“All hands, prepare to disembark!”

I silently watched Captain Garcett busying about the deck as the crew prepared the ship to pull into the island harbor. As much as I wanted to offer a hand, I knew where my skills lay, which wasn’t being a sailor.

Lots of work.

“Lots of work, eh?”

Imako strolled up to stand next to me, smiling pleasantly.

“Yeah, looks so,” I added, trying to keep my eyes from shifting about as I recalled what Captain Garcett had said about the man-beast.

“I’ve always admired sailors, you know. Able to get up and go wherever they please.”

“I don’t think it’s that simple.” I frowned.

“No, of course not, but it’s the sentiment. You’re not exactly the romantic type, are you?”

“You’re not hitting on me, are you?” I raised an eyebrow at the man as I spoke.

“No, what? I meant romantic as in…Well, you really have grown up. You’re messing with me, aren’t you?”

I briefly let a smile touch my lips before repressing it. “It’s a skill I practiced as a teacher. Teenagers often don’t realize when you’re purposely playing dense.”

“That they don’t. I seem to remember a certain teenager acting much the same way.”

“I wasn’t that bad.” I gently flipped my hands in fake exasperation.

“Maybe, not like I spend much time letting children hang around me. All things considered, you were a surprisingly capable kid.”

“But that isn’t why you took me as your temporary apprentice, right? You’re not the type to just do that out of the goodness of your heart.”

“No, I’m not.” Imako frowned briefly as he folded his arms one over the other. “I took you on because I witnessed a being of ultimate power give you even a second of their time of day. That itself was more than enough for me.”

“The Sage Above All. Do you… have you heard anything of her since then?” I questioned, trying to stifle a shiver from passing down my spine.

“Little whispers. Some rumors have it that a master mage has taken residence in the tallest mountains of the world, others state they’ve seen such a figure taken to residing on a secret island, others still state that they’ve heard of a magical woman who calls the bottom of the sea her home.”

“Any truth to any of them?”

“I figure there are crumbs of truth to many of them, but if she doesn’t want to be found, to be heard of, well then that’s how it will be.”

It was my turn to frown as I thought about the Sage Above All.

How? How can one person be so powerful?

“If… If I were to achieve all ten rings, would I become that powerful?”

“Hah, quite the arrogance to presume you will,” Imako smirked before it vanished a moment later. “To answer truthfully, who knows? Remember, I was born shortly after the fall of the Sages, and it took some time before I understood the world in human terms. My knowledge of the Sages, while probably second only to the Sage Above All herself, is far from complete. What I do know is this: Sages weren’t created equally. Some Sages were nothing more than glorified researchers. They did not seek to better their martial prowess or such. Your rings, you’ve instilled magic within them, correct?”

“Word magic, yeah,” I answered.

“Interesting term. Yes, well, some Sages devoted those limited spells to magic that would have had no practical applicability in a fight. So, to go back to your original question. It depends. If you were to achieve the rank of Great Sage, you’d certainly be one of the two strongest humans alive. If you’d be as powerful as her, though? No idea. It depends on individual elements. Skill with magic in general, combat reflexes, the types of magic you’ve got hidden in reserve, how you understand magic, even your imagination. At the very least, she’ll have you beat a hundred to one in mana reserves.”

I winced as he spoke, rubbing at the back of my neck.

“That bad?”

“Oh, most definitely. Do you remember what it felt like to have no magic or mana and how it felt to stand in the presence of those like myself, that overwhelming feeling of being suffocated or frozen where you stand?”

“Yeah, not my fondest memories,” I muttered.

“Imagine that, except understand that someone of my standing felt that from her. She may be the closest thing to a god to exist.”

“Wonderful,” I grumbled.

“Do you imply that you have a goal now? When you were young, I took you on in part because you were an empty vessel, but now that you’re no longer a child, have you decided to seek her one day and dethrone her?”

“No, not really.” I rubbed my elbow, shifting uncomfortably. “You know, I had something I found I wanted to do. I really did come to love being a teacher.”

“Ahh.” Something dark flashed through his eyes, an ugly smile across his maw. “There we have kindred spirits.”

“You wanted to be a teacher too?”

“No, what I wanted in my life was irrelevant. It’s what you find yourself feeling now. In the depths of your gut, when you let your mind empty for a moment too long, the night stretches on, and sleep has not yet graced you. The dark feelings that spew, burn, and fester even as you try to deny them.”

“I don’t feel that way,” I answered, perhaps too quickly.

