Lurona city [southern shores of Fuminao Legacy Kingdom], local time [1793.12.--] [New Year Celebrations]

From a far distance, a dark-blue wave was approaching through the sea, its apex easily reaching the height of the mountain islands. The light from the ever-bright moon was reflecting from the wavy surfaces, showing clearly that a mass of water was coming for them. A whole horizon was glistering softly, setting a beautifully horrifying background scenery for the ports and islands that sparkled with their own streetlamps and illuminated interiors of buildings.

Were it to hit the shore, a true calamity would befall the city. Zeph was sure that not only the architecture would crumble under the mass of the water like a sand castle, but he never saw anything resembling a bunker or evacuation road. People would die in droves…

Alas, it was merely an illusion of some kind.

“So, it’s really your first winter near the shore?” Irra asked with a smirk. “One can wonder why…”

Pavail glared at her, while Zeph frowned, still looking at the coming ‘wave’. “Is that really what you are going to ask right now?” he asked in a cold tone. She has no discipline whatsoever… he thought, sighing.

She tilted her head innocently. It took her a moment to remember his previous orders. After realizing her mistake, she blushed and looked at the floor, pressing her lips together as if trying to stop herself from speaking again while her ears dropped to the sides, laying on her head almost.

“Pavail, you memorized the instructions?” he turned to the healer girl.

She nodded, still glaring at Irra. “I will let you know if something isn’t right.”

Zeph nodded in approvement. At least one person in their Guild was listening to him and learned the verbal cipher and nonverbal signals. It was certainly not because he was her boss. Certainly not.

He could sympathize with Ghrughah’s headaches.

Zeph sighed again, looking back at the strange sight to kill time. If it wasn’t dangerous, he would ask about it later. There was no reason to provoke Irra’s irresponsible behavior with another conversation. Or his own big mouth, for that matter.

Despite the late hour, most of the apartments and houses were full of life. Not many people braved the cold weather at night, but he was sure that tomorrow he would be able to see the masses on the streets, if not for the upcoming attack. First ski-ed carriages filled to the brim with guards started to pass them hurriedly, confirming that his dream wasn’t only a figment of imagination.

After two or three more hours—Zeph couldn’t be sure without a watch—of riding in the increasingly tense atmosphere, they started to descend into the Roaming Onsen’s valley. Before they even managed to reach the property of the village, they were intercepted by heavily cloaked riders. Instead of stopping them, though, the riders let the two carriages pass without slowing down and turned back behind them to join the small convoy.

One of the leading figures gestured a few signs through the left window as they overtook their vehicle, before disappearing from their field of vision up ahead. Zeph turned to Pavail and nodded.

Wordlessly, she stood up and rotated a mechanical lock on the wall behind her. A few moments later, the carriage swayed slightly and after another few seconds of silence, the metal plate in the front wall slid up, uncovering a small barred window and causing a chilly air to flow into the passengers’ cabin.

Zeph shuffled to the right to better see the person that just joined their driver. The man was in the middle of uncovering his face, taking off the many layers of cold-protection gear. As he finished, the Hannyajin wordlessly shoved a medallion into the slit under the bars. Pavail took it to check the numbers and an enchantment inside, while Zeph took out his city medallion for an inspection, and reached to slide it under the bars. After both sides were satisfied with the identification, the medallions were returned and the man started to speak.

“Welcome back, La-Einar, La-Hwaran. We are under code red, martial law protocol. Are any guests present?” he asked, glancing at Irra.

Good question… I never asked. Zeph thought, following his gaze.

“Only one initiate. Irra Turiel,” Pavail introduced, “She will work in our department and agreed to stay in the headquarters until the Duels.”

Good. I was worried she wouldn’t sign the initial contract with the Guild…

The man nodded. “La-Zora have expected that you may return in time. The laboratory building is already secured and the personnel on high alert. I suggest you consult with the Heads before deciding on the course of action. The event is estimated to take place in four hours,” he explained succinctly and turned to Zeph. “The council is in the middle of a meeting. Ghrughah-jiji left the armor in your room, please join them as soon as you finish gearing up.”

