A Relatively Powerful Mage

It took them a painfully long time to get the prisoners out of the Chixel camp. Fortunately, the Chixel leadership had completely dissolved with the death of Rhesk, and what few remained were scattered and ineffective. Even if they had the strength to overwhelm Imri’s group of exhausted and beleaguered prisoners, which they probably did, the Chixel were too concerned for their own lives.

Once out of the camp, they made their way up the same trail his team had used to infiltrate the camp. All Imri needed was time, once his mana recharged and his over-channel debuff subsided, he could open a portal to Celestia, where he had placed his first Spatial Beacon.

With a momentary reprieve, Imri reviewed all that he had gained from his assault on the camp.

Quest Completed

Defend Celestia: The invading army has been defeated and is dispersing.

Reward: XP, 5,000 Credits, Settlement XP, Defender of Celestia 4

New Achievement Earned

Defender of Celestia 4: Awarded for contributing to the defense of Celestia against the Chixel army.

.05% Primary Stats / Rank

Imri Padar has reached level 25 in Celestial Mage (2F)

Imri Padar has reached level 25 in Primordial (1E)

Primary Stats

Constitution 116 (+1)

Intelligence 196 (+2)

Willpower 163 (+1)

Secondary Stats

HP 165 (+2)

FP 125 (+2)

MP 445 (+12)

Mana Efficiency 432 (+11)

Crafting Efficiency 468 (+12)

Celestia has become a level 8 Settlement (1F)

Radius of Effect: 540 Meters

Bonuses:

Resource Regeneration Rate 5.4%

Experience: 1.08%

Spell Rank Up

Boundless Step E to D

Boundless Step tier increased from 1 to 2

Boundless Step (1D) has become Blink (2F)

Spatial Compression E to D

Spatial Compression tier increased from 1 to 2

Spatial Compression (1D) has become Spatial Collapse (2F)

Time Dilation E to D

Time Dilation tier increased from 1 to 2

Time Dilation (1D) has become Temporal Expansion (2F)

Traits Rank Up

Time Manipulation F to E: Gives an understanding of temporal concepts, helping improve the rate at which spells and abilities related to the concept of time are learned and improved by 5.12% (+.12%). Increases the effectiveness of time-based spells and abilities by 1.53% (+.03%).

Being of Eons F to E: You are a being that has achieved control over time within your body. You age 3.07% (+.07%) slower both from natural and magical effects. Improves the mana efficiency of beneficial time-based spells that target you by 3.07% (+.07%).

New Spells

Blink (2F): Distort space allowing you to teleport to a distant location that is visible. Mana cost increases linearly with the distance traveled.

Spatial Collapse (2F): Collapse space down, compressing all matter into a smaller space. Mana cost varies by the volume of space being collapsed, density of the space, and distance from the caster to the space being collapsed.

Temporal Expansion (2F): Expand a moment in time, increasing the amount of time the target experiences/unit of time elapsed. Mana cost/second varies based on the amplitude of the effect and distance from the caster to the target.

Quest Updated

Celestial Mage Rank Up F to E: Learn new space or time spells 4/10, rank up space or time spells 3/10, learn new gravity spells 2/5, rank up gravity spells 2/5, visit celestial bodies 1/2.

Imri smiled as he reviewed the flood of improvements. He had effectively learned three new versions of his existing spells, each with a subtle improvement beyond the raw power increase. Blink improved his Boundless Step spell by removing the requirement that he be facing the direction he teleported in and removing the requirement to take a step. Spatial Collapse was an improved version of his Spatial Compression, removing the increase to cast based on matter density and replacing it with the density of the space. Finally, his Temporal Expansion reduced the increasing cost from exponential to linear, giving him more flexibility on which amplitude to select.

His internal musings turned to the external when he felt Emelia approaching through their bond. Imri smiled as she came into view and rushed down the trail to embrace her. Tears flowed as they held each other, neither willing to let go.

“Teresa and Jenson?” Imri asked after several minutes of holding her tightly.

“They didn’t make it,” Emelia said in a low voice. It was what Imri had expected, but it still hurt.

Imri knew he should’ve been meditating, now that he no longer physically needed sleep. However, it had been spending far too much time apart from Emelia. He wrapped his arms tight around her as they cuddled together on their patch of ground as if he had to physically restrain her from leaving. He felt a slight pang of guilt for his moment of happiness when the people around him had endured so much suffering.

Imri let out a deep breath, relief washing over him. They had done it, they had saved Celestia. He knew it was far from the last adversity they would face; They still had the Azala to contend with, the rest of the Chixel, of which this had only been a small army, and the refugees coming from Kansas City and whatever the dog-ogres were called.

The next morning, Imri returned to Celestia alone using his Dimensional Portal spell. It went through less mana than it had on any of his previous uses, having only kept it open for a second this time while targeting the Spatial Beacon in Celestia. Still, the vast majority of the spell cost was in opening the portal, not keeping it open. Even if he had been a few levels stronger, it would have taken minutes, not seconds, to get the liberated prisoners ushered through in their wretched condition. Instead, Imri focused on providing logistical support, intending to open up another portal the next day and send through all the supplies they would need to wait out while the Chixel armies retreated.

