Bachmus and the rest of his team stood guarding the outside courtyard of the fortress. Their rifles were held in a ready position as they looked across the fortress for any signs of trouble.

Bachmus glanced over in Varsorus’ direction when one of the nearby Imperial soldiers gave a shout of surprise. Bachmus whirled to see Bowin soldiers sprinting down the corridor leading into the fortress. The imperials surged forward to stop them when one Bowin soldier knelt hefting a long metal tube. Fire flashed from the end of it and with a hiss a rocket raced out of the tube and slammed into an Imperial soldier blowing him and his nearby compatriots to pieces.

Bachmus and his team opened fire, dropping a few of the Bowin soldiers, but more and more kept coming. Cortin lobbed a grenade into the mouth of the corridor as the Bowin soldiers got near. It exploded sending flames and body parts flying.

After the smoke cleared the Bowin soldier with the rocket launcher fired again aiming a rocket straight at Cortin. Xanes, seeing this, screamed, “No!” and shoved Cortin out of the way. The rocket hit him dead center, blowing him apart. The force from the rocket sent Cortin flying back and slammed his head on the ground. Cortin lay there unmoving while the remains of Xanes fell to the ground.

Varsorus yelled in rage and fired a burst of shots catching the Bowin soldier in the throat and droping him. The two remaining enemy soldiers rushed toward Bachmus, who fired furiously, catching on in the abdomen and sending him tumbling to the ground. The other one landed on him, sending both of them crashing to the ground and knocking his rifle away from him.

Bachmus’ eyes widened in fear as he quickly grabbed onto his assailant's hand, narrowly keeping the man's knife from plunging into his throat. They sat there struggling against each other. Bachmus grunted as his hands were being forced back, the knife inching closer and closer to his throat, as his desperation grew.

He heard a noise to his right and looked over to see Varsorus rushing towards them. Varsorus brought up a fist as if to punch the Bowin soldier, and as he did the air around it distorted. Blackness enveloped his fist, sucking in the light around it as it rippled with energy. Varsorus slammed his fist into the Bowin soldier. There was a burst of darkness and the black energy exploded as it sent the Bowin soldier careening into the fortress wall, slamming the man into it with enough force to crack it.

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Bachmus stared at him in disbelief, “B-blessing of Viritus,” He stammered, “Poten, you can use the powers!”

Varsorus stared at him uncomfortably, “Get up and check on Cortin.”

Bachmus scrambled to his feet and rushed over to where Cortin lay. Bachmus slid off one of his gloves and placed two fingers on Cortins neck and waited, after a moment he looked to Varsorus, “He’s alive.”

Varsorus opened his mouth to speak when their radios squawked, “Bowin surrender confirmed, repeat Bowin surrender confirmed, the battle is over.”

Varsorus snagged his radio, “Legatus, Dakenis Varosrus speaking.”

“Proceed Dakenis.” The gruff voice answered back.

“Sir, permission to head back to base camp, I have wounded.”

“Granted.”

Varsorus clipped his radio back on his belt and looked at Bachmus, “Lets get him to the med center.”

Bachmus nodded in agreement and, with Varsorus help hefted, Cortin onto his shoulders. They walked out of the fortress and through the forest back towards their camp.

They walked a long way in silence. Their faces grim and their minds on their dead comrades. Until eventually Bachmus sighed, “I can’t believe they're gone, just like that. One moment they are here and they're smiling and laughing and then the next.” He snapped to emphasize his point, “Life has gone out of their eyes and you know you’ll never see them again.”

“That’s war son,” Varsorus replied, “You, can die at any moment.”

Bachmus scoffed, “That doesn’t make it suck any less.”

They lapsed back into silence for several long, agonizing, moments before Varsorus suddenly said, “Don’t tell anyone about my powers.”

Bachmus looked at him, baffled, Varosrus glanced back at his expression and sighed, “If someone is discovered to have powers the Inquisates forces them to enter the academy for the Ordenum Noctes.” Then his eyes fell and his voice hardened, “Most don’t survive the training.”

Bachmus’ eyes widened in realization, “Is that your issue with that creep Narklin?”

“I had a sister,” Varsorus sighed, sorrow seeping into his voice, “Narklin went to the same academy as us. After we graduated he went into the Inquisates. He discovered that she could use the powers and reported her. The Inquisates forced her to go to the Noctes academy.” He paused as his face twisted into a scowl, “She didn’t make it.”

“Ah,” Bachmus replied. They slipped into awkward silence as they continued walking through the forest. After a while Bachmus took a deep breath and blurted out, “I’m a Rosentir”

Varsorus stopped dead in his tracks and whirled around, “What?”

“I’m a Rosentir Descendant of Hearatus Rosentir leader of the Rosentir rebellion that almost toppled the Empire and sparked the warlord era ”

Varsorus looked at him confused, “Why would you tell me that, you know what the Emperor's decree on Rosentirs is.”

“So now we both know something that will get the other killed.”

Varsorus nodded, and they both continued on towards the base camp in silence their minds on their recent battles and passed comrades