We really should have tried to plan this better. Iberu thought to himself as he tried to push through the chaos of the streets around craftsman’s tower to get to the gate.

He’d been fulfilling his role as head of the craftsman’s guild as he always had, taking meetings, approving the buying and sales of different supplies and rare materials, and just as importantly, browsing the latest published works, or at least the ones his assistants had already gone through and deemed to be the most valuable. There was too much information produced across the world for one man to be able to view it all, all the more being made ever since the Greys had revealed themselves and offered their aid, but it was important that he at least try to stay up to date on just what was being discovered.

It was as he was going through different project funding proposals though that he’d been alerted to what was happening, the first signs of the invasion beginning, a warning to the world that was more legend to its inhabitants than anything else that pulled him from his office to see panic descend the streets, a scene that would be playing out all over the world, or at least any location close enough to one of the invasion points for people to become immediately aware of it, and the reactions were instantaneous.

Rioting and looting as people lost control of their base instincts, some individuals and families hiding away while others tried to go through the gate to get to wherever they needed to be.

The gate itself was large, as was the space within that people had to walk through to travel between areas, but for the first time in his life, Iberu saw it packed. The crowd of people pushed up against each other in a constant fight and struggle, each in someone else’s way. He was one of the few not experiencing any difficulty getting through. He had a large frame, and even before he’d first awakened a skill, he had an unusually high level of strength thanks to his parent races, the bonuses that came with awakening pushing it all the higher and making it easy to shove people to the side to get to his destination, a smaller mixed city by the name off Elgoth, its population being low enough to keep it from being an invasion point which helped keep things comparatively calmer.

He could see the panic on people’s faces, the worst of them having been outsiders like him, seeing the beams of light rise into the sky and spelling their downfall, but he ignored all of that. At least for a few days he expected the chaos to continue, he wanted to reach his destination and be done with before the streets became too much to rush through.

Walking for a bit, he found an unassuming building out of the way and took out a key, letting himself into what was nothing more than a meeting room. It was private and out of the way though, with the only people who knew about it being the nine that were already there, seated and waiting.

“It looks like I’m late,” He said with a laugh as he took his seat, getting a shake of his head from a hooded mage off to the side.

“I’ve told you again and again you’d regret having your office so far from the gate once things commenced Iberu, anyone could have predicted the reactions.”

“I couldn’t very well move the entire guild headquarters, could I? I still say that we should have arranged this meeting for a week after instead of everyone having to rush here once the sign came down.”

“And what would we do if some of the gates were closed down?” The siren among them asked. “There was word some were thinking about it to contain any panic, depending on how fast anyone implements it some of us might not even be able to make it home after this.”

A different person of a race Iberu was never able to identify shook their head. “There’s bigger things going on, even if a city wanted to, they’d never have the chance to block off their gate right away. They’ll be better off trying to keep any panic and destruction to a minimum.”

“Of course we have people destroying their own lands now,” Another laughed. “Why wait for the demons to do it for us when we can get a head start?”

“Enough,” The mage said, silencing them all. “We aren’t here for this, we’re here to discuss our progress on each project. Now more than ever it’s important. I know that we were all hoping for more time, but we need to work with what we have available. First of all, we need to be honest and allocate resources appropriately. Who here would say that given the time frame, their work is completely non-viable?”

Three of them raised their hands, each looking annoyed to have to admit such a thing. If they’d had another decade then things would be different, but the time frame they were on had simply become far too tight.

The mage gave a nod though, happy to have the honesty to make things easier. “Alright, I’ll talk with you all after and we’ll figure out how to incorporate your resources and people into the other groups, for now though I want an update. When will you all be ready?”

“The second wave at the earliest, maybe the third if we have poor luck in our tests,” The siren admitted, feeling annoyed as she did. They had all been hoping for more time, even a couple years could have turned the tides of battle, but it looked like casualties would be high during the first wave at least.

Around the table they went, each giving similarly bleak appraisals of their time frames until there was only one left.

“And you Iberu? When do you think you’ll be done, if ever?”

“It might take some work for the finishing touches, but before the first wave begins my people should be finished with its construction,” He told them confidently, giving the first and only bit of good news at the table, even if the others picked at it.

“But are you sure you won’t be caught? We’ve all heard what happened in allfaith, the gods are going to be extra vigilant after what that fool Olop pulled.”

“Maybe that would have been something to worry about for a while, but they clearly have bigger things to worry about,” He said, dismissing the concern. “I’ll take extra precautions to be safe, but we all knew what we were doing when we started, didn’t we? Each of us knew what would happen if the gods caught wind of this, it’s the risk we chose to take for the world.”

“Quite right,” The mage agreed. “But I’m more concerned about the man working with you. You know his connections, if they catch wind-”

“He hasn’t been given anything that could indicate what he’s been helping build,” Iberu told them. “Again, I have this as well in hand as I can, if anyone learns of it and I suffer the consequences then that’s just my poor luck. But what of you? You’re the only one who has said nothing of their project.”

At that, the mage grimaced, though he spoke up just as all of them did. “Up in the air. Unlike the rest of you, mine doesn’t need much in the way of resources, at least nothing I need to purchase, but getting the spell structure correct is proving difficult. I’ve poured over all the ancient texts I could find, but the finer points of ritual magic leave it at almost a lost art, not to mention the trouble with manipulating reality itself. If we manage a breakthrough then it will be worth it, but I can make no guarantees on the timeframe.”

“Ritual magic hmm?” Iberu muttered. “Honestly poor luck on that front, I met an enchanter the other day who used it shockingly well in their works. I don’t know how they learned it, but it could only be described as genius.”

“Where?” The mage asked, almost throwing himself at the other man. “Anything more I could learn could be what I need to push my work forward and I’m not so proud as to not pay for lessons. Where can I find them?”

Iberu pulled back, away from the mage’s far too-close face. “Don’t you think I know that? I was planning on trying to connect you two in the future if I could, but unfortunately fate took a cruel turn on that front.”

“What do you mean?”

“He was the one Olop murdered in Alfaith,” He said with a shrug, not having received word of Ben’s escape from the trial just the day prior and causing the mage to sink into his seat.

“Well, if we end up in the infinite hells I’ll at least have someone to take my frustrations out on,” He said with a sigh. “Alright, I think we’ve gotten almost everything we needed to done. Let’s focus on the redistribution of funds now and then get to work. We’re finally on the real countdown.”