"Noxies Don't Really Do Names"
Silvermoon
In the Silvermoon Mage Tower, after ZsaZsa finished writing her letter. Then she surprised everyone by transforming into a mist and becoming a small lithe amethyst scaled Drake. She put the letter in a pouch. She flew in a circle and eventually disappeared with a pop.
Delaney watched, wide-eyed. Britiana was more than a little surprised as well.
Raven chuckled. "The children of Earthborne and Dragons have the ability to transform into Drakes," she explained.
"A Drake is a miniature sentient dragon that can't transform into another form. They have the ability to slip through the fabric of reality by building up enough speed," Britiana explained to Delaney.
Delaney nodded. She would strive to no longer be surprised by what she learns here.
After working for a while longer, they took a break for lunch. Raven had some food delivered to them. After lunch, Raven continued to work on the transfer spell. Delaney took a break to prepare for refining the draconite. She practiced on a few coins. Coins were made of low-grade draconite that didn't have much value due to their impurities.
Britiana went to the stack of books and flipped through them, looking for something particular. Then she'd go to the reference stone of Raven's library and browse through the books that might be what she was looking for.
They worked together until dinner time. Britiana went back to the Residence to eat but Delaney opted to stay at the Tower. Britiana didn't argue with her. When she came back, ZsaZsa had returned, and Delaney was refining a stack of Draconite twice as high as her.
ZsaZsa and Raven were testing a smaller version of the transfer spell, the array about eighteen inches in diameter, enough for one person, and using a small piece of Draconite to power it.
Britiana watched Delaney refine a piece of Draconite. This process involved a magic circle, a cauldron, an alchemical flame, and various ingredients that weren't hard to find. When the ingredients were combined, Delaney chanted a spell. It was her translated common words retranslated into Delaney's magical root language. The ingredients created a glowing green flame that floated above the cauldron.
Delany put a piece of unrefined Draconite in the flame. The Draconite floated within, turning red. Delaney chanted new words while moving her hands inside the flame to make sure the impurities of the are all burned away. Each piece took around twenty minutes and she had to rest for ten or so between each piece.
Raven and ZsaZsa were using small white rodents to test the transfer spell. Britiana took one herself. She took out a brush, ink, and a piece of cloth. She drew several hexagons and made several symbols inside. She drew the last of the symbols and then draped the cloth over the rodent. She said a quiet word. The hexagons on the clothes glowed and then wrapped around the rodent creating a capsule made of interconnected hexagons. Then the entire thing shrank from the size of a fist to the size of a pea.
She picked up the capsule and held it up to her ear. She couldn't hear anything. She scanned it with her mental power. There were no brainwaves. She said another word and the capsule expanded then fell apart into a piece of cloth again. The rodent kicked its legs nonchalantly, as if nothing ever happened to it.
ZsaZsa was watching with wide eyes. "What was that?" she asked.
"A stasis spell mixed with a shrinking spell. I still have to work on it a bit before I'm ready to use it on people. I didn't like that there were no mental fluctuations at all," Britiana answered with a scrunched nose.
ZsaZsa tilted her head. "Why are you trying to do that?" she asked.
"So that Delaney can put people in a pouch and take them with her through the Shadow Dimension without straining her magic," Britiana answered. "I think we're all beginning to realize that one person won't be able to create the transfer spell by themselves," she explained.
Delaney finished another refinement. The resulting Draconite was about a third of the size it started, but it was pure, almost gemstone-like purple. "You want to go to Terranthea?" she asked.
"Yes. Me, Darius, Sariya, and probably a couple more people. I think Darius wants to take a couple of soldiers since we don't know what the situation will be like. After all, you can't hurt people, but nothing's stopping us," she added.
"Me, too!" ZsaZsa raised her hand. "Can I go, too? You can even try out your little stasis fabric on me. I can Patternweave and I have all sorts of Patternwoven fabric that could be beneficial," she said pleadingly, looking at everyone with doleful eyes.
Delaney nodded. "If you can perfect the spell, I have no reason to refuse," she said. She was actually relieved. The more help she had, the better. She didn't know what would be waiting for her on the Terranthea when she returned. She just hoped her family was safe.
