Ocular to the Dying Sun

Voices of Hurting; part 1

Blinding lights blurred Yphemu’s vision, rather, made her lose her peripherals. Like a horse with bright white blinders, her eyesight focused on a tunnel vision in front of her as she poured her attention to all the Dire-eaters surrounding their quarters.

Noise built from the lungs of oppressed and struggling washed away from the sweeping silence that rang through her mind while she attended to the needs of the many. Sucking her breath, she stayed afloat with a bit of breeze just so she could glide to another medium-sized Dire-eater sweeping the skies towards their headquarters.

Callous hands felt the growing warmth of her rapier's metal hilt as she bent her elbow back and angled her torso to an angle that put force on the stab she was aiming to do on the neck of the creature where its gills flapped and sparkling magic entered. With trained eyes, a magician can easily determine the anatomy of a Dire-eater due to its nature being made out of Slitark magic in its entirety in solidified form. Becoming used to mapping out the creature's body helps a Prime Magician and her consorts to accurately deal a blow strong enough to defeat them in one strike.

Exactly like how she stabbed her rapier and infused the tips of the sword with her light magic, expanding its reach within and burning the creature from the inside. Once the force of her magic completely diminishes the creature's ability to move, she uses her wand to behead the creature with one swipe. Using her wand as leverage, she commands the wind that gusts from the bursting death of the creature and pushes her upward in the direction of the next Dire-eater.

This continued a few times until she reached a group of smaller Dire-eaters crowding nearer to the wall of a tornado and have themselves blasted away and hunted down by a group of Sari-riders. By instinct, she waved her wand, its long end cutting the air with a whirr as she cast two types of magic. Rebound Light, as tiny light particles, solidify in the air and hastily attach themselves to the creatures.

Sari-riders won't see this normally, but the particles help lessen the strength and weigh on the Dire-eaters enough to drain them of strength. Before she could land on any solid ground, mid-air, she blasts this to all the directions where she sees small Dire-eaters so it could help lessen their ability to fight back and let her Sari-riders have the chance to fight them with better aim.

Their alchemy-enhanced weapons are feats built to assist the people even if they’re only infused with the purest of magic. Never combined with anything that could constitute as accursed or curated to be one, still it was regulated to a point that it has a limited life as equipment. Anything beyond the regulations of the Academy would be enough to sustain their strengths, and it's not a joke that these are well maintained, not just by the people who use them but by Yphemu’s people. The soldiers and magicians were loyal to her call.

Setting herself on a branch, where she landed nearby to a team of soldiers assisting the supposed rebels towards safety when she heard a booming voice and then felt the ground rumble as the sounds of shrieks could be heard in the direction behind the wall of a tornado. Its tenacity continued to surround the barracks while she focused on one specific Dire-eater. The gliding mother in the sky.

Her gaze followed the majestic creature like a strand of golden hair floating in the clouds, reflecting the light of their dimmed sun. Parting the cold winds and bringing particles of starlight that twinkle from its scales onto the ground, coming not from its innate magical treatise but from the crumbs on the side of its mouth.

This is not the first time Yphemu has watched a Mother Dire-eater roam the skies like it was its garden leisurely strolling to pluck the natural fruits of their land. No, she’s seen them several times every cycle of Ocular to Slitark. Between the levels of skies towards their ever-loving sunlight giver, there lived these creatures in peace despite the turmoil of the raging winds.

Their natural habitat is in the skies but often go back to land, not for anything but to lay their eggs and leave to feed until the next mating season. Those who remain on land are a nuisance to its inhabitants. Therefore prompting the Prime Magician and the Academy, who are both responsible for the balance of the Slitark shards and magic, to adhere to the call of protecting their citizens.

Inwardly, Yphemu is not abhorred by the existence of the Dire-eaters. She is fascinated by them and adores them from a distance. Even want them to strive if not in a controlled environment away from them. But the world doesn't work that way. They find ways to survive in a manner that conflicts with constriction.

As she flicked her wand to uplift her in the air, she spotted an unfamiliar airship flying. Though it looks like a dot from the distance she was slowly floating from, she could easily tell that it was an airship that was not related to the companies or anything of their kingdom. Her eyes blinked and a small smile escaped from her lips as she thought about the audacity of pirates flying in the skies near the barracks of the Academy.

This land is private, and usually far from reach from any kind of humans, and supposedly Dire-eaters. Now, things might have to be thought over a new leaf if many other factors have begun to make this land unsafe. She will need to reinstate the magic within the barriers if she intends to keep this “sacred” land safe from harm.

Coming forth into the side of the mother, she appropriately wisped through the air and tried her best to spark a signal and divert its attention away from the other airships far into the sky that has managed to fly and escape. If she succeeds in stopping them from doing so, maybe she could find another way for the Dire-eaters to go away.

