Cher was sent on their second mission with Mana, this time to the Falcon Ruins, deep in the eastern wilds of Karlea.
"Gyaaaa! It's after me!"
Eric bolted through the underbrush, clutching a large egg mottled with red spots. Behind him thundered a bi-pedal beast, short-armed, reptilian, like a twisted T-rex with jagged crimson spines jutting from its back.
"Don't run…" Cher shouted.
Eric shot her a glare mid-sprint. "How am I supposed to do that!?"
"I mean… drop the egg!" she snapped, then winced. "No, wait, that'll break it. Just keep running!"
"That's what I'm doing!" Eric panted, weaving between trees as the monster's keeps chasing him.
Gil looks ahead, scanning the terrain, "hang on, I've got an idea." His eyes flicked to Cher, who gave a quick nod. His rune flared bright along his shoulder, his shield shifted to spectral bluish chains, with a sharp swing he anchored them to an overhead branch, Cher planted her hands on his back and shoved hard, giving him momentum.
Gil swung up through the canopy, vaulted over the beast's head, and released the chain at the last second, his shield reformed midair, and crash, Boom! He smashed it square across the monster's skull, it staggered, and Gil rolled to the ground.
Eric hugged the egg against his chest, wheezing. "Phew… that was terrifying!"
Cher flipped open their mission pamphlet, checked off Material Collection, and yanked one of the red protrusions from the beast's back before it could recover.
But Gil froze, his shield half-raised. "Wait."
Eric followed his gaze, more shadows slithered and stalked between the trees, dozens more of the spined reptiles, their eyes glowing with hunger.
"…R… ruuuuun!" Cher screamed, grabbing Eric's arm as they broke into another sprint.
Back at camp, Mana had wandered off to the riverside, she wore her Karlean hunting garb, boots discarded in the grass, feeling tired from the day's trek. A soft breeze lulled her, and soon she dozed beside the rippling water.
She didn't hear Gil's frantic radio crackle, she didn't see the water churn behind her.
One of the beasts lunged ahead of the pack, Cher's runes lit up on her hand, leapt, and kicked the monster square in the chin, Crack! The force snapped its head back, sending it crashing into the dirt in a heap.
But even as it writhed, the rest thundered closer
"It's no use, there's just too many!" Gil gritted, he pressed his radio to warn Mana. "Mana, do you read!? Mana!"
Static answered.
From the river rose a massive serpent, scales gleaming scarlet with black lattice patterns. Its orange eyes locked on the sleeping girl, tongue flicking as it loomed higher…
Then, an explosion erupted from the direction of their camp, the shockwave rippled through the trees, the pack of beasts shrieked and puts them into disarray as they retreated back to the forest.
The trio stood gasping for breath, Eric, trembling, thrust the egg into Gil's arms before collapsing to the dirt. "I'm done… let me just sleep here. Go on without me."
Gil shook his head.
Cher's with concerned voice, "that blast came from our camp's direction," she said urgently. "We need to hurry back to Mana!"
As they were about to leave, Eric clung on Gil's leg. "No… don't leave me!"
Reaching their camp, they all breathed in relief to find Mana still sleeping soundly by the riverside, Cher clutched her chest and exhaled a long sigh.
Gil, however, tapped her on the shoulder and pointed, Cher's eyes widened,
the river was split in two, carved apart by a cone-shaped crater that cut straight through its flow, water now rushed back to fill the gap, frothing and violent, but of the snake there was no trace.
A perspiration drips on Cher's neck.
Back at the camp, Cher set her mind on confronting Commander Briggs, she headed straight for his office, but he was nowhere to be found, until she bumped straight into Hendrick, nearly knocking her off balance.
"Ah! Sorry!" Hendrick apologized quickly, as Cher rubbed her forehead before bowing in return.
"No, it was my fault for not paying attention," she said.
"Heh-heh." He gave her a sheepish grin. "Are you looking for the Commander?"
Cher regained her poise and nodded.
"He went to meet with the big-wigs for an important meeting," Hendrick explained.
"Big-wigs?" she repeated.
"It's just a term I use for the upper echelon," he clarified.
Cher's concern seeping through, Hendrick tilted his head and tried to lighten the air. "Hey now, what's with the long face?"
"It's about Mana…" Cher admitted softly. "I just want to know more about her."
Hendrick's lips curled into a knowing smile, "Tell you what, I'll share what I know, but you've got to swear to help me with the crops at the greenhouse."
Cher paused for only a moment before nodding firmly. "Deal."
Inside the greenhouse, Hendrick wasted no time, he grabbed a watering canister, filled it to the brim, and handed it over to Cher.
She accepted it with a cheerful smile only for her knees to buckle under its weight. "W… whoa!"
"Careful now," Hendrick warned with a chuckle.
"R… right," Cher replied, forcing a grin as she steadied herself.