That decided, the four of them worked until nearly midnight before Raven finally decided it was time for everyone to rest. Earthborne were originally a nocturnal species, as prolonged sunlight from their world was harmful. They could handle early morning or late afternoon sunlight, but vampires couldn't stand it all. But here on Emphyralis, they only needed to avoid it during the three hours before, during, and after noon. Otherwise, it was fine. So, they developed a daily lifestyle here.
This meant they thrived better in areas where the sun wasn't harsh, such as Myrkir and Isaz. They avoided Varmur, and were wary about Vedanta. Silubra was fine because it was mostly temperate with lots of mountains and forests, and the sun wasn't too strong in the Eternal Mountains. Resting in the soil at night was also better for them because it absorbed the moonlight, which they found beneficial to their nourishment of energy.
Half Earthborne didn't have that problem with sunlight at all. ZsaZsa went to her room in the Tower and curled into a nice soft bed after washing up, but Raven slept in a bed of soil in the light of the moons, covering herself from head to toe.
--
The next day, Britiana and Delaney headed to the Mage Tower, but Darius and Sariya went to the training area. Ysandar arranged for Darius to observe some of the lower ranking guards training. Since Sariya was helping him with his plans, she tagged along. Besides, Darius trusted her judgment.
They spent the day before studying the schematics of the inn and devising the safest way to bring in and process witchborn refugees. The first thing he wanted to do was recruit a small contingent of guards to protect the residents and guard any bad actors that might come through.
They settled on six as the final number, rotating two guards per eight-hour shift. They decided on newer recruits because it was probably going to be a boring but easy job that more experienced guards might find fault with. Newer guards would be eager to use it as merit and experience.
They also wanted to find two more to bring with them to Terranthea. He did ask his mom if he should ask for support from the other leaders. Chrystianna thought about it and then vetoed it. "Not yet. Think of this as a reconnaissance mission. If they want to help after our report," she answered.
Darius agreed. It was best to only take a small group. Guards to protect, Mages to do magic.
Ysandar brought Darius and Sariya to a training area where there were about a hundred young men and women in training armor. They saluted Ysandar when he approached. The captain in charge of their unit was a large, rough woman with slightly orange skin, a wiry orange braid, and large tusks protruding from her wide lower jaw. "Lord Commander," she greeted in a guttural voice.
"Captain Grenthe," Ysandar greeted. "This is Lord Darius Silvermoon, the Grand Duchess's son," he introduced.
Grenthe bowed to Darius slightly. "Lord Darius," she greeted.
"Darius and his associate are recruiting for a special assignment," Ysandar explained. He'd been briefed on the situation, and didn't disagree with this arrangement. He could understand that Darius was being groomed to take over the position his father should have.
A small arrangement like this was a good way to ease the soldiers into accepting him. He can also start surrounding himself with trusted aides.
Grenthe grunted. "As you asked, I gathered a hundred of the most competent guards under my command," she explained. "What do you need them to do?" she asked, now looking at Darius. Grenthe wasn't overly ambitious or territorial. She was a soldier. The fact that she'd been promoted to captain was still surprising to her, but she'd shown good leadership skills during the Hunter Wars.
Darius looked over the young men and women. "I'd like two nocturnal guards, but it's not necessary if there aren't any.
"Nocturnals! Quit dozing and step up!" Grenthe shouted loudly.
Five knights stepped forward. Two appeared to be female Dark Elves. Though not technically nocturnal, Dark Elves did prefer to go about their business in the night, so they often get classified as nocturnal.
One was an Earthborne-Onyx Hybrid young man. Again, while not technically nocturnal, he was still suited to night duty.
The other two were pale gray, wide eyed, with eerie pupil-less silver eyes. They also had long black hair. They had long multi-pointed ears and appeared neither male not female. They were Noxies, a type of fae creature that formed when Emphyralis formed. They were also often called Dark Elementals. There weren't many of them, and few interacted with the wider world, preferring their dark places in forests and mountains.
He supposed the War shook things up for more than just the Dragons if even the Noxies were in an official army.
"I won't force anyone, if you want to volunteer, let me know. You'll be taking an eight-hour night shift guarding an inn in the city," Darius explained without giving too many details.
The Noxies stepped forward again. "We volunteer," they said eerily at the same time. Some of the other guards seemed relieved. Noxies had an unsettling effect on many of them.
"What are your names?" Sariya asked. She held a clipboard.
