Judge Drace had said "very soon" when it was actually "next week".

I was chosen by Lord Vayne himself to be part of an expeditionary force to defend the northern province of the Empire, Argyllshire. The enemy was getting dangerously close to the industrial warehouses and commercial areas – the heart of Archadia's economy.

I had seen the intense hesitation, regret and fear when Lady Drace assured all the Judges at the gathering I was the right man for a military mission.

If he wanted to get revenge for not getting from me the same obsequiousness he did from Judge Bergan and Baruti Kitso, Lord Vayne found the right way. I saw in his cold turquoise eyes that he had meticulously planned that choice.

My only reason to remain serene was that I was far from alone on that expedition. In addition to my own division's troops, there would be a few other generals and even Judges, beginning with Judge Zecht, no less. Alongside that man with decades of fighting, I could only learn, be it only with my little bow.

The first step was the Military Akademy's chocobo stable. It had been way too long I hadn't seen Book. However, once inside, I might well had searched every corner, and the one I had last seen Book in in particular, there was no trace of the animal. I would have recognized him in an instant, had he been present. Were they allowed to move them to external stables?

'Book… Excuse me', I shouted, seeing a soldier cleaning the hallway, 'I am looking for my chocobo.'

'Your chocobo?' she retorted.

'Yes, he was right here; and he's nowhere to be found.'

'Mmm… Do you remember its ID number?'

'It was… something 734… M 89734.'

'Let me see in the data we have.'

She walked to a little table and looked it up in an old register.

'That chocobo died on Pisces 7th of last year.'

My existence paused. Book… My chocobo… Died? It was quite unusual to see a chocobo live less than 30 years.

'Please double check', I asked, showing the dömavän armband. 'There must be a mistake.'

'There's no mistake, my Lord. Documents are generally a mess around here, but if there's one safe place for them, it's the chocobo register. I've been taking notes on it myself for several years.'

'So… Did you see him? The chocobo? Did he suffer?'

She probably realized I was speaking of an animal the way I would have for a family member. Her freckles were glowing under the dim light, and a jeering smile barred her face.

'There are dozens of chocobos here, you know. And I am also assigned elsewhere. From what I remember, your chocobo's area did not contain any sick element, for I take those ones apart in the corner over there for intense veterinary checks. Yours was most likely healthy, used from time to time by some colleague without making it sprint, and ate delicious Gysahl greens every day.'

That description was the final push I needed to realize that Book was no more, and that it was alright.

The last companion I had from Landis, bar my mother, and a vivid reminder of the happy times with Naria… had disappeared less than two months ago, and would never stand up again.

As I walked to the meeting point, bitter nostalgia was filling my head, and my recently built confidence was severely challenged by that loss, albeit of an animal who never told me any word.

'Hello.'

I made a 2-meter leap backwards, my 5 senses abruptly awakened by the new presence behind a building.

'Who's there?'

I screeched. The presence was not far behind the building, but fell like a stone mass from above, on the lateral wall, next to a window.

Since the newcomer wasn't attacking, I activated the Libra technick… only to find out it was no regular fighter. Drowned in the sun, I couldn't see their features until they got close to me.

'Drace truly has regrettable taste in dömavänner', the voice said – and it felt more feminine this time.

Finally, she arrived at my level, and her silhouette covered the sun. She removed her circle-themed helmet. It was a relatively tall woman with broad shoulders and short black strands of hair, in such a way that from behind, she could well be mistaken for a man. In the middle of the hair, flames had been painted, and the black strands' length, as seen up front, was irregular. The black cape told the rest.

'Your reflex was severely insufficient and inappropriate. Don't you have a weapon ready to unsheathe? To think you are friends with Vitu Palnissen… Such a man's skills are so remarkable that at every Magister gathering there's someone lamenting that he gave up the chance of joining our ranks.'

Could unknown people stop comparing me with Vitu? And everybody, for that matter. Thank you.

'As for my identity, I had thought my dear Drace would at least have made the introduction.'

'I do not know who you are', I said.

'Well, well', she said, sweeping the air with the back of her hand. 'My name in here is Petra. And outside? Guess what? it's also Petra! Ha ha ha!'

She was visibly easily entertained.

'Gabranth! Today we are going to war. And we are going to win – because Archadia always wins. And your role, as decided by your half-hearted Magister, is to keep your distance and observe. Observe the real fighters, from the real divisions.'

