The officer snapped the receiver back into place. The transmission ended.
Commander Kaela, standing at the fleet operations console aboard the Vigilant Dawn, snapped into motion.
>"All wings, shift to phalanx formation! Keep support vessels inside the core net! No drift!"
she commanded.
Engines flared as the fleet surged forward, slicing through the clouds in a clean arc.
Around her, officers relayed the orders.
The entire fleet adjusted formation with sharp precision, pulling tighter around the flagship—the Lux Invicta.
---
On the Lux Invicta, Theron rose from his chair, his posture stiff.
He stepped forward.
>"Bring us in. Full speed."
One of the officers hesitated.
>"Your Majesty, we're still reading mana activity from below," one of the officers hesitated. "We can't move any—"
Theron turned, his golden eyes sharp and cold. The room fell utterly silent.
The officer swallowed, trembling, then nodded quickly.
>"Aye, Your Majesty."
He immediately turned, fingers flying across the controls.
> "All ships, this is Lux Invicta," his voice echoed through the command channel.
"Execute full-speed approach on my mark. Maintain phalanx formation. This is not a drill. I repeat: full-speed advance, phalanx tight! Eyes forward. No deviation. Prepare for incoming fire. Stay tight. Do not break formation!"
Confirmations lit up the comms from the other five ships. A second later, engines across the fleet surged into motion, roaring with raw output. The six airships tore through the sky, their formation locked tight and aggressive.
Mana barriers shimmered into place, covering each ship like a bubble.
---
Inside the bridge of the Vigilant Dawn:
> "Barrier status!" Karla asked.
>"Primary mana shields holding! Formation net stable across all vessels!" an officer replied crisply.
Kaela gave a slight nod. "Maintain.
No slack."
Then, a flicker.
She felt something move on the treeline far below.
She narrowed her eyes, looking down at the forest through the Viewport glass.
At first, it was just a shimmer—a disturbance in the air rising fast.
Then she saw it:
Thin red trails whipped upward like arrows drawn in blood—hundreds of them, coiling as they accelerated toward the fleet, twisting unnaturally, as if alive.
The officer monitoring the Aetherscope leaned forward, eyes narrowing at the sensor display.
He muttered, "Commander, something's moving fast. Coming up from below."
Kaela's voice was flat.
>"Visual on incoming projectiles. Blood magic. Hundreds."
>"Confirmed! Multiple high-velocity mana signatures. They're locked on!" an officer behind her shouted.
Kaela remained calm.
>"Shields are up. Hold steady."
---
Impact
She watched as the spears rose like a wall of death.
THUD—THUD—CRACK!
The first wave hit. Blood spears shattered on contact against the shield, bursting into red scarlet energy.
>"Maintain altitude!" Kaela ordered.
Then came the second wave, tighter, faster, and aimed to penetrate.
From the forward deck, an officer shouted.
> "Multiple projectiles redirecting! Locking onto front line!"
Kaela stepped forward toward the glass, her eyes locked.
"The attacks... they aren't random. He's targeting command engines."
A half-second later, the front-left airship, the Reach, took a direct hit.
BOOM!
A blood spear tore through the bow, then another struck the core vent. The entire ship ruptured in midair, flames and wreckage spinning down through the clouds as it slowly fell.
The strike vessel Virex tried to bank away, but three spears twisted in midair and speared straight through its engines. It pitched forward, nose-down, trailing black smoke.
> "Virex hit! She's falling! Engines gone!"
Then—
The scream of impact on the Vigilant Dawn. Kaela felt it through the floor before she heard it.
CRACK!
A blood spear punched through the underdeck, ripping through armor like paper. Sparks exploded. A mage screamed.
> "Hull breach, port side! Mana core destabilizing!"
Sparks exploded from the wall.
Flames burst up through the command floor near the aft controls.
Alarms wailed.
Kaela didn't move, just turned.
Across the deck, Saintess Elira, staff in hand, eyes closed, covered in Holy Mana, muttered, "Let Your holy light fuel my fight.
Sanctum Lux descend."
A golden barrier shimmered into being—catching the two falling ships in its glow as they plunged toward the forest.
Kaela grabbed the emergency override keyed into her chestplate and opened a line.
> "To all remaining ships! Command transfer to Lux Invicta! Maintain formation! Do not break!"
Her voice cut through the chaos, clear and sharp.
> "Virex, Reach, do you read? All water-aspected mages—suppress onboard fires immediately! Use everything you have! Wind-aspected—focus on fall dampening. Create drag fields, wind funnels—anything to slow their descent!"
---
The Will to Survive
Inside the burning hull of Virex—
Flames climbed the walls. Smoke filled the corridor. A water-aspected mage slammed his staff against the deck.
His voice breaking through the chaos.
> "Water channel now! Focus on the fire!"
Three others joined him, and streams of conjured water burst from their staves, hammering down across the blaze. The flames struggled, hissed, and died beneath the sudden flood.
Across the collapsing deck, wind-aspected mages braced against the walls, their magic stones pulsing pale green.
> "Drag fields forming! Pressure cones deployed!" stabilizing the descent.
Outside, the airship's plunge slowed ever so slightly.
---
Back on the Vigilant Dawn, Kaela stood still as the deck beneath her quaked again.
Fire spewed from a control node nearby.
An officer staggered, blood trailing from his brow.
> "Commander, we need to evacuate!"
She didn't flinch.
She keyed in another override.
"Hold the line! We're not finished!"
She stepped over a collapsed rail and helped the wounded soldier upright.
She pulled a small vial from her quick-access pouch.
> "Drink."
He fumbled it open, drank. Within seconds, the color returned to his face as the wound began healing with a faint glow.
Kaela released him and turned back toward the command console.
Behind her, Saintess Elira continued to channel—Holy light flickering, sweat pouring down her brow.
---
Command in Fire
Aboard the Lux Invicta, the bridge lights dimmed for a breath, then stabilized.
Theron stood at the forward display, his eyes locked on the carnage unfolding across the clouds.
> "Your Majesty, we've lost Virex, Reach, and Virellian," an officer's voice reported, brittle with strain. "All three are falling."
Silence fell.
Outside the viewport, flaming wreckage trailed through the sky like meteors, black smoke painting scars across the clouds.
Theron's golden eyes narrowed. His jaw clenched.
He did not blink.