“Understood. Did you think of something?” Zeph addressed the girls.

Pavail shook her head. “I will start preparing in the medical wing. We don’t have many Doctors, or otherwise.”

“Uh… I t-think I can try something… if you have a free alchemical station?” Irra said tentatively.

Zeph nodded and turned to the rider. “Can you send someone ahead to get Aisha and P’pfel? I would rather not waste time…”

“Your call, La-Einar,” the man shrugged. “Is that all?”

“Yes, for now,” Zeph nodded.

The window was shut, and the man disembarked somehow without stopping the carriage. It took them another twenty minutes to arrive at the hotel, the traffic slowing them slightly.

The whole area was swarming with people. Every building was already decorated for the festivities, but the atmosphere was lost in the fervent activity as people transported weapons and rations, reinforced windows and doors, and made sure nothing of worth stayed outside.

Ghrughah, P’pfel, and Aisha were waiting for them in the waiting room by the lobby, surrounded by a full squad of warriors clad in characteristic black-and-red armor. Aisha didn’t seem to appreciate their presence, though. She was glaring at her ‘bodyguards’ as if daring them to speak a word.

“Took you long enough,” she said grumpily as she spotted them. “We were in the middle of planning, you know?”

Zeph shook his head. “We need to talk in private, there is no need to waste time. And Irra should talk with P’pfel.” He looked at Ghrughah with a raised eyebrow.

The man said nothing, but Zeph could feel a familiar pattern pressing against his Veil. He returned the ethereal gesture. “I am here to speed things up,” the giant grumbled, throwing at Zeph a small, wooden box, which he caught clumsily. He felt better, but his coordination still wasn’t the best. “But I may as well see what it is about,” he said, turning to the cowering cat girl.

“Let’s go, then.” Aisha declared, hopping to her feet.

Without preamble, the duo speed-walked further into the complex, Aisha’s bodyguards leaving them alone at the second checkpoint in the troop’s canteen, the main hub. Zeph retrieved his key/bracelet from the wooden box as they passed the fighters busying themselves in the hall, and they entered a corridor leading further into the building and into the closed-off section. True to the rider’s words, after they descended to the lower floor, they were met with a metal wall instead of a hallway. Zeph used his key to open the passage, the door sliding back into the wall.

He made sure to close each door behind them, and after they walked through the third section, leading to another staircase, Zeph give way to his rising curiosity and dread.

“That should be far enough. What the hell is happening? I had a dream about beasts’ aerial attack and infighting, but that’s about all I know.”

She glanced at him lazily. “Impatient as always. The City Council is trying to prevent the information from spreading, so keep it to yourself for the time being. Eblelta, a city to the east, has fallen…”

Zeph grimaced. This doesn’t sound good… how could a city just fall?

“…It was overtaken by beasts. So, most probably, an animal or a group of them managed to attain sapience and higher intelligence, and founded their own ‘country’ or ‘horde’ – the name varies depending on who you ask.”

Zeph interjected. “If we are to believe my dream and Pavail’s expertise, they will use the Mental Medium during the attack. Why is the Council trying to keep that information under wraps?”

Asha looked at him seriously. “Well… That certainly seals the case. Also, explains a lot about the how. That old governing mongrels don’t want people to start evacuating prematurely. We have a whole shoreline of naval ports – if they panic, half of the poorer denizens would disappear overnight, alongside the ships. An unmanned port is worth nothing, double so with the lack of ships. But that’s only part of the truth. In my opinion, they are trying to force people into this conflict to protect their assets in the city by spreading the damage and keeping the beasts occupied. It’s idiotic. No one knows when the true invasion will come, and keeping people in the dark for long is impossible. Even more people will try to leave the city as soon as they learn the truth, or after they see the causalities. The Council should fortify the ports instead of wasting time. It would prevent unauthorized transport, protect people and goods, safeguard an evacuation route, and raise morale. But no one wants to spend that much money. The tactical geniuses.” She spat to the side with disgust. Zeph wasn’t sure if it was her subjective assessment, or if that’s how local government really worked. It was hard to believe that people could be so incompetent with all the knowledge from General Skills available to them.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Wait. If tonight’s attack isn’t an invasion, then what is it? And how could a city just fall, aren’t you prepared for events like that?” he asked, opening the doors to his future office room.

