She boomed, "Is that what I think it is?"
"Yep!" Tethys yelled, "This is the last one. I'm guessing since you're back early, things went well on your end."
"Tomorrow. But Athos is pretty sure it'll be a big deal," Emory grinned. She motioned for Tethys to come with her, and the pair left the crafting room. While they walked towards the command center, Emory talked about the call while Tethys reviewed Tana's report. Once they got there, Emory told her about everything Athos had told her about magik bodies and his guess about the ginger girl's heritage. Tethys sat silent for a few moments and digested all the information. Then Tethys put her hand on her chin and squinted at Emory.
"Can I test it?" Tethys asked mischievously, "It's not that I don't believe you; I just can't believe a person like that exists."
Emory smirked as she pulled a small knife from her bootstrap, "Go ahead. Try to stab my hand." Tethys slowly picked up the knife while Emory channeled her magik into the other palm. She poked the hand on the table without a reaction, so she lifted the knife to eye level before looking at Emory for confirmation. Unafraid, the hand on the table knocked a couple times and motioned for her to continue. She gulped audibly and closed her eyes before slamming the knife down on Emory's hand.
"My hand! It hurts!" Emory cried which caused Tethys to quickly open her eyes, "Just kidding. See? It didn't cut me." Tethys pressed her face closer to the sight because she couldn't believe it; the knife stopped at the top of Emory's hand like it was made of concrete.
Tethys gasped, "I'm looking right at it, and I still can't believe it. This is wild."
"Enough about me," Emory blushed, "We should focus on tomorrow. Make sure to get the sheet set up by the RRS tomorrow."
"Of course, we'll get it ready first thing in the morning," Tethys nodded. After excusing herself, Emory decided to return to her cabin and relax for the rest of the evening. At least, that's what she told Tethys she was going to do. In reality, she pulled out her Arcane spellbook and began reading through the suggestions for a second sphere. Because of her massive mana pool, she wanted to learn one of the "exalted" spheres, but the book was less than helpful in describing them, just how well they worked with the Arcane Sphere. And though several of the normal spheres worked well with it, she felt like they weren't the best use of her abilities. Stuck with no reason to pick one over any of the others, she decided to meditate for the moment. As she did, a whisper began to grow audible in her mind until a sweet voice called out to Emory. In her mind, she sat at the edge of her mana pool where the water had risen to almost the top of the container.
"My, my, you're quite the budding flower, aren't you?" a woman remarked as she approached Emory from behind, causing the ginger girl to spin around quickly. Before her stood the silhouette of a woman that glowed too brightly to see any specific features.
"Who are you?" Emory seethed, "How did you get in my head?"
The woman giggled, "A true fire child! Don't worry, this is only telepathy, an advanced form of it. You have nothing to fear from me."
"That still doesn't answer my question. Who are you?" Emory growled as magik encased her hand and her eyes began to glow.
"Relax, we're the same, you and I," the woman persuaded, "You're almost an adult and then we'll truly see the measure of your strength."
"An adult what? What am I and how do you know what I am?" Emory snapped, still uneasy about this woman.
"We are the fire children; when one of us reaches adulthood or is approaching it, we can all feel it if we're close," the woman explained, "Since I'm in the area, I can sense you. But when you cross the threshold, everyone will feel it from a long way away."
Emory frowned, "A fire child? Stop talking nonsense and answer me with a straight answer. What am I?"
"Tomorrow, when you become an adult, make sure someone is deflecting your power or you're far away from other people," the woman pointed out before she started to fade, "Becoming an adult will cause a surge of magik unlike anything you can imagine. Especially if you're this powerful already." She vanished into vapor before Emory had a chance to ask any more questions. Immediately, Emory stopped meditating and scanned the empty room. Instead of getting upset, however, she quickly pulled out her link stone and tried to reach Perceval. After a few moments, the crystal lit up, indicating the call had gone through.
"Lady Aurelias!" Perceval joyously called, "I was just wondering how things were going. I can only guess well the last few days."
Emory raised an eyebrow, "Why do you say that? I assumed I was far enough away that you couldn't feel my power now."
"Well then, I must be getting senile, or you are growing even stronger than I expected," Perceval replied, "Another elder and I have been feeling a rising surge of power coming from your direction. This magik is unlike anything I have ever felt. But surely, you did not call just to hear me sing your praises."
