The cart rolled past the gates. The guards gave sleepy salutes to Trenton as he passed by. The rescued kin follow behind him. The most wounded ones were in the cart. He tried not to jostle them, but the road quality was poor. It was a hopeless endeavor as the cart hit another pothole. Mostly he tried to take his mind off Asami. What were they going to do now? Ulvandia would be found. He grimaced. That would cause one hell of a storm. The Azure Magebane could close mana pools… He shivered. The council and elves treated her like some type of exotic beast. They've been searching but haven't committed many resources to it. That would change. She attacked an elf ambassador crippling her magic. That led to his current situation. Would they find out that he abandoned her? That didn't even include that he was now assisting the Magebane. He couldn't go back. What would he do now?

Five hours passed, and he still had no answer as the mana forest crested the horizon. On a hill nearby, he saw two cloaked figures. As soon as the wagon stopped, Asami lowered her hood. She charged at him as he dismounted. She leaped, throwing herself into his arms. He held her tight as the Magebane stepped closer, as the kin gathered around her. His worries over the future disappeared. Asami was safe. That was what was important. He held her tight.

"I give this speech every time I rescue kin, and I'll give it now. You are free. Free to go your own way. If you do, you will receive all the help we can give. Or…" The Magebane paused, looking at each of them, including him. "You can join me. I can't promise you safety, but I can promise you power. Enough power to defend yourselves from any that would seek to enslave you. You don't have to fight. You can support our new village. There are plenty of jobs to be done. I'm sorry to force this, but you all must decide now. Who wishes to leave?"

Trenton looked at Asami, who clutched at him imploringly.

"Trenton, right?" The Magebane said, coming closer. Her sight lingered on his ruined arm.

"I heard that this elf volunteered himself to protect Asami! Can any of you attest to that?"

"I can!" Came a shout from one of the kin.

"We spent hours together with that sick bitch!" Another call came.

More shouts came in support of him. Trenton looked back at the kin. He did what he could for them. He didn't think they'd noticed.

"Very well," the Magebane said. "Trenton, the offer also extends to you, but I will need the information you have in exchange, along with a mana oath. When we get to Azure's Rest, the council will decide on the details of your oath. Is that acceptable?"

"It is," Trenton said.

"Very well. Let's begin. Asami come here. This won't hurt."

Trenton let Asami go. She strode confidently over to the Azure Magebane. He couldn't help feeling nervous. That tripled in effect when a crimson light appeared on the tip of the Magebane's finger. Less than a minute later, his nervousness was instantly forgotten. He could feel it, mana. Asami's mana. Her pool had awakened! How was this possible? Asami stumbled back to him in a daze as the next kin came forth.

"That was… amazing," Asami said as she collapsed into his arms. Trenton didn't say anything. He couldn't. What just happened was supposed to be impossible. Another mana surge made Trenton look up as another kin stumbled away with an awakened pool. The conclusion was obvious. The Azure Magebane could awaken mana pools.

Trenton laughed. He laughed long and hard as the kin gave him funny looks. The council, no all of them back in Deepmere, had no fucking clue what they were up against.

***

Lord Tarwin had no fucking clue what this emergency meeting was about. Perhaps the mist was spreading faster than anticipated. As the other members gathered, he noted that Ulvandia's seat was absent. The elf was probably in the middle of something he would rather not have any knowledge of.

"Council members, I'm afraid there was an incident last night. The Azura Magebane struck inside Deepmere," Kelfina said once they all sat.

Lord Tarwin suppressed the headache that happened whenever that bitch was mentioned. Over the last year, she'd been a constant thorn in Deepmere's side. An attack inside Deepmere itself was more worrisome. That was unusual for the Magebane. Her targets were usually any mage with kin slaves traveling the roads. She would take the kin and what she'd called 'tax' but leave the mages alive. Unless they attacked, the remains they found were telling enough to know who was responsible.

"What did that kin do now?" Archmage Denayd said tiredly. Despite all their attempts, they had learned nothing about her this past year. Nor had they come even close to her capture.

"She broke into Ulvandia's manse last night," Kelfina said.

Well, shit, Lord Tarwin thought.

"Ah," Lord Arthos said. "I presume she took the kin and killed the elves?"

"Mostly," Kelfina said. "She took all the kin. All the elves died except Ulvandia."

Tarwin turned toward the empty seat, as did all the others reflexively.

"Is she being treated for her injuries?" Grand Magus Arwin asked. "I would like to interview her about what happened."

"I already did," Kelfina said. "It was… difficult to get anything coherent out of her. What's clear is that she has suffered from a mental breakdown."

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Tarwin raised one eyebrow. That was surprising, considering the woman's tastes.

"The breakdown resulted from her mana pool being forcibly closed by the Magebane," Kelfina said darkly.

Lord Tarwin sat back, shocked at the declaration. How could that be? Mana pools didn't just close. It was ridiculous. If such a thing was possible…

"HOW!?" Shouted Grand Magus Arwin, his hands slapping the table.

"I don't know," Kelfina said. "But I need something to tell Lord Mistveil and the council of elders. This will upset them greatly. I need answers or, better yet, the Magebane's head."

***

"I swear on my mana pool," Trenton said as he repeated the oath the kin recited. He was in the underground home of Azure's Rest. No wonder the mages couldn't find where the kin were hiding. It was insane. They were in the one place they shouldn't be able to go.

"I think that should cover it," A female rat-kin named Fatania said.

"Thank you for accepting me," Trenton said with a bow. "I do have some news for you. Although I'm unsure if it will do anything besides be a burden."

"We have enough of those," A white cat-kin said, poking her daughter.

