Black Steel: A Tale of Fire and Mind

The raid on Larcbust and its military camp had caused many casualties to the Shepherd ranks. Too many. With some recruiting along the way, the horde had amassed a few under fourteen thousand men and women. Out of those fourteen thousand, only six thousand came unscathed. Thirty hundred died in battle, twenty-seven hundred had succumbed to their injuries in the days following the attack. Twenty hundred had been severely wounded and it’d taken them a long time to recover, but did. There’d also been three hundred whose injuries would follow them for the rest of their lives.

Seraphina had been among those who recovered within days, two fortnights in her case. She’d gotten a large bruise on her ribs, half her side had been purple for a while, where the Drudge’s boulder had first struck her. It’d been hard to breathe in the beginning. There’d been scrapes the medics sewed up across her scalp and arms. From the blows she’d sustained to her head, one or more of them cause her vision through the right eye to be blurry for days. The worst injury had been her ankle. In her fall after the crashing meeting with the Drudge’s boulder, she twisted her left ankle. All that combined had had her on bedrest for two fortnights.

During that entire time Reggie had been in the bed next to her, recovering as well. While she’d been going after the Earth Drudges, he and the other roamer assassins had been taking care of the four lieutenants. Reggie’s target had eaten the Monkshood-laced meat and he’d found him paralyzed in his cot, eyes wide as his body had been shutting down. Reggie had known the man, as he later revealed. An excellent officer for the empire, but a nightmare to be around. Reggie had killed him quickly, ending his suffering, but more importantly preventing him from alerting anyone. He’d joined the other roamers, one of them had to fight his target, which Reggie and the two roamers had to help with, and then they’d all tried to join the invading Shepherds.

They’d never done so. On their way, imperials rushing to the front gates had found them. In tight space, despite the five-to-one odds, they’d been holding their own well until an Air Drudge appeared. Reggie and another of the three roamers survived the encounter, though neither could remember how they’d got knocked out, nor who killed the Drudge, for she’d been lying dead close by. The other roamer had been in a better condition than Reggie and he’d woken up a few hours after the battle’s end. He’d checked on the two roamers and Reggie, found him breathing, and he’d carried him back to the Shepherds. Whatever happened in the encounter with the Drudge had caused Reggie to fall into a deep slumber. Seraphina had healed and he’d still stayed asleep. In the day, she’d be attending to her duties as any other healthy Shepherd and at night, she’d be by his side, talking to him, pleading with him to wake up. She’d been interrogating imperials when a medic had come to inform her of his awakening. Although her entire body had trembled, aching to go to him, she’d retained her composure and finished the interrogation.

She’d gone straight to him afterwards. The roamer who’d carried him to the medic had been there, Reggie had wanted to thank him. When he’d left, Seraphina's shaking legs had carried her to his bed. She’d sat down and touched his face, tracing every part until she’d pulled him in and kissed him. “Don’t keep me waiting. Die on me or live. Loss I know, I can bury it deep and rage over it. This… I cant bear. Every day you didn’t wake up, a piece of me broke.”

She’d used words to convey her emotions. He’d understood the depth of her pain. “If there’s a next time, I’m getting up the moment I fall. Promise.” He’d said, caressing her cheek. “Tell me what happened.”

She’d told him what Barkley had when she’d woken up herself. The Shepherds invading the camp at the front gates, with many Elementals in their ranks, had caused equal damage, in some parts more, to the Earth Drudges in the middle of the camp. Where there had been Elementals the casualties had been minimal, but the further in, the more people got hurt. The imperials though had been falling faster than their people.

In the middle of the camp, where Seraphina had reached Blitz, the imperials had been fighting with fervor and wild abundance. Until Blitz had told her to call on fire. She hadn’t noticed at the time, but the more she’d run towards the Drudges with her flaming barriers guarding her on either side, the more imperials had laid down their arms. Her focus had been elsewhere during the run and initially she couldn’t believe the magnitude of what Barkley had described. She had gone to the ruins herself and seen the people she’d hurt in her wake, Shepherd and imperial alike. There had been a straight line from where she’d emerged on the field to where the Earth Drudges had made their stand. On either side of the line there had been scorch marks, spanning ten paces. The people she’d touched with her element had got severe burns and many died. When she’d witnessed the destruction she’d caused, the looks she’d received from the archers in the Shepherd line around the Drudges had no longer seemed peculiar.

She was still receiving those glances, fear and respect in an odd mix, almost a cycle after.

She’d also told him of how Raine had intervened. The wolfess had cocked her head when she’d heard her name, still never leaving her side. Reggie could only smile and then he’d asked more about the Drudges. There had been many in the camp. The Shepherds had found, fought and killed eight, of all elements and attunement, and along with the three Seraphina had fought, there had been eleven in total. Since the Larcbust camp was one of only two large imperial bases, the number didn’t strike the Shepherds as wrong. They expected to find a similar number in Dawnfiled, if not more.

By the time Reggie had awoken, the Shepherds had interrogated all imperials, whether captured or they’d previously surrendered. Fifteen hundred they’d been. The information they’d provided had been no news to the Shepherds, for Dawnfield had hardly changed within her walls for cycles. The situation was the same as when Brenton had been operating in the city, when he’d sent that poor Aetheral boy in the Keep to his death.

The city of Dawnfield carried the greatest disease across the land. Where others knew of the problems and murders of their own people, Dawnfield obscured every piece of negativity with its riches and grand masquerades. Nobles of no true nobility, other than ancestors who stood by the emperor, roamed its grounds and made more and more gold off the lives of common folk. Slaves they were, to be bought and sold to their masters’ desires, a premise long abandoned in every other realm. But in Dawnfield, the city of wonders, affluence and fest, it thrived.

Coin, meat and produce flowed into the city through taxes, and the people in charge of the Keep got the lion’s share. The nobles with close dealing with the Keep also made profit, but the true wealth came through their side businesses. Business like the gold mine in Ironham Seraphina had uncovered many cycles prior. Or the human trafficking deal between a noble and Oremart in the days Bailey’s grandfather reigned, slaves for Dawnfield’s everyday labours and her people’s sexual needs. The journals in Bandville had detailed records of how the Shepherds had exploited that deal to assassinate both the noble responsible and Bailey’s grandfather.

The city had no room to house armed men. What space conceited nobility didn’t occupy was used as storage for the Keep’s wealth. The imperial of Larcbust had no clue what the vast storages around the Keep contained, but the Shepherds did in one case. The Emperor kept his Drudges there as a first line of defense, Keira had confirmed that had been her starting point. There had been few important details they’d known, but they were more concerned about the barracks located just outside the city. Entrances and places the guards paid the least attention to in their patrols. Whether they’d seen any Elementals among them. They hadn’t. Anything and everything they’d said, the Shepherds noted.

