Black Steel: A Tale of Fire and Mind

“You can’t be serious. Don’t you think we’d know about it? It’s ridiculous!”

Vivienne’s reaction had Fergus scratching his arms and looking down. She was imposing. Ever since they’d left Hollow Grove, she stepped right into Seraphina’s shoes and filled the room with her presence. Made people want to please her and heed her suggestions. Fergus tapped on the table while she was pacing and muttering to herself. “Why would you?”

“Why!?” She threw her hands up and clenched her fists. She did a roundabout and with every word she uttered she banged on the table, only a breath away from him. “We make it our point to know. It’s a matter of survival.”

“I get that…” Maxwell watched Fergus shift in his chair. He was coming off the Aetheral high of his drunk, blissful subjects and Vivienne’s wrath started affecting him instead. He shook his head, trying to get his bearings. “Ehh, sorry. I get it, but you had no reason to look. The empire too. I made sure of it, like my father and his mother before him.”

Maxwell caught on. “Your home.” Vivienne stopped and looked at him. “It’s simple, like any other amongst your people. You’re never there, always in the halls of the citadel. No guards, no explicit locks…”

“Minimal furniture, the windows open, inviting. No reason to look beyond, think I might be hiding something.” Fergus said nodding. “Everything needed to handle the realm’s business I keep in my office, under lock and key. The steward has access and since Keegan is one of your own, you obviously do too, so you never found anything, because there’s nothing there. But my home…” His hand went to the ring chained around his neck. Wedding band of his late wife. “My home is for my family and our secrets. One of them is the tunnel I speak of.”

Vivienne stared at him. Even Maxwell felt the intensity of that read. “We need to see it.” She said taking a seat. Calmer, but still furious.

Fergus nodded. “Of course. I’ll take you to the entrance, but you’ll need to bring an Earth Elemental. There was a cave-in a couple of summers back and rocks block the way. We can’t mine our way in or else we’ll get exposed sooner than we’d like.”

“Done. We’ll need the texts too.” Maxwell said.

Fergus clapped. “I keep them in the study covering the entrance. Labelled as the history of Neverfall, no one’s interested in history anymore.” Maxwell must’ve showed his disagreement as Fergus chuckled. “Except for you, it seems. Once we reach the study, you can see them, but prepare. The tunnel’s map is missing. Has been since before my father’s time, perhaps even more.”

Vivienne sat still, deep in thought. Maxwell noticed her eyes were glazed, trained on Fergus. Another rush of Aether hit him, more intense than before, though he didn’t know whose. He observed the two Aetherals for a while and as soon as he noticed Vivienne’s features relax and her hand move to her temple, he figured it was her gift washing through over him. “No, it’s both of us.” Vivienne corrected. Still rubbing her temple, she looked at Fergus. “I don’t think there ever was a map.”

Fergus titled his head. “It’s mentioned in detail, I tell you.”

Vivienne sighed. “Anyone can follow a map. If not even Lucian knows of it, there’s no map.”

Fergus was about to protest, but Maxwell waved to him. It stopped him. Maxwell straightened up in his seat. “Lucian can’t know everything, perhaps…” Vivienne was shaking her head. “... what are you thinking then? Why mention a map if there is none?”

Vivienne looked at Fergus. “Tell him what you’ve read.”

He nodded. “The texts speak of a passage right through the mountain. Means of escape if Dawnfield gets cornered.”

“You said if Dawnfield’s group, not Dawnfield. Perhaps the word’s order not group.” She corrected.

“True, my apologies. My memory’s fuzzy, it’s been a long time since I read them.” Fergus said. “The order used it to escape the Phantom in the war, but there’s no record of what they did next. It says they created an endless maze of tunnels, but only they held the map.”

“Again, only they could navigate it you said.”

“Yes, because they had the map.”

Vivienne got up. “It’s your own assumption, not the text itself. Take us to the study and you’ll see, having no map makes more sense.”

“Now? It’ll be suspicious, didn’t we just try to stay out of sight?”

Maxwell stood as well. “We didn’t want to endanger you.” Fergus lifted an eyebrow. “We were supposed to kill you. We didn’t, and, well, our people are more wary than not these days. Can’t have them stabbing you first and asking questions later.”

“Right…” Fergus cleared his throat. “My daughter’s not in any danger though?”

“No. No such talk, don’t worry.”

“Okay, that’s… good, I suppose.” Fergus stood as well. He grabbed his chin, one of his fingers barely touched his neck. “If I didn’t join you…you were really planning to kill me, weren’t you?”

“Yes.” They both answered.

“No remorse?”

“No time or room for it.” Vivienne replied.

Maxwell went to stand next to Vivienne. “We cannot rely on sentiment. Unfortunately, it gets people killed, as I’m sure you know.”

