Verdan Blacke, Wizard of the Grym Imperium, sipped at a mug of hot tea that Barb had brought him and gently rubbed at his temples. It had been three days since the Cyth Host had been fractured and broken. Three days of hard work as they secured the area and saved as many of the injured as possible.

Thankfully, between Verdan, Natalia, the mundane healers and the Clerics, they’d been able to save far more than Verdan would have dared to hope. Not all, though, and far too many would carry the scars of this fight for the rest of their lives.

Hopefully, they were through the worst of that now. Today was going to be about securing the area for the future.

“Here, Boss,” Barb said, holding out a bowl of porridge for Verdan to take. Barb was a stocky, one-handed woman with braided dark hair and the caelin of a Kranjir. A Kranjir’s caelin was the collection of ritual scars that covered their face, reflecting their deeds, accomplishments and social standing.

Barb had a few more than when she’d first entered his employ, a fact that she was particularly proud of, as best he could tell.

“I told you I could do this, Barb,” Verdan said, giving her a stern look as he put his tea down and took the bowl. “You don’t need to be making multiple trips like this.”

Barb gave him a stubborn look before heading back to where the cooks were set up to get her own bowl. Rubbing his face, Verdan tried to think of a way to replace her prosthetic.

The original had been destroyed when she fought the leader of the Cyth Host, but Barb was refusing to let being one-handed again slow her down. Unfortunately, Verdan had so many things to do at the moment that he doubted he’d be able to help anytime soon.

Barb came back a few minute later with her own bowl and took a seat opposite Verdan, balancing the bowl on one knee so she could eat.

“Boss?” Ruan’s voice drifted over the general bustle of the camp and Verdan saw the older guard working his way over to them. “Disciple Morag is preparing to head through the pass.”

Ruan was the second-in-command of Verdan’s guards since the arrival of Captain Nikau. Ruan was a solidly built, bald man with a short braided beard and the remnants of bad scarring. Verdan had done what he could to help Ruan, even managing to remove his slur, but some of the deepest scars still lingered.

“Her timing is as good as ever,” Verdan said, all but inhaling his porridge and taking a big sip of his tea before getting up. Barb went to follow, but Verdan fixed her with a stern look. “Stay here and rest. That’s an order.”

Barb nodded reluctantly and settled back down, leaving Verdan to follow Ruan up the path to the top of the ridge.

The shattered remnants of their stand against the Cyth Host had been repaired somewhat in the last few days. They were far from as imposing as they had been when first made, but they weren’t full of holes any more.

Verdan nodded to the guards on duty as he followed Ruan through the gates and onto the eastern slope of the ridge. The ground here was pockmarked and cratered from the ferocity of the recent fighting, but there was still a workable path down to the pass.

The largest crater stood at that entrance, the one that Verdan had intended to end the whole fight. He’d concentrated the magic of dozens of people into an explosive trap, but the leader of the Steel Custodians had threatened to retreat if they didn’t use it.

In the end, she’d retreated anyway, and the trap had left the elite core of the Host alive. Ella Brenn had a lot to answer for, starting with the death of Elder Dun.

Dun had been the leader of the Eternal Wardens and a man that Verdan had quickly grown to respect. The Cyth Scerrd had killed him with a powerful attack during the final hours of the battle, leaving his second, Disciple Morag, in charge.

Morag was a hard-faced woman with a no-nonsense and practical attitude, but she lacked Dun’s authoritative presence or his leadership skills. Thankfully, Commander Silver still had overall control of the army, so the true responsibility for what happened next fell on him.

“Wizard Blacke,” Morag called out as she saw them approaching her group. There were several dozen Sorcerers and over a hundred Sect retainers waiting alongside her, mainly from the Eternal Wardens Sect but with a few others mixed in. “Are you ready to proceed?”

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“Yes, is there anything you need from me before we begin?” Verdan asked, mentally reviewing the abysmal amount of Aether he’d been able to gather over the last few days.

He was meditating and gathering it as often as he could, but nearly all that he brought in was immediately used for one project or another.

“No, we have it in hand,” Morag said, giving them a nod before turning and calling out orders to get the group moving.

“So, what’s the point of all this, Boss?” Ruan asked quietly as they started into the pass. “I thought we had the eastern ridge under control already?”

“We have a presence there, but it’s far from under control,” Verdan said with a shake of his head. “Morag is going to establish a more permanent structure to control this avenue of access. She’s sent word back to the rest of her Sect back at Dresk about Elder Dun and the situation. All being well, they’ll send some of their reserves to come forward. We’ll leave them here as a garrison when we head west to meet up with the other army at Ramoria.”

