Part Five

There was a chilling silence within the group as they followed Cius back to Sol-Falena's docks. Bearyl was practically stomping with each step, and breathing heavily through his nostrils. Daunte held onto his souvenir for Arin, and remained silent.

While Queen Lymsleia made some valid points, were they really considering an alliance with us or did they have no intention of forging an alliance? It seems odd they invited us all this way just to reject us. There must be something else going on…

"Here we are," Cius said, leading them to their boat. Daunte noticed that many of Sol-Falena's guards were glowering at them but Cius remained pleasant. He wondered if the man had heard all the insulting things Bearyl had said to the Queen, or if he was simply being polite for appearance sake. "As promised we are returning your weapons."

Two guards stepped forward with their weapons and Daunte happily slid his tekko on. Cius was about to speak again when a shout interrupted him. "Please, wait a moment!"

Daunte's mood brightened considerably at this voice and he turned to see Surya and Mokuren racing towards them. "Hey, Prince!" Gunther called out, laughing a little as he waved. "You look so professional in uniform!"

"That's because I am professional," Surya said, but there was no bite to his tone. He held onto his smile as he approached Daunte. "I had heard you guys were about to leave. Do you really want to go so quickly? We can hold you guys up at the inn free of ch—"

"We appreciate the offer Your Highness, but we really must decline," Caesar told him.

Surya looked disappointed but nodded. "Then I'm glad I got here when I did. Daunte." He reached into an inner pocket and produced four envelopes. "I wrote you guys some letters. Please make sure everyone gets theirs."

Daunte accepted the four letters, seeing each labeled 'Daunte', 'Roen', 'Felicity', and 'Arin'. He nodded eagerly. "I will, thanks."

"And here," Surya said, gesturing to Mokuren. The young lady stepped forward and Daunte noticed that she was holding an old worn book with a blue cover. "Arin's penmanship has gotten better, but I thought that he could use an extra reading material. We would like for you to have this book. It's about the Falenan Civil War, but I hope you still find enjoyment from it."

"Thank you, I will." Daunte accepted the book. He opened it to a random page and placed the letters inside. This way I know they won't get wet or damaged.

"Well," Surya said, looking at the others. "No matter what our Parliament decided, I wish you all the best of luck."

"Thank you, Your Highness," Caesar said, bowing slightly. Bearyl said nothing, the rage still visible in his expression and body language as he climbed into the boat.

Daunte was disappointed he wouldn't be able to spend more time with his friend, but he shook Surya's hand. "It was nice seeing you."

"Likewise."

"My Lord, I hope you realize why they rejected our alliance."

The escort back to the Hersheville Base and then to Falena's coastline had been in total silence. Daunte welcomed the silence, even though the tension was thick in the air and he knew it was only a matter of time before there was a blowup.

The minute the Hersheville ships left them alone, Gunther leveled Bearyl with a simple statement.

"Really?" Bearyl asked darkly. "Please express your opinion then, Gunther, as to why they rejected our alliance."

"Isn't it obvious?!" Gunther snapped, not bothering to show respect towards his leader. "You made a spectacle of us! You propped yourself out there as being the sole savior of the Falenan royals—not at all considering the fact that maybe Prince Surya would tell his aunt about the numerous times you refused to help him! Particularly when you chose to invade a Garrison instead of saving the future Queen! Then you humiliate Daunte—" Gunther gestured to Daunte. "—by putting him on the spot where he felt compelled to relay a personal tragedy to complete strangers, without any regard for how he might feel for this! The only thing you managed to demonstrate to the Falenans was that you have an ego, and that the feelings of the men who serve under you are inconsequential to your ambition!"

"The only thing demonstrated with this assembly," Bearyl retorted. "Is that our historians were right all along about the Queendom of Falena. They are a rat's nest of heathens, who breed demonic abominations like Dragon Horse's, and they will use people in vulnerable positions to get what they want and then discard them when they have no more use for them! I did far more for the kidnapped royals than their own Queen did, and this is the thanks I get?!"

