August 22, 2152
Over the last half a day, the mansion had undergone a revitalization in preparation for the gathering of the Council. Large colorful plants had been strewn throughout the common areas while the floors had been changed to more vibrant woods like acacia and cottonwood. Nevertheless, the chaos had been tamed, and the household appeared to be at peace in anticipation of the guests. Franz stood near the door, waiting to greet the Lords and Ladies. Finally, around midmorning, they began arriving. Most of them just appeared in front of the door, but a couple of them traveled in person using magik to aid their speed. Though it had taken several hours for them to start arriving, once they started, the entire Council had reached the mansion within fifteen minutes. Franz escorted each of them to a large meeting room with a massive circular table and eleven regal chairs around it. Strange blue lights recessed in the walls and furniture made from petrified wood added a mythical feel to the room though the members already gave off mystic vibes with traditional cloaks and robes. Each person seemed to have an assigned seat as everyone went to a particular chair as well as the two people already in the room had not been sitting together. Eventually, ten chairs were filled when Perceval tapped his cane thrice on the floor and the heavy doors were shut. He stood and slowly said, "Thank you all for coming to my humble abode. I have called you to discuss two serious matters today. First and foremost, as you all must know, the Mantoan have returned. Though there have been no attacks in the Sol System, we must be on guard for their return."
An average redhaired middle aged man raised his hand and spoke, "We beat them back last time. Why did we need to a have a meeting about this, Lord Perceval?"
"Lord Roy and all of you, please direct your attention to the hologram before you," Perceval answered as light began to coalesce into a video in the center of the table, "What I'm about to show you is from the recovery team on Proxima Centauri B and was sent to us at great risk from our spies deep within the Collective. What you see will shock you." Video began to materialize of security footage recovered from Proxima Centauri B of the Mantoan attack. Just as the Supreme Commander had seen, the Council of Witches became aware of other types of Mantoan and the great power they wielded. When the hologram disappeared, the members of the Council sat in shock and silence, yet once again, Perceval was the first to break it. "As you can see, the Mantoan were not showing us their full-strength last time," Perceval gracefully pointed out.
"How were they able to overpower magik so easily?" Roy panicked, "Is this the power of the Void sphere that Lady Aurelias warned us about?"
A mountain of a man with brown spiked hair stomped his foot, "Calm yourself, Lord Roy. This was only the power of the Collective, some of their elite to be sure, but only the Collective. These insects have yet to feel the full force of the Witches. We should not be worried about such pathetic creatures."
"Isn't it that foolishness that almost cost you on Europa, Lord Zephiel?" Lilina piped up, "Sure, the Collective doesn't have the depth of strength that we do, but they have strong forces. This was not an unprepared force."
"What was that, youngling? You want to test my strength?" Zephiel roared.
The slender fingers of a tall petite bright blue haired woman next to Zephiel wrapped around his forearm, "Calm down, Lord Zephiel. All she's suggesting is that we take this threat seriously. Is that too much to ask?"
"Thank you, Lady Shanna," Zephiel begrudgingly replied, "I forgot myself for a moment. Lord Perceval, do you have any suggestions about how we should prepare for this threat?"
"I would not have called you all if I had not. First, my contacts in the Collective have asked that we focus on defending Earth above all else. That should be easiest for us as well since most of our clans are still on Earth. Second, I have information about a Collective mission they plan to take shortly. I suggest we send our available agents on this mission as well," Perceval explained.
"What are they planning to do?" Roy questioned, "Surely, they should be preparing forces to defend the system again instead of going on some exploration mission."
Perceval elaborated further, "Our informants tell me that they plan to scope out the surrounding habitable systems and hope to find the Mantoan. But even if they don't, their network of satellite outposts will add an extra layer of defense around this system."
"A fine idea," Shanna agreed, "Let us vote on whether to send agents on this Collective mission. Those for?" Eight of the ten leaders raised their hands.
