Date: 13/6/17
The Assessment Room was quieter than usual.
Outside, the sky of Manipur Sorcery Academy was pale grey, clouds drifting slowly above the tall pine trees that surrounded the campus. Inside the mission hall, rows of wooden desks were arranged neatly, each occupied by students waiting for their assignment.
At the front stood three teachers.
Khuraijam Bikram folded his arms.
Beside him, Instructor Kondonglei adjusted his glasses and scanned the room.
"Today," Kondonglei began, his voice firm yet calm, "you will receive your first real-field missions. These are not simulations. These are real cases."
The atmosphere immediately tightened.
Some students straightened their backs.
Some avoided eye contact.
Missions were optional. No one was forced.
But declining too many meant being labeled as weak.
Files were distributed.
Whispers filled the air.
"Missing livestock…"
"Strange noise at night…"
"Possessed shrine…"
"Forest anomaly…"
Many students hesitated.
Only a handful stood up to accept assignments.
Among them were Lanthaba and Yaikhomba.
They exchanged a glance.
No words were needed.
They stepped forward together.
Khuraijam Bikram handed them a brown file.
"Sei Village," he said. "Cattle disappearance. No evidence. No struggle marks."
Lanthaba opened the file calmly.
Yaikhomba leaned slightly closer.
"Two days ago. Then again four days ago," Lanthaba read. "Guards fell asleep mysteriously. No sound. No tracks."
Yaikhomba raised an eyebrow.
"Either a professional thief," he murmured.
"Or something more interesting," Lanthaba replied quietly.
They accepted the mission.
Preparing for Departure
Later that evening, under the dim yellow lights of the dormitory hallway, Lanthaba tightened the strap of his utility belt.
Yaikhomba sat cross-legged on his bed, polishing a small transparent shard in his hand. It reflected light like frozen water.
Lanthaba glanced at it.
"You never told me properly," he said. "Your Thawai technique."
Yaikhomba smirked slightly.
"Crystal Manipulation."
He raised his hand.
The shard floated.
Then multiplied.
Three.
Six.
Twelve.
They rotated around him like slow orbiting satellites.
"Crystallokinesis," he added. "I can create, shape, harden, and detonate them. They can act as shields, weapons, traps… or sensors."
Lanthaba nodded.
"A very unique technique."
"Useful against physical threats," Yaikhomba replied. "Less useful if it's something invisible."
Lanthaba closed the file.
"Our mission is simple," he said. "Find out what's stealing the cattle. Protect the villagers. Identify the threat."
"Simple missions are never simple," Yaikhomba muttered.
Before Lanthaba could respond—
The door slid open.
"SIMPLE?" a familiar voice echoed.
Sorel Yaipokpa entered the room casually, hands in his pockets.
"You two are heading to Sei Village?"
Lanthaba nodded.
Sorel's expression shifted slightly — more serious now.
"Sei Village is near Nagaland border," he said. "There's always smuggling activity around border areas."
Yaikhomba leaned back.
"You think it's cattle smuggling?"
"Possible," Sorel said. "But heavy vehicles leave tracks. People leave footprints. You said there were none."
"None," Lanthaba confirmed.
Sorel crossed his arms.
"That's why it's strange."
Not yet.
Just a border village.
Just missing cattle.
But something about it felt wrong.
Departure
The next morning, the air was crisp.
Sorel and a government official escorted Lanthaba and Yaikhomba toward Meeyoileipak transport station.
A black van was parked outside.
A bald man leaned against it casually.
When he saw Sorel, his face lit up.
"Hey bro! Long time no see!"
Sorel grinned widely.
"You're still bald even after your studies finished?"
The man laughed loudly and hugged him.
Lanthaba observed quietly.
"Who is he?" he asked.
Sorel replied calmly.
"My senior. Finished university. Now a certified Sorcerer. His name is Michael Jajo."
The man extended his hand.
"Michael. Tangkhul sorcerer. And former rival of this guy."
"Former?" Sorel scoffed.
Michael grinned. "Temporary rival."
Yaikhomba watched the interaction carefully.
There was history between them.
The government official cleared his throat.
"Sorcerers. Helicopter is waiting."
They entered the van and drove toward the airport.
Mao – The Border Hills
The helicopter cut through the morning sky.
Below them, hills stretched endlessly like waves of green ocean.
When they arrived in Mao, the wind felt colder than Imphal.
Yaikhomba stepped out first.
"Beautiful," he muttered.
The hills were layered in mist. Pine trees lined the ridges. The air carried a clean scent.
Lanthaba stood still for a moment.
