Other than hurting the Imaia.

C. 5 days, 17 hours since the assassination of rebel leadership

Estingai set the chest of biogems and spent georaurals down on the dusty ground with a grunt. The healing georaurals had done a good job of mending her cuts and bruises over the last week, but after six days of taking it easy, then lugging a heavy chest half-a-mile across rocky, uneven terrain without her greynodes to aid her, she was tired and sore.

It was Auroraday—the one day a week most of their faction ventured outside the darkness and relative safety of their cavernous base to see the auroras and bask in their light, replenishing their gemcrests and as many biogems and georaurals as they could bring with them.

That, at least, hadn't changed with the end of the world. Not entirely, at least.

The auroras—those that powered Auroramancy and gave life to pretty much everything on Efruumani—no longer came to Darkside since the destruction of Yrmuunthal.

On Lightside, however, they were still a day of celebration. Once everyone had their fill of Auroralight, they would go back into the base, where people would put on performances, dance, and have little competitions.

It made Estingai sick.

How in darkness can anyone celebrate today?

They had no hope. Raima, their leader, was dead, as were those of the other factions. Svemakuu, their greatest warrior, dead. Matsanga and the other Knights that had stood against the Imaia. Dead. Svemakuu's dream of a unified Remnant, of the Darkside Union reborn. Dead. All dead.

Except me.

Boots sliding over rock pulled Estingai from her thoughts, and she glared as Koruuksi and Uuchantuu came down into the shallow divot behind her and Kozasana.

"Quiet," she hissed.

Koruuksi looked her way, but didn't acknowledge her otherwise. His mask, shielding his Samjati skin from Lightside's harmful sun, blocked any expression.

As he and Uuchantuu set down the chest and started unloading it, Estingai realized she should probably be doing the same. Looking across the chest to Kozasana, Estingai found the Natari woman studying her.

"What?"

Her friend grinned, shrugging, then reached down to the latch on her end. "Just waiting on you."

Estingai frowned beneath her own helmet-like mask, then opened the chest and began setting the georaurals and clusters of biogems out in the sun.

Though Estingai had Natari blood, it only showed in her stripes and her lack of antlers. She had her mother's dark blue skin, which meant she had to wear a lightcover when out in the sun. Kozasana had a helmet at her hip, just in case, but she didn't have to wear it. She, like most Natari, loved basking in the sun, and had already undone her coat, exposing her broad, red shoulders.

Once they finished setting everything out, Estingai retreated to the shade of a stone formation, noticing that Aaden and Marjatla, the last two of their party, had arrived. They were Raima's former aides. Now, her replacements. Marjatla handled most of the administrative work, where Aaden handled relations with the other factions and any new recruits that came to them, fleeing the Imaia.

As Estingai waited, watching the two pairs unload their chests, she glanced up to the sky a few times. She had her blacknodes brightened to sense any nearby Auroramancy—a very low brightness, since she was low on Auroralight—while Koruuksi had his blacknodes brightened to keep anyone beyond a certain radius from sensing them. That was one of the twelve Auroramantic abilities that differed between Natari and Samjati. While most of Estingai’s Natari abilities manifested as light and fire, Koruuksi’s Samjati abilities did so as ice and darkness.

Estingai took a deep breath. She needed the auroras to come soon. And not just to replenish her gemcrest. She usually sketched on Auroradays, studies of…

Estingai cut her thoughts off with a hiss, clenching her jaw. She wouldn’t think about that. Not now. She’d left her sketchbook behind for just that reason.

When Koruuksi looked up from what he was doing and glanced toward her, Estingai frowned, looking away. She focused her attention on their surroundings instead.

Snowcapped mountains rose high into Lightside's red-orange sky off in the distance. It seemed impossible, looking at them from this hot, dry desert, but Estingai knew the peaks were even higher than they appeared. Unfortunately, those mountains were in the wrong direction and too far from the sea to send any cool winds Estingai's way.

Other than that, there wasn't much to see beyond the walls of their little depression, which itself was probably the remains of an old foundation, either from the Imaia, or the Iron Empire, or maybe even further back, though not many people had settled in the Iron Wastes before the Iron Empire.

The Imaia even took this continent’s namesake from it.

Once—at least, so far as Estingai had read—this land had been stained with rust. Rocks, sand, dirt, clay—all carried bits of iron. After the Imaia had discovered how to make titansteel, they'd devoured all the iron they could find. What red remained seemed like spots of paint that had dripped from brush and canvas. Too small to bother cleaning away.

Estingai wished she could have seen it before then despite the dangers of iron exposure. It had to be better than the barren, grey-green expanse the Imaia had left in their wake as they stripped everything of value from this continent for their grand city at the subsolar pole.

“Are you asleep, or just staring?”

Estingai blinked at Kozasana’s voice, looking to her friend as the woman came to join her in the shade. Her jacket was tied around her waist, and she'd rolled up the hem of her undershirt, making it look more like a bralette as it exposed her flat stomach. She, like Estingai, had some stripes on her torso that made her muscles appear even more defined than they were.

