It was a trick to bolster their spirits he knew. And one that didn’t give fruit.

In the years following, it wasn’t only Arneshal who would fall. Their battle was a ferocious endeavour on both ends. They flung themselves into the fire that burnt the other, hoping to keep the flames going for a while longer.

Only those flames consumed them both in a single blaze. Legosia, he who was gifted with a strong body and mind, saw his end coming months before. In the days following he realized the truth. Legosia realized that he had never been fit to be king. Neither he nor Arneshal. For that, he never regretted his actions.

Arneshal fell ill after being wounded. He passed surrounded only by his wife and no children. Legosia passed on the battlefield, surrounded by the men he’d considered brothers and the women he’d considered sisters. And neither had a kingdom to show for it.

-From the Last Chapter of “The Remont of Elneshe”

Ravenishtani and Phasgorian soldiers alike defended the centre of the city. Arelia issued orders quickly and succinctly. She switched between tongues so easily it made some think she was a native.

When enemy Planars tried to create portals inside, she’d have the entrance barricaded. They’d throw grenades back into the tears, scaring off the soldiers on the other side.

Dolish and the city’s defenses had been at it for so long now. The men were growing more agitated, even with Arelia’s touch on their minds. Grenade blasts and arrows pelted the shields, forcing the formation tighter with every passing moment. But they were not idle.

Arelia’s men had returned the force twice over. Outside lay numerous bodies of Dolish’s men, a testament to the strength of her commands. She saw the army thinning and focused harder on eliminating them. Then they’d have total control of the city.

But Dolish’s dwindling forces belied something else.

Stand down, soldiers. I have captured your General and will not hesitate to execute him! A voice resounded in the heads of the men there. From the distance, Dolish Venastian appeared with Yennel in tow. He was bruised and beaten, but the touch of his spirit was just as Arelia recognized it. Behind him, two of Dolish’s honour guard and a squadron of soldiers marched.

How did they… she grunted in frustration. Was it a trick? Devourers could pull something of the sort. But that would be underestimating the tactical prowess of the General.

Duchess Arelia Mentir. Meet me face to face and I will hand the General over to you, at a cost.

And what if I refuse? Arelia asked him. Dolish picked out a knife and drove it straight through Yennel’s leg. The man screamed in pain and clutched the climb, falling to the ground. Arelia clenched her teeth. She tried hard to soothe the rage that was rising in her army. No, not her army, their army. Half the men there weren’t loyal to her. They were loyal to Yennel.

I do not care if you believe me, Duchess. Your men do. All I ask is for us is a talk, Dolish said.

“Let them through,” Arelia ordered her men. She checked Yennel again once over in her field. But it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. The man was showing so much fear it was intoxicating.

A tear opened up near Arelia and General Venastian stepped inside. Usually, she’d greet high nobility in a dress, but she hadn’t the luxury then. She wore only a deep blue soldier’s uniform, tight fitting and covered in weapons.

Venastian must have noticed the attire, as he glanced towards it.

“Not for Phasgoria or Ravenishtan, is it?”

“We don’t need their symbols any longer. We can make our own,” Arelia replied, displaying her garb.

Behind her, more men poured through the portal. As many spears as there were pointed outside the small encampment, there were just as many pointed inside. Two blue beacons lit up the air, clashing against each other for control. She saw emotions stifle and disappear from the men around her, and knew it to be Venastian’s work.

“You should’ve given them no leverage, Arelia,” Yennel chided, rubbing his leg. A soldier ran over to him to bandage it up.

“What do you want with me?” Arelia asked him.

“Why would you betray your nation?” Dolish asked her.

“Because Phasgoria is not our nation,” Arelia replied. She stepped forward and swords unsheathed around the Duchess.

“We are Elneshi. Sons and daughters of the lost nation of Elneshe.”

“A nation that has been dead for hundreds of years,” Dolish told her with a sneer.

“But does that mean it cannot be brought back to life?” Arelia asked. She stepped back and swept a hand over her men.

“Look here, men working together when they otherwise wouldn’t. Do you know why? Because they too believe in the dream Yennel and I created!

“Do you know how long it took to figure the connection out? No? Of course not. It was years of work I sacrificed just to find it. I hadn’t the access to the ruins so I had to search other texts instead. I spent so much on those rotten tomes just to find a single word or sentence that could help uncover the history of Elneshe. And when I found it out, I was elated.”

“And you kept it to yourself. When that information could’ve led to some common ground between our nations,” Dolish criticized. Arelia looked at him like he was a fool.

“You’ve met both the King and Armon, General Venastian. They’re outside tearing each other apart as we speak. Do you really think there was ever peace to achieve? Or was that just a hope,” Arelia replied.

“That is no excuse.”

Arelia moved up to Yennel and put a hand on his back as he clenched his teeth. The bandage around his leg was stained with blood.

“You wouldn’t understand it at all, but he did,” Arelia said, glancing over at Yennel. “Yennel knew we couldn’t find Elneshe again without suffering attacks from your Armon or King Selerin. The only way to survive was to make sure you hadn’t the power to attack us.”

“Which is why we went after the Spear,” Yennel finished.

“And kept you fighting each other. And we were so close to finding it too! Until you came along and…”

Arelia paused. A sweat ran down her face. A spirit had entered her senses. Eyes widening, she recoiled from ‘Yennel’ and backed away.

Arelia, I’m back. Dolish’s men are hounding me, I need better protection… Yennel said into her mind. He wasn’t in front of her, however. He was situated outside, atop a building and out of view.

Arelia glanced one last time at the faker as he smiled back. Then she issued another order.

Attack!

Soldiers rushed towards General Venastian. Yennel’s double changed back to his true form, that of his Devourer. Arelia cursed herself for her stupidity. Such a cheap trick and she’d fallen for it!

Yennel, the area’s compromised. Bring your Planars for evacuation! She ordered the former General. Soldiers flooded the area between Dolish and Arelia, separating the two beacons of light from each other.

From across the skirmishing group, she could see the General grimacing. She could plainly sense his intentions. Emotions were being manipulated on a grand scale. She fought against his influences. Her touch was subtler, she was sure. But she’d forgotten to account for a simple factor.

Dolish had been in more battles than her. She was simply an archaeologist. He was a general who had spent years leading thousands of soldiers. And though he had a crude touch, it was far enough to cover every man and woman there.

A man came up to Arelia and swiped with a Katar. Arelia dodged to the side and plunged a dagger into his back. He fell on the ground. Another duo tried to entangle her in ropes. Arelia knocked the first out with a punch and stabbed the second with the first’s sword.

A fourth assailant caught her from behind. He jumped onto her back, plunging a dagger into her shoulder. Arelia grabbed him and threw him into his comrades. She plucked the bloody dagger and dropped it to the ground. Though she wasn’t a fighter, even Yennel would’ve rated it an admirable performance.

Arelia began to lose ground, her men falling one by one. They were being hounded from inside and out. She knew the General had to have planned it. A pincer attack with her comrade as bait. Arelia grunted, trying to keep ground.

Only then did Yennel decide to show his face. Behind the Duchess, a line of portals opened up. Yennel stepped through, brandishing a talwar in his hand.

“Lead them through!” Yennel shouted at her. The tears lead to a mountainside beside the city, clear of most enemies.

Arelia felt the shift before she saw it. Dolish’s spirit changed, rage flaring up inside his mind.

“Yennel, leave!” she shouted at him. He looked confused for a moment before running back through. Dolish delivered an order to his soldiers and they focused on piercing through Arelia’s troops.

Soldiers, retreat! She shouted to the ones she could catch. They turned tail, but Dolish wouldn’t have it. He and his Bladeborn concentrated together. They cut down Arelia’s soldier to reach her, and the portal behind which Yennel lay.

Arelia wouldn’t let them. She jumped through those portals and onto the other end.

Close them! She shouted at the other Planars. Immediately the tears cut off, leaving half of her defence to fend for themselves.

She rose from a crouch. Around her were the vestiges of her army. The rest lay down in the city, struggling under their dwindling supply of Commanders.

“That bastard Venastian’s more tenacious than I thought,” Yennel commented.

“That he is,” Arelia sneered. An idea struck her at that moment.

“Yennel, lend me your Planars,” Arelia asked.

“Running this soon? Bold to accept defeat so soon, but really I ca-”

Arelia stared daggers at the man. Yennel let out a guilty smile.

“Not the time for jokes, then. Of course, Duchess. But whatever are we going to do with them?” Yennel asked.

“The automatons are targeting both of us. We need only extract our forces and let them weaken Dolish’s soldiers.”

“Then we swoop in for the kill,” Yennel finished. “Your Form guide you, Duchess.”

“I’ve nothing of the sort,” she replied.

“But a prayer doesn’t hurt, does it?”

She grinned slightly. He was right about that. It had brought men together in the past. She’d use those prayers to crush Dolish Venastian, and the rogue resistance he’d created.

****

Blood obscured the fine details of Rozu’s clothing. A single hand lay limp beside him, hanging on by a sinewy strand of flesh. Dero had knocked out some of Rozu’s teeth, letting it ventilate his mouth a bit better.

But the old man wasn’t in any better shape. A single bloodshot eye was open. The other had been lay on the snowy ground motionless.

