Legosia consoled his friend, his prince, at the time of the funeral. He met with him and swore to him.

“Oh, Arneshal. I know you to be in great pain. You have my blade and my shield, should you want it, for whatever you may ask!”

The newly orphaned King rose, assuming his station with confidence and hope.

-From the 5th Chapter of “The Remont of Elneshe”

Once more Galeon stood on the outskirts of the camp. Snow fell without pause, coating the ground in a soft layer of white dust. People ran past him into formation, standing at attention for the man in front of them. Duke Lambre was leading the battle today, and he didn’t so much as glance in Galeon’s direction as he spoke.

A blue beacon was visible above him, holding the attention of the entire army.

Ravenishtani forces were spotted at our perimeter. Our job today is to drive away the Ravenishtanis from gaining a foothold in the region. If we do not, they could swoop in and just as easily take Latren down, and we’d be helpless to prevent it.

Planar division, begin creating a portal as quickly as you can. Cavalry in front, their army might be expecting us and we might need to disperse. Afterburners, I want you scouting ahead and reporting whatever you see.

Now, get to it, soldiers!

The entire army stomped at once, acknowledging the Duke, Once he finished, Lambre raised himself onto a horse as well, leading the army forward. The king didn’t make an appearance, his life being deemed in danger if he were to present himself to the enemy.

Galeon saw Afterburners flying through the air, and he hesitated to join them. If he took to the skies right now, that would be a decision made. There would be no returning. Was he ready to face the battlefield with stained eyes?

“Are you ready?” an old man spoke to him. Galeon looked at the pale figure, a bit surprised at how he looked. Light skinned, with wrinkles creasing all along his face. His hair was tied in a pony tail and he had a long beard going down his chin.

He was perfectly poised with his hands behind his back, looking more like the king’s advisor, than a warrior in the field. He had a certain grace about him, like the snowfall around him barely bothered him.

“I-I… Yeah, I am,” Galeon replied. The old man nodded to him.

“Are you sure, child? What you see out there might be too much for you to handle,” the old man lectured him. Who was he? He spoke like he was old friends with Galeon.

“I am. I can’t look away from it any longer,” Galeon replied.

The old man seemed satisfied, leaving Galeon to himself. He blended into the crowd of soldiers so well Galeon had trouble finding him again. Only his purple robes gave any indication, and even those disappeared amongst the sea of colour that the army wore.

Galeon looked to the skies once more, and let out a suffering breath. He placed jets on his hands and feet, blasting himself into the sky with the rest of his brothers and sisters.

A portal expanded near the ground, reaching far up enough to reach the Afterburners. The other Afterburners went through easily enough, with Galeon being the last one of them to enter. They emerged on the other side along with the rest of the army.

Galeon took one last look at the camps before they opened another portal. A small prayer to Seraphas is all he left to protect Noviselle and Leane.

****

The battle started as soon as they appeared. The Ravenishtanis had brought catapults to the battlefield, and they let loose large boulders as soon as the portal opened. Cries from the frontmost soldiers shook the morale of the entire army, before a blue beacon fired into the air again.

Hold your position men! Planars, reduce the size of the portal! Afterburners squadron 1 and 2, grab your men and head through as fast as you can. Distract the enemy to let the rest of us pass!

Galeon didn’t know if the duke had forgotten to sift his messages for each squadron, or whether he didn’t care, but it didn’t matter to him. he prepared himself for the much smaller portals that appeared, jumping through them to the other side.

Ravenishtan had prepared for them. A swarm of Afterburners came rushing towards them, screaming as they entered battle. Behind Galeon, Phasgorian Afterburners joined the fray as well. They tackled each other out of the skies, breaking off into singular engagements.

Galeon spotted a single Ravenishtani Afterburner. The woman had grenades strapped to her jacket, and she was throwing it at passing Phasgorians. Galeon grabbed her by the hand, just as she was about to throw another. She glared at him, kicking off of his chest.

