Wringing his hands as anxiety made his guts squirm, Hetzel followed the vize-minister. Until now, soldiers had retreated if their commander had fallen, or they had been too badly injured to keep fighting. They had warped back to Sienne, and reported about the battle, enabling the senators to adjust their strategies accordingly. This time, however, none had returned. Lekain had taken Hetzel, as well as their strongest soldiers, to investigate the last battlefield himself.

They warped to the location Valtome's continent had been deployed to. After a short hike, they reached the battlefield. Hetzel stopped dead, a small gasp escaping him, as he stared in dismay at the corpses littering the ground. It looked like the entire contingent had been wiped out.

Lekain ordered the soldiers to inspect the bodies to find clues as to why this mission had gone awry – while they had lost every fight against Sanaki and her allies so far, some of their teams had been close to achieving victory.

One of the soldiers called the two senators over.

"My lords, this is strange... A lot of our soldiers weren't grievously injured, but they're dead nonetheless. Ordinarily, even magic leaves a trace on the body, but not here... it's as if they just – stopped living."

"What does this mean?", Hetzel whispered. "What kind of sorcery is this?"

"Vize-Minister, we found Senator Valtome!"

Hetzel and Lekain hurried over to the soldier who had called them. Valtome had been killed with magic, that much was obvious. And someone had shattered his necklace.

Lekain placed a hand over his heart.

"He died trying to protect our world from the Dark God's wrath", he said solemnly.

Hetzel nodded in agreement before something caught his attention: a slab of rock that had been erected, like a memorial or a tombstone.

"Look at that, Vize-Minister."

Both of them stared at the words that had been engraved onto the rock with magic.

In the name of Empress Sanaki, I have judged

the traitor Valtome and his minions.

Senator Maian, Second Duchess of Idras

Attesting witnesses:

Tibarn, King of Phoenecis

Elincia, Queen of Crimea

Reyson, Prince of Serenes

Almedha, Princess of Goldoa, Dowager Queen of Daein

Lekain let out a scream of rage.

"That insolent girl! How dare she defy us! The Dark God's tainted minions have defeated our forces at every turn. Now, they have set foot on the holy ground of the Empire itself! We have no choice but to lead the army ourselves, and end this once and for all! We are the chosen ones! Our will is the Goddess' will! With us at its head, our army is invincible!"

"Y-yes. Quite. As you say, Vize-Minister", Hetzel replied, not daring to disagree.

"When I've beaten that brat, Sanaki, I will make her kneel before me and beg for her life!"

Lekain started to laugh, looking slightly insane.

The Vize-Minister says he hears the will of the Goddess, yet I have heard no such thing in my ears. Why would the Goddess choose Lekain and me? We are the ones with the most to atone for...

As the Silver Army crossed into the Grann Desert, Leanne had some surprising news.

"I just received a report from Reyson. The Hawk Army was attacked by Senator Valtome, and it seemed as if they would lose the battle... The enemy had the advantage of numbers. It was Senator Maian who turned the tide – she used a galdr to kill the Disciples."

"A galdr?!", Micaiah echoed.

"Yes." Leanne looked at her. "It turned out that she is half heron – a heron-blooded hybrid. She killed almost everyone within her reach, and then executed Valtome and those who survived the galdr."

Cynthia and Sanaki both looked thunderstruck.

"She never said anything", Sanaki muttered.

"But it makes sense", Cynthia pointed out. "It explains why she didn't age, nor ever chose a husband... and why she never trusted anyone. She never let anyone close to her, fearing discovery..."

"But – she's always been very close to Sephiran."

"According to my brother, he knew about her, as did Captain Nala", Leanne explained. "And two of her guards had made a bet whether she was one..."

"But why would she choose to reveal herself?", Micaiah asked. "That could have got her killed…"

"The Hawk Army was about to lose", Leanne replied quietly. "She did it to save everyone. Reyson assumes she was prepared to pay for that with her life... She knew exactly what kind of risk she was taking. But her guards chose to remain loyal to her – despite her true nature – and none of the others dared to harm her. It seems that they have accepted her for what she is. Actually, my brother was very glad to hear she was part heron – she is a link to our lost past."

The news about Maian had shaken Sanaki, and she left camp in order to sort through her thoughts and feelings. She plopped down onto a dune that was facing westward, blinking into the light of the setting sun.

It turned out that Maian had been keeping more than just one secret from her, but in this case, Sanaki couldn't really blame her.

She didn't even trust her own guards... what kind of life is that?

"Empress Sanaki."

Startled by the voice, Sanaki looked up.

"The Silver-Haired Maiden!"

"Yes, it's me, Micaiah. Um – might I sit next to you?"

The Daein general didn't fidget, exactly, but it was close.

