It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult
to look further than you can see.
-Winston Churchill

Keeping an eye on the boy as he slept soundly, Reyna felt like she wanted to be back at Daath already. After the stunt he pulled nearly a week ago, she had brooded over this journey. She shouldn't have agreed to it, but seeing as how they were almost to Malkuth, it was pretty redundant to still be having those thoughts.

Hard to believe, though, that she would be in Grand Chokmah. Never had she thought she would see the place, having only heard and read about it. Even if it was the city capital surrounded by water, it still sounded like a pretty place.

Then her mind suddenly went back to Daath, worried for her Guardians and the state of things. Would they be alright? Had Mohs figured out Iris and the other's involvement? What would exactly happen when she, Anise, and the Fon Master returned? Surely they would be fine, yes?

She was worried.

When the Fon Master shifted in the bed, Reyna's attention went back to him. He still remained fast sleep and a sigh ended up leaving her mouth.

Perhaps she was being a big overprotective, seeing as how the Fon Master had been doing fine the last few days. Even if he had to use a Daathic Fonic Arte to help them out, he had been scolded by not just herself, but by Jade as well. It had surprised her, but the message had come across as clear and Reyna was sure that he wouldn't do anything drastic again.

At least she hoped so.

Since there wasn't much left to do, she left the boy to sleep. She needed to talk to Anise and discuss their next move for when they entered Grand Chokmah. They were the only two on duty for guarding the boy and even though they had Jade and the others, she was still skeptical of the colonel.

She was careful not to voice that skepticism considering this was his ship.

She had left the room and had just made it down the hall when she ran into said colonel. "Well if it isn't Reyna. How is the Fon Master?"

His expression was unreadable, so her reply came out curtly. "He's good."

Jade smiled and gave a single nod, almost knowingly. It was something she disliked about him—it was as if he knew more than he let on.

Reyna wasn't too fond of those kind of people. Mohs was an example of that, but she didn't exactly hate Jade either. For the time being, he was just a neutral entity in her life. "I came to inform you that we're only a couple of hours away from Grand Chokmah. I believe the Fon Master is still sleeping, yes? If you wish, he can continue to res-"

"That's fine. He should be awake for this. I'll go do so."

Damn. She had just left his room too.

She had only just turned her back and began to walk back when the colonel called her name once more. Reyna glanced back, catching his gaze. Giving him a questioning look, she waited for whatever he was going to say to her.

Which turned out to be a question. "How long have you worked for the Order?"

Completely turning around to face him, she gave him another look. One that clearly said 'why the hell do you want to know'. "What is this, an interrogation? A bit late for that, don't you think?"

"I was merely curious about your time in the Order. You appear quite young to be the commander of the Fon Master Guardians."

It was hard to tell if that was a compliment or an insult.

She would admit, she was used to this. She wasn't too young, at least, she didn't consider twenty-four all that young. Still, not many people actually asked as Jade had. They simply assumed and some people weren't always nice on the theories of how she got the position.

Reyna did give Jade points for, at least, being straight with her about that. She would be honest with him in return then. "I've been with the Order since I was fourteen. It was there that I joined the program for the Guardians. Though I can't say I was exactly satisfied about their regiment. They were too lax for my taste. Before I turned eighteen, I came to be a Fon Master Guardian, attending to Master Evenos once or twice. About two years ago, I was recommended by a few members and they inducted me into the role of commander. I've been in charge ever since."

Ten whole years she spent, though at the time, she hadn't expected to get where she was today.

"Interesting. I must say I am quiteimpressed, Reyna." She rolled her eyes ignoring that tone of voice he had.

"Uh huh." Reyna replied, waving her hand absently. "Now, if that answer satisfied you, I'll go awake the Fon Master."

"As you wish." Jade replied as she turned her back on him once more. Once she made her way back down the hall and to the boy's room, she became annoyed.

Jade was such an enigma, it made it difficult for her to have an understanding of him. Which actually made it hard for her to trust him. It felt like he was always two steps ahead of her and that rubbed her the wrong way. She didn't find herself in this situation too often, to be honest.

Pushing these thoughts form her head, she went to wake up the boy so they could attend to the task ahead.

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Reyna stayed by the Fon Master's side while they made their way off the ship. Both he and Anise seemed to be in awe of Grand Chokmah, which was understandable. Despite how uneasy she had felt earlier, seeing the city at this moment seemed to wash that all away. Grand Chokmah was truly beautiful and the commander could feel herself relaxing, even if it was just by a little bit, though she would never admit this aloud. Especially with not Jade around her.

