“You want me to leave the city?”

Dallon nodded, his face grim. “Yes, son. We are trying to find where the Empire has been taking their undesirables from the city, as well as those from the settlements like the ones you saved from the berserker.”

Palcon took a draw of his beer, then nodded at his father. “I understand that part of the plan. What I do not understand is why we can’t organize here.”

Dallon sighed. “Our family has been under constant watch since you were discharged. No, you did the right thing. One must help when the innocent are threatened. However, it does make things more difficult here.” He paused to take a sup of his wine, then set the glass back on the side table.

“There would be no way to hide the number of men we hope to have in training. Duke Becosea has agreed to host our forces until we can find the prisoners.”

Palcon frowned, reaching up to rub at his eyepatch. “Would it not be better for you and mother to be there?”

Dallon nodded, then raised a hand, wobbling it slightly. “We considered that but decided it’s too risky. Both of us can’t leave and one won’t leave the other.” A slight smile graced his lips. “Besides, I think your mother is enjoying her work. It’s a side of herself she rarely let’s herself indulge. Normally she’s so martial.”

Palcon chuckled. “It’s still strange to see her all dressed up. I grew up with her in combat leathers almost every day of my life.”

“Not much different from how she was dressed when I first met her, son. I only saw her in a dress once before we were married and her parents had practically stuffed her into that one.” Another smile crossed his lips.

Shaking off the memory, Dallon said, “Anyway, we’ll be able to maintain contact. Typhonus is going to send some mages with you. They have the new communication spheres. Seems he’s become quite adept at crafting the things of late.”

Palcon watched his father with his single eye, as if searching for some answer. Slowly, he nodded. “I understand. And it’s not like I haven't been away from home before. Hopefully this time won’t result in a lost eye. I’m out of spares.”

“There may be something that can be done about the eye.” At his son’s curious look, Dallon continued, “There is a mage called Dierdra who is supposed to be able to replace lost body parts. She is said to be expensive but effective. I’ll inquire at the Academy tomorrow.”

Palcon rubbed his eyepatch again. “If I can have full sight again that would be wonderful, but not if it ruins the family. You’ve taught me well enough to fight like this. I’m almost as good as I was before being injured.”

Dallon nodded, proud of his son. “The family will always come first. If that means a few thin months then it will be so. As long as the price is reasonable, it will be paid.”

Palcon lowered his head. “Thank you, Father.”

***

“Hmm. I’ve yet to try this on one who is not a mage. It should prove a fascinating experiment.”

Dallon frowned at the mage. “Would that prove dangerous to my son, Lady Dierdra?”

The mage grinned. “Just Dierdra. I’m no lady. As for your son, I’m sure he’s a strapping lad. He should be able to handle the rigors of the procedure even without having magic to draw on. Perhaps…” She trailed off, as if forgetting he was there.

Dallon waited a few moments, then gently cleared his throat. The mage started, looking at him as if surprised to see him.

“Yes. yes. We’ll give it a go. I’ll have some additional medical mages on hand, as well as a few other observers. We’ll give your son a new eye and you’ll be helping to fund further research. Everyone goes home happy.” She began to wander off. “I’ll see you in two days.”

Watching the mage leave, he shook his head. Thankfully Typhonus wasn’t anything like this mage. Working closely with someone like this would have proven quite frustrating.

***

“So you’ll be working on my disgraced guardsman?”

Dierdra looked up from her slate to see Speaker Brightheart standing in her doorway, the new mask in place. Her face lit up at seeing her work. Tossing down the slate, she walked around her desk, motioning the Speaker in so she could begin circling him.

“It looks like the mask is working. Self-adherence appears to function perfectly. I don’t even see a seam. It blends right in with the skin.”

“Dierdra, the guardsman?”

“How’s the tactile feedback? Can you feel everything?” She reached up to trail her fingers along his cheek. Seeing him lean back, she clapped. “Wonderful! I was wondering about that spellwork. It was more complicated than…” She trailed off as she watched Brightheart raise a hand, then went cross-eyed trying to track his fingers to her lips.