Freeing herself, she hurled a grenade at him, but Galeon blasted himself leftwards. He took the grenade he’d snuck off her jacket, and threw it back at her. The tar exploded over her jacket, binding her. It wasn’t enough to stop her, as she tried to fly into Galeon. She balled her fists, punching him.

Galeon raised a hand, blocking the attack. He retaliated with his own punch. They traded blow with each other, speeding up their flight. They kept up with each other all through the air, before she finally grabbed him by the shirt. Galeon tried to get rid of her grip, but it stuck.

She finally let go, only for a jet to bloom on Galeon’s chest. Before he could think, Galeon turned his back to the woman. She filled the jet with bewl, and Galeon felt a force pushing him backwards. As he was flying towards her, he elbowed back, knocking her out. The jet disappeared immediately after and Galeon grabbed the woman.

She was knocked unconscious, defenceless. All logic told Galeon to drop her now, and leave her for dead. A just retribution for what Ravenishtan had done to his friends. Eye for an eye.

But seeing her like this, helpless and unknowing, Galeon couldn’t. He hated himself for it, like he was tarnishing the memory of his friends. He tried so hard to wrench a single finger open, but it wouldn’t. Not when it would result in the death.

Instead, he lowered himself to the ground, placing her there. He didn’t know if it would keep her safe, but he knew that he hoped it would. He was surrounded by Ravenishtanis who should pick the Afterburner up.

Galeon then flew up into the sky again. More battles occurred, and Galeon disarmed the Ravenishatnis as best as he could. He knocked them out cold, piling the bodies near the ground every time.

He got disapproving looks from Ninel and Raya. The pair were covered in sweat and torn clothing. But they didn’t interfere with Galeon. It was the only thing he could ask of them.

Galeon flew close to the ground, helping groups of soldiers as he passed over them. Over a hill, he saw wisps of smoke going off. Galeon rushed over to them, but overlooked something in his path.

He crested the hill only to find a net awaiting him.

“Throw it!” he heard the Ravenishtanis speak in their tongue. The net caught onto Galeon, obstructing him. He tried to burn through the material, but something weighed him down. He looked down to find soldiers dragging the net downwards, with all of their force. More of them joined in, and Galeon struggled to escape. Even with his powers, their strength overwhelmed him.

“Grenades!” someone else shouted, and Galeon was pelted with a number of them. they exploded into tar that slowed him down even further. The tar spread down his legs and to his feet, where it covered his jets.

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The net dragged him further down, and Galeon had to make a quick decision. In an instant, he blasted himself downwards. The sudden change knocked a few of the soldiers over, and Galeon barrelled into them.

He held up his reinforced arms, breaking past the group of soldiers. But he couldn’t raise himself off the ground in time. Galeon dropped to the ground, rolling across the snow. He coughed up a bit that had gotten into his mouth, looking back at the soldiers. They were all running towards him.

Crap, he thought. If he couldn’t take on a small group like this, how would he ever take on Afterplanar? Galeon pushed himself onto his feet, dispersing the jets on his body. They would do him no good.

He raised his hands, ready to take on the enemy. The soldiers approached him, but kept their distance. Some of them swung ropes in his hand, while others held spears and swords to swipe at him. they came at him from several angles, and Galeon took cuts through his back and chest.

The enemy only pushed so much. They’re wearing me down, Galeon realized, his bewl running awfully low. He patted at his side for his bewllan, only to realize the pouch had been taken away.

A rope came flying for his head, and Galeon grabbed it out of the air. He yanked the soldier towards him, grabbing him with a single hand. Galeon threw him at another of the soldiers, creating an opening.

He jumped over both of the bodies on the ground, towards the hill he’d been ambushed on. Galeon heaved, outrunning the soldiers and finding the spot once more. The only issue being, all of his bewllan was scattered over the ground.

Galeon cursed, dropping down to his feet to grab the crystals. The snow obscured some of the crystals, and Galeon had to drink them as he got them. He shoved them into his pockets, having no time to pouch them. He’d only gotten back about half of them, when the soldiers came running back up the hill.

