Kenzo carried Lina's small, limp body, his heart pounding with a mixture of adrenaline and fear. He ran back to the village, with a haggard Haelan stumbling behind him, the old mage's face as white as a shroud. The news spread faster than their footsteps. Villagers came out of their homes, their faces filled with confusion and fear, pointing at the sky as if the afterglow of the impossible light was still seared into their retinas, panicked whispers spreading like wildfire through dry grass.
Borin, his face hard and anxious, immediately intercepted them at the gate. "What happened?" he demanded, his eyes shifting from the unconscious Lina to the devastated-looking Haelan.
"Gather the elders. Kael, too. Immediately," Haelan answered, his voice hoarse. "This is a matter of life and death."
The usually warm village hall felt cold and claustrophobic. Only the elders, Haelan, a frantic Kael who had come running after hearing the news, and Kenzo were allowed inside. Lina was laid gently on a blanket in the corner of the room, her peaceful sleep a stark contrast to the tension that filled the air.
"Haelan, explain it to us. Explain everything," Borin began the meeting, his voice low and urgent.
With a weary voice, Haelan repeated his explanation. He spoke of Pure Light magic, of how the Church monopolized that power, and of their tradition of "gathering" the Saints, often by force. Every word he spoke felt like another nail being hammered into the coffin of their peace.
After Haelan finished, a heavy silence blanketed the room. Elder Garek was the first to break it. He wasn't yelling, which made his argument all the more chilling.
"We can't win," he said with a trembling but logical voice. "This isn't a Stone Boar. This is the Church. They will burn us to the ground without a second thought. We... we have to give her up." He swallowed hard, avoiding Kael's gaze. "It's the only way our other children can survive."
"She is not a 'thing' to be given up, Garek!" Kael leaped to his feet, his eyes red with rage and pain. "She is my daughter! I would rather die fighting them than live as a coward who sold his own child!"
Elara, who was also present as one of the village elders, spoke up, her voice calm but firm as steel. "The children of this village are all our children, Garek. We do not sacrifice family." Borin nodded in agreement, but his face showed the heavy burden of the decision he had to make as a leader.
Just as the debate reached a stalemate between emotion and cruel pragmatism, Kenzo spoke. He didn't take a side; he offered a third path.
"Both of you are right," he said, his calm, logical voice immediately drawing everyone's attention. "Elder Garek is right, we cannot win in a direct fight. And Kael is right, we cannot simply give her up. So, we have to change the game. If we can't win, our goal must be to ensure they don't win easily either."
He stepped into the center, his eyes meeting each person's in turn. "We need a plan."
He then laid out his strategy with the precision of an engineer. "First, Control. We have to make sure this doesn't happen again. I will try to teach Lina to control her power, to contain it, not release it."
"Second, Concealment," he continued, turning to Haelan. "We need a way to hide her aura. Haelan, is there any magic or charm that can dampen mana energy?"
"And third," Kenzo said, his tone becoming more serious. "Emergency Preparation. We prepare for the worst. We fortify our defenses not to win, but to buy time. And we prepare a safe escape route as a last resort."
Kenzo's logical and proactive plan was like a flicker of light in the midst of despair. It changed the mindset from "waiting for doom" to "preparing for the storm." It gave them something to fight for.
Borin, as the leader, stood up. His once-hesitant face was now filled with a hard resolve. "We will follow Kenzo's plan," he said with a firm voice, staring pointedly at Garek, who could only look down in defeat. "We will protect this child. We will protect our village. Prepare everything."
The village was now united under a single, dangerous purpose.
After the meeting ended and the elders left to spread the orders, Kenzo stayed for a moment in the hall. He watched over Lina, who was beginning to stir, slowly waking from her sleep. Kael approached him, his face filled with a mixture of gratitude and overwhelming fear. He placed his calloused hand on Kenzo's shoulder.
"I don't know what to say," Kael whispered, his voice hoarse with emotion. "Thank you."
He looked at his daughter, who was beginning to open her eyes, then back at Kenzo. His eyes conveyed a plea deeper than any words. "Look after her for me, Kenzo. If... if something happens."
He didn't need to finish the sentence. It wasn't a request; it was the deepest transference of trust from one father to another man. Kenzo could only nod, feeling the weight of that promise land on his shoulders like a mountain.
He looked at Lina, who was now sitting up and looking at him with confused eyes. This child's fate, this village's fate, was now inextricably linked with his own. And Kenzo knew, the storm was coming.