As she worked, her gaze wandered, some of the plants looked familiar, flowers and saplings she could recall from Earth's past, carefully preserved here like fragments of another time. Her curiosity it at its peak, touching the petals and studying the leaves.
Seeing her fascination, Hendrick's expression softened, "beautiful, aren't they? We try to preserve what we can, each one has its own story."
He walked beside her, pointing out a few of the rarer plants as sunlight filtered through the glass dome above, shadows of flying beasts passed overhead, momentarily darkening the greenhouse before drifting on.
Cher bent low, gently lifting the edge of a broad green leaf, only to recoil as a flicker of movement crawled beneath it. Before she could react, Hendrick's hand shot out, he caught the insect and flicked it into a small bucket.
"Got it," he said, brushing off his hand, "these little pests have a very nasty bite."
Cher blinked, then quickly regained her smile. "Uh, th-thanks!"
Hendrick thanked Cher for helping and led her toward the far end of the greenhouse, there, a flower bed stretched wide, blooming with soft colors beneath the filtered light. The grass felt almost unreal in its serenity, Hendrick lowered himself onto the ground with a sigh, lying back with his arms folded.
"This is my favorite spot to relax," he said quietly. "It reminds me of when Earth was still free from Veyrith."
Cher sat down beside him, resting her feet on the grass, she lifted a blooming Stargazer flower delicately onto her toes, watching its petals tremble.
Hendrick's eyes softened, then he spoke. "Mana… she's a very special girl. Commander Briggs and his squad found her in the snow years ago, her mother was there, already gone, and the pile of bodies around her, seemingly giving her warmth, not too far is a destroyed human base, she was the sole survivor."
Cher's expression fell, "Mana…" she whispered, clutching her knee.
"They treated her," Hendrick went on, "and took her back to camp in the northern Sabin territory. But the incursions grew worse. Commander couldn't keep her safe, so… he left her in a foster home, years passed, but she never really fit in, she kept herself isolated, except for one friend who just arrived, also from a destroyed human camp."
His voice grew heavy. "Then disaster struck, the foster home was destroyed. Attacked by Veyrith."
Cher's clutched her knee.
"Commander rushed there with his squad," Hendrick continued. "But when they arrived… there were no Veyrith left, no battle, just corpses." He turned his head, staring up at the glass above, "and at the center… was Mana. Flames circling her as she sobbed, her friend, unconscious, lying at her feet."
Cher froze, her breath was caught in her throat.
"Dozens of Veyrith," Hendrick whispered, "died that night."
The bitterness in his face hardened. "Commander begged to take her in after that. To raise her himself, but the committee intervened… they took her away, ignored his pleas, she was brought to laboratories to conduct several experiments, her fragile body undergone many tests, to them she was not seen as a child but a weapon."
Cher couldn't contain herself, her hand pressed down against the grass as Hendrick's words struck her.
"Then Commander couldn't take it anymore," Hendrick said, his voice heavy with memory. "He stormed the laboratory, tore through guards, and seized Mana away from them. He held her in his arms as his squad fought to cover their escape."
Cher's breath caught.
Hendrick gave a small smile, "but the committee didn't let this behavior go unpunished. They sentenced him, exiled him here in Karlea, where battles against the Veyrith never end, still, he made a vow, to protect her, no matter the cost, he built this base with his own hands, gathered enough people to defend it.
He rose to his feet, the sunlight through the greenhouse glass glinting in his eyes, "Commander may look like a goon, a knucklehead, even, but beneath that? He's a good man, my sister, passed just last year, ago, if she'll be here, I know, she would do the same… I will not abandon him. Or this base, everyone here, Commander, Mana, you, everyone here is now my family."
He offered Cher a smile, one of resolve rather than sadness. Together, they walked back toward the base, at the entrance, Hendrick lifted a hand in farewell.
She nodded, and made it back to her room.
Seeing Mana sitting on her bed swinging her leg, "I was waiting for you…" Cher rushed in and hugged her tightly with tears streaming on her eyes, "Mana…"
Mana didn't fully understand what was happening, but when Cher hugged her, she smiled and hugged her back, sharing a moment of solace.
The next day, without Commander's permission, the two slipped out with Gil and Eric for another mission, to them, it wasn't just duty, it was adventure.
They roamed farther than usual, crossing ridges until they stumbled upon a wide meadow where strange, long-necked creatures grazed, they looked like a cross between llamas and sheep, with a thick and cloud-like wool. Mana gasped in wonder, they sneaked in and climbed onto their backs. The creature bleated and flailed through the lush fields while they clung tight, laughing, Cher followed, and for a moment, she felt a rare satisfaction just watching Mana's joy.
Eventually, they reached a gentle stream, Cher and Mana waded in barefoot, splashing water at each other, giggling as the sunlight danced on the clear surface.