“No words, old man?” Rozu asked him.

Rozu threw a punch at the old man. Dero turned his head with the blow. He returned one of his own at the same time. both of them went down to the ground at the same time.

Rozu was running dry on bewl. He had to power through the pain to even stand up.

“Tired… yet?” Rozu taunted.

Dero rose up as if it was barely an inconvenience. He swept aside strands of hair that had fallen out of his ponytail. Then he opened his gouged eye, revealing a fresh ball in its place.

Rozu fell backwards. Dero waited a moment before healing the rest of his wounds. He stretched his wiry arms and wiped his mouth.

“How… How are you still standing!” Rozu shouted at him. Spit flew from his mouth as he threw curse after curse at the old man.

Was the world toying with him? He was at death’s door. Barely able to move an inch. He’d put his everything into hurting the old man and keeping him down. He thought… he’d actually thought he was a match for him.

“Was it… You… never even tried, did you?” Rozu asked him.

“I did, if only to give you a satisfying death. You had me at my wit’s end at some points, young Katar,” Dero admitted.

“Stop it with that…” Rozu clenched his broken arm. He had one last trick to play.

“I mean every word,” Dero told him. He crouched down near Rozu’s depleted form and gave him a pitying look.

“But you’re almost out of bewl. You deserve your last words, soldier,” Dero told him.

But words weren’t what the young Devourer had prepared. He swung his broken hand— attached only by the barest strand of healed flesh— at Dero. But it impacted on cold metal, snapping off of Rozu’s arm.

Blood sprayed over Dero’s cold metallic face. Rozu growled in pain, but he knew this was it. He looked back up at Dero, defeated for the final time.

“Just… kill me already,” he begged of the man. Dero looked more sullen by the outcome than Rozu had.

“I’d… never wanted to do such a thing. Why would you force my hand that way?” Dero asked him.

“Does it matter? You’ve won. For all times. Just take your victory and end me now.”

“And that would be it. The end of Rozu Katar’s tale. Fell many in war and then fell himself? Of all the soldiers I’ve met in my life, I’ve never seen anyone who was aware of such a legacy and accepted it,” Dero replied.

Rozu fell backwards on the snow, head raised to the clouds. He only wished that he could’ve died on a clear night instead.

“I staked everything on this. Lost my position. My squadmates hated me. And I crushed the dreams of the one boy who looked up to me,” Rozu admitted. He had but a few minutes left anyways. Why not spend it talking than silent.

“And you thought them an acceptable consequence of chasing me?” Dero asked. Rozu shrugged.

“I thought the world was a reasonable price… I was wrong.”

“A selfish endeavour.”

Dero stood up from beside Rozu. He didn’t need to confiscate Rozu’s pouch. Most of his bewllan had spilled across the battlefield beforehand. He’d bleed out soon enough.

“Wait…” Rozu said, raising his head. He didn’t know why he even bothered. Might as well tie up all my loose ends.

“Hm?” Dero turned back, raising an eyebrow.

“Your men… they attacked the camps,” Rozu said.

“Involving civilians? Tsk, how dishonourable,” Dero clicked his tongue. He was glowering into the distance.

“There’s a boy there, Fezashi’s his name. Keep him safe, would you?” Rozu asked him. He lay his head down back down and closed his eyes. That was the last of his worries dealt with. Now all he had left was to wait for death to claim him.

Rozu let the strength leave his bones. Stopped shovelling the paltry bewl into his muscles to hold them together.

“No.”

Something hit Rozu’s chest, jerking his eyes awake. He looked down to find a cloth full of glowing crystals.

“What in the Unmaker’s name did you just say?” Rozu asked him.

“No. I refuse to save him,” Dero replied. He gave Rozu a challenging look. “If you want so badly to save the boy… do it yourself.”

“I’m half dead, you idiot.”

“You’ll only be a quarter dead once you drink those in,” Dero reasoned.

“You’re the hero, aren’t you? Your bleeding heart’s going to let a kid die?” Rozu tested.

Dero contemplated for all of a second.

“Yes. I’ll simply move on,” Dero answered. “But you won’t, will you?”

Rozu hit his head back onto the snow. This was the old man’s gambit? It wouldn’t have, shouldn’t have worked.

“This is the only thing I have left, Dero. Can you not just grant the request?”

The old man made a show of stretching his arms.

“This body isn’t what it used to be. You really tired me out, Rozu,” Dero replied.

He’d kill him for this later. He really would. Rozu plunged his hand into the pouch of bewllan and began to drink.

****

Dolish Venastian struggled with keeping his men in line. Yennel and Arelia’s men were departing from the scene of the battle, leaving Dolish to hold down the fort against the automatons. He knew it was a weakening tactic, but he couldn’t very well leave his troops alone.

It was during an intense bout of issuing commands that Dolish felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked behind himself to see Bark staring back.

“Sir, we’re wasting our time on this,” he said.

“Give me a few minutes, Bark. Arelia’s gathering her forces for a counterattack. We need to bolster o-”

“Those duties can be handled by the other Commanders,” Bark replied.

“They don’t know how Arelia will react.”

“But they know enough to keep our current position. Sir, please, you need to head to the ruins, now. The longer we wait, the greater the chances the Spear falls into the wrong hands,” Bark advised him.

Though the General hated abandoning his troops, this was the one time he was forced to agree. With the Weapon on their side, they could turn the tide of battle much faster.

“Grab the others. Tell Saeda to create a portal to the mansion,” Dolish ordered.

A moment later they were all gathered together. Dolish only brought his honour guard. He gave them a worried glance before Saeda finished enclosing the portal. Borne and Bark went through first, then Alef and finally Dolish and Saeda.

Their second jump took them close by Yennel’s encampment atop the mountains. Dolish and his honour guard dropped inside of one of the houses as Saeda planned their next portal. On a whim, Dolish activated his powers.

A blue beacon expanded from his body, enclosed only by the ruins around him. He sifted through the numerous spirits in his vision, and found Yennel’s just at the edge of his field.

Why did you do it, Yennel? Though Dolish could not see the man, he could feel the shift in his spirit. He was surprised, possibly looking around himself.

Where are you hiding, General Venastian? The man replied.

Arelia has her own aspirations. But what do you get out of this? Do you truly think you could keep a nation afloat only on the strength of your army?

Dolish sensed the change in the man’s spirit.

You take me for a fool, don’t you General Venastian? Yennel asked.

I didn’t before. But you proved me wrong, Dolish replied.

Of course you do, heh. I can admit, General, you aren’t wrong to think so. I’m not one of the greatest minds out there, only a simple strategist risen to a high position.

Then why bother reaching for rule over a nation? Dolish asked.

Because I can realize when a gambit is worth playing. There isn’t just a weapon hidden under the city. There is also a cache of gold, large enough to dwarf some entire noble lineages in their entire history. A completely untapped source of wealth ripe for the taking, Yennel told him.

So, it’s for money then? You weren’t satisfied with the lot you were given? Dolish asked.

He felt resignation come from the former General.

No, not really. The gold will help us establish our power base, afterwards everything rests on Arelia’s shoulders.

Do you really trust a Phasgorian so much? Dolish said.

Oh, much more than I ever did the Armon. She’s brilliant, Dolish, when she’s working towards the right tasks. You’d be just as amazed in my position, Yennel replied.

And you’d let this infatuation with her let you commit the most heinous of treason? Betray your own Form? Dolish asked.

Completely true.

Dolish held back his tongue. Nothing would come from that. Saeda nudged him and bobbed her head towards an open portal. Dolish sighed and closed his field. He jumped through the next portal.

A few more hops and they arrived at their destination. Arneshal’s mansion was still left standing even after all this time. Who would have guessed that behind it hid the largest tunnels to the depths.

“The tunnels are going to be full of those Weaves,” Borne commented.

“We’ll use the space to our advantage,” Dolish replied. Borne gave him a flat look.

“We don’t do so well in cramped spaces, Dolish,” Borne said. Even without his powers Dolish could feel the uneasiness stemming off of the man. He knew many an Afteburner who felt the same way about being constricted.

“That’s a sacrifice we will have to make.”

They stepped to the side of the mansion, where a small shack lay. It was a shoddy construction not meant to last the years. Open windows showed a dusty interior. A door hung off its hinges, barely attached. Vines and moss had been creeping up its stones for hundreds of ears, and the paint had chipped off those same stones years ago.

And in front of it was a group of Phasgorians in red.

The two groups locked eyes at the same time. A young man helmed the group, wiry and with shaggy blonde hair. They muttered among themselves. A shorter, dark skinned Phasgorian jumped at them, and Dolish realized he was a Bladeborn.

When they all started to fly, Dolish amended his statement. They were all Bladeborn.

****

Galeon hadn’t expected to meet others at the entrance. He certainly hadn’t expected hallowmancers. But they were too close to quit now. He launched at the closest of the enemy, a spiky brown-haired.

The man looked scared to death, but ducked under Galeon to avoid him. Galeon skidded around on the ground and turned. He switched his jets to sliding and blasted back at him. The soldier swallowed something and Galeon realized too late he was a Devourer. His skin solidified into stone as he raised his hand.

