"Brace!" a Hellhound knight shouted as Peltairan troops crashed into the Hellhound's lines. It had only been three days since Lucina was transferred to the Hellhound knights and she was already taking part in battle as a vanguard wizard. She stood alone in a sea of giants on the frontlines since everyone was taller than her so she couldn't see very well and was getting pushed and shoved into by other knights. The ground was slick with mud from the downpour that hit the battlefield the previous night which stained and splattered Lucina's white robe as the fighting raged on.

"Guh! Damned Peltai-!" another knight cursed before having his head caved in by a Peltairan Aurister who was making their way through the Hellhounds. Originally, the Hellhounds were sent to ambush an enemy camp so that Duke Hoffman's Olive Lynx knights wouldn't have to fight as strong of a foe during next week's battle.

"Urldrusk dogs have no place in our lands!" the Aurister shouted as he swung his morning star to bash another enemy and leave a crater through their breastplate. A sickly green mist trailed behind the Aurister as his aura seemed to hate the very air it wafted through. Through the sea of bodies, his gaze found Lucina's, and the man changed course. "A child!? Does your king have no shame?"

"!!!" Lucina tried to run as fear gripped her heart, but there was no way to go amidst the torrent of battle that surrounded her.

"Peace child," the Aurister said while raising his morning star high. "I will send you on your way with one strike; such is the only mercy I can offer you."

"N-No…!" Lucina felt death approach with every step the Aurister took. The green mist reached out toward her.

"Be stil-"

"No!" Acting on instinct and what little training she was given, Lucina pointed her staff at the Aurister and cast a fireball spell. But, her mind was in too much of a panic to properly cast the spell so the fire magic instead exploded out of the staff in a wave of flame that washed over Peltaira's troops.

"!?!" The Aurister's incomprehensible screams mixed and contorted with the roaring flames that engulfed his body, along with the screams of the Peltairan troops that were behind him who also were caught in the blast. The smell of burnt meat assaulted Lucina's nose causing her to gag, but she managed to not vomit this time.

"Yeah!" a Hellhound knight cheered at the sight of the burning enemy and pressed the initiative. "Cut'em down!" The knight stepped in front of Lucina and cleaved the screaming Aurister's head from his shoulders with his great sword. The decapitated head plopped and rolled on the ground before coming to a rest at Lucina's feet. Flesh sizzled as the enemy troops were cooked inside their plate armor and Lucina heard the occasional popping sound of burning fat from the ones who were sliced or beaten open. She stared down at the still burning head and watched as the skin charred and started to peel off the skull.

"Hey?" Someone tried to get Lucina's attention, but her eyes remained fixated on the severed head. One of the eyes fell out of its socket. "Hey,-"

***

"-Lucina!" Timothy excitedly greeted Lucina as the detachment of Hellhounds returned to camp. Forty knights were sent, and only twenty-one made it back. "The Hellhounds never had Wizards before, so I'm glad you were able to adjust so quickly and make it back. It's good to see you back!" his words betrayed the look of disdain in his eyes.

"…" Lucina wanted to return to her tent and start trying to wash off the mud and blood that speckled her robe. "I-I'm sorry, Sir, but I-"

"Sir?" Timothy spoke loudly to draw the attention of all the Hellhounds nearby. "Please, Lucina, we're far too close for that kind of formality! At least call me step-brother." His hands rested on Lucina's shoulders with a weight that refused to let her leave. Timothy's thumbs lightly traced and pressed on Lucina's collarbones with the silent threat to snap them at a moment's notice.

"…M-May I r-return to my t-tent now…s-step-brother?" Lucina's stomach churned with disgust and her vision was starting to blur. Countless eyes observed her, judged her, and bore their way into her back as the other knights watched them.

"L..ina~?" A false whisper on the wind tickled Lucina's ears and seemed to sap her strength with its loving-kindness. The voice sounded familiar and drew Lucina's attention but she couldn't find the source.

"Of course," Timothy said while releasing Lucina from his grip. He watched her sway unconsciously in her daze and asked, "Hey, are you all there?" When she didn't respond, he reached out his hand toward her. "Are you there-"

***

"-kid?"

"Huh?" I snapped out of my daze to find myself sitting around a campfire as the sun was disappearing behind the horizon. I…don't remember how I got back to camp. I should try…to…

"Drink." A man in his late thirties with short brown hair and warm green eyes offered me his canteen. He and three other people were sitting with me beside the fire. Had I had anything to drink today? Did I eat?

