November 14, 2152
Before dawn, Emory was already awake and getting ready for the day. She trembled as she buttoned up her armor in anticipation of the day to come. It was the first formal meeting of all the parties involved in the war against the Apleem with some of those parties being rather rough around the edges. Then again, the Council of Witches followed her with little resistance except from Zephiel's faction, and she had won over Shepherd's approval. Since the Elandrian respected her power, perhaps she was nervous for no reason. On the other hand, she was the youngest leader by far, and those in power for a long time often had difficulties seeing a new perspective on a course of action.
After she finished getting ready for the day, she headed out to the teleportation pad. Luckily, she found Cath, Shepherd, and Tethys already there waiting for her. The trio bowed to Emory as she approached, turning her cheeks a slight shade of pink.
Emory waved as she got closer, "Please drop the formalities. I'm still just an orphan girl from Mars. Thank you all for being here early; it's going to be a long day."
"What's the plan, Miss Reiss?" Shepherd asked, "Is everyone coming here? Will we meet in the Command Center or somewhere else?"
"The Council of Witches will meet us here, but the Elandrian will meet us at the stone tablet I use for training. I want to have our actual meeting there, but I also expect many of the people will want to see the rest of the outpost. Once the rest of our friends arrive, we'll split into a few groups to tackle all these objectives separately," Emory explained.
Almost if on cue, light began to gather above the pad as nine figures began to materialize. When the light faded, Clarine, Elffin, Galle, Gatrie, Gwen, Innes, Nephenee, Sam, and Tana appeared with smiling faces and covered head-to-toe in their finest armor. They bowed to Emory as well once they were completely solid again, causing Emory to blush even more.
Emory cleared her throat, "Thank you all for coming. Today is sure to be one to remember, so I'm glad you're all here a little early. Since there will be a few different things going on, I want us to split into groups before we all gather for the meeting. Cath, Elffin, Innes, Nephenee, and Sam, I want you five to head to the stone tablet to wait for our Elandrian guests. I'm not sure if they're coming by themselves or if they'll bring a small entourage with them but treat them with the utmost respect. Shepherd and Tethys, you'll show groups around on tours of the outpost once everyone arrives. Clarine, Galle, Gatrie, Gwen, Tana, and I will wait here for the rest of the Council of Witches to arrive. Once all the delegates have arrived, everyone will convene at the stone tablet. Is everyone clear on their duties?"
They all nodded their heads in agreement with Emory's plan. Cath, Elffin, Innes, Nephenee, and Sam quickly left for the stone tablet while the rest stood around the teleportation circle and waited. Emory sat on the ground and circulated her magik which surprised Clarine, Galle, and Shepherd. Her friends, on the other hand, joined her on the ground and began circulating their magik as well. The group stayed fairly quiet as they waited patiently. Finally, after an hour of waiting, three lights appeared in the circle that grew brighter until they started to form into three predictable figures.
Franz, Lilina, and Shanna came into shape as the lights faded. Emory and her friends rose to their feet just as the lights faded completely, prompting the three newcomers to bow low to Emory. "Welcome, friends, to the lovely world of Yuzuno!" Emory greeted them, "I'm so happy you could make it."
"It's good to see you, Lady Supreme. I still can't believe we're in an entirely different star system. Never in all my years did I expect to be in such a place," Shanna smiled as she hugged Emory.
"Yes, I agree," Lilina chimed in, "It's hard to believe this is a different planet except for the strange colors and dimmer light. Where are all the rest of your friends?"
Emory pointed towards the hills behind them, "I sent a few people to wait for our Elandrian allies. I'm not sure when they'll arrive, and while you can see the outpost from up there, I didn't want them to have to find their way on their own."
"This is such a big base," Franz remarked as he looked around in awe, "You all built this from scratch in about three months, right? That's quite impressive."
"This view is just the beginning. Would you three like a guided tour of the outpost?" Tethys smirked. Franz eagerly nodded, causing a quiet snicker from Lilina and Shanna. Tethys led the three away into the outpost itself while Emory began to sit on the ground again. Before she could, though, three more lights started shimmering over the circle. As they dimmed, the people formed into Brunnya, Roy, and Zephiel who were surprisingly dressed in dark colored armor. Upon seeing Emory, they all bowed as well though the action clearly seemed forced instead of genuine like the first three.
"Brunnya, Roy, and Zephiel, welcome to Yuzuno," Emory said politely, "I'm glad you could take time out of your schedules to meet here."
Brunnya scanned their surroundings, "Quite a peaceful spot you've found here. You seemed to have prospered in a short amount of time."
"This planet as well as the other outposts were specifically planned to be analogous to Earth for quick development," Emory explained, "Though we were lucky to find a good area to setup. We have a stream close by and mountains at our backs, making it both resource rich and easily defensible."
"So you say. Then again, you haven't encountered conflict on this planet yet, have you?" Zephiel snarked.
"No, we haven't," Emory grinned in response to Zephiel's goading tone, "I thought it was best to have this meeting away from the conflict but still close enough to respond if something should happen."
Roy snorted, "These teleportation circles certainly help with that, though I don't remember the Council allowing the use of them in non-Council settings."
"We greatly appreciate using them to connect the outposts," Shepherd interjected as he cleared his throat, "Speaking of the outpost, I believe a tour is in order. It's important as allies that you see what these sites are capable of."
"That sounds like a wonderful idea. I for one would love to see the cutting-edge technology you have used to deploy such a large base so quickly," Brunnya agreed.
