Several years had passed. My mother's state was still worrisome, but stable. She was impressed by my body transformation, saying I was becoming a man. The intense Akademy training – even more intense than during the service – left no room for doubt or hesitation. Every morning, before sunrise, we had to undergo heavy muscle-development exercises, before running and fencing sessions. I soon learnt that the Sixth Division had the reputation of having the mightiest swordsmen, and that area was indeed much focused on. Several soldiers in my division had their own swords, as fancy as treasures, and my troop's major looked puzzled when I told him I didn't have any.

One afternoon, during a break, a queer buzzing from the main building's right wing caught my attention. Several groups of soldiers were gathering in a dark room, enthusiastically talking and laughing. At the bottom of the room, one of the groups was smaller than the others, and an armorless man was standing in the center. I carefully got closer, and realized it was no ordinary man.

His black velvet buttoned shirt was surrounding a prominent bust, alternatively turning left and right with big gestures of his arms. His red trousers and shiny shoes were also moving to heavily step on the ground, as his hefty face was lost in laughter. The short messy black hair and the odd sky blue eyes could not belong to any other person than the one Nastia had described with a sort of soft fear.

'Who's ready for the festival?' he suddenly shouted at the whole audience.

All of the soldiers replied with a raised fist and a cry of victory. The talks resumed with even more tumult.

'Everything will be perfect, my Lord!' said one of the soldiers as I had crossed half of the distance separating me from the other side.

'All arrangements have been made. We all cannot wait for this event to take place! Your Highness truly revolutionized the Archadian scene!'

But the gentleman's eyes were fixing me. With a mere hand gesture, all the soldiers surrounding him stepped aside to let him pass, and he arrived at my level with his azure curiosity.

'A lone soldier entering our nest. Are you new?' he said in an amused voice. 'What's your name?'

'Gabranth, my Lord', I replied, breathless.

'Then tell your major that Lord Phonmat has invited you to the Phon Festival of this glorious year 692 under the high patronage of Her Highness, and that you need two weeks off for it. One for partying… and one for recovering!'

All the soldiers of his group laughed loudly. I remained silent, unsure what to reply.

'Do you think he knows who DJ Lover is?' Lord Phonmat asked, his eyes moist from laughter.

'I am not interested in joining this… festival', I suddenly said, without realizing it.

Lord Phonmat turned back to me. Voices around me were whispering things like 'Is he crazy?', 'Who can refuse such an invitation?' and so on. I remained still, hiding my fright under my armor. Phonmat eventually closed his eyes and displayed his amused grin again.

'I see. A serious worker we have here. Certainly one of Judge Drace's recruits. You are welcome to join us another year.'

And he turned away, going back to the bottom of the room with the others, as I let out a deep sigh.

During my first years as a soldier, I saw the viera much more often than I did during my service. She apparently knew Judge Drace personally and sometimes came to see if all the troops' training was going well. She rarely spoke, but was observing my troop more frequently than the others.

Once during a cold morning of 693, she was present while the major was reviewing the troop. When he arrived at my level, he complained:

'Your back!'

I tried to stand straight up, but I realized my back was hurting more than I had imagined. I had felt back pain during the previous months, but I didn't imagine it would reach that step.

'Your back!' the major repeated.

'It hurts, my Lord', I replied, troubled but sincere.

The other soldiers began to jeer. The major raised his hand and was about to add something when the viera leaped between us:

'I will take care of it. He shall have an appropriate posture soon.'

And she took my hand, leading me to the same place where I had met Lord Phonmat. At the last moment, she turned right, to the last room of the building, and pushed the door.

'This is an unguent that should ease your pain if you apply it from the neck down. I made it myself. I am a salve-maker from Eruyt Village – the viera know something about chronic pain. There are lockers behind you.'

I clumsily thanked her and took the flask from her big hands.

