The battle had been going on for three days.

Pazia’s men failed at every attempt at entering the Modo’s Encampment since the battlefield was relatively flat, anyone they sent was blown to bits as they approached.

Pazia stood with knotted brows in his tent which was about a kilometre away from the battle itself. His camp was a little larger than Modo's and although he had fifty thousand warriors compared to Modo’s twenty, his numbers were thinning with every attempt at attack he made.

Illuminated by the soaring afternoon sky was the banner of the Hennean Dynasty – that oh-so-familiar diamond spear. This banner was raised by both sides but one thing that made Pazia’s men stand out was that they wore veils.

I learnt that this was because they felt ashamed for having aided Ua who had committed the gravest sin of turning her violence to her God.

These dark cloth coverings which hid all but the eyes would be lifted during combat but when they were standing guard, those veils would be lowered so as to hide their faces.

Another thing that differentiated the two forces was that Pazia’s men were forbidden from pumping themselves full of Life Energy.

This was a direct order from Saidia herself who knew the costs this would have on her men.

Pazia closed his eyes and I watched as he made his Uyil Belts taunt before slowly relaxing them.

Uyil Torsion.

It was this technique that helped Ua survive many of my attacks.

By firmly anchoring one’s self to reality, one became unshakeable… well, to an extent.

He let out a sigh before finally looking at the map on the table in front of him.

Part of the reason why he wasn’t launching a full assault was because he knew thousands of his men would die in trying to even reach Modo’s camp.

The warriors under him knew this as well and so they allowed him the time he needed to figure out an appropriate tactic.

Another Fire Breaker entered the tent and he was on the older side, like Pazia although this just meant he was in his forties.

His face was riddled with scars which the Fire Breakers treated as trophies and he had eyes which periodically flashed blue – possible symptoms of shell shock.

His name was Mshtuko or Tuko and he was known across Hatua as the Lightning Spear.

“Hehe, still thinking?” He asked with a toothy grin.

Pazia sighed, allowing his head and shoulders to droop.

“Come now. Don’t beat yourself up over it and I actually appreciate your hesitance so it’s fine, really. That said…”

Pazia looked up to see Tuko's widening.

“What?” Pazia frowned.

“We won’t get anywhere by sitting on our asses so how about we show our friend Modo the power of a spear of Hatua.” Tuko grinned.

“Go on.” Pazia squinted.

“I want someone, preferably a skilled and experienced warrior, to be lifted above the Crystal Lands where they will create the biggest bolt of lightning our kind has ever seen and throw it at that big beautiful bastard, haha!” Tuko laughed and this made Pazia’s widen a little.

“And let me guess… the skilled and experienced warrior you have in mind… is yourself.”

Tuko’s grin widened, which I didn’t think was possible and it was accentuated by his scars which twisted along with his face.

“Now, I know you’ll need to get permission from Mama Saidia-“

“No. Let’s do it.” Pazia nodded.

“Wait- really?”

“Yeah, let’s do it now!”

“Alright.”

The two Fire Breakers mobilized their armies again with twenty thousand standing ready near the battlefield which was acres upon acres of scorched land.

Meanwhile, Pazia and Tuko made their way to the Crystal Lands where a few Blessed Sisters raised Tuko in the air.

He then began channeling Glass Energy into his body but, to avoid burning himself to a crisp, he made any excess Glass Energy swirl around him in a spherical barrier.

His eyes flashed blue once more and this set off a chain reaction where all of the Glass Energy was transformed into Electrical Energy.

Tuko then raised his right hand and sent all of the electrical energy to it by giving it an extremely high positive charge which drew in charge from even the clouds above.

Several lightning bolts struck him but fortunately, his barrier absorbed most of the electrical energy.

The bolt or spear in his hand eventually got so big that the light it emitted completely enveloped him.

“THROW THE DAMN THING!” Pazia yelled from the ground and it was here that a spear of lightning shot across Hatua.

