The Runic Alchemist

\'Kazak… Mira… Did they make it?\'

Damian opened his eyes to find himself in a tent. Mana signatures flooded the area, making him momentarily disoriented. But one mana signature—the largest, warm and filled with nature\'s essence—stood out. Vidalia was here. Had they reached the Dreaded Lands? No, that couldn\'t be… So she came here? What happened to the war?

"Uh… Are you awake? Or just having a bad dream?" A voice called out beside him. Damian had been so focused on sensing mana that he\'d forgotten about the person next to him.

There was only one person nearby, someone he hadn\'t seen in a long time.

"Sena… You\'re still alive?" he said, earning an annoyed, puffy-cheeked reaction from her, just as he\'d hoped.

"Rude! That is extremely rude! I was worried sick here! You wasted my feelings!" she blabbered on, but Damian tuned her out. He sat up, trying to clear his head. The more mana he had, the harder it was to live without any for even a few minutes. It was as if his body was seriously addicted to it.

He\'d sensed Sena\'s mana before, when he and Vidalia had returned to camp, but they hadn\'t had a chance to meet. It was really good to see her again.

Damian stood and walked out of the tent with Sena. Two soldiers stood guard, though he didn\'t recognize them. Yes, they were still in the valley. The early morning light illuminated a vast expanse of tents of all sizes and shapes surrounding the beautiful river, with people bustling around, talking, working—thousands of mana signatures mingling in the air. The sight made Damian feel better than he\'d thought possible.

If it was really over, many had survived. Sure, they were down to half of what they\'d started with, but even that was a victory.

How did Vidalia end it?

"See! I told you… That bastard even recovers mana like a second-ranker," came a familiar voice. Damian turned to see Yovan, Sam, Einar, and even Jorven and Geldric walking towards him. Sena followed him out, muttering something about being ignored.

"What happened to Mira, Royce, and Kazak?" Damian asked, looking at Sam.

Their faces fell, shifting from smiles to somber expressions. Finally, Einar spoke.

"Let\'s go inside first."

Damian nodded and led them back into the tent, followed by his friends and Sena. Once inside, he looked at them expectantly, but Sam and Einar kept glancing at Sena, as if unsure whether to speak.

"Don\'t worry about her," Damian reassured them. "Her name is Sena. She\'s… a friend." Sena beamed proudly, oblivious to the tension. What a simpleton.

"Mira and Royce are fine. They\'re with the commander and Lord Bonecrusher, explaining everything. But…" Sam trailed off.

"What? Say it," Damian said, a bit irritated.

"The beastmen leader… Kazak…" Einar said slowly. "They captured him. They said he was dangerous."

Fuck.. If Royce and Mira had revealed anything about the devourer\'s rite, Vidalia, being Vidalia, wouldn\'t leave his sanity to chance. And Bonecrusher didn\'t seem the forgiving type either. But maybe it was for the best. At least they hadn\'t killed him. He had to meet Kazak.. Kazak was strong.. Damian truly believed he could fight against the side effects of the devouver\'s rite…

"They won?" Damian asked.

"Soldiers we talked to said they tore through the Ashenvale host… Bonecrusher went wild among them, forcing the third-rankers to come face him. But they hesitated a bit longer, giving him and his apprentice time to decimate their forces. Their numbers were not as numerous with most of them sent into the forest…" Yovan explained. "Lady Vidalia\'s strategy worked. They fought multiple brutal battles and even captured a third-ranker, a new one. Soldiers were in high spirits; after a few initial more confrontations, they had massive successes. Under Lord Tristan, Xavier, and Lord Aramis\'s lead, they decimated the enemy army. They said they fought over 7 different battles in the time we left, losing a lot of men, but they killed far more than they lost. They captured Aethergale and pushed the enemy out of Eldoris. Moondancer, injured, was the only one left on her flying mount, fleeing back to Ashenvale; they followed her but she really went all the way back nonstop. Every other soldier they killed, like hunting weak monsters. Without third-rankers, they had no chance. Lady Vidalia and Bonecrusher ended thousands of lives in a matter of weeks."

Damn, she captured one of them? Damian stretched his mana sense and indeed felt another third-ranker\'s mana at a little distance, it was weaker than normal—a stormy, sharp presence. That must be the Aethergale guy.

She really did end the war.. Damian had thought it would take her years or at least months to achieve it.. That\'s damn impressive. Damian could not believe they drove off even Moondancer.. The things he had heard about her made her sound like she was crazy for revenge, she must be seriously injured for her to leave like that.. Well, without soldiers, she alone could not achieve much against two third rankers..

Ashenvale certainly will never forget this slap in the face. They\'d come for riches with their fancy tools and vast numbers, only to be decimated. Two third-rankers down… That had to sting.

"They\'re returning?" Damian asked.

"Yes, Lady Vidalia proclaimed to enact revenge on the Ashenvale and invade their lands.. But first they gave a little time to rest for the soldiers.. The expedition should start with a new batch of soldiers from inland Eldoris.. But many a border town soldiers are pumped up to join the expedition anyways.. So yes.. Answering your question, for a while.. Seeing Ashenvale did not show any signs of reinforcements.. We won.. We drove them off of Eldoris.. The war is finally over.. " Yovan\'s voice was thick with emotion.

Everyone present in the room had a face that reflected just how long they had waited to hear those words..