That night, Aayla looked over her notes again from all of the cases. Only a few days had passed since she arrived from campus. Yet, she already had several more questions than when she first came to the city.
At first, she only wanted to investigate that bear incident. If it really was a Terran animal, then how did the True Order capture it and make that collar so quickly? Now she realized that something strange was going on.
She found two subtle patterns among the mana circuits and adaptivity of the captured animals. The first type was normal Terran creatures with little to no mana at all. The second was slightly different Terran creatures with much more mana, like a magical beast.
The first type of creatures looked like completely normal animals from Terra. They tended to be physically weak since they hadn't adapted to Tellus yet. Aayla watched the animals from the first day. The veterinary team nursed them back to health, but their rate of adaptation was no better than a snail's pace.
The second type of creatures looked like a cross between Terran animals and magical beasts. Basically, they were larger Terran creatures with wild fur, scale or hide colors and patterns. This type was few and far between, but they caused havoc in the city. Their mana was like an actual low to mid-ranking magical beast's.
Over her trips to the animal containment center, Aayla overheard several snippets of the researchers' conversations. The most popular theory was that something was happening deep in the Glacier Mountains to disrupt the mana circuits in some magical beast populations. The main suspect was that sudden energy spike months ago.
Without mana, these beasts would be forced to flee to the city. Free from the disruption, their mana circuits were able to repair themselves. They believed that the mana-less animals were going through a period of rapid magical evolution as the mana circuits rebuilt themselves.
Even now the researchers were exuberant dreaming about the applications of this process. Aayla was much more skeptical. Honestly, the type two creatures looked like their bloodlines had crossed with those of magical beasts. That's not even mentioning Aayla's personal experience with mana.
Without the New Moon bracelet, Aayla would still be essentially non-magical. Even if Terran creatures were simpler, the first type still wouldn't evolve to the level of the second type in a few months. Not unless they had outside help.
That kind of change would take years naturally, and more than a few generations. Terran creatures had shorter reproduction cycles than humans in general. They would definitely adapt much faster than Terran humans.
Aayla fiddled with her hair. Something was definitely off about this situation. The type two creatures never appeared close together. The others assumed that they were territorial. Aayla thought otherwise. Their behavior was too different than simple aggression and territoriality.
She did not have nearly enough data to confirm her theories. Should she take a look at the delegation's work? They had much more detailed research. While she was at it, Aayla wanted to take a look at the police reports for the incidents that she wasn't involved with.
Hmm. The professors would barely let their student assistants shovel the animals' poop, let alone look at any actual research. There was no way that the police would let a mere student look at any of their reports. Aayla nibbled on her fingernails. Darn it. She couldn't sneak a look either. Especially not with magic in play.
She pushed back her chair then stood in front of the window. The brightly lit streets looked like rivers of gold flowing through the inky darkness. Light spilled out from windows making them look like stars. Forest Waypoint was truly beautiful at night.
A puff of flame rose in the darkness. A nearby patrol stopped their route and hurriedly changed directions towards the fire. Another type two creature must have been found. The fire was put out and the patrols resumed in less than 15 minutes.
The sudden appearances of the type 2 creatures seemed too strategic to Aayla. Like someone was testing the responses of the police and military forces. She dared not mention this to anyone though. They would think that she was overthinking at best or insane at worst.
Manipulating magic beasts was right up the True Order's alley. However, these were Terran creatures, and she didn't see any with silver collars. Their involvement could be neither confirmed nor denied, though that could explain the type 2 creatures' behavioral patterns and mana.
Investigating would become an absolute pain tomorrow. The students would arrive for their weekend trip, so the markets would become too crowded. There was only one major incident with animals during the last trip. The rising number of animals in Forest Waypoint will cause more of such incidents during the next trip.
Unfortunately, today was almost total washout. Aayla didn't find anything useful that she didn't already know. She did manage to swipe a couple of police reports though. Those rookie cops need to watch their desks better.
What Aayla managed to find made her frown. The police didn't seem to notice or care about the difference between the mana circuits of the two types of creatures. They treated most of the incidents like afterthoughts. FWPD wouldn't be receptive to her thoughts at all.
Neither would the arrogant Nafriton delegation. The professors were firmly trapped in their own theories. They didn't previously know how to trigger the observed mana adaptations without side effects. Since they, the premier magical experts, didn't know then no one else would know either. Especially a mere student like Aayla.
Fortunately, neither group had found silver collars or evidence of deliberate animal rearing. Was Aayla overthinking about the True Order? They were hit pretty hard by the military according to the (highly biased) newspapers. In any case, she'll have to put her worries aside for now.
Darn it. All of the students would be arriving tomorrow. The markets would be packed. Tomorrow would likely be a washout as well.
**********
Bright and early that Shade Day, several carriages full of excited students steadily marched towards Forest Waypoint. When they arrived, the students ran wild. They longed for their freedom after their first taste last month.
Eager shopkeepers excitedly announced one day only events. They did everything that could to drain the students' wallets dry. The entire city was hurting after the university's shutdown. Cheerful students just as eagerly tried to buy as much as they could.
What a glorious day! He would get so many benefits from this trip today. Marc Lupton smiled as he walked along the streets of Forest Waypoint. The weather was excellent for the beginning of the final rebellion.
He had secretly trained since his family fell from grace when he was small. The past few years he spent isolated from his comrades to build up a solid, suspicion identity. He never dared to even think of his faction's name. Fortunately, his work wasn't in vain. Marc successfully entered Nafriton University and immediately taken under Professor Foryl's wing.
Today was the start of his first major mission under his real faction, not the noble faction. For once Marc was filled with electric anticipation before his mission. This would be the turning point in his life. The beginning of his rise and the destruction of his enemies.
Separated from the vigilant gazes of the university staff, Marc could more easily approach other students. He peered down at the paper in his hands. It burned to ashes after he finished reading it. A light breeze scattered the ashes down the street.
Only the students with good grades and therefore better magical and mental capabilities were allowed on the trip. Essentially all of them came to town today. Thus, Marc and his allies in town had an excellent opportunity to scope out new recruits.
He had many places to be today and many new friends to make. Marc would not let Professor Foryl down. He would hook the students on the list for the resistance. Of course, they would work under him. Marc had no intention of handing over control.
Meanwhile, the truth would slowly trickle into the ears of the student population. Several of his faction's spies were in place long ago. Those spies would release preplanned rumors to the shopping students. They would also mark the more sympathetic students to subtly win over.
Like a stream wearing down a large boulder, they would slowly take down the university's defenses. At that point, the rightful wizards would take their place among the faculty and the Student Council. As a bonus, the garrison at Forest Waypoint would be forced to tie its own hands to protect the students.
The nobles stifled innovation and the progressives stifled magical bloodlines while the neutrals allowed this to happen from the sidelines. Once their allies rose up in other cities, a grand rebellion would free the nation. The Chinebar Republic would be purged from this corruption and decay. A place truly for wizards would rise from the ashes.
No one could stop them. Not the other factions. Not the Student Council. Not the headmaster and faculty. Not the national government. No one.
May magic reign supreme.