“My dear Dierdra. The guardsman you’ll be working on tomorrow?”

“Huh? Oh, the one-eyed boy. Fascinating case. Working on putting parts back into a non-mage is different from the usual. This may lead to all new research. Some things to try on some of the other subjects.” She turned back to her desk, picking up the slate again.

There was silence from the Speaker as Dierdra muttered to herself. A few moments later she gave a start and turned back to the Speaker. “Oh, I’m sorry, Dearheart. I mean yes. I’ll be working on the boy tomorrow.”

Brightheart nodded. “Would it be okay for me to join the observers?”

A bright smile burst onto Dierdra’s face. “Oh of course, Dearheart! You know how much I enjoy you watching me work. You always seem to enjoy yourself.”

Reaching up, the Speaker removed his mask. Dierdra felt her breath quicken at the sight of all that scar tissue. Oh how she wished she had been there. She didn’t experiment with fire. Mostly just dismembership. It would have been wonderful.

Dierdra lifted her free hand to caress the scars, reveling in the feel of the ridges, rough beneath her fingertips. She was getting better at keeping her subjects from scarring, as it interfered with further alterations.

Brightheart took that hand in his own, then pressed it to his lips. She felt a blush rush to her cheeks.

“I do so love your work.”

Her voice grew breathy. “Would you like to see my latest subjects?”

He grinned. “I thought you’d never ask.”

***

“Just relax. The restraints are to prevent you from moving and spoiling my work.”

Palcon tried to relax but the feel of the leather straps over his body and head had him wanting to try and squirm free. Taking a few deep breaths, he willed his muscles to settle. He longed to reach up and rub his eyepatch, even though he knew they’d already taken it off.

The mage came into view above him. She was absurdly pretty for someone dealing in body parts, with golden curls, deep blue eyes, and a bright smile. Though the smile didn’t seem reassuring. More excited than anything else.

“Are you ready? I’m going to need you to bite down on this.” She shoved a leather covered bar between his teeth. “We can’t have you biting your tongue and choking on blood. That would defeat the goal of our procedure today.” She smiled at him even as his eye widened.

“Alright now. Let’s remove some of the excess tissue in that socket of yours! Need a clean area for the new eye!”

Palcon only had a moment for a quick breath before blinding pain pierced his mind. White flooded his vision and his entire body convulsed, straining against the straps. The pain seemed to last forever. Unable to breath, unable to scream, unable to move. Frozen in an endless cycle of agony.

Eternity ended as a blond blur floated into sight. “Oh, wonderfully done. Wonderfully done. All clean now. Time for a new eye. Let’s begin.”

There was no piercing pain this time. Rather it felt as if every nerve on his face had been set alight. His breathing quickened, sucked around the bar in his mouth, tasting of sweat, fear, and pain. Only a few moments of this before he passed out.

***

The feel of a cool cloth on his brow dragged Palcon back to consciousness. His eyelids fluttered then slowly opened. Half the world seemed brighter than usual, forcing him to shut one eye.

A gasp escaped him. Gingerly he reached up towards his new eye, only to have his hand intercepted.

“Easy, son. It’ll be tender for a while and you could easily injure the new eye. You’ll need to be very careful the next week or so.”

Palcon groaned and slowly forced the eye back open, accepting the pain from the brightness. His parents slid into view, clear in one eye, brilliant in the other. As if every color in the new eye was more vibrant, the colors sharper.

He thought about closing the eye again, then settled for just blinking. “This will take some getting used to.” Looking at his parents, he offered them a smile. “Thank you.”

Both parents engulfed him in a hug. For a few moments he was a boy again, newly healed from a training accident. He reveled in the feeling, leaning into the embrace, then slowly withdrew.

“Seriously though, this will take some getting used to.” He closed one eye then the other, noting the differences. “The new eye seems to be giving me more detail.”

His parents glanced at each other then back at him. Mother said, “That’s not all, son. Your new eye is completely black. No color at all. Not even the normal whites.”

