by John Nest
BLITZ
The television screen went black, as Sherry turned it off.
“Now, that’s something you don’t see every day,” she said loudly as she headed upstairs.
When she got to her room, she examined her game capsule and wondered how that Vierge person did it.
Her examination of the capsule took less than a minute since she knew nothing about computers, much less a complicated piece of hardware like this one.
With a shrug, she finished off her sandwich with one large bite. She then stepped into the game capsule to rejoin her virtual friends.
* * * * * *
Sierra opened her eyes to the marble ceiling of her bedchamber. The golden moldings lined in the ruler’s suite were but a fragment of the renovations that were done in Rauch Castle. Her HighElf body lazily rolled off her soft mattress and walked towards the balcony. There, she breathed in the invigorating view of Verbrannt.
Yet, even this was not enough to sate the pang in her heart. “I hope they find Daphne soon,” she whispered to the blowing wind.
Wanting to rid herself of the pain, she focused on the grounds below her. Five Gardeners were working on the flower beds inside the courtyard as they brought back the former glory of Verbrannt’s gardens. Meanwhile, the bustling marketplace just outside the walls was filled with her smiling subjects.
She found some solace in the fact that there were little signs of preparations for war inside the second wall of Verbrannt, the section where the marketplace and the main housing district were located.
Looking beyond that, she spotted the lush green farms stretched out in the third wall of the village. Several acres of land irrigated by Ledur’s canal. The canal itself served not only as the water source for the vegetation but also hastened the transportation of their yield. Boats were docked next to the canals and loaded with their harvested produce.
And even beyond that, a new addition was added to the fourth wall of Verbrannt. Since Sierra and most of Smoke’s core members did not want to completely remove the trees of Anbau, they decided to create homes and workplaces with the consideration of the former wild forest. Tree houses were built within the living trees, with stairs that circled around the humongous trunks.
Of course, Sierra could not see all of this from on top of her balcony, but she could imagine them all as she looked at the horizon.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
“Come in!” she yelled without turning to face the door.
A blond young man in his early twenties entered the room.
“Good morning, Thyrsus,” she said with a forced smile, as she tried to brighten her mood.
“How did you know it was me?” asked a surprised Thyrsus. “I thought you could only know who was who when you were in your Werebear form?”
“I don’t need my transmogrified form to know it’s you,” began Sierra. “You’re always the one who comes to greet me and give me the updates on Verbrannt as soon as I arrive.”
“Ah! Of course. Let me get to it then,” said Thyrsus. “Most of the residents are happy with the changes going on around the village. There’s just some slight monetary issue.”
“They don’t have a problem with our war taxes, do they?” asked Sierra, worried.
“No, no,” said Thyrsus. “It’s nothing like that. All of them are willing to help fund our war against Burmistrz.”
She let out a sigh of relief. “Then what’s the monetary issue?” she asked.
“Um… well, the Cooks refuse to pay the agreed upon price of fishes and vegetables that our Fishermen and Farmers are selling,” replied Thyrsus.
“How much is their difference?” asked Sierra.
“They’re just off by twenty zecs per kilo,” said Thyrsus. “Don’t worry, I’ll sort it out by the end of the day.”
“Great,” said Sierra. “Thanks for doing that.”
“No problem,” replied Thyrsus. “Next, I’m happy to tell you that our offensive power has gone up to 6,194,000, while our defensive power has gone up to 7,204,000.”
“Good, we’re almost at the 10,000,000 mark,” said Sierra. She smiled at him for she could easily know all this information by simply opening the Village Window, but Thyrsus insists on doing this whenever he was free.
“Listen, gather all of the core members in the strategy room,” she said in a serious tone. “I have some sad news I want to share with everyone.”
Thyrsus’ faced became stricken with worry. “Alright, give me ten minutes,” he said and rushed out the door.
Sierra returned to her calming view of Verbrannt and let out a deep hopeful sigh. “Yeah, I’m sure they’ll find her.”
