A Sinner's Eden

***Tirnanog, Old Camp***

***Magnus***

Since taking control of the Old Camp had been my idea, I insisted on being there. It wasn’t easy to persuade Astra into joining the punitive force which would liberate the Old Camp, because it would involve leaving Isaac in Mary’s care for a few days. It was impossible to set up jaunt points whenever we felt like it, so we had to limit ourselves to strategic locations. In the end, my argument won out. Since, the more important locations we could visit on a whim, the better. Making future returns and freeing time for our son even easier.

When it came to the question of which forces to dispatch to the Old Camp, it was less about how many airships we should send and more about the number of juggernauts involved in the operation. And more importantly, who to send?

The definition of a juggernaut was somewhat spongy since even among those classified as such there could be huge power differences based on their mutations. Certain mutations were capable of nullifying others completely, turning a battle into a game of rock, paper, and scissors.

Ultimately, those with more experience than me decided on myself, Astra, Thalia, as well as elder Bruce Patel and elder Annie Kline. Five more juggernauts from Hochberg joined forces with us, one of which was Tianna herself. The rest I didn’t know personally.

As the Old Camp drew closer, I turned to elder Bruce who had been watching the scenery with me from our airship’s observation deck.

The Swift Flight was one of the larger airships in the fleet, but still much smaller than the flagship. It was oval-shaped when looked at from above and had a much narrower, wing-shaped profile from the side. Most of the heavy equipment was placed on an extra flight deck at the bottom. Many of the fleet’s ships followed this design, but there were some of the older and smaller ships with relied on the traditional cigar shape. An example was one of our scout vessels, which looked like two cigars attached next to each other.

The elder and I had started on a rocky relationship and I still wouldn't call us friends, but at least the open hostility had ceased.

“What should I expect when the Thich send a juggernaut against me?” I asked, wondering whether any planning or preparation was possible. Just being along for the ride while others did all the planning just didn't sit well with me.

Bruce frowned and contemplated the question before he answered, “If I saw your abilities for the first time, or heard of them through reports, I would probably send someone with an area effect against you.”

He pondered before he continued. “Generally, the answer to a speedster is something they can't dodge – preferably poison or fire. The next best bet would be a psychic. Someone specialized in brute-force mind attacks who can incapacitate you.”

I frowned. “I had a lot of contact with Thalia and then the Matriarch more recently – as you know.” Better not to remind him of me flinging one of his employees out of an elevator.

“None of them felt like they could just 'take me out' on a whim. And from what I heard they are regarded as the most powerful of their kind.”

He blinked and looked doubtfully at me. “Well, maybe you should ask the matriarch to blast you with her full force? Just to get a taste of what she is capable of. We don’t have a lot of information on Vanya’s capabilities, but all her predecessors have a track record of being extremely dangerous. Something about Hochberg’s selection system for their leadership ensures only the most powerful of psychics pass the test. Just make sure to share your assessment with me if you wake up. I will add it to our file on her.”

I wanted to protest, but he waved a hand in dismissal. “Sarcasm and inexperience aside. There are psychic abilities which are much less... refined. You will know once someone next to you drops unconscious or goes catatonic for no obvious reason. The psychics you have met so far wielded scalpels with a surgeon's skill, but there are butchers with hatchets too.”

Bruce looked over to where Thalia was talking with Astra. “If you classify those with psychic abilities, who would you be more afraid of? The one who walks around, controlling or incapacitating a few people at a time while everyone who pays attention realizes what is happening, with the victims screaming bloody murder as soon as they regain control of themselves? Or the ones like Thalia, who can slip into a person's mind and twist it around her little finger given enough time, leaving the victim permanently altered without anyone the wiser?”

I too glanced over at the topic of our discussion. “I see your point. We are lucky Earth doesn’t have access to people of this calibre, or we would live in a much different world. Before I arrived here, I wouldn’t have believed such things are possible. So, what if you don't have a psychic available? From what I have seen, the good ones are few and far between.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say Earth doesn’t have access to psychics of their own. They are just much more reserved when it comes to using them. Those in control wouldn’t dare to play with such a power if there is even the smallest chance of it turning on them.”

The elder shrugged. “To continue. If none of those options is available, I would pick the person with the highest skill in Precognition and hope he can distract and outlast you while I prepare a trap to catch you off guard. As one last option, I would send someone with high defensive power after a high-value target, hoping it would force you to deal with him while the trap is set. Those are just the things I know would work, thanks to experience from the clan war.”

Our conversation soon stalled once the Old Camp came into view.

The prominent grove of enormous trees which marked the settlement for everyone was still standing proud, but the trunks were blackened and charred at their base. Not that the plants seemed overly bothered by this, as the damaged bark was already crumbling away in large sections, revealing new and healthy areas beneath.

The settlement hadn’t weathered the fire so well.