Galeon punched straight into it, bleeding from his knuckles. It pushed the Devourer back some, but did little else. When the man lowered his hand, it looked to be shaking.

“Do you… even want to fight?” Galeon asked him. It barely looked like he wanted to be here.

But the Devourer didn’t understand, because he rushed towards Galeon. They traded blow after blow, but Galeon knew he was better at fighting. He ducked under the Devourer’s swing and placed a palm against his chest. A small jet sprouted from the location and Galeon ignited it.

The Devourer flew back into the side of the mansion. He cracked the stone. Before Galeon could deliver another blow, however, someone else appeared.

“Saeda!” an old man shouted from across the field.

Through a portal a blonde woman came swinging with a blade.

Galeon stepped backwards, tripping over a stone and landing flat on his back. The woman stabbed down with her blade but Galeon blasted himself backwards. He rushed away from the scene, dismissing the jet on the Devourer. He slid over towards the old man in question.

A sharp beard and greying hair belied his true nature. He was fighting off Stele with ease, pushing down the stocky man’s hands. He moved with practiced grace, quickly jabbing and disarming Stele.

Galeon slid over and kicked up, disarming the old man of his knife.

“Switch,” he shouted to Stele as he tried to grapple the old man.

That was his first mistake. He grabbed Galeon off his back and threw him to the ground. Galeon was lucky enough to slide away before the old man grabbed him again. He blasted himself up onto his feet and eyed him for a few seconds.

The eyes of a killer stared back at him.

“Why don’t you ever stop?” Galeon asked him.

“I could ask you the same question, soldier,” he replied. He took on a stance unfamiliar to Galeon.

“Because I’ve got something worthy to fight for,” Galeon replied.

Galeon came in rushing with his fists. Jets on his elbows quickened his blows, but that wasn’t enough. It was as if the old man expected every movement. How many Afterburners had he faced down in the past to accomplish such a thing?

“Dolish!” someone shouted. In between blows, the old man shouted back.

Galeon stopped upon hearing the name. that was a mistake that earned him a bruise across the cheek. He blasted himself backwards to gain distance. He rubbed the side of his face. That was why he was having such trouble. This was Dolish Venastian, wasn’t it?

“You’re the famous Ravenishtani General?” Galeon asked.

“So, you’ve heard my name?”

“Too many times. You’re a warmonger,” Galeon told him.

He came in rushing once again, but grabbed onto General Venastian instead. A jet appeared on the old General’s arm. Dolish raised him to the sky and Galeon kicked off his chest.

The jet on Dolish’s arm ignited, setting his balance off entirely. It made it hard to raise the arm, but not impossible to guide. Galeon used the opportunity to land more blows against the General.

“I don’t know why you’re here, but I won’t let you near the weapon!” Galeon said, palming the old man in the stomach. He brandished his dagger and swung at the General. Dolish let it stab through his hand as he grabbed Galeon’s arm. They locked eyes in the struggle with teeth clenched.

“No one should have this weapon! Not you, the Armon or even King Selerin!” Galeon shouted at him.

Something changed in the old General’s expression then. His eyes widened and he let go of Galeon. The young Afterburner disengaged again but the General stayed where he was.

He dropped his hands to his side.

“Stop!” Dolish ordered, and his honour guard stilled. Galeon was in shock. Why would the General do such a thing?

The other Afterburners looked at him for direction. Galeon raised a hand to stop them from continuing.

“What’s your name?”

“Galeon.” The Afterburner replied.

“What, soldier, do you expect to do with the Spear of Arneshal?” Dolish asked him.

It was the perfect time to strike. The General had his guard down. He’d made so many of them suffer for so long. It… it would’ve been justice to cut him down now. But Galeon couldn’t.

“I want to destroy it.”

Dolish Venastian pulled the dagger out of his still bleeding hand and turned it over. The hole stitched itself together in a few moments as Dolish turned the blade over. He offered it to the young Afterburner.

“In that, we are in agreement,” Dolish said.

Galeon hesitated for the briefest of moments. But he saw no movements hidden by the General. Saw no malice in those eyes. He took the dagger and sheathed it at his side.

“You… want to destroy the Spear too? But what will your Armon think?” Galeon asked.

“His Sharpness does not know I am here. If he were to find out, I suppose I would be executed along with my soldiers,” Dolish told him.

A bald man shouted at Dolish from far away. He still had a hand warding against Ninel. Galeon could barely understand what was being said. Something about rabid dogs.

Dolish calmed him and the rest of the group gathered. Eyes shifted between the two groups, and both stuck to their own sides.

“Forgive me for that. Borne tends to be…. Volatile,” Dolish told him.

“You should keep your dogs on chains,” Ninel said.

Galeon clenched his fist. The General wouldn’t be happy about the insult. But instead of an angered reaction as Galeon expected, the General just whispered quietly into the bald Afterburner’s ears. They exchanged a few words before Dolish turned to Ninel once more.

“He apologizes for his behaviour,” Dolish replied. From the looks of the man, Galeon didn’t quiet believe it. But that was something to worry about later.

“We haven’t the time to waste on more frivolities. If we share the same goal, why not work together?” Dolish offered.

“With you of all people? Might as well tie the noose around my neck myself,” Ninel scoffed.

“I’m not asking for your trust, soldier. Only your assistance. We seek the same goal,” Dolish told him.

“And at any point along the way, if you choose to betray us?” Ninel asked him. Dolish stopped himself.

“We pair up then. One of my men with one of yours,” Dolish told Galeon.

Galeon brought Stele forward and paired him off with Dolish’s Devourer, Alef. Janel went with Saeda, Bark with Ninel and Raya with Borne.

That left Dolish and Galeon with each other. The whole group reluctantly moved forward, as neither side had the time to waste. Galeon could see Ninel fingering the base of his dagger in its sheathe, eyeing towards Borne’s identical twin.

There were a hundred entrances just like the shack around Sanasira, but this was the biggest one they could find according to the map. They filed into the small space of the shack. There was nothing but smooth wide stone underneath their feet.

“Spread out. Try to find an entrance,” Dolish ordered them. Galeon’s troops refused to listen, but he gave them a conceding look. There were shelves of trinkets and cobwebs for them to explore, and little time to explore it all.

“Tell me, soldier, where did you get your information?” Dolish asked as he inspected a chest.

“Investigations of our own, until we found out that the Grand Duchess was behind it all. Her and…” Galeon stopped himself from speaking further.

“Much the same for us. One of our Generals, Yennel, betrayed the Armon for a chance at the Spear. They have a grand plan of establishing their own nation.” Dolish explained it all to the boy as they continued to scrounge around for clues.

Elsewhere in the building, Alef was trying not to stir a beast awake. Why would they pair him up with the largest and meanest one of them? He flinched as the stocky tall Afterburner hefted aside the bookshelves.

He spoke gibberish to Alef that he couldn’t understand.

“He wants you to help him empty the shelves,” Dolish told him from the other side.

The Devourer set to the task immediately. Mostly so the Afterburner wouldn’t crush him.

Dolish wondered for a while if they had the wrong information. They’d been at it for a few minutes with nothing to show for it. But then his foot stepped on uneven ground, and Dolish paused. He crouched down low near the dirty flooring, moving his foot around a line he could feel but not see.

“Find something, General?” Galeon asked him.

He placed a finger on the ground and traced it out. There was a door in the ground. Someone had tried to hide it, but Dolish could clearly trace the outline.

“Borne, Alef, over here,” Dolish brought them over and ordered them to kick through the flooring.

The both of them jumped, kicked and threw their weight against the floor, but it did not give. The Afterburners joined in and placed their jets on the surface. The door would still not give way, even with their combined might.

“Not much use are you people?” Saeda said in Ofnah. None of the others reacted, except Janel.

“And you are?” she replied back perfectly. The two of them stared daggers into each other, but Dolish stepped in between.

“Peace.”

Borne kicked one last time at the surface.

“Hard as a…. well, a rock. Thick too,” Borne said.

Their efforts had amounted to a few small flakes chipped off of the surface. Dolish ran his fingers around the door again. There was no place for a key, nothing that could grant them passage. Either it was only used for exiting, or….

Dolish expanded his Commander field. He caught a few spirits around himself. Straggling soldiers in the distance, his own honour guard and the Phasgorians around him. But more importantly, he found a spirit deep underneath him. One that he Commanded on a whim.

Open.

The slits of the door began to spread underneath them. Dolish moved off of the rocks, waiting until they clicked into place.

“There’s someone down there?” Galeon asked him.

“Not simply anything. A Weave,” Dolish replied. The tunnels were unlit but that was a simple problem. The Afterburners placed jets on their palm and ignited a small flame.

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It illuminated them enough to reveal the steps leading underneath. With bated breath, the group proceeded into the dank tunnels of Sanasira.

****

The walls of the tunnels around them were well-kept, despite their age. Though there were cracks running down them, there was no moss. The deeper they went, the more intricate those tunnels became.

The tunnels widened enough for five people to walk abreast. The ceilings rose up and they had enough room to breathe in the fine air. There were little holes pocked in the sides of walls. Galeon placed his hand over one of them and felt a cool breeze coming in.