* * * * * *
It took less than ten minutes for all the core members to gather. Sierra sat at the head of the black onyx table, with an empty seat next to her.
“Welcome back, Sierra,” said Espion, as he sat down next to Rear.
Sierra’s Therianthropes Phen, Rear, Ardu, and Vrai sat next to each other, all of them in their human forms.
The Maneators Weise, Stark, Rasant, and Adelige sat down on the floor, as the were too big to sit on chairs.
Thyrsus, Vijaya, Ichaival, and Sharanga sat across from one another, scattered between the Maneators.
Jinggu, Gandiva, and Guro took their seat between Adelige and Rasant, as the two of them seem to have an argument.
Meanwhile, Mamelon, Courant, and Virer sat on the opposite end of the smooth onyx table.
Only Adder and Ledur were absent.
“Is this everyone?” Sierra asked Thyrsus.
“Afraid so,” replied Thyrsus. “Ledur went away with the young Volataur named Neffe, and Adder is still out training his Condortlians.”
“There’s also Smoke and Ilad,” blurted out Mamelon. “Although they are on a different continent at the moment, we mustn’t forget to mention them too.”
Thyrsus stared at Mamelon and gave her a knowing nod. “Of course…”
“I believe Ledur is training Neffe at the moment,” chimed in Espion. “I can’t believe how strong we’ve all gotten. Guro with her trained Lioumereans, and of course everyone else’s Mercenaries are sure to have gotten stronger as well.”
“Why are you so chatty all of a sudden?” Ichaival asked Espion.
“Oh, shut up, Ichaival,” interrupted Sharanga. “Just let him be.”
“I don’t mind,” said Espion. “Just happy about the news I heard from my Da about Smoke’s new achievement, is all,” he said with a proud grin.
“Really? What kind?” asked Courant. “If he got some extra zecs with him, maybe he’d be willing to sponsor my wedding with Aime.”
“Don’t be stupid,” said Virer, hitting the Electro Knight on the shoulder. “We need all the zecs we can spare to fund the war.”
“Oh, come on!” Courant said to Virer. “Don’t be like that just because you got dumped by Cheri.”
“Guys, this isn’t the time or place for that,” reprimanded Mamelon.
“Anyway, we’ve all been gathered here because Sierra has some important news,” said Thyrsus loudly, enough to silence the chatter amongst those seated around the onyx table.
With that, all of their heads turned to face Sierra.
She combed her curly red hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. “Um… I don’t know how to say this… But I guess just saying it straight would be the best way.”
“Absolutely, whatever it is, just say it,” encouraged Vijaya.
“Well, as you all know, we only have a little over four months left until the battle against Burmistrz,” began Sierra. “Now, I know that all of you have put great effort into the preparations for the war—”
“What? Is that no longer happening?” asked Virer. “But I’ve poured out my heart and soul into training my Mercenaries. They could easily take out twice the number of Cavalry Knights thrown against them.” Anger, confusion, and hurt took turns in the Flame Knight’s face. “I even neglected my beloved Cheri for this.”
> “Calm down, Virer,” said Mamelon. “And let Sierra finish what she wants to say.”
Everyone around the table stared at the pitiable Virer.
“You know, you used to look like that when you were still chasing after me,” blurted out Sharanga to Ichaival. “But I’m glad that you’re not anymore. Now, that you’re with that Banalite.”
“Sharanga, please. Her name is Sympa,” said Ichaival. “And I thought you liked her?”
Then, Thyrsus raised his voice once more. “Everyone! Please settle down!”
With that, all were silenced.
“Thank you,” said Sierra. “I apologize for being unclear. Virer, the fight against Burmistrz is still on. The news is this. Something happened to Smoke in our world, and he won’t be able to come to Zectas for a while.”
Audible gasps were simultaneously heard in the room.
“When you say your world, do you mean the place you go to when you disappear from here?” asked Ichaival.
Sierra nodded, her face sullen.
“What happened? Is he alright?” asked Vijaya.
“He’s not hurt, is he?” chimed in Sharanga.
