“There have been three Beasts with Dark Elements who have attempted to rise to Emperor outside Death Zones in the last four thousand years,” I continued saying to the crowd. “They were all slaughtered by multiple other Beast Emperors before they could finish their evolutions. That should give you an idea of how the Beast Emperors regard Dark Mana. Those few Beasts who rose to Emperor with Dark Mana actually did so directly under the protection of the Netherworld... and, of course, are bound body and soul to its rulers.

“They are no longer Beasts of this world, but slaves to another.”

“I am not making a judgment call on the morals of those with Dark Elements. I am not saying you are born with Sin, that you are wicked, cruel, evil, or any of those matters.

“I am conveying to you the simple, brutal facts of the world. Dark Mana is alien to our world, the Great Beasts abhor it, and Humans are the greatest source allowing it to grow. If there is one thing that will lead to the extinction of Humanity, it is that some of us wield Dark Mana, often with great enthusiasm, and its presence in the world about us is growing because of it.”

“What about Light?!” shouted out an older man, not one of those I’d Limned. “Are you saying that is unnatural, too?”

I brought up a ball of Shadow above my hand, and held it out over the brazier. Vivus leapt upwards to the dot of darkness, devoured it, and mist streamed down from my hand and over the sides of the stone bowl.

I snapped my fingers, and a ball of Light grew and glowed there above my palm. I even moved it down into the white edges about the golden Light, but nothing happened.

“No, although it is interesting that your thoughts went in that direction, sir.” I fixed my eyes on him, and the blood drained from his face. “Light was indeed among the first Elements taught Humanity by Radiant Holy Auspicious Butterfly Empress, but it has risen to incredible prominence because of the Synod and the fact it stands against Dark Magic. Light could even be said to be the driving force for our magical civilization... and our aggression against other Beasts, among whom Light is a rare Element, overall. An interesting comparison, one might even say, that because of our mastery of Light, we consider ourselves ‘enlightened’, and different from other Beasts.

“The Great Beasts are not of the same opinion, so we shall just have to see who is right in the end. I would also note that it is the greatest Human champions of Light who brought this whole Great Flood down upon us. Surely the matters are not related.” Not a soul believed my last words the slightest bit, of course. Being unable to lie successfully is a strangely double-edged weapon.

“You cannot, cannot...” the man’s voice fell to a whisper as He looked at the sky.

“An ant telling The Council of Beast Emperors what they do and do not know. Interesting, or foolishness? Please continue speaking,” I said mildly, but his lips had clamped shut, pale with fear. “Ah, some wisdom, there.

“I am almost positively sure that revelation of this fact isn’t going to disturb those who use Dark Magic at all. After all, it is power, they’ve developed it, and they want to wield it. Let someone else sacrifice and belay their use of Dark Magic. We just have to make a billion or so of these braziers and, why, we might even be able to use the disgusting, foreign, odious, vile, alien Dark Mana the Beast Emperors loathe so much as freely as we wish, right?”

Faces twisted at my comment. Us accepting it clearly didn’t mean the Great Beasts would!

“Doesn’t Light Mana cancel out Dark Mana?” one of the Coralost students blurted out, his eyes sharp, looking for facts.

“Ah!” I pointed at him. “That is not exactly what you were taught, but it is often alluded to, is it not? Especially by the Church of Light. The Light protects from the Dark, purifies it, cleanses it, wipes it away?” He nodded hesitantly, a bit confused at my ready admission.

“That, unfortunately, is not what is happening at all, if you put but a moment’s thought into it. The Beast Emperors saw Dark Mana arrive. There was PLENTY of Light Mana around back then. Surely it would have cancelled out the Dark Mana immediately, and none of this would have happened, were that true?”

Crickets in the silence, as obviously it was not.

“Likewise, use of Light Magic and Light Mana has only grown over the millennia, as Humanity has also used it more and more, and the Sun still shines in the sky to provide ever more, does it not? It is now as common as Earth and Water Magic among Humans, although once it was as rare as Fire. One could even say there’s more Light Mana in the world now than ever, and yet... has the Dark Mana gone down at all?”

That was totally rhetorical. Of course it had not. Any mage could tell it was there all around us right now.

“What Light Magic spells do is cleanse, purify, and eat away at Dark Magic spells.” I let them ruminate over the difference. “Light Magic spells will break apart Dark Magic spells and reduce them back to ambient Dark Mana. This is a wonderfully powerful effect against a great deal of Dark Magic... but it does nothing to the Dark Mana that exists at all. Dark Magic spells, in turn, will do the same thing to Light Magic spells, although not as effectively.” I waved my free hand on the other side of me around in a gathering Mana gesture familiar to any mage. “Any of you who are mages can reach right out there and feel Dark Mana and Light Mana existing right alongside one another without a shred of antagonism or rivalry, and certainly not cancelling one another out.” My other hand fell to touch the brazier next to me. “If you want to unmake Dark Mana, you need vivic flame, and it is a long, slow, boring process, to the point that millions of such braziers active only slows down the growth of Dark Mana in our world, it doesn’t stop it.”

“If Dark Mana didn’t exist at one time, then how did people get Awakened to Dark Magic to use it, Lady Fae?” another student spoke up eagerly. “Would that not have been impossible?”

“The first wielders of Dark Mana were offered Compacts by the Netherworld, as the first Human wielders of Light Magic of the Prophets were given Scrolls. Variations of those Compacts and Scrolls still exist today, and serve much the same purpose as Spirit and Soul Seeds to Dark and Light Magic wielders,” I replied to her, earning slow nods of recognition from the knowing all around. “Once the Compact was granted, the recipient could wield Dark Mana drawn from the Netherworlds, bringing it into our world. When they Awakened their next Element, it would be the Element from the Compact or Scroll.

