Call of the Abyss [Book 2 Complete]

"Thank you all for gathering," Seyatha said from the podium at the front of the room.

The room was shaped like a half-circle with a tiered floor. Each tier rose slightly higher than the one in front of it, so that even the back tiers had a clear view. It seemed capable of holding around 200 people, if Julia were to guess. Part of that guess came from the room being only half-filled by all the Zal'Nadir present.

There were just over one hundred of them, all divided up into teams of four. 27 teams of Zal'Nadir encompassed the entire order. Julia initially thought this a low number based on the total population of the Jadhariin, but the Zal'Nadir were all hand-picked by Seyatha herself over many centuries.

These were the elites, and not just due to their training. Seyatha explained that members required a certain "compatibility" with the order, which she would not elaborate about.

"Shal'tharûn!" the entire room shouted. Julia was shocked at both the sudden volume and the precision they acted with. Each member stood, shouted, and thumped their fists against their chests before sitting again—all before Julia even had a chance to react.

"As you are all aware, the Nashiin threat has escalated. Three villages have disappeared without a trace. Evidence suggests abductions, but we've yet to confirm that.

"I have gathered you all to increase our intelligence operations. I have attended recent Assemblies and seen that the Roots intend to carry on with the current status quo—despite the clear escalation.

"I will not say they are incorrect. It is true that the military is already stretched so thin you can nearly see through it. We, however, are not the military—nor are we bound by Assembly orders. I want all squads to fan out through the entirety of Tûrathiin and search for any signs of Nashiin activity.

"No information is too small or insignificant—any piece of intelligence could be the difference between another village disappearing or not. Use your preferred means. We are not a monolith, and every squad has its own strengths and weaknesses. Gather intelligence in what manner you think best.

"Finally, a note to keep in mind during your information gathering. Julia, will you step up here?" Seyatha asked.

Julia, suddenly nervous at being called to the podium, approached with measured steps. She didn't want this room full of battle-hardened militia to look down on her. Speaking in front of a large crowd was nothing compared to putting your life on the line!

"This is Julia Nȳralin, though you might recognize her nickname more: Dahm'Zahra. You have likely seen her spending quite a bit of time with myself and Ithshar. She is our guest, having arrived here with the Thornalûn-Veshari.

"They slipped by the Nashiin blockade to scout the lands outside the marsh. Julia's help was instrumental in breaching the blockade in the opposite direction and re-entering Tûrathiin.

"Julia attended an Assembly with me recently where Ithshar delivered a report about the missing settlements. She had some thoughts that I wanted to hear. Will you relay them to us, Julia—specifically regarding your concerns about the Nashiin's shift in tactics?" Seyatha finished.

Julia took a moment to compose herself and swallow the lump in her throat.

"Sure. As you mentioned, the Nashiin have struck three different settlements within a short timeframe. I learned in the Assembly that these three settlements were major producers for foodstuffs within the marsh. I believe this attack was intended to increase the pressure of their siege by eliminating some of the means of Jadhariin self-sustainability.

"My father had many books on subjects like war, tactics, and stratagems. However, I have no actual experience in any of these large conflicts. One thing I do have a good deal of experience with, however, is fighting Nashiin. In all my battles with them, I have yet to encounter one of them with anything resembling a scouting skillset.

"This makes me question how they managed to pick such specific and strategic targets," Julia explained.

Seyatha nodded knowingly. "And? What do you think are possible explanations for this sudden change?"

Julia hesitated for a second before plowing onward.

"Forgive me for suggesting this, as it's only a feeling that I have no proof to back up. It sounds to me like there is a spy within the marsh feeding the Nashiin leadership information. Whether this is a traitor among the Jadhariin or simply an enemy that has infiltrated unnoticed, I don't know.

"It is also possible that a new Nashiin with stronger stealth and information gathering capabilities has been mobilized from wherever their leaders are based. Though, I think this unlikely, as it would make little sense to hold such an asset back until this late in the conflict.

"The final possibility I can think of is that the enemy has advanced spying capabilities, such as powerful scrying magic. Again, I think it unlikely they would have held such magic in reserve for so long if they had it," Julia explained, thankful to see nods of agreement from those gathered.

"Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts, Julia," Seyatha said with a warm smile. Returning to her seat after the clear dismissal, Julia breathed a sigh of relief. She'd never been put on the spot in front of so many people before.

"This is what I would like you to keep in mind while surveying the marsh. Regardless of whether there is a new Nashiin asset in play or a traitor among us, we must be vigilant. I am not suggesting you view every Jadhariin you encounter with undue suspicion, but keep the possibility in the backs of your minds as you investigate.

"Once aware and actively thinking about it, you may begin to notice details you would otherwise have dismissed.

"We will begin this operation tomorrow, and it will continue indefinitely until you are summoned back to Tirn'Aleya. Information is the highest priority, which means your safety is as well. Do not take unnecessary risks. Returning alive with only partial information is infinitely more valuable than dying and not returning with any.

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"Questions?" Seyatha asked, gazing around the room. She seemed somehow able to meet every single person's eyes in just a few moments.

"Very well. Dismissed!" she called.

"Va'tharil!" came the reply as the entire room burst to their feet for a final salute.

As they began shuffling out and talking among themselves, Seyatha walked over to Julia, who was just rising out of her chair. She had no idea how every single Zal'Nadir was ready to move so abruptly at all times.

"Apologies for putting such pressure on you, Julia. Your opinion is valuable, and I wanted everyone aware of it for this particular assignment," Seyatha apologized, bowing her head slightly.

"It's alright. A little advanced notice would have been nice, considering we walked all the way here together. No big deal, though," Julia replied cheekily.

