We rush from the room, bumping into the guards and high noble family members packing the hallway. The Emperor is at the back, nearly visible as they flee the hall. Shan gets the guards off us, and I push to the doors. Two more are at the door, with Speaker Sage stopping us. Shan barges past all by grabbing my hand. There is a short, weightless sensation before we land in a storm.

A crater in the ground is the focus of the miasma, movement around and away from it. Pieces of people lay haphazardly around, blood and the smell of copper and shit. People are tracking the mess everywhere; some slip on the wet marble. Between the moving, screaming gurgles. I run to the nearest injured person, using their wailing to discern proximity through the smoke.

I look over the writhing chars of flesh— shrapnel in the leg is my first concern, ripping away a portion of my cloak and wrapping a tunicate. As this elicits more screaming, I remember to sedate the patient. I hold their face and place my lips on theirs, establishing a connection. The tendril of magic that comes forth from my lungs is strange, but I don’t have time to consider it. I called for Shan to take them and shift care to the next.

The block of time passes like this: I know little else than to staunch the loss of life, which marks red. By exhaling an aerosolized melatonin, I sedate their minds. But I also create a link to their consciousness that monitors vitality. The connection has an added benefit, an effect visible as all connected soothe upon establishment. After four of them, I am near my limit. I have lost two thus far, meaning I have established six. Aside from this, I offer little but tunicates, and still, several visibly bleed out, screaming for help.

When the white robes arrive, I crawl to a person near the crater. They have more burns than skin, and portions of their limbs are missing. Far from recoverable at my skill level, I struggle to assist against my better judgment. I can't resist as they call for me. I wrench the last few inches, finally able to discern the whispered gasps.

“All will die.”

I assure myself that I can do nothing; they are dying. I go quickly, pushing the last of my melatonin into them and connecting. I make this connection more robust than the rest, placing a portion of my consciousness inside them, slowing the dilation of time as far as possible, and generating a cherished image, my mound at Willows Grove.

“Quiet, lovelier than I remember,” a familiar voice calls.

“Is— is there somewhere else you want to be?” I huff in a heap of tears and sweat.

“Not at all. I’ve always loved the willows.” Odin reassures, looking unharmed and joyous.

“Sr.”

“I know. I am dying.”

“I will keep you alive, and there is still hope with the mages.”

“We will see. Do you know who tried to kill me?”

“No?” After a pause, I offer, “I hadn't even considered what happened.”

“I believe a group of high-ranking officials plan to kill a large portion of our population. I am working against them, hoping to offset the destruction. I have failed, though.”

“What? Kill a large portion of Grev’haim? Why have you not told others of this?” I question, feeling a pressure closing me in.

“Hmm… interesting. I have neither the proof nor the power to defend my claims. As it is, I had neither in enough supply to play cautiously. No, I would always be easier to kill in the end.”

“Who did it?”

"I believe Sage, as well as the other Speakers. I am still determining the Emperor. There are also several high-ranking members of the traditionalists' party and a couple of Penntry Generals.”

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“That can not be… Our system has flaws, but how can such an act go without reprisal?”

“Necessity is a strange thing.”

“Sr?”

“If there are enough people who believe some outcome is untenable, who believe that the opposition is a kind of death. That belief will justify absurd things with its most useful tool: ignorance.”

“People will not know who is truly at fault?”

“Exactly.”

“How can these corrupt people gain such power? How will all those complicit not raise a hand and say that there has been wrongdoing?”

“Few will have the whole picture, even less tangible proof. There will be those who stand for investigation, and the rest will likely agree and undergo a predetermined show.”

“Couldn’t you have told more people that this is going to happen or that they are trying to kill you?”

“I did, and with my preparations, our lands will fare better in the coming calamity.”

“How will it happen?”

“There are ways that this continent functions; the things that protect us will likely commit the act.”

“Am I to prevent this? Are you telling me this because I have to find a way to stop it?”

“No child,” Odin chuckles, sitting beside me on the cliff as we watch the willows.

“Will someone be able to stop it?”

"I fear not soon enough. It will occur in six months, and from what I've found, it will begin at the Wall."

“I do not plan on being here.”

“Ahh. I see. In that case, worry not for this.”

“And you?”

“I will either live or die. Both outcomes lead to my fight continuing.”

“Yes. Well, I will do what I can to help.”

“As all of us can, thank you for your efforts, Vesh’dan,” Odin assures with a wrinkled smile.

We stay like that for a long time, which is only seconds. The rising sun hangs perpetually over the eastern horizon, filling the sky with blues. Eventually, I alone stare at the place where all is simple. I feel his passing, as it takes a piece of myself with him. Reality pulls me to the surface where things are hectic, people rushing around with survivors. I fall as I try to another person, and Shannai is there to support me, though she can hardly hold me. Once again, in the dorm, we collapse into our beds.

“What happened?” I ask the following day after rolling out of bed.

“I am not sure who did it. Or, more importantly, why do it? Sure, Odin’Kirk has enemies, but this is a drastic step,” Shannai calls from the bathroom.

“Do you think there will be civil unrest?”

“Unlikely in the capital, but the north? The news will hit your people hard.”

“We have no love for the capital in Willows Grove.”

“That is a common theme in the empire.”

"We will have to be more cautious. Speaking of which, do you have a plan to get through the Wall?"

"Kinda, I have been working on understanding the types of runes. With that knowledge, I can tweak or affect the runes on the Wall for our purposes.

“How do you plan on getting there?”

“That is simple: cover with some trip and travel on foot.”

"Dear Creation. I hope not."

“Where do you believe your sister went? Did she ever show any interest in a certain empire?”

“I am not sure. We were close, but not that close. Do you know where your mother is?”

“Based on what my father told me, I will start my search in the Cal’alvin empire.”

“So you have no idea who is after you or responsible for the attacks?”

“Correct.”

“How do you plan on keeping these people at bay?”

“That depends.”

“On?”

"If you are a spy. Did your Speaker send you to keep an eye on me?"

“She did,” she admits after a pause.

“I thought so. But you aren’t going to betray me?”

“I am not unless there is no other way to get what I want.”

“That is good to know.”

“The plan?”

“We will see. For now, I need you to focus on getting these components.” I finish handing her a list of necessities.

“How are you planning on getting this without me?”

“I would have tricked mage Crucus into thinking I need it for the final project or saved up enough to buy it from other sources.”

“Do you know any black market component dealers?”

“No, how hard can they be to find?”

“Intensely.”

“Good thing we have you.”

“Lucky me.”