“Where, where…”

“My my, little brother, forgot so soon? I’ll be sure to braid your hair later for being so dense.”

Alisson couldn’t see. It was black, and he was standing. He remembered nothing, as if he’d just woken up. His hands were bound behind his back. There were no sounds, it made his ears feel as if they were going to implode with the pressure of the silence. The woman who’d spoken tersely chuckled. He realized who it was immediately.

“Ha, as if I’d do something like that. Chin up Alisson, you’re my apprentice now, aren’t you?”

“Appy-Apophria…”

Alisson mumbled. He could barely stand, much less remember the events of the last seventy-two hours. He remembered the apprentice ceremony, and then, after that, his mind drew a blank. In his few decades of life, Alisson had never been so confused, scared, and cold, as he was now. His body shook, the terror of the last night’s happenings were still imprinted deeply upon him; So much so, that he’d called his sister ‘Appy’ on instinct, as she’d instructed him to do.

“Ah, I see you haven’t forgotten too much then. But, keep that name for bed-time, okay?”

Alisson shuddered at the words ‘bed-time’. He remembered now, it all came back to him in a flood…the beating, the laughing of his sister, and the all those tonics she’d given him that had made him forget, that made him dizzy, that had turned him into a sputtering and drooling fool…

“Well, you’ve had plenty of time to rest since then. I’m so lucky to have had so many healing spell-imbued scrolls on hand ya’know. I originally stockpiled them all for myself, but here I’ve gone and used them all up in one night on you; Alisson, you should be thankful I’m so benevolent with you.”

She chuckled once more.

“But now, I need to make sure that you’ll be more than just mine…it’s really a pain but I have to oblige by my orders, isn’t that right, apprentice? Don’t worry my dear brother, I’ll make this quick, you’ll be in tip-top shape in no time – We have other, more important, things we could be doing instead of focusing all on you. So, bathe in the attention, Alisson, it’s the most you’re ever going to get.”

He heard the swipe of a blade, and whatever binding him was snapped in two. He didn’t move of course, not a muscle did Alisson move. He was scared. He shook just thinking about not following his older sister’s each and every word.

“Well, first thing’s first, you need to have a better sense of awareness, you’re just as blind in this forest as you would be with your head chopped off, and that’s what I call a helpless Nekomata. So, try not to get cut too fast, my dear brother.”

She giggled, and Alisson heard the whoosh of a blade, headed straight for him. He screamed at his body to move, but alas, his mind was far faster than his limbs, for his body didn’t budge.

A hot tear opened on his back, it was unlike the rest of the wounds he’d felt last night; for his sister had just cut him open with a real, and sharp, sword, without any of those things she’d given him previously. He yelped in pain, stumbling and almost falling to his knees in pain.

“Oh-ho, too useless to even dodge a single blade. My my, you’re going to need a lot more work than I thought…”

Apophria sighed with the click of her tongue. She seemed genuinely angry, angry at him, for being not up to par. He couldn’t feel shame however, not over the abundance of pain coursing through him. He wanted to collapse, to writhe and scream out, but he knew very well that he’d be done for if he did that.

“Well, third times a charm so, just endure the second and you’ll be fine, right?”

He could hear her smugness, he could feel her demeaning glare on his face. He heard the slash of a blade once more, and moved, but he was too late.

“Ah-!”

He stopped himself short of screaming of course. He felt not only the burning, searing of another wound but Alisson also felt two streams of some sort of liquid fall drop down onto his cheeks.

“Hey, you moved, now next time actually make that movement count! But really, if you keep that up, you’ll sound just like a virgin in heat. You know, I bet ya could’ve been pretty popular with the guys at school with your looks and a voice like that.”

He could feel her grin on his body, for some reason it was just as strong on him as his burning wounds were. He heard the swipe of a blade once more, and every single bone in his body recoiled away from the sound, moving more in fear than a cohesive evasion.

He cringed, pain seething through his teeth as another rip opened on his body, his thigh. He clutched his leg, the fabric already hot and soaked with blood. He wobbled for a moment on the wounded leg, before falling to one knee.

Alisson’s eyes popped open, wide in terror; he’d, he’d fallen!

No-! No! Get up-!

He screamed at his leg to move, but it simply didn’t. Horror washed over him, he stood still, cringing, already awaiting his punishment.

“Hmm…third times not a charm huh? Well, you’re going to need to try a lot harder than that to get better.”

He heard Apophria kneel, and the unwrapping of a sheaf of paper fluttered to his ears.

The area glowed blue for a moment, and he could see the ground, covered in a dead leaves and rotted sticks. He could see his sister, infinitely taller than him, looming over him in her kneel, with a glowing paper in one hand. He suddenly felt a cool, and refreshing chill wash over his wounds.

He sighed at the relief of his pain.

“Oh?”

Just as quickly as he did sigh though, he felt his stomach cave in on itself, and he was sent rolling across the ground. He sputtered, gasping for air, as the wind was knocked out of him.

“Seriously, if you think you’re fine just because I can’t let you die, think again. You’re not doing as I say to not be in pain, you’re doing this to become a warrior, ya hear?”

He hadn’t even felt her fist on his gut, all he felt was the impact, he hadn’t even seen or heard her move either.

“Y-yash-“ He struggled to speak with the lack of air in his lungs, “Mash-st-ster…”

“Hmph. Damn right you do. Well, that little healing was plenty enough, but it looks like you need more a rest than I thought…” She put her hand to her chin, the light of the spell still illuminating the area. Alisson only stared at the wasted healing spell, acutely feeling his still open and bleeding wounds, unfinished in their mending.

“…maybe thirty minutes is too little a time…” He heard her mumble to herself.

“Well,” She looked back to him with a sadistic smile, “If you really need more rest, than here,” She snapped her fingers, and the light went out, returning the area into a sea of black.

“Have some.” She laughed, her voice growing faint as she walked away. “We’ll see how long you last, or at least, how long it takes you to unlock that pitiful Epensen of yours.”

With a last giggle, she was gone. And Alisson was left, alone, in this foreign place of black.

Alisson sat, his eyes wide yet seeing nothing. It wasn’t long before he could hear the beating of his heart, the pulsing at his ears from the pain, and the sounds of his stomach and throat.

Was this life? To be coddled up in a place of warmth and friendliness, only to be yanked from it all, and left without anyone? Alisson could barely remember the faces of his fellow Academy graduates, even his own father’s face was shaky, and blurred. The only person who was thinking of him, was his sister. She was the only person who’d even looked at him in all his life, with such thought. All his life, everyone had dismissed Alisson, he had wished that someone would come to him…but now? His slight hope was gone, and it was quickly fading from his memory. In the past few hours, Alisson had forgot many things; All of it was simply replaced by void. His body however remembered, remembered every little bit of his sister’s actions. His body shook and quaked, against his will, cold and fearful of the dark, yet his mind sat idle, completely empty and blankly indifferent, having already been broken. It wouldn’t be long until his body too followed suit.

He didn’t know how long passed, minutes, hours, his mind was blank, his face drooled with phlegm and blood alike, washed with pain. He felt something move near him, but just like his older sister’s blade, he couldn’t move in time;

Something penetrated his shin, like claw of a hook, something large, he yelped in surprise of the sudden strike, and shakily rose his hand.

“P-pict!”

A yellow bolt flew out of Alisson’s hand, the meager light it radiated making it look like a beacon in the darkness. It struck something, naught meters away from him. It was a large white leg, like that of which of a spider. Beside it, were hundreds of other, similar legs. One of them, had struck his shin, impaling it right through to the ground.

Before he could even shriek in terror, another leg flew at him, and pierced right through one of his wrists, pinning it to the ground. He screamed out in pain, the hot and burning of his blood’s pulsing-

…

“Alisson. Alisson. It’s time to wake up.”

Alisson’s eyes fluttered open. It was bright. The fresh, and moving, wind flowed past his face. He could see the sun amongst wispy and thin clouds. Though, what chiefly filled his vision was Celis’s smiling face. She was not looking up at him, like he was used to, rather she was staring straight at him, eye to eye. She was sitting with her legs splayed over his own, to his embarrassment, facing him a mere foot away.

“What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

She said still smiling at him. As much as Alisson was warmed by her tender face and caring words, two things stopped him from truly being in a blissful state of mind.

His dream, now as he recognized it, it was, it was of his first few hours under his older sister’s mentorship. He swallowed nervously just thinking about it, though the sight of Celis right before him, and the warm sun on his face kept him from breaking into a cold sweat.

Those thing’s she’d done to him…he’d almost forgotten about them too…Alisson had tried long and hard to lock those memories away, but every time he managed to find peace, they came back. They always came back. It was not the specifics Alisson dreaded of remembering, it was the terror and fear that was imprinted on him during those day’s that he hoped not to relive anymore.

“I’m, I’m fine, just a dream was all.”

The second thing that bothered him was right before him. Celis was being uncharacteristically brazen; smiling so closely to his face, sitting on his legs and facing him…whatever she was thinking, she was exposing and leaving herself vulnerable to Alisson, it was an odd sight to him.

Other than embarrassment at her closeness, Alisson didn’t know what to think. Something must’ve happened to make her so giddy, but he couldn’t remember for the life of him anything after she’d told him about not needing to apologize.

Wait-! I didn’t-!

Two things immediately exploded in Alisson’s mind, it was two selves of him, both his logical critic and meek sociable self, both worrying about different things;

I didn’t thank her for saving me from that vision!

I fell asleep without realizing it!

His logical self was of course quicker to act, pushing his other thought into the dustbin.

