“Please, young mistress! Please reconsider!” Ryoko begged on her knees while she had her arms wrapped around Yuriko’s leg.

For her part, Yuriko was in the middle of packing her gear when her attendant barged into the room and tried to tackle her to the ground. Unfortunately for Ryoko, Yuriko had been ready for the move and had managed to brace herself. Now, she used her Anima to finish her task while the other woman tried to dissuade her.

“I can’t wait that long,” Yuriko said. “I asked my cousins and most civilian traffic is being diverted away from Delovine.”

It didn’t help that there was only one connection between Rumiga and the rest of the Empire, but there was a reason it was called a frontier plane after all. She pressed them for more information but other than the fact that the Waypoint forts between Rumiga and Delovine had been attacked and overrun, there was little else.

Was that why her friends hadn’t been able to answer her letters? The disruption in communication and maritime lines? But she sent that letter more than a Season ago! How could they not have written back by now? Unless the disruption had happened by then but had been kept under wraps?

But why mobilise now? No, no, the bigger question is why did news of this only reach her now? Shouldn’t the Mishala Clan know of this? Or did they not care about the frontier?

Oh, they probably didn’t. There were nearly a hundred planes under the control of the Empire, and only a fraction were frontiers. Economically, Rumiga wasn’t in the best of places, what with most of the jade deposits within easy reach already depleted. Plus, there were at least two hostiles on the plane, the barbarians and the Confederation. She knew that there were tensions between the Northern Barbarians and the Empire, but did the Confederation also strike? She didn’t think those two would have been able to strike at the fortified Waypoints, so who did that leave? The Asheron Court?

Oh no…

The Asheroni attacked during that storm, didn’t they? She remembered that arachnid Chaos Lord in the tunnels. She also heard from Master Alfein…Aunt Kiyo…about the simultaneous attack on the docks.

So three factions joined forces and attacked Rumiga at the same time? It must have taken a long time to organise this. Was this also the source of her premonitions? Either way, she couldn’t stay idle. She needed to go.

She had contemplated joining her two cousins and Aunt Layla, who had also been served with a conscription notice. Actually, Aunt Kiyo was ‘asked’ to volunteer rather than conscripted since she was a Runeer rather than a warrior, but it was a polite fiction at best.

As for her, she couldn’t volunteer. She was still registered as a student and she was technically still at the Journeyman rank. Her advancement to Actualisation was impossible to register as Knight, even though the power level was equal. Or no, actually. Damien told her she was probably as strong as a Knight-Captain, but she had no way to measure up to that. The only Knight-Captain she knew was Da, and he had never shown her the full extent of his abilities.

Either way, since she didn’t have an inlaid Facet, her Animus had not been compressed into a liquid state, which meant that any of the instruments that measured such things would still tell her she was a Second Order Journeyman, Third Order at most. Definitely not a Knight, and since she was under the age of majority, she wasn’t allowed to enlist.

If she had been a student of Agaza then she could have enlisted under emergency conditions, but no, she was of Sharom, and she was on the Sorcery track. Despite not even starting on Sorcery, she was under the same restrictions! Well! She wouldn’t let that stop her.

She only had to recall, across all three incarnations, the feeling of regret whenever she thought of Rumiga to know that she needed to do this, no matter what!

Some part of her worried that what she felt and could barely remember were merely dreams and fragments of her imagination. But the vision of the golden threads, the Threads of Fate, told her otherwise. Yes, she had shattered what hold they had on her, but that didn’t mean what she saw would not come to pass. She had to try, at least!

Ah, her mind was wandering. Ryoko’s fingers were digging into her thigh.

“Let go, please.”

“No! Not until you change your mind!” Ryoko sniffed.

Yuriko reached down and traced a finger across the nape of Ryoko’s neck. The older woman twitched as she did it again. Then, with her Anima, Yuriko poked the woman’s sides, wriggling the tendrils until her attendant twitched and gasped.

“You…won’t…get… Ahahah, no… ahhn!” Ryoko rolled on the ground trying to escape the tickling tendrils. Yuriko withdrew her Anima and sighed.

