The Remont knew then what he had to do. Enemies surrounded him from all sides, and Legosia had been fending them off near constantly. Though King Arneshal claimed his weapon to be able to defend Elneshe, Legosia did not believe in its power.

He proclaimed to the men of his camp, “Oh, my soldiers, those hallowed and those not. We are to take orders from the King no more, for he has forsaken us in our time of need!”

-From the 9th Chapter of “The Remont of Elneshe”

The change happened in an instant. Only a day had passed since Leane’s betrayal. Galeon had thought he had more time to prepare, but Noviselle crushed that reality underfoot.

He entered into her offices like he did on any other day. But the Countess sat with her head in her hands. He glanced back outside the window, at the army that was gathering near the edge of the camps.

So many of them… and their sheer numbers only grew with size. Why hadn’t anyone told him? How long had they kept the plan hidden from him?

“Novi!” he shouted at her, anger seeping into his words. “W-why is everyone gathering?”

Novi looked up to him with bloodshot eyes. “I… I was going to tell you, I swear. His Highness sent down the order just this morning.”

Galeon moved closer to her desk, placing his hands fist down on them. “What was the order, Novi? What did King Selerin say?”

“We’re marching out to Sanasira to conquer it. He wants to flood the city to find the weapon,” Novi replied, confirming his worst fears.

A pit formed in Galeon’s stomach, but he tried to hold out hope.

“Ravenishtan doesn’t know, do they? Maybe we could grab the Spear before they even realize it!” He tried to argue. Noviselle shook her head slowly.

“They know. Our spies inside of the camp reported them making similar preparations.”

“Then we have to tell the King! It’ll be a massacre out there if both of them collide!” Galeon told her. She glared back at him.

“I know that! But he’s not responding. I-I sent someone to ask for a quick meeting, but he hasn’t answered for hours!” Noviselle told him, raising her voice. By the look of her tussled hair, reddened nose and creased uniform, Galeon thought she’d been running all around the camp since morning.

He clenched his fist, looking behind himself. Noviselle watched him for a few seconds, realization entering her face.

“Galeon, don’t,” she told him.

He spared a glance for Noviselle’s worries. He should’ve really done better by her. But Galeon had a war to stop. He jumped out of the window.

****

“You’ll be leading the charge, my liege?” Duke Lambre asked the King.

Selerin flexed his muscles, straining against the royal robes. Hadn’t he told them to make it looser for him? He’d have to have a word with the tailors again.

“Yes, Clasken. You needn’t worry about my diminutive self,” Selerin told him. Duke Lambre sighed, a sign of his worry.

He and the rest of his dukes and duchesses sat around an oval table in their stronghold. He’d had it brought into his court for this exact meeting. They looked eager and nervous at the same time, and Selerin couldn’t blame them.

He didn’t know himself how long it had been since his last real battle. His old bones had almost forgotten how excited it got him.

“If I may, your Highness, it doesn’t seem especially smart to leave you without protection,” he told him.

“I’ll be surrounded by a veritable force of hallowmancers, Clasken. You’re just worried I won’t have you around to chaperone me,” Selerin kid, pricking the Duke’s sense of pride.

“If you say so, my liege…” Lambre said, sitting back down on his intricately carved seat.

Selerin stood up from his throne, stretching his muscles.

“Now, I believe that is far more than enough. We don’t want our men running off without us, after all. Is there anything else before we finally march out?” Selerin asked them.

“No, I believe…” Count Alusses spoke, but stopped before finishing. He stared behind the King, who waited for him to speak up.

“What is it?” King Selerin asked him.

“Your favourite Afterburner’s here,” Duke Lambre chuckled from his seat. King Selerin turned his gaze back to his window, seeing a single flying hallowmancer in the middle.

Galeon floated with his eyes fixed in a stare, boring them into Selerin. Selerin tightened his expression into a glare, waving a hand for his guards.

“Bring him inside,” Selerin ordered them.

The room cleared out in an instant. The only people left were duke Lambre, Duchess Arelia, and the king himself. When— finally— Galeon walked through the doors of his court, he didn’t even bow.