Of course, she didn't need to say anything as Anise was more than vocal on her own opinions.

"Wow! Look at this place!" Her eyes glanced all around them, tugging on the Fon Master's sleeve and pointing to the water. "I guess I can see why they call it the floating capital!"

The boy smiled at her comment and nodded his head. "It is very beautiful and everyone seems so…"

"...peaceful." Reyna finished, her gaze kept ahead of the group.

Anise and the Fon Master didn't hear her apparently as they continued to talk. The place was so lively, just as different as Daath had been compared to Chesedonia.

At one point, she caught Jade's gaze before he shrugged. Rolling her eyes in return, she kept pace with Anise and the Fon Master. They seemed to be enjoying themselves and that was a good thing. It meant their minds weren't on the Daath situation. The Fon Master especially needed to focus on what laid ahead.

Their walk continued and while their presence did not go unnoticed, thanks to the soldier escort, they weren't stopped. Reyna kept her undivided attention on her surroundings and though it appeared as Anise was playing around, her stance told her otherwise. Other Guardians thought Anise wasn't serious about her job, but boy...were they wrong.

The girl could keep her own in a fight and she was quick to place herself danger and the Fon Master, keeping him safe at any cost.

It didn't go to say she wouldn't have minded bringing a few of her trusted Guardians for this, but Anise was no pushover. She trusted the girl to take this job as seriously as she did. Reyna had no doubts if something were to happen, she could count on Anise to back her up. She didn't train wish-washy Guardians.

They continued on their way to meet the Emperor.

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.

"…And that's how I met Jade Curtis!" concluded his majesty, Emperor Peony the Ninth, a weirdly stupid grin on his face. There were no right words to describe this man and the way he acted, you wouldn't expect him to be an Emperor. In fact, he was nothing like a ruler was expected to be...at all.

While Anise seemed to enjoy the obvious overelaborated story, the Fon Master appeared taken back. Reyna, herself, felt this urge to cover her face with her hands. On the one hand, this was a lot more at ease than she had thought it would be. On the other hand, this guy was so easy-going, she felt this urge to just walk out right now. His clothes and postured added to this feeling. It was like he was at leisure with all of this, though if she had to compliment him on anything, she supposed he was handsome.

Like a bum...

"Your Majesty, could we please discuss the reason we are here?" asked one of the men near Peony, the oldest one there. Sesemann was his name, she believed.

"You got it." Reyna had to stop herself from sighing out of relief. "So, Fon Master, you seemed to agree with my plea for peace. There have been rumors that Kimlasca plans to invade Malkuth territory and it's put my people on edge. I would like to send a representative to Kimlasca with a letter that would help smooth things over."

The Fon Master nodded his head. "And this is why you requested aid from the Order?"

"Exactly. I'll be sending Jade along as well, but it would be easier if we had the Order's help to ensure that nothing unpleasant happens."

"I'd be glad to help, your Majesty."

As they discussed the plans, Anise nudged Reyna's side as discretely as she could manage and whispered, "Do you think this will go over good? Mohs has the King of Kimlasca in the back of his pocket, doesn't he?"

Shrugging and giving the younger Guardian a look that said they would talk about it later, Reyna kept her head forward. What Anise said was correct, though she didn't voice this for the fact that it was knowledge only known within the Guardians' inner circle and Mohs' own faction. It wasn't wrong for the Emperor to believe that the Fon Master could likely persuade King Ingobert, but if they weren't careful, this might be what fueled the flames of an oncoming war.

Which rather worrisome.

One would think that they could avoid war, but with how Mohs had been, that wasn't the case. It bothered her and maybe, just a little, she felt glad that she had come along.

When the two leaders were done talking, both of Peony's subordinates that they would bring it up with the council and that an official document would be given to them in a few hours.

Which meant one thing.

"Yes! We can walk around the city some more!" Anise exclaimed, already grabbing the Fon Master's hand and taking off.

Reyna let out an exhausted sigh.

"You sound tired." Jade commented as he came to stand by her. With that smile on his face, she had no doubt he was enjoying this.

Shaking her head, she replied back. "You try dealing with her every day. Anyway, if you don't mind, I'd like to go get a few supplies. That won't be much trouble, will it?"