"Th-Thank yo-" As I went to accept the drink, the person sitting to my left reached over and snatched it away.

"Are you seriously giving a child alcohol!?" she chastised. I…should focus on them. The woman next to me looked to be in her mid-twenties with dark red hair held in a low ponytail, and her scarlet eyes shimmered in the light of the campfire as she glared at the man.

"I'm trying to help the kid calm down," the man replied in a somber tone as he watched my trembling hands out of the corner of his eye. He took his canteen back from her and added, "Besides, I wouldn't even consider what we have as 'alcohol' with how watered down it is."

"It's still not something you should give a child. Here," she said and handed me the canteen from her belt. "Since I'm not much of a drinker, this is just water."

"A-Ah… Thank you." The water was cool as it went down my parched throat, but I made sure to only drink a little since this was being shared with me.

"You're rather polite for a wizard," the woman commented as she took the canteen back. "I guess you're still too young for them to have turned you all snobby, yet." Even though her words were a jab at me, it sounded more like a joke so it didn't bother me too much.

"I'm…not a wizard," I sheepishly corrected. My staff was laying in the dirt at my feet, and without picking it up I conjured a small flame in my hands to show I could use magic without it.

"…!?" The woman, along with the others, all seemed shocked that I could still use magic. Her expression toward me noticeably softened and she asked, "How… Then why do you have a staff and initiate's robe?"

"Because only wizards are allowed to use magic in the army, the king made me one." It was getting easier for me to talk as the conversation went on and I was able to stop stuttering over my words. My mind also calmed and was able to focus. Something about being with these people was putting me at ease.

"Ha!" a man who was in his early twenties with black hair that rested on his shoulders, and whose dull green eyes watched me with an amused look, laughed to himself. "Our king's sending kids that piss him off to die, now?" The woman next to me gave him a glare, but he ignored her.

"Well, it was the Crown Prince who wanted to send me here, but he used the king to pressure my family into doing it," I corrected. The mood around the campfire was oddly…calm. I thought the Hellhound knights were all bitter criminals, based on what I'd heard about them, but the people here seemed rather normal. "The Crown Prince and I don't get along very well, but we keep seeing each other when I visit the Crown Princess so our relationship's been getting worse over the years until…here I am." I tried to sound upbeat about it, but my fingers wouldn't stop fidgeting with themselves.

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"You're the Felswore's daughter?" the last person who was with us, a man in his early thirties with short curly blonde hair and clear blue eyes, finally spoke up from his daze staring at the fire.

"Yes, I'm Lucina Felswore." I had a bad feeling about him recognizing my na-

"You're the Magister who helped the Crown Princess make those teapots. You were the talk of the capital while I was still there." Oh yeah, the king announced that to everyone when he declared war. Would that overtake the rumors of my legitimacy, eventually? The man brushed himself off and gave a seated bow toward me. "Apologies for the belated introduction, Lady Lucina. I am Jeremy of Mornhold, a former aide to the mayor of the city of Mornhold." His demeanor was professional and his greeting sounded practiced, though that was probably the case since he was a former aide.

"You're that Magister!?" the woman next to me became excited and looked at me with an expression of admiration. "I always wanted to know who you were and meet you ever since Elder Arkin spoke of you during his stays in R'eldrun!"

"You're from R'eldrun?" R'eldrun was the seat of power for the temples and was a massive cathedral located at the base of the mountains that ran through the Sevette duchy. It was a holy place for all the gods that Elder Arkin would frequent, and Magister Lucus would set out on a yearly pilgrimage there during early spring when the first flowers bloomed.

"Yes, I was studying to become an Elder in R'eldrun very halls," the woman gave a sad and bitter reply as her face darkened. But, she quickly recomposed herself and bowed to me while introducing herself, "I am Daughter Elise, faithful follower of our Hearth Mother." Daughter and Son were titles given to Magisters who were directly under an Elder to undergo training and study to become Elders themselves. "Should you ever find yourself hurt, I hope you come find me as I was blessed by our Hearth Mother with earth and a little life magic." She gave me a warm smile that only seemed all the warmer from the gentle glow of the fire.

"But, aren't only wizards allowed to use magic here?"

The man who originally offered me alcohol spoke up to answer, "That implies anyone cares enough about us to reprimand her." He stoked the fire with a long stick before continuing, "You're in the Hellhounds, now, which means no one cares what you do since we're all expected to die, anyway." His explanation was rather blunt, but it made sense; I was in the trash and no one really cares about trash so long as it doesn't smell. "So, since you can use your magic without it, feel free to get rid of that staff, if you want."

