Chapter 37) Rain


I feel like every day, I become more and more aware of how sheltered I am and how unique my upbringing was. The sight of Inanna, Anat, and the others tied up to be burned… it haunts my nightmares, as does the fact that the people felt justified for it. It makes me very worried for after the war… we'll have to take steps to try and minimize the chances of such things happening again…

But that is for the long distant future. We have to actually make it through the war first, and that's going to be more difficult than anything save reconstruction. After we 'convinced' Darna to move their blockade, we press forward to Melgen. Melgen, where Ishtore of House Friege rules… I know little about him, save for the stories I heard from Conall. Gossips paint him as a kind man, but one who assists his tyrannical father. I'm reminded of Iuchar and Iucharba and wonder… which brother's path will Ishtore follow? Can we convince him? Or would he be another we couldn't convince because we were too weak?


"And with that, the dish is complete!" I laughed, laughing even more when Anat gasped and clapped in fascination. She had wanted to watch me cook, for some reason, and I had to admit that her complete enthrallment with the process was terribly endearing. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

"It's like magic, but better!" Anat giggled, still clapping, though she was careful to not drop the doll she was 'borrowing', since she carried it almost everywhere. Quite a few of the other cooks glanced over at the noise, but thankfully, most were amused by her enthusiasm. I was glad, since even after a few days of them being here, I still worried about how everyone would treat the children, especially the Loptyrian ones. But it seemed like our soldiers at least understood why we were taking care of them. And why we found it important. "You can eat it!"

"You can indeed." I snuck a little bit off the plate and passed it to her, and grinned when she gobbled it up. "How's it taste?" She tried to answer with her mouth full, but it was a mushy mess, so she simply squealed. "Good." I leaned down and kissed her head, and she giggled again. "Do you want to see if you can watch some of the others cook?"

"Can I?"

"You can ask, but listen if they say 'no', okay? It could be that they're dealing with something very hot and don't want to risk your safety."

"Okay!" Anat giggled and immediately went to the closest cook, one of our bakers actually, and waited patiently to be acknowledged. "Hello, may I watch you make… what is this?"

"Bread, little one," the baker laughed, wiping their hands on their apron before nudging her forward so that she could see a little better. "Never seen someone make bread before?"

"You make bread?" Anat gasped, eyes wide. Her eyes sparkled. "I thought it just grew out of the ground like a flower! I mean… isn't it a type of flower?"

"Haha! No, no, little one. It's made with flour." They held up their hand to show how 'dusty' it was with flour. "Spelled differently."

"Wow!"

I lingered a bit to make sure that Anat would be fine, and the baker caught my eye and winked, reassuring me. So, I put the food I'd made on a tray, along with some tea and water, and carried it out of the kitchen tent, navigating the camp as carefully as possible so that I didn't drop anything. A few stopped me to ask questions, mostly about how we were proceeding or to discuss potential changes in scheduling, and I did make sure that everyone was still doing well. And that the children hadn't gotten into too much trouble, which thankfully, they hadn't. Yes, they were children, but they were determined to be on their best behavior. Except the babies, but babies would be babies, and thankfully, we had a lot of people in the army who were actually eager to help take care of them. Which meant no diaper duty for me and left me time to do other things.

"Morning, Aunt Lachesis!" I called, stepping into her tent. Aunt Lachesis had been reading some papers, but she set them to the side and sat up in her bed, smiling. And she looked like a person, instead of a pasty corpse like she did last night, so yay! "You're looking better than you did yesterday!" I set the tray down in her lap and helped move things between it and the small table by her bed to keep things balanced. And 'casually' peek at the papers to see it was inventory for the infirmary. The little numbers in the margin hinted she was good at math, probably just as good as Diarmuid. "Do you feel better?"

"Much better, yes," Aunt Lachesis replied, laughing. Yesterday, she had fainted, because she had been pushing herself too hard for her still recovering health. Gave us all a scare, that. "I'm so sorry to have worried you."

"This is why you listen to your body!" I was playfully stern for all of a second before giggling and kissing her cheek. "Anyway, I made you breakfast. Should be easy on your stomach, but let me know if it isn't, okay?"

"Okay." She still continued to laugh, but now there was something sad in it. "Ah, I'm reminded of Alicia. She didn't cook much, mind. She knew how, but she was a healer first and foremost. But whenever I had to be abed, for whatever reason, she was right there, fussing away."

"Oifeye mentioned that Mom had a tendency to hover when she thought someone she loved was hurting." I rearranged her blankets and her pillows, mostly as an excuse to do something and keep on talking. I liked talking with her. It was fun. "That true?"

"Oh, absolutely. Whenever one of us was hurting, be it physically or emotionally, Alicia tended to rush over, especially as the years went by." Aunt Lachesis smiled now, still sad but also very fond. "Think we all ended up burdening her with our emotional stuff, but she always listened with a smile."

"From the stories I've heard, I'm sure Mom was glad to be able to help."

"She was." Her smile fell, so there was only sadness in her face. "I wish I had gotten to see her one more time. Probably not fair to say to you, but..."

"Why would it not be fair?" I shrugged. "You love her too, yeah?"

"Oh, absolutely. And that day was just…" She fell silent, and I quietly rewarmed her tea, noticing it was cold. I must've left it out too long while cooking. "We were welcomed with smiles."

"Pardon?"

"That day, the day of the Massacre, everyone smiled. All of the Velthomer soldiers smiled. They smiled reassuringly, took our horses to be stabled… and we, unsuspecting, set down our weapons and laughed. Relaxed. It was such a relief, really. We thought it was all finally over. I remember talking with Sigurd, saying that we should try to get to Isaach as soon as possible. He agreed, of course, but teased that Alicia was going to throw a fit over how tired we all were. And we were exhausted. We basically went straight from fighting Reptor to Belhalla with minimum breaks."

"...To keep you tired, and…" I sat back down on the bed, not sure what else to do or even think. "Why wasn't Mom there?"

"She and Azel went ahead, actually. To see Arvis. In retrospect, it was to get them out of the trap, and prevent Azel from warning us. But, at the time, it had seemed like a good idea, especially for Alicia. She did her best to be strong for us, but she was taking care of Sigurd and everyone while her own heart bled for Ethlyn and Quan. I know she had at least one horrible breakdown." Aunt Lachesis closed her eyes, remembering it clearly. "Sigurd thought that it would be good for her in particular to rest, and we did have other healers. Like me. I did my best to do her share of the healing. That was why, when they took our horses away, I still had my staff on me. And I held onto my sword, of course. It was from Eldie and I didn't want it out of my sight. Sigurd teased me over it both, but understood."

"So, you had been near the front?"

"At first, yes. But then I ducked to the back to check on Sylvia. Just in time, really." She shuddered and opened her eyes again. But she didn't 'see' the tent. Her eyes were unfocused, 'seeing' the buildings and streets of Belhalla. "I still remember the heat, the smoke, the screams… it had come out of nowhere, really. And I stumbled out of the crowd, looking for a clear space so that I could try and process things. That's how I ended up finding Alicia, cradling Chulainn. He'd been hit by meteors, though, and died in her arms."

"...Oh, Mom…" That had to be… Lana told me that her worst nightmare was us dying while she struggled to heal us. I knew it had to have been Mom's worst nightmare too. "That's…"

"I pulled her up and we ran. Did my best to protect her. It was probably the only time I took care of her instead of the other way around. She just…" Aunt Lachesis closed her eyes again, though there were no tears. The memory was carved too deep in the scars for her to cry anymore. "She was mentally collapsing. I could tell, because she wasn't even trying to be serene or calm like normal. And why would she? The brother she trusted betrayed us. Her love died in her arms. And we both watched Sigurd's last moments. One moment yelling, and the next… nothing but ash. Less than ash. No chance to fight back at all." Her voice caught, but when she opened her eyes again, there were still no tears. "But we kept on running. We found Brigid and Jamke, Sylvia and Claude. And a building collapsed, from a meteor strike, cutting me off from Alicia. Her last words to me urged me to go to Leonster, to warn Finn and make sure he knew what had happened, and that she loved me. And we ran. All of us ran, and made it out. Barely. Still swear it was Brigid's Ulir luck that let us."

"That's…" I still didn't know what to do or say. I had always heard the stories, but never from someone who lived through it before. "I'm…"

"I wish she could've seen you one more time." Now she looked at me. "You and Conall both. I'm sure you've heard the stories, but she loved you both so very much. She was nervous, worried about being a mother, but her smile was so much brighter when you two were born. She was crying when we had to send you away. Well, we were all crying, really. We knew it was best, but…" She sighed, grimacing. "And it did turn out to be best. Gods, having all of you in Belhalla when that happened…"

"Mom probably would've taken Conall and me with her when she went ahead." So, we would've lived. But the others… "None of the others would've, though."

"I'd be surprised if they did." She smiled sadly. "I still say it was a miracle that L-"

"Lady Riona!" Sandas burst into the tent then, skidding to a stop and nearly falling over. I had to leap up to catch him. "Whoa… slippery!" he laughed, perfectly fine. The laughter cleared up the sad air and replaced it with warmth. "Oh, I'm sorry, Lady Lachesis. I should've knocked first, huh?"

"Normally, yes, but I'll let you get away with it, this time," Aunt Lachesis teased. She beckoned him over and he hugged her with another laugh. "So, you needed Riona for something?"

"Ah, yes!" He turned to face me, doing his best to look serious. It was absolutely adorable, really. "Lord Ulster needs to see you, Lady Riona."

"Does he?" I asked, curious. I didn't normally handle anything with scouting, especially now that Lewyn was around. "I wonder what he needs." I shrugged and smiled, leaning down to kiss Aunt Lachesis's cheek. "Eat as much as you can, okay? And the tea is ginger, for your stomach."

"I will," she promised, beaming at me. She pulled me into a hugged and squeezed me as tightly as she dared. Which was pretty tight since… you know… Hezul. Even weakened, she was strong. I found it inspiring, really. "Sorry for the ramble. Remember, if you need a shoulder, I'm here for you."

"Oh, trust me, we definitely remember that." I kissed her cheek again and then took Sandas's hand. "Okay, lead me to Ulster?"

Sandas held my hand happily, telling me about all the fun people he had been delivering messages to today. All of the children, save the toddler and babies of course, helped out by being messengers. It made me worry, truthfully, about setting a precedent for other children to 'join' and travel with us, but I remembered what Mursili had said. About the army being safer. It really made my heart ache, though I didn't let it show. I kept up my smile and chatted happily with Sandas. I didn't want him to think he did something wrong, after all.

Though, I was very confused when we found Ulster and saw Oifeye near him, easily bouncing and calming down one of the babies. "So… uh… what happened?" I asked, poking Ulster's cheek. Sandas raced off to deliver his next message. "Did you somehow need my help for the baby or something?"

"No, that's happenstance," Oifeye answered for Ulster, tucking the baby against his shoulder. They were fast asleep, gurgling a bit. "Someone forgot that babies crawl and Ulster saved him from being stepped on." He laughed, and Ulster and I shared a smile. Oifeye seemed most at ease when he was taking care of people, and he looked perfectly at peace cradling the baby in his arms. "And then Ulster couldn't get him to stop crying."

"Must be the stoic look. You've got to smile at babies." I poked Ulster's cheek again. "Smile!"

"He's asleep now," Ulster protested, more to play along with the joke than anything. "But thank you, Oifeye. You calmed him quickly."

"I have a lot of practice," Oifeye pointed out. He ruffled Ulster's hair and hugged me. "You all cried a lot too as babies. But neither here nor there. Can you tell whoever was babysitting that I took over?"

"Of course." Ulster and I both waved as Oifeye walked off to do whatever he was supposed to be doing, and then he turned to me. "Anyway, I got a sudden influx of scout reports."

"Need help organizing?" I asked. I grinned when he nodded. "Not a problem! I can tease you while I'm at it~!"

"Or you could help me?"

"I can do both!"

"No, I mean with personal stuff." Ulster took my hand and we walked through camp towards his tent. Sensing he was even more serious than usual, which was saying something, I kissed his hair and leaned into him. "It's Lana. She's been acting weird again, and it's making me worry."

"Oh?" I frowned, remembering that slightly uncomfortable look Lana had back during the meeting before infiltrating Darna. I hadn't thought anything more of it, since she and Patty got along fantastically, but… "How weird are we talking?"

"I swear she's avoiding me weird?"

"Yikes, okay…" I bit my lip, thinking. I hadn't personally noticed anything, but then again, Lana had a lot of work in the infirmary and while I helped make medicines, I didn't actually spend much time there. "I can talk to her in a few days, if you want. It might just be her fretting over the upcoming potential battle."