“Yes… We need to guard against it more often than not.” Fergus stood and joined them. “You know of my father’s untimely death, don’t you?” Maxwell nodded. Fergus sighed. “I understand…” he extended his arm “… but now we are allies you have nothing to fear from me and my people. I need to know the same applies to you and yours.”

Maxwell grabbed his arms. “It does. You will need to work out the details of this alliance with our council, but you have nothing to fear. Our goal has always been freedom and the preservation of life, as ironic as it may sound coming from an assassin. No one will try to take either of allies. As long as you truly are our ally.”

Fergus stared into his eyes and he felt the reading. He didn’t fight back. He didn’t hide the League’s leading faces from Fergus. Against everything his training instilled in him from a young age, he didn’t withhold information. He decided early on that night, the time for clarity among comrades had come. Truth held greater value than a misleading approach. “You’re right. If your Elders start fooling your allies, even if we succeed, we’ll slaughter each other later. We’ll have achieved nothing.”

Maxwell nodded. “They’ll want control over proceedings. They’ll be secretive. Manipulative. Perhaps even deceptive. It’s how we’ve survived this long. But I can vouch for their desperate need to be free from oppression. They won’t instill it in anyone else in Damien’s place.”

As Fergus considered his words, Oris appeared at the top of the stairs. “You asked for me?”

Fergus looked at Maxwell, gripped his arm tighter and nodded. Maxwell turned to Oris. “We need your help.”

They told Oris of their plan and he quickly went back to the inn to get his affairs in order so he could follow them. Since the festivities still raged on outside, to avoid multiple stops, they gave Fergus a hooded cloak to hide his face. Before he brought the people to the League’s side, Maxwell wanted to explore the possibility he presented. Vivienne considered it a certainty. Whatever she found in his Fergus’s mind had her already convinced.

They didn’t make as many detours as they had on their way to the inn, but it still took them quite a while to get to the Viscount’s home. His windows were wide open, his door unlocked, and no guards were around. All too inviting and none too suspicious if one knew Fergus. Few items were of any value, making the house completely indifferent even for thieves.

Ignoring everything else, they went straight to the library. Maxwell tried to contain his enthusiasm when they entered the room, wondering how many books it held, but with two skillful Aetherals around, it was impossible. What his reactions didn’t show, his mind did. Fergus chuckled as he searched the bookcase and Vivienne shook her head, smiling. She went over to him and whispered. “Over a hundred in this room.” She answered his unspoken question.

“Six times as many in the main hall.” Fergus said and Maxwell’s breath came short, making the Viscount laugh further. “You are free to go over them whenever you like, but this one’s our main focus, right?” He laid out a large tome labelled as the History of Neverfall and Beyond on his study and opened it. “The passage is on page 1185. We need a map to navigate the tunnels, see for yourself.”

Vivienne pushed Maxwell forward and let him read first.

In the course of history, there may come a time when you ask how we can watch Ostapia fall and do nothing. Once, she was magnificent, a jewel like few others in the known world. Full of life, full of elements coexisting in joyous harmony. The answer is simple. Nature made us candidates for order and our grace turned us into its members. Our resolve was tested time and time again before the order deemed us worthy. We have not used our gift for self-gain, nor to harm others. We shall not start now. We seek the truth and advise any who asks.

The truth is the Apostate everyone calls Phantom, the one who managed to trick even us, cannot be stopped. Neither sword nor man can match his knowledge and experiments on our limitations. Only a strong shield can, forged by nature and nurtured by mentors, but any we know of cannot fight.

And the advice we gave those who sought our counsel was to evacuate the people before the Apostate takes hold of them. They do not listen. They believe their numbers can compensate for their lack of shield. But they do not know. They do not understand the power he wields. We do. Some see it as clearly as the stars on a cloudless night. Others can feel it as intensely as a lover’s touch on a night full of passion.

While we cannot engage the Apostate, we also cannot stand helpless as he razes the land. We shall give the armies a chance and prolong our stay in Dawnfield, but we are already preparing for the worst. As our scribe is recording our decision and hope we are wrong, the north becomes stale and the mountains east and west grow most formidable.

Ostapia’s last stand will happen here, but we won’t witness it. When the Apostate and his abominations reach Dawnfield, we will depart. Our summit, now bereft of its three dozen onyx seats, will provide our escape below the surface. For the past cycle, as the Apostate advanced north, the diggers have been gnawing their way to the village on the other side of the Highlands, the one that never fell in his clutches. Soon the maze will be complete and the path open for our escape. When the enemy comes, we will flee. The diggers hold the key to navigating their creation and so they will join us. South we shall go, into the endless sea to warn as many kinships as possible. The threat will remain here, contained.

Our scribe wishes to remain in his homeland, even though he understands the consequences of his decision. He will return to his people and become keeper of the passage and the maze’s key.