"The measure passes. Now, Perceval, move onto the next matter, or rather, the matter we expected you to call this meeting for," Zephiel grunted.
Perceval nodded, revealing a slight grin, "As all of you have felt, whether knowingly or unknowingly, over the course of the last few weeks, there is a new Aurelias child growing into their power."
"A child?" Zephiel growled, "Surely, this is not the power of a child. It would be much more sensible if Lady Cassandra returned to us. How could such a child even exist?"
"Zephiel, I can assure you this is not Lady Aurelias. This magik is full of youth with peaks and valleys of someone learning to tap into their power largely by accident," Shanna disagreed.
"Excuse my ignorance, but is this normal of the Aurelias clan?" Roy asked in confusion, "By the time I became Lord, Lady Aurelias was in the farthest regions of the system."
Zephiel answered, "No, Roy and other young Lords and Ladies, this is not typical of the Aurelias clan. Which is exactly why I do not believe this is a mere child. Shanna, are you certain that this is not some other Aurelias magik or perhaps a long-lost member of the clan showing up?"
"I do not know of any magik that can pass onto another without a living Aurelias member," Shanna replied decisively, "As to your second option, I concede it is possible this is not a child, but I do know that it is a new caster. Therefore, child is still an appropriate moniker."
"Then we must find this child. Its place is with us, not fighting a senseless war again," Zephiel boomed aggressively.
Roy agreed, "This child could be the last hope of the Aurelias clan. We must put them into protection immediately." Several other leaders created a chorus of agreement until Perceval banged his cane against the ground.
"You all forget, this child has been raised away from our ways," Perceval sighed, "What makes you think they would want to come with us? I say we leave them be, keep them under watch if we must, but allow them to grow outside of our influence. They must have the spellbook, so they are already aware of their place among us; eventually, they will seek us out."
"If they don't come willingly, we can take them by force. Better that we protect them and thus ourselves than allow unnecessary danger to come their way. If they have this much power, we can train them to harness it," Roy argued.
"Oh yeah, you and what army are going to take this person by force?" Lilina jabbed, "Have you not trained well enough? The child is on Mars, not Earth! Their magik strength is magnitudes higher than yours."
Roy gasped, "What do you mean, they're on Mars?"
"It is true, Roy. That's why I contended this could not be a child. Though it seems I was mistaken. Perceval, why do you think it is best to allow this child to grow away from us? What are you hiding?" Zephiel glared across the table at Perceval who didn't bat an eye at the remark.
"This child, whoever they are, is the strongest vessel I have ever seen in my four hundred thirty-seven years of living," Perceval confessed blissfully, "Perhaps Lady Aurelias was this strong before she left us, yet this is a child! Imagine the potential! I, for one, would welcome a fresh perspective from our newest assumed Lord or Lady. Perhaps, if we are to overcome the Mantoan, we must become more than we are now, especially so if that is indeed the Void sphere we saw."
Zephiel huffed, "And what if you are wrong? What if we lose this child to this war? As powerful as they are, even they cannot win this war alone."
"Does anyone have close kinsfolk on Mars? I would guess any seasoned witch would have a general idea of this child's location with as powerful as they are," Shanna suggested.
"I have my sibling, and their family live on Mars," Lilina raised her hand, "Yesterday, I contacted them, and they said this child is on Mars Base One. But they aren't sure of their location beyond that. They told me that they will visit Mars Base One this weekend and report back."
Shanna bowed slightly towards Lilina, "Well done, young Lady. You do your generation proud. Will you share this information with us when you learn it?"
"I thank you for your praise, Lady Shanna," Lilina bowed her head slightly, "Of course, I will share this information with you all as soon as I learn it."
