The assembled members of the Global Order of Sorcerers sat stiffly in their decorative wooden chairs. They ringed a thick mahogany wood table as they stared in silence at the images and recorded videos before them.
None of them had ever seen a battlefield as intense as this one.
"What in the hell happened out there?"
They all wanted the answer to that question.
"Ahem," Talos cleared his throat before addressing the room, "I spoke at length with the sorcerers involved in this battle. They had a lot to say, most of it you will find hard to believe."
Someone guffawed at his statement,
"What are you getting at Talos?"
Talos had a calm demeanor, as if he was completely unbothered by the dozens of eyes staring at him in eager anticipation.
Talos wondered how much to say but seemingly decided that they should know everything, after all hiding the truth from them was a useless endeavor at this point. His calm, calculating eyes scanned the gathered elders before he continued.
"Some time ago, a woman appeared at the Temple of the Badger. She called herself Seris Ardentis and claimed to be a sorcerer from three centuries ago."
The gathered sorcerers all shook their heads at the same time. What a load of garbage they thought to themselves.
"Are you really going to stand there and try to feed us fairy tales? Seris Ardentis is a myth. A clever story created by sorcerers long ago and tacked on to Rhianon Tee's own story."
Murmured agreement accompanied the bold statement. No one could dispute Rhianon Tee's existence since there was plenty of hard evidence left behind. Seris though was a story they used to tell each other growing up. The powerful sorcerer that everyone dreamed of being like a super hero from a comic or movie.
Talos sighed before continuing, "I know this is hard to believe but she does exist. We have a record of her at our temple. Besides, I too was skeptical at first."
"So what changed your mind then?"
A man, sitting close to Talos and wearing spectacles, peered at his fellow elder. He had always known Talos to be a level headed, intelligent man. It made him a good sorcerer and a good elder of their order.
"The numerous reports from her interventions on demonic incursions. She saved multiple strike teams from death and eliminated demons that our sorcerers often struggle against."
One of the elders stood up, angrily slamming his hands onto the table, "where is your proof? This is ridiculous! We deserve the truth, not lies to protect who or whatever you are hiding."
Talos hit play on several videos captured by citizens who had managed to get good looks at Seris.
The group watched as several videos captured Seris in action.
Afterwards Talos handed out a stack of papers to each person.
"These are the detailed reports from our rescued strike team along with the detailed reports of Orion Caldas and Amelia Hoshizora. I'll give you time to read through them."
Talos was true to his word. He waited patiently as each elder, the respective Temple Heads of their own local temples, read through the stack of papers.
After twenty minutes the group looked at Talos with mixed reactions. Most wore expressions of incredulity while the rest looked terrified.
"So it's true then."
"This is impossible though."
"The reports are coherent and there is no conflicting information from any of them. It's real alright."
The one who had slammed the table in anger earlier gave a bewildered look at Talos before asking, "why were you hiding her from us then? Surely if we had known about her we could have enlisted her back into the order and used her as a weapon."
Murmured agreements broke out around the room.
"I wasn't hiding her, not exactly. I wasn't forthright about her though because she apparently has a great disdain for our modern order." Talos of course was lying to them.
"Why? She was a member three hundred years ago, what changed?"
Talos gave a small, sad smile before replying, "we changed."
The group exchanged uneasy glances. It was something they couldn't deny. The order as it existed today, was a far cry from the order of Seris's time.
"She feels that we have become too weak and that we, the elders, are to blame for the mess that is currently going on in the world."
"That is unfair!"
"Be that as it may, her opinion right now is not in our favor. She also has issues with taking orders."
Someone snorted, "who doesn't?"
There was a pause as the collective members thought about their next move.
"What do we do then? I mean look at this destruction. I understand that thanks to her, an unknown entity of incredible power was defeated and several sorcerers were rescued-"
"But she leveled an entire city."
The uneasiness was so thick that Talos could have cut it with a knife.
"I don't have an answer for that. I think for now we simply let her be."
There was another outbreak of murmuring with several members rubbing their hands anxiously.
"Talos, you are suggesting that we let someone like this just walk around as she pleases?"
"How do you intend to stop her?"
No one answered Talos's question. They all knew that next to her, they were merely apprentices playing at being sorcerers.
"I suppose we have no choice then. We should be thankful she is on our side," the man with spectacles stated loudly.
There were several nods from people who agreed with that sentiment of gratitude.
"We can't cover up destruction this large, Talos, you know this."
"We spin it then, put the blame on the demons with poor Seris unable to save the city in time despite her best efforts. We highlight the fact that she saved some sorcerers and drove the demons back."
The spectacle man smiled at Talos's suggestion of media manipulation. That was the Talos he knew, the pragmatic and calculating man not afraid to take risks when he felt they were necessary.
***
Talos was walking alone, heading to his car when someone caught up to him.
"It's been awhile since we had a chance to chat," the man with the spectacles grinned at Talos before clasping him on the shoulder in a friendly manner.
"It has been awhile, Marcus, how are you?"
Marcus shrugged, "busy but who isn't these days. These damn demons are getting stronger and making things far more miserable for us than ever before."
Talos chuckled darkly at that.
"Before you left though, I wanted to ask you something."
Talos arched a single eyebrow, "go on."
"What are you hiding?"
Talos stared at Marcus, his eyes narrowing.
"What makes you think I'm hiding something?"
Marcus gave Talos a look that plainly said, 'you're joking right?'
Talos sighed before answering, "fine, you were the only one who could ever see past my poker face you know."
Marcus laughed heartily at that.
"You're good at fooling everyone else, but I've known you for too long. So out with it, what's really going on here?"
Talos debated with himself but decided to answer after a few seconds.
"The truth is that I think Seris might be our only shot at winning the coming war."
Marcus's jaw tightened as the merriment left his eyes.
"You really believe that the Demon King is going to finally invade our realm?"
"Yes and it will be soon."
"What makes you so sure?"
Talos shook his head before saying, "take a look around you Marcus. We've done a good job keeping a lid on things, making the public think that they are being kept safe. You and I both know that isn't true though, it's an illusion of our own making."
Marcus frowned before rubbing his chin.
"I suppose you're right. These incursions are becoming more frequent and our enemies are stronger than they were before."
"Precisely. I think the Demon King is testing the waters, seeing how stout our defenses really are."
Marcus had a dark look while Talos looked sorrowful.
"Seris could be the game changer then. Her power alone might be enough to stave off the enemy."
"I wish that were true old friend, I really do. I don't think Seris, despite her near godlike status, is enough to prevent a war. She can fight with us and help us win but she is still only one person. We would need more than just her to prevent a full scale invasion."
Talos turned to leave, his mind heavy with dozens of thoughts that he wasn't interested in sharing with Marcus.
"What are we going to do then?"
Talos turned back long enough to answer in a somber tone, "whatever we can to survive."