Author's note: I was given a heads up that this chapter might pose some confusion. hence my jumping in with this edit, to mention that the lead character of this chapter is nonbinary and go by Ee/Em/Emself pronouns.

Thank you!


The streets in and out of town were dusty with the traffic from the mines, exporters and local businesses alike invested in and profited from the rich mythrill veins found in and around the area. Kalm town owed itself to humble beginnings as a miners camp, and to chocobo husbandry.

The settlement had expanded and become a town, it's population growing when refuges from what was now Midgar's slums had been offered sanctuary and land in Kalm. The town hadn't stopped expanding, until ShinRa had gained a monopoly on most corners of the job market and had become able to offer more promising opportunities. Even so, there was a culture of staunch pride in the measure of independence Kalm had maintained among many, particularly old clans like Siege's own family the Ravens, one of the original clans to settle the land.

Siege pulled up once ee reached the town square, parking the pickup truck under some trees that had been speared when the square was paved. Branches extending over the retaining wall and dappled the light, the shade would keep the truck relatively cool while ee was away.

Stepping out of the air conditioned truck cabin, Siege found the morning dry, hot, and mostly still. Kalm wasn't overcast like it's neighboring Midgar, and the sun warmed ee's squared shoulders pleasantly.

Strolling leisurely around the corner, Siege volted the traffic barrier just for the fun of it, and slowing to a drift pushed open the door to ee's usual breakfast haunt. Ee's entering caused the shop bell to chime, the girl a few years older then emself who was working the till looked up and smiled at em.

Ee waved in return as ee took up the table nearest the window to the left.

"Same as." Ee told her.

"Coming right up." She assembled a tall glass of chilled water, hot flat breads, and two dishes of toppings, one an assortment of berries in a syrup, the other a roasted greens relish. Once she had done this, she called for the shop boy who delivered the tray to Siege's table.

Siege was going over the days order papers for ee's families business, as well as skimming the book ee was reading this month for ee's education. So ee had to lift them out of the way for the tray to be set out in front of em. "Thanks." Ee said as ee broke off a corner of flat bread, stubbed it in the berry mixture and popped it into ee's mouth.

The bell chimed again. But Siege paid it no mind, already focused on ee's numbers once more. Ee was barely even making headway in ee's breakfast, to distracted with what looked like a mistaken double up one one order. Until the newcomer to the shop spoke, with a distinctly Midgar common accent.

Looking up Siege observed the man as he ordered his breakfast. He looked to be nearing middle age, and his skin while bearing the characteristic creases that dignified his age. Also sported deeper grooves, pale angry pink in contrast with the surrounding skin suggestive of some recent injury healed by magic. The scares made his visage appear sculptural in a way Siege thought.

Framing his face the man's hair was thick, brown, and cut in a modern layered fashion, which he wore groomed back neatly. He had on a crisp tailored suit too. An unusual look in Kalm, where the norm was felted caps, aprons, work vests and utility pants the clothes of miners and chocobo herders.

The man thanked the girl at the till softly, but in a steady voice. Then left the shop to take his breakfast at one of the outdoor tables.

Both Siege and the till attendant traced after him with their eyes, until the ring of the bell as the door had closed faded.

"So that's him." Siege spoke at last when their eyes met in the wake of the man's departure.

"Must be, he fits the description." She commented in agreement.

Kalm talked about newcomers, especially visitors from Midgar. As it usually worked the other way around, and the younger generation would jump the gap to seek their fortune in the city.

"He has a family here, normally they go to see him where he works. Guess he's visiting them this time round." Siege supplied. "That's what trader says."

Trader, named for her work, her given name being Jaská. Was Siege's aunt, she was the elder daughter between herself and her half sister, Siege's mother. And she had taken to her father's work in a way Jemnezmy her sister had not. So had inherited the family business of crafting weapons and items.

It was also Jaská who had taken em in, after Jemnezmy an investigative journalist and single mother, had gone missing while traveling the south of the new continent. At the time, Jemnezmy had been researching for an article about human rights abuses, and indigenous resistance regarding mako reactors. She hadn't returned, and no search party had turned anything up. Trader had cared for Siege to the best of her abilities since. Trader was known for her reliability, and her word was trusted in Kalm.