Some of the flooring was awkward looking. Other locations were smaller or opened up further. But no matter how big the location got, it never seemed to ease the fear of the Afteburners. They were joined in that feeling of restlessness. Ninel rolled his dagger in his hand while Stele rolled his shoulders around often.

“You should soothe your men’s worries,” Dolish whispered to Galeon as they walked.

“They’re not my men, but…. You’re right,” Galeon replied.

Lacking any other way to ease the pain, he instead pulled out the bewllan from his pouches and let it light up the room. The cool blue light of the crystals illuminated more of the tunnels for them.

He threw a few of them at the others, including Dolish’s honour guard. They spread out further from each other once they had the light to do so. Alef traced his fingers along the rough stone of the walls. His finger snagged on a panel and the stone gave way, falling to the ground.

Alef stopped and shined his bewllan crystal towards hole. Inside of which were small levers and ropes.

“General!” Alef shouted for Dolish, but another sound cut him off.

Stone ground against stone.

“Look out!” Galeon shouted, pushing Dolish down. A stone wall fell between the both of them, cutting them off.

More walls fell between the group. They cut the whole of them down into smaller batches, leaving them unable to even see the other. Galeon heard muffled shouts for his name, but he couldn’t return them.

He banged on the walls, tried to raise them. But all of his attempts ended in vain.

Stop, soldier. I’ve a better way, Dolish spoke into his mind. He paused, leaving Galeon in anticipation.

There are Weaves approaching from the tunnels around us, Dolish informed him.

What do we do? Galeon hissed.

You can’t do anything for your troo- for your friends. Alef found a controlling mechanism. He’s responsible for freeing us. But you have a different mission, Galeon. You need to fly on ahead. Don’t let them trap you too.

Galeon stared out the side of one of the tunnels. A little blue light lit up the end of the tunnel there, where an automaton stood watch. Galeon knew what was about to happen. He jumped into the air and blasted himself forward. He heard a wall falling behind him and pushed himself faster. His bewllan pouch was almost empty.

He reached the automaton just as it pulled another rope. He tackled it to the ground, but the machine was less damaged than him.

“Where’s Leane!” he shouted at the monstrous pale face of the creature. It didn’t reply to him, didn’t answer any of his calls. Galeon placed a jet on its chin and ignited it. With both of his hands, he ripped the head off the automaton.

He rose off of its body, throwing the head aside. More tunnels stretched ahead of the Afterburner. Galeon pulled out his map and shot into the nearest tunnel that would lead him to the centre of these tunnels. The pathways spread out like the roots of a tree, and their centre was where the base would lie.

A panel opened up on the side of the walls during his flight. Galeon was fast enough to avoid most of the arrows, but a single one stuck to his leg. He pulled it out mid flight and continued forward. If he kept triggering traps, that meant he was going the right way.

He flew through a tunnel that kept ramping up and up. The young Afterburner stopped when he realized that it ended with a boulder at the back. He shot back downwards just as the boulder dropped. It chased Galeon down but the Afterburner was too quick. He blasted himself sideways into another tunnel, narrowly avoiding the rocky sphere.

He kept moving despite the exhaustion creeping into his bones. When he looked down at his leg, he realized that the arrow he’d taken hadn’t been so simple. Galeon had healed the cut skin, but he’d missed the poison that entered his vein. He freed more bewl to burn it away, but it would always spread somewhere else.

Galeon dropped to a tunnel beside himself and grunted. Every breath was coming a bit heavier now, and the young Afterburner didn’t have many to spare.

“You should take some rest, Galeon.”

He knew that voice. Galeon turned backwards. And there she was, just as he remembered her. Leane had her brunette hair tied up in a bun, and wore something more worthy for combat. A bandolier of grenades was tied around her chest. A firelance hung from her back, and a talwar at her side.

All around her were those same porcelain faced automatons. The guardians of the tunnels. Who, despite all this time, still looked as pristine as ever. Not a single crack or blemish was visible on their construction.

“Those were meant to kill you. But taking down hallowmancers has always been a bit of a hassle without some of your own. Luckily, I do,” she snapped a finger and the automatons came running for him. Galeon blasted himself backwards. He flew through the air for a bit before switching over to his sliding configuration.

Bewl running low, poison in his veins, the young Afterburner struggled to even keep his eyes open.

****

Dolish stepped carefully through the tunnels. He kept his steps as light as possible. His Commander field would only pop open for a second or two. Just enough time for him to sense the locations of the enemies around him.

The aged General moved along those tunnels with ease. No mere Weave could even hope to catch the man. That left him plenty of time to help the others.

You’re about to run into an ambush, Saeda. Turn back and take the other path.

Bark. Tell Ninel you have to rush through the tunnels. They’re trying to trap you inside.

Dolish kept a bewllan crystal and a map outside at all times. He used it to navigate himself and the others. They were getting closer and closer now to the centre. They need only get a bit closer. Dolish could almost feel the Spear calling to them.

General, they’re surrounding us! Alef shouted at him. He was the furthest away, and Dolish couldn’t quite sense the spirits around the young Devourer. But he didn’t need to. In a moment, several blips showed up on his senses. They came from every direction the tunnels would allow, and they were flooding towards them.

Speed up, men! They’re trying to corner us! Dolish shouted at them.

Dolish started running. His old bones could only carry him so fast, even with bewl. And the Weaves didn’t have such weaknesses. They moved as fast as any Bladeborn in Dolish’s vision, turning corners and aiming straight for him.

There was an intersection up ahead that had two of them closing in. Dolish ran quicker to get ahead of them.

Cease! He ordered the Weaves in a faint hope.

No, the answer came back simultaneously.

Wha- Surprise could wait another time. They stopped in the middle of the junction and Dolish leaped over them. He glanced back one last time to meet those porcelain faces, wondering how they could even reply.

They started to chase him down. More joined in behind them as Dolish crossed more openings in the tunnels. They were fast approaching. The aged General needed to think of a solution before he was ripped limb from limb.

He traced his hands along the wall as he ran. Prayed on his form that something would come up. Then, when he felt the slightest give, he ripped open the panel. A Weave jumped at him just as he cut the ropes in the panel.

A thick stone wall fell on the Weave and bisected it. Dolish backed away as the second half fell in front of him. He heard clawing from the other side of the walls, saw it shaking as the Weaves tried to lift it.

When he looked back at the limp Weave beside his feet, he tested with his Commander field.

There was still a spirit inside. The Weave jumped up and grabbed onto Dolish’s legs. The aged General kicked down on the metal contraptions until its fingers broke. He launched it away from himself with another blow and heaved.

What are you… he asked the monster through his field. But no reply came. And he could sense the spirit no more.

There was only a bit of distance left. Dolish could see the light ahead. He heard it calling once more. He wanted to know what was on the other side. Put the mystery of the Spear to rest finally. The old General stumbled on his feet but kept moving.

****

Rozu ran. He had been running for a while now, only stopping to catch his breath every now and then. Every time he did, he felt himself get a bit lighter, a bit more tired. There was something pulling him back with every step that he took forward. A little voice that whispered ‘stop’ to him.

But he couldn’t. Not in the least because Dero Shrine was there as well. The man was taunting him again, barely taking a breath between his long wide strides.

“If you’re not here to help me, why are you coming along?” Rozu asked, annoyed.

“To observe you,” Dero Shrine.

“Observe my shiny a-”

“Here we are.”

Dero stopped abruptly near the top of a hill. It overlooked the camp, the edges of which looked burnt and blackened. Soldiers ran through the streets cutting down men and women. They watched an Afterburner get impaled in the sky and fall on a tent, flattening it.

“But we were winning…” Rozu muttered. He shook his head and glared at the camps.

“We need to find Fezashi,” Rozu told him.

He jumped down the hill and continued the trek. As soon as they entered they were greeted by an ambush. A soldier jumped out of a tent to stab at Rozu with a spear. He snapped the haft and punched the man out. A pair of them tried to throw a net but Dero grabbed it out of the sky. He threw it aside and took out the two men in a single kick.

A fourth dropped a talwar and tried to run, but Rozu grabbed the net and threw it over him. He slowly walked to the man, who whimpered as he tried to escape.

“Where are your leaders,” Rozu asked the man. he sputtered out words in a language that Rozu could not understand. The Devourer looked over to Dero, who sighed.

“He says they’re at someone called Yennel’s stronghold.”

“Why are they there?”

“Because his leaders wanted to capture relatives of important figures in the camps,” Dero translated.

Rozu kicked the man unconscious and stepped past Dero.

“That’s where the kid will be.”

“Him and the leaders of this operation, yes,” Dero told him.

“Doesn’t matter as long as the kid’s safe….”

“Only him?” Dero asked.

“Shut up.”

The closer they approached to the stronghold, the more discrete the both of them had to become. There were Afterburner patrols swirling around in the air around the stronghold. No matter how strong both Rozu and Dero were, they knew they couldn’t take on an entire squadron at once.

Luckily, they didn’t have to. Halfway to the stronghold, they ducked into an alleyway. A knife pressed against Rozu’s neck and he growled.

“Don’t move,” someone said. Rozu turned around, only to find an aged woman on the other side of the blade.

“Lieutenant General Amarna?” Rozu vaguely recognized the woman.

