When no one answered, he put down his packet. "Well, I need to address today's pressing issue. We have made several sightings of a suspicious figure in the shadows of Leggia City within the Odde district. He has disguised himself a couple of times, and his efforts to remain concealed in his movements put himself on our radar, but the Investigations Unit have yet to confirm if he's a terrorist. He is careful. They strongly suspect he is a spy and that a group of them, also likely spies, is hiding in the same city. The reason I'm informing you of this is obvious...well, to us veterans at least. The Odde district is within the walls of Towers 10, 11, 12, and 13. What takes place in the Odde district?"

He pointed at one raised hand. "Iose, right?"

"Yes, sir. The Games is located in the Odde district."

O'Rielle nodded. "That's right. All general soldiers will be there. Normally this kind of information is classified as it is still undergoing investigation, but we were instructed to announce them at the meetings because of the high profile and risk of the Games. Even if you are in a game, keep your guard up at all times and observe the audience. You'll be looking for signs of this individual or any of his accomplices. They'll probably be wearing similar cloaks to his." He passed a single photo of a heavyset man wrapped in a navy blue cloak, his dark-skinned face barely peeking out of a large hood as he looked out of an alley to his left. "This is the only time I can show you this photo, so burn him into your retinas right now. When you do notice him, or anyone acting suspiciously, you will use a couple of signals that I'll show you later."

One of the rookies raised his hand and asked, "If we're looking for him there, do they suspect he'll show up at the Games?"

"Yes. Nim? They highly suspect he or his accomplices will be there. That something will happen there while everyone is distracted by the Games. It's the single most important event where a massive portion of the population will be gathered in one place for several days—other than the Kingdom's coronation celebration, of course. No doubt they have planned some kind of attack, which the Investigations Unit is attempting to uncover."

Nim asked, "With so many soldiers and crystallizers there, isn't it risky to attack at the Games? I find it hard to believe they would endanger themselves that way, especially with only a few of them."

"You're right. It's extremely risky and dangerous. I don't know what led the Investigators to suspect this other than the location of the sightings, but we will have to wait and find out. My guess is that there will be a huge number of non-crystallizing civilians there as well, so they may just be targeting them, regardless of the fact soldiers will stop them. They may try to execute soldiers at the same time, so be on your guard."

Cedric said, "I'm of the opinion they have obtained a tool—a weapon, even—that will allow them to hit big and hard. But that's just a conjecture."

Dillon was not surprised that Cedric thought of his own theory, nor that he volunteered to share it. It was just like him. 'Conjecture' was him trying to sound intelligent. That was also like him.

"A magic tool, huh? Wonder if it might be a new one..."

"How about an amplifier? They allow effects of some magic to be cast over a wide range of 300 to 400 yards wide."

"Don't you know how rare those are? The last known amplifier is said to be used three decades ago, and now it's secure in a museum in the Vollese Islands," Lucwid said. "There's been no news of its theft or disappearance."

"The Vocalists have somehow obtained magic tools over the course of five years. It's not a stretch to say they managed to get their hands on one."

"Call them terrorists, why don't you? Don't use the name terrorists actually want to go by," someone interjected through gritted teeth.

"I won't have that debate in a meeting like this," Nim said, a cool smile plastered on his face.

O'Rielle coughed. "He is right. We call them 'The Vocalists' in our classrooms, assignments, and public speeches. Therefore, in our meetings as well. Even if 'terrorist' is also acceptable. Let's get back on topic. Any other suggestions or ideas?"

"Yellow conch shells? If they collected enough for each of them to use, the growth of all their fire combined could be enormous. It could be like the Battle of Aerudan again, and only Commander Caspian, as far as we know, can handle such a size..."

