Chapter: 686 – Moving Forward

Tala knew that the gathered warriors were uncertain about fighting her daughter given the advancement disparity, even though they did trust that Tala had her reasons. They were right in that; she did have many reasons.

This park had been partially chosen for the sparring ring that stood ready beside them, and Lea moved into it, speaking clearly so even mundane ears could have easily heard her. “You may not have noticed the true weight of power my mother has within this space. You also might not have been aware that it is more than simply soulbound to her. It is as much a part of her as her hands or eyes.”

There were mutters at that, but no one spoke loudly enough to interrupt. It lined up with what Tala had said, but still some hadn’t truly caught or incorporated the fact into their thinking.

“She has delegated some of that power to me, and I will be using it as a stand-in for powers of Reality that the Black Legion will have access to when you fight them.” Lea seemed a bit nervous, but she was still doing quite well.

Her proclamation brought stunned silence. The reality shaping ‘magics’ of the Black Legion were well known, or at least well recorded in the annals of history and the memories of those who had fought them, but most didn’t know that they were not magic.

Among those who did know—several of the House of Iron representatives as example—they knew the information to be a closely guarded secret, and their expressions of discomfort made that quite clear.

Tala was dispensing with that nonsense. These people would be fighting the Legion, and poor information cost lives.

To that end, Tala cleared her throat, drawing eyes back to her. “As mentioned before, the metal of the Black Legion is partially composed of the white steel you now hold a sample of. I will restate again to remove confusion, another part—possibly the more important part depending on how you look at it—is reality iron.”

She let that sink in a moment before continuing. I hope I don’t have to repeat the information again for it to truly sink in…

“They are anti-magical savants by nature of their very existence. The vestige that powers them barely fits the name as they have taken the horrid methodology farther than any other, binding the soul to the intelligence of the given unit. If it is not properly contained and destroyed or the soul directly set free, the soldier can be reconstructed at one of their facilities. At least they could be during the initial conflict.” She huffed a laugh before adding. “There should no longer be such facilities left on Zeme, or anywhere else. Unfortunately, records indicate that they were largely dealt with by the Mezzani before their fall, so corroboration of the complete destruction is… difficult. Regardless, we suspect that the Black Legion will be trying to rectify that lack as soon as they can. Those facilities were among their greatest advantages. We are keeping a look out for the ripples in existence that such should create, but such monitoring isn’t perfect. We know of several cache holds—long since drained, sadly—that the Legion might try to reconnect with for materials, but we aren’t hopeful that they will make such a mistake. Unfortunately, their mere existence has caused ripples since their creation. We’re still finding the occasional person or group who is practically compelled to delve into the research, and the House of Blood has destoyed three books with stronger affects in the last month alone as we found them among various repositories.”

Tala hesitated, and Lea gave a strained smile, smoothly stepping in, “But—as fits the Eskau of War—my mother is discussing the larger picture. We are here for the minute. How well can you face an automaton with sway over reality?” Her gaze swept across the gathered arcanes. “Who would like to be the first to test themselves?”

Eskau Reidh immediately stepped forward, his draconic features alight with anticipation. “I would test myself, good Lea.”

Lea bowed to the dragonling. “Then let us clash.”

The man strode forward, the blood drenched scales on his left arm glimmered and rippled, clearly responding to the man’s battle lust.

Lea shook her head slowly, a smile growing on her perfect features. “And the first mistake has been made.”

Tala felt the granted authority bend, Lea doing an admirable job of attempting to mimic reality based abilities. Tala also felt both Alat and Enar working alongside their daughter to smooth out the inconsistencies and more closely match the records they’d gained access to. The two alternate interfaces were also adding weight and power to the workings for better effect.

A sphere, ten feet in radius, grew outward, causing all magical power to seemingly bleed from the air, when it reached Eskau Reidh—who had drawn up his weapon in a guarding position—it caused the blood on his arm to shudder before it simply fell free, splashing on to the ground.

Lea gave a sad smile. “Liquids flow down, Eskau.”

Eskau Reidh’s eyes widened, before he began to laugh. “Yes, but a dragon’s blood is something even reality honors.”

An odd sense flooded outward from the blood even as it seemed to congeal on the ground, hardening into the form of a sword, looking more like a jagged scab that the liquid Tala was used to seeing.

“This will not halt my attack.” He snatched up the newly formed weapon and rushed forward.

Magic tried to coat his feet, but it was driven back inside him, causing the dragonling to almost stumble.

Instead, the experienced warrior used the motion to increase the pace of his headlong charge. Lea met the attack with her impossibly sharp blade.

The clash was… sedate? Both warriors had skill—Eskau Reidh’s clearly greater than Lea’s—but both were also moving too slow for what would be expected.

Neither was really able to use enhancement magic effectively.

-Lea decided not to use her enhancements even if the Black Legion can and does, at least not for this first demonstration.

Probably wise.

In barely fifteen seconds, Lea was shown to be both faster and stronger than the dragonling, even powering through his blocks and forcing the man to show off more of his skill as he rolled with attacks and twisted around seemingly certain hits.

His defense was further complicated by Lea’s ability to move in entirely inhuman manners, the nature of her body allowing her to twist and strike with power in myriad ways that no biological opponent could have, at least not with any sort of strength.

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Magic continually tried to rise up within Eskau Reidh, but it had trouble actually manifesting.

After a minute of constant engagement, the dragonling pulled back, panting with exertion. He laughed. “Not since a hatchling have I felt so restricted. I can think as usual, but move? No. The deeper within myself, the more I can use my power, but I am unused to having a stronger, faster core than extremities…” He bowed. “This will take much practice.”

Lea bowed in turn, her expression an odd mix of self-conscious and stoney. “This is the recorded suppressive aura of one of their lieutenants or commanders. Their foot soldiers will have it barely extend past their own bodies,”—she lifted a finger for emphasis—“unless they are in formation. The Black Legion is able to link the effect between units and amplify it, making groups many times more dangerous than individuals.”

Tala stepped in then. “Eskau Reidh identified the key. They cannot banish magic from us entirely, and in many cases, they will barely be able to keep themselves safe from direct attack. That said, they will create gradients of magical effectiveness, and that—even more than true negation—will cause issues in combat.”

The thirty gathered arcanes nodded seriously. They were no fools. They understood how having a tool function inconsistently or unexpectedly could be more dangerous and hampering than simply not using the tool at all.