After finishing ee's breakfast, Siege stayed just long enough to complete ee's homework. Before paying for the food, thanking the till girl, and leaving the small shop to return to ee's families truck. Walking past the man from Midgar on ees way.

The man was nose down in his PHS, cup of coffee in hand hovering between table and lips forgotten.

Slipping back into the pickup, Siege buckled up, started the engine, and put the vehicle into drive. Leaving the town square via one of the victory arches that were an architectural feature of Kalm, almost as famous as the Kalm town wall. Ee took the road north towards the industrial side of town, driving slow until ee had left the more populated part of Kalm, as vehicles shared space with pedestrians. From there ee took the long direct road east towards the mythrill mine.

During the drive the paved and cobbled roads became tarmac, and the tarmac in turn turned to dirt road. While ee drove Siege listened to the local music station, singing along with ees favorite songs. And attempted to keep up with the songs sung in the Kalmish language, which ee knew some of but was not entirely fluent in. The news came around, reporting on the war with Wutai and it's current popularity. They covered a story from Costa del Sol regarding a boat fire and explosion, mentioning that the cause was still unknown but that ShinRa had secured the site and ruled it an accident. There had been no statement on if anyone had been hurt in the explosion or not. This was followed by an update on Midgar's construction, and the budget for the project was given, as well as estimations about when the city and it's plate would be completed.

Ee pulled into the bone dry quarry to pick up the second raw mythrill order in as many days.

The shift at the quarry had changed since ee'd picked up the last one, and ee greeted the new but still familiar faces with a wave. Which was returned in kind, sometimes with a "good morning" or other pleasantry attached, though ee could hardly hear over the noisy work environment.

The quarry itself formed a crescent of teared dirt paths cut in to the side of the mountainous landscape, and the main tunnel was a large arch supported by reinforcements in the center base of this human made mountain cove. The interior of this main shaft was cast in shadows, contrasting sharply with the sun bleached earth.

The mine stretched for miles south under the alpine range. Towards Condor Sanctuary, a habitat for bird life, and the location of a Mako reactor. Near Condor, Kalm had a mine facility, and a workers lodge for those who were on rotation at the mine's south end.

Overlooking the work, Siege spotted the woman ee was after, quarry foreman Swayer.

"Morning." Siege greeted as ee neared the stout graying woman who was keeping watch from atop a dirt knoll.

"Morning hun." She returned with a smile, though could not spare em much eye as she had to keep them on the activity in front of her. "Hot out isn't it? So workin hard or hardly workin?" She asked as ee handed her the transaction papers for her signature.

"Ah, I'm doing my bit." Siege replied easily, and drew the zipper of ee's visibility jumpsuit down some, ees mythrill name tag flashing when the sunlight hit it's surface. Ee tugged at the front of the t-\shirt ee had on underneath a few times, in an attempt at cooling of ee's skin. It was pitilessly hot out and ee was beginning to feel it now that she mentioned it.

Swayer handed back the signed documentation. "Gunna join us for lunch break?"

It was a question she asked now and then, something of a running joke. Siege and the miners got on well, that and Swayer like to look out for em. So frequent offers of the sort came ee's way. But Siege usually, though not always, turned them down. Ee's day was more often than not booked out, and when it wasn't ee was catching up on rest.

"Not today, tempting though." And ee offered her a smile.

"Trader got you busy at the shop as usual I suppose? Tell her I said to give you a breather now and then won't you. Nice kid like you aught to have more time for friends."

This was also routine, Swayer and Trader did like to antagonize each other. The two of them had grown up together, and had dated on and off though never showed any sign of making it official. Siege thought that they must prefer it that way.

"I'll tell her." Siege agreed automatically, while flipping through the papers to make sure the carbon paper had transferred the signature. Seeing that everything was in order Siege waved emself off, Swayer returning the gesture.

Ee hopped lightly down from the perch, and made for ee's families truck to drive around and find Jole, the load supervisor.

The burly mustached man known as Jole didn't at first notice Siege amidst the noise and commotion inherent to the field of work, but once Siege had leaned out the window of ee's pickup and slapped the man on the shoulder ee had the man's attention

"Raven! Same as usual?"

