"HAHAHA."

Arvid and the rest cackled as the jester performed her routine. To be fair to her, to get that lot laughing so boisterously her performance must have been exceptional. I had little interest in it though.

My subordinates could rest and enjoy their downtime, but extended time away from a battlefield did nothing but leave me restless. It was where I belonged, where I called home. One obviously couldn't spend their entire life on the fields, there weren't enough wars to fight, but I only ever spent time away honing my skills. It was strange watching some chicken-like creature spin ridiculous tales.

"HAHAHAHA. The bastard!"

I would leave them to go train, but that would just shatter my already shaky position. I didn't connect with any of them, we barely spoke outside of orders and confirmations. Even though I was the technical leader, I was very much an outcast. The only one that even bothered to pretend they enjoyed my presence was Sindre.

His act was only because his tribe were one of the few that knew who I really was. He made no effort to hide the fact they sought to invite me into their fold. They couldn’t do it openly, but two ‘friends’ just getting along with each other seemed to be fair game to them.

"Dalric! Why are you all the way up here? That ayalmi is hilarious."

And here he came, Laekna floating behind him.

"She is, but I need to review our last battle and I doubt I’d be able to do that down there.

Sindre took a healthy swig of the drink in his hand, “What are you doing that for?”

“I review every battle, but this time we suffered two casualties in what should have been a comfortable siege."

He scoffed, "Oh come on. Ísturn is a fortress city, we weren't expected to conquer it alone in the first place."

"We weren't given orders to, but there were nineteen of us in this unit. That was more than enough."

"They call you The Butcher, but they really should call you The Perfectionist. Can't you at least celebrate the victory?"

Celebrations lead to contentment. Contentment lead to complacency. Complacency lead to death. Those words were practically etched into my skull. I couldn't say them though, it was a point that nobody around me agreed with. Every dish came with a side of revelry with these lot.

"I am. Usually I'd be training right now, but instead I'm with all of you for this little victory party."

Sindre gave me a sideways look, one I couldn't really blame him for. I was clearly stretching the definition of 'with' as within the sizable amphitheater they had commandeered for the show, I sat more than halfway up the stairs while everyone else was at the front.

I was still here though, that should count for something.

He shook his head, "Anyway. I just got news that Endalaus surrendered. We'll be heading home after this."

Oh, that's just great.

He sat next to me, "Got any plans for when we're out of this wasteland?"

Back to training.

"Not yet. This was my first deployment as a Minor Captain, I have a lot to go over. I imagine you'll be off to one of the mountains to try and whoo one princess or another though."

"Hehe." He chuckled, "I just might. You should come too. The ladies will go crazy for the first Captain under a hundred ever. That's a pretty big deal."

"I'm ninety-six and only Minor Captain."

"Still. You're the first. Think of all the sweet sweet women in Vakebakker just waiting for us. With their thick, powerful thighs and their…"

And there he goes. The only thing Sindre cared about more than looking good on a battlefield was looking good for women. He was a fairly gifted fighter, but his lust would ruin him one day.

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"...I heard the second daughter of Lord Nyberg has the most beautiful abs you'd ever see. They're like sculpted jarlon. Just imagine what it must feel like ins—"

I'd heard enough, "Looks like the show is ending.”

The ayalmi bowed to receive her rowdy round of applause. She’d clearly made quite the impression. I briefly gave her a few claps myself just to keep with the mood, but now that she was finished, it was my cue to leave.

Sindre stopped me as I stood up, "Leaving already? You're not going to share the news with the rest?"

"I appreciate you telling me, but until I receive an official report I can't do that."

“Y—”

I stopped him before he cut in, "I'm almost completely sure you're right, but rules are rules. Things could have changed in the time it took for you to receive that tidbit."

In truth, that was about as likely as the sun falling from the sky. Sindre’s tribe was directly involved in leading this war. There was zero chance they didn't have a complete picture of the campaign’s ongoings.

That very fact, however, was the reason I didn't feel a need to address the rest. Our piece of the campaign was over. I'd likely never see any of them again, our paths simply didn't align. The next time I'm released they'd still be footmen and I'd be more than just a Minor Captain.

Sindre called out to me as I left, "The offer still stands when you're ready!"

"I'll think about it."

I genuinely would, even if there was no chance I could ever accept. My hundredth summer approached and I had still yet to feel the touch of a woman. A tender touch anyway. A part… a big part of me was envious of Sindre. While I was born to be a soldier and had no qualms with it, sometimes I wished I could also just be a person.

I wonder what those abs would feel like…

“You’re doing so well!” Laekna chimed in, pulling me out of my daydreams. She’d been so silent that I forgot she was even there.

“I can’t really afford to do anything less than that.”

“You could. You could have left immediately and washed your hands clean of all of them, but you didn’t. You stayed, you helped. You’ve even made a connection!”

“I wouldn’t go that far. Sindre and I just speak every now and again. He’s really just following orders… wait. This doesn’t make sense.”

I turned to look at Laekna, but suddenly she was gone. Suddenly everything was gone.

…

..

.

Dalric shot up. For a moment he thought about the dream he just had, but that moment sharpy passed when he took in his surroundings. Eight towering shields loomed around him as he blinked clarity back into his eyes. Though there were only eight shields, twenty people surrounded his bed. Most notably was Ryku, who stood closest with five devil glass pieces in hand.

“Dalric?”

What happened?

His memory was foggy and his head ached tremendously.

Wait.

He reached up and plucked the Devil Glass out of his head.

Devil Glass? In my head again?

He remembered briefly chatting with Ryku about how his information gathering was going, which was a mixed bag, but everything after that felt clouded. His body felt absolutely destroyed as well. He clenched his fist a few times and it felt like his muscles were creaking into place.

Devil Glass… Oh!

His memories rushed back, compounding the headache somehow. The Gods had come again, much sooner than he expected. He still didn’t understand how, but it didn’t matter. He had the means to fight back now.

He had the keys to his freedom now.

Dalric eyed the Devil Glass in his hand then looked over at the five in Ryku’s, “How long have I been asleep.”

The shields around him lowered as much of the room collectively sighed.

“And what did you tell them?”

Ryku placed the pieces down, “The truth. Last night your ahjer violently spiraled out of control and you asked me to use these to calm it down. It’s… 5:23pm so you’ve been out for roughly sixteen and a half hours.”

Hmm. A part-truth.

“Sixteen hours...” Dalric slowly moved to the edge of the bed, “You all can go now.”

They only hesitated for a second before the nineteen others in the room slowly marched their way out. Once they were gone he attempted to place a barrier around the room. Fighting through the headache was annoying by itself, but once through he found he was once again devoid of ahjer. Which was probably also contributing to the painful state of affairs in his head.

I suppose six of these would do that.

He tossed the piece he held onto towards Ryku, “Do you know any spells to prevent eavesdropping?”

Ryku caught it and placed it with the others, “Yes, give me a moment.”

His ahjer shout out and coated the floor, walls, and ceiling. It briefly flashed black, transforming the room into a black box for a blink, before the spell settled. Daric couldn’t do much prodding without any ahjer to use, but his ahjer sense rated the resulting barrier highly.

“‘Out of control ahjer’ you said, is that what you truly believe?”

Ryku pulled up a chair, “No. I believe something or someone was—is trying to control your body. You’re interested in Devil Glass because you believe it can be used as a counter.”

Well then. Where do we go from here…