The war between the kingdom and the dynasty had stopped several weeks ago when they reached a temporary peace agreement. The discovery of the war in the world of dragons forced a union between the kingdoms. They were still at war; just the enemy was different. Dragons and men allied in a struggle for survival. All kingdoms knew how terrible an uncontrolled miasma nucleus could be and the devastation and death it caused; after all, in every kingdom there were subjugation misions. Now there was a whole world of miasma that seemed unstoppable as it devoured the world of dragons and was on its way to the human world.
'They're recruiting everybody, especially magicians. Even the useless shadow magicians are receiving good rewards,' said one of the regular guests of the bar.
'Yeah, good rewards, my ass. Almost all the shadow magicians who enter the miasma die; they say there are all kinds of monsters in there, not just skeletons and mugrirers. There are giants, cyclops, moving trees, undead dragons, ghosts, and things with tentacles. It is a massacre what is going on in there,' another one contradicted.
'Bah, we've had subjugation squadrons all our lives doing these jobs. There's always some shadow magician dying. What do you know? You're nothing more than an ignorant drunkard.'
As the two men continued to argue, Xavier listened to the rumors and drank his fruit wine. It was a mixture that he could not identify; it was not of the best quality, but it was cheap, and he could not ask for more in a miserable town like the one in which he stayed.
This past months, he continued to travel from village to village and from town to town throughout the Kingdom of Orphen; he did odd jobs for the mercenaries; he never did anything too large or too unlawful. He still had the fortune he stole from Melna and his group of mercenaries; he had it buried in three points of the woods. With each job, he earned enough to cover his expenses, saving the rest for rainy days. The advent of the world of dragons had put everything upside down, and with the addition of the war against the world of chaos, things only worsened.
The amulet carrying the Malman's worm he stole from Emil began to vibrate.
"I should leave here soon," Xavier thought, rising up without finishing his wine. It was not common to have Tumulos carriages in such a poor place, whether it was a nobleman passing near the bar or a patrol recruit. He didn't want to find out, and in any case, it was best to leave the place as soon as possible.
By royal decree in all kingdoms, magicians of any class and ability were forced to join the army. Everyone went to war against the world of chaos. In the first few weeks, there were many volunteers attracted by the juicy rewards, but after the number of losses in battle was known, the situation changed. No reward is of use if you are dead. After this, the kingdoms began to recruit by force, especially the shadow magicians. They emptied the prisons, and even non-magic criminals were sent to the front. The soldiers captured the new recruits, sent them in hordes to the battlefield, and there they fell like flies. Xavier didn't care about the war; if the world was destroyed, it wasn't his problem; he lived day by day; there were no plans for the future; he was a criminal, a murderer, a thief, a fugitive, and no one would give a rat ass for him; he had no need to sacrifice himself for anyone.
'Where am I going now?' Xavier asked himself, opening the bar door.
Two spears interrupted his thoughts. At the exit of the bar, five soldiers were waiting for him. Someone sold him out; many knew that "the handyman" did all kinds of jobs and was a low-ranking dual magician. Xavier could kill a knight or a regular guard without trouble if he caught him by surprise; his years of experience as a criminal had taught him a lot, but two were already one too many, five, impossible.
'I surrender; I won't give you a fight,' Xavier said, lifting up his hands.
"Damned luck. How am I going to get out of this?" he thought as they took him to the Tumulos carriage.
The Tumulos were rare, but the kingdoms went all out in order to transport more meat to the front. The royalty forced the nobles to surrender their carriages. Xavier was trapped; a couple of guards, under the supervision of a knight, took away his weapons and left him only his money, clothes, and amulets. The bronze amulets he carried were not worth much at first sight. The simple guards had no way of knowing that one was a leech stone and the other a Malman worm. Both were worth a little fortune. Xavier climbed into the cell wagon along with other recruits. There were people of all kinds: peasants, shadow magicians, mercenaries, criminals, and all in between. The guards closed the curtains that covered the cell and began their journey. Nobody spoke; there was nothing to say; they would take them to the front to fight or die, and that was all. The journey had been long, uncomfortable, and boring. They had not eaten anything on the way; there was barely water and a cube for necessities in the cell.
'Get down,' ordered one of the guards.
After almost two days of travel, they had arrived at what would be considered an advance quarter, with tents constituting the structure of the camp.
'Pick up your weapons,' said the knight.
It didn't matter if the recruits were armed. There were too many soldiers, guards, and knights in the camp. Trying to escape or to create a scene was foolish; many had thought about it, but seeing how the knights beat up the first fool who gave in to his desire to flee served as an example.
'There is always one of these,' complained one of the guards as he dragged the rebel conscript, who was now unconscious.
