“... and when Spellbinded Alliance was broken 86 years ago, some of its colonies were left to form alliances on their own. The most distant colonies are now under a brink of poverty. Former citizens of mining planets can not afford to buy interstellar tickets, and are forced to use old tech. Their cars use gas, their guns shoot lead bullets and nobody owns a fusion powered Glider anymore. 

Cruel fate was left for the colonies on planets indexed as “Source well". Without guidance from Spellbinders, elements of nature rebelled against planet inhabitants, conjuring Elementals, animating plants and reanimating dead. It was a calling for a new profession. Hunter bands started to form in towns and villages, making money while protecting civilians…"

• Spellbinded alliance heritage. Book 1.

Tale 1: A bane of music

A shotgun blast rang out outside the log wall. Small creature made out of swirling dust and spinning rocks was scattered by the blast around the mostly empty farmyard. A moment passed, then dust and stone slowly started gravitating towards each other, creating the same earth elemental again. 

“Ahh damn it!" Short sphynx cat looked out the gate, racking his shotgun. Earth elemental continued to form from the same rocks and dust, indifferent to cats' annoyed glance. 

From the other side of the open gates, looked out another hunter, his colleague, big black dragon, aiming a short submachine gun towards the scene and muttering under his breath. “What is it, twentieth? At that pace, we will burn our ammunition before noon. But you will have a heatstroke much sooner, with your leather jacket and all…"

Small farmstead was located near the old tarmac road surrounded by a sandy wasteland, a few miles outside Seaside walls. There was a tiny herb garden, strong log wall and prefab modular home with two spacious rooms. This was a place of power, one of many on the face of the Opal III. Magical power of that place was being used by its keeper, who looked out for it, and in return was asked by the Sheriff never to allow something like this to happen. Said keeper - an old deer with gray in his fur - was sitting on the roof of a small farmhouse cross legged, beaming with tranquility.

Behind the open gates were two hunters, sitting, taking cover from a few gently floating lesser earth elementals. If one of the hunters was to move just a little bit too much, one of the elementals chugged a big rock chunk towards him. In return, if one of the elementals floated too close to the gates it was immediately getting shot. Such an impasse seemingly continued for a while now. 

There were two ATVs and a boxy SUV parked on the other side of the road. Small crowd of three people, cowered from flying rocks by a metal SUV body observed the scene. Two of them, two dog guys, were wearing standard desert camo - Seaside stronghold soldiers. Third one, a tall gray mare with a long red mane tied up in a high braid, was another hunter. She took a break from a quiet conversation with soldiers and screamed towards her colleagues in a teasing voice, “We just arrived, keep it together guys! You are The Hunters! Shield between real and paranormal! Stoic protectors of this land! We will think about some solution soon!"

Two “stoic protectors" shared a concerned look. Big rock impacted a log wall from inside, vaguely aimed towards the voice. 

One of the soldiers squatted down behind cars' hood of the car, continuing the conversation, “Silvia, right? So, does your group have any ranks in it? I assume you are a leader of some kind?"

“Right, yes. I have my moments, certainly, but no, no ranks. Those two are our “close quarters fighters", and I am preferring a little bit of distance, that's it." Silvia pointed towards two hunters sitting in ambush. “Diego is probably out of the water here. There is no use for his melee skills, and blowing up home with its owner sitting on a roof would probably be very rude." mare's finger pointed towards a sphynx cat wearing jeans and a leather jacket, his skin covered with both tattoos and scars. Unaware of the attention, the cat twitched his torn ear, looking inside a farmstead. Silvia continued, pointing a finger at another hunter. “And that's Wez. He is actually a mecha operator, but we are not taking our big guns to small infestations. Although now, I don't really see a better way. “

Two soldiers turned their gaze towards a big black dragon. Sight of him, kneeling behind a wall, hunched over to the side of the gates and still towering over his standing now colleague, was almost comical. Dragon was wearing a plain light t-shirt and pants, and a heavy navy blue ballistic vest. His scales were marked with bruises left by flying stones. 