“Oh, the trouble brat. Of course. And you brought some senile Phasgorian with you?” Amarna asked, sheathing the blade. She looked up and dragged the both of them into her tent. More soldiers lay there, silent and waiting.

Dero gave them all a deep bow and introduced himself.

“Dero Shrine, at your service.”

The Lieutenant General eyed him up and down and squinted.

“You look vaguely familiar,” she said to him.

“You look tired. I assure you I’ve never met you in my life,” Dero explained. The Lieutenant General shook her head.

“It doesn’t really matter. What are the two of you doing here?” she asked him.

“None of your business,” Rozu told her.

“We’re here to rescue a child,” Dero explained instead. Rozu glared at him.

“A child? You?” Amarna asked him.

“…Minister Fersh entrusted me with the brat. I don’t know where he is but… I don’t want to see Fezashi hurt,” Rozu explained. He tried to leave the tent but Amarna stopped him.

“You can’t go by yourself,” Amarna countered. A prideful part of the Devourer wanted to disagree. But this was his last request. The least he could do was make it easy on himself.

“Fine, what do you have in mind.”

****

What the Lieutenant General had in mind turned out to be an all-out attack. Soldiers piled shuffled through tents until they approached close to the castle. In a cruel twist of fate, Rozu was assigned a squadron he knew all too well.

“What are you doing here?” Colonol Aderah asked him. He was bleeding from his side. The old man looked pathetic, only able to walk because of Tanz by his side.

He set the old man down by a crate, giving him a pouch.

“The crystals in there are almost done. See if you can scavenge something, Colonel,” Tanz told him. “Raisho, Sazir. Keep watch for the patrols. We never know where they might look.”

He glanced at Rozu for only a moment before looking down.

“You seem to be doing well, Tanz,” Rozu told him.

“Shut up. I don’t even know why you’re here,” Tanz insulted him, looking him dead in the eye.

“Leave him alone, Tanz. He’s not worth it,” Aderah told the boy.

“Yeah, Tanz. Listen to the old man. You wouldn’t want to end up in the brig like me,” Rozu taunted him.

Tanz stomped over to Rozu but Dero stepped in between them.

“Enough of that. We wouldn’t want to bring the Phasgorians to us, would we?” Dero asked the both of them. he placed a hand on Rozu and Tanz’s chest.

“Seems like they’re already here…” Tanz muttered, pushing the arm down.

“We’re in a dire situation. We need to work together, do we not? For the innocents trapped inside?” Dero asked them. None of them turned to listen to him, however.

“Or, you could say if we work together, the earlier you all could stop seeing each other.”

That seemed to work for them. Aderah stood up from his crate and peered through the curtains of the tent.

“When should we be expecting the others?” Tanz asked.

“She said it would be an obvious sign,” Dero told them. “But now that we’re gathered, I don’t suppose it should take very long at all.”

And it didn’t. Only a few moments later did a blue beacon light up the air in front of the stronghold.

To me, my soldiers! Sounded the words of the Lieutenant General.

Rozu jumped off his seat and ingested iron. All around the tent the other Devourers did the same. They broke through the cloth of the tent and started running towards the massive building that the Phasgorians had taken.

Immediately, they met opposition. But when the Afterburners tried to pick them up, they were unsuccessful. They batted at the Devourers, unable to lift their heavy metal frame and defend against their attacks at the same time. At the base of the stronghold, there were Planars taking the soldiers up to the rooves.

Dero ran alongside Rozu as they neared the walls. But as soon as they approached, more Bladeborn popped out of the windows. They dropped down and Devoured materials of their own.

“You take one, I’ll take the other,” Rozu told the old man. Dero didn’t joke. Instead, they went to their respective battles. The enemy came in swinging with a club. Rozu had rarely fought people who still used the weapons. But when it impacted his hands, they rang stronger than any blade could make them.

The enemy took that opening to kick Rozu towards the stronghold. He fell over the open window and onto the carpeted floors. The Devourer jumped in and tried to swing down, but Rozu kicked off the walls and rolled further inside.

Soldiers behind took notice of Rozu. They were about to rush him at the same time, but Tanz got in their way. Him, Sazir and Raisho kept the others busy while Rozu faced down the Devourer.

Metal wasn’t working against the man. Rozu devoured paper instead and became lighter on his feet. He forced bewl through his body to keep it strengthened,

With how weightless he’d become, Rozu easily dodged the slow heavy swings aimed at him. they crushed paintings and cracked walls. Vases fell over and tables broke when the club landed, but not a single blow hit Rozu. He took an opening between his swings to stab the man through the eye.

Though he had Devoured, his eyes were still soft enough to be damaged. He grabbed onto the bleeding socket and Rozu snatched his club away from him. He picked it up and swung it across the Devourer’s face, knocking him into another room. Rozu let the club clatter to the ground, closed the door and placed a chair against the handle.

Sweet dreams.

He took out his Katar and strut through the halls of the stronghold. Here and there rooms were filled with soldiers fighting against each other. He had to duck once when two Afterburners crashed through one window and out the other.

But there were no children. No wives, or husbands or relatives of influential people. Which made Rozu wonder, where were they hidden?

He tried to ascend the stairs to search further, but a body came rolling down the steps. It was mangled and broken. Rozu pulled his feet back, letting it fall further down to the ground.

Dero stepped over the corpse and onto the stairwell with the young Devourer.

“Shall we?” he asked him.

Rozu brandished his blade and moved on up.

****

He approached slowly the bright room calling him. Dolish only paused once, to look down a hall towards a pile of riches. Gold and silver jewellary, preserved and piled high like a dream. Automatons stood guard in front of the room containing the treasure. If he had a care for such things he might’ve grabbed something. But Dolish’s attention was taken by something else.

He shielded his eyes against the blinding light of the tunnel ahead of him, Once he finally entered, he found himself in the largest room in the underground. All across the room, support pillars, ropes and gears moved in sequences.

A hundred Weaves with a hundred faces ran around the room and adjusted the controls of the entire city. They ran in and out of holes in the wall, some of which were higher than any human could reach. This was it, the heart of the entire city. And it was still beating after all this time, despite the fact that its occupants had long died out.

In the centre of the room, a single automaton looked back at Dolish Venastian. He moved forward to meet the gaze of the robotic creature. It had long wavy hair. A scruff of hair carved of metal adorned its chin, and a solemn expression was cast into its face.

In many ways it was like a marble statue from a famous artist. But it was more alive. It had joints that turned and twisted, and it was looking at Dolish. A cloak was draped over its frame. Then a blue beacon erupted from its body and Dolish felt a voice invade his mind.

You were here before, trespasser. I recognize you. You are… Dolish Venastian, said a voice that reminded Dolish of the Armon. Not because of any similarity, but the weight of the words that creature carried.

Who are you, Dolish asked the Weave.

I am the Spear of Arneshal. His final weapon. It replied, discarding the cloak. Underneath was a mechanical masterpiece. The body of a soldier or athlete in his prime, carved so intricately each metal plating looked like an art piece on its own. Never remaining static, always active.

You have brought to my home a canker that refuses to leave. Draw your blade. Dolish raised his hands in protest, tried to think of the right thing to say, but the automaton aimed for his throat before he could make a noise.

****

Galeon was running out of places to fly. He was running purely off instinct and vague memory as he turned around in the halls. Behind him were the ever approaching steps of the automatons. Them and their leader, Leane.

He turned down another hall, a claw clipping the top of his head. The cut leaked blood, but Galeon didn’t have the bewl to spare. Galeon smelt sheep and cows ahead. It was a confusing stink in the middle of the caves.

He followed the scent until he came to a room with penned away animals. Leane had hidden animals down here? The room had automatons of its own, just like every other area in the tunnels. They tended to the animals, just as surprised to see him as he was them. Chickens, cows and goats, along with a few smaller creatures hidden away in their own enclosures.

Galeon would’ve asked more about them, but he couldn’t stay long when he was still being chased.

He flew past the farm and reached another room where he had to stop. It was a library. Books were piled up high towards the roof. An automaton saw him from the second floor of the library, and jumped down to grab him. Galeon blasted himself aside. He saw his assailants enter the room and placed a jet on one of the bookshelves. He ignited it just as he left out the other entrance, collapsing the shelf.

It fell on the one ahead of it and caused a reaction that set the library into chaos, all for the sake of buying him a few seconds.

He kept flying until he saw the cool blue light he knew as bewllan. Galeon flew into the room. The walls were high here, higher than anywhere else in the cramped tunnels. Without a second to waste, he placed his hands against the lights to drain them. Only he couldn’t feel his pool getting any bigger.

A trap? Galeon cursed.

He tried to fly through one of the other exits, only for an automaton to appear there. Galeon recoiled, blasting himself back into the room. He tried a second exit, but the same thing happened.

On all sides, the Afterburner was cornered.

Leane slowly walked into the room with her retinue of automatons.

Galeon dropped to the ground to meet her, breathing heavily. The blood had gotten into his eye, clouding his vision in red.

“You can stop now, Galeon. You’re beaten,” Leane told him. She looked at him like one might a dying animal. Pityingly.

“…No…”

“What do you mean?”

“Not till my… last breath runs out, Leane,” he slurred the words together.