“Huh. Something else to get used to.”

***

“What do you mean you won’t fight?”

Khan Kubla glared at the two Sharthra representatives, who stared back with level gazes. He was tempted to growl but barely held himself back. While the diggers looked flurry with their long fur, there was hard muscle underneath, and their claws were formidable.

The main Sharthra representative, Tilly, ran her claws down her front fur in a grooming motion. “We abide by the Accords. No fighting between peoples.” She bobbed her head slightly. “When we Shartha first arrived, we waged war. The Majestix gave us peace and charged us to remain peaceful. We have done so for hundreds of years.”

Xhere stuck his muzzle in by saying, “The Majestix are honors by your diligence.”

Tilly gave the Tigra a nod. Kubla felt his claws digging into the pads of his paws. Trust Xhere to honor a coward. At least the busybody was staying out of things. She was too occupied with the humans.

Kubla felt a sneer threaten to tug at his lips. Humans from the Empire. They might as well be pets, the way Shaka was treating them. Hopefully she was keeping a close eye on them. Shadow Dancers were a tricky breed. Who knew what trouble they were getting in to?

Shaking away the problem of the humans, he focused back on the Shartha. “If you won’t fight, you’ll burn. The humans plan to lay fire to the entire plains.”

Something dark seemed to sparkle in Tilly’s eyes. “We will survive. Humans are not the first to try and slay the Shartha. Our histories speak of foes we faced on our world. We survived them. We will survive the humans.”

Xhere spoke up again. “Perhaps a split strategy? It could be time for the Shartha to expand. We would welcome a colony joining us in the city.”

Kubla’s head whipped towards the Tigra. A “what?” ripped from him before he could control himself. Anger blazed in his eyes as he glared at Xhere. The level look he got in return only served to stoke his fury.

“You cannot make that kind of offer! This is a Majestix city.”

The Tigra’s deep voice was grating as he said, “There are no provisions preventing it. In light of the advances of the Empire, now is the time for bringing peoples together.”

Kubla worked his jaw, trying to find a properly scathing retort. When nothing came to mind, he finally gave into the urge to snarl. Turning away, he stalked from the room. Let the other two manage things if they were so eager.

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As he left the building, his two bodyguards fell into step behind him. Moments later Sasha sidled up, a grin on her lips. “I see the meeting went as you expected.”

Lips curling back in a silent snarl, Kubla nodded. “The cowards will not fight. All that work to build an urgency to confront the Empire and the diggers just plow everything under.”

“I told you they would not fight. While not above defending themselves, the Sharthra do not engage in large battles.”

A low growl rumbled from him. “Not that your wisdom was very timely.”

Amusement shimmered in Sasha’s golden gaze. “But it has been accurate. Everything we’ve discussed since has worked out. We are great together. Body and mind.” Her tail lashed suggestively behind her.

Kubla felt warmth rush through him and for a moment he thought about throwing her down and taking her in the street. By the look in her eyes, she knew what he was thinking. Holding back was difficult, but it would pay off once they got home.

Dragging himself back on topic, he said, “One thing neither of us could have predicted. The Tigra offered the Shartha colony space in the city.”

An echoing anger flared to life in her eyes. “He would give away the city? This is the home of the Majestix on Ryode. It is sovereign!”

Lips curling into a sneer, he nodded. “Xhere says there are no provisions against it. Tradition and the honor of the Majestix should be enough!”

They both stalked in simmering silence for several moments. Finally, Sasha said, “They would be fools to turn down the offer. They have locked themselves in their plains for centuries. There will never be a better offer for them.”

Kubla nodded. “Agreed. I don’t see how we can stop them if they accept. We should instead focus on how to turn this to our advantage.”

Stepping through the door to their home, Sasha said, “And we shall. Later. There is something else that must be done first.”

Kubla turned just in time to catch the leaping Lyonin as she pounced. His purr of pleasure filled the air amidst her pleased growls.

It would be much later before they returned to planning.

***

“So our plan worked. They moved guards to cover the convoys.”

