—Oh, what do you think? —Mina looked at the landscape that unfolded before them.
—Yes, we made it! —Jacob made one last effort to climb the hill.
—Woaaa, the place is spectacular —Inola let himself be carried away by the greatness of the immortal forest.
Immense trees blurred like columns of smoke in the air; the sky to which these trees belonged could not be seen from outside the forest. The vines and foliage bled from between the reality of Khuarhya and the ethereal greenery of the forest, almost as if it were a wound. Animals ran like wandering ghosts among the trees and plants; the forest itself hid them. Each shadow moved with unnatural agility; small humanoid figures peered out and laughed from the alien and comforting light that deceptively called them to enter. Inola and Jacob, with their evoker eyes, could see the spirits and energies of countless animals and fantastic beings.
—Wow, it is certainly impressive; the forest seems almost like a mirage, and those colors on the edge of everything, it’s as if they were a watercolor painting —Leonidas looked at the forest as impressed as the others.
—It certainly doesn't seem like we have permission or the right to enter there —Ithil, with his hand on his knee and bent over, caught his breath from the path they just traversed.
—Eh? Guys, did you see? —Inola pointed with his hand to a pile of burnt iron; tires and armor plates corroded by the weather revealed the silhouette of a burnt vehicle in the sands, not far from where they were.
—Mmmmh, and there is something that seemed to be a tower or a small fort —Leonidas looked at the circular burnt silhouette.
—Ooo, Ithil, Ithil, Mina, Mina, Jaccooob, look —Magaska pointed with her hand to a vehicle abandoned to one side of the path; lines of marks from intense heat could be traced from the space where the fort stood once.
—These lines seem to be from an energy system weapon, brother Ithil —Leonidas knelt before the marks, looking at the fort while they checked the scene.
—Ithil, this was a war field; what savages could have done this? —Inola looked at the holes where in some there were still deactivated anti-tank mines.
Mina, Ithil, Jacob, and Magaska looked at the scene without saying anything.
—Yes, how curious, right? —Mina scratched the back of her head.
—Ah, yes, it’s really strange —Ithil affirmed, pretending not to know anything.
—Ahahahaha, well yes, I think it was us, ahahha —Jacob laughed a little, remembering the Velez-Valar event from the previous year.
—Mina and I destroyed all that —Magaska pointed with her hand at the destroyed military vehicle.
—You destroyed a Thar-Vali rhino all by yourselves? Did you have weaponry? —Inola, surprised, looked at the guys and the vehicle again.
—Hahaha, no, but we were fighting for our lives —Ithil laughed while they resumed the path. Inola viewed the vehicle in awe.
—You must tell me how you did it! —with a jump in front of Ithil, Inola looked at him with wondering eyes, as if discovering a new hero.
—Hahaha, look, that’s new —Mina walked to one side of Ithil, giving him a pat on the shoulder.
—Haa, all right, it was more of a miracle than a plan: Jacob and I were immediately detected by the vehicle’s optics, so we distracted them, while Mina destransformed and Magaska pushed her to the flank of the vehicle —Ithil followed the path while the others walked closely.
—And once distracted by us, Magaska protected us with a shield and approached the vehicle, damaging it; after that, we took turns attacking it continuously until Jacob had the idea of using crakelite plates for Quellis’s beak and opening the vehicle like a can. —Ithil told the adventure they had some time ago in this same area. Where they passed, they finally arrived beyond the curve where the battle began.
—Hey Ithil… now that I think about it, we never knew what those baskets were —Jacob said to Ithil while looking at the forest to his right.
—Oh, you’re right; they were several baskets. To tell you the truth, they filled me with disgust; something wasn't right in those boxes, I preferred not to touch them —Ithil remembered the baskets they found in the reclamationists’ carriages.
—They also caused Magaska a lot of displeasure —Magaska gave little jumps in front of them.
—It happened to you guys too? Before coming with you, Leo and I defeated a group of thugs in Eophoc; they had some boxes there that gave me the same repulsion —Inola told them while the path undulated in front of them.
The cold humidity of the forest to their right side helped with the heat of the Nageshia desert that extended forever to their left, contrasting with beautiful amber, orange, and red tones, from the voracious greens, browns, and blues of the immortal forest, only separated by the mossy cobblestone line of Velez-Valar. Butterflies swirled in the small puddles on the path and lizards sunned themselves on its larger tiles; the petrichor and the harsh air of the desert.