“Oh, don’t lie to me, Rook. Your precious students were brutally slain, and your peaceful life was upended. Perhaps at first, you followed me for the reasons of having no other choice, but let me ask you this. Can you close your eyes and smile blissfully while knowing those responsible for destroying everything you wanted are out there? Those who murdered children? Is it justice you believe you want?”

I opened my mouth to speak before finding no words.

“No, it’s not justice.” Imako nodded to himself, satisfied. “And that is why I said we are kindred spirits. You’ve got a penchant for that same rage as I. You just haven’t reached the end of that road.”

I winced once more as Imako chuckled.

“Oh yes, I heard everything you two said. Our wonderful Captain Garcett wasn’t wrong, though. I am the end result of that road of endless hate. But it’s all I know. We’re walking into hell, and you’re no child anymore; you need to walk in there with eyes wide open. There is no point lying to yourself or pretending those around you are something they aren’t. So ask yourself if you’re alright with that.”

With that, the madman walked off, whistling a cheery toon as he grabbed a rope and began helping a sailor. Not surprisingly, given his age, the man had experience working as a sailor.

Ask yourself if you’re alright with that.

I was rattled in a way I hadn’t expected to be.

Can you close your eyes and smile blissfully?

It was as if he knew the exact questions and point to press. There should have been no way for him to know that whenever my eyes closed at night, all I could see were flames searing the mutilated bodies of children who’d once been my students, staring at me with empty eyes as bloody tears rolled down their faces, a single question echoing out from their cursed forms.

Why?

Why indeed. Why had they needed to suffer? Because adults couldn’t fathom getting along, sharing power, or other trivial things children are taught to understand? Yet adults would fret over them like gawking hens.

Why?

Why had I needed to be involved?

Why?

Why.

“No, I can’t.” I frowned, whispering to myself. I would never be able to find a restful night’s sleep again, not with how those faces tormented me at night. Not with how whenever I wasn’t sparring, I found that ugly coil within the pit of my stomach, a seething mass that I could only distract myself from but never be rid of.

Rage. A rage that was not flagged by fleeting feelings or momentary wrongs but a lasting, aching hatred that could lie dormant for however long it must but would never be rid of.

I wasn’t a hero, and I never would be. That was a title for folks like my late student. Had it not been for ending up personally involved, I would have been more than happy to let the two sides wage war and slaughter one another. All while I remained in my comfy classroom.

But that wasn’t what reality, fate, or simple chance had in mind for me.

If it’s hell I’m heading for, then I’ll walk with eyes wide open.

I was resolved then to settle my rage; however, I must, even if it meant being a single cog in some war machine.

“Eyes wide open,” I murmured, eyeing the island as it drew closer.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“At attention. We have a Star in attendance!” Captain Garcett shouted as we began to disembark the ship, the men and women working the dock suddenly snapping to attention as Imako casually strutted off the boat.

“At ease, all of you. You’ve got better things to do than saluting little ole me.”

The dockhands began milling about, returning to their usual work as the sailors manning our ship began to join them, several new faces attending to the ship we’d sailed in on. I looked about in amazement as I followed Imako; I’d never seen anything like the harbor we were in. In terms of aesthetics, it was nothing special. What was remarkable was the dozens upon dozens of warships anchored about.

“Still smaller than the crown fleet, but they’re better equipped and numerous enough that the crown won’t be able to waltz over us and sprint around us using the sea.” Imako chimed in as if he knew my thoughts. “One of the most difficult tasks we faced was getting an armada of this size built and manned without the crown ever catching wind, or at least never catching wind of anything more than ‘baseless’ rumors.”

“Impressive,” I said, entirely meaning it.

“Indeed, and our prized Captain is the Fleet Commander of it all. If it wasn’t for my position as a Star, another of our captains would have taken care of our pickup.”

Stolen novel; please report.

“Right,” I said.

“And there is our welcoming party,” Imako muttered as I noticed a girl jogging up to us.

“Third Star.” The girl gave a brief salute toward the man-beast. “I was sent by the Second Star to welcome you back and congratulate you on a successful mission.”

“Oh, that Nicole.” Imako flashed his signature grin at the girl. She was maybe sixteen or seventeen years old, young enough to have been one of my students. She had sandy blonde hair intermixed with several strands of bronzed orange, which stood out strikingly. Looking at her face, I winced lightly, noticing the jagged scar that zagged past her left eye, which could have only resulted from some rusty instrument.

“Ahh, where are my manners,” Imako spoke up suddenly. “This man here would be my one and only protégé, Rook Baster.”

The girl’s eyes widened as she gave me a rather hasty salute.

“Uhh, you don’t have to do that.” I coughed out uncomfortably. “I’m not any sort of person of rank here.”