“I fell asleep, didn’t I?”

Celis nodded, closing her eyes.

“I did too.”

She said quietly smiling, as if proud of herself. A large shock ran through Alisson, dwarfing that meek little self of his.

“You what? You left us both defenseless?”

Alisson said, not as himself to Celis but as a Sidonian Field Marshal to an apprentice.

“Ah-?”

Celis’s mouth opened, and she looked up at him, eyes open, as if only now realizing the severity of her actions.

“We, we could’ve been attacked, especially with those shades up and about.”

He stared at her dead in the eyes.

“I, I didn’t think about that, I just, I was…”

Alisson sighed.

He was about to recoil away from her when he realized something was grabbing his hand. When he looked, Celis had been clenching his hands with her own, as if her life depended on it.

He should’ve expected this. His apprentice was no 51st. Celis was exactly that, an apprentice; She was not perfect, and she didn’t have the judgment he or his brigade did.

He was about to open his mouth to speak when, when he noticed a dark change in Celis’s countenance. Her once fully satisfied and droopy eyes, were now watery, and her slight, radiating smile, was now but a wobbly frown.

W-w-what happened?

Alisson’s meek self came forth, grabbing the reins away from his now subsiding, cold hearted self.

Celis seemed completely distraught. He thought back on it, and realized that with every word of reprimand he’d spoken, her body slumped and curled up defensively against him, physically staving away from Alisson, as if to shield herself from his words. Once he had sighed however, her face had exploded in terror, her eyes were now wide, with fear.

Remembering his dream, and the fear that came with it, he felt a sudden and large wave of guilt run over him. She reminded him of himself.

Am, am I stupid!? This is Celis I’m talking to, I have to apologize-!

But at the same time,

Am I dense!? I can’t apologize, my apprentice has made a mistake! I cannot let this go unnoticed-!

His mind quickly became a jumble of interfering thoughts. He almost laughed at himself, at how simply witnessing a face had collapsed his composure within seconds.

Fed up with the indecision from his mind, Alisson acted, with no train of thought.

He leaned forward, and grabbed onto Celis’s shoulder’s, her hand still surgically attached to his own. She quickly looked up,

“I-! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!”

Anymore, and Alisson feared tears would fall from her eyes. With her words, her hand tightened even further, shaking now.

…He truly had missed something about Celis. Just what had happened while Alisson was asleep?

It was a new emotion he felt, seeing Celis, on the brink of tears. His stomach was not empty, rather it was full. It was a pressure, a collapsing and infinitely tight pressure that wrapped up his stomach and chest, that shot through his wrist, and lingered at his eyes. Her begging face, staring at his own, fearing, dreading, trembling at him…Alisson was left speechless. The jumble that once was his mind turned to dust, to nothing, in the face of Celis. He couldn’t move, neither could he think. He could only stare, stare with that wrenching pressure at his stomach and chest.

Celis stared at him back, but she never received the consolation that Alisson desperately wanted to give. Though, a new emotion soon played out across her face.

“…Huh?”

She was surprised. She leaned in, her eyes still wide, and in shock of something new.

“You’re…you’re crying, Alisson. W-why’s that?”

A bolt of lightning ran through him, and he was put on the spot, unable to think deeply about his next few words.

“Your face, I, I couldn’t h-help myself…”

He looked away, now feeling the tears rolling down his face, and he attempted to pull away from Celis on instinct, to shield himself as she’d earlier done as well, but, she didn’t let him. She held tightly onto his hand, and kept it close to her. She smiled through her watery eyes and her red flushed face.

What Celis did next, shattered Alisson. His wall’s of protection that clad his mind, and guarded him from the outside, were simply gone in the face of Celis’s action. He didn’t know why, but the only thing he could do after the fact, was continue sob and tremble, crying.

Celis had hugged him.

…

“Your face, I, I couldn’t h-help myself…”

Ha…ha…Alisson wasn’t mad at all. It was just him, doing his duty as my master, reprimanding me for doing something so stupid, as to let him fall asleep, only to myself fall asleep as well, in such a hostile area.

I was, I was so scared, scared that Alisson would’ve disowned me for what I did, scared that, I’d just went and lost the only friend I’d ever made. Hah…but now, he’s crying, all because of me. I, I guess I was way too nervous about losing Alisson…there’s no way a real person would cut ties over something so small…

The both of us really are inept, huh? At least I didn’t actually break into tears, in fact, I can only smile now, through my red face and watery eyes, at Alisson, defensively recoiling from me. I didn’t let him go of course, I kept a firm grip on him, and, being on top of him, he wasn’t escaping anytime soon.

Seeing Alisson shaking, sobbing before me, it immediately brought back the emotions that have been, of recent, circulating through my body much more. It was the urge to protect and preside over him. Ha…I’ve never been in a position like this, to be able to offer solace. I take the chance, out of my desire, and out of curiosity, and also, just because I want to get closer to Alisson.

I embrace him, wrapping my arms around his back and pulling him closer. It feels good, not only to be so assertive, but to be so close to Alisson, out of my very own volition.

His eyes widened, he seemed scared more than anything, like in utter shock. His body trembled even more, and his arms hung limply by his sides, unsure of what to do. Until however, Alisson’s crying redoubled, like what I’d done had inflicted more harm than good. For a moment I was stunned, unsure of what Alisson was thinking. He inhaled in short breaths, his chest bobbing up in bursts, and then letting a quick breath of air out. It was an erratic way to cry but, he was silent, his voice was unheard in his phantom sobbing, the only sound that came from his cry, was that of the air passing in and out of his lips, as he was not breathing through his nose.

Oh…I think I get it now…this has happened to me plenty of times. I breakdown about something, only for my mourning and wailing to derive it’s fuel from other sources, like a fire, and every log is another point of grief; and that the fire keeper couldn’t have the fire going out, for whatever reason trying to perpetuate the small spark into a large bonfire. It was a downward spiral from there, as I thought about this, then that, and then whatever would’ve sparked any worry in me; All from some stupid little spark that had triggered it all.

It always felt great bawling my eyes out…I could always sleep better after the fact, having been tired and exhausted, wallowing in sorrow. I have a hunch, that Alisson is the same.

Alisson’s head shifted, back and forth, vying to get away from me, but I held him in place, he was forced to expose to me his silent sobbing.

…Oh god. Am I a sadist? Nah…I mean, I think Alisson’s way of crying is pretty adorable, it makes me want to hug him tighter.

“Celis…please, I’m, I’m sorry…”

Wow, just wow. Even after crying, he’s still worried about me. I pull away from the side of his head, with my arms still firmly around him, showing him that I wasn’t in any despair as I had been before. I smile tenderly now, at Alisson, who’s once more appearing not as this indominable fighter of Sidonia, but as someone who seems just as socially inept as I.

“Alisson, calm down. I’m fine. It was nothing really, I realize now that I was just being stupid.”

Alisson’s exhaling stops, and instead, he breathes in a few short breaths, once again with wide eyes, apparently surprised that I knew his thoughts, and had answered them. After a second of not breathing at all, he exhaled heavily.

He looked down, closing his eyes with a smile cracking up, amidst his tear covered face.

“We’re…w-we’re both stupid…”

Alisson said, finally lifting his hand to wipe away his tears. I smile softly, contempt with my work. Having cried so much myself, I, I didn’t think I’d be an expert on consoling people; but although this was a trivial matter, I’m still proud of myself, and happy to be of use to Alisson.

I stand, taking a hop back from Alisson, placing my hands on my the back of my hip and leaning forward slightly. Man, I did that really well, didn’t I?

I wasn’t sitting there saying ‘deep breaths’ over and over again. I was silent. That’s because of what I inferred earlier, of how one little thing then spirals into others, and soon you have no idea what someone is crying about.

At least, that’s how it was for me, and it looks like Alisson is the same.

Well, since I didn’t know particularly what he was thinking about, the best thing to do is to just be there; that’s all it takes. People will sort themselves out much better when you let them cry it out, in their own mind. It’s when there’s no one there, when no one is by your side, when you’re simply sobbing alone in the dark, that’s when the going is the toughest…I know it well.

Many times I cried about…about…what was it? Someone? Oh yeah, my brother. I don’t know why I’ve been blanking on that so much recently.

Alisson stood. As he looked away, out embarrassment I can imagine, he muttered a few words that made my heart burn with drive.

“T-thank you…Celis…”

I don’t think I’ve ever been so motivated in my life. I have now someone, a friend, to stick by and have by my side. It, it feels great; this is what I’ve missing my whole life, a spark, a splash of color, a drive to live.

Man, Alisson really broke down fast huh? Whatever dream he had must’ve been pretty emotional…Normal people don’t exactly breakdown like that so quickly…Whatever his dream was, it had left his mind in a fragile state.

…

H-how embarrassing…but, at the same time…

Alisson wasn’t expecting to burst out into tears; he thought Celis would’ve been the one do so. How the tables turned, for he had been the one crying into her shoulder. Alisson was confused about himself; he didn’t know that just seeing Celis’s face would’ve evoked so much guilt and empathy in him. After that, when Celis was smiling at him, he realized that no one in his life had ever seen him cry other than Apophria except for Celis; from there…he was hit with a sudden wave of loneliness, thinking about all those times he’d had no one.

Before him now stood Celis, leaning forward expectantly, with that slight smile of hers. He swallowed a hard gulp, turning away with a red face.