I could only imagine how well the dry wood of the log houses and palisades had burned. Judging by the marks on the grove it must have been a truly hellish bonfire.

The corners of my mouth curled downwards involuntarily while I reached for the binoculars on my belt. It was one of the new toys which came out of Gilbert’s insane science workshop. Turned out, the eyes of certain species could be harvested for lens setups and controlled with another core.

Looking through, I marvelled at the auto-focus function and wondered what Gilbert and his people would come up with in the future. Once he truly cracked Tirnanog’s biotechnology, human civilisation might even rise and gain true control of this world.

“Bastards burned everything!” I cursed once the settlement came into focus.

I hadn’t known many people there, but Gurney had helped me and Mark was if not a friend then at least a mentor. He had been the first to introduce me to the dangers of this strange new world. Then there was Bastion, the blacksmith, who had berated me for calling his spetum an oversized sword. I hadn’t known them well, but at least those three hadn’t deserved their home to be burned.

“Why would they do this? None of the common people would be able to survive the winter without shelter. Wouldn’t it be better to use the population somehow?”

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Bruce patted my shoulder and I handed him the binoculars after seeing his demanding palm.

“We can’t be certain yet,” he pointed out after taking a look for himself. “We aren’t entirely sure of the timeline. But with Thich having their own airships, it’s possible they could have deported those they deemed useful for slave labour. We nonetheless have to find out how they got access to such vessels. They should have only a few trading ships bought from us as far as I know. At large, I still believe they killed most of the population. Please remember, most of the people at the Old Camp were criminals and overall untrustworthy.”

He shook his head. “Given that we couldn’t stop Earth from sending their scum to us, we had to somehow deal with the situation. Those who were permanently living at the Old Camp were those who genuinely had trouble fitting in with society. As you have experienced yourself, anyone who isn’t exiled for a genuine crime quickly gets picked up by one of the clans. And if not, they would be taken in by Gurney. At least that’s why we left him there in exile.”

Bruce sighed and handed me the binoculars back. “I figure the Thich rather burned everything than have to suppress a population made up to ninety-nine per cent from thieves, murderers, psychopaths, and other scum.”

I snorted. “I wonder whether we are fit to hand down such a judgement.”

Bruce grinned. “Given my strata’s chosen profession, I certainly am not. But there is an important difference between the scum in my strata and them…” he gestured at the Old Camp.

“If you ask one of them who they are and what they stand for, they would give you a name and some personal goal. My people would answer they are part of Aerie. Though they are sometimes a little opportunistic in acquiring our resources, overall, we identify ourselves with the clan’s ideals.”

I took another peek through the binoculars and studied the eight airships which were now lifting off. A swarm of the bat-things which the scouts already described to us was also under their command.

“Looks like they have spotted us,” I said.

Bruce nodded. “Let’s go and meet up with the others. The sensor in charge of the operation will need us nearby.”

We made our way over to Astra and Thalia who had been talking with the airship’s command staff.

The officer in command of the operation gave me a short wave and a grin before she returned her attention to the approaching forces. If not for the long ears, I almost wouldn't have remembered her name. But Conla Leece’s physique was somewhat rememberable. Back on Earth, she would have nailed the elf cosplay at any fantasy convention.

She also seemed capable when she commanded our strata’s forces against the ratkin incursion.

“Any news?” I asked Astra once we reached them.

“The sensors think the Thich will try to fight while doing their best to preserve their airships,” Astra explained. “The assumption is that they won’t have many of them. Even if Earth is supporting them with equipment, the portals aren’t big enough to send through anything substantial.”

I watched as the bat-things formed a loose formation in front of the Thich vessels and approached while our drake riders mirrored them from the other side.

I knew our drakes were ready to carry us into battle. They were just waiting for the command while clinging to the airship’s hull. All it would take was to disembark through the hatch at the side of the observation lounge.

“Why aren’t we using our guns and cannons?” I asked, knowing the airships had them. They were crude compared to Earth's, but functional enough to blow an enemy to kingdom come.

Thalia answered my question, “One needs to preserve resources above all else while fighting a war on Tirnanog. We can’t rely on supply lines which feed us ammunition. The guns and cannons are to be used as a last resort or when we are certain each shot counts. Not to mention, making loads of noise might draw a monster’s attention. Then we would be fighting humans and the wildlife.”

As if to mock Thalia’s words, the Thich bat riders opened the battle with a salvo of small missiles.

Of the 116 drakes my sub-identities counted, 28 went down with various levels of injuries. The guided missiles hadn’t carried any explosive warheads but instead relied on blunt force to injure the target.

Bruce whistled at the sight. “If there was any doubt that Earth is assisting Thich, then we can consider it gone.”

“You don’t seem overly bothered by us losing so many riders.”

“Earth already tried to take us once and failed,” Bruce replied. “The price will be high, but we will chase them off Tirnanog once again.”