"What? Oh – uh…"

Sanaki's mind blanked out for a moment. She wasn't exactly keen on having a conversation with Micaiah, of all people, but realised that it would be rude to just send her away.

"Of course you may."

"Thank you."

Micaiah sat down, wrapping her arms around her knees.

"This is awkward", she admitted. "I'm sorry, I know that you're not very fond of me, but I wanted to talk to you."

"It's not that. I like you just fine. It's just that... you make me feel inadequate."

"It's because I can sing the Galdr of Release and hear Yune's voice, isn't it?"

"How – did you know?"

"I can sense the flow of people's thoughts. By seeing the movement of a person's mind, I can usually deduce what they are thinking..."

"You can read minds?! What a boon that would be to ruling a country... If I could read minds, I could tell what the nobles and senators were thinking behind their smiles... I wonder why the Goddess didn't bless me with such power."

"Micaiah was born with her power. We didn't give it to her."

Sanaki turned her head sharply to meet the gaze of a pair of red eyes.

"Ah! Is that you? The dark – no, I mean – Yune, Goddess of Chaos... Let me ask you one thing, Yune: Why was Micaiah able to sing the Galdr of Release, and I wasn't?"

"I'm sorry, little empress, I don't know. But I knew Micaiah could sing it, that's why I stayed close to her."

"I don't understand. How can you be a goddess and not know? I thought gods were perfect beings who knew everything."

"Gods? Perfect?" Yune sounded incredulous. "Where did you get that idea? You haven't met many gods, have you?"

"Well, no. But divinity created life out of nothing! Surely, only a perfect being could do such a thing."

"We did create life, and we can do many things you creatures of flesh can't. But that doesn't make us perfect. It only means that we can make mistakes on a much grander scale... We're not what you've been taught, and we are much closer to you skin-wearers than some will admit. But we do make mistakes... Sometimes, we make terrible mistakes. Sometimes, it takes only one emotional outburst, and the whole world is drowning underwater!"

A sudden gust of wind made the sand fly. Sanaki covered her face with her sleeves, and tried not to inhale the sand.

"Ow! Where did the sandstorm come from? Yune! You need to calm down!"

"I wish we were perfect. Then there would be no wars, and no-one would have to die because of our mistakes!", the goddess lamented.

"Y-yes! I understand, Yune! But now, please calm down!"

Yune took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The wind died away.

"Yune?", Sanaki asked tentatively, lowering her hands.

"She's gone now. She got upset... she hasn't lost control of her emotions like that in a long time..."

"Micaiah, I'm supposed to be the voice of the Goddess Ashera. Yet, I've never heard her speak... I wonder what she's like?"

"We may find out before this is over…"

They had set up camp at the base of a mountain to have some shelter. As Micaiah wandered about, she ran into Naesala.

"King Naesala. You are by yourself today?"

"Yeah. How about you? Where's that stone-faced sidekick of yours?"

"He's just hesitant to show his emotions!"

Naesala grinned. "I'm only joking. Don't get so defensive."

"Then don't insult my family."

He snorted. "You say he's your brother, but there's as much resemblance between you as between me and Skrimir."

"We're not related, but we are very close. Perhaps like you and Princess Leanne."

Naesala's head jerked up. "What?! You didn't..."

"Yes, I can sense your emotions. I also know that you just closed up to keep me from looking in."

"You possess the same powers as the herons? How stupid of me to let my guard down."

"I'm sorry", Micaiah replied earnestly.

"What else did you sense?"

"Excuse me?"

"Did you find out anything else about me?"

"No! I didn't try to read your mind intentionally. I just sensed that your feelings for Princess Leanne were very warm, that's all I saw."

"You're sure? Fine. You're a lot like me. I'll let you off the hook this time."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You'll see when the time comes. See you later."

He turned on his heel and strode away. Micaiah watched him go, not sure if she understood what had just happened.

Shortly after that, Sothe found her.

"Yune 'visited' again?", he asked with a frown. "Did she have anything interesting to say?"

"Sort of. I think she might have been responsible for the ancient flood that sank all of the other continents."

"You have a strange definition of 'sort of'. What is she doing all this time, anyway?"

"I don't know... she just said she had to look for something."

Naesala, who had been on patrol, came swooping down toward them.

"Sorry to break up your alone time, you two, but we have Disciples of Order troubles again."

The Silver Army scrambled to get into formation. Micaiah was surprised to see Lekain among the enemy soldiers.

"I knew this would happen, eventually", Sanaki said.

The next moment, Lekain appeared right in front of them.

"Ah, my dear Sanaki, the false apostle! What a pleasure to see you again, and this time, I have an army of the righteous behind me, ready to strike you down!"

"Vize-Minister Lekain! You are the foulest kind of traitor", Sanaki exclaimed, derision dripping from her voice. "I can never forgive you!"