In the year 199-8, the biggest war to ever occur in the eastern island region happened on one of the Kingdom's neighboring islands, Island of Aerudan. While a training program for new crystal soldiers took place there, as was customary each year, a fire ignited in the middle of a forest, unnoticed and unguarded. The forest was between two neighboring towns, with sparse houses separated by a vast stretch of land, some picket fences, some gated fences, and acres of grassy fields. It was natural and country-like compared to the Kingdom of Crystal, known for its glassy, icy, and stony aesthetic, ranging from square tower structures, to intimidating domes, to breezy and frigid houses with unwelcoming walls. Aerudan, in stark contrast, was greenish, woodsy, and cozy. Hence, most of Crystal civilization did not enjoy their atmosphere or lifestyle, unless they tended to stray from societal norms, had a looser character, or warmer human blood—which sometimes happened if the individual had mixed genes. Aerudan had infrequent tourists and visitors who came on vacation. Because of the convenient location and lower population, it made it convenient to hold new soldier training programs and secretive military bases to keep highly confidential information out of the prying eyes and ears of the Kingdom. The main military campus was no place for guarding secrets, as hard as militants may try.

As the fire in the forest grew, it continued to grow in only the same patch of grass, thanks to the efforts of four fire manipulators and their yellow conch shells. In large enough numbers, the shells could become a catastrophic magic tool. Alone, they did not help much other than to allow a user to focus their magic in the spot it was pointed towards. Focus of magic in a user's desired spot was one of the easiest magic techniques to use, something that an average user could master like a child riding a bike, or a student reading words on a page. However, if several yellow conch shells were used by multiple people with the same magic, for the same goals, the focus of all their magic would be pinpoint, precise, and hyper-enhanced. They made a whirlwind of an inferno that, in the core, grew larger and stronger. Touched by trees, branches, and wood, it escalated in no time and spread outward. At the edges of the forest stood knee-high blades of grass and dying weed that caught on fire.

Acres of nature and land burned those first few days, going almost five days before the soldiers or government even noticed. Protective agencies in the government enlisted the aid of the crystal soldiers, but being the closest ones to the site of the first fires, only the new soldiers went in. Only half of the numbers were equipped with the magic to extinguish a fire, while the rest needed magic tools, which they did not have enough of, to melt their crystal barriers in a reasonable time frame that could then be used to extinguish a fire. All they could do was crystallize barriers and cordon sections of the fire from safe land, or prevent the fire and smoke from reaching healthy townspeople.

It was supposed to be quick and simple to control, but too much land burned and was suffused in a smoke that no one on the island was used to. There were too few efficient soldiers in the area, no fire control agencies, and behind the scenes, still unnoticed, terrorists continued to start up and grow fires that, altogether, reached Level 6 Flame Damage, Flame Duration, and Flame Risks all around. Level 6, of course, being the final and most destructive level in the ladder of levels for fire terrorism. Many of the new soldiers, not yet officiated into the military, were not provided masks to protect themselves from the heady smoke. Within the day, a quarter of the new soldiers died at the hands of a terrorist or suffocated from the smoke. Some of their bodies were at the mercy of a terrorist, who burned their corpses without remorse. While the area in the west stole many of the military force's attention, they stole the lives of thousands of townspeople in the east.

When help finally arrived and put out most fires, much of the land in the surrounding area had turned a charred black. Before the terrorists fled, they ignited yet another fire that they had built over five minutes, creating the largest ball of fire yet. The height of it was a few feet tall, and some yards wide. The efforts of the leftover soldiers barely put a dent in the extinguishing of the massive fire. Commander Caspian was in a nearby town, so he was immediately called in for assistance. It took even him several long minutes to gather his magic to wash over the raging flames, and when it was contained, it had forced him out of commission for at least half an hour. Such a time may seem short for a crystal soldier at first, but Commander Caspian was no ordinary crystallizer. He had an almost absurdly abundant source of caspian water within him, thanks to his genes, practice, and magic tools, nearly rivaling that of the top magic sources in the eastern island regions: Lark of Domion Island, Uleo of The Trackstan Deserts, and Nova of Avalon from the Island of Volcano. Suffice to say, he had a lot of water to draw from.