“I am, for once, glad to see professionals." said the second soldier, adjusting his cap so it would better cover his eyes from the scorching sun. “We actually were called to help old Rocky with a small elemental who ate his radio unit. Now there is a whole cluster of rock inside. It's alive, I think. And you still can hear the music. That's where we called you"

Silvia looked out of her cover, assessing the situation again and listening to the muffled sound of classical music from inside the house. 

“Yes, that was the right decision. Place of power makes them more… Well, powerful. Usually elemental runs out of magic after two or three reforms. It is hard to say how many times we need to shoot them here." The mare cleared her throat and looked at the home window, where a big pile of moving rocks was barely visible. “That cluster inside? It is the original body with “brains", so to say. Lesser ones are created by it for protection. We need to focus on the one inside the home, but it will prove difficult while it constantly reforms smaller ones"

Silvia thinked for a second, while the soldier boys were digesting the information, then looked out her cover behind the SUV and screamed towards the roof, “Hey, Rocky, you sly old deer! Can't you disenchant this guy so we can go home already?"

Old deer answered calmly, without shouting, but his voice, strengthened by magic,  was heard clearly by everybody, “Sure, Silvia. Keep me safe down there, It will only take a half an hour"

Mare groaned. Another dead end. 

“How did you even let this happen?!" she shouted again.

“I wanted a pet rock." deer said unapologetically.

Silence covered the farmstead and its neighborhood, followed by single shotgun shot. While others stared at the roof in disbelief, one of the soldiers started laughing and progressively his laughter transformed into a hysterical cackle with small barks and howling. 

“Fucking sorcerers." was all Diego could say. 

Silvia looked at the soldier who remained sane, “Is this a long range radio on your ATV? I need to call for a backup."

****

Dust felt very stupid. She was one of those who bends natural forces to their will - Sorceress. But still, finding a job was incredibly difficult for her. And now, having given up her job as a magic stone charger, she was exploring one of her last options. Hunters are always looking for spellcasters.

Short, sandy-skinned shark entered the shady building on the outskirts of the stronghold. Passing through the corridors of the first floor, she followed closed doors and went up to the second floor, then stepped into an air-conditioned room. It was an oblong shaped office with huge rectangular windows on one side. Under the windows was a long table with two old-fashioned LCD monitors and radio equipment, some of the computer peripherals on the table had been gutted, revealing chips and wires. The rest of the room was cozy, occupied by a mini refrigerator and several mismatched sofas, with the cast iron barbell on the side. The sofas were covered with personal belongings hastily thrown there, and one of the walls bore signs of repair, tools were scattered on the floor. Somebody made all the doors into double-doors recently.

“Hey? Anyone here? I called yesterday…" Dust raised her voice to the empty room before hearing a soft metallic noise and looking that way.

She saw her striding out of the newly widened doorway. It was a small gray mouse, with motionless legs and a tight blindfold. She was sitting on a chair built into a metallic round body reminiscent of a UFO. The body panels were filled with connectors, screens and buttons. The chair moved itself using three pairs of mechanical legs.

“Hey! I'm sorry but it's just me here. The rest left for an urgent call. I'm also new, inspecting the team's equipment. The server here is not... enthusiastic." the mouse talked to her, smiling, but without turning her head. However, Dust noticed a thin manipulator with a small camera behind her back. It was directed at her.

“Oh. That is okay, I can wait. Erm. I am so sorry for asking but…" 

“No worries, it is okay. I am a technomancer. Sorceress for a flair for machines. I can see and hear you through nearby cameras."

“Oh. But your body is.. Are you blind? Sorry, I should at least introduce myself!" Dust closed her eyes in embarrassment. 

“Hey, do not worry.  These are consequences of developing my talents. My name is Jen, I have been working here for three weeks already. Helping with mechanics and electronics". 

“Dust. I am an elementalist. I spoke with somebody named Wez and he assured me there is a job vacancy for a spellcaster here." 

Mouse tilted her head more and her chair mowed to the side, shuffling its spider-like mechanical legs. Camera followed Dust, to look at her from another side. 

