Albert observed the view as the van shot up the road, skirting around the hills that separated Faera from the desert. Once they were on the other side, humidity hit like a truck and his shirt stuck to his chest with sweat. They had been traveling for 20 hours now, stopping only once to let the drivers sleep. After a few curves, the clouds cleared, and he laid eyes on the capital for the first time. The glistening sea was the first thing to catch his attention. Growing up in the Highlands, the highest mountain range in the world, he had only seen it in pictures.

“It’s massive...” he remarked.

Valentina joined him at the open window, also impressed by the view. Daphne took a deep breath, smiling at the smell of sea breeze.

Contrasting with the shoreline, were the modern houses and buildings spread across the valley, that was cut in half by the massive Cain river. Faera was a coastal city, political center of the kingdom that carried it’s name and extended from the sea, over the hills, to the desertic lands they had left behind. It also happened to be the oldest surviving city in the world, making it a chaotic blend of historical and modern society. In the central area, you could see ancient stone constructions next to modern skyscrapers, slums spread across the northern hillside, and nature and emptiness on the southern one.

Once again, they had avoided the main highway, opting for a smaller, more unknown road, that led them through the southern side. Around it, stood only a few isolated houses and huts. One of them was a stylish, 3 floor house with big checkered windows. The reddish wooden details made it stand out from the trees around it, and gave it a cozy vibe. A golden plaque hanging by the front door proudly said: “Tempest Inn”

The van pulled up next to the entrance and they finally disembarked.

“Is this it?” asked Valentina. Daphne had said that they were headed to the DRA headquarters, and a house in the hills didn’t really scream ‘military base’ to her.

“You sound so disappointed” said Jingo, pouting. With a naughty smile, he continued. “Don’t worry, we’ll make sure you have a pleasant stay at the inn.”

“Take your things, we’ll be handing the van off” said Daphne ignoring their conversation. The inn’s front door opened and a pair of young men came out. They wore casual clothes but had serious expressions on their faces.

“Welcome ma’am.” they both said as they greeted Daphne. She tossed them the van keys and headed for the entrance. The rest of the group followed suit.

The interior was incredibly well designed, with gray and brown walls decorated with the same red-wood that outlined the outside. There were paper room dividers separating the rooms, which allowed the natural light inside. At the entrance, a young woman sat behind a reception desk while a few others moved about through the lobby. Some greeted Daphne, sometimes also Yoel and Jingo, with a nod, while others didn’t take a second look.

The receptionist got up as they entered and took a bow, smiling.

“Owner! Welcome back.” she said looking at the group “I take it you are heading to the kitchen?”

Daphne nodded in response.

“I’ll let the others know. I’ll also send someone to clean your room.”

“Thank you, Katherine. But don’t bother, I have a feeling I won’t be sleeping in it much.”

The receptionist seemed a bit disheartened by the answer, but she didn’t contest her boss. Yoel and Jingo also traded friendly greetings with her. Meanwhile, Albert and Valentina looked around trying to assess the situation.

Were those people in the lobby members of the army? Was that house the so-called headquarters? Smaller than expected... Those thoughts ran through their heads as they moved into a corridor towards the back of the residence.

“So far, army seems like an overstatement...” whispered Albert in her ear. Valentina didn’t respond, she didn’t contest him either.

After they went through a double door, they found themselves in a kitchen, with a much more simplistic decoration. 4 people worked diligently there. They baked goodies, made sandwiches, cut fruit and washed the dishes. All in all, a solid breakfast. As they passed by, Jingo grabbed a muffin and tossed it to Albert.

“Trust me. It’s much better than the stuff they got in there.” he said with a wink.

Daphne took off her necklace, revealing a golden key, that hanged off of it. With it, she unlocked an inconspicuous iron door at the back of the room, next to a shelf with ingredients. When it opened, they were hit with a stuffy air current.

“Not again...” said Albert disheartened.

“Tell me about it.” agreed Valentina.

On the other side, the pleasant ambiance was completely gone, being replaced by a well lit rock tunnel. A man sat on a folded chair, keeping guard and he jumped up in surprise as the door opened. However, once he saw Daphne, his expression relaxed and he saluted her.

She was, however, focused on her new companions.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Our last experience with a rock tunnel wasn’t exactly… you know. Successful.” said Valentina nervously.

