Olimpia

Excerpt From The Legion's Scholarly Manual On Casting—

When you come to the last tier of casting abilities, the real differences between the skill level of the disciplines occur. And once these levels are achieved, a title is applied, signifying their achievement and dedication to casting.

For telepathy, the standard requirement jumps up to seven strands compared to the four for the last tier, and some say that it is as much as eight strands to go to the limits of the techniques.

When someone arrives at this tier in the telepathic discipline, it is one of the most controversial occasions in Olimpia. And I, humble scholar I am, would suggest that no one without the proper backing attempt to reach such a level.

Once reaching the third tier of telepathy, one becomes a Mind Reaver. They move beyond talking to others and looking at recent memories. Consent is no longer required, and few can resist when they delve into a mind a rip apart their whole life.

The actual limits of the tier are a closely guarded secret of the families who train Mind Reavers and, thus, the Inquisitors who work for the senate.

What is known is that a Reaver can plum the depths of one's mind at will and even impart hallucinations that are as real as reality itself. No past thought is safe, and some say that a Reaver can lock another in their own mind, forcing them to follow a set of commands.

Of course, these are common speculations on the topic, and no absolute truth on the subject is known to this scholar.

**********

Midnight had passed hours ago, the moon long since moving from the center of the sky, or so Kathren assumed. She hadn't seen the dim light of the moon in hours.

The clouds overhead had only thickened, causing a glimpse of the elusive moon few and far between, though lightning forked across the sky occasionally.

Kathren felt like weights were hanging on her eyes. Her entire body was stiff, and she would fall asleep instantly if she laid down. With her years of training, wearing her full armor and clutching the hilt of her sword with one hand wasn't a problem to falling asleep.

She knew that for a fact, as throughout this night, she did just that two times as she took a power nap. Not that she grumbled about wearing her armor and sleeping.

There was no doubt an attack was coming.

She couldn't think of another reason the beastkin would stand in silent rows outside the walls and rapidly build their siege equipment within the legionary's line of sight. Gotta admit, though, it's intimidating as fuck.

And they were still there. Periodically, a Knight Ignis would release a blast of fire, lighting up the night and revealing the beastkin.

Those manning the Western Fort could not know, but Kathren and those around her could see. There was another army of equal size outside of the Northern Fort.

Faintly battering its way through the rush of water surging below the bridge, she could make out a steady beat of drums. The beat was so deep that she felt the sound more in her chest than her ears, and it resounded through the air for miles.

The sound continually chipped away at her morale, adding to her exhaustion. It must be so much worse for those on the closer walls.

The legion needed someone manning the walls to raise a warning for the impending attack, but it was idiotic to exhaust everyone while having them stand in position. Every hour or so, everyone manning the walls would be replaced.

She could see it happening now down on the walls of the Western Fort. Sadly she wouldn't be relieved soon, as she just came onto shift.

It might be exhausting, mentally and physically, to look out from over The Triad at the attacking armies… "But it's better than being those bastards," Kathren muttered to herself, throwing a glance down at the figures lying on the Western Bridge.

Feet to head, hundreds of men and women lay face up, looking at the sky as the cold stone seeped into their bodies. Every few minutes, she could see a wave run down the two rows lined the sides of the bridge as they kicked the shoulder of the individual below them.

They couldn't sleep. When their battle came, it would be there within an instant. There would be no time to wake up from a nap.

"Poor souls," Anooha said, agreeing with Kathren's statement breaking the silence that had existed since they took their latest shift. There was a pause after her words, and a heavy weight pressed down on the air between them. "You did your duty Kathren. Someone had to do it, and you were the best option."

Kathren's back stiffened, and her hand twitched towards a knife, but Anooha only placed a light hand on her shoulder and patted before her hand fell back to her side, and she looked away. Kathren didn't lash out with violence like she might of.

Because Anooha's words weren't for her. At least not only for her. She was also talking to herself. Most of them had only known each other for a few weeks while they waited or traveled to start their training, but they had bonded.

Hard not to when they fought together and saved each other's lives. Even Instructor Green, who they had known for days, had earned her respect. He had saved Kathren's life when the birds came swooping down on them on the training fields. Stood next to her shoulder to shoulder as they fought.

But it wasn't the first time she had lost comrades in battle. Won't be the last, either. She had to admit, however, this time was different. Or it felt that way.

Looking at her emotions wasn’t… something she did. Maybe it was her upbringing, as turning emotions into anger and lashing out was a good way to survive on the streets, after all. Nothing like a good offense for defense.

But her shoulders were stiff, and her left hand was cramping from being clenched into a fist. And there might be some blood.

…I did my duty… Kathren hesitantly said to herself mentally. Like she was tasting every word as she thought them.