"I hope that's all it is." He sighed. "I don't like her being uncomfortable around me."

"Could also be a crush, you know."

"Don't say such weird things."

"Ulster, don't be like Seliph and get it in your head that it's not possible." I giggled and whispered in his ear. "Seliph was sure that I didn't love him romantically, you know?"

"He…" Ulster frowned. "You're going to make me get my hopes up."

"And I think you've been working too much and the uncomfortableness could also just be her wanting to spend time, but aware of how much we have to do and so not having any idea how to ask." I made a face. "Seriously, we practically have to schedule free time."

"That's true…" We made it to his tent and he briefly leaned on me, taking strength from me because he sorely needed it. "Fine, I'll consider all those possibilities, if you promise to talk to Lana for me once we get more of a breather. We have to move fast to take Melgen if we want to avoid a potential pincer from Darna."

"Of course." I twisted so that I could properly hug and hold him, feeling him relax. Some soldiers passed and looked at us worriedly, but nodded and continued on when I smiled reassuringly. "That's a promise." And much as I wanted to tease, we were at a point where things were uneasy, which meant that teasing was off the table. Now was trying to help them through this, especially since they hadn't been able to spend much time together. Definitely needed to fix that for all of us. We simply weren't at our best when we were alone. "Leave keeping things running smoothly to me. Least I can do." And, according to Aideen, it was an important 'job'. So, maybe that was my role. Maybe. "And that means getting things organized, so you rest for a bit, okay? I'll take care of it."


"Aw, I'm sorry Hestia chased away your din-dins, sweeties," I cooed, watching three leopard kittens munch on some meat scraps I scavenged from the kitchens. Hestia laid down nearby, not really feeling bad, but determined to at least look guilty while the mama-leopard was nearby, 'glaring' at her. "But you can have all of this instead, okay?" I scratched one behind the ears, giggling when it pressed its head further into my palm and cooing again when it began to purr in contentment. "So cute~!"

"I was wondering why the wind was telling me there was someone outside the camp at this hour." And my good mood declined slightly because here was Lewyn walking up. "Aren't you normally asleep?" he asked, eyeing the leopards warily. I wondered what he was doing awake. It was super late, with the stars sparkling and the moon high in the sky and it darker than a black panther. "You're in your nightclothes and a cloak, so I'm assuming you planned on sleeping."

"Hestia likes midnight snacks, but she stole theirs so I'm rectifying it." I focused on the cute kittens, because kittens made everything better. "And now I'm making sure no one steals from them."

"So, you're feeding cats."

"Leopards, actually. Based on the coloration, I think they're clouded leopards, though I could be wrong. Could be a type I've never seen before." I did, after all, know most animals through books alone. That all said, I was fairly certain they were at least some type of leopard. "Aren't they adorable, though?" I pet another kitten, and giggled when it closed its eyes in contentment. "So, so cute~!"

"And their mama just lets you do this." Lewyn chuckled, distinctly amused. I felt like I was being mocked. "Must be the Holy Blood."

"Huh?" I frowned, looking at him again. He looked rather eerie in the moonlight. Like a ghost or something. "Uh… pretty sure neither flames nor ability to pick out weak-points has anything to do with animals?

"The Holy Blood gives many passives, some of which are not sung of because they are less 'flashy' than, say, the ability to conjure flames with the snap of a fingers or the ability to stop a blade cold with your bare arm." Lewyn approached cautiously, keeping one eye on the leopards and Hestia, and sat down next to me. "Like how you radiate heat."

"Cold then, Lewyn?" I was torn between wanting to be sarcastic and being genuinely curious because this hadn't been in my lessons. "What others are there, then? These hidden passives."

"Well, let's see…" He thought a bit, moving his hand through the air almost like he as flipping through an imaginary book. "Those of Fjalar's blood tolerate temperature differences better, particularly heat. Otherwise, the heat from your flames would scorch you."

"How is that different from 'normal' mages?"

"Part of the reason why you use tomes as a catalyst for practice magic is specifically to avoid damaging yourself, and not just using your blood or something, but from burning your hand off. There's actually runes within the spells' writings to protect the caster." He shrugged. Again, I hadn't known that. I supposed getting a 'proper magic education' taught him that. "But you don't have that protection when you call flames without a tome. So, your Holy Blood protects you."

"Oh." I wasn't sure how to reply, especially when one of the kittens climbed into my lap to snooze. Kittens were way more important, even if my curiosity was imitating cats at the moment. "What others are there?"

"Mmm… ah, those of Forseti can withstand lots of pressure and force, lest their own magic knock them off their feet." He moved his hand again, 'flipping a page'. "Dain's blood can breath at higher altitudes, perfect for flying high above everyone else. Neir's descendents have a high pain tolerance to allow themselves to actually endure all the blows…"

"So, how would Od and animals be related?" The other two kittens were in my lap now, the three jostling for the 'best spot'. Hestia whimpered a bit, but remained laying down, acting properly mollified. I thought the mama-leopard would've taken them from me by now, since they were done eating, but the way she lounged and stretched hinted she was enjoying her break! "I mean…"

"That's more tied into what Tiamat represents, like Skadi and Dain's descendants. After all, it was Tiamat of Beasts who blessed Od with her power." He chuckled. "Of course, Od always had a bit of a fondness for animals. There's a story about how he befriended a python, actually."

"Where would he have done that?" I frowned, remembering the books I had read. "Pythons are native to Miletos and the Thracian peninsula, and the stories say that he wasn't among the group that gathered allies there." Though I supposed it could've been someone's pet or something.

"It's the principle of the story, not the details." He still laughed, though, amused by my reaction. "Regardless, though, is that Od often did what you do, especially after receiving the blessing. Befriend random wild animals. It's almost like Tiamat's power allows you to communicate with the animals. Not with words, but in feelings and thoughts."

"...I think it's just being respectful personally." And I wondered where he learned this sort of story. I never heard anything like that in Isaach and… uh… Tiamat was the goddess of Isaach. You'd think I'd hear something about it, at least from the elders. "But sure, Holy Blood is just as good of an explanation. We could test it with Ulster. Not Larcei, though. She's too excitable."

"Now that would be interesting…" Lewyn suddenly stood up. "But you have a visitor."

"Huh?" I leaned forward a bit and saw Inanna running over. "Inanna, is everything okay?"

"Yep!" she replied, hopping to a stop. She nearly fell, but Lewyn caught her. "Fee and Arthur just returned, though, so I was asked to get you."

"At this hour?" I asked, startled. It was well within the night! "I hope it's nothing serious…" I sighed mournfully when I looked at the cute kittens in my lap. "Ugh… I have to move…" Damn it.

It took a bit to convince the kittens to leave, but they did eventually, and their mama nuzzled each of them before leading them away. I petted Hestia to thank her for behaving and then I followed Inanna to the 'war tent', except there was no war meeting or anything. It was just the only tent, besides the infirmary, big enough to hold everyone!

"Welcome back!" I greeted, pushing past everyone to rush over and hug both Fee and Arthur. Both looked tired, but smiled warmly when they saw me. Arthur was a bit awkward returning the hug, but Fee laughed and hugged me back with just as much enthusiasm. "Hestia, no, don't jump on them." I looked down just in time to see her about to pounce, so she quickly sat and did her best to look innocent. "Yeah, yeah, missy."

"Aw, we missed you too, Hestia!" Fee giggled, kneeling so that she could hug her too. Hestia barked happily and licked her face. "Hee~! What a great welcome back!"

"Despite the hour, right?" I glanced around and nearly sighed when I saw Lewyn hadn't followed me. But I was determined to keep up the cheer and not bring attention to stupidly unattentive 'fathers'. "You meet the new people?"

"Yeah, we got the summary of what happened too while Inanna was looking for you." Fee stood back up and smiled brightly. "Got letters! And man, the smiles on their faces when we told them you all were on the way…"

"They are having some trouble, though, because Alster is throwing a lot of their strongest straight at them," Arthur noted. He rolled his wrists a bit, and I thought I saw bandages. They must've done some fighting, then. "It's possible they'll send some refugees or something our way. Be dangerous, but less dangerous if their walls give."

"All the more reason to take Melgen quickly then," I murmured. Refugees… we'd have to plan for that, then. Just in case. "Why are you here this late, though?"

"Thought we were closer than we were, really, and by the time we realized we weren't, we stubbornly decided we wanted to keep going." Arthur shrugged and grinned. I rolled my eyes and pulled him into another hug. "So…"

"People, we do need to try and be a bit quieter," Oifeye suddenly called. He was standing with Shanan, the two of them laughing at something. I wondered where Aunt Lachesis was, and saw she was sitting near Larcei and Yuria, chatting about something. "It's very late, if you'll recall."

"And I already hear talks of battles and the like," Seliph noted. He stood near Iuchar and Ulster, his hair down for once. And in need of a brushing. I'd do that in the morning. "Let's save such things until after we send a messenger to Ishtore. If we can solve this without battle, I'd prefer it."

"We can send someone now, if you want."

"At this hour? No way. Let everyone sleep!"

"That said, you might want to pick a particularly fast one," Fee noted. Though she still smiled, her eyes were serious. "We're going to want to keep an eye and double-check, but I think there's a storm brewing. Wind's all heavy and all. And that means we'll be fighting the weather on top of everything."

"Oh, that'll be fun, especially for the horses," Diarmuid sighed. He and Lester shared a grimace before shrugging. "Well, I suppose that's just another thing to keep in mind while we plan."

"Yep! Also, where can I sleep for the night? I'm exhausted."

Talks quickly shifted to where Fee and Arthur would stay, since we didn't want to put up tents at this hour. However, while everyone was talking about that, Patty wiggled her way away from where she'd been talking to Lana to come over to me. "Hey, quick question, Riona," she began, shyly smiling. She had her hair in braided pigtails for sleep, and it was adorable on her. "Is it okay if I cook every once in a while?"

"Hmm? Of course," I replied, a bit startled. Why was she asking me? "Why?"

"Well, I tried to get onto the duty roster for it, but the person signing people up said that it was… umm…" She frowned. "It was too 'menial' of a job for a 'leader'?"

"...You happen to get that person's name because I'd love to hear them tell the cooks that their job is 'menial'." Cooking was a skill, damn it! An important one! "Oh, whatever. Yes, it's fine, Patty. Hell, you don't even need to be on the roster. Just head in and start cooking."

"They won't get mad?"

"Patty, they're used to us. We sneak in to cook all the time. Well, I do, at least." I grinned and hooked my arm around hers. "Come on. Since we're all up, let's make midnight snacks for everyone. Because no matter what we say, no one is sleeping for a while."

Patty was an excellent cook, actually. I learned a lot just by watching her make snacks, and decided that I needed to cook with her again. It was too much fun.


Sadly, Fee proved right about the weather. Two days after she and Arthur returned, it began to rain. A light rain, for now, but according to Fee (and confirmed by Lewyn), the 'wind' behind it was strong, meaning it was only going to get worse. Glorious.

"Hestia, I need you to hold still," I scolded, doing my best to dry her off. Hestia, of course, loved the 'extra rubs' and tried to lick me and play. "I am not letting you sleep on my blankets while wet!" She barked happily, wagging her tail and slinging water all over the place. "Ugh… Hestia!" Worst part was that while I hated storms, she loved them. Meaning she loooooved running around through the rain and all. "Maybe I should see if one of the others will take you out tonight…" Mmm… tempting, but no, I couldn't do that. Hestia was my wolf, after all. I had promised to be responsible when I got to keep her, and so, I had to keep being responsible. After all, promises were important. Even when she was being a very wiggly brat. "Hestia, I know that you love pets, but seriously, I need you to-"

"Lady Riona!" And I had two 'intruders' suddenly in my tent. A soaking wet Sandas and an even more drenched Anat. I wondered what they were doing awake since they normally fell asleep pretty quickly once the sun had set and dinner was over. "Lady Riona, there's a bunch of meowing!" Anat explained, flailing her arms and dripping water everywhere. I tried to think of why she didn't have a rain-cloak. Did the children not have any? "Meowing!"

"It was outside, and we tried to find the kitties, but we couldn't, and they sound sad and scared!" Sandas added, looking ready to cry. I immediately held out my arms and he rushed in for a hug. He was cold from the rain, but I didn't think he was shaking from it. "Please, can't you help them?"

"...Show me where," I replied, kissing his head and looking at Anat, who beamed at me. I didn't ask why they came to me. I was the animal person, and I knew Sandas, at least, was projecting his own time in the cages onto the meows. And I had been the one who had carried him out of them. "We'll see if I can get them."