“T-thank you…Celis…”

He said as best he could, but his voice was shaky, and his body, still anxious. No one had ever done such a thing to Alisson, to cradle and reassure him. He had needed to push away his own emotions in the face of his brigade, and with his promotion and standing in Sidonia, he soon didn’t allow himself to show such weakness to anybody. Perhaps that was why nobody approached him, they feared that they were too out of his league, when in reality, Alisson was wishing that somebody would advance on him. It was one of the reasons that he liked people like Lady Salchyon and Bunzen Al Suzu, they interacted with him regardless, and he was deeply grateful, unbeknownst to them. But who knew his silent little apprentice could do the same?

He swallowed once more, and, confident that his face was no longer in such an embarrassed state, turned back to Celis. He steeled his mind, and his former barriers and walls came back, as he assumed his prior state of being.

“We slept in. We still have a long way to go, and right now, we’re running late on our schedule.” He smiled, “Let’s get back to it.”

Celis gently smiled in glee, seeing Alisson back to his former self, and not wallowing in tears like an idiot.

“Right!”

She nodded. Within minutes, they packed their bags back onto the horses. They’d eat on the road of course, to save time, so breakfast was not in order. Though, the horses needed food and water after a night of sleep, of course. But when him and Celis wen to grab the water jugs that were hanging off the horses, he noticed a sight that he hoped was simply a result of his shaky mind.

“…There’s only two jugs left…Celis, did they fall off?”

She looked around for a second, and then shook her head.

“Maybe they were shaken off when we ran away from the crater without us noticing?”

She tilted her head.

“No, that can’t be the case, I saw that all four of our jugs were mounted on the horses last night.”

His words brought a moment of silence. Each horse had to it strapped only one water jug, there were supposed to be two per horse, four in total. With that much water, they’d be fine on the road but…the ones that were missing had been the ones that were full, the two remaining were just about empty, as they’d been the ones to be used up first.

What? Were we robbed or something?

“…Well…I was asleep last night just like you so…maybe something happened…I’m sorry Alisson, this is, this is my fault.”

He didn’t want to be reprimanding, but this was Celis’s error, he’d be a bad teacher were he to not correct her.

“Just make sure it doesn’t happen again.” He looked forward down the road, with a quizzical face. “We’re just going to have to find some sort of oasis in this damned plain.”

Even then, they only had two jugs, they wouldn’t have the capacity they earlier had for further travel to get out of this plain. He clicked his tongue, and shrugged.

“We’ll just have to wing it. Come on, we can’t waste - ” Alisson thought for a moment, about how warm he’d felt from Celis’s actions, was it really time wasted? He cleared his throat, “- We can’t use any more time, let’s move.”

With a brisk nod from Celis, the both of them mounted up, and started down the road once more, with less water, but with more heart.

…

It had been another two day’s since then, of constant travel; that made eleven in total so far. Alisson estimated that this was the day, the twelfth day, that they’d run dry of water, and he was dreading the moment it’d happen. From there, they’d be able to go a few more days until they’d die of dehydration. He still was baffled by what happened to their water; he didn’t think him and Celis were such dunces as to misplace or drop them somewhere. He had the feeling it was deliberate sabotage, though, that would warrant something following and being near him and Celis, to which Alisson felt uncomfortable thinking about, and wiped the idea from his mind.

It didn’t matter why’d they’d lost the water now, wondering and theorizing about what had happened wouldn’t bring them out of this situation where they had the very real possibility of simply dehydrating out in the middle of this plain.

Alisson was always living with death. He had survived many life or death battles; He wasn’t clinging to life for himself, he clung to life to be of further use to Sidonia. The prospect of dying in the middle of this plain had only invoked one feeling, shame that he would fail Sidonia. He had long steeled himself that he would not shy away from death, should it be inevitable. Though, that had been all a few days ago,

Now however, Alisson thought much differently. Death was suddenly unacceptable to him. He had to live, he had to stick around, but why was that? Why was it that he’d suddenly changed his way of thought? Alisson furrowed his brow just thinking about it, what could’ve happened that had changed his longstanding virtues? He went from being able to dive headfirst into danger, to now thinking twice for his own safety, not because he needed to serve Sidonia, but out of pure concern for living. It was a long unsolved mystery to Alisson, why people could dive into death, yet still beg for the mercy of their comrades; Alisson could imagine himself being killed far easier than imagining say, Daventdale, Alieri, or Celis, being killed.

The prospect of death for Alisson had been strongest when he was under his older sister’s wing. There were times, many times, where he would’ve preferred death. Thinking about his sister brought him back to the topic of the dream he’d had. He tried to remember the details, however, as all dreams were,

The more he tried to remember, the more slipped away from him. He was soon only left with the prospect that he had such a dream, all of the specifics and imagery he had were gone. It soon became nothing more than an enigma to Alisson, he felt as though he should remember more from such a dream, but alas, it wasn’t possible.

The sun was high in the sky, and not more than a few wispy clouds stretched over them. There was only so much to look at when the environment was the same for days on end. Alisson would spot the occasional flower, and wonder just how in the hell it’d managed to grow all the way out here, but that was the extent of breaks in scenery.

“Hey, Alisson?”

Celis asked from behind him.

“Mm?”

“What is that hairclip of yours?”

“It keeps my hair out of my eyes.”

“…That’s it?”

Celis sounded a bit taken back at his terse explanation.

“Well, it’s a keepsake from my mother. She died shortly after having me; she had three hairclips, gave one to me and two to my sister. I’ve worn it ever since.”

“Ah…Who was your mother?”

“Her name was Caramel, prodigy just like Apophria, it’s how she got a name like that. She was like my sister, very powerful, but, probably leagues away from how strong my sister really is now.”

He’d never known his mother.

Her own damn son didn’t know her face or birth-given name; that was the life of those who existed only within Sidonia’s shadow.

They continued on for about another hour, in their usual silence. Him and Celis stopped momentarily, as they had numerous times before to routinely give the horses a rest and to stretch for themselves.

“How much longer is it going to be…”

Celis appeared to whine in her mumble as she dismounted, stretching her back.

“Another week at the least.”

Alisson answered, dismounting for himself as well. The place they’d dismounted on was below a large bump in the road, a hill more aptly. This resulted in their backs being covered in vision, Alisson couldn’t see behind them down the road they had came. It was a first in this plain, where vision was clear cut and exposure was ubiquitous.

“We’re going to have to be stingy with our water if-”

Alisson stopped dead in his words, a sound making his body jump in surprise. Celis tilted her head, and was about to ask why Alisson had stopped, until she herself jumped, hearing the noise as well. It was a feint rumble, the rumble of rolling wheels with the complement of horse foot falls;

It was a wagon.

Alisson drew Enhérejär in a blur, Celis also unsheathing her baselards. The noise was coming from behind them, back down the road, and out of sight over the hill. The two of them stood tensely, eying the hill where the noise was growing louder from.

“Get ready. This might be trouble.”

Alisson said quietly. A minute passed, lo and behold, two horses peeked over the hill, against the sky. They were followed closely by the wagon they were pulling. It was a common, conestoga wagon, the one with a covered roof and angled ends. The horses veered over the hill, and came right before him and Celis. They suddenly stopped in a hurry on the wagon rider’s command.

“Good lord! The both of you nearly scared me half to death!”

There was a single person on the front of the wagon, who exclaimed in Firdu. Judging from this, Alisson assumed that this was some sort of travelling merchant. They travelled alone rarely due to the danger of the roads, but it wasn’t uncommon. The assumed merchant in question was clutching his chest and heaving a large sigh. He had clearly received quite the scare seeing other people so abruptly in this supposedly deserted place. He had short, gray hair, and yellowed eyes. He was in his mid-twenties from Alisson’s guess, since he was much older looking than Alisson was physically.

Alisson was momentarily stunned from the sudden human presence, and it took a second for his mind to start rolling again. Alisson now needed to put on his façade that he used with humans, so, like rushing to pull a mask over his head, Alisson formed a wobbly smile in a matter of seconds, and his face brightened as best it could.

“Ah…I wasn’t expecting to see anybody out here; I thought you were bandits at first but, no bandit clan is just a pair of cute kids. What exactly are you doing all the way out here?”

The merchant chuckled. Alisson mentally sighed at the merchant’s laid-back attitude. Though, he now needed to espouse him and Celis’s usual story if they wanted to pass for not being Sidonians. He was well aware of his own, and Celis’s appearance; if somebody saw such out of place faces, the only reason would be that him and Celis were Nekomata.

“Me and my sister escaped our family’s keep are few days ago…we thought the guards wouldn’t be able to chase us all the way out to the plain so…”

Alisson said as guiltily and childishly as he could, as if the events he was describing were not fabrications. He lowered Enhérejär, Celis doing the same with her baselards.

“Ahhaha! What do you know, two run away noble kids!”

The merchant chuckled wholeheartedly.

“Name’s Belfest, how about you two?”

“I…I’m…”

Alisson purposely hesitated.

“Ah, don’t worry, I’m not no snitch for the aristocracy, you can tell me.”

Alisson mentally smirked in victory; he’d bought it. Alisson made a big deal to swallow, and nervously looked side to side for punctuation.

“I am Alavier, and this is my sister Ferris. We thought we could find refuge in the north, so for now, we’re headed to Daigoro.”

Belfest smirked, tightening the rein on his horses.

“Well I see all of us share a destination, come now, we can talk on the road; Time is money as I like to say!”

An interesting phrase, but upon further thought, it soon made sense in Alisson’s head given Belfest was a travelling merchant.

Him and Celis, after feeding the horses some wheat and some of their remaining water, mounted up.

“Are you kids running low on water?”

Belfest, apparently spotting their short supply of water, asked as they started off down the road, altogether.