I turned to Modo’s camp and watched in awe as the Iron Breaker rushed out of his tent with his spear in hand.

He then threw himself hundreds of meters into the air using Gravity Magic and in a fraction of a second, gave his spear an extremely high positive charge before throwing it into the ground just in front of his camp.

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He then intercepted the Lightning Spear and… caught it with his hands!

Since he was covered in metallic armor, he didn’t need to generate a barrier and so he used it to dispel the energy from the spear but this only sent out massive arcs.

The heat they produced turned the inside of his armor into an oven but he kept himself alive using Life Magic.

Modo eventually lost his forward momentum and came crashing downward all while still emitting massive discharges of electricity.

He landed near his spear and grabbed it, transferring all of the electrical energy into the ground but, at this point, he had sustained so much damage that his body was almost completely cooked.

Almost.

“Haaa…” He wheezed as both armies watched with quaking eyes.

“HAAAAAAAAAA!” He screamed while absorbing any and all Glass Energy within a twenty-meter radius which he used to revive his brain and heart just like Ua had done.

He then diverted Life Energy from his skin to his blood vessels.

“Do you think that big idiot is dead?” Tuko asked as he was put down by the Blessed Sisters.

“I… honestly don’t know. Let’s rush back and hit his men while they’re spooked.”

Tuko nodded before joining Pazia in returning to their camp.

A warrior rushed to Modo’s side and frantically asked if his general was alright.

However, just as the warrior laid a concerned hand on Modo’s still warm and charred armour, the General grabbed that hand.

“Tell me… are you willing to die… for her?” Modo wheezed and the wide-eyed warrior frantically nodded.

Modo’s eyes, which had lost their lids, fell in that moment and he let out a sigh.

He then stood up with a grunt and raised his hands as though surrendering.

“Then you are just as foolish as I am.” He said while walking towards Pazia’s army.

“General! What are you doing?” The warrior cried.

“What does it look like, young one? I’m giving up.”

The warrior’s eyes quaked.

“But… why?”

Modo stopped.

“I realized, while up there, that one should never have to die for the dreams of another.”

Tears began welling in the warrior's eyes as Modo continued walking.

The young man then dropped his spear and followed his General.

A few other soldiers did the same and it wasn’t long before all twenty thousand men were walking across the battlefield unarmed.

Modo then knelt before Pazia’s men and awaited the arrival of their generals.

“What in Giza are you doing?” Tuko snapped as he rushed towards Modo with a narrow-eyed Pazia in tow.

“I surrender-“

“Yes but why? We were… this is not how warriors settle things!” Tuko yelled although his expression seemed pained.

“I know. However… I will not allow what my Queen- I will not allow what Ua wanted be the death of countless young men and women. Honour be damned.” Modo lowered his head.

A frustrated Tuko turned to Pazia who simply crossed his arms.

“So what should we do with you?” Pazia asked.

“You may do with me however you see fit but I have one request to make,” Modo said while lowering his head to the ground.

“Please… spare my men.”

The air grew silent after those words left Modo’s mouth.

Tuko bit his teeth and his brows knotted.

“Sit up,” Pazia instructed and Modo complied.

“Remove your helmet.”

Modo did as instructed revealing his skinless, burnt head.

Gasps filled the air as Pazia’s eyes locked with Modo’s.

“General Modo, for the crime of treason and the sin of standing against the wishes of your goddess, you are to be executed as the sun sets tomorrow. And as for your men… they will be sent to work on various construction projects until they die.”

Modo lowered his head prompting Pazia to turn around and leave.

Tuko followed him begrudgingly and-

“My Lady?”

I instantly returned my perspective to my Glass Body as Musa called out to me.

“Yes?”

“It's time to head home.” He said and this reminded me that I had switched perspectives while still in Temple Kupumzika.

“Oh- you’re right. Tal’s lessons ended a while ago.” I said while standing up.

“Yes.” Musa concurred while accompanying me out of the Temple where several people could be seen praying.

Those who noticed me lowered their heads again and closed their eyes.