“Meet me in Rumiga City when you can. It might take a Season or more before the passage clears. But by then, it may be too late. My brothers and friends are there. If it comes to it, I’ll bring them back to Realmheart with me.”

Ryoko, tears in her eyes from the vicious tickling, bit and lip and nodded.

“I guess I can’t stop you, young mistress. But please, promise me you’ll be safe!”

“I’ll do my best,” Yuriko said. She checked her gear one more time. Forceweave traveller’s gear, check. Expanded backpack, hip satchel, and safe pouch, check. Canister of Ambrosia, water condensers, and a Season’s supply of ration bars, check. Plasma Lancet, combat knife, and a new side-blade, check.

She hadn’t managed to buy a new Plasma Caster and her Lancet was already out of date, but she supposed she could make do. The side-blade wasn’t quite new and had been given to her by Grandpa Weis. The weapon and its leather sheath were in excellent repair, and she tested the weapon’s edge too. Razor-sharp. Not that it’s likely to see much use. Fri’Avgi stood ready in her Anima and now that she had more than enough Animus to burn, she should be able to use the artefact for longer than twenty minutes at a time.

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When she came down to the dining kitchen room, she found Riley, Aidan, Layla, and the Elders there, having a cup of tea. All eyes went to her and she shrugged uncomfortably.

“So you’re going after all,” Layla sighed. “You may have the strength of a Knight, but you know that the Chaos Sea will still hurt you.”

“You should stay here, cuz,” Riley said. “Or try an alternate shipping route. There’s bound to be civilian travel open in a few weeks. You can board a merchant ship.”

Yuriko hadn’t told them that she intended to go directly through the Sea, but she supposed Aunt Layla figured it out from her questions to the brothers. She shook her head and said, “How long would it take to go through an alternate route?”

“A few weeks longer, maybe five weeks to get to Delovine. But you know, you probably won’t be able to take the Chaos channel to Rumiga from Delovine anyway. It’s a battlefield.”

“There are other Channels and Tidelands on Rumiga. If I have to, I’ll circle around the plane and enter the Tidelands near Faron’s Crossing.”

“That’s just it. You won’t last in the Chaos. You aren’t a Knight!”

Yuriko looked away while she thought things through. There was no way they would let her leave if they didn’t know, and she didn’t want to sneak out and make them worry. Also, she didn’t know if the prince would be after her. A feeling she got was that he would, but it was a faint premonition, so maybe he wasn’t on the way yet or didn’t know where she went. Hmmm, come to think of it, she probably didn’t mind meeting him just so that she’d know what he looked like. Er, she got distracted again!

“I advanced a couple of weeks ago,” Yuriko said quickly. “In Realmheart.”

Everyone’s eyes widened.

“What?” Riley griped. “Oh, now you broke my record! Hmph!”

Layla pursed her lips as she stared at Yuriko. “You’re not lying.”

“Of course not!” Yuriko exclaimed, somewhat offended.

Layla clicked her tongue. “Well, I believe you.” She exchanged glances with the four Elders who started to chuckle.

“Ah, imagine, the Davar Family has another prodigy!” Grandpa Arlan said.

“Congratulations for your advancement!” The two aunts and Grandpa Weis cheered.

“Oh, why didn’t you register then?” Aidan asked pointedly. “Your ID is still your old one.”

“My advancement is on a different path,” Yuriko answered faintly. “It doesn’t have the same signs as the Imperial System.”

“What? Why?” Layla gasped, “Why would you abandon tried and proven methods for something so uncertain?”

“It’s, well… It has to do with my Heritage.” Yuriko answered slowly. “You know I didn’t get the Davar Heritage, but I didn’t get the Mishala one either, at least not the direct one from Mum. But I think it’s still of the Mishala line, but an incomplete one.”

“You reached Knight level with an incomplete Heritage? At fifteen years old?” Layla choked out.

“Ahahaha.” Yuriko rubbed the back of her head, feeling a bit embarrassed. Without Damien’s advice, she doubted she could have gotten to her level, so this was nothing special.

“...are you certain you can resist the Chaos?”

“If I can’t, I’ll return immediately.”