The neckline of Kozasana’s top dipped a few inches below her clavicle, displaying her ruby gemcrest. It wasn't as bright as it would be once the auroras came, but still noticeably brighter than Estingai's. Kozasana wasn't an Auroramancer, so she couldn't create hardlight like Uuchantuu, but the red biogems did grant her quicker reflexes than anyone with a different-colored gemcrest. Even Auroraborn.

Kozasana's red skin already shone with sweat. It was hot out even for Natari. Estingai had already soaked through her underclothes beneath her jacket and pants.

“You’ll get dusty like that,” Estingai said. “That's going to be terrible on the walk back to base."

Kozasana stuck her tongue out and shrugged her jacket back on, leaving it undone down to her navel.

"Happy?"

Estingai rolled her eyes.

Kozasana sat down and pulled out her water bottle, taking a long draft before offering Estingai some.

Estingai shook her head, taking the top off her own, then carefully tipping up her mask to drink. She was in the shade, so she could have taken off her mask, but found herself unable to. Recently she'd usually only done that with Svemakuu.

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With a sigh, Estingai closed her bottle, then leaned back against the stone wall, glad Kozasana didn't feel like talking at the moment. She closed her eyes.

Massive slabs of stone rained down on her.

Estingai flinched, snapping her eyes open. Her heart hammered at her ribs.

Taking a deep breath, Estingai tried to quiet her mind and looked around the depression again. She attempted imagining what had once stood here.

It was hard. Her mind was just so tired.

Estingai watched Koruuksi and Uuchantuu walk over to take their spot in the shade with Aaden and Marjatla following shortly after. They all sat away from Estingai. The relief she felt at that frustrated her.

She'd barely spent any time in their suite this week, much less her bunk. The dark enclosed space, even with the lighting and vents, had made her stomach roil and her palms sweat. Even taking a shower hadn't provided her any relief, despite how amazing the hot water had felt. She'd done it, but…

Estingai shivered.

"You alright?"

Estingai looked to Kozasana, and found herself glad the woman couldn't see through her mask.

Of course I'm not. Svemakuu is dead.

Estingai didn't feel like answering, but she needed to do something.

"Marjatla," she called, rising to her feet, "do you have those intel reports yet? Any word from the other bases?"

Marjatla nodded. She was Samjati—antlers rising out of holes in her helmet just like Koruuksi's did—and less spatially aware than most. The motion bumped her antlers against the rock behind her, and would have hit Aaden's antlers as well if he hadn't moved out of the way.

"Nightstone still hasn't made contact," Marjatla said as she closed the distance between herself and Estingai, holding one of their precious datapads stolen from the Imaia, "Though that's expected, given their proximity to Imaia territory. They're probably still locked down."

Estingai nodded.

"But the other factions received our messages and radioed back?"

“Ironpeak and Last Shadow were a bit short in their responses," Aaden said, coming up behind Marjatla as she nodded.

That made sense. Ironpeak thought itself more important than any of the other factions due to their engineers and contacts with the few sympathizers that remained outside Mjatafa Mwonga, and Last Shadow seemed to mirror Vila's touchy, almost hostile attitude even without her there.

"Any idea what we're going to do about it?"

Estingai looked to Kozasana and cocked her head. "Why are you asking me?"

Kozasana shrugged. "You asked for the intel."

Estingai frowned. "I just—"

Koruuksi gasped, and Estingai fell into a fighting stance as she whirled toward her younger brother. Koruuksi was on his feet, but he wasn't tensed for a fight.

He and Uuchantuu had walked out into the sun, gazing up at the sky. Uuchantuu had taken off her coat, and Koruuksi had a little flap on his mask opened.

Estingai followed their gaze and shivered, adjusting her lightcover.

The auroras had come.

Thick bands of color danced above the mountains at the poleward horizon, moving toward them across the red-orange sky at a snail's pace. They were so bright, so vibrant, that they were clear even in Lightside’s ever-bright red skies. The auroras started at the pole, where they shone almost constantly, and made their way across the entire hemisphere, pausing at the Twilight Band before journeying back toward the pole. Estingai had heard rumors that Ynuukwidas was using his power to push the auroras beyond the horizon line, so the people of the Imaia that worked and lived at Darkside outposts would not be deprived of their light.

Estingai only believed that because the Imaia had something to gain from it, and because the Imaia's God King hadn't found them yet.

She knew for a fact that the goddess Kweshrima had been able to see through the auroras to watch over her people. She assumed Ynuukwidas possessed a similar ability, but must be strained or distracted, otherwise they would have been finished the first time they went out in the auroras.

Still, they took precautions and went out in small groups. Recharging one's gemcrest was difficult enough on Lightside for anyone with Samjati skin.

Removing her jacket, Estingai made sure the thin slit in the plate under her shirt was positioned just right before going out into the sun. She didn't want burns around her gemcrest.

Though Estingai could see the auroras, they weren’t close enough for her to absorb their light yet. She knew it would only take a few minutes, but she was already running dangerously low on Auroralight. She'd depleted certain pairs of her biogems to feed the Auroralight to others, putting her in a state of partial lightlessness.

It was the tradeoff full Auroraborn faced for being able to access twelve Auroramantic abilities instead of one.

