TYRAM

As the sun fell low in the sky the village was celebrating again. The arrival of the knights had heralded a string of victories. Yes, the Brothers Sloth were still out there, still personally more powerful than anyone they'd faced before, but by now their gang's numbers had dwindled to what couldn't be more than a third of what they'd once been. The village had lost people as well, of course, but not as many. And sometimes whoever walked away least wounded was the winner.

Tyram had found a quiet corner, not easy in the cramped village, and was practicing his forms. To keep cool he wore only a pair of pants, sweat trickling down the his muscular chest. Muscles born from training, his grandfather's training. Hours and hours and days and days, even years and years spent practicing the fighting style meant to be paired with the Dragon Regalia, under his grandfather's watchful eye.

He normally found peace in the strikes and chops and kicks his grandfather had taught him. It wasn't working as well as it usually did. He'd known from the beginning the skills his grandfather taut were meant to turn his body into the most efficient possible weapon, but now he understood it. Understood that this kick would crack a rib, this strike would gouge an eye, this blow would pulverize and rupture. For many of them he could now recall exactly what doing that to someone felt like, not to mention what it felt like to tear off someone's ears...

“You're pretty good at that,” Aurina said. He hadn't even heard her walk up. The little rabbit-creature they had rescued from the bandit's base was sleeping peacefully on her shoulders.

“Yeah,” Tyram sighed, dropping his stance. “That's what everyone keeps telling me. Are you alright? We've only been back a couple of hours.”

“I'm fine,” Aurina said. “It was kind of exciting. Well no, it was terrifying at the time but now that it's over it was exciting. Rimni's walking around talking about his heroic rescue.”

“I bet he is,” Tyram smiled.

“You pulled off a heroic rescue too,” Aurina said. “Why don't seem even a little bit happy about it?”

“Well I'm happy you got rescued,” Tyram said. “But I didn't even make it inside the base. Rimni did a lot more rescuing than I did.”

“You punched Jalgoz in the face,” Aurina said. “Isn't swooping in at the nick of time what knights are supposed to do?”

“That's what all the stories say,” Tyram shrugged, toweling himself off. “At this point I'm just trying to get everybody through this alive.”

“Oh,” Aurina said. There were a few moments of silence. “So uh, Rimni's not exactly putting this part in his story, but there's something I wanted to ask you about. Well any of the knights, but I dunno I felt like talking to you first.”

“What about your brother?”

“Andry's still a little...testy, when it comes to the subject of knights and Regalia and things.”

“Well alright,” Tyram said. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Well know how Rimni is saying I distracted Jalgoz long enough for, oh, whatever he's telling people happened at this point? Well I distracted him like this.” Aurina held up her hand, emitting a glowing corona from her fingers.

“How long have you been able to do that?” Tyram asked, taking hold of her hand.

“Careful!” Aurina said. “I don't know what this stuff can do...”

“Well pretty much nothing,” Tyram said, turning her hand around to examine the light glowing from it. “This is pure auram.”

“I thought everything a knight did was pure auram,” Aurina said.

“No,” Tyram shook his head. “Mostly a body only has a little pure auram. Most of the rest of it gets mixed with, oh, other energy we've taken in training, the heat and electricity generated by our body, background radiation, a million other things to create all the different effects. That's kind of what a Regalia is...it sort of pulls a shape out of your mind to organize it all. This is just pure auram. I don't even know how you get this much auram in your body without it forming a Regalia! I....oh.”

They both suddenly realized that Tyram was down on one knee, holding aurina's hand. After an awkward moment they both flushed and turned away from each other, suddenly incapable of meeting each others eyes.

“I wonder if that's why this little guy is so clingy with you?” Tyram said after a few minutes, patting the sleeping feathered rabbit-creature on the head. “Some animals are sensitive to auram, maybe that has something to do with why the bandits want it back so badly?”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“I don't know,” Aurina said. “He must be rare and valuable right? They probably stole him from somewhere. I've never heard of a Churmegoedon before. But hey, a lot of auram is good, right? We've still got a bunch of the Regalia we took off the bandits. Should...should I go see if I can use any of them?”

“Aurina...” he said, searching for words. No, searching for a thought. Should she? Would she be better off with a Regalia to protect herself? Or would that just be putting her in danger? And why was she talking to him about this and not her brother? What was he supposed to say? If he said she shouldn't and she got hurt....but then if he said she should and she got hurt....

Shouts in the distance saved him from having to sort out the mess in his own mind.

“Bandits!” one of the lookouts was shouting, the call repeated throughout the village. “Bandits! They're back! They're here!”

And suddenly Tyram just felt so, incredibly tired. His limbs were leaden and his spine felt stretched with exhaustion.

“Come on,” he said. “We can sort this out later. Right now...let's just go.”

Andry stood with his father and Chaddim on the walls, looking out at the field. The bandits were setting up camp, and it looked like they were settling in for the long haul. The only question was why Jalgoz would do that.