—Oh, yes, brother Inola, I remember; I carried the boxes because you didn’t want to go near them —Leonidas with his usual smile.
—Oye Ithil, guys, LOOK at that! —Mina pointed to the front of the path; an area of the forest that was in front of them was decimated with enormous silver machinery.
—Ooooh, Magaska can’t believe it, the forest was cut down! —climbed on a statue, Magaska looked at the scene with sadness.
—They are logging machines, but… —Jacob approached the edge of the place, just inside Velez-Valar still.
—Careful, brother Jacob, don’t cross the line —Leo said to him while looking at the oval statues that delimited the path where Magaska was standing.
—White iron, Jacob? —asked Mina.
—It seems that both the machinery, cabins, and saws… everything is white iron; they used it and left it there… There is a raised walkway where those who did this walked, but it is destroyed; the Al-Darius grass is everywhere; the white iron jammed the motors, it is very heavy…
—Santa Enrya and Triariz… Look at that —Ithil pointed with a gesture of his face to some collapsed tents and some vehicles.
—Are those? Reclamationists? —a large number of skeletons wearing armor and with their weapons to one side still; they wore the Fire and Circuit medal and it seemed they were protecting enormous cages opened from the outside by an enormous force.
—And those are their attackers —skeletons of unknown animals lay next to the other bodies, some insectoid, others more like enormous mammals.
—Poor guys… if you die inside the forest… —Jacob hesitated to finish the sentence. Lizva, taking a step forward, looked at him sideways with sadness and said:
—If you die inside the forest you stay here; the doro is interrupted and you become part of the immortal forest forever, along with the other animals that have died here… being a spirit doesn’t excuse you from the pain nor the forest’s food chain.
Ithil looked at the battle scene; he could almost hear the sounds of it that remained in the air. The young adventurers resumed the march, leaving the battle behind.
—Well, now we know why they were in such a hurry —Ithil exclaimed with a certain tone of resignation while they walked along the cobblestone.
—Yes… I noticed a certain urgency in them; they were definitely fleeing —Mina replied, taking a bit of her water bottle.
—So… they are capturing spirits? Are there rules against that, Jacob, Inola?
—Mmmhh, actually there is a treaty on the ethical use of spirits; various practices are prohibited by Evookia and are punishable for an evoker worldwide, including the possible situation of encountering them in other worlds —Jacob, thoughtful, made a recapitulation of his knowledge on the matter.
—Things like the pillars of submission, the use of spirits for illicit acts, creating Bruno Giordanno’s Resonance Bells, Saint Germain’s Sin Machinery, even spiritual doors, are the subject of extensive debate and are usually treated with care —Inola, along with Jacob, showed once again how extensive their knowledge was.
—Uwaaa, all that sounds very ominous —the topics soon whirled in Ithil’s head, imagining how extensive the spiritual world was.
—Ithil! Mina! —Magaska jumped from behind a dry bush.
—What’s wrong, Magaska? —Jacob and the others looked at her.
—Magaska found the rock, let’s go this way! —the guys accelerated their pace, reaching the formation; stone walls surrounded them, only accessible from a few sides. An enormous fossil trunk surrounded them; with its hollow center it offered a good place to rest for the day.
—Let’s put the tents here, and a tarp in the middle of the trunk will serve to stop the sand and the sun or the cold; Leonidas, place a climate regulator in the middle of the camp; Jacob and I will make the food —Ithil gave quick instructions while they walked.
The sounds of the desert accompanied by those of the forest gave a strange result; the unison of the voices from both sides competed to sound louder; neither side gave way, resulting in a spectacular serenade before the guys who were camping.
—Ah, by the way, the letter… Levanon gave us Samael’s mission, but the mission said we had to read this letter upon arriving here; apparently Levanon didn’t open it, he respected that; the seal is intact —Ithil toyed with a letter written on parchment; the seal engraved under pressure on both sheets left a relief on the paper that would break if it were opened.
—Hmmp, you say it has something about Coleopterus for me and Leo? —Inola, with a half-pout, crossed his legs and arms in a clear sign of protest.
—Haha, brother Ithil, what does it say? —Leo looked at Inola; his attitude when mentioning Coleopterus didn’t change much, as was customary.
—Hmm, well, first is Samael’s letter; it is prudent that we read that first.
“Dear students: At this moment it is impossible for me to assign this task to you personally as is due; I am with Director Uras on a routine assignment.”
—Routine? Haha, that Samael is incredible, how can he lie with that face? —Inola laughed a little and the others followed him.
