Even if the watery sky could come down from its perch, it couldn't save the town. The smell of burning wood, scorched stone, and hot metal permeated the land as the fires spread through what no one would recognize as the small town of Kakura. Hissing rang in Vadeen's ears as he doused the flames with water flowing from his hands.
A clamor arose, bringing his attention to a figure in orange escaping the scene. Without prompt, he sped after them, jumping through the fire with his sword unsheathed.
"Take them alive, Wuan!" his captain ordered over the radio.
"Understood!" he called back.
The perpetrator ran atop a wall, tiles shifting audibly beneath their feet, and he followed below in the streets. He jumped over and slid beneath carts without breaking momentum or losing them in his sights.
As he ran, the voice whispered to him, familiar and comforting. Along with its whispering came a mental birds-eye view of the perpetrator's location. It allowed him to map the town's formation; unless they lowered into the streets, he knew exactly where they were.
After some minutes of chasing, he manifested boiling water in his free hand while jumping to his left, bounding toward them. He hurled the water and they evaded by seconds, though they hissed at the water popping on the tiles. A smirk formed on his face as they turned to face him with their sword drawn in retaliation.
Airborne, he dodged a swipe while landing on the roof, then spun in time for their blades to clash. They traded blows swiftly, and his brows furrowed upon realizing their skills were equal to that of a second lieutenant in the Malaki Raja'shun military. Nothing he couldn't manage but a terrorist shouldn't have such power.
When their blows sent them both skidding back, the criminal's hand engulfed in flames. Before he could attack again, they sent fire from their hand toward a stall. Eyes widening, he moved fast, disappearing from where he stood and reappearing in front of the fire. He launched the fire back with his blade but they expected this, immediately swiping the flames away with a gloved hand.
A stall went ablaze, causing him to flinch back. When he ran towards the fire, they blocked his way with their sword raised. He spun away, coating his blade with steam.
An arm went flying from a single slice, the criminal's cry stirring satisfaction within him as they flew and hit a wall. The concrete broke from their speed, creating a crumbling opening and allowing him to see them hit an opposite wall of a different street. In his mind's view, he saw them slide down the wall, unconscious. Or so it seemed. Narrowing his eyes, he approached, stepping through the hole.
Eyeing them, he glowered at the sight of their silver blood staining their clothes and soaking the sleeve where an arm had been. He kicked their foot with enough force to move their body to the side. When they didn't respond, he lowered, reaching for their mask.
"Someone's coming!"
Glancing back, he spotted a column of fire approaching him. He jumped up atop the tiled wall, watching the fire near with a scowl.
The fire burst, revealing a figure crouched beside their companion. Like the other indraht, they wore orange and black with a featureless silver-white mask foreign to his kind. It turned upward to look at him, bringing another frown to his face. From what he could discern, unlike the small musculature of the fallen pyromancer, this new foe bore a muscular body.
"Oh?" a feminine voice hummed. "You're different from everyone else..."
Eyes narrowing, he intentionally ignored these words. He reached with his senses to get a feel of the indrahti's andla power but she blocked his perceptions. Only someone captain-class or higher could do that, a worrying realization.
He didn't reply even as her words stirred something inside him, something he quickly ignored. "Who are you and how did you get past the sebuan?" he demanded, tightly gripping his sword.
He heard a croak near him, and a large raven shortly flew onto his armored shoulder.
She chuckled. "How...curious."
Much to his disappointment, a large eagle flew onto her outstretched arm a moment later.
Indrahti familiar, he huffed to himself. Think you can handle it?
When the voice didn't respond, he looked at the raven in alarm.
Are you alright?
The bird didn't even croak, its glassy ochre eyes evading his.
Frowning, he almost broke his ready stance, but he caught the woman raising two fingers, bringing scattered pieces and shards of wood into the air. Though it didn't loudly emit from her the way it would from someone arrogant, she exuded confidence.
A powerful gust of air hit him, causing his raven to take to the sky with an irritated croak. He caught sight of the wood approaching just before he shut his eyes. Time seemed to stop as he took a deep breath.