Emory looked at Gwen and motioned with her head for Gwen to join Shepherd as they started walking away, leaving only Clarine, Galle, Emory, and Tana at the teleportation circle.
"Clarine and Galle, why don't you join this group as well?" Emory suggested, "Tana, will you go find Tethys's group and let them know that all the Witches have arrived? I'll go to the stone tablet to wait for the Elandrian with everyone else. Once they arrive, I'll summon everyone there for the meeting."
The three of them nodded and headed into the outpost with their respective tasks. Emory sighed heavily before snapping her fingers and teleporting to the stone tablet. She didn't have to wait long as five minutes after she appeared, four shimmering lights appeared at the tablet. When the lights dimmed, Athos, Bramimond, Elimine, and Hanon appeared in long flowing robes, though Bramimond was bandaged and bruised.
Emory smiled wide, "Greetings, friends! It's great to see you again!"
"Emory, my dear, you are simply glowing," Elimine commented as she hugged Emory, "I heard that you successfully repelled another attack from the Apleem."
"Yes ma'am, on two different planets, though our losses were significant," Emory solemnly replied.
"Our intelligence reported that you even managed to defeat a Laxtros," Bramimond coughed, "Do you know if it was an important one or just a rank-and-file?"
Emory clenched her fist, "It was Selena, though my allies did most of the work. Jahn and Murdock have been dealt with as well."
"That explains why there seems to be a lot of confusion among the Mantoan and Uthid," Athos rubbed his chin, "It sounds like you've delivered a few significant blows to our enemy."
"And yet, with the deployment of the Laxtros to the battlefields, we are struggling to even maintain our current position. I hope you've called us for a good reason," Hanon added wearily.
"Of course, ma'am," Emory affirmed, "I believe I've come up with a reasonable plan to end the war once and for all. Would you all like to see our base here or get straight to work on this meeting?"
Bramimond dryly responded, "Perhaps a drink first, but we should get to business shortly. It's not good for us all to be away for too long."
"I didn't think about drinks," Emory mumbled as she turned to Innes and Nephenee, "Would you two mind running back to the outpost and grab some glasses? As many as you can carry." They smirked back, not used to seeing Emory like this, before clapping and vanishing away.
"So, this is the site where you first met Athos, huh? And it's a site of power from the Ancients too, isn't that correct?" Elimine mentioned as she scanned the area.
"Yes, that's correct," Emory answered, "I'm not clear on the details, but there was a powerful artifact stored here that we recovered. It also allows magik to flow more freely." Emory moved her hand gently and created chairs for them all made of Arcane magik.
Athos chuckled as he sat down, "No matter how many times I see you do it, I'll never get over how much control you have over magik. You truly are a person whose legacy will be remembered forever."
"Thank you, Athos," Emory blushed, "I'm lucky to have such a powerful gift. While we wait, please tell me about the situation you all are facing on the front lines."
"Well, as you know, Laxtros were deployed to the main battles a few weeks ago. So far, we've only seen roughly a hundred or so, but even with that number, they are having a devastating effect in battle. We have lost the slight advantage we had across all fronts, yet they seem hesitant to drive us completely from the battlefield. It is a puzzling scenario because even though they have a stronger force, thus far they have been unwilling or unconcerned with extending the territory they currently control. Whether it is by design or circumstance, it is causing unrest amongst the general population," Hanon carefully explained.
Turning to Bramimond, Emory asked, "What about those wounds? Did those come from a Laxtros?"
"Two of them actually," Bramimond grimaced, "I honestly thought I was done until Soren and his group showed up. Still, it's quite lucky that I survived at all. I'd forgotten how brutal they were in combat because it's been so long since they regularly joined the battles."
"You fought two of them by yourself? I can't even fathom that level of a battle. It took everything we had just to defeat the one we faced," Elffin blurted out.
"Yes, but the one you faced was much stronger than the ones we faced," Athos laughed, "Selena was suspected to be the second strongest in the entire Apleem force. To defeat her at all is a feat in itself."
Hanon nodded, "Selena once drove back the line against a thousand Elandrian all by herself. She was a skilled ranged fighter and an excellent close quarters combatant. I'm sure Petrine is still fuming over the loss."
"So then, Soren is leading the front army in your stead, Bramimond?" Emory questioned, "It must be a big jump from leading a stealth squad to a whole army."
"Soren has certainly proven his worth over the last few months. He's a shining example amongst our people of what we can achieve when we're pushed to our limits. After this war, which is a weird thing to be talking about, perhaps he'll lead the Five," Elimine warmly spoke.
"What am I, chopped Hasda?" Athos joked, "I've still got plenty of years left to be of service." Bramimond, Elimine, and Hanon all laughed due to Athos's extremely senior status. Innes and Nephenee appeared again and handed glasses to each of the people seated. Then Emory twirled a finger and filled all the glasses with water. She closed her eyes for a moment before snapping her fingers, causing bright lights to surround the sitting group. Now, everyone was at the stone tablet. After the initial shock wore off at seeing the Elandrian leaders in person, everyone pulled up a chair and sat around in a circle. Glasses were passed out, and Emory once again filled them with water. Once everyone was settled, Emory stood up and cleared her throat.
Emory started boldly, "Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to be here. Before I go into why I gathered you together, please take a moment and breathe in this historic moment. Never before have the leaders of humanity gathered with the Elandrian leaders, and it has been over a thousand years since a large group of humans have sat down with the people we once called the Fae." Everyone raised their glasses at the monumental achievement and took in the moment.