"But you didn't do anything, Lord Bearyl!" Gunther shouted with frustration. "All you did was open the headquarters to the royals—but even then you treated them like they were freeloaders! You refused to give direct aid to Prince Surya when he asked for it, you refused to give aid to the Crowned Princess when there was a perfect opportunity to do so, and yet despite all of this you still tried to claim credit for everything?! And you sit there and act indignant that Queen Lymsleia refused you?!"

Bearyl abruptly stood up and went toe-to-toe with Gunther. "What exactly are you implying, Gunther?"

"I don't think Falena rejected an alliance with us for selfish reasons. They clearly rejected an alliance because of you!"

"Seize him!" Bearyl snapped at Varnaz. Their boat came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the Feitas and Varnaz roughly grabbed Gunther. "Lieutenant Gunther, I place you under arrest for insubordination!"

"I-Insubordination?!" Gunther sputtered. "All I did was speak my mind!"

"Nobody speaks to me like that without punishment!"

"Oh, so you're oppressing my right of speech sir?! How is that any different than what the Theocracy is doing?!"

"Be silent and sit down, soldier!"

Daunte looked back and forth between the two, not knowing what to do. Luckily he didn't have to do anything.

"My Lord." Caesar had stood up and was looking at Bearyl. "Lord Bearyl, rescind your order this instant."

"W-What?" Bearyl demanded incredulously.

"Rescind your order." Caesar's voice was calm and low, but the tranquil fury emulating from his tone was far too noticeable. "We have too much at stake for you to be arresting one of our lieutenants for running his mouth. It would be one thing if he did this in front of our soldiers, but it's entirely another matter when he does this in private and gives you constructive criticism."

"I need people who are loyal to me," Bearyl sneered, glaring at his strategist. "Who are loyal to my cause! If my own lieutenant cannot show loyalty to me, no one else will!"

"My Lord, we are losing this war." Caesar's tone was still calm but the fury was gradually building and building in his voice. "We are losing because we have done nothing to inspire the people of Nagarea into believing in us. They instead have dismissed us as being heathens and terrorists, and have outright resisted our attempts to liberate them! But most of all we are losing this war because we are losing allies and we have not successfully forged other alliances! And yes, part of why we aren't succeeding is because of you!"

"You—"

"Your stupid pride and narrow-mindedness has cost us dearly," Caesar cut him off. "If you ever expect to come even close to winning this war, you need to swallow your pride, accept criticism, and humble yourself to your allies and your subordinates when they try to help you! Do you understand me, sir?"

Bearyl got toe-to-toe with Caesar, glaring straight into his strategist's face. But the younger man was unflinching and returned his glare steadily. For a long moment nothing was said, and the other three watched the two most important members of the Liberation Army have their standoff.

After a very long minute, Bearyl turned away from Caesar. "Varnaz, release Gunther. Let's get out of here."

Varnaz released Gunther and shoved him into his seat. Bearyl slammed down into his seat as Varnaz cast a spell from his Flowing Rune and the boat started moving again.

Daunte looked at the other four men in the boat and then looked down at his own lap. Realization slowly dawned on him and it made his stomach clench in discomfort.

This Army is doomed.

They left Falena and sailed along the coastline back towards Nagarea. It was deep in the night by the time they finally spotted the Northern Wharf. No one said a word for the duration of the journey.

Two Liberation Army soldiers were waiting for them on the beach, and raced out to help them pull the boat onto the beach. "Welcome back, sirs! How was the assembly?"

Bearyl jumped out of the boat and stormed up the beach, not saying a word. The rest helped the soldiers pull the boat further up the beach. Once that was finished, the group stayed briefly to stretch their limbs. There was a half-moon in the sky, and Daunte pulled out the old book. Now that they were out of the water he took the four letters out of the book and examined them in the moonlight. I'm surprised Surya was able to write four letters so quickly, but I can't wait to deliver these. And he wrote me a letter too. I wonder why?