But when they reached the valley of Dawnfield, all information they’d gathered, all the time they’d spent interrogating the imperials of Larcbust and careful construction of their every move had gone to waste. Just outside the outer walls of Dawnfield, there was a long, but thin line of tents bearing Sabaria’s insignia, the second imperial militia training grounds. Not nearly as vast as the one in Larcbust, with no more than six or seven thousand men in their ranks. And they all seemed to be in Dawnfield.

Where they’d been prepared to conjure another battle strategy, with four catapults but without much of the element of surprise on their side, they’d had to answer questions of why. Why had their enemy gathered in Dawnfield? Why hadn’t their eastern forces dealt with Sabaria’s men? Until they’d answered those questions, they couldn’t move forward. Too much risk in plunging into uncharted waters with a heavy fog cast over their journey. And so, they’d done what the Shepherds had known best. They’d sent scouts to the east, both to Sabaria and towards Oremart, where the rest of the Shepherds should’ve come from. While they’d been waiting, they’d been raiding the poorly stretched Sabaria line, causing disruption anywhere they could. They’d isolated three different spots where the defenses had been easy to breach and they’d left those out of their raids, a quick route across their lines should they need one.

When they’d made the call for covert raids, Seraphina’s name had been among the first announced as it required that no one saw her face. She’d agreed instantly, for that part of war was well within her comfort zone. Striking from the shadows was what she excelled in and much preferred. Her throwdown with the Drudges in Larcbust was still fresh in her mind.

Seraphina fell into a familiar routine of preparing and executing hits on her appointed targets. In the first few weeks, she and the other assassins along the defense line killed none of the Sabarians. They assessed, they tried to blend in, sneak past them. Little things to test the waters and their limits. Then people started disappearing. Seraphina, alone in her endeavours to avoid detection, had the first kills. She wasn’t supposed to hurt anyone that night, but the opportunity to eliminate one of the lieutenants was too sweet to pass by. The man had moved away from the camp and into the woods with a woman under his arm, shielding her from view. Seraphina’s arrows found their home in their eye sockets that night. The woman, Seraphina later noticed by her jewelry and handkerchief, was family to Declan, Ironham’s imprisoned Viscount. Probably the wife of Declan’s brother. If Maxwell had been with her, he’d known exactly what the man’s status was, but all Seraphina could remember was he dealt in finance, a liaison between Ironham’s secret gold mine and the capital.

It would’ve caused quite an uproar and commotion in the Sabarian line, if she’d left them, so to avoid it, Seraphina had Raine, always at her feet when she wasn’t down at the line, maul their bodies, and she’d staged them in such way one would think they’d died of a predator attack and cut their heads off and chunks of their flesh as carelessly as she could. She’d been witness to some similar results and was happy with hers. She’d reported it to the Shepherds who’d reprimanded her, as she’d expected, until she got to the part of how she’d staged them. They spent the next days with no raids, only spying on the Sabarian line and the city of Dawnfield from afar. The news of the fornication between the deceased and their unfortunate end became the laughingstock around both. Declan’s brother sought justice for his spouse’s betrayal, but Seraphina had already delivered it by the time he’d found out. In the uproar that followed, Sabaria’s defenses became thinner, rather than stronger and the Shepherds began eliminating more people, both targeted and unfortunate souls who ventured too far off. After a couple of fortnights, they tried and succeeded in sending people past the Sabarians and even into the capital.

Those first people had reached out to Brenton’s contacts inside the city walls to prepare for when the attack would come. Two were the contacts inside. Chastity, the most visited brothel in Dawnfield, and the Medallion, a gambling den in high esteem, for every piece of useful information would come off the lips of a man trembling from the tease and passion or those of one bragging over his earnings. Both sides soon confirmed that Dawnfield was another world entirely, as none knew of the manhunt after Seraphina, a fact that soon brought Seraphina into the rotation of assassins taking off the people the courtesans and dealers brought to the League’s attention. And since anything bad that ever happened in the capital got whitewashed, the Shepherds kept getting away with it.

Seraphina had already been inside twice during the winter. With spring already upon them and the scouts sent east expected to return at any time, the Shepherds had agreed to send another set of assassins to the city. And so, she spent her days doing what they asked of her, before wasting hour upon hour training with Reggie mostly, but also anyone who wanted to have a knack on her.

Every day her body was sore, but every day her mind was occupied and the days passed with ease. The nights, though, were different. Unless she was on duty, she spent them in Reggie’s company or Barkley’s. One would hum the tunes of his lullabies and bring forth the searing pain of their daughter’s absence. The other would recall stories of their happier times, which ended in melancholy as her aunt, cousin and brother were always part of them.

So, Seraphina welcomed the strain on her muscles and her wearisome duties.

She had just returned to the horde a fortnight prior, so normally she shouldn't be considered for the next raid. That morning though, during her morning walk with Barkley, he told her that since it’d probably be the last raid before the assault, the council and commander had decided to send one of each Element to the city for an Elemental-specific task and she, as one of the most attune Scorchers, was their choice for Fire. She’d returned to Reggie and once she’d told him, they’d agreed to go let off some steam. As she watched him train against one of the brutes, Blitz approached her, sitting beside her, the opposite side of Raine. He was missing an eye from the battle in Larcbust and moved about with an eye patch to keep the empty socket out of sight. “Never thought we’d get to live this, huh?”

“Which part? The emperor’s death or the gathering of all realms?” She asked.

“All of it...” He said and sighed. “Think she’ll do it?”

“Have you met her?” She asked and looked at him. He shook his head. “She’s become an excellent fighter and... she has a way of getting her way.” She glanced back at Reggie and smiled. “She’ll kill him alright. I have no doubt.”

He nodded. “May the Elements guard and guide her efforts then.” He unsheathed his sword and pointed at her with it. “Care to spar? For old time’s sake?”

She stood and removed her coat, before she reached for her daggers. “For old time’s sake.” She repeated. Once Reggie and the brute finished their session, an end that found them both with several splinters from the wooden training swords etched on their skin and smiles on their faces, she and Blitz walked forward. When Reggie saw her step on the grounds, he offered her his blunt sword. She shook her head. “I’m good with mine. Blitz?”

“Same here.” She replied and swung his sword. “Shall we dance?” She laughed and got ready.

Long reach versus close and personal. The first few strikes were a plain act of their weapon meeting. They gauged each other’s reactions and footwork. Until Blitz decided to take initiative and attack, faster and harder. He whirled his sword at her and even though she stepped back, she had to block with her daggers. The moment she did, his fist came at her face, but she ducked just in time. The force of his unmet strike threw him forward and she had to push him back, but not before she elbowed him in the gut.

“Sloppy.” She chastised.

“Passive.” He retorted between deep breaths.

She smirked and started her own. Two blades against one gave her an advantage. Even though he was quick, he didn’t manage to parry her every strike. Several nicked his skin in one attack. She tried again, but halfway through her slashes, he used one hand to deflect her blade and the other to grab her right arm. He was stronger than her and so, when he twisted her wrist, the dagger fell out of her hand.