Galeon put on his jets as best as he could. He fired off into the skies, avoiding the ropes and grenades they tried to pelt him with. Barely brushing past the volley of projectiles, Galeon took a moment to recoup.

But a moment is all he got, when looking down. Duke Lambre was surrounded on all sides by automatons. The duke didn’t ask for help, even if his Commander field was active. Galeon rushed down to meet him, when the duke gave him an order.

Don’t bother, Galeon! Grab the Afterburners. They’re trying to break past our Backline Devourers!

Galeon spotted elephants at the back lines of the army. Devourers jumped around the trunks of the large beasts, avoided the flurry of arrows that hit at them. Galeon looked around for people he could bring, and saw his squadron hanging around in the air.

Galeon rushed over to them, and they glared at him.

“They’re breaking past the Devourers! We need to help them!” Galeon told them.

“You want us to stop that stampede?! How!” Raya asked in disbelief.

“Follow my lead!” Galeon replied, before shooting towards the animals. He just hoped they followed.

****

Trumpets went up into the air, from the elephants that crushed soldiers. Devourers were the only ones deft enough to avoid them, and they were being picked off by archers. Galeon and the other Afterburners arrived right on time, but they didn’t help the Devourers.

They appeared in front of the animals’ faces, and waved their arms and legs wildly. For a few moments, nothing happened, but the animals began to panic.

They stopped in their tracks. As the Afterburners continued harassing them, some of them went into the air and dropped their passengers. No one dared to fire at the Afterburners, in fear of hitting the elephants and sending them further into a frenzy.

Once Galeon was done, he’d fly over to another one, and repeat the process. By the time they were done, most of the archers had dismounted. The elephants were unmanned and wandered off in various directions, while Galeon took a moment to finally rest on the ground.

An archer was on the ground Galeon had landed on. He looked terrified, backing away slowly on his hands. Galeon would’ve let him go, but a Devourer approached the man with vicious intent. He was about to lunge at the helpless archer with his knife, but Galeon grabbed him.

“What are you doing? He’s right there!” the Devourer asked him.

“He’s helpless!” Galeon told the Devourer.

“For now!” the Devourer said, trying to shake out of Galeon’s grasp. The other archers were either dead or had retreated. Only this one had been unlucky, or lucky, enough to be left.

“We can use him. Maybe he knows what Ravenishtan was planning?” Galeon reasoned.

He hoped that the Devourer would take the excuse. The man wrenched himself out of Galeon’s grasp and kicked the archer across the face. The Ravenishtani dropped unconscious, and the Devourer carried him over his shoulder.

“You better be right,” was the last thing he told Galeon, before running away.

Galeon looked forward to the front end, and wondered how the duke was doing. He didn’t need to wonder for long, however, as a bright blue beacon rose up from the other end of the battlefield. Galeon flew up to get a better view, glad to see Duke Lambre there and surrounded by hallowmancers.

The fight ended quickly after that. The remaining Ravenishtani forces were no match for them, and they receded quickly. Though they tried looking for them, Galeon and the Afterburners didn’t find any of the elephants after the battle.

“They must have taken them back through their portals,” Duke Lambre reasoned when asked.

The other soldiers considered that day a victory. Galeon felt much more pensive on the matter. There was blood and smoke that he was forced to smell. And the smell seemed more pungent than ever before. Or was it that he had finally stopped ignoring it?

He had to wrap a cloth around his mouth to avoid the smell. Galeon floated over the battlefield, helping them scavenge the equipment left on the soldiers’ bodies. Bewllan, weapons, grenades and armour, if they had any.

Galeon hated the work, having avoided it in the past. Looking into those dead, fishlike eyes unnerved him. he made his rounds as quickly as possible, trying to keep the bile down as he worked.

Galeon helped carry carts of wounded soldiers back. Afterburner jets placed on the carriages helped in the task, and they returned to the war camp quickly. Fear had crept into his heart at the thought of the camp being attacked while he was gone. Thankfully, it looked no worse for wear, and Galeon was glad that Afterplanar hadn’t been there.

