I told Sovereign Moonshadow I'd accept the mission the next morning.
She didn't seem surprised. "I thought you would. You're not someone who can sit still studying theory when there's action to be taken." She pulled out a detailed map of the Crimson Wastes. "Let's discuss what you're walking into."
The map was far more detailed than any I'd seen before—marked with Burning Legion patrol routes, known strongholds, Essence concentration zones, and terrain features. Deep in the eastern section, maybe two hundred miles into Solarius's territory, was a circled area marked in red.
"This is the target," Moonshadow said, tapping the circle. "We're calling it the Black Forge based on preliminary observations. It's a massive construction project—larger than any Crimson Spire, heavily fortified, and consuming enormous amounts of resources. Solarius has diverted forces from active combat zones to protect and supply it."
"What's he building?"
"That's what we need you to find out. Aerial reconnaissance can't get close enough—the area's warded against flying approaches and detection magic. Ground infiltration is the only option, which means someone who can bypass wards, move through hostile territory undetected, and survive if things go wrong."
"Someone with Canvas manipulation and void magic."
"Exactly. You can erase detection wards, reshape terrain to create paths, and travel through the Canvas itself if necessary for emergency extraction." She met my eyes. "But understand—this is the most dangerous mission the Covenant has authorized in months. The deep Wastes are Solarius's domain. Burning Legion forces patrol constantly, Flame Marshals hunt for intruders, and the ambient Essence is so corrupted that it actively harms mages who spend too long there."
"How long can I safely operate in that environment?"
"Unknown for you specifically. Normal mages experience Essence corruption after maybe forty-eight hours of exposure. Void mages theoretically have some resistance because they already work with destructive Essence, but there's no data." She paused. "You'll be provided with protective equipment, but the real answer is: get in, observe, get out as fast as possible."
"Will I be going alone?"
"No. The Covenant is assigning a specialist team—five people including you. I'll introduce you to them this afternoon." She rolled up the map. "Preparation starts today. You have one week to train with the team, gather equipment, and study everything we know about the target area. Then you deploy."
One week. Not much time to prepare for a suicide mission into enemy territory.
But I'd survived worse with less preparation.
"I'm ready," I said.
The team assembled that afternoon in a secure briefing room beneath the Celestial Citadel.
Moonshadow introduced them one by one:
Commander Elise Thann was the team leader—a woman in her forties with short gray hair and the hardened look of someone who'd seen extensive combat. She had earth affinity and specialized in defensive magic and tactical planning. "I've led seventeen deep penetration missions," she said by way of introduction. "Lost people on three of them. I plan to keep that ratio favorable."
Kira Shadowstep was the infiltration specialist—a woman maybe in her late twenties with shadow affinity and the unsettling ability to become nearly invisible even in direct light. She'd worked with the Covenant's intelligence service for a decade. "I've been in the Wastes before," she said quietly. "Twice. Both times alone. This will be different."
Brother Tamrel was the Order's representative—a priest in his thirties with light affinity and specialization in healing and protective wards. Mira had personally selected him. "My job is to keep everyone alive," he said simply. "I'm very good at my job."
Grusk was the muscle—a half-orc warrior standing nearly seven feet tall, covered in scars and carrying a massive war axe. He had no magical affinity but compensated with sheer physical prowess and combat experience. "I kill things that need killing," he rumbled. "Burning Legion, monsters, whatever. Point me at it."
And me—the wild card with abilities nobody fully understood, potentially critical to mission success or a liability that would get everyone killed.
Commander Thann spread the map on the briefing table. "Here's the mission profile: We insert here—" she tapped a point thirty miles from the Black Forge "—via spatial transport provided by Sovereign Moonshadow. From there, we move on foot through hostile territory, avoiding patrols and engagement when possible. Estimated travel time: three days."
"Once we reach the target area, Caelum erases detection wards to allow close observation. Kira performs reconnaissance, documenting everything with viewing crystals. We observe for twenty-four hours maximum, then extract via the same route."
"Total mission time: seven days. Any longer and the Essence corruption risk becomes critical."
"Rules of engagement: Avoid combat whenever possible. If discovered, escape takes priority over fighting. If forced to fight, eliminate threats quickly and quietly—no magical flares that would alert everything in a fifty-mile radius." She looked at each of us. "Clear?"
Everyone nodded.
"Questions?"
I raised my hand. "What happens if we discover something that needs to be destroyed immediately? Some kind of weapon or ritual that's about to activate?"
Thann was quiet for a moment. "Mission parameters are reconnaissance only. But if we discover an imminent catastrophic threat, I have authorization to make field decisions about sabotage. We destroy it, then extract as fast as possible while every force Solarius has tries to kill us."
"Understood."
Kira spoke up. "Caelum, your void magic—can you erase people? Or just objects?"
"I can erase people. But it's not subtle or quiet. They scream, there's obvious reality distortion, and it tends to attract attention."
"So it's an emergency option only."
"Exactly."