I didn't even bother getting a cloak on. I simply took their hands and let them pull me, with Hestia following closely. The rain was falling even harder than before, and within seconds, I was certain I looked like a drowned rat and that I weighed five times as much due to water. But I didn't complain or anything. I simply did my best to reassure the two, with Hestia doing everything she could to be cute and adorable to help out. Before long, I heard the 'meows' too, but I noticed that they didn't sound like 'kitty-cat' meows. And when I let go of Sandas and Anat to go looking, I quickly saw why. The 'meowing' kittens were leopards, three of them being shielded from the rain by their mama. The very same family I had fed a few days ago, but this time… this time, the mama-leopard was bleeding. Badly.

"Easy, strong one," I whispered, reaching out to pet the mama. Her eyes were cloudy and unfocused, and I had a feeling she wasn't only cold from the rain. There was a lot of blood on her fur, even with the rain. The wound, however, was far too 'clean' and 'even' to be from another animal. This wasn't a case of her defending her babies from predators. At least, not 'normal' predators. "Why don't we get you all out of the rain? It's very cold."

She let me pick up her kittens, but insisting on walking (dragging, really) herself right by my side. Anat and Sandas were waiting patiently, and immediately held open the nearby tent for all of us. It was the one Anat and Inanna shared, but Inanna wasn't in at the moment. Probably why Sandas had been here instead of his own tent. But those were musings for another time. Once inside, I got the kittens on blankets so that they could get warm and dry, showing Anat and Sandas how to do it. They followed my instructions with care, and Hestia hovered near to nose them when they were being too rough. That left me free to have the mama-leopard rest in my lap and pet her. After all, as soon as she made it inside the tent, she had collapsed, all strength gone. Her breathing was labored. The blood flow from the wound was slowing. She was...

I thought of what Lewyn said. About how the blood of Tiamat let me 'communicate' better with animals, not just because of my words, but because of my thoughts and feelings and whatever. I wasn't sure I believed that and all, but as I petted her, I leaned down and rested my head against hers, trying to wordlessly 'convey' that things would be okay. That her babies would be okay. That she could rest, because they would be fine. That was my promise. She licked my cheek, like she truly did understand, and breathed her last. Like she had just been waiting for that confirmation. She would hold on until then, growl and snarl at death until then, but she was just too tired and too pained to hold on any longer.

"Um… what's going on?" And that, of course, was when Inanna returned. She wore a rain cloak, like a smart person, and could only stare at the very odd scene in her tent. Three leopard kittens on her blankets, a dead mama-leopard, and three drenched humans with an equally drenched wolf. "Uh… what happened?" she asked, carefully walking around the edges of the tent to reach the kittens. They were playing tiredly, half-asleep now that they were warm. "Why…?"

"...Their mother passed," I whispered. Inanna immediately winced and looked at the kittens sympathetically. "So, we're going to take care of them."

"But you're super busy…" Inanna bit her lip, looking at Sandas and Anat before looking at me shyly. "Um… but maybe we three can do that? I mean… we'll need help. I've never had a pet before. But… um…"

"Mmm… yes, I think that might be good for you." For a lot of reasons. Taking care of the kittens would keep them busy, and… well, in my opinion, there were few things more comforting than an animal, especially when things were so strange. "Thankfully, they're weaned and everything. Let's get them to Lana for a check-up. Animals can carry parasites and diseases, after all."

"She's in her tent with Yuria at the moment. I was just delivering a message to them."

"Then how about you three take the kittens there. I'll be by momentarily."

"Okay!"

The three carried the kittens carefully, using the blankets to try and keep them dry. I worried and wondered if I should follow, but instead I picked up the mama-leopard, hugging the body and carrying her out of the tent and out of the camp, with Hestia following me closely. More towards the woods. I found a tree with thick branches and enough leaves to keep the rain off, and almost knelt to begin digging. Hestia, however, knew what I wanted and dug the hole herself. Perhaps it was silly, to bury a wild animal, but it felt wrong not to. Because I was very certain that the reason why she came back to the camp, despite her injuries, was because she 'remembered' that there was food here for her babies. 'Remembered' a crazy person who would be kind to them. And I felt like I just… had to bury her like I would any other mother. It felt wrong to do anything else.

It was a bit difficult for Hestia to dig, because even if the branches shielded us slightly from the rain, water still streamed down and pooled into it. And there was no way to scoop the water out, so sadly, I had to bury the mama-cat in the muddy puddle. It felt wrong, but I had to make due. I did make sure to cover the body carefully with the dirt, with Hestia's help. I could do at least that much for her. And when we were done, Hestia and I just stood in the rain for a while, letting it wash off the worst of the mud, and for the first time in a very long while, I wondered just what happened to Hestia's mama. Hestia's first pack. Why had she been left there? I could believe she was a gift from Dad, a gift from my parents, all I wanted, but unless Hestia just sprang out of the ground, she had to have had a mama, once. A pack, once.

Hestia whimpered and nosed me, no doubt guessing I was thinking troubling thoughts. When I looked at her, she barked and rubbed herself against me, and I had to smile. I supposed it didn't matter, ultimately. I had saved Hestia's life, back then, and Hestia had chosen to remain with me. She had chosen us as her pack, no matter where she came from. And that was far more important.

Equally important was getting out of the rain, especially when it started thundering, so Hestia and I ran back to the camp, navigating the muddy grounds until I made it to Lana's tent. Where Seliph was waiting for me, for some reason. He held his cloak over me, even though I was inventing new words for 'drenched' with how soaked I was, and led me to the infirmary, where Lana and Yuria checked over the kittens with Inanna, Anat, and Sandas watching in rapt fascination. Set up in its own section, curtained off, was a bunch of towels and a change of night-clothes for me. And underwear, which thank the gods because cold!

"So, how is it that we have leopard kittens?" Seliph asked me quietly, stealing one towel to dry off Hestia while I ducked behind the curtain to dry myself off. And change into dry clothes. "All I got was 'Riona saved them' and 'Riona said we could keep them'."

"We can't leave babies to fend for themselves, Seliph," I defended, grimacing at all the mud I was getting on the towels. Worse than I'd thought. But I still got it all off and got into dry underwear quickly. "They are weaned, but I think barely. They probably don't even know how to hunt quite yet."

"I'm not protesting." Seliph leaned around the curtains to smile at me and shifted so that he could better look at me while cleaning up Hestia. "Just wondering the series of events?"

"Right, right." I used a fresh towel to try and get a bit more water out of my hair. "A few days ago, Hestia accidentally chased away the prey their mama was chasing, so I fed them instead. Same day that Arthur and Fee came back, actually."

"And they decided to come back for free food?"

"No…" I sighed and looked at him, draping the towel over my shoulders so that my wet hair wasn't on my back. "Their mama is dead, Seliph. Hestia and I are muddy because we were burying her. She used the last of her strength to get to the camp, likely because she remembered me or something."

"Ah." Seliph leaned over to catch my hand and squeeze it. "What killed her?"

"Based on the wound? A hunter. But most hunters wouldn't go after a mama during this season. Or they'd try not, at least."

"They need to keep the population up for food."

"Right, which makes me think it's not a 'true' hunter, per se…" I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. Exhaustion was starting to creep in now. "Basically, I'm wondering if it was an accident or if we have a case of someone attacking anything that moves."

"And if it's the latter, then how near are they?" Seliph closed his eyes, returning to drying Hestia. "Ah, anyway, since you're awake…"

"Lord Seliph, you can't peek on girls when they're changing!" Sandas's scolding startled all of us, even Hestia, who yelped and barked. "It's not nice!" he continued. I poked my head out from behind the curtain to see him scowling, with his hands on his hips. Inanna and Anat were still with Lana and Yuria, working with the kittens. "That's what my sister says, at least."

"Seliph has seen me in my underwear many times, Sandas," I replied. Poor Seliph was trying to process the whole 'am I getting scolded by an eight-year-old?' thing. "But it is sweet of you to worry about him spying." I ducked back and pulled on the night-clothes before stepping out, back to drying my hair. "But trust me, if I wasn't okay with it, Hestia would've bitten him."

"Mmm… okay…" He still scowled, though, and Seliph held up his hands in surrender because he sure as hell didn't know how to argue this. "Maliya gets mad when Mursili does it, though."

"If she's not comfortable about it, then she should. If it's one of the people I've grown up with, though, I'm fine." I stroked his hair and kissed his forehead. "But if it was someone else? Yelling at them is a very good idea."

"Okay." He smiled, apparently satisfied, and went back to the girls, watching the check-up.

"That… Don't think I've ever been scolding for talking to you while you were in your underwear," Seliph noted, standing up to wrap an arm around my waist. Hestia shook herself a bit and licked Seliph's hand before laying down on the towel. "Not sure why that startled me so much."

"Probably because until we got to Tirnanog, none of us had our own rooms so we had to get used to changing in front of each other fairly quickly," I pointed out. And after Tirnanog, it had just felt silly to get embarrassed about stripping off a shirt after practice or something. "Now, if I didn't have my underwear on, I would've scolded you for getting a tease~" I grinned when he went bright red. "Got you! But anyway, you were say-" And there was a loud crack of thunder, and I immediately whimpered and clung to him. "Oh, great… don't suppose you were leading into good news?"

"Reason why I'm awake is because the messenger returned." Seliph's expression was grim, even as he shifted to hold me a little more securely. "Ishtore refused negotiations."

"So, what? We're fighting thunder mages in a storm? Sounds like fun." I flinched when I caught a flash of lightning and covered my ears to try and block out the thunder. It was so damn loud, though... "Uuuuuggghhh…"

"Want to stay back?"

"No. But I am stealing you until this damn storm disappears." I grumbled a bit under my breath, and he kissed my hair, rubbing my back soothingly. "Seriously. We're moving my stuff to your tent."

"Okay. We'll do that." He chuckled. "Though I fear this is just making me like the rain?"

"Rain is fine. Thunder and lightning-" I squeaked as even more thunder rumbled. I. Hated. Storms. So. Freaking. Much. "Though we might need to make sure the tents aren't…" I trailed off as I thought of the rain. The runoff. The way it had pooled in the grave… "Seliph."

"Hmm?"

"There's lots of hills and valleys. We've seen that, and Patty said that the whole area between here and Melgen is like that." I looked at him, and hoped I looked serious. While shivering because it was cold and it was storming. "Depending on where the runoff goes…"

"...Have I mentioned recently how much I love you?" He kissed me soundly, to my embarrassment. Even more so when I heard Lana laugh. "You done with the kittens there, Lana?"

"We are," Lana giggled. Yuria watched us with sparkling eyes, and Anat actually had her hands on her face, smiling happily. Sandas, hilariously, was making faces. Inanna was too busy with the kittens to care. "So, what? Are you calling her adorable for the kittens or something?"

"Not this time," Seliph replied. Though he still smiled, his posture tensed, conveying seriousness. "You up for a war meeting, Lana?"

"Larcei is going to be a pain to wake up, but yeah, I am." Lana's eyes narrowed. "New information?"

"And Riona reminding me of a potential strategy. We'll leave Larcei to Hestia." Seliph turned to Yuria and smiled hesitantly. "Mind coming with us? I have half of an idea, and it would help if…"

"Oh, of course!" Yuria replied instantly, beaming. I knew she was just focused on the 'can help' and not on the 'likely killing people' part, though it wasn't as if she hadn't killed before. "I would love to help! But for now, let's get the rain-cloaks. It's pouring!"

Seliph kissed me again and went to help Yuria and Lana get the cloaks. I turned to go with them, but someone caught my sleeve. Inanna, to be specific. And so, I stayed where I was and waited for her to gather her thoughts.

"Are you going to fight?" she asked quietly. She carried one kitten, and held onto my sleeve with the other. Anat and Sandas were playing with the other two. "Is that what's going on?"

"Seems that way," I replied, reaching over to fix her grip slightly. It helped keep me from focusing on the thunder. "You need to support them. They're like babies."

"Oh, got it." She hugged the kitten a little tighter, half-hiding behind it. "What will we do?"

"You think about what you want to do, and we'll discuss it once we have things planned. There is a chance, after all, that we might be able to convince them." Not a high one, but… but I knew none of us would give up just yet. "But you all will be safe. I promise you that."

"I'm not worried about me." Her eyes wavered a bit, and I remembered what she said about her mother. "I…"

"And we're going to be fine too." I cupped her face between my hands and smiled at her. "A little rain never hurt anyone."

"A lot can kill you, though. This is going to be a huge downpour within a couple of days. That's how storms always are, here."

"And now we know to be extra careful." I continued smiling and, eventually, she smiled back, hesitantly. "I won't boast and say that we'll come back unharmed or anything. But we'll be back, alive and perfectly capable of being healed. And then you and the others can tell me about all the trouble the kittens caused. Sound good?"