“Those are only forward forces, probably meant to hunt down those who managed to escape. There is no way we wouldn’t know what happened, so they probably plan to use the opportunity to test our defenses and scout, producing as much damage as possible. A few of the escapees already managed to reach Lurona, that’s how we know what happened to the… What?” she asked, seeing his raised eyebrow.

“Soul-bond?” he stated simply.

“Ah, yes. I am quite sure the council members and more established groups in the city knew that Eblelta was under attack from the beginning. But that method of long-range communication is not perfect or easy to set up.” She entered the hidden staircase first, allowing Zeph to close it behind them. “People talented enough to be able to share their senses with their Soul-bonded creature are rare and tend to find more lucrative jobs. Appropriate Skills can only help – the process is quite complicated. Besides, it’s hard to keep the Bond intact—not to mention keeping it strong—without being able to interact physically and personally with one’s partner. Add to that the fact that the number of Soul-bonds is limited and that it’s not easy to find a suitable partner, and it becomes obvious why almost no one would risk keeping them in a warzone… For the same reason, sending members of one’s family only to stay informed would be pure madness... if you know what I mean. I don’t think we spoke about bees and flowers yet,” she smirked, glancing at him. “Anyway, it’s also hard to ascertain a fall of a whole city from one position, even assuming you have someone’s Soul-bonded animal to communicate with.”

Zeph turned the lights in his living room. It was nice to have it fully furnished, finally. “You can continue, I will just change clothes and bring the armor.”

It was her turn to raise an eyebrow. “Bring?”

Zeph paused at the door to his bedroom and turned. “It’s the highest time for you to learn how to put on and take off my armor. Or did you forget what happened last time you tried your hand at it?” He glared at her.

She smiled abashedly and made a placating gesture. “It was an emergency.” His frown deepened. She never paid him fully for the damage. “An emergency, I am telling you! You were giving birth!”

“No. Gru was.”

She shrugged. “Same difference. Ahem… No, never mind! Bring it, I will learn.” She clapped her hands together and tilted her head ‘cutely’.

He sighed, shaking his head.

In his room, on the new sturdy desk, his new, shiny armor was lying alongside a file of documents and a black bundle of clothes.

The material was dark brown, excluding the tapestry of yellow veins, just as Zeph expected. But he noticed that each microplate that wasn’t part of a relatively flat surface was rimmed with a black, matte material. He could also spot a few big plates inserted in a few strategic places, like the armguards, the so-called gorget, and the shin guards. The flaky texture of the material was almost invisible because of how small were the plates forming the armor.

He scanned the instructions first, half-listening to Aisha as she continued her explanations from the living room.

“As for how the city has fallen… We suspect a third party helped. Because that’s not the end of bad news. Landlord Oric – supported by that faction of the Temple of Souls, Landlord Yarell, and Landlord Vladal – have rebelled and declared their lands independent.”

Shit… Was the political situation always this unstable here? he thought, slightly shocked. It wasn’t an everyday occurrence when part of a country rebels.

“That’s four whole cities, including North Tarak. And those fanatics,” she spat out, “renamed themselves into a Temple of Pure Souls. The hypocrisy! Whatever… Eblelta was the only close-by city to their lands. It was the Kingdom’s easternmost port, too. We are sure they took advantage of the situation to get rid of the sore, or even outright provoked or helped to organize the attack. After what happened in North Tarak, I wouldn’t put that behind them…”

“I think they will act in Lurona during the chaos. Also, I had a hunch we will be targeted,” Zeph said while changing into the black undersuit. It was made from an elastic, silky material, and hugged his body tightly. According to the documents, with time it would help Phleya make an insulating layer between the armor and his skin.