He seems to have the eyes of a merchant, if that’s the case, then he may have the tongue of one as well…I need to be wary.

Alisson nodded in response to Belfest.

“Hell, I’ve got plenty if you need some.”

Alisson was hit by a sudden shock at the human’s offer.

“N-no, I couldn’t accept…”

Alison said, almost on instinct; he hadn’t been expecting an offer of help.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Ha, it’s that stuck up etiquette of yours huh? Well, you’re in luck, there’s a place not far from here with plenty of water; you can refill your supply there.”

Alisson was dubious immediately.

“How do you know about this place?”

“I travel this road all the time, from Kretengar to Daigoro, that’s my route.”

Alisson furrowed his brow. Kretengar was a town far west of the plain, one wouldn’t need to use the plain to reach Daigoro.

“But, why cross the Ipithid plain? It’s faster to just go around no?”

“Well, normally that’s the case…Recently though, Kretengar shut its travel down to Daigoro on account of all the tension in the north, the lord presiding over Kretengar want’s no piece of it. Because of the restrictions, all the convoy’s heading for Daigoro were disbanded. I’m not one to get held back because of such a thing though, I’m not some scaredy-cat.”

Belfest said, giving a scratch at his lightly grizzled chin.

“From there, I just crossed some open grass till I got to this road, I’ve used this road plenty of times before for just the same reasons.”

“Why not use the main road east of here?”

Alisson asked, still curious why a merchant would be on this deserted dirt road.

“I could, but that’s just asking for trouble; Rumor has it that a bandit clique’s set up some sort of fortress out in the plain somewhere, and have been harassing the main road for a while…I’m not exactly keen on getting my throat slit.”

Explains why he was wary of us being bandits...maybe that army was being sent to handle them…no, humans wouldn’t send so many for such an issue.

“Well how about you two then, you both look geared like adventurers, like you’re ready to fight a war. And what’s those oil flasks you’ve got there at your hip boy? Hoping to burn something down?”

Belfest said jokingly. Alisson was momentarily stunned by the merchant’s keenness, that he’d picked out the two flasks of oil that Alisson had robbed the goblins near Edringrad of in weeks prior, he’d yet to use them.

“We prepared before we escaped our home, me and my sister can handle ourselves. This oil is just for torches, it gets dark in this plain, and I’d rather not run into trouble; though my knowledge in the blade would be suitable to handle it I’m sure.”

“Well of course you nobles would get an education in swordsmanship, most don’t use it though, right?”

“Mm. Mostly not. Though we almost did yesterday.”

Alisson replied.

“Oh? Do tell, was it bandits? Beasts?”

Belfest was a merchant, of whom were known for their swaths of information and stories, Alisson saw no point in not exchanging information for more information. Alisson was anxious to know what these northern tensions were that Belfest spoke of.

“Neither…I don’t know how to explain. There was a storm, it moved and expanded, like it was trying to corner us into a direction and off the road. Eventually, we did have to leave the road, and we came upon this crater. It was filled with bones and black crosses; while it was laden in mist it was quite the eerie sight. While we were passing through it, out of the fog came black shadows of people, and we almost were engaged by them, but we managed to escape before anything bad happened.”

Belfest was silent for a while.

“Is something wrong?”

Alisson asked.

“…No, no. It’s just, I haven’t seen any storms recently, and I’ve travelled through the entirety of this road and I’ve never seen this crater that you speak of; nor have I heard any other talk of it. Maybe you found something you weren’t supposed to.”

Belfest said. Alisson shuddered at his words.

“Don’t put me on record for that, for all I know, it was all one big illusion, damned anomalies are never believable.”

Belfest nodded his head thoughtfully.

“Yeah, I’ve seen something unexplainable as well, but you wouldn’t believe me either. There was this time a few years back; it was this bridge over a ditch, a big bridge, under Halaruth’s southern border in some northern country.”

It was clear that Belfest, despite his age, had seen a thing or two in other parts of the world.

“It was right in the middle of a forest, but, everybody around the area knew about it. Me and a few other traders were passing through in a convoy. At the last town we’d been at, everyone was warning us about the bridge, to never take your eyes off the end of the bridge while crossing it. Well, one of the other merchant’s did, to spite the townspeople. He did it with a smile on his face, I remember, as a joke.”

Belfest looked up to the sky.

“When he did, at the end of the bridge this big guy appeared. He was as tall as the bridge supports, didn’t have no face, was wearing this plain shirt and trousers, and his arms reached down to his toes. Then, he just started walking for us. He was fast because he was so big, but he was quiet too. The wagon driver at the front just started screaming, he jumped off the bridge into the ditch, the wagon driver behind him wasn’t as scared, and he held his ground. The big guy walked right through the first wagon, tore right through it like it was nothing, and grabbed the driver of the second with his massive arms. He popped him like a damned balloon. I was lucky to be near the beginning of the bridge, so I cut one of my horses loose and ran the other way along with rest of the convoy. I still remember being chased by that creepy sunvabitch, just kept on silently walking at us, I still sometimes get scared that he might still be chasing me.”

Belfest chuckled. Alisson was silent as he digested the merchant’s story. He was glad that the merchant was being frank with Alisson, all too much were merchants too good at storytelling, and ended up embellishing stories and scaring people with their expert storytelling skills.

“Oh, I guess I shouldn’t be scaring you two kids with my little campfire stories now should I?”

Belfest chuckled once more.

“It’s fine. I may not speak for my sister, but the castle visitors always share similar interesting words.”

“Right, being locked up in a keep has gotta be bad, being so limited to the outside world and all. I wouldn’t turn in kids like you for any kind of reward money. Freedom doesn’t have a price.”

Alisson saw his opportunity.

“Well, being so unknowledgeable about the world, can you tell me of this tension in the north? I’d like to know about any danger that may arise up there.”

“It’s become a real mess there now, more than it usually is. Daigoro has also locked down it’s travel because of all the conniptions the lower north has. Two nations are the troublemakers of it all. In Salva’kar, a plague has broken out, and the entire country is in quarantine; the government is doing a good job of making sure nobody gets in or out, that place is just as impassable as the Deadzone now – they’ve really locked it down.”

Salva’kar was a nation northwest of the Caliphate, it hugged Lake Aleeze and was tiny, it was just a small northern nation that rested on the Caliphate’s boundary.

“They say the outbreak came from that large town near the Deadzone, on some ships or something. It’s annoying that the routes have been restricted for us merchants, but, I’m glad the country is taking the plague so seriously, it keeps the rest of us safe.”

And it keeps the Caliphate scared of invading…

Alisson thought. Salva’kar was probably rejoicing, because of the threat of plague, the Caliphate wouldn’t be invading them anytime soon.

“The other nation’s a real bad apple. There used to be a kingdom east of Salva'kar, covered up the rest of the Caliphate’s northern border. It fell to a coup d’état a few months back. It wasn’t just any other civil war though, it was a religious cult that took over. The country is now fully filled to the brim with nothing but those psychopath cultists, The Evering Cult, I think it is, since the country is now named Evering’s State. Rumor has it that the cultists have been operating in the land for longer than any nation that’s formed over it, but it looks like they managed to take over, it’s a scary thought, a nation run by those crazies. So, the nation is of course off-limits to convoys due to the extreme hostility and uncertainty of Evering’s State. That combined with Salva’kar, and Caliphate armies being recalled to the south to fight Sidonia, it makes one hell of a shitstorm.”

Alisson nodded. What Belfest said made sense, and he had no reason to lie either. Alisson hadn’t been expecting to stumble across such a good source of information in the middle of nowhere. According to Belfest, Alisson would have to tweak their coming route. He had planned to go through Salva’kar territory, then right into Tarakia; from there, it was spitting distance to Freigat. But it seemed now that Salva’kar was impassable. Alisson didn’t want to take the risk of angering the Salva’kar government, and Alisson definitely didn’t want to run the risk of plague. It seemed they now had to bypass Salva’kar via that cultist country. It wasn’t the best way to travel, but Alisson was sure he and Celis could handle a few cultists, if they were dumb enough to engage him and Celis.

The next few hours passed uneventfully as the sun lowered, turning the sky a bright orange. Once more, the clear skies and wide openness of the Ipithid plain provided its normal round of breathtaking sights.

“Alright, we’re closing in on that place I mentioned. It looks like I’ll be staying the night, me and my gal’s need some rest. How bout you?”

Alisson’s mouth furrowed.

“…We may also stay the night. Our horses are in need of a break…And I don’t think I’d be lying if I said me and my sister could use a little more sleep.”

Alisson said, making a decision. They’d rest up completely at this so-called oasis, and then travel non-stop to Daigoro from there well-rested. It was better to sleep with more people, it meant more sleep time since the watch rotations could be shorter.

It wasn’t long before Alisson saw what Belfest had been talking about. He crested the hill Belfest was on; It was a lake, a massive, body of shimmering blue water, it size momentarily shocked Alisson. The bright orange sun reflected off of the water, making it effulgent and sparkling with light. As they neared, the lake’s size became evermore unfathomable. Alisson was purely and utterly bewildered that he hadn’t heard a word of a lake in the Ipithid plain. A small one Alisson would understand going unnoticed yes, but this? This was no small pond.

At the edge of the lake, tree’s sprouted and swaths of bushes and flowers grew, contrary to the rest of the plain that barren of anything but grass.

“I…I can’t believe I haven’t heard of this…”

Alisson muttered, still staring at the lake before him, as if doubting his eyes.

“Yep. Me neither when I first found it. I was the luckiest god damned man in the world when I stumbled on it. I was about to collapse from thirst, but I kept on pushing forward, believing that there was water just out of my view. And lo and behold, I found the largest fucking supply of freshwater in the world.”