'Name?' asked one of the guards who handled the records.
'Xavier.' He decided to use his real name; he didn't want to ruin the name he was known for in Orphen. Xavier was a wanted criminal, and Aleum was a mercenary with an acceptable reputation.
'Kingdom of origin?'
'Poem dynasty'
'Are you sought after in any kingdom?' The guard kept staring at Xavier. 'You can deny anything you want, but we have a record of all the kingdoms. If there's a search order for you, we'll know sooner or later.'
'What does it matter if I am a criminal or not? You will send me to die at the front anyway,' replied Xavier, already with little patience.
'Let's do it your way, tough guy,' replied the guard, drawing out a piece of red glass.
The kingdoms had shared their records of criminals, nobles, and other members of society with some relevant parameters. Almost all magicians chose to obtain their noble title for the advantage of paying less taxes. It was very strange for a magician to keep his awakening a secret. Xavier knew what to do. Either he did it on his own or the guards would force him. A drop of blood in the glass made it shine.
'Xavier de Vonder, a dual magician with shadows and traces of fire, was exiled from the Dynasty of Poem. Charged for treason and insurgency,' read the guard, looking at Xavier and changing his profile.
Criminals and magicians with criminal records were assigned to the units and squadrons with the most risky missions and made direct incursions into the deepest of the enemy lines, although at the moment that terrain was nothing more than the land of the Dragon World conquered by Chaos. The dragons had lost much territory in the first month of the war.
Fortunately, with the help of human magic, the enemy's advance had stalled. The magicians had managed to use their magic not only to attack the chaos but also to increase the strength of the dragon's attacks. The wind magicians collaboration was especially noteworthy. Squadrons of magicians from the royal courts of both kingdoms, masters of the minor academies, and magicians of all calibers fought alongside the dragons using all kinds of items, weapons, and spells, from enchanted armor and uniforms to amulets that enhanced the attack of certain elements. The kingdoms did not spare on expenses. Everything was on the table, except the titled magicians. When the enemy's advance was fast and there was no other way to contain it, arcane magic was secretly used to empower the dragons. Many of the ordinary criminals recruited were used as sacrifices. Meanwhile, several arcane magic diagrams were drawn daily in the Dragon World by the magicians of the court of the Poem Dynasty. Some court magicians had suspicions that something was not normal, but this was war, and there was no time to waste. As far as everyone knew, these diagrams created a bridge between the Great Father and the dragons, increasing their strength.
'Poem C Unit,' concluded the guard, handing over a paper to Xavier. 'Wait for the rest of the recruits from your unit.'
'Veldat N unit,' Xavier heard, as another guard assigned his unit to a brown-skinned, strong, short-haired woman who carried the badge of the shadow magicians. By her appearance, she was a mercenary, a very rough one.
Gradually, more people were gathering at the place where Xavier was waiting.
'What do the letters in the units mean?' asked one of the recruits.
'The C is for criminals, and the N is for nobles,' replied another recruiter.
'Great, there is class division even inside the meat grinder; there is no way I will get out alive of this one," Xavier thought as he listened to the conversations and chewed the rations of bread and dried meat that had been given to him after the registration.
'Recruits of the Poem C unit, follow me on a line,' a knight ordered.
Xavier and the others formed ranks and walked behind the knight. They passed through tents that seemed to be the hospital, where several doctors took care of the injured the best they could. In some areas, you could smell the burned meat.
'Look at them; take this seriously if you don't want to end up like them; this is war,' warned the knight, without reducing his march.
A few minutes later, Xavier and the group he belonged to arrived at the area where their unit's command center was located.
'These are the new ones, Mr. Cliford; there are a few criminals and exiles from other kingdoms; good luck,' said the knight withdrawing.
Cliford and his wife, Ultria, were called to arms from the start, although in different units. Even with the pain of losing their son, they were both veterans and noble soldiers with obligations to the dynasty. The royalty had poured everything into the war against Chaos; stopping the invasion in the dragon world was a priority. Nevertheless, the kingdoms had not sent their titled masters yet. As far as the rest of the human world knew, these geniuses were investigating with the magicians of the courts how to restore the wall that separated the worlds.
'Well, I won't beat around the bush,' said Cliford, looking at the newcomers. He stopped for a moment, looking at Xavier. 'Do I know you?'
'Whoa, even though there are now three worlds, this is still very small.' Xavier remembered the face of Cliford, Maurius' father.
′ I am Xavier de Vonder, a dual magician, shadows and traces of fire. I went to Liev's Tower Academy with your son Maurius, until Clinton van Ferra framed my roommate, Aleum, of using arcane magic. The masters of the tower executed him in front of everyone. The masters of Liev's Tower exiled me; the guards of the tower tried to kill me; I survived the Morr jungle, and I am still alive, despite everything. Now, they sent me here to die again; do you remember me now, sir?′ The anger in Xavier's voice was clear.
