"Very well. Then I am pleased to announce that you, Lady Emory, are now Supreme Witch. Congratulations! May your reign be long and bountiful. First, you must choose two witches to act as your First and to speak on your behalf if you are otherwise disposed," Perceval cheered.
"My first is Samantha Rice. Though she is a young witch, she is my most loyal friend and is the whole reason I'm even here before you," Emory announced, "Second, I would like to extend an olive branch to Lord Zephiel by taking Gwendolyn Grado as my other First."
Zephiel bowed slightly, hiding a smirk, "Thank you, Supreme Lady. Your gesture is very kind."
"As luck would have it, I brought both girls for my visit already," Emory mentioned as she used her magik to open the sunroom door, "Sam! Gwen! Come in here, please." Hurriedly, the two girls came in and bowed before the Council before going to each side of Emory's chair.
"Welcome Lady Sam! Welcome Lady Gwen!" the rest of the Council cheered.
"Now that we have a Supreme, we can begin discussing out next steps forward," Perceval gleefully moved the meeting along, "Does anyone have any suggestions?"
Emory raised her hand and started, "Actually, I already have a rough idea for what needs to be done. In short, most of our current action will be the same as before: protecting the Sol System. However, the outposts that my friends and I are stationed on will need reinforcements. The Collective is sending a battalion of one thousand troops to each of the four planets in the first wave, but once they are fully deployed, they plan to send twenty percent of their full force to each site. That will leave only twenty percent of their forces here in this system. We need to already be on the ground when they land to start training them more effectively. To do this, I would ask that four Councilors and at least one thousand of their strongest clansmen to come with me to the outposts."
"Only a thousand?" Clarine questioned, "Are you sure that will be enough? Most of the Witches will remain in the Sol System then."
"I have several fail safes in place, if we need to move troops around. Furthermore, I don't believe the Apleem see us as a major threat at the moment. We will use this opportunity to strengthen our own forces while I help the Fae directly," Emory clarified.
"Do you have any requirements for which of us goes?" Cath anxiously asked, "If you're sending such a small force, wouldn't you want the strongest four leaders and clans to go?"
Emory shook her head, "I don't have any requirements, but I do want to leave Clan Grado, Clan Ide, and Clan Romanovs here in the Sol System as they have the strongest three leaders. I would prefer not to worry about home while I'm away." This remark surprised the rest of the group since Lady Cassandra had brought mostly elders to drive the Mantoan from the system in the first war.
"I volunteer," Elffin interjected, "I want to see firsthand the outposts you have been building."
"Me too. I've never even left Earth, let alone gone to another system," Galle agreed.
"I want to go as well," Cath nodded, "It's time for the young generation to show its might." After this comment, the three volunteers turned to Roy, whose eyes widened as panic swept over his face.
Clarine coughed, "Then I will go as the fourth. We can't send only our young leaders; the rest of us need to show our strength too."
"Good! Thank you all for your help," Emory bowed slightly without getting up, "The four of you, please gather your people and head to the location I'll be sending you. Teleportation pads have already been set up at all the outposts."
"Do you have any other orders, Supreme Lady?" Perceval inquired.
"Just one," Emory raised a finger, "In talking with the Elandrian, we have discovered plants from the genus Mentha are especially effective against the Apleem. I would request that you, Lord Perceval, put a plan in place to increase production of these plants and begin adding them to your forging processes and all new weapons being manufactured for the war."
Perceval smiled and nodded, "Of course, milady. We will begin cultivation immediately. Then let us finish our meeting and get to work." Everyone stood up simultaneously and started moving around. Brunnya, Roy, and Zephiel quickly exited the room, not even congratulating Gwen on her new position that was technically higher than her father's. Cath, Clarine, Elffin, and Galle spoke with Emory individually about the location of the planet they would be going to. Each of them was thrilled to be taking a force off-world but especially the three closest to Emory's age. Only a few elders and families had been allowed off Earth, and only the three in her friend group had left the Sol System. Cath would join Yuzuno, Clarine would join Temia, Elffin would join Vostea, and Galle would join Bustrun. After getting their assignments, they left as well to prepare for travel within the next few days, leaving Emory, Gwen, Lilina, Perceval, Sam, and Shanna. They headed to the sunroom for afternoon drinks.
