“Are you sure, Sergeant?” Garder questioned Shiloh’s suggested order. “But the other two groups have moved out already. We were just waiting for some kind of… message about the king’s last sighting.”

  “City D is in this pretty deep, I’m afraid,” he replied. “And you could help your sister’s team by helping the rebels there first. If that City falls, the evacuees at I will have no place to go.”

  Garder looked over at Jeryn for an opinion, but he kept quiet. Rain battered the busy camp outside Rivia’s old villa, making conditions cold and miserable. Garder wanted to take the demirriage straight back to whatever remained of the place Lontonkon had trapped them to maybe pick up on a trail, but Jeryn thought otherwise, so the two had remained under a wet tent for over half a day already, waiting for any news through the shortwave.

  “Look, this is as good a place as any to begin your search. I’ve been informed that a Colonel Klayson has been leading the rebellion over there.”

  “Colonel is a very high rank, Garder…” Jeryn noted.

  “I know it is, but what’s that got to do with anything? If they’ve got top brass over there already, what difference could we make?”

  “Klayson has his rank because he was a major figure in the Onasian Guard. He worked closely with Rivia in effort to plant the seeds of this movement. And I believe that he had close ties with the king.”

  “It all makes this the best place to start, Garder,” Jeryn said. “We could help Milla’s group and get intel on Lontonkon at the same time.”

  “Fine, fine… But I really don’t want to do any more fighting.”

  “Such leisure may be rare in this war, I’m afraid,” Shiloh sighed.

  “Well, Garder was in a hurry to get moving,” Jeryn replied. “So, I think we will go ahead and set off.”

  “Right, Jeryn. I’ll give you some light for your carriage, then.”

  Shiloh turned several flood lamps under the tent towards the center, forming a single spot of light bright enough to power the carriage. He gave a simple, brief Aurrian military salute as the two stepped in—Garder looking a bit forlorn as he followed suit.

  “I’m assuming you’ve been to D,” Garder said.

  “I’ve been to nearly all of them, so yes. I don’t know how safe the area we’re going to will be, so get ready to find cover as soon as we arrive.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I know.”

  “This is an Aurrian war. It has no precedent. Assume nothing.”

  “Yes, I get it. Let’s go already.”

  Jeryn shook his head and hit the pedestal. They warped to a vacant alleyway, the sun directly above them. There were signs of damage, but the fighting, gunfire, and alchemagi bursts were far out from their arrival point.

  “You wouldn’t really expect alleys to be good places to remember,” Garder commented as he stepped out. “But here we are again.”

  “No, they’re perfect. I’ve done a lot of traveling with this carriage.”

  “So… this is Verim’s hometown.”

  He looked around at the City’s towers, mostly all the same size and maintaining a solid Mediterranean style of structure and color. At first glance, the City seemed far too beautiful and pacifistic to be home to likely the first major battle of the Aurrian war.

  “Anything I should know about D before we set off?”

  “It’s modeled mostly after old Italian cities, and it has a complex network of narrow roads, which might make urban combat difficult. Its only larger, open areas are the six major roads which pass through the entire City and intersect at the exact middle, where the sunsphere is.”

  “I’d expect most of the fighting would be on those streets, then. Let’s find this Colonel Klayson guy and see what we can do.”

  “Avoid combat if possible. I don’t like saying it, but the two of us are more important than most of the rebels fighting at this point.”

  “Hey, not something I’m complaining about.”

  They weaved through empty, confining streets, using the growing sound of battle as their only reference. After a twenty-minute trek, Jeryn had brought them relatively close to one of the major roads. For a City that was nearly thirty miles across, the distance was a short one to cover.

  They encountered no resistance, and the only other sign of there being a battle nearby was the increasing damage the buildings had suffered as they came nearer to the avenue. Several larger rotorcraft had flown over ahead, likely to drop off more Guardsmen, but the smaller streets remained empty with most of the citizens locked away in their apartments.

  The City’s central road was in an entirely different condition. Dust and smoke blanketed the area, along with craters and marks where rifle shells had hit. Guard uniforms were plentiful, their wearers having turned into orange smoke some time ago. Several rebels were patrolling the area and gathering, and the local fighting seemed to have finished just recently.

  “Hey!” Garder called and rushed into the street, to Jeryn’s dismay.

  With the rebels on edge, most raised their rifles and swords in response. Garder stopped in mid stride and shot his arms into the air.

  “Um, easy… I’m with Rivia.”

  “Do we have an ID on this guy?” a rebel asked an officer.

