“Move, maggots! Otherwise you’ll spend the next hour drenched in mud!” Yna barked as Farin, his new students, Han and I approached.

She stood on a wooden platform that allowed her to see her trainees as they exercised.

I watched in horror as about fifty Rendaro crawled through a muddy pit.

They then emerged from the bit only to crawl over a field of jagged rocks before breaking into a sprint which led into another part of the course.

The course took place on a rather small part of the Cohval base and even though it was a gruelling part of their training, I new it was necessary.

I wondered if maybe I should do some training as well, but-

“What are you all doing back there? If you fall too far behind, the entire group will have to run the course all over again!” Yna yelled.

I looked below and saw that a few Rendaro were indeed lagging behind their teammates.

Part of me wanted to tell Yna to give them a break, but they’d need to be in beyond great shape if they wanted to defend the Expanse.

The slower Rendaro all crawled out of the mud pit eventually only for Yna to scoff.

She then turned to face me and her eyes widened slightly after seeing that my arm was wounded.

She looked at Farin, but he simply shrugged.

“Hey.” I greeted nervously.

“I assume things went well?” She asked before picking me up.

“Eh, it was so-so.” I said as she turned to face the group of Rendaro who all returned from the end of the course. Their breaths were deep and loud and their grey overalls were covered in mud.

One of Yna’s students, Deag, approached from one of the many dark buildings that littered the base.

He stood next to Yna while the last of the Rendaro joined what had become a neat row of men and women.

“Alright, that was absolutely terrible. I’d make you all run again for leaving some men behind, but I think I’ll let you off with a warning.” Yna said and although none of them moved, I could tell that they were all sighing internally.

Deag instructed the Rendaro to head towards the washrooms while Yna led us to where her office was.

She grabbed her jacket, placed it on her shoulder and led everyone towards the base’s northern exit.

Lining the path were many dark buildings within which Rendaro were trained and taught.

Nothing was said as we left the base and we returned to the dark road that connected Coh to Eimval.

I was also supposed to build a road that connected Coh and the Oasis, but the whole Ash Wraith situation took first priority.

We made our way north as the sun slowly sunk into the horizon, but just as we left the base Yna stopped before looking up.

We all looked up as well to find something falling towards us extremely quickly.

I closed my eyes while Yna gently squeezed me and it wasn’t long before a loud explosion tore the air apart.

I opened my eyes to find a tall man, clad in golden armour standing in a hole next to the road.

He pulled his armoured feet out of the holes he had made in the ground before stepping onto the road where he crossed his arms while looking at Yna.

His amour, although brilliantly gold, was rather simple with the only special thing being his helmet which looked like the head of a bird of prey.

In his right hand was a golden Lance which looked a little different than the others I’d seen.

It’s blade was far shorter and wider.

I wondered how many variations Golden Lances came in.

“Hello, Yna.”

“Gess.” Yna said.

“I did not think I would find you here.” Gess said before removing his helmet revealing his rather dark and handsome face.

Like all golden knights, his eyes were golden, but unlike others, his head was completely bald. He had no eyebrows either.

“Yeah, what are you doing here?” Yna asked. Gess turned to face the setting sun.

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“I have been ordered by the Grandmaster to gather information on the entire Dark Expanse.”

“Oh? I’m guessing you’re gonna tell him every detail about everything you find?”

“Yes.”

“I see. Can we ask you a few questions?”

“Go ahead.” Gess said.

“Go on, Katsíki.” Yna said, but I was so focused on the knight’s face that I zoned out.

“Err… the Golden Prince plans on rebuilding Lanceberg and to do that he’s going to harvest resources from the Expanse. Is there any chance his forces will pass us by and let us live peacefully while they do their work?” I asked.

“No. Not only does the prince want to harvest the Dark Expanse’s resources, he also wants to complete his conquest of the region. So no. I do not think that you will be able to continue living as you do once the vanguard arrives. They will demand that you completely submit. You may resist, but that will only make the Grandmaster send more forces.” Gess said and I felt my heart sink.

“I- I see… May I asked another question?”

“Yes.” Gid said while looking at me. His face expressionless and his eyes glowing, but ever so slightly.

“You are not the first knight to come to the Expanse. Why isn’t the Prince sending you guys to wipe us all out and ready Expanse for harvesting?” I asked while wincing from the pain in my stomach.

“Like I said, the Golden Prince wants to conquer this place. Not destroy or outright exterminate the mud crawlers. This is just the assumption of a lowly knight, but I think that once Lanceberg is restored, the Dark Expanse will join Medelona, Agna and Aurenia as a fourth state.” Gess said.

“Do you think the Rendaro will be treated as equals if all that comes to pass?” I asked with a trembling voice.

“Of course not.” Gess said and even though his face hadn’t moved much, I felt an intensity behind his words.

“Oh… OK. Is there a chance you could organize a meeting between us and your superiors?”

