Second draft. Lengthened and amended. You'll see what I mean.

Enjoy.

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Chapter 4.

I have faced Jotnar en masse.

I faced them when our southern borders were breached by Orgenval’s troops a mere week after Falken’s father, the reigning Archduke, passed away at sea. I was under the command of General Rombard at the time, and a Knight-Captain of my own Jotnar Platoon assigned to the Second Army.

Orgenval’s leadership chose to test us during our time of grief. Not a wise thing to do.

That said, it was amongst the fiercest fighting I’d ever seen in all my years as a Jotunn Knight. Following my ‘exploits’ I was promoted to Knight-Commander, and put in charge of a Jotnar company. A few months later I was transferred to the Fourth Army, and served a six month tour at the border between Caldera and Kaitain to the west under the command of General Milerna, a woman you can hear from a league’s distance. However, when the skirmish with Kaitain and House Kurama’s troops took place, my company and I had recently been transferred to the First Army under General Karmine.

You may wonder why I am telling you this.

Well, you wanted to know how I felt when I stood outside Falken’s tent on that fateful rainy day.

As I said, I’d faced an army of Jotnar, and I’d faced fierce opponents during the Tournament of Jotunn Knights, where I eventually won my ring and was crowned Jotunn Meister that year. But the walk to his tent that day, felt like the longest walk I’d taken in years, though it was a mere two hundred feet.

Was I afraid? Yes, I was most certainly afraid. I had defended this girl’s actions before my superiors because she had saved Falken’s life, yet in truth, I was afraid of her.

You have to understand that all of us in positions of authority, and many of the educated and well informed populace, had heard of the Khan Wilders. We knew of the power they possessed, and of the death and destruction they could cause. And while we were bereft of the details, the incident at the Kingdom of Kapernia was fresh on everyone’s minds.

And now there was one of them inside Falken’s tent?

A Khan Wilder that could lay waste to the entire First Army in the span of an hour?

How do you think I felt?

No matter what Falken had said to his brother and I, I still didn’t know what to expect and that did little to allay my fears. Afterwards, I realized my preconceptions were misconceptions, and that not understanding the Wilders was tantamount to a grave mistake. No, it was unfair on them for I was to learn they were as human as I was. They were people of flesh and blood, capable of acts of kindness, of self-sacrifice, of hatred…and of love.

The words I’d learnt in class came back to me.

If I knew my enemy and I knew myself, I would not be imperiled in a hundred battles.

The problem was at that time I didn’t know my enemy at all.

In my mind, Khan Wilders were all bad apples.

I walked into that tent with one frame of mind.

I walked out with a completely different mindset.

Chiren Marisol Kell

Excerpt from The Women Who’ve Shaped Our Times.

(Chiren)

As I’d agreed, I walked to Falken’s tent to meet the girl who’d saved his life.

It felt like a journey of a thousand paces and not a mere hundred.

As heavy as each footstep was, I was ensnared by my troubled thoughts and feelings, and I even forgot about the rain that had once again weakened into a light drizzle.

I thought I could hear every heartbeat with every step that I took.

While I was oblivious to much of my surroundings, I was acutely conscious of my fears.

A Khan Wilder.

A Khan that emerged from the wilds, not officially ordained by the Quorum, and thus not a member of the Khan Orden established two centuries ago.

Falken had told me what he could about this girl, but it felt like precious little.

What kind of girl would be gifted with the power to wield a Warlord?

There was only one way for me to determine that, and it was to step inside and meet her.

I took a couple of deep breaths, and stepped through the entrance flaps and into the tent.

As expected, the interior was lit by a handful of Etheric lamps that used the flowing Ether to shine brightly. Illumination was good, and as I stood within the entrance, aware that I was dripping water upon the ground, I swept my gaze cautiously about the interior.

A section of Falken’s tent had been curtained off for the obvious purpose of affording some extra privacy to the occupants.