“They don't have enough men to put us under siege,” Andry's Father said. “Especially when we've still got the air cars, we can fly out.”

“And they don't really need to bother,” Chaddim added. “We repaired the damage but Jalgoz already showed us our walls don't mean anything to his Regalia. If he wanted to force a battle he'd just tear them down and we'd be in the clash.”

“Maybe he just wants to keep an eye on us?” Andry suggested. “But that looks like he brought everybody he's got left....”

“What's going on?” Tyram asked, arriving on the wall with Aurina following behind. “Is it an attack?”

“Not yet,” Chaddim said. “I don't like it. They're up to something. Maybe they're trying to tunnel into the town?”

“We can probably get Fann to listen for that,” Tyram said. “And maybe J'vann can do something? Plants, roots? But he's injured isn't he? I thought I saw he had a cut in his side earlier.”

“We can ask,” Chaddim said. “Well all we can do for now is keep watch. Their out of range of our artillery—makeshift and half assed as it is—but if this is really all Jalgoz has left going out there to force a battle might be a good idea. But....”

“We don't know what he's up to,” Dorret finished, and Chaddim responded with a grim nod.

“Tyram,” Chaddim said. “Could you tell the other knights there's a strategy meeting? I assume you'll represent them again.”

“I'm still not sure why I got picked for that,” Tyram said. “I mean I'm not complaining, just...yeah. I'll go ask them.”

“Alright. We can't be too hasty, but if this is an opportunity we can't let it slip by either.”

ANDRY

The meeting broke up. Tyram walked off to find the other knights. Andry wound up walking into town with his sister.

“And where will you be?” he asked her.

“At the infirmary,” Aurina said. “I wasn't around to help with the last battle, so I owe them.”

“Sorry about that,” Andry said.

“No!” Aurina shook her head. “That wasn't what I meant. And taking out Zwiebel before he could reach the town was really important too!”

“Thanks,” Andry said. “Anyway there might not be a battle at all. For all we know Jalgoz is going to camp out there for months. Hell, if he stays out there for eight months apparently we can actually get some help from the god damn enforcers--”

“I don't think so,” Aurina said. “I think there's going to be a battle soon.”

“This coming from your new superpowers?” Andry asked. “You're a seer now?”

“No,” Aurina shook her head. “But I can feel it. Can't you?”

“I...yeah.” There was no denying the tension in the air, the indrawn breath as match falls towards kindling. There would be another battle, and soon. “Yeah I can. And so can everybody else I think. Maybe that's why Tyram looks like he drowned.”

“I tried to get him to tell me what was wrong,” Aurina shook her head. “He wouldn't really talk about it. But it's the weirdest thing...he's starting to remind me of you, somehow.”

“What?” Andry snorted. “Me and that guy? Get serious.”

“No really,” Aurina said. “Something...I don't know. Something about your eyes. Not the shape, the...the look to them...oh forget it, I'm not making any sense.”

“You're really not,” Andry said. “He's probably just feeling queasy. His fight against that bandit, Rado...I got there after it was over, but it looked like things got pretty brutal. There wasn't much of the guy left in one piece by the end.”

“Oh. No wonder he didn't want to talk about it.” Aurina said. “I wish I could put my figure on what it was about you two that's...”

From somewhere ahead of them a firework shot up and exploded over the town. Before Andry could process that a tearing noise came from the direction of the wall, and he turned to see dust and debris torn from the wall and flying into the air leaving two ugly, gaping holes in the town's defense.

Jalgoz, Andry thought. That son of a bitch. He's coming in.

“Andry!” Aurina said, grabbing him by the arm. “You have to go. Now. I'll be fine, I'll get to the infirmary.”

“I know,” Andry said. “Sorry, I got caught in my own head. Alright. Stay safe.”

“You too,” Aurina said, and they separated. Andry ran for the wall, along with dozens of others. A movement on the rooftops caught his eye.

“Rimni!” Andry stopped to yell. “RIMNI!”

Rimni paused beside a chimney, leaning over and glaring at him.

“What do you want?” Rimni demanded.

“You're the fastest of the knights right?” Andry said. “You need to head back into town and find out what that firework was about!”

“I don't take orders from cowards,” Rimni snorted, turning away.

“Jalgoz didn't attack until the firework!” Andry said. “Everyone's running to the wall, but what if he has something nasty planned? You're the fastest one, and your Regalia is better for fighting in a town than an open field. Right?”

“Well....” Rimni scratched his head. “That does kindamake sense...”

“The truth's the truth right?” Andry pressed. “Even ifI'm a coward.”

“Yeah you're right,” Rimni said. “And you helped fight the bandits earlier today, so you can't be a total coward. But don't think I haven't noticed how you're all keeping me out of battles! I'm a knight too you know! I'm more of a knight than youare, for sure!”

“Yeah keep dreaming squirt,” Andry said. “We can argue about it later, right now we both gotta move.”

“Yeah,” Rimni said. “Try not to die.”

“You too,” Andry said, resuming his run towards the shattered wall and the sounds of battle.