Sayrin strode through the massive southern gates of Lyra as he, along with two thirds of his company, returned from their forest expedition.

Sitting there, in the center of the road on a simple meditation mat, was the formidable form of a fully armored acolyte of war.

“Wade!” Exclaimed Sayrin, “Stones of Gaius woman, what are you doing?”

“Sir, the woman from the forest has awoken” Said wade, standing and looking uncharacteristically somber.

“That’s great, I’m glad she was able to pull through, but let’s get out of the middle of the road, we’re causing a traffic jam here.”

Wagons pulled by massive six legged beasts rolled by on their right, but were slowed down as they tried to skirt the large group of soldiers spilling out from the central walkway and on to the road. The pedestrians themselves could clearly see and feel the power of the group, and waited patiently at either side, giving them a bubble of space out of respect.

“There are things you need to know sir, many things. I was able to talk to her.”

Motioning for them to cross over into an alley, the soldiers formed a rough semicircle around its entrance to keep out prying eyes and ears.

“Alright, what’s so important then you’d wait in the middle of the city entrance for my return.” He said, not a little exasperated by her actions.

Looking him square in the eyes, she said one simple sentence. “She’s a Spatial User.”

Sayrin’s jaw hung slack for a moment, and then a moment more. His eyes grew wider as his pupils contracted to mere pinpricks in the sea of gold that made up his irises.

“That’s… Not possible.” He said finally, “explain, Wade, she was a zero when we brought her back. You checked her storage, there was only the tiger's eye for death, how…” He trailed off, before finally repeating “Explain”

So she did. Starting from the moment Kya woke up, she explained everything they had said and done. How she’d gotten a class without a ritual, how her eyes were now a radiant pink, and how conflicted she was.

“Sir, is there any option to-”

“No.” He said, eyes growing cold “Where is she now?”

Her chin dropping slightly, Wade nevertheless maintained eye contact and said “When I left, she was still at the clinic with Rory.”

Looking at her, his aura like a smooth iron shell betraying absolutely nothing on his own emotions, he said again, his voice matching his eyes “Where is she now, Wade?”

At the mention of her name, he crushed her aura like a candle before a storm. His eyes had gone from icy to burning as he demanded an answer.

Even through her oppressed aura, and through his questioning, he didn’t see any signs of cowardice in Wade. As much as he needed to sort out this business without any remote delay, he saw her set her jaw before eventually, finally saying “I have taken her into my care for a battle well fought. You cannot harm her.”

“If she has left the clinic, she is no longer in your care, and is free of your ties. Besides, I think Orrin and even Sampson would agree with me that if she has embarked on the path of space, she must be dealt with.” He said, with uncharacteristic ice in his voice. “Now, one more time before I have you charged with insubordination. Where.”

In his words, his knowledge of not only the rules of war but the warriors themselves, he saw a crack in her stoicism. She finally broke eye contact, dropping her eyes to the ground and said quietly “She’s gone to the guild hall to register.”

“By the nine…” He leaned back against the wall of the alley, bringing a hand up and slowly dragging it down his face.

Wade breathed out heavily, a breath she didn’t know she was holding, and realized for the first time she was covered in a cold sweat. As Sayrin sat reeling at the implications of what she’d said, everything she just said, her aura had been returned to her all in a rush.

“If she manages to register, the whole world will know…”

He looked at her with utter contempt, and said with a distant and detached voice “I’ll deal with you when I get back.”

He went over to the two lieutenants he had taken with him into the forest, now standing some ways away at the mouth of the alley “Take her, go back to the docks, prepare for departure. The second I step on board, we’re sailing home.”

They both had clear and obvious questions at the tips of their tongues, but his bearing and tone were just as clearly a signal that now was not the time.

“Yes sir” they both said at once and turned to get Wade. She walked forward quietly, staring daggers at him as she passed.

Sayrin stayed rooted to the spot for a moment, before staggering back and taking a deep breath. Had he really suppressed Wade's aura like that? He once again brought up a hand and rubbed his eyes. He hadn’t slept since they’d arrived in Lyra and felt worn down. Thats all that was happening, he was simply exhausted. It was a lie he told himself. One of many. One that was needed to excuse away behavior that wouldn’t fully align with the image in his head of the honorable captain.