Most Auroraborn, however, hadn't been trained by the best, as she, Svemakuu, and Koruuksi had, and didn't know the trick of transferring Auroralight between the pairs of different colors.

A hot, dry wind picked up for a moment, rattling a few of the georaurals they'd set out and whipping up a cloud of dust.

Estingai glanced to Kozasana, cocking her head. The Natari woman just rolled her eyes, not bothering to wipe any dust from her arms.

When the auroras finally came in range, it was a shock to Estingai's system. Refreshing, yet overwhelming given how low she'd been on Auroralight. Everyone around her shifted, more energetic than they'd been moments ago. The walls of their little depression glittered with the colors of recharged georaruals and biogems.

Some of the weight that had pressed down on Estingai the past week—the anxiety and fatigue—melted away. It didn't take care of everything, but felt like she'd had a good night's sleep for once, rather than keeping herself busy so she wouldn't close her eyes and relive being trapped underground or seeing the Deathknight's face.

Estingai shivered, then clenched her jaw at the memory.

The Auroralight made her want to move. It also heightened her emotions. At the moment, that made her angry.

"Estingai?"

Estingai blinked, turning to Marjatla. She didn't respond, instead trying to reign herself in.

Marjatla shifted in the silence, but voiced her question after a moment.

"How should we proceed with Ironpeak and Last Shadow?"

Estingai frowned, nodding toward Aaden. "That's not my area of expertise."

"Agreed," Aaden said. "However, their leaders would probably respond best to you reaching out, assuming we still want to unite the different factions."

"Of course we do—"

"You taking charge in Raima's stead would be a sign of strength," Kozasana added. "They'd be idiots not to align themselves with the Last Knight. Even if the leadership has reservations, their people would look to you."

Estingai barely kept from grinding her teeth. Her jaw wouldn't unclench, and neither would her stomach. She couldn't do that. Lead a strike team, sure, but lead her faction? The entire Remnant?

"I fight," she grated, "I don't lead."

Koruuksi joined the others around her, exchanging a look with Uuchantuu.

"They have a point, Estingai. You—"

"No," she snapped, looking around at them. She nearly whipped off her mask so she could glare at them.

"I was Raima's weapon.” She jabbed a finger toward Aaden and Marjatla. "You two were the ones she trusted to take care of the functions of the base and communicate with the other factions. You two are the ones trained in administration and logistics. You’re better equipped to make alliances with the other factions and keep Frozen Phantom from falling apart.”

"Estingai," Marjatla said. "Even without that training, you—"

"Failed," Estingai finished. "Don't forget that. I failed everyone. That's why we're—"

"Stop."

Estingai blinked, looking to Koruuksi.

He had his arms folded over his chest, but the mask gave away little else.

"You failed," Koruuksi said. "But we were taught—you and Svemakku taught me—to learn from our failures and try again. You have to do this, Estingai."

She shook her head. "Are you serious? He was your brother."

Koruuksi's hands flexed. "I know. That's why we can't—"

"What about you?"

Koruuksi flinched.

"You're better with people," Estingai pressed. "You've had the same training I have. You're the one who overthrew Bonde and made the meeting with the other faction heads possible. And on top of that, you’re less screwed up.”

It was a low blow and Estingai knew it. She didn't let up, though. She couldn't.

"Seniority won't mean much because of who you are—"

Koruuksi stepped forward, grabbing her coat. Estingai flared her greynodes, grabbing his arm. She glared at him through her mask.

Blocks of hardlight appeared between them, forcing them apart.

"Stop it!"

They all reflexively shushed Uuchantuu, as sound carried easily on the stone surrounding them, but Estingai winced at the raw exhaustion in Uuchantuu's voice, the pain in her amber eyes.

She sounds just as worn as I feel.

That hurt Estingai. She'd failed to protect Svemakuu. Now she couldn't even protect Uuchantuu from her own temper and stubbornness.

"Koruuksi and I will help Marjatla and Aaden take care of packing everything up and bringing them back to base," Uuchantuu said, voice quieter, but still strained. "You should head back and prepare a team to go check on Mylora's people. Make sure they're okay and that they know what's going on."

"That sounds like a good idea," Kozasana said, resting a hand on Estingai's shoulder. Estingai flinched at the contact, but didn't pull away. "I can gather up Araana and a few others to go with us."

Estingai frowned at that. Araana usually went with Estingai and Kozasana on missions, but she hadn't seen much of the woman after an initial "I'm glad you're alright" after Estingai had left the infirmary.

Worry about that later.

Estingai took a deep breath, looking around at everyone, then back to Kozasana. "Fine. Let's go."

Kozasana put her jacket back on and Estingai closed the flap over her gemcrest before putting hers back on as well. As they walked away, she brightened her greennodes to move the dirt over their tracks, pulling the depressed rock and soil toward her at an angle. Most of it had some bits of volcanic rock in it, allowing her to move it toward or away from her.

She paused when they got out of the depression, but didn't look back. She knew she should apologize to Koruuksi and Uuchantuu. She just couldn't.

That made her angry at herself, instead of just the two of them.

Estingai decided to let her emotions rage, feeding on them. They were the only thing keeping her going at this point.