"Man, those two seem to get along all too well, huh, Gil?" Eric muttered.
But Gil wasn't paying attention, he was crouched over, examining an odd insect larva he had discovered, he poked it once then it burst open like an alien pod, the slimy creature launched straight onto Eric's face.
"Hiyaaaa!" Eric screamed.
"You what?!" Commander Briggs' roar nearly shook the walls of his office.
The Karlean Sentinels stood lined up like children caught sneaking sweets, Briggs scolded them relentlessly for their reckless un-permitted mission, his face turned red. At last, he fell heavily onto his chair, pressing his fingers against his forehead and shaking his head in disappointment.
Behind him, Hendrick struggled to contain a giggle, clearly aware, or maybe even involved, Briggs' eyes shot toward him like daggers. Hendrick froze, straightened his back, and snapped into an overly serious pose.
Briggs exhaled hard, finally waving the Sentinels away. "Dismissed…"
As they shuffled out, Eric pumped his fist. "Yes!"
Before he could bask in his little victory, Gil smacked him on the head. "Idiot, Commander can hear you."
"Ow!" Eric rubbed his scalp.
The air in Briggs' office shifted, heavy with unease, he stood, leaning back in his chair as Hendrick approached.
"How did the meeting go, Commander?" Hendrick asked.
Briggs remained unsettled, he rose, hands clasped behind his back as he stared out the window, his voice low, "the peace we swore to protect… is about to be challenged again."
Hendrick's expression hardened, without another word, Briggs ordered him to call all the teams ready, Hendrick nodded sharply and left the room with urgency.
Alone once more, Briggs gazes at a distant, "What now, Morfel… you scoundrel, what twisted scheme are you plotting in that wicked mind of yours?"
At the western gates, the human garrison was torn down, screams swallowed by the crackle of fire. Amid the chaos, a lone figure knelt upon a hill of corpses, she was a robed lady, her palms clasped in prayer, a loose black veil covering her head with gold embroidery tracing the edges, her long, wavy hair spilled from beneath the veil, framing a face far too serene for the carnage surrounding her.
Where she sat, the earth contaminates the earth beneath, grotesque tentacles rose, he bodies at her feet flesh splitting as monstrous appendages sprouted from mouths, ears, even hollowed eye sockets.
She smiles, then, laughter, low at first, but swelling until it echoed across the burning village, mingling with the screams and fire, drowning everything else.
Meanwhile, more human garrisons and bases fell, fire sweeping across Karlean lands as Morfel's generals cut through his enemies without mercy. He stood in his chamber, looming in his usual place of command, when a knock echoed against the iron doors.
Laufrein entered, bowing, and handed him a parchment, a detailed report of their conquests. Thousands of humans taken captive, entire battalions erased, most slaughtered.
Morfel read in silence, nodded in satisfaction, but then Laufrein offered another report, Morfel's eyes narrowed as he scanned the words.
He crumpled the parchment in anticipation, his chest burned with white-hot fury before a sinister smile twisted across his face.
"Assemble our forces." With an acknowledgement Laufrein left. "This time, all of you who dared humiliate me… shall drown beneath my wrath!"
Atop the high tower looming over the plaza, tens of thousands of troops stood in perfect rows, each line a thousand strong, heavy armor gleamed beneath the darkened sky, banners of Cardaltha swayed in the wind, as the four generals stood at the front awaiting their lord's command.
When Morfel emerged onto the platform, the soldiers fell as one, prostrating in absolute reverence, their unified chant thundered like a quake through the plaza.
"All hail, lord Morfel!"
Morfel raised his arm, silence fell instantly, his voice carried across the masses.
"For a fleeting moment, humans believed they could triumph… their hubris… their pathetic efforts… amount to nothing before the supreme and ascended race that we are! All who resist, kill them. All who surrender, enslave them, but remember…" His eyes gleamed coldly. "Cardaltha will not be merciful."
A tremor rippled through the soldiers, some shivered, some wept, but when Morfel's tone rose again, it ignited their fury.
"We have won countless wars, this will be no different! Stand proud!"
The soldiers stomped in unison, the sound echoing like thunder, raising their flags high.
"They will grovel... They will beg to die…!"
The four generals at the front smiled darkly as Morfel lowered his hand in final signal.
"Onward to victory, soldiers of Cardaltha!"
"Yes m'lord!"
The colossal gates groaned open, the vanguard poured forth, armored legions with shields and spears, ranks of swordsmen following close behind at the rear archers and artillery setting their march and finally, the four generals striding with lethal purpose.
Morfel gazed down from the tower, clenching his fist with anticipation.
"Master Eltries… this time you shall regret ever insulting me."
Perched atop the highest tree near Morfel's stronghold, a lone sparrow tilted its head, its dark eyes reflecting the rumbling march of soldiers below. For a moment, it lingered in silence, then with a sudden flutter, it soared into the sky.