Daunte noticed something out of the corner of his right eye and looked out towards the ocean's horizon. He saw nothing but darkness over the water, but—it was strange. In the darkness he saw a yellow light glow briefly before it disappeared. He blinked in confusion. What was that?

"Hey."

Daunte jumped at this voice and turned. He hadn't noticed Bearyl returning but his leader was now standing in front of him and glaring. "Y-Yes, my Lord?"

"Those letters that Prince Surya gave you. Hand them over to me this instant."

"W-What?" Daunte asked, and flinched slightly when Bearyl's glare darkened. "My Lord, these are just personal letters!"

"You received a series of letters from a foreign prince. You will hand them over to me for me to examine. You will get them back afterwards. This is for the safety of the Army."

Daunte didn't understand the logic of that, but he knew Bearyl was already in a bad enough mood as it was. He knew he could either hand over the letters or refuse him again. It was a tough decision, but…

"Sir, these letters aren't just mine," Daunte insisted. "Surya wrote them to my friends, too! Please, you have nothing to worry about! Surya is our friend and these are just friendly letters!"

"That's not for you to decide." Bearyl reached out and grabbed the letters in both hands. "This is an order. Hand them over to me now."

"Sir, they're personal letters!" Daunte refused to let go of the letters. Bearyl tugged one way and Daunte tugged the other way. Bearyl wrapped both of his hands around the envelopes, and Daunte felt his grip slipping. Then—

RIIIIIIIIP!

Daunte flew backwards and landed hard on his backside. He felt the letters in his hands, but they were much smaller. He looked down and saw just tattered remains. He looked up and saw torn pieces of the letters on the sand. Bearyl looked surprised for a moment before unceremoniously dropping the pieces he held onto the sand.

Daunte snarled, and jumped to his feet. Before he could stop himself his anger took the better of him and he shoved Bearyl hard in his sternum, causing the older man to tumble backwards into the sand. He was still seething when Bearyl shouted, "Seize him!"

Daunte was grabbed from behind by the two Liberation Army soldiers, and Bearyl scrambled to his feet. "You're under arrest for assault and insubordination!"

The anger dissipated quickly within Daunte as he realized what he did. I-I just attacked the leader of the Liberation Army!

"I've had enough of your childish antics," Bearyl snapped at him, brusquely brushing out his clothes. "Varnaz, ensure this boy gets the treatment he deserves when we return."

"Yes, sir," Varnaz responded.

Daunte looked over at Caesar and Gunther but saw that neither one were stepping forward to do or say anything. Caesar even opened his hands as though to silently say that there was nothing he could do.

"Let's get out of here and deal with this back at headquarters!" Bearyl barked. Daunte was dragged up the beach by the soldiers, and he didn't fight them. Gunther brought up the rear, his expression stony.

But Caesar lingered on the beach. Daunte saw the Army strategist collecting the discarded remains of his ruined letters before he pulled down the hill and the Wharf disappeared from sight.

Lord Lorik Varra rubbed a hand over his face as he regarded the man before him. "…You are certain?"

"I am most certain, my Lord," the soldier said. "Sheikh Sloan Faakhir has gathered his forces and is advancing here as we speak."

"How much time do we have before he arrives here?"

"Based upon their movements, they will arrive here in about three days."

Lorik slowly nodded. "Thank you for the information. We'll need more reinforcements on the walls, so send the word out to collects as many arrows as possible. We'll also need to run another evacuation drill, so make sure our exit is secure as well."

"Yes, my Lord." The soldier saluted and hurried from the room.

Lorik looked over his shoulder. "Tala."

"Yes, my Lord?" the young lady stepped forward.

"I want you to take our fastest horse and ride for the Liberation Army headquarters. I want you to appeal to Lord Bearyl for assisting. Tell him anything he wants to hear, but we must have his assistance."

"My Lord, my place is at your side," Tala said. "I will not leave you undefended."

