Akamori’s nose stung from the smoke of his burning village. His lungs ached for clean air. He and his friends were making their last stand. Embers and ash coated the air all around Hoshun. Amara and Kusinaki at his back hurled spells as his blade cut a clean arc through the air. He remained in motion like the wind of a tornado.

Undead shamblers and runners alike fell to his blade as the three of them turned and adjusted to face each new threat. All around them, villagers fell victim to the attack. Homes lit up in flames. Acid ruined stone structures. Akamori’s entire life was in the process of eradication.

His blade cut a tight arc through the air, cleaving a decomposing head open. Rotten black brain matter dripped free of the skull as the body pitched over. He brought his arms up; the blade hummed as it severed the arms free of another corpse at the elbows. Chop, slash, stab. He moved through the katas his father had drilled into him as clumsily as he could. Fear seized his heart when he realized no matter how quickly he dealt with the enemy, their position was a loss. They were being overwhelmed.

A war cry sounded through the air as his father crashed free of the forest growth, bringing his massive spell blade down. Earth erupted into the air as an invisible force tore the ground apart ahead of Kalenza. Undead and a few dragonkin hatchlings tumbled about like toys thrown by a child. Hope teased him as he and his father met each other’s gaze. His breath left him as something punched through his body between the shoulders. Blood trickled down his nose and from his mouth.

His gaze fell to the end of a wickedly barbed tail shaped like a massive spear tip that had punched clean through his chest. The barb connected him and his father. He watched the life leave his father’s eyes. Kalenza slumped over, his jet black hair falling limply around his head. Akamori felt something cold uncoil within him. Chains snapped in the distance beyond hearing. For a brief instant, he was both here and everywhere.

Akamori awoke with a start, snapping up and hurling a bolt of void energy into the wall. His chest heaved as he gulped in lung fulls of air. A cold sweat coating his upper body. Across from him, the target he’d reluctantly hung after blasting his wall the first time smoked in the third ring. At least his unconscious aim was improving.

He checked his chrono and sighed. He didn’t have to be up yet, but he would have rather slept. He climbed out and bed and shrugged into his uniform before stopping next to the target. He reached down and fished a sponge out and scrubbed the burn marks off the target board. He’d touch the ring up later with a new coat of paint. A knock at the door drew his attention. His free hand darted to the hilt of his spell blade, firmly buckled at his waist.

Cracking the door open, expecting Cenine’s sneering face, it honestly surprised him to see Morwen. She stood ramrod straight with her hands clasped behind her back, chin up and out. Well, so she’d finally found herself again. Took her long enough. While she’d been wallowing in self pity, he’d been having his ass beaten and drilling to exhaustion daily.

He opened the door the rest of the way and gave her a crisp salute. “Captain.”

Morwen’s eye twitched, and she corrected him, reminding him of her demotion to Lt. A temporary silence settled between them as he beat himself up mentally about the lapse before she cut into it again. “I have our next mission.”

“Our? Why should I take it? You sold all of us out, after all.” The words flew out of his mouth so swiftly. A brief flare of regret flashed through him before he reined it in. He supposed if he were being honest with himself, it was the truth. He still hadn’t gotten over how the Federation was happy with just screwing them all over.

“Okay, that’s fair. But it’s also irrelevant. I know you didn’t join the fight for praise and adoration.” Morwen eyed him searchingly.

“No. No I didn’t.”

“I was in a tough situation. I could hold on to my pride and ego, force their hand and be executed. Or I could have suffered whatever indignation they felt like visiting upon me. Like you, I didn’t join this fight for praise or glory. I do because I can where others won’t.”

Damn. He couldn’t argue with that. He wanted to, but there wasn’t a way to do it without sounding petulant. He sighed deeply with a nod. Resignation washing through him like a cleansing wave. “Alright, fine. Let’s hear this mission of yours.”

“May I?” she asked.

Akamori stepped out of the way, letting her into his room. Had she come by a few weeks ago, she might have been upset or put off by how messy it was. But he was forcing himself to care more about things looked. Morwen leaned closer to the target hanging in front of his bed.

“That’s an interesting way to drill your marksmanship, Lt.”

He ran a hand through his shortcut red hair. “Ah. Yeah. Haven’t been sleeping well.”

“Nightmares?”

He paused before reluctantly nodding. “Yeah. I find myself back on Hoshun as its being burned down.”

Morwen frowned, clasping her hands behind her back. “They’ll pass. In time. For now, embrace them. There’s much we can learn about ourselves from our pasts.”

He cleared his throat. “Your mission, ma’am?”

Morwen smiled. “My apologies. I’ve been given a new prophecy.”

Akamori cursed under his breath. That didn’t end so well for him last time. “Ok. What’s the sitch this time?”

“This world is in danger. From what or who I don’t know. Only that if we don’t want it to perish, we need to leave.”

“To leave?”

Morwen nodded. “I believe because there is training to be had.”

“Oh joy, more training.” Akamori grumbled just loud enough for Morwen to hear.

“I take it spell warrior training isn’t favoring you?”

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He shook his head. “I’m getting it. Slowly. But it’s definitely not what I expected. Everyone talks down at me because I’m not some elvish noble.”

Morwen’s brows furrowed. “Wasn’t your father the clan chieftain?”

“Well, yes.”

“And wasn’t he grooming you to take his place?”

“Eventually.”