“I wanted to assign this mission to you before you left for Nivoria with Shalona, an event that was totally orchestrated by her; now I realize that that would have been a mistake, and that your growth as a group and personal growth increased in that mission; sending you to Velez-Valar would have damaged the group and you more than necessary.”
—Hahah, Jacob’s head is very hard; I doubt they could have even cracked it —Mina laughed, giving a pat on Jacob’s back; his eyes almost fled from their sockets.
—Jacob… is your head hard? —Lizva looked at Jacob with genuine naivety.
—No, no, it is a joke, Lizva; Mina refers to my resistance —Jacob gave a pat on his chest. Ithil continued with the reading of the letter:
“I trust in you, guys; I am very sorry to put you in danger once again, this time in the town of Nichiren, in Aksha-Khur. The region is famous for having a high degree of spiritual presence and unclassified ghosts; even more, 25 years ago a Theosis Tharmullis was sealed there by the Golden Triangle; you will depart with the assumption that it is open again. You possess the skills and intelligence to seal it again; this time I will add instructions on the powers, characteristics, and behaviors of the Theosis; they will be attached in an extra letter on the second page. And, by the way, Jacob and Inola, Shalona sends you a pair of… in Shalona’s words, ‘super ofudas’, she called them ‘Fulu’; those you will carry in two mud scrolls that should be in your possession already. Finally, good luck, guys; we will return soon.”
Att: Samael Telantes
—And well, that is everything; Jacob, Inola, do you have those things? Fudu? —Ithil looked at them. Both Jacob and Inola took from their backpack a mud container sealed in red Jassubiana tinted wax.
—And here is the data on the Theosis-Tharmullis; Samael included a copy for everyone —Ithil passed their respective copies to everyone. Everyone read in silence while being accompanied by Lizva’s singing.
With metallic tones impossible for a human throat, she sang with her eyes closed for everyone; her vocal humming, mixed with bells and sounds of metallic threads that murmured in unison and rhythms intermingled…
—This Theosis… sounds like it is a kind of carnivorous being; it doesn’t sound very strong, but its ability to cross solid objects will be a problem —Jacob stood up and yawned; the fatigue began to be felt in the environment.
—Yes, it is not as dangerous as the one we found in Theos —Mina replied, also getting ready to sleep.
—You fought against a Theosis? What other feat have you done that I haven’t heard about!! —Inola asked, hiding behind a curtain of the tent in which he was changing clothes; rushing to get out, he ran before the others carrying a white cotton camisole to sleep in. Ithil received him head-on and gave him an orange paper letter in his hand.
—Here, and take yours too, Leonidas —Ithil gave both of them a Coleopterus letter in their hands; still sealed, they were included inside Samael’s envelope.
—Eh? Wait, aren’t we going to read them like Samael’s? —Inola asked Ithil; Leonidas turned the envelope over and looked at it again without opening it.
—Mmm, I think that letter is very personal; you should read them yourselves first and, later, if you decide, we will gladly listen. —Inola nodded only with his head; playing with the tips of his hair, he blushed and returned to his tent slowly.
—Very well, time to sleep… Lizva! Where do you think you’re going? —Mina looked at Lizva who was entering with Jacob into the tent.
—Eh? To sleep! Why? —Lizva, totally disconcerted, brought her hands to her face.
—No, you will go to sleep with Magaska!; I don’t know the spiritual tricks of that perverted evoker —Mina pointed her spoon at Jacob.
—Jacob! —Lizva exclaimed, looking at Jacob.
—What! No, I wouldn’t do anything like that to you! —Jacob, scared, waved his hands in the air.
—Can I go to sleep with Magaska!? —with incredible emotion and a sparkle in her eyes, Lizva looked at Jacob.
—Haa, very well, just sleep, don’t stay awake too long, we are on operation. —Jacob saw how they fled into Magaska’s tent, excited.
—Mmm, I am not a perverted evoker —Jacob got into his tent.
—Leo, you and I will stay on the first watch —Ithil told them before he entered his tent.
—After that Inola and Mina; finally Jacob and Magaska —Ithil finished his piece of fried meat.
—We mobilize tomorrow, guys, rest all you can. —Leonidas nodded and kept looking at the Coleopterus letter without opening it; he turned the envelope over to finally save it in his back pocket and start the patrol.
The night passed without any problem; nature watched them as if they were part of the environment and, without any setback, it dawned.