It was one of those rare clear days at the start of summer when the fog did not envelop the land. There was stilly muddy snow in places throughout the shady parts of the forest, and Lucia and Sasha confronted Maxius the Senior in a field of golden flowers. Sasha brought Lucia with her, though Maxius was alone. A small creek separated Sasha from Maxius as they spoke.

"Heritor Maxius," Sasha said, her blue-green armor gleaming in the sunlight. "I want to know if it's true. Did you really order my kidnapping?"

"Aye," Maxius said.

"Why?" Sasha asked.

"Because the path to my dream passed through that moment, as it does now. A world without the witches or the Elder Saint. A world for Kings and a world for God."

Sasha nodded. "I understand. The path to my dream passes through this moment as well. I will make sure that your religion, which was generated by a machine, will be lost and forgotten to us. Know that I do not hate you, and I do not hate your religion or your faithful. My heart knows no hatred. I believe with all my heart that humanity deserves better than a wayward science experiment that has lingered far too long."

"I am very, very sorry, Heritor Maxius." Lucia said. "House Renna was old when my clan was founded by the Morning Mist. It's a shame really, that it must end this way." Maxius did not reply.

They turned and walked back towards King Sullivan.

The front lines were bursting with eager soldiers ready to get their next promotion. Sasha's Knights, with their crysien-coated tower shields, were arrayed around her like a blood-red wall. Lucia stood close to Sasha, but she would not be able to contribute once the battle started. Sasha and Maxius both had much larger auras and they would claim all the ether instantly.

"Tell me when he tries to claim ether," Sullivan said. Salt-and-pepper hair and a beard framed his eager face.

"He won't make the first move," Sasha said. She closed her eyes for a long moment, then drew her crysien ethersteel blade and pointed it at the sky. "Prepare for battle!"

Then she claimed either.

Then, screaming. Men rushed out onto the field of flowers. The first wave was armed with rifles and crossbows, supplemented with pikemen. The knights would be useless without ether and thus were not deployed immediately. Sasha moved forward, her face determined but strained. Her knights formed a tent completely surrounding her with their tower shields. Lucia was able to huddle inside the formation.

"You don't need to be here," Sasha said.

"This guy might try to surprise you," Lucia said. "I can keep watch while the knights guard you."

"Right," Sasha said. "Warn me if something goes wrong."

The two intersecting spheres that were the two great auras were filled with useless ether being claimed by two Heritors. However, each Heritor had a section of their sphere in the far back which was outside the enemy sphere. It was in that section that they could claim ether. They could still cast spells, and it was that tiny margin where the true duel would begin.

The men clashed near the creek between the two Heritors. The field of golden flowers was quickly turning red, and the creek had turned foul with blood. The enemy soldiers were fearless fanatics, rushing into battle without regard for their lives. The first volley of rifle shots had ended and it became a battle of spears and crossbows as the riflemen reloaded. The formations in Sullivan's army were executed with precision, and this gave their army an advantage. However the sheer zeal and size of the enemy army pressed them back. Still the Heritors did not use ethermancy, each waiting for the other.

Then, Lucia heard the rain of bullets smashing into the tower shields that surrounded them. She heard a whirling sound. Confused by the sudden intrusion, she peered in between the shields at the enemy lines. Nothing. She heard more whirling overhead, it seemed to be moving above them. She looked up and saw airplanes.

These were not the sleek, technologically advanced airplanes that the oculomancers used. They were not the predatory fighter jets that Fiona preferred. These planes looked like they had been constructed by children using ethersteel, wood and glue. They had a single large cannon on the bottom, likely for grapeshot. That would explain the rain of metal that struck the tower shields. There were over a dozen of them that Lucia could count. And they were making passes blasting their cannons at Sasha's tower shield formation.

"Sasha!" Lucia cried. "Enemy airplanes! They have been sent to assassinate you!"

"Don't panic!" The knight commander said. "Send the signal to the other knights to prepare replacements if we fall. Stay strong! PROTECT THE EMPRESS!"

Sasha strained with the effort of holding all that ether at bay. She was beginning to sweat.

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"Wait, how are they still flying?" Sasha asked. "Where are they getting ether?"

"The airframes themselves made from ethersteel!" Lucia said. "They must be consuming the ether to keep flying."

"That's suicide," Sasha said. "Those things will weaken then break apart."

"This is a suicide mission then," Lucia said. "They have probably been told that they will go to Paradise when they die. Can you claim the ether as it seeps out of the ethersteel?"

"No, they are moving too fast and I can't focus on that right now," Sasha said.

More blasts from their grapeshot cannons smashed into the knights. One side was exposed. Several of the knights on one side collapsed into formation, using their bodies to shield the Empress even before they could orient their shields. Dozens of more knights rushed in and formed a second ring around the Empress, even climbing on top of each other, forming a large dome of crysien and steel around her.

"Lucia," Sasha said. "Do you remember my thesis when we graduated from the Eight Color Monastery?"

