Since all the bases were laid out similarly, it didn't take her long to find the large room filled with desks and screens. Once there, she locked the doors and sat cross legged in the center of the room. Closing her eyes, she imagined herself beside her mana pool which had grown incomprehensibly large. When she last checked, it was the size of the largest pool in the world and filled to the brim. Now, if she turned her head to the left or the right, she couldn't see an end, and it seemed to stretch out before her as far as she could see.
Emory gasped, "How? What am I?"
"The rarest of all fire children," Ninian patted her on the back gently, "A fire child of two suns or a Fairy Dragon. It is a pleasure to meet you again, Emory."
"The rarest, huh? Thank you, I think. It's good to meet you again too, Ninian. Thank you for helping me earlier as well," Emory bowed.
"I'm happy to help. After all, it's been millennia since one of us was born with the Limitless gift," Ninian grinned, "I may be stronger than you now, but in a year, the tables will be turned, and I can't afford to have a person of your strength against me. But now is the time for questions; I'm sure you have many."
Emory started, "Well, I think the most important question is what are the demographics of our people? How many of us are there and what are they like?"
"We are a nomadic people, spread across the cosmos like wanderers. I'd be hard pressed to say there are more than a thousand fire children in the whole universe," Ninian rubbed her chin, "As for their temperament, it varies from person to person. Though we can sense each other if we're in the same galaxy. We're the only two in what you refer to as the Milky Way galaxy."
"Why are there so few? With our power, we could cover the universe," Emory looked confused.
"Well, for most of us, there's a couple of major problems with having descendants," Ninian explained, "We choose when to have a child because, when we do, we can usually only do so once. Having a child forfeits our immortality, so by bringing another into this world, we must pay with our life. That's not to say we die immediately; it can still be thousands of years. But in the span of the universe, what is a thousand years?"
Emory raised an eyebrow, "Usually? I'm guessing my gift blocks that, which is why I'm rare?"
"Correct! And it's pure luck; even if you have children with another magik race, there's a good chance they won't have Limitless," Ninian continued, "All your children that you have with a magik race will be fire children of two suns, though, which just means they will have two gifts."
"Back up a moment. We're immortal? What do you mean?" Emory looked shocked.
"Unlike your Elandrian friend who can live fifty millennia at most, I've been around for eons," Ninian emphasized, "Over that time, I've seen a thousand civilizations rise and fall; the Elandrian and Laxtros are just two of the more recent ones."
Emory frowned, "Then what's my meaning in all this?"
"Whatever you want. If you want to protect the humans and the Elandrian, do that," Ninian shrugged, "Fire children are not bound by the laws of mortals. Now that's not to say there aren't powerful Elandrian and Laxtros, but time will still ravage them both eventually while we remain."
"How can you be so apathetic about life? You sound so cold," Emory snapped.
Ninian paused, "Eons, little dragon, I've lived for eons. Do you think either of those races were the first I saw in intergalactic combat? Over a hundred races in this galaxy alone have risen to type two civilizations only to annihilate each other and give rise to new life. I do my part to help it along over the Great Filter, but then it's on its own."
"Very well, I suppose I am very young in comparison," Emory huffed, deciding to steer the conversation in a different way, "What do you know about the gift of Foresight?"
"Foresight is a tricky gift, though invaluable once you master it. For us, it always shows us a future that will happen unless we intervene. Why do you ask; you don't have it and neither does your friend," Ninian answered plainly.
"How do you know?" Emory asked, "Is your gift knowing other people's gifts? What is my other gift then?"
Ninian giggled, "It's called Clairvoyance, but yes, that is my gift. Your friend's gift is called Perception which allows him to see the inner values of magik. Your other gift is called Projection, which is similar to Foresight but not the same. Foresight will show you a possible future, and at the end, you'll see a decision you have yet to make, and which one will lead you to the future you saw. Projection shows you up to a few hours into the future that you can't affect but is somehow related to you. It's a middle ground between the Scrying spell and Foresight."
"Tactically, it sounds like this is better than Foresight," Emory mused, "If I learn to harness it, I could outmaneuver the enemy at every turn. I wonder why I had dreams about that spider woman though."
"A spider woman, you say? Did you see if she had any scars on her legs?" Ninian inquired.
"Yeah, I think so," Emory scratched her head, "Why? Do you know her?"
Ninian cursed, "Petrine. I do know her, and though I don't know why you had a dream of her, I do have a word of warning about her. Don't engage her directly until you have a second sphere. She is a very powerful person, wielding the Chaos and Void spheres to their peak."
