God of Nothing

Iona's squad took to the road, with the goal of shutting down the rest of the enemy portals. The only ones left were across the country, so they rode on horseback, hoping to reach a place to rest before sundown.

Rayse trotted along with the rest of them, trying not to run the horses ragged. He urged them all to pace themselves, knowing that there could be battles at the end of their journey. Miss Iona said that the last few portals the army handled were abandoned, but he was sure it's another ruse. Even with his small number of encounters compared to the rest of them, he knew just how cunning the enemy could be.

Aleph's 'hand' gripped his shoulder reassuringly.

"Do not worry, Rayse. Whatever we may face, we face them together."

"Y-yes, master." 

The hand floated back to its usual spot, hovering close to Aleph. He was a couple horsespans beside him, using one of his strange new artifacts to give Rayse a pep talk.

Not for the first time, he found himself staring at them. Aleph showed up with these magic hands on the day of the journey. The strange floating appendages circled him like metal clouds, coming in close every once and a while for Aleph to tinker with, before once again letting them float back into position.

He recognized them, of course. They were the gauntlets he wore for the previous operation, the ones that sent massive waves of force that could send even horses flying. Whatever upgrades Aleph created for them, it was bad news for whoever was on the other end.

Okay, now that is reassuring, he thought.

He pried his eyes away from Aleph's toys and consulted the map once again. At this speed, they should reach the next town by sundown. That would put them in the middle of the country, and the farthest he and his friends have been away from Hios.

The journey took them through a couple of villages on the way, a grim reminder of the last time they were outmaneuvered. Rayse preferred not to think of those, as they have been devastated, utterly undermanned for even the dozens of harbingers that ambushed them in the night. These were the bulk of their casualties: the elders and widows, whose able bodied men had already gone to war.

Rayse's blood ran cold, reminded of the enemy's cruelty. He remembered how close they were to getting wiped out themselves even with their preparation, with the batches of elite soldiers under Carrack. He gripped the map harder, suddenly eager to arrive, to reap vengeance from these lifeless husks they had to fight. 

They didn't even steal food. Simply razed them down with the rest of their spoils. The gift of the abyss that Erebos' zealots touted was nothing more than extinction.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. It won't do to lose his head now, after all. The last time he charged in recklessly, Lost put him on his back.

The group rode along, stopping every once in a while to water the horses and rest. Their mana hearts prevented physical exhaustion to an extent, but the mental strain of traveling needed to be reigned in.

It was late in the afternoon when they reached the town they were aiming for. They came upon a run down town, the few remaining townsfolk cowering at their approach.

"We made good time." Iona was saying as she dismounted. "On your feet, men. Take a break while I go greet our hosts. Rayse, take care of the horses, will ya?"

"Yes, miss." He answered. He had already spied a watering hole near the ruined gates, fortunately spared from the fighting. Lily and Brandon helped him lead the horses to it, where they hung out while the horses had their fill.

They looked at the town they were staying in, the gloomy atmosphere putting them into a somber mood. This was one of the few places that were able to repel the horde, but it clearly came at a steep cost. 

"Hey, guys." Brandon said.

"I think we should be doing more than we have."

"Yeah…" Rayse agreed.  "But we're too weak still, so we gotta move with Aleph."

"Exactly. Which is why we should be focusing on increasing our strength, you know? We need to catch up to the squad, at least. We're still riding the bottom in terms of mana, and their raw ability is also a bit better. Only master's artifacts are keeping us relevant here."

"So what are you saying? Should we up our training?" Lacey suggested.

"Yeah, but also…" Brandon handed them bags full of crystals.

"We need to speed up our absorption."

"This isn't enough…"

"I know, so we need to finish off some emissaries in the next fight. Rayse is ahead of us right now mostly because he absorbed that Berserk guy's crystal. I know master wants them for more artifacts, but I think our personal strength is much more important."

Rayse simply nodded. His mana heart had about 3600 units of output right now, the most among the disciples. The others had around 2400, about half of the average mana in the squad. From his time training with him, Eric had the most among everyone, easily double his own, while he had never even seen Iona's upper limit. She was drained from destroying the portal last time, but he put it up to the enemy's preparations.

Either way, Brandon was right; They really need to increase their strength a lot more if they hoped to go to the frontlines, where much stronger enemies were active. And to do that, they need to beat emissaries on their own. If absorbing a single one would raise him up this much, then they only needed a couple to bring them up to their level.

And so it went, as the three sat there silently, each plagued by their own thoughts while absorbing harbinger crystals, but a common thought united them.

I need to get stronger.

__________________________________

"What do you mean we can't stay!?" Iona demanded as she slammed her hands on the desk, causing the man on the other side to flinch.

"You are free to use the outhouse beyond the gates, but as I said, the others are… P-please, be reasonable Lady Iona…" He placated. Aleph stood silently by the door, watching it unfold. The town head was a middle aged man with balding hair. He seemed fit, but his face looked like it aged rapidly in such a short time. He had been trembling since they came, but he just wouldn't yield.