“Ha! I knew something like that would happen right after I heard about the independency claim! We have stirred the waters for them. Maybe a little too much, even. Thankfully, most of that faction members in our city were killed off by the Ojaro already.”

That made him stumble in the doorway, almost dropping his armor. He somehow forgot about the Gibbons and their infamous assassination spree in the city. He shook his head and corrected his grip on the not-so-heavy assortment of armor parts. If they saw the leaflets at the Library they would either contact me or the Goddess would inform me that they answered. I don’t have time right now to chase the shadows, he thought, throwing them away from his head.

“Here is the armor… Read the instruction first!” he shouted, turning away from her grubby hand. “You break something, you pay for it ten times the value!”

“Jeee, aren’t you overprotective?” she asked, taking the documents from the top.

Zeph placed the parts on the dining table and sit down to take a better look at them. The big plates inserted into the armor had a similar structure as his spear, the honeycomb framework was visible on the dark-brown surface if observed under a certain angle. The filler had to be some kind of the Planaria Fullerene variant, as he noticed the same dry-land-like depressions, but much more subdued and shallower. It was enchantment-ready, for sure. He also noticed that the armor was bulkier than it should. After checking the insides, he found more solid plates inserted to protect his chest and abdomen area, his lungs and spine, and his thighs alongside the neighborhood. It seemed that Ghrughah decided to modify the blueprint slightly.

The helmet was the most interesting part, though. It looked kind of like a futuristic diving headgear. The same solid metal was framing the face, covering the lower jaw and mouth altogether in artistic but menacing patterns. From there, it spread outwardly like a spider’s net, all around the surface of the helmet. Inside the frame at the front, a dark glass-like material would protect his nose and eyes. The ‘glass’ was almost four centimeters thick, to his surprise. It should allow him an almost unobscured field of view. He just hoped that Ghrughah knew what he was doing and it wasn’t a weak point. Inside, he even found a little notch for a high bun so that he wouldn’t have to worry about his below-shoulder-long hair.

“That’s… a piece of work, that’s for sure…” Aisha said, reading through the last page.

“Less talking, more acting. Legs first,” he said, putting his right foot on the table and wiggling his fingers, ignoring the withering glare she sent him. “Remember. Ten times the value.”

She breathed out with irritation. “Fine, fine…” She stood up and spread the manual on the table. Then, she picked up the boot.

As she struggled with the strange closing mechanism, he decided to use their time for something productive.

“What about the orphanage kids? They were going to arrive in the morning…”

“I have sent an escort to bring them here. There is no way I would leave them without protection. Others from my faction took care of other establishments. Ha! Easy!” she exclaimed happily, managing to close the easiest of the locks. She dealt with his other foot almost instantly.

“That reminds me,” he said, standing up. He paused and took a second to admire the comfort his new footwear brought to his feet. Earth be damned! This is better than anything we could produce!

“Yes?” Aisha asked while working on his left hand.

“Ah, sorry. It’s just too comfortable for the plebs like me,” he chuckled. “We have forty hours of the celebration period, correct? I get that it’s necessary to synchronize your calendar with the astronomical year, but won’t that change the hours of daylight too much? Moving the time ten hours back? The sunset would be at… what? The 15th hour of the day? At noon?”

“Soon it will be more like 13th. You forgot that the days are getting shorter rapidly. And it’s not all that bad. We will only have around three cycles of sunlight a day during the coming months. People prefer to work when it’s dark to have those seven, or so, hours of light for themselves. It’s healthier this way. Well, during winters with such an awkward shift of time as this year, people switch around their working and resting hours to spend the sunny mornings how they like. But come spring, we will have enough daylight to switch back. Then, the Communication Bureau will also start offsetting the time, shifting hours forward a little to better synchronize the daybreak with an appropriate Wadoki hour. Normally, sunrise would start around the 7th hour.”