"That's right!" Elise jumped back in and looked at me expectantly. "Someone who's blessed by the gods shouldn't sully themselves with profane wizard tools!"

"…" I looked from Elise to the staff at my feet. Whenever I held my staff something would always feel wrong with my body like a churning in my gut and a tingling in the back of my mind that wouldn't go away. It was wrong to exist. Picking up the staff, I gripped it tightly in my hands one last time before throwing it into the campfire. "Wha-!?" When the staff hit the flames, the campfire exploded up to fully engulf the staff. The wood burned to ash in a matter of moments leaving only the crystal that was embedded into the top. The crystal floated in the air as the flames stabbed and burned its surface as if they were trying to pierce it. Then, one of the flames made a crack and the crystal exploded into dust that was eaten by the fire.

"Blessed be!" Elise clasped her hands together and happily chanted as the campfire subsided and returned to normal. A noticeable calm and a soothing warmth descended over us and I felt more at ease; my fingers even stopped trembling.

"…Daughter Elise?" Now that my mind was calmer, I wanted to know more about the people I shared a fire with. "If you're a Daughter of Alm, then why are you in the Hellhounds?"

"…Why, indeed," she replied while letting her hands rest in her lap.

"If it's uncomfortable, you don't have to-"

"No no, it's fine. Also, feel free to just call me Elise," she reassured me before continuing, "While I'm not proud to say it, it's because I was tricked by my fellow, Son Solomon Kor." Her eyes returned to the fire and took on a dull tone as her story unfolded, "When I met him, Solomon was an ambitious man who aimed for the position of Elder. Such ambition would have been fine if it had just stayed as a source of motivation for him, but things started taking a turn for the worse when he became a Son of Alm. Other Sons and Daughters started disappearing whenever they went out on quests and it became quite an embarrassing scandal for us all. Taking the initiative, I started looking into and collecting evidence on what had happened to the lost members…but that was just a trap." Elise bitterly chuckled to herself. "Solomon and a group of his lackeys framed me for everything with the very evidence I had collected and I was excommunicated from the order with the final insult being Solomon pleading to have me sent to the Hellhounds so I may 'amend and repent' for my crimes." The campfire flickered and seemed to reach out to Elise and brush her hair with a gust of warm air. "Still, I am forever grateful that our Hearth Mother still holds me within her grace and believes in my innocence; that alone is enough for me."

"…I'm sorry," was all I could think to say after hearing her tale.

"It's fine, it's fine," Elise patted my head affectionately. "I was able to meet the one blessed by both our Hearth Mother and the Storm Father. I should count myself lucky." She was like a big sister and a smile played across my face. I turned and looked at the three men with excited eyes; I wanted to know my new companions!

"That's quite a look in your eyes," the alcohol man said as he gave a chuckle. "Fine, telling tales around a fire is as good a way to pass the time as any other." He stretched his back and took a swig of his canteen before beginning, "Mine isn't as exciting as Elise's tale. I wasn't betrayed as I never belonged to begin with. I am Peter the Great."

"Isn't 'the Great' a good name?"

"It would be, yes, if it wasn't given with bitter sarcasm," Peter replied while removing his metal gauntlets to rub his wrists. "I am a commoner who was granted aura by Lady Muz. Seeing my talent, the chief of my village offered me to his lord as a potential knight. I was grateful since most knights had to come from noble lines, so a commoner like me being a knight was rare…and I can see why." He snapped his fingers and a heatless blue flame started pouring out of him as his aura activated, "Nobles don't like being outshined by commoners, especially knights. With my aura, I was able to surpass most of them with ease and only a little bit of training. They took their jealousy to the lord who agreed with their views and I was sent here. As I was sent away they gossiped about how Great I was." He bitterly sighed and the flames dissipated as he deactivated his aura. "Not to say I despise all nobles," he added while looking at me. "You're far too young to be receiving my ire, kid." He put his hand on my head and rustled my hair into a mess.

"My name's Lucina!" I defiantly stated and started fixing my hair. It was already hard enough keeping it under control, I didn't need his help messing it up!

"Of course it is, kid," he still refused to use my name. His eyes took on a sadness to them as he muttered bitterly, "Someone the same age as my daughter shouldn't be here."

"…" I guess he could rustle my head, every once in a while.