"Ha, point taken. I will remember that in the future. Will you also participate in this scouting mission? You are not required, of course, but we could really use your eyes out there," she requested.

"Of course. I want to help however I can," Julia affirmed without hesitation. She was proud that Seyatha was calling on her the same as her Zal'Nadir.

"She'll be with us, then?" Ithshar inquired as she and her squad approached.

"I appreciate the invitation, but if it's not too much trouble, I would prefer to go on my own," Julia said. Eyebrows climbed foreheads all around her, including Seyatha's. She'd likely had the same thought as Ithshar.

"I can both fly and camouflage myself for relatively little mana. I will be extremely mobile on my own. As this mission is to scout the entire marsh and avoid combat, I think moving alone will be most efficient in this specific case. Well—alone with the exception of Trixy," Julia clarified, patting Trixy's head, which rested on her shoulder.

"I see, very well. But that warning applies to you as well, Julia. No unnecessary risks, and prioritize your safety above all else," Seyatha said sternly.

Julia nodded seriously and waved to Ithshar's squad as they departed. They returned to Seyatha's quarters, where Julia created a communication script and configured it to run off environmental mana. With this, Julia would be able to report in real-time, whenever it was necessary—assuming Seyatha was present to receive the report, that is.

They exchanged goodbyes, and Seyatha handed Julia a sort of badge made of Motherwood. It contained the insignia of the Zal'Nadir, but Seyatha said that everyone in the marsh knew it to be given by her exclusively. Julia should be able to present it to any military units that tried to stop her from moving about the marsh freely during military law.

Julia stored the badge in her bracelet and launched into the air off Seyatha's balcony. She was using the gravity-controlled flight method at the moment, but as she rose higher into the air, above the branches of the trees, she felt a wind pushing from behind her.

Thinking about efficiency, she formed a sort of membrane out of wind to connect her wrists to her waist. It was modeled after the little flaps she had seen on a species of squirrel around Rockyknoll. They would glide from tree to tree and were one of Trixy's favorite playmates.

Julia cut her Gravity Magic off completely, now relying solely on her near-weightlessness and air membranes to stay aloft. She felt herself smiling as the wind filled the membranes under her arms, pushing her gently along. This was far more mana efficient than even the gravity propulsion, which was already inexpensive thanks to her ability to change her body's mass.

She glided this way for about 10 minutes before she decided it was time to really get moving. Keeping her air membranes active, she used Gravity Magic to give herself a small pulse of force.

She sped up rapidly but discovered that her air membranes were actually an impediment to her flight now. The same feature that made it great for low-mana flight impeded faster movement due to it catching the air and increasing her drag.

She found she could angle herself so that the membranes were perfectly behind her arms as they cut through the air, no longer dragging her back. However, it took quite a bit of concentration to maintain that position, and she had work to do. Rather than practice and become good at it, she simply created an air cone in front of her.

The cone sliced through the air, pushing it aside so that her body was effectively cocooned in unmoving air—from her own frame of reference, at least. It had the added benefit of making her flight much more comfortable. She could even hear again, without the rushing wind deafening her!

As she reached the edge of Veshari, she decided to really put her construction to the test. She deactivated her air membranes and used her Gravity Magic to apply a constant acceleration to her body, propelling her ever faster as she crossed the boundary and left Veshari entirely.

She noticed immediately that she was going deaf again. The rushing wind, rather than being funneled into her ears by movement, was being pushed out of the way by her cone so fast that it was practically screaming.

She also noticed the air in front of her beginning to heat up alarmingly quickly. As she considered the problem, she realized that she had made the cone incorrectly. What she had done was effectively create a cone-shaped shield out of air molecules in front of her.

As she traveled through the air, stationary air molecules were slamming into her shield before being deflected. This was transferring a great deal of heat to the shield. Not only that, her cone shape wasn't sharp enough—it was compressing the air in front of her far more than it should.

What she needed to do was not to create a shield of air in front of her, but to use her Air Manipulation to push the air molecules aside before she collided with them. That is, she needed to use her magic to directly push the air away rather than using existing air as a shield—

As she was coming to a conclusion about how to fix the issue, she was startled out of her focus by a torrent of air blasting out behind her in all directions. It blasted the branches below her away and ripped through the canopy like a passing storm.

She had the Gravity Magic propelling her constantly, so she'd been accelerating the entire time she was processing the air shield conundrum—which was only a few seconds—but it was long enough to break the sound barrier, apparently. Braden had only briefly even mentioned that such a thing was possible during one of the many lectures about molecules and the states of matter, but it had seemed like such an outlandish notion—traveling faster than sound itself—that she hadn't thought much about it. She had no idea she'd eventually be reaching such speeds herself.

Her air cone suddenly ignited, and a burst of plasma erupted from its center. Julia had just enough time to shift her Gravity Magic downward, plunging her beneath the plasma plume, which seared across her armor.

Fortunately, the armor was quite resistant to mana, although it wouldn't have mattered too much anyway. Julia always kept Faraday's Cage active—preparedness had been drilled into her mind from a young age.

She shifted the gravitational field to decelerate herself quickly, eventually slowing to a stop.

"Well…that was pretty stupid," Julia chuckled. If she had planned literally any of that in advance, she probably would've realized the issue and accounted for it. Doing such testing spur of the moment—and with her own body on the line—wasn't the wisest thing she'd ever done.

Trixy popped her head out of Julia's armpit and yipped, chiding her for her recklessness—which was fair. Trixy had a Faraday's Cage around her as well, but it was probably frightening regardless.

Still, the experience was informative for what she was capable of now. She'd spent so much time fighting the Nashiin that the only magic she'd been able to think about recently was the bloody lightning. She was excited to get back to experimenting with her other magical abilities.