Daphne scratched her head, uncomfortable.

“Yes, I remember now… if it’s any consolation, this is just a passage, we’re going deep inside the mountain side. I’m pretty sure you won’t be able to bring it down so easily.”

Valentina wasn’t really comforted by her words and Yoel interceded.

“Don’t worry princess. We made sure everything is sturdy in there. And the ceiling is so high you’ll eventually forget you’re underground.”

“Well, we came this far, right?” said Albert, giving her a little nudge. “It’s pointless to be afraid of things we can’t control.”

They all followed Daphne into the tunnel. It had a short archway, just big enough for tall people to pass with ease, and a thick set of metal cables were attached to the walls. It wasn’t very deep as well, they could already see the end.

And they could definitely hear it.

The passage expanded into an area with an incredibly high domed ceiling, with bright white lights hanging from it. The space was filled with people of all colors and ages, almost all of them wore a blue jacket with a yellow emblem on the left chest, and pants to match. Some carried weapons, others ran, read documents. Others just sat in a corner and talked. On the far left, there were 5 gigantic tables parallel to each other with a pair of long benches for each one. They were mostly empty, but some people sat there eating.

The thick metal cables that came through the tunnel went to the far right, powering half a dozen computers and a big screen that hanged from the walls. Right behind the electronic setup was a big white tent, with enough room for at least 30 people.

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“I know what you’re thinking. Now that’s more like it! This is what an army looks like. Right?” said Jingo turning to the two newcomers. Then, he theatrically raised his hand in the air. “Can I be the first to express my outrage at these two? They were totally criticizing us in their minds. I can feel it.”

Albert stared at him stone faced, but Valentina flinched in surprise for a second.

“See, I knew it.” he said, satisfied.

“Shut up, you buffoon. They got stuff to do. We’ll leave you to it.” said Yeol, throwing his arm around Jingo’s neck and pulling him away. They went towards a big curtain that hanged from the ceiling. Behind it, was another archway, leading to a different room, that Albert and Valentina had not spotted at first. It wasn’t the only one either, looking around there were at least 5 other passages they hadn’t noticed.

“First, we’ll get you accommodated. Follow me.” said Daphne, heading to one of the curtains. They walked into a room with many white tents assembled in a square formation, the people there did not wear the blue uniform so diligently, if at all.

On the left side of the door, there was a long desk with a man and a woman seating loosely behind it. Dphne approached them, and one of them sprung up when he saw her. After exchanging a few words she came back to them and asked:

“Would you guys mind sharing the space?”

An hour later they were finally installed in a 5 m² tent, with a couple of mattresses, a mirror and a water basin. A bit of a downgrade from Anyesse’s fancy apartment. Still, they were happy to finally lay down and a relax for a while. They had been on the road for days, and sleeping on a seat can really wear you down. Before leaving, Daphne showed them around the ‘camp area’, as they called it, and left instructions to meet her in two hours time.

“So, what do you think of them?” asked Albert, when they were finally alone.

“You mean the army? Or Daphne and the crew?”

“Both.”

Valentina thought in silence for a moment.

“Well, first, it seems like they did not lie. Judging by the amount of tents, there seems to be at least 200 people here, between humans and descendants. There’s no way that’s only the leftovers from Faera. Meaning people from all over the world are coming here. And although they call themselves an army and they have sort of hierarchy, the rules seems pretty lax, so far. That’s just like the Divine Houses.”

“What do you mean?” said Albert curiously.

“Well, because of our ties to the government, the Divine Houses were always a military organization. But no one really cared about that. We had ranks, but we treated each other casually. And then, whenever a government official would visit, we would put on a show. Acting all proper and stuff.” Valentina answered with a smile. Her eyes were distant, lost in her memories. But those memories quickly turned into sadness and she pulled herself back to reality. “And besides, that house wasn’t just our work, you know. We lived there, from an early age, can you imagine children marching around and giving military salutes?”

“Yeah, that’d be weird.” Albert grunted, amused. Then with an eyebrow raised, he continued. “What about Daphne and the gang?”

“Who knows, honestly. She’s powerful, I don’t think I need to tell you that. But I think she’s much more important than she’s letting on. Everyone seems to know her, people respect her.” said Valentina frowning in thought. “Remember Daena? From the farmhouse at the border?”