"No, it shouldn't be. We'll be here for another hour or so. We'll all meet back at the docks, so I'll make sure to tell Anise and Ion in the meanwhile."

"Thanks."

Waving at him, Reyna set off.

First, she'd like to stop by one of the medical shops since they had the better quality of gels than the common item shop. Plus, since she was in Malkuth, there was the high probability that they had a wider variety of weapons than they did in Daath.

After a bit of wander, she found one shop that sold some gels, stocking up on apple and orange gel. They were out of lemon gels, but that was fine. Reyna didn't think she'd need something that expensive anyway.

The people of the shop had been kind enough to point out where one of the districts where a few weapon and armor shops had set up. She paid careful attention, hoping that she wouldn't get lost and set off, knowing she probably had some time left before she needed to head back to the others.

A little while later, Reyna thought she had just spotted the weapon shop when she collided into someone.

Her footing was off and she ended up landing on her backside. Nearly letting out a curse, Reyna was just glad she hadn't damaged the gels or anything else. She was about to get up herself when a hand appeared and she quickly grasped it. Being pulled up, she caught sight of the person who she ran into. Black hair, styled and slicked back, icy blue eyes, and from his attire, the Guardian was going to assume him to be a noble of sorts. If she had to guesstimate his age, he was likely in his twenty's, maybe closer to her age.

He laughed, an embarrassed one. "I apologize! I had been in such a hurry, when I turned that corner, I ran straight into you. Are you okay?"

Her natural response might have been a 'yeah', but realizing that this guy was, indeed, a noble, she quickly resumed a stance of a soldier and gave a bow of her head. "It's perfectly fine. I merely was walking our here to find supplies."

"You're an Order member, are you not?" Her clothes must have given it away. "I heard Fon Master Ion was here. Will you give him my thoughts and prayers?"

"Of course and he will appreciate them." People always wanted to let the boy know he was doing a great job, even if they didn't know what was truly going on at Daath. How very bothersome. "If you'll excuse me."

To her surprise, the male grasped her hand and shook it with enthusiasm. "Thank you. I hope you have a blessed day." He squeezed it one last time before he brushed pass her and continued on his way.

Turning to look at him one last time, Reyna glanced down at her hand. That was…unusual.

Shaking off the weird feeling, Reyna went toward her destination. However, after arriving a few minutes later to the district, she noticed the more prominent weapon shop was closed for repairs. This was frustrating and even though she checked out the smaller one, it didn't have anything worth her interest.

With nothing else to be done, the Guardian headed back.

It wasn't long before her thoughts went back to the man she had met. There was something off about him, at least she thought so. If she was given the time, she'd look into it. Perhaps she might mention the guy to Jade, though she could say this on a hunch. She could simply leave it alone for now, especially since they wouldn't be here much longer. Reyna didn't want to become involved in anything else considering how deep she was already an—

"Reyna!" With her name called out, she took her attention back to where she was. Her eyes saw the pink uniform and knew that it was Anise.

Seeing the other waving her arms and for a moment, Reyna panicked. Had something happen? Had the Fon Master been hurt? Yet, as the girl came bouncing toward her, nothing seem to be upsetting her. So it was safe to assume they were fine for the moment. "Jeez, could you take any longer?"

"I could, but I suppose I'm faster than the normal person."

Ah, there was the pout she was used to seeing from the girl as she rushed over and tugged at the older Guardian's arm. "C'mon! We have to hurry back since we're going to be leaving soon!"

"Did they finish already?"

Nodding her head impatiently, Anise continued to pull. "Something like that, but something came up too and now they want us to head out soon! I'll explain more once we get on the land dreadnaught we're going to be taking."

"Wait, wait. I thought we were going by sea?" This was certainly a development she hadn't expected. She was becoming concerned, actually.

"I'll tell you what I know once we get back. The Colonel had me come get you since you were taking forever! I mean, how long does it take to ship, anyway?"

"Excuse me, I had to get few of things for us." A dramatic huff followed by, "And I want a 'thank-you', since I actually got you something."

Anise stopped and turned around, her face lighting up. "Really? Can I see it?!"

"No." Reyna deadpanned.

"Booo!"

The duo made it to the entrance of the city, not the port. When Reyna saw the Fon Master waiting by Jade, she felt herself relax. At least nothing appeared wrong with him and that's all really mattered to her in the end. Whatever this was for, she could deal with it later. Seeing Jade with an amused expression, she frowned at him to which he only shrugged.