General Milerna’s attendants, two young women by the name of Silvia and Marina were fussing over someone behind the curtain, peering into it while unaware I had entered the tent.

I listened to them argue about the choice of dress, and the style of hair that would make the most impression on Falken. One of them suggested cutting the hair to make it easier to manage, while other wondered how her hair could be so long and not suffer any split ends.

I found myself wondering why they were even considering such matters.

Why in High Heaven were they discussing how to attract Falken’s attention?

I cleared my throat to gain their attention.

Silvia looked at me in surprise. “Knight-Commander!”

She stepped away from the curtain and then curtsied politely.

“His Grace sent me,” I said, hoping it explained my reason for being here.

The young woman nodded quickly when she straightened. She gave the curtained area a cursory glance. “Ah, she’s ready, my Lady Knight.”

I pressed my lips together into a thin line, and regarded the two girls.

Until my entrance, they appeared to be enjoying themselves.

Were they not concerned with what the girl was?

I felt uneasy, uncertain, and a little afraid, but was it because I knew how much of a danger the Khan Wilder presented? Or perhaps, I was simply overestimating the situation and making a mountain out of a molehill.

No, I was certain that overestimating was the safer way to approach the situation.

I asked, “Do you mean, awake and ready?”

I realized I sounded a little too guarded even to my ears.

The two girls shared an unreadable look.

I sensed they were reluctant to allow me to see her.

Strange, were they looking out for the Khan Wilder?

I took a quiet breath, and forced myself to sound relaxed.

I did not intend to pull rank on Milerna’s attendants.

“Ladies, may I see her?”

The two girls remained as they were for a noticeable moment, then Silvia gave Marina a subtle nod.

Marina reached out and drew back the curtain, revealing the Wilder Falken had brought back from the forest.

I swallowed, unable to prevent myself from staring at the girl.

A feeling of intense apprehension filled me, and my chest ached in trepidation for what the future held.

The fact this girl was a Khan Wilder, might prove to be the least of Falken’s troubles.

I took her to be a young girl recently blossomed into womanhood, perhaps sixteen or seventeen years of age, and on appearance alone she rivaled Lisanna whom I thought of as the prettiest girl of noble rank across the lands surrounding Caldera.

My reaction was not lost on the two girls watching me.

Silvia caught the look on my face.

I shook my head ever so faintly at her, and turned back to the Khan Wilder.

She was seated on a low stool before a small vanity table that I assumed was brought in from General Meyren Milerna’s tent. The girl’s skin was rosy, no doubt from the hot bath she had endured at the hands of Silvia and Marina. Her wet hair hung in rivulets down her back, long and dark in nature. The light makeup on her face enhanced her green eyes. She was dressed in a female attendant’s dress, and wore a pair of ankle high leather boots that offered protection from the cold, but not so much from the wet grounds. Even so, I doubted she would be found wandering or traipsing about the camp.

She sat at the vanity, and regarded me with distinct worry in her eyes.

I found that unsettling, and it made my heart skip a beat.

To think a Khan Wilder would express concern at my presence.

It felt as though the tables had been unfairly turned.

I took a deep breath and cleared my throat again before approaching her.

“My name is Chiren Kell, Knight-Commander of Gryphon Company, First Army.”

She continued to eye me warily, yet afforded me a nervous nod.

It served to make me feel even more uncomfortable. “His Grace, the Archduke Falken Claymore, asked me to come see you.”

She stood up a little ungainly from the stool, and faced me properly with her hands at her sides. Her fingers fidgeted nervously and after a moment she clenched them into small fists.

“What will happen to me?”

I blinked.

She had a strange accent, not quite what I expected from someone that allegedly hailed from Reinvald, but it was there nonetheless, a sign that she wasn’t from Caldera.

Perhaps she had told Falken the truth.

I gently raised a hand toward her. “Please, you don’t have to be concerned. You saved my Archduke’s life. We’re indebted to you.”

