Maxwell wasn't usually so serious, and this wasn't his preferred physical form. He preferred the appearance of an ancient wizard, because that was truly what he was. However, as slim the possibility as it was, if his magic was sealed somehow in that form, he'd be unable to defend himself. The form of an ancient wizard was also attention-attracting. Both situations were highly undesirable in this world.
So he took the form of a young human ranger. A very serious young human ranger. Maxwell told himself initially that he was merely playing the part. After all, he'd never met a jovial ranger. However, it became harder and harder for him to buy the lie. This latest development made him drop the act entirely. He wasn't serious because of his chosen form.
He was serious because this war was killing them. At first "them" was only "it", it being the Great Kharlan Tree. Now it was the Summon Spirits as well. He knew that something was wrong when he lost touch with Origin; that was what originally tipped him off to the plight of the Great Tree. But it was feeling the distress his kin was in that let him know that it was affecting the Summon Spirits as well.
Maxwell didn't know what could have occurred for Efreet to act so violently. Even if he hadn't been connected to the Summon Spirit of Fire, he would have to be deaf and blind not to see the destruction the creature visited on the Governor's Mansion. Maxwell was neither, and he couldn't see how the young half-elf could have survived. He didn't want to give up on Mithos so quickly, but he had to think about the here and now. And if Mithos was dead, he needed to find and gain the trust of another half-elf capable of carrying out this mission.
Not likely to happen. And it was highly likely that "them" would soon include the humanoid population of the world. He needed to come up with a plan B, but what? His Summoner had barely agreed to this plan; hers was to merely destroy Sylvarant. That would certainly solve the issue of the war draining the Great Tree, but Maxwell wasn't sure he wanted Tethe'alla to have the world all to itself. Ordinarily, he'd go to Styx first, get his input, but Maxwell imagined that Styx was just as dead as Mithos was. So this meant that he had to come up with a plan on his own and then wheedle his Summoner to agree to it, or ask her for assistance.
His musing was interrupted by the young Igaguri boy the Igaguri had sent to assist him. "I'm sorry, Maxwell," Kuro said softly, "but I thought you should know this as soon as possible."
"So speak," Maxwell said quietly, still trying to think of a way of saving the tree without Mithos.
"Mithos is alive."
"He survived?" Maxwell replied as he turned to face Kuro, astounded.
"That's generally what being alive implies," the young Igaguri said smugly. Then, remembering his place, he forced the smugness down and straightened his posture. "He's returning with Martel, my lord," Kuro finished his news, "as well as a human and another half-elf."
Maxwell smiled broadly. "That's wonderful! I thought we were never going to see Martel again. But who are their new companions?"
Kuro was clearly uncomfortable with this question, and fidgeted before he spoke. "I have no idea who the other half-elf is," he said haltingly, "but the human is a knight of Tethe'alla. I saw him a few months ago at Igaguri; he was on a 'diplomacy' mission from the king to try to get us to side with Tethe'alla."
The Summon Spirit frowned hard. "Why would a knight of Tethe'alla be with them?" Maxwell mused.
"I believe he is related to Lord Aurion," Kuro offered. "He's a dead ringer for him."
"Interesting. Do you know his name?"
"I believe it was Kratos, my lord."
"The plot thickens," Maxwell chuckled to himself. Seeing Kuro's confused expression, the Summon Spirit clarified, "Kratos is Lord Aurion's son. Go to meet them; if they need help, help them. If you can't help them off the bat, come back and ensure that there are arrangements in place to make sure any of their needs are attended to as soon as they arrive."
As Kuro left to meet the group, Maxwell felt hopeful for the first time since this whole crisis began. Of course, he would have to convince these two strangers to assist his half-elves further, but if he did, things would get a lot easier for his young hero-to-be.
The group was exhausted, hungry, and irritable. There was little Kuro could do for being exhausted and hungry, and all but Kratos were probably irritable due to those two things. Kuro had no idea that Lord Aurion even had a son, so he also had no idea what Kratos' relationship with his father was. However, despite not being on speaking terms with his own parents when they passed, Kuro himself still mourned when he was given the news of their deaths. The young Igaguri thus assumed that Lord Aurion's death was in fact making Kratos more irritable than usual.
There was nothing at all that could be done for that. So Kuro merely said a prayer to the Great Tree for Kratos' well being and tried to put his sympathy out of his head. Kuro imagined that the knight was accustomed to grief, and the situation was dire. There was no time to ruminate on Kratos' loss, and the knight probably knew that, too.
As they arrived at Maxwell's hidden base, Kuro told them, "Whether you want to eat or rest first is up to you."
"I think we better go talk to Maxwell first," Mithos said ruefully. "He needs to know-"
"He already knows," Kuro cut him off with a wave of his hand, "and wants you to rest and eat first. You've had a trying day, Mithos, and I imagine the three of you have as well," Kuro added, his gaze sweeping over the ragged group.
"We have," Martel said with a slight smile, a firm hand- a warning hand- on her little brother's shoulder. Mithos seethed, knowing that Martel was doing her best to keep him quiet as she said, "We're grateful for the chance to rest and eat. Thank you."