“For now,” Imako added quietly.

“It’s not that.” The girl said quickly. “Master Imako has never taken on a personal student since I’ve been here, and not one of the older recruits has said otherwise either! Plus, you’re a Baster!”

“Y-yeah.” I nodded uncomfortably. “Well, it is what it is.”

The girl, still visibly excited, turned to face Imako once more. “Also, the Second Star instructed that you return with haste to HQ.”

“Of course she did. Nicole never lets me rest.” Imako sighed. “Fine, well, lead the way. I’m sure Nicole would have a fit if I simply waltzed in without a proper entourage, wouldn’t she?”

The girl began to lead us out from the harbor into what could only have been described as a bustling port town, except several times the size one might expect of a typical port town. Rather than naturally evolving into a proper city, it was as if the port continued expanding outwards while maintaining its core identity. Occasionally, I saw patrols of soldiers marching about, some even wearing the colors I had come to associate with Dunehold.

“What’s up with that?” I pointed out to Imako as another one of the Dunehold standard-bearing troops marched past.

“Ahh, well, we’ve been in talks with Viceroy Alexandria for quite some time now. The honorable Viceroy sees things from our perspective and has been at odds with the crown several times. Once the war begins in earnest, the central region will be our ally in the ensuing conflict.”

“You speak as if this was all predetermined.”

“Battlelines are rarely drawn up spur of the moment.” Imako nodded sagely before pointing out an open-walled armory, several forges glowing brightly from within as the smiths swung hammers in a hypnotizing rhythm. “Whether the war is won or lost, it will never fall on their shoulders. We’ve not nearly the capable armorers of the crown. Thus, the blacksmiths we have have been hard at work laboring to arm an entire revolution with only a few dozen hands at work.”

“That’s… daunting,” I added.

“Quite. Even the most capable mages in the world would find such a task frightening. Gods and Lords above know I’d rather be tasked with felling battalions of enemies rather than arming our own.”

We continued walking through the port town, cobbled stone road beneath our feet faintly slicked with a light mist, the same watery mist permeating the entirety of the island, unescapable in the middle of the sea and crashing waves. Occasionally, Imako would point something out, explaining the significance of a building, be it a fishery that helped feed the many mouths or even some libraries or general goods stores.”

“What about that?” I raised an eyebrow as several kids, no older than six or seven, ran past, chasing after each other full of mirth and giggles. “I thought you told me this island wasn’t a place for children and the like?”

“Well, back when you were a teenager, no. As more and more people have slowly come this way, inevitably, children were brought along or born here. Those kids were amongst the first few born here. Give it another few years, and this island will damn near be an independent state entirely.”

“Isn’t it already?” I questioned.

“Yes, but you get the point.” Imako rolled his eyes. “Anyway, we’re here.”

We rounded a corner, only to come face to face with…

Well, a rather dull, stout building. It was made of the same cobbled stone and timber as many of the other buildings were, as well as what looked to be a dark grey, nearly black concrete.

“Bonecrete.” Imako gestured at the dark concrete. “It’s made like normal concrete, except it’s also intermixed with the small amounts of sandy black stone that forms most of the island. It’s not nearly as strong as the real stuff, but it reinforces the building should it ever come under siege.”

“Smart. What’s with the name, though? Bone-crete?”

“Ahh, well, someone once said that the black stone was ‘Damned strong, like the bones of the earth,’ and then considering this stuff here is made up of its gravel form-”

“Gotcha.” I nodded. It was a naming convention that I could have seen myself giving it, which was, to say, probably the least clever option available.

“Good. Well then-” Imako turned toward our guide, smiling pleasantly. “Aisha, would you do us the favor of alerting Nicole that we’re here?”

“My pleasure.” The girl snapped a salute at Imako before marching inside.

“By the way, who is Nicole?” I questioned.

“Nicole of former House Aschenti. Second Star of Nochesuki. She leads the diplomatic side of things.”

“As opposed to your militant side?”

“I’m not that militant side, actually.” Imako smiled rather darkly. “I’m the covert side of things. The Four Stars of Nochesuki: The first Star stands for the inward care of our people, Adam Caru, which in practice means lots and lots of financial sheets. The Second Star, as I already mentioned, is our diplomatic side, the only part of Nochesuki that sees regular interaction with the bureaucracy and aristocracy of Haerasong, led by Nicole Aschenti. Then there are covert actions, led by myself, and we have no formal existence. Finally, there is the Fourth Star, led by Erin Greyheart, the Commander of the Stars and head of our armed forces. Captain Garcett would be their direct subordinate. It’s Commander Greyheart, who you’ll likely soon be well acquainted with.”