If the apostate gets hold of this account, we have a message for you as well. We pity you and the world you wish to create. You once swore to preserve life. It never meant your own and certainly not at another’s expense. May the elements guard and guide those who stand against you.

Signed,

Hugo, Margery, Gilbert, Aveline, Elisa, Mirella and Theodore

The Last of Order of Dawnfield

Maxwell went over the page twice before he set the book down. Even as he read, his mind made the connection between what he knew as a Shepherd and the text. He realized Vivienne was probably right. “Told you.” She said over his shoulder.

“Can you please explain why? I don’t see any map.” Fergus said over his other shoulder. “If not an actual key, then what? Something only the diggers could use to find their way? My people have been miners for generations and I know of no such thing.”

“The world was different back then. When they say diggers, they must mean Earth Elementals. Oris, do you feel anything unusual around here?” Maxwell asked.

Oris shook his head. “There’s a large gap, behind that bookcase, that entrance I guess. Other than that, no. Nothing unusual.”

Vivienne huffed and pushed her hair back, a mild distraction for Maxwell that made it hard to suppress a grin. With her hand still tangled in her hair, she straightened up, took a deep breath and looked at Oris. “It’s your Element. We don’t know what to look for, you must think. What makes a Basher the only one able to navigate a maze?”

“Assuming you are right…” Fergus added.

“Humour me.” Vivienne said without taking her eyes off Oris. “There must be a reason, but we can’t know it. Why a Basher, Oris?”

Oris seemed nervous. He fidgeted, stepping from one leg to the other, undoubtedly feeling the same violating wave of Aether Maxwell felt himself. He closed his eyes again, touched the ground in front of the hidden entrances to the tunnels, but the emptiness in his stare, the silent plea to Maxwell for help made Vivienne’s face fall. Maxwell didn’t need Aether to know he’d come up empty. “He’s never been well attune. It’s why the council allowed his family to leave Bandville in the first place when Clay got injured. You can still be right.” He turned to Oris. “You can’t find anything, that’s fine, but try to think what a Basher can see that we can’t…”

Even though he wasn’t convinced Vivienne was right, Fergus put his hand on Oris’s shoulder. “You know, somewhere deep inside you have to know what makes your element special to you and yours. My mother never got to properly teach me about my element, but I remember her always saying to look at the colours and people will be easy to understand. ‘The colours, Gus, they always tell the truth’ she’d say. I didn’t know what she meant then, Aether hadn’t manifested yet, but I figured it out when it did. What makes the Earth different?”

Oris considered the question. He nodded and started pacing around the room, feeling the walls every few steps, but didn’t say a word. Twice he went over the room. Twice he stood in front of the entrance for a few moments. Thrice he stopped before Fergus. On the third, his hand reached out to him. “There’s something on you. A faint… scent. I don’t recognize it, but it’s… earthy if it makes any sense. It comes from tunnels as well, but it’s far more faint.”

Maxwell felt Vivienne’s hand on his shoulder as she reread the page. She pointed at a word. “Oris, have you ever touched onyx?” He shook his head. Without looking up, she tapped on the page and spoke. “Fergus, any family heirlooms? Possibly made of onyx?” She didn’t need the answer, but he started nodding anyway, maybe even thought a reply to her.

Maxwell watched as the information registered in everyone’s minds. Fergus, dumbstruck, slowly removed the chain around his neck with a pendant in the shape of mountain. “That’s what you feel?” He asked Oris giving him the jewel.

Oris examined it and within a moment smiled. “Yes! There’s some in the tunnels, but not close. This the key?”

“Our summit, now bereft of its three dozen onyx seats, will provide our escape below the surface. The seats are the key. The material they were made of. The Bashers must’ve used them as markers, so only a Basher can follow the right path.” Vivienne said and tapped on the page again. “We have Bashers. Once we tell them what to look for, they can find the path.”

Maxwell went over the facts, trying to poke holes in her logic. There were a few. “Wouldn’t Damien wonder where the seats were? He was part of the Order, he’d know they were missing. Wouldn’t he look for them?”

“If he knew why they were missing, perhaps. If he had a Basher with free-will by his side, they might’ve told him they were sensing an oddity. But most of his followers were Drudges back then, right? They’d only seek what he told them to and as Aetheral, he wouldn’t know what to look for.” Vivienne said and pointed at Oris. “He knew something was different, but only when he touched the pendant, did he figure out what. We asked him to touch it and look for a similar marker.”

Fergus nodded and went to stand next to her. He moved her finger to another phrase. “He will return to his people and become Keeper of the passage and the maze’s key. My family’s guarded the entrance and this heirloom goes back many generations. Aether runs through my bloodline, their scribe has to be my ancestor. It makes sense.”

