The Spear of Arneshal requires a precise measure of factors. Most of all being this ore we’ve discovered. It’s properties thus far are foreign to us, but one of the soldiers accidently pricked himself on the finger with it.

If what this soldier described to me is true, this might very well be a major discovery for us. But this requires further testing, and my men are loyal enough to offer themselves in this service.

-From The Recently Deciphered Notes of King Arneshal, 7th Grouping

“Insubordinate! Childish! Incorrigible! I should have you shot!” the Colonel shouted right into Rozu’s ears. The Devourer thought that he should shut up the Colonel right then and there, but he couldn’t muster up the effort to.

What was the point in putting in effort into anything anymore? He’d been stripped or rank and pride, back to being a lowly Captain for His Sharpness. Rozu spat at the thought of that weakling, though he wouldn’t say that in front of the Colonel.

The old man looked close enough to death as it was, barely taking a breath before he resumed his shouting at the young soldier. Rozu didn’t react. He didn’t care for colonel Aderah, nor what he thought of the boy. He didn’t care for Dolish Venastian, or what pity he’d been given from the general.

He simply didn’t care about anything at the moment. Rozu didn’t even notice when the shouting had ended, and he’d been kicked out of the room. When he looked up, he saw a moon. A single moon, just like every night, floating in the sky. He didn’t care for which moon it was, only that he would need to walk under it.

Rozu shambled all the way towards the barracks, towards his old squadron. He saw a distant fire, burning in between the tents. Why were they outside? Rozu swept his gaze over the party, who was sitting around a large fire and enjoying themselves.

They sat on the ground, on stumps near the flames, or on chairs they’d pulled out of the tents. Tanz was in front of them, holding his hands wide as he told a story. A breeze came through the camps, and Rozu felt its sting. He was stood behind a tent, under its shade, and holding his arms.

“Rozu? What are you doing?” Sazir spoke up. Rozu turned to her and glared.

“Where did you come from?” He asked her, but she just looked downwards. In her hands were mugs of something that smelled like ale.

“Drinks for the party. But… I suppose no one told you, did they?” Sazir asked. Her red hair, cropped so short it made her look tomboyish, refused to be bullied by the wind.

“A party? Do you know how many soldiers we lost today? And this is how you honour them?” Rozu replied, pointing back at those jovial faces amongst the fire. Sazir looked down, as if ashamed of her actions, but then huffed.

“If you don’t want to join us, fine. But we’re tired, Rozu, and the colonel said we could take the night to relax. If you’ve a problem with us, then take it up with him!” She told him, moving past Rozu and towards the fire. As soon as the other soldiers saw her, they shouted her name.

Rozu was left in the shadow of the tent, alone again. They’re fools, and they’ll die like fools. Rozu grunted and began to walk. It suited him just fine to be away from his squadron. They’d only kept him back from what he really wanted.

Rozu knew the layout of the camps, and even though the only light came from bewllan crystals, he found his way to his new room. He looked inside of the room, one that was colder and more dead than his last. That didn’t matter, when there was work to be done.

Rozu laid down in the darkness, head facing up from his bed to stare at the ceiling. His eyes stayed open the entire night, the image of Dero’s face flashing into his mind’s eye every time he closed them for even a moment.

No, it really didn’t matter to Rozu Katar, what happened to him. Because at the end of the day, all he really understood was that he’d lost again.

****

“What’s the point of that?” Janel asked Galeon. She was flying so casually through the air, Galeon thought that even if the jets disappeared, nothing would change.

Galeon huffed, putting in much more effort than either Stele and Janel had to. Several times he tripped up against branches or brambles, and had to restart. And each time, Janel would be just behind him, picking at the berries from the bush as he raised himself up.

“I need the practice,” Galeon replied, jumping over a boulder.

Janel popped a berry into her mouth, chewing as she flew.

“Are you scared of the sky?” Janel asked. Galeon chuckled.

“She must’ve been getting tired of him,” Stele joked. He was so large that the wind curved around him. the three of them travelled through the jungle so quickly that the scenery passed them by.