Seraphina headbutted him and managed to escape his hold. She stepped back and winced. She flicked her wrist to check for damage, there was none thankfully. In the meantime, he ran at her, sword over his head, ready to strike. She put her feet down, ready to block the attack and at the very last moment leapt to the side. She’d timed it almost perfectly. The tip of the sword caught her trousers as she dodged away. There was a rip on the cloth, on her left thigh, and blood trickled down from a superficial gash.

She scrunched, annoyed, and stood. She turned back towards him. He was smiling. One dagger still in hand, she went for him. He could then block all her strikes, but she kept going, many times switching hands in holding the blade. She was getting tired faster than him. She needed to alter tactics at once.

She grabbed the dagger in both hands, took a step back to give a wider angle and put more strength to her overhead slash. She struck at him and he stepped back to dodge the blow. She put her full weight into the strike and fell forward when it didn’t connect. But before he could attack her, vulnerable as she seemed in the moment, she turned and kicked him right in the jaw.

Blitz tumbled down unconscious.

There came laughter around her. A small crowd had gathered at the edge of the training grounds, as it often happened when a roamer practiced. Seeing their session down, they closed in to carry Blitz to the medics. Reggie came to her, carrying her second dagger. He knelt next to her as she ripped the rest of her pant leg to reveal the bleeding gash. While she was straightening the fabric so she could tie it around her leg. He put his hands on her bruise, permanent reminder of her grave times of capture.

“This bring back memories...” He said running his hands over the purple stain on her skin.

“It’s just a scratch.” She replied and wrapped the cloth around her thigh. “I’ll be as good as new in a couple of days.”

“I know.” He said and kept rubbing. “You need a sword.” He stood and offered her his hand. She took it. “Sending your favourite dagger away might've been a bad idea. The replacement doesn't have the same grip.”

"I wanted her to know I'm alright and I'm with her." She kissed his cheek, a rare display of affection in public. “I don’t do swords, my love, unless I have to. Too heavy and uncomfortable for me.” He nodded, though she could see through the tremble of his skin, just above his brow, he was worried. It always happened after her sparring sessions, but that day it was the first time she’d lost grip of her blades.

A Shepherd came and patted her shoulder. Out of reflex, her hand reached for her sheath. “Woah, just wanted to say beautifully done.” He laughed.

She took her hand off the sheath and shook his arm. “Guess he forgot I can kick.” She chuckled. “Can you get him checked? He’ll probably be out for a little while.”

The Shepherd’s laughter sounded louder. “His head will be fine, his pride though might never recover.”

Seraphina shrugged. “Eh, it’s happened to all of us at one point or another.”

“Quite true. Well done again Lady Seraphina.” He said eyeing her once crippled knee. “Doesn’t that hurt?”

“Not anymore.” She replied and shook his arm in farewell, cutting him short. She turned to Reggie and it took a single glance to concede to his unspoken request. “I know, I know. We’re going to the medics too.” Shaking his head, he smiled and nodded her forward.

After the battle of Larcbust, the infirmary had exceeded its capacity many times over and the medics had been working day and night. But in the time or preparations, they mostly dealt in injuries caused during squabbles and training and sickness caused by the winter’s cold and crowdedness. When Seraphina walked into the large tent, she found only two medics, one of them already working on Blitz. The second one came to her, with a wide smile on her face, that professional smile, polite and fake, yet it had a calming effect. “What can I do for you, Lady Seraphina?”

The woman had been amongst those who’d treated her after Larcbust. She knew her body and didn’t glance twice at the scars and bruise, instead she focused on the cloth around her thigh. “Confirm it’s a scratch and give me some salve to easy my husband’s worries.”

She had her sit down and remove the cloth before she knelt by her side. While she was examining the wound, water rose from the basin close to them and flew to Seraphina’s knee, cleaning the wound. “Superficial scratch, as you thought, the bleeding’s already stopping, but your husband’s worries have merit. With the... discoloration around the wound, it’s better to be safe. Anything else? Any pain yourself, Lord Reginald?”

He shook his head. “Some weakness to my hand. Still. Not much we can do I believe.”

The medic nodded. “Unfortunately so. It’s out of my capability. Farewell then, may the Elements guard and guide you.”

They reciprocated and left the tent soon after she redressed the scratch with a clean cloth. Raine kept sniffing at it and snorting, the scent of the salve was strong. After a quick meal, they went to find an empty spot by the stream so they could wash away the day’s hassle. Many of the former roamers of the League preferred the streams to the makeshift bath the horde had made. It wasn’t until nightfall they had managed to get clean and ready to return to their camp.

They sat around the fire Seraphina had reignited, enjoying the quiet moments they had before her last secret visit to the capital. Before the slaughter would ensue. He got down on his knees before her, the tin of salve the medic had given them in hand. “May I?”

She nodded and he lifted her fresh pant leg, as high up her thigh as he could. Similar to when she’d been a cripple, he brought his lips to her knee before he rubbed it for a long while, to the point it felt warm. Had it not been purple, it’d most likely turn red. Only then did he open the tin box and applied the salve on the wound and around it. It was cold. Against her hot skin, it felt soothing. She closed her eyes and sighed.

“What are you thinking?” He asked as he wrapped a fresh bandage around her thigh.

“Chloe...” She trailed off.

He finished with her knee and sat next to her on the log. “She’s two now, isn’t she? For a fortnight or so?”

She smiled and shook her head. “Ten days and that’s me and Max. Chloe’s birthday is in four days.”

◊◊◊

The days passed and the time came for Seraphina’s departure for the city. So close they were to the assault that the council made the bold decision to raid the dungeons where they kept the Elementals. Before the Emperor sent them out as mindless weapons. There was one in their ranks who’d been inside those horrifying quarters. Keira. Even though she was missing a hand, cut off after Larcbust so the infection from an arrow she’d thought she’d reflect but failed wouldn’t spread and kill her, she was eager to help navigate the area. She might have been a Drudge when she’d walked out of her cell, but in time, she recovered her memories of that fateful period and the terrible things she’d done.

The council ordered the four Elementals to enter the dungeons and try to free any Elemental still with control over their own mind. If they failed to do so, they were to destroy the dungeons altogether, so they could avoid another bout like the one in Larcbust. The band of four though disagreed with their orders. All had been roamers before the army gathered. All had at one point or another taken their orders in consideration but ended up loosely follow them.

Without an Aetheral to confirm there was no chain around the prisoners’ minds, they couldn’t risk letting such a threat to their people exist, so close to an even fight against the capital. Keira was the one to voice her disagreement first, on the night they arrive at Chastity. “I was a Drudge until Vivienne freed me. I have most of my memory of this place back and I’m telling you, even if I was still in there, I would tell you the same thing. You can’t let them out. I must’ve seemed completely functional and docile until my envoy reached the first village and they showed me a drawing of Sera. I don’t remember the frenzy, but I remember the aftermath. Dead people around me. The number small ‘cause I passed out. We can’t let them out.”

