September 17, 2152
Three gentle taps on Emory's door jolted her awake with a hopeful smile on her face. After bathing and getting ready for the day, Emory scooped up the page and tucked it away into her bag before heading downstairs. More people were eating breakfast than the day before, but the atmosphere was calmer and quieter. However, Emory could feel the eyes of the Legion upon her, though no one dared look her in the eyes. Instead of dwelling on it, she quickly made her way through the crowd to Athos, who had a tray of pastries in his hands.
"Good morning, Emory," he greeted her, "You got pretty hungry yesterday, so I saved you some food this morning."
"Good morning, Athos. Thank you for the food. So, I decided last night that I would speak to the Legion today," Emory said nonchalantly as she shoveled some food in her mouth.
"That's wonderful!" Athos cheered, "They'll really enjoy anything you have to say to them. I'm sure you can tell how much that little hiccup yesterday affected them."
Emory nodded, "Definitely. That's why I want to do it. I think it's important to bring these people a little hope."
"Did you enjoy the rodeo last night?" Athos asked, "I didn't get a chance to talk to you afterwards."
"Very much. Thank you for inviting me. It shocked me to see so many mythical creatures that appear in human stories," Emory mentioned.
"Yes, when we came to Earth a thousand years ago, we brought unicorns and wyverns with us," Athos remembered, "Since you didn't have any quick method of transportation, they worked quite well for getting around."
Emory was very fascinated with the history of humans and Elandrian, but just before she could ask some follow up questions, the gong rang, signaling the start of the workday. Unlike the previous day, the Five simply went to their seats while the Legion went to the benches except for the rest of the back row. They instead filed in organized line behind the podium on the stage. Once the Five had taken their seats and Emory had created hers, the gong rang again. The Legion began listing their requests again, just as they had done the day prior. But Emory's attention was on the speech she wrote.
She had pulled it out of her bag and begun rereading it over and over again. Looking at it now, she wasn't sure if this is what she wanted to say. Time slipped by as she reconsidered what she would say instead, becoming completely lost in her own thoughts. When she finally took in the world around her and looked towards the podium, only three people remained. Athos reached his hand back towards Emory who thought he was passing her a note. However, when she touched his hand, a message rang in her head, "Emory, this is Athos. By touching my hand, you've begun the process of setting up a telepathic link with me. To finish this initial process, please confirm your agreement to this link."
"Yes, I accept," Emory thought in her mind.
"Emory, are you ready to speak?" Athos asked, "We'll have lunch after they finish. Then I'll speak for a few minutes and introduce you. After that, you can say as much or little as you want."
Emory wondered, "Do we stand or just speak from our chairs?"
"You can do whichever feels more comfortable," Athos answered cheerfully, "I prefer to stand." Emory nodded and listened to the last two of the Legion speak. A gong chimed as the doors swung open and carts came barreling into the large hall. While the food was being distributed, Emory could feel the tension building in the room. Everyone began looking at her expectantly, and whispers started growing amongst the crowd. Once everyone had their food, Athos took a couple bites before standing and clearing his throat to get the crowd to quiet down. "Welcome! As you all know, I have had the same goal for many years now: to find hidden secrets left behind from the Ancients. This year, I decided to go back to the basics and take a look at all the known sites of power with fresh eyes. I had little success until I stumbled onto a little insignificant planet at the far reaches of our studies. Luck shined down upon me, and I met a new friend that I brought with me. With her, she brings a huge number of reinforcements to back up our lines. Now, I yield the rest of my time before you to her," Athos finished as he motioned to Emory.
She stood up and cleared her throat, "Good afternoon, Legion and the Five. My name is Emory Reiss, and I am what you refer to as an Ancient. But let me tell you my tale from the beginning. Just over eighteen years ago, I was born to Marty Reiss, an Ancient, and Roselin Aurelias, a Hexblood from birth. They were scientists, assisting the race I grew up with called humans. At the time, we were facing an unprecedented famine, and maybe more importantly, the vast populous had no idea magik was real. Five years later, the Mantoan came to our system and wanted our resources. That year, we learned two very important things: we were not alone in the universe and magik was real. Through a mix of perseverance, magik, and technology, we kicked the Mantoan out of our system after occupying our area for eight years. However, as you might have expected, we lost millions of lives, including my parents who never revealed my heritage to me." The crowd leaned in, and tears filled their eyes as Emory continued.
"I grew up with a family at the beginning of the war, but by the end, there was only my artificial intelligence and I left alive. Two months ago, I started military school to prepare for a resurfacing threat of a Mantoan attack. It was there with my new friends that I began to learn of my heritage," she went on calmly, "At first, I thought I was just another Hexblood like my mother, but my magik was growing at a pace unseen in my ancestors. When I reached third level in Arcane, I transformed into my adult form and learned of my father's blood from another Ancient. That was two weeks ago. Now that you know my past, let me tell you about my present and future."
"In the short time I attended military school, my power grew so much that they offered me a high position in the largest faction of humans. After a scout ship attacked my friends, I retook control of the magik faction by leaning on my mother's name. Today, I stand before you not as a refugee looking for help, but as a partner extending an offer of help. Though the force I bring is new to magik, we are fierce and tenacious. We will not give in until we are free from the threat of the Apleem. And I personally will be joining the battlefield to ensure our victory. I made a vow on my parents' graves that I would not stop until their killers were defeated, and I intend to keep that vow. Who's with me?" Emory yelled. As she got more excited, magik began to flow out from her like water filling up a tank. By the time she finished and called to crowd, the entire hall from the floor to the ceiling was covered in a layer of her magik.
A couple of people stood up and started clapping followed by a few more and then a few more. Within a minute, half of the Legion was on their feet and cheering, and within two, the entire crowd was in a complete uproar at Emory's speech. Tears began welling up in her eyes as the support continued to grow louder, but the waterworks started as soon as she turned to see every member of the Five on their feet as well. She wiped her tears before returning to her throne which caused the magik to fade gently. Still, the crowd continued to praise and applaud Emory for the next five minutes. When they finally settled down, Athos rose from his throne again and stood before the Legion.
"Thank you, Lady Emory, for that fine benediction," Athos beamed, "Let me be the first to welcome you and the rest of humanity to a fruitful partnership. May we finally clear the galaxy of the Apleem. Now, for the logistics of the plan. As she mentioned, most of humanity has relatively only a rudimentary understanding of magik; therefore, we will be sending some of our forces to human outposts to assist with training. We need a total of four thousand volunteers by the end of the festival and will be a year-long deployment. However, within a year, we plan to have an additional forty million mid-tier fighters."
Gasps echoed throughout the hall as Athos paused to let the numbers sink in. Forty million more fighters meant a force twice the size of their current force, one that rivaled that of the Apleem. With the right equipment and training, this ally could change the course of the war in their favor. Combined with Emory's strength to take out the Laxtros, many of them had hope fill their hearts for the first time in a very long time.
Athos called, "I'll leave you with this final thought. One thing Lady Emory left out of her story was her devotion to her friends. Right now, they are leaders of the outposts in the same sector as the Apleem. On the first full day of reaching level four in the Arcane, she cast Contract on six of her friends so they would have a fighting chance against the danger we all know lies there. That was the day after she reached level three. Now, that's not to remind you all how strong she is; you very well know that. Can any of you imagine splitting off six sections of your mana pool in the same day for your friends? She didn't even consider the strain it would take on her body. Instead, she immediately sacrificed of herself without hesitation. That's the kind of person I brought to you today, a good, loyal friend."