“Excuse me?”

Our guide, Aisha, poked her head out of the command center at that moment, waving toward us.

“The Second Star told me she is ready to see you now.”

“Thank you, Aisha.” Imako gave her a quick, overdramatic bow as Aisha left the building, jogging off to deliver more messages, I assumed. Once Aisha was well off, Imako nodded to me before entering the building, with me close behind. Inside, we found ourselves in a lobby or lounge of sorts. A single man sat behind a desk who never bothered to look up from whatever he was sifting through as we walked past a heavy door into the room beyond.

The second room was almost exactly what I had always pictured a war room as. Direct center was a table, a large map of Haerasong taking up nearly the entirety of the table. Standing behind it was a woman who looked to be in her mid-fifties to late sixties. Her greying mane spoke of years of wizened grace.

She was also tall. I had to look up like a child to make eye contact with the woman.

“Nicole.” Imako inclined his head toward the woman as we walked in.

“Imako. And you must be Rook Baster. I’ve heard a bit of your exploits.”

“You.. have?”

“Why, of course. Especially as of late. In fact, we owe you thanks. If it weren’t for your efforts within the Dungeon toward the southern border of Haerasong, we wouldn’t be here having this conversation.”

“We wouldn’t?” I asked, confused.

“Now Nicole, let’s not bombard him. Not until the rest of the Stars are here.”

“Well, that will be some time.” Nicole shook her head. “Adam is currently in Haerasong, and Erin is busy for the time, though they’ll be returning tomorrow based on our estimations. They were making a quick last jaunt to check on some contacts in Haerasong.”

“Ahh, well then, this will have to do for now. Anyway, Rook, this is Nicole Aschenti, the Second Star of Nochesuki. Nicole, as you already know, this is Rook Baster of the Baster family.”

“Pleasure.” The woman added before frowning at Imako. “Now that the pleasantries are out of the way let’s get to business.”

The woman waved her hand and muttered once under her breath, and instantly, three chairs were pulled toward the table so that we could sit.

“Talks have broken down,” Nicole said simply.

“When?”

“When some of the dogs of the crown decided it would be a good idea to kill a citizen in Akadia. It escalated into a direct conflict when they refused to surrender themselves to Alexandria’s forces.”

“The result?”

“The crown forces were all slain, save for one or two who now hang outside the city as a warning.”

“Ahh, is that what Erin was up to?”

“Chances are when they return tomorrow, they will bring news of the officially declared wars.”

“Wonderful,” Imako said with displaced cheer.

“Yes, so you say.” The tall woman sighed as she leaned back. “We made so much progress that I believed there might have been a shot for this to be dealt with bloodlessly. All we needed to do was to put pressure on those spurring on the crown while continuing to aid the Heir Apparent as she ascended the throne.”

Nicole looked at me directly, smiling as she did. “Our reports all show that she was rather welcoming of mages and the like, but then those were only reports. I want to hear it from you, given you taught the girl. Would it have worked?”

It was my turn to sigh as I rubbed the bridge of my nose.

“I’m not a politician or a noble. I tried to keep my head in the sand when it came to that stuff, but…. Assuming nothing went wrong, she would have likely lifted the restrictions the crown currently places on mages and their likes. In fact, she was the most talented mage I’ve ever met.”

“Damn.” The Second Star shook her head. “I almost wish that weren’t the case. At least then, I could have told myself this was unavoidable. Alas, it’s not the case. Fine, Imako, you were right.”

I glanced at Imako, who shrugged as if he expected the response.

“I told you it would always come to this one day.” That was all the man said.

“Fair enough. Fine, with the assumption that war has been declared, I will begin reorganizing my branch to shift priorities from easing tensions and aiding the policies of our supporters to act as potential mediators and meddlers when need be. When Adam returns, I’ll work with him to also begin putting together a proper plan for our finances in wartime using some of our shared resources.”

“Wonderful.” Imako clapped his hands together. “Now, if that is all -”

“Oh, don’t try to weasel out of here already.” Nicole snapped. “I need to know Imako if this was all worth it. Do you realize the danger you put all of Nochesuki in by traveling to Akadia? Not only that, you made our Naval Commander tag along. What if something went wrong, and you were all captured? Now that war is unavoidable, we’d be sunk in the water without you two. So, was it worth it?”

At that moment, I realized that when she questioned whether ‘it’ was worth it, she meant me.

Oh.

“You’ve been briefed on his accounts. You should know as well as any that this man here is worth dozens of battalions, if not more.” Imako said proudly.