By the time they had beat the catastrophe on the island, over a quarter of the island's property were damaged and blackened, and even worse, about a quarter of the population, most of them within the east, had been lost. Many new soldiers on the Aillen Campus, the military base in the west where one of the training programs took place, were lost that day. Even though the people of the Aerudan depended on them for protection, at all times, the Crystal Military was unprepared for this war. They had failed them. Commander Caspian had a rough first few weeks presenting his heartfelt apologies, resolving leftover issues, raising recovery funds and aid, conducting education programs on fire terrorism emergencies, and instigating new security plans in joint treaties with the island's government. Aerudan and the Kingdom had officially joined hands in the war against The Vocalists, and all military bases and campuses on the island were better equipped and educated to fight against the fire and terrorists.

"Hard to say. It'd take at least 10 minutes. A slow-growing fire like that won't go unnoticed, especially in the Odde district," Ledes remarked from the back. "At the peace-making communal, Commander Caspian proposed that the Volcano people would need permits to acquire a yellow conch shell. They all unanimously agreed to it. If a number of the terrorists carry them around, or they all got their permits around the same time, I bet some red flags would be raised. It's a lot of hoops to go through—though the permit is only level two. Not that hard to earn."

"Then they'd get them on different dates. Let's hope not."

Lucwid raised a hand. When O'Rielle raised a brow, he said, "What if their plan is to ring a bell? Bait and draw all of our attention and forces to the Games, while they hit somewhere else? It could be government manors, Kold district, or even just towers and cities on the far side of the Kingdom."

"Good point," Cedric said as he studied the other soldier from head to toe—or, obstructed by a desk, head to midriff in this instance. "I like that idea."

Dillon glanced at his comm when it vibrated against his waist. This boy's clever. I like the new leaders.

It buzzed again, and again, and again—three consecutive times. You need to toss your hat in the ring...Get on our good side! Volunteer for once, ok? Like your roommate, the teacher's pet.

Dillon stared at Cedric, who continued tapping into his comm. He sighed and powered his own off, causing the spammer to spear him with a look.

Iowe, on Cedric's other side, nudged him and grinned. "Stop teasing him. And no texting."

O'Rielle typed some notes, then glanced at his recorder to check if it was still working. He pulled up a page of plans on the classroom's projector. "Excellent ideas, gents. I'm sure the investigators can't think of everything by themselves. Let's move on to our strategies if any of you do spot our targets. Take action for even just one of them, not all of them. In the case that you have managed to capture one of them in a barrier or what have you, Special Armed Forces will take care of the rest. They know what to do, so don't worry and keep the Games going. I did say to discontinue participation, but that's only if there is danger."

He used his sword as a pointer on option action one, and read, "Use the two signals for all of the teams nearby, then two of you guys will get close, silently and surreptitiously. Use a barrier nick[3] to conjure your quickest barriers around them. This is likely the most efficient and effective method. Option two: Surround them, entrapping swords at their throat between two of you, and cuff them from behind. It's sneaky, but not the safest way to go if they get a chance to use magic."

Ledes stroked his chin and squinted his eyes. "This isn't usually how we operate, Daniel. I thought all we had to do was keep an eye out and send the signals."

O'Rielle nodded and motioned to him. "You're right, Kristopher. Absolutely right. It would go over smoothly and quietly under the practiced Armed Forces. That is their job. I should have clarified—take action only when necessary. Like I said, when there's danger. That is, let's say there has been no response or action taken after you've signaled more than three times. For some reason, members of the Armed Forces are occupied or unresponsive, or maybe even failed to capture the target. Then, and only then, do you ladies and gents make a move. Understood?"

Ledes chuckled and spread the palm of one hand. "Daniel! What I understand, sir, is that you are tired. Did you sleep in this morning?"