“Alright.” Layla sighed, “Come with me, I’ll bring you the point in the Veil nearest to the western Chaos Channel.”

With that, the others all got up and gave her a hug. It’s been only four days but the Homestead felt more like her home than Aerule Garden ever did. The kids rushed up to her too, from where they were hiding, and tackle-hugged her. She nearly collapsed while laughing, but she didn’t mind.

Aunt Layla apparently had a license for a flying shuttle, and they used one that had been stored in the garage. It was an older model and it rattled and dipped alarmingly, but it got the job done.

“You’ll want to focus on Coltherstone Fortress. It’s the Fortified Waypoint nearest to Delovine. You’ll have to pass it to enter the plane. It’s also a waystation for Chaos ships and other travellers, so be careful when you get there. I expect it’s full of legionnaires, conscripts, and mercenaries. And maybe some adventurers and explorers.” Layla glanced back at her then snorted, “You be careful when you get there. Don’t stir up trouble and don’t create any.”

“Uhm, sure,” Yuriko muttered. Why did Aunt Layla think she’d make trouble? She’d probably just avoid the place if need be. Yes, she’d better do that instead.

“You’ll have to enter there to get to Delovine, and probably rest. You know it’ll be hard to sleep when you’re travelling alone, right? You remember your Alarm runescript patterns? Well, that won’t help you if you sleep in the Chaos Sea. If you sleep, you dream. If you dream, the Chaos around you will transform and who knows what you’ll encounter. Make sure that you’re in a Waypoint when you rest and always be on guard!”

“Er, alright.” She would have to travel through Waypoints anyway.

“Traveling the Chaos Sea alone is so much trouble but doing it with a companion is much more difficult. We Knights can hold off sleep for a week should it be necessary if you can’t find a Waypoint stable enough to risk sleeping in.”

“Yes.” Yuriko agreed. She knew she could stay awake for days at a time, just that she didn’t want to.

They flew on the shuttle in silence for several hours, and by the time the sun was at its zenith, they had arrived at the Veil.

“Good luck, my dear. And may the Threads of Fate guide you on your path.” Layla enfolded her in another hug. She sniffled a bit, but quickly took charge of herself. “Here, I don’t think you have one of these yet.”

She handed Yuriko a small disc, about a couple of inches across. It was made of metal, though the upper portion was transparent. A needle spun inside, secured at the centre by a pin.

“It’s a compass for Ulmira. No matter what, if you get lost, if you feed it a bit of Animus, it will help guide you back here.”

“Thank you,” Yuriko said as she kept the compass inside her hip satchel. Then she jumped off the shuttle even though it was more than ten paces over the ground. She landed easily and strode towards the Veil. She looked back once at her aunt, then gave a cheery wave. Then she was in the Veil.

She unleashed her Anima as soon as she was more than a dozen paces within. With deft mental hands, she braided her Anima to extract ambient Chaos and turn it into Animus. She drew a single lumen every five seconds or so, but with the runescript braiding, she didn’t have to focus on it.

She’s mistaken, you know, Damien commented. You can sleep in the Chaos Sea, or for that matter, walk unimpeded and out of danger. All you need is a Dominion.

‘Like my Anima?’

Close, but no. However, your flared Anima will protect you to some extent. You won’t have to worry about the Chaos Sea whisking you off to wherever. Well, just watch out for storms and dwellers. But I assume you’d remember from the Trials, how to go about it.

‘Er, memories faded away.’

Hmmm, oh, no matter. You’ll get them back. I hope.

With that, Damien’s presence faded away. Yuriko checked her Radiant reserves and found them topped up. She’d been feeding the Radiant Essence with Animus, Radiant Energy, and distilled Chaos, but there was hardly any change. Miniscule, she thought. But there was progress. She also didn’t know how to advance to the next level. Transformation? But she supposed Damien would tell her eventually, or she’d figure it out. She’s only been in Actualisation for a little while and she needed to get used to it now.

The Veil ended just a couple of steps away. The Chaos Sea was just there, a tempestuous accumulation of Primordial Chaos. Her Anima would protect her just as a Protective Field would a Knight. She took a deep breath, then she screwed her courage tight, and took that step.