Siege handed over the papers. "Give it a bit extra, big orders this season seems like."

"Can do." The man said cheerfully. "Drive around." He directed Siege on with a brightly colored rod.

The gate lifted and Siege backed the pickup in to reception and gave the thumbs up.

The dam was lifted, the conveyor raised to a slant. And the payed for load of the raw rock and mythril slid down, clattering loudly into a heap in the pickups tray where it landed creating a plume of dust before settling.

"Cheers!" Siege called over the noise of quarry machinery, vehicles, and the voices of the workers, as ee maneuvered towards the exit. Ee doubted the man could hear em, but he seemed to get the message because he beamed beneath his trademark mustache and waved before turning away to give his attention to the next truck and driver.

The air cleared of dust and noise the further from the quarry Siege drove. Traders shop was on the east side of town, near their church. And ee could make it back before evening set in. But this wasn't a direct trip, there was a detour to make before heading back.

Turning off the main road in to town, Siege had been traveling for only a short while when ee spied the telltale flash from one of many rock formations jutting out of the landscape. Ee headed for the light, pulling up on the blind side of another nearby patch of rock, hidden where Trader's pickup would not be seen in the dimming light of the day by other motorists using the roads.

"Took your time." The Wutai woman with thick framed glasses observed not unkindly, when she had approached from her road side hiding place.

The woman had with her a companion, a man with dark skin and a slight limp, he wore the same khaki trousers, zip up jacket and yellow beanie/balaclava that she did. Despite Siege having meet him before when supplying the activist group with mythrill in the past, Siege did not know his name, those who opposed ShinRa tended to prefer a low profile.

The two activist got to work right away, unloading the agreed upon weight in raw ore, in to their own trailer. Siege too got out and up in to the back tray to heft larger pieces down to them.

By time they were finished moving the ore from truck to trailer, all three of them were damp with sweat and dusty from the work.

"Next collection date will be the same as always. We'll be in contact if plans change." The man told em.

"Got ya." Siege agreed wearily fanning emself, still hot from the manual labor. Last but not least ee received the order paper forgeries the activist group had written up, the same as the ones ee had taken to the quarry only excluding the amount donated to the anti-ShinRa resistance effort.

"Thanks, we appreciate it." The man said. Siege's own gil made up the difference, going to the quarry with the usual sum for the ore that was bought in for Trader's shop each month.

"Don't mention it." Siege assured and then. "I gotta get going, I want to get back before it's time to get up again."

"Right right." And the two waved em off.

The drive in to town was not a long one, only slowed by the town square traffic. Both vehicular and pedestrian due to a popular night market. But once past the hold up and the east victory gate, the store was in sight.

The shop-home was a two story, extended wattle and daub timber frame building. As were many of the home and businesses in the older part of town. Surrounding it was drystone wall, heavy with a flourishing vine. And beond the wall, the yard featured more then a few metal work sculptures. A dirt drive that accommodated a vehicle shelter curved around one side. Half of which extending in to the back, was dedicated to a chocobo pen and run. However their chocobos were lodging at chocobo Bill's farm currently. Only the Raven family motorbike, and now truck inhabited the shelter.

It was the vined arch of the shelter that held aloft the shops sign reading "Raven Metal Craft." Along with the clans crest, also engraved and detailed in enamel. The crest a black diamond surrounded by four stars, each with four points.

Ees aunt and emself worked together to make anything from custom parts for weapons, the weapons themselves, to bangles, rings, and assessors of most types. Needless to say, they always had a supply of Kalm's famed mythrill in stock.

Trader came out of the shop when Siege pulled in, to help unload. Trader had a wiry strength about her. Despite being a lot thinner than her goddesschild Siege, and nearing middle age, she could do the work faster with the ease of a practiced hand. Though it was Siege who had more endurance for the work.

Trader's eyes were a strong blue, and her hair was a blue-black like her mother's, who had immigrated from Wutai, but there was some salt to the coloration in recent years. Trader and emself hardly looked alike, save for their dimpled cheeks inherited from ees grandfather Traders father.

"Sometimes I wonder if they make you work for your supper." She commented on ees dusty state, and tossed em the towel she'd been wearing around her shoulders so that ee could wipe down ees face.