Kuro nodded. "So, which is it, food or beds?"
"Maxwell," Mithos snarled softly. Martel, in turn, squeezed Mithos' shoulder slightly, and he lapsed back into sulky silence.
"I don't think I can eat or sleep," Kratos said softly.
Yuan and Martel looked at each other. "What do you think?" Yuan asked after a moment's hesitation.
Martel flushed slightly and waved her free hand. "I could go either way, really," she said, sounding a little flustered. "It's up to you. I'm equally tired and hungry."
The blue-haired half-elf grimaced and scrutinized Martel for several moments before saying, finally, "I think we should rest first. We're all exhausted- yes, Kratos, you're exhausted," Yuan snapped as Kratos started to object to Yuan's generalization. "I can tell you are and I do think you'll be able to sleep." Through the one-sided argument, the half-elf kept Martel in his sights, and made sure to keep his relief carefully hidden as he saw the young woman sigh in relief.
"I'll see to it that you have a hot meal when you awake," Kuro said kindly, resuming his walk down the hall. "The quarters you'll be using are right here."
The room he had stopped by was a spacious one, multiple cots set up in lines against two of the walls. "Hey, my cot's all made up!" Mithos exclaimed in delight, forgetting his sour mood as he dove into the room. Martel chuckled in affection as she followed instantly, and Yuan followed her, his curiosity and exhaustion getting the best of him.
Kratos, however, hesitated. Kuro waited a second to see if Kratos would tell him what he needed on his own, then asked, "Is something wrong, sir?"
The auburn-haired man hesitated again, and then asked, "How much contact do you have with the Igaguri?"
Kuro eyed him suspiciously; what an odd question… "I make regular contact with them," he said warily. "Why?"
It seemed that Kratos's own war with himself came to an end. "You need to tell them to move," the knight said softly. "The King of Tethe'alla intended to destroy you if you didn't agree to help us. The Prince's death may incense him enough that he'll drop diplomacy and attack you outright."
The young Igaguri bristled at this. "Let him try," he snapped back. "We will not run from any army!"
"That's stupid," Kratos snapped back. "Do you realize how much bigger they are than you?"
"We're better fighters," Kuro sneered.
Kratos ignored the insult. "You might be better fighters," he returned, "but when you're fighting fifteen to one or more, it'll do you very, very little good!"
Despite his pride, Kuro blanched at that. After a moment, he said, "You're right. We'd be decimated." He thought hard about it, and then said, "I'll notify our chief of this situation. Thank you for alerting us."
Kratos nodded in acknowledgment, and Kuro stiffly walked away. The knight sighed heavily as he realized Martel had crept up curiously behind him. "I really am a traitor to Tethe'alla now," he said quietly, numbly.
"You're not a traitor to a country," Martel replied sadly. "You're simply not a traitor to humanity."
Kratos smiled at her wistfully. "That's a less upsetting way of looking at it, yes."
The half-elf woman returned his sad smile, and put a hand on his arm. "Come on, Kratos. You're more tired than you're letting on. Come get some rest."
"C'mon, Kratos!" Yuan shouted from within the room. "Mithos and I are taking all the good pillows! We're gonna take yours if you don't get in here!"
"You leave my pillows alone!" Kratos hollered back, finally entering the room. Martel hid her grin behind her hand and followed quietly, closing the door behind them.
Maxwell went over in his head, over and over again, what he'd say to the young man when he got to his office. Well… perhaps Kratos wasn't a 'young man' anymore, being almost thirty years old. But to Maxwell, Kratos was certainly still a young man.
He left off the debate about whether or not Kratos was a young man and resumed fretting over what to say to him. He did want to see the Knight alone, before he spoke to the rest of the group. Styx Aurion had died following Maxwell's orders. Maxwell bore responsibility for the man's death; he needed to offer something to Kratos.
But what? After all of his experience, Maxwell realized he'd never had to do this before. "I'm sorry I got your old man killed. By the way, can you go and do the same exact thing in hopes that it doesn't kill you?" The Summon Spirit laughed out loud at this thought; no, that definitely wasn't it…
A knock on the door alerted him to the fact that he'd run out of time. Resigning himself to just going with the flow, he called, "Enter!" In a moment, the door opened and Kuro stepped into the room, followed closely by the young Knight in question. "Excellent. Thank you, Kuro," Maxwell said with a smile. "Could you leave us alone, please?"
Kuro didn't answer except to bow slightly and exit the room, closing the door behind him. Maxwell regarded the knight uncomfortably, realizing that the flow wasn't going. Kratos returned his gaze unwavering, unemotional, and waited. "You're very much like your father," Maxwell said finally, hoping Kratos hadn't hated the man.
"Thank you," Kratos replied quietly.
His thanks seemed genuine, so Maxwell continued, "I'm sincerely sorry for your loss," he said. "For all of our loss, really. Lord Aurion was a great man."
"Yes, he was."
Maxwell hit that awkwardness again, and fidgeted. Don't screw this up, Maxwell… he told himself, and then said, "Your father spoke very highly of you. You were his world, Kratos."