“Then? We all agree to proceed with the second part?” Hurley, the Dowser of the band, asked.

“Monsters.” Therris, the Basher, said sighing. “History will mark us down as monsters. If it means I can help our people live free, a monster I shall be.”

They looked at Seraphina, who was twisting her wedding band. “Shoot first, ask questions later.” She said and paused to look back at them. “They’ve called me ruthless, but it’s saved me more often than not.” She stood and pulled the sword Reggie made for her out of its sheath. Lighter and shorter than a normal sword, yet sturdier than her daggers. A gift to ease his mind. “I’ve done many things I’m not proud of in this fight. What’s one more?” She put the sword in the middle of the table and her palm on the cold steel.

Within flaming ornaments, Reggie had carved their initials, R, S, C, with another flame missing a letter, close to the hilt. “A gift to guard our present and keep us safe to see what the future holds.” He’d shown her he’d engraved the same initials on this own sword.

The others followed her example. Therris was last. “They won’t call us back until we’re done or the easterns come, so how about we disrupt everything we can in the meantime?”

They all agreed.

“Still reading, Lady Vivienne?”

Over a cycle had passed since Maxwell left with the armies of Ashbourne and Neverfall, to unite with Oremarts and charge forward to Sabaria. Sabaria should be theirs or razed already and they should soon arrive at the capital, if they weren’t already there. Four more onyx blocks, and two hundred paces in between them, away from her. All she could do was read and prepare.

“Sit with me, Keegan.” She told him. “Did you know our land is only a small part of the world?”

The Steward smiled as he sat. “Know? No, but I did believe so.”

She nodded. “So, so small...” She turned the book she was holding and showed him its pages. “...look at this map. We’re barely a finger long on it. Even though Lucian told me, to actually see it on a map...”

Keegan’s eyes got wide, but that was the only sign of his surprise. “Magnificent...” He breathed. “And Elementals exist elsewhere too?”

She nodded. “Aetherals and otherwise. We’re as common as everyone else. It used to be like this here, but something must’ve happened.”

“The Emperor most likely.”

“Indeed.” She said closing the book. “When he gets his hands on these books, Max’ll get his nose stuck so deep I’m sure we won’t see him for days.”

Keegan chuckles. “Yes, your husband does have a knack for books and stories. Like someone else I know.”

Vivienne smiled, nodding. She decided to change the subject. “Why’re you here? Anything wrong?”

He shook his head and gave her an envelope. Her and Maxwell’s name were on it. “A messenger came from Larcbust. Victory’s ours. Last summer, the day of the earthquake.” He paused as she slouched back in her chair. “This letter came with the report.”

“Casualties?”

“Many. Almost half the force. Many injured, many maimed, but victorious.” He said.

“And they spared a messenger? They need all the men and women they can get.” Vivienne said and touched the writing. It was Seraphina’s. She was still alive.

“A cripple and his wife. He offered to bring us news after they realized he wouldn’t walk again. They have all able-bodied people they had before.” He gave her a satchel, Mountmend’s insignia on it. “She sent this as well.” He stood and took a short bow. “I’ll leave you to your reading.”

She laid down the envelope and took the satchel. Inside she found one of Seraphina’s black dagger sheaths, with the blade nestled inside. She caught herself smiling as she pulled it out. The flames from the candle next to her reflected upon the familiar dark steel. So many lives it’d cut short. She laid the dagger down and took the letter.

Hello kids,

I’m not the twin of words, so bear with me. As I’m writing this, Larcbust is under the League’s control and we’re licking our wounds before the march. If all goes well, we’ll be there late in the winter, maybe early spring. I believe we’ll plot and murder until reinforces from Sabaria come. I can only hope they have less trouble than us.

There were Drudges here, and let me tell you, us Elementals are not fun to fight. I got six broken bones and Reggie’s been unconscious for days now. The wait’s killing me. My worries, over him, you, our family, are eating away my sanity, I can feel it. So I try not to think. I try and I try, but you are all there, at the front of my mind.

I think Barkley mentioned it in his last report to you, but just in case, you got a niece now, and much to your dislike little brother, she’s a spitting image of her father. Last I saw her, she’d just started teething, now she’s over one, might be walking and talking already.

She’s a good damn reason to keep fighting, so I will, yet none of it will matter if Damien’s alive at the end. Since you decided to go off without me, all I can offer is advice, written on paper and a token of my belief.

Viv, I should’ve seen it coming, your flight, when you didn’t give yourself a moment’s rest once you found out about Chloe. You were good before, you’ve now become an excellent fighter. This dagger has the blood of the empire on it. I don’t know how many imperials I’ve killed, especially here. It misses one more.

You can beat him, I know it.

But listen well. The Drudges here, they relied on their element far more than they should’ve. I tackled one because instead of using his hands or feet to stop me, he tried to burn me. Others reported the same of their fights with Drudges, so it’s a pattern.

One you can exploit!

I doubt these people were like this before he turned them. Damien’s bound to be like that. I’m assuming, I know, but when you come before him, see for yourself. He’ll rely on Aether more than you do. It might be his draining or mind reading or his Drudges. Any or all of it. If you can negate the drain and shield your thoughts and attacks, you’ve won. Watch your footwork, dodge and counterattack.

Just like you did when we trained.

Make the fight fit your style. Don’t fall into his traps and by the Elements, you do not accept anything he offers. Nothing, you hear? Even if Max is foolish enough to follow you and Damien offers to spare him. Anyone he captures he’ll kill, if you surrender. You know it. Fight him and emerge victorious. I know you will.

I’ll see you on the other side, kids.

May the Elements guard and guide you.

Seraphina

Vivienne laid the letter down, on the dagger. For a moment, relief flooded her being. Just one moment. Long enough to remember the letter was written a cycle prior. Everything mentioned on it could be different, so she focused on what remained the same. Seraphina’s advice.

Advice that coincided with her reading about the Phantom.

Underneath the Dark Highlands, the further one followed the correct path laid by the Aetherals of old, the closer they got to a built-in cavern. The gap Ave had mentioned when the Bashers had first arrived in Neverfall. There, the Aetherals had left a chest full of books on Damien and their land before he came to be. Sealed to prevent the book’s tear, the chest lied in wait in the middle of the cavern, at the center of an elaborate cobweb-like mosaic that she later learned was the symbol used for Aetherals. The handwriting in some was sloppy, rushed, unlike anything she’s seen in Lucian’s library or the page in Neverfall’s history tome. The Aetherals had been in great hurry to write all they could before fleeing.

After they’d found the cavern, Keegan had the Neverfallers bring in beds, chairs and tables so the Bashers could rest and eat up close-by before they returned to digging right away. They abandoned the idea in the winter for the cold made a fire necessary and the confinement forbade it. So the furniture would only be used by the Bashers to catch their breaths and Vivienne for reading. How proud Maxwell would be if he could see her then.