One that he’d deal with when he got back, a spatial user dragged along with him.

~~~

“What’s that?” Asked Kya, nodding towards the enormous hourglass at the center of the main hall.

“An hourglass… What kind of culture did you come from?”

“I know it’s an hourglass, I meant-” She started, but saw the slight smile tugging at Rory’s lips and instead rolled her eyes. “What happens when it runs out?”

“Ah, see now that’s a better question” he said with a slightly forced chuckle. He was still thinking about whatever it was that bothered him, but he was trying to move past it, and Kya could both understand and respect that.

He continued as they got into line for the front desk. “It counts down to the next wave.”

“And what are the waves?”

This drew confused looks not only from Rory, but from the people ahead of them in line. Seeing their eyes, and knowing they were Users, however, the people quickly turned back around.

“Your questions imply quite a bit about this nation you come from,” he observed “but the waves are, simply put, a yearly occurrence when monsters form at an incredible rate. It happens every winter for about a week, starting on the solstice. There are some other nuances at play that affect it, but that’s basically it. The hourglasses are in every guild hall in every city across the planet.”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“And why” Kya asked, trying to simply take all the information she could in stride “are there so many people here?”

They took a couple shuffling steps forward, inching closer to the front of the line.

“Well, since you’re not already a member of any guild, you have to go through the registration process. Once they’ve recorded your star in the records, and given you a badge, we can go through those doors over there.” He nodded off to the side of the grand reception room where large wooden doors lead deeper into the building. A single person had come out of there since they’d arrived, a teenage boy with eyes like the purest sapphires.

“That’s all well and good, but I can’t imagine all of these people are here to register for the guild.” She said back.

“No, in the whole city I doubt there are more than a thousand total guild members, half of which are in retirement or otherwise inactive. These people are here to request something.”

Kya waited several seconds, before rolling her eyes and saying, “Care to elaborate?”

“Ask for yourself!” He laughed in response and gestured at the man in front of them who had suddenly gone very stiff.

Staring daggers at Rory, and then sighing in resignation, she tapped the man on his shoulder.

He turned, and gave a stiff nod of the head “How can I be of service to the young miss?” As if he hadn’t fully overheard every part of their conversation.

“Excuse me sir, but would you mind me asking why you’re here today?”

Their conversation had drawn further glances from others in the nearby queues. At her tone and use of ‘sir’ the man went slack jawed and stammered out in a distinctly different accent than that of Rory or Wade “I’m simply ‘ere to ask for some help on me farm, ma’am. There’ve been a large pack of hellhounds in the area for some time now. They’ve mostly kept to themselves, but last night one of em went an set fire to part of me fields. It’s all well an good if they keep to their own, an a single one I migh’ve handled it with me sons, but not the whole lot of em.” As he talked, he seemed to grow more at ease, and the words came more easily. “So, me an some of me neighbors collected up what we could spare, to put in for a 1-Star contract.”

“That’s awful to hear, I’m sorry about your crops. Will you still be able to harvest this year?”

“Oh yes ma’am.” he replied with a quick bob of the head “Like I said, they’ve been in the area for some time now, so we, that is to say me neighbors and most of us in the area, had been ready with buckets of water on hand just in case. Most of my field is safe, and should be ready to harvest in just a couple more weeks. I’ll take a hit to me profits somewhat, especially with the financin’ of the contract, but better that than an entire burned field, eh?”

Rory watched quietly as she chatted with the sun tanned farmer, appreciating how easily she had gotten him to relax. It was a simple test he liked to give when hiring new healers for his clinic. It didn’t matter so much how well they could heal, but if they would be able to treat his clients with respect. All of them. Zero’s especially. Hence why he had hired Tom… Maybe he should raise his standards on healing?

~~~

Sayrin sprinted through the city, which for a 3-Star, meant he nearly flew from the perspective of a zero. He had reached the central island, and could see the City-Lords manor, looming on the next island. He simply had to cross over one this bridge and he-

“Young man” said a stern yet melodic voice “I think, perhaps, you ought to slow down, before you do something rash.”

Sayrin pulled up short, stumbling for a moment before righting himself and staring about wildly. The voice… it wasn’t simply some woman calling out to him, there was a resonance to it. It was almost like someone had, for the barest of moments, sucked all sound from the world except for that of their voice.

He saw no one, and nothing out of the ordinary. Pedestrians walked across the bridge, jostling each other and talking loudly to be heard over the sounds of the river below. They all saw Sayrin, in his uniform and with eyes of shining gold, and parted around him like water to a stone, as he stood rooted in place.

He knew he needed to stop that woman from registering at the guild, he knew moments mattered and that he needed to go. But this feeling, and that voice… What was happening in this place? Orrin himself said he had a bad feeling from the south… but… there wasn’t anyway that… no. No.