She looked faintly startled. “Indebted…?”

“Yes.”

She looked uncertain.

I regarded her for a moment before asking, “Have you eaten?”

She shook her head furtively. “No—no, I haven’t eaten in a while. A day, I think. Maybe two…I don’t remember….”

Holding back a frown, I looked at Silvia and Marina. “Would you get us something to eat and drink?”

The two women understood my meaning. Silvia and Marina bowed respectfully. “As you wish, Lady Knight,” Silvia said.

When they left the tent, I suggested the girl sit back down on the stool. Then I carried a chair over to her and sat down a couple of feet away. Closer now, I studied her for a short while and she did the same to me.

What would Falken think when he saw her now?

He’d only seen her dirty and unkempt.

That was no longer the case.

Misgivings circled around my heart.

“What is your name?” I asked.

“Fallon.”

“Just…Fallon?”

She appeared hesitant. “Fallon…is the name I woke up with.”

“What do you mean?”

“My old name…feels like it doesn’t belong to me anymore. Not since this”—she touched her chest—“appeared on me.”

I looked at her chest, then hesitated before asking, “May I see it?”

She undid the buttons on her dress, and showed me the branding.

The Seal of Arcala. The intricate blue tattoo was clearly visible. It swirled between her breasts, over them, and down to her navel. It was beautiful, elegant, and appeared to emphasize her breasts that were full and of moderate size.

I nodded to her, thanking her for showing me the Seal’s branding.

She restored her clothes to their previous state.

I noticed her modest countenance.

She resumed watching me in silence.

I glanced away and my gaze fell on the vanity, then upon a large, open chest. Judging from its overly ornate design, it too must have come from General Milerna’s tent. Though the General commanded the Fourth Army, she had chosen to temporarily relocate to the First Army as it toured the west and northwest borderland. In other words, she’d chosen to be closer to Falken. To that end, she’d brought along her tents, carriages, and dozen or more attendants along with her. Meyren Milerna rarely did anything in small numbers.

I sighed inwardly, and settled my gaze upon the girl before me. “Fallon, will you tell me what happened? Will you tell me how you came to be branded? How did you become a Khan Wilder?”

She cocked her head slightly, then gave me a shy nod.

I listened to her story.

When she finished recounting, I asked, “Is that all you remember?”

“Yes.”

I studied her intently. “Are you certain?”

“I am.”

“What was your name before all this happened to you?”

“…Deena…my name was Deena….”

She seemed to be struggling to speak the name. Rather, she looked to be in pain.

I reached out and touched her right forearm, surprising myself. However, having committed to the gesture, I couldn’t take it back. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to tell me if it pains you.”

She sighed rather raggedly. “I get a headache when I try to remember too much. I remember my childhood and life in the village, but it feels like a dream that I may forget at any moment.” Fallon looked at me intently. “Am I…am I truly a Khan?”

Why was she asking me?

Surely she had enough evidence for her to accept the fact and not question it.

Was she in some way reaching out to me?

I chose to give her a firm nod. “Yes, it would appear so. His Grace told me about the Warlord you operated when you saved his life.”

She inhaled sharply and looked away with a pained expression.

On her lap, her fingers moved restlessly.

“I don’t have much practice with it.” She laughed softly, and sounded disappointed. “I thought I was going to fall over and land on my face when I faced those Jotnar. It’s hard to walk in it. It’s like its feet weren’t meant for walking.” She looked slightly confused. “Sometimes, I see pictures in my head. They tell me what to do. I can operate it, but I feel like I’m riding a horse for the first time. I have no idea how it will react to my will. I feel like I’m fighting against it most of the time. I just can’t make it move the way I want it to.”

I had trouble hiding my surprise.

I had believed that Wilders naturally understood how to operate their Warlords. I didn’t think they had so much trouble with them. I wondered if it was like operating a Jotunn for the first time. The saying ‘almost every trainee falls over their first time’ is fundamentally true, as is the statement that all babies must learn to crawl before they can walk.