“I-it’s freshwater?”

Alisson asked, stunned.

“Mhm. Now come on, we’d better get comfy soon; sun’s settin’.”

Belfest said, giving his draft horses a light whip of the reins and continuing forth. They decided to make camp by the lake, by a clump of a few tree’s growing in the area. Alisson moved absentmindedly as he set up their camp, still in a surreal mode of mind from the sudden discovery of this lake.

The lake was large enough to the point that it almost stretched out of view, and for that, Alisson wouldn’t doubt the travelers on the main road could see the lake. If the lake could be seen by the main road travelers, there was no reason why Alisson shouldn’t have heard about such a thing, for people travelled through the main road in much larger quantities than they did on the back-water dirt roads on the rest of the plain. The more Alisson thought, the more bizarre the notion of this lake being an enigma became; just how in hell hadn’t Alisson heard of it?

The sun soon was out of view, and the sky above was quickly darkening. He made sure to order Celis to refill their water supply, they now had two full jugs. Alisson was still hesitant about the prospect of the water being completely clean, however.

“Ah, that should just about do it. Go fetch some kindling kid.”

Belfest said to Alisson. Alisson peered dubiously at him.

“You’re making a fire?”

“Of course, the hell’s the problem? Nothing’s out here kid, it don’t matter what we do; there’s no reason in trying to lay low.”

Alisson’s mind quickly shot to the events of the previous day, of those shades, of that massive black creature that was chasing them at the end; and of that dastardly Sequitur that had a mark on his apprentice…He took Belfest’s words with a grain of salt.

“I don’t think we should, Belfest.”

Celis said, from behind Belfest, making both him and Alisson jump in surprise at her sudden voice, previously unheard of in Belfest’s presence.

“A fire could attract all sorts of things. Beasts too. Better to be safe.”

Celis spoke tersely, before shuffling to her mare to retrieve something.

“You kids are really scared huh? Trust me, I’ve been out here in this very spot bout’ a dozen times before, there’s no worry. I’ll do it myself if it makes you feel better.”

Belfest said gruffly, and headed of a ways to procure the resources needed for a fire. Alisson didn’t say a word. In fact, he himself had his fears averted by Belfest; many times did something go wrong only when Alisson was at the wheel, and he’d looked on to see numerous people have not one problem where he did. He’d fail to fix something for hours on end, only for Daventdale to peek into his room and fix it in seconds. Perhaps Belfest was right, that whole conundrum him and Celis had had, it was a fluke, it was not the norm.

Alisson still thought it’d be safer to not make a fire, but he didn’t oppose Belfest; Instead, he opted to follow in his apprentice’s footsteps, for she’d for the first time gotten a head start on something over Alisson. It was their equipment maintenance of course. Celis was proving to grow more and more intelligent as she listened to Alisson, she’d probably inferred that the reason Alisson wanted to recuperate here with the merchant was so they wouldn’t need to stop short a day’s worth of travel later down the road. So, in the essence of maintaining the plan of a quick and uninterrupted final trek out of the plain, Celis was taking the chance to check her gear. A perfect opportunity, this was for that. It never hurt to obsess over equipment logistics.

So when Belfest did return to stoke his fire, he was greeted by both Alisson and Celis expertly honing and cleaning their weapons and blades, all of it laid out on their sleeping bags. The sight left Belfest in momentary shock, but he continued on, and soon the area was filled with the warm orange light and crackle of a fire. Alisson had placed the water they gotten over the fire, as to purify it, still paranoid about the lake’s water.

“I know I asked before but, you kids are seriously packing…”

Belfest muttered, eyeing Alisson and Celis who’re quietly sitting next to each other, producing only the sound of honing and sharpening.

“We don’t know when the next chance to top-off our weapons will be, for all I know, a swarm of beasts in a Blood Moon could overrun us within the next hour.”

Alisson said, a throwing knife deftly dancing and twirling through his fingers.

“Call it like stocking up on horse feed when you traveling merchants are in towns, it’s better to be prepared in case of an unexpected complication right?”

Belfest crossed his arms.

“I don’t know much about warriors, but you guys are a lot smarter than I thought. Here I thought I was smart for thinking ahead for what I should sell in Daigoro. I got me self a large supply of fresh furs, care to take a swing why?”

Belfest leered at Alisson, posing a question like a teacher to a student. Alisson thought for a moment while absentmindedly performing care on Enhérejär. His mind turned up a blank, so Alisson said he didn’t know. To which Belfest responded smugly,

“Aw, c’mon kid, you can think harder than that; but I’ll tell you anyway, it’s not exactly a trade secret. The Andestine School of Craft’s graduation is rolling around in a few months, and you know what the graduates all wear?”

“Fur cloaks…”

Alisson muttered.

“Yup. They’ll be in high demand in a little while whilst all the artisans scramble to prepare all the ceremonial crap. Andestine really has ‘one shoved right up their arse don’t they? Even in a foreign country, they still have to train special little snowflakes. Heh, it’s pitiful.”

Andestine’s School of Crafts was operated in Daigoro, it was historically a prestigious elf school, but with the Caliphate’s victory over the elf nation, Andestine negotiated control of the elves’ best academy in exchange for their support during the length of the war. At first, people scratched their heads, clueless as to why Andestine would take a school of all things in payment. The answer was quickly illuminated by none other than his Lady, when she said the elves had kept their most valuable knowledge and relics inside a vault, which she theorized to rest under the school; Hence why Andestine was running an immaculate school in a foreign country. The reasoning nowadays was simply that Andestine was doing so as a show of good faith to the Caliphate, to which most now solely believed, forgetting the real reason Andestine had taken the school.

Sidonia never forgets.

The Lady herself exclaimed that Andestine assuming control of the school may have been a crushing blow to the Sidonians, as nobody had a clue about what was in that elf vault under the school.

“Yes, Andestine ambassadors were among the most insufferable guests at the balls.”

Alisson growled, not only to express his true disdain for the thorn in Sidonia’s side that was Andestine, but also to reinforce him and Celis’s cover story.

“I’d imagine, damned bastards always think that they’re above everybody else just because they belong to Andestine. Reminds me of those Sidonians too, everybody says that they’re hella’ prideful, but I sure as hell never talked to one to find out for myself.”

You only know the half of it…

Alisson muttered inaudibly, finishing up a stroke of oil across the length of Enhérejär.

“Well, I can’t spend the whole night talking, I need to get to bed.”

Belfest said, having finished some bread and soup that he’d brought along. Alison nodded, not taking his eyes off of Enhérejär.

“Well enough. When do you want to be woken up? I’ll take first watch, then my apprentice will-”

“Gah! Seriously kid, get your head outta the dirt! I’ll sock ya’ right in the nose if you try to wake me up some sleep-watch crap.”

Belfest mumbled angrily, turning away into his wagon to sleep. Alisson didn’t say anything to him. This was where Alisson drew the line, he was not going to refute having an eye open during the night; it was in complete violation of every one of Alisson’s instincts. Alisson sighed, it looked like they weren’t getting that extra boost in sleep after all. Alisson wasn’t going to try to convince Belfest of course, not only because Alisson severely lacked persuasion skills, but also because, even if Belfest were to agree to stand watch for the night, people who weren’t completely committed to something were not reliable. Add to that the fact that Belfest was a human, who made errors every other step, Alisson wasn’t safe in the slightest leaving his and his apprentice’s safety up to this man.

“Celis. Do you see that plant over there?”

Alisson asked in a whisper not wanting to disturb Belfest. He’d been stowing away his gear and equipment with Celis, done with maintenance. Celis followed his pointing finger, toward a large flax plant, standing near a tree with it’s large dropping leaves.

Celis looked back to Alisson, with a furrowed brow.

“I said I’d teach you how to make flax rope, now go ahead, I’m sure you remember how to at least get a leaf?”

Alisson smirked. Celis blushed, and turned away hurriedly, evidently embarrassed at Alisson mentioning a fault of hers. Though she did as Alisson said, and cut a large long leaf from the flax plant; making sure to cut one that was further on the outside of the plant, as those leaves were older and wouldn’t hurt the plant as much as plucking the newer leaves that were closer to the stem. Celis brought the leaf to Alisson.

Alisson held the leaf in one hand and a throwing knife of his in the other, glancing at Celis.

“Does this ring a bell?”

Alisson asked, and Celis nodded. Alisson made a small incision on the leaf with his knife, not cutting through the leaf completely. Alisson picked a up a nearby stone, and pressed its most jagged end against the incision, and then ran the leaf over the jagged bump with force. The incision gave way, and the leaf peeled away to expose a multitude of dangling white thread looking strands of fiber.

Celis at this point was looking pleadingly at Alisson, and, understanding her face, he handed the stone and leaf to Celis. She continued what Alisson had started, and soon, the rough green texture of the leaf was no more, peeled away and revealing numerous thin strands of fiber. Alisson handed Celis his knife, to which she used to separate the fibers from the rest of the leaf.

“And then…you just roll and braid it from here, right?”

Celis asked hesitantly. Alisson nodded. The best way to intertwine all the loose fibers was by rolling them together on either one’s thigh or by some sort of hard and flat surface; with neither being practical at that moment, Alisson accepted Celis’s halt with a curt nod, to her relief.

“Anyways,” Alisson whispered, averting his eyes. “I’ll take first watch, get a good rest. I say we leave before Belfest awakes, and hoof it from here to get to Daigoro within the next week.” Celis nodded to his words.