She closed the book she’d been reading when Keegan had come and stood. Sheathing the dark dagger, she strapped it around her waist. The letter she folded and slipped in her pocket. After a deep sigh, breathing in the musky scent of the earth around her, she walked the already dug corridors, lantern in hand. She reached the onyx blockade the Bashers were working on those days, broken halfway through. Ave, who led his brethren in that endeavour was certain there were two more and then nothing. A straight walk outside, a little over a hundred-pace long, a safety precaution so there was no obvious sign of the Bashers’ manipulation.

She touched the onyx. Two more walls before she went off on her own. For the first ones, the Bashers had spent lots of time, several days in fact, carving through the stone. The more they progressed, the sloppier the blockades had been and easier to break through, but there were deliberate cave-ins that hindered their advance. With only two walls ahead of them, by Ave’s estimate, they wouldn’t need more than three fortnights to get her across.

His end was near.

“My dear wife...”

The foreign thoughts startled her. It was him. No doubt. She realized she’d inadvertently reached out. After her training with Lucian, where she learnt to read effortlessly and without much strain on her, reading was similar to breathing for her. She often did it without thinking, unless she purposely stopped. But she shouldn’t be able to hear him. The distance to the Keep was significant. Unless he wasn’t in the Keep, but in the Aetherals’ clearing.

“Aether...” He was delirious, she could tell, but he felt her nudge. “You’ve come at last.” In his mind, she saw that he was searching for her, but her mental shield obscured her from him. He wasn’t trying to hide. There was amusement in him, if she could see his face, she was sure he was laughing. “How could I ever ask beasts to find you when I can’t even do it myself?” She listened in, waiting to see what his reaction would be. “There was other ways, child, don’t you worry. You won’t get away this time.”

Still reaching out, she heard her people walk in her range of reading on the other side of Damien. At once, she took off, running towards them. “Stand back!” She yelled the closer she got to them. She could hear the echo of their footsteps. She screamed. “Go back!” The shuffling feet stopped moving for a moment before they started moving back. She could barely breathe when she caught up with them. She needed to get back in shape. She fell to her knees.

Ave knelt in front of her, his hands on her shoulders to steady her. “What happened?” Above him, the other Bashers had drawn their swords, glancing at the way she’d come from.

She didn’t answer right away. She couldn’t. She was heaving too much. When her breathing returned to somewhat normal, she spoke. “I made a mistake.” She touched her chest, willing her heart to stop beating erratically. “I let myself reach out with Aether and it got to him.”

A gasp came from above, though who did it she didn’t notice. Ave’s fist clenched on her shoulders. “Does he know?”

She shook her head. “He couldn’t penetrate my shield and I got to you before he could reach you. He has no idea where I was at the time.”

“How did he reach you? The distance...” A Basher asked.

“He wasn’t at the Keep. He was at the Order’s clearing.” Vivienne answered and looked at Ave. “You can’t dig unless I confirm it’s clear. He doesn’t seem to care enough to hide himself.”

“You’ve tipped him off...” Ave trailed off. “Our people lost the element of surprise."

“It’s worse.” Vivienne said and touched her new sheath. “He thinks Sera’s there. He’ll hunt for her.”

“Spreading death on his path until he finds her. If he finds her.” Ave said. He and Vivienne had often discussed their gifts during their time in Neverfall, each curious about the other and both eager to have someone to confide in. He knew what Damien was capable of better than most. “We have to dig faster. Get you across before he kills everyone in his search.”

“We’ll take turns. No one stops carving.” A Basher said. “Bring in every Basher in the city, no matter their skill. Maybe we can cut the time in half.”

“Agreed.” Ave said nodding. “Viv, go back and tell us if it’s clear. We need to get moving.”

“Are you alright?” Seraphina asked. Keira opened her eyes and looked at her, curious. “You’ve been mumbling to yourself all day.”

Keira smiled. A half smile, barely reaching her ear. “Do you know why I’m sure we can’t save them?” Seraphina shook her head. “When I close my eyes, my mind’s trying to trick me, calling you my enemy. It’s trying to make me think I want to fight you. If I didn’t know you, Sera, if we hadn’t spent our childhood and early training together, I think it’d succeed. It’s no life worth living, I assure you.”

“Maybe we should switch the teams, make it easier for you.” Seraphina suggested. A crowd of Dawnfielders began marching in front of them.

Keira shook her head. “No need.” She smiled. “I’ll mumble the nonsense away.”

“You sure?” Seraphina asked. “It’s stressful enough as it is.”

“Just another raid. We go in, we destroy and we leave. What can go wrong?” Keira asked chuckling.

“Plenty.” Seraphina replied.

“They wouldn’t send us if it was easy. Come on.” She said and walked into the crowd.

There was a grand parade marching around the main streets of Dawnfield, in celebration of the Emperor’s birthday. One day prior, on Damien’s actual birthday, the streets had been empty as if the city was deserted. The only sign of life was the people fueling the fire at the top of the obelisk in the centre of the city. But on the second day at dawn, the people burst into the streets, commoners and nobles alike. None was above the celebrations.

The Elementals used the occurrence to blend in and walk the streets with ease. The courtesans had mentioned that the march would bring them before Threne Keep, or even inside its courtyard if they were willing to be at the front lines. The Elementals didn’t want to risk it though, so they settled for an outside view of their target.

The more Seraphina and Keira followed the parade, the more Seraphina’s anger grew. The people around her were singing and praising Damien’s rule, wishing aloud for his life to be even longer. Flower petals flew in the air, spread by joyful younglings. Innocent, clueless about the dangers people, even children, faced against the empire, simply because they were born a certain way.

She didn’t want to draw any attention to her anger, which most likely showed in her expression. She kept her head down next to Keira. The sound of stomping little feet and children’s laughter behind her made her turn just in time to catch a boy who wasn’t looking where he was going and tackled her. He was young and small, so his weight barely moved her. She steadied him. “You alright, little man?”

He looked up, all red and blushing still. “My apologies.” He said before running off. There was a pin on his breast pocket, four crossing swords. Noble family, Seraphina didn’t remember more than that.

“Sera...” Keira said nudging her.

Seraphina turned and saw they were getting close to the Keep. She took mental note of the guards posts and weapons she could see on them. Counted the doors and stairs in sight. The chanting march brought them before the Keep’s gates, but the crowd didn’t stop moving. Instead, it seemed they all wanted to enter the courtyard, arms pushing and pulling at people. The songs stopped and a new chant took their place.

He’s here, he’s here. Our God is here.

Seraphina and Keira looked at each other. They nodded and broke apart. They tried to escape the crowd before Damien could touch them with his gift. Seraphina didn’t get very far before she felt Aether wash through her.

So much work to do. Pots needed cleaning before the Madam came back. She hurried, if the Madam knew she’d gone out to meet him, she’d punish her. Maybe she shouldn’t have sneaked out that day, she should’ve stayed in the kitchen to scrub pots like she was ordered. What time was it? Would she manage to finish it time? What if...