It was easier to traverse now that Ravenishtan had no dominion over it, which gave them time to think.

“But the sky would never get tired of me! It loves me!” Galeon shouted, taking gasping breaths in between.

“Soon enough, she might not be the only one,” Janel spoke softly, though it still tripped Galeon up. A branch slapped him and leaves got into his eyes. Galeon rubbed his eyes with an elbow, opening his eyes to a tree.

He blasted himself right, barely avoiding it and steadying himself.

“W-what do you mean by that?” Galeon shouted at Janel. Stele looked behind at him like he was dense.

“The way you look at Leane,” Janel teased.

“Because she was scared! I was trying to help!”

“You’re her shining red hero, Galeon,” Stele told him from ahead.

“That should be Isildan! He’s the one who carried her to the camps!” Galeon reasoned. It was becoming increasingly harder to traverse the ground, especially since the ground was ramping upwards.

“He wasn’t the one soothing her,” Janel teased again.

For a moment, Galeon wondered if Raya hadn’t switched minds with the girl. She was being much more abrasive than usual. They argued back and forth, Janel not relenting in the slightest.

Galeon left her to her musings, focusing on the ground as it became more treacherous. He slid alongst the grass, curving upwards as the trees thinned and the rocks and boulders increased.

Galeon passed underneath a pair of large pine trees when he tripped on something again. In front of him was a boulder, so he pushed himself to a stop. He ground to a halt, letting out a sigh and looking behind him.

Curiously, there was nothing there. There were plenty of sticks, grass and pebbles. But… nothing big enough to have caught on Galeon’s legs. Janel floated in the air behind Galeon, looking on curiously.

“Did you see something, Galeon?” she asked him.

“...That shouldn’t have happened,” Galeon said, crouching down near the ground.

“Even you can make mistakes. We’re close, so let’s continue,” Janel said, floating away from him.

Galeon gave one last look at that spot, before continuing towards the others. Stele was standing on his own two feet, looking at a map in his hands.

“Galeon, can you scout up above? I need the lay of the land,” Stele told him as he eyed the parchment.

“Sure, I can.”

He dispersed his jets, reapplying them in a new configuration. The familiar setting of the jets gave him confidence, and Galeon flew up past the thick bark of the trees. The sun was beginning to rise, and it tried to pierce through the thick covering of the trees to reach the ground.

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Galeon burst out of the forest with leaves covering his body. He shook them off and looked around, finding himself much higher above the ground than he thought. The land was curving down and away from him. Opposite to the slope was the rising mountain, whose top Galeon could see easily from his position. He took a quick survey of his surroundings before restraining his bewl once more.

His jets gave out, letting him fall back down. But when Galeon entered the forest again, he was stopped abruptly.

Galeon grunted, but the trap had already been sprung. Ropes tightened around him, and he found himself webbed inside of a thick net. He hung from a branch; hands caught through the holes in the net.

“Janel! Stele! There’s someone here!” Galeon shouted, looking around frantically. No reply came, and Galeon cursed by Seraphas’ name.

In the shade of the trees, he could make out figures jumping between the branches. Burnt yellow light radiated from their bodies, yet their shape remained a mystery. Who is that?

Galeon had no time to wonder. He grabbed the rope taught in his hands, then freed bewl through his hands. The jets burned away the rope, singing his hands in the process. Galeon ripped the opening in the net, falling through and towards the ground again. He pushed himself up and into the sky, before a figure fell on him.

His attacker constricted him, but when Galeon looked at them, he found only a mess of vines staring back. A plant?! He thought in outrage.

Though the vines wrapped around him, Galeon broke through the bindings. He ripped the vines apart with a flex of his arms, floating in the air. The vines fell apart, losing their glow in the process. All around him, shapes moved in the tree tops. They jumped off of branches, using their hands to swing from above.

Galeon flew away from the group before they could overwhelm him. He found Janel and Stele dealing with their own batch of animated plants.

Stele screamed, ripping one of them off of his arms. The thorny plant left cuts all across his arms. It slithered away on the ground like a snake, and Stele pulled out a sword.