“Sounds to me you’re more noble than they are.”

She may as well have just slapped him across the jaw. He’d never considered it from that angle before. He couldn’t help smile at the realization. Here she was, helping him again. “Thanks Captain.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off. “No. You’re the captain. That’s how it was. How it is, and how it will be. Damn what the Federation thinks.”

Her brows furrowed a moment as she chewed on his own statement before finally nodding. She was all business as usual. “Very well then.”

“So. Eryn’s in trouble. We need to go somewhere to train. Do we even have a ride?”

“That’s being worked on.”

“Ok. Who’s going?”

“I was hoping you’d help see to that. They might be my crew, but I suspect you’ll have more leverage than I.”

He blinked and almost laughed, but her seriousness kept it trapped in the back of his throat. “You really think so, don’t you?”

“I do. They listen to you and respond to you. In a way that they don’t for me. Plead my case to them. For me, please.”

System Info: New Quest: Second Verse, Same as the First. A new planet is facing peril at the hands of the Sauridius. This time it is Eryn itself. The very heart and soul (shriveled and decrepit as it is) of the Mage Federation. As before, the planet falls unless some daring heroes venture into the unknown to find the means to save the world (that’s you). Happy Trails!

Akamori blinked and quickly scrolled through the system missive before swiping it aside. It puffed away into motes of fire and smoke, leaving Morwen standing before him. “Okay. I will.” He said, half dumbstruck. He didn’t think he’d made half that much progress with the others. That was all just a ‘let’s not die in the swamp’ thing. “What are you going to be doing next?”

Morwen glanced skyward. “I’m calling in a favor and inspecting our new ship.”

“I never figured you had enough to afford a ship.”

Morwen turned back to him and her mask slipped enough that she allowed a faint ghost of a smile. “Oh, make no mistake, I don’t. This is… unfortunate circumstance, being mildly fortuitous.” She replied. Her brows pressed closer together. Threatening to darken her face into a frown.

“The way our luck turned after coming home, we’ll need every bit we can get.”

“Go speak to the others. See what you can do about getting them onboard. My world hinges on our success. More so, I think we might just find the weapons we need to put an end to this war. Or at the very least, begin walking the path necessary.”

He gave her a confident nod. When she was in her element, the Captain could find a way through any problem. He was just glad to see she wasn’t wallowing in self pity anymore. Maybe it was a little escape for her. Fate, however, always had better ideas. A small shiver crept up his back at the mere thought of the dreaded F word.

“I’ll go find them as soon as I figure out a way to put this training on pause.”

“How goes it, by the way?”

He sighed. Were they in a less professional relationship, he might have shown her the bruises that Cenine was constantly issuing him? Or the healed or stab and slash wounds from sparring. Instead, he settled for a halfhearted shrug. “They’re really taught me how to get my ass kicked well. Beyond that? I’m not sure. The lessons aren’t exactly lessons as much as don’t die and take from this what you can exercises.”

Morwen folded her arms, the thinking commander look on her face. “Well, you’ve a sharp wit for combat and an instinct I haven’t seen rivaled yet. I’m sure you’re learning in your own way.”

“Thanks. I think. I have a review shortly to see if I’m making any progress. The headmaster thinks she might have some ideas about where the techniques my people used originated from.”

Morwen’s brow arched upwards. “Oh? That would be useful indeed. Well, I’ll leave you to it then. Good luck Lieutenant. I’ll contact you after I’ve confirmed our vessel.”

He nodded and awkwardly saluted her with a fist over his breast, forearm parallel to the ground.

“Peasant! You’re late .” Cenine’s voice issued from behind Morwen. The Captain patted him on the shoulder before turning to leave. Yes, he knew they demoted her, but he didn’t care. She’d earned that rank. She’d always be the captain.

Cenine gave Morwen a contemptuous glare as she passed the Captain. Morwen disappeared around a corner, leaving him facing Cenine. She folded her arms, looking down her too perfect nose at him. “You would do well to distance yourself from her.”

“And what? Get wrapped in my own vanity and social standing? Hard pass.”

“You’ll watch your tone, peasant. Or I’ll-”

“What? Kick my ass some more?” Akamori asked. He was beyond over this. He was glad the captain came with a new mission. “Why don’t we just take this to the ring and have a rematch?”

Cenine’s brow lifted. The elvish noble couldn’t resist a sneer at his expense. Good, he thought. Let her cling to that noble sense of superiority. “Perhaps we should.” Cenine said, sizing him up. “It would do the Headmaster good to see how little progress you’ve made in your training so we can finally expel you.”

“I can’t wait.” Akamori said through clenched teeth.

Cenine about faced to board her golden spell fighter. He noted the minor bits of damage he could inflict on the Talon had already been repaired. All blemishes removed as if never having existed. A perfect weapon for a perfect noble. Yet, despite her looks, he found Cenine ugly.

He turned back into his dorm to his spell armor that hovered in the corner. He sucked in a long slow breath and let it out through his nose slowly. It was time to see whether all the pain and suffering over the past few weeks had been enough to buy his answers. Or if he’d have to suffer in ignorance.

“No.” He told himself. “I’m gonna beat Cenine’s face into the dirt. Prove that I’m worth being here. And learn where my people learned to fight.”

He approached the armor, fully committed now. All that remained was to see to his test with Cenine and face the one thing he dreaded most in this life. Fate.

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