Chapter 53: Panic
In this era, most divine towers and orders of the knights had adopted a distinct emblem that were uniquely their own.
Over the years, some mage councils and knight houses also began adopting this custom, as means to intimidate their adversaries and foster unity among their ranks.
However, the silver badge held by the severely injured black mage emitted a subtle yet significant energy fluctuation.
What truly intrigued and even alarmed those present, was not the energy fluctuation itself, but rather the emblem’s profound meaning and the strength it represented.
Indeed, it was the emblem of one of the divine towers, and many black mages in the room recognized it.
Gloomhaven was situated at the crossroads of several absolute forces.
These forces represented the zenith of Magus Civilization, wielding influence surpassing that of typical divine towers and orders of the knights.
Among them were legendary entities such as the soul towers and the grand orders, distributed across both the eastern and western regions.
All of them were forces that black mages dared not provoke.
For this reason, their activities were confined to the northern region and the Boundless Sea in the southern region, where they could operate discreetly.
When Morsidor and the others traveled from the Western Archipelago to Gloomhaven, they had taken the sea route.
In recent times, the southern region had become their primary operating ground, including initiate recruitment and resource acquisition, albeit in a low-profile manner along the southern coast of the Magus Continent.
Their visits to the northern region were less frequent and only to a limited extent.
The silver badge in Jada’s grasp represented a divine tower along the coast of the Magus Continent, to the south of Gloomhaven.
That area was home to numerous mage orders, several divine towers, and orders of the knights.
There were fewer divine towers and orders of the knights near Gloomhaven compared to other prosperous regions of the Magus World, but even the weakest of them were still formidable entities that black mages could not afford to antagonize.
The divine tower represented by the silver badge belonged to a certain family on the southern coast of Gloomhaven.
The black mages of Mystralora City had always consciously steered clear of any involvement with this family. However, the fact that the family had now actively sought them out indicated that their intentions were far from friendly.
“Have they discovered our whereabouts?” a lower-ranking black mage asked with a trembling voice.
Their group might hold sway in Gloomhaven, they were clearly no match for organizations such as the divine towers and orders of the knights in the surface world.
It was undeniable that from any perspective, the term “black mages” was synonymous with evil and extreme darkness.
Their use of humans from the Magus World as experimental subjects and their readiness to disrupt peace and harmony within the Magus World had made them prime targets for the collective efforts of divine towers and orders of the knights.
Only very few divine towers in the Magus World could be considered allies of the black mages.
Even if some divine towers had clandestine dealings with the black mages, they would never dare to admit it publicly, as the reprimands of the planar guardians and the judgments of the Magus Alliance were no trivial matters.
The anxious question posed by the black mage, along with Jada’s display of the silver badge, quickly caused a panic in the conference room.
Black mages like Morsidor, Fareena and Daelis, who were privy to the situation beforehand remained relatively composed, while others reacted with surprise and concern.
However, Katherson, one of the attendees, displayed a sudden change in demeanor, wearing an expression of unease.
It seemed that he was inclined to flee at the first sign of trouble, as if escaping were second nature to him.
For the black mages, fleeing was not a matter of shame.
They were a group of truth-seekers who had cast aside all sense of propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame.
In the past, black mages were wanderers in search of knowledge and power, shunned by the entire Magus World.
When faced with the scrutiny of the divine towers, fleeing was the most sensible and rational choice.
Nevertheless, Gloomhaven in the Underworld had been under the dominion of black mages for decades, and its population of black mages was steadily on the rise.
Over time, it had the potential to evolve into another haven for black mages.
In the end, it was Vice Dean Dedaelon, a powerful Rank Two Mage, who managed to quell the growing panic and unrest in the conference room.
He tapped the table with his magic rod, and as the room fell silent, he spoke slowly, “We have not been discovered by the Divine Tower of Dawn. Jada used the Burning Blood spell to detonate half of his mana while escaping from the pursuit, killing a mage from the divine tower who was chasing him. This silver badge was one of his trophies."
“Mystralora City was an underground city chosen by the dean himself, so it wouldn’t have been his choice if it were easily discovered. The current situation requires us to expedite our exploration of the other side of the space-time rift in the Shadow Valley. Making as much profit as possible before we depart is the only way to make our decades of hard work worthwhile. This is what the other two vice deans also advocate,” he added.
Vice Dean Dedaelon's words had a calming effect on the black mages in the conference room.
Despite their cruel and malevolent ways, it was an undeniable fact that black mages, who had grown up in dire and exceedingly harsh circumstances, possessed more formidable strength than other mages of the same rank.
While initiates like Sein, dedicated to the study of black magic, toiled with fear in the anatomy classes, the initiates from noble families in the surface world regarded magic as mere pastime.
Among these individuals, some indulged in the opulence of social gatherings within their noble circles, seemingly bereft of both a sense of urgency and a true thirst for knowledge.
Even among the elite mages from the divine towers, those who had not engaged in interplanar wars were not particularly impressive.
The might of Magus Civilization, combined with the substantial resources supplied by the Magus Alliance to the Magus World each year had led to an increasing trend where full-fledged mages, after securing adequate resources, became less inclined to engage in warfare.
Instead, they channeled their efforts toward research and the pursuit of knowledge.
These full-fledged mages were commonly known as “academy mages”, and the unfortunate mage slain by Jada was one of them.
“The Divine Tower of Dawn likely noticed signs of black mage activity in the vicinity, prompting an increase in their patrols in recent years. I’ve suspended our plundering plans in the surface world this year, but just in case, it’s wiser to expedite our exploration of that space-time rift.”
Dedaelon’s words finally assuaged the anxiety among the black mages in the conference room.
Black mages were a peculiar lot, driven by their insatiable appetite for wealth. The continuous scrutiny and suppression they faced from the various divine towers and orders of the knights in the surface world often rendered their lives far from pleasant.
Living constantly under the threat of danger, they found themselves irresistibly drawn to the alluring promise of discovering untold treasures in uncharted planes.
As Vice Dean Dedaelon continued the meeting, not a single black mage in the room chose to depart.