  “He doesn’t look like a Guardsman, that’s for sure,” another replied. “But he can’t be that clean and had been here long, either.”

  “Ah, forgive my friend here,” Jeryn said calmly as he stepped out. “I’m Jeryn Klowsk, he’s Garder Nolland. We’re under command of Rivia and Osk. We’re not really part of the rebels, although we are helping them.”

  “All right, you two look fine to me,” the head officer on the scene stated. “What brings you to D? Not exactly the best time to be visiting.”

  “I’d like to know how you’ve been doing, but we’re in kind of a hurry here. We’re trying to find Colonel Klayson.”

  “Ah, he’s with the forward regiment. Straight ahead of us, though by quite a way. He’s pushing to the sun and trying to secure a passage underground. We’re picking off stragglers and covering their backs. You should be okay, so long as you stay on the main road and keep in cover.”

  “They don’t have any rifles,” one of the younger rebels noticed.

  “I have an alchemagi sword.” Garder tapped the blade at his side.

  “No doubt a strong weapon, but most of the enemy is covered in alchemagi plating. And sorry to say, we don’t have any extras to hand out to you. Better get moving to Klayson. He should be able to outfit you.”

  “We’re not exactly planning on staying for long.”

  “Don’t count on leaving too soon.” Jeryn looked at the sky above. “All this smoke and dust is blotting out the setting sun. We’re kind of stuck here for the moment.”

  “Ah, we have a demirriage,” Garder explained to the curious rebels.

  “Well, you’re in a war zone now, so if you want Klayson’s help, you may have to return the favor first. He should still be just ahead, but watch out for rairer. They’ve already sent four after us, and they’re nasty things.”

  “They’re attacking with rairer…” Garder mumbled.

  “Yeah. They come right of the ground. Brutes—that’s what they are. Anyway, we have to move. Sorry that we really can’t come with you.”

  “Forget about it. Good luck.”

  “We’ll radio ahead and let Klayson know you’re coming.”

  Jeryn and Garder set off down the road, keeping to the side in case they’d have to duck into a nearby alley or building. The sidewalks were clear of civilians, and the stores and restaurants had been hurriedly closed. Down the road was a gaping hole that, though mostly filled with rubble, went deep enough to become an obvious link to the Administrative compound below.

  “Rairer…” Garder muttered. “They’re making those beasts fight.”

  “Remember, they can perform third level alchemagi. Should we encounter a warrior by ourselves, you should probably focus on hiding.”

  “And let you handle it?”

  “They despise heat. If I can’t kill it, then I can at least deter it away from us. Your alignment makes you a bad match for combating them. Even if your second pebble activates.”

  “Yeah…” Garder rubbed his hand where he could still feel the heat given off by the implant. “Wonder how Simon’s doing…”

  “With the time difference, he’s probably only just started training. It is going to be a while until we see him again, Garder.”

  “Yeah, I know. Just, it feels kind of lonely with just the two of us. Milla’s group is twice our size.”

  “They have a more important immediate job. If this rebellion is going to survive, we’ve got to get those three paradigms and twenty officers into Aurra. We might want to stick around until the train line is secured, as well. We probably can’t sway the rebels here from victory or defeat, but we should help them. Klayson will be indebted to us somewhat if we do.”

  “I hate war… Used to be if you died in one, Aurra at least gave you an escape. Wish I was Rivia, sitting all cozy-like in that freaky dimension.”

  “Think of the burden on his shoulders. Be thankful that you don’t have a higher role. You probably have it easier than most of the officers.”

  Garder shrugged. “Guess being here still beats the cold of City I.”

  As they continued carefully and quickly down the road, two figures posted on a tower high above had spotted them and were keeping them in their sights. The pretorian in the giant suit of armor watched them through his binoculars, while the smaller one with the silvery hair stood beside him.

  “That’s them…” Breen’s muffled voice came through his helmet.

  “The ones with Rivia, you mean, sir?”

  “Yes. Garder and Jeryn.”

  “Which one was Garder, again, sir?”

  Breen lowered the binoculars and turned to the girl less than half his size. “The loudmouthed one with seemingly no talent.”

  “Oh… one of the twins, sir.”

  “Seems it’s just these two on this front. They probably split up.”

  “They’re alone… We could use the chaotic situation to our advantage, sir. Should we go down and fight them?”

  “No, Kamsa. We don’t need unwanted attention here. I’d rather follow them for now. Also… Jeryn supposedly has his memories. There is a chance that he will return to us. I don’t want to aggravate a useful decision.”