“I know we don’t talk about personal matters, but where are you guys from? If you’re anywhere near Marseilles. Maybe, I can help with whatever it is?” offered Mamelon.
“Thanks, but that’s too far away from Michigan,” replied Sierra. “Don’t worry, I’m sure he will be back soon.”
“So, what does this mean? What are we supposed to do with that information?” asked Virer.
Suddenly, the gray Maneator expanded his shoulders, knocking Virer off his chair.
“Hey, watch it!” said Virer, sprawled on the ground.
“This means that we have to step up!” said Weise, offering his hand to help up the fallen Flame Knight. Weise then turned to face Sierra. “Don’t worry. We’ll double, no triple our preparations for war. I hate to admit it, but I have been dependent on Master Smoke for far too long.”
An orange Maneator rapidly stomped his hoof on the floor.
“That’s right, that’s right. We should think about winning this war without him,” began Rasant. “I’m sure he’ll be surprised when he sees how powerful we’ve become when he returns. I bet he’ll be so proud of us, that he’ll decide to throw a party in our honor, and—”
“Stark agrees!” interjected a bulging red Maneator. “Stark has grown more powerful too! And Stark’s men as well.”
“I was already planning on doing this from the start,” huffed Adelige, stroking her golden mane. “You’re just pointing out the obvious, Weise.”
A teary-eyed Sierra covered her lips with her hands, touched by their sincerity and support. As the rest of the core members began sharing similar thoughts, all of them stood up and let out a thunderous cheer, united against Burmistrz.
“Thank you,” was all Sierra could muster, as she remained seated.
“Well, then?” began Thyrsus. “What are we all waiting for? Let’s go and train!”
With that, the Zectians began leaving the room. Virer and Courant followed soon after.
After all of them left, Mamelon, who stayed behind, walked up to Sierra. “Hey, I’m serious about earlier,” she said softly. “If you and Smoke ever need my help in real life, I’ll be there. Just tell me when, where, and how,” she said playfully, trying to cheer Sierra up.
“Thanks, I’ll be sure to tell Smoke about it,” replied Sierra.
The two of them hugged and quickly broke off.
Yet, before Mamelon left the strategy room, she had one more thing left to say to the Vigilantez’s Leader.
“Um… Now, that you’ve mentioned about Smoke not being able to log into Zectas for a while, I have something to tell you as well,” began Mamelon. “It looks like I also have a Sonstwelter who can’t log into the game as well, and this just happened before you called us for this meeting.”
“What? Who? Is it Virer?” asked Sierra. “Is something wrong with him, too?”
“No, no, it’s not Virer,” replied Mamelon, chuckling. “Although something is wrong with him, but he can still log in here.”
Sierra’s eyebrows met, confused.
“I’m talking about Earat,” explained Mamelon. “You know, the little Halfling who always follows me around?”
“Oh! Him,” replied Sierra, after finally recognizing who she was talking about. “Why? What happened to him?”
“He went to the very first Zectacon in France,” began Mamelon. “And leave it to that dimwit, he somehow got himself banned from the game there.”
“No! Did he try to learn how to hack the game pod?” asked Sierra, remembering what she saw on the news earlier.
Mamelon shook her head. “He didn’t do that. Furthermore, I don’t think he has the brains for that.”
“Oh, then why did he get banned?” asked Sierra.
“Apparently, there was a guy on stage showing off the top 100 sexiest female Sonstwelters in the game,” said Mamelon. “And when the guy revealed that I was only number seven, Earat went up on stage and punched him right in the face.”
“And he got banned for that?” asked Sierra. “That’s a bit too much, that’s not even game related.”
“Well, the presenter’s name is Mark Zuckerman,” explained Mamelon. “Nephew of Lisa Zuckerman – CEO of Zectas.”
“Aww, that sucks!” said Sierra.
“I know, right?” replied Mamelon. “Too bad he just got banned now.”
“Why does the timing matter?” asked Sierra.
“Because he would have made history if he had done it a few days earlier,” explained Mamelon. “Now, he’s like that astronaut, Buzz—something.”