He had to restrain himself from bringing Emelia with him; The ten fighting capable individuals, including Emelia, had unanimously agreed that they weren’t going back unless they could get the liberated prisoners back safely as well. The only reason Imri wasn’t with them is that he could provide more support by being in Celestia than there with them.

He quickly found Sylvi, who was still commanding the militia. She looked haggard, having likely not slept in several days. She waved off his concern and apprised him of the situation.

The Chixel army had finally broken, but they weren’t making an orderly retreat. Most were panicked, retreating in seemingly random directions in small groups. A somewhat larger contingent remained with the last inquisitor, the one who had been assaulting Celestia during the most recent battle. Fortunately, they seemed more concerned with finding a suitable location to survive than assaulting Celestia again.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have the strength to root them out of the nearby wilderness, so they’ll probably be a thorn in our side for a while,” Sylvi admitted. “Though most won’t be able to survive in the nearby trails, they will have to retreat to the forest.”

“When do you think we can bring all our people back?”

“A week if we’re lucky, more likely two,” She said after some thought. Imri nodded, though he had been hoping for a much shorter number.

“Don’t worry, I doubt the Chixel will bother them. They’re even more broken and beat up than we are.”

“And the contingent with the Inquisitor?” Imri asked.

“With them being the largest group they’ll need a more fertile area to forage. My guess is they’ll start moving out soon. It's the smaller groups that will linger longer,” Sylvi said dismissively. While Imri trusted her reasoning, something made him hesitant.

“I doubt we’ve seen the last of them,” Imri said.

“If that’s the case we’ll manage. We’re getting stronger by the day, while they’re going to starve.”

Despite still having people in danger, the settlement was in a jubilant mood. Everyone who had thought they were going to perish, now had a plethora of pent-up anxiety to release. It took the form of a raucous celebration that lasted all day. They managed to go through most of their remaining alcohol, something Imri had thought they had already depleted. He shouldn’t have been surprised that a few people hid some away for a rainy day. It was unanimously decided they would save a few bottles for when the rest of the settlers returned. Already several people had picked up professions relating to brewing and distilling, and the farmers were planting the necessary crops in sufficient quantities. However, it would be a while before they had produced their own alcohol, even with magic.

The next morning Imri followed through on his promise to provide logistical support. He opened a smaller portal and quickly had several packs tossed through. They mostly contained essentials, foodstuffs, water, and medicine. However, it also included the last bottles of alcohol, a few random books that people had already read, cigars, and some sweets. It wasn’t much to alleviate the suffering these people had been through, but Imri hoped it gave them a small measure of comfort.

On the third day after the battle, Imri decided to have the difficult conversation that he had been dreading. He didn’t need Emelia’s empathic abilities to know that everyone harbored a strong resentment towards the Chixel. More than a few people had looked at Thrisk and Zathri with undisguised hatred, though no one had acted upon it, yet.

“It's time for both of you to leave,” Imri told the pair of Chixel. He had expected them to argue or at the very least complain that it wasn’t fair, but instead, the duo just bobbed their tails in assent.

“This one has enjoyed teaching Imri the basics of enchanting. One day this one will tell stories to offspring about how the greatest enchanter was a pupil,” Zathri said.

“This one would also like to convey a similar message to Caroline. It is clear, that one will be a master alchemist,” Thrisk said.

“I will, but in return, I’d like you to convey a message to your leadership,” Imri said, pausing briefly to get a confirmation. “Tell them that the Chixel’s treatment of our people has been considered a declaration of war. Tell them I’ll personally be coming for them, and I’ll tear Trosano to shreds and kill every Exalted if that's what it takes. I will not stop until every human being has been set free and sufficient reparations have been made.”

“It is understandable, to be so angry. However, this will not be well received…” Zathri started to say before Imri cut them off.

“It’s not supposed to be well received. I want them to know that this all could have been avoided, that they didn’t need to make me an enemy but they did; And when they are losing a war on two fronts they’ll know exactly how bad they fucked up,” Imri said.

The two Chixel stared at Imri for a moment, and after a brief hesitation, they bobbed their tails in assent a second time. It didn't take them long to gather what few belongings they possessed, along with a few days worth of travel rations and water. With the decision made, Imri opened a portal to get them down the mountain. He dropped them off far from the liberated humans, not wanting there to be any misunderstandings.

Imri had meant what he said, it wasn’t simply him posturing or blustering. He would need to get stronger, but eventually, Celestia would become the third faction in this war, a war he intended to win. He would save as many people as he could, and he would make Celestia a safe bastion for all of humanity. He needed to get stronger, strong enough that no one would even think about going after humanity.

It wasn’t just him, everyone needed to get stronger; Both in terms of effective fighting strength, but also in terms of economic output. He didn’t want it to only be the elites who had armor made from Cliff Drakes or Umbral Tigers. He wanted every person to be armed and armored as well as they possibly could, with materials from monsters that made the most advanced composites of the pre-integration world look ineffective. He wanted every person to also be equipped with a myriad of accessories with powerful enchantments, all fully charged with Espeonite crystals. He wanted everyone to have powerful heritages, forming effective combat units that combined both the strengths of humanity and the strengths of the monsters they hunted.

Celestia was going to war, and the Chixel would rue the day they had incurred his wrath.