I gently asked, “How many times have you called upon it?”

She gave my question some thought. “Seven times. Today was the seventh. Before then I was just learning how to make it move. Sometimes it came naturally, but at other times it was hard to take a step.”

I didn’t feel she was lying to me.

Her words gave me much to consider.

I leaned forward, again surprising myself. “Fallon, listen to me. Falken—I mean, his Grace—has promised he will help you and protect you. Right now he’s making preparations to take responsibility for you.”

She frowned. “Responsibility for me?”

I nodded. “Yes. Do you understand what your actions have caused?”

“I…I saved his life.”

“Yes, and in doing so you stepped into a conflict without either side sanctioning your involvement. That is a breach in the rules of conduct between opposing armies. These rules are known as the Rules of Engagement and they were laid down by the Archons. A Khan and their Warlord cannot intercede in a battle unless it’s to engage another Warlord.”

“I don’t understand. I saved his life. I asked him, and he said yes to me.”

“No one is disputing that. But in doing so, his Grace has to take responsibility for accepting your help.”

“Was it a bad thing? Was saving him the wrong thing to do?”

I shook my head to reassure her. “From where I’m sitting, it wasn’t a bad thing at all. Bad for the Kuraman soldiers, but certainly not bad for him, and not bad for Caldera.”

Her worry grew. “What—what will happen to me?”

“We won’t allow anything to happen to you. After all, there were circumstances that led to your involvement. These will be used in your defense. However, you may need to state your case before a member of the Quorum of Khans.”

She bit her lower lip. “I know of them. I mean, I’ve heard of them from the merchants and travelers that pass through our village. They tell the Khans what to do, don’t they?”

“Something like that. In effect, they are the ruling element of the Khan Orden, the organization that oversees them. They decree the laws that all Khans must abide by, and the Orden is recognized by the Archons, which lends them a great deal of authority. It also allows them to protect themselves and their Khans from acts of aggression.”

She frowned. “This Orden…will I have to become a part of them?”

I sat back. “Yes.”

“And if I choose not to? What then?”

I held her gaze steady in mine as I looked into her emerald eyes. “Then the Quorum will undoubtedly choose to remove the Seal of Arcala from your body, and you will lose your status as a Khan. You will no longer be able to operate your Warlord.”

Her mouth fell open. She closed it a little later, looking faintly distraught.

“Why, why can’t they let me be?”

Her reaction left me at odds with myself. Part of me had been hoping she would jump at the chance to surrender the Seal from her body, but it was clear that wasn’t something she wanted.

Her reluctance stroked my worry.

“Because you are a Khan Wilder, and Wilders are not well received.”

A thoughtful look settled upon her face. “Why?”

Something in her eyes made me believe she already knew the answer, or at the least suspected it.

I chose to humor her. “Wilders have been known to cause much destruction. The Khan Orden has asked the ruling families of the many lands to help them quell disturbances caused by Wilders. They ask to be notified immediately when a Wilder is encountered so that they may dispatch their Khans to deal with the Wilder and prevent anyone from coming to harm.”

She nodded gently and took a deep breath. “I don’t want to lose the Seal.” She shook her head slowly. “No, I don’t want that at all.” She stood up and began to pace within the tent. “No. I cannot lose the Seal. I cannot.”

I resisted the urge to stand. “Why?”

“Because—because I cannot. I agreed to this. I said ‘yes’. I’m certain I did.” She rubbed her forehead. “Or maybe I didn’t…I just don’t know anymore….”

I watched her continue to pace back and forth. “Fallon, is there something you’re not telling me? Is it related to how you came to be branded with the Seal?”

She stopped pacing and faced me. She looked uncertain, and when she answered me her voice was barely above a whisper.

