Divio Mortals are Sorcerers to Mages. They are too powerful to remain in this world, a dozen sorcerers pose a threat to a member of the White Pantheon. For the stability of Ardan Peace, sorcery has to be wiped from this world.

  - The Sorcery Baion by Goddess Fortia. Signed in Year 2 of the Post-Great-War Era.

  Fer hummed to herself as she walked he frontlines of the Recmation War. A few of the Binturongs from the Caretaker affair had been repaired, but most of them were scrapped. With the new deliveries from Ausa of the artillery, they now fielded thirty-three guns. Fer smiled to herself as she thought of how much that number annoyed Kassandora. They had been split five teams of six each, then one half-team of three, and worked around the clock. Hurling napalm rounds into the Jungle and burning it away. They had started to orth now, the explosions cut through the hustle and bustle of the camp every few seds as they worked.

  A trail of smoke reached rose from the Jungle, as if a celestial artist had taken a paintbrush of tar and spread it across the sky. Other teams of men were driving south to take monit informatiarding the hole that had bee behind by Olephia. There were pns to divert a river into it and create a brand new ke in the area, but those were still theoretical talks. Kassandora didn’t care whatsoever what happeo it, it was a civilian matter. Something to give the gover something to do.

  Fer walked past Kassandora’s camp, meraining here as always. Digging holes and trehey had all grown leahe past few months. Kassandora valued endurance over raw strength, and shovelling the dirt arently a good way to train it. A team of sixty men were being led by a sergeant on a hike, all with heavy backpacks filled up with the dirt they had just shovelled.

  Fer tinued on her way through Kavaa’s camp. She could quite holy she enjoyed her trip to Arika. It wasn’t home, but there lenty of wild animals here. The zoo in Nanbasa had been a pleasant way to end her journey here, the lion cubs were cute. Fer was gd Kassandora was here to burn the creeping Jungle away, those cubs deserved a home in the wild. She sighed and kicked up the dirt as she looked down at her suit. Her HAUPT uniform had finally arrived, it was all tanned leather, hardy yet flexible enough for her to stretch without tearing it. The boots were of good quality, the tall cap on her head was shaped to allow the ears oop of her head to stick out past it. The trousers even had a little fp to stick her tail through.

  Fer marched to Raptor One. Arika had been a break, now it was time for wain. Kavaa and Iniri were stood by the be, it’s front painted yellow to make a beak. The Goddess of Health was holding a small box. The back cargo-hold was already empty and ready for Fer, two assistants were stood there, waiting for Fer to board. “I’m going.” Fer said cheerfully.

  “We know.” Kavaa said. She stood there in light clothes, the cloak Fer had given her was ed around her shoulders. Fer was gd she wore it, Iniri wore a pretty green dress with her own symbols stitched into it with magical wood. “We just wao say out goodbyes.”

  “We’ll see each other soon enough.” Fer said as she looked down owo Goddesses. Kavaa reached her chest, Iniri even lower than that. Fer towered over them.

  “I wao give you something.” Kavaa said and put the box towards Fer. “For your assistan resg Iniri. I had to think of something you’d like… so… sorry it took so long.” Fer gri the two, she holy had not expected anything.

  She took the box and ope. There was twenty vials of blood in there. Kavaa’s own blood, Fer could tell by sight alone. “If you need healing or anything, one should be enough.” Kavaa said and Iniri nodded.

  “I’m sorry for not getting you anything.” Iniri said and Fer ughed.

  “This is enough! Too mu fact!” She made her tone polite and soft. “But thank you.” With presents, it was the thought that ted. Fer would rather a farmer give her a bottle of his homebrew moonshihan a rich man buy her a pace.

  “I hope you’ll be safe.” Kavaa forced the words out and Fer quirked a smile.

  “I didn’t paint you as a seal type.” She cooed over the shoddess. Who khat Kavaa with, with those grey eyes as emotionless as crete and that silver hair as cold as steel, was actually sweet? Well… Fer knew, she could smell that sweetness radiate off Kavaa the moment she met her.

  “I’m not.” Kavaa said. “But you did help, I wouldn’t want you to die.” Fer ughed and ruffled her hair. That annoyed Kavaa. Iniri squeaked from the side.

  “Is Neneria not here to see you off?”

  “We said oodbyes already.” Fer said. Neneria never liked to show off how warm she was in public.

  “Oh.” Iniri replied as Fer boarded the pne.

  “I’m not one for stretg goodbyes. See you!” She said and grabbed the little radio for unig with the pilot. “I’m ready, who is it this time? Dougs or Erik?”

  “Erik.” The pilot replied. “Pleasure to have you on board.”

  “We’re ready to set off.”

  “Uood.” The eurned on and the ramp in the back of the parted to shut. “I’ll be going in low, you’ll have to jump from the pne.”

  “Do not worry about me, just fly however you want.” Fer felt part to start to move as she moved to a window. Iniri and Kavaa were waving for her. Neneria was stood on a hill of red Arikan soil on her pale ghostly horse and watg from a distance. Fer waved back as the pumbled on the runway. She always liked this part, it was like a rollercoaster.