Seraphina stopped thinking of nonsense when the feeling of Aether’s violation subsided. She’d spent cycles in Vivienne’s company and just as the twin’s training on her body turned her into an excellent fighter, her training on their minds allowed their minds to deceive the one reading them. She could only hope the others could at least protect their plans.

She walked back to the brothel, eager to get out of sight. The courtesans stared at her. After cycles of watching and manipulating people, they could tell something was wrong. “Tell them to come find me. I’ll be downstairs.” She told the courtesans. They nodded.

She went downstairs and while she saw waiting of the other Elementals, she drew a map of what she’d seen, trying to figure out the best point of entry. By the time she was done with the initial drawing, the others came. “That was him, wasn’t it? That eerie sense?” Hurley asked.

"We can assume he knows I'm here. As I was walking away from the gates, I noticed people looking at me, surprised. What about you?" Seraphina asked, not looking up from the drawn Keep. “Any of you thought of our plans? Could he know?”

“Filled my mind with.... indecent fantasies about the woman in front of me. I doubt he focused on me.” Hurley replied chuckling.

“I thought of my family and coming home to them. Nothing of interest to him.” Therris added.

“Keira?” Seraphina said.

She shook her head. “He knows my mind. I went silent.” She sat down. “We need to change the plan, just in case someone actually slipped.”

“Not the plan. The execution time.” Seraphina said and circled two spots on her map. “If he got a whiff of what we want to do, he’ll hunt us. A little boy looked directly at me before the reading, many caught my face during. Damien will hunt us, that's for sure. If we don't finish them, the Drudges remain a threat to our people.”

“So what do you propose? We attack now? The streets are full.” Hurley said.

“Celebrating his birthday. Half the guards on that wall were drunk already. By nightfall, they’ll all be either drunk or passed out somewhere. It gives us a good enough opportunity to strike.” Seraphina said and pointed at one of the circles. “If Keira’s memories serve her right, this is the best place to climb.” She pointed at the second circle. “And this should be the entrance to the stairs that lead to the dungeon.”

Keira interrupted her. “Good enough opportunity? You never go for good enough.”

“I know, but can you be sure he didn’t get anything off us? Can you be sure he won’t try to get something? If we do it tonight, we surprise even ourselves, so we can count to surprise them as well.” Seraphina said. “Good enough will have to do.”

“I’m with Sera on this one.” Therris said. “If we linger, we risk exposure of more than just ourselves.”

Hurley looked at Seraphina. “I don’t like it, but you know Aether better than us. I trust your judgement, good enough will have to do.”

Seraphina nodded and turned to Keira. “What about you?”

She shook her head once more. “One condition.”

Therris spoke. “Name it.”

“If we fail, you kill me. I can’t be one of his pawns again.”

They nodded.

◊◊◊

Seraphina was right. After sundown, when the four Elementals left Chastity, they found many people out on the streets, but they were drunk and none were city guards. On the walls of Threene Keep, the few guards, thirty-seven Seraphina counted as opposed to over a hundred she’d seen in the morning, could barely keep their eyes open. Four times they went from one side of the wall to the other. To be sure. To be safe. On the fourth run, they checked no one was in sight on the ground level and then Seraphina snuffed from afar the torch on wall right at the point she’d circled in her drawing. They waited a while, to see if there would be any reactions, but there were none. They approached the wall in the darkness, without a lit torch to cast its light on them, and Therris set to work. He touched the wall and soon after, the stone gave under his influence and a small step, just big enough to fit a show protruded from the stone, right next to his hand. A short while later, another step jutted out higher. Then another and on it went until they reached the top. The further up he went, the more time it took to make the steps, but by the time he finished, they were still within the timetable they’d set.

Up the three went, while Keira used the air to steady them. Once they were at the top, she followed. She showed them the way, but Seraphina, the more experienced in stealth and more light-footed, led them forward. True to her nickname of Redstreak in Ironham, she left a trail of bodies the others threw over the casemates and onto the street. Most were stabbings and throat slits of half-asleep men. Unkind and merciless. Some were victims of her arrows, but not many for there was deep darkness that night and she couldn’t see as well as she’d like at every moment. When the sun would rise and cast its warm light on the Keep, the imperials would see the wall painted in red, the crimson blood of their comrades. But none was on Seraphina. Her blades made clean cuts and she wiped them on her victims as she went. The odour though would not leave until she scrubbed them clean afterwards.

She pushed the phantom screams to the back of her mind, focused only on their mission. Once inside the corridors leading down the Elemental-filled vaults, they switched places and Keira was leading the way. No point in stealth anymore, as the corridors were small and if they came upon anyone, they’d have to fight and all four were good fighters. At every crossroad, Keira looked every way and shook her head. She closed her eyes, took some half steps as she searched her memory, and then walked in her chosen direction.

Thrice they had to strop and attempt to hide from the patrolling imperials. Once they succeeded out of luck, turning around and slipping into another corridor as the imperials passed. But two times they had to fight. In the first, Keira flew at the two imperials and tackled them before Therris and Hurley came over them, plunging their sword and axe into their chests, just as Keira rolled off them. The imperials gargled and drowned in their own blood.

The second time they encountered a group of four guards instead of two and the tackling strategy didn’t work as well. Keira was left lying on top of one while three of them stood over her with their swords drawn. Hurley and Therris rushed to her aid, but it was Seraphina’s flames that gave the imperials pause, enough so the Elementals could reach and engage them. In those short moments, Keira attacked the imperial underneath her and Seraphina let two arrows loose on the fourth one, one struck his head, the other his chest.

All dead bodies they hid as best they could in dark corners, covered in dust and mold, indication they were hardly ever used. It wasn’t ideal, but it was good enough under the circumstances.

A while after their bout with the four imperials, Keira stopped them. “Down that hall, on the right, there’s a room with five grated doors. Behind four of them, they’re holding the Elementals in cells. There’ll be guards, don’t know how many, so we’re in for a fight. Four of them will have keys, one for each door, but we don’t need them, we’re destroying the place.”

“What’s behind the fifth door?” Hurley asked.

“No idea. All I know is whenever they took anyone there, the screams would echo for days, until they were no more, and we never saw anyone come out.” Keira shook her head. “In my time here, the Emperor came twice. Once to turn me and one time a few cycles back to enter that fifth door. The boy in there had been screaming for days, tortured worse and for longer than usual, but when the Emperor came, the screams stopped, replaced by eerie silence.”

“Why’re you telling us this?”

She turned around smiling. “If there’s eerie silence, kill yourselves and take down anyone you can with you. You don’t want to fall into his hands, trust me.”

They nodded and moved on.

There were eleven guards in the cell room. Unlike the ones on the wall, they were sober and fully alert, but their focus was on the inmates. They knew the dangers of an Elemental and didn’t allow themselves room for error with them. But they didn’t think of the Elementals about to attack them and so, they were taken by surprise. Six arrows struck flesh before they ever managed to draw their swords. Two died, one was Seraphina’s kill, the other Hurley’s. Nine remained, two wounded.

