10 | Mountain (I)

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Elred stumbled away from the Arness Mansion as another explosion racked the plateau

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Elred stumbled away from the Arness Mansion as another explosion racked the plateau. Six had gone down. Six more warning shots to go. She gritted her teeth and cursed. As if she's going to surrender.

Synketros couldn't get Helinfirth. Not while Elred was still here.

The sky lit up orange as explosive spells hurtled over Abshire. She staggered into the glass-laden roads now chipped, cracked, or thoroughly shattered. The manicured gardens and parks were now littered with burning glass and fallen chunks from the estates' walls.

It was probably Elred's lucky day that her mother had gathered the whole Valkalin clan so she could stuff them into that bunker she had dug to connect to major cities like Calca, Gligan, Carcalet, Edgerift, Rabante, and Diven. It's a great means of escape. Let her hope, then, that her family wouldn't get curious enough to wander off because that would only be a fine addition to Elred's problems.

The seventh explosion sent the Caltine Mansion's roof into oblivion. Glass shattered in an ear-splitting shriek. Elred swept her eyes at the darkening sky. Where's Reeca?

"Elred!" Ah, speak of the fool. She turned to find the varichria in the air with almost a thousand shard fairies hidden among the clouds with their reflecting magic. The Herkalyn clan, was it? Ever the stubborn fools.

Reeca touched down just as the eighth explosion melted the Roserice Mansion to a smoking sludge. The air thickened with the smell of oil and burning glass. What has the Sovereign done with her armaments this time?

"Open the bunker!" Reeca pushed past Elred just as the Herkalyn clan stepped out of their cloaking spells. "The entrance at Xixora got ambushed."

Elred nodded, took one look at the pale-faced shard fairies still clutching a few of their belongings, and turned towards the Vertinso Mansion where she stashed the rest of the Valkalin clan. Let her hope that there was still enough room for another clan inside.

"Lady Elred, what is going on?" the leader of the Herkalyn clan caught up to her as they raced past the ninth explosion. Elred cursed. Four left. She needed to hurry.

"Synketros has turned its eyes on Helinfirth," Elred hissed through gritted teeth. A shadow loomed closer and she looked up in time to see a portion of the glass bridge speeding for the people behind her. She turned and extended her hand, wrapping her magic around the chunk. Glass shattered into a million pieces before disappearing into her palm. She faced the leader of the Herkalyn clan as she continued running. "Follow me to the bunker. You'll be safe there. Don't explore. Don't go anywhere. Please tell the Valkalin clan that as well."

The leader nodded. Screams erupted from the rear. Elred turned to see spears of energy picking shard fairies one by one. A fairy stumbled back, having caught one in her chest. She gave one last cry before exploding in a shower of glass shards only to have them trampled underfoot by the surviving fairies. Elred gritted her teeth.

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