"Let's not dawdle now. We've wasted enough time, don't you think, Reyna?" That earned Jade a scowl from her as she took to the Fon Master's side. "Now that we're all present, let us be on our way."

Quickly falling into her place by the Fon Master's side, Anise happily joined the boy on his other side. It was at this point that Jade explained that they would be taking the land dreadnaught, the Tartarus. When she asked the reason by this decision, he told her that there had been food thefts at Engeve. This caused her to raise an eyebrow at him. They were going by land because of some thieves?

From the look he gave her, she knew there was more to this than what he told her, but he was strictly keeping it to himself. Though there was, apparently, thefts going on and the Fon Master was concerned about that since they could spare the time. After all, it would just take a bit longer for the letter of peace to be approved.

Once the Council had finished, the letter would be sent via carrier pigeon.

As soon as they were on their own, she would need to ask Anise what she knew. This all seemed a little over the top, but whatever. She preferred land than sea.

An hour or so later, once they were aboard and settled, she asked Anise to accompany her for a few moments. The Fon Master worried something had happen between them, but she quickly reassured him they were just going to discuss a few things—that he didn't need to worry. After leaving him to himself, the two Guardians left the room and walked down the hall. Reyna made a comment or two about the dreadnaught, while Anise kind of mused over it herself. It was mindless chit-chat until they arrived at an observation deck.

That was when they really talked.

"Tell me what you know, Anise."

Hands on the rail, she leaned over a bit. "Apparently there has been a problem in Grand Chokmah lately. I didn't get too much information on what it was, but the city wasn't safe for Ion, at least that's what I got from the Colonel. He made an off-handed comment about what had been happening at Engeve, which was when Ion asked if they could look into because the Council had been delayed by something."

By something?

"What do you mean?"

"I dunno. It must have been pretty serious because just before me and Ion headed back to the docks, a few of the soldiers were running around." Shrugging, she paused and appeared to be thinking carefully back on her and the boy's walk. "I think Ion noticed, but I was able to get him back to the Colonel before he asked. I just had a bad feeling about it, especially with how the people looked."

"That is concerning. It must have been in another part of the city, since when I was shopping, everything was fine except one of the weapon shops being closed."

"Oh!" Anise eyes were round as she gave her full attention to Reyna. "I was talking to a few people, asking for directions while people were around Ion, but they mentioned that someone's business had been hit pretty bad! I asked if it was some thieves, but they wouldn't tell me. It was just how they acted, it felt like something more."

Reyna thought about this, putting a hand on her hip. "It said repairs, though it didn't specify what kind. Maybe they have a criminal on the loose?"

"That sounds kind of bad, especially since Ion was in the same city. I'm glad we left then!"

Nodding in agreement, they exchanged more details, but with nothing else that was concrete, they gave up. Anise waved her off as she headed back to the Fon Master while Reyna said she was going to check in with Jade. Perhaps she could get him to mention it or drop a hint or two in her direction. Whatever it was, Reyna was glad herself that they had left when they did.

It didn't take too long for her to find the command center. Entering, Jade gave her one look before his eyes went back to the front. His soldiers gave off reports and he, in return, gave out a few commands. She waited patiently for him to finish so she wouldn't take his attention away from his crew.

After a few moments, he turned back to her. "Well, this is certainly a surprise. What brings you here, Reyna?"

"I thought you might answer a few questions, if you don't mind."

"Oh, I might be able to answer them. Depends on the question, since I can't give away secrets of our empire."

A scoff followed, but Reyna waved off the comment. "Just...curious about why one of your weapon shops was closed."

It was a subject that she could ease into, which might lead to what was going on at Grand Chokmah.

"If I recall correctly, they were closed for repairs."

Crossing her arms, she continued. "Vandalism?"

"Perhaps. I haven't looked at the investigation reports, though I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."

"Is that so?" Damn it, how was she going to even bring this up? "Are we far from Engeve? I mean, this feels like quite the detour."

"That it is, but I suppose I haven't told you about the reports of the Dark Wings."

"Dark...Wings? They sound familiar..."

Realizing that she didn't recognize who the 'Dark Wings' were exactly, Jade explained quickly. "Bandits who have been plaguing both Malkuth and Kimlasca. I have heard they call themselves vigilantes however."

Reyna nearly laughed at that. "So you're thinking that these bandits have been stealing from Engev-"

"Commander! Vehicle ahead. We believe it to be the Dark Wings!"

