After the rubble cleared, there was nothing left to fight for. The fighting outside had dried out once Afterburner scouts delivered the news of the city’s fall.

Losses were recouped, wounded soldiers were brought back. Many died on that day and more would suffer after, but the battle had finally come to a close.

****

Dolish exited the Sanasira tunnel system only to be met with talwars at his throat.

“Dolish, what have you done,” the Armon spat out. He was looking for any excuse to execute the man right then and there.

“Your Sharpness I…. I was merely trying to help.”

“Did you cause this? This utter failure of an operation!” The Armon shouted. He was hurt and limping, but had the energy enough to shout at Dolish. It was uncharacteristic of the Armon in the company of so many people.

“Of course not, Your Sharpness. In fact, I tried to prevent it with the help of my men!” Dolish reasoned.

The Armon rubbed his eyebrows. He looked like he would collapse any minute from now. The same could be said of all the soldiers surrounding Dolish and his honour guard. But that meant there was leverage to be gained.

“Your Sharpness. I may not have found the Spear but I did find something that may be of interest to you,” Dolish said.

The Armon leaned against an elephant.

“What is it?”

Dolish expanded his Commander aura and spoke into the Armon’s mind.

There is a hidden cache of gold and riches underneath the city. Closed off now but I remember the location. We could just as easily come back to excavate them!

The Armon’s expression changed from rage to skepticism.

We’ll need to send in some soldiers to investigate soon, then. Perhaps-

Wait, your Sharpness. Are you sure that is the right move? Dolish asked.

What do you mean?

If we were to stay here while the city is ruined, do you think that Phasgoria might get the wrong message? Perhaps they might catch onto the fact there is something still yet to be gained.

The Armon sighed.

This is possibly the first time I’ve been fooled by you, General Venastian. Fine, we will retreat for now. But afterwards, we need to send a small excavation team to dig out this so called ‘cache.’

Dolish hid a smile behind his lips. The soldiers lowered a horse to the Armon and he urged Dolish to join him atop it.

And I suppose I do owe you an apology, General Venastian, the Armon admitted, looking over the rising sun. it fought away the snow, melting it as it rose.

Yennel cut all contact as soon as he was inside the city. I see now he was a traitor and that you were…. Right to be wary of him.

The Armon lay his head back in the saddle. The chirping of birds didn’t cause only him some measure of tiredness. Dolish himself looked back at the city and bade it farewell. Ravenishtan could put this chapter of its history behind itself now.

He would’ve gone to sleep in that same saddle too, but Dolish was rudely interrupted by the sound of singing. Of course, Borne had to be at the centre of it.

He walked along with the tune of a tavern song. Saeda created portals to spread his voice over the people and he clapped his hands so loudly it awoke even the Armon.

His Sharpness was about to say something when he shrugged and placed a pillow over his head instead. Borne continued to sing all the way back to the camp, and the entire receding army joined in with a million songs of their own.

It became such a loud chorus that the camps heard the army arriving well before they saw even the barest glimpse of them.

****

Noviselle collapsed onto the ground near the camps once they finally made it back. And not just her. A hundred more soldiers stopped by near the ground and simply took it in. They dropped their spears and broke rank all because they were tired. It was supposed to be cold, though Novi felt sweat pooling up in her clothes.

She’d lost a few years off her life in this one day. Her hands ached; her legs ached but most of all her voice ached. She thought she’d never speak again after that battle, only to be proven wrong by the appearance of an old friend.

“Leon!” she shouted only to double over into a cough.

“Easy there, Novi,” Galeon said, patting her on the back.

“Never mind that! What is she doing here!” Leane pointed towards their unwanted guest. Leane didn’t bother for a rebuttal.

“Leon dragged me here,” she said.

“Not for long, however,” Galeon added. “If anyone spots Leane, the king will have her head.”

“I say let him,” Noviselle commented.

“I can’t let him,” Galeon replied.

“Galeon… she’s the reason this whole happened. What’s to say she won’t pull something like this again?” Noviselle asked him.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“I’ll be keeping my eye on her, Novi. Don’t you worry. And besides…”

“Besides what?” Noviselle asked.

Galeon tapped his chin in thought. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

Leane and Noviselle didn’t make much conversation in the time Galeon was gone. There was nothing either had to say the other.

Galeon did come back, but running on his legs. In each hand he held a pie, with a bruise on his face as a show of his effort.

He placed a pies on an old box and urged Noviselle closer.

“You’ll want to sit down for this.”

****

By the time the pies were finished, Galeon’s story wasn’t even half done. But Noviselle listened intently to every bit of the tale, only glancing at Leane to confirm some of the more… fantastical details. When he was finished, the Afterburner was out of breath.

“Then…. I’m coming along with you,” Noviselle said. She’d be abandoning her duties as a Countess for this. But before she could even elaborate, Galeon raised a hand.

“Sorry, Novi. I need you here in case something happens. You can keep contact with the king.”

“Wait, are you….”

“I can’t be a soldier if I’m going to do the things I do, Novi…” Galeon told her.

Novi dropped her head. She supposed it was only time before it came to this. But now Noviselle felt as if she was losing another friend.

“I’ll make sure he visits,” Leane told her. Noviselle wanted to be angry at her. She was the whole reason he was leaving.

But she couldn’t bring herself to place that blame.

“You’d have left one way or another, wouldn’t you?” she told Galeon.

“You did say I was never fit for being one,” Galeon chuckled.

Noviselle wrapped him in a hug.

“I’ll miss you, Leon.”

Galeon’s hands wrapped around her as well. He was smiling, but she could feel the shaking in his hands.

Leane stood to the side, under the shade of a tent. Some soldiers eyed her, but most continued on their way inside. Noviselle wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her uniform and sniffled.

