Headed by a Snake

"Commander," Ashlynn interrupted. "With all due respect, the Sapphire Tower doesn't teach advanced rune languages until--"

Tycon shoved his palm in front of the Witchling's face.

"Stop. Talking," he ordered, "Certain things are at stake, Witchling-- and I. Will. Not.  be denied."

Tycon withdrew his hand, raising it aside his head...

--and he snapped his fingers.

⟬ ⌈Commander's Strike⌋ activated. ⟭

A fiery glow illuminated Coraline's eyes.

"I... I can read it?" she cried, "But... why??"

She smashed her palm against the wall, the smooth stone bricks crumbling away. The lines of the Spell Circle Formation remained in the air, adopting her fiery glow.

"What's happening?!" Ashlynn screamed.

"There are benefits to being contracted to a Primordial Entity," Tycon explained.

Beatrice was an elemental born in the Plane of Fire. As her bond with her contractee, Coraline, developed, they would share aspects of themselves in a greater than figurative sense.

Coraline became able to read the language of fire itself.

Beatrice developed a love for orange juice.

(That is, assuming he properly understood the little one's mental message.)

Anyroad... if Ashlynn Yates couldn't figure out the particulars, then there was no hope for her.

Coraline was an Arcanist with a high affinity for fire. That she wasn't the leading role in deciphering a Flame Script formation was an embarrassing oversight.

With the formation's active lines illuminated and its logic more easily discernible, Tycon quickly identified and modified several key scripts.

He didn't even need to use an arcane focus, so malleable was the mana-ink.

Coraline's knowledge and complementary abilities made her not just the de-facto Formation Breaker for fire-runed Spell Circles, but the most effective in the whole of the Sapphire Tower.

"(I see the skies of smoke and flame!)" she shouted, "(My heart knows the words to their everlasting song!)"

"And now for the final touch," Tycon nodded.

He activated his spatial ring, summoning his curved blade to hand.

As an unwelcome development, though, the misguided and somewhat stupid Ashlynn Yates began to summon all the mana her exhausted circuits could muster.

"You'll need my help!" she incorrectly insisted.

"Oh, come now," Tycon smirked, "you've done enough."

He reached his hand out, intertwining his fingers with hers. It was the best way to interrupt her gesticulation, while simultaneously regulating her mana usage.

The violent explosion of a Tower Witch in close-quarters was a situation he wished to avoid.

"You feel the need to prove yourself," he said, "but it is wholly unnecessary...

"I have lain witness to thy bravery.

"I have tested the steel of thy will.

"You are strong and smart... young, and beautiful.

"Stand down, Ashlynn Yates.

"I will not stand by and allow you to sacrifice your life."

Tycon was not lying. Everything he claimed was subjective.

Thankfully, his motivational talk seemed effective enough. Ashlynn ceased her channeling.

Her mouth bobbed open, reminiscent to a fish on land, struggling to breathe.

--perhaps to better deliver oxygen to her brain.

But no matter--

Tycon turned to face the Spell Formation and drew his sword.

He was looking forward to second-lunch.

"⌈Hydra Blade⌋."

...

⟬ Somewhere else... some time later... ⟭

"She's waking up," a mature voice said.

"Stars and stones, what is *in* that stuff?" came a bubbly voice, "And can we order more of it?"

"Hm. I recognize the brand. It's a product line owned by East Charm."

"So Supply will just laugh in our faces if we ask for it-- got itttt."

Cortlynn tried to keep her eyes shut tight, but the bright mana-powered lights in the medical tent still glowed through.

If she was a smarter Witch, she would have done better at pretending to sleep.

They were in the field, so if she looked even half field-ready, her leadership would almost certainly make her go back to work.

...But it sounded like the medical girls already knew she was awake.

...And she really needed to pee.

Slowly opening her eyes, she was greeted by a blue-haired girl about her age, and beside her was a glasses-wearing elf with long, dark braids.

"There we go," Blue-hair said. "Caitlyn, right?"

"It's... Cortlyn, actually."

The elf took off her glasses, wiping them with a cloth.

"It is as I surmised," she said, "There is no one named Caitlyn in the Sapphire Tower's records."

Glasses-Elf then turned to her, bowing her head respectfully.

"I greet you as the stars greet the sea. Are you feeling any discomfort?"

"T-toilet?" Cortlyn said sheepishly.

The toilets were just outside the tent. But after Cortlyn finished her business, she was taken right back to the medical tent for a briefing (annnd questioning...)