Their conversation cut short, Jade went back to his post and gave out orders.

Deciding to watch how this played, she took note of how he managed everything in a calm and precise manner. Reyna mused over the fact that he was simply just a colonel and not a rank or three higher. In a way, she could consider this a lesson since they never gave Guardians much to work with. Most of what she understood about commands and what Iris knew of strategy was based on book knowledge and experimentation. Hence why training and exercises were essentially very important for them.

As she watched the colonel, the chase had begun.

What came as surprising was how long it lasted. Maybe it was just long by her standards since, after all, she never had to chase anyone down, much less while in a dreadnaught. Jade kept issuing out orders, his focus was on the vehicle that displayed on his screen at his station. The commander moved close enough to catch a glimpse, blinking at the design. Reyna had never seen anything like it before. It was smaller than a carriage and it didn't rely on horses or anything else to pull it.

The Tartarus began to fire at the bandits, but that didn't stop it. It zigged and zagged and Reyna had to say she was impressed with the driver. She wasn't sure if she could handle the pressure of driving while avoiding cannons.

"Commander! A stagecoach is up ahead."

It took her a moment to realize he wasn't talking to her as Jade said, "Civilians? The Dark Wings must have luck on their side."

"You don't believe in luck, do you?"

Jade gave her a quick glace before an actually smirk played on his lips. "Of course not." He pressed some switch in front of his command post and leaned in to a device. "You there! Move your coach before you're caught in the crossfire."

Too bad for the people in the other carriage.

Reyna didn't even know when they passed the stagecoach, but the chase continued on. This was honestly becoming more interesting by the second. If they managed to catch the Dark Wings, would that mean they could head back to Malkuth? Then maybe, they could look into what the hell was going on back at the capital. Though what was important was making sure this peace treaty went through and from there, they could head back to Daath.

It was just something fishy was going on back at Grand Chokmah and Reyna wanted to know what.

"The enemy has crossed Rotelro Bridge! They seem to be putting gunpowder on the bridge!"

What? Gunpowder?

"My, my. They intend to drop the bridge, do they?" Jade seemed amused by this. Meanwhile, Reyna stared at his back like he was crazy. If they were using gunpowder, did that mean-?!

"Fon slot activation detected!" shouted one soldier.

Another one yelled, "The enemy set off the fonic artes using the Fifth Fonon! The bridge is going to explode!"

What?!

"Tartarus, full stop. Activate fonic barrier." Jade, as before, continued to keep his cool and gave a clear command without a second thought. It was...impressive, to be honest.

The Tartarus slowed down just as Rotelro went ablaze. The landship shook just a bit but thanks to the barrier, they were left with little to no damage. She might have been a bit worried, but Jade managed this off as it were the easiest thing in all of Auldrant.

He just finished giving out more instructions when he turned to look at her, feigning surprise. "You're still here? I would have surely thought you would have rushed off to see Ion and Anise."

She pursed her lips. "I will go check on them in a moment, but I'd stay here for most of the ride of that."

"Oh really? Must have been a blast."

Reyna couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Wow, I can't believe you just said that. Okay, I get the point. I'm going." Before she turned to leave, Reyna gave Jade one final look. "I'll check in later. We'll be in Engeve by then, right?"

"Here's hoping so."

She didn't even look back as she headed out.

It didn't take her very long to get back, but when she did, both Anise and the Fon Master launched questions at her. She could only sigh as she begun to explain what ordeal happened while they had been stuck in the room. If only they could be at Engeve right now...

AN: Hello my beautiful and wonderful readers! Whether you are new or old, I hope this chapter was a good read for you. For those of you that are old readers, this is a chapter you must read and though it may not seem different at first, you can't miss the slight intro of someone who become important later on. I'd say more, but I'll keep my mouth closed for now!

I added a bunch, hence why this chapter is longer and it flows so much better than it did a year ago. Still, if you notice any mistakes, please point them out. My brain can be pretty dumb at night, but I do reread over these chapters before I upload them now, so hopefully there isn't any?

Chapter 5: Thefts at Engeve - While investigating Engeve, Ion and Reyna find out who the real culprits may be. Though Ion is determined to help out, Reyna reminds him what their current goal is. Having to spend the night at Engeve, Rose offers her house as hospitality for them, which Jade accepts. Things appear fine until the next when Reyna makes an upsetting discovery.