Maxwell frowned. He was the first to seek knowledge in history, books and journals, but there was something off. “The pieces connect. Or maybe we make them connect, but I have a feeling we’re missing one. Over four hundred cycles is a long time for such a hole in his defenses to remain secret. He must’ve known about the seats. Must’ve.” His hand reached for his chin. “We can’t just take this back to the council and ask they pull Bashers away from their posts in the midst of war. We need proof.” He looked at Fergus. “Have you explored the cavern?”

“Not much of it. As a child I’d sneak in just to see what the big family secret was, but I have to admit I was afraid. It’s too dark and the air’s too thick and musky, but the thing that scared me the most was the maze itself. Everything looks so much alike I was terrified I would get lost.” Fergus stared at the still concealed entrance. “I haven’t told my daughter of this yet. She’s fearless and far too curious about the world. Always has been. I didn’t want to risk her fascination taking her away from me.”

Maxwell nodded. “Understandable. Oris, do you think you can explore it without getting lost?”

Oris took some pebbles out of his pockets. “Yes. I can place markers to help me find my way back.”

Maxwell turned back to Fergus. “Do you think Bailey and the Oremartians will follow us without opposition?”

Fergus laughed. “The Oremartians are bloodthirsty, savage beasts. Point them in one direction and they’ll rush in without thought. Bailey’s a smart boy, he’ll follow us if he finds merit to our cause and there is merit. More so now that his children might get hunted in the future.”

Maxwell nodded. “Right, we need to find proof, before we send word back. If what you say is true and we don’t have to besiege Oremart, we save a lot of time…”

“Adding the detour our armies would have to make, close to two seasons, maybe more.” Maxwell nodded, showing his agreement to Vivienne’s words. She turned to Oris. “You have a fortnight to find proof. Can you handle it?”

Oris gripped the onyx pendant and nodded. “I’ll start right away.”

At Fergus’s instructions, they pushed and pulled the heavy bookcase to reveal the entrance to the tunnels. A large wooden door, eaten away by termites at the edges, stood guard. While Maxwell and Vivienne were opening it for Oris, Fergus lit a lantern and handed it to him along with the onyx pendant. Oris nodded to the three of them and slipped inside the tunnel. Only then did he turn to Maxwell and Vivienne, frowning. “Why only a fortnight? You said we’ll save two seasons.”

Maxwell was the one to answer. “The timeline we’ve set with our Elders says that right now, our west forces have either taken Ironham or fighting for her. A thousand men and women are fighting. Upon victory, they will need to recuperate and gather themselves before marching for Larcbust.”

Vivienne interrupted him. “In Ironham, our numbers are greater, and we have many elementals on our side, so it’s safe to assume they’ve taken the city. Only question’s how many casualties we have.”

Maxwell sighed, the thought of Seraphina fighting without him by her side made him cringe. “Yes, they’ll be fine.” He said more to himself than Fergus. “Before they move on, they’ll wait to establish control and gather any weapons or equipment they can, plus they’ll need to wait for Mountmend’s remaining forces. It’ll be at least thirty to fifty days, depending on how quickly the Ironhammers will yield. If Oris finds the proof we need, we’ll send the fastest messenger we can find and with all the roads cleared since the realms stand with us, it shouldn’t take more than fifty days to reach Ironham. The sooner the messenger can leave, the less they’ll have to chase our people.”

Vivienne interjected again. “Another sixty days for strong Bashers to come help us with the tunnels. In the meantime, we’ll be going further into the mountain. That means, the Bashers will have over a cycle to dig. They might get me through the Highlands in the rear as the rest of you lay siege on Dawnfield from the front. We’ll box him in.”

“We’ll need all the Bashers we can get. Fergus?” Maxwell nudged.

“Lots of blue, they are many, but no way of knowing if they are trained.”

“We’ll figure it out, at least there are some.” Vivienne smiled. “Hm… we made the plan. Let’s act on it.”

“Agreed.” Fergus said taking a seat. “It’s the last night of the wedding festivities. We need to talk to Bailey tomorrow, confirm his aid.”

“When Oris returns, we’ll need to address the public, gather all Bashers we can find.” Vivienne said, still certain she was right.

Silence.

Fergus rummaged through the chests in the room until he found a sheathed weapon, a sword by the looks of it, wrapped in leather. Maxwell sat down and reread the record of the last Aetherals in the order of Dawnfield. Vivienne stood by the tunnel’s entrance, humming. Twice she yawned and it didn’t go unnoticed. Fergus, with the sword sheath strapped around his waist, was pacing in the room. “You know, it’s just waiting now. I can fetch you when he’s back. You look like you need some sleep.”

“I’m staying.” Vivienne told him, clenching her jaw to suppress another yawn.

Fergus went to Maxwell, still reading. “Shouldn’t you do something? She needs to take care of herself if she wants fight him.”