The knight cracked a slight, mournful smile at this, and said, "I'm sorry if this seems short, but I need to know why he died. What's going on that Father would attempt the impossible knowing damn well it was?"
Maxwell's slight smile diminished. "They told you nothing?"
Kratos shook his head. "They said that the Great Kharlan Tree was dying," he said, "and that the situation was dire. It was confusing, however, so Martel suggested that we speak to you."
"I see." Maxwell frowned, thinking about how to best explain this to someone with little magical knowledge. Finally, he summoned a small ball of light to his palm. "This is, as you probably know, magic," Maxwell said. Kratos crept closer as the Spirit continued, "You probably also know that magic needs a source, something to feed off of. That something is called mana. You with me so far?"
Kratos nodded. "I know all this already."
"Good. Now, here's something you may not know: mana is everything. It is the basic building block of life. You cannot have life without mana." Maxwell gauged his companion's reaction; judging from the way the man's reddish-brown eyes widened slightly, this was new to him. The Spirit chuckled to himself and added, "Your life comes from mana as well. You are not able to manipulate it as elves, half-elves and magical beings are, but it's still there.
"Now, since mana is the source of all life, what do you think will happen if mana disappears?" Maxwell asked. As he spoke, he slowly choked the amount of mana he was feeding into the sphere of light.
Kratos watched the ball of light dim steadily. "Whatever's running out of mana will die," he responded. "But I didn't think it worked that way. Doesn't mana replenish itself?"
"It does," said Maxwell, "but if it diminishes entirely, the end result is still the same. Now, what do you think will happen if the source of mana runs out entirely?"
"Martel said that was what was happening," Kratos replied, "but it seems a bit unbelievable. The Great Kharlan Tree has an almost infinite amount of mana."
"That's where you're wrong," said Maxwell gravely, "and it's that misinformation that's causing this. The Great Kharlan Tree has its own supply of mana as with all living beings. Its supply is massive, as it is the source of all mana on this world. This war is depleting its mana faster than it can replenish it. At first this was a very gradual process, but since you developed magitechnology, it's happening much faster than ever before." As the Spirit said this last, he cut the magic to his ball of light off entirely.
Kratos shifted on his feet, his face reflecting his concern. At that moment, there was another knock on the door. "That's probably your friends come looking for you," Maxwell said kindly. He called for whomever it was to come in, and sure enough the three half-elves filed into the room.
The knight noticed immediately that Yuan was quite pale. "Are you all right?" he asked, momentarily forgetting his concern for the Great Tree.
Yuan nodded slightly, his gaze on the Summon Spirit. "You're Maxwell?"
"Yes, I am."
"Is what they told me true? Is it really that bad?"
"It's really that bad."
There was a momentary silence, and then Yuan asked, "What about their Exspheres? I've never seen any like them, and they didn't know how they were different from regular Exspheres, either."
"Ah, yes," said Maxwell. "To be perfectly honest, all I know is that they're artificially enhanced Exspheres. I'm surprised you don't know about them, Kratos," he said. "They're being used extensively in Tethe'alla."
Kratos raised his eyebrows at this. "Are they?" he said, clearly surprised. "I suppose that explains why the treasury was always so tight. Exspheres are expensive enough. I imagine that these special ones are even more so."
"You could say that," Maxwell said haltingly. Before any of them had a chance to react to his hesitation, he said, "I'm sorry to ask this of you, after this has already put you through so much." He looked from Martel, to Yuan and to Kratos, and then said, "This still needs to be dealt with. Will you help?"
"You know I will," Martel said immediately, without hesitation.
"I can't not help," said Kratos. If he had more to say on the subject, he didn't.
When Yuan realized Kratos was done speaking with that simple statement, he added, "I can't very well let my best friend, a woman and a kid venture into danger alone, now can I?" He said it with a slight, nervous smile, his gaze on Martel out of the corner of his eye. Whether she saw it or not, he noticed that her lips turned up slightly, looking very pleased.
"Excellent," Maxwell remarked, beaming. "Yuan, I notice that you don't have an Exsphere at all. Would you like a Cruxis Crystal- the type of Exspheres Martel and Mithos have?"
Yuan shrugged. "I've never used one before, but if you think it'll be beneficial-"
"I do." Maxwell turned to a shelf and pulled down a box. He took a small, stone-like object from it and replaced the box, and then handed the object to Yuan.
As the half-elf placed the object on his hand, Kratos objected. "Exspheres shouldn't be placed directly on the skin," he said.
"It's all right," Maxwell replied. "Consider it one of the upgrades from a regular Exsphere. Placing it on the skin, rather than a Key Crest, shouldn't do anything at all. In fact, I've been instructed that they actually lose power if a Key Crest is used."
"Fascinating," Yuan replied, obviously thrilled with the idea of having an Exsphere.
Maxwell grinned at the half-elf's enthusiasm, and then said, "Your first goal should be to subdue Efreet. I don't know if he's in such a state that he'll leave the temple and attack Triet. This cannot happen."
"We'll take care of it," Mithos said firmly. "This is my fault. I was the one who wanted a pact without being able to do it."
"Blame is somewhat irrelevant at this point," Maxwell replied. "Just focus on subduing him, if you can. Good luck."