Iona had been arguing to let her squad take refuge within the walls tonight, but he just wouldn't budge. space certainly wasn't an issue, so Aleph thought it might have had something to do with how the townsfolk cowered when they approached.

"Lady Iona, enough of this." Aleph said. Silence fell on the room as he spoke, all eyes landing on him. He cleared his throat, and began to speak as friendly a tone he could manage.

"Lord Bluemanor, whoever it is you are mistaking us for, please be assured that we do not wish you any harm. We only wish to stay the night and recuperate so we could rid these lands of the demons that plague you."

He started shaking even more violently at that.

"M-my lord, I'm sorry, but even if that's true, so long as you wear the crown's colors, my people will not welcome you."

He stood, motioning the one at the door to escort them out. Iona tried to resist, but Aleph reigned her in with a stern shaking of his head. They let the guards lead them away. They were a bit rough, but Aleph endured it. These people were wronged somehow, and regardless of their hand in it, they were reaping the consequences. The guards pushed them out of the gates and slammed the door in their faces. It was a symbolic gesture at best, but it stings nonetheless. Iona was incensed, but she had enough sense to understand that they were somehow in the wrong in this scenario. It didn't stop her from complaining though.

"Now what?" She asked him.

"We camp out. I'll go ask the children to hunt, so go tell your earth mages to build a roof over our heads tonight. We need to act fast; the sun is about to set."

Iona rubbed her forehead, but agreed with him nonetheless. Aleph watched her go, trying to read her disposition. As the commanding officer of this operation, she had much to bear.

As far as leaders went, she was as green as the grass the horses grazed on. Aleph suspected that her abilities as a mage were what landed her this position. Her bouts of hotheadedness aside though, he saw how the squad moved for her. Luke got up and set to work on a crude mudhouse with his magic, looking no less disturbed that a soldier of his caliber was being ordered around by a junior more than half his age. Aleph nodded in satisfaction, confirming that the sudden change in their lodging situation hadn't affected morale as much. He set off to find his disciples so they could get to hunting. He found them all sitting in a line, quietly staring at the grazing horses with empty mana crystals in their hands.

"Are you all well?" He asked. Brandon stood up immediately, speaking for the rest of them.

"We are in good condition, master! Should we proceed with today's sparring sessions?"

"Ah, no, that will not be necessary. Instead, I would like to ask all of you to head out and forage us some food. You need to hurry, as nightfall is fast approaching. I am not sure that the wildlife has returned, seeing the state of the land here. You may need to go farther than what is comfortable, so move in a group. That would serve as your training for today."

And so they dispersed, leaving Aleph alone with the horses. He decided to sit where his disciples just were, once again making fine adjustments to his floating gloves. He took them out from his pack, trying to control each interlocking joint with his mind. The floating gauntlets complied, occasionally making a clicking sound, in which Aleph drew them in to scrape a few more runes, or modify them. He wanted them to be able to handle delicate work, after all. It was the entire reason why he modified their concept to include the hands. 

They were originally designed to be a versatile floating artillery, but more and more Aleph found himself with a growing need for an assistant. Jodi was more than adequate, but as a noncombatant, he could not bring him to the frontline, where he would soon be joining. Rayse and Iona were a decent alternative, but neither had the experience he had.

"Oooohhh." He heard from somewhere, drawing him out of his musings. It was a child's voice, one that he didn't recognize. A group of children had come up to watch the floating hands waving and doing obscene gestures. They seemed reserved, but he heard them suppress a snicker once in a while. One such child could no longer suppress his curiosity, and decided to sit beside him.

"Can I help you, young one?" Aleph asked.

"Momma said not to talk to dirty soldiers." He said stubbornly. Aleph wanted to point out he was already doing so, but he also wanted to find out about what happened here, so he responded differently.

"I am no soldier. As you can see, I am only here to watch the horses."

"Nawww, mister, you ain't fooling us!" A different boy said from afar. "You're one of them mejis! You're making that metal sock float, and that makes you a soldier!"

"All mages are soldiers!" The children around him agreed.

"Again, you are mistaken. The hands move as they please. Do you hear me chanting spells? You know that mages shout their spells, right?"

"He's right. Ma said mages yell silly things to make the elements obey them."

"What? But that's stupid!"

"I think it makes sense. You can always make people do stuff for you if you ask nicely."

"..."

"..."

The children formed a huddle, whispering to themselves. Aleph heard most of it either way, making him chuckle. The boy beside him turned towards him now, showing him a smile of his own. Eventually, the entire group of children had come to his side.

"Alright, mister. If you're not a soldier, then what are you?"

Aleph thought of something, filling him with mirth. Could he do it? He wasn't sure, but he had much better luck talking to these children than any of the adults. If nothing else, he could practice his control with the force gauntlets.

"I am…"