Jeremy then spoke up, "Yes, such is the whims of nobles." He brushed his hair behind his ear. "While not to be a slight against your family, Lady Lucina, I also am here because of the nobility. As I said earlier, I was once an aide of Mornhold, a town in the Relsh duchy's north. I was assisting the mayor with overseeing the development of a new watermill when I noticed there were differences between the proposed budget and the actual work orders. I brought this up to the mayor, but he only denied it and told me to ignore such a small clerical error." He paused and thought to himself in silence. "If I had done as he asked I would still be in Mornhold, but my conscience got the better of me and I reported the case to the lord, Count Kellson, but as it would turn out the Count was in league with the mayor. This was around the time His Majesty declared this war, so I was sent to the Hellhounds to die while out of their hair." Jeremy sounded neither bitter nor sad about what happened which was weird. He seemed to catch my unasked intent from my staring so he explained, "Before I was sent off, I gave copies of my findings to all the major gossip criers in the county and anyone who would listen as I traveled to the capital. Last I heard, Duke Hoffman himself sent officials to investigate before joining the war so it seems like Count Kellson forgot to include the Duke in on his scheme."

"A truly vindictive statesman," the last man who hadn't introduced himself said.

"It is my policy to return what I am given in kind," Jeremy replied before going back to staring at the campfire.

"…" The last man met my gaze but diverted his attention and ignored me.

"Carl!" Elise chastised.

"Why should she care!?" Carl snapped back. "I'm sure some noble child like her doesn't have time for a bastard like me!" Even without his full story, I knew how Carl ended up here.

"…According to society I'm also a bastard, so I'd like to hear about you if you want." While he was rude, I would never fault him for it knowing what I do about how bastards are treated.

"…Huh?" Carl seemed confused.

"My mother…was raped nine months before my birth," I explained and I watched the disdain and annoyance instantly leave Carl's face. "While my legitimacy was cleared up thanks to Elder Arkin, the Crown Prince and his followers still spread rumors about me throughout high society. I can't attend gatherings unless I'm with the Crown Princess, who believes the truth, but otherwise, I'm an outcast."

"So, that explains Timothy's actions," Jeremy mused.

"He hates you that much?" Carl asked.

"Well, I'm quite the annoying bastard," I joked.

"…Haha!" Carl laughed and slapped his knee. "I'm sorry for being harsh with you, Lucina. You're alright." With Carl's apology, the entire mood of the campfire brightened and everyone started bantering freely. Being in the middle with everyone was oddly comforting. I guess I finally understood how the Azure Hawks could laugh and smile despite being at war if they could return to camp with companions. "Actually, thinking about it," Carl spoke up as the sun finished setting and the sky became dark. "Why don't you join our share tent?"

"Share tent?" I had only been given a small personal tent, but what was a share tent?

"You should!" Elise got excited at the thought. "Since our tents are so small, some people group up to combine their tent materials to form a larger tent; our gear is just tarps, ropes, and wooden rods anyway so it's rather easy. We call doing that a share tent. Us four are already in one but we'd more than welcome you as our fifth."

Jeremy looked over at me and added, "Because of your age, you're smaller than anyone else but your tent is still the same size so we'd be getting a lot more room because it's you." While this was sounding nice…

"You…sleep together?" I looked from Elise to the three men.

"I'm a bastard, not a horny bastard!" Carl retorted my unspoken criticism. "Besides, who would go after a kid whose chest is as flat as a barn door?"

"I'm still growing!" First, my height is smaller than most, and now I have to worry about my chest?

"Don't listen to him, Lucina," Elise said and hugged me close. "For the sake of every occupant, we only sleep in the share tent. And, I'll keep an eye out for you just in case."

"…Thank you for having me." Did people prefer bigger chests like Elise's?

"Well, if that's settled?" Peter said and stood up, "While the night is still young, let's work on incorporating the kid's tent into our share tent."

"Excuse me?" But as we were getting ready to start, a messenger approached our group. "Are you Lucina Felswore?" he asked me.

"Yes," I answered and watched the man fish through a sack he took off his back.

"Ah, I'm Hopper, messenger for the Hellhound knights. If you need letters sent then just leave them with me! I'm more than happy to deliver letters across the kingdom than fight on the front."

"Brave as ever, Hopper," Peter commented.

"It's what keeps me alive." He gave me a nod in greeting before taking a rather fancy-looking letter out of his sack. "And, Lucina Felswore has a letter from our esteemed Crown Princess."

"From Olivia!?" I took the letter and instantly recognized Olivia's handwriting on the outside.

"Take your time," Peter said while giving me a pat on the shoulder.

"Thank you!" I returned to my spot at the campfire and happily opened Olivia's first letter.