This was insubordination. One of the guards approached Xavier, and it was clear that his intention was to use him as an example. A criminal disrespecting a unit commander was unforgivable. However, Cliford's hand stopped him. He continued to address the other recruits and ignored Xavier. His face had hardened for a moment at the mention of his son's and Clinton's names.
'As I said, I will not waste your time talking nonsense; this is war. On the front, you will see incredible things. The dragons in battle are a sight worthy of admiration and fear, but our enemy is a horror you can't even imagine. There'll be all sorts of things going on inside the miasma. The men with whom you fought shoulder-to-shoulder and had died will rise up against you; undead dragons, walking trees... anything can be found in there. But you are all mercenaries, criminals, survivors... Use all those skills that have enabled you to survive to this day, because you will need them.' Cliford took a break and looked at the recruits.
'If you think this is another war that has nothing to do with you, you're wrong. I'm not going to give you a speech about honor and responsibility to the kingdoms or the dynasty. I know you don't give a shit, but as soon as you see the battle field, you will understand one thing; if we lose this war, there will be nothing left of any of these worlds. I don't need you to believe me; you'll see it yourself. This is the end of the world. This is the armageddon we are fighting against. No more bars, no more food, no more women or men, no more songs, no pleasures, everything will be miasma, death, and chaos. Raise your hand, shadow magicians.'
The magicians raised their hands. They were the majority of the recruited magicians; the rest were low-affinity magicians for other elements. The rest of the recruits were dishonored knights, mercenaries, and criminals.
'Take the markers that the guards of that campsite will give you,' he ordered, pointing with his finger to some guards on the right. 'The method is the same as in the subjugation misions: enter the miasma, but this time you will mark the ents. Those living giant trees are like wandering miasma nucleus, fortunately, they are very slow. After marking them, run out of there. Believe me, run, Ignore everything, because when the dragons begin to spit fire in the direction of the trees, everything will burn, ents, monsters, even the miasma itself. Now, rest for the battle. Mage Xavier de Vonder, come with me.'
"Shit," Xavier thought. "Now I am sure they will make my life impossible for disobedience or some other nonsense. I should have been more careful."
Xavier followed Cliford and a couple of guards to a more distant tent. Cliford told the guards to leave, and they withdrew. They did not bother to watch for the safety of their superior; he was a low-class wind magician, but he remained a magician and also a war veteran. A shadow magician like Xavier wasn't a threat; the guards were just a formality. Inside the tent, there was a table, a pair of chairs, a stretcher bed, and the typical military bags for personal use.
'Sit down; you will need a drink,' advised Cliford, giving Xavier a metal jar and serving him from a bottle that he had just taken out of one of his bags. The bottle seemed to be high-quality rum. However, Xavier didn't drink; he just stared at Cliford.
'It makes sense. You don't trust anyone. I wouldn't either,' he said, taking a sip of rum from his own jar.
After seeing him swallow the drink, Xavier allowed himself to taste the alcohol he had been served. The rum was strong but much easier to swallow than the cheap rum he usually drank. He had never tasted such a delicate drink; it had a certain pleasant taste. "Wow, this is another story; it even tastes good," he said to himself. No one drinks cheap rum for the taste. You just want to get drunk and leave the world behind for a while.
'Maurius is dead. Clinton used him as a sacrifice in an arcane magic ritual.' said Cliford, clenching his jaw while his hands pressed the jar.
Cliford told Xavier how Clinton had planned everything, how he had selected Maurius as a victim, and how everything had been a plan to charge Aleum in the academy.
'I can't fix the past. Maurius, Aleum, and Clinton's victims won't come back to life. At least he's dead, and his family is ruined. All I can do for you is write a letter. Astrid still serves on the regulators, and I bet she can facilitate your exoneration. Master Delfin is untouchable to us, and the dynasty will not punish him for an indiscretion with a peasant shadow magician. That's how the world works,' Cliford explained.
Xavier's face was ashamed. He had already had enough experience to understand how the world worked. In the last few years, he has lived a thousand lives. At first he thought of rejecting Cliford's offer, but the truth is that not being a wanted criminal and recovering his nobility title would be useful to him. Besides that, he would not have to pay taxes to the nobles he hated so much. Of course, if he managed to come out alive from this war.
The conversation did not last long. Cliford had men to command; the alliance would launch a counter-offensive the next day. After Xavier left his shop, he wrote a letter to Astrid. After Maurius's death, Astrid maintained some contact with the Van Felding's, creating some proximity. Although Astrid and Maurius never officially declared their relationship, it was known that they were lovers.