  “I’ve heard of his power. Do you think he will turn on his friend?”

  “I can’t say. But so long as he leaves him in one way or another, Garder should not be difficult to… Wait—he has Viveri’s sword. Figures. That slack-jawed idiot can never see anything through properly.”

  “But Viveri is… talented.”

  “You don’t need to defend him. I know he is the only one you believe has any respect for you, but that doesn’t mean he actually likes you.”

  “Does… anyone, sir?”

  “Kamsa. Get it through your head that being a pretorian does not entail liking or disliking your peers. We can’t stand each other at times.”

  “I am… sorry, sir.”

  “Don’t worry yourself about it. You are young, and have not had any previous lives here. It all makes you a bad candidate for this position, but the king insisted. Supposedly, your power is enough to warrant your inclusion, although I have yet to be impressed.”

  “I can exhibit those powers, if I were given the chance, sir.”

  “Yes, well, I’m giving you your orders. I want you to follow those two, but do not put yourself in a combat situation so long as Jeryn is near. We can learn about their abilities and connections, and that information is currently more important than their lives at current.”

  “Follow them, sir. I understand.”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “And I will follow you. Wait for my order before engaging.”

  “I understand. But… what about this City?”

  “We alone can’t prevent it from falling. The Guard is still mobilizing, and by the time they’re able to counter the rebellion, I doubt D will still belong to them. They’ll have to fight to get it back, and if the forces at I fail as well and the rebels get that much backup… I can easily see D becoming their stronghold. We would prefer that they don’t keep it.”

  “The rebels are set on acquiring D. What will we do if it does fall?”

  “What is there not to do? So they take D—that means nothing. What is more important is keeping City A secure and locking down S so that they can’t replenish their synthids. Do not fret, Kamsa, this war will not last long. A victory here will only give them the illusion of a total one. That kind of illusion is one that can only work for us.”

  “I understand, sir…”

  “Now go. And do not lose sight of them.”

  “Sir, what if they… go back to Earth?”

  “If they attempt to return to Earth, then you pursue immediately and try to separate them from one another.”

  “I understand.”

  Using her ability to control nearby air, Kamsa made a long, graceful jump and started running across the tops of towers, a jet stream behind her.

  “Look at these buildings…” Garder mentioned as the two drew nearer to the field of battle at the center of the City. “A lot of them already look like they’re on the verge of collapse.”

  Crumbling debris rained down from partially fallen towers, and the entire urban block seemed to be groaning constantly from intense displaced pressure. Larger damaged sections that had broken away completely littered parts of the road, forming large craters and making vehicular travel in the area without a tank nearly impossible.

  “Damage can be repaired quickly if a skilled architect gets to work here,” Jeryn replied. “Of course, I doubt synthids large enough for architect work are around outside of City S at the moment.”

  “The rebels have to take S, or they’re going to run out of synthids.”

  “I’m sure that’ll be an upcoming campaign. If City S were ever captured, it could easily turn the tide of the war.”

  “We’re almost in the thick of it, better watch for stray fire.”

  Garder and Jeryn began merging with groups of scattered rebels, each busy finding cover or returning fire on snipers in the towers and troops on the roads. As the two drew nearer to the monolithic sunsphere tower in the center, the damage the City had taken reached a level of almost total devastation. Entire buildings had collapsed into huge piles of wreckage, with Guard war machines smoldering on the roads.

  “You’re the ones we were told about, right?” an officer shouted above the noise after noticing the pair.

  “Guess so. Where’s Klayson?” Garder asked.

  “Forming a temp camp at a plaza just outside the sunsphere site. Straight ahead—we’ve got the area secured, so you should be safe for now.”

  “Incoming mortar fire!” another rebel yelled out from the crowds.

  Above, four spheres with smoking trails had just exploded, raining down a torrent of shrapnel. Jeryn was about to launch a plasma shield, but thousands of tiny vector lines appeared overhead before he could raise his fingers. Forming a protective net, the shrapnel was cut down into smaller, harmless bits before scattering across the ground.

  “Thank you, sir!” a rebel shouted out as gunfire recommenced.

  “Seems Klayson is a vector,” Garder surmised.

  “I think I see him, right over there.” Jeryn pointed out a decorated officer surrounded by subordinates trying to set up a radio station.

  The two weaved through the crowd until they were within earshot of the colonel, which given the situation, was restricted to about three feet. He was a stout man with a thick, gray mustache and a large rifle in his arms.

