[Book II Chapter 42] Nephrite: Reconnaissance

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No real defenses… From high above, Nephrite observed the lush farmlands coming into view, protected by fortification ten stories high. Midway between Nordric and Harakoune, Mesanic was one of the largest countries reclaimed after the Fracturing, but it couldn’t compare to the old powers like Aery, or even Remnant.

“That must be Turtle Rock.” Jayden gestured to a shell-like formation jutting from the twisted lands below. “Let’s go.”

They jumped off the airship.

“Race you there.” Haron shouted, liquid red wings growing from his arms.

“You’re on, fool.” Arika answered back, summoning a skeletal bird covered in black feathers.

Skydiving behind them, Nephrite rolled her eyes. The two were constantly competing in everything, and it’d gotten to the point where even Light didn’t react anymore. Nephrite deployed a metallic paper plane, following the twister propelling her teenage comrade. She was the last to arrive, but felt no disappointment. Aerial maneuverability isn’t my forte.

With the team, she turned to watch the fleet of airships making their way into Messanic. It wasn’t just those they’d rode in on. More were coming from all directions, some in groups and some not.

Nephrite’s eyes traveled north to the ominous rock face on the horizon. Beyond those crater walls was ground zero, where the undead roamed. Messanic’s relative safety will not last.

Stella Gladesong dropped down besides them, wearing a maroon outfit and a silver great bow on her back. The immortal had been firing the weapon constantly at distant threats on the journey from Hearth.

“Thank you for assisting us.” Jayden said. “Did you locate many rifts?”

“Yes, some recently opened in the last few days.” Stella scowled. “The convoy departs tomorrow, so the time I can aid you is limited. I’ll guide you to them immediately.” Extending a hand, a crimson Butterfly fluttered from her fingers and darted off into the wilderness.

They raced through the warped landscape following the red speck. Soon Jayden stopped, and Gladiator gathered around him. The area ahead was covered in snow with barely visible white-furred beasts lurking in wait. Demonic ferrets, wolves, and bears. In their center shimmered a rift.

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“There must be at least a thousand roosting here.” Arika observed.

“Stella was right.” Jayden declared. “They are definitely eying Messanic.”

Normally demonic beasts could only exist in the vicinity of rifts. There were two ways for them to escape this restriction and invade human lands. One was to have a sovereign lead them. The other was to roost. By crossing over and then channeling, demonic beasts could slowly build up the ‘duration’ needed to move around freely. This horde would threaten Messanic if left unattended.

“Do we slaughter them?” Haron asked, forming bloody cleavers.

Jayden shook his head, pointing to the butterfly hovering by the rift. “Just watch.”

The bombardment came from above. All Nephrite saw were faintly gleaming lines, like raindrops catching light. The beasts, which had barely begun reacting, imploded out existence, leaving only divots in the frozen ground.

Nephrite shivered at the swift executions. So those were the famous void arrows. After millennia spent carving holes in her opponents, Stella’s arrows evolve into this lethal form, incorporating nullification magic. Together with the vision provided by her crimson butterfly familiars, they could delete enemies at frightening ranges. If not for their weakest against the undead, Stella might’ve eclipsed Lily Morgana during the Dark Age. For living foes, she’s more feared.

“We need fear no danger on this side.” Jayden smirked.

Crossing the rift, they found themselves in a glacial valley surrounded by hate-filled eyes. On their right, an enormous ferret towering over his demonic brethren, and on their left a giant owl perched on a boulder above his underlings. Two sovereigns!

“Don’t forget the plan!” Jayden snapped. “Leave this to me.” Completing hand gestures in a flash, he placed both palms on the ground. Gemstone monoliths sprung all around them, impaling many unlucky beasts.

Nephrite led Gladiator away from the chaos, killing those blocking their way and ignoring the rest. Before long, she located what she’d been searching for.

“There.” She shouted. As expected given the number which were opening, each of Mount Gull’s regions now had multiple rifts.

On the other side was another snowy section of twisted land. Letting her teammates handle the roosting beasts, Nephrite traveled up to the surface. She saw the Blue Abyss directly to her east and Aery’s blurry outline to her west. About fifty miles north of Tulven. Jotting down the estimated location, she rejoined the others.

Returning to the Ether, they found the battle over, with only traces of the brief skirmish remaining. Thank goodness Jayden was right. With Mount Gull in a yet unstable state, sovereigns couldn’t afford to risk death and would retreat in front of a genuine threat.

Nephrite spotted a sapphire tower on the ridge surrounding the valley. Their leader was busy charting out the layout on this side. Only once they understood what led where could they begin a deeper infiltration of Kaygren’s gargantuan mountain.

By the time they’d scouted another rift, Jayden was waiting for them. “Reinforcements are on their way, we must withdraw.” He warned.

Outside at their starting location, they finally relaxed, catching their breath.

“Were you successful?” Nephrite asked.

“Partly.” Jayden unfolded a large parchment displaying a surprising amount of geographical detail. “I sketched all I could see. Once we’ve repeated this a dozen times, I’ll assemble our first rudimentary map.” He glanced up at the crimson butterfly circling overhead. “Time to move on to the next one.”