“You’re that committed to getting the Spear, are you? Why do you even want it?”

“Because no one should have the kind of power it brings… Not even you,” Galeon spat.

He winced, holding a hand to his neck.

“I never wanted it. I just wanted your people to leave my home alone!” Leane shouted back at him.

“Your home?” Galeon asked.

“I was raised here, in these ruins. And then you came along and ruined it all! You wouldn’t stop searching, and now they’ve ripped it apart all in search of a weapon. All so they can continue to wrought more pain around the world!” Leane shouted.

“I…. Leane, I won’t use it against people…”

“I wish I could believe that, Galeon. Kill him,” Leane ordered.

the automatons set into motion. Galeon jetted up to the ceiling, but a pair of arms caught onto him. Another automaton grabbed the first and they tried to pull him down. Galeon freed bewl from his pool, pushed it into his jets and started spinning around in the air. The automatons tried to keep up, but their hands slipped. They were sent flying all over the air and hit the walls. A few of them broke on impact. But they didn’t remain broken for long.

Galeon watched as they reattached their pieces to themselves, healing the damage as if it had never happened. What… What are these things? They’re faster than Weaves should be, hit harder and heal just like… just like a hallowmancer.

But the young Afterburner didn’t have time to ponder long. The automatons grabbed bows and took aim at him. They coated their arrows in the same poison that had afflicted him. Galeon couldn’t take another hit, so he was forced to dodge them. Dropping to the ground wasn’t an option when Leane and the automatons were there, but he was running out of options.

He stopped his jets and fell behind one of the automatons. The others shot arrows that plinked off of him. Galeon pressed a hand to his back and placed a jet there. Then he ignited it, sending him into the others. He knocked out a number of them this way but not for long. Only a moment later they were getting back up.

And Galeon couldn’t rest himself. Leane threw a tar grenade at him and came in slashing. She cut his forearms but Galeon punched her in the gut. He met her eyes and clenched his teeth as she crumpled over.

She held her stomach, vomiting over the ground.

“Leane, I…” he tried to apologize, only to be met with a knife to the foot.

Galeon shouted in pain, blasting himself backwards into the air. He dug the knife out of his foot and smelt the poison on it. No… No! his quickening heart beat did nothing to help him. The concoction spread across his body, locking up his arms and legs. Galeon tried to guide his body to stay in the air, but failed.

He came crashing back down to the ground with a thud. His fingers coiled themselves up, and Galeon lay his face sideways on the floor. Saliva gathered on the ground as the shaking grew worse.

One of the machines kicked Galeon in the stomach. He couldn’t feel it. Another helped up Leane to stand. She hobbled over to him and stared down in disgust.

“You should’ve stopped when I told you to. We could’ve… never mind,” she turned away from him. The automatons grabbed his body, holding his arms behind his back.

Galeon struggled even despite his failing body. He tried to wrench his arms out of the locks every step of the way that the machines tried to drag him.

“I-I didn’t…. do it for you!” Galeon managed to squeeze out.

“Then who did you do it for?” Leane asked.

“M-m… Me! I did it because I sh-should!” Galeon sputtered out.

The word’s kept Leane’s attention. Just enough so when a portal appeared above Galeon, she didn’t expect it.

Hands pulled Galeon through the portal and dropped him near the exit of one of the tunnels. His friends and Dolish’s honour guard had made it. Ninel leaned down beside Galeon and stuck his hand into a pouch of bewllan.

“Take these and heal yourself,” Ninel ordered him before moving up to join the rest of the group.

They formed a shield around Galeon facing outwards. Protected him without a word.

Galeon drank greedily from the bewllan. His pool went from empty to full in a second. He used it carelessly, healing his body of the poison that plagued it. Once it was done, he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

Galeon pushed himself up off of the ground and stood beside the rest of them.

“Who is this woman?” Bark asked him.

“The Daughter of Elneshe,” Galeon replied half-joking. The honour guard didn’t seem to take it as such, glancing between Galeon and Leane.

“She’s the one controlling all of them,” Galeon cleared up the misunderstanding. “She gives them the commands and they follow.”

“And if we take her down…”

“We take the rest of them down,” Galeon finished for him.

The woman in question was rising up herself. She cradled her stomach still, staring daggers into Galeon. The automatons offered her an affectionate hand for support, further confusing the young Afterburner on their existence.

“Why do you keep getting back up?” Leane asked him. He could see tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.

“I can’t stop, Leane. Not when there’s others out there that want to use the Spear,” he told her.

“Why won’t you let him be? Why won’t anyone just leave me alone!” she shouted hysterically.

She pointed a single finger at Galeon.

“Kill them all.”

The automatons threw themselves into the action. Galeon tried to jump but the Planar girl grabbed him.

She made a portal in front of her that led straight to Leane. She said a few words that Galeon vaguely knew as a prayer, and let him through.

Though Galeon ended up on the other side of the portal and near her, it wasn’t enough. Some of the automatons had stuck back and engaged Galeon when he approached.

The first of them clawed at him. Galeon sidestepped the swipe and placed a hand on the automaton’s face. A jet appeared and ripped it right off. He felt a pang of guilt for the action. But to his surprise, the automaton dropped to the floor to search for its head.

Don’t work the same way as they do for us? He realized. That would make this much easier.

The next two automatons appeared together. They tried to strike him together, but he weaved in between them. He placed two jets on each, sending them spinning wildly.

The final one let go of Leane’s hand and grabbed a spear off its back. It stabbed at Galeon from afar. The young Afterburner placed jets on his palms and blasted himself out of the path of the automaton. His leg touched one of the other automatons and an idea popped into his head. Galeon ripped the arms right off the downed machine and placed a jet on one end.

He sent it flying at the spear wielder and watched it impale him right through the chest. He kept the jet ignited and the automaton was pushed back. The two he’d sent flying came back for him, but Galeon blasted himself behind them. He dismissed the jets on his arms and placed his palms on their backs.

New jets sprouted on the surfaces and pushed them forward into the wall as well.

There was only Leane left, and she was sweating. Despite that, she held a blade in her hand. Her automatons crawled towards her when Galeon approached.

“Put the dagger down, Leane,” Galeon urged her.

“Or what?” she asked him.

“Please…” Galeon asked her.

When she didn’t listen, Galeon switched the topics.

“Do you remember what you told me about your life back at the camp?” he asked. She nodded slightly.

“Was any of it true?” he followed up.

“…Yes. Every word of it,” Leane told him.

“When Emile and Isil died, did you have anything to do with it?”

“Only so far as I tried to keep both Phasgoria and Ravenishtan away from Sanasira. If I hadn’t, maybe they’d have lived…” Leane said in a somewhat sorrowful tone.

But despite how she replied, Galeon smiled. He felt glad knowing some part of it had been real.

Whether it was the questions or her exhaustion, the dagger went clattering to the ground.

“Give up,” Leane ordered her machines. Those in range immediately stopped battling.

“Thank you,” Galeon told her.

But to her, it was a loss. Tears welled up in Leane’s eyes. Like she’d lost someone dear to her. It pained Galeon’s heart to see, but he couldn’t stay for long.

****

There were traps. lots of them. But Rozu and Dero had still managed to figure a way to the higher floors. With every floor they climbed, Rozu grew more sure that it was where he would find Fezashi.

He popped out onto the topmost floor to find it covered in blood and lying bodies. And two men at the helm of it all. One of them was a large and imposing figure with muscles the size of someone’s head. He had green glowing eyes that darkened to brown.

The other was a thin sort with a cruel grin on him and jets upon his palms. Rozu raised his Katar— which had seen its fair share of action that day— towards the enemies. But before he could engage, Dero placed a hand on his shoulder.

“We haven’t the time to waste. You go on ahead and bring back Fezashi. I will occupy these two,” he muttered to him.

“Are you sure you ca- oh, of course you can,” Rozu stopped himself. He hated to even think it, but Dero was much more capable than him.

The two of them stepped forward ready to engage. When the first skirmish occurred, Rozu feinted and turned to run towards the other end of the hallway. The Afterburner was about to chase him but Dero grabbed onto him and sent him flailing wildly in the air.

Rozu didn’t spare another glance. He started kicking open doors until he found the kid. But the rooms came back empty over and over. He paused only when he heard screams from another one of the rooms.

Rozu charged through the door without a care and found what he’d been looking for and more than he could handle. A man stood with a knife to Fersh’s throat. The man was hard-looking and unceasing. He didn’t care for the children huddled behind him nor the crying that came from them. There were so many people stuffed into the small room that some had taken to climbing over the others.

But all kept their distance from the man in the middle with the blade.

“Rozu? K-keep away, son!” Fersh told him.

Rozu ignored the orders and stepped forward. But the man holding Fersh hostage pressed the knife deeper into his neck. A thin trail of blood was leaking, forcing Rozu to stop.

Whoever he was, he was shouting at Rozu incessantly.

“I don’t speak your language, idiot,” Rozu insulted. Even if he didn’t understand the words, the meaning must have connected with the man since he threatened Fersh further.

“H-he says he’ll open me up in front of the others if you don’t back away at his command. For every second you waste, he… he’ll drive the knife further into me,” Fersh explained for him.