"Then it is decided. We will reconvene once we have received the information from Lady Lilina. Please enjoy a fruit basket on your way out," Perceval affirmed as he slowly rose from his seat. The other Lords and Ladies quickly followed his example and stood up from their seats as well. Most of them left as individuals; however, Perceval noticed Zephiel, Roy, and two others left in a small clump while talking among themselves. Not all the leaders left, though, as Lilina and Shanna had remained behind. The trio met at the doorway and walked into the sunroom Lilina had been in the day before. Once they were seated, servants brought in a tray of juice and one of breakfast pastries but then quickly exited the room.
While pouring himself a chalice of blue liquid, Perceval asked the women, "Shanna, when are you going to pass the torch onto the next generation? You must grow weary of the growing strife. I know it weighs most heavily on you with your sphere."
"Have you looked in a mirror lately, old friend?" Shanna jested as she picked up a golden croissant, "We have both grown weary. Besides, this child seems to have blown new wind in my sails. She is quite an interesting child."
"She? What else do you know about the child, Lady Shanna?" Lilina jerked, spilling some juice on her hand.
"Please, child, you may drop the formalities between us friends," Shanna laughed, "Truthfully, I know not if this child is a man or woman. I am only hoping. You see, Aurelias women have a history of boldness. I think our world could use a little of that."
Perceval smiled, "You speak the truth though. This child has brought me new strength as well. I feel I could live another hundred years."
"How strong do you two think they will grow?" Lilina questioned, "After all, you have both said this is only the beginning of their magik."
"That all depends on their second sphere. But in terms of raw magik to wield at any given moment, I believe this child will rival Merlin himself. Yet there is something else about this child that I do not recognize," Shanna frowned.
Perceval sighed heavily, "Ah, you sensed it as well then. Good because I thought I had gone mad. It is a fearsome power lurking even deeper within them. One I do not recognize either."
"What do you mean, Perceval?" Lilina looked confused, "What is this second magik you speak of?"
"Surely you know that the Aurelias clan is proof that we witches did learn magik first from Fae. Well, a small group of witches throughout the years have wondered this simple question: what if Fae are not the only magik race in the universe?" Shanna explained.
"You see, most humans believe Fae are just a myth, yet we know they were real at least in the past," Perceval continued, "So why not other creatures? Such fantasies as vampires or dragons."
Lilina huffed, "Now I understand even less. What do these two things have to do with each other? Are you suggesting this isn't a child of the Aurelias clan? Please speak more plainly."
"No, this is definitely an Aurelias child," Shanna giggled, "I will make myself clearer. Perceval and I, because of our advanced years, are able to differentiate between different sources of magik. We humans do not have a natural source of magik, so we borrow cosmic magik. Fae, on the other hand, have their own magik, can train to increase the amount they have, and can use cosmic magik as well. But the Aurelias clan are not humans, rather some half-blood of Fae and humans, which allows them to have their own source of magik as well. Yet Perceval and I detect another source of magik in this child besides Fae and cosmic magik."
"Let me explain it this way. If you think of different types of magik as different colors, you can imagine cosmic magik as white magik. Magik from the Aurelias clan is blue. But this magik is red," Perceval tried to explain with an anecdote.
Lilina took a big gulp of her drink before speaking slowly, thinking of every word, "Let me make sure I get this straight. This child may be part human, part Fae, and part unknown? Is that why this child is so powerful?"
"Perhaps," Perceval mused as he swirled his goblet, "But more importantly, as Shanna glossed over, we three are currently the only leaders that know about this. I would appreciate it, Lilina, if that fact stayed private for now."
"Why is it important to keep this quiet?" Lilina worried.
Shanna put her hand on Lilina's knee and leaned in, "Zephiel will soon make his move to be Head Witch. If the war had not restarted so soon, perhaps he could have been resisted. But with so many new Lords and Ladies, I fear his warmongering will win them over. Only an Aurelias will lead us along the right path."
"Zephiel has wanted to be Head Witch for some time," Perceval leaned back and closed his eyes, "We fear under his direction the witches will let the rest of humanity fall before getting involved. And then it will be too late."
"I will keep this secret then. I'll also tell you two what information I find out from first," Lilina bowed her head graciously.