“What possessed you to interrupt my meeting, young Afterburner?” Selerin asked Galeon. He closed his fists behind himself.

If Galeon was intimidated, he didn’t let it show on his face.

“Your Highness… Why are you leading us to death?” Galeon spoke. The king sneered, but kept quiet.

“Don’t take that tone with your King, Afterburner,” Arelia spat the words with venom.

King Selerin looked between her and Lambre, who nodded.

“Let the boy speak his mind, Selerin. He might have something important to say.”

“Why do you think I’m leading them to death, Young Galeon,” Selerin asked him, stepping off of the raised platform where his throne resided. He walked towards Galeon, despite how unstable the boy seemed.

“Ravenishtan is gathering their army as well. Novi- Countess Noviselle wanted to tell you of it, but you haven’t given her an answer!” Galeon said. Selerin circled around him, looking at him from every angle. The quiet in the room stretched along as the King considered his next move.

“I know of that, which is why I put Lady Noviselle’s concerns as a low priority, young Afterburner.”

“But then why haven’t you stopped! Do you want to cause a bloody battle?” Galeon asked him. He knew he’d overstepped the line when the King stopped and stood.

“I….I’m sorry, your Highness.”

“I understand your concerns all too well, Galeon. But if we don’t attack now, Latren might be taken from us again. That would only prolong the conflict further, solving nothing,” the King told him.

He placed a hand on Galeon’s shoulder. “If not today, then many more would die later, young Afterburner. You know this.”

But he swept the hand aside. If this was what the King considered wisdom, then Galeon would never gain it.

“Leane’s a traitor, your Highness.”

“What?” The King proclaimed, confused but not surprised. “Is that why she hadn’t returned last night?...”

“Why are you telling this only now, Afterburner Galeon?” Arelia called out to him from behind. He gave her a knowing glare, turning back to the King.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Who has she been working for? Ravenishtan? Or that dual hallowmancer your countess informed me of?” Selerin asked him.

“I don’t know, your highness. She… didn’t speak like she liked either of them. She had her own forces, automatons that looked like humans.”

“A Necromancers constructs?”

But she’s not the only traitor me and Lady Noviselle found,” Galeon said, turning fully towards Duchess Arelia.

“You found another? And you still didn’t tell the King? Were you even thinking of what could happen to Noviselle?” Arelia asked him. “She could be in danger this very moment.”

Galeon thought it terrible acting. She was playing dumb to avoid suspicion. But that wouldn’t help her here. He opened his mouth to speak, but something stopped him. No… the way Arelia had spoken… it had been intentional.

The gleam in her eyes, the way she was poised. She knew she wasn’t in trouble. But she couldn’t threaten him, so how….

Novi. Galeon looked at the Duchess anew. Noviselle was in trouble, right this moment. She… How could she? Anger bloomed on his face, but he controlled himself.

“Speak up, young Afterburner. Who else is a traitor to our cause?” King Selerin asked.

“I…. I don’t know, your Highness. They were cloaked, so I couldn’t get a good look at their face.”

Arelia nodded. Galeon wanted to scream and rush out of the room that very moment. Spear Arelia and be done with this farce. But Noviselle was still in trouble. She was the only one he had left here. He wouldn’t lose her too, like he’d lost the others.

Please, Seraphas, help me keep this one…

“Tell your countess she should be ready for battle, Galeon. Better to be in a battlefield surrounded by friends than in a camp with assassins,” Selerin told him.

“I’ll take her under my command,” Arelia offered. Galeon would’ve countered, if only someone hadn’t been quicker.

“No, you know your mission, Duchess. Lambre, can I trust the Countess to you instead?” Selerin asked.

“Consider it done, my liege.”

But she won’t be any safer out there! Galeon wanted to protest, but the words fell soundless in his throat.

“We move out now. Tell them to prepare my steed,” the King issued a final order to his guards, who went running out of the room. And that was it. Galeon had failed to convince the King, failed to mention Arelia’s involvement. Failed to keep his friends in the past, and failed them today.