“We’re staying.” Maxwell repeated without looking up.

Maxwell and Vivienne didn’t leave, so they took turns sleeping. Vivienne went first and Maxwell let her doze off longer than he should’ve. Almost till the break of dawn. She’d chastise him, but the moment his head touched her thigh, he was out like a light. Still groggy and sleep deprived as she was, she straightened up in her seat and tried to shake off the exhaustion. It didn’t work. Yawning again, reached out and looked for Oris. Nothing in close distance. Peaceful silence met her Aetheral senses and the sound of tossing movements reached her ears.

“You’re too loud.” Fergus mumbled across the room. He was making the tossing and turning on the sofa. He was lying face-down, his head covered with a cushion. The sword he’d dug up earlier, his grandfather’s, laid beside him. “Moves silent like a cat, but mind louder than a babe’s hungry wail.”

She shushed him, knowing Maxwell was a light sleeper. “I do not wail.”

He lifted the cushion and turned over, stretching. “You’ve spent much time in another’s mind, yet you fail to look within.” He sat up and rubbed his eyes. “You’re a loud thinker.”

She scoffed. “I was searching for Oris.”

“Actively, perhaps, but your mind’s wandered off.” He yawned once more and glanced first at the open door in between them, then out the window. Dim light. “No sign of him yet?” Vivienne shook her head. She heard Maxwell sigh and felt his body calm. Soon after, she heard the rainfall strike the stone roof. “Too loud again.”

She caught herself smiling and stopped it. She cleared her throat as if to speak, but resumed their silent conversation. “Sorry… I didn’t…”

“Realise?” Fergus finished for her. “We rarely do.”

“I get nothing from you. Nothing on the background.” She said and probed deeper. Nothing.

“A lifetime of meditation helps… let’s say obscure things.” He shook his head, from side to side. “Plus…Aetheral hangover muddles everything. In certain cases, it proves quite useful, if I do say so myself.”

She nodded, understanding. “Dawnfield. It’s why you let Aether overwhelm you.”

“Perhaps.” He thought and she saw the tiniest smile play on his lips, but for a moment. Then she felt what he felt. Oris’s mind reappeared in the distance. He was jubilant and eager to come back. Fergus went to stand at the tunnel door, watching in the darkness with a lantern in hand. Vivienne waited until Oris stepped through into the room to shake Maxwell. It took two nudges for his eyes to open, one heartbeat to sit up.

Oris stepped into the study, covered in dust and dirt, a bright contrast against his dark skin. Blood stained his knuckles, two of his nails were missing, a long gash on his forehead made more blood trickle down his face. Yet, despite his state, he was smiling.

Before she asked him anything, she walked over to him and touched his face, then his hands, healing him in the process. The relief and Aether’s caress had him sighing before he gulped down a glass of water Fergus gave him. He did so a tad faster than he could handle and ended up coughing some of it out, but it didn’t deter him. He set the glass down and gripped Vivienne’s arms, staring into her eyes. “You’re right, there’s a path. Definitely. The closer I got, the clearer it became.”

“Why are you hurt then?” Maxwell asked pulling Vivienne back against him, to steady her. She’d spent most of the day using Aether that combined with her lack of sleep, her exhaustion was so great even an act of superficial healing threw her off balance.

“The Bashers of old were clever. The path is there, I can feel it, follow it, but I didn’t get past the first marker. I know why they used the seats. They’ve erected onyx walls out of them to block the way, as if it’s a dead end, but it’s not. I tried going around the one I found, but the moment I disturbed the earth, I caused a cave in. I only managed to get out of the way in time because I sensed the earth move.” He looked at his hands, images of clawing his way out of the dirt flooded his mind. “We can’t go around, only through.”

“Through!? How!?” Fergus asked raising his voice. “How can we carve through these onyx blockades without triggering the traps? Even my best miners can’t do it without disturbing the mountain.”

“A Basher can.” Maxwell said and thought of the boy named Ave, a youngling who was just starting his elemental studies when Maxwell, Seraphina and Emmery set out on their roamer journeys, ten cycles past. Vivienne had heard many of his incredible abilities when Maxwell had first told her of Elementals and their abilities. Although still young at the time, Ave was his example for a Basher. Seraphina had served as the Scorcher and he, himself, as a Dowser. The twins’ first teacher in the Elements was the Blower.

What Vivienne saw in Maxwell’s mind, an exhibition of Ave’s vast capabilities with the earth and rocks, Fergus could as well. The building frustration inside him, a result of his fear and doubts, quelled as quickly as it came. “Impressive, but can he do this?”