“Uhh, maybe that’s a bit-”

“Now is not the time for modesty,” Nicole said harshly, albeit not cruelly, toward me. “I realize you may not have wanted to come here, but the fact is you’re here now, and that has ramifications. We need to know your worth, not just what it says on paper because paper means fuck all in the long run. I would know. Do you realize how often a letter or an invitation will say one thing, only for some slime-footed, rat-faced bastard of a noble to try to pull a quick one?”

As a teenager, the sudden aggression and vitriol in the woman’s voice would have wilted my courage on the spot. Except, I wasn’t a teenager anymore. I held the woman’s gaze as she looked toward me, rolling my shoulders ever so slightly as I did.

“Apologies.” After a moment, the Second Star seemed to calm herself. “This entire impending war has me rather on edge. Now that it’s inevitable, we must do everything possible to succeed. Imako took a massive risk setting out to recruit you, and now that you’re here, we need to know your worth. Are you just a simple mage? Because we have powerful mages in our own right. Or are you more capable than that? Can you lead? All questions that must be asked.’

“I’m pretty good in a fight,” I admitted with a shrug.

“Yes, well, that was to be expected. You’re strong enough to have beaten Harris Flash Step. That’s not an easy thing to do, even if the man has been retired from adventuring for years now. We need to see how you fair in proper combat against a proper tester.”

“You need to test me?” I raised an eyebrow at the woman, surprised that something so… mundane was really being proposed to a man of my skills. It wasn’t that I was pretentious or believed myself better or more deserving; it was simply that my record should have spoken for itself.

“Don’t take it as a slight; we must gauge your capabilities accurately. Furthermore, as I said, we will also need an idea of your capabilities as a potential leader or your ability to take orders. The issue with powerful folks is they are often beyond terrible at listening to commands from superiors if they do not believe them to be their ‘betters,’ you see.”

“As far as taking orders go, I can,” I informed the women. “Though I won’t listen to orders that will see me, or those with me, needlessly killed. I’ve done that before and saw too many people die when I could have done more.”

“Yes, your dungeon experience. I’ve heard a bit of how that went down. Fifty-odd gold-ranked adventurers head in, yet only a handful make it out alive. Remarks from some of the surviving adventurers state that Iris made some questionable calls at times, or at least questionable with the privilege of hindsight. I am to assume, then, that you had thought to argue those orders during those instances only to stand down?”

“Yeah, something like that,” I grumbled.

“Hmm. Well, that will be noted then. What about your skills at commanding others?”

“I can’t say I have much experience there.” I admitted.”

“Bollocks.” Imako barked out with laughter.

“Do you have something to add, Imako?”

“The man doesn’t know what he means.” Imako laughed at me even as I glared at him. “You were a teacher, were you not?”

“I think that hardly translates,” I said.

“Perhaps, perhaps not.” Nicole mused. “But Imako makes a fair point. Even if you don’t have direct experience with leading or commanding others, you’ve seen it done before as an adventurer. Then you managed to wrangle some of the worst-behaved humans out there, noble brats. Therefore, I believe there is merit in considering those points in your assessment.”

Wonderful. Just wonderful.

“I think that’s enough consideration of his personal capabilities for now.” Imako clapped once more. “Nicole, don’t you agree?”

“Yes, from here, I believe the only things we still need to assess are things that cannot be assessed by words alone and assessments that I’d prefer to have done when Erin is in attendance.”

“Why?”

“Well, she is Commander of the armed forces of Nochesuki. Unless you believe yourself better at covert actions and therefore better suited to be under Imako’s command.”

I gave Imako a sideway glance before shaking my head.

“No, I’m not exactly the sneaky type for the most part.”

“Then we are done here for today. Tomorrow, you’ll take an assessment of your practical capabilities. Until then, you’re dismissed.”

I stood up before standing about awkwardly.

“Is something the matter?” Nicole questioned.

“No, I’m just unsure if I’m supposed to salute or something.”

“No, you’re not a part of Nochesuki; you’re more like hired muscle. If you want a rule of thumb, salute only when you see others salute and you’re amongst those saluting at the time.”

“Easy enough.”

“Well, when you leave, alert the secretary that you need a guide to lodging. You have the day to yourself. Tomorrow, we’ll send for you.”

Nodding, I began to leave, noting that Imako made no effort to budge.

Well, not that I’m surprised. Probably has things he needs to discuss with his fellow Star, after all.

Shrugging to myself, I left the room, suddenly tired.

Might as well get some rest then. Tomorrow is apparently a big day.