"They call us Noxie One and Noxie Two," they answered and then showed them hand stitched numbers on their uniforms.
Sariya looked at them.
"Noxies don't really do names," Darius explained.
Sariya nodded without expression and wrote down the names.
"Any other volunteers?" Darius asked the non-nocturnal guards. About half of them stepped forward. Some just wanted a lighter duty. Others were more long-term. They could see that due to the virtue of his family name, and his obvious military bearing, he was probably going to be in charge one day.
"Proficient in magic. At least second tier," Darius said. That eliminated another third, leaving about thirty people. "Are there any empaths?" he asked. Six raised their hands. "What about Bronze Dragons?" he asked. Bronze Dragons who specialized in hunting made good soldiers. They also had an innate ability to detect danger. Two raised their hands. "You both, announce your names," he said.
"Spencer Ironstryke," one man announced.
"Delia Stonehaven," a woman announced.
"Join, the Noxies," Darius said. The two joined the Noxies, but kept a bit of distance. Although they sensed no danger from them, they still made their hair stand on end.
As for the empaths, Darius separated them out to determine which of them would be chosen. "Scan her," he said, pointing toward Sariya.
Sariya paused, then wiped any expression off her face.
The empaths looked intently at Sariya. They were quiet for a while. "She's confused," one finally said.
Darius looked at Sariya.
Sariya agreed. "I was wondering why they looked constipated. I've never seen Britiana look like that unless there were too many people," she said.
Darius chuckled. "Not every empath is as strong as her. Most empaths wouldn't even join the military," he explained.
"Guess so. It's probably hell during a battle," she said simply. "What's your name?" she asked the soldier.
"Wallace Moonlight," he answered. Sariya jotted it down.
A soldier had a thought and raised her hand. "My Lord," he said hesitantly.
Darius looked at him. "Yes?"
"I'm sonopathic. I can detect lies," he said.
Darius looked at him closer. He wasn't much older than Darius himself, probably newly mature. He had black hair, and dark blue eyes. He held himself seriously. "What's your name?" he asked.
"Lazarus Darkfrost, my lord," he answered.
Darius nodded. "What else can you do?" he asked.
"I'm umbrakinetic and a Truthcaller. Other Sapphire abilities haven't manifested but I have a knack for finding the truth of things, my lord," Lazarus answered.
"You stand there by yourself," Darius said. He spoke. "You come out and stand with him," he said, pointing to the young man who'd been standing beside him. The other young man looked similar in some regards, yet he had darker skin and differently shaped eyes that were a deep purple color. They didn't argue and shuffled to the side.
"Did any of the rest of you realize why I was asking for specific abilities?" he asked the rest. They hesitated and glanced around but no one answered.
He pointed to the young man with purple eyes. "Tell them," he said.
He cleared his throat. "You're not just guarding an inn, my lord, you're making sure the people who are in the inn aren't dangerous and won't become a danger. You want guards who can read them or react if there's any hidden danger," he answered.
"Name. Specialties," Darius said without confirming or denying the speculation.
"Amadeus Darkmyst, my lord. Umbrakinesis and Gemcalling, my lord," he answered.
Darius nodded. "Write them down for the other mission," he told Sariya.
Sariya nodded. She also approved of the two of them. She'd also noticed Amadeus nudging Lazarus, encouraging him to speak up. Lazarus took the initiative to do so and understood why the other was nudging him without explicitly being told.
Some of the other guards reacted. There was another mission besides just guarding an inn? They felt a little resentful of the two that suddenly jumped out.
"Which of the empaths would you recommend?" Darius asked the two.
"Alistair Moonwhisper," they stated at the same time.
"Which one of you is that?" Darius asked the empath group.
A young man raised his hand.
"Why?"
"He's an empath, and he can astral project," Lazarus answered.
"It gives him an edge if he can be in two places at once, even if briefly," Amadeus agreed.
"Write it down," Darius said to Sariya. She jotted it down.
"Captain Grenthe. I'll be taking these eight. Have them report to me after lunch," Darius said and told her the location of the inn.
Grenthe saluted him. "Yes, my lord," she agreed.
Darius and Sariya left the training ground. He went to the study that was attached to his room. Sariya followed him in. She was basically working as his assistant for now. He sent for the personnel files of the eight guards he'd chosen.
