Anda felt a surge of pride welling up within him as Tasha stared out into a sunlit New Eimval from the foot of the high office.

But that pride shrunk ever so slightly as Tasha made a pained expression.

“He built all of this?” She asked.

“Not entirely. We did this. Every hand you see down there helped on some way to make this place a home for the Ia.” Anda said with a raised chin, but Tasha lowered her head.

“What will you do when this place burns?”

“What?” Anda asked as the warm feeling in his chest faded even further.

“You speak of a coming war. Surely you cannot expect it to end without loss of some kind.” She said without meeting Anda’s eyes.

“Mmm… I- I know people will die. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try and fight back. It doesn’t mean that I’m going to let these walls fall easily. My question is where does all your pessimism come from? Should we not try to enjoy our lives while we can? Should we not try and protect those we care for?” Anda asked.

Tasha looked at his saddened face and sighed.

“Silly boy, I did not insinuate any of that. I just-“

“You’re wondering why we’re even bothering?” Anda asked crossed arms.

“No. Maybe… I- part of me wishes that we could hide forever.” Tasha said as she turned away.

“But we can’t. Now, I’ve shown you what I wanted to and I hope you understood our motivations. But we must get back to work, I’ll have a few scholars sent to Iana soon. Group them with Lady Yna’s people.” Anda said as he accompanied Tasha down the stairs.

“Let me guess, insubordination or incompetence on my part will be severely punished.” Tasha said with a chuckle, but Anda’s face stiffened in response.

“S-say, what do you suppose will happen to me if I… if I do something wrong?” She asked Anda led her into lower Eimval.

“Mmm… lord Katsíki is a forgiving being, so if your transgression is minor, I don’t think you’d be punished too harshly.” Anda said as he led Tasha to the third level.

“And if I do something really bad?” Tasha asked as she came to a stop.

Anda’s eyes widened upon noticing that Tasha looked rather strange. Her eyes were wide and her breaths were frantic.

“A-are you alright?” Anda asked but Tasha firmly placed her hand on Anda’s shoulder. Her thin fingers squeezed it as hard as they could.

“Just tell me.”

“Lord Katsíki himself will do nothing. Lady Yna, on the other hand… she will show you that death… is a mercy.” Anda said with trembling eyes. His mind flashed back to the scenes from the foot if Coh.

Fortunately his resolve far outweighed his fear so he managed to stay composed.

Tasha nodded bore unhanding Anda.

“I see. Well, then I will try my hardest to ensure that my new masters are pleased.”

Anda nodded before leading her back into Iana.

They then returned to the hub where Yna’s men could be seen reading various things.

One of Tasha’s men ran up to her. His body wasn’t even covered in armour and he held in his hands a simple spear.

“Is… is the knight gone?” He asked.

“Yes. Where are the ministers?” Tasha asked.

“In their homes, most likely.”

“I see. Send them to my office. I’d like to acquaint them with Anda.”

“Oh- Alright!” The guard said before rushing off.

Tasha sighed before facing Anda.

“Could you ask one of them to follow us to the bays where they’ll stay?” She asked while nodded towards one of Yna’s men.

Anda nodded before walking up to the one closest to him.

She seemed deeply invested in whatever she was reading. Not only that, she read while sitting perfectly upright.

“Ahem! Hello, could you please follow me for a moment?” He asked, prompting the expressionless woman to look at him.

She stood up and Anda led her to Tasha who led them out of the hub and back onto Iana’s streets.

They then made their way to a large building which like all the others was made from large slabs which were meticulously cut and carved into the shape of a building.

They entered it and saw that it was relatively empty with only a few pieces of wooden furniture here and there.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“I will have some blankets and other necessities brought here. You will be served breakfast and dinner here. Follow me to the communal bath.” Tasha said before leading Anda and Yna’s soldier toward the eastern side of Iana.

There they entered another large building only this one was filled with steam.

Littering the building’s expansive floor were baths of varying size which were filled with water and people.

“Where does this water come from?” Anda asked.

“From a stream to the north.” Tasha said.

Anda nodded and realized that almost everyone in the Expanse relied on one water source and if it was tarnished or tampered with, everyone would suffer.

He’d need to inform Katsíki of this.

Tasha led Anda and the soldier back to the hub before taking Anda back to her office were several old Rendaro were seated.

“Greetings, gentlemen.” She said as she took her seat in by the table. Anda sat next to her and was immediately subjected to many glares.

The various old men didn’t even bother hiding their animosity towards him.

“I am sure you have been made aware of the situation we find ourselves in. Feel free to share your thoughts.” Tasha said. Her hair messily fell onto the table, but she didn’t try fixing it.

“I would feel much for comfortable if he wasn’t here.”

“I agree.”

Such things were said by the old men as Tasha pinched the bridge of her nose.

“He is not going anywhere. Either you speak now or remain silent. I am sure it will change very little in the end.” She said and Anda watched as the animosity in the eyes of the men was replaced with dread.

He wanted to give them encouraging words, but he was an outsider and so he kept quite.

They’d need to learn how to live with their new reality.

“What do you plan on doing?” One of the men asked.

“What do you mean?” Tasha asked.

“I mean to say that not all is lost.” The man said with crossed arms, but this prompted the other old men to let out various hums.

Anda’s eyes narrowed as Tasha raised her head.