He let himself go, moving up with the air and riding the current. He pinpointed each piece of sharp wood with his senses and sliced them into smaller bits, flowing with the air in what seemed like a dance.
Once there were no more shards, he felt the shift of wind sending him back to the ground. Spinning, he sheathed his sword and landed hard, slamming his hand into the concrete. The street rose and fell, and he sensed the woman and her companion enveloped by the ground. He stood with open eyes, well aware this wouldn't hold them back. He clasped his hands—or tried to.
The ground moved and twisted, surrounding the two indrahti in compliance with his will, but he felt significant resistance to his elemancy. Straining, he tried harder to clasp his hands and trap them. The rocks began to crack and give, and he couldn't hold them together any longer.
He cried out, slamming against the back wall with his arms out as a brutal assault of air and rocks hit him. Opening his eyes, he found himself prone on the ground with a smarting body. Groaning, he managed to look up and see the woman standing in front of him with a long, curved sword unsheathed.
With a grimace, he began to rise from the concrete. He just made it to his feet when large roots wrapped around his wrists and ankles to prevent him from moving, forcing him to watch as she approached and reached for him. He hissed in pain when she lifted him by his hair.
Hanging limply over the ground, he felt vulnerable. "Fucking...perka'dar[1]," he breathed.
Unseen eyes scanned him from top to bottom. He didn't like the way it felt. "That was impressive, boy. You seem faifethi enough," she hummed, a slender brown root reaching to wipe the light bronze from his forehead. He half expected her to raise her mask to taste it. "Yet, something about you doesn't feel quite like a faifeth."
"Fuck you," he said with a vocal growl.
Easily, the hand that held him by his hair briefly lifted him higher while letting him go, then grasped his neck, choking him. Only then could he move as the roots around his wrists disappeared, and he grasped the woman's hand in an attempt to pry it away.
"I think I'll take you home with me," she said with humor. "It's been a while since I was reminded of my brother..."
Vadeen barely heard the words, unable to kick his legs as he slowly lost consciousness. Saliva trickled from his mouth and his eyes rolled closed.
"Don...fight...een," the faint voice called.
Internally, he all but screamed in outrage. How can I not?!
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"...on't...ight..."
A sudden movement broke the tightness from his neck, allowing air to abruptly flow into his lungs. He gasped and took great swallows of it before coughing, looking through a hazed vision at the person who held him on the ground.
"H-Haniban...w-wakilek[2]," he gasped.
A red half-mask hid most of the lieutenant's face, but her eyes expressed worry. "Take your time, Wuan-wakil[3]," she said. As his breathing evened, she looked to her right.
Following her gaze, he saw a significantly tall figure's caped back, the tanzanite color of the long material and hood easily giving away the person's status as a captain of the Malaki Raja'shun military. A symbol indicating the captain of the 22nd Bracket adorned the back of the cape.
A small smile formed on his face. "Sebuan," he muttered, moving to sit upright.
His captain faced the direction he presumed the indrahti had been, yet he didn't see anything—nothing more than the streets that appeared far worse than before he lost consciousness. Both walls were gone, and fires remained on pieces of upturned concrete and remnants of the town's stalls and eateries.
Turning, his captain's gem-green eyes glowed in the darkness, her shark teeth bared. "Haniban, put out the fires," she ordered.
"Understood." Releasing him, the lieutenant moved to stand and began to use hydromancy while passing their captain. In moments, controlled waves of water flowing from her hands extinguished the fires.
Vadeen looked up at his captain, moving to stand as she asked, "Are you alright, Wuan?"
"I'm—" He wobbled and collapsed to a knee, head spinning and his mind briefly blanking. He groaned, grasping his head.
She crouched in front of him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Did that indraht do something?" she asked, voice thick with concern.
"I-I...don't know." His voice could barely rise above the hissing of the dousing fires. He met his captain's worried expression, managing a weak smile. "It could have been...worse. I'll recover."