Yea, the first day-cycle should be the fourth cycle of a day, after all. What a mess… he thought, smiling bitterly after remembering his short lesson with Ghrughah. They should just start using the leap years. Anyway, how far north are we, again? he thought while trying to do the math. Aren’t we really close to the Arctic Circle?

“Before you ask, it’s mostly because the higher-strata continents are interfering with the light. We aren’t that far north.”

“Did you learn how to read minds or something?”

She smirked. “Didn’t I tell you already how easy you are to read? Your face has too many muscles.” She smacked his armored tight. “Next! … Let’s see here…” she hunched over the manual with a finger on her lips.

“And what about that tsunami wave outside?”

“Just plankton and other marine life visiting,” she said, nonchalantly waving his armpiece. “The rites and festivities leave a lot of nourishment for them, so they learned to visit every year. The Mental Medium and Organic Magicule groups are what they like the most. What you saw was just a critically high concentration of Water Magicules, in low temperatures, and with a healthy dose of life energy. I mean, they can’t use Stabilize Spell, obviously, but because they process Mana, Organic Magicules form spontaneously in their bodies…” She paused as it was time for his torso and she couldn’t find a good way to put it on. “What’s with those questions, anyway? Did you speak too much in front of Irra, as always?” she joked.

Zeph smiled sweetly. “You need to take off the armor from my arms, first. There is an order to everything.” Aisha’s shoulders dropped as she hunched comically, glaring at him with an ugly frown. “You learn best from your own mistakes!” Zeph brazenly imitated her voice. “Aren’t that your words?”

She sighed in defeat. “Am I always this unbearable?” she asked, getting back to work.

“Sometimes,” he sniggered. “But yea… I revealed too much…”

Aisha paused and looked at him with deadpan eyes. “Are you serious? She doesn’t even want to stay with us for long. What did you say?”

“Is that really that revealing after she helped with the surgery? I don’t think so. She already knew I am not from these lands. I just don’t want to ask stupid questions in public, again.” He shrugged. “But what do you mean she won’t stay? She signed the contract, right?”

Aisha looked at him for a few seconds longer before concentrating back on the armor. “That was barely more than a non-disclosure agreement. She doesn’t want to be tied down; especially to an organization. I think she may be more trouble than she is worth. The gold we have paid isn’t the end of the issue. She’s wanted. A few less-savory groups feel scammed or deeply slanted by her. Thankfully, a vast majority of them reside in other cities. I have nothing against helping people, but… Investing in someone while knowing that they would scram at the first sight of the trouble, probably leaving us with said trouble to deal with… It doesn’t sound ideal.”

Zeph nodded. “I will talk with her. But I can’t guarantee that my decision will be purely rational. I saw way too many wasted talents to—”

“Grrrraaah!” Just as Aisha was to close the chest piece, Gru vibrated violently in indignation. “Greeezz!”

Both froze. Then looked down at the armor in sync.

“Shit! We never took into account that upgrade…”

“Gru, can’t you wait at least until the fighting is done?” Aisha asked with hope.

“GRE!” it vehemently refused.

“Ugh… third eye it is, then… Make it four, stereoscopic vision is something else…” Zeph said in a defeated tone. He thought about the problem some more before giving another suggestion. “We need to fill the armor with Phleya either way, so try to influence them to make a small opening at the back, too. Just enough for your… appendage to surface. They should be much easier to manipulate for you after the updates. Make sure the opening is to the side, though. Try to circumvent the solid plates…”

Twenty minutes later, the pair exited Zeph’s humble abode. He took everything he deemed necessary, including the pistol, spear, and other weapons haphazardly thrown into his backpack.

From the back of Zeph’s right shoulder, a thin stalk was sprouting, sporting a small bud at the end. It waved delicately in the rhythm of his steps, almost like a miniature snake trying to camouflage itself in the high grass…