"I think I understand," Emory slowly nodded, "Do you mind watching me while I practice? Maybe you could check my purity again after a while?"
Athos smiled, "Of course. And while you train, how about I tell you the story of how the Laxtros and Elandrian conflict started?" Emory just shrugged and sat cross-legged on the tablet to begin her training.
The distant Past
Two tall Elandrian, a male and a female, were strolling across a meadow filled with wildlife under a setting yellow star. The field stretched for miles in every direction, yet it looked like a wave of grass rolling along the ground due to the slight breeze. The man stumbled while walking but caught himself immediately and turned to see what he tripped on. Lying on the ground was a small shimmering black orb which lit up through small cracks in the shell when the man picked it up. "Lyndis, have you ever seen one of these devices before?" the man asked curiously.
"I haven't seen anything like it before," Lyndis, the woman, replied as she gazed at the miraculous sphere, "Nor does it resemble any of the ancient technology strewn through the Bubble. Hector, what are you thinking?"
Hector, the man, closed his eyes, "I'm not sure. Strangely, it isn't reacting to my magik like metals should. I see something etched in the cracks, but it doesn't look like our language. Our best bet may be to take this back to camp and have the forger take a look at it." Lyndis agreed, so the pair walked quicker back the way they had come. After five minutes or so, the orb stopped lighting up and returned to its original ebony shade which puzzled Hector since he had not put it down after picking it up the first time. Nevertheless, Hector and Lyndis continued jogging back to camp and eventually reached it after walking for nearly two hours. "Go get the mission leader and meet us at the smithy. I have a feeling this may turn into something more than a fact-finding mission," Hector suggested to Lyndis who nodded and left.
Hector continued walking towards a particular tent. When he arrived, he pulled aside the curtain and entered the space which was roughly five times larger than it appeared from the outside. The layout resembled a workshop of sorts with a large furnace in the back, a couple anvils, and an oversized workbench, yet only a small boy attended the counter. Hector grimaced, "Boy, where is Merlinus?"
"He'll be back soon," the boy answered politely, "In the meantime, I can take your order and get it started. What can I get for you today, sir?"
"Merlinus. You can go get Merlinus for me. And quickly please," Hector ordered sarcastically. The boy's face drooped before turning to the back and walking through the curtain along the back wall. In a few minutes, he returned with a rather unusual looking Elandrian. Though most of them were slender, tall, and clean cut, this man was on the shorter side with a huge, bulging upper body and a blackened beard that came down to his stomach. As luck would have it, Lyndis and a knight came through the front entrance moments later.
"Hector, what's the meaning of this?" the bearded fellow grumbled, "Finding quality materials for you lot is hard enough already without interruptions."
Hector bowed slightly, "My deepest apologies, Merlinus. I came across a foreign object in the field and need a full analysis done immediately." Then he handed the orb carefully to the bearded man.
"Do you have any more information about it?" Merlinus asked coldly as he moved the ball around his hands, "Where you found it, anything the device has done, any initial readings you've done. You can't just toss me an object and expect me to know what it is."
"We found it on the ground, partial obscured. When Hector first picked it up, it glowed slowly but stopped after five minutes," Lyndis interjected as she and the knight approached.
"Interesting," Merlinus grinned as he continued to examine the ball, "It's obviously metal; did you try to disassemble it, Hector?"
Hector sighed, "I tried, but it seemed impervious to my magik. I also thought I saw writing or text of some sort along the cracks,"
"It's not our language, is it?" the knight boomed, speaking for the first time, "I'm beginning to guess why you brought me here."
"Captain Eliwood, I apologize I didn't see you come in. You are correct; it's not our language. But I do recognize it," Merlinus commented slowly after finding the inscription.
"They're not supposed to be moving this way," Eliwood murmured, "It's them, isn't it?"
Merlinus nodded, "Indeed, it is, sir. This is a Laxtros device, a sensor or indicator of some sort."
"A Laxtros sensor? In our section of the Bubble? What does that mean?" Lyndis worried.
"It means we need to alert headquarters," Eliwood grunted, "Sound the alarm! Be on guard for any enemies!" But before he could continue shouting orders, a rumbling noise filled the air and drowned out his voice. A man in leather armor burst into the tent.