"No, the professors forbid anyone from witnessing it, after you told them what you intended to do. I wasn't there."

"Hmm," Sasha said. "I am surprised that it has come to this, but there should be just enough ether in my free section to pull it off."

Sasha began channeling ether into her aura, activating the inscribed weaves there. A cacophony of different weaves. The ground began to tremble, and giant rocks and fireballs assaulted the knights. Maxius must have felt that Sasha was using her reserved ether and began his attack. Sasha was able to spare enough ether to create a barrier to block the stones, and the crysien shields deflected the fireballs in random directions. Sasha continued to channel her spell.

Then, the forest exploded. Every tree in the entire forest behind them disintegrated into powdery chunks of wood. And from that wood the tree sap was extracted, forming a long, sticky web of pale golden liquid that seemed to float through the air and converge directly above Sasha. Two massive, trunk like legs of tree sap smashed down on either side of the knights, and a torso and arms formed high above.

A forty foot tall golem made from pure tree sap loomed over the battlefield.

It moved with astonishing speed, throwing it's stretchy, sticky arms out to catch the little airplanes in the air as they attempted more shots on the Empress. The planes stuck to the sap and crunched, the wings snapping and the bodies bending. The thing, though being forty feet tall, was able to sprint. It sprinted across the battlefield towards Maxius, threw itself forward with it's arms into the knights and wormed it's way in-between their shields. It grabbed Maxius, hurled him high into the sky.

Whatever spells Maxius had at his disposal, a barrier that protected against tree sap must not have been one of them. The shock of being thrown into the air above the battlefield must have stunned him, because he lost control of most, if not all of the ether in Sasha's aura. Suddenly Lucia was thrown outward by a massive wave of wind, as were all the knights. The area around Sasha was clear, and she pointed her hand at Maxius as he flew.

Then she incinerated him with a bolt of lightning from her palm.

Lucia smashed down into the mud and crushed yellow flowers. The Empress was busy zapping the entire enemy frontline with lightning as Sullivan's Knights ran forward with their auras working once more. Friendly ethermancers began to join in the assault as well. Sasha's golem sprinted about overhead, catching the little airplanes like butterflies by turning one hand into the shape of an oversized bug net. Lucia retreated to her tent.

Her handmaidens stripped her down and scrubbed her body clean with sponges and soapy water from buckets. She rested for a few minutes, drinking water as the handmaidens fussed over her. They dressed her in a fresh pair of white trousers and a fine red blouse. By the time she returned to Sasha the enemy front line had already been completely crushed, and Sasha's sap golem had captured nine airplanes. The last three airplanes had vanished.

"Lucia," Sasha said. "Use your family technique on their backline."

Lucia created a second burning sun in the sky above the enemy army. It span about, shooting streams of death down on their reserves and their supply caravans. Sullivan's men eagerly surged forward, chasing the retreating army and slaughtering them. Sasha had ceased using her abilities as the last of the enemy soldiers in range died. The ground shook as the golem stalked across the battlefield, carrying it's prizes. It reached down and deposited the airplanes on the field in front of Sasha. The pilots were still alive, and the knights dragged them out and cut their throats.

One of the airplanes was in very good condition, as it had been caught by the golem's bug net. Sasha regarded it.

"Have the words 'I must subjugate the etherborne' painted on the side of this thing and ship it to the Elder Saint as a gift from me," Sasha said. "Destroy the others immediately. All soldiers in our army must swear oaths of secrecy about what they have seen here today."

"It will be as you say, Empress." King Sullivan said. He trotted off on his horse to give the orders.

By the time they had painted Sasha's message on the side of the airplane, the Eyes of Empire, Sasha's personal oculomancer, had arrived to see the enemy flying machines.

"I will send a message to the Elder Saint through emergency channels," the oculomancer said. "Heritor Alyesha, the Elder Saint will know of your gift and wish it destroyed presently."

The soldiers gathered the airplanes into a line and Lucia in destroyed them all with her family technique. There was nothing left of them except a long blacked scar through the flowers. The air was filled with smoke and the scent of burnt flesh.

Sasha was naked and being fussed over by her handmaidens when Lucia entered into her tent. Her iridescent blue-green scale armor was piled in a heap in one corner.

"You didn't need to be there, Lucia," Sasha said.

"I felt like I need to be by your side Sasha. That hasn't changed since our time at the University."

"You quickly noticed that the attacks were coming from enemy airplanes, you were the only one of us who was not actively focused on something else. The knights probably wouldn't have even noticed. I was able to make a quick decision. Thank you."

"Maxius must have been desperate, to use an attack like that. Though I guess I wouldn't want to face you on a battlefield without some sort of backup plan."

The handmaidens finished toweling Sasha dry and then she dismissed them without getting dressed. With a lusty look in her eyes she dragged Lucia over to her bed.

"I am happy, Sasha" Lucia said. "I'm happy that you survived. I'm happy that I get to see tomorrow with you."