Rozu grunted in anger. He wanted to jump at the man and rip him to bits. Wanted to end this as quickly as possible. But that wasn’t an option. In the crowd of quivering children, he spotted the young Fezashi.

While all the boys around him were huddling together or shuffling away from the Phasgorian, Fezashi clenched his hands. Rozu’s eyes met with the young boy’s as an understanding passed between them.

Don’t do it, Fezashi… he wanted to scream out loud. But any word from him might set the Phasgorian off. Instead, he put his faith in the kid for once.

“Ask him this, Fersh,” he said. “What kind of monster are you to torture a father in front of his child?”

The man grinned slightly.

“Whichever one you fear the most,” Fersh translated.

“Then it’s good I don’t fear any,” Rozu replied. “Now!”

Fezashi jumped on the Phasgorian’s hand. Rozu rushed forward with his Katar primed. He pulled Fersh away from the man and threw him aside.

Fezashi bit into the man’s arms, eliciting a grunt. The Phasgorian grabbed him with his other hand and tried to stab him, but Rozu put his hand in front of the blade. It pierced through the skin and Rozu tackled the man.

They fell in the middle of the room as the children around them dispersed. Rozu and the Phasgorian pushed against each other as the children watched. Whenever he tried to escape, Rozu pulled him back towards the ground.

His Form gave him some glad tidings for once as a soldier appeared outside the doorway.

“S-sir, how do I help?” he asked in a worried tone.

“Grab them and take them away! I’ll handle the Bladeborn!” he ordered quickly.

Children started to run and the Phasgorian broke out of Rozu’s grasp. But he placed a hand against the man’s stomach and lifted him into the air. Rozu slammed him down so hard onto the floor they broke through to the floor below.

They broke a table on impact and split apart on the ground. Rozu tried to shuffle around in his pouch but his hand went through it instead. The Phasgorian smiled at him and kicked away Rozu’s materials.

His skin turned to metal just as he threw a fist at Rozu. The bones in his arms cracked and his back crashed against the wall. Rozu stood up despite the shaking in his arms. He healed what damage he could before the next attack came. It barely missed his head, caving in the wall beside him.

Rozu jumped up and kicked with both his feet, pushing the Devourer over a couch and onto the floor again. The door outside was open. Rozu could run at any moment. But something stopped him.

If he left now, the Phasgorian would be someone else’s problem. He could’ve dealt with that before maybe. But his legs wouldn’t carry him now. They told him instead to stand his ground.

Rozu listened to those voices. He braced himself and walked to the Phasgorian. He picked the soldier up and punched him in the stomach. He wasn’t metal, not completely. And the part that was still flesh quaked at the blow. Rozu hit him again and again, knowing full well that with each blow his fists were being torn apart.

He punched the Phasgorian across the face and back with the other hand. Their fight took them outside.

The Phasgorian caught Rozu’s next punch, and twisted his arm. Rozu fell to the ground screaming. but he couldn’t rest. Rozu punched the Phasgorian right in between the legs. He grabbed his head and kneed him until he stumbled backwards. Right near a window.

Rozu grabbed the man’s face and pulled him through the glass. They fell half the height of the stronghold onto snow. But that wasn’t enough for the Devourer. Rozu kept hitting blow by blow on the man. even when his metal ran out and his arms went limp, he bloodied his hands on the body.

Until finally someone grabbed his arms. It was Dero.

“You’ve won,” Dero told him.

But he didn’t feel like it. It had happened again. Rozu lost himself in the thrill. He looked down at his hands horrified of what they’d done. It was that same rage that had led him in his life for so long. That had led to him losing what he’d earned as a soldier.

Snow breezed past the two of them as the battle died down. The night was coming to an end.

“I can’t be left alive…” Rozu told Dero.

“Why not?”

Rozu raised his hands for the man to see. They were bloody stumps at this point, with cracked or missing fingers.

“What if I did this to you? a fresh soldier? Or someone else who hadn’t deserved it?” Rozu asked him.

“I am still alive,” Dero reasoned.

But Rozu wouldn’t be swayed.

“I’m too dangerous. Too… volatile,” Rozu told the man.

“A firelance is volatile. So is a grenade. Does that mean we throw them both away and never use them?” Dero asked him.

“…No. But a grenade you can rely on. I… cannot say the same for myself,” Rozu told him.

“Not yet, perhaps. But one day? I believe you could become someone many others turn to,” Dero told him.

Rozu looked up at the old man. Really looked at him for the first time. He’d been offering his hand for so long, and Rozu had batted it away at every opportunity.

“Why offer help at all, Dero? Even after what I’ve done. Why not end me like you planned?” Rozu asked him.

“Even I don’t know all the secrets of the world, Rozu. It could be I’m still wrong for offering you help. Or it could be that this is the beginning of a fruitful friendship. But,” he extended a warm hand to the young Devourer covered in blood, “We’ll never know until we see.”

And Rozu finally took that hand in his.

****

The Spear of Arneshal swiped horizontally and Dolish stepped backwards. The front of his coat was torn but it didn’t cut his skin.

The Spear had turned its Commander field off. Something that baffled the old General to consider. He’d never encountered such a thing in all his years. The sword in its hand was nothing like he’d ever seen before. It moved quicker than any blade Dolish had seen, and had jets behind it adding force to every slash.

And he knew what it was just by those features. Somehow the Spear had confiscated the blade of the Remont Legosia for himself. He changed to a two-handed stance and cleaved down on Dolish. The General pulled out his own blade and blocked the blow.

Sparks flied off from the blades and the Spear grabbed onto his blade with his bare hands. He pulled, yanking it out of the General’s grasp. But Dolish kept his grip tight on the weapon. He kicked the Spear to separate them.

The two of them circled each other with their blades. Dolish had his Commander field blaring. He was so surprised when he sensed… elation?

The Spear struck at him with his weapon again. It moved blindingly fast, giving Dolish barely any time to react. He would’ve thought it weaker for it, but the blade was sturdy and well-built.

He traded more blows with the Spear. But the Bladeborn automaton could afford to grab the blades directly when Dolish could not. Or could it…

No matter what it could do, the Spear was still a machine. And a machine didn’t have the same flexibility.

Dolish continued with testing blows, judging the skill of his enemy. He kept his field active in case any of the other automatons butted into the fight. But the machines stayed at bay.

You’re keeping them from interfering, aren’t you? Dolish asked him.

It’s been so long since I’ve fought anyone. Why would I let them take all of the fun? The Spear taunted him. He’d have called anyone else claiming such a feat a madman.

But the words did provide Dolish with one advantage. He was out of practice.

Dolish switched from the defensive, rushing in to slash at the Spear. He reacted just as any swordsman would, trying to block or parry each hit. The blade’s magical properties were useless when blocking, letting Dolish overwhelm the opponent until an opening finally appeared.

Dolish dropped his sword and grabbed the Spear’s sword arm, pulling it back. He quickly grabbed his knife and jammed it into the shoulder socket. Wires cut loose and the automaton’s arm fell limp beside him. Dolish twisted the arm and pulled it out, along with all the wires inside.

Dolish could see the emotions of the Spear shift to surprise as he took its blade in his own hands. He thought it an exaggeration but the blade really was weightless. He would’ve admired it, but the Spear hadn’t gone down yet.

The General pointed the masterwork at his adversary, beckoning a reply.

I yield, General Venastian, the Spear admitted.

“Spear!” a girl shouted from far away. Dolish lowered his weapon and let the woman run towards the automaton. She hugged it with tears in her eyes, turning to Dolish only to glower at him.

“You hurt him… You…” She was about to run at Dolish. And though she was equipped better than any normal soldier, Dolish felt himself hesitating.

But he had no need. The Spear itself laid an arm on the child, and expanded its Commander field. He must have soothed her, because she moved back to his side.

“Now that is a sight…” Borne said from the same tunnel.

Dolish worried what had happened to them. But he was glad to see Galeon had kept them safe. The rest of them huddled around Dolish, with poking questions about the sword in his hand or the wounded Weave ahead of him.

“All in due time, soldiers. Firstly, who are you both, truly?” Dolish asked them.

I am…

“No, let me,” Leane told the Spear. It nodded and let her take the lead.

“This is the Spear of Arneshal,” she swept a hand towards the automaton behind her. Then she motioned to the rest of the automatons in the chamber.

“They are all collectively the Spear of Arneshal. Spear never told me how, but they’re all… part Soulweaver. Weaves that were imbued with more than just a command. They were given a part of their creator’s spirit when they were made.”

“But then, how have they lasted so long?” Dolish asked her.

“The method of creation gives them a pool of their own. They’re all Bladeborn, just weaker than the originals. And they follow their programming to the letter even if hundreds of years pass,” Leane told them.

And we feel every second that does. King Arneshal never considered the consequences of creating such a weapon. We’ve spent years trapped within these ruins, bound by our orginal commands.

“What were those commands,” Galeon asked.

“To protect Elneshe.”

Vague platitudes of an idealistic leader. And I am the worst among them, being created from the King’s own spirit.

“You’re… King Arneshal?” Dolish spoke in awe. But the Spear raised a hand before anyone could bow.