“In my dreams, I sometimes see him. I cannot see his face—I cannot see it—but I can hear his voice. I can hear him ask me if I wish to start my life anew and make a difference.” She touched her chest. “And I hear myself answer yes.”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

I held back a frown. “You don’t know who he is?”

“No, and even if I did, I may be forgetting it when I wake up.”

“In this dream…are you given the branding? Are you given the Seal of Arcala?”

Fallon lowered her hand from her chest. “I don’t remember. I just can’t remember what happened. I just remember being asked, and giving him an answer.”

I saw her wince and reach up to her head.

“Damn it,” she whispered. “Why does it hurt when I try to remember?”

I took a breath and rose from my chair. Stepping up to her, I took her hands in mine. They were warm, and it made me wonder why I’d expected them to be cold.

“Fallon, look at me. If it pains you, then I won’t ask again. Perhaps your memory will return in time.”

“And if not?”

I exhaled loudly. I didn’t feel like lying to her. “Then live on. Make the best of what you have now. Live your life anew as you agreed to in your dream.”

She studied me for a short while.

I watched her eyes search my face intently, then I felt her fingers squeeze mine.

She spoke softly. “Lady Knight, may I ask you something?”

I blinked, feeling a little startled and not knowing why.

However, I gave her a simple nod. “You may.”

“What would you do? If you possessed the Seal of Arcala, and you were a Wilder, what would you choose to do?”

I breathed in slow and deep a number of times.

Her gaze never left my face.

What would I do?

I remembered asking myself that question many years ago, when I realized I was different from other women, because I had an Ether Kinetic ability that they lacked.

I returned Fallon’s gaze.

“I would choose to keep the Seal. I would choose to join the Khan Orden, and to live as a Khan. I would strive to be the best that I could be, because it is what I decided when I learnt that I possessed the Ether Kinetic talent. To use my talent to its best, and so I chose to be a Jotunn Knight. I chose to be a soldier, and to protect my homeland and my loved ones”—I sighed quickly—“and three somewhat unruly brats that I’ve considered family since the day I met them.”

She blinked at me, obviously missing my reference to Falken, Kaden, and their sister Alleyne.

I added, “I would choose to think of the Seal of Arcala as a gift, and not a burden, certainly not a curse.”

“A curse….”

She bit her lower lip and glanced away.

For a short while she was very quiet and very still.

Even her fingers had stopped moving.

When she broke her silence, it was with a softly spoken whisper.

“I don’t know if the dream is a memory, or if it’s real, but I know I was given this for a reason. I want to learn what that reason is. Until then, I cannot lose what I have now. I’ve already lost my home and my family. I can’t lose anymore.”

Her words stirred questions loose within me.

“Fallon, why did you run away from your village? Why didn’t you stay and wait for the guardsmen to return? Why haven’t you searched for your family?”

She pulled a hand free from mine, and again touched her chest where the tattoo branded her.

“I don’t know much about our lands. I don’t know much of the world outside my home, but I do know that in my homeland of Reinvald the people don’t like Khans.”

That much was true. The ruling Sandoval Family had a standing order that the Khan Orden and thus the Quorum were not welcome in Reinvald. Theirs wasn’t the only land to declare the Khans as persona non grata, but they were certainly the most vocal about it.

I knew this as a courtesy of my rank, because I was privy to reports and information that most people wouldn’t come by in Caldera. However, it was wrong to think the average person in Caldera wasn’t aware of the Khans, the Wilders, and the policies upheld by our neighboring lands.

In thinking as much, I wondered how much Fallon was aware of.

“How do you know this? From merchant talk?”

She released a heavy, ragged breath. “Yes, but I also know this because in a village to the north of mine, a man was found to bear the brand on his chest…and the villagers killed him.”

I felt the blood drain from my face. “They—they killed him? Why?”

Her voice was flat. “They killed him before he could kill them.”

I struggled through my disbelief.

Then I remembered Ryland mentioning the state of unrest in the northern lands following news of what happened in Kapernia.