The viera's unguent was incredibly effective, and my back pain completely disappeared after a few days. I was able to resume the harsh training as well as patrols in various places of the city. The paycheck was significantly higher than during service, and I had a raise every six months. They were right after all: joining the army was the perfect plan to live peacefully in Archades and keep my mother safe. I was never sent off outside the capital – it was apparently a tacit rule enforced by some Judge Magisters that favored keeping the soldiers that weren't Palace residents inside Archades. Because yes, part of the soldiers was living inside the huge building. Not in the upper floors, of course, but underground. Most of them didn't have anywhere else to go, and the Order of Judges thought it best to have permanent troops inside the Palace.

When I talked to Vitu, that I regularly met at lunch, about the second floor, he smiled and replied:

'The second floor is the medical floor of the Palace, as well as the guests' library. I have heard that there were very rare books hidden there. You are lucky to have been able to read some of them! Not sure we are even allowed to touch the furniture there…'

He added, after a pause:

'In order to become a Judge, I must take a look at these books too. I cannot admit that there is law knowledge that remains unknown to me!'

I was glad to have someone who thought alike concerning books and law, amidst all the rough soldiers who only thought about fighting.

'Becoming a Judge increases our chances to meet the Judge Magisters and work at their side', he continued, high-spirited. 'Are you not aiming at the same goal?'

Becoming a Judge? The idea sounded appealing, but it was still far from my mind at that moment.

I was thinking about what to answer, during that afternoon of the Cancer month 694, when a handful of men broke through the door of the refectory, to such an extent that my first thought was an intrusion.

'My Lord!'

I turned at once and recognized Archadian armors. Why such manners? The soldier who spoke went straight to the Judge who was sitting at the other side of the room.

'A tragedy! Lord Vayne and Lord Zecht were there to hear the news a moment ago, at the control tower.'

Judge Zecht and Lord Vayne? The former was so busy that he was rarely seen anywhere in Archades outside the Palace, and… Vayne? Why on Ivalice would he leave his mother's skirts, as the rumor wanted it? The control tower was used to monitor the imperial airships' trajectory, and was located in one of the huge fields surrounding the Akademy, on the other side of where Book – that I came to see regularly – was staying. A teenager had no reason to even approach the control tower. What news could they refer to?

The soldier and the Judge exchanged a few words in a lower voice, then the latter stood up and asked all the soldiers to gather outside.

'Archadia is entering an age of mourning and darkness. His Excellency will certainly make a public declaration and announce measures in the next hours. We need you all to remain strong and committed – the Empire needs us more than ever before.'

'What's going on?' I asked Vitu, whose face was pale and silent.

When I turned to the other soldiers, I saw that I was manifestly not the only one wondering.

'The Sixth Division will follow me on the Glorious Road. Her Honor is reportedly injured and we must secure the Palace at all costs.'

Judge Drace? Did she fight someone? Who could it be?

'This…' Vitu began. 'This is not good.'

'What do you mean?'

'I cannot be sure, but I know for a fact that Her Highness and most of the Judge Magisters were in one of the runways, this morning, before our arrival. Rumor has it she was flying alone to Bhujerba.'

'How does that concern us?' I asked.

He didn't answer, and I soon had to obey the Judge and get in line.

'Is it true?'

'That can't be!'

Around me, some soldiers seemed to have understood what was happening, and ignoring it was frustrating. We began marching until the Palace. A huge security perimeter was put in place, and the outside yard contained as many soldiers as the entire Military Akademy.

That's where she appeared. Alone. Swift. Determined. I recognized the round-horned helmet as well as the famous curvy armor.

Judge Magister Drace left the Palace, avoided by all soldiers on her path.

'Your Honor!' called the Judge that was accompanying us.

But she did not even stop. He quickly made his conclusions and announced:

'Her Honor is only slightly injured. She will supervise matters in town while we stay here until further notice.'

'What happened, my Lord?' one soldier, posted at the front, asked.

Thank goodness. The Judge recoiled, then stood straight and raised his voice:

'According to the Ninth Division's report, we lost three members of the imperial family today. His Excellency lost his two eldest heirs…'

Lord Eder-Cilt and Lord Phonmat? They were said to surpass any common enemy, each one of them having undergone a heavy military training. Who could have killed them? And where?

'And...' the Judge continued with a fainter voice, 'And there was evidence that Her Highness died in her airship's crash.'

So that was it. The Archadian Black Rose had fallen.