The next day, all the recruits were transported in carriages to the front line. It took them a few hours to arrive. Then they noticed something; the clouds that covered the sky were not clouds, it was smoke.
'what?' said Xavier, looking at the battle with astonishment.
The dragons were as large as buildings, descending from the sky at great speed. Their open fauces cast out a sea of flames that extended for hundreds of meters, and one after the other spit flames against the sea of miasma, which extended with no end, consuming everything as it passed. However, a few seconds later, the land scorched by the dragons was filled with miasma again. Then Xavier looked at the floor under his feet. Everything had been charred; it was burned soil. The dragons gradually gained ground to the miasma. The rest of the recruits were as surprised as he was.
'Seeds, run!' yelled a guard.
"What is a seed?" Xavier thought as he looked in all directions, trying to see the danger. After seeing the guards run, looking occasionally toward the sky, he changed his line of view.
A black ball was coming in his direction. Xavier ran away as fast as he could; the miasma ball fell on the ground and expanded like a liquid, splashing everything around it and throwing small black drops in all directions. A pungent smell and a dense miasma invaded the atmosphere. The black cloud surrounded Xavier; miasma invaded his lungs. It was not like the miasma on other occasions; this time it felt as if he was breathing something solid. More than a gas, it felt like mud descending through his throat.
'Burn it all quickly,' ordered Cliford.
A group of fire magicians approached the area where the miasma seed had fallen and threw several fireballs, trying to control the amount of magic energy in each attack so as not to harm the magicians trapped in the miasma. However, it was not enough. A black dragon approached and tried to control his attack, but being so close, some friendly fire casualties were unavoidable. When the miasma began to disappear and the fire started to die out, there were several mages and wounded soldiers on the ground. Two of them had died. Xavier was on the floor coughing up black smoke; the right side of his neck, shoulder, jaw, and upper lip area had suffered burns. A few seconds later, the cough had stopped, and Xavier lost consciousness.
He woke up in a hospital tent on a stretch bed. Even with the painkillers they had given him, he felt the pain of the burns. He tried to get up, began to cough, and a small amount of black smoke came out of his mouth. He could feel something constricting his lungs.
"Miasma disease. Yeah, why not? I am that unlucky," Xavier thought, losing the desire to stand up.
'Mr. Xavier de Vonder' called one of the doctors. 'You were lucky, your burns are serious but not deadly; unfortunately, you got the miasma disease.'
'How is that possible? I have only been in contact with myasma three times in my life,' Xavier asked confusedly.
'Myasma seeds are concentrated myasma, almost in liquid form. Being in contact with that concentration of miasma is like entering a miasma zone several times. I'm sorry, but the next time you enter a miasma area, it might be the last time,' the doctor told him.
Xavier didn't know, but between the injuries, miasma, and the drugs he was administered, he had been unconscious for almost two days. The hunger after waking up was evident by the crumbling of his stomach. An assistant brought him food. Xavier was in pain, and although the burns made it difficult for him to chew, the hunger was stronger than the pain. A few hours later, he had recovered part of his spirit.
'If you can move, Commander Cliford would like to talk to you,' said one of the doctors.
Xavier was guided to a familiar tent.
'Xavier, come in,' invited Cliford in a more familiar tone than he probably should.
'I don't like wasting time. Astrid has fixed your pardon. Here's a discharge note from the army; you're injured and you have miasma disease. It may sound like a joke, but you were really lucky. Of the recruits who entered the battle, more than half have fallen. Those of you who have suffered the attack of the seed of miasma suffer little in comparison. Get out of here as soon as possible. We are losing ground, and we may have to move the camp a little further back.' Cliford got up from the desk where he was writing, handed him some papers, and offered him his hand. 'You can go back to the Dynasty if you want. Good luck, kid. I'm sorry about everything that's happened to you.'
Xavier stretched Clifford hand and walked out of the tent. He didn't have much to say; he was not entirely grateful; none of this was his fault; and he was a sick man after all, but given what he had seen, getting out of this war alive was enough. He took the papers and left the camp. He and the other wounded recruits climbed several wagons and were taken to the border with the world of dragons in the desert. From there, they climbed up to the merchant carriages, bringing supplies to the front. A couple of magicians and several knights guarded the wagons. Most of the monsters on the route had been eliminated, but some defense was needed; monsters from the desert could not be allowed to attack the supplies intended for the front. Bandits were not a problem; actually, they were welcome to attack the Caravans; they were recruited by force. During the journey, they encountered some sandworms, but little more than that. Xavier spent his time thinking about what to do now that he was a free man. When he made up his mind, he decided his first stop would be Liev's Tower.