Elnor and Yenel walked through the snow. Yenel had covered Elnor with her blue coat, preventing the moonlight that reflected off the gold tube from being spotted. They traveled as fast as possible. Yenel tried helping by lifting the tube with her telekinesis but only marginally sped up the long journey.

“Elnor, we’re close. Allies are heading our way,” said Yenel.

Elnor did not answer, focusing all her strength on lifting her foot that sunk deeply into the ground whenever she took a step. Yenel led the way through one of the hidden cave tunnels connected to Fort Badai. The floor of the cave was sturdier than the snow, making it easier for Elnor to move. They moved through the dark tunnel; Yenel lit a match stick to provide vision. After a while, they saw a group of knights running towards them. General Ahri approached along with a few augmenters and visioners.

“Commanders,” General Ahri said to them as she approached. The other augmenters came to Elnor’s side. Two of them tried to lift the golden tube from Elnor’s back but failed. Only after twenty augmenters, along with the aid of four visioners, joined in the effort did they managed to hoist the heavy scroll off of Elnor.

“General,” Elnor breathed heavily, her back aching from the strain. “I have to go back. My squire is still there.”

Ahri waved her hand, signaling the sorcerers to return to the fort with the scroll. She then placed a hand on Elnor’s cheek and wiped the blood away from the Commander’s nose with her thumb. “Your bleeding,” General Ahri said. “You need to rest.”

“Ishan is still there, General!” Elnor exclaimed, her heart thumping rapidly. “I’m bringing him back,” she said and turned to leave.

“No!” General Ahri yelled. “I’m not allowing you. That’s an order, Commander.”

Elnor turned to the General in surprise and anger. “I promised him that I’d go back for him.” She had ordered her squire to stay alive and to wait for her. She would not break her word.

“It’s no longer about you, Elnor,” the General said her name. “We just received a boon that can shift the direction this war is heading towards. I’m not going to let a Commander who’s also a master augmenter waste her life on a squire who is most likely already dead!” People die in war, and Ahri knew Elnor knows it. Elnor was not just a Commander but also a master augmenter. Having her in the army could save the lives of many knights. And because she is a Commander, Ahri expects Elnor to do what is right.

“But General!” Elnor protested.

“Enough!” Ahri cut Elnor off. “The last time you disobeyed my order to rescue a dead boy, hundreds of knights died. Don’t repeat the same mistake. We need you in this war, Elnor.” The General paused. “We have received orders to bring that scroll back to the capital. The second army is on their way to relieve us. Now you need to make your choice. Either return to Sutra with us and see your family or never see them again and go on this suicide mission.” Ahri did not want to bring the subject of Elnor’s family, but in the heat of the argument, that was what came to her mind.

Elnor stared at the General furiously. She thought about Hua and Safia back home and then her squire. Her heart shattered into pieces as she made her choice. And just like that, what Ahri had said to preserve her master sorcerer, had ended up costing her one instead.

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Nevan felt the turning of wheels underneath where he laid. His vision was blurry, his eyes and head heavy. It was dark, and only the trickle of sunlight that passed through the crevices between the wooden plank that formed the walls around him did he knew it was morning. Nevan tried to keep his eyes open, but they closed again as he returned to unconsciousness.

“Wake up!” A prison guard shouted. He banged the railings of the cell with his mace, jolting Nevan awake. Nevan sat up, blinking rapidly as his vision spun. He looked around him from the bed he sat on. He could not tell what time of the day it was, the lack of windows or openings on the stonewall making it impossible. There was a bed and a small hole that connected into a sewer at the corner. He could smell faeces and piss from where his bead. “Good, good.” The guard chuckled. “Be glad I didn’t have to go in there and wake you.” The guard walked away from Nevan’s cell, down the corridor. There were no hints of sun or moonlight; only torches acted as sources of light.

Nevan recollected what had happened. He remembered fighting enemy knights, diverting them away from Elnor and Yenel. And then he was shot by arrows and bolts before being knocked out by an augmenter. Nevan touched his chest, where an arrow had punctured and saw no wound. He was still dressed in his inner tunic and trousers, albeit torn. He patted his trousers and found nothing missing; only his hammers and armor were taken.

A young girl walked in carrying a tray with a cup of water and a bowl of gruel. She was dressed in rags, clearly a peasant. She placed the tray down on the floor and slid it inside the cell through a small hatch. “I suggest you tell them what they want,” the girl said, closing the hatch. “It will get much worse for you if you don’t.” Nevan stared at the girl’s green eyes impassively. Seeing no response from him, the girl left.

Nevan drank the water, emptying the cup quickly, and finished the gruel. He slid the tray back out from the hatch. A few minutes later, a knight, with an Akar commander’s badge painted on his chest plate, came. The knight, who had short black hair and a defined jawline, spoke elegantly. “I hope you’ve enjoyed our hospitality,” he said.