“Not sure if he’s still alive, but he’s proof Bashers can do plenty.” Maxwell said and Fergus nodded. “Alright, we should prepare…”

Vivienne held her hand up, interrupting him. “Oris… Are you sure? Honestly sure? We can’t present proof on your word alone, not with your father’s ailment…”

“I understand. Check me. Dig in my head if you must, but I am sure. If I could get through the walls, I could deliver you to the monster myself.” Oris said and brought a chair in front of her, sat down and closed his eyes, waiting for her to probe his mind.

Vivienne seized reading him. “I believe you, but the council’s full of people hardened by life and loss. The very news all this time they could get inside Threne Keep without bloodshed will be a joke to them. Clay’s condition makes convincing them all the harder. So I’m asking, if we bring another Basher here, from among the Neverfallers and Oremartians, will they tell us the same thing? There’s a clear path underneath the Highlands?”

“The path’s as bright as the sun on the cloudless sky in summer. Bright. Hot. Easy to feel, easier follow.”

◊◊◊

The wanted to meet with Bailey as soon as the sun came up, but as expected, the new ruler of Oremart was still enclosed in his quarters with his wife. As much as Fergus wished to interrupt them, still not enthralled with the idea of his daughter as a newly-married woman and not the child in his mind, Vivienne and Maxwell appealed to his reason and had him agree they would wait until noon. It provided the opportunity to get a few more hours of sleep in, something their bodies welcomed.

By the time the bells of Neverfall’s clocktower struck twelve times, signaling noon, Fergus had already Bailey summoned to his study. Vivienne and Maxwell were already in the room, her sitting on one of the sofas and him shuffling through the journals in Fergus’s library. When there was a knock on the door, Vivienne’s and Maxwell’s hands moved to their sheathed weapons instinctively, but otherwise made no other move.

“Come in.” Fergus said taking a seat behind a vast mahogany table, stacked with piles of papers needing his seal and signature. The steward Keegan walked in, a Shepherd in truth, a Blower even. When he saw Maxwell and Vivienne, there was confusion in his mind, but none of it came forth in his body and gestures. “Ahh, Keegan, tell the guards to keep their distance and come back in with my daughter and her husband, please.”

“As you wish, my liege.” Keegan said and obeyed the instruction.

“One moment though.” Fergus gestured to Maxwell and Vivienne. “My friend, I believe you know these two, no need for introductions?” Keegan wanted to object, but Fergus interrupted him. “You can stop the pretending. I have decided to ally myself and this realm with the Shepherds.”

Keegan sighed and walked to them to shake arms. “I have heard whispers of your feats. It’s an honour.” With that, he followed Fergus’s instruction and fetched them. Calliope walked in first, arms crossed and a penetrating glare at her father, followed by Bailey and last came Keegan, shutting the door behind him.

Fergus motioned to the settle opposite Vivienne and spoke. “Calliope, Bailey, please take a seat. We have much to discuss.”

Bailey did, but Calliope stomped over to the table. “You can’t change your mind, you promised.”

Vivienne delved into the girl’s mind, seeking the reason for her anger. She found it right away. On her way to the study, Calliope had seen people carrying weapons out of the Hall’s vault. She got the wrong idea. Vivienne looked at Fergus, asking for his permission to speak. He nodded. “Viscountess, if I may…”

She turned abruptly, as if noticing her and Maxwell for the first time. “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

“My name’s Vivienne and this is Maxwell. We are here as allies to your father’s realm. He has called you and Viscount Bailey to this room so we can ask for your aid as well.” Vivienne kept her words formal, careful not to overstep as Reggie would always advise when dealing with the empire’s officials. Courtesy was the first lesson embedded in them once they could speak and walk. Deviating from it startled them, negatively predisposed them for anything they’d hear afterwards.

It had the desired effect, as Calliope stepped back, taking a deep breath, calming herself, reminding herself she was a lady first. “What kind of aid?”

Fergus webbed his fingers and laid back in his chair. “Sweetheart, we’ll tell you everything, but before that happens, it’s time Bailey knows.” She looked at him, her body tense and stuck in place. Vivienne saw she didn’t want to disclose that part of her life to her husband just yet. “About me. About elements. All of it.”

Bailey interrupted, clearing his throat. “Elements?” They looked at him. “You mean Elementals? I know of them.” He glared at the ground, fists clenched tight. “The Emperor had Father hunt them down. I’m sure he will ask it of me once we go to the capital.”

“There’s more than what you already know.” Calliope started rubbing her eyes. She disregarded Bailey and looked at her father again. “You don’t know it’ll happen.” She continued the rest in her mind, unaware Vivienne was reading as well. “You can’t be sure my children will wield Aether.”

“No, he can’t.” Vivienne said surprising Calliope. “But can you leave it to chance? Could you live with yourself if you put them in danger? Them, yourself, your beloved?”

“You… can hear me?” She said, although she knew the answer.