"They're going to cause trouble?"

"Animals can be a lot like toddlers, or so I have been told." I laughed when she made a face at that. "Feel a bit better?"

"Yeah…" This time, her smile was warm. Small, but warm. "Thank you."

"Of course. Stay dry, okay." Without thinking about it, I kissed her forehead before getting that rain cloak from Yuria and leaving, only realizing later that I should've asked first.

Ah, I'd need to apologize later. For now, I had my duty.


"Man, the rain is really coming down," Diarmuid murmured as we walked down the road, one muddy step at a time. He and I had gone ahead of the others for one last plea to Ishtore… while the others set up our plan. Just in case. "You okay?"

"I've been better," I grumbled, pulling my hood a little more forward to try and keep the rain off of me. It didn't really work. Wet, cold, and dealing with thunder and lightning. This was not a good day. At all. "I've been so much better, actually." Hestia whimpered and leaned into me to try and comfort me. And getting her wet fur all over my leg, though it wasn't like it mattered. Sort of. Her shed fur stuck and made my leg itch. "Hestia has also smelled better."

"Wet wolf. Only smell worse than wet dog." He reached down to pet Hestia, though, mostly because she had wedged herself between us in an attempt to keep some of the downpour off of her. "Well, I have been meaning to talk to you privately."

"About Aunt Lachesis?"

"No, I'm still in total shock that she's alive, and here, and I can hug her. Larcei and I had a long talk about it, though." And the look in his eyes said he'd take just what they talked about to the grave. Which made perfect sense and thus, I wouldn't pry. "No, it's…" He grimaced and pulled at his hood. "Is there a hole in my cloak? I swear I've got rain dripping down the back of my neck."

"Hmm…" I carefully checked before fixing the clasp. "There's no hole, but I think this cloak might be a bit small for you. At least for a downpour like this."

"Just great…" He groaned and I had to snicker. Just because. "Anyway, no, that's not it. I think I'm falling for Yuria."

"Oh~?" I grinned, all ready to tease, but then I remembered a key problem. One that hit especially close to home. "Her amnesia."

"Exactly." He sighed, and I took his hand to squeeze it reassuringly. The rain continued to fall, and Melgen slowly came into view. Finally freaking made it… "Ignoring the similarities between what happened with Deirdre…"

"It's not the same. There are key differences. Several of them, in fact." Took me a second to think of them, but that was only because rain, thunder, and lightning. Diarmuid was the furthest thing from Arvis. "For one thing, we know of her past, unlike Deirdre, so we already know that she has no husband or child or anything."

"Well… yes…" He grimaced. "But…"

"And if she had an arranged marriage, we would've heard about it, if only from Conall, so we know that on the romantic side of things, things are fine." However, there was one big difference, and it might prove key. "Most importantly, though, is that Yuria has been missing her memory for four years. She has a 'grounding' already, unlike Deirdre when it came to meeting Arvis. And Yuria at least has an idea about her past. Unlike Deirdre."

"But it still feels off, you know?"

"I can see that." I made sure to look at him, though, even stopping to ensure I had his attention. "But still, I think there are enough differences that things should be fine? The main worry would be more on her side of things. Like whether or not she really does return the feelings or if she simply thinks she does because she likes you." And I knew very well that was Yuria's exact problem. I should talk to her when we had a breather and see how that was going. "And that's not stuff you have control of."

"Right…" He sighed again, but this time, he smiled slightly. "That does make me feel a bit better. Now, granted, I'm not sure yet, so don't tell the others? I'll talk to them personally and get their opinions."

"Of course. And if it looks like anyone is about to tease you, I'll stop them." I'd done the same for Yuria, after all. "I'm here for you. Always."

"Of course. We're family." And now we were at the gates of Melgen, so it was time to be serious and do our job. "The things we do for family, huh?"

"And our own morals." I whimpered at a particularly loud crack of thunder. "Seliph owes me soooo many kisses for this."

"Is this the first time we ever had to camp and travel extensively in a storm?"

"No, we did so after Conall was taken." Not wanting to remember that, I squinted to try and see through the rain and waved when I caught sight of a guard. "Hello, there! We wish to see Lord Ishtore!"

"Another messenger?" the guard groaned. I could barely see them through the rain. "Why the hell?"

"Please announce us?" Diarmuid requested, automatically smiling. Was pretty sure no one but Hestia and me could see it. "It'll give you a good excuse to get out of this miserable weather."

"Ha! I suppose so." The guard nodded, a bit of an exaggerated motion to make sure we could see it. "Fine, I'll go do that. Wait here."

Surprisingly, we didn't have to wait long. It felt like we had only waited a few minutes before the gates opened and we were ushered inside the city by the guards, who then escorted us all the way to the castle. Inside, an older man wearing a suit greeted us with a bow. "Please, let us take your cloaks," he insisted, already gesturing to some other servants to do just that. His eyes narrowed at Hestia, who dripped all over the place and tredded mud. "Your dog can wait outside." Hestia took one look at him, trotted past, and promptly shook herself, scattering water all over him to convey her annoyance with the suggestion. "Argh!"

"Might I have a towel for my wolf?" I requested, putting emphasis on the last word. I hoped it would tell him that telling Hestia to not do something wasn't going to work. "We can handle drying her, but I assure you… you don't want her unsupervised."

"Very well, miss." He glared at Hestia, who growled in return. She settled down when I gave her a look, though. "I will fetch more towels."

"Thank you."

Hestia thankfully behaved once Diarmuid and I started drying her off, even waiting to shake again until I got a towel wrapped around her. Once she was dry enough to not smell quite so bad, though I wasn't sure how anyone could tell with all the incense and scented candles choking the air, we were shown into a rather lovely parlor. The rain cast a dreary light, but the lightly scented candles helped the room appear warm anyway, and the furniture was remarkably simply. And, sitting in a chair by a glass table, drinking tea, was a young man with the silver hair that characterized most of those of house Friege. Ishtore. This had to be Ishtore.

"Ah, hello," he greeted, standing to face us with some sort of dignity. Which promptly fell apart because he did a double-take upon seeing Hestia walking in with us. I had to bite back a laugh. "That's… ha, and here I thought Conall was the only one crazy enough to keep a wolf as a pet." His eyes fell on me, though, and after a moment, he smiled. "But Fjalar-red eyes… you have to be his twin. He always said his twin sister had Fjalar-red eyes and blonde hair."

"I'm Riona, yes," I replied, shrugging. "The wolves weren't planned, and Hestia is bigger."

"Is she?" He frowned skeptically. "Both seem equally big to me."

"Well, it's just a guess. Northern wolves tend to be bigger than their southern counterparts. It's a vague pattern you tend to see with animals anyway." I shrugged, glad I had thought of an explanation quickly. I had a feeling Conall didn't exactly tell people he and Ishtar had met us in Isaach. And didn't want anyone to know. "At least, with mammals."

"Careful, she'll rattle off all sorts of animal facts if you'll let her," Diarmuid teased, catching on quickly. I made a face at him, and Ishtore actually relaxed, laughing a little. "Well, you know who she is. I'm Diarmuid, the son of Lady Lachesis of Nordion and Sir Finn of Leonster. A pleasure to meet you."

"The honor is mine. After all, the number of stories I have heard of 'Sir Finn' is frankly astounding," Ishtore commented, gesturing for us to sit at the other two chairs set up. We did so and Hestia laid down at my feet. "Seems he was a popular topic for gossip even before Leonster's fall, and the songs and stories have enjoyed a surge of popularity recently."

"I'm very proud of my father, and my lineage, Lord Ishtore, so I'm glad to hear he is so well regarded." He picked up the teacups to check for anything 'extra' in them, under the pretense of examining their craftsmanship. "This is a beautiful set."

"Isn't it? It's my favorite. My cousin, Tine, bought them for me as a birthday present." He refilled his cup and then filled ours. Nothing smelled off or anything, nor did it taste off when I took a sip. Diarmuid waited to drink his, just in case there was a delayed effect on me. "Now, you are messengers from Seliph?"

"We are, yes." Diarmuid sat a bit straighter, focused on Ishtore. I almost did the same, but I saw Hestia's ears twitch and how she lifted her head to look towards the door. So I glanced over there instead and caught sight of someone hiding behind it. An assassin or a guard? We would see. "We would prefer to find some way to reach an agreement. We'd rather not fight."

"Really?" Ishtore raised an eyebrow, though he managed to stay just under 'skeptical' as he drank his tea. "Then why start a rebellion? That involves fighting."

"...Do you know what a 'labor camp' is, Ishtore?" I asked softly. Diarmuid took over keeping an eye on the surroundings, noticing where Hestia looked. "They're something Danann set up. He'd kidnapped the able bodied, from the young to the old, and literally work them to death. Minimal food, no treatment for injuries, killed for the most random of whims… the survivors are skin and bone, and there are many in Rivough who have only just began physical therapy. Some will never walk again."

"That's…" Ishtore began. He winced, though, and he couldn't seem to find the words he wanted. I saw conflict in his eyes, conflict and pain, and felt a tiny bit hopeful we might just work something out. "Atrocious."

"I didn't even mention how they were packed together like fish in a barrel, and weren't allowed to bathe or anything. Many died from sickness. And the beatings..." I had to stop and close my eyes, doing my best to keep calm and not start screaming. Hestia whimpered and leaned into my legs to comfort me. "If not for resistances… if not for Shanan being able to liberate some of them, we might have had an outright genocide. As it is, the graveyards and crypts are overfull and there are still so many missing."

"I…"

"Not to mention, of course, what happened to the living. Beatings, rape." Again, I had to fight to keep calm, this time as I remembered all the people we had treated in the infirmary. Dalvin's wounds. Creidne's trauma. Deimne's injuries. Every bit of it. "How can you not fight to stop such a thing?" I opened my eyes and looked right at Ishtore, who looked almost green and was certainly paler. "And we have heard things are worse outside of Isaach. Because Danann didn't have the loyalty of his own people, and they didn't follow his worst orders."

"Is this where you list off my father's crimes?"

"We only know what we've heard," Diarmuid hedged, taking over to give me more time to calm down. He also made sure to look Ishtore in the eyes, hiding that he hadn't had any of the tea. Of course, I still felt fine, so it was likely not poisoned or drugged, but… "We could list those rumors, if you want, but…"

"Ah, but you will spare my ears because of blood ties," Ishtore noted. He then scoffed, rolling his eyes. "You needn't fret about such things. Familial loyalty is complete bullshit, if you pardon the curse."

"That is certainly a strong statement." Diarmuid glanced at me uncomfortably and I could only smile awkwardly in return. For us, who grew up with such close ties, it just felt wrong to hear such things. Though, then again, I certainly wasn't loyal to Arvis, and he was my uncle. "A very strong statement."

"Not strong enough, but I'm afraid I lack the vocabulary to make it strong enough." Ishtore actually downed the rest of his tea before pouring himself another cup. "My mother tortures the civilians of Miletos for fun, laughing as she rips children from their families for the Hunts. And my father? He stood to the side and let my mother beat Aunt Tailtiu to death." He scoffed, but Diarmuid and I exchanged a startled look. Wasn't looking forward to telling Arthur that. But we couldn't hide it, either. That would be worse. "Aunt Ethnia isn't bad, but I barely know her. Same for Linda and Amid. They're all up in Friege, and I've only left the Thracian Peninsula… twice maybe? One of which was for Aunt Tailtiu's funeral." He shook his head. "I am loyal to only two members of my family. Ishtar and Tine." I almost brought up Arthur, but I bit my tongue. That wasn't something I should reveal. That was for Arthur to say, not for me to blurt because I was startled. "So, you don't need to spare my ears about Father's deeds."

"Duly noted." Diarmuid shrugged, pretending to be calm. I bent down to pet Hestia until I could do the same. "But given that tirade, I would say you know more about his crimes than us. Far more, at that."

"Quite true, but I've been surprised before." Ishtore took a deep breath and settled back in his chair. "So, you've told me what happened in Isaach. Did you continue because of rumors?"

"Well, that depends on how strong of a stomach you have," I answered, sitting back up. Hestia's ears twitched again, hinting that our 'guard' was still there, but I pretended to not notice. Diarmuid would watch for now. "We had to go to the Yied Shrine. Do you want to know what all I saw in there? One of the least troubling things was a child forced to share a cell with a rotting corpse. A child who, for the record, had been Hunted, dragged from his family while his home burned. And is eight years old."

"That's…" Ishtore began. Just like before, though, it seemed that the confirmation of the atrocities made him lose his words. "How is the child?"