He needed to go. He shook his head, the thought flashing in his mind dispelled just as quickly. Hopping onto the stone wall of the bridge, he resumed his swift pace towards the guild hall.

~~~

After what seemed like an eternity, they made it to the front of the line. The farmer ahead, who had introduced himself as Arthur, waved cheerily to them as he went, inviting them to come by his farm for dinner any time they were in the area.

AS they approached the desk, Rory cheerily said “Ah, hello Maggie, how are you doing?”

The clerk, a young woman with brunette hair and eyes like polished copper gazed at him coldly “Rory.” Before turning to smile at Kya “Hello ma’am, what can I do… for… you…”

She squinted and then gasped slightly “You’re not fire or war, are you?” Then she made a strange motion that reminded Kya of the Hail Mary from her world, touching her forehead then heart, then forehead again.

Observing not only her chilly reception of Rory, but her reaction to Kya herself, there was a pregnant pause until she opened her eyes again. “What do you want?” Now with a distinct… tone in her voice.

“. . . I’m just here to register.” Said Kya haltingly, knowing full well that this woman, Maggie, had seen her eyes and knew exactly what she was. She hadn’t been given the full background on why this was bad but… it was pretty clear this was bad.

After doing her weird hand motion, her eyes had begun to shine with visible light. Before they had been bright, now they were luminous, like a cats you see at night in the bushes.

“Why should, or would I ever let you register here?” It wasn’t accusatory, Kya realized. She was genuinely asking. She realized the tone in her voice was like that of a person discovering some new aspect to their favorite toy. She was looking at Kya like a kid told all their life they weren’t allowed to have candy, and then suddenly brought to a chocolate factory. Reluctance mixed with excitement to create an odd tonal dissonance.

That meant, at least Kya guessed, that she wanted to let her register. If for no other reason than pure curiosity, but probably wasn’t supposed to let her.

“Now Maggie, I think that-” started Rory

“What you think” She cut in “Matters so little to me, I cannot think of a word to describe it. Now be quiet, I want to hear from her.”

Rory’s voice died in his throat, and he looked apologetically at Kya before shrugging.

Taking a deep breath, Kya began “If you saw someone about to get hurt, and could have helped, but didn’t, are you at fault?”

“Is that rhetorical?”

“No. Because I’ve been there before. I have watched someone's back as they walk headfirst into danger. Knowing I could reach out and grab their hand to bring them back. Say something to them to change their mind. But… I didn’t. So I ask again, if I could have saved them, but didn’t… am I at fault?”

Maggie thought for a moment, then nodded “Yes. At least partially.”

“Then that’s why I need to register for the guild. Not just because I can. Because I need to. Because, for better or worse, I have been given a class and abilities. Because now, whether I’m a member of this place or not, I plan to use those abilities. And everything else is crap.”

For a long time, the two women stared into eachothers eyes. The people on either side of them jostling around, the noises of papers and conversations seeming muted in Kya’s ears as she simply focused on this person, in this moment.

With a sharp nod, and a ghost of a smile, she said “Alright. I’ll be damned if I don't see this through, so… alright.”

She took out a large polished wooden box, and opened the lid with a creak. She took out what looked to be a large stamp and a form.

“Show me your star then, and let’s start this boulder down a hill.”

~ ~ ~

Sayrin slammed open the doors to the Guild hall, looking around in every direction for Rory, or the woman from the forest, they had to be here, he knew they had to be here, but there were too many people in this gods forsaken building. Pushing our through the crowd with his aura, he closed his eyes and started looking.

~ ~ ~

“Make a fist with your left hand, and concentrate on your class.” Said Rory.

As Kya started to do just that, she noticed out of the corner of her eye that he grew as pale as freshly fallen snow. Before she felt her aura be subtly diminished. She shot him a questioning look, but he just shook his head and said “Focus.”

Having some idea what might be happening, Kya hurriedly made a fist and concentrated. After only a moment, a small mark began to appear on her hand. About the size of a quarter, it was a single silvery star. It had seven points that looked like blossoms of a flower, and at its center was a simple black circle, a smaller dot of pink at the center of that.

“What a lovely star. Some of the ones are rather… unfortunate looking.” Said Maggie with a discerning gaze.

“Maggie, could you please hurry a little?”

“Rory, I swear to Perdix if you try and rush me, I’ll-”

“Maggie.” Rory said, voice taught with focus and a hint of panic “Now. Please.”

Looking up through the crowd, Maggie's eyes went wide, and she simply said “Right.”

Pressing the heavy stamp to her star, Maggie held it there until the tip of the handle flashed white, then slammed it down onto the paper just as a vice of a hand clamped down on Kya’s shoulder.

“Good evening, Rory.” Said the voice in a chillingly quiet tone “I’m afraid I’ll be taking your patient with me now.”