INSIGNIAS: THE REGALIS

Half of the trees in the forest were gone, most of their roots exposed in the surface. Their scattered remnants showed their dreadful fate. Those who still stand won’t be standing for long because of the approaching army. There were huge holes on the ground because of the blows, making it difficult to traverse. The ground continued to tremble with every explosion. The sun had finally dipped into the horizon. Darkness slowly crept in the heavens, hiding the flying enemies and making it difficult to see on the battlefield.

Aria’s heart was drumming on her chest as she sprinted under the creeping darkness and jumped over the debris of the fights. She took a glance around but focus her attention on getting to her destination alive. A few feet in front of her were three legionnaires who easily dodge the wreckages. There were three more behind her. The legionnaire leading them turned left and everyone followed him. Aria’s legs were getting numb from running and jumping but they were ordered not to stop. She felt the vibrations of the ground with every explosion, each emitting powerful energy. Some of them were strong enough to make her lose her balance.

“How many were deployed?” a legionnaire in front her shouted. She jumped over a fallen tree.

“Most of them,” another shouted back. She heard the first legionnaire curse. Once the legionnaires in front of her reached the edge of the vast forest, they slowed down. Aria noticed that the edge was near a downhill. A group of sentries stood in a circle near the slope. There seemed to be a lamp post in the middle of the circle. Her legs were trembling a bit when she stopped running. She was panting as she neared the group, which consisted of not more than 20 sentries. She didn’t know anyone there. They were talking to each other but she was more interested in the floating crystal globe. It was glowing. Then she noticed a small crack.

“Most of the sentries in our group left to fight,” she heard someone say.

“We tried to fix it but we’re not enough to close the crack.” She looked up to the sky. The crack – two lines branched out from the mainline - was visible in the dark firmament. She turned to the group.

“What’s the status?” she asked.

“We’re emitting five percent of energy outside the barrier,” one sentry, a guy who looked like he’s in his mid-30s replied.

“It’s too small for people to notice. It’ll just affect the weather,” a woman added. A man beside him shook his head.

“But if we don’t close it, it’ll increase,” he pointed out. “Until everything will be felt by the people outside.” That can’t happen. The second barrier is there for that reason.

“What’s the fastest way to fix it?” she asked. The sentries turned to the six legionnaires who accompanied her. One of them looked up.

“How…” am I going to fly there? She stopped to change her question.

“How can I fix it?” Aria couldn’t see his whole face because of the helmet but his eyes seemed to frown.

“You haven’t tried transferring energy?” Transferring one’s power? Some sentries began whispering.

“Why did they pick her?”

“She’ll destroy the barrier instead.”

“We don’t have enough time.” She clenched her fists and tried to drown the voices in her head.

“I’ll do it,” she told the legionnaire who didn’t look convinced.

“We can’t risk it,” the legionnaire on his left said. An ear-deafening explosion rocked the ground. Aria immediately covered her ears while trying to regain her balance.

“Go back!” one legionnaire shouted. She thought he was talking to her but all the legionnaires started moving up the slope. The legionnaire she was talking to earlier looked back.

“They will help you fix it,” he said then ran after his team. Before she could ask the sentries a question, they huddled near her.

“Alright. We’re going up to fix it within 10 minutes,” the woman earlier said.

“I’m going with you.” Aria noticed that he was the youngest in the group. “We can use a metal plate.”

“It takes a lot of power. We’ll use wind.” Everyone started suggesting. Aria was a bit lost so she looked up.

“We can use both metal and wind,” she said, “We need back up.” The sentries debated as Aria listened quietly. She was getting impatient. Time is everything to them. But she knew she needed to follow the sentries.

Finally, the sentries agreed with her suggestion. Aria and two sentries would ride the metal plate while three wind users would protect them of incoming attacks.