"No, I didn't. Have you ever heard of 'fire children'? Or really any creatures with magik besides the Fae?" Emory questioned nervously.
"Well, I have certainly heard fables of other creatures with magik," Perceval paused, "But I do not know how truthful those stories are. Have you come across another species with magik?"
Emory sighed, "Not exactly. Someone used telepathy to talk to me but not the way we're using it right now. They entered my mind's eye with a body of sorts without my permission. She called me a 'fire child'. And this Fae I met said that I'm not a Hexblood."
"You met a real Fae?" Perceval gasped, "What are they like?"
"He is incredibly powerful, and his magik control is amazing. He's been teaching me the Arcane Sphere," Emory explained casually.
"That is remarkable. In all my years, I would have never imagined they were still around after all this time," Perceval exclaimed, "Surely this Fae would know more than I do. Did you ask him?"
Emory groaned, "I have. All he knows is that I'm not a Hexblood and that I'm closer to him than human, from a magik standpoint. I just wish I knew more."
"Ah, such is youth, always yearning for more. Do you have any other questions?" Perceval asked.
"Not questions, but I do have a lot of information about the Mantoan you need to be aware of," Emory expressed as she told him everything she had learned about the Apleem. It was a lot to say, but she needed to make sure the Witches were up to speed about the greater threat they all faced. When she finished, there was a deafening silence between the two.
Finally, Perceval spoke, "I suppose it was foolish to believe that we were powerful because we had magik for so long. In fact, we are small fish in a very large pond. Thank you for telling me, Lady Aurelias."
"It's very possible that a larger, stronger force will attack the Sol System at some point," Emory grimaced, "The Collective will be vastly underprepared for such a force. Do you have any questions for me after learning all this?"
"After you help your friends, will you please visit Earth? I fear the Council will want a leader once they learn of this news," Perceval grieved.
"Once things are settled here, I'll come to Earth; I think it's time," Emory agreed begrudgingly, "Hold off on telling them for a few days at least. Thanks again, Perceval."
Perceval gratefully said, "No, thank you Lady Aurelias. I hope to hear from you again soon." The crystal returned to its cloudy form as Emory laid back on her bed. In times like these, she wished Sam was around, so she could help her navigate this bureaucratic nonsense. Without her support system, it was a difficult decision to make, how to deal with the Council as an eighteen-year-old trying to talk to centuries-old witches. At least she could wait to deal with it until after she saved Nephenee's squad. All this pressure was giving Emory a headache, so she decided to change for bed and lay down. But sleep did not come easy to her tonight.
Suddenly, she woke up in a panic but instantly froze when she looked around at her surroundings. "I'm not in Kansas anymore," Emory thought. Instead of her cabin, she had woken up in the command center, yet the layout, structure, and design resembled an entirely different ship than hers. However, she really knew she was dreaming when none other than a Mantoan walked through the main door. Over the next couple minutes, several others filed into the room, sitting at various screens. Behind them followed a muscly half-man, half-scorpion who stood almost a foot taller than the Mantoan. His top half looked rather humanoid though completely hairless and with two sets of arms while his bottom half was like that of a scorpion, complete with four insect legs and a large stinger, except it was the size of a large dog. He was clad in assorted hide coverings, a belt with two swords, and a giant axe on his back. Where he wasn't covered by makeshift armor, he had a dark carapace-like exterior with a glassy glint that sounded like metal as he scurried across the floor. When he entered the room, the Mantoan in the room all lowered their heads in fear.
After he made his way to a podium of sorts, he began giving orders to the rest of the crew. It was still muffled to Emory, so the words were still unclear. But from the hand and body language of the scorpion man, it was quite clear that this man was in charge of the ship. Then pictures of a planet appeared on several screens, drawing Emory's attention away from the ship leader. A yellow sun glowed in the distance over an idyllic savannah, but what really caught her eye was a metal and stone building with typical defensive barricades in front. Suddenly, the ride became bumpy, signaling to her that they were entering the atmosphere. As it did, the captain stood up and walked out of the command center, and Emory followed him down the long corridor. By her estimate, this vessel was a cruiser-level ship, capable of carrying a full platoon of two hundred fifty soldiers. Finally, she entered a cargo hold filled with almost two hundred Mantoan troops, causing Emory to go into a panic. However, when the blinding light of day broke through the cargo doors, she blinked and woke up back in her own bed again. "Oh shit, that's a big army," Emory let out.