  He turned as soon as he noticed them. “Did Rivia send you?”

  “That’s right, Colonel,” Jeryn replied. “We’re trying to find out where the king is, and scouting out the situation in the meantime.”

  “We were hoping you might know of any place he’d go to,” Garder added. “Like a safe house, or somewhere we could find any sort of evidence on his whereabouts? He’s a very secretive person, as I’m sure you know.”

  “Aye, I may know a place or two. But they’re both far from here.”

  “We have a demirriage, so it’s no problem as long as you can visualize any place you’ve been to yourself.”

  “Well, I can’t leave my men, and I don’t know if I would trust my frail memories. I do know that he has a glen somewhere he would frequent. If we can secure the Admin facilities below, we might find a fibrocator, and you could have some chance of getting out there yourself.”

  “What’s the status out here?” Jeryn asked.

  “I’d say decent. We’ve exhausted most of our synthids just trying to keep a constant stash of weaponry available—we rely mostly on rifles. Alchemagi has proven too chaotic for this kind of battle, so we save our reserves for defense. That, and most of the enemy are covered in anti-alchemagi plating. But we’ve just about run them out of the City. If we buy ourselves enough time, we can secure the train station below.”

  “What about D’s… mayor? Um, governor?” Garder wondered.

  “Guard loyalist. Fled as soon as this started. Most of the people are holed up in their homes or in the public shelters.”

  “Were you told why we need D’s train stations?”

  “No—or at least, I didn’t get a clear reason. Something about I.”

  “Yeah. We’re evacuating the City in case something happens when… Well, when a City in another dimension possibly replaces it.”

  After Klayson only gave a curious look as a response, Jeryn continued, “It’s where Rivia is. We don’t know what will happen when this exchange occurs, and he didn’t want to risk the millions of lives there.”

  “Ah. But I’m afraid there might not be much of a City to come to by the time the evacuees arrive here.”

  “So long as there’s a sunsphere to protect them, we’ll accomplish something,” Garder replied. “What about the Administration here?”

  “I’ve heard the upper levels are vacant. I haven’t spoken to any officials directly, but I’ve got a good feeling that they want no part in this war and will only stay to maintain the crucial systems at the lowest levels.”

  “Geez, imagine the transfers right now. Babies born into this hell.”

  “Hopefully they’ve already signaled an overflow alert and transfers will be withheld or sent elsewhere. Many of D’s surrogates were already moved on the Admin’s trains. Direct intervention—that’s unprecedented.”

  “They must’ve had quite the disaster response ready, huh?”

  “Thousands of years of preparation, I suppose. So, you must be Garder, and you’re Jeryn. Glad to have you help out, even if just for a—”

  The ground suddenly shook from underneath. Everyone nearby paused and looked around to make sure that it wasn’t a failing structure that caused the trembler. After another tremor, many of the rebels located the source and turned to face a section of the road that was being uplifted.

  “Incoming rairer!” Klayson yelled out. “Defensive positions! Get back from the entry point!”

  “Get back! Get back!” rebels shouted as they rather messily scurried away from the ruptured area.

  “Hold your fire!” Klayson ordered. “They’re not surrendering D without a hell of a fight first, but don’t fire until I say so!”

  “W-why not?” Garder stammered.

  “Just makes them angrier. With concentrated fire, we can take them down eventually, but damn it’s a waste of ammunition.”

  “Then how did you get rid of the others that attacked you?”

  “With any luck, you’ll see.”

  A rairer arm punched through the concrete and metal supports below, and the rest of the body quickly followed. This was the first time Garder had seen one in full light, and he couldn’t quite believe that anything could come close to matching the nastiness of the demon. The slimy coat on its gray body shimmered in the light, and its five legs were armored and turned even more fearsome with metal claws as armaments. A thick steel helmet covered its head, two black visors on either side to protect its eyes. Towering at twenty feet, it let out a hearty roar and stomped forward.

  Garder couldn’t comprehend why everyone was holding fire with such a monster rampaging towards them, but then he noticed the lone rebel poking his head out of one of the windows of a nearby tower’s third floor. On the other side of the road, another rebel mirrored the position. Both carried large launchers that didn’t seem built to fire a regular shell. Garder and Jeryn watched as the two waited for the rairer to get in between them.

  The rebel on the right moved a bit out of the window and fired first, launching a long, metal spike directly at the rairer’s forward shoulder. With precision, the spike lodged itself in between two plates of armor and stuck firmly into the beast’s tough skin. It stopped in place, shrieked loudly, and thrashed about three of its legs. The rebel who shot it sought cover, as his partner continued to try and launch his spike into the other shoulder.