Lekain merely laughed. "How amusing. Forgiveness from a fraud is of no value to anyone."

Sigrun urged her steed forward.

"Empress, please don't force me to listen to his blasphemies any longer! Allow me to silence him for you."

"Hold, Sigrun", Sanaki replied, raising a hand. "I want to understand. Lekain, on what ground do you claim that I am not the true apostle?"

Lekain smiled. "The apostle shall be the firstborn daughter of each generation in the line of Altina, first empress. She will give voice to the Goddess. She will pass judgement, give prophecy, and protect her people and their lands. Sanaki, you have never once heard the voice of the Goddess, have you?"

Sanaki paled. "That is – that is only – because I have not come of age yet!"

"Oh, what a hysterical coincidence! That is just what the senate has been telling the people for years now! 'Apostle Sanaki is too young to hear the Goddess. Give her more time.' How funny that the lie you have been living is the same lie we have been telling."

"But, how... Explain yourself, Lekain!"

"Poor, false apostle... No-one ever told you about your older sister, did they? Not even the ones you trusted the most... Your sister was the true apostle."

"I – had a sister?", Sanaki breathed.

Micaiah could sense her disbelief. She herself had never heard anything like that, but then again, she had hardly been paying attention to what the nobles were up to until recently.

"She died before you were born, assassinated along with Empress Misaha by the heron clan", Lekain continued, faking sadness and grief in a very unconvincing way. "So the senate installed you, the second daughter, as the apostle instead."

"You lie! You impugn both me and the noble herons!", Sanaki shouted, balling her hands into fists.

Lekain cackled. "I am glad to have exposed your secret. Maybe you will be able to accept the truth now."

"Silence!", Sigrun shouted. "The lying tongue of a treacherous senator proves nothing!"

"You seek proof? Fine. We shall settle this in the ancient way – in a battle to the death. Whomsoever the Goddess sees fit to win the day must be in the right!"

But instead of challenging Sanaki, Lekain warped back behind his soldiers.

"Lekain... we've finally found you", Micaiah whispered. "Now's our chance, Sothe! We must do whatever it takes to get the Blood Pact!"

"Right. Let's go!"

Micaiah gave the order to move out. She, Sanaki and Laura created discs of magic under their feet to hover across the sand. Naesala and Skrimir shifted. The Raven king joined up with Sigrun and Tanith. Fiona followed hot on Skrimir's heels, and the remainder of their army – the Dawn Brigade, really – brought up the rear. Leanne stayed behind them.

Just as in the Desert of Death, fighting here was difficult, but Ashera's blessing didn't give the enemies better footing, either. They just had to make sure to take the enemy flying units down as quickly as possible.

As they fought their way across the dunes, Naesala passed by.

"Say, can't you use a galdr like Maian to get rid of those Disciples?", he asked Micaiah.

"No, unfortunately not... and I doubt the Galdr of Release would do them much harm."

"I see. What a pity..."

Naesala took off again to engage an enemy draco-knight.

However, despite their best efforts, Micaiah's army couldn't gain much ground.

"No matter how many we defeat, more keep coming... are we destined to perish here?", Micaiah asked Sothe.

A red diagram appeared on a dune that was occupied by enemy soldiers. Dreading the arrival of enemy reinforcements, Micaiah gripped her tome more tightly as Sothe shifted into a fighting stance.

The Black Knight appeared, and easily took out the Disciples. Then, he turned to face Micaiah.

"My Maiden... hold on a little longer. I am here."

"Ah, Sir Knight! I am glad to see you're safe! I knew someone of your power wouldn't have turned to stone."

"I am glad to see you're safe as well, Maiden."

"Are you here to save us again?"

"Not 'us'."

"What?"

"I am only here to save you. No-one else."

"But, why? Why just me?"

"We will talk more when the battle is over. I should not have said anything yet. Forgive me."

He turned away.

"Sir Knight..."

Sothe crossed his arms, glaring daggers at the knight.

"You know, Commander Ike's going to beat you this time."

"Maybe. If he has the strength and skill to do so, then so be it."

"Shouldn't you sound a bit more worried?"

Leanne, who had been chanting until now, noticed the Black Knight and let out a shriek. Micaiah could feel a mixture of dread and fear emanating from the princess.

"Y-you…"

The Black Knight slowly turned his head. "You fear me? I do not blame you. I apologise for the circumstances of our last meeting. Be assured, Princess, that I mean you no harm."

Leanne didn't look convinced.

"If it makes you feel better, I will step aside."

The Black Knight inclined his head and left to take on some Disciples. Leanne looked after him, frowning slightly.

"What happened between you two?", Micaiah asked.