Alisson found a comfortable place to sit, against some bags propped up near his stallion. With Celis wrapping herself in blankets, and the fire having been reduced to mere embers, Alisson looked out across the lake, shining with the light of the moon above.

…

“Hah…”

I yawn, still wrapped in blankets. Alisson had woken me up an hour ago, and it was my turn to stand watch. I’ve been resting a lot easier in this plain, maybe it’s because every time I sleep I have Alisson presiding over me. I wonder if he feels the same about me…

No, that can’t be. I’m not powerful in the slightest compared to him, I’m really only here so that I can wake him up if something bad happens…Hrm…

That recurring feeling, that burning drive to be above Alisson and protect him not as a subordinate but as a guardian, it fills me once more.

I don’t know why, but I’ve gotten this feeling more and more of late.

Alisson slept soundly next to me, whereas I sat against the wagon, with a clear view of his sleeping face of course – I made sure of that. With all the sleep I’ve gotten, twelve hours in the past two days, I feel amazingly light and fast, like I’m able to think faster than normal. The truth is that this is normal, it’s just that me and Alisson have been forgoing sleep to travel non-stop here. We’ve made good time because of it…but’s it’s really exhausting.

Hrm…

The more I think of our hustle, the more I’m instilled with the thought that I’m not putting in my fair share of effort. It clenches at my chest, to think that all I’m doing is just sitting here, and watching Alisson sleep, as if it’s a treat to myself. Come to think of it, whenever I’ve had free time, I really do just sit and indulge in myself don’t I…?

A sudden veil descends upon me, but as soon as it does, the exhilaration of being refreshed from sleep, and of my newfound Alisson-given drive, spurs it away in a heartbeat.

I’m no little girl who can’t do a thing without orders or obvious choices anymore, I have now this flame, endowed from Alisson, that can spur me to take paths that I thought previously too convoluted to take with goals too out of reach; but now, it’s changed.

I suddenly realize that I’ve been clenching my fist, and I’m incited to act, even though I’m right in the middle of the night, with nothing to do. I’ve never had such a feeling before, to have an abundance of motivation yet have nowhere to place or exhaust it.

Hmph. Of course I can put it to good use, in fact, I don’t need any damned motivation to act, I’m more proactive than that!

Making up my mind, and about to do something so foreign to me, I pull the fur shawl that’d been resting over me off, and get to my feet. I walk a few paces from Alisson, clipping my cloak on, because it’s cold so late in the night in this plain. I stop, and turn to Alisson, taking in a deep breath of chilly air. I unsheathe my stilettos, and thrust forth silently. I weave through the air with complicated motions and evasions, dodging seemingly nothing but the still air. I sidestep, bob and weave, and then thrust, I back off, raise my stiletto to block a phantom blade, and thrust with my other at an invisible opponent. I sidestep away, sheathing my stilettos in the same motion, drawing my baselards fluidly, and reenacting the same movements over again.

I drilled, and drilled, and drilled. Pulling off crisp and complicated movements that I’m only able to do when out of battle, and free from pressure. It was an interesting feeling, training alone. I don’t think I’ve ever trained alone. At the Academy, I was inherently better than my peers, so I didn’t exactly feel any competitive spirit. I’d only train and drill when Ukuri and Oda would invite for sessions, wanting my expertise and skill overseeing them. Other than that, I never trained without orders. I really didn’t deserve the top graduate position now that I think about it…

There were plenty of my fratello who trained day and night, dusk till dawn, to only incrementally improve. I studied of course when I needed to, and got good grades, certainly not the best; though that didn’t matter, as no one could beat me in a brawl. Now though, on the road, it’s taken me this long to realize that I was only a big fish in a small pond. Almost anything out here can kill me, there are things here much stronger than me and Alisson, and yet I for whatever reason haven’t thought of improving myself. Maybe that was just how lax I’ve gotten, of winning all the time, of always having Alisson, a skillful fighter, at my back, I’ve taken it all for granted.

I must have stood there, drilling, swiping, thrusting at air and dodging imaginary threats for a couple hours, for the moon had all but set.

A heavy fog had rolled in along with some thick clouds above. It was dark, so I'd barely noticed the encroaching weather. I payed no mind to the dark outlines of clouds and of the approaching fog, I kept on at my silent training. It wasn't long before the mist rolled across the lake, and cut off my vision. It was at that point, a few hours after I'd decided to train by myself, that I realized that something ominous may have been in the works. The approaching, choking, nature of the fog and the descending clouds, it's the same as it was in that crater.

I stop moving, my baselards falling limply by my sides as I stare toward the dark outline of mist. I breathe heavily with fatigue of all the drills I'd done, but I push my exhaustion out of my mind. It was getting brighter, oddly enough; I know the sun shouldn't be rising for at least another hour, but nevertheless the area was increasing in luminosity as the mist became grayer and grayer. It was of course quiet as could be in this hour of night, in the middle of this plain, where no animals resided. The most we'd found were a few bugs and fish near this lake, but even those seemed to have scurried away and out of sight, not willing to break the ironclad silence with their calls and rustles.

As I furrow my brow, deciding whether or not to wake Alisson, I hear the sound of someone landing from a jump. I turn, my eyes sharp and slightly in a panic, immediately imagining the worst. But, to my surprise, it was just Belfest, he'd jumped out of his wagon, apparently awake. I sheathed my baselards, not wanting to appear suspicious, or to appear as though I'd been training. I near Belfest, a bit confused why he'd awoken at such a time.

"Belfest?"

I ask, in a whisper, not wanting to wake Alisson. Well, he is a Nekomata, just like me, so I wouldn't be able to wake him unless I were to really shake him around. Nekomata, myself included, sleep like bricks.

Belfest though, doesn't respond. In fact, I don't think he's moved from where he'd landed from his jump from the inside of his wagon; he stood still, his arms hanging by his sides. I couldn't see his face due to the light, but his neck was hung low. Huh? What's wrong with him?

“Heh, look thata way kid, you see it too right?”

Belfest says suddenly, and raises his hand toward the surrounding mist. I look, but there’s nothing there. Hrm…I don’t like this. I back up slowly, toward Alisson, keeping my vision locked on to Belfest.

“W-wait. Don’t, don’t leave me hanging here…”

He reaches out his hand for me lethargically. Sorry, I’m not getting any closer to dubious things. I’ve learned my fair share of lessons. Anything can be dangerous out here. For all I know, that isn’t Belfest that’s in front of me.

“I said wait! Don’t let them get to me!”

Belfest collapses to his knees, reaching in my direction. He really sounds like a schizophrenic right about now…maybe he’s seeing some sort of hallucination or something. If that’s the case, I have to be ready for anything he tries. I reach Alisson, and kneel by him, placing my hand firmly on his shoulder and giving it a rough shake.

“You, you fool! No! Don’t get any closer! S-stay back!”

Belfest shouted, wailing in terror, but still simply shaking physically.

“Hwah…”

As opposed to the wails of a grown man, I hear the cute sound of Alisson coming too. Grr….Belfest is going to pay for drowning Alisson out of my ears.

Alisson’s eyes soon flutter open with my rough shaking. He looks around wearily for a moment, before realizing that I’ve woken him up with the sun still down; meaning something has happened. Alisson grabbed Enhérejär beside him and stood in a blur.

“What’s going on?”

Alisson asked quickly, seeming not like he’d awoken mere moments ago.

“Belfest is acting strangely, and the fog too…”

I say, giving Alisson the basis of my suspicion. We both stare intently at Belfest, who was now still, on his knees, staring into the ground. It’d been happening slowly for a while now, but it was getting ever brighter, it wasn’t that the sun was coming out, but that the clouds and surrounding fog was brightening.

“I…can…he…em…”

Belfest mutters something inaudibly. What is he, sleep walking or something? I didn’t have the chance to think any further after that, for a familiar sight peeked its head through the fog, the black shadowy figure of a shade had appeared once more, behind Belfest a ways. With it came a drone of whispering into my ears, familiar to me from the day before, but it was still unsettling.

“I can hear them!”

Belfest suddenly shouts, scrambling to his feet. Spittle was flowing down his mouth.

“Celis. Get ready to leave. Now.”

Alisson said. Oh man, it’s nice to have orders, one can take really take direction for granted.

Alisson steps in front of me, protecting me as I start to grab and hoist our few bags back onto our horses. As I was, I saw another black figure appear from the fog in my vision. I tried to ignore it, but another appeared next to it, and then another. It wasn’t long before we were in the same situation as we had been before in that crater, surrounded by a large circle of these shadow things.

“We’re ready to leave at anytime.”

I say to Alisson, taking his side once more. Before he can respond, I see Belfest silently make a break for the fog, dashing in a hurry toward the circle of shades. I can only imagine what he’s seeing or going through. Belfest runs right through the shadows, and is engulfed in the fog. I hear a scream from him a moment later.

“It’s a shame we couldn’t leave at the crack dawn but…We need to go. We’ll hoof it all the way out of this damned plain. You hear?”

I nod to him, and we both mount up. We’ve already done this before, just run right through them, and we’ll be fine.

Our mounts set off in a dash, through the shades, and we plunge into the fog. We run down the road for a few minutes, in silence, still clad in fog.

“Tch. The weather isn’t clearing up any, stick close to me, it’s easy to get separated with all the fog.”

“Right!”

We continue on for a few more minutes, until the fog starts to clear – thank Sidonia. However, when the fog does ease up, I see where we are, a wagon, two horses, and a few familiar tree’s and bushes.

We’re back where we started only the shades were nowhere to be seen, without them it was somehow more eerie.