Nevan stayed silent, looking to the wall opposite his bed. He inwardly embodied Ishan, just in case there was a visioner listening.

“All we want to know is where the scroll you stole is being transported to,” the knight said. “And when you eventually do, we’ll let you join us.”

Nevan scoffed at the Commander’s offer.

“It sounds weird, I know,” the knight said. “I had the same reaction once,” he lifted a finger. “Before I was shown what was about to come and agreed to join the cause.”

Nevan laughed. “Akar’s cause of conquering and killing?” he rhetorically asked. “Brave words for one that betrayed their nation.”

The man smiled. “Believe me or not,” he lifted both hands to his side. “But we are trying to save the world.”

“Quite counterintuitive, don’t you think?” Nevan asked. “Saving the world by killing everyone.”

The Commander sighed. “Not kill,” he shook his head. “We’re going to unite the world. By force if necessary, but we would avoid it whenever possible.”

Nevan smiled. “Tell me then, other than for power and riches. Why would you want to conquer the whole world?”

The knight’s smile shifted into a frown. “Unite, not conquer,” he corrected Nevan. “We’ve tried to get the leaders of all kingdoms to surrender, but many refused. You see, our god, Garuda, has sent us a warning.”

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“Your gods, my gods, others’ gods,” Nevan cut off the man’s speech. “They’re all fairytales to give hope to the hopeless.”

The man raised both his eyebrows and grinned. “How you reminded me of myself when I was in your position,” the man said, amused by Nevan’s words. “You see, the Garuda had sent us a vision, not a prophecy,” he shook his head. “Demons are going to come and invade us, and we need to stand as one when they do.”

“ A vision now?” Nevan sarcastically asked. “Did the vision also showed you what you’d be having for breakfast tomorrow too?”

“No, sadly,” the Commander frowned. “You’ll believe what I’m saying once you see it too.” The man snapped his fingers. The young girl, who had brought food earlier, came and handed the Commander a shiny gold sphere. The sphere fitted perfectly in the man’s palm. He held the orb close to the prison bars. “Come touch it,” he urged Nevan. “Please just make it easy, and don’t make us force you to do it.”

Nevan reached out and placed a hand around the ball. His vision instantly went white. He was in the middle of an enormous battlefield filled with ash. The early light of dawn shined on the grey battlefield. Tall red humanoid creatures were marching towards the humans wearing the golden bird banners of Akar. The invaders were organized, clearly sentient, armed with large curved swords and armor. The army of demons was in the millions and was equally matched by the military of Akar. A long shadow blade conjured around the invader’s sorcerer’s arms, cutting down the incoming human knights from hundreds of meters away. Bodies of knights, sliced into pieces, flew through the air. A human elementalist unleashed a massive wave of fire on the invaders, and death continued to fill the battlefield. Nevan’s vision turned white again, and now he saw an enormous army of skeletons and rotten corpses on an empty field from above in the night sky. He saw a pile of corpses in a ditch. The skeleton closest to the trench dismounted their rotting bear and placed their palms onto the ground. The dead bodies rose and joined the undead ranks. It was only a vision, but every fiber of Nevan’s body knew it was real. As the undead army marched onwards with their new members, Nevan’s dream turned white again.

Nevan found himself returning to the same position he was in, still holding the golden ball around his palm. He pulled his hand off of the ball, breathing heavily. He had never heard nor seen an object that could show visions to people. “What was that?” he asked the Commander.

“A warning of what is to come,” the Commander replied, frowning melancholically. “Now you know the reason we are doing this. We are trying to save the world. And to do that, we have to stand as one.” The man met the prisoner’s eyes, “please, help us and tell us where you are taking the scroll.”

“I think not,” Nevan shook his head.

“You saw the vision yourself. You know it’s real.” The man snapped back.

“Enlighten me then, would you? Why must it be Akar that lead the world? What makes you better than the other nations?” Nevan sneered at the man. “In the end, Akar is nothing but another kingdom hungry for power. And I’m not going to aid you in any way.”

“Our god has chosen us to lead the world. As proof that we were the ones chosen, the Garuda gave us a gift. And your friends had stolen a copy of it.” The man retorted. The Commander remembered the day when they received the scroll. He had already had placed his hand on a similar golden orb and joined Akar’s cause by then. One night the Garuda’s shrine was empty, and as the morning rooster crowed, the scroll appeared out of thin air. He saw it manifest on the shrine himself, having been assigned to guard the temple that night. “Outsiders having that knowledge would only lead to more bloodshed,” he continued.

Nevan laughed, “And what if I tell you my god told me differently? That Ronan was the ones chosen to lead?”

