Under the watchful silver of Ikar, the Battle of Dust ensued.

Mist had not gathered in Foehn that day. Its absence allowed dust in the city to roam freely, exposing the outnumbered rebels. Though reinforcements were anticipated, Ishh had not prepared for the force they were met with.

The airship continued attacking the ice barrier hovering over the Dustans. Its steady fire shifted to periodic bursts as it prodded the frozen shield. The bombardment slowly but surely weakened the protective canopy. Pressure from the guardians on the ground made protecting the civilians even more challenging. With their frontline alternating between purple Anti-Scar shields and those armed with automatic weaponry, there was virtually no time for the rebels to counter.

Chala, a student of Captain Sellen, prioritized defense, using the wind to deflect as many projectiles as possible. Yulianna and Lynolo, rebels under Captain Urrah and Captain Kiisha, respectively, were exceptional weaponists. Behind Chala’s wind wall, they picked off any guardians who attempted to flank them.

Zetii, the pride of Commander Jon’s forces, was the most highly trained rebel after Ishh. Rana and T’mo, also within Commander Jon’s ranks, were regarded as the next generation of captains. Zetii, in particular, was a show of class in weapons combat, Scar-tech, and engineering. Although Unscarred herself, she thoroughly enjoyed any opportunity to utilize Scar-tech in any way she could.

The path became increasingly littered as they marched closer to the mine. Chunks of stone and rusted metal challenged some of the older Dustans, forcing the tightly packed civilians to step out from under the ice.

Tripping over rubble, several of them fell out from under the canopy and were immediately shredded by the airship. In fear, those closest to the riddled bodies pushed inward, knocking citizens out on the opposite end. The airship fired again, mowing down several more. Blood sprayed across the underside of the ice and into Ishh’s eye. The sting of it broke his focus, and the ice barrier abruptly descended, almost crushing those beneath.

“Are you okay, Captain?” Zetii asked.

“I’m fine,” he replied, blinking aggressively, raising the ice again. “We need to get this airship off of us.”

Hearing the captain, Rana stepped to the edge of the canopy, prepared to attack the airship, only to be stopped by T’mo once more.

“Don’t. Your fire will melt the ice.” T’mo said. Rana clenched her fist in frustration before herding the Dustans back together.

Just as the citizens crowded below the ice again, the island rumbled, throwing the rebels and guardians off balance. The gunfire stopped momentarily, and cries from the guardian's backline reached Ishh.

“Elysia,” Ishh said to himself.

“Zetii!” he called, pointing at the metal rod sticking out of her backpack.

She hurriedly pulled the rod and two blue gems out and assembled them. Fastening the gems to both ends, they formed a short staff. With a twist, the rod produced a mechanical ‘click’ as the gems glowed faintly. She raised the staff, twirling it above her head, creating a ghostly blue vortex. Stone and dust swept up around her, transmuting into water, which Ishh used to reinforce his ice. The transmutation staff hissed with a spark as the gems dulled before being discarded.

“Rana. T’mo. Find Elysia,” he ordered, capitalizing on the distracted enemy.

T’mo whipped up a wind that kicked a considerable amount of dust into the air, creating a smokescreen rising high enough to obscure the airship’s line of sight. Repositioning between the rebels and the mine, the airship searched for a clear view. Shielded by the dusty veil, the two rebels flew over the guardians to assist Elysia in the west.

Zetii hustled toward the edge of the canopy facing the mine. She rummaged through her pack frantically. With a green orb in hand, she watched for the silhouette of the airship. The orb was of makeshift design, varying in material with wire endings protruding between unstructured seams. The green color was added after its construction to distinguish the home-brewed Scar-tool’s function. She tossed the orb as the dust settled and the airship came into view.

It imploded upon impact, creating a violent zone of vortical wind. The airship rocked and contorted within its grasp. Ishh’s ice and some civilians were dragged towards the vortex's tremendous suction. Sharp, persistent screeching caused everyone to flinch.