A peaceful option is hard but admirable. She thought, more in the voice of the previous Prime Magician, Lord Saturni.

The vast forest of the ceremonial grounds felt like it wasn’t the same anymore. Though it had not been the best kept, it was peaceful with the occasional peaceful forest creatures. Animals that live in peace and calm with the humans, who, in some way also consume shards but not in the greedy way the Dire-eaters do.

Gliding alongside the Dire-eater mother, careful enough not to direct its attention to her, she clung onto one of the younger Dire-eaters. While she flew as if in peace with them, down below was an ongoing slaughter that she couldn't prevent herself from shuddering at the duality of being a person responsible for the world's safety and control of the land. She winced as she flicked her wand to force the air-gliding creature she clung to, to go nearer the front of the mother. The largest of the flock, with scales, spotted in matte scales, losing its shine from age, the mother Dire-eater floats in the air with her many insect-like legs moving with the wind.

The breeze whipped her hair but made her steady with her intention as she neared the beak of the mother's mouth, her wand at the ready. Her rapier in its sheath moved with her legs as she pushed the young Dire-eater to the several eyes of the mother and with smooth movements tapped the side of the mother's cheeks. The tips of the wand are coated with a warm light that she slightly transferred to the scales of the creature's skin.

Sparkles lightly crackled before they spread on the side of the mother's face, putting light annoying pressure on their eyes that it moaned low and closed the eyes on the side of its face it had sparkles affected. Yphemu made sure that the young Dire-eater was gliding away so that it wouldn’t be hit by the now veering away mother Dire-eater.

However, something on the creature glinted and a burst of wire-like sparks traveled throughout the body from that point, directly on the jaw area on the opposite side. Yphemu noticed it from the underside, while slowly losing the grip she had on the young Dire-eater. The essence of the magic came from a device that, in a sudden realization, housed at least ten types of magical spells that soon corrupted when it was activated just that very moment.

Holding her breath at this misgiving, the mother groaned loudly, knowing this was a call to her children. This call was loud enough to make every Dire-eater, of varied sizes, react erratically. Besides the calm-like call, Yphemu can sense the magic from the device must have triggered a kind of command within the creature.

She sensed that it was a controlling type of magic the same way she coaxed the young Dire-eater. This must be the reason why some other creatures looked like they weren't exactly connected to the mother and is doing their own thing, in a wild, erratic manner.

She’s seen this kind of action before, only when a family of Dire-eaters is interacting with another of its kind that they aren't obligated to cooperate with. The thought made Yphemu realize that the number of creatures within the group was too many.

Someone down below must have thought of this as well because there’s a large regroup because of the actions of the other Dire-eaters. Below, a flare signal distinct to her magical signature was sparked to get her attention.

While leaving the air of the still slow gliding mother, all but sluggishly agonizing on her end of the magic effect, she managed to leave its side. Yphemu, though hesitant to leave her monitoring of the creature, figured it is now veering away, as its body curved to a direction opposite the barracks. She dropped down to the near ground, where she knew where Sacr called for her.

“Lady Yphemu,” Sacr called to her. Yphemu sensed a tension in her voice. Even the other soldiers around them looked weary.

She was surprised that some of the people within the group are not her soldiers but those who looked like patchwork warriors. Equipment not up to par with her own, donning civilian garb that's repurposed to seem protective in battle. Half the mind in her wanted to tell them to leave the ground but she knew they were people part of the supposed rebellion just a few hours ago.

Sighing, she looked at Sacr and nodded for her to continue, as she knew she was going to report the status on the ground. Sacr’s words are simple and easy to summarize. They've managed their best to lessen the people within certain areas outside professor Cucul, Verbasi’s summoned tornado barrier. Though Yphemu could sense that he was slowly lessening the strength of his magic, she can estimate that their job will soon end.

Her mind ran all her impending tasks to do as if being an official captain in their militia wasn't enough, she needs to prioritize making sure the Slitark shards that were purified were delivered to their rightful owners. Making sure to hold the “Kabay rebels" on trial will be held within quiet walls of the court since this is a serious matter for the two factions of the government.

Adjusting her stance, enabling Yphemu to look at the small group. She noticed that most of the Sari steeds have frazzled their feathers to the point that some even sport bald spots from misfires or injuries. “The steeds have been getting the brunt of these attacks. Make sure the riders will be able to safely navigate their—” Her pause didn’t need to happen but everyone in the clearing felt the sudden burst of magic.

From afar, the view of the wind-like wall vanished and loud shouts of alarm spread through the air before a blast of wind scattered blood and meat into the sky. Epiro was shaking his feet, standing beside Sacr. The sense of urgency kicked in the soldiers on the ground but Yphemu eased them with her presence, at least, along with her most trusted men.

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