“Damnit! It’s one of these…If we can’t escape, we might be trapped.”

Alisson growls. He veers the horse backwards, and starts off the way we’d came. Ah…smart thinking, I’ve heard of such instances of these, where people are locked into continual space. The phenomena is clouded in mystery, it’s suspected that the reason being is because most of the people who experience such anomalies are…never able to make it out.

I follow, careful to not get split up with Alisson. A minute passed in the now familiar silence of this plain, the claustrophobic fog not exactly easing my nerves, I can only see a few meters in radius, just barely enough to see Alisson’s back.

Something breaks the silence, it was a growl, so low in pitch that I could hear the individual strings of its voice box clicking. Before I had time to react, or even look around for the source of the noise, I saw it, out of the corner of my vision, a black blur leapt out of the fog, and rushed at me. The shadow slammed into me, and I was knocked from my mare, rolling a meter across the ground before scrambling to my feet in a panic, drawing my baselards and looking around wildly for whatever had tackled me.

But, there was nothing there. I stood still for a moment, glancing at the fog around me, paranoid of another surprise attack.

“Alisson!”

I call out, into the fog, as I’d lost sight of both my mare and his stallion. As I do, the black blur that’d tackled me off my horse reappeared, surging at me from the walls of nearby mist. I step forward, cleanly dicing it in two with my baselards whilst easily evading it. Just like the other shadow like things though, I don’t feel a hint of resistance, and the shadow seemed unaffected as it returned to the fog, emitting a fading roar, as if it were fleeing.

I stood tense for another long moment; but no attack came. My shoulders slumped and I called out for Alisson once more, but I didn’t hear a thing, not his voice in return, or the footfalls of our horses. Just what happened? We were mere meters away from each other…it was like the second I got knocked off my horse Alisson disappeared. Tch…that damned thing did that on purpose-! It wanted to separate us-! Next time I’ll be wary of such a cheeky bastard!

For now though, it’s no use getting worked up. I have no clue where I am, my radius was now limited to a foot away from me in vision, choking my perception even more. The only thing I have for a sense of direction is the road beneath my feet. It only goes in two directions, so at least I don’t have anything but grass to work with.

I push the building up sense of anxiety out of my head and start walking down the road back to the break in fog, where the wagon and horses are. At least there my vision will be better. It didn’t take long, almost a few seconds of walking and the mist cleared away; contrary to the few minutes me and Alisson had spent leaving the other way. The clearing was as it had been before, though with a few noticeable differences. There were no bushes anymore, and no trees. The road that ran right past where the wagon had been parked was gone, it ended right at the edge of my feet, right at the edge of the fog. Belfest’s draft horses, the large ones he used to carry forth his wagon, were also noticeably different:

They were dead.

Horses didn’t lay upon the ground for any reason, and they weren’t moving in the slightest. There were no wounds or blood on them though, it looked like their hearts had just stopped or something, and they’d fallen where they had stood not moments before. I swallowed, and stepped forward, with the thought that no amount of unsettling scenery changes is worse than impaired vision.

Phew. Despite the having the corpses of Belfest’s horses mere meters away, I’m relieved to have a large radius of perception. I don’t bother to check the horse’s bodies, for I’d either get into some kind of trouble or find out nothing useful.

I raise my hands over my mouth.

“Alisson!”

I call. Without him and the horses, I don’t think I’m getting out of here. I walk right to the middles of the clearing of fog, and stand, glancing around at every wisp of mist. A few minutes passed like that, in waiting. I called for Alisson’s name a few more times, but I heard nothing.

I did see, though, another disruption in the fog a dozen meters away. It was not like the shadowy figures of before, but rather something whole, and human. It was Belfest. He was poking out of the fog, not facing me, though he was mumbling incoherently and shaking immensely.

“Hey! Belfest!”

I say, snapping my fingers at him like someone trying to get a dog’s attention. Though it accomplished nothing, for he stood still for a moment, before walking backwards into the fog, silently.

Immediately after his disappearance, all around me, out of the fog, came the familiar shades, forming there circle once more. With them came their damned whispering. I didn’t have time to think when I heard the sudden neigh of a horse.

I turn to my back where the sound came from to see two horse’s heads filling my vision. I yelp, completely startled. I swipe at them with a baselard in panic, though the blade only seems to pass through them, just like all the other shadows. I stumble backwards away from the two horses. Little did I know, that turning my back to the shades was not a good idea. Numerous black shadowy arms started to wrapped around my belly, as if embracing me. At my sides, and then all around me, the shadows now where standing tally beside me as I fell into their coddle.

Hmph! As If I’d let this happen!

My hands glow yellow for a moment, and the area around me is filled with a rain of Pict spells, they tear through the shades, momentarily stunning them. Their lapse of motion is exactly what I need. I fall to the ground, out of their holding, and dash past the legs of two of them, right back toward the fog. I’m enveloped by it within seconds, once again surrounded by the damned mists of this plain.

I keep on running for a few minutes, my body forgoing exhaustion in light of fear. There was no road to follow, no sounds to go towards, no clearing to run for, and no Alisson to trail behind; I could go nowhere. Realizing this, I slowly came to a slow, and then stopped.

I stood still for a mintue, letting the silence of the plain wash over me. I collapsed, my eyes shaking and quivering, and my chest rapidly bobbing up and down in labored breath, I was ready to burst into tears. I guess I’m really still just a little girl on the inside, without Alisson, in a place like this, all alone, I…I just can’t handle it as well as I thought I could...

I hear the distant footfalls of something, as it approaches, it gets louder and louder, soon reverberating through my body with large, earthquake-like steps. I could see it though the fog thanks to its infinite color of black. A massive, humanoid like shadow, crawling on it’s knees, and leaning right into me, it had to be at least as big as a small keep.

I clench my fists, and look up into its nonexistent face, an angry frown crossing over my despaired face. You. I only recently found my sole and only drive in life. You, you, you of this plain had to just, go and take it away, and leave me stranded huh? Are you, are you some sort of sadist?

Well, I’m not going to be cornered into whatever you have planned, you damned anomaly of nature.

I lift my hand up, and channel every last scrap of dust and mana within me, and unleash a constant stream, a full-blown barrage, of spells. The Pict and Pictun spells pierced cleanly through the shadowy behemoth, passing right through it and the clouds above it. My angry face turns blank, and I stare at the behemoth as my near minute long barrage of magic ends, expelling every last bit of mana in me. I simply stared upward after that, at its massive head, my jaw blankly agape.

I suddenly hear the quick gait of horses come into my ears. Before I have time to look, I see a blur enter my vision, and something grabs onto my by the scruff of my neck, roughly pulling me upward. It was Alisson, he, he came-

Hah…I knew it, I’m, I’m so happy…

-He’d come running riding his stallion, and leading my mare with one hand. He had rode right past and hoisted me onto his stallion with his free hand. W-wow…I didn’t think he was strong enough to lift me with one arm alone…or maybe I’m just that light. Well, it doesn’t matter anymore. I’m safe. Right in front of me, Alisson’s back bobs up and down on the stallion, I can’t help but smile, as if drugged. A sudden shot of terror flows through my heart in realization of my own euphoria.

Is this a hallucination?

I was scared of me just seeing things again, just like when I was attacked by those goblins.

“Celis. Are you alright?”

He asks whilst we speed away from the behemoth, which remained unmoving. I responded to Alisson by grabbing onto him from behind, wrapping my arms around his chest and pulling myself closer to his back; As if the tighter that I held him the more real he’d be.

“I’m fine. Thank you.”

I say, rubbing my a head against his back. Alisson didn’t respond to me, but I could feel him quiver through his chest, embarrassed…this, this isn’t a vision-!

“I heard you fall but before I knew it I was out of the fog. When your mare came through, you weren’t on it. I turned around and went back in, I was calling and calling for you, but then I saw a flash of light, all those spells, I knew it had to be you.”

He, Alisson, he escaped, but, he came back, for me? Hah…haha…

I clench him tighter.

It wasn’t long before we once again came upon that clearing that this whole chain of events had started from. The clearing, just like last time, had no bushes, trees, or a road. This time though, the wagon was now gone. So were the horses. It was nothing but a grassy field, unclouded by the mist.

“Tch…this again….”

Alisson muttered.

“If the only way to leave is for one to stay behind, then I’m not doing it. Do you hear? Celis? We’ll just wait out the storm.”

I nod my head to him. Technically, the sun should be rising in only an hour, though the brightness of the fog made it hard to believe that it was supposed to be the black of night. The two of us settled down in the center of the clearing, and Alisson unclipped a bag to rest against as usual, I did the same. The two of us sat next to each other on the ground at the feet of our horses.

“I’m sorry, Celis. You must have been scared all alone….”

Alisson said guiltily.

“I’m just glad you came.”

I say, smiling into the ground.

“…Belfest, did you see him anywhere?”

Alisson asked.

“His horses are dead. He didn’t leave. He was in the fog the last I saw, still in the same state like before.”

I say. Alisson sighed, shaking his head slowly.

“He’s gone. There’s nothing we can do.”

…Time passes, the two of us, just sitting in the middle of the clearing, staring into the fog, hoping that the storm will pass, and that the sun will rise. It was a few minutes in when I started hearing those whispers again, those, those never-ending whispers of gossip and subterfuge. We never did see any shades hereafter, all we heard were the whispers of them. They grew ever louder and louder, some seeming to scream and bellow at us; though me and Alisson sat still, unmoving, appearing just as alien as the things that haunt us. After a while, I leaned onto Alisson, wrapping around his arm, and closing my eyes, but it did nothing to impair the unrelenting howls of whispering, flooding into my ears.