Bageera and Theron crouched in a tree, watching the latest supply convoy entering the compound. Not only were there far more guards for the supplies, but it looked like they had brought in more guards for the compound in general. There were even a trio of those lizard berserkers.

They waited for the convoy to vanish inside, then made their way back to their latest campsite, the third thus far. Once sure they hadn’t been followed and were properly hidden, Bageera ignited a mage globe.

“So, what do you think, Theron?”

Theron raised a paw with three claws extended, then shook his head.

Bageera nodded. “Yeah, those lizards are a bit much for us. Not to mention all the new guards.” Sighing, he added, “I really wish we didn’t have to be so discreet. We could have been picking off some of those guards this whole time.”

Theron pointed a claw over his shoulder, then cocked his head to the side.

Bageera sighed again. “Yeah, we could do that. We should do that. I just hate to have spent all this time only to return with failure.” He pouted. “I haven’t really had much fun on this trip either. Those convoy guards were pushovers.” A smile came to his lips. “At least their taste in supplies was good.”

Theron’s shoulders shook in a silent laugh. Bageera grinned at his friend. “So, let’s get back to our Khan and fill her in. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get back and finish this mission.

***

Marcus desperately teleported a few feet to the side as a fist sized stone smashed into the ground where he’d just been standing. A hastily conjured shield protected him from the shrapnel but not the other fist of stone that closed on his foot.

Yelping, he teleported to the side again, just in time to feel the ground heave beneath him. Sky and ground switched places as he tumbled end over end, crumbling with a groan in a heap.

“You have a habit of teleporting in the same direction each time. That’s too predictable.”

Marcus felt a band of stone wrap around his waist and lift him to his feet. He looked down at the snake of stone and gave it a wry grin. “Thanks, Akara.”

The elemental bobbed its equivalent of a head, gave him a squeeze, then slithered back into the ground. A giggle caught his ear and he looked over to a smiling Hanna. “I swear, if she liked me any more, I’d have cracked ribs.” Rubbing his sides in mock pain, he made his way over to her.

Hanna poked him in the side, earning her an oof. “She just wants to show she cares. At least she keeps to the snake form around you. Some of her other forms are decidedly less cuddly.” Stepping back, she crossed her arms beneath her breasts, blue eyes suddenly serious.

“You really do need to work on your predictability, though. If I can tell where you’re going to appear, so can others.”

Reaching up to rub some dust from his hair, Marcus nodded. “I can understand that. I really do. I do a lot of my teleporting through instinct though. I don’t even think about my locations. How do you change instinct?”

Uncrossing her arms, Hanna raised her hands, which were suddenly covered with stone gauntlets. “Training. There were times early on while I was sparring that my stone fists would spontaneously manifest, even when I didn’t want them. It took me months to learn to only summon them when I wanted.”

Letting the gauntlets disintegrate, she gave Marcus a level gaze. “That’s what we’re trying to do with this exercise. To get you to control your teleporting more consciously. Find a way to keep your reaction speed but with more deliberation in where you end up.”

Hanna’s eyes suddenly sparkled like sapphires. “Just imagine what you could do in combat if every time you dodged it also put you in a better position to counter! Teleporting into the best place to attack from.”

Marcus was sure her eyes started glowing as she said, “I bet you could even teleport in melee. You just need to figure out a way to preserve momentum through the teleport and you could start a punch in one place and end it in your target’s face!” She clapped in apparent excitement.

Seeing her excitement brought a smile to his lips. “Yes. I can see how that would be useful. At least training with you has me teleporting even faster than before. I’ve never seen anyone cast as fast as you. You don’t even bother with form casting.”

A light blush dusted Hanna’s cheeks. Reaching up, she took her braid in hand, toying with the end. “I’ve never liked form casting. If you can read the math fast enough you can tell what spell someone is doing. Except for big, complicated spells, forms are just a crutch to not have to do the math yourself. What?”

Marcus stood there with his mouth agape. Quickly closing his mouth, he asked, “You can read spell forms while they’re being cast?”