We watched as the drakes met with the bats in mid-air with vomit-inducing aerobatic manoeuvres. Neither side held back as claws tore wings and riders were snatched off their mounts by jaws filled with teeth.

I couldn’t avert my gaze from the horrible sight as at least fifty people met their end in a meat grinder like it hadn’t existed since humanity’s dark ages. Or some deranged fantasy spectacle.

It must have taken less than a minute, but it felt like an eternity until the survivors separated. Most formed up with comrades to repeat the horrible spiel, while others retreated with their wounded mounts or had to go for an emergency landing.

While all this was going on, one of our scouting vessels had overtaken the rest of the formation and gained enough height to drop incendiary barrels on the enemy airships. Burning barrels filled with oil quickly had the crew of one of the Thich vessels fighting the fire rather than steering their ship.

At first, I thought the airship at the centre of the Thich formation fired another rocket. But then I realized it was a person. Someone who did a decent impersonation of the human torch!

They ascended rapidly and landed on the side of our scout vessel. The impact tore a burning wound into the ship, forcing it to abandon its attack run.

“...gnus. Magnus!”

I tore my eyes away from the spectacle once I realized Conla had been talking to me.

“You go and take care of that one.”

“Me?” I almost whined. What was I supposed to do about the human torch?

I nonetheless turned and walked to the hatch which led outside. Starting an argument with the commander during a battle wasn’t the smartest thing to do. And after an inquiry with my sub-identities, I quickly came to the same conclusion as the sensor.

This juggernaut was someone with super-strength, who could fly and was on fire. There was nothing more dangerous for our airships. He had to be stopped at all costs before taking out another vessel.

But who to send?

None of the other juggernauts, except for Bruce, Astra, and Thalia, could fly as far as I knew. Neither Bruce nor Thalia were fire-proof, so it came down to either of the two teleporters who could play with lightning which was at least as hot as fire. Astra or me.

After analysing the situation properly, I was even glad Conla had chosen me over Astra.

I stepped outside and met with Loops who seemed eager for a ride.

‘Fly fast?’

“Yes, Loops. As fast as you can to the burning person.”

The drake grabbed me and we were off, faster than ever before. If not for my helmet, I imagined the wind pressure would have made my face look really funny.

Loops went on a direct interception course with the human torch who was already homing in on the next airship in our fleet. The scout vessel from before wasn’t crashing per se, but it was descending rapidly and judging by the amount of smoke coming out, repairing it would soon be no longer a concern.

Meanwhile, my sub-identities had their brains full with what to do about the torch. There were many things I could do, but none guaranteed success.

When the torch noticed Loop, it changed course to meet us, taking care of my considerations for me. There were many things I could do, but only one could ensure Loop wouldn't get caught up in this.

“Loop, you let go of me once we are a hundred metres apart.”

‘Rider will fall! Riders are not allowed to fall.’

“I appreciate the concern, Loops, but I will be fine. Trust me. Just dodge the burning thing once you let go!”

Once we drew closer, I could hear the buzzing of wings coming from the torch, explaining how they could achieve flight. It was similar to the Patel’s hummingbird mutation.

Then Loops let go and banked hard to the left while I flash-stepped forwards with all the power I could muster. It had taken Gaia’s lessons for us to realize that flash step didn’t need the ground beneath our feet to work.

I appeared right in front of the torch.

In a perfect world, I would have speared what I now recognized as a man right through his heart.

In an imperfect world, I would have smashed his face with my knee.

Alas, Tirnanog was a very imperfect world.

Not appearing exactly where I wanted to due to the distance, I managed to hit his shoulder with my armoured shin. My spetum clipped his wings and was ripped out of my grasp with the grinding noise of metal being thrown into something moving back and forth at extremely high speeds.

It almost felt as if my foot was ripped off before I began an uncontrolled somersault in mid-air.

Thankfully, my opponent fared no better as he began a spiralling descent down into the forest at the base of the Old Camp.

Unfortunately for me, he still had enough control to somewhat guide his trajectory back towards me.

We would have collided a second time if I hadn’t flash-stepped out of dodge and sent a lightning arc after him.

He screamed, more enraged than truly hurt.

I screamed too, but for a whole other reason as I flash-stepped again and landed on his back, riding him down towards a familiar lake.

Old Etan had been a good teacher when he trained me back at Mount Arie. He could never emphasize enough to fight other juggernauts not with brawns, but with brains.

I laughed.

Because to be honest, my heart was down in my pants right now.

And we must have been a wondrous sight. A medieval knight riding a burning man down into a lake. Like a comet descending from the heavens.

Right before we hit, I flash-stepped again to cancel out the inertia.

The torch meanwhile did a perfect 100m belly flop right before I landed on him – the combined weight of myself and my armour dragging us under.

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