“Yeah”

“She told me Daphne was a good person. But also said not to trust anyone. I guess that’s the wise thing to do.”

Albert nodded.

“So we don’t tell anyone about my powers.” he said.

“At least for now.”

Albert let out a huge yawn, which made Valentina do it too.

“We should sleep a little” But right as he said that, they heard a commotion escalating outside of the tent. Voices shouting back and forth and many footsteps.

Valentina and Albert went out of the tent to see a circle of people gathered around two men. One of them was a slender 1,75m man, with blonde hair, long arms and a menacing face, he wore the blue uniform of the army. The other one was much smaller, at around 1,60m, with a messy shoulder-length brown hair. He wore a kneaded uniform shirt with gray overalls on top of it.

“What? Now you’re gonna send your goon to ‘deal with me?’” said the short one in an ironic tone, addressing someone behind his opponent. “Aren’t you worried he might trip and fall on his head? I know they don’t come with much brains.”

“What are you talking about, Mr. Sezille? This man has nothing to do with me.” answered a good-looking guy standing on the outline of the circle. He had very dark eyes and hair, a very tidy haircut right above ear-length. His uniform was very neatly worn, much like the man in front of him, only with a little more class. There is weight to how a person carry themselves, and his posture and elegance was that of royalty.

“Yeah right, Max. And he just happened to want to attack me, right when I interrupted your little happy reunion.”

“Oh, believe me Rémy, this is not my doing. You’re free to spout any nonsense you wish” said Max in a condescending tone. “I’m not sure there is a force in this nature that could stop you, really.”

His remarks got sparse laughs out of the public.

“Is that so?” said Rémy raising his voice to the circle. “Then why don’t we talk about how, while you’re all gossiping here, our leader has returned successfully, bringing more allies and having defended the town of Xarkan from a disaster?”

Murmur and whispering spread across the circle like wildfire, but Max was quick to recapture the crowd’s attention.

“Oh, is Cassius back?” he asked with an expression of perfect astonishment.

“No. Daphne.” said Rémy, dispirited.

“Ah, I see, I see.” said Max, nodding, as if it all made sense now. “That’s a common missconception. You mean the deputy commander. Cassius is our leader. That woman is just a stand-in.”

“She’s our leader until he returns! She founded the army alongside hi-”

“And what has she done with it!?” asked Max, interrupting Rémy. “What was that place she saved? The town of what? I’m sorry, I don’t really know that place, does anyone here...” he asked, making a theatrical confused expression. Nobody answered. “Oh, well, I guess they don’t, because it is not HERE!”

He then walked into the circle like a lawyer in front of his jury.

“Isn’t that why we gathered here? To look out for our own? To find our brothers and sisters and protect them? To annihilate this threat that the gods have sent us?”

The public started to mutter in agreement, the tides shifting in Max’s favor

“You have no proof The Horde was sent by the gods! You just want to make people afraid so they’ll follow you! This is a co-”

Rémy was, however, interrupted by the man who was facing him in the circle. The ‘goon’s’ right hand was glowing with red Ruach as he pounced at his smaller opponent. Rémy fell backwards but he reacted too slowly, humanly slow.

Albert immediately jumped to rescue him, although he was also humanly slow.

“No! Albert, wa-” said Valentina, but he had already left her grasp. Without much of a choice, she activated her powers, her eyes bursting with energy. Before the ‘goon’ could reach any of them Valentina had already caught him by the arm thrown him on the ground.

The whole audience flinched as the events happened in the blink of an eye. Max was the first to recover his composure, but Albert saw for a split second, in his eyes, a flash of frustration.

“By the gods! This man is insane! Attacking a human using Ruach...” he said exasperated. “Mr. Sezille. My apologies, I know we have our differences but I don’t wish you any harm!”

With a snap of his finger he called a uniformed man to his side and said:

“Incarcerate him! And have a doctor see if he is mentally ill… unbelievable...”

In the meantime, Albert ignored him and helped Rémy up.

“Thank you, man.” said Rémy dusting off his pants.

“Don’t mention it.”

“As for you two...” said Max turning his attention to Albert and Valentina. He extended his hand forward. “I don’t believe we have met yet. But thank you for protecting Rémy.”

None of them shook it. He pulled his hand back and said:

“Very well, allow me to introduce myself then. I am Officer Maximillian Amytan. Third-in-Command of this army.”