try to find what's left of the All father'

'You don't know anything about the great father; one of us should...' Temma objected.

Xavier interrupted him. 'I can feel the all father, too. You guys are our best weapons. If any of you die, it would be a disaster. I'm almost sure Clinton used his arcane magic with the all father, which is why we have this strange feeling. Delfin knows how to use arcane magic; he's been studying Clinton and Van Vatnik's spells for years. Maybe we can reverse whatever Clinton did.'

The three salamanders hesitated but eventually gave in to the proposal. They climbed up to the dragons and threw themselves against the miasma. The salamanders used their magic of fire unceasingly. Their most effective attack was still the fire breath. In a few minutes, they had managed to clear the scarce advance of miasma over the human world.

'Well, these De Vonder keep using their magic of fire nonstop while they maintain that illusion that makes them look like monsters. Master Emeral is falling way too short.'

'Shh! Hey, you're crazy; don't say that... even if it's true.'

Those fighting on the front commented in low voices, while Emeral lost more and more credibility.

Once the salamanders had recovered enough territory from the dragon world, Xavier and Delfin entered the miasma. Xavier used his connection to the All father to guide the dragon through the miasma.