Forcing herself to endure the deafening sound, Zetii unholstered her weapon and fired relentlessly. Most of it deflected off the ship’s hardened exterior until one pierced through the cockpit's glass and the pilot's neck.

The co-pilot aimed the ship’s weapon at the rebels but misfired at its allied airship and several guardians below. Two of its four engines exploded, overtaxed by the incredible turbulence. The screeching ceased, and the vortex ended its insatiable gnaw upon the ship. The airship flew off the island’s edge, becoming a meteor of twisted metal and fire for the Land Below.

With the first airship gone, the rebels and civilians hurriedly moved toward the mine. The second airship, which watched Elysia, turned from the impact of friendly fire. Its sight now set to the east just as the first airship nosedived behind the island. Moving in on the location of its ally’s destruction, it fired at the scurrying rebels.

It began firing at the mine’s entrance once the civilians and rebels reached the threshold. To stop the ship from burying the Dustans, Ishh tilted the ice barrier into the line of fire and pushed against it. With the civilians successfully entering the mine, Ishh pushed the thick ice wall with all his might into the airship, knocking it back.

He let out a loud, labored grunt, and the wall stretched into a spike, denting the nose of the ship. With another grunt, the ice swung into the airship again, crashing into its wing. The airship began to yaw uncontrollably, colliding with a nearby islet before plummeting into the Land Below.

With two of the three airships out of play and the Dustans safe, the rebels fully engaged the guardians. Ishh split half of his ice to seal the mine entrance, ensuring no guardian could enter. He sent the other half crashing into the ground between Chala and the small army of guardians.

Exhausted from producing a constant wind wall, Chala stepped back, allowing Ishh to head the attack. Guardians approached around the jagged ice partition with guns ablaze. Zetii met them with a shield she unfolded from her pack. Pings sounded as the bullets ricocheted off the dense, concaved metal. She fitted the nozzle of her gun in a slot on the side of the shield and fired back.

Ishh broke off bits of his ice wall and launched them toward any guardian that caught his eye, trying to avoid their anti-Scar shields as much as possible. A slab of ice broke off the wall and orbited near him, blocking projectiles from the guardians. Lynolo, standing behind Ishh, provided cover fire - killing guardians Ishh had missed or failed to kill on his first attempt while defending the captain’s rear.

Putting away her gun, Yulianna ran up to the ice wall. She unsheathed the red-hot blade she used during infiltration and kissed the handle.

“Why do you always have to do that? There’s so much dirt and blood on that thing.” Lynolo judged.

Yulianna licked the blade and smiled just before severing a Guardian’s arm, spraying blood on her and her weapon.

“Disgusting,” Lynolo shook his head disapprovingly.

“Yulianna!” Zetii called before tossing her shield over. Yulianna, catching the shield, smiled deviously and ran around the wall with a battle cry. Guardians poured out, halfway encircling the rebels as they fought.

Ducking near Ishh’s ice slab that orbited him and Lynolo, Zetii opened her pack, pulled out several small red orbs, and chucked them over the ice wall to the guardians—flashes of red and orange refracted through the crystalline partition, accompanied by screams. Guardians ran out from behind and were engulfed in flames.

“What don’t you have in that pack?” Lynolo asked as he shot a burning guardian.

Zetii looked up to Lynolo with a serious face, “A fuck.”

Lynolo burst out laughing.

“Focus up,” Ishh said, fighting the urge to smile.

As Ishh continued to hurl shards at the guardians, his ice wall lowered in height. Seeing this, Zetii ran over to it and peeked to the other side. Before ducking to open her backpack, she caught a glimpse of Rana and T’mo fighting in the distance, surrounded by fire. The sight of Yulianna falling to one knee grabbed her attention.

Ishh’s efforts provided diminishing returns as the guardians shielded themselves more efficiently. Now, with some turned to protect the frontline’s backs, his ice attacks became useless. The wall of purple stiffened and pressed towards Ishh and Lynolo. After several more attempts to maneuver his ice around the shields, Ishh dropped his arms, exhausted.