"Tala, I—"

"I will not leave you undefended, my Lord! Even if I manage to rally the Liberation Army to help us, there is a real risk we might not get back here in time! I will not leave you in this dire hour!"

"All right," Lorik interjected. He walked towards the window and looked out over his town. The entire town of Agameru was preparing itself, or at least what was left of the people who hadn't already fled. "Then we should send one of the townspeople to the Liberation Army headquarters. I don't believe they will take kindly to one of my soldiers. I'll write a quick letter to Lord Bearyl to appeal to him."

"Will he respond to us?" Tala asked him.

"I hope so," Lorik said softly. "I don't see how we can survive this otherwise."

"Hey."

Daunte looked up. The minute they'd returned to headquarters his tekko was confiscated and he was escorted to a cell. It was a typical prison cell in the bottom of the castle. All of the other cells were empty, though Daunte had overheard some soldiers say that the cell he currently occupied had previously held a traitor who sold information to Sheikh Keiran Umed.

But I'm not like that other person. I'm not a traitor to the Army.

"Hey," the prison guard said through the bars. He was a typical Liberation Army soldier but he didn't look upon Daunte with malice. Quite contrary, the man looked amused. "I heard you physically assaulted Lord Bearyl. Is that true?"

Daunte stared at him for a long moment. He debated if he should confirm the gossip or to remain silent. Ultimately, he shrugged. "I shoved him down."

To his surprise, the guard burst into laughter. Daunte watched as the man hunched over, slapping his knee and laughing hysterically. It wasn't the response he was expecting. "Oh—Oh I wished I had been there to see it!" the guard choked, wiping at tears in his eyes. "You had the guts to shove our leader down like the punk that he is!"

Daunte blinked once, and then twice. "Um—"

The guard sighed and shook his head as the laughter cleared up. "It was a long time coming somebody standing up to him! Believe me when I say we've had all we can stand from Lord Bearyl Lutis!"

Daunte gaped at him and the guard continued. "I'm from Barakada. I joined the Liberation Army after word got out that Sheikh Keha Hale had intended to use Lady Allise to raze our fields. I thought I could make a difference and help steer Nagarea on the right path. But this—" the guard gestured with his hand. "Lord Bearyl has made some questionable decisions. Not to mention the fact that he never admits when he's wrong about something. And this isn't just a new phenomenon, kid—it's always been like this. It didn't use to be so bad. I mean—Lord Bearyl use to understand how important it was to not burn any bridges! But as the Army's size grew, so did the size of his ego. And well—" the guard shook his head. "The number of deserters we've been having should be more telling than anything else how much he's failing as a leader."

"Excuse me," a voice called from upstairs. Daunte immediately perked up at this voice and the guard snapped to attention and grinned at Daunte. "Well, it looks like you have a visitor!"

Daunte approached the bars as Arin came down the stairs and appeared in view. The boy was holding the figurine Daunte had purchased for him. "I'll let you guys talk," the guard said. He headed up the stairs and out of sight.

"Brother, what happened?" Arin asked him. "Why did they arrest you? I-I'd heard it was because you knocked Lord Bearyl down, but that can't be true! Can it?"

"It's true," Daunte told him. "I knocked Lord Bearyl down and he had me arrested."

"B-But why did you shove him down?"

"Surya wrote us some personal letters. Lord Bearyl tried to confiscate them and no matter how many times I told him they were just personal letters he wouldn't let go. The letters ripped, and…" Daunte shrugged. "I lost my temper."

"B-But that's ridiculous!" Arin snapped. "Why would he try to confiscate our letters?!"

"He thought it was a matter of security for the Arm—"

"But you told me Prince Surya isn't in line for the throne and was just a Queen's Knight and not a politician! So why would Lord Bearyl think that these letters had anything to do with our Army's security?! And if he was so concerned about the contents of the letters, why would he need to read them personally?! Ms. Gizli is a forger, right?! Wouldn't she be better for the job?!"