They prayed beneath their breaths since it was considered shameful to speak aloud near the temple.

A common prayer was actually a plea.

They prayed that I would never leave and this was amusing to me since it would be they would one day leave me.

Musa and I returned to the Island of Tablets where we made our way to a school in the southern half of the island.

Seated in one of the many chairs of the class for children aged five to seven was Tal although she was the only child left and was being tended to by two Caretakers.

The Caretakers – guardians of my island, all wore dark grey and loose-fitting pants beneath equally dark robes. Both men and women had everything but their faces covered and they were all cleanly shaven all over their bodies.

They told me that this was to disturb the look of my city as little as possible.

They didn’t want to fill it with their presence and so they chose minimalism.

I would have told them that I didn’t mind but their dedication was amusing and so I remained silent.

They were also a diverse mixture of Chofumah and Umande people who chose to dedicate their lives to tending to my island as requested by me when I realized I needed someone to actually fill my city.

A teary-eyed Tal ran up to Musa and wrapped her arms around his legs.

“Looks like the little one was more tired of her extra lessons.” The headmost caretaker, Hekima chuckled and I smiled in response.

“Sorry, I got caught up in the state of things in Hatua,” I said and Hekima shook his head.

“No, it’s alright. It got so boring for them that Cheche ran home.” Ponya – Hekima’s wife and right-hand woman, giggled.

“If that was the case then you should have just let them play,” I said while covering my smile with my hand.

“What do you think they were doing all afternoon?” Hekima sighed making my smile brighten.

“Well, either way, I apologize. Now, come. I’ll cook up something nice to make up for everything.” I said while turning to leave.

“Have a good evening, everyone!” Hekima and his wife waved as I left with Musa and Tal in tow.

“You too.”

We walked out of the school and I noticed that Tal was still pouting.

Adorable.

Part of the reason I chose Hekima to be the head Caretaker was because he was once a warrior who served under Ua and displayed great loyalty in staying with her even after the great divide occurred.

I also chose him because he was a parent to a little girl and I trusted him and Ponya to tutor Tal.

We made our way home and while a still pouting Tal rushed inside, I noticed that Musa had stopped to stare at the old Pāttiram vehicle I had left parked next to the temple.

I knew he was interested in it and the Pāttiram in general but he never asked.

I walked up to him as he stared at the moss-covered bipedal vehicle which looked like a strange combination between insect and man.

“They came to me and Eternity ago in search of Glass and I don’t think I need to explain to you why they would want Glass.”

Musa nodded.

“Would you like to try piloting it? It’s still functional even after all this time and I actually used it to build the city around us.”

Musa turned to face me and although his eyes were bound, I could tell he was excited.

“Can I really?”

I raised my hand and sent one of the strings into the vehicle.

It then lowered itself and opened its cockpit, frightening Musa a little.

“Go on.” I encouraged and Musa, after taking a breath, positioned himself inside the cockpit.

“Alright, so I’m sure you remember everything you were taught about Uyil Belts, right?” I asked as I made the vehicle stand upright and closed its face.

“Yes?” An excited but also panicked Musa cried.

“Good. Just as they drive our very existence, they can drive other things. That is what the Pāttiram learnt at some point. Currently, one of my strings is driving that machine and as soon as I remove it, it’ll attach itself to you-“

“AHHHHHHHH!” Tal screamed after seeing the vehicle sway from side to side.

I rushed to her as she stood by the temple’s entrance, picked her up and gently rocked her.

“Don’t be scared. Musa is inside, look!” I said while opening the vehicle’s face, revealing a panicked Musa.

“It's eating Big Bro!” She screamed.

“No, don’t worry! He’s fine. You’re fine, right?” I asked but Musa seemed too petrified to respond and so I let out a sigh and carried him out of the machine using Gravity Magic.

I brought him to me and wrapped my arm around him as tears began to well in his eyes.

I gently held both children while realizing that it would be a bit of a while before my denizens got accustomed to advanced technology.