"During the Mad King's War, he kidnapped me. He threatened to kill my father if I would not come quietly... and he killed the guard Tibarn had assigned to me."

"Oh. I see…"

"I was taken to a tower somewhere in Crimea. But Naesala came to save me." Leanne smiled at the memory.

Micaiah nodded, her jaw tense. The Black Knight had been a hero to the people of Daein, someone to look up to, and he'd personally saved her life. Without him, winning the Daein Liberation War would have been much more difficult. It was strange to think that other people – people she knew and liked – did not see him that way. His behaviour toward Leanne certainly had not been one befitting a hero.

Leanne shook her head and made a shooing motion.

"Go on! I'll be fine. We have to defeat them!"

As they finally managed to close in on Lekain, the vize-minister reassessed the situation.

"Hm, it is beginning to look dangerous around here. I suppose I must turn back for my own safety. It is vital that I not to be harmed, for the good of the world to come! While it pains me to leave the field of battle, I mustn't put myself at risk."

He disappeared in a flash of red light.

"Coward!", Micaiah shouted, fixing her attention on Duke Numida instead.

Sothe took care of Numida's guards so Micaiah could focus on him. He was a magician, as well, but not as strong as she was.

"This is for the people of Daein, the people you made suffer!"

Micaiah smashed through his shield and sent his body flying. Numida didn't rise again, and the remaining Disciples fled.

Micaiah turned to see the Black Knight approaching.

"Sir Knight! How good to see you! You always save me from danger."

"Maiden. I have a favour to ask of you. Will you come with me? My master awaits you at the Tower of Guidance."

"The Tower of Guidance? If I might ask, who is your master?"

"You will see when we get there. Please take my hand. We will be there in the blink of an eye."

Micaiah shook her head. "I can't. I can't leave everyone else behind. We have to get to the tower together."

"Your allies will turn to stone when the light of judgement next shines. I do not wish for you to see it."

"The light will strike again? When? Please tell me!"

The knight slowly shook his head. "Maiden, I will come for you again. Make your mind up by then."

He took a step backwards and disappeared in a flash of red light.

"Wait…"

Sothe appeared behind her.

"Don't tell me, he's gone again, right? I knew we couldn't count on him."

"Um, Sothe..."

"Lekain got away, didn't he?"

"Yes, he did. But we'll have another chance."

"I'm sure of it. I know he's going to attack us again. Don't know if that's good news or bad..."

"I know. We'll have to be ready."

It was getting dark when they finally made camp. Sanaki was tired, frustrated and angry, but at the same time, she felt very lost.

"Sigrun, Tanith. I need to talk to both of you."

"Empress. Why so serious? Whatever it is, you can be sure that Sigrun and I will help you with it."

"Tanith, let her speak", Sigrun admonished.

"When the last apostle was assassinated, and I was not yet born, the country went for a long time without central authority. The people were frightened, both of the murder and the power vacuum. Without the Voice of the Goddess, Begnion was lost. Sephiran told me once that, when the senate confirmed my appointment as the next apostle, it was as if a sigh of relief sounded across the country."

"It's true", Sigrun confirmed with a smile. "I still remember your coronation, the first time I ever saw you, Empress Sanaki. With your tiny hand in Sephiran's, you stumbled as you walked... A little girl, barely visible in the grand hallway of the cathedral. It was a moving sight."

"I remember as well. The empress stepped onto her cape and tripped a total of five times."

"Tanith, that hardly seems appropriate", Sigrun scolded.

"I think the country's sigh of relief was unwarranted", Sanaki whispered. "I cannot hear the voice of the Goddess. I never could. This has perplexed me for years. At first, I thought my youth was to blame, but this excuse grows thinner each year. There is no clear age at which previous apostles heard the Goddess for the first time, but all of them had heard by now."

"Empress, if this is about what Duke Gaddos said - ", Sigrun began.

"If I am not the true apostle, have I betrayed my people? Even unknowingly?" Sanaki wrung her hands. "You two are among my most trusted friends. How would you feel if I were not the true apostle? Be honest with me."

"You would like an honest answer?", Sigrun replied. "Very well. It would change nothing."

"What?", Sanaki asked, perplexed.

"If you thought our allegiance was to the office of the apostle, well, then you were wrong. Even from a young age, you have been working with Lord Sephiran and Lady Maian to fight the senate on behalf of the people."

"Our loyalty lies with you, Empress Sanaki.", Tanith affirmed. "You will always be our empress. Please do not forget that."

Sanaki heaved a sigh, feeling as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "I am blessed... not by the voice of the Goddess, but by loyalty such as yours."

"Be strong, Empress Sanaki", Sigrun implored. "Even if you are not the apostle, you are still the one, true Empress of Begnion."

Sanaki smiled, suddenly feeling a lot better.