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As they moved in, the shields in the backline disappeared, and the hum of their suppressive weapons rose. The frontline slowed as the backline stepped forward, firing suppression pulses. The first round of pulses brought Ishh to his knees. The second wave leveled the Water Scarred, causing him to writhe in pain.

Lynolo, feeling Ishh fall, turned and fired, killing some of the unshielded guardians before they stepped behind the purple line. Shielded guardians advanced once more. A single guardian abruptly jumped out around the purple wall and shot Lynolo, injuring his arm.

The ice wall began to melt upon Ishh’s suppression. Just as Zetii attempted to hop over and assist Yulianna, the sudden reduction in height caused her to fumble. She looked at Ishh as he squirmed on the ground. Yulianna's yelps pulled her attention as well. Zetii tossed the tool she pulled from her pack at Yulianna.

“Press the button!” she yelled as she sprinted towards Ishh and Lynolo, rustling through her pack along the way.

She pulled out a silver-purple orb, hesitating as her hand raised it from inside the bag. In a frustrated grunt, she lobbed the orb into the cluster of guardians that closed in on the Ishh. After a short delay, it released a pulse that faded the purple glow from their tools and weapons.

The guardians looked around in confusion before another object landed between them, exploding the defenseless soldiers. Out of breath, she reached Ishh and lightly pressed a soft cloth to his face. Ishh’s eyes widened, and the pain from the suppression stopped immediately. Discarding the spent cloth, she helped him to his feet.

“That was my only one. Don’t get suppressed again, captain.”

“Thank you,” he said wearily.

Gunfire resumed as Lynolo angrily mowed down those who survived the blast. He stepped on the head of one who tried to crawl away, emptying his weapon into the defenseless guardian and spat on the corpse. Awkwardly pocketing the weapon under his good arm, he ripped off his belt and used it as a tourniquet before walking to Ishh and Zetii.

As Ishh and Zetii caught their breath, Chala flew over to Yulianna, who had been killing guardians single-handedly down the street. Covered in blood, with her Fire-Scarred blade in one hand and the tool Zetii gave her in the other, she was a berserker – an unmistakable pupil of Captain Urrah.

Landing behind her, Chala kicked a guardian through a pile of toppled stone. Yulianna, completely consumed by bloodlust, had killed three more guardians before Chala could approach the one he attacked. Reaching the stunned guardian, Chala slowly raised his hand, straightening it flat, and swiftly swung it diagonally in front of the guardian. Soon after, the guardian exploded roughly in half with an ear-rupturing, high-pitched whistle.

“Sorry.” Chala apologized, turning to see his allies covering their ears and cringing.

With a final swing of Yulianna’s blade, the last guardian fell, and the soft whimpers of surviving guardians rose.

Ishh, no longer feeling the effects of the suppression, pulled the melted puddle of water that was once the ice wall, collecting it into a large orb over the pile of guardians who had suppressed him. Their cries turned to pleas as the orb grew.

Taking off his torn and bloodied captain’s jacket, Ishh rolled up his sleeves, raised his hands to the orb, and undulated his fingers deliberately. The orb poured ice needles on the remaining guardian survivors. Needles relentlessly pummeled their metal armor until it gave. Their pleas swelled into weakening cries before silence ensued as the pile of bodies was pulverized into a muddled black and red mush. A look of momentary relief rolled over his cold stare.

Lowering his hands, Ishh turned to the west. His mound of blood-soaked ice followed, separating itself into clean water once more. He walked past a limping Yulianna, with Chala, Zetii, and Lynolo close behind.

The team, tired and worn, moved toward the town square. As they crossed the overturned fountain, Ishh accumulated the spilled red water and froze it into a brick he kept close to his hip. He rolled up his sleeves and doused the fires they encountered while the rest of the rebels ensured the bodies of guardians they passed were dead with bullets and blades.