"Recovering. Thankfully." I clasped my hands in my lap to keep them from shaking, or from me clenching them into fists. "But that's just one child. We found five Hunted children, and many more dead. Not to mention what you just told us. Your mother tortures people. For fun. And I don't doubt there are others in power like that. There was Danann, after all."

"Raydrick in Manster is another one."

"See?" I shrugged. "You ask why we continue? I ask why haven't you haven't done anything."

"And just what do you plan to do if the Empire falls?" Ishtore's voice became a touch harsh and I tensed, prepared to set his clothes on fire if need be. Diarmuid rested his hand under the table, prepared to use it as a weapon. "Who will keep the people safe? Who will rule and manage the lands?" He shook his head. "Unless you have answers to those questions, then I'm afraid we are at a stalemate."

"I see." Well, I had to admit. I did come close to snapping right then and there. But Diarmuid rested a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly. His other hand shook, showing he was just as angry. "Well, I can simply say 'we will', but those will not earn trust and are simply empty words to you. So, sadly, we don't have answers because proper answers require also knowing the damage done, and that is something we don't know. And we won't know until the end of this." I couldn't help but glare at Ishtore, though, and he stilled at it. "But who keeps the people safe now? Because it's not the Empire. And it never was. Isaach can tell you that all too well, as well as those your father sent assassins after. If you care to listen to ghosts, that is."

"But if that is where our stalemate occurs, then I suppose Riona and I will see ourselves out," Diarmuid noted, standing slowly. I waited for Hestia to get up and stretch before pushing myself up. The guard, whoever they were, ducked away to continue 'hiding'. "I thank you for letting us speak with you, Ishtore. If you change your mind, simply send a messenger. We will receive it." Diarmuid led the way to the door, and I made Hestia go in front of me before following, not wanting to risk leaving her behind and her causing trouble.

"Riona." However, Ishtore quietly called my name, and when I turned back, he looked right at me, his expression unreadable. "Your eyes…" he began. I frowned, wondering just what he was getting at. "They're like Arvis's."

"Thank you for the insult," I replied firmly and politely. He cracked a smile at that. "Have a good day." And I strode out of there, doing my best to not stomp.

We got our cloaks from the servants and stepped back out into the rain, leaving without another word. Just out of sight of the gates, we found Larcei sitting in a tree. We weren't surprised to see her. We'd known that someone would have been following us, just in case something went very wrong.

"Any luck?" she asked, in a tone that said she already knew the answer, probably guessing from our expressions. She still sighed when we shook our heads. "Damn." She jumped down from the tree and jumped behind us so that she could throw her arms around both of us. Hestia helpfully moved so that she could. "Let's tell the others, then."

I'm sorry, Conall… I'm sorry, Ishtar… but we… unless something changed, we...


I hated storms. I hated storms. I hated storms. I wanted to be under some blankets, curled up with Hestia, but nooooo! No, I was outside, in the rain, with thunder and lightning all over the place, while we all waited to see if the Friege forces that were marching towards us would negotiate or fall for our trap. I hated having morals.

"You know…" Arthur began, tucking himself a little closer to me. We had been assigned to the same group and, in fact, the two of us were set up next to each other, just in case my heavy dislike of storms would interfere with my ability to actually do my job for this mission. Hopefully not, but it was a concern I'd had, so… "For some reason, the fact that you have such a 'normal' fear is surprising."

"Oh, shut up," I growled, scowling. Then I flinched at a particularly loud crack of thunder right above us. Swore it made the rocks in the mud tremble. And the lightning was so bright that I half-thought it would sear itself into my eyes. "You're huddled up too."

"Because it's freezing and you're warm."

"So are you! It's a Fjalar thing." But he was right about it being cold. Any colder, and I swore we'd have hail instead of rain, truthfully. "How are you doing?"

"Just told you it was cold."

"Not that." I hesitated and then shook my head. "No, never mind. We should focus." Though the other soldiers around us were also chatting. The Friege forces were moving slower than the scouts initially anticipated. "Blech, it's really coming down."

"You were talking about how my mother died." Arthur's voice was hollow and I winced. Now was not the time to have brought that up. It had been hard enough a few days ago when I originally told him what we had learned. "You know… out of all the ways I imagined Mother dying… that actually hadn't been one of them. Not sure why." He laughed bitterly. "They were so violent when taking them. So, I really don't know why it's so surprising."

"Guess you had hoped they had a decent enough life."

"Guess so." He sighed and leaned a little more into my side. I did the same, hoping that I could give him a bit of comfort. Along with warmth. It was seriously freezing. "I hope Tine is okay…"

"I think she is." I ducked my head to smile at him. "Think of how mad Hestia gets when a member of her 'pack' gets hurt, and remember that Conall has Hekate. The way he and Ishtar talked indicated they were both very fond of her. Same with Ishtore."

"So, hopefully, she didn't get beaten." He sighed, and I had to nod, acknowledging the point. She still would've had to have lived with the people who killed her mother. Maybe that was why Conall was so fond of her. "I'm being pessimistic. Maybe she doesn't know."

"You? Pessimistic? Perish the thought." I grinned, and snickered when he mimed a blow at my face. "Anyway… oh." I tensed, seeing shapes in the distance. Horses and soldiers, marching through the muddy valley below us. "They're here." I glanced around, catching everyone's eye and mimed for us to get down. The rain shielded us some, as did the hills and peaks where we hid, but it was better to be safe than sorry. "Let's see what they do."

Arthur took my hand as we watched the Friege forces slowly march along the road. I squeezed his hand reassuringly and tensed as we waited for them to get in the 'perfect position'. I didn't look forward to this, but if things became a fight, then we had an obligation to protect the soldiers who trusted us, who fought in our name. That was the charge of leadership, after all. Ultimately, you had to do what was best for your people, especially during a war.

"Soldiers of Friege, I wish to speak with you!" That didn't mean we wouldn't take every chance we could for diplomacy, though. Nothing in this world thrived alone, so thinking of only your people would only harm them in the end. "Please, might we come to an accord?" Seliph continued, his voice carrying on the fierce wind. He stood on one of the hills, with Hestia next to him, as well as 'most' of our forces. With the rain as it is, the enemy wouldn't notice who was missing. Particularly when Oifeye and Shanan were on one side, and Diarmuid and Iuchar were on the other. "For the sake of our soldiers, if nothing else? Fighting will only lead to deaths on both sides."

"Such naivety to expect your enemies to fall simply because you ask," a woman scoffed. I guessed she was the leader, and tried to see her in the rain. It was difficult to make out much, though. "War isn't a negotiation game, boy. And giving up the element of surprise is idiocy."

She threw a thunder spell right at Seliph, clearly expecting him to cower or something. Like he was a child. But Seliph simply raised his arm to block his face and took the spell straight on. As soon as the flash of light faded, it was easy to see it had been a strong spell. His sleeve was tattered and the skin beneath was burned and bleeding. I had no doubts that there was more hiding under his clothes, due to the water conducting the spell. But Seliph didn't show any sign of pain as he brought his arm back down. The wind ripped through the battlefield, nearly jerking his hair out of his ponytail, but he simply looked right at the enemy commander with a look of resigned dignity. No sorrow or rage. No confidence. Yet it made my heart ache...

"If that is your answer, then let us do battle," Seliph declared, voice barely loud enough to hear over the thunder and rain. The Friege forces shifted back slightly, unnerved. "I wish we could've met in better circumstances. But I cannot simply stand by and watch the Empire devour its people any longer. None of us can."

Seliph nudged Hestia, and she howled, loosing the only signal we knew everyone in the army would recognize. And so, my group, and the other across the road (led by Fee and Yuria) rose, spells already at the ready, each of us clutching our tomes (save Fee, who used her thunder sword for this instead). My hands trembled slightly at the lightning dancing at my fingertips. This was the first time I had ever used a tome to cast magic. And, thanks to Arthur's lessons, it was no mere thunder spell. It was an Elthunder spell, the one I had gotten from Aideen's care package, and it was my first time using it. Combined with the rain and storm, my pulse felt like a thousand horses stampeding through my chest, and I was a bit lightheaded. But Arthur wrapped his arm around my shoulder, steadying me, and so, I managed to loose the spell alongside the others. All of us targeting the same place, the 'puddle' (more like a pond, really) where our enemies stood.

There was a reason we had set up here. While Diarmuid and I had gone to Melgen to negotiate, the rest of the army had watched to see just where the most water pooled after streaming down and around the various hills of the land. And they discovered that it was here, a place more than large enough to hold an army, and with enough hills to hide many, many forces. The perfect place to set up a trap by utilizing one of the basic knowledges of the world: water conducted electricity. Standing in water when lightning hit was a good way to die. And the Friege soldiers remembered that in their final moments. Though, it wasn't as if that strike had killed all of the soldiers. Regardless of how conductive water was, magic was still magic. People had varying resistance to magic. So, some did survive, and not all of those survivors were writhing and spasming in pain.

"Archers!" But that was why Lester was up in the hills with us, and why behind us thunder-magic-users was every single bow user in the army. "Nock!" he ordered, his voice booming alongside the thunder of the storm. I gestured for my group to get down again, this time to make sure we weren't in the way. Friendly fire wasn't that friendly. "Draw!" Across the road, I saw Yuria and Fee had ordered the same, giving a clear view of the archers who were ready. "Loose!" And arrows arced surprisingly gracefully, especially given the wind, to thud into the Friege soldiers below. I listened for the 'thuds' or whatnot, but I only hears the splashing of bodies as they hit the ground. Hit the 'water', that really was more blood than anything by this point.

By the time the last arrow disappeared into the mud, not a single Friege soldier was standing. Not a single horse was standing either. Of course, none of that meant they were dead. Just that they couldn't stand. And so came the final part of this operation: climbing down to save who we could and mercy-kill who we couldn't. The battle was over, after all. There was no reason to withhold help.

Fee took to the air, to confirm that there weren't more on the way. Yuria, I knew, would head back to the infirmary where Lana was, to report how things went, though I did hope she'd stop by Seliph and tend to him on the way. The rest of us began our grim duty, pulling bodies out of the water so that they could be buried properly later. Killing those too far gone. Tending to those who might make it. I was glad that none of our army really balked at the idea of helping 'enemies'. I think many understood now why it was important to us, and seeing us do the work right beside them showed we truly believed it or something.

Of course, as Inanna had pointed out once, offering your hand sometimes meant you got 'bitten'. In my case, I went to check on a woman with maroon-colored hair (or maybe purple because it was hard to tell with the rain) and she immediately rolled and pinned me, her hands crackling with thunder magic as she tried to strangle me. I coughed and struggled, my vision filling with dots and black threads, but I managed to twist and kick her off of me. She hit the ground hard with a loud splash, but she managed to get on her knees with a tome in hand, ready to strike again. But she didn't get to cast it. Hestia, appearing from nowhere, tackled her instead, throwing her full weight on her, and crushed the arm with the tome with a sickening 'crunch'.

"Hey there, Hestia," I croaked, coughing. My throat stung, burning even, and I tipped my head back to drink a bit of the rain in an effort to soothe it. It only half-worked. "By me, Hestia. By me." I couldn't really yell, but the rasping was enough for her. Instead of tearing the arm off, as she normally would, Hestia immediately rushed back to me, abandoning the woman, and licked my cheek before nuzzling me. "Yeah, I'm okay. Thank you. We'll make sure you get a treat later." I hugged her, smiling a bit. "And a proper bath. You stink."

I stood up shakily, using Hestia as a bit of a crutch, and wobbled when my vision spun. But then things stabilized, so I stumbled over to the woman, who was curled up on her side, crying. I thought it might be pain, but I saw that she was actually staring at something. The very pretty ring she wore. An engagement ring…

"I'm going to roll you over," I told her, doing just that. She hissed in pain, and I didn't blame her. She had bone splinters sticking out from her arm, after all. "Yeah, sorry, wolves are good at biting. Let's see…" I dug through my pack, looking for something I could use as a tourniquet. I found a long strip of cloth, but no stick or anything. "Well, it'll do?" Not really, but it was the best I had for now. "Okay…" I looped it around her arm, above the injury, and began trying to tighten it.

"...I tried to kill you…" she whispered. She looked at me like I was something she couldn't believe existed or something. "Why are you trying to help me?"

"Because I can." Hestia, the sweetheart, found me a stick to use. I inserted it into the loop and used it as a lever to try and tighten the tourniquet faster. Tighter. Though, vaguely, I remembered something about 'dangers' of it being too tight, but... "And because I promised a young girl that I'm going to try and break the cycle of revenge. There's nothing 'evil' about you. You're just fighting for what you think is right. Same as me."

"...Ha…" She chuckled, and blood seeped out of the corner of her mouth. "You use tactics like that, and yet…"

"We have an obligation to keep as many of our people as alive as possible. But when the fighting is over, then why should be not try to save as many as we can?"

