Cynthia Reed walked into her office, now the main hall, followed closely by Warrior Cameron. The conversations and activities that had been going among the villagers either muted or ceased as she passed by, showcasing the equal measure of fear and respect that her position held within the village. Behind her, Warrior Cameron remained silent and seemed to have been deep in thought since the strange encounter with the two prospects. Surveying the space around her, Cynthia found herself nodding in approval.

While the situation itself was one that no one had actually believed would happen, the keep had been designed and built for this exact contingency. Scattered around the hall, most of the village’s population had set up tents and individual partitions for their families, turning the hall into a camp of sorts. With nothing to do but wait, a majority of people had found ways to keep themselves entertained and their minds off of what they couldn’t control. Cynthia could see card games going on and meals being shared, among other activities. She even found herself pausing for a few blissfully unaware children that happened to chase each other across her path. All in all, the majority of the people were adapting well to the crisis and her Warriors were doing an excellent job of keeping everyone content, for the time being.

Making her way across the hall, she eventually reached the right side of the room and one of the reasons for why she’d come to the hall in the first place: the injured. While true that her priority was currently the defense of the village, the well-being of its inhabitants was a major part of that duty.

The area close to the giant hearth had been designated as the triage center and several boxes of supplies for helping to treat the more severely injured had been placed in stacks nearby, creating a wall of sorts that both separated the sick from the healthy and provided a degree of privacy for those being treated as well. There were many more that were being treated, or that were still in recovery, than she’d expected to see, but Cynthia was too aware of how effective the healers and doctors were at their jobs to see this as a negative sign.

The arsons had only been the first of many inside attacks perpetrated by the traitors, with multiple reports of assault and looting having reached her ears shortly after. While a majority of the traitors responsible had been rounded up and dealt with very quickly, there were still some that had managed to escape by blending in with those heading to the Academy and they were currently biding their time somewhere among the sheltering villagers. The victims of the attacks, at least those that remained alive, had also been found and brought to the Academy by her patrolling Warriors. Needless to say, the current situation was many times better than what it could’ve been, though not optimal, while the fact that the list of casualties remained short could, in no small part, be credited to the men and women of the Academy’s Medical Unit. Naturally, Cynthia had made the time to stop by and see if anything could be done to make their jobs easier, especially since, once the battle began, everyone's lives here would only become that much more stressed.

A nearby Warrior, wearing the standard uniform of an Academy Healer, had notice Cynthia's approach and quickly finished up with the follow-up she was having with a recovering patient. The woman removed the pair of gloves she was wearing and threw them away before approaching and giving her salute, "Administrator. To what do we owe the pleasure?"

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Cynthia smiled warmly at the Warrior but her eyes held a hint of sharpness as she spoke, "Makayla. For the last time, we've known each other since before the Selection. Do I need to suspend our girl's nights, or are you going to start using my name?"

The Warrior, Makayla, smirked, but otherwise maintained her demeanor, "I'm sorry, ma'am. Order regulations are there for a reason."

Rolling her eyes, Cynthia waved to the man standing behind her, "Warrior Cameron, this is Warrior Parks. While she's not the head of our Medical Unit, she is one of the best healers I've seen and is a long time friend."

Warrior Cameron gave the other Warrior a nod of respect before looking around the field hospital, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Warrior Parks. It looks like you're going to have your hands full soon."

Makayla sighed in resignation, "It seems like it. Luckily, none of the patients so far have been too badly injured and we haven't had to dip into our supplies much." She gave Cynthia a look, "If we could get some hands to bring some more supplies over from the Medical Wing, that would help keep us ahead of the inevitable crisis."

Cynthia gave the Warrior an apologetic look and shook her head, "I can see if a few of the remaining Guards can be spared, but don't expect too much in the way of supplies. I'm sure that there may be a little still in storage, but everything that wasn't already brought here was requisitioned by Isaac and delivered down to the eastern wall to be used by the field medics."

"Isaac?" Warrior Cameron asked for clarification.

Cynthia turned her head a bit to address the Warrior, "Medical Commander Isaac Bradford. You can address him as MediCo Bradford if you meet him. He's the head of the Medical Unit and the second-highest ranking member of the Order assigned to the Academy, behind me. Due to his position and his skills as a fighter, he's been down at the walls preparing for the battle since you brought back the warning, which is why you didn't meet him at the emergency summit earlier." Turning back to Makayla, she finished, "I'll see what I can do about getting you some more supplies. Just keep up the good work and let any of the Guards know if you need anything else."

Makayla brought her fist to her chest and nodded, "As you wish, Administrator. Good luck with the battle. We'll make do up here."

Cynthia acknowledged the salute and turned to leave, catching herself. A smirk played across her face before she spoke, "By the way..."

Shockwaves reached the keep as the distant sound of violent explosions kicked the semi-relaxed atmosphere of the hall into the gutter. Gasps came from among the villagers and some children were sent scurrying back to their parents in fright. Strange noises suddenly began to echo out across the entire village, reverberating even within the main hall of the keep while muffling all else. A noise that sounded almost...rhythmic. Soon, a voice could be heard within the noise, one that sounded incredibly beautiful, but achingly haunting, as it bounced around the vaulted ceiling of the hall.

Cynthia stopped what she had been about to say, her mouth open mid order, and listened. Everyone else did the same. Every man, woman, and child in, and around, the Academy had paused what they were doing and stood with the same bewildered looks on their faces as they listened to the melancholic sounds. The same question appearing on the tip of every tongue.

Cynthia looked to Warrior Cameron and was, perhaps, the first to voice it, "Is..is that some kind of music?"

Warrior Cameron seemed to be the only person in the room who didn't have a look of utter confusion plastered across his face. Instead, the man had a hand on the bridge of his nose and seemed to be exhibiting some form of apprehension. 'Ollie! What the hell are you doing?!'

"Unfortunately, it is, Administrator." he stated without an ounce of doubt, looking Cynthia straight in the eye, "Unfortunate, because it means that the battle at the walls has just begun."