It was too much for the Afterburner. He couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe properly at that exact moment. All he could think of were the mountains of bodies that would be made today. His pacifism had done nothing to shrink the pile.

King Selerin moved past his shivering form, sparing him only a pitying glance.

“You’re excused from the battle, young Afterburner,” King Selerin told him. Duke Lambre didn’t seem to agree with the decision, snorting in response.

The room emptied, and Galeon was escorted to the front of the stronghold. Duke Lambre and Duchess Arelia moved ahead of him. Beside them, Count Alusses, Baroness Elesen, and other nobles walked to the edge of the camp.

Galeon stood, watching them go by as hallowmancers flew overhead. So many of them, like a swarm of red fireflies in midday.

The stomp of boots and smell of steel in the air sickened him down to the stomach. Men, women and children prayed for their families, who left them with sobs and smiles. All around him, they moved towards death, and he was the only one standing behind.

Galeon didn’t even know when he’d started moving. Travelling down roads carved by machine hands, he ended up in the path of other Afterburners.

He spotted Stele by his large frame, ambling towards him. when the larger man noticed, he spoke back.

“Galeon, you have everything rea-”

“Don’t go. Please. Stay here. Don’t leave me. You don’t have to fight….” He told the man, tears welling up in his eyes. He couldn’t focus the words into anything coherent, repeating the same few phrases as he clutched tighter onto Stele.

The stocky Afterburner struggled to remove Galeon’s hands from his collar.

“Don’t go. Please. Please…”

Why couldn’t he put them right? Make them see what he was talking about!

“What’s wrong with you!” Stele shouted. Raya, Ninel and Janel all surrounded the manic Galeon, ripping him away forcefully.

He felt to the snow-covered ground, looking up to find more pitying gazes.

“Get some rest. You’re not fit to fight,” Ninel told him curtly.

“Raya, bring someone over to carry him?” Janel asked the taller woman. She rushed off towards the camp, while Stele adjusted his uniform.

“Poor man… What a time to break,” Stele said in a sympathetic tone.

Raya returned with a man in tow, and a water sac in her hand.

“Drink some of this. It’ll make you feel better,” Raya offered the sac to the quiet Galeon, who swatted it away.

“I’ll carry you home, son. Don’t worry,” the man said, lowering a hand down to the quiet Afterburner.

He growled at them, a madness in his eyes.

“It’s not me! You’re all mad. Every single one of you!” he shouted at them.

They stepped backwards, recoiling from his voice.

“What will it take from me to make you understand? Why don’t you change? Think for even a moment what you’re doing out there! You’re throwing yourselves at each other, dying for nothing!”

Arelia was out there, executing her next move even as they spoke. She was using the war to her own benefit. And no one, no one, had figured it out!

“Is it that easy for you to murder each other?” he asked them, to no reply. The Afterburners couldn’t speak a single word as long as Galeon went on. He spoke till he wore his voice hoarse, stopping only for gasping breaths in between.

And by the time he was done, he had hoped even a single one of them would turn back. That they would realize the senselessness of the slaughter. But no one did.

They looked amidst each other and back at Galeon, then turned around towards the greater army. In the cacophony of noise that was their preparation, Galeon’s voice had been drowned out. He’d spent so long on trying to convince them, all to no avail.

It broke him. Galeon sank down to his knees one more time. For the final time, he hoped.

It was pointless, he admitted to himself. There had been no point in sparing Ravenishtanis. No point in keeping the attitude he paraded around on camp. No point in preserving the sanctity of life when life itself destroyed.

His work had been for naught. And as laid there on the ground, watching as portals opened and soldiers walked by, Galeon asked himself a simple question. What can I do?

Then a woman stepped by. Her boots crunched the snow. She looked just as tired and worn out as Galeon, staring wistfully at the disappearing army. Noviselle held out a hand to Galeon, pulling him up and towards the back of a tent.

For a long time, he just watched the army leave. A few Planars stuck back, and no one else. By the time they were done, he finally spoke again.

“I’m leaving,” Galeon told her.

“Where would you go?” she asked.