  Anassa’s Sorcery only be awakened by herself. If we remove the progenitors of her bloodlihen the minor sorcerers be left alone or killed if they cause trouble. Their powers will fade overtime as they intermix with the mundane popution. There will be no sorcerers left two turies from now. The world will be free of this css of self-made aristocrat overman.

  - Sorcery Baion

  Fer walked through the underground tuhat were back at Headquarters. Sara had e out to meet her after she jumped from the pne, a swarm of maids had attehem at first. Fer had handed off Kavaa’s gift to them to take to her room, and she walked with her head held high as Sara guided her to the War Room. Iliyal no doubt had a pn ready, although Fer wao make her adjustments. Iliyal always made pns to Kassandora’s precision… Fer… well, she had a different way of carrying out operations.

  Sara lead Fer to the War Room, opehe door and followed the Goddess in after she entered. Iliyal and Ilwin were already sitting there. In their suits, p over papers that had been sprawled out over the table. There were ts of Arcadia, then another hung off the wall with a general area of the nearby ndscape. A half-drunk bottle of whiskey stood oable, a pair of empty bottle were o the ground and both elves had cups of coffee o them. Fer cpped her hands and took charge immediately. “Right ds, pleasure to see you again, what have you cooked up for me?”

  Iliyal stood and saluted, Fer ughed and waved him down. She wasn’t Kassandora for all this pretention. Sara quietly made her way to the table, obviously ied in what she was about to hear. She wore a modest bck dress, the sort that could be used for funerals. Fer didn’t know why there was such a temosphere among them. “Go oo it.” Fer waved the man forwards. “From what I know, I’m leaving today to chey herd.”

  “That is true.” Iliyal said as he stood up and poio the map. “Arcadia has tless mages within it. The goal is to free Anassa and leave, a perfetry would be in and out without anyone knowing you are there.”

  “tinue.” Fer already saw the issue with their pn. When the blood started to flow, the beastmen would grow ehere would be no ce at sneakihen.

  “Naturally, that won’t happen.” Iliyal said and Fer nodded as his firaced a line over the map. “I’ve sent Edmonton and Fleur to scout the location out, they know it, and they’ve reported that the vast majority of the popution is just children being taught in the ways of magic. There’s maybe…” Iliyal shook his head from side to side. “Well, I estimate for the popution, we’ll have about two-huhousand adult mages there.”

  “Quite a lot.” Fer said. An army in the past would have fifty, maybe a hundred serving as auxiliaries and support troops. Anymore was overkill, and they were only there because Arascus’ legions would have two dozen support sorcerers at the maximum. The final battle at Rhomaion only had two thousand sorcerers pulled in and they held out for months before the powers of Divines overwhelmed then.

  “Indeed.” Iliyal said. “There is no way to say to this will not be easy. We know Anassa is able to use sorcery, but she ot leave the Divine Library, I’ve received word from Edmonton and Fleur that today they’ll iigate what is keepirapped.”

  “Most likely some sort of antimagic.” Fer said and Iliyal nodded as his grandson, Ilwin, seemed to shrink. her he nor Sara had any experien battlefield magic, so her of them said anything. “Likewise, we only have Raptor Owo and the Peli to drop troops in. You’ll have maybe a hundred of your pack with you.”

  “A hundred or a million wouldn’t matter against mages.” Fer said and Iliyal nodded grimly.

  “The smartest way is to have you ride on the Peli, then two more supp teams on Raptor One and Raptor Two.” Iliyal poio two crosses on the map. “Our advantage is the ck of real bat experience among the mages. Simple tactics like diversionary attacks should wainst them. My suggestion is to drop Raptor Oeam here.” Iliyal poio a series of storehouses. “And Two’s here.” he dorm rooms of floromancers.

  “You want to drop in the heart of it?” Fer asked.

  “These will be children. Fleur reported that they’re entirely unsuited to bat. From the description, they wouldn’t even make the ranks of novices in the past. They’re barely past the appreage.”

  “Then that clears things up. And guards?”

  “Arcadia apparently doesn’t have them.” Iliyal said in disbelief as he looked to Fer with those cold green eyes of his. “I’m not joking, I couldn’t believe it either.” Fer quirked a smile. What sort of operation was Essa running? What was the point of magis if they couldn’t fight? What? Was she training them to be farmers instead? Builders maybe?

  “And me?” Fer asked.

  “The Peli will drop you and your team right by the Divine Library. We were thinking up North here.” Iliyal poio a location in the woods. “But if yoing to enter loudly anyway, we might as well save you the trek. arachutes developed for the beastmen already. One for you too.”

  “I see.” Fer said.

  “I’ll send the report about Anassa as soon as it gets delivered to me, how you want from there is your jurisdi.”

  “I’ll make some ges.” Fer said. “But to my pack.”

  “You should check them out first.” Iliyal said, his grin being animalistic. “Mikhail has made some oys for them to py with.”