Had news spread to Reinvald as well? Had it reached even the villages of that land?

If that was indeed true, then perhaps the villagers had actually done what she claimed.

Fear could drive people to commit acts they would otherwise never consider.

I asked, “How do you know of this?”

She inhaled deeply. “Because a peddler came to our village. He looked scared and everyone thought he might have been fleeing bandits, but he was scared that men from the other village would come for him. He told the elders, and anyone who would to listen to him, that the villagers had killed a man who awoke with a tattoo on his chest because they feared he was a Khan—a Wilder. They feared the madness in the Seal would drive him insane with bloodlust. So they killed him that very day.”

“Do you know how the man came to be branded?”

“No. The peddler said he’d heard the man had woken in the morning with the branding, and his family had killed him shortly afterwards.”

My eyes widened. “His family?”

She nodded again. “The peddler fled the town that night, fearing the villagers would kill him in fear that he would tell the authorities. He left our village before nightfall, and I don’t know what happened to him.”

My throat suddenly felt dry, and I had to swallow again before I could speak.

“Is this why you chose not to seek shelter in another town or village? Because you were afraid of what would happen if people learnt of your branding?”

She nodded weakly.

I narrowed my eyes. “When did this happen, Fallon?”

She swallowed tightly. “A week…maybe a week before my village was burned down.”

I realized I’d been leaning toward her. I straightened and leaned back.

“Fallon, tell no one of this. At least, not for a while.” I swallowed and added, “Leave the matter with me.”

She raised her eyebrows at me. “And if his Grace asks me?”

I shook my head gently. “Don’t speak of this to his Grace.”

“Why?”

“Let me say, there is too much happening at the moment.”

Her eyebrows drew level. “You asked me why I haven’t looked for my family.”

I nodded. “Yes, I did.”

She wet her lips nervously. “What would they think of me if they saw me now?”

If what she said of the villagers’ reaction was true, then the answer wasn’t pleasant.

Fallon must have guessed at what I thought.

She nodded sadly, and said rather bitterly, “They would not welcome me with open arms.”

I had no choice but to nod in agreement. “I’m sorry, Fallon. They probably wouldn’t welcome you at all.”

She sighed heavily, and with a dispirited expression she walked over to the stool and sat down.

After a short while she looked up at me.

“Lady Knight, would you tell me what you know of the Khans, the Wilders, and of the Orden? Would you tell me of the Quorum, and of what I should expect from them?”

Drawing my lips into a thin line, I walked back to the chair and sat down before her.

“Very well. I will tell you what I know.”

#

(Kaden)

By the order of First Army’s General Karmine, my Fourth Platoon that belonged to Chiren’s Gryphon Company found itself stationed roughly two kilometers south of Gaellen Forest where a forward operations camp had been established by the First Reconnaissance Division attached to the First Army.

The remainder of Gryphon Company’s platoons were spread out along the southern treeline, watching and waiting for anyone that emerged from the depths of the forest. Because Gaellen Forest was so large, the platoons of Wyvern and Typhon Company had been deployed to patrol the west, north, and eastern flanks of the forest.

Complementing them were two hundred riders belonging to the First Army’s Cavalry.

In essence, the three companies of heavy infantry and cavalry riders formed a cordon around the forest, while squads from the Reconnaissance Army scouted the interior. These squads were composed of young women on horseback with the talent and skill to sense distortions in the Ether far and wide, well beyond the talent any man possessed. They were strong Empath Weavers trained to sniff out their quarry by using the Ether, rather than their noses.

These women were known as the Empath Scouts – the hunting dogs of the Reconnaissance Division.

The reason for establishing the noose around the forest came about when the Empath Scouts reported encountering numerous abandoned Kuraman Jotnar within the forest. That implied their operators or pilots were either hiding in the forest or had escaped into the surrounding countryside.