Grusk grunted. "What about my axe? Can you improve it like you did with the garrison weapons?"
"After this briefing, yes. I can reshape it with intrinsic enhancements."
"Good. I want it sharp enough to cut through a Flame Marshal's armor."
Thann continued the briefing, going into detail about terrain, known threats, supply caches the Covenant had pre-positioned, and emergency extraction protocols.
By the time we finished, my head was swimming with tactical information.
"Training starts tomorrow," Thann said. "We'll spend the week building team cohesion, practicing Canvas-based infiltration techniques, and preparing for worst-case scenarios. Dismissed."
The next week was intense.
Every morning, we trained together in secure facilities beneath the Citadel. Commander Thann drilled us on moving as a unit, communicating silently, responding to threats with coordinated efficiency.
Kira taught me stealth techniques—how to move quietly, use terrain for concealment, remain still for extended periods. She was frighteningly good at infiltration, able to walk past guards in broad daylight without being noticed.
Brother Tamrel showed me his protective wards—how they worked, how to recognize them, and importantly, how I could erase them using Canvas manipulation. He also taught me basic field medicine for situations where healing magic wasn't available.
Grusk and I sparred daily. He was terrifyingly strong and skilled, his axe moving with precision that belied its size. Fighting him taught me to use void magic defensively—creating small erasures to redirect his attacks, using Canvas manipulation to create tactical advantages.
And I worked with everyone's equipment, reshaping weapons and armor with intrinsic enhancements. Grusk's axe became a masterpiece—sharp enough to cut stone, durable enough to withstand any impact, and somehow perfectly balanced despite its massive size.
Evenings, I continued studying with Moonshadow. She pushed me to refine Canvas perception, to sense magic more quickly and precisely, to erase active spells reliably rather than just occasionally.
"You're going to encounter hostile magic in the Wastes," she explained during one session. "Detection wards, attack spells, Essence-based traps. Your ability to erase them might be the difference between successful infiltration and complete mission failure."
She was right. By the end of the week, I could erase most spells she cast within seconds of perceiving them. Not perfect, but much better than before.
On the sixth day, Voss joined one of our training sessions.
"I heard about the mission," she said, pulling me aside. "Dangerous doesn't begin to describe it."
"I know. But it's important."
"It is. And I think you're as ready as you can be in one week." She handed me a small crystal vial filled with shimmering liquid. "This is condensed Essence—emergency reserves in case you burn through your own power and need a quick boost. Break the vial, absorb the Essence. It'll give you maybe ten minutes of full-power operation."
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me. Just come back alive." She paused. "And Caelum? If you discover something significant about void magic in Solarius's territory—knowledge, techniques, anything—prioritize survival over acquiring it. No information is worth your life."
I wasn't sure I agreed with that, but I nodded anyway.
The night before deployment, I couldn't sleep.
I lay in my quarters at the chapter house, staring at the ceiling, running through mission scenarios in my head.
So many things could go wrong. Patrols could detect us. Wards could trigger alarms. Solarius himself might appear and kill us all in seconds. The ambient corruption could overwhelm my resistance. The Black Forge could be a trap designed specifically to lure in reconnaissance teams.
I face my fear.
My third anchor. And right now, I was terrified.
But fear was useful. It kept you alert, cautious, alive. The soldiers who weren't afraid were the ones who took stupid risks and died.
A knock on my door interrupted my thoughts.
"Come in."
Brother Tamrel entered, carrying two cups of tea. "Couldn't sleep either. Thought you might want company."
We sat together in the quiet room, drinking tea and not talking about the mission.
"This is my twelfth deep operation," he said finally. "Each one gets a little easier and a little harder simultaneously."
"How so?"
"Easier because you know what to expect, how to handle problems, what you're capable of. Harder because you've seen what happens when things go wrong, you remember the people who didn't come back, you understand the stakes more viscerally."
"Did you lose friends on these operations?"
"Three. Good people, skilled warriors, dedicated to protecting innocents. They died doing what mattered, but that doesn't make the loss easier." He paused. "The Order teaches that death in service is sacred, that those who fall protecting others find peace beyond. I believe that. But I also believe in doing everything possible to avoid adding more names to the memorial walls."
"I'll do my best to help everyone survive."
"I know you will. I've watched you train this week—you're careful, thoughtful, always considering consequences. That's the mindset that keeps teams alive." He stood to leave. "Get some rest if you can. Tomorrow's going to be long."
After he left, I did manage a few hours of fitful sleep, dreaming of burning landscapes and shadows that moved with predatory intent.
We assembled at dawn in a specially prepared chamber deep beneath the Citadel—a massive room inscribed with spatial transportation arrays.
Sovereign Moonshadow stood at the center, her spatial magic already weaving complex patterns in the air. Sending five people two hundred miles through folded space required immense power and precision.
"Final equipment check," Commander Thann ordered.