As they approached, Ishh recognized Rana being held by a large enemy. He quietly threw two ice spears at the enemy. The ice connecting with the Enforcer’s armor melted to water as it glowed purple from contact. Feeling its nudge, the Enforcer turned to the rebels and grinned, choking Rana.

“Rana!” Zetii yelled as she rushed forward. Chala, Lynolo, and Yulianna followed.

“Stop! He’s an Enforcer!” Ishh yelled, recognizing the pattern on the large soldier’s armor.

The rebels abruptly stopped their approach. The Enforcer’s grin grew to a smile as Rana’s face turned a shade of blue. Cautiously, they encircled the large enemy.

His size gave Ishh pause. Having only met two others who matched his stature, Ishh knew they must engage with extreme caution. Briefly distracted by the situation, Ishh remembered Elysia and broke his focus off the Enforcer. Looking around the street and broken buildings, she was nowhere in sight.

“C’mon. Don’t you wanna save your friend?” he taunted. Taking his other hand, the Enforcer grabbed Rana’s arm and waved it at the rebels.

“Help me, help me,” he mocked. The Enforcer’s smiled persisted. Dropping Rana’s arm, he looked around at the nervous rebels.

“Hey, it’s okay. You don’t have to be scared,” he said as he swung Rana around with abandon. “You should be proud. You survived against all those guardians. This is a moment of celebration!”

Zetii watched with tears welling in her eyes. She looked around for T’mo, only to see a disembodied pair of legs sitting in a pool of blood.

“T’mo…” she whispered.

“Aw, don’t cry. You’re too pretty for that,” the Enforcer took a step toward her. As Ishh joined the circle, the Enforcer turned to him.

“You must be Captain Ishh. The General will give me a medal for killing you,” he chuckled excitedly.

Ishh kept a straight face at the Enforcer’s words, scanning the area while keeping alert to the enemy’s movements.

“You know who would really enjoy your death?” The Enforcer stepped closer to Ishh, and the rebels, keeping the circle tight, moved with him.

“His wife. Well, one of his wives,” the Enforcer cackled, shaking the blue-faced Rana. The dangling rebel let out a hack and gag as she squirmed.

“Did I say you could move?” The Enforcer scolded as he slapped her leg, breaking it.

Zetii, shaking with rage, let out a painful scream and attacked.

“Wait!” Ishh yelled.

She fired at the obnoxious Ome soldier. With one hand shielding his face, he rose Rana up to the attack. Zetii quickly ceased fire, and the Enforcer threw Rana at Zetii with immense force, knocking the two rebels back into a pile of rubble.

A blast of wind pushed on the Enforcer’s legs before it gave off its suppressive glow. The Enforcer turned to punch Chala, who jumped away. His fist impacted the ground, creating a small crater where Chala stood - a testament to Ishh’s caution. Lynolo followed with gunfire. The Enforcer, protecting his head again, pushed through the bullets. Capitalizing on his obstructed vision, Yulianna circled the great soldier and swung her red-hot blade at his boot. His armor gave its suppressive glow before fading, allowing her blade to sink into it. The heat from her attack surprised the Enforcer.

After kicking the rebel back into Ishh, he grabbed the Scarred blade out from his boot, scowling before snapping the weapon in half.

The Enforcer pressed forward against Lynolo, tackling the rebel. Smacking his weapon out of his hand, the brute punched through the rebel’s chest. Lynolo slid down the Enforcer’s forearm, giving his armor a red sheen, before the Enforcer pulled him off, ripping the rebel in half. Shaking the blood off his arm, the Enforcer continued the fight, charging Ishh. The captain quickly pushed Yulianna in the opposite direction, dodging the Enforcer, who pivoted and continued his chase.

On his feet, Ishh made several small ice walls between him and the charging Enforcer. As the Enforcer met each wall of ice, his armor glowed, melting the walls as he passed. Just as the Enforcer reached him, Ishh pushed himself into the air with a thrust of ice beneath his feet. Chala, using the wind to catch him, eased the captain down.

