"How far across is the Vallavega Pass?" Gwendith muttered as the four of them trekked towards the village. There was a light covering of snow across the road and the fields, and they left footprints tracking all the way towards the Chaos Fount.
The cold air was invigorating especially because they came from a volcanic region. Her Ennoia was of Cold and Heat, firmly intertwined into the concept of temperature. Gwendith had read many books in Karcellia and Nirlith, and while the information in both seemed contradictory, she only had to remember that Karcelia was a place without any ambient Chaos or ambient Elemental energies. What was left was what would happen naturally without Chaos and Elemental mucking things up. It also provided her with the insight to merge Heat and Cold, too. Or more properly, just Heat.
However, on the other side of the coin was the effect of Elemental energy on natural phenomena. In Karcelia, there was no such thing as Cold because it was the absence of Heat. Cold was a physical reaction by the observer. But in Bresia, Arcadia, and the Myriad Planes, Cold was a very real, tangible thing. It was an Elemental energy and it countered Heat.
Marrying both concepts required more than a bit of mental gymnastics, but Gwendith's original Affinity for Cold, helped her make the bridge. The realisation that Cold and Heat were two sides of the same thing helped. But there was a difference between knowing things and feeling it. Just because her head knew it, her Anima did not. And it was the Anima that allowed the touching of Ennoias, and the formation of personal Truth.
Anyway, the cold around her was invigorating and, because of her Ennoia, even though she was dressed in thin clothing, she wasn't shivering. She would be the same way in extreme heat, but she did not lose her cognition of the temperature, unlike silly Yuriko who might wear a camisole in the midst of a blizzard and not even notice.
Heron and Saki were shivering, however, and neither had packed for Season of Water weather, which was why they were headed to the village rather than headed straight towards the Pass. They also needed transportation as she wasn't about to go running for hundreds of longstrides. Heron's communication with Yuriko told them that they were about to fight a battle, and Gwendith was eager to help. The question was if the four of them would be able to.
She and Heron were Actualised Ancients, which meant they were on par with an Advanced Magus. Devotee was a Chaos Viscount, on par with them too, but the environment severely limited his power, so he shouldn't be able to output more than a normal Knight. Saki was at that level, but her skill set made her a bit more formidable than normal.
'Would she think we're a bother?' Gwendith couldn't help but think. Yuriko was a battle maniac, and by herself, she could roll up any army sent against her. Er, provided they weren't True Magi level or higher. In those cases, Yuriko should still be able to escape.
…unless by doing so she would endanger her friends.
"Are we her weakness?" Gwendith muttered under her breath, but the way Heron stiffened, he heard her quite clearly.
"Yes and no," he said curtly. "If we are careless, yes. But we are also her anchors."
They trudged for a few minutes in the snow without speaking while Gwendith mulled that over. She had to agree though. They became Yuriko's Squires to help her, but they forsook any chance of reaching her level. Not for a long time, and possibly never too. But it was better for Gwendith to follow a step behind than be left and forsaken. Besides, combat ability wasn't everything.
So why were they rushing towards the battlefield if they wouldn't be much help?
"Because we can still help. No matter what." Heron answered her unspoken question and Gwendith couldn't help but smile. Yes, they 'd grown closer over the past weeks and knew each other better.
They arrived in the village soon enough and the first thing the group went for was the Adventurers' Guild store which also sold travel goods and necessities. Sure enough, there were cold weather gear sold inside of it. Heron and Saki bought a couple of fur-lined coats and sighed in contentment. The four of them headed towards the common room to warm up and plot their course, too.
"No one's around," Saki observed. Although the common room had a fireplace in the corner, each table also had a heater tool underneath. The warmth was equally nice after the brisk cold, and Gwendith sighed in satisfaction. A waitress came with several mugs of ale, stared briefly at Devotee's flaming hair, shook her head, and then left after taking their order for meals.
A few minutes later…
Plop, plop, plop, plop!
Four steaming bowls of stew, as well as a plateful of bread. The stew had chunks of meat—from the scent, mutton—as well as potatoes, carrots, and onions. Gwendith tasted and appreciated the slight spice that spread across her tongue. That was the best part of the dish, really, since the mutton was a bit gamey. The bread rolls were warm, not quite freshly baked since it was already afternoon, and the vegetables were a bit soggy. All in all, a satisfactory meal, though not really great.
After they were done, Saki sauntered towards the counter to see if there were any contracts of missions involving Bresia's defence, while Gwendith cast a Sending spell to Yuriko. Unfortunately, by the time Saki returned, no message returned.
"Most contracts are for controlling the Chaos Founts and preventing them from Overflow." Saki reported, "There are no mercenary or wartime contracts, though there is a recruitment notice pinned on the board."
"So we have to proceed on our own?" Gwendith said.
"It looks like it." Saki nodded, "The Vallavega Pass is more than a hundred leagues to cross, and because of the turmoil, there are no airships or caravans crossing it. If we are to do so, we'll have to do it by walking, riding, or driving a carriage."
