The demons appeared suddenly. Hungry.
That was the thing nobody in the port city of Aurelio understood until it was already too late. The things now attacking the city never charged from outside the gate, they appeared within the merchant's district and have only spread among the other districts.
The first to die was a baker named Osset who had stayed in his shop through the initial attack because he did not believe, until the moment he saw it, that something could have broken through the walls of the city. It towered over him as it tore through his window with one hand, the other appearing through Osset's chest at a speed that wasn't human.
His apprentice made it two streets before a smaller one found her. The smaller ones were much faster.
In the harbor district, the demons moved in loose, coordinated hunting parties that suggested some intelligence behind the hunger. They raided each building they crossed — not for grain or gold, but human flesh. And every person who hadn't made it to the ships or the northern road found themselves the next meal.
A woman named Carra had gotten her two children under an overturned cart along the eastern harbor's boardwalk. She could hear her children's breathing pattern, hurried and quiet. She could also hear the thing working its way down the harbor.
It stopped beside the cart.
She heard it breathe, entirely different from her children's. A slow, deep displacement of air that sounded far too wet, like it was underwater. One of her children made a sound, his arm shifting against loose wood. She pressed her hand over his mouth and felt him shaking against her palm and she did not take her eyes off of the gap in-between the ground and the cart, the exact place where the thing stood.
It reached for the cart.
From the granary roof on the north side of the city, a Bureau regional officer named Maret, a name that only holds true within the walls of Aurelio, had been trying to get a signal out for twenty-three minutes. The mirror-light system that connected Aurelio to the next relay station required good line of sight and a steady hand. Maret only had one, because from the granary roof, she could see most of the horrors happening in the streets below and a steady hand required not looking at those exact horrors.
The eastern district was gone, its home wrecked and people slaughtered and used as livestock for the creatures that now walked openly in the firelight. The market quarter burned; its trading halls scorched by magically-cast fire. The harbor district was the most active right now, the demons there were numerous and ravenous, and the knight companies stationed along the northern road were losing ground and, from what she could see, their will to fight.
She sent the signal. She had no confidence anyone was close enough to receive it in time for it to matter. Then, the light appeared above the norther cliff, halting any possibility of her further working on the mirror.
A figure in a dark cloak, edges lined with gold, with a raven perched motionless on her shoulder, appeared on the cliff's edge above the city without anyone seeing her arrive, and that was what Captain Aldren Fost, Captain of the Guard, would remember first, in the months afterward when he was asked to describe it, that she didn't descend upon the city like a hero would. She appeared from nowhere and left in the same fashion.
From the granary roof, Maret saw the figure raise the staff once. A single, unhurried motion, the crown of it lifted toward the burning sky, and then she lowered it, and the clouds above the cliff opened.
The primary circle came first. Already formed upon the clouds parting, casting a bright glow in the evening sky. It was vast and cold and blue-white at its rim, precise and carefully laid out. It spanned at least a full city block at minimum and was still expanding as she watched. The geometry within it was a marvel with dense overlapping patterns that Maret could not parse from this distance.
Then the fifty smaller circles opened beneath it, enveloping the sky above the entire city.
They bloomed outward in one simultaneous movement, each one orienting themselves into position. They were distributed across the city with a precision that was inconceivable from the cliff's vantage point, each one appearing above a specific location in the streets below, the spacing uneven in a way that was clearly mapped from the start.
Maret had been a Bureau officer for five years. She understood, more than most, that mana circle construction of this complexity required a practitioner to hold the complete architecture in their Harmonic Layer simultaneously, every parameter, present and active in the Heartbeat all at once before the spell could even be cast. She understood this abstractly, even if the spell caster had trait magic, for one to just show up and cast this... watching it happen was a whole different experience from understanding it.
Beneath each of the fifty mana circles, smaller clusters appeared —three, four, five overlapping sub-circles apiece. Each cluster oriented downward towards the streets below, tracking their targets, waiting for the signal.
In the harbor district, one of the larger demons stopped chewing. It raised its head toward the sky. The smaller, faster ones were already moving, breaking off from their hunting parties and scattering in several directions. Their speed did not help them.
The discharge came as a targeted barrage, each shot arriving at its target, and if it couldn't, the next shot did. The large demons in the eastern went first, not because they were closest to the mana circles, but because they posed the most threat to the surviving humans within the city. Whoever was driving the targeting knew this and had accounted for it long before the spell was cast.
Each strike was direct. No excess flare or splash beyond what the targets own dimensions required. No blood spewed out from the corpses, they only fell dead to the ground, a hole through their chests.
The fast ones that had scattered through the streets and alleyways found that the sub-circles followed them, reorienting their targeting from above. Maret watched all of this from the granary roof. She sat down, not by choice, her legs simply decided to stop holding her up.
Seventeen minutes from the moment the first circle appeared to the last discharge. When the last creature dropped dead to the ground, the circles disappeared from the sky above as if they were never there and, in their place, clouds rolled back in, casting a dark glow across the city.