  Before Klayson could shout an order, the rairer smashed into the side of the building, breaking open a large portion of its facade. The rebel lost grip of the launcher, fell out of the building, and hit the street below. Injured, he weakly tried to crawl away, but no one dared run up and help.

  After staring its prey down for a second, the rairer grabbed the man with its rear leg and slammed him on the ground twice. Before it came down a third time, its victim had disappeared in an orange cloud. The rairer glanced at the tattered uniform that had remained for a moment before tossing it away and turning its attention back to the rest.

  “It got Dansley!” a panicked rebel shouted. “Got him before he could fire the other spike!”

  “Suppressing fire!” Klayson ordered. “Keep it back until we can get that other spike in!”

  Nearly everyone opened fire at the same time, blasting the beast at all angles with blackening rifle shells. Its roars of anger grew more intense every passing second that it took another dozen hits from projectiles.

  “What kind of weapon is that?” Garder shouted over the noise.

  “Something we’ve found useful against the rairer. Those spikes are like lightning rods—they send electricity through the beast’s body. But we need to make a complete circuit, or else it simply isn’t effective enough.”

  “Do you need a lightning adept, too?” Jeryn replied.

  “Yes. I’ve got a couple with me. But if we can’t get that other spike in, we’ll have to bring it down the slow way. Casualties will be high.”

  “Got any more launchers with you?” Garder asked.

  “In the City, yes, just not right here. But I can still see the one Dansley was using—it’s hanging at the edge of the building.”

  “Then I’ll go up there myself and fire it.”

  “Are you serious?” Jeryn replied.

  “Why wouldn’t I be? I’ve got good aim. And I like being useful.”

  “Never mind your aim, I don’t think you can even get over there.”

  “If you’re really willing to help, we can keep it off your back,” Klayson assured. “Just be quick about it. The rairer are slow to peak their anger, but once they get there… they really become a menace.”

  “This is insane. You’re going to get yourself killed,” Jeryn stated.

  “Oh, come on, I was the one who took down a giant flying demon, remember? At least have some faith in me, okay?”

  “But that wasn’t…”

  Garder was already on his way, head low to avoid friendly fire as he closely ran along the buildings to avoid the rairer’s eyes. When he reached the tower’s shattered glass doors, the rairer stomped, raised its head into the air, and summoned spears of fire around it. It then launched them into the rebel crowds, and while most were diffused with countering air, water, and iron techniques, three spears exploded into vibrant plumes after hitting the crowds. Garder could tell that casualties were light, and he now had an idea of just how powerful the beast was—as well as how intelligent.

  While the suppressing fire resumed and kept the angered beast in place, Garder went through the badly damaged lobby of the apartment complex, up three levels of stairs, and quickly noticed the destroyed portion of the building. He slowed and approached the spot where the rebel had attempted to fire the second spike. He wasn’t quite sure why he was doing this, but perhaps it was centered on his belief that he was the least respected of his team’s members. This seemed an opportunity to earn some points from both Jeryn and a man he may be taking orders from in the future.

  He peered out from behind the wall near the gaping, collapsed opening to ensure that the rairer was still right outside, and then looked over at his prize: the spike launcher, at one end of a broken floorboard. A single jolt could bring it down to the lower floor, or even to the ground. He quietly crawled into the apartment, using an overturned couch for cover, and tried reaching out to the arm strap on the launcher—only to find that it was a few feet out of safe reach. The rairer was smart enough to frequently peer back into the building to avoid ambush, even if it didn’t have the brainpower to recognize the threat of the launcher itself.

  Garder was about to attempt some air manipulation to slowly bring the launcher his way, when the rairer suddenly slammed its five legs on the street, roared again, and began shaking its entire body—most of which was covered in the soot that exploded from rifle shells. Garder watched as six spines from its back shot out into the air like missiles, each whistling loudly as they gained altitude. Outside, Klayson gave some manner of order to seek cover, so he evidently knew what was coming.

  The spines didn’t seem related to alchemagi, rather acting as a natural rairer defense. Garder could hear the projectiles impact all along the sides of nearby buildings, and watched as a rogue spine hit the side of the tower directly across him. Instead of exploding into a fireball, it burst into a glob of green acid that sprayed in all directions. The liquid was so corrosive, that it ate through the tower straight down and then continued into the tunnels below the road. Some stray drops had splashed onto the couch Garder was behind, and were quickly burning through its cushions.