Therris, Hurley and Keira drew their weapons and engaged them in fight. Seraphina laid back at the entrance and kept letting arrows loose. Her aim was true, but the imperial fighting Keira saw her aiming at him and at the last moment pulled Keira in the arrow’s way. It went straight through the side of her neck and struck him as well. Both went down clutching on their necks, desperate to stop the bleeding, but it was all in vain.

Seraphina wanted to scream. She’d killed her own friend. She pushed it down, even as her throat burned with muffled sound. She couldn’t contain her element though. She felt the fire surround her gloved hands, never touching the leather, before she noticed the fearful expressions on the remaining imperials’ faces. In their moment of fear, Therris and Hurley ran through two more, cutting their numbers down to four.

Seraphina reached for her new sword, still clean and innocent, as Hurley and Therris blocked the imperials’ attacks. Seraphina snuffed the flames and directed her anguish on her enemies. She rushed to Therris’s aid and delivered a quick killing slash across the neck. The imperial went down and would soon stop breathing. They were three against three.

The imperials’ eyes settled on her face scar. They knew she was the one the Emperor was looking for. Suddenly though, they dropped their weapons and clutched their necks, eyes wide. They struggled to breathe. The Elementals didn’t waste the opportunity and plunged their swords into the imperials’ guts, then chest. Therris and Hurley finished off the other fallen imperials, who were still breathing, while Seraphina went to Keira.

She had one hand on the wound on her neck. She was crying. Seraphina knelt and touched her forehead to Keira’s. “You did well, my friend. You can rest now.” Keira nodded and grabbed Seraphina’s arm. She let go of her neck. “May the Elements guard and guide your soul.” She said as she pushed her sword into Keira’s heart. “I’m sorry…”

She stood and joined Hurley and Therris, who were looking through the grated doors. They could hear cries of help behind four of them. Flame. Waves. Wind gust. Mountain. Symbols on each door. But nothing behind the one with the spider web. “We still do this?” Therris asked.

“Better safe than sorry.” Seraphina said and went to the rucksacks they’d left at the entrance. Inside, there was all the black powder they could accumulate in a short time. As a Scorcher, she carried none and was mindful of the others’ positions at all times so no sparks she might create would blow them up. In hers, there were jugs of oil, kept in waterskins she’d wrapped around in an extra layer of leather. She tossed the oil to Hurley while she and Therris placed the powder in piles close to the doors. Hurley pulled the corks out of the waterskins and closed his eyes. Though liquid, it wasn’t as easy to manipulate, some Dousers couldn’t at all Maxwell had once said, but Hurley wasn’t one of them. As Seraphina and Therris stood at the entrance, Hurley spread the oil, ending the trail at Seraphina’s feet. Combined with the hay in the rooms, the Elementals’ flesh and Seraphina’s manipulation, the fire would burn until the Elementals were no more.

Once Therris and Hurley were clear, out of the room and behind her, Seraphina set alight the edge of the oil. The flames progressed further in fast, but they didn’t sit around to watch their kind wither and die in agony. Instigating their slaughter was enough burden on their already heavy souls. Even as they fled the scene, running up the stairs and following the marking Keira had made Therris scratch to show them the path in case she wasn’t with them, Seraphina could feel it all.

The moment it touched the powder, a small explosion occurred, the stones beneath their feet trembled lightly and Seraphina felt the reinforced blaze engulf the first bodies. When it reached the Scorchers, the guilt and sorrow hit her harder. Covered in tar they were and they tried to resist, but their own element overpowered them. She could only hope most would suffocate long before the fire burned them to crisp.

They ran and ran until they reached the surface and broke out into the courtyard. They would switch their positions again, with Seraphina leading silently, but they never got to. Because once they stepped out, they couldn’t breathe. They dropped their weapons, just like the imperials had when Keira cut off their air, and clutched their necks. Seraphina’s eyes had yet to adjust and her struggle to breathe rendered her powerless. She tried to set everything on fire, but she was losing the fight against unconsciousness. She got something or someone, but it was too late. She could no longer hold on. She fainted.

“Reg! Wake up!”

Reggie opened his eyes and jumped to his feet, sword in hand. Blitz stood in front of him, hands raised. He was excited. “What happened?”

“The easterns have arrived, almost intact!” He said and laughed. “Come, we need to hear the full of it.”

Reggie lowered the sword and rubbed the sleep off his eyes. He muffled his yawns and dressed, eager to join everyone and find out what had happened. He got out of his tent and found Raine already waiting for him like every morning Seraphina spent in the city. She howled when she saw him and stood. Together they went towards the crowd. A sea of people they found, and at the center, every banner of their land stood high and proud, united, as were the people then. Only one was missing. The shining star of Dawnfield and their enemy.

He was late to the hearing, but not for what he wanted to know. The councilmen of the westerns were still retelling the tale of their struggles in Ironham and Larcbust. Reggie, a witness and fighter in both, paid little attention to their words and instead focused on his newly arrived allies. Only few of them were battle worn, the larger and well-built ones, those who would be in the front line, advancing with their full shields that could provide safety to their backline. The kind the western forces had lost most during the Larcbust assault.

Beside Barkley and Laura sat the leaders of the south, people Reggie had never seen, and Bailey of Oremart, a man Reggie had seen during his imperial service, but he’d been a boy back then, third in line of succession with no interest in leading Oremart. Between Laura and Bailey sat a disoriented man, tufts of grey and white on his head and chin, and kept rubbing his temples as if he had a headache. Reggie guessed it was Fergus. On the other side of Bailey sat a woman, stoic yet riveting, with a child on her lap. He’d heard of her. Clare was one of the only Shepherds who managed to become such integral piece of the empire, becoming the wife of the Viscount of Ashbourne, and the only Shepherd able to rally a city to their cause.

The next two were easy to identify. They emitted their fear and horror, just by sitting in that table. Viscount Wilfried and his wife Olivie, a Douser as it’d turned out. They were trembling and listening in shock to the events in Larcbust. Reggie was somewhat surprised to see Wilfried brought along Olivie and didn’t follow Bailey’s example with Calliope. More so when he remembered they had four children. He hoped they left them behind in Wallowdale and its safety. Unlike Clare, who was born a Shepherd and felt at ease in the action, they were not used to it, neither would their children. They boy in Clare’s lap though was awestruck at what he was hearing.

At the end of the table sat Maxwell. Broody, unkempt, his left arm in a sling and a bandage wrapped around his right hand, covering all of it. He was a shell of a man, quietly listening. Nothing like the man Reggie remembered over two cycles before when they’d fought. He seemed to focus when the telling reached the Drudges they’d encountered and even smiled when he heard of Seraphina’s fight with the Bashers.