The city was quiet, as if an attack never happened. However, the fires still burned and buildings were still destroyed. The Bureau of Magic was going to be in Aurelio for a long time, and there were going to be many conversations about what had happened and who was responsible and what response was appropriate in retaliation.
But the demons were gone. Every one of them. And so was the cloaked figure on the cliff's edge.
Aurora shook her head; she should have never gone to Aurelio, that way she would have never been in this predicament. The only reason she did was so that the Order didn't get on her butt for not appearing before the public in over two months. Each of the ten members of the Order are the guardians of Astoria, the strongest mages in the kingdom, and unfortunately that required Aurora to leave her cabin every once and awhile.
She flicked her wrist, and the tea kettle on the counter rose obediently and poured her a cup.
Holding her hand out, the cup floated itself on over to her. Taking a sip, she looked up into the rafters to find the raven pecking at a nut, trying to break it open.
"Want some help?" She had a small mallet for a reason. It was specifically bought to help her familiar break open nuts.
The raven stopped pecking and stared at her from above, switching between eyes. In her mind, as clear as the morning sky, he spoke to her, "I've got it. Now stop troubling me."
She rolled her eyes, just as grumpy as ever. But she couldn't help smiling, she found his grumpiness endearing. It was considerably better company than a room full of court nobles who wanted things from her.
Taking another sip of her tea, she set the cup down on the table and looked at her research paper. Upon arriving in the capital, at her earliest convenience, she intended to submit it to Isaria Academy for publication.
She giggled at the prospect of being rich, hopefully not famous. Fame was too much work.
A shell fell on her head, "Ow..." She rubbed her fragile little skull and looked up with a tear in her eye, "Trying to assassinate me to steal my soon-to-be full coin purse, I will never allow it!"
Arden stared down at her and shook his little head. She must be thinking something dumb again. He swallowed the last of his food and dropped from the rafters, and with a gentle thud, he landed on the top of her head.
"Shouldn't you be leaving now, you're expected to be at the Royal Castle in a few hours."
Aurora waved her hand dismissively, the ride to the capital was only about an hour by carriage.
Arden clawed a bit at her long black hair, much like tugging reins to move a horse faster, "Or we can wait for Julian to return, and I can finally get to see you properly dealt with."
Aurora pouted, "Dumb bird." But she did start moving faster.
Finished with her packing, she stretched and allowed herself one more sip of tea before tidying, or more precisely, having her magic tidy for her. In short order and with a flick of her wrist, the dishes were clean and put away and the floor was swept.
The cabin looked pristine, a stark contrast to how she usually leaves it.
It was a small thing, the cabin. One room, really, with a sleeping loft tucked above the kitchen like an afterthought the original builder had added when he realized he wanted somewhere to put the bed. The stone fireplace took up most of the eastern wall, its mantle cluttered with objects she had no other place for, a cracked lens she kept meaning to replace, three smooth river stones she had named and since forgotten about, and a stub of red candle burned so low it had fused to the stone. The worktable and dinner table all-in-one sat at the center of the cabin, its surface hidden under layers of drafts and ink-stained reference sheets and the occasional mug ring from a cup she'd set down without thinking.
The shelves on either side of the fireplace held most of her books, the rest were scattered in the loft or along the kitchen counter. Every book along the shelves were organized in a system that made complete sense to her and no one else. The small rug in front of the hearth was slightly singed on one corner from an experiment she had declined to give anymore thoughts about. The whole of it smelled like woodsmoke and old paper and the particular herbal tea she bought in bulk from the market in town because it was the only kind Arden would tolerate the smell of.
She had lived here for two years and in that time had added nothing in the form of decoration. And yet somehow it had become, without her noticing, the most comfortable place she had ever been.
"Bye-bye Mr. Cabin! I'll see you in who knows how long." Grabbing her suitcase, she threw it into a rift that opened up beside her. She used that pocket space to store random junk she collected mostly, and anything she wanted to travel with. With that, she opened the door and took one last look back, "Hopefully soon."
Outside, she held her hand out and her staff, which had been doing dutiful service as a clothesline along the front eave, flew towards her. Catching it, she turned it to mana particles that were absorbed into her body., its familiar resonant imprint settling into her Resonant Heartbeat. She could summon it again at any time.
"Off to town for the carriage!" She exclaimed, although it sounded excited to any other person, inside she was hating life. Having to travel far, having to travel by carriage, it gave her motion sickness. And the only spatial transit spell she could reliably execute at this distance still carried a non-trivial risk of arriving inside a load-bearing wall, which was objectively worse than motion sickness. So: Carriage.
She made her way down the beaten path and through the forest, attempting to think of different ways to stay hidden at court. Perhaps she could observe the Princess from a far-off corner where no one could see her. But knowing Julian, he would engineer her discomfort regardless, finding the exact situations she found difficult and arranging them to cross her path at any turn.
She tried to consult Arden as she walked into town, but he had already peeled off her shoulder. Likely, he was trying to flirt with ravens of the opposite sex. Despite his old age and general disposition, he remained remarkably active in the raven dating community.