“Galeon! What are these things?” he shouted at the approaching Afterburner. Galeon dropped to the ground and burned away another plant. He stomped on the embers, quelling the fire before it spread.

“I don’t know! Leane didn’t mention them!” Galeon shouted back, standing back-to-back with Janel and Stele.

Janel brought out a knife and held it in one hand, warding the plants off with another hand. They gathered all around them, some of them taller than others.

“Seraphas have mercy, they’re the work of a Necromancer,” Janel cursed as she swiped the knife at the nearest one. The viny beast lost its glow soon after, collapsing as Janel retreated.

“If they’re the work of a Necromancer, then he must be nearby!” Stele told the rest of them.

But with every moment that passed, escape seemed harder. The plants were enclosing them, so many of them it baffled the mind.

“Not Necromancer, Necromancers,” Stele corrected himself, bracing his blade. More of the viny monsters gathered above them, and Galeon saw in their hands something familiar.

“Grenades!” he shouted, and the three of them split apart. They flew in opposite directions, and even the Necromancer Automatons seemed confused for a moment. An explosion rocked behind him, and his ears began to ring.

Galeon grabbed one of the larger monsters’ heads in his hands, ripping it off as he flew by. He threw it at a second monster on the branches, then repeated. He flew, trying to avoid their snares, but they only seemed to grow.

A net dropped in front of Galeon, and he was forced to land on the ground. He changed his jets to slide, then crouched under the net as it went past. He looked behind him at the monsters; more of them coming from the tops of the mountain.

The tops of the mountain….

Galeon took off into the air once again, flying over to Janel.

“They’re protecting the ruins! There has to be something important in there!” Galeon told her. She was busy stabbing through a pair of vines, only giving him a nod of acknowledgement.

“Go! Me and Stele will keep them away!” she told him.

Galeon sent a little prayer for Janel and Stele, then took off flying upwards. He passed by trees and fallen trunks, until he finally popped out into a mostly barren climb. He dropped to the ground, landing on the rough soil and looking around.

Where could it be? Galeon asked himself, looking around at what looked to be an empty slope. He squinted, the morning light lending him some aid. Then finally, he saw some foliage. It only stood out to him because of how out of place it looked. From afar it didn’t look anything out of the ordinary, but something about the shape and colour gave it away.

Galeon flew over to the bush, surprised at how large it was up close. He approached carefully, taking light steps towards the bush so as not to trigger any traps. That was, until a hand flew out to grab his face.

Galeon blasted himself back and into the air, breathing heavily. The arm that had reached for him was gloved, wrapped in old rags that draped off at the arm.

“Who are you? And why are you trying to stop us?” Galeon asked the man. Though the statuesque figure did not answer, simply sweeping his cloak aside. He had a number of blades and bombs strapped to his body, though Galeon could see no skin.

“I don’t want to hurt you! If you surrender, I’ll make sure you aren’t hurt!” Galeon offered, but the man stood yet still. He wondered why that was, until something slammed into his back. It was heavy, letting out a metallic twang as it hit his back.

Galeon fell forward, right into the grasp of the man. the cloaked figure raised his other hand, and a mechanical bird landed on top of it. The bird glowed burnt yellow, revealing itself as an automaton.

Galeon wrapped his arms around his attacker’s hand, then raised his legs into the air and freed his bewl. The man lurched forward, put off balance by the move. His bird jumped off of his arm and into the air.

Galeon twisted around, putting the figure under him as they fell. His attacker landed on the ground, skidding across rocks and dirt. But his grasp didn’t waver. Galeon tried to lift off, but the man’s grip was iron tight.

“Let! Go! Of me!” Galeon said, just as they hit a tree. The man’s grasp loosened, and the both of them separated. Without missing a beat, the attacker threw a bomb in Galeon’s direction.

When the Afterburner tried to take into the air, the bomb exploded. Tar covered his legs and his thrust halved. Galeon struggled to stay in the air, when the bird came back down to harry him. It used its metallic talons to scratch at him, causing gashes in his arms. It tried to peck out his ear, but Galeon grabbed both of its wings. As he fell, he ripped them apart with enhanced strength, to the automaton’s cries.