  The sixth and final explosion came from overhead, much higher up. Garder prepared to move out of the way of acid, but none fell. Instead, the sound of debris digging through the upper floors grew louder. In seconds, shattered pylons and a shower of brick covered the side of the building, now shaking violently from above. With the possibility of the launcher getting buried or crushed, he shot an arm out and grabbed it without the rairer noticing. A moment later, a steel girder broke through the upper floor and plummeted down just behind him. It had been so close, that it took the couch with it and only missed him by several inches.

  Fully exposed, he could only sit there, scrunched tightly as he came to realize just how close he had just been to getting crushed. The rairer took notice, and its roar awakened him from the brief shock. Without giving it another thought, he got to his feet, aimed down the sight of the launcher, and fired the spike at the exposed shoulder between the armor.

  The rairer winced in pain, and not giving it a moment to recover, two bolts of alchemagi-powered lightning hit either spike from casters protected in the crowd. Strong electricity passed throughout the beast as it shrieked in pain. After the attack, the rairer growled, whimpered, and then stumbled forward and fell to the ground, where it flailed about weakly for a few moments before exploding into a mass of orange smoke. Its giant set of armor dropped to the road below, impacting with deep, loud bangs. A few cheers erupted from the crowd outside, and the whole incident was over with before Garder even fully realized what he had done.

  Taking the launcher, he carefully descended the piles of wreckage and went down to the street again. The rebels welcomed him with the subdued applause of a minor victory, but Klayson actually looked delighted.

  Garder looked around at the damage caused by a single rairer. Four of the spine-missiles had hit the surrounding buildings, and globs of solidifying acid still remained in spots, pooling in whatever it had partially eaten through. Two of the missiles had hit closer to the crowd and had torn open deep scars, their edges still covered in slow-running green slime.

  “Thank you for your assistance, Garder,” Klayson said. “Not something you had to do either, mind you.”

  “Eh, figured I might as well help while I’m out here. Right, Jeryn?”

  He just crossed his arms in response, recollecting on how much Garder didn’t want to be here just an hour ago. Now he seemed to be already going all in for the position of hotshot among the local rebels.

  “With any luck, that’s the last of the rairer for now,” Klayson told his men. “Let’s make a push for the trains below. If the Guard has gotten a whiff of what we’re doing, they’ll probably be making their last stand down there. As soon as the station is captured, we’ll work on securing the capitol. We might even be able to ‘officially’ claim it before backup arrives.”

  “Surprised, Colonel?” Garder wondered.

  “Nearly four days of fighting…” he sighed. “Didn’t think we had a chance when it started. Hell of a thing seeing a Guardsman fall before you.”

  “They seemed to be trying this time,” Jeryn replied. “Unlike at the Saharan battle, I mean. Trying… but not yet organized enough to really give it their all. I’d expect the battles to get tougher from here on out, Colonel.”

  “Right. Guard’s probably finishing mobilizing by now, might even have a strategy on where to deploy their pretorians.”

  “Guess it’s all uphill from here, then,” Garder replied. “Still, at least you know you’re capable of a victory. Morale wins wars, and today should really boost it on your side, I expect.”

  “Yes, I should hope so. Everyone, we’ll be going below as soon as the camp here is up. Take a breather and prepare for stage two.”

  The rebels, nearing six hundred in number at the City center alone, eased their weapons and began to discuss the day’s events. Whatever outcomes were ahead, each knew one thing: these were the most interesting times in Aurra to come around in as far back as any of them remembered.

  From an alley in between two shattered towers, Kamsa watched quietly at the celebrating group. She didn’t have any feelings of animosity towards the rebels, but she knew the importance of any order given to a pretorian, and would execute hers faithfully. She looked around for Garder for a couple of minutes, and spotted him again in the center of the crowds.

  He had gotten up on a table and was swinging Viveri’s old sword around in an act of storytelling. Kamsa could make out a few words as his audience hushed in their interest; he seemed to be sharing the tale of how he defeated the demon that her and her fellow pretorians had been ordered to destroy, but failed to do so. For whatever reason, perhaps because she was new, she was punished more severely for the failure than the others. But she felt no strengthened resolve like she should have, and she still didn’t know why exactly Garder’s group was even such a large threat.

  But orders had to be followed no matter her feelings, so she focused steadily on the person who was supposedly her enemy. But while watching him retell his story and reading his movements and personality, she could only think about her enemy in a single way.

  “What a strange boy…” she thought aloud.