Dead Zone

Dusk found Queen Ariel in her study, enjoying some cakes and freshly pressed juice.

Sitting opposite her was Umbra, who sat with a tankard of ale in her hand and her legs up on the table with her feet crossed.

The two women had taken to spending time together like this in the evenings after dinner.

Despite their different personalities, the two women had become fast friends, and what had started as progress reports of William and Damon's training had developed into quality time.

"I take it Lucy won't be joining us tonight?" asked Ariel.

Umbra chuckled deviously.

"I think it'll be about a month before she has any energy in the evenings." She said.

"But her training is going well?" asked Ariel.

"Yeap, she complains constantly, but she's adapting well. I think having that little monster of yours present makes everyone complain less." Said Umbra.

Ariel smiled widely at the praise of her son.

Much to Lucy's dismay, Umbra had suggested that she join in on the physical aspect of the training that Damon and William were receiving.

Ariel had agreed to the proposition. Most mages relied solely on stat points to improve their physical stats, and as a result, became sitting ducks once they ran out of mana.

Umbra's training would allow Lucy to at least be capable of some level of self-defense or escape should she find herself in such a situation.

Not only that, but it made it possible for her to develop into a true battle mage, something which was an increasingly rare sight.

"My Damon is amazing." Said Ariel, taking a sip of her juice.

"Scary more like." Muttered Umbra.

She had observed the prince running on his own whilst she scouted out William when she first arrived at the manor and stayed hidden.

His perseverance and stamina had impressed her back then, and she had viewed Damon as a genius.

Once she personally started training him, however, she realized just how shallow her original assessment had been.

Damon was like a machine when it came to training. He followed her instructions and requests to a tee.

There were times when he completed her training and his entire body was convulsing from strain, yet he stood at attention in front of her with only determination on his face.

She had stopped considering him as a child with genius potential, and started seeing him as warrior in spirit who was only limited by his age and body.

The two women sat in silence for a few minutes, before Ariel asked Umbra something that had been on her mind for the past few weeks.

"I appreciate your presence here Umbra, but I have to ask, what made you come here? The skirmishes on the border are still ongoing. I have a hard time believing that my husband would allow a General to just walk away." asked Ariel.

This question was a hot topic within the capital.

Aristia was locked in a war on two fronts with the Bisphorn Confederate to the east and the Kingdom of Oakle to the North-West.

To make matters more complicated, there were increasing tension with various Dwarven clans that existed within the Centuran mountain ranges to Aristia's north.

This mountain range had initially served as a source of wealth to Aristia via its various ore mines.

It had also doubled s a natural barrier against attack from the north, allowing Aristia to hold minimal garrisons there that only focused on keeping monsters at bay.

Recently, however, there had been reports of abnormal activities by some Dwarven clans, and even some small-scale skirmishes had broken out.

In the midst of this, Umbra Birghtclaw, commander of the Golden Lion Corp that formed the central force of the eastern front had suddenly taken a break from active duty and made her way to the capital.

There were no reports of her being dismissed from duty or it being any form of punishment, so the general consensus was a hope that the situation with the Bisphorn Confederate had calmed down somewhat, and some even dared to hope that peace was being brokered.

Ariel, however, knew her husband quite well. Even if there were talks of peace, until a treaty had been signed and announced, he was not the type to let a General leave the front.

He was sloppy with general politics, there was no denying that, but that was because every iota of his being was dedicated to matters of war. When it came to affairs of the battlefield, Kane was more careful than anyone.

Umbra's face grew stern and she was silent for a few second while sipping her ale. Eventually, she let out a sigh, pulled her legs down from the table and leaned in towards Ariel.

"It's not like I can't tell you, the news will soon leak anyway, but it'd be in your best interest to keep the information to yourself." Said Umbra.

Ariel nodded.

"He asked me to come take care of his wife and son." Said Umbra, cracking a smile.

Ariel rolled her eyes at this.

"Be serious Umbra. There's no way Kane would remove a General from the battlefield for something like that." She said.

Umbra chuckled for a bit, then leaned even closer to Ariel.

"A dead zone is forming at the border." Said Umbra.

Ariel's eyes widened in surprise.

"Since when? Do we know what level it is? Come to think of it, has it even stabilized yet?" Ariel shot off a flurry of questions, raising her voice as her mind raced.

"Is it on our side of the border or on Bisphorn's side?" she continued.

Umbra raised a hand to quiet her down.

"It's been about a month now, it hasn't stabilized so we don't know the size or level, but predictions say it could be anywhere between a band-one to a band-five restriction." Said Umbra, a grim look on her face.

"It's mostly on the Bisphorian side of the border, but part of the Jaline Duchy will be encroached upon, though just outskirt baronies." continued Umbra.