Cortlyn found out that she was the first to awaken in her squad-- out of the ones that came back.

The glasses-wearing elf criticized her Flight Leader for pushing her sisters to mana exhaustion. However, the fact that Iota Squad was responsible for disabling 400% of their target quota was something she reluctantly put into heavy consideration.

It hadn't been two bells since, even though it felt like longer. The big news among the camps seemed to be Making's new Drake Armors. Compared to the Sapphire Tower's battle constructs, they were individually faster, had greater maneuverability in the sky, and were all-around more dangerous.

The Drake Armors weren't invincible, though; the same strategies worked against them.

An unforgiving shite-storm of ⌈Lightning Bolts⌋, ⌈Fireballs⌋, and ⌈Ice Lances⌋ worked on pretty much anything.

But as far as Divine Armor squads went, only the ace pilots of Alpha Squad came through with little more than casualties.

With Making's defenses broken and their secret weapons defeated, the standing army and most of their leadership had pretty much given up.

Though... not everyone in Making agreed, which was to be expected. They weren't up against the City of Archangel-- just the Sapphire Tower and a few mercenary groups. Pockets of Making's resistance still operated in the city, but the Tower had agents searching the labyrinth beneath for where they might be basing.

"That will be all, then," the elf smiled. "If you're still feeling the effects of mana fatigue--"

"Oh, yes," Cortlyn nodded excitedly. "I'm beat. Can barely move. Nausea, vertigo, head-hurt~"

"Of... of course, Sister," the elf said as she adjusted her glasses. "I'll sign you off on medical bed rest. Will the duration of two suns be sufficient?"

"I have one more question!" Blue-hair exclaimed, "What's your relationship with the green-haired mercenary?"

At that moment, an older Witch stepped into the tent, taking off her conical hat.

"Doc! Do we have any girls with their flight certs?"

"Mind your volume, Sister," Glasses-elf scolded. "What's the situation?"

The Senior Witch glanced about nervously before answering, "It's a *situation*, alright. The President's ordered a search for Alpha Squad. They're escorting a VIP target, but he's taken them out of Comms range."

"He?" the elf grimaced, "You must be speaking of the green-haired mercenary known to liaise with Lady Bella."

"That's technically confidential," the Senior Witch replied. "But I'm not gonna say you're wrong."

Cortlyn raised her hand.

"I... I'm flight certified."

...

⟬ 45 minutes later... ⟭

The shock of leaving the City of Making made Cortlyn wonder about the human ability to acclimatize to just about anything.

A magical, orangey haze remained over the city. That stuff was filled with bad and worse juju, but it was also designed by women far smarter than she was. Everything outside of the magicky magic, though, remained how it should be: green and peaceful and boring.

Rolling plains of grass. Tilled and planted farmland. Dirt and rock roads that neatly divided everything into little sections.

That was what was *supposed* to be normal.

Another thought popped into Cortlyn's head as she flew over yet another sea of trees.

Trees were supposed to be tall, immobile, and covered in leaves.

They were absolutely not supposed to be shaped like dragons.

[Iota-One to Promethea, I'm approaching Alpha Squad's last known location.]

[Promethea to Iota-One. Roger that. Be advised, that Queen is in that area and should arrive shortly after. How copy?]

She was? That was a relief.

Cortlyn wasn't planning on engaging any enemy capable of threatening either Alpha Squad or the Commander, but she was still skeptical of the situation.

[Loud and clear, Promethea. I think see something now. Area seems clear.]

[Roger this, Iota-One. Update us on the situation when you can-- and BE careful.]

[Understood, Promethea. Iota-One out.]

Promethea was really concerned.

Made sense, though. Alpha Squad was easily the Tower's strongest assault force. If something had happened to them, it'd be a big hit to their overall strength.

Cortlyn had spotted a fortified base in the woods, walled off by tall, vertical logs. The tracker that she wore on her arm indicated that that was where she needed to be, so she began her controlled descent.

"Please be no bad guys," she muttered to herself, "Please, please, please be no bad guys."

Thankfully, at least half of Cortlyn's hopes were right.

She saw a coven of Witches and their mana constructs camped right outside a huge central structure.

It looked like... a temple of some kind? But what was a temple doing so far away from civilization?

The flags it hung from its high walls didn't have imagery belonging to any gods she knew.

But Cortlyn figured it out once she flew near its front.

There was only one religion that used a winged lizard as an icon.

",