As we passed beneath the wall, I leaned over Fable’s shoulder, trying to get a good look at the city. But I was blocked by another line of soldiers, a mixture of second and third-level warriors and rangers. Like our guards already, their armor and weapons were polished and gleaming, not a hair out of place. It brought the number of our escorts to over twenty.
"What are they watching for?" I asked quietly. "Why do they keep looking at us?"
Luxxa leaned in. "I’m afraid our presence isn’t exactly welcome. Our camp is away on a peak overlooking the valley, but they still send rangers to subtly watch us."
A chill ran down my spine. The only reason the elves existed here at all was because of the sacrifices of the Lat Light Company. And yet they hadn’t earned any trust? I’d brought an army that numbered close to the population of their entire city. What chance did I have?
After passing through the outer barracks and guardhouses, we entered the city proper. It was more...normal than I anticipated. While the buildings were slender and graceful, and the primary building material was wood, it had a decidedly Blacksand feel to it. Tall towers rose in the distance, forming a city center almost a mile from where we stood.
Around us, the street was close to deserted. A few elves hurried from one place to another, keeping their eyes lowered. A young mother, looking no more than twenty, dragged a young boy and girl behind her, almost running full-on into one of our escorts before she noticed. She looked up, gasping an apology, only to freeze as her eyes landed on Fable. Her pupils shrank into dots, and her children huddled behind her, starting to cry.
"Move along," the guard muttered, letting his aura chill the air.
The woman stumbled back, ears drooping, struggling to keep her children behind her. She stayed there, pressed against the wall of a shop with its windows dark and door locked, until we passed by, before sagging back, tears in her own eyes.
"This is bad," Korra muttered darkly. "It wasn’t anything a week ago."
"Something changed a few days back. An order came down from the capital. Not sure what it is, but it put the military on edge. The citizens can feel the difference. Hardly anyone’s felt like messing around," Jena said with a pout. She sounded light and unconcerned, but there was a note of tension underlying her relaxed demeanor.
"Hurry along, we can’t keep the Lord waiting," the captain of our escort growled.
I frowned, feeling a spark of irritation. We were moving as quickly as they were, which was a notably slower pace than we’d marched with our entire army. The weakest members of our party were Gith and Jenna, both at the middle stages of sixth level. That put them two entire levels above the captain himself, not to mention his soldiers.
With every passing street, the city grew more elegant and fine, and more elves became visible. They peeked at us from alleys, out of windows, or ducked behind open-market stalls. The air was heavy with fear, making my tail curl uneasily. None dared meet my eyes; few even got that far, cowering at the sight of Fable before they even noticed me.
At last, we passed through another gate into the inner city. This more matched my expectations of the elves. Where the forests of Sylvarus had been cleared for the outer city, the inner grew amongst it. The architecture was simple but beautiful, towers rising among the trees, homes nestled amidst sprawling gardens and streams. Some of the bigger trees had been hollowed out, kept alive with magic, yet lived in for what had to be hundreds of years. The cobblestone roads wound around particularly large trees, with quaint bridges crossing any river too big to filter beneath it. The forest was so dense that the walls vanished behind us after less than a hundred steps, surrounding us in the immersive beauty of forest and city.
The elves here were far more confident than those without, and there was some semblance of normalcy in their behavior. They talked and laughed, leaning against trees or discussing merchandise across counters of living wood. They always quieted when we passed, giving us dark looks, but their expressions held hostility, not fear.
The forest parted abruptly into a vast clearing that ran into the base of vast, towering walls some fifty feet tall. They were made of massive chunks of stone, colored the same as the cliffs surrounding the city. Thick trunks of vines crawled up and down the unshapen faces, looking like netting holding it all together. Despite the rather...unpolished look, both stone and vine were woven with powerful eighth-level enchantments, making it nearly impervious to any kind of assault. Soldiers patrolled the walls and towers, posted at mountain mana cannons and ballistae.
The gates were made in a similarly patchwork fashion, the steel and wood held together and hinged by more vines. An entire battalion of guards, numbering a hundred, stood before it at attention. Their leader, a seventh-level ranger, had a bow slung across his back. His face was shaped in a permanent scowl, his eyes narrow, and his lips drawn in a frown.
As we entered the courtyards and moved toward the heavily fortified keep within, something brushed my leg. I jumped, a small squeak escaping, and looked down to see that Gith had drifted to my side. It seemed totally coincidental, as if he hadn’t noticed he’d bumped into us, but his eyes found mine and he leaned in.
"There are powerful mages watching us from the towers. The Archmage is here, too. Be careful."
I nodded, absently stroking Borealis as I fought to keep my gaze from darting around, looking for them. Gith’s ability was far more reliable than even the Oracle of Eternity, capable of sensing souls through walls and mundane barriers as well as magical concealment. If he said it, then it would be true.
With a long breath, I let my control over my aura collapse. Gold light filled the air, swirling with stars and my mana. The guards glanced at us, eyes narrowing, but the shift from before would be indiscernible unless they knew what they were looking for. After all, who would notice if the perpetual mist of stars around me was a little denser than normal?
Their response was exactly what I was waiting for. The instant I felt most had lost interest, I let a little more of my mana slip, and then a little more. Each time, less noticed, dismissing it as their nerves or the natural inconsistencies that accompanied all auras.
When my aura had almost entirely unveiled, covering close to twenty feet around us, I stopped the gradual incrementation. Any more, and I’d risk drawing everyone nearby into a vision. But it was enough, and I began to let mana trickle into my soul. Filling myself with power marked another unavoidable jump in my aura, one that should have immediately alerted the guards. But the feeling was so close to my natural aura, it merely felt like another cycle in the constant wavering, a feeling I’d been cultivating since the start. As planned, not a single soldier glanced my way, ignorant of the fact that I now held enough mana to level their keep, had I been capable of doing so.
"Nexus," I whispered, soul casting the spell with the gathered mana.
A brief gust of stars rolled around our party, ensnaring the Star Guard, demons, and my friends. One of the guards glanced at us, sensing the disturbance, but I concealed it well behind my already overflowing aura. The Star Guard tensed, but quickly relaxed. It had been a long time since their souls had bonded with mine, but they quickly recognized it.
With my remaining mana, I subtly cast the rest of my wards and linked Adaptive Resistance to them. Once they left my aura, the glow of the protective magic would be much more obvious, but hopefully, by then, it wouldn’t matter. With any luck, none of this would be necessary at all, but...
I glanced at the mana cannons, stomach twisting. They were more powerful than the ones we’d faced in Brithlite or the Blacksand had been, containing enough mana to release seventh-level attacks. I couldn’t take any chances, should the impossible happen, and they turn on us.
"My Lady, please leave your beasts behind," the captain said as we came to the central keep. "Magical creatures are not permitted within the walls of Brackencliff Keep."
I frowned, glancing at Fyren. He shrugged, and I felt a touch of amusement in the bond. Giving Borealis a final stroke, I nodded and threw the bird into the air. He stretched his wings, catching the afternoon breeze, and soared away. Fable lowered himself, allowing Elise and me to slip off. R’lissea caught my hand as I landed, pulling me close.
"Wait for us," I said to Fable, reaching up and patting his shoulder.
"No fuss?" Elise asked, smiling. "Where was this at Blacksand?"
My face colored pink. Korra chuckled.
"She didn’t have us with her then."