The day before, they'd already begun cleaning the inn and choosing temporary staff to cook and clean for when the witchborn came. Although the end goal was for the refugee witchborn to take care of themselves, the first few who come over will probably not be in the right frame of mind until they settle in. In that regard, temporary staff will be able to guide them.
There were rooms on the first floor for staff, which was where the guards would be living.
After the files were delivered, they went over them, discussing the best rotation. Of course, the Noxies got the third shift from ten at night to six in the morning. They then decided to pair up a Bronze and a Silver in the first and second shifts.
They had lunch with Chrystianna and Elias, but Britiana remained at the Tower.
Afterwards, the two of them went to the inn. They couldn't wait for Delaney's family to rename it. One of the senior attendants of the Grand Duchess was in charge of the cleanup and choosing staff. He was an Elf, not old, not young. He bowed slightly in greeting when Darius came over.
"Is there a room ready for guards to sleep in?" he asked.
The senior attendant motioned for another attendant and led him to a room near the storage room they were planning to use as the way point, which pleased Darius. "What about a cook?" he asked.
"That'll be me, my lord," a rosy-faced middle-aged human woman spoke up. "Me and my mister will be working here for now. When we aren't cooking, we'll be working the yard and making it look nice again. We'll also do some of the cleaning," she answered. "Name's Myra Shumacher. My mister is Albert. He's out doing some purchasing just now, my lord," she explained.
"Very well," Darius said with a smile.
"When more people begin living here, more staff will be assigned, but Madame Schumacher assured us that she and her husband could take care of a small group of people," the senior attendant explained.
Sariya hadn't joined him for this conversation, she'd stayed out in the yard. Soon, the eight guards came to the yard of the inn, and she led them inside. "They're here," she informed Darius.
Darius looked at them. He introduced the guards to Mrs. Shumacher. She greeted them boisterously and assured them that if they wanted anything in particular just let her know. Then she laid down a particular set of ground rules that reminded them of Captain Grenthe. She then led them to their room.
It wasn't quite a Dragon-sized room, but it was large enough for a bed for each of them. There were two nearby bathrooms, and they could decide which one was for men and which for women. The Noxies had no opinion on which they used, being neither male nor female.
"Settle in and find the office in fifteen minutes," Darius instructed them. There was an office on the first floor behind the check-in area. He and Sariya went there to wait for them.
They filed in a few minutes later. Darius gave them a briefing of the fact that the inn would house refugees and assigned their guard rotations. Even though there was nothing to guard yet, getting used to the routine would be helpful. Amadeus and Lazarus were not assigned a guard shift. Darius dismissed the six guards but kept them behind.
Darius looked them over. "Neither of you are old enough to ever have gone off-world, right?" he asked conversationally.
"No, my lord," they answered at the same time.
"Want to?" he asked with a slight smile.
The two looked a little surprised. "My lord?" Amadeus said cautiously.
"Haven't you guessed that refugees would be coming from another world?" Sariya asked them.
"Well...yes, but we didn't know how it was possible," Lazarus admitted.
"We're still working on that part," Darius admitted. "In narrow terms, it's a rescue mission for the family of our friend, Delaney. But in broad terms, it's to rescue an endangered race of people over a period of time. We'll also be gathering intelligence about their world in general in case we're able to establish diplomatic relations with them one day," he explained in depth.
The two nodded in understanding. "We won't have guard duties until then?" Amadeus inquired.
Darius shook his head. "No. We don't know how soon we'll be leaving. I don't want to suddenly disrupt the rotation by taking the two of you out suddenly," he explained. "Just stay here on standby. If I need you for anything I'll summon you. You both can shadowwalk?" he asked.
They answered affirmatively. "I'll have the permissions adjusted for your identity tokens to allow you shadowwalk to the Residence. Oversee the guard rotations for now," Darius said, effectively dismissing them.
They gave him a salute and left the office.
Sariya looked at him. "You aren't bad at this," she said. Darius didn't acknowledge her compliment, which made her snicker. "What next?" she asked.
Darius shook his head. "Now it's up to Briti and Delaney and the mages," he answered.
Sariya nodded. "I'm going to check out the sky port. If you need me, call me," she said, referring to the call stone she'd been supplied with earlier that morning. It was how most people kept in touch.
Darius nodded. They left the inn; she disappeared into the city and he Voidwalked back to the Keep.