"Stuffs in the air, prez ShinRa himself could spend a half hour there and come out looking like he might actually have done himself an honest days work."

"The cheek." Trader reprimanded without any seriousness, and handed Siege the canteen of water from her belt saying. "Cool down. Then take some of the rock off that mythrill, I need a few decent pieces to machine for custom orders this month, and I want to get started on refining it asap. Also do you think you could clean and reassemble that one show piece we where talking about last night?"

"Got it covered." Siege reassured her, while holding the canteen to the side of ees neck to benefit from the cooler temperature.

She left em out back to return to tending the store, and working on the pending orders.

Siege cracked into the canteen downed most of the water, and set aside the rest for later. Having wet ees throat, ee turned ees atention to the task at hand. Straddling the wooden workchocobo ee dragged some of the rock toward em to lean against the work space. Then taking a set of earmuffs from a nail on the outside wall, slipping them over ees ears. Next ee took the chisel and hammer from ees belt, and began chipping the rock off the mythril. This was done to speed up the process, before an acid bath that would dissolve the last of the rock. It was methodical work that Siege liked well, but ee preferring welding jobs for customers. Ee and ees aunt both worked hard to keep themselves feed, clothed, stocked, and sheltered. And it was generally satisfying work ee could be proud of, even if it was looked at down the nose in other parts.

Ees aunt worked harder then emself too, wanting to give Siege leisure time that ee used to peruse an education.

It had been a farly quiet day, with Siege finishing up late. Ee'd been on a role, and had the rags and oil out so eed decided on cleaning down all of the shops show items. Singing softly to emself while ee worked.

Once ee had done taking apart, oiling, and reassembling all three mythrill gunblades. Ee had returned them to and secured them in their display cabinets, before capping and packing away the solution, and throwing the towel in to the wash hamper.

Ee hadn't realized how tired ee had become while ee had been at work. And found ee didn't have the energy left in em to toe off ees boots, change out of ees work gear, or even hang up ees mythrill tag. So ee had fallen right in to bed, sleep coming to em swiftly after climbing the stairs to ees second floor room.

Just before dawn however, Siege was awoken by something. What it was ee wasn't sure. Ee was a heavy sleeper, and it was out of the usual for em to be roused by anything short of a stampede of chocobo, even that ee might just sleep through. Something was wrong.

Then it hit Siege, the streets were strangely quiet outside ees window. There should have been music and easy chatter filtering over from the night market. Aside from that, this was a mining town, shifts were coming in and out around the clock too. Heavy machinery, workers coming home after drinks, traffic. Instead there was a hum of lowered urgent voices, paired with a crackling crumbling sound.

The sense of foreboding mounting Siege flipped up in to a sitting position, making to find ees boots before realizing they were still on ees feet.

Throwing off ees covers, ee crossed the room to ees window which overlooked the street. Pulling aside the curtains ee found the road churning with people hurriedly coming and going. In the distance beyond the wall, a bright orange light emanated. The light pollution blocking out most of the stars. Ee had never seen this light before, and didn't know of any light source that large in that part of town, ee wondered what it was.

The night was cool, so ee grabbed ees heavy duty reversible workers coat. Pulling it on, the the dark side facing outwards.

Was it a cave in at the mine? Or maybe the light was a house fire? Surely not, someone would have come to get them on board to aid in the rescue effort.

"Trader!" Siege called a note of suppressed panic in ees voice as ee left ees room. She met em on the landing and they descended the stairs together.

"There was an explosion, or something that sounded like one." She confirmed that ees instincts had been right and something was going on, her voice high strung. "Let's…" But her words were lost when something that sounded like the explosion Trader had described, many times louder then the explosives used at the mine, defend them to all other sound.

The earth trembled, and the windows were blown in throwing glass over the red brick floors.

Siege's first instinct was to grab ees aunt. Who had the same impulse and had taken a hold of em around the middle, bracing them against the sturdy kitchen door. The noise subsided and left the orange light and tell tail crackling sounds of fire, and crumbling structures.

"Oh my Gaia." Siege breathed, having difficulty accepting what they both knew had just happened.