It was hardly anything, but her hand relaxed a little. And… it was better.

Grunting, she said, “…Thanks…" eyeing Anooha from the corner of her eye without turning her head.

Kathren saw the woman's mouth twitch, “Nopr—

"What's that…" Joxin said from Kathren's other side, cutting Anooha off. His tone immediately claimed her attention. Resigned resignation had that effect with their situation. “…I think—"

He never finished, as all of their minds were probed with a mental link. Without hesitation, they accepted the link, joining the thousands of others already in the Union. Minutes passed, and thousands more joined until suddenly, no more joined.

It was hardly a beat of the heart later when a voice spoke into their minds. "My legionaries, I — your Legatus — speak to you before battle is joined. I speak to you, so you understand the stakes we are fighting for. Whether you want to admit it, this beastkin hoard is unlike we — the Olimpians — have faced. The walls of the Triad and his generations of defenders have held back hoards numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Our forefathers held strong against all that came against us, and their expectations fall onto our shoulders to bear. And yet, these beastkin are not the savage, mindless creatures we have heard of all our lives. The supposed impossibility of our situation must be accepted as a fact. One look over are walls will show us that."

The voice was calm and measured. Every transmitted word carried a weight of confidence and expectation behind it, cutting through and then suppressing the growing panic and fear Kathren could feel through the mental links. After he spoke, she could even feel her own wavering resolve solidifying.

"This fight. Our fight, how we stand against this challenge, will be remembered for generations. I believe we are the vanguard of a new war, one that will push our republic to its limit. But whatever the future may hold, we will stand against a force unlike any we could imagine. And I have faith we will win. We will uphold the honor of The Triad and throw back our foes. I ask you to fight for the children we stand in front of. To fight for your shield mate… And should you fall, make the bastards choke on your corpse! Listen to your commanders and Centurions, and we will win this fight! Long live The Republic!"

"Long live The Republic!" Our collective shout ripped through the night, carrying our resolve to our enemies. And it almost seemed to Kathren like the clouds above were pushed back slightly, a ray of moonlight breaking through the oppressive cloud cover.

As if the words of defiance shouted by the 15th legion and militia were the signals, the beat of the beastkin's drums picked up.

The siege towers and battering rams started rolling forward at a walking pace, but that was all. None of the gathered beastkin so much as moved a muscle to advance.

Why would they? Huddled within and behind the dozens of siege equipment were a few dozen beastkin, but they were sheltered from attacks by the object's mass. They didn't even appear to be pushing the contraptions forward, only walking along behind them.

One minute added onto the next, and before Kathren knew it, an hour had passed. She was being relieved from her position on the wall by someone tapping her in the middle of the back.

With a start, she rolled her shoulders, trying to loosen them up. She didn't realize how stiff she had become, watching the towers' slow, implacable advance.

Nothing had even happened yet, as the towers weren't even halfway to the walls and still outside the effective attack range of the throwers.

"Prepared to rotate!" Cracked a voice behind her and in her mind. A few seconds later, the voice spoke again, "Rotate!"

With the voice, Kathren stepped diagonally back to the right, trying to keep her borrowed shield in the gap of the corrugated wall as long as possible. At the same time, the middle-aged man taking her place stepped into her spot at a diagonal, covering the area her shield left with his own as she pulled back.

"Hold!" Shouted the centurion again, waiting to see if anyone had not rotated properly and needed to be assisted. "Relieved century, march!"

Turning to her left, Kathren started to quickly march off the walls, only to be stopped as gasps of shock sounded all around her and filled the Union.

When she looked at the distant grassland, as that was the only place that could hold the other's attention, she didn't see what had sent a wave of shock rolling through the legion. Not at first, but then, it became impossible to miss.

It was like the Elemental of Earth decided to manifest before the walls of the Triad. The entire Western Fort seemed to leap for a moment, like a mountain had leapt into the air and fallen to the ground, shaking the land like the surface of a lake before settling.

She could hear the distant clattering of stone and buildings collapsing from the ground quaking, but it was outside the walls that had her attention.

A massive ramp of earth, spanning the entire length the siege towers were placed outside the walls, rose like a ramp.

Everything seemed to freeze for a moment, then the beat of the distant drums beat out a rapid pattern three times before returning to their previous quick rhythm.

At that, the siege equipment surged forward at several times the speed before, and the gathered mass of beastkin let out a collective roar of challenge. The beastkin crossed the distance to the walls in a fraction of the time of their equipment.

"In the river!" Someone shouted a few dozen feet away from Kathren. "I see a boa—" his cry of alarm cut into a gurgle of death.

"March, you bastard spawns of whores!" Barked the centurion, snapping her into reality, "Get off my damn wall!"