Some strands of light grey hair fell into the captain's face as she slowly nodded. Unfortunately, she appeared visibly unconvinced.
He opened his mouth to say something when a burst of wind brought his attention to someone behind him.
"Wasihl-sebuan."
He turned to see an unfamiliar soldier in black, bearing golden-yellow, white, and black tassels on their belt. If their inert energy output meant anything, they were someone of a high rank. He noticed his captain's eyes narrow upon seeing them.
"The Sanyerō wishes to speak with you," the soldier said evenly.
Frowning, Vadeen glanced between them and his captain, then watched as she beckoned him to follow with a nudge of her head.
The three then ran using the jūryovā speed technique through the destroyed town. Vadeen took in the sights of the destruction left in the wake of the terrorists. Judicial soldiers searched smoking debris of buildings and businesses for any surviving or remains of citizens. Soldiers from several brackets were also about to help. His expression worsened from a simple frown into a full glower, and he mentally cursed the indrahti for the umpteenth time in his life.
They ran through the broken town into the once-green woods bordering Kakura Town. As they made their way through the half-burnt path between tall trees and out to the land of Faifeleth country, he spotted three airships belonging to the military landing or had landed on the ground. They slowed as it came into view, and the unknown soldier pointed toward a makeshift station where several bracket captains stood around.
"Wuan, go ahead," Captain Wasihl said to Vadeen.
"Captain." He diverted in a different direction upon catching sight of some fellow second lieutenants. In the corner of his eye, he watched his captain follow the unknown soldier with trepidation.
Something's wrong...
He had just approached the other second lieutenants when a surge of forōs[4] brought him out of his thoughts. He and all the soldiers went down on a knee, facing the direction of the captains where the energy manifested.
"Sanyerō!" they chorused.
A pause, then a feminine voice sternly ordered, "Rise."
Obeying, the soldiers stood to see the General Commander of the Malaki Raja'shun, Khamila Wukai, standing among the captains. They, the captains, no longer stood together and faced the rest of the second lieutenants. Any non-seated soldier wisely remained busy doing other things.
As he always saw her, the General Commander stood straight with her hands behind her back. The silver and tanzanite uniform she wore bore gold and tanzanite tassels that dangled from her waist, different from that of the captains'.
"The Isrid Division will take over from here. In the meantime, Wasihl-sebuan, you and your soldiers are to return to your bracket. Something else has happened and it concerns your bracket—and your family."
"What?" Captain Wasihl growled.
Vadeen watched tensely as the much shorter commander turned to face his towering captain. Whatever passed between the two went unknown to him, but some uncertain seconds passed before his captain turned to look at him and his comrades.
She beckoned toward the direction of their airship with her head. "Move out."
Standing at attention, Vadeen chorused his affirmation with his comrades. They didn't wait for her to lead them away, turning and boarding their airship while she lingered behind.
As they walked up the ramp, Vadeen caught the gaze of his friend Zhen, another second lieutenant, whose expression told him he harbored similar thoughts of curiosity and suspicion.
After boarding, the ship whirred to life. The soldiers steadily scattered, some remaining on the deck and some moving below deck. Vadeen remained where he had boarded, moving to the portside with crossed arms. The ship steadily ascended, causing stay reddish strands of his hair to flutter in his face as the wind picked up.
Footsteps neared him. "Deen."
He glanced behind to see Zhen approaching. The older man wore a disgruntled expression.
"Notice someone isn't here?" Zhen came to his side, his voice low.
Frowning, he reached with his senses. His mother, Abramu, and several of his friends were present...
It had been quite a while since he last saw his older brother. Now that he recalled it, he hadn't seen Lanad since the night before.
"Lanad?" he asked softly.
Brown eyes glanced behind them as Zhen nodded. "I...I think it has something to do with him."
"Why?"
"What else can it be?"
"Zhen, I have like a hundred relatives."
His friend only gave him a pointed look which brought his brows together again.
"We'll find out, I guess," he said in a mutter.
