The Elemental Relics

Ali couldn’t believe that three days had passed since he arrived at the base. He and Kamis were assigned to a squad of four that patrolled the outer perimeters. Their task involved keeping a lookout for enemy attacks and alerting the garrison if any attacks or anything suspicious were to happen. Only one attack was attempted since he started patrolling and Ali saw firsthand how powerful Umaru had grown. His former companion had grown so strong he couldn’t believe his eyes. In a matter of seconds, the attacking force was wiped out with no trace of their existence except for the burning smell. The scene reminded him of someone stepping outside to crush some bugs before going back inside.

“Kamis, will they just starve us out?”

The question came from one of Ali’s new squadmates, Aram. The young man came from a small village in Usnana and his earth abilities got him noticed by recruiters. Eventually, he was offered a role in the liberation army which he accepted. Now, he was responsible for reinforcing the ramparts if the enemy got close enough to damage it. Three ramparts protected the base and they were patrolling the outer one. They had to hold their position until they were reinforced by others.

“Given their lack of offensive,” said Kamis, “I’d say it’s quite likely. I don’t know what will happen once we run out of supplies.”

Ali could think of multiple scenarios, none of them good for their side. They could keep fighting until fatigue and starvation killed them. They might have last ditch efforts to break out of the encirclement, resulting in them fighting their foes in unfavorable odds out in the open. Even surrender would be a bad outcome given how hasty the Usnana government was in executing the liberation army soldiers. It was becoming obvious how the government wanted to make their deaths an example to all those who wished to rebel.

“We shouldn’t wait here until our deaths,” said a young man called Caala. “We should fight while we aren’t weakened yet.”

Looking out at the open field, Ali found himself agreeing with Caala. Despite only being at the base for three days, he already experienced the atmosphere of the garrison. He could hear whispers from the soldiers as they pondered their uncertainty.

They all looked up to Thomas. With rumors of his death, they have all been dealt a major blow to morale before the main battle has started.

While the other three debated about their future, Ali searched the fields for anything suspicious. The few battles that took place had made the land barren. A soft breeze was blowing through when Ali noticed a small change. He rubbed his eyes before confirming what he saw.

“Enemy spotted” shouted Ali. “Enemy forces are advancing on our position!”

Seconds after his warning, the bells were rung, signaling the arrival of an attack. The enemy soldiers formed neat columns that moved in unison. Ali tried to count the numbers of enemy soldiers but he gave up quickly given how numerous they were. From estimation, he would say they rivaled the number of soldiers within the base.

They must be confident of breaking through this time.

From secondhand accounts, Ali learned past attacks were done by smaller forces that were meant to gauge the defenses of the base. It was common for these groups to serve as the vanguard and return with valuable intel on the fortification. To arrive with an equal or large force was generally done only when the attacking side was fully confident in their chances of success. Ali could only assume that they had an answer to Umaru. Moments later, he snapped out of his thoughts as soldiers joined them atop the ramparts. Before he knew it, the teenager found himself in a cramped area with his three squadmates.

“Open the gate!”

Everyone atop the rampart looked down as Umaru led the way with four others following behind him. Umaru the Lightning God was what people called him while the other four were the supports assigned to him. While details were scarce about the exact abilities of the supports, Ali gathered enough info to know their roles in the group of five. Two of them served as tanks who would hold off anybody who got too near Umaru. The other two were support spellcasters with one excelling in healing magic and the other in buff magic. With the help of those four, no one had gotten within ten meters of Umaru. At least, that was what the stories within the base claimed.

“Why are they using our ace from the very start?” muttered someone nearby.

Ali couldn’t see who made the remark but the question got him thinking. An ace should be reserved for specific situations like when the momentum needed to change in a battle. Given their defensive position, it was entirely possible for the garrison to fend off the attackers without Umaru needing to lift a finger. They might suffer casualties but, given their supplies situation, fewer mouths to feed wasn't necessarily a bad thing. For this matter, the teenager thought back to the stories he read while he learned under Jaraj.

If one can prove one’s worth, then even governments are willing to make concessions to obtain that individual. At the end of the day, governments have plenty of threats facing them and obtaining a powerful tool that could crush those threats is very much desirable.

The teenager vaguely recalled the passage he read and the pieces were coming together. When he recalled the rest of the book, a terrible reality was dawning on him. In Umaru’s pursuit of escape execution and being elevated to a higher position, other people in the base like him were discarded as necessary sacrifices. They were the concessions his former companion had to make to move up in the world.

In other words, the rest of us are doomed to be executed by the Usnana government while a piece of shit like Umaru gets to move up in his social standing due to his new powers.