Peaceful.
Too peaceful.
A second van transported them from Mao into Sei Village.
The road narrowed.
Houses became sparse.
Wooden fences surrounded small farmlands.
When they entered the village, it was silent.
Not abandoned.
Just… quiet.
The Village Chief welcomed them politely.
He looked exhausted.
The Problem
Inside the Chief's house, tea was served.
The Chief began explaining.
"Two days ago… four days ago… our cattle disappeared."
"No sounds?" Lanthaba asked.
"No cries. No struggle."
"We assigned guards," another villager added. "But they fell asleep."
"All of them?" Yaikhomba asked.
"Yes."
Michael leaned forward.
"Were they injured?"
"No."
"Headache afterward?"
"Yes… mild headache."
Sorel's eyes narrowed.
Interesting.
Lanthaba asked, "Any unusual wind? Smell? Animals behaving strangely?"
The villagers shook their heads.
"We checked the ground," one said. "No footprints. No vehicle marks."
Silence filled the room.
After hearing everything, Sorel finally spoke.
"There are two possibilities."
Everyone looked at him.
"Either Lairois… or a Thawai User."
Lanthaba turned slightly.
"What do you mean?"
Sorel explained calmly.
"Lairois are wild spiritual entities. Some can manipulate sleep. Some can transport objects through temporary distortion fields."
The villagers shifted uncomfortably.
"But," Sorel continued, "there's another possibility."
"A Thawai User."
He continued:
"Bad individuals who misuse their Thawai abilities. They cause trouble for ordinary people. They hide their identity to avoid government detection."
Yaikhomba processed the information carefully.
"If it's Lairois, our original plan works," he said. "But if it's a human Thawai user… then we're dealing with intelligence."
Lanthaba nodded slowly.
"Our initial plan was built assuming wild spirit behavior."
He looked at Sorel.
"You didn't mention this before."
"I didn't want to assume," Sorel replied. "Now that we've heard the details, it's different."
Lanthaba stood.
"If guards fell asleep," he said quietly, "then whoever is responsible has a sleep-inducing technique."
Michael's smile faded slightly.
"Which means they're confident."
Night Investigation
They decided to guard the cattle that very night.
No large announcements.
Only a few trusted villagers.
The moon rose slowly.
Cold wind moved across the fields.
The cattle were gathered inside a wooden enclosure.
Lanthaba positioned himself on a rooftop.
Yaikhomba placed tiny crystal shards around the perimeter — invisible to ordinary eyes.
Michael stood near the gate.
Sorel remained at the highest vantage point.
Time passed.
Nothing.
The wind was normal.
The cattle were calm.
Then—
Yaikhomba's eyes narrowed.
One of his crystals vibrated.
"Something entered," he whispered.
Lanthaba sensed it too.
Not a physical presence.
A subtle wave.
Like invisible pollen in the air.
Michael's expression changed.
"Scentless," he muttered.
One villager guard near the fence blinked slowly.
His head drooped.
He collapsed silently.
Another followed.
Yaikhomba clenched his fist.
"Sleep induction!"
Lanthaba immediately sealed his breathing pathways with controlled Thawai flow, preventing the particles from entering fully.
Michael did the same.
Sorel jumped down.
The air felt heavier.
Then—
One cow vanished.
Not dragged.
Not taken.
Vanished.
Yaikhomba's crystal sensors shattered simultaneously.
"Spatial shift," he said.
This was not ordinary.
This was deliberate.
And precise.
Lanthaba's eyes sharpened.
"This isn't Lairoi behavior."
The air distorted slightly near the northern edge of the field.
For half a second, a shadow appeared.
Humanoid.
Then disappeared.
Michael stepped forward.
"So. Human."
Sorel's voice was low.
"Thawai User."
The realization settled heavily.
They were not dealing with wild spirits.
They were dealing with someone intelligent.
Someone careful.
Someone confident enough to operate near a border.
Lanthaba looked toward the hills beyond the village.
"Tomorrow," he said quietly, "we track the cattle."
Yaikhomba nodded.
"If they're being teleported, there must be a fixed exit point."
Michael cracked his knuckles.
"And once we find that…"
Sorel finished the sentence.
"We confront them."
The night remained silent.
But the mission had changed.
This was no longer just a village problem.
This was organized.
Calculated.
And possibly connected to something larger near the border.
Lanthaba stood under the moonlight.
His eyes calm.
His mind already calculating the next move.
To protect the cattle…
To protect the villagers…
They would have to outthink a hidden Thawai User.
The real mission had just begun.