Vivienne gave her a small smile. “It’s why we’re here, milady.”

“What is happening here?” Bailey asked, his nails digging deep into his palms. He liked being clueless even less than Maxwell.

Maxwell closed the journal he’d been reading rather loudly. “Viscount Bailey, you said you know of Elementals, that much we expect of the leaders across the realms, but the knowledge you lack is the most crucial. The most dangerous. Once you hear of it, one wrong thought can lead to your death and that of your loved ones. Do you honestly wish to know?”

Bailey glanced at Calliope, scrunched his face and nodded. “Tell me.”

They told him. Everything about the League. The gathered forces. The approaching army of Ashbourne with supplies from Wallowdale. The seizure of Mountmend. Of Boatwright and Ironham, even if they had no confirmation yet.

He tried to hide his surprise at their numbers and did well to limit his body’s reactions, but he could not protect his mind against Vivienne’s reading. He didn’t voice his many questions. Inward, he kept wondering if those numbers would be enough. He added his own to his calculations almost right away, giving up on the idea of standing against the collective power of Ashbourne and Neverfall. The numbers were promising and hope lingered in his mind.

Maxwell recounted their numbers and successes with unfamiliar passion and pomposity, often lacing his words with unnecessary extravaganza. He didn’t know he had Bailey convinced the moment Calliope started sighing in relief. It was the moment he spoke of Vivienne and how she could go against Damien on even ground, because they were of the same element.

Due to his inquisitive nature, he didn’t fail to notice Maxwell hadn’t named any of the elements he knew and so, he voiced his first question. Vivienne and Fergus took over, explained Aether the best way they could. They demonstrated their common mind-reading by repeating several of his thoughts and calculations during Maxwell’s telling, as well as some deeply personal ones Fergus had caught, the ones that had him convinced Bailey wanted Calliope as his wife for no other reason than loving her. They told him of the differences in affinity between the two of them and the great similarity between Vivienne’s and the Emperor’s Elemental manifestation, stressing it was because of that similarity the Shepherds made their move.

They pulled back their element’s effect to give him a moment of solace to recollect his thoughts. Calliope went to him, took a seat next to him and held his hands in hers. “Bailey, I… I hate to drag you into this.” He didn’t say anything. He stared at their blended hands. “My love, I always thought…”

“…we would run off. Hide away from everything and everyone, like we planned.” He finished for her and she nodded. “My brothers messed with our plans more than I knew, it seems.” He turned to Maxwell and Vivienne. “I have a thousand questions in my mind.”

“And we can answer all of them, my boy.” Fergus interrupted and earned a glare from Calliope.

Bailey nodded. “A thousand they may be, but one’s importance exceeds all others.” He drew his hands out of his wife’s and wrapped his arms around her, as if he wanted to shield her from the world. “No… Aetheral, was it?” They nodded. “Alright. No Aetheral is safe from him, including any children Callie and I have. And if I understand this correctly, he fuels his life by draining innocent ones.” He paused long enough to receive nods from everyone in the room. “So, my question is this, can you make us safe? No just us, but the innocent ones he uses?”

“We’re trying.” Maxwell answered honestly. “Besides you, we’re all Elementals here. His favourite prey. If we do nothing, we’re just waiting to get hunted. We…”

Vivienne interrupted him. “We’re choosing to turn the game around and hunt him instead. But our prey is smart, powerful and too many bodies shield him from our blades. Lend us your lances so we can prevail. And should we do so, lend us your brains so this land and all her people can see better days. Work together and empower our community.”

Bailey smiled. “Like ants?”

“Like ants.” She confirmed. “Not under one queen, but under one contingent.”

Bailey nodded and got up to shake arms with her and Maxwell, sealing the agreement, before he did the same with Fergus. Maxwell came to her side and bent down so he could whisper. “Hmm, I see you’ve read his writing. Twice in one day you got help from a book, huh? And here I thought they’re all a bunch of gibberish in disguise.”

“Shush.” She said making him chuckle. She shoved him lightly, eliciting more chuckles. “I never said that. I just think books are only empty stories, good for passing the time.”

“You can find some wisdom in stories.”

“As of today, I stand convinced.”

Of the eight hundred victors in Ironham, one hundred roamers known for their efficiency in espionage gathered their belongings a fortnight after the Shepherds carried Viscount Declan, bound and gagged, around the city to prove their success. While the councilmen and officers would prepare the march for Larcbust, those one hundred souls would ride ahead and scout the city and vast army base.

Seraphina and Reggie had been among their numbers.

The hundred had followed the main road to the realm of Larcbust. The snow had just started melting in the mountains when they’d reached its outskirts. Only then did they split in groups of two or three to cover the area faster. The northerners had gone into the city, some having been inside before. Twenty they were, each with different contacts on the inside. With the Emperor’s mark on her head, Seraphina and Reggie offered to be amongst those to scout the military encampment and stay in the shadows, out of his reach.