We went through our gear systematically. Everyone carried:
Seven days of concentrated rations Water purification tablets Protective clothing enchanted against Essence corruption Viewing crystals for documentation Emergency extraction talismans keyed to Moonshadow's spatial signature Personal weapons and armor (all improved by my Canvas manipulation) Medical supplies
I also carried Voss's Essence reserve vial, Moonshadow's theoretical research notes, and the medallion marking me as Friend of the Order.
"Everyone ready?" Thann asked.
We all confirmed readiness.
Moonshadow began the casting, her hands moving through intricate gestures. The air around us began to shimmer and fold. I could feel space itself being compressed, manipulated, prepared to transport us across hundreds of miles in an instant.
"Insertion in thirty seconds," she said. "Remember—you have seven days maximum before the ambient corruption becomes critical. If you're not back by then, I'm pulling you out whether you want it or not."
"Understood," Thann said.
"Twenty seconds. Caelum—" Moonshadow looked at me directly "—trust your training, trust your team, and trust yourself. You're ready for this."
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
"Ten seconds. Brace yourselves—spatial transport is disorienting."
The shimmer intensified, becoming a vortex of folded reality around us.
"Transport in three... two... one..."
Reality twisted.
For one nauseating moment, I existed in multiple places simultaneously. I could feel Luminara and the insertion point and every location between them all at once. My body was here and there and nowhere, space folded so completely that distance lost meaning.
Then it snapped back to normal.
We were standing in a barren landscape of ash and scorched stone. The sky was wrong—red and orange with smoke, like a permanent sunset. The air was thick and hot, carrying the smell of burning and something else I couldn't identify.
The Crimson Wastes.
Solarius's domain.
The most dangerous place in Valdrian.
Commander Thann immediately took tactical command. "Perimeter check. Kira, scan for hostiles. Brother Tamrel, protective wards. Grusk, defensive position. Caelum, check for detection magic."
We moved into formation, each person executing their role with practiced efficiency.
I extended my Canvas perception, searching for active magic that might have detected our arrival. There—three detection wards within a hundred yards, all standard Burning Legion designs.
I erased them one by one, returning the structured spells to formless potential. The wards ceased to exist without triggering alarms.
"Detection magic neutralized," I reported.
Kira returned from her scan. "No hostiles in immediate vicinity. Nearest patrol route is two miles south based on ground disturbance patterns."
Thann consulted her map, then pointed northeast. "We move that direction. Standard formation, fifteen-minute movement intervals with two-minute observation stops. Minimize magical signatures—physical combat only unless absolutely necessary."
We began walking into Solarius's heartland.
The landscape was oppressive. Nothing grew here—the ground was ash and blackened stone, occasionally punctuated by the twisted remains of trees burned to charcoal. In the distance, I could see the skeletal ruins of what had once been towns, now just shadows of their former existence.
This was what Solarius wanted for all of Valdrian. Total annihilation, everything reduced to ash and death.
We walked for hours, navigating through the desolate terrain. Twice we spotted Burning Legion patrols in the distance and hid until they passed. Once we encountered a wandering Essence beast—something that had been a bear once but was now a shambling corpse wreathed in corrupted fire.
Grusk killed it with a single axe strike before it could alert anything.
As the red sun set (was it even really the sun, or some manifestation of Solarius's power?), we made camp in the ruins of a stone building that offered some concealment.
"No fires, no light magic beyond minimal illumination," Thann ordered. "Four-hour watch rotations. Caelum and I take first watch."
We sat in the darkness, watching the twisted landscape while the others slept.
"You're doing well," Thann said quietly. "Handling the stress better than most first-timers."
"I've fought Burning Legion forces before. This isn't completely foreign."
"Fighting near Ashford Station with support nearby isn't the same as being two hundred miles deep in enemy territory. Trust me, the psychological weight is different."
She was right. Even sitting here, I could feel the oppression of this place. The wrongness of the Essence, the constant low-level threat, the knowledge that Solarius was somewhere in this wasteland, possibly aware of our presence.
"How do you handle it?" I asked. "The fear, the pressure?"
"By focusing on the mission. On what needs to be done. Fear is useful for keeping you alive, but you can't let it paralyze you." She paused. "And by trusting the team. I've worked with Kira before—she's the best infiltration specialist I've ever seen. Brother Tamrel has kept people alive in situations that should have killed them. Grusk is nearly unkillable. And you... you're an unknown, but you've proven competent in training."
"Just competent?"
She smiled slightly. "I don't give out compliments easily. Competent from me is high praise."
We completed our watch without incident, then I tried to sleep while Kira and Grusk took the next rotation.
Sleep came fitfully, plagued by dreams of burning shadows and whispered voices promising power in exchange for surrender.
The void pulsed in my chest, stronger here than it had been in Luminara. This place called to it, resonated with its fundamental nature of destruction and negation.
I reinforced my anchors, maintained the separation between self and power.
I am Caelum Thorne. The void is my tool. I choose how to use it.
The void settled, contained but eager.
Tomorrow we'd push deeper into the Wastes, closer to the Black Forge and whatever secrets it held.
I just had to survive long enough to discover them.