"What about the ship?" Gwendith muttered, then shook her head, "No, that won't work."
"Yes, we've not the Animus regeneration to cover its operation." Saki agreed. "I think we'll have to make our own way across, we won't be able to hire a carriage. We can buy one, I think…"
"Horses," Gwendith said.
Saki gave her a pointed look, "Do you know how to take care of one?"
"Ehehehe, no."
"Then, no."
"Time's a waste." Heron said. "Let's gather some supplies and head out in half an hour. We can cross a hundred leagues by the end of the night."
Saki looked at him in consternation. "I can't do that."
Devotee, who'd remained mostly silent throughout the conversation and the journey, chuckled, "I'll carry you."
"It's settled then." Heron said, "Let's go."
Gwendith nodded and all of them headed out to gather their things. Half an hour later, they left the Adventurers' Guild, and the village they didn't bother to learn the name of, and were running across the countryside.
________________
Just as Yuriko was about to leave the dome to engage the enemy, she received a Sending Spell. Once she heard the speaker, her lips stretched into a wide grin, her heartbeat rose, and her cheeks flushed red. Ryoko, who had followed her outside, was startled at the change and asked, "What happened?"
"Heron sent a message." Yuriko said, "They're finally back."
She wasted no time in returning a Sending Spell. She would have used True Connection but that one required a bit of focus that she didn't want to spare since they were in the midst of battle. Once she was done, she said, "Prepare to escape if need be."
"Alright."
Yuriko cast a Message spell to the Field Marshal, "Where do you need me?"
The return Message arrived less than a minute later, "Reserves. Help barrier group if able."
"Agreed." Yuriko sent back.
The Barrier casters were next to the command centre, right smack in the middle of the camp. That was a weakness, Yuriko realised, since it was easy to determine where they were just from determining where the centre of the spherical barrier was. Of course, there were other ways to create fortification spells, and the one she was familiar with was how the Empire created its barriers. Well, for permanent barriers, the borders were inscribed with runescript formations and then powered through an Animus engine. Temporary camp barriers were created in a similar manner of inscribing the borders, but the engine was often weaker or powered by individuals.
Bresian defences used spell activation tools and had to be manned by a Magus at all times. Since a consciousness was needed to cast spells, it was the same way with defences. In Greytih Fortress, there were dedicated barrier Magi that rotated duties every few hours too. Unlike the camp though, they also channeled the spell through runescript formations, but for portable barriers, the activation tool was built to spread from that point. It was why the dome covered the area beyond the palisades.
It was because of that quality that they were able to open the dome to send out the special Steeld without leaving the camp completely vulnerable.
The hailstones continued to fall, each one boosted by Elemental energy. In the simplest terms, barriers protected against attacks by matching and cancelling out the attack's energy, though the complexities came about because of the different types of energy used. Fire Elemental energy-based attacks were easily negated by Water, for one, but it burned through Wood and pressured Metal Elemental energies.
The one used by the barrier now wasn't any one Elemental energy, but a composite of many others. That was the disadvantage since the Ishodirians used mainly Ice and Earth Affinities. Well, both also had a kinetic component, but the amalgam of energies were easily able to negate kinetic strikes. The barrier Magi could not just shift to Water and Wood Elemental energies since the Field Marshal knew that there were other Golems waiting outside. Should the barrier composition shift away from the amalgam, a lightning strike by the opposing Element could breach the barrier before they could react.
The barrier Magi had to use up more of their focus and channel more Elemental energy to compensate, and this wearied them faster than the attackers. Yuriko, over the past weeks of eavesdropping and talking with the marshal, found out that the old Durandir was quite conservative, even if he was the leader in a Season of Water campaign. He wouldn't risk the camp's safety on the off chance that the barrier Magi could shift the Elemental composition back should the Ishodirians change their form of attack.
It was a losing proposition to just wait things out, however. And it was too cold outside to rely on the Ib'honara scouts. Scryers were trying to breach the Ishodirian counter-intelligence spells and were having limited success too. Without knowing the full composition of the enemy's army, there was little choice but to fight defensively.
But they couldn't stay on the defensive and let the Ishodirians continue to pummel them, which was why the marshal deployed the special forces. There was a reason he had Yuriko go to the barrier Magi too, and it was rather simple.
Radiance overpowered Ice and Earth.
Yuriko landed next to the circle of Magi, and the team leader sighed in relief. "Professor Davar, please."
"Leave it to me."
Yuriko touched the barrier device's energy inputs and summoned her Radiant energy to the forefront. Her body produced an exceptional amount of it, and even when she channelled as much as she could into the device, certainly just enough not to destroy it, she still regenerated more than she spent.
The device lit up and shot her Radiant energy mixed into the barrier spells, and the dome turned golden. The hailstones and boulders shattered and were absorbed by the barrier, and Yuriko felt the energies convert to Radiant. She fed it back to the device and pulled back her own contribution. Doing this, she could last practically forever, and she was more than willing to wait for the enemy elites to make their appearance.