Ariel slumped back on her chair and sighed.

A mana-exclusion zone!

Mana-exclusion zones, more colloquially known as 'dead zones' were naturally occurring phenomena, though they were exceedingly rare. One was only seen every few hundred years.

The mana in a region would randomly begin to pool underground. This initially had little effect on those above ground, but as the 'dead zone' grew larger and became closer to stabilizing, the suction of mana would increase to the point where mana would also be pulled out of living beings walking the surface.

Once the dead zone 'stabilized' the mana suction would stop, but the laws within the dead zone would become changed.

Depending on the 'level' of stabilization, certain restrictions would be put in place and individuals with high amounts of mana would find their mana suppressed and their bodies significantly weakened.

The higher the level of stabilization, the lower this mana cut-off was, and the longer the 'dead-zone' would last.

A band-one dead zone only lasted for a few months, and most people were unaffected, but those that were Level 8 or 9 would be unable to survive within one.

Their bodies would leak mana and aura at astonishing rates, leaving a desiccated corpse within just a few minutes.

A band-two zone lasted for a few months and affected those at around Level 8 and 7, and so on.

As time went on, the band of a dead zone would fall, lowering restrictions, until it completely destabilized and disappeared.

The stability of dead zones grew exponentially with their band, and on the continent, there still existed one extremely stable dead-zone.

It fell under the jurisdiction of the Central Academy and though it was initially a band nine zone, it had decayed into a band seven zone.

It had lasted for hundreds of years, and currently, only those level three or under could survive within.

Historically, Dead-Zones presented major issues to countries wherever they formed, as those that were of a high enough level and large enough size could become areas that fell out of a Kingdom's jurisdiction.

Many nations had been founded by bandits, mercenaries and adventures of low-level teaming up and entering a dead zone, dominating the space within and beating back the waves of low leveled soldiers that Kingdom's sent in.

As the band of the zones decayed, these groups grew stronger, and by the time the restriction was lifted, they consisted of powerful individuals who had grown through fighting off invasion every step of the way, and communities that had laid down roots and become independent of the initial Kingdom the land belonged to.

The biggest issue with this was that once a dead-zone decayed, the mana that had concentrated underground would result in the region's value increasing.

The mana would lead to extremely fertile land with various rare and treasured herbs growing. It would also attract valuable monster species that could be hunted.

Most importantly, condensed mana would form mana-stone deposits that could be mined.

Mana stones were the lifeblood of magic engineering and were the power source of various formations and artifacts, and they could be used to directly recharge and cultivate mana.

A dead-zone forming on the border between Bisphorn and Aristia meant a cold war to secure the area whilst it was stabilized and was restricted, and an eventual bloody war once the restriction rose.

As someone who was a high level 7, it made sense for Umbra to leave the region, as she would be useless in any sort of conflict within the stabilizing dead-zone.

If it turned out to be a band-three zone or higher, the restriction would last for more than a few years, so as the Commander of the Corp that protected the east, it was more useful for Umbra to come to the capital and focus on leveling herself up and training and recruiting future members of the Golden lion Corp whist waiting for the dead zone to decay.

Umbra gave Ariel a knowing smile.

"You know I wasn't completely joking. Have you considered why your husband would have me train up your son's attendant who is said to have overwhelming talent?" said Umbra.

Ariel furrowed her brows, not following.

"Well, the nobles within the Kingdom will definitely scramble to get their low level guards and their talented scions to make a name for themselves within the dead zone." Said Umbra

Ariel's eyebrows raised as she began to catch on.

"Isn't it the perfect stage for your son and his men to show what they can do, in a place where they don't have to worry about interference from an overwhelming outside power." Smiled Umbra.

"But Damon will still be too young!" said Ariel.

Even if it was a band-five zone, at most it would be active for around ten to fifteen years. Damon wouldn't have even graduated the academy by then.

Umbra had an extremely serious look on her face as she addressed Ariel.

"Ari, in even just seven- or eight-years' time, I seriously doubt that there will be anyone who has yet to form a filed that could seriously challenge your son." Said Umbra.

Despite the seriousness of Umbra's tone, Ariel's face gave way to the usual doting smile whenever Damon was praised.

"My Damon is wonderful." She said, cupping her cheeks as she smiled.

"Still, I hope you and Kane are aware that if anything happens to Damon, the battlefield would be least of your worries." Said Ariel, he warm smile only served to make the threat more sinister.

Umbra gave a wide grin at this statement, then picked up her tankard, downing it.

"You should be more worried about those that will be stuck there with him." Said Umbra, wiping froth from her lips.

"Trust me, in a year or two when he picks up a sword properly, you'll see what I mean." Said Umbra, grinning at the thought.