Such slander coming from a fellow Order member was unbearable. I would gladly have put her in her place… if said member wasn't Judge Magister. What did Drace and her troops do to deserve such reputation?

'Right about face! Did you think you could go to the meeting point without a chocobo?'

'My Lady…'

'Attention!'

Not sure which direction to face, I anxiously and unintentionally jumped to the one ordered, closed my legs, arms, and sticked my chest out. My mind wanted to scream but my face had to stay blank. After all those years talking to Judges and soldiers from almost all divisions, finding someone keener on military rituals than Judge Magister Bergan was hard to believe. And that someone being a woman was even more inexplicable. Judge Petra raised her fire-colored eyes to mine, probably trying to distract me. But I knew I wouldn't give in. She had no idea who she was testing. Then, at once, she fell to her knees, and pursued her prying observation sitting on her heels. Without touching me, she activated a scan on my ankles, knees, pelvis, elbows, and chest.

'At ease! Really impressive', Petra concluded as she stood up. 'Drace never disappoints. I can see she chose her dömavän this time on other criteria. Ah! I wish my body was that young. I do not look like an old woman – and never will – but although my appearance is fixed in time, you can never remove that inner feeling of aging. But you probably have no idea what I'm blabbering about…'

'I do, Your Honor. Judge Drace explained it to me.'

She gave a confused surprised look, then said:

'I see. I am glad she managed to find someone she trusts to that extent in here. No idea what happened in her youth, but we had begun to lose hope she'd ever smile to someone again.'

"She does smile, Judge Petra", I thought. "A beautiful smile which I'll make sure to protect with my life."

We arrived at the chocobo stable and left with our mounts.

'What is that, Gabranth?'

Unaware of why her tone was so reproaching, I let my eyes go far around us and didn't see anything particular.

'Judge Gabranth!' she shouted. 'What is this manner of riding a chocobo?'

I hadn't ridden often in my life. Basch had enjoyed it much more than I, since I'd found the activity too dangerous for little benefit, and in the Military Akademy I only rode Book a few times – another reason why his passing made me feel bitter. Moreover, in the previous years, air transport improvements had made travelling easier.

'I… I am trying, my Lady', I said, as the chocobo excessively pushed all its weight on the right side, making me stagger.

'Trying is not enough! Mind your back! Your bridle grip! Ah… I wish I could keep you in my division until you master the army's basics, but alas! Our time is limited.'

We made our way to the northern border of Offaly province and saw, under dawn's purple clouds, the rest of the expedition ready to depart. I recognized the Zodiac Sisters with their green and pink attires, although they had not been appointed by Lord Vayne.

'Do you know how Judge Magisters are sorted?'

I turned to Petra as we were heading towards the others:

'I do not, my Lady.'

'There are three groups. Not official ones, obviously. The Precious, the Gracious, and the Vicious. Precious are the ones His Excellency does not want harmed at any cost. Gracious are the ones who are mostly involved in legal or administrative affairs, but are called for war from time to time. As for the Vicious… they are the privileged ones when it comes to pushing enemies away – and at the front line, if you please!'

'What about dömavänner?'

Judge Petra's eyes, once again, swept my body from head to toe.

'You… You are not important. You go where the Magisters tell you to – not necessarily yours –, and consider yourself lucky if you make it out alive.'

I did my best to contain my anger, and realized the most effective way was to ask a new question:

'Where is Judge Drace classified?'

'Oh… Drace is Gracious. She has been technically Precious for a while, but His Excellency regularly insists on the necessity for her to be prepared for any military operation. He deems her the most powerful female Magister – which is obviously false, as you can see.'

I had never seen Judge Drace fight in real conditions, and I could not believe Judge Petra possibly thought I had an idea about her talent while having known her for two hours.

'I'm sure you are curious about the others, are you not?' she blinked at me. 'Well, I won't list them all – they are boring anyway – but as you can guess, Bergan is Vicious, Ghis and Rigel are Precious… Zecht is supposed to be Gracious but His Excellency and Lord Vayne keep sending him to battle before anyone else. As for Zargabaath, he was Gracious but Empress Sentia asked Lord Gramis to keep him out of war fields, laboring the point in a way he could not refuse… since then, he's been Precious.'

'What about you, Your Honor?'

Petra swaggered:

'I'm Vicious. What else does someone of my standard