“Well, you should get going. The earlier you leave, the harder it’ll be to track you,” Noviselle told them both.

Galeon nodded. He placed his jets on his legs and carried Leane in his arms.

“Antov be with you… both of you.”

They flew into the sunrise and Noviselle wondered when she’d see either of them again.

****

Dero and Rozu limped through the ruined Ravenishtani camp. Dero had to abandon his old clothes for the kind of reaction they generated around the pridful Ravenishtani folk. He’d taken in its place something that seemed oddly fitting for the old man.

Rozu didn’t bother to comment on it. He just made sure Fezashi had been taken care of before following the old man wherever he had been taking him.

“You realize I’m still a prisoner here,” Rozu told him.

“I do. But I do not think they’re ready to resume policing so early,” Dero chuckled.

“It’s not just the guards. Some of the-” Rozu paused as they turned the corner.

He’d been wrong. His Form had betrayed him once again, placing the only person he did not want to see right in front of him.

Dolish Venastian stared back with an awestruck look. He moved quickly and Rozu raised his hands in defence. But he needn’t have bothered.

Because Dolish Venastian, General of the Ravenishtani army, was kneeling on one foot in front of the both of them. It seemed to surprise his honour guard as well, who quickly followed in the General’s footsteps.

“I-I can’t believe it’s you. Where have you been all this time, Vartel?” Dolish asked quickly.

“Come now, cousin. I’m not even enlisted anymore. You can rise,” Dero replied, as if greeting an old friend.

Even though he’d been given permission, Dolish still rose slowly to meet Dero’s gaze. He glanced over at Rozu, however, and with death in his eyes.

“Why is this soldier with you, Vartel?” Dolish asked him.

“Oh, him? He’s just my apprentice, Dolish. You needn’t mind him,” Dero chuckled.

How had Rozu not figured it out. The man barely looked Phasgorian. He was a master combatant and gave out wisdom like a trained philosopher. How could anyone such as that be unknown?

“Your… apprentice?” Dolish repeated.

“A rowdy one. But I see potential, don’t you?” Dero asked.

Dolish scrutinized Rozu. Then he gave him a smirk that looked deadlier than his glare.

“My apologies, Vartel. You would know better than anyone who to pick. Might I invite the both of you into my tent so that we could catch up?” Dolish asked.

Rozu wasn’t a Commander. And if he was, it would be obvious. But at that moment, despite not having the powers, he shouted a single word into Dero’s mind.

1. SAY NO.

And it worked.

“Sorry, cousin. I can’t stay around long. But another time,” Dero told him.

“What? But you’ve been gone so long! What could have you leave so soon?” Dolish asked. The man looked referentially towards his cousin. You’d think it a joke that someone so powerful would debase himself like that.

“His Sharpness wouldn’t much appreciate that, don’t you agree?” Dero asked. Dolish looked surprised, widening his eyes. But then he chuckled softly.

“You never did need hallowmancy such as mine to see through me, Vartel.”

“But you’ve gotten awfully good at hiding it, cousin. I would like to know of what you’ve been up to, especially since I hear you were supposed to be at the capital,” Dero said.

“It was… a rescinded order…”

“I’m sure it was. I’ll be on my way then. My little apprentice is an impatient sort,” Dero said, laughing. Rozu felt he’d go bald from the stress, yet Dero didn’t seem to notice.

A girl came up running to Dolish. She was uniformed and had a clinical look about her and was out of breath. Once she regained her composure, she cleared her throat to speak.

“General, you’re needed with the others in the war room,” she said.

“Ah, thank you, Vaness,” Dolish nodded before turning towards Dero once more. “I have my own obligations, cousin. But I would welcome your wisdom regardless?”

“By the looks of it, you’ve gained enough on your own, Dolish. You don’t need me any longer. But he does.”

“Then…. When will we meet again?”

“When our Forms will it,” Dero replied, patting the man on his shoulder.

Then Dero Shrine, no, Vartel Venastian led Rozu away from the camps more embarrassed while Dolish walked with his assistant back into the thick of the camp, where he would be bombarded with more meetings and responsibilities. They picked a ride on some merchant’s carriage and Rozu cursed himself throughout the whole trip.

****

Many Months Later.

“You take in the world with every breath, and let it go with the next,” Dero guided the young Katar through his meditation. There was a river running beside them, with fish skipping through the water.

“Now…. Tell me all the sounds of nature that you can hear,” Dero asked him.

Rozu took in another breath before he began. He could hear… the sounds of the birds overhead. The villagers dunking their dirty clothes into the river. Children running along the bank. He could hear the wind whistling and rustling the grass, and-

He could hear the loud chewing noises Dero was making right beside his ear.

“You’re eating really loudly,” Rozu said without opening his eyes. His mouth was twitching in annoyance.

“So true. Let me move away a little,” Dero told him. But the further he moved, the louder his chewing became. And the kids that were playing around? They were splashing into the river, disturbing the fishes and making nuisances of themselves!

He was about to say something, when Rozu realized that what he really needed, was to tune those things out. He let the sound of Dero chewing on jerky pass over him. the giggling from the kids and their splashing in the river.

Ignoring those, Rozu could feel himself better able to connect with the natural world around him, right up until a splash of water hit his face.

He opened his eyes and glared at the children. They stopped splashing around and froze as Rozu rose to his full height. He felt like screaming but…. But he knew that would be unfair.

Instead, the young Katar simply sat himself back on the rock and closed his eyes once more. He took a deep breath, and let the world go.

“Very good, Rozu. You may open your eyes,” Dero told him.

He did open them, right to the sight of Dero bribing the children with coins. The little kids scampered off immediately after taking the money.

Rozu watched them leave without a word. Then he turned to Dero and gave him a deep bow. Dero smiled at him, and returned the gesture.

THE END