Arin made excellent points but Daunte didn't like seeing him so upset. "It's going to be ok—"

"I want to leave."

"Eh?" Daunte gaped at him. "What?!"

"I don't want to be here anymore," Arin said hotly. "I'm grateful that this Army made me better, but I don't think we're going to win Daunte. I have a bad feeling that something terrible will happen. We need to leave."

"Arin, we can't just leave! I made a commitment to this Army, and they saved your life! Besides, we are still wanted criminals! This is the only safe place for us!"

"How safe are we, Brother? You were arrested for shoving our leader! And that was after he provoked you! You're being treated like a traitor for shoving that blowhard down! And me…" the child ducked his head. "I don't think I'm welcome here."

"What do you mean?"

"I haven't forgotten, you know! When Roen said that they didn't want me around! I tried to ignore it but I've heard it, Daunte! They think I'm a nuisance!"

"Who told you that?" Daunte snapped, feeling the anger well up inside of him once more.

"I know that Lord Bearyl talks about me like that! And the soldiers—the soldiers find me annoying!" Arin was becoming more and more upset. "I've tried so hard not to get in the way, but so many people don't like me! I don't know how to make them like me because they don't want me around!"

"Arin, please calm down." Daunte reached through the bars and ruffled Arin's hair. He suddenly saw the Rune of Restoration glow and he quickly jerked his arm back. He didn't want to see into his little brother's mind.

But—But it was unavoidable. It was for a brief instant, but an image filled his mind. It was a woman's face, and she was smiling and laughing. Daunte felt his heart lurch and he sucked in a sharp breath.

"…Brother?" Arin asked softly. "Are you okay? I'm sorry, I don't mean to—"

"No." Daunte quickly shook his head. He reached out his left hand this time and placed it on Arin's shoulder. "It's going to be okay, Arin. I'll take care of you, I promise."

"I'm not worried. You've always taken care of me. The reason we're even here right now is because you were taking care of me. But Daunte—we're not being taken care of, not truly. You're working so hard and nothing you've done seems to matter to Lord Bearyl. He doesn't like you, or me. I-I just…" tears leaked out of his eyes and he quickly wiped them away and sniffled. "I'm just scared. I hate seeing you like this."

"I'm going to be all right. This is just a minor bump in the road. Lord Bearyl was wrong for ripping the letters, but I was wrong too. I'll apologize to him the next time I see him, and then from now on I just won't bring any attention to myself. I'll do what I can to keep us both safe. So don't be upset, okay?"

"O-Okay." Arin used his sleeve to clean up his face and forced a smile. "Thank you for the figurine, Daunte. It's so cool to have one."

"I'm glad you think so."

"This soldier looks a lot like Papa though, doesn't he?"

It still shocked Daunte how amazing Arin's memory recollection was. He stared at his little brother for a moment before nodding. "I thought so, too. You should go back to our room and play with him."

"O-Okay. I'll come back later to visit you."

"I look forward to it."

Arin hurried up the stairs, and Daunte approached the bench in the cell and collapsed onto it. He was suddenly overwhelmed. The fact that Arin remembered their father, and the woman he'd seen—the high cheekbones, thin black eyebrows, and kind dark eyes. Her smile was so radiant...you would never feel apprehensive in her presence, and her aura was just inspiring.

Her face…that was Mother, wasn't it?

Their parents had died three years ago, and Daunte had forgotten what they'd looked like. But Arin—when he'd touched his brother's head he'd seen his mother's face. Either Arin had a crystal clear memory of their family, or Daunte triggered a memory that had been buried deep.

If I touch my own head, will I see my own memories? He raised his right hand to his forehead, but he hesitated. After a moment he dropped his hand down into his lap. He couldn't control the memories the Rune of Restoration invoked, and he didn't want to risk seeing something…unpleasant.

Daunte looked at his surroundings in silence for a long moment. Then he looked up at the ceiling. Did you have these same troubles when you lead your Liberation Army, Mom?