“…”

“What was it all for, Novi?” Galeon asked.

“What?”

“I should’ve listened to you from the start. Taken everything more seriously, instead of being a fool.”

“Come on, Leon. We can still do something. Arelia’s gone; we could finally tell the King wh-”

“And have him turn his entire army around? Let Ravenishtan invade the city and steal the Spear instead? King Selerin wouldn’t do that,” Galeon shut down her suggestion.

“There are still options! What if we reach the city first?” Noviselle offered to him. “You could find the Spear yourself, end the battle before anyone else!”

She tried to coax him out, but Galeon didn’t take the bait.

“It’s worthless. They’d still be dying by the thousands. It’s all worthless…” Galeon said. He should’ve been done with tears yet more came out then.

“Everything I believed was worthless, wasn’t it?” he asked her, raising his eyes towards her. He wanted her to tell him. Confirm that he shouldn’t have tried in the first place. It was the last thread that held him towards the camp.

All she had to do was snip it. Set him free.

“No!” Noviselle shouted.

“I was wrong, Leon. I was so, so wrong about you. I’m sorry,” she apologized.

“What are you talking about?”

“It wasn’t useless. Emile and Isil didn’t die because you failed to stop them, Leon. They died because of the war. Because they were soldiers who took on a dangerous mission!” She told him.

“They would’ve lived had I helped them!” Galeon countered.

“But you couldn’t! You gave the Ravenishanis the benefit of the doubt. You thought they could be better. It wasn’t your fault they didn’t choose to be!” Noviselle stood up, more emphatic and resolute than he’d ever seen her.

“But what good did it do, Novi? Innnocents still died. Nothing changed because of the way I acted!”

“It did! Every time you gave a child a ride, played a prank on the chefs, helped someone! You proved that your powers weren’t meant just for war! You helped them, Galeon. People smiled around you, were comfortable around you, all because of the way you spoke! You gave them relief when all they saw were soldiers and blood!

“They looked up to you. I looked up to you!” Noviselle pointed a finger at her chest. “And I hate that you lost it! I want that hallowmancer back!”

She stood, trembling as she finished. But Galeon couldn’t find it within himself to change.

“That person failed his friends more times than he should have. Even if I wanted to, Novi, how do I know it wouldn’t end the same way?”

“You don’t, you fool. But shouldn’t you hope for it anyway?” She smiled back at him.

Galeon chuckled.

“Really, even you don’t know?”

He didn’t know why, but he broke out into a laughing fit. Noviselle joined him, and the both of them shouted their laughs into the sky until their mouths ran dry. When they were done, she offered him the water sac he’d thrown away before, and Galeon drank it down greedily.

He threw it aside, jumped onto his feet and activated his hallowmancy. Galeon placed jets on his arms and legs. They formed there, appearing out of thin air and expanding to cover his palms and soles. The jets felt new, but worn. Like an old trick he’d forgotten he could do.

Galeon didn’t know if he could be the same person again. Not after what had happened. But he’d try his best for Noviselle. For everyone around him.

“Thank you, Novi,” Galeon told her quietly. She nodded and smiled. Then the Countess brought out a map for him.

“You’ll need this if you’re going out there,” she told him. “It’s for he tunnels of Sanasira. If you can find them, you should be able to search for the Spear.”

“You’re not going to tell me what to do with it?” he asked her.

Noviselle glanced at the Planars who were readying for departure.

“I trust you to figure it out,” Noviselle told him. She gave him a hug, and Galeon slowly wrapped his arms around to return it.

“Stay safe, airbrain,” she told him.

“You too, Lady Noviselle.”

Noviselle stepped back from Galeon, giving him space to jump off. He crouched down low, his heart beating quietly in his chest. Looking up, the skies stretched on for an infinite expanse. Galeon took a breath, breathing in the infinity.

And then he jumped into the air, taking flight smoother than a bird ever could. He didn’t know what awaited him on the battlefield. Only that whatever he saw wouldn’t stop him. He might be slowed, in need of support or help. But Galeon would rise up again afterwards, with a smile on his face as he took on whatever they threw at him.