"Such foolishness…" Her eyes closed. "But that foolishness beat me, so maybe… maybe you all can do something…" She smiled, but tears slipped down her face too. "Or maybe it's not foolishness. I thought you were naive, because of the messages. Because of how you and that other boy drank the tea and didn't react."

"Diarmuid checked for poison, and I was the only one who actually sipped it." The stick was straining under the pressure, but it did look like I was stopping the bleeding. Maybe? She could also just be out of blood. "Were you the guard?"

"You did notice, then. You just pretended, because you knew to play into… and that we would..." She laughed softly, and more tears fell. "I'm so sorry, Ishtore… I…"

"Hey, don't talk like that." I froze when there was no response. "Hey…" I reached over and felt no breath from her face. I placed my fingers on her neck and felt no pulse. "Ah…" I sighed, and undid the tourniquet. Wasn't fast enough… though it was possible she had lost too much blood even before I'd made it over to her. "I'm sorry." Hestia whimpered, and I petted her. "No, no, Hestia. You did good." She licked my cheek and I laughed, realizing I misspoke. Hestia wouldn't care about the woman's death. Pack took priority. "I'm not mad." But she did recognize that I had tried to help the woman, and failed. "Come on. Let's see who else we can help." After all, when the battle was over, people were people. We needed to help who we could. At least, when we were dealing with people like this, who were fighting us because they didn't think we were a 'better alternative' or even a viable alternative. "Which way? You pick."

Hestia actually led me to Lester, who was trying to do the same thing I did, put a tourniquet on someone with a ruined limb. I used the makeshift tourniquet I held to take over, and he worked on tending to the soldier's other injuries. They were unconscious, but their face was young. I'd guess maybe fifteen or sixteen, truthfully. I had no idea what the 'minimum' age for Friege's army was.

"How are you doing?" I asked Lester once I got the tourniquet secured. I had no idea if this would even work or not. But we had to at least try. "Having fun?"

"What an amusing joke, that," Lester immediately replied. He tied off his bandage and rubbed at his eyes. I took what he had to better secure the tourniquet. "Ask me that again in a year or so."

"Got it." I leaned into him, the closest to a hug I could give with my hands occupied. He leaned back, doing the same. "I hate war."

"Only bit of sanity any of us have is that."

"Too true." I glanced down, accidentally reminding myself that we were kneeling in a pool of diluted blood. It was nauseating, really. "Far too true." Done with my work, I looked around and hailed a soldier to carry the wounded one to the infirmary. "On to the next one."

"On to the next…" He suddenly frowned, looking at me. "The hell happened to your neck?"

"I thought I'd-" Whatever sarcastic comment I had disappeared for a whimper when thunder boomed. "I hate storms."

"Work with me after we get you bandaged."

"Thank you."


We moved the camp forward, past the 'battlefield' (massacre, really, and gods, we all were keenly aware of it) and then stopped, opting to rest. Since the rain continued to fall, so hard that it was difficult to tell what time of day it was, I just set myself up under lots and lots of blankets in Seliph's tent. And I had been nice and cozy underneath the pillows, with Hestia, but Seliph insisted on extracting me for one big reason. He wanted to check my neck because he'd heard, from someone, that I'd been strangled with a thunder spell.

"It looks like you'll pick up a scar or two from it," Seliph whispered, gently running his fingers over my neck. I held still and tried to not squirm. This was reassuring him, not me reacting because he was tickling me. "I'm sorry."

"For what? You're not the one who choked me. And you better not because that is very not my thing," I replied, grinning at him. It was worth his blush. "Seriously, Seliph, I'm fine. How's your arm?"

"Just fine." He held up his bandaged arm as proof, and held still as I pushed back the sleeve of his night-shirt to see the bandages went all the way up his arm. "Naga's blessing gives me a resistance to magic. It might scar, but that's just because I was stupid and underestimated how far the magic would conduct."

"I see." I kissed his palm and then held his hand to my face, leaning into it. "How's Yuria doing? I didn't get to talk to her before she retired."

"More like you immediately hid from the evil thunder and lightning."

"Thunderbolts and lightning, very very frightening." I sulked and he snickered. "But still."

"She seemed fine to me. We'll see if that changes in the next couple of days. But she had been excited when I asked her to help."

"I'm sure." After all, I remembered that overheard conversation with Diarmuid. "Ah, so many conversations to be had when things settle a bit more."

"Like?"

"Secret." I still had to talk to Lana for Ulster, after all. "But also just… talking like we used to with each other. While doing chores."

"We should try and double-up when we do paperwork and whatnot." His free hand went back to my neck. "...I should've gone to you."

"And do what? It wasn't me freezing or anything. It was me helping someone." I made a face, remembering Inanna's terrified reaction when she'd seen the injury. I'd spent most of my treatment reassuring her that I was just fine. "Seliph, it's fine. I'm fine. Really. Lana wouldn't have let me out of the infirmary if not." Noticing him still looking sad, I decided to try and make him blush instead. "You want to kiss it to make it better?" I smiled teasingly, and had to bite back a yelp when he really did kiss my neck. "Ah…" Right on a sensitive spot too, damn it!

"You know… you made a comment back in Darna…" He spoke very softly, and I felt more than heard the words. He was definitely getting me back for the attempt at teasing. "About talking about cuddling?"

"Think we're both too tired for that sort of 'cuddling'." But I had to admit that I was tempted. Especially right now. "And, you know… tent. Sound. Rain would muffle, sure, but also, there's a Hestia." Who was under the covers apparently asleep.

"True." Still, he kissed me right under the jaw and I tried to not react. And failed miserably, based on his laugh. "Ah, you're right." He abruptly pulled back, leaving me fuming. He couldn't just…! "So-ACK!" So, I did what anyone in my position would do. Pin him to the blankets, while making sure to not jostle my wolf. "Mad?"

"There's a reason they call payback a 'bitch', mister." I smirked at him and he laughed. Which I quickly muffled with a kiss. "So, best way to get you back is…"

Flash of lightning, booming thunder, and I automatically screamed and cowered, curling up on Seliph's chest. Seliph held me, and what should have happened was perfectly normal storm stuff. Instead, I heard even more screaming outside. I blinked slowly and slowly looked at him, wondering if he heard what I did. He looked back, just as confused, but neither of us moved until Hestia bolted out the tent, howling in warning. Then we scrambled up to follow, right in time to see a giant lightning bolt, too large to be natural, hit the middle of the very chaotic camp.

"You know… I didn't think we were in range of a Bolting?" Seliph noted shakily. I could only whimper because here it was, one of my biggest non-death related nightmares. "Riona?"

"Getting everyone," I replied. I made sure to smile at him, and he looked at me sadly before kissing me. "I still intend to get payback, by the way."

"I look forward to it." He kissed me again, lingering a bit. "I love you."

"Love you too."

It was hard, making myself move. I knew I was shaking. But I forced myself anyway, first gathering up the children with Inanna's help before herding them towards the outside of the camp. Niamh met me there, mentioning a nearby church, and I ordered her to take the children and whoever else she could grab there. Even if it wasn't 'out of range', the church was at least more protection than a bunch of cloth tents, in the mud and rain. Once I saw them off, I went to grab others, to tell them where to go. And I kept an eye out for Hestia, but left her to what she was doing when I saw she was near Larcei, Patty, and Ulster, assisting people who had been caught under fallen tents.

"Riona!" Lana caught me by the hand as I passed and jerked me after her. "Sorry, but I need help in the infirmary," she explained, pulling me along. I stumbled a bit, mostly because the mud made footing difficult, but otherwise kept pace. "I sent the healthier ones off with the medicines and whatnot, but we need to get-"

"Lana, you don't need to explain," I pointed out, leaning down to kiss her hair. Both of us were soaked, because neither of us were wearing rain cloaks. No one was. No time. "Now, if you want to explain things, maybe talk to Ulster about you avoiding him?"

"I'm not… er…" Lana frowned and then sighed. "Later?"

"Of course. Not even the time to bring it up. Sorry, I'm a little rattled and-" I flinched at another crack of thunder. "Ugh… storms. Why did it have to be during a storm?!"

"Love you?"

"Love you too."

We got to the infirmary tent right as another Bolting struck near it. Thankfully, no one had been hit, but the force actually knocked over the support poles of the tent. Aunt Lachesis quickly held it up and I assisted her until Diarmuid took over. Then I helped Iuchar and Lester get the wounded up in saddles (if they could) or onto makeshift sleds for the horses to drag behind them. Fee helped out with her pegasus, working primarily with Yuria to ferry people to and from… wherever she was dropping them off. Of course, we all had a heart attack when, on her way back from one such trip, she got hit by a Bolting. Her pegasus managed to land instead of fall, but Fee tumbled out of the saddle, gasping in pain, and though a few of us ran towards her, another Bolting was heading right for her…!

"What a spoilt child…" Then, suddenly, Lewyn was there and the wind gusted around us. The spell itself was frozen in the air, held in place by the wind. "I hear your pain, but you go too far," he whispered. The words sounded strange, though. They almost… it was like with Mahnya. Like the wind rushing past your ear. "You chose to fight, and this is the consequence of that choice. You chose to defend the Empire which is sending Jugdral into the depths of hell, and you pay the price for not listening to your heart."

The wind surged forward, and it sent the spell with it. Back and back and back… as if it had been a simple beam of light bouncing off a mirror. Not a powerful thunder spell being carried backwards by the wind. In the distance, we heard a 'bang' as loud as thunder, timed perfectly with the storm itself. As if the bolting spell had hit Castle Melgen. Which… which had to be impossible, right? Right?

"Fee!" No time to wonder about probability. Yuria rushed right over to Fee to help her up, and I went to assist, steadying Fee while Yuria healed her. "Hey, are you okay?" Yuria asked desperately. Lewyn, meanwhile, ducked away without a word, using the chaos to hide. "Fee?"

"I'm… k…" Fee groaned. She coughed a bit and looked around. "I thought I saw…"

"Lewyn saved you, but he didn't stick around…" Yuria huffed. "I swear! I'm going to give him a sound scolding!"

"Do it where I can hear. It'll be funny." Fee leaned on me briefly before straightening. "Okay. I can keep going."

"Are you sure?" Yuria frowned worriedly, especially when Fee nodded. "Okay… tell me if things change?"

"Of course." Fee gave me a little hug and I kissed her cheek. "Ready for duty!"

I helped out a bit more before deciding to try and find Lewyn, to thank him for saving Fee and maybe scold him for not making sure she was okay. Depended on how much of a jackass he would be. However, it took a bit to find him, mostly because he had decided to duck under a little rock shelf to get out of the rain and undo his bandages and… uh… I could see bone. I could see bone. And not just that! The flesh of his arm was falling off!

"What the hell?!" I shrieked. He jerked his head up, as if I had startled for the first time since I'd met him. Of course, since his arm was rotting, I probably had! "What the hell did you do!?" I immediately, but as gently as I could, moved him so that he was a little more shielded from the rain. It was knocking skin off. "Okay, mister, if you've got some… some weird parasite or infection or something, you can't just hide that bullshit! We don't need this spreading around camp, and you don't need to deal with it!"

"That's not it," Lewyn replied. He tried to hide it, and bandage it up again, but I took the bandages from him to do it myself. "It's not communicable."

"Well, that's a relief. But seriously, we are going to Lana and Yuria and-"

"No." He brought his free hand up to grip my chin and make me look up at him. "Not a word to them. Not a word to anyone."

"Not even Fee?" I glared at him, ignoring how bits of his skin sloughed off like a snake's and fell on my foot. "Your arm is rotting in case you haven't noticed. Somehow." That was when I realized something, though. I could see bone. As in there was no muscle. He shouldn't have been able to move his arm! Certainly not so quickly! "What the hell is going on?"

"Later." He let go of my face. "Later. You don't have time. I bought some with that trick, but you will have retaliation. You must defeat Ishtore and quickly. The wind is heavy with his pain, and there's a chance that he will call a Final Strike. I hope not, but you can't trust that hope. The longer he has time to wallow in his misery..."

"Final Strike…" I had heard of it. Aideen had warned Seliph and me about it, since we had 'magical' Holy Blood. It was the last resort, a suicidal assault that used up every speck of magic both in the person and from the environment around. "That's…"

"You don't have time."

"I'm at least finishing this damn bandaging!" I focused back on it. "It's insulting how bad you are at it. But hey, maybe you have limited dexterity due to the rot on your arm." I was so, so out of my depth here. "This 'later' better not take forever because I doubt I can keep quiet on how weird this is for long. Not with my group. They're going to know something is wrong and it can't be blamed on the storm forever."