“Oh believe me!" the mouse finally nodded, “There is a lot of work here and a lot of money also. Crew is overworked lately, so they will appreciate your help." 

“Good to hear." Dust finally moved and walked over to the sofa, sitting down on it, “And how dangerous is this job? I heard a lot of bad rumors, this all being high pay and high stakes."

“Well, I personally do not fight myself. If you are not holding a gun directly it is better not to get in the way. There is a van you passed outside. It contains a battle deck for mech suit and some drones…"

Mouse suddenly tilted her head, as if listening to an inner voice. The radio station on the table sparkled with green sparks. Jen smiled, pointing the camera somewhere out the window.

“You know what? It will be easier to show you. Can you drive?" 

“Oh, I own a scooter…"

“Good enough."

****

The scorching sun rose to its zenith, heating up the sands of the wasteland. An hour has passed already and the situation has not changed at all. Diego lost his leather jacket and was sitting near the gates half-naked, Wez still was wearing his bulletproof vest, visibly miserable. Sylvia covered them from the shadow of the SUV behind them, holding her AR at the ready. Two soldiers stood off to the side, smoking and looking at the farm, having a lazy conversation. Their work here was done, all that was left to do was oversee the rescue of the civilian. Hunters had made no progress in the “rescue" part though, much to everyone's displeasure. Everyone's but the civilian himself. Rocky was still calmly sitting on a hot roof, not moving a muscle and radiating zen. 

“So?" 

“So what?" Diego frowned at his colleague who was stuck with him at the gates.

“Well, I reckon there is still some limitation to how much energy…"

“Cut the technicality." 

Black dragon straightened up, hanging over the top of the fence and fired a short smg burst at the elemental before kneeling down again. 

“Do you think I am enjoying being there? All I am saying is we can make guards shoot them for some time and eventually the main elemental will kind of “short circuit" itself."

?at quietly hissed as he looked through the gate, calculating something in his mind, “… three, four. Damn, it is possible, but it will take two days, no less. If we pull this off, the Sheriff won't be happy. Like “Look! We don't need Hunters, our soldiers can just shoot these things for a week straight!" level of unhappiness. Guy already stingy with paydays"

“So you think if we sit here for two days, starving an elemental and a hermit at the same time, his opinion of us will improve?" parried the dragon.

Tall horse figure appeared beside them, taking cover behind the safety of a log wall. 

“Hey, heroes. Any injuries?" Silvia joined the conversation.

Both guys shook their heads in denial.

“I radioed Jen to bring the mecha van here. To avoid fractures, we will cover Wez with armor and trample the main cluster in close combat." she sat on the sand near a wall, holding one of her two pistols in hand ready. 

The scales on the dragon's nose wrinkled as he briefly thought about the situation, “I didn't want this to happen but sure. Powering up a suit can be too costly for this case, but we will spend all this money on slugs anyway. And it is much faster. Hope the Sheriff wouldn't mind fixing old Rocky's wall after my entry…"

Diego shrugged, “How will Jen drive the van here? There is no space for her… erm… wheelchair in a driving seat.  I can take your car and drive a van myself, grabbing a few cold ones on the road…"

Mare and a dragon glanced at him skeptically making him defencive.

“What? It's not like we will have too much to do while a big robot goes full wrecking ball there." 

“No need, there is a new girl in HQ. She will drive. We'll have beer after work."

Hunters were silent for a minute. Everyone was thinking about something different, but cold beer in such heat occupied most of everyone's thoughts. Muffled classical music still came from inside the farmhouse, seemingly enchanting both the hunters and the elementals in the yard. Diego fidgeted impatiently and, leaning out of the passage, preemptively shot at another small elemental. 

At this moment, finally, Wez came up with a thought, “If we're going to use the mech to get inside, we need to get the old man off the roof. It might collapse while I'm making a passage; the door definitely won't be enough"

“Oh, do not worry," Diego snapped out of his daydreaming “I have an idea."

****

This trip of a couple of miles was a real pain. An inexperienced shark drove a van following radio clues from her blind partner. The van was clearly overloaded and was constantly trying to drive off the road. But at least the air conditioning worked in the cabin, sparing her aquatic nature from death by air drying.