“No.”

“Oh… I see. Umm… how many men do you think will be sent here?”

“Mmm… It depends on what happens when the vanguard reaches the Expanse. If they are met with no resistance, and this is an estimation since I am not the grandmaster and therefore cannot make any definitive claims, a few thousand soldiers and hundreds of miners.”

“And if we resist?”

“As many as it takes to squash you.” Gess said with a gentle smile.

“I see… so what will you do now?”

“What will I do now?” He repeated.

Gess rubbed his chin before looking south.

“I still have the South to survey. Once I note everything there, I will return to the capital.”

“And when will the vanguard be sent here?”

“I cannot say for sure. It will be gradual. First they will send a few troops while we wait for next year’s harvest then once everything is ready, the main force will move.”

“I see. Thank you for telling us.” I said but Gess turned to Yna in response.

“No need to thank me at all. I look forward to seeing how you fight back. What little I know of you suggests that…” Gess’s eyes began glowing and an almost ecstatic smile formed on his face.

“Blood will once again run as though it were water.” He said with glowing eyes.

“Ha! Poor Gess, some time has passed and I’ve changed quite a bit. I’m pretty sure this next war will have as few casualties as possible.” Yna said with a grin, but her eyes were glowing as well and for some reason, I didn’t feel safe.

“Hoh? Are you saying that you no longer rampage like you used to?” Gess asked with a stiff expression.

“Nope. Also you speak as though you and I will meet on a future battlefield.”

“Oh, we will. Your skill, the surprisingly fast development of this place and your little goat/boy friend… these are all the recipe for an opponent who will stop at nothing to defend what is theirs. Like… a cornered animal. You will defeat wave after wave of our men and one day… Yna…” Gess leaned in towards Yna’s ear.

“We will perform on a stage of blood and bone where I will kill you.” Gess said before stepping back.

“However, this is goodbye for now. Oh and goodbye to you, Goat boy thing.” He said before walking past us.

I crawled out of Yna’s arms and face planted onto the cold road.

I didn’t care if it hurt.

I just wanted to forget Yna and Gess’s conversation.

“Come on.” Yna said as she picked me up.

She then walked northward with everyone in tow.

“Drop me!” I cried.

“Why?” Yna asked.

“If living means I’ll meet that weird guy again then I’d rather croak!”

Yna giggled as I hung on her shoulder.

“Err… Lady Yna, what Legion did that knight belong to?” Farin asked while walking in front of his traumatized students.

“Stormhawks. They are golden knights who also control the aspect of cold. They use it quite brilliantly. You see, normally when a knight uses light, we heat up, but the Stormhawks can cool themselves, allowing them to use attacks that would normally result in the death of a lesser golden knight.” Yna explained while my eyes lost their light.

I had given up on trying to stomach the stress and so I let it consume my mind.

“I see.” Farin said as we made our way back home in the dead of night.

.

..

Yna placed me on the ground before taking off her clothes.

I tried doing so as well, but my arm was busted and so, after getting undressed, she removed my dirty gown and my under armour before stepping into the stream with me.

She then undid the braids on my head before wishing my hair and while all this was happening, I thought about everything.

It was more than certain at this point that a war was coming and we were at a disadvantage.

We had a single knight and she wasn’t even the strongest one.

We were outnumbered and that’s not mentioning the fact that things like death magic exist.

“Katsíki.” Yna said as she turned to face me.

“Yeah?”

“Can I ask for something I know you’ll deny?”

“Go ahead, I might say yes-“

“Never leave Coh again.”

“Not happening.” I said before swimming away.

“I know exactly what’s gonna happen next. You’re gonna talk about how a leader shouldn’t expose themselves to dangerous situations like I did with the Wraiths, then I’m gonna say that I’m fine and that I’m more than the leader of Coh, then you’re gonna say you know that and that you’re just looking out for me and then I’m gonna insist that you let me continue down this path and… shit this is all too predictable.” I said before turning to face a concerned Yna.

“I can’t just sit here while everyone else works so hard.”

“But you’re working the hardest.” She said.

“Nope. That honour goes to you and the Rendaro. I know that I probably won’t be any use once the real fighting starts to please let me do what I can now.” I said.

Yna nodded before swimming closer to me.

She then wrapped her arms around my head before pulling me into her embrace.

“Alright, Katsíki. Continue as you have, but know this. If you die out there, I will kill everyone and everything until I die.” Yna whispered.

“Wait! Why?” I asked while trying to push Yna away, but she only squeezed me tighter.

“Because I do not care about the Rendaro, the Eimvals or the Oasis. You are the reason why we’re doing all this. Without you, none of this has meaning and so, my little Katsíki, if you are injured and this place burns, I’ll take you somewhere safe without a second thought and if you die…”

Yna’s eyes reached their widest and brightest as the sun slowly sunk into horizon.

“I will destroy everything.”