“Be careful. The plate isn’t flat,” Lois, the youngest in the team, said when they reached the barrier. She wouldn’t know it’s the barrier if it wasn’t for the white lines of the crack. She took a good look at the crack. It appeared small when she’s on the ground but it’s almost six metres long. She didn’t know if the darkness of the sky was because of the barrier or it was just a moonless and starless night. Aria wasn’t scared of height but she felt a bit dizzy when she looked down once. She was thankful that it’s dark so she couldn’t see how high they are from the ground. She noticed the flashes of light in her peripheral visions but she kept her focus on her task.

“We have to be careful not to use our powers to widen the crack,” Jewel said then stretched her hands toward the crack.

“When we want to destroy something, that desire is in our thoughts,” she explained, “It’s the same with transferring and fixing something using magic.” What if I don’t have those abilities?

She didn’t have the time to be pessimistic. The Chief legionnaire gave her this job so she needed to finish it. She raised her hands then inhaled deeply. As she released her breath, she thought about wanting to protect the people on the other side of the barrier.

At first, nothing happened. She glanced at Jewel and saw her insignia shining. The crack was slowly closing but her hands were trembling. She’s using a lot of energy… I need to help her. Aria tried again. This time, she felt warmth spreading from her back. She tried to suppress her power when she felt that it’ll destroy the barrier.

She flinched when she heard explosions behind her. They were so near them.

“Concentrate!” Jewel shouted. “They will protect us until we fix this.” The crack was closing fast. Cold sweat slowly rolled down her forehead. Almost there… She heard shouting behind her. She didn’t take her eyes off the barrier. A second after they fixed it, Aria quickly turned around and threw a fireball. It hit one of the enemies and he fell. Lois immediately manipulated the huge metal plate to bring them to the ground. Aria thought she was going to fall because of the speed they were travelling.

“Did the enemies follow you?” one of the sentries on the ground asked. Jewel shook her head. The three wind users were fighting in the air.

“We have to hide the totem sphere,” Jewel said. Aria felt weak but she could still fight. Everyone moved. She followed them to a narrow cave on the slope. Jewel was holding the sphere like it was the most precious treasure. It could be one of them. Inside, the cave was warm and dry.

“Are you going to stay here?” Aria asked them.

“Yes,” Lois answered, “We have to protect the sphere.”

“Unless they need us,” one sentry said. Jewel was checking the sphere for any more cracks.

“There’s no trace of the Premier,” Aria heard someone say.

“The secret garden was also empty.” A group of four sentries was talking near the wall of the cave. Aria walked toward them.

“What happened to the Premier?” she asked. They were hesitant to reveal anything but Aria was staring at them intensely.

“That’s just it. The Premier disappeared. The Consortium said they he was no longer the Premier.” Either he’s been kidnapped or he’s one of the enemies. Aria deduced that he is an enemy. He had a plan all along. He kept Skhy and the others closed to monitor them. He let them go on a dangerous mission. But she wondered if he knew that they would try to attack one of Mortemians’ lairs. Does it even belong to the Mortemians? Or was it the red armies’?

“How did you know about the garden?”

“Rumors,” Lois replied as he walked toward them. “We put two and two together.”

“Cherubea only lives in parts of Edgeburn,” one of the sentries revealed. “Because of the concentration of energies in the soil.”

“The Premier probably found a way to keep stocks near him,” Lois replied. They probably can’t use mist all the time. She wondered how the plants are used to control people’s minds.

“We heard that it’s more effective on those who don’t use magic,” another sentry disclosed. Why would they want to control non-magic users?

The ground shook again. It trembled slightly at first then the intensity increased. This time, it didn’t stop. Jewel moved to the entrance of the cave. There were flashes of light from above, illuminating Jewel’s worried face.

“This isn’t the last,” Jewel said.

“What?” Aria asked. Jewel turned to face her. Half of her face was illuminated by the flashes of light.

“You have to go back.” Lois walked toward Jewel. He was watching the sky.

“Why? You need me here,” Aria responded. She didn’t want to be near the portal. The academy was protected by hundreds of legionnaires. Jewel shook her head.

“They are using forbidden magic. I don’t think the front will last.”