I am part of the man he was, that is all. Just like every other Weave here, I am still bound to protect Elneshe. All those traps and wards were put in place specifically so no Phasgorian, Ravenishtani or what have you ever entered the city.

Clearly, we still failed, he said, cradling his arm.

For many years I wandered the same exact halls of the city. Memorized every mound of dirt on those mountains around us. I etched the words I’d written when I was whole into the walls of my home, so that I would never forget what I had done.

And then she appeared, he said, moving his face towards Leane.

“My parents brought me to the city to cure me. They’d heard myths about the city and those who dwelled within. They’d spent everything they had to save me, and still couldn’t find a cure.”

Her condition was nothing so severe. I’d read every book on medicine I could find in the city. Arneshal had gathered so many that it wasn’t a difficulty diagnosing the child. For the parents however… I was too late to intervene.

I considered leaving the child. Until I recognized the features of their family. Through some stroke of fate, they were descendants of the Elneshi that once inhabited this city. And there was only one left by then. The last daughter of Elneshe, my Leane.

Leane bit her lower lip trying to stop more tears from flowing.

All these years and we finally had a purpose again! We protected the child as one of our own. Every Weave in here took care of the young lass. We taught her to write and read. Taught her so that she was better educated than most kings in the world. We would’ve been happy to go this way for the rest of her life… until you came along.

Dolish lowered his blade.

“We didn’t know… that the Spear itself was a living weapon,” Dolish admitted.

“We thought someone else was setting up all the traps,” Galeon added.

A simple mistake led to that thief escaping from Sanasira. And then he brought back more of you to here. You bickering Ravenishtanis and Phasgorians. So closely related to my dynasty, and yet so far removed from anyone I would call Elneshi.

Borne scoffed, but Dolish shut him up with a glare.

Our traps were meant to remove you. I stoked your fears when you came close, heightened your despair, dampened your curiosity.

“But none of it was enough to stop you,” Leane said in anger.

It doesn’t matter. Leane is grown. She needs… to see the world.

“What? No!” Leane shouted at the Spear. “Why are you doing this, Spear?” she said, grabbing onto his shoulders.

Our work has been done for centuries, Leane. Now that you are grown, we have nothing else to protect. Sanasira burns above us as we speak.

“We… we can relocate somewhere! Start over. You and the rest of the Weaves!” she bargained.

But the Spear simply grabbed her hands and lowered it. It turned to General Venastian and spoke once more.

I would not ask Leane to do this. You were the one to best me. Will you protect Elneshe in our stead, Dolish Venastian? The Spear asked him.

All eyes fixed on the General. He wanted to accept, but he asked himself a question first. What was Elneshe to him?

Dolish closed his eyes. An ambitious nation that cut down others to raise itself higher. the ancestral link between Ravenishtan and Phasgoria. The prize of a war that had been going for too long.

But most of all, it was knowledge. Elneshe was a lesson for him and all those who came after. A mistake that they were repeating as they spoke. It was conflict between those who should be brothers instead. And Dolish would not let it complete its cycle.

“I accept.”

“Please… Please, General, don’t do this,” Leane begged him. her knuckles went white clutching his uniform.

“Forgive me, child.”

Leane broke down on the ground, where Galeon and his honour guard consoled her. The Spear spared one glance for his daughter before moving to the centre of the room.

There is a command phrase that only you can know. It was given to us by King Arneshal, though no one has used it since our conception. It is the only way we can be freed.

What is the phrase? Dolish asked.

Lerosh Akansi, the Spear replied.

Lerosh Akansi… Dolish repeated. What does it mean?

For the lowly.

Dolish turned the meaning over in his head. He looked towards the ceiling of the building and tried to reach further with his Commander field. But it had its own limits.

Allow me.

Dolish let the Spear in. it grabbed a thin needle out of a socket in its arm and plunged it deep within its hands. As it did, the Spear expanded its own Commander field. But it was different. The blue shade that emanated was lighter in colour, closer to a medium blue than a deep blue.

And it acted differently too. Dolish felt the borders of his field expand further until it enveloped half the are of Sanasira. He could feel every spirit within its borders, and the emotions that dwelled within. He saw an overwhelming tide of exhaustion bigger than anything he’d ever seen before.

“How are you accomplishing this?” Dolish asked the Spear.

“You’ll learn, young Commander, one day.”

Dolish took a deep breath and turned towards those thousands of spirits in his view.

This is Dolish Venastian. Sanasira is about to collapse. I urge you to retreat and from the city at once. I give this freely to all soldiers still left on the field. Leave while you can.

Then Dolish grabbed the spirits of every Weave he could see spread out through the tunnels.

Lerosh Akansi. Identify if you are a Weave.

A few thousand responses returned to Dolish. Had Arneshal really had so many Soulweavers to spare? Now that they were under his command. He realized the power he truly held. He passed his eyes over his honour guard and the Phasgorian Afterburners. Should he tell them? Or should he keep it secret.

Dolish toiled with the decision until that young Afterburner, Galeon, looked at him. He flashed the aged General before soothing that poor girl Leane.

Dolish scoffed. Alef and he were more alike than he thought. How could he have ever considered keeping it? He looked back one last time at the crying girl beside the tunnel entrance.

You should say some last words to your daughter, he told Spear. The machine hesitated for a moment, something he’d never seen a Weave do.

Is that an order? The Spear asked.

It’s a request, Dolish replied.

The Spear nodded, but did not move from his spot.

All Weaves present in Sanasira. Chase away the soldiers still present around Sanasira.

After the sun rises, tear down the supports holding up the tunnels and collapse the entire system. After this, your commands are complete, he ordered them. All except for Arneshal’s Weave.

The Weaves ran from the central room and spread out throughout the tunnel system. It really was a marvel how… alive it all looked.

Finally, after all these years… the Spear collapsed onto the floor. He felt around on the ground for something for a few moments. Upon finding it, the Spear pulled out a book and some jewellery.

****

Galeon was surprised to see it all end so soon. They’d only met the Spear of Arneshal a few moments ago, and already they had to part. But as much as he was dismayed, it wasn’t him who had to bear the brunt of it.

Galeon had to acknowledge that he had taken away someone from Leane. Someone she cared for like a father.

“I’m sorry, Leane. I’ll make it up to you, I promise,” Galeon told her. The young girl glanced at him for a single moment before stuffing her face in her arms again.

The Spear came stomping towards the group once more. Borne said something Galeon thought would’ve been a joke and his brother elbowed him. He handed a book and some gold to Galeon, who kneeled down beside Leane.

“Spear wants you to have these,” Galeon said. She took the book first.

“’The Remont of Elneshe’?” Leane said, looking back at her father.

The machine nodded and urged Galeon to give the second item.

“a bag of jewellery?”

The Spear spoke some words that only she heard. Leane let out a slight smirk, before stifling it between her arms.

“…Thank you, Spear. I-I’ll miss you,” she told him. The girl began to cry again, only consoled by the cold metallic hands of the Spear.

Their embrace couldn’t last forever, though. Dolish Venastian approached them, having tied his new blade to his side.

“We need to leave. The Weaves will be collapsing this building any moment,” Dolish said. The room shook a bit and dust fell from the ceiling, confirming his words.

The rest of them shuffled forward and circled around Dolish and an open map. They talked and argued, all the while Galeon stuck behind. Leane wasn’t making a move to get up. The Spear around her looked deadly still. It slid off of her and to the ground lifeless.

The burnt orange glow around its body had been extinguished. There was no sign of life left in the machine.

“Leane…” Galeon nudged her. “We need to move, Leane.”

“You can go along now, Leon. Your work here is done,” she replied.

“Not until you’re safe,” he replied.

“I’m not leaving. I’m going to stay here with Spear,” she said, grabbing his metal hand. It felt colder than usual.

“You’ll die if you do that,” Galeon told her.

“Don’t you want to see Emile and Isil again sometimes?” she asked him.

Galeon stopped. “Well…. Yes. I do. But that doesn’t mean I can give up.”

“Why not, Leon?”

“Because I have a responsibility. To my powers, my friends, everyone back at Shimmerlake. And if I give up now, how could I ever look at them again?”

Leane looked down at Spear’s face one last time before she let his hand go.

“We need you over here, soldier!” Dolish shouted for him.

Galeon flashed the daughter of Elneshe a smile and she gave him a crooked grin in return. Rocks fell, and everyone ran.

****

Sanasira fell with a deafening crash. Afterburners high up on the mountains could hear the sounds of the city breaking as it happened. Massive holes opened up in the ground to swallow buildings whole. Streets and carriages were consumed. Bodies and soldiers fell. All was taken in by the ground and hidden beneath it.

In the midst of this carnage were Yennel and Arelia. Arelia could not believe it as it happened. She thought it a trick of the former General’s. Some manipulation of his powers he was using as a last ditch attempt to scare them away.

But when the ground cracked open and her entire retinue of Bladeborn fell, she knew the truth. Dolish had the Spear already.

She didn’t fight it at that point. She knew she wasn’t going to survive. But Yennel didn’t take it so easily. He ran screaming like a madman on fire. Ran right into a chasm that opened up to swallow him whole. Arelia looked to the skies to avoid the sight herself.

That’s when a building collapsed on the woman, ending her.