The Call to War

Chapter 4

"That's him. He came out of retirement and is now in command of all operations in the beast glades," Jasmine replied.

"Last time I spoke with him he seemed to hold a grudge against the Glayders, so I'm surprised he chose to come back. Anyway, how did you become his disciple?" Claire handed Arthur another full bowl of food.

"It turns out that we're family. His sister was my grandmother," Jasmine answered.

"Oh wow," Arthur replied with his eyes widening. "Who would have guessed." He then took another bite of the food Claire made, and was now starting to understand what Theo and the others were saying about her cooking, and placed the bowl on the ground. "What about the rest of you?"

"Well, did you hear about how Director Goodsky was an Alacryan spy?" Claire asked.

"Former spy," Tess clarified in defense of her former master. "They cast some spell on her to keep her from telling us anything, so instead she advised the council and pushed the students at the academy to try and prepare us all for when Alacrya came."

"Actually I heard all of that. I also heard that Alder was able to undo part of the spell that was keeping her from telling us anything. Apparently she revealed a lot of vital information that was used to help prepare Dicathens defenses for this war, before she lapsed into a coma," Arthur added, supporting Tess' argument in Goodsky's defense, and trying to show the importance of her sacrifice.

"Right" Claire agreed, sounding a bit uncomfortable. "Anyway, when she left the school closed down. Everyone from the Student Council and Disciplinary Committee kept in touch as everything started happening. I personally volunteered for this assignment as soon as I heard about it," Claire then gestured to Theo. "For some reason he decided to follow me."

"Somebody needed to make sure you didn't push yourself too hard," Theo replied, resulting in Claire playfully hitting him in the stomach.

"I swear he's like a lost puppy following me. I was given my own team right away, and he even requested to be assigned to my team, even though he was offered his own," Claire finished, as Theo blushed slightly and looked away.

"Well it was the same for me, except it took longer to convince my family to allow it," Tess stated.

"That must have been hard for Gramps to let you go," Arthur commented with a chuckle.

"I literally had to fight him so I could go."

"You said everyone kept in touch, where's everyone else?" Arthur asked, wanting to know his friends were all ok.

"Let's see," Claire looked up as she remembered everyone and where they were. "Curtis and Lilia are working for her dad. He was put in charge of the supply lines for the war, and they're guarding the convoys going to The Wall along with other groups of adventurers."

"Kathyln's been assigned to defend The Wall since it was completed. And because of how big Llyr has gotten, she's also been doing aerial scouting missions and has been a courier between the wall and the floating castle," Tess chimed in.

"Last I heard Feyrith was assigned to the unit defending Elenoir," Claire stated with some uncertainty.

"Actually he was recently given his own team to patrol within Elshire forest. My gra," Tess paused and rephrased. "The commander told me that Alacryan scouts have been seen trying to map a route through the forest, so the patrol teams are pretty important."

"Wow, looks like everyone's been busy with the war," Arthur commented, sounding proud of his friends. "What about Elijah, what's he been up to."

There was an immediate shift in the mood. Arthur could tell something was wrong, Theo hung his head, while both Claire and Tess both looked uncomfortable, like they wanted to avoid this question at all costs.