"Mom!" Azura said. Trenton shook his head. To think the fearsome Azure Magebane was picked on by her mother was just surreal.

"Two days ago, the council planned to send an army of kin to Fortunia to fight the mists. It seemed to me they expected no survivors."

"What!?" Azura shouted.

"When?" Fatania asked with a grimace.

"Two weeks," Trenton replied.

"We have to stop them!" Azura shouted.

"Calm down," Coralline said, placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Why don't you go start training the new group? We will gather everyone for a meeting in a few hours and try to come up with some ideas. This is an army, Azura. Not some band of merchants. We need a plan."

"Fine," Azura said with a huff. "Come on newbie." She gestured toward him.

Him, a newbie? He'd been alive for nearly a hundred years. His knowledge of magic was grand even among the elves. What could this child teach him?

***

"Do it again," Azura told him. Trenton snarled as he gasped for air. Kin were sitting around the sparring ring they were on. Azura told him she wanted a practical demonstration of the difference between a cultivator and a mage for the trainees. He wasn't sure what a cultivator was, but he suspected she was using him to blow off steam.

"GREATER FORCEBOLT!" He unleashed the spell at Azura. Usually, he'd never launch such a spell at a sparring partner if they didn't have a strong barrier. Normal was anything but what he experienced here. The Magebane slapped the spell away into the forest, where it blew apart a distant tree.

"Mages have range, but once you reach the liquid ki stage, you can deflect their magic by channeling ki into your limbs," Azura said, lecturing as he collapsed, his mana mostly gone. He couldn't even recover as Azura was passively consuming all the mana in the area.

"Some of you could fight a weak mage and win. For now, it's best to avoid that if possible. Wait until you reach the liquid stage. The difference in power is astounding. Trenton, why don't you take a walk to recover your mana. When you've recovered, you'll begin training with the rest."

Trenton could only nod as Asami rushed up to him. She grabbed his arm and escorted him away as the Azure Magebane lecture continued.

"You were amazing," Asami said.

"Ha! I was a bug," Trenton said. "All my most powerful spells couldn't even make her take a step back."

"She's the Azure Magebane," Asami said with a shrug. "What did you expect?"

Trenton looked down at his missing hand. What had he expected?

"I don't know. I thought it would be some long-lost magical technique, but from what she was saying, it's just another way to use mana. I don't understand this ki either. I've been using mana for my entire life. To find out there's something more is… frustrating."

"Don't worry," Asami said, pressing her lips to his. His worries fell away as their tongues intertwined. She pulled away. "I'll be right there learning with you."

That did make him feel better. The mana pouring into him now also helped to alleviate his headache. They did a short course around the village before returning.

"All set?" Azura asked.

"Yup!" Asami said cheerfully.

"Great! Time to fold laundry!"

"Huh?" Trenton asked.

***

"This is quite hard," Asami said as she sat next to Trenton. The elf couldn't agree more. Hard was putting it gently. It was damn near impossible. He'd never directly tried to control mana before. That's what spells were for. The spell forms pulled in mana to create magic. That was the basis for all magic. To be told he couldn't cast spells ever again… He spent decades building up his spell repository. Suddenly he felt Asami shift next to him.

"I did it!" Asami cheered.

"Great job," Azura said, walking by. "Keep doing that over and over. That is the basics of cultivation."

"Is this really helpful?" Trenton asked. "Spell frameworks are easier and can do so much more."

"Your spells didn't do much against me," Azura countered.

"Well… You have some strange power. I don't see how this helps."

Azura sighed and gave him a look. She held up a finger, a crimson glow at the tip.

"Open your mouth," Azura said.

Trenton hesitated. "Why?"

"Just do it."

Slowly, Trenton opened his mouth. He nearly pulled back as her finger neared. She gently touched his tongue. His world exploded. Power! Unbelievable power contained in a speck was now inside him. And for the first time, he could truly see. The vast oceans of power in the Azure Magebane left him in awe and hopelessness. How could such an overwhelming power exist, yet remain unknown to everyone? Gently, that power took control of his mana. Instinctively, he began fighting off the force, but to no effect.

"Don't fight," Azura said. "Follow what I do."

Trenton pulled back his instincts. It was hard. It was like someone touching your eye, and you had to keep your lids from closing. It was unnatural. He did his best to comply, following along as his mana was folded. She led him through the process several times. Once he got the hang of it, the solid ki, as Azura called it, began retreating. The sun had come down for a visit, and now he only had embers to work with. She smiled at him.

"One day, that can be yours too," Azura said as she went to help another, and Trenton began to fold.

***

The council of Azure's Rest went over plan after plan. The ridiculous was speculated, as was the mundane. They got nowhere. No matter how they tried, no one could devise a workable strategy to protect the kin. They couldn't house them here. There wasn't enough space or resources for them all.

"What if we don't rescue them?" Azura asked.

"I thought you, of all people, would insist on helping them," Fatania said, surprised.

"The idiotic mages need them to fight the mists. What if I fought instead?" Azura asked.

"What!" Coralline shouted in alarm.

"Well, I've been wondering what all the bother is with this mist anyway. From what we're told, the kin will go in and never come out. I'm curious," Azura said with a shrug.

"The mist could be at our home one day," Alenina added. "This might be informative."

Fatania leaned forward. "You're suggesting that you replace the kin army?"

"Yes. On the condition that the kin in the army are freed," Azura clarified.

"Do you trust the mages to keep their word?" Coralline asked.

"Gods below no!" Azura said. "I fully expect the fuckers to betray me. But I figured if we could do the same to them."

Fatania drummed her fingers on the round table. She looked up to the earthen ceiling above as she thought. "This could work…"

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