The task of flushing out any Kuramans hiding in the forest fell upon the shoulders of the Empath Scouts deployed into the forest.

While I was aware of the overall situation being privy to the discussions in the War Tent, I didn’t know the details of the operation until I returned to Gaellen Forest late in the afternoon.

I arrived at the forward camp after walking for an hour in the machine over the undulating terrain lying between this camp and that of the First Army some twenty kilometers to the south.

A detachment of cavalry riders accompanied me.

At the forward camp, I was pleased and relieved to see my platoon had survived the morning’s battle unscathed. All nineteen of my men were there, ready for duty. Their Jotnar were parked a short distance away from the tents of the camp, and I observed a number of mechanics working upon the fifteen-foot tall machines.

Despite their immense size, at a distance Jotnar resembled small people, dwarves, wrapped in heavy clothing fit for the icy regions of the far, far north. They were not long limbed machines, but squat and stocky. However, they were clearly designed and constructed with a human shape in mind. This was because it was easier for a man to operate them if the Jotunn had a familiar form – a body with two arms and two legs.

I had heard that the Anderas Empire to the far west was experimenting with Jotnar that resembled the mythical centaurs of Mother Earth, though I had no idea why they would entertain such a concept, though they might prove interesting to see in action.

The rain had abated by the time the cavalry riders and I arrived at the forward camp. After acknowledging the men of my platoon, I walked into the War Tent and reported in to the Reconnaissance Division commander in charge of the scouting operation in and around Gaellen Forest. I had written orders from General Karmine to pass along, which included Falken’s directive that he wanted the Kuraman soldiers captured alive. However, if they resisted and posed a threat to our personnel then their lives were forfeit.

While the commander explained the situation here at the forest, word came down from the northwest delivered by flyer claiming General Meyren Milerna had re-established control of the border. She regretfully reported slaughtering the Kuraman soldiers that refused to surrender. Those that did were being held prisoner at the fort nearest where the border had initially been breached.

After being dismissed, I walked outside and rejoined the men of Fourth Platoon.

Every so often I glanced up at the steadily darkening sky as evening crept upon us.

Around me, the men of my platoon loitered or sat drinking coffee or hot tea, never straying far from their idle machines. A number of them sat inside their Jotnar cockpits, with Etheric Drives spinning slowly, syphoning enough Ether to keep the machines limber and ready to march out within a minute’s notice.

Eventually evening fell and a ripple ran through the camp.

Someone had spotted riders heading our way.

Sitting on my Jotunn’s shoulder, I watched a couple of young women ride hard and fast into the camp. They pulled up their horses outside the War Tent, dropped with practiced ease from their saddles, and hurried into the tent to deliver their reports.

I chose to climb down from my Jotunn, and wandered over to the War Tent.

Slipping inside, I kept to the back of the tent and listened in on the discussions.

The scouts had sensed no active Jotnar within the forest, though they had encountered a few more of the abandoned machines bearing the crest of House Kurama. The possibility that soldiers of House Kurama continued to remain within our borders was indeed a worry. I wondered if additional scouts would need to be brought in, and the reconnaissance squads here diverted to scour the land around the forest.

Then something caught my ears.

I stepped closer to the group of men and women surrounding the foldaway table occupying the middle of the War Tent, and spoke to the young female squad captain making her report.

“What was that?” I asked sharply, perhaps too sharply because the slender brunette looked startled. I swallowed quickly, and eased back on my tone. “I’m sorry. What was that you saw in the forest?”

Her brown eyes glanced at the shoulder epaulets of the Jotnar pilot suit I wore, then narrowed her stare as she regarded me for a heartbeat before her eyes widened a little in recognition.

I sighed inwardly.

So she recognized me. I would have thought being with First Army for almost a year enough people would know me by now. Do I need to go round and tell everybody I’m the Archduke’s brother?

I sighed again, this time under my breath.

At the very least she recognizes my rank.