“I… I am beyond tired. We will have to discuss everything later. Return tomorrow, I need to consider… everything.” Tasha said while dismissively waving his hand.

The old men then left the office leaving Anda and Tasha in a silence.

Tasha loudly sighed before looking into Anda’s eyes.

“Is this how stressful every day will be from now on?” She asked.

“It depends on the day.” Anda said with a weak smile.

Tasha opened her mouth to respond, but a low growl from her stomach filled the air prompting her to weakly smile as well.

“Would you like to join me for lunch?” She asked, but Anda shook his head.

“I would like to, but I have duties to attend to in the Eimvals.”

Tasha nodded before gesturing towards the panel.

“I’ll accompany you back to the seal.”

.

..

Anda waved Tasha goodbye before walking towards Sil who was talking to some of her fellow Custodians.

She quickly noticed a tired looking Anda and so she quickly walked up to him and grabbed his hand.

“Hey, how is everything up here-“

Anda stopped as Sil pulled him up the dark tunnel which had grown rather crowded since Rendaro from both cities were moving along it under the watch of the Custodians.

“Hey, where we going?” Anda asked, but Sil didn’t speak as she dragged him to the high office which was surprisingly empty.

“Grab some clean clothes.” Sin instructed after letting go of Anda’s hand.

“What- why-?”

Anda stopped as one look from Sil is all he needed to know that she was rather serious.

He stumbled into his bedroom and grabbed some clothes before returning to Sil only for her to grab his hand again and dragged him out of the house.

She then dragged him to the communal bath hall.

Each bath had two openings that allowed water to pour into it and drain out into a underground system of drainage tunnels.

“Huh?” Anda sounded as she pulled him into the section of the hall which was reserved for elders.

His eyes widened as he saw almost everyone he knew together.

Everyone from his parents, his brother and his fellow scouts turned Custodians.

Yiden crawled out of one of the large tubs and walked up to Anda before placing his wet hand on Anda’s shoulder.

Yiden was about a head taller than Anda and had a wide muscular chest that glistened with the light from the orbs above.

“You finally made it. I was starting to think you wouldn’t come.” He said with a bright grin, but Anda uninterestedly pushed away his hand before facing Sil who was undressing.

“What’s all… this?” He droned as Sil removed her uniform.

“Don’t ask me, it was aunty Lindra’s idea.” She said as she neatly placed her clothes on a nearby bench.

“Mom…” Anda droned as he turned his eyes towards his mother who sat next to his father, who was eyeing Sil as she entered the bath from which Yiden emerged.

“I will not answer any of your questions until you join us.” Lindra said.

Anda rolled his eyes before taking off his clothes, but just as he kicked off his boots, Yiden wrapped his large hands around Anda’s hands and chest before carrying him towards a larger, empty bath where he threw the high elder.

Anda didn’t even bother playing along.

He simply floated in the water like a lifeless corpse as he thought about everything that had happened.

He’d need to develop a working relationship with Tasha if he wanted things to go on as smoothly as they were-

Anda’s thoughts seized as someone grabbed him by his neck.

His head and upper body were then removed from the water and Anda saw that it was Yiden.

“You’re being an asshole again.” Yiden said with a rare serious expression.

Anda sighed before forcing a smile.

“Yey. Thanks for bringing me here to do something… whatever it is.”

Everyone let out defeated sighs before talking among themselves about what to do.

“Lindra, I think we should break his hands and feet!” Yiden said while glaring at a now half submerged Anda.

“Hey! That’s no way to speak to the woman who wiped your ass before you had any teeth!” Heral cried.

“You’d think a father would be more concerned about the fact that someone threatened to break his sons extremities.” Anda bubbled with his head now half submerged in the water.

“I feel like we could have all done this while dressed.” Fìor said while sitting in the same bath as Sil. She was the only one who had her body covered in a large cloth.

“Shut up. No one’s interested in your barren chest anyway- Ah!” Yiden cried as Fìor placed her hand in the bath.

The temperature of the water had dropped so far that layers of ice began accumulating on the surface.

Yiden jumped out of the bath and tackled a frowning Fìor to the ground before locking her hands in place.

“What was that for?”

“I wanted to permanently shut your big mouth!” Fìor snapped and although it looked like she was on the verge of tears, Anda couldn’t help but smile as his body floated in the ice cold water.

“Oh, no!” Sil cried after noticing Anda’s quivering self.

She, along with Yiden and Fìor, carried the smiling High Elder and placed him in one of the warmer baths.

“What’s so funny?” Sil asked, but Anda shook his head.

He didn’t know why they were trying so hard to get him to relax or anything.

For him, getting to see them happy was more than enough-

“Oh no! He’s making the content face one usually makes before dedicating their life to a tragic cause!” Yiden yelled prompting Fìor to press her cold hands on his cheeks.

“Ah!” Anda cried.

“What was that for?” He asked with a frown.

“You don’t get to make that face!” Sil yelled grabbing his right arm.

“What are you doing?” Anda asked with trembling eyes.

“Yiden was right! We’ll have to take more drastic measures to get your ass to sit in one place!” She yelled while staring at Anda with a twisted smile.

“Oh no! She’s taking things too far again!” Yiden cried while placing his hands on his cheeks.

“Don’t dramatically exclaim! Help me-“