Chapter 2 - Densara

To strengthen his position against the Sayosia Empire, Marnordir sent two of his Initiates to the continent of Monastia. He hoped his enchanters would encounter other creatures and forces of nature, other essences that could be used to create new Spells. Aodh, one of the two Initiates dispatched to Monastia, set off on an expedition to the Mountain region near the mysterious land of DursTor, while the other Initiate, Ileina, headed for the floating islands of Densara.

There, the Noras people, a race of bird-people renowned for their hunting skills, coexisted peacefully with the Vil-naimas of the human race. The two races shared the territory and resources, traded together and joined forces against foreign attacks. Until the day Ileina met Lord Norhilton. Lord Norhilton was a Noras warrior leader renowned for his strategic victories. By the time Ileina entered Densara territory, she had already been traveling the continent of Monastia for several weeks. She didn't know what she would find in these lands which her people had so rarely trodden in the past. As soon as she arrived, she happened to cross paths with Lord Norhilton. He offered her room and board. He said he hadn't had a stranger visit in a very long time and looked forward to receiving news of what was happening outside Densara. Ileina had nowhere else to go, so she accepted.
Time passed quickly while they were together, and after a few months Ileina revealed to her host why she had come to Densara: she was immersing herself in the country and its people in order to create cards to defeat the Empire against which her people had gone to war. Lord Norhilton undertook to guide his new friend around the country, eager to learn more about this form of magic he had never seen before.
Ileina and Lord Norhilton set off on an excursion to the floating islands of Densara, where the Noras warlord taught the young Initiate all he could about his country, its people and its flora and fauna. One evening, when they stopped off at an inn, Ileina overheard an unpleasant conversation. She was studying a map of the territory while Lord Norhilton chatted at the counter with one of his lieutenants, Lieutenant Normington, when she heard the discussion of two Vils-naimas seated near her: "I swear, the birds are up to no good!" the first one declared. "Enough with that!" replied the second. "For some time now, we've been hearing the same thing everywhere: the Noras have discovered something more powerful than anything we know!" "Something powerful? That doesn't mean a thing! Maybe they've finally worked up the courage to try the Moho Valley chilis!" The two companions burst out laughing simultaneously. Ileina didn't get the joke. "To get as far as Moho, they'd have to use their finery for more than just their chicks' petticoats!" he continued, laughing uproariously, before resuming more seriously. "No, it means they've got a weapon, and what do you think they'd use it for?" "I don't believe it! Something powerful isn't necessarily a weapon! What's more, they wouldn't sabotage the peace that protects our two peoples from the outside world! And you know the Winkas are never far away. The birds are definitely not that stupid!" "Do you believe that? It seems that one of their warlords is running around with a foreigner who appears to know a thing or two about magic." Hearing this, Ileina shrank into the new Vils-naimas outfit she'd bought that very afternoon and prayed that she wouldn't be found out. "My cousin," continued the Vils-naimas, "saw them last month on the island of Dara. He said she looked like a young archer who hadn't finished her schooling, but with eyes that hide a wisdom and power only seen in enchanters..." After a moment, his companion exclaimed, "But that doesn't mean they're plotting an attack!" "And this warlord is traveling around with a sorceress because he's tired of flying dolls?" Ileina didn't want to hear any more and discreetly left the inn. Lord Norhilton, who had seen her, followed her outside. The young Initiate didn't know what to make of what she had heard. Was Lord Norhilton using her to one day seize power over his compatriots? She decided not to reveal her worries just yet.
Three months later, the Vils-naimas declared war on the Noras. Ileina regretted her silence. She couldn't help thinking that if she hadn't hidden the rumor that was going around among the Vils-naimas, the conflict could have been avoided. Lord Norhilton, for his part, didn't see it that way. The Vils-naimas declared war on the Noras for reasons other than those stated. In his view, it was inconceivable that a people would engage in civil war simply because they were convinced that the opposing side possessed a weapon they could use one day. No, the Noras warlord Norhilton didn't believe a word of it. What's more, the rumor involved him personally, which irritated him more than anything else.
Ever since Ileina had told him about the existence of Spells, he'd been toying with the idea of obtaining some. Of course, not for purposes of war; there was no question of dominating his compatriots, just of being able to master an incredibly powerful form of magic, an unknown and unstoppable weapon. However, every night before going to sleep, he asked himself the same question. What use would such a weapon be to him, if not for war? Sometimes he felt a vague sense of relief at the fact that he'd never dared ask Ileina to make - was that the right word? - a Spell for him. Then Ileina settled the matter once and for all. Shortly after the announcement of the coming war, she decided to make a statement to the Vils-naimas before setting off again for Juzil.
Norhilton tried to stop her. But when he realized it would be impossible to dissuade Ileina from talking to the Vils-naimas, he helped her organize a gathering. When the day came, Ileina revealed the existence of Spells to a crowd of Vils-naimas. She explained that she hadn't yet created any in Densara territory, as she hadn't been there long enough to be sufficiently immersed. The Vils-naimas didn't care. They suspected the Noras were up to no good and went on a rampage. Ileina had to flee with Lord Norhilton, who had been standing in the wings during the speech.
The young woman didn't know how to carry this burden on her shoulders. When she thought about it, this disaster was her fault. She had disturbed the peace of these lands, perhaps forever. Lord Norhilton convinced her to stay. He described to her the treachery of the Vils-naimas, recounting a century of betrayals, and told her not to abandon him. He needed her now... Was he right? The young Initiate couldn't ignore all these beings ready to do battle. Because of her, she thought. Because of her. This litany distracted her from her desire to leave the territory. She would stay and she, Ileina Wom Wersteimer, daughter of Wersteimer, the Knight of Ice, would fight. War finally broke out. Lady Vilseba, the Vils-naimas war leader, had many friends at the imperial court, where she had spent her childhood. She lost no time in asking Sayosia for help. The Daryen Emperor, overwhelmed by the conflict with the Alliance and frightened by the presence of an Initiate on another continent, dispatched an army to stamp out the potential threat and the Noras conspirators. Lady Vilseba's reinforcements soon arrived, and the Noras, under siege, were not able to withstand any longer.