Then the first man rose and addressed the westerns. He confirmed Reggie’s guess of his identity, announcing he was Fergus, Vexus-son, Viscount of Neverfall, but always one of the people. He said that since they were days away from an assault on their enemy, there was no point in hiding his nature. He apologized for seeming disoriented, but he was still struggling with numbing everyone’s auras, before he revealed he was an Aetheral, like Vivienne and the Emperor, yet different from them. There were many whispers all around, but Fergus didn’t stop talking, so the crowd had to focus on him, not think about his Aetheral status. Reggie included.

He made quick work to remind everyone Wallodale, Ashbourne, Neverfall and Oremart stood with the Shepherds and how that came to be. He expressed his confidence in Vivienne and her fight against one man, but emphasized that for an even fight, they would have to make a strong impression on Dawnfield’s defenders to draw them out and maintain their attention, so Vivienne could do her part. Reggie saw many nodding and some started clapping, until there was a full chorus of it.

Fergus waited for the crowd to finish their cheering and resumed his speech, getting to the events the westerns didn’t know about, though the presence of Sabarians in front of Dawnfield’s wall gave some clues. When the easterns’ armies had reached Sabaria, they found only a small part of their army, as it turned out no more than twenty hundred with most being new recruits, barricaded within the encampment. The Shepherd allies could overpower them on numbers alone in a direct attack, but they’d stuck to their initial strategy before they’d arrived at the city.

They’d used the rocky terrain in their favour. The Bashers, with the aid of the people in the Lotham Narrows, caused a rockslide down the mountain, so great in magnitude that annihilated half the city. Slate and her people were well accustomed to breaking mountains and so the destruction they brought to Sabaria had been massive, and so were the casualties. When the allies had sent the first line in the city and the archers had let their arrows fly, the city was theirs. The first battle they had been dreading had ended before it had even begun. The first rocks had rolled down the mountain just before dawn and the last surrender had happened around midday.

The victory had been easy to reach, with no more than five hundred casualties and injuries on the Allies’ end. On their march to the capital, they caught up to part of Sabaria’s returning forces and another battle had ensued. Both parties had been in disarray, unprepared and tired from marching, and so the fight had been sloppy, with several injuries on either side. It was the Elementals that decided the winner. Fire, whirlwinds and boulders had laid waste in their path, cutting down Sabaria’s men.

The unexpected bout had destroyed several of the Allies’ resources, food was the most essential, and so the Allies had resorted to their last measure, one they’d long before decided they wouldn’t do unless absolutely necessary. They ransacked the villages they encountered for provisions, adding to the resources the hives in their path provided and the meat their hunters caught while they’d camp. They had many mouths to feed, many more than they’d initially anticipated at that stage. The time they’d saved in the Sabaria assault they wasted in gathering resources and so, they arrived at the capital to join the westerns within the agreed timeline.

Once Fergus returned to his seat, there were some formalities exchanged between the two sides, but the people held little interest and the crowd began to disperse. Reggie, with Raine at his feet, walked towards the table. By the time he reached it, the commanders of all forces retreated to their tent to strategize, while the Viscounts and Shepherd council discussed. Barkley wasn’t among them. He’d gone to Maxwell and when Reggie went to them, they were just shaking arms.

Upon seeing Reggie, Maxwell smiled to him. A first. He extended his arm as much as the sling allowed for Reggie to shake. “Glad to see you in one piece, brother.” Kind words. Another first. “My sister?”

“Wreaking havoc from within.” Reggie replied and nodded to Maxwell’s hand. “What happened to you?”

Maxwell chuckled. “I got stupid. Stopped someone’s blow with my hand, the wound got infected and they had to cut my pinky and fourth finger. Fun times.”

Barkley shook his head. “That makes you laugh?”

Maxwell cleared his throat and calmed. “Well, no, it was more painful than I expected, it’s just I never realized until they cut them how much I depended on Viv’s healing. Fergus is useless.” He laughed again. “But he’s messing with my mood, so I can ignore the pain. That helps and that’s why I’m laughing.”

“He can do that?” Reggie asked.

“Yeah, as easy as Viv can heal. Helps a lot with morale.” He replied and pointed at some Oremartians and Neverfallers nearby. They were laughing and shaking arms. “How about we catch up over some food. I’m starving, but I wanna hear all about my niece.”

One thing Reggie and Maxwell had in common was their knack for words. Reggie wasted no time and talked about Seraphina and Chloe, everything he could remember, trivial and important alike, in his short time with his daughter. Maxwell hung on every word. Reggie doubted the seer look of adoration on his face stemmed only from Fergus’s manipulation.

On his end, he told them how he was a single man no longer as he and Vivienne had married before he’d left with the easterns. While he was describing his weeding day, Reggie noticed Fergus smile at him with pity as he walked out of the councilmen’s tent.

“Weird.”

◊◊◊

Three days of deliberations passed. The newcommers became familiar with the defenses in the Sabarian line and they performed raids of their own to gauge the situation firsthand. Reggie took Maxwell to the armorer to get him new gear, fitting for the kind of slaughter he’d get himself into during the assault. After their time apart, he seemed different, more tolerant and trusting of Reggie. Seraphina would be pleased when she’d return.

On the fourth day, they headed to the medics. Maxwell had been in a meeting between the commanders, the council and the Viscounts, a fact Reggie found off because even Seraphina made a point of staying out of such discussions to avoid anyone thinking she was favoured.

He brought it to Maxwell’s attention and he agreed. “I’m not there as Barkley’s nephew, but the link between the Viscounts and the League. Fergus, Wilfried, Olivie and Bailey put their trust in Viv and allied themselves to us. They trust her and Viv trusts me, so they also trust me to protect everyone’s interests. I don’t express my opinions, but rather explain to either side the other’s concerns. I’m there as Viv’s husband. Incredible, huh? How she’s turned the world upside down.”

Reggie nodded as the medic replaced the bandage on Maxwell’s hand. The stitches would need another day or two before they got removed. An anxious scout ran into the tent, almost knocking over one of the poles keeping it upright. He rushed to Reggie and informed him and Maxwell that Barkley had requested their presence urgently. Guessing Seraphina was back, they followed the scout to the commanders’ tent. Hardly ever a good sign.

Reggie and Maxwell bowed and approached the table. “Where is she?” Maxwell asked excitedly and searched for Seraphina, thinking she was hiding.

Reggie opted to keep his composure. “You asked for us?” Barkley was sitting in a chair and stared at the table.

“Yes.” Laura cleared her throat. “Do you recognize this?” She unwrapped the cloth around the package she was carrying and placed it on the table.

Reggie’s knees buckled. He touched the steel, traced the initials he’d carved. “It’s Seraphina’s. Where did you find it?”

Laura motioned to the scout. He stepped up. “I was sent to ask the Elementals of their progress, but I didn’t get to the city. On the hill just outside the walls, the sword was impaled on the ground and the heads of Therris and Hurley lied spiked on either side of it. This was tied on the swords hilt.”

Reggie grabbed the paper.

DEAR VIVIENNE,

PLEASE ACCEPT THIS INVITATION TO MY HUMBLE HOME. SERAPHINA AND I ARE WAITING.

DAMIEN