Ben sat on the couch with Trisha's hand clasped in his. They listened to Thomas' explanation of his inscriptions being triggered, and his theory about the return of the Destroyer in whatever form it may be. The thought of that creature being alive again shook Ben to his core. There's no way we can beat it if it's still the same strength.
Thomas concluded by taking a sip from his flask. "You two deserved to know first. I am planning on going to investigate myself from above, and if I see indications, I'm going to James."
"What do you think James will be able to do?" Trisha asked as she gripped Ben's hand tighter. "He couldn't take on the Demonic Dragon."
Thomas grimaced, "I was going to see if he could help me convince King Kristoph to allow us to use the statue and summon new heroes."
That statement caused Ben's chest to seize up. "You're saying we should rip more people from Earth and force them here? We know they won't go back once this Destroyer is beaten – or else we would've gone back. You want to fuck up their lives?"
Thomas stood up and paced to the window, "If the Destroyer is back-"
Trisha stood up, "We won't be involved. Let the kingdoms form alliances and fight like they did when we first arrived. I'm sure they can handle it. At least while we live our lives. We did our part."
Thomas shook his head and turned to face the two, "King Kristoph may decide to use the statue of Aelor regardless. And if he does that..." he trailed off and stared ahead into space, as if lost in thought.
"What will happen?" Ben asked.
Thomas refocused on Ben, "Our mana cores will be removed and placed into the bodies of the next generation of summoned heroes."
Ben felt his heart ice over. He had seen only one instance of a mana core being removed from a person while they were still alive. He, Trisha, Misty, Lyn, and Thomas had tracked down a rogue necromancer who was working on a magical plague. They didn't want to kill him, but couldn't let him keep using spells. Misty crafted a spell that allowed them to siphon his mana core, and she applied it to her own, consuming it under her Mage core. What was left was a shell of a man. A man who was effectively a lobotomized, walking corpse. We can't let them summon more heroes. Not while we're alive.
Thomas must have read Ben's face and body language because he nodded, "Yup. That would suck."
Trisha shook her head and Ben heard the fear rising in her throat as her voice cracked, "We can...James can...Someone can be strong enough, like Lyn was. What about Misty? Hasn't she been training a bunch of spell users somewhere? She could handle it, right?"
She could be an enlightened, egalitarian monarch. Rule the world, ensure peace and prosperity in her empire, and create sweeping changes to improve the lives of every person. No more wars, no more strife, no civil war. Given her longevity as a Duskari, she could also bring people into a modern idea of equality and equity across races, cultures, and other divides. The more she thought on it, the more she liked the idea. I can reforge this world and make it better than anything else out there. No child would go hungry in her empire. Abusive parents would be punished. No one would have to suffer the childhood she had to suffer.
She tightened her grip on the blade as she recalled the nights where her father and mother screamed at her, locked her in her room, and refused to feed her. All because she accidentally chipped a goddamn plate doing the dishes. She remembered when her father beat her face and dislocated her arm when she had accidentally dropped juice on the carpet. The vile words, the cursing, the abuse – all of the rage she felt caused her mana core to bubble and surge violently in her torso, filling up the amulet to full near-instantly. Shit! She pointed the blade up and allowed the mana to course through it. The blade burned bright and the length extended. Surprisingly, the hilt also grew in her hands, and the wind enveloping the blade sharpened and lengthened as well. In an instant, she was holding a great sword.
There's still too much mana, she thought. "Gael, Vael! Water pool. Now!"
The twins nodded, and in-sync, raised their palms towards a divot in the ground – remains from a siege long past. "En ethiel an le / thalion min / an aglaro / aechad / a mîr en-aear," they both incanted at the same time, in perfect harmony. The water spell surged outward and formed a small pond in the divot.
Lyn ran over and held her hand above the pool, releasing the torrent of mana as it surged from her palm and into the water. She felt the mana lower from it's boil back to a simmer, and as there was still some space left in the crater, she used some of the stored mana to give herself a buffer. She stopped the flow when the steaming pool was full. "My thanks."
The twins nodded and Vael smiled, "Of course, my Lady."
Lyn sighed and craned her head backward, taking in a deep breath and looking up to the skies. There, far off in the distance, she saw a winged creature. What the hell could that be? It's way too big to be a bird.
Thomas put his spyglass down as Hector circled the skies above the Valley of the Volcano. An armored figure, using lava spells, and wielding very similar weapons? There was no question in his mind – it was the Destroyer, returned. Fuck! He pulled his flask and took a deep swill from the bottomless container. The whiskey burned its way down his throat and filled him with a warm, buzzing feeling. There's only one thing I can do now. He would go to Trisk, tell Ben and Trisha, and then go South-West to the kingdom of Khrelardia.
He knew James well enough that his plan should be convincing. They were friends, after all. The only two in their class who enjoyed trading card games. When they first arrived in Ghomar, the two fell in love with the fantasy world. Granted, Thomas wasn't as big of a fantasy nerd as James was – but he liked the genre. If I can get James to consume the other Hero cores, then he might have a shot at beating the Destroyer.
As he began to guide Hector to turn, he heard a familiar noise. A whistling, coming from the forest and up towards him. He wheeled Hector around and spotted a glint of light that vanished. It was almost immediately followed by another whistling that was unmistakably a signal arrow. One he instantly recognized as it whistled Flight of the Valkyries as it flew through the sky before vanishing. Volio?
He guided Hector to swoop down to the forest below. The wyvern was well acquainted to open spaces and mountains – but flying in the forest was not unheard of for the species. Thomas scanned for a clearing as another whistling signal arrow went up. There! He guided Hector to the clearing and landed, sliding off of the mount. "Volio?" he asked.
The Archer hero emerged a few moments later from the tree line. His dirty, blonde hair and beard were covered with twigs and sticks. "Thomas, I knew it was you!" he ran up and gave Thomas a hug before letting him go. "Duskari are in the woods. I took a risk signaling you." Volio gestured and the signal arrow he had fired appeared in his hand before he put it into the hip-quiver. Thomas noted that the hip quiver held specialty arrows for a variety of purposes.
Thomas narrowed his gaze, trying to dissect Volio's intent by sight alone. "We shouldn't be here...What are you doing here?"