Kaiato knelt before his lord.

He was in the middle of the Koyejian war camp, with soldiers and generals arrayed around him. Johuto stood near the front of the crowd, beaming proudly.

Prince Siroki stood in front of Kaiato, sword in hand, a smile on his face.

“Kaiato Bakeh, I now raise you from the rank of Sharpshooter to the rank of a masaroi knight,” Prince Siroki touched the top of Kaiato’s head with the flat of his blade. He rotated and pulled back bringing the top down to touch Kaiato’s forehead. He felt a tiny, painful prick and a droplet of blood run down from the point.

“By your blood, you are now an Arm of Koyeji, rise.”

Kaiato stood up.

A servant approached and handed Kaiato a headband. He wrapped it around the small cut, put his hands behind his back and stood up tall.

“I will do my best to protect Koyeji from threats within and without,” Kaiato said, repeating the lines he had been given, “I will serve my Lord with all my strength.”

Prince Siroki smiled even broader. He turned to the army.

“I present to you, Masaroi Kaiato Bakeh!”

A shout went out from the crowd as the men cheered him. Everyone had been informed of Staiwaki’s treachery, and of Kaiato’s bravery in the final battle.

Instead of being an outcast, he was a hero.

After the ceremony, there were drinks and food for the other masaroi and the lords. Many men congratulated Kaiato and offered thanks for his bravery.

He’d expected to be overjoyed. But it all felt… hollow. The ceremonies, the pomp, the awards. He graciously accepted the praise heaped upon him, and the honor of becoming a masaroi, but he felt he was more than an arm of Koyeji. He’d spent so long worrying about the fate of the world that worrying about a nation felt small and trivial.

After all, Koyeji was just one nation among many.

“Masaroi Bakeh,” Prince Siroki said as he approached with two guards, “Have you made any further considerations as to what future assignment you would prefer?”

Kaiato nodded, “Yes, actually. I think I’d like to stay.”

Prince Siroki looked concerned. “What for? Your duty lies with Koyeji.”

“Well, since Omrai is planning on sharing Jebuthar’s technology with us, I would consider staying here with our engineers, and helping to oversee the work of analyzing this new technology and bringing it home.”

“That is a noble cause,” Prince Siroki said, looking convinced.

“And there are still many automatons that must be taken care of,” Kaiato said, “Who better to hunt than a Koyejian sharpshooter?”

“You’re masaroi now, brother,” Johuto said, pushing past a few others in the crowd. She wore the deep green of the Koyejian military, a short split dress with lighter green multilayered pants underneath, her shoulders and arms were bare, revealing her strong muscles. Kaiato wanted to glare at the other Masaroi who stared. Luckily, carnofighters didn’t put up with disrespect and a quick glance revealed other carnofighters spread through the room, dressed in the same dress as his sister. “You could lead a team of sharpshooters.”

“He could lead a team of more than just sharpshooters,” Prince Siroki said. “You should stay. A few carnofighters and some sharpshooters could be very effective.”

Prince Siroki stepped in closer, motioning them to do the same. Kaiato and Johuto leaned in. “I want to make sure we understand everything about those machines, so don’t destroy all of them. Your most important duty is to make sure that any and all knowledge available makes its way back to Koyeji. I would not have Ateya nor any other nation getting ahead of us. Understood?”

“Yes, my lord,” Kaiato and Johuto both said in unison.

“Good,” he stood up straight, “Tomorrow, you begin your most important work, but today, you celebrate!”

Prince Siroki smiled at the two of them and walked off.

Johuto slapped Kaiato on the shoulder. “I never thought getting banished would do you so much good.”

Kaiato smiled at his sister. But a thought still nagged him.

Regardless of what Prince Siroki said or what Johuto hoped, Kaiato did not feel the same loyalty for Koyeji he once had. His loyalties had shifted from his nation to the world. He would never make a choice that would benefit his nation but damage the world. It left him with a pang of guilt for the oath he just uttered… an oath to put his lord and his nation above all else.

An oath he someday might have to break.

✦✦✦

Revin stood on a hill and looked over his army of saurians below. They sat arrayed on the wide field, torn and broken. Shattered ships and automatons still lay spread far and wide, and hardly an inch of grass wasn’t overturned.

Birdy sat on his shoulder, and the Ateyan capital lay behind him. He leaned on his walking stick; his knee wrapped tightly. Now that the fighting was over, he planned on a great deal of rest. Any further missions he would have to manage from the back of a wagon. His whole body hosted a score of bruises, breaks, and cuts. Healing would take time.

Most of the saurians had survived the battle, and the saurians that belonged to the army were returned to their handlers. Revin still had them mastered but left them alone. These arrayed in front of him were the wild ones.

The shield-heads, the stegos, the ankylos, the longnecks, the yutaraptors, the iguanodons, and many more sat or stood with their own kind. He reached out to them and felt their thoughts. A thousand minds rushed through his, filled with concern, anxiety, excitement, peace. Some were hungry, for meat or plant. He’d tried feeding the carnivores with only the corpses of the dead, but the battle was over now. He’d tried to figure out how to keep them all, but, ultimately, he knew what had to be done. He had to let them go. He couldn’t sustain them like this. And, more importantly, they weren’t his. They were his allies , not his slaves. And that was the difference between him and Narazoth.

Revin was willing to let go.

He connected with each of their minds and pushed. They got up as one and moved, each species spreading. Revin continued to send the urge to go far and wide. He held on tightly to the connections. Sweat formed on his forehead. The bonds weakened more and more the further the saurians traveled.