“Got it, so we don’t expect any fighting, then?”

“No, everything should be under control already. There will be Cyth in the area, but Sylvie has had her people hunting them down, so there won’t be many left.”

Ruan nodded his understanding, and they strode along in silence for a few minutes as Verdan considered how much had changed recently. Normally, he’d have taken Barb, Pawel or Pania along with him for a trip like this.

Now, though, Barb had lost her prosthetic, Pania was still recovering from a grievous wound and Pawel had fallen during one of the final assaults. Only four of Verdan’s personal guards had died, though only a few had come through unscathed.

It was a good thing that he lost so few, and the fact that their casualties were as low as they were was thanks to the new medallions he’d been making. The medallions provided a brief surge of healing when the wearer was injured, helping stave off death until help could arrive. Perhaps one of the best things that Verdan had done, and something he was proud of.

The medallions could only do so much, though, and Pawel’s throat had been ripped out by a Cyth. He’d been dead long before help could arrive, and though Verdan had been only feet away, he’d been able to do nothing.

Verdan was getting better at healing, and had developed some new spells to help, but he was far from able to save everyone.

Pushing that train of thought aside, Verdan settled into a light meditation as they marched through the pass, using the time to recover his Aether. He wouldn’t be doing much directly on this trip, so it was the perfect time to get work done on restoring his reserves.

They passed by each of the broken fortifications in the pass one by one. Each time, the sight of the broken defences reinforced the sombre atmosphere of the group.

Too many had died drawing the Cyth through this pass. A cold-blooded and rational accounting of it all told Verdan that it was worth it. After all, they’d won. This part of the Host had been destroyed and Dresk had been saved.

Looking at these broken lines of defence, Verdan couldn’t help but see the rows of graves that had been dug in the last few days in his mind’s eye. Hundreds had fallen, even with everything they could do. Just like Pawel, just like the guards he’d healed and brought out here with. People he’d barely even had the chance to know.

“You okay, Boss?” Ruan asked softly as they neared the far end of the pass.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Verdan said, looking away from the last of the walls. “I hope to never see something like this again, though.”

“Your lips to the god’s ears,” Ruan said, shaking his head. “I never would have imagined seeing something like this. But we did it, and part of that is thanks to you. This same army a few years ago would have lost to the Host.”

“I won’t argue that my work was pivotal to our plan, but without us, Elder Vanarr would have supported the army in a different way. We aren’t irreplaceable, Ruan. Nor do I want us to be.”

“I understand what you’re saying, Boss,” Ruan said, stopping and turning to face Verdan with a serious expression. “But you need to be honest with yourself. You helped give the city guards an edge. You brought the Kranjir, the Fwyn, the Brecan and the Airta here. Your magic set that trap and your allies were the ones to deal the killing blow. Not to mention that our presence allowed Elder Vanarr to keep as many of the Sorcerers as he did. I know you’re modest, but don’t fool yourself.”

Verdan blinked in surprise at Ruan’s stern tone. “I hadn’t realised that you’d given it so much thought.”

“Kai and I spent a lot of time making sure that any guards we brought on had the right frame of mind. You’re changing things, Boss, and it will only get more noticeable. Every one of your guards is here to help you do that.”

Verdan arched a brow in surprise once more before nodding. He did remember Nikau mentioning his previous poor experience with Sorcerers, but he hadn’t realised that it had been something shared across his guards.

“I see,” Verdan said eventually, taking a deep breath before nodding once more. “Perhaps you’re right, Ruan. Perhaps I’ve been caught up in my own guilt over not being able to do more. Do me a favour, though.”

“Of course. What do you need?”

“I’m all for change, and I’ll push for anything that prevents another issue like this. That said, I don’t want to fight against the Sects unless I have to, so I want full cooperation with them. Understood?”

“Yes, Boss,” Ruan said crisply, bracing to attention briefly. “Captain Nikau is on it, but I’ll give a reminder. We’re not aggressive, though, and we’re not here to make matters worse. They’ll realise the threat you pose one day, and when they try to stop you, we’ll be there.”

“If it comes to that, know that you’ll be armed to the teeth with the best equipment I can make,” Verdan said solemnly. “Thank you, Ruan. I needed that talk.”

“Anytime, Boss,” Ruan said as they began to climb the slope of the eastern ridge.