"Is she the leader of the Laxtros or are they all that powerful?" Emory pressed, "What can you tell me about the Apleem?"
"She is atypical for Laxtros, though I have only met them a few times. As for other questions about them, you should ask your friend; he is a high ranking Elandrian after all," Ninian suggested.
Emory extended her hand, "I hope we can continue to help each other. But I'll leave you to your devices if you leave me to mine."
"I don't intend to influence your current in either way, if that's okay, although I have been working on jumpstarting life on one of your planets that I'd like to continue with your permission," Ninian explained as she shook Emory's hand, "Otherwise, you're free to do whatever you want. If you ever want to talk, clear your mind and then call out my name." The two waved goodbye before Emory blinked a few times and returned to the command center.
Athos appeared in a large, elegant foyer that was intricately accented by metallic blue trim, white marble architecture, and glowing crystals lighting the area. Several Elandrian were standing guard in the room, wearing a full suit of azure plate armor, and rushed over to him when he arrived. "Sir, we weren't expecting you back so soon. What do you need?" one of the soldiers with gold trim asked as he bowed.
Athos grinned, "I need to speak with Bramimond immediately. I bring great news." The man nodded and led Athos through a set of stained wooden doors to a formal hallway. Athos was left by himself for a few minutes while the guard walked through another door at the end of the hall to announce Athos's arrival. Then the guard returned and brought Athos into a room three times larger than the foyer he had teleported to, filled with several pods of desks, each situated around a large running fountain with a massive opal sphere floating a few inches above it. Thirteen Elandrian, in groups of three, huddled around the orbs which left one by themselves looking at several projected screens along the wall. The people at the tables bowed and welcomed Athos, calling him master and "one of the Five", eventually causing the lone one to turn around. Turning around revealed the exquisitely handcrafted robe on a man a little taller than Athos with jet black hair and eyes that were mostly pupils.
"Athos! So good to see you," the man called warmly, "I trust if you've returned so soon that you have news to share."
Athos nodded, "Indeed I do, Bramimond. I have found a half-blood child of ours that could change the war significantly."
"A half-blood? They may be strong, but to change the war, I'm guessing there's a bigger story there," Bramimond raised an eyebrow, "What's so special about this child?"
"The other half of the child's lineage is an Ancient One. Just transforming from child to adult caused a surge of magik more than three times my entire mana pool," Athos continued smugly.
"You're joking. You really found an Ancient One?" Bramimond gazed at Athos hopefully, "If that's true, we could really change things. But where is the child; why are they not here?"
Athos elaborated, "She is also a leader amongst the humans and had to take care of some other business. Brother, it is time for the humans to join us; she has already decreed this. I've come to collect you for a meeting with the human leader."
"She isn't the leader of the humans?" Bramimond responded with confusion, "Just how young is this young adult?"
"She's only eighteen, but I say true when I say she wiped out two hundred Mantoan single-handedly. She was even able to decapitate an Uthid with only gauntlets. Her mana pool, after her transformation, was ten times more than mine. Even if this wasn't a meeting to join sides, I would have asked you to meet her," Athos was rather giddy as he continued.
"And the rest of the humans? Will they be a boon or a burden?" Bramimond questioned, "How far has their magik progressed since you were last on Earth?"
Athos sighed, "It will be a mixed bag. There are several outliers among them that will be able to stand and lead against the Apleem, but they are stunted from where we left them. It seems the groups we established did not carry on the mission as directed."
"That's a shame. Still, they are numerous; perhaps with the correct training and leadership, they can grow quickly," Bramimond tried to stay positive, "Let me wrap up things here and then we'll meet your new disciple."
"Since this will be a formal meeting, I'd better don my important robe as well. I'll meet you in the foyer in a few minutes," Athos muttered as he turned to the door. From there, he returned to the hallway and walked to a certain spot by the wall. He tapped on the wall with a peculiar pattern, and as he did, the wall shifted to a wooden door with the number three embossed on the front. As he opened the door, he revealed a decent sized room, though that was immediately apparent since it looked like a storm had come through here. Books, journals, and other notes scattered across the floor gave Athos quite the challenge to cross the room without disturbing the mess. From his wardrobe he pulled a sparkling white robe that matched the one Bramimond was wearing, yet this one had green trim whereas Bramimond had black trim. Carefully making his way across the room again, Athos exited the room in his new attire and knocked on the door like he had on the wall. The wall shifted again, and the door disappeared while Athos returned to the foyer. Bramimond was already there waiting for him, so when Athos arrived, the two joined hands and evaporated into nothingness with a puff of vapor.