Hanna blinked at him. “Yes? What about it? You said you do the same thing!”

“Huh. Let’s try a few things.” Stepping back, he called up the spell form to one of his favorites. Rings of magic erupted at his feet, rotating into life. He held the spell, not letting it ignite. “What do you see here?”

Hanna cocked her head to the side for a moment. “Some kind of light spell? There is a targeting and tracking component. Oh! It’s like a light dart, only more elaborate. Neat!”

Marcus resisted the urge to gape again. Letting the spell finish, several darts of coherent light flashed from his hands, flicking through the air to impact one of the various stones strewn about from the training. The stone crumbled to dust.

“That was one of my personal spells. It’s not recorded anywhere except here.” He tapped the side of his head. “And you deciphered it in seconds. Amazing.”

Hanna’s blush returned. “I enjoy the math. I may be an elementalist but I like to read about all the other types of magic that’s out there. I spend almost as much time in the libraries as I do training.”

“All this time…” He reached up to cover his face. At the sound of Hanna’s Huh, he continued, “we could have been studying together all this time.”

Hanna smiled and stepped over to him, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek. “It’s never too late to start. We can make that our next date.”

Marcus felt a silly smile come to his lips. That smile slid away as he heard her say, “We’re not done yet today, though!”

Only a panicked teleport into a second teleport saved him from bruises from flying stones. Whirling to face her, he gave her a grin. “Alright. Let’s break a habit!”

***

Marcus was covered in dust and smiling, heading towards the Academy baths. While he could have teleported straight there, it was always nice to stretch his legs. Besides, he didn’t want to get back into that habit. When he’d first learned to teleport as a kid he stopped walking anywhere for a while. When his robes stopped fitting he realized he had a problem.

Down the hallway he spotted Typhonus talking to one of his numerous students. As he neared, the conversation seemed to end and the student headed off. Typhonus turned to Marcus and smiled.

“Looks like the courtship is going well?”

Marcus grinned. “Yes. Yes it is. We just spent a couple hours with her tossing rocks at me.”

Typhonus chuckled. “Only you two would consider that an appropriate courtship ritual. At least you appear relatively healthy, if a little dusty. Most people who train with Hanna leave with bruises.”

Marcus shook his head, chuckling in return. “Yes, well, my training was all about dodging, so I was highly motivated not to get hit. I’ve already seen some impressive results, even after just one session.”

“Oh? Do tell.”

“Better yet, I’ll show you.”

Marcus concentrated for a moment, then teleport skipped down the hall in rapid sequence, ending with him appearing next to Typhonus, who was standing with wide eyes.

“Wha? How? Even you don’t teleport that fast!”

Marcus shook some dust from his hair. “As I said, I was highly motivated. She casts faster than Vaughn ever did and had this nasty habit of predicting where I was going to appear. Seems I’m a bit predictable. Something we’ll be working on.”

Typhonus smiled and clapped Marcus on the shoulder. “That’s fantastic. Finally, someone to motivate your lazy bones. You’ve been coasting for too long. No, I’m just teasing, though it is good to see you so happy. Hanna’s good for you and you for her, even if you’re poaching, you old man.”

“Old man? We’re the same age! And technically I’m even younger since missing those years in the Matrix.”

“And that’s why you’re courting a teenager?”

Marcus blushed. “You make it seem like she’s some young, innocent, helpless girl. Most girls her age are long married by now, even among our students. Though they tend to wait longer than average.”

Typhonus’s grin was not reassuring. “I’m sure that’s how you justify it to yourself.”

Shaking his head, Marcus replied, “Actually, that’s pretty much how she explained it herself when she brought all this up.” A gentle sigh escaped him. “And I’m grateful she did. I never knew what my life was missing until she became a true part of it.”

The smile on his best friend’s place was much less suspect this time. “I’m happy for you two. I really am.”

“Thanks man.” Marcus pulled Ty into a quick hug. “And now that you’re as dusty as I am, you can accompany me to the baths.”

Typhonus’s laughter echoed down the hall.