But there was a small procession at the entrance to the camp. King Selerin stood around a group of his personal guard, and Leane stood alongside him. She was wearing a thick white dress and gloves, crossing her arms and looking straight at Galeon.

Duke Lambre approached the king, speaking to him quietly enough that no one else could hear. Galeon was nearer to the left end of the army, but he could still see Leane looking at him. She glared all the while His Highness spoke. What did I do? He asked himself.

After staring for long enough, she whispered something to the king, bowed to him, and broke off from the main group. None of the hallowmancers followed her as she made her way to Galeon. Soldiers and hallowmancers both parted from each other, as Leane walked closer and closer to him.

When she finally reached, Galeon braced himself.

“Why did you go out there?” she asked him. Her expression showed betrayal, and anger beyond it. He’d never seem the diminutive Leane like that before.

“I’m a hallowmancer, I had to. I couldn’t just avoid it, could I?” Galeon told her.

“You could have asked me! His Highness would do it without another word!”

“And do what? Stand by as people died?” Galeon snapped at her. Leane’s glare intensified.

“And use your powers in a more productive way. Help the people here, instead of killing them out there!” she said, pointing out towards the hills.

“I thought you were done, Leon. Why did you go back?” she asked him. He glanced behind her, at Duke Lambre’s back. Leane followed his eyes to the same location, then turned back to him.

“Did the duke tell you that you had to?” she asked him.

“No, no he didn’t. He just… advised me.”

“And that was enough for you to go back? What about Emile, Leon. What about Isildan?” she asked him.

“I know that!”

“Then why go back?”

Galeon turned away from her. He hadn’t the right answer himself, did he? Maybe he should’ve listened, stuck inside the camps or committed to the battlefield. But he was still dangling on the edges of both, stuck in a reverie.

“I needed to see it myself,” he told her.

“See death for yourself? Please tell me, Galeon. You didn’t do it, did you? You didn’t kill any of them?” Leane asked him.

“I couldn’t. Every time I tried, I just saw… them,” Galeon told her. Leane smiled sadly at him, wrapping him in a hug.

“You’re too kind for these things, Galeon. You don’t have to do this. Let me help you. You’d never have to see another battle,” Leane offered to him.

It sounded so inviting to him. He knew, no matter the impact, just his presence in the battle was enough for people to die. He could give it up forever, hang up his jacket and be free from that life. For a moment he might’ve even considered it, but something urged him not to.

It was the same thing that had stopped him killing all those soldiers. It felt like spitting on the memory of his friends, who’d given their lives for the war. It’d have meant nothing if they didn’t find the end to this war. If both Ravenishtan and Phasgoria ended up destroying each other.

And though Leane’s embrace was warm, Galeon pulled himself out of her grasp. She looked betrayed once again, eyes widening.

“I can’t, Leane. There’s something going on that no one knows about. Something dangerous,” Galeon told her.

Leane’s expression turned to confusion, and then awe again.

“What are you talking about, Leon?” she asked him, slowly. A Commander beacon lit up in front of the army, and a single order went through.

Disperse!

The army broke off into several smaller contingents, each moving to their various parts of the camp. Galeon and Leane stood in the middle of one of these tides of soldiers, who curved around the both of them. Galeon darted his eyes around, before whispering to her.

“The attack on the Ravenishtani General, somebody planned it. All those Devourers haven’t been found since,” he told her in quick breaths.

“W-what? Who would want to do that?” she asked.

“Someone who doesn’t want the war to stop,” Galeon told her.

“You can’t tell anyone, Leane. Come with me, I’ll take you to Noviselle. She can explain all of this better than I can!” he begged her.

Galeon held out a hand for Leane. The woman hesitated for a moment, before placing it in his. Galeon placed jets on his hands and feet, flying off into the air.

Novi will explain everything, he told himself. And then Leane would understand.