Those barracks were twice the size of the city. Their informants said it housed two thirds of the army Seraphina had witnessed march away from her desolated home within Crookwood. Many of the people who saw her make a grave mistake and get captured, her leg broken and her mind plagued, stood on the other side of a moat. Whereas others would get overwhelmed with fear or anger, a serene determination filled her when she laid eyes on the fort.

The same did not apply to Reggie. A rage as brutal as his words were enchanting came forth when the League’s contacts told them. He took a slither of it out on a wandering squad he and Seraphina encountered upon the third day of scoping. She wanted to hide and let Raine’s howl shoo them away, but before she got any words out, he’d already stepped towards them, formally acknowledging himself as Marksman Reginald, Rowan-son, fifth regiment of Sabaria. Before he got to mention his homeland, he’d plunged two knives on the side of the necks of the officers closest to him. While their hands began reaching for the gaping wounds, he pushed past them and clung the helmets of the next two against each other.

He started bashing the head of one. As if she felt his rage, Raine tackled the other and crunched on his neck. One bite and he’d never speak again. Two and he’d never breathe again. At five, under the crushing jaws of the wolfess, his head got severed from his body.

Seraphina and the five roamers who’d stuck with them watched the savagery without a word. None had anticipated such a reaction from Reggie, not even Seraphina. They were used to his calm, calculated movements and actions. Even depended on them. The raw exhibition was alien, out of character for Reggie. Had he burned them, it’d be a spectacle closer to what people would expect of Seraphina. Instead, a flicker of his usual self, the person Seraphina knew, appeared, for he didn’t kill the man he beat bloody. He interrogated him and the roamers got inside information in record time. Seraphina stepped in, to give the struggling man a merciful death. She pushed a knife into his heart and then proceeded to burn all four bodies. It was too late to consider what their superiors would do, whether they’d search for them. Whether they’d think they’d deserted.

And so, Seraphina, Reggie and the five roamers split up further. The five moved ahead, to circle the barracks. Seraphina took Reggie and Raine to the nearest stream, so they would wash the imperial blood of them. They started with Raine, rinsing her nuzzle and her neck as best as she allowed, and then went on to his garments. Nightfall came and Reggie’s clothes still carried stains. Seraphina went to check on the snares they’d set before they started washing, five in total. Four catches. Three rabbits, one hare. Good enough for one day.

She returned to their camp and found Reggie, in fresh garments, was done with his clothes, they hung on a tree branch to dry, and he was trying to start a fire, but the residual effects of the bygone winter made it hard. She set down to gut and skin their dinner, humming to herself. Soon, his efforts proved fruitful and sparks finally hugged the wet wood. She heard him blow and blow into the embers until the flame grew enough to illuminate their camp. He threw more chunks of wood into the fire pit and joined her in skinning their catch.

Halfway through the hare, he stopped and took a deep breath, while Seraphina watched him with a sideward glance. “Thanks…”

Feigning ignorance, she mumbled. “Hmm?”

“The fire.” He resumed cutting. “Nothing’s dry around here, I doubt I’d light it.” She nodded absentmindedly. Knowing him, she chose to stay quiet. Knowing he couldn’t stand the silence when something bothered him. Before he finished skinning the hare, a task he could normally perform in a short while, he threw it to the ground, guts sprawling out of it. “I got out of hand.”

She didn’t look up from her task. “You could say that.”

“It doesn’t bother you?” He asked grabbing her arms. His nails dug into her skin. “What if I lost it around Chloe?”

Slowly, she set down her rabbit and pushed her palms on his. “Why did you lose control?” Her voice came out soft, a tone she used with very few people in her life. “Is it because these people…” she pointed towards the encampment. “…hurt me? Frederick? His family?” He started trembling. Tremours ran along every part of him. “Did the savagery shock me? Yes. Coming from you very much so.” She paused to rub the inside of his palms with her own. “It doesn’t bother me. If the roles were reversed, I’d have done worse.”

“I doubt…”

She interrupted him. “Don’t. I know myself.” She smiled. “To quote my uncle, we’re doing terrible things so others can live. I killed two innocent children…” she held up her hand to stop him. “…mistake or not, I did it. We’ll do many more horrible things. Too many. But if we make it to see Damien’s head roll under Vivienne’s blade, we’ll put them past us. Lock them away in the deepest corners of our minds.”

“Chloe won’t see the horrors.”

She smiled again. “Never. You and I will never let her see what her parents are capable of.”

He pulled her in and kissed her. Raine growled, interrupting them. Glancing at her they found her staring at the mess Reggie had made with the hare he threw. “I think she’s hungry.”

She shoved him away from her, chuckling. “Better get to it then.”