Galeon hit the ground hard, and his bones cracked. He freed his dwindling bewl to heal the wounds on his body, reforging bone and muscle alike. He looked up to his attacker, who was far away.

Galeon tried desperately to rub the tar off of his feet before the man approached. But by some miracle or another, the man looked confused. Galeon didn’t question the good fortune, readying himself for another battle. The cloaked man seemed to finally notice him, and Galeon took a breath.

He raised himself off of the ground, looking at the mysterious figure. Galeon was about to take off into the skies, when the man pulled out a chain. It looked spiked, which made Galeon question how he could even hold it. At the end of the chain was a blade, and the figure began to twirl the chain lightly.

Seraphas damn it, who’s sending them? Not Ravenishtani, not a man, clearly, so what?

“You’re not alive, are you?” Galeon asked the man, out of curiosity. Though he’d expected no response, the figure flinched for only a moment. That hint of emotion was all Galeon needed.

“So, you are! Please, you have to listen!” Galeon began to speak, even as the figure approached with intent to maim, or worse, kill.

“We need to know what’s inside of that stronghold you’re guarding. I promise it’s for a good purpose!” Galeon spoke, yet the figure did not react. He swung the chain horizontally, and Galeon had to duck. There was a tree behind him, and a sizable gash was left in it afterwards.

Galeon put on his sliding configuration, rubbing his neck. Sorry, tree, but I think my neck’s a bit more important than yours.

Galeon swayed to the side, sliding around his attacker.

“We have someone who might help us end this war!” Galeon shouted at the figure. He swung his chain again, leaving more scratches in the ground as Galeon receded. He avoided the slashes, ducking and dodging barely out of their path.

“If we can get whatever is hidden inside those rooms, it might help us! We could finally leave this city! We might not even come back!”

When another slash came for his head, Galeon wondered what he was doing. Clearly his attacker was in no mood to talk. Yet he kept running his mouth. Someday that would end up with him getting it knocked out of his skull.

The man flourished his chain, sending it towards Galeon. He tried to dodge it, but the chain caught on his leg. The spikes on the sides dug into his legs, and he felt himself being lifted into the air.

How strong is he?! Galeon wondered as the figure began to spin him around. The spikes dug into his feet further, and Galeon felt nauseous. He dispersed his jets once more, placing them on his hands. He put his bewl into the jets, forcing himself to a stop.

The cloaked man must’ve noticed too, because he swung Galeon over to the trees and loosened his chain. Galeon flew in the air wildly, hitting the tree and grabbing onto its branches.

His vision still reeling from the twisting, he swallowed back the bile rising in his throat. He shook his head, jumping onto the branch he held and perching there.

The chain. It has to go, Galeon decided, reconfiguring before falling from the tree. The branch he was on was sheered off with another swing of the chain, and Galeon grabbed onto the chain before it receded. The spikes dug into his flesh again, but he gritted through the pain.

Galeon yanked on the chain, getting into a tugging competition with his enemy. But that was exactly what he wanted. He rose into the air and blasted upwards with his legs. His attacker made the mistake of holding on, and they both took off into the air.

“You may be a Necromancer, but you sure can’t fly!” Galeon shouted at the man. He swung the chain around himself, twisting and twisting until the force became unbearable. All throughout, the cloaked man didn’t react. He was slowly climbing up the chain himself, and Galeon wondered what kind of patience did he have to accomplish that.

Galeon let go of the chain, and it flew away from him at blistering speed. The figure went with him, into the thicket of trees. Galeon halted himself in the air, heaving. Too tired to stop himself, he vomited. He wiped his face, sighing and lowering himself to the ground.

“Hope you enjoy the next continent over,” he muttered to himself. He hoped Janel or Stele wouldn’t have to deal with that particular man. Groggily, Galeon dragged himself back towards the bush he’d originally seen. Sweeping them aside, he found a tiny crawlspace, large enough for him to fit through.

He freed his bewl, taking the remains to heal his body. The cuts disappeared, and Galeon braced himself for what he would find inside.