Once everyone had gotten a glass and was comfortable, Emory asked, "Perceval, Lilina said I had magik poisoning, but I've never heard of that before. Could you describe it a little more thoroughly?"
"Of course. I'll assume you told her she had a mild case," Perceval looked at Lilina who nodded, "Where to begin? We see it most often when youngsters used to duel just after achieving meta form for the first time. You see, having unlimited mana and controlling unlimited mana are two very different things. Using magik creates a strain on your body at its most fundamental level. Normally, the amount your body can use at any given time is your total mana pool. But meta form gives you unlimited mana for a time, so you could create an attack more powerful than your resting mana pool would normally allow you to. This is where the slope starts because if you use just a little more than normal, then your body will adapt to the new level. However, if you use a lot more, your body will start to fall apart, usually by hemorrhaging as you found out."
"I think I understand. Zephiel must have the highest tolerance then; that's why Roy called him the strongest," Sam chimed in while Emory seemed to fade into her thoughts.
"Precisely. Of course, we've never actually had a contest, mind you," Shanna sipped from her glass, "However, he does have a slight advantage with the Blood sphere since, as you saw, he is incredibly durable and resilient. To best him in a physical contest is quite a feat."
Gwen agreed, "My father's no joke. I'm a little surprised you didn't want him to help on the war front."
"He wouldn't have wanted to go, not before the real fighting starts at least," Emory replied plainly, "Plus, I fought him, so I know that he will be a strong line of defense, should it ever come to that."
"I'm more excited that you won over the other young Lords and Lady. Cath and Elffin were a little under Zephiel's thumb as fellow dark spheres," Lilina added happily.
"What will you do now, Emory?" Perceval asked, "I mean I know you said you were going to help the Fae, but what does that entail?"
Emory smiled and shrugged, "I'm not sure. First, I would imagine I'll meet the rest of the Five. But I need to stay close to Temia, at least close contact."
"Why? Are you worried about another attack?" Sam worried. Emory's face went pale before she told everyone about the dream she had last night and how it compared to the dream she had before the ship landed on Temia. Lilina, Perceval, and Shanna looked especially shaken by the news.
"Be especially careful of the Laxtros," Shanna warned, "You already know this, but at least some of them have the Void sphere."
Perceval continued gravely, "Please, Emory. If you might fight this woman, let us craft you a full set of armor before you leave tomorrow. After all, the Supreme cannot lead the people in such plain clothing."
"Real armor probably would be a good idea," Emory mused, "Thank you, Perceval. I would gladly appreciate your gift." This brought a smile to his face right away, and he tapped three times with his cane to summon Franz. Once Franz came in, he bowed before Perceval as usual.
"Franz, please get a message to the forgers right away. I'd like a full suit of orichalcum and leather armor made for Lady Aurelias here by noon tomorrow. With the full enchantments, please," Perceval directed. Without a word, Franz nodded and left immediately since he could tell this was an important matter. Shortly after he left, servants came in with trays of food and fresh juice for lunch. While eating, a thought nagged away at her.
"Perceval, what do you know about the Void sphere?" Emory set down a half-eaten pastry, "We tried learning about it at the Collective base but couldn't find anything."
Perceval rubbed his chin, "Unfortunately, not too much. The Aurelias clan has always told us to steer clear of it. But we've never encountered it directly, just heard stories of it from them. Of course, we all saw it on the security footage from Proxima Centauri B as well."
"Have you tried searching the Aurelias library?" Shanna asked, "It is rumored to have all sorts of hidden knowledge. If they were describing something we hadn't seen before, then it certainly came from their trove of knowledge."
"The Aurelias library? Where is that?" Emory furrowed her brow.
"In the Aurelias residence, of course." Shanna giggled, "Where else would it be?"
Sam chuckled lightly, "I think she means where on Earth. She's never been here before, remember?"
"Oh right, I forgot," Shanna gasped, "Well, why don't we go after lunch then? It is your home, after all." Emory agreed and quickly began eating again. She even became a little giddy as she considered all the hidden artifacts that might be hidden away.