Arriving at the carriage service, she began rehearsing her lines. The man at the desk would she her name and destination. She knew this, but what if she offended him somehow. She kept rehearsing.
"Here to book passage, lass?"
She looked up. The man before her was broad-shouldered and bearded, with the patient expression of someone who had seen all sorts of travelers come and go. She had been standing in front of him silently for what was probably an awkward amount of time. She bit her cheek.
"I... um... I'd like a carriage please."
"Of course." He reached for his log and ink pen. "Name and destination?"
Shoot. She forgot to say those things in her initial greeting, despite knowing that they were needed. How stupid of her, she bit her cheek a bit harder.
"A-Aurora Ashcroft, and the Royal Capital."
He wrote this down unhurriedly. "Not many from these parts heading that direction. Leisure, or business?" He asked curiously, much to her dismay.
Her Resonant Heartbeat's frequency spiked, the way it always had when a social situation pushed passed her threshold. A tightening behind her sternum that had nothing to do with magic and everything to do with the fact that she was standing in front of a stranger who was waiting for her to say something sensible. She pressed her hands into her dress pockets. It didn't help particularly, just gave them somewhere to be.
"I... um..." She gulped and took a breath, stopping herself from biting her cheek again. What would be the best response to limit the conversation, perhaps telling him a lie, yeah, she'll do that.
"Visiting." She swallowed nothing, "My mother. She works at the Palace."
He nodded, seeming to have bought her lie. Truth be told, she never met her mother but saying her fake one worked as a maid seemed far more logical than her father working as a butler, which was a much harder job to obtain.
He nodded slowly. "Safe travels then. Three Mark." He set the ticket on the counter.
Her nerves settled. She set the silver coins down. Took the ticket. Thanked him, perhaps too quickly, and left.
She made her way to the nearest available carriage and handed her ticket to the driver, hoping he didn't initiate any conversation, her social reserves were already drained for the day. Luckily, the older gentleman only smiled and nodded her inside.
She settled into the seat as there was nothing to stow that wasn't already in her pocket space. She heard the reins snap and felt the carriage lurch forward.
She closed her eyes. Sleep came fast. The nightmares came faster.
Around her sat other little girls, each one just as dirty as her, and just as hungry. The room lacked much light and was the kind of cold you'd only find in dungeons.
"Yeah! I'll get the next one, just give me a second." A man stood at the edge of the dim light. His face was the part that never shaped directly in the dream, it was blurred and always shifting.
He unlocked the cage and pulled Aurora out forcefully, showing no kindness to her frail body whatsoever, as if she were only inventory. Showing no resistance, she let herself be dragged down the hallway, just as every little girl before her had been.
Waking up, Aurora rubbed her eyes and yawned. Just in time too, because a knock came from the front of the carriage, it was the driver.
"Where in the capital ya headin' too?" He yelled through the wall of the carriage, to which she jumped. She bit her cheek and thought about what to say, the easiest thing to say would just be the Royal Castle, but that would be too easy for her brain now wouldn't it.
"The castle! I mean, the royal one, the uh... the Royal Castle!" She spoke, louder than she necessarily had to. Her dumb brain just had to mess it up for her as usual, it was as simple as saying the Royal Castle, but her brain decided to make it harder for her.
A boisterous laugh came from beyond the carriage's wall, "Comin' right up, lass!"
She felt humiliated, that laugh was probably him making fun of her, it had to be, there was no other explanation for it. There was, her mind just couldn't think of any others.
Arriving at the capital's west gate, the driver handed his papers and her ticket to the nearest inspecting guard. She hoped none of them would peak in, but alas, one did, and she jumped in fright as his face peaked through the window.
He smiled at this before turning away. Just another embarrassment of hers to add to her ever-growing list of embarrassments.
Surprisingly, the driver actually made good time as they quickly made it to the front gates of the Royal Castle. Shoot, she had to tip him didn't she. Just hand him the money and say thank you, you've got this Aurora.
The driver opened the door to the carriage and offered his hand. She bit her cheek and slowly took his hand before stepping off the carriage gently. "T-Thank you for the ride, sir..."
Pulling out her coin bag, she tipped him five silver, hopefully that was enough and he wouldn't be angry at her. His eyes widened at the sight, five whole silver coins, usually he only got a few bronze.
"Ya sure, lass? Five whole silver?"
Oops. Despite being a mage in the Order, this was actually her first time paying for a carriage herself, so of course she didn't know five silver wasn't enough.
"S-Sorry, sir!" She handed him ten silver and quickly thanked him again before practically running her way over to the Castle Gate.
The driver smiled and rubbed the back of his head, "What a strange lass." He chuckled and mounted his carriage before taking off down the bricks and disappearing in the distance.
"Stop!"
Aurora jumped. Her heart did something complicated She was going to be killed by these knights; she was sure of it.
"State your name and business here."
"Um... Aurora Ashcroft and I uh..." She stopped to think, Julian never actually gave her a practical reason to be here that wasn't top secret. She reasoned to herself that just saying his name would suffice, hopefully he was in the castle or saying his name would mean nothing.
"I'm here to... see Lord Julian Albright."