The Arcane Guardians Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Hijacked

Read chapter 2 of The Arcane Guardians by Mercynarie on NovelPedia.

Felix Pagonis leaned against the slightly vibrating windows, soaking in the light from the moon. His ride only emitted a dull humming despite the sheer amount of purple Arcani channelled into its circular technomagick engines to keep it aloft, courtesy of the Grand Artificers of Sirius City. The airship he was in was a stealth one, meaning it was sleek black in colour and a lot thinner than the regular airships. Unlike commercial airships, which normally used a huge balloon to keep them floating, this airship had integrated levitation spells into its wooden holding area. As such, there was no need to distinguish between the holding area and the rest of the flotation device. The only drawback was that it could not hold as many people as a regular airship. A never-ending sea of wispy clouds swam leisurely below the hovering airship, shielding it from any hostile prying eyes while the starry twilight sky blanketed it cosily. Most would pay a fortune just for a view like this, but Felix could not be bothered at the moment. He was on a mission. And he was absolutely bored out of his mind. “Alright, Guardians. Listen up,” a deep voice was directed at him. “I’m going to go through this one last time, just in case any of you weren’t paying attention.” Felix shifted his body lazily and gave his leader the slightest fake smile he could muster at the moment. “Target is a sky library just one hundred and sixty-two metres below us. Meta terrorists have taken over and are holding the entire place hostage. Their demands are unclear, and their motives are suspected to be racially charged.” “What’s the point of taking a bunch of harmless Magi librarians hostage? They’re not proving anything by hijacking a place with such low security.” A guardian rolled his eyes, waving his hands around gracefully as protective symbols flashed over his cloak. “I swear, Metas are such dumbasses.” Felix glared at him. “Watch your words, Mage Palladius Severan. Might I remind you that our objective is to save people, not speculate about politics?” “Yes, Warlock Vulcan.” Palladius looked away begrudgingly as he continued weaving protection spells into his robes. “Preliminary intel reveals fifteen hostiles led by this lady, Lucia Angelo.” Warlock Vulcan hit the ground with his silver staff, conjured a holographic image of a green-haired woman. “She’s the second-in-command of the Angelo syndicate, so do take caution when dealing with her.” Felix glanced at the brief description below the name. He made sure to take note of ‘Body transmutation: Organic quartz armour’ under the ‘Abilities’ header. “Fortunately for us, most of them seem to be focused near the courtyard,” Vulcan continued his briefing. “Sorcerer Deusdedit, you’re in charge of clearing out the hostiles. Make some noise if you have to. We need their eyes on you.” He turned to Felix. “Pagonis, you’re his buddy for this mission. Provide him with assistance if he needs it. You can move things with your mind; try to keep the situation from getting too messy. As for the rest of us, we wait for their signal before extracting the hostages. This mission is straightforward; do not make me write another incident report.” A gust of cold wind swept into the airship as the bay doors opened. Felix’s eyes darted to the Sorcerer, who, like him, had not uttered a single word ever since he boarded the airship. Sorcerer Gaius Deusdedit was dressed in tighter, more tactical dark brown clothes instead of the loose, flashy robes Magis loved to sport. Felix’s brown hair ruffled in the wind as he approached him hesitantly. “Hey Gaius, uh…” he started awkwardly, raising a fist for him to bump. “Let’s do our best, eh?” Gaius shifted his narrow green eyes to his fist and back to him, insistent on keeping the awkward silence. He sprinted off without warning, leaping out of the doors and disappearing into the clouds. “Rude…” Felix muttered. “Was… Was he wearing a levitation cloak?” a concerned voice asked. “No,” Mage Palladius replied