“Fight me straight, you Scarred bitch!” the Enforcer yelled before looking to Zetii and Rana.

In Zetii’s arms, Rana lay, unable to speak. Her throat crushed from the monstrous grip of the Ome brute, she stared silently at Zetii, resting her hands on her neck. Zetii scrambled in her pack.

“H-hold on, Rana. I-I know…I know I have to heal you,” she said as she fought back tears. Before she could search thoroughly, the Enforcer pushed the injured Rana aside and grabbed Zetii.

“The name’s Reaun,” he smiled as he pulled her in.

The air around them hissed. Smoke rose off of his armor as it lit up in purple light. His attention turned to Rana, who stared at him with scornful hatred. Her eyes did not move from him, nor did the attempting fire cease its accumulation, continuing to gather and disperse against his Scar-suppressive armor.

Reaun turned to the baleful Fire-Scarred, releasing Zetii as he walked over. Rana rose to her knee, clasping her throat. Blood spilled from her mouth as she fought back coughs.

“Hmph, I’ll give ya this,” he said as he reeled back his fist. “You are persistent. I admire that.”

Barely making it to her feet, Rana refused to break eye contact. Smoke continued to rise from his armor. Brief, faint flickers of orange light popped around the Enforcer, clashing against the purple that wrapped him.

Before he could strike, bullets ricocheted off his back. Turning to see an armed Zetii, Reaun groaned as he covered his face with his hand. The glow from his armor faded just as he heard rustling behind him. Accumulating liquid fire in one hand, Rana ducked as the Enforcer turned to backhand her. He screamed as she injected her flame into the gash of his boot. Though his armor reacted, the suppressive light could not form over the gap. The smell of melting flesh filled the air around them.

As Reaun staggered, he swung again. The blow disfigured Rana’s torso and sent her flying back into debris. Falling to one knee, the Enforcer growled, fighting the urge to scream as the fire ate his flesh like acid. He pressed a button on his forearm and pulled a small yellow gem.

A strong wind blew against the Enforcer, nearly knocking him flat. Regaining his grip on the yellow gem, Reaun attempted to insert it into his missing joint. His armor flickered purple as he fought against the continuous gust.

Yulianna rushed at him, thrusting Zetii’s Wind-Scarred tool at his head. Though injured, his reactions were still sharp; quickly placing the gem between his fingertips, Reaun caught Yulianna before her weapon could connect.

Footsteps outside the wind tunnel grew in volume as Ishh sprinted at Reaun with a razor-sharp ice spike in hand. Using his other hand, the Enforcer caught Ishh’s arm, halting the captain’s death blow. Their concerted efforts were met with remarkable resilience as the four were locked in a stalemate.

For the first time in battle, Reaun struggled. Rana’s attack brought the brute to his knees, fighting for his life. The searing pain from her scornful strike pushed the Enforcer like never before. Ishh, Yulianna, and Chala’s coordinated attack put the soldier in front of death’s gaze.

Reaun’s expression of pain slowly faded as the rebels continued to push. Their weapons stopped advancing as an unexpected bloom of strength surged. The Enforcer lifted his head with an evil smile. Ishh could feel the stalemate quickly becoming dangerous as Reaun began to push back against the rebels’ attacks. He stretched his ice, inching it closer to the Enforcer’s head – but Reaun had claimed victory.

With one great thrust, the brute shoved Ishh and Yulianna far back, flattening both rebels. He tucked the gem into where his ankle once existed and sighed in relief. The blessed gem grew crystalline veins that linked the soldier’s shin and foot, soothing his pain and allowing mobility.

Chala watched as the Enforcer charged him. Too slow in his attempt to fly away, Reaun caught the Wind-Scarred by the ankle and slammed the rebel into the ground. The stone bricks laid in the street shot upward from the impact, raining down in bits of gray and red.