"A Laxtros ship is landing, Captain! What are your orders?" the soldier yelled.
"Evacuate all non-essential personnel immediately!" Eliwood boomed as he approached the exit, "Hector, Lyndis, you're with me. Merlinus, leave immediately and start disconnecting from the other side; you've got ten minutes." As he continued out the curtain, Hector and Lyndis followed closely behind him. The trio marched towards a monstrous ship that somewhat resembled an insect's thorax while the camp quickly packed up behind them. A platform descended from the center of the ship with three half-women, half-spiders on board. Though the Elandrian were tall, roughly seven feet, these figures each stood at least eight feet tall. Each of the three women was wearing a dark colored cloak that stopped in their midsection, revealing a human torso that connected to a spider abdomen like a centaur of sorts. Eliwood, Hector, and Lyndis stood around twenty feet away and brandished three silver swords.
Once the three Laxtros stepped off the platform, Eliwood called, "You are in a restricted area. State your purpose or leave immediately!"
"Eliwood, is that you?" the center woman called back, "We just came to have a look around." Slowly the Laxtros walked towards the Elandrian on their four spider legs while the middle one pulled a small wooden rod from her cloak.
"Stop! Return to your ship now, and we can forget this ever happened. You know the treaty, Idunna!" Eliwood persuaded loudly.
"Ah yes, the treaty," Idunna, the middle woman, smirked while she continued to walk forward, "See, the thing about the treaty is I don't like it. It feels much more beneficial to you all than us."
Eliwood raised his sword, "This is your last warning, Idunna. Nothing has been done here that can't be undone. Leave peacefully or there will be violence." Less than ten feet now stood between the two groups, and the tension in the air was reaching a breaking point.
"I choose violence," Idunna grinned sinisterly. Immediately after saying those words, a black, pulsating orb shot out of her rod straight towards Hector at a terrifying speed. He tried to quickly cover his body in magik, but the projectile was faster and burst through his chest in an instant. Hector collapsed as the orb exited out his back and left a hole in him the size of mango, causing blood to gush out of him. Lyndis screamed and went to his side, yet he was already gone; Eliwood, on the other hand, roared and swung his blade at Idunna. Though she parried the strike, a large gash appeared across her cloak, and green blood dripped on the ground. Unfortunately, when Eliwood dashed forward, he left Lyndis open to attacks from the other two Laxtros. One hopped over the confrontation between the leaders and tried to pin Lyndis to the ground with her four legs but slipped somehow and rolled over instead. Lyndis grabbed her sword and sliced the attacker's head clean off as she turned her back to the others. A hand, covered in black magik, stabbed through her back and out her chest as the other Laxtros jabbed Lyndis from behind. Now, Eliwood stood in between Idunna and the other Laxtros, holding his sword in one hand and covering his open hand in magik. Idunna giggled, "I was hoping you would be the last one standing. Now we can try my new compound."
"Why would you do this?" Eliwood turned his head back and forth between the two women, "When we first encountered you, we showed you mercy. We could have destroyed you completely."
"And that was your mistake. We were never allies," she smiled as she pulled a small yellow dagger from her cloak. Without a sound, the other Laxtros moved within range and restrained Eliwood, even though his body was cloaked in magik. Idunna's smile only grew as she got in his space and dug the yellow dagger into his gut, a seemingly superficial jab. Then Eliwood felt a strange, burning sensation from the wound as she withdrew the blade, and they backed away. Within a minute, the pain had become so intense that Eliwood dropped to his knees and began to convulse. Stranger still, he looked down and saw the magik covering his body dissipating outwards from the puncture.
"What is this poison?" Eliwood gasped as he fell prone, "It's taking my magik."
Idunna cackled, "You Fae think you're nigh invulnerable, but you're not. I came across this lovely little plant I call Faebane, ground it down to a fine powder, and mixed it into the casting of this dagger. That burning sensation is the sign of your impending death, the first death of its kind. You see, Faebane has the unique property of separating your magik from your body. And without your magik, I would guess you will die." Eliwood continued to shake violently on the ground until suddenly, he didn't. His body went pale and limp preceding a firm kick from Idunna. "Damn, I was hoping to take out more than three of them," Idunna frowned as she looked at the empty campsite, "Well, no matter, the die has been cast."