I thought most people in the First Army would recognize me by now. Do I need to go round and tell everybody I’m the Archduke’s brother?

I sighed inwardly.

At the very least she knows my rank.

Oddly, she bashfully brushed back a lock of short black hair when she properly faced me. “We saw an Archon, Knight-Captain Claymore. It was riding on one of those black machines that float off the ground.” She made a shape with her hands. “They look like knives, and they move through the air making very little sound.”

“An Archon Artemis.”

She nodded. “I believe so. At a distance, we sensed its passage through the Ether as it pushed the Ether aside. A few moments later we caught sight of it moving between the trees. It wasn’t trying to hide itself.”

“You mean it was visible? You could actually see it?”

“Aye. It crossed our path about a hundred feet north of us, then disappeared into the forest.” She shook her head slowly and wrapped her arms about herself. “I’m certain our eyes met. And I could have sworn it was looking for something, which is odd if it was allowing itself to be seen.”

I entertained a brief thought.

Perhaps it wasn’t hunting. Perhaps it was driving something out of the forest.

The begged the question of why was there an Archon Artemis in Gaellen Forest?

For a heartbeat, that led my thoughts back to Fallon resting in Falken's tent back at the First Army's camp.

Could it be? Was it looking for the Khan Wilder?

I nodded distractedly. “Thank you, Captain.”

“My pleasure, Lord Kaden.”

I blinked, catching the faint smile she gave me, then retreated to the back of the tent and only halfheartedly listened to the remainder of the scout platoon’s report.

When I left the War Tent around ten minutes later, and I slowly walked back to my Jotunn. I sat down on the upright machine’s right foot, and tried wrapping my head around the situation.

There was little to nothing I could do about Archon hunters in the forest, so I shelved any thoughts I had regarding them, and focused on the problems that affected me directly.

I didn’t understand Issen Kurama’s motives.

Why was there no declaration of war from House Kurama?

The incursion had occurred swiftly in the morning. The first anyone knew of it was from a hasty report delivered by an exhausted scout flyer, claiming that a full two companies of Jotnar had breached the border and were headed for Gaellen Forest. Our troops at a nearby fort had mobilized and engaged the invading force but they lacked the numbers to stop the near two hundred Jotnar hailing from the mountainous land of Kaitain.

Even now, with a day almost gone by, there was no word from House Kurama regarding an official declaration of war with House Claymore and my homeland of Caldera.

Leaning back, I stared up at the sky that was finally beginning to clear of storm clouds. By nightfall, the stars should be shining through.

I looked up and wondered what the wheels of fate had in store for us.

I wondered what fate lay in wait for the girl, Fallon.

I hadn’t spoken to Chiren since we parted ways outside the War Tent back at the First Army’s campsite. I wanted to speak to her in private later, but had no idea when that opportunity would come by.

As I watched the darkening sky, a shooting star briefly flashed across the canopy of darkness.

I refused to make a wish.

Instead, I thought of the Khan Wilders.

The Quorum did not always find the Wilders to be worthy of being Khans.

From what Falken had told us, Fallon had little control over the Warlord.

Even if Falken chose to bond with her, she would still be unable to assume her duties as a Khan of House Claymore. She would need months of training, at very minimum a year, and that was only after the Quorum of Khans approved her entry into the Khan Orden as a Khan Cadet.

I wondered if Falken wasn’t getting too far ahead of himself, wanting to bond with the girl as soon as possible. Or had I misunderstood his intentions and timing?

It was clear he wanted to protect the girl, but surely the Quorum would not approve of a bonding until she was fit to be recognized as a member of the Orden. That would take time. Why was Falken rushing things?

I sighed.

Chiren was right about one thing, Lisanna was going to have difficulty accepting Falken’s decision to bond with a female Khan. That young woman had a dark jealous streak within her.

I looked up and saw a second shooting star.

This time I wished Fallon all the best…against Lisanna.