“As more and more Dark Mana was pulled into the world, it started to spread, first to the children of the practitioners, then their followers and those exposed to it, in ever-growing circles, allowing them to Awaken to Dark Magic without need for a Compact.

“However, the basic premise of Dark Magic has not changed. Every Dark Spell pulls Dark Mana from the Netherworld and introduces it into the natural world about us. It dissipates into the background and builds up over time, concentrating in magical beings as it does and getting passed on to their descendants... or the things that kill and eat them.

“At some future point, the Dark Mana will be strong enough that permanent Portals from the Netherworld may be opened from the other side to here, and the Netherworld will take over our world after that.”

Ohhhh, didn’t that start off a shitstorm of questions about when, why, and what.

“Shush.” Artificial silence swept across the place, and those yammering with nothing coming out finally sat down and shut up.

“Of course I have no idea when that moment will occur. Certainly it is not right now, and not even the most radical Beast Emperors believe it is ‘imminent’. If it was, then Humanity would be under siege all around the world, and the only way we might survive is if every Human user of Dark Magic was killed, as well as any who Awaken to a Dark Element in the future. Likely our civilization would cease to exist within six months, and we would be reduced to a truly minor Tribe once again.

“As I said, it is a longer-term problem. Our problem now is surviving the next five years.

“The Imperials of the Sea are coming. The vast majority of them will not deign to get involved in direct combat. However, there are far more Beasts in the sea than there are Humans to fight them. Because we cannot strike back at them, if they chose to kill us all, they would need merely whelm their numbers at one point and march along the shorelines, and in the end they would kill us all.”

The crowd’s breaths sucked in as they realized the truth of that.

“Happily, the Imperials of the Sea are more often rivals than allies, and I imagine warfare between Tribes in the deeps is at least as vicious as it can be among those on land, if not more, as it would be harder to defend a territory down there.

“Thus, it will end up with multiple Imperials striking the land, seeking to gain something for their Tribes of underlings, most likely copious amounts of food, as well as killing off the weak in great numbers to ease the strain on the Tribe. As long as the most powerful members of the Tribe stay in the water, they are basically impervious to attack or retribution, so this entire war is little more than a game to most of them, with the pieces made up of the lives of their descendants.

“I thank the Mage Association and the Synod once again for the slaughter they have invited upon Humanity. I am sure they are proud of themselves.” Did my voice almost materialize my disdain? I’m sure it came close.

My words were also going to get a lot of repetition. I sincerely hoped the true power and influence of their organizations was going to take a nosedive. Even if they commanded the greatest power among the most powerful members of Humanity, if all the people refused to obey them, what could they do? Also slaughter us all? Try to wait out the fighting, knowing the Emperors were watching, and any Human survivors would just as soon kill them, too?

“In service to this ideal of service, there will be changes within Coralost and its branches,” I went on, shifting topics slightly. “Branches of Coralost will be opening up along the shorelines, and graduates and trainees of the Corporation will be joining the Redshore Branches there. They will be willing, able, and ready to fight as we supply the Shoreguards as needed.

“Our positions in Michigan will be lotteried off to non-combatants with children who apply for the swap. While the Beasts will not allow mass movement of people, they will allow exchanges of those people. The website to begin this process is going up as we speak. If other people of the inner parts of the country wish to participate, or if the people of other nations wish to set up their own registration process to do the same, contact us and we can expand the program readily.

“Our hand has been dealt by a rogue dealer, and all of us are going to have to pay the cost. We can remember who is to blame, but for now, we must survive as a species, and this is how to do it.

“Don’t try to game the system. Don’t think the Beasts are not watching. Don’t think you are the exception to the rule. Don’t think there will be mercy. The Beasts of the land will not question their Emperors, they will obey. If you want to defy them, they will kill you and eat you without the slightest bit of hesitation, and they are backed by ALL the Great Beasts, now. Flood the ‘safe zones’, and those safe zones will be wiped down to the topsoil with no more emotion than you lifting a finger.

“We fight, or we die.”

“The Church of Light can save you!”

I just raised my eyebrow as the shout rang out from one of the men Limned in Faerie Fire. “The Lords of Light can save you from the Beasts! They have the power to deliver this world unto Humanity, and remove the Great Beasts forever! If we join to call them down, we can finally be rid of the creatures who have reigned over us for all of history! The Great Beasts do not have the power to resist the might of God!”

“Ah, a Synod evangelist.” His further words were Silenced and swept away, despite his attempt to resist it, as well as adding a little something. “That IS the Gospel that has been preached to the believers of the Synod since the arrival of the second Prophet of the Light, soon after the Netherworld’s first Compacts appeared among Humans.

“Oh, didn’t know that, did you? Yes, the Netherworld was here first, before the Lords of Light. I would also like to note that every word you just spoke is also true for the other side of the equation. The Great Beasts of the world cannot resist the Lords of the Netherworld, either. They will also be slaughtered, and the world turned into an extension of the underworld!

“Oh, oh! I see! You seek to give the impression that Humanity has no choice in the matter at this point! That only by going to the Church, and the Synod who so delightfully set this all in motion, can they be saved by turning to your religion!...

“Truly a case of burning all the fields and enslaving everyone who wishes to eat the food you stockpiled. Of course, if you do the slightest amount of math, you realize it is all a Very Big Lie.” I glared at the man, who stepped back at the unrestrained loathing in my gaze.

“How many Lords of Light are there, little evangelist?” I waited as he stared at me. “Come now. The lesser forces of the Lords are immaterial, the High Emperors can deal with them. It is the Lords themselves that are the important ones to ‘save us all’. How many are there?

“Do you even know? I see that you do not. Interesting. The Beast Emperors most certainly do.” He looked rather ashen at my words...