Sayosia's army identified Ileina as one of the five Initiates wanted by the Empire. Things were going from bad to worse, and Ileina's conscience could no longer resist Lord Norhilton's pleas. After a year, Ileina was steeped in the chaos that now reigned on the floating islands. She created devastating Spells. Abominations, she thought. But it was too late, the damage had been done and History was being made. What could she do? Sayosia had summoned one of the two Initiates who had betrayed the Alliance. And if she stopped supplying them with Spells, the Noras wouldn't survive. The conflict, soon to be known as the Battle of the Enemy Brothers, lasted seven years. People experienced all the evils inherent to war. The land was ravaged and Densara was dying. Then came one evening in the seventh year, the eve of the summer solstice. Ileina created the last card she could use from her years on the floating islands.
The next day, Lieutenant Normington entered Lord Norhilton's apartments to give his report. As usual, he knocked on the door of his superior's study and waited in the adjoining sitting room. After several minutes, Lieutenant Normington knocked again. Silence. He entered and found Lord Norhilton lying on the blue marble floor, a mirror in his hand. Normington soon learned that all the Noras and Vil-naimas warlords had died. Later, he heard that everyone, like his own lord, had been found holding a mirror. The news spread with unstoppable speed: the leaders were no more. As for Ileina and Sayosia's Initiate, they had disappeared without a trace. Inhabitants everywhere celebrated the end of a war whose raison d'être they had, over time, forgotten. The people regained power. Returning home on that warm summer solstice night, Lieutenant Normington joined his wife and daughters, all three immersed in a strange reverie. He approached them to see what they were staring at so intently. A card.
Mirror of Suffering was the last Spell created in Densara.