They turned to see an Asian man in a slightly modified MultiCam uniform and the People's Republic of China flag on his sleeve. The man saluted the captain and greeted him in fluent English: "Captain Moore."

"...I believe you are First Lieutenant Li? How can I help you, lieutenant?"

"After some discussions between our respective governments, I have been assigned as an observer to your company," Lieutenant Kang Li replied. He was slightly taller than the American officer, with a robust build. His onyx eyes were unmarred by his short reddish-brown hair. "I will be in your care for the near future, captain."

"I was not informed of this."

"The decision was made very recently, an agreement between our two nations over furthering "mutual ties." You should be receiving an update from your battalion commander soon."

"I believe you. Otherwise, this would be a feeble attempt at spying by China."

Lieutenant Li smirked. "I assure you, if I was here to spy, you wouldn't have heard or seen me. But to answer that question you had, captain."

Captain Moore tapped his tablet. "Right, you said, "magic kills." What does…"

"Exactly as I said: magic kills the user over time," Lieutenant Li said in Danj, looking down at Caelu. "Isn't that right, Ms. Caelu?"

"Er," Caelu shot a nervous glance at Captain Moore.

"... He's Leader Li. He'll be joining us for now, but is what he said correct?"

"Yes."

"How did you know?" Captain Moore inquired, gesturing at the lieutenant.

"A lot of reading and guesswork, captain. I read the reports of all fifty… golems… I believe that would be the appropriate word in Danj. There were instances where some of them encountered magic, others that picked up a rumor or two. It took me some time, but I assembled the pieces together… Why was there such a mixed attitude about magic despite the wonders and feats it could achieve."

"Are you suggesting that magic drains the life essence of the user?" Specialist Smith asked.

"No, I'm not suggesting it; I know it."

"He's correct. From what I know, those not blessed by the gods sacrifice a piece of their life for every magic used. Magic is… unnatural, twisting the boundaries of reality to fit our needs and image. As such, the gods ordained a price on its usage, the price being one's life," Caelu stated quietly.

She stared at the raised pillar of earth with a grimace and sat down on the dirt. "Magic was one of the few things I was taught extensively. Tesa blesses our tribe so we can use earth magic without sacrificing much of our life essence. A few sparing seconds of our life at most, even for some of our strongest magic. In any fight against other tribes or outsiders, we would immediately resort to using it to defend ourselves."

"Like digging tunnels or sucking people into the ground," Captain Moore recalled.

Lieutenant Li was already scribbling a few characters into a small leather notebook. "That would also explain why the Danj live underground."

"Within the earth," Caelu corrected. "Many believed that elves were… favored by the gods. Numerous elven tribes were blessed by various deities throughout history, which led to non-elvish races treating elves merely as battle thralls. It was one of many reasons why my tribe went into hiding."

"Most of the mages I saw around the Unitary were humans," Specialist Smith mentioned. "If magic drains a person's life force, why are there humans that use magic? Do gods bless them as well?"

"I am uncertain; you are the first humans I've ever spoken to, and the elders did not mention anything of the sort."

"Is there a reason why some would… see through me?"

"Yes. Mages generally have better senses, especially from our tribe, which is blessed with being more privy to others' emotions. From what I could garner, you lack a spirit, Elize."

The synthetic soldier stared at the elf without blinking. "What does that mean?"

"All living things have a spirit within them, but… I can't feel yours. I think the other mages must've also discovered this."

"..."

Captain Moore cleared his throat. "Right, so… Is there a way to prevent them from crawling into our camp and wrecking havoc?"

"I'm not sure," Caelu said. "Though, our tribe's magic is limited to things granted to us by Tesa. When I sense the metals you have here, I only feel a dull pang and… apathy."

"So they can't do anything funny to man-made things?"

"Why would they tell jokes about such things?"

"... Never mind that, Specialist Smith, any ideas?"

Specialist Smith stared into the distance, her pupils dull and unresponsive.

"It seems like it may be having… a crisis," Lieutenant Li mused.

"Then, do you have any ideas?" Captain Moore asked in English.

"For a permanent solution? Steel is man-made, so a potential solution would be to surround the perimeter of our camp with steel walls, which are also anchored into the ground. Even with magic, steel shouldn't be something they can easily rip apart."

"Could work. That will take time, though, and they might see it while we install it."

"If it delays them or makes them reconsider their actions, then our task is accomplished, no?"

"Fair enough."

"The cheaper temporary solution is to simply predict their underground advance and block them off with drilling drones. I imagine something akin to an underground flyby. That will scare them off or force them to reroute, delaying them all the same."

"I'll send your suggestions and the info to command," Captain Moore said, tapping his tablet. "Specialist, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Specialist Smith replied. "I received some data from Specialist Carpenter, who is at Rovensi."

"Anything urgent?"

"No. It's just the usual data package. The locals are still unaware of our presence."

"Unfortunately, that is not the case for the Danj tribe," Iris suddenly perked up from the tablet. "Captain, Lieutenant Colonel Turner is asking for you right now."

"I'm going to guess that our guests have arrived prematurely?"

"The elves, yes. Looks like they want to talk."

+++++

AN: Shoutout to Philip Mackinoths, Demoniose Oculus, Rémi Dufour, and deathraven181 for their support on Patreon. Thank you so much :)

As always, thank you for the support. Any comments, criticism, and suggestions are always appreciated.

And I do have a Patreon if you want to read advanced chapters/support my work. /okmangeez