Soon, the sight of smoke emerging from the remains of the 21st Bracket became visible. His face twisted in a scowl of disdain.
Terrorists attacked not just a bunkal...but a town at once.
His lips tightened. Both attacks had likely enraged the Empress beyond measure, given their close proximity to the Sūn Palace. His expression deepened as he considered what the Sanyerō and Zhen said. Furthermore, the strange black-clad soldier had boarded with them.
The 22nd Bracket airship made berth at its station before noon. Disembarking with his comrades, Vadeen glanced around to see about twenty of them had left their bracket to deal with the terrorists. Many were injured.
A blur passed by, and he barely caught sight of his captain and the unknown soldier disappearing from his sight. He partly wished to run after them but decided to wait until he made it to the offices.
Once his boot hit the ground, he went into a moderate run with Zhen close behind. He soon realized several other officers had the same idea, observing them as they ran side by side, ahead, or behind him towards the bracket court.
Trepidation grew the moment they entered their bracket's courtyard. Several of the non-seated members, some peeved, some confused, murmured amongst themselves while standing around the entrance of the building that housed the office of seated members. They moved aside upon seeing Soren Laokar, the third commanding second lieutenant, which allowed them to go in.
His eyes widened at the wildly flailing forōs that belonged to his captain. Shit. She's not happy... He picked up his pace, passing Laokar in the halls.
Turning a corner into the officers' meeting room, he saw his lieutenant standing beside the tall form of his captain.
At a second black-clad soldier, she spat, "Don't you fucking dare throw accusations around."
The officer, dressed in black and yellow with an off-white sash, huffed while returning her look with the slightest of peeved expressions. "This is hardly the place to discuss this, Wasihl-sebuan," he said as he glanced toward Vadeen and the other officers.
"My soldiers have every right to know," the captain scoffed, her emerald eyes flashing with a familiar glow.
"Wasihl-sebuan—"
"Are you going to say it or shall I?" she snapped. "State your reason for being here, Kajanit."
Officer Kajanit exhaled with exasperation. "Very well," he yielded. Louder for the room to hear, he explained, "Lanad Kabuyun-Wasihl has been placed under arrest. He is the prime suspect in the poisoning of the Mahilasi, 'Yeayai Wasihl, Wen-Lao Zholèi, and Haleth Nen, last night."
As murmuring voices of shock passed through the room, anger immediately burned within Vadeen's core. It didn't have the same feel as the sweltering, tilting, arousing heat, but it became enough that he had to calm himself before it worsened. He forced himself to listen.
Kajanit continued, "Your bracket will be under lockdown until we can determine—"
"Enough!" the captain interjected. She brushed past him and approached the doors.
Parting at attention, Vadeen and his comrades watched after her as she stalked past them.
"Laokar! Wuan!" she suddenly barked from outside.
"Sebuan!" Vadeen and Soren chorused.
"Follow me."
They followed without a moment's hesitation. Along with them came their lieutenant who shot Kajanit a glare that could wilt plant life.
They exited the hall with haste, and the waves of anger emitting from their captain were tangible in the air. As they rushed through the outdoor passages that formed their bracket's hallways, others parted before her.
They exited their bracket onto a paved path leading in various directions. She abruptly disappeared ahead, and Haniban, Vadeen, and Laokar sped after her.
Vadeen knew why they had to rush. A matter of the four royal families meant, if found guilty, Lanad would face swift execution. The very knowledge made an unwanted jolt of fear run through his body.
But surely their captain wouldn't allow that to happen?
At the same time—
Rapidly, he shook his head, not stupid enough to voice his inner turmoil, and how dare he doubt. How dare he.
"Indeed. There's no reason to be worried. You know your brother."
He was glad to hear the voice again, and its words calmed him. He nodded in firm agreement.
I know my brother.
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[1] "Silverblood", pejorative for indrahti.
[2] Lieutenant.
[3] Second lieutenant.
[4] The individual energy that is an indicator of a faifethi's power. Can manifest visually in rare situations.