He could feel hunger and anticipation growing in the carnivores as they eyed the other groups. The herbivores fear and concern grew as well. And soon… nature would return to its proper course.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

His connection dissipated. First sporadically, then widely. As soon as the connection was lost, the carnivores would turn to the other groups for food. But there were a great many more herbivores, and he had spread them far enough apart that most would escape unscathed.

Revin relaxed his mind. They were all gone. The natural world continued on its way, roars and sounds of conflict echoing from the distance.

Only the giganotos remained.

He looked down the hill to his right. Scarback walked up the hill towards him, her clan waiting at the foot of the hill below. The giganotos didn’t scare Revin anymore, and he pushed aside the part of his brain which told him to run from those teeth, spikes, claws, and many tons of muscle which approached.

Scarback lowered her head. Birdy fidgeted in anxiety.

Revin reached out and touched Scarback’s nose.

“Goodbye, my friend. I’m glad we met.”

Revin looked into Scarback’s eye, and she looked back.

“I’m sure we’ll meet again.”

Scarback understood, and she felt the same. She lifted her head slowly, turned around, and walked down the hill, rejoining her clan, leading them away from the camp.

And eventually, his connection severed with her too. A part of his soul going with her.

Revin felt his eyes water. He wiped at the tears with his sleeve. He hated saying goodbye. He’d said goodbye to the rodents, birds, and lizards he’d mastered back home, he’d said goodbye to Avey, who he’d saved from an abusive master, and he’d said goodbye to Blackfire.

Revin missed him the most. He’d spent years with that wolf, wandered mountains, hunted beasts, spent many nights keeping each other warm in a small tent in the Hiriv Wilderness. So much time spent, only to have him killed by a mindless automaton. By Narazoth.

Birdy nuzzled against Revin’s head affectionately. Revin smiled, reaching up and scratching Birdy’s feathers.

Then, he remembered Ismander. The monk, beastspeaker, and warrior from the North. Beadoróf had said Ismander had come to the Hiriv island to find a beastspeaker powerful enough to challenge Narazoth.

And she’d brought Revin.

The success of this war and the victory over Narazoth, was all because Ismander had found Revin. She’d left to warn the Hiriv monks and had died to protect them.

This victory truly belonged to her.

Revin said a prayer of gratitude in his heart. He watched the giganotos march off, getting smaller and smaller until they were only specks by the mountains. He waited a long time.

His gaze shifted to the northwest, away from the giganotos, in the direction of his home.

He gripped the sword at his side, thinking of his parents. His mother wouldn’t have let him do half the things he did, and his father would have pleaded caution every step of the way. Revin laughed. He should have followed much of the counsel his father would have given him. Things like be more cautious, don’t jump in, show kindness to another, work for the good of all and not your own ego.

His father was wise.

“Are you going back?”

Revin turned to look behind him. Shifra approached from the other side of the hill.

Revin smiled at her. “No,” Revin said, “I’ve got a lot to do here, besides, Omrai is my Life-Lord.”

Shifra smiled, “Good. We’d like to keep you around. Once your father and the monks have recovered, what are they going to do?”

Revin frowned. The physical recovery was going well. The emotional recovery, however, was not.

“Most want to go home, but some want to stay. They still have a connection to many of the automatons. They feel bad for them.”

Shifra and Revin went quiet.

“So, you and Kaiato, huh?”

Shifra smiled half-apologetically. “Yeah.”

“Well, I’ll leave you two alone.” Revin almost turned to leave, a knot forming in his chest.

“Don’t go,” Shifra said, grabbing his arm.

Revin didn’t want to, he was too embarrassed. She didn’t feel the same way, so why stay around?

“I want us to remain friends,” Shifra said, a concerned look in her eye.

Revin let out a breath, trying to let it go. He forced a smile in a vain attempt to feel better about it, “A friend? I’ve never had many of those. Probably because I’m so insufferable.”

“You’re not insufferable,” she said with a smile, “Just… passionate. Driven.”

He nodded, “Thanks.”

“I mean it, you’re going to make a difference, and unlike Narazoth, this monk,” she said, pointing to Revin, “Is going to make a good difference. You already have.”

Revin looked at her, seeing the sincerity in her eyes.

“Thank you,” he said.

She embraced him, he blinked in surprise. He embraced her back. When she let go, he wished she hadn’t.

“Revin, Shifra,” Omrai said as he and Kaiato came up the hill. Kaiato was dressed in the finery of Koyejian nobility.

“That’s it for the giganotos then,” Omrai said once he was close.

“I’m sure we’ll see them soon,” Revin said.

“Especially if we’re hunting automatons,” Kaiato said. “We might need all the help we can get.”

Omrai nodded in agreement.

Kaiato approached and stood next to Shifra, taking hold of her hand. Revin felt happy for them. At least he tried to.

“So, you’ll be staying with us for a while?” Omrai said.

Revin nodded. “You are my Life-Lord. Our wills are tied until one of us dies or you release me.”

“Do you want me to?” Omrai said.

Revin shook his head. “I think there’s a lot more for me to do here.”

The sun dipped down, its golden rim touching the dark mountains. The red of the sky and the blue of the mountains a stark contrast.

“Father God…” Revin said, beginning his evening ritual.

As he spoke the words, with the four of them watching the sun dip down into the sunset, Revin felt he was right where he needed to be.

THE END