“Buzz Aldrin? But he’s famous,” said Sierra.
“Anyway, talking about history,” blurted out Mamelon, steering the subject away. “You know what the forums are saying right now?”
With her eyebrows meeting, Sierra shook her head.
“They say that Tristan is a thing of the past,” said Mamelon. “But I bet he’s just laying low right now. On the other hand, Amahan’s been conquering several dungeons lately. They say that it’s thanks to that Djinn of his.”
“Thanks to a Djinn, huh?” said Sierra. She then looked up at their banners, the grotesque and frightening image of a two-horned Ifrit swaying with the wind.
* * * * * *
A party of eleven people stepped outside the warm and cozy tavern of Gros Porc.
One of them, an Aero Mage, clutched her long thick robe. She was desperate to cover her revealing outfit against the bone-chilling winds.
Meanwhile, the other members were unaffected by the icy weather as all of them wore appropriate clothing. Except for their eleventh member, who were nothing but a thin black cloak and robe which completely covered his face, arms, and hands.
“Magikera, why do you insist on wearing that, anyway?” asked Amahan, with his neck tucked inside his fur coat. “Doesn’t that inflict you with frostbite?”
“It does nothing to my casting time, only reduces my movement speed by 5%,” replied Magikera. “And I’m already slow as heck as it is. Anyway, my viewers want me to wear them.”
Then, a Death Knight in black plated armor stepped up. He had white skulls on both shoulders and rested his skull-embossed shield next to the thick ice. He then turned to his fellow Death Knight and said. “Bato, can’t you put some sense into your sister?”
“Ligon, I already told you, Man, even my parents can’t make her do anything,” replied Bato, placing his skull shield next to Ligon’s.
“Yeah, leave her be,” said the Night Templar named Baskog. He also rested his silver cross embossed kite shield next to Ligon’s skull shield.
Amongst the Decane’s tanks, Baskog was the only one who did not change Jobs into a Death Knight.
“Here we go again,” said Ligon. “The righteous Baskog to the rescue. You know, you’ve literally changed ever since you changed your Job to a Night Templar!”
“No, I haven’t,” argued Baskog.
“Alright, guys, that’s enough,” said Amahan.
The eleventh cloaked member floated over to the Exorcist and asked. “Are you Sonstwelters always like this?”
“It’s nothing, Matz, that’s just how they bond,” Amahan explained to his Djinn, Gahoul Comataz.
“I am already a shell of my former self, and now I have to suffer through this as well,” said Comataz. He removed the hood of his cloak, revealing his falcon head with a silver beak and black feathery humanoid body.
“Don’t be like that,” Magikera said to Comataz. “Instead of complaining, why not join in?”
“You really want me to?” challenged the Djinn. “Alright then!”
A flash of blue light blinded the Decane members. When their sight returned to them, they saw the arguing members Baskog and Ligon, frozen in a solid block of glacial ice.
“That’s not exactly what I had in mind,” said Magikera. “But that works too.”
“Matz, free them right now,” sternly said Amahan.
“What?” exclaimed Comataz, acting all innocent. “I thought you wanted me to raise my Intimacy with the rest of your guild members? Besides, aren’t they supposed to be the strongest of the Decane? Can’t they break a flimsy ice made by a helpless Djinn like me?”
Amahan then rolled up his left sleeve and placed his hand on a tattoo resembling the Djinn.
“Pareo o pereo!” yelled out Amahan as he touched the symbol on his skin.
At once, Comataz fell on his knees and covered his falcon head with his talons. “Alright, alright! I’ll do it!”
Amahan released the emblem and said. “Why do you force me to hurt you?”
“I didn’t! You’re just a sadistic bastard, that’s all,” replied Comataz. He waved his talons across the blocks of ice and both Baskog and Ligon were free.
“You stupid Djinn!” said Ligon, quickly picking up his skull shield and drawing out his death sword. “Do you want me to pluck out your feathers?” he threatened, pointing the sharp edge of his sword on Comataz’s neck.