“Easy there. Don’t fall asleep.”

“I know I know.”

We banter, but yet I still hear them. I clench my eyes and tighten my grip on Alisson as best I can, but none of it alleviates their sounds.

…

Alisson stared into the fog, half expecting to see nothing at all, but at the same time expecting to see everything. Celis next to him clearly was bothered by the constant noise of the whisperings, and she’d grabbed hold of him. If she’d done so a month earlier, than Alisson would’ve burst into a blush and pushed her away, and he probably would’ve called her a pervert. But now, he let her do as she pleased, and he couldn’t lie that he didn’t take delight in her presence so near and on him.

Another suddenly broke out into a scream, and it would’ve made Alisson jump, if it weren’t for the fact that he’d already heard them scream as so for a long time now.

Celis nuzzled him, evidently distressed by the new sound. She didn’t stop there though.

“Alisson? Mind if I…do something?”

Alisson didn’t respond, he simply tilted his head at her. Apparently taking his silence for approval, Celis smiled at him. She climbed over him, and sat right in between his legs, her back against his chest. She grabbed Alisson’s wrists, and wrapped them around herself.

“Alisson…”

She emitted some sort of sigh. Alisson was stunned, not just at the lasciviousness of Celis but also of his own reluctance to push her away.

She snuggled close to him. He didn’t know she was so lecherous as to do such a thing. Though, he calmed himself, his eyes becoming droopy with her weight and heat on him. He soon found himself happy, he was surprised by this as well, to be pleased by such a physical action.

“You know Celis, you’re not as light as you were a few months ago.”

Alisson said, smiling, though Celis seemed to have taken Alisson’s words a different way, for she blushed guiltily. Alisson quickly realized that what he said shouldn’t exactly be said to a girl.

“Mm, you’re growing is what I mean. You’re already as high as my chin, to think you were shorter only months ago…”

“Ah…have I really grown…? It would explain why I’ve been so clumsy for the past while…”

Celis wiggled her nose, furrowing her brow.

“Yes, you’re at that age that you should be having your growth spurt, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re as tall as me by the end of the year if you keep growing.”

Really? Me? As tall as Alisson?

Celis muttered to herself, though Alisson couldn’t make out her words.

“What about you then Alisson, shouldn’t you be taller?”

“Well…”

Alisson careened his head away, even though Celis wasn’t looking at him.

“I’ve yet to go through my growth spurt…”

Alisson guiltily admitted. It was true, he’d be far taller, and more importantly, far stronger. He was hoping for the day

that that would happen, for then he’d be able to stand a chance against a human fighter on pure terms of strength, and not have to rely on his speed and skill.

Celis, if he had heard her right, chuckled at Alisson.

“W-what’s so funny?”

“Oh…nothing…”

Celis held his arms tighter to her body with her own.

All throughout their little talk, the whispers had not grown any duller, in fact, they were screaming as loud as ever, bellowing and hollering the more and more Alisson and Celis had spoken. Though, it seemed him and Celis, had ignored them.

…

Him and Celis had not talked much after that, for they simply sat contempt together, in the middle of the that fog ridden clearing. It had finally started to clear up with the rise of the sun, and the whisperings had dulled as the fog retreated, and the clouds lifted.

Within the span of ten minutes, the fog and clouds were all but gone when the sun’s rays beamed across and through the mist. If someone said that there had been a massive veil of fog over the area not an hour before, Alison wouldn’t have believed them; for there was now not a speck of cloud in the sky. There was only the rising orange sun, off in the horizon. Something else was missing as well, the lake. It was completely gone, there was not a trace of it. The road too was gone, and him and Celis were left in the middle of the Ipithid plain once more, with no direction but the sun and a compass - Thankfully this time, it worked.

Celis had gasped with the absence of the lake, and she suddenly shoved a hand into a bag of hers. She lifted her hand, which now clenched a bundle of flax fiber, fiber that was heir of a now gone flax plant.

“Alisson…I think I realized something…”

Celis said, staring intently at the ground that had previously been the lake from atop her mare.

“Oh?”

“This plain, have you noticed how it bends and shifts?”

Alisson nodded to her.

A bout of wind suddenly picked up across the plain, as if emphasizing her realization. Celis loosened her grip on the flax fibers, and they flew out of her hand, riding the wind across the sky.

“It seems it does so for or against the whims of those in it. That’s what I think.”

Alisson tilted his head with an intrigued smile at his apprentice.

“Think about it, Alisson. When Belfest was on the verge of death, and he believed there was water ahead, he found it. When we were in the fog, it only took us a second to get back to the clearing when we wanted to, but when we didn’t want to…With the army too, you wanted to avoid them…that storm led us away and into cover into that crater, it shielded us from the army. And now, when we don’t express a want for water, the lake is gone. It’s been malignant as well, like with the roads, the only thing we want to do is get out of here, and it’s gone and taken away the roads…and with all those shades…I-I’m sorry I can’t explain it too well…”

Alisson was struck dumbfounded by his apprentice. He at first thought her to simply say some, one-off remark but, he understood what she was trying to convey, this plain, it was woven into the beliefs of its travelers. It would certainly explain why he hadn’t heard of a lake in the plain prior to Belfest; for he had probably been the only one to ever see it. He’d probably kept it a secret for himself as a merchant. The entire reason why they'd even seen an army, as well as why they escaped it...it was all planned out. they were fortunate that this plain's definition of going against their whims was not in the sense of murdering both him and Celis.

Alisson was doubly intrigued, by both his apprentice’s wit to think outside the box and figure out such a theory, and of what she’d landed on in the first place. He smiled regardless at her.

“Hmph. Good mind, Celis. If what you’re saying is true then…”

“…We can believe that Daigoro is only a few hours from here, and it will be as so.”

She smirked, like a little kid abusing the trust of her parents. Alisson smiled deviously with her.

“But just as easily could we think that this plain is endless, and have it be as so, so let’s keep our heads out of the sand.”

Celis nodded. So, Alisson didn’t bother to look at his compass. He didn’t bother to take note of the position of the sun, he simply picked a direction, and believed with all his heart that Daigoro laid only a minute amount of distance away down that direction. Alisson, if Celis was right, wasn’t, by any means, going to abuse this anomaly for anything than this; biting off unreal things only ever yielded horrid results when it came to things to good to be true.

For now though, he needed to focus, focus on believing with all his heart that Daigoro was naught but simply out of sight over the horizon.

He was thankful for his ironclad Nekomata will, no human could accomplish such a thing as this, to believe in their own belief of something. For him, and Celis, it was easy, if they believed in something, and it would come true, than why would there be any reason to doubt or have fears?

Fifteen minutes passed before Alisson saw a lump on the ground. They approached, unknowing of what it was. As he approached, he recognized it immediately.

It was Belfest. He lay splayed across the ground, his eyes wide and his pupils all the way up into his head. Dry tears covered his face; it looked as though his very soul was gone. Alisson halted for a moment by his corpse. He dismounted, and knelt down beside Belfest. Alisson brought his hand to his heart for a moment.

“May peace be upon you.” He whispered.

Alisson then reached out to Belfest’s head, and closed his eyes with a swipe over his face.

It was not a long journey after that however, for they continued, and, just as soon as the sun seemed to peak in midday, Alisson saw it. A tree, a single tree, standing tall out of the horizon. As they neared, Alisson saw a bush, then another tree, and then hills, and soon he could see what constituted as a normal landscape, it was the boundary of the Ipithid Plain. Beyond the slight trees and the like, was a large, imposing wall, complete with a road that followed the plain’s bounds.

“You were right, Celis.” Alisson smiled over at his apprentice. “We’ve reached Daigoro, within hours instead of days, thanks to you.”

Celis had her eyes closed, smiling slightly, clearly not used to the thanks and commendation.

***

Alfonso,

I won’t be coming home anytime soon. I’m sorry, your sister has gone and thrown herself in to hell.

The area’s been turned into a dessert now, the land is arid and orange, sunk through with the blood of our battles. There are no trees, no bushes, not even grass, just the dust and sand of dry soil laden with blood.

…Everyday, it’s the same thing. We charge, and die. After us, the footmen charge, and die. The one respite is that the Sidonians stopped attacking us a while back, we’ve brought down their numbers and put enough pressure on them to cage them back, and for that, I’ve earned myself an extra hour of sleep.

We’re lucky to a kill a few of those, those devils. We outnumber them, we have outnumbered them. Every time reinforcements arrive, the disparity becomes greater and greater, I think the brass says that it’s something like fifty to one now.

If that’s the case, then why the hell haven’t we won yet? We have aerial mages now, long range heavy magic bombard cannons, swaths of veteran cataphracts, but, but, we can’t, no matter what we do, we can’t break through. I, I can’t break through. I’m now in command of a few cavalcades, field promotions really are great, huh? Funny to think that I’m now one of the most experienced horsewoman this side of Aleeze.

I’ve been present for the few times we have been able to approach and storm the Sidonian trench. People turn into wild animals, fighting in those cramped spaces. I disembark from my horse, and have to cross my fingers that I won’t be returning to camp in a body bag. Everybody I know, well, I won’t know tomorrow. I can tell you that much. I don’t remember my fellow mercenaries anymore. I stopped caring when I realized that the only thing that kept me alive was making sure the noobies were thoroughly in between me and the Sidonian line of fire.

At this point, I’m sick of it. All of it. I just want to lay down, and rest.

I’ll be with momma soon…I hope to see you in as long a time as possible; Live well, brother.

Iyia.