"I don't plan on it being long, but it might be after Leonster. Depends on how much breathing room we get."

"And Fee gets the explanation too."

"...Yes, she will." Lewyn sighed. "And Mahnya gets her way. She's going to be so smug."

"Good." Though as I bandaged him, I thought I saw a calculating look in his eyes and wondered if this 'explanation' was actually going to be a lie. But I couldn't call him out on it because he was right. There wasn't any time. "Almost done. Can you at least check on Fee personally? Please?"

"You and Yuria were there. Of course she's fine."

"...Thank you for the vote of confidence." Either that or he said the first thing he could think of that he knew I couldn't argue much against. "Oh, whatever. Stop moving. Seriously, the skin is falling off. Did you become part snake or something? Well, no, a snake typically sheds in one pieces and this is falling off in pieces, so that's more like a lizard. A giant overgrown lizard, that's what you've become." He choked on either a yelp or a laugh. I wasn't sure which. Maybe it was both. "Stop moving!"

What the hell did we get caught up in?!


By some miracle, which might've involved Lewyn throwing the Bolting spell back, we managed to get the camp evacuated with minimal injuries with the army and no deaths. After we all rested, though, it was time to go on the offensive, because even if the rain wasn't letting up, it was clear Ishtore wasn't going to let us rest or wait or whatever. What was the plan? Assassination. Sort of. Shanan had suggested going in alone, because of Balmung. Aunt Lachesis scolded him for thinking that, citing 'lone warriors get lonely deaths', apparently an idiom from Agustria or something. Oifeye suggested a strike force, and Patty had volunteered to assist because, surprisingly, she had actually stolen from Melgen Castle before, with Dew. A lesson in why castle stealing was so dangerous, but it also just felt like Ulir luck helping us out again. From there, Larcei and me were volunteered for some reason and, surprisingly, Arthur asked to come along as well. And so, our group snuck ahead of the others, with me leaving Hestia behind to help with playing 'bait'. Distraction. Whatever.

"You doing okay, Riona?" Shanan asked, keeping a supportive arm around me. We were nearing Melgen, but the thunder was loud and the lightning was fierce, so I kept whimpering and covering my ears. "Easy…"

"This is so pathetic…" I whined, ducking my head. Arthur and Patty were in front, completely focused, but Larcei kept glancing back at me worriedly. "We're on a job… a mission…"

"Mission hasn't started yet." Shanan hugged me a little tighter. "Wonder why Seliph volunteered you, though."

"Probably to keep me from hiding under the bed." Truth be told, both Larcei and I wondered why we had been ordered to come along. There hadn't really been time to argue, but it was still very weird. "Or keep me from distracting myself with the cute kittens or-" I bit back a yelp at a particularly loud crack of thunder. "Ugh…"

"Let's see… ah, here." Shanan produced a bit of candy from his pocket and handed it over to me. Candied orange peel… citrus… my favorite. "I know you're older, but sweet things make things better no matter how old you get."

"True." And it did remind me of how, when we were younger, Shanan would give us sweets to help make us feel better. "When we get a proper kitchen, can you make warm milk with honey?"

"Been a bit since I made that for you lot, huh?" He smiled. "Of course."

"And maybe teach us how you make it? Yours always tastes different."

"Hmm? Oh, that's because I use the recipe Aunt Ayra taught me." Now his smile became sheepish. "Didn't mean to keep that a secret or anything. I'll make sure to show you."

"Yay!" And my good mood lasted all of a second before the lightning and thunder scared me again. "Going to be so glad when this storm is over!"

"Well, you've got a bit more energy in you now." He hugged me a little tighter, to reassure me, and nodded to Larcei, who kept glancing back. "Everything okay?"

"I'm allowed to worry about her too, you know," Larcei commented grouchily, grumbling a bit more under her breath. Shanan nodded, acknowledging the point. "Ah, whatever, looks like we're at Melgen." We were. In fact, we were right on the outer walls of the city. "Patty, we got the entrance?"

"Yeah, we do, but…" Patty began. She sighed and pointed to where a tree had fallen by the walls. "That is covering my 'ladder' inside. I told Seliph that I'd use that to open the door."

"...Does it require lockpicking?"

"Nope. Just opens from the inside." Patty frowned when Arthur started snickering, and Larcei and I looked at each other, finally understanding why Seliph sent us along. Shanan pinched the bridge of his nose, getting it a second later. "Uh… am I missing something?"

"Just no telling Oifeye because he'll get mad." Larcei climbed over the fallen tree, and I hugged Shanan before doing the same. "Okay, climbing a stone wall in the rain. Let's go!"

Larcei and I scaled the wall relatively easily, going slower than normal because rain, and then walked along the top so that Patty could direct us to where the door was. From there, we got it open and we snuck inside Melgen. Thanks to the rain, no one was really out, letting us skirt along the wall and up to the castle with ease. When we were there, though, Arthur suddenly jerked his head up and when we looked up too, we saw a shadow on the roof, followed by a Bolting streaking from that shadow. Ishtore. He was on the roof. Of course he'd be on the roof. He had a freaking Bolting. And it was still… fucking… raining…!

And that wasn't our only issue. By now, we were on the castle grounds, and that meant soldiers. As a large number of them approached, Shanan drew Balmung and used its special ability to temporarily disappear, only to reappear in the middle of the group, in a flash of blood. Patty and Arthur quickly darted inside, no doubt to do the smart thing and find a ladder or something up. Me, though…

"You're thinking what I think you're thinking, aren't you?" Larcei noted dryly, studying the outer wall of the castle with me. I thought I saw a black splotch on it, but hoped it was just my imagination. "I think we can…" She trailed off and glanced at Shanan, who was clearing through the enemies with ease. "...If you don't mind, I think I'm going to make sure Shanan doesn't get a knife to the back? He doesn't wear armor and all…" She made a face. "Oh, ugh, that sounds like-"

"I know you're not," I replied, mostly to make sure she didn't accidentally confess before she was ready. Shanan had good hearing, and the rain didn't muffle everything. "If you prioritize the archers, then I should be fine. From there, I just have to wait until Arthur and Patty catch up."

"I'll handle that, then." She kissed my cheek and rested her forehead against mine. "Hey, next breather we get, we are so having a gossip session. I need it."

"I do too."

"And will you be okay climbing? With the storm?"

"...I'll make myself be fine. By imagining Oifeye's reaction to all of this to keep me amused." I grinned and she laughed. "Okay, be careful."

"You too."

Climbing a stone building in the rain, for the record, ranks pretty high on the 'stupidest things to ever do' list, but in my defense, I wasn't in my best frame of mind because of the storm and I never, ever, ever claimed to be sane. Besides, I managed it. Slowly. And carefully. And whispering many of Oifeye's lectures about the dangers of climbing up so high, while imagining his expressions. And guessing Aunt Lachesis's reactions if she saw. Things that sort of distracted me, but really just kept me focused on my goal (climbing) and not that I was getting 'closer' to the giant storm with thunder and lightning. I hated storms. I really, really, really hated storms and the next time we had to battle in a storm, I was refusing and hiding, damn anyone who said otherwise! (No, I wouldn't. I'd do my job. But it was fun to imagine, at least.)

When I made it to the roof, I had to catch my breath and desperately try to not vomit over the side. Which would've been the perfect time to have attacked me, really, but since I had climbed to the roof, I was nowhere near 'expected places' and bought myself that little bit of breathing room. That and Ishtore seemed very focused on his Bolting casting. I wondered if he hit anything. I wondered if he cared.

"Hello again, Ishtore," I called softly. He whirled to face me, his eyes bloodshot and his face blotchy. He'd been crying. Or maybe he was crying. It was hard to tell. "...I wish I knew what to say, but I'm certain no words of mine can reach you." I drew my sword. Dad's silver blade. I left my fire sword back with the supplies, because I knew thunder magic trumped fire magic. And it was raining. Fire and rain typically didn't mix well. And I didn't trust myself to cast magic in this state of mind. Didn't even bring a tome. "However, if you are willing to-" Aaaaand he shot a Thoron spell right at me, tossing his Bolting to the side to do so. I had to roll out of the way, splashing. Water was pooling on the roof. Not good... "Okay. Negotiations terminated. Got it."

He just threw another spell at me. I dodged again, first making my way around the various puddles to the Bolting to 'conveniently' kick it off the side. Then I tried to get close, but it was hard. Thoron was a powerful spell anyway, and with the rain and water, its range and might had increased. So, I had to be very careful about where I dodged, and I had to dodge faster and farther than I normally would. So, it was almost like a puzzle, really. How to get closer, while still dodging. How to get into his guard, and not die. But, in my favor, he was… he was grieving. He was in pain. I thought of the woman who I couldn't save, the one with an engagement ring who had said his name, and knew just why he wasn't at his best. And because he wasn't at his best, I was able to finally get in close and catch him across the face.

He screamed. In pain. In fury. I almost winced, but I held firm. Because I couldn't falter. I just couldn't. Even if this hurt people I knew, it was no different than what I had inflicted on others. The only difference would be that I knew, personally, the people who would be hurt. So, I couldn't falter. It wouldn't be fair. It wouldn't be fair to the people I hurt. If I could find another way, I would, but if this became the only path I knew… then I couldn't hide. Even when he glared at me, blood and tears and rain only twisting his expression further into grief, I wouldn't hide.

He tried to throw another spell at me, but a blast of wind magic stopped it before he could. I glanced to the side and saw Patty and Arthur had arrived at last. Along with some soldiers, who must've been chasing them. But while Patty turned her attention to the soldiers, trembling but determined, Arthur looked at me, his expression almost neutral. Save for his eyes. His eyes held a request, one I could read easily. 'Let me fight him.' And so, I turned away from Ishtore to assist Patty, while Arthur threw another wind spell at Ishtore to begin their duel.

"Hey, how did you get up here before us?" Patty asked. She whimpered when the soldiers tried to come forward, but I blocked the blow and she used her Wind Sword to send them flying. Literally. Right off the roof. "Oh… that's going to make me sick later. I'm a thief."

"If you want more combat training, there's bunches of us who use swords," I reminded her. Battle-fever flooded me, and it helped make me strangely calm. Not calm enough to invoke Luna, but calm enough to focus on the fight. "As for getting up here? I climbed."

"You… you climbed?" She slashed at a soldier, and I took advantage of their surprise to take their head. "Climbed what? Stairs? A ladder?"

"The wall."

"You climbed the outside of the castle?!" Her surprise startled me, but then I remembered that she hadn't actually seen me do that before, unlike most everyone else. Sure, she saw me climb the side of a house, but there was a big difference there. "In the rain!?"

"I'm very skillful. I'm divinely blessed with skill. But I also highly don't recommend doing that. Ever." I blocked another strike, and twisted to knock them off-balance. I then stomped on their throat and… attempted to set another person's clothes on fire. Sadly, they were a bit too damp. If I used Luna, I might have had more luck, but it was a damn miracle I was as calm as I was. "Here, I'll handle the bulk of the fighting. You take openings where you can, okay?"

"Oh, trust me, I am!"

Thankfully, there weren't actually a lot of soldiers. No doubt the majority was either dealing with our main forces or with Shanan and Larcei. So, before long, Patty and I had dealt with them all, and turned to see if, and how, we could help Arthur. I felt my heart stop when I saw Arthur took the full force of a Thoron spell head on, and I made to rush over when I saw him spit out blood. But before I could take even two steps, I saw Arthur raise his head and his eyes glowed. Thunder crackled down his arms, sparking between his palms, and as he slowly straightened, the magic wrapped around his entire form, arcing across the various puddles.

Ishtore attacked again, far too quickly. But Arthur raised his hands and actually caught the spell, the force rupturing blood vessels up and down his arms. But Arthur didn't care. With a yell, he 'ripped' the Thoron apart and seized the various 'shards'. Each one pulsed with even more power, Arthur pouring his magic into the magic he had seized, and then he threw the magic right back at Ishtore. Ishtore gasped and dropped his tome, bringing up his hands to try and seize the magic. But he couldn't. He couldn't, because Arthur was stronger. The Fjalar blood Arthur had inherited… it meant very few could match him in magic. So, the spell hit Ishtore full force, and soon, a new puddle formed. A bloody one, right under Ishtore after he hit the roof and didn't move.

It wasn't total silence. The rain still fell. The thunder still boomed. But it was as close to silence as it could get. It was only broken when Arthur limped over to Ishtore, one shaking and splashing step at a time, and half-collapsed next to him. To my surprise, he then pulled Ishtore towards him, resting his head in his lap. Ishtore groaned and coughed before slowly opening his eyes and blinking owlishly at Arthur.