The Commander’s expression turned confused. “You’ve seen the vision yourself. You know it's real, and so is our god, yet you do not believe?” He asked softly.

“I don’t,” Nevan lied. “And even if I do believe the Garuda is real, I would never worship it.”

The Commander frowned and turned to face his left, where a visioner was standing by, out of sight of Nevan. The visioner frowned and nodded her head to the Commander. The Commander turned back to face Nevan and looked at him in surprise. “You can lie to visioners,” the man muttered.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Nevan replied the man.

“Anyone who’s seen the golden orb our god had given us will know it was real. It’s impossible not to.” The man smiled at Nevan. “You are an interesting fellow. I am very eager to learn how you came to receive this capability. Sadly we are running out of time, and that would have to wait.”

“Wait for what? You don’t even know when the invaders will come, don’t you?”

The man’s smile never wavered. “No, we don’t. But we aren’t foolish enough not to take action when given a warning.” He moved close to the metal bars and met Nevan’s eyes. “So now I’m going to give you one. Let us know now where your friends are taking the scroll, or we will break you. Either way, you will tell us.”

“I. Don’t. Know,” Nevan said slowly, word for word.

The Commander frowned at his prisoner. He always wondered why some people would refuse to help even when shown proof. The prisoner was lying, even when his visioner said otherwise. The Commander had seen Nevan fought his men and knew a knight with Nevan’s capabilities must be high up in the military. It will take some time for Ronan to access the scroll due to the powerful lock they had placed it in. Akar’s General had sent scouts towards Ronan’s southern fort, but they did not saw any knights entering the fort. The thieves must have had taken it somewhere else. “Usually, we would treat our prisoners kindly, and in time they would tell us what we want to know. But, as I said before, we are short of time.”

Nevan did not respond.

“Very well then, you’ve made your choice.” The Commander clapped his hands twice, and a group of augmenters entered. The augmenters entered Nevan’s cell and pinned him to the ground. Nevan struggled but was far too weak when compared to the augmenters. They gripped his hands tightly and lifted him to his feet. Nevan thought he heard a bone crack. Nevan stayed silent and remained so as they led him out of the cell and down a hallway. He diverted his gaze from the Commander, who was smiling wickedly at him. Nevan reminded himself that Elnor was coming for him. He needed to stay strong until then.

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General Ahri stood in one of the empty rooms in the fort. The golden tube that Elnor and Yenel had stolen sat on the ground. Ahri unsheathed her fabidium steel sword and transmuted tenaga. She swung and struck the tube. Her swing followed through, but her sword’s blade had broken into two, the broken piece clang as it fell onto the ground. “Not even fabidium steel could cut through it,” she said to Yenel, who was standing by the door to the room.

“No,” Yenel shook her head. “Elnor also tried swinging the tube itself onto a rock, but the rock shattered instead.”

“Elnor,” Ahri sighed. Ahri did not mean to back Elnor into a corner. But she needed Elnor for the war, and losing her would be a tremendous blow towards the third army. “Tell me, Yenel. Did you influenced her squire’s decision to divert the enemies away?”

“I told him of our situation,” Yenel replied. “He told his decision to Elnor himself.”

Ahri met Yenel’s eyes. “You’re dodging the question.”

Yenel returned the General’s gaze and stared back.

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Elnor was in her office, packing her things into a sack. The empty cup that her squire had used still sat on her desk. She held the bag that her squire had always used. She was returning home, and usually, she would be excited. But tonight, she felt bitter; the weight of her heavy heart threatened to drag her underneath the ground. “I’m sorry, Ishan,” she sadly muttered as she collected her things. Winter was almost over, and all-out war will be coming. The third army was being sent back to the capital before being deployed again. This would be the last time Elnor would have a chance to see Hua and Safia in a long time, or even ever. It broke her heart to abandon her squire, and she hated herself for it. But she needed to say goodbye to her family. She wanted to see them one last time. “I’m sorry,” she whispered wistfully again.

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Nevan laid on his back, on a long table in an empty dark room, only a single torch lit by the door. The augmenters that had brought him here had strapped his arms and legs with chains to the surface of the table. He was immobile, not even able to squirm. His head had also been locked in place, unable to turn, and faced upwards. He looked straight at the hole of the small wooden pipe above him. A droplet of water fell and splashed onto his head. He did not know how long he had been stuck onto the table, but it felt like hours, and his muscles had begun to ache. He heard another plink as another droplet fell. He struggled against the chains but was unable to move. And another drop of water splashed onto his head. He tried to turn his neck, but the tight contraption kept him from doing so. Another splashed onto his head again. He transmuted tenaga and fought the chains with all his might, trying to get at least the drops of water to wet on a different spot. He failed, and another plink could be heard before he felt another splash on his forehead. ‘Please, Elnor.’ He begged internally. ‘Get me out of here. Please.’