Dust and Jen left the walls of Seaside and set off along an old road towards a dangerous desert region. Young sorceresses could not comprehend how someone could live so far from civilization, especially in a place of power. Bad rumors about the desert were spreading around Seaside Stronghold. Bad enough for the Sheriff to commission hunters at least one raid there a week. More than the desert, however, she dreaded getting to know her new colleagues. Her imagination depicted a team of harsh, seasoned hunters, with no nonsense attitude. 

The ride finally ended when she stopped the van in front of a small modular building surrounded by a ring of log walls. Dust sighed with relief and pressed the button to open the door, allowing Spider-Jen to get out of the cargo compartment. While the technomancer was getting out she jumped out of the car, looking around. Two soldiers stood next to two ATVs. An old deer was sitting very calmly on the roof tiles, which should have already been hot at this moment of the day. The Sphinx cat crouched next to the gate, holding his shotgun ready. For some reason he looked embarrassed. None of them looked threatening, just… Miserably hot. 

A white SUV was parked opposite the van, with a red haired mare standing behind it over an unconscious body. 

She raised her head towards the sorceress, “Hey new girl. Enjoying the first day? I am Silvia, welcome to the action."

“D-Dust." she mumbled “ What happened? Is he okay?" Dust looked over the body, noticing tears on a bulletproof west. 

“Yea, just a mild case of concussion, he will be fine. Do you have some water? I need to cool his head a little."

“Oh sure! I will. Just a second!" Dust panicked for a moment and raised her hands, slowly creating small amounts of water above the dragon's head. She didn't expect her talents to be needed so quickly. She got calmer when Silvia nodded approvingly, taking a dirty rag and soaking it in a floating ball of water.

“Oh, I see." Dust shuddered when the spider chair silently approached them along the sand. “You no longer need a suit. Can I get a short summary?" Jen appeared almost out of nowhere.

“Sure Jen." Shrugged Silvia “Well, Rocky adopted an elemental, it attacked a radio unit and then it's new owner. We arrived at the call, but were unable to reach the Cluster because it protects itself with regenerating drones. We were waiting for you when Diego urged Wez to run along the top of the fence to remove the owner from above. He actually dodged most of the incoming rocks there, I was impressed." 

“But he didnt dodge one aimed at the head?"  Dust politely inquire

“No, that was a heatstroke. Now I need new ideas. Or a new pilot."

Jen looked puzzled for a second, then turned her face towards the soldier's ATV, looking through the blindfold at its radio station on the back. Her camera also focused there. 

“Is it a standard military model? Is it fully operable?" she asked.

Soldier followed her gaze and nodded, “Sure. As standard issued as they come, maam."

“If I am not mistaken, it comes with a built-in short range jammer, right? Do you mind flipping it on for me?"

“Erm… Uh-huh…"  Soldier reached towards his radio station and pressed a few buttons. 

Muffled music from inside the house changed to a static and then stopped completely. Mouse turned away from ATV and her motorized chair moved towards the gates. 

“What the hell? Jen! Stop!" Diego screamed when spiderchair pranced along him, trying to stop her, then rushed inside, raising his weapon towards the danger. 

Next moment he stopped in disbelief. Lesser elementals were floating around aimlessly, completely docile. He looked in silence, still clenching his shotgun, while a mechanical chair, without trouble reached the front porch. Old Rocky, moving for the first time that morning, stood up stretching and began to climb downstairs, also without a word. 

Hunters rushed in quickly, weapons raised, leaving confused soldiers behind. 

Dust quickly followed them, breaking formation and running up to Jen, “Wh-what was that? What did you do? I thought you were…"

“I just turned off the music." Jen interrupted her. “I think it was dancing." she stood before the open window, focusing her camera on a pile of magical rocks inside. It was barely moving. Other hunters already opened the door inside, covering an old sorcerer on the way to the big elemental. 

“Dancing? This thing? You said you were a technomancer, how did you know?!" 

Blind mouse turned and looked at the shark, smiling, “Well, I had a pet rock before."