"Who… are you?" Ishtore asked after a moment of staring. "You seized the magic… and you've got the hair…" He shakily reached up to grasp the strands of Arthur's hair that fell over his shoulder. "So, who are you? I thought I knew everyone in the family."

"Arthur. My name is Arthur," Arthur replied, voice surprisingly gentle. "I'm Tine's older brother. I didn't get kidnapped like her and Mother because Father hid me before the soldiers caught up to us." He smoothed the hair out of Ishtore's face, and smeared blood across it. "You know… I thought I'd be happier killing one of you all. Your soldiers butchered my father right in front of me. Kidnapped my family. But maybe it's because you said you loved Tine. Makes me sad. Haven't seen her in thirteen years, and our meeting is going to start off with 'hey, I killed the cousin you liked'."

"Tell her I was mad. Tell her I was unreasonable. Afraid. It's all true." Ishtore coughed. Patty and I held each other, not wanting to risk leaving, just in case, but also not wanting to interrupt this. "I should've just helped you all. I've questioned so much. But I was afraid to gamble."

"Wish you did." Arthur smiled sardonically. "I think I might've grown to like you."

"I think the same about you."

"Really?" Arthur now raised an eyebrow, perfectly skeptical. "Why?"

"Because you're fighting to protect the people. Fighting to save them. So, I know that you have a good heart, and that's important…" Ishtore coughed some more. No blood, but I did hear a 'whistling' sound. Lung hit? "Hey… if you can… keep Tine and Ishtar safe? Please?"

"...Yeah. I will. I promise, cousin."

"Good…" Ishtore's eyes closed, and he smiled. "Ah… Liza… you waited for… me…?" He reached out to something I couldn't see. "Thank you… love…" His hand fell, landing on the roof with a soft 'splash'. And the rain continued falling, on and on and on.

"Arthur?" I eventually called, my own voice soft. He looked up at me, and said nothing. "Want me to carry you?"

"...Yeah," he rasped. He moved Ishtore off his lap and struggled to stand. I rushed over to help him, hugging him tightly. He leaned heavily against me. "I hurt. I'm tired."

"You can nap on my back. I'm told that I'm quite comfortable." I glanced at Patty, a bit worried suddenly, and she pointed to the trapdoor. With a ladder. Well, this would be fun. "Come on. I've got you, Arthur."

Patty helped me carry Arthur down the ladder and get Arthur settled on my back. From there, she led the way through the castle, and Arthur rested his head on my shoulder, dozing already. He mumbled an apology about the blood, but I simply hummed some songs to 'dismiss' the apology, and Patty sang a few she knew as well, brightening the all too quiet air inside the dark and gloomy castle. She kept on singing even as we stepped outside and saw Shanan and Larcei bandaging each other up in the safety of a nearby gazebo, the paths littered with the bodies of all the soldiers they had killed.

Well, we had Melgen. Yay. Wish I could be happier about it.


The day after we took Melgen, the day we 'properly' moved in, it finally stopped raining. It was actually startling to see perfectly clear skies after so many days of rain. The people of Melgen welcomed us with smiles, though they admitted to being sad over the deaths. Ishtore might've been a symbol of the Empire, but he had done his best by them, and actively protected Melgen from the Child Hunts. As such, they made a simple request; they wanted the dead buried, properly, among their own. Since we had planned on burying them anyway, we agreed with a smile. Even sent people to get the soldiers we killed in our trap so that they could all be buried together.

Still, it had taken forever to confirm that the woman was Liza, Ishtore's fiance, mostly because the Friege soldiers had thought I was asking so that I could display her body or something else disgusting. If not for Anat yelling at them about how 'this army is not like that', I wasn't sure I ever would've gotten an answer out of them. I should've just asked the townspeople, but… it had felt 'better' to get it confirmed by people from Friege. And… well, whatever. I supposed it didn't matter. The point was that I had gotten it confirmed, so I was able to bury her next to Ishtore. Only thing I could do for either of them, and it felt empty, but...

"Based on how you described his last moments, I'm truly reminded of Iucharba," Iuchar noted absently. He was helping me bury Ishtore and Liza. Though others had offered to do it in my stead, I felt I needed to. For Conall and for Ishtar. And for Tine. "He blustered and he talked about killing people with hope, but the more I think back on it, the more I think he was scared. Scared and all too aware of what might happen should this army lose, should we all fail."

"I imagine there are many who are afraid, and their anxiety causes them to freeze," I whispered. My arms, shoulders, and back all ached horribly. I half-wished Hestia was with me so that she could take over, but she was helping with physical therapy. Seriously thought we should get more animals for that purpose. It seemed to work out well. Ish. "We are a bunch of fools who have decided to fight back because we couldn't stand to see people hurt any longer. The only difference between us and others who have risen is that we have names and titles that people flock to."

"And the ability to keep them together. That's always important."

"That too. By some miracle." Though, I was sure it had more to do to those titles. Still, we did do our best by our people. I hoped that helped. It seemed to, especially after we took steps to make ourselves more accessible. "Did you know much about them?"

"Liza? Just that she was a general of Friege, and a skilled tactician. Her main downfall was assuming that you all were straightforward and 'above' traps." Iuchar shrugged and shifted his footing to make shoveling easier. "As for Ishtore… not much about him either. He rarely left the Thracian peninsula, apparently for health reasons. Quieter than his sister, Ishtar. But many rumors painted him as a much happier person, especially in recent years."

"I see." I closed my eyes, and thought of Liza's last words. Of Ishtore's last words. "I hope, in another life, these two can find each other again, and have their happy ending."

"I hope so too." Iuchar smiled bitterly. I knew he was thinking of his little brother, and I wondered if he hoped that, in another life, he and Iucharba would be brothers again. "I hope so too."

We silently finished burying Ishtore and Liza, and Iuchar said some Grannvelian prayers for them while I set up the marker and tied ribbons onto it. Later, we'd light incense for them as well, as was custom to Grannvale, but for now, it was just the ribbons. Fee would likely set up lanterns, because that was Silesse's custom, and I had little doubts that the people of Melgen would pay their respects as well. But all that was for 'later'. For 'now', there was still work to be done, so I walked Iuchar to his next job and attempted to go assist in the infirmary. But Yuria caught me and asked if I'd look for Arthur, since no one seemed to know where he was. I wandered through the town for a while, wondering just where he would be, before I realized the obvious and made my way to the roof. By the conventional ladder. Funny as it would've been to make Oifeye squawk, it didn't feel right today.

"Seems I was right," I noted as I climbed out from the trapdoor and found Arthur on the roof. He was heavily bandaged from his fight with Ishtore, but otherwise, he seemed fine when he glanced over at me. "Yuria was worried about you."

"I'll reassure her later," he replied, looking back over the town. It was busy thanks to our army, and the townspeople who welcomed us gladly. "I was feeling overwhelmed by all the people."

"I can understand that." I walked to his side and brushed the hair out of his face to study him. He looked pale, and exhausted. "You didn't sleep, did you? How are you doing?"

"I don't know." Arthur looked up at the clouds, watching them pass. "Ishtore… he thought I was doing this for the 'greater good'. What an idiotic phrase, really. Isn't someone doing things for the 'greater good' what got us in this mess?"

"I think it's more of the inability to realize they might not know best, but I can see why you'd think that. I'm sure others do as well."

"Well, regardless, he… he really thought that. But that's not why I…" He fell silent, gathering his thoughts. I waited for him. "I only joined to pay back Fee. To help you all out while I traveled, since you were making it safer for me to reach Alster. To find Tine. I'm only here for selfish reasons."

"Nothing wrong with that."

"Logically, I know that. And yet…" He growled in frustration, running a hand through his hair and tugging on it. "Argh… I didn't even know he existed until a few weeks ago! Why are his words bothering me!?"

"Maybe because you've been having such doubts anyway?" I smiled brightly at him and he scowled. "I imagine the people in Leonster thought similar things."

"...Mmrgh…" That was a very interesting sound there. "Blech. I like not being held to expectations. But you all have dealt with that your whole lives, huh?" He chuckled, shaking his head. "No wonder you're all absolutely insane."

"Oh, there are many reasons for that one." I giggled and he rolled his eyes. "I'm sure you'll learn more over the next few weeks."

"We'll see." He looked up and smiled slightly. "Oh, hey, that's…"

"Arthur, you sick or something?" Fee suddenly landed on the roof and hopped off Annand to join us, resting her hand on Arthur's forehead. I hadn't even noticed her approach. "Mmm… bit clammy maybe…" she murmured. Arthur batted her hand away. "But seriously, you're looking too serious. Could tell that even from above. Don't do things you're not used to."

"Hey!" Arthur snapped, glowering. I had to laugh, though. "Give me a break! I'm recovering!"

"Yeah, I know. That's why I came to find you. I was worried and I couldn't find you. So, I went up in the air to look." She shrugged, and Arthur softened slightly. I looked between the wo curiously, noticing a nice little air between them. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Uh…" Arthur glanced at me, and I grinned, waving him on. I wasn't insulted or anything. I just wanted him to do what he wanted, and needed, to do. "Actually, do you mind taking me for a ride? I think I need the wind on my face."

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, sure!" Fee beamed, bouncing a little. I knew it was because she was glad she could do something. She and Yuria were a lot alike, sometimes. "Climb on!"

I had to help Arthur due to his injuries, but once he was on, and Fee gave me a hug, the two were off into the skies. I watched them with a smile, watching the feathers trail off Annand's wings. Then I turned my attention to the horizons. North for Darna. East for Alster. No doubt our next two locations for battle, and places we would have to deal with before we finally made it to Leonster. But we were a step closer. Just a step closer…

"Riona?" Oifeye climbed out of the trapdoor and walked over to me. "There you are," he murmured, hugging me. He must've been trying to check on me, and then panicked a bit when I wasn't around. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine, Oifeye," I replied, smiling reassuringly. The wind blew, tugging at my hair and skirt, and I looked out over the town. "I mean… I'm sad things ended up like this. I think Ishtore was a good person who was just frozen with indecision. And I know that his death will hurt Conall and Ishtar. So, I'm sad." I looked back to him, and saw him smiling softly at me. "But I won't let it shake me. I won't let it shake any of us. We all walk this path together, and if we failed to convince him, then we just need to figure out a better argument for the next one."

"True." He ruffled my hair and nudged me to the ladder. "But that's for the far future. In the present, I think Hestia is pulling pranks because she misses you."

"Yikes, definitely need to deal with that!" And when that was done, if no one needed me, I'd go see if I could find flowers for the graves. It was the least I could do, after all. "Show me the way to my little brat of a wolf!"

Oifeye walked with me as we hunted for Hestia, and while we did, I looked around, gauging reactions and the mood of our army. Most seemed happy, but tired, which was understandable. More than understandable, even. However, just as I told Oifeye, we would keep moving. We wouldn't falter. So that, one day, I could actually answer the questions Ishtore had, the questions that had immobilized him with fear. And maybe, just maybe, I could ease the worries of the next person who asked me them, and they would join us instead of fighting.


Oifeye

Class: Paladin; Skills: Pursuit, Critical

Cousin to Sigurd and Ethlyn, who lost his parents when he was small. Sigurd, however, took him in and raised him, serving as simultaneously a 'father' and a 'brother' to him. He was absolutely devastated to hear of the Massacre, but his promise to Sigurd and the others kept him going, as did the children he raised.

Has the Holy Mark of Baldr on his right wrist, a set of interlocking squares that almost resemble a shield. Its blessings gives him a boost to his stamina and ability to endure pain, as well as boosts to his strength, skill, and luck. His sight is quite keen due to these blessings, and he frequently surprises people with the amount he can carry.

A fierce warrior, trained personally by Sigurd and his knights, training that he managed to keep up even after the Belhalla Massacre. He has devoted most of his life to protecting the children, and it shows both in his skill… and the amount of stress his body has endured over the years. Though he does his best to hide it, he is starting to feel aches in his joints and the like from the wear and tear of battle

Most comfortable in a supporting role, such as tactician or advisor. Or 'father', which is a role he has enjoyed a great deal, to his surprise. But this comfort is why he served as Sigurd's tactician, even after coming of age, and why he works so hard handling the paperwork and the like for the army. It's just soothing to him, especially since it helps him remember some fond memories from Sigurd's army, memories he had thought he had lost to the years


Author's Notes: Ha… well, certainly went on a tangent with this one, huh? Now, in-game, you're really going to want to go after Ishtore with like… Shanan or something because he hits hard with that Thoron and that Bolting. But I thought it more… fitting, I suppose, if Arthur and him dueled, so that's why I went with that. For clarification, Arthur activated Wrath, meaning he got an auto-crit on Isthore.

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