Geny’s left eyelid was still drooping and it had been doing that all morning. For some reason, the right eye was working fine, but the left one had been acting up ever since she had gotten out of her bunk, or at least, what was left of her bunk. She had awoken in the smoldering remnant of what had used to be her commander’s tent, and half lying in the cold mud.

She hadn’t heard any of the exploding glitz—hadn’t heard the screams of attack, or even awoken to the bright flashes. She had slept through it all, and it wasn’t until it became bright enough that the recruits found her in the mud. At first, they thought she was dead until her right eye popped open. That was also when she first noticed the left one wasn't working correctly.

It was a drug. Something had put her to sleep, and it was something she had never encountered before. There were various things someone could use in Tinaria to induce sleep, but something this potent was rare, and she had never heard of a substance that would induce a comatose-like state to such a degree that she would sleep through an entire battle. She had trained her whole life to sleep as lightly as possible, for this exact reason.

No, whatever had been administered was something special. Even now, an hour and a half later, her left eye was struggling to remain open, and that entire side of her face slightly drooped. She was also walking with a pronounced limp, but that maybe could be attributed to some sort of injury she suffered when her tent exploded. That would certainly be the worst of the two options. Sleeping through the sounds of battle was one thing, but not even waking during an injury felt much worse... that felt like some kind of violation.

“Cleanup needs to happen faster,” she barked. “We need to be up in the air before midday.” To her own ear, her speech was slightly slurred. She hoped it wasn’t that noticeable to anyone else. This wasn’t a time anyone should be questioning her, and she didn’t want to give anyone an excuse to.

The Commander strode down the length of the field as straight as she could. “Boxes of untouched glitz to the left next to the glitzers. Remaining supplies to the right.”

One of the higher-ranking recruits hurried up to her and threw his hand up hastily in the formal version of the Tinarian salute before speaking. “Commander I’ve confirmed that all airships but one are fit to fly.”

“Good,” Genys said without even looking at him. “Get them prepped and fired up. We’re making a push for the pass as soon as possible.”

The Yarvan hurried away.

At least some of them still act like they’re afraid of me. Genys ignored the pain in her leg and pushed herself onward. She was suspicious of the recruits, of course. It was possible one of them had poisoned her. For that exact reason, she was extremely careful with her meals or anything she consumed, but she also already knew she hadn’t been poisoned that way.

Shortly after waking, she found a small wound on her neck just below the left side of her jawline. It was puffy and swollen and surrounded by a larger bruise. Though the injury could have resulted from a variety of causes during the explosion, the unique shape of the puncture mark led her to believe that whatever had poisoned her had likely been injected from a distance—through the use of a projectile—leaving the mark behind.

It wasn’t a common practice, in fact, she had heard of similar occurrences but nothing exactly like this. The use of poisons wasn’t unheard of throughout Tinaria. Every once in a while one would hear about a death which came about by the use of some noxious substance, but that’s what it always was, death—quick and dirty. The toxins found within the borders of the Republic, though rarely used, were never subtle. If someone had tried to kill her through the use of Tinarian poison she would have never awoken.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

The ability to make someone sleep—and specifically to make them sleep through what Genys slept through—pointed to a different group of people who were known to be particularly skilled in the subtleties of substances.

Thori.

The Thori Empire was a nation insanely secretive and steeped in supposedly superstitious tradition. Tinaria and Thori currently held a truce, but though that truce stretched back multiple generations, it had always been an uneasy one. Little was known in Tinaria about the Thori and what went on across the ocean in their ivory cities. There were many political intricacies when it came to their relationship, but primarily it was the lack of knowledge itself that had always been the main impediment.

In the end, both nations decided on an agreement of mutually beneficial economic advantage. Trade with Thori was already deeply established in Yarva, and it being a fresh Tinarian state was used to the Republic’s advantage. The Thori began to receive Tinarian goods and vice versa, with one main caveat—no weapons. Nothing that could be used in potential conflict was allowed through trade. It was referred to as The Thori Compact and it was specifically why reports of foreign weapons in the Yarvan uprisings were potentially worrisome. Adding that to the recent reports of a mysterious new leader known only as the Shadow only added to the worry. Yarvans alone and unorganized were dangerous. Yarvans potentially rallying under a charismatic leader were deadly—adding Thori weapons to the mix could be fatal.

The exact details of the old alliance between the Thori Empire and the Tinarian Republic were never openly discussed. Genys supported that, of course. It wouldn’t do to show weakness—not even to one’s own subjects—but that same secrecy proved a breeding ground for conspiracy theories and treasonous rumors. Those rumors suggested that Tinaria and Thori were on unequal ground—that the real reason Tinaria signed the Compact was that it foresaw Thori as the potential victor, which was ridiculous to even suggest. Even with the lack of knowledge, Tinaria wouldn’t have refrained from conflict unless the alternatives were sufficiently economically advantageous. The Republic would never back down from a fight—that she knew. With the discovery of glitz, and the subsequent technologies they facilitated, no nation could stand against Tinaria’s might.

It’s cowards who do their work in the shadows.

Genys continued to slump on and order the men and women around her, all the while wrestling in her mind about what could have happened here.

She thought back to the meeting of commanders. It had been good to see Chancellor Hitten's smugness disappear when Jun had thrown the Thori emblem onto the table. It had been tenuous evidence then, and certainly a worry worthy of investigation, but the pain in her leg and bruise on her neck only added to the feeling that something more was going on—something besides just illegal imports.

But assuming a greater connection was dangerous. It was a bold and deadly accusation. Accusing Thori of importing contraband was one thing, but suggesting they could be directly involved with the rebellion was something else entirely. Was it the right move to send a message to the commanders about it? To let them know her suspicions, or would it only worsen anything already going on—would it be falling right into the hands of whoever or whatever was orchestrating all of this?

And what all of this even is I can’t guess.

The strangest part was that she was still alive. She was injured and shaken up and quite angry, but she was still walking—she was leading, and ordering troops. If there really was a Thori-supported Yarvan rebellion out there, keeping her alive would have been the last thing they would have done. So why was she still breathing?

She wished Pyrn were there. He would have had something valuable to say. She had been wrong to go alone, but at the same time, the mission had necessitated it.

Does it necessitate it now?

They had been attacked—outright attacked—it wasn’t subtle, it was direct.

But if she wrote to the commanders with such a volatile suspicion they wouldn’t take it as a suspicion, they would have to take it as an accusation—an accusation necessitating substantive evidence.

No, if she was going to accuse the Yarvans, or worse the Thori, she couldn’t write back without something more—something more than a bruise anyway.

It was raiders. That’s what it will have to be for now. We were attacked by raiders.

That’s what the memo would state—a normal attack by normal raiders—nothing more.

“Commander.” The recruit from before was standing and saluting her again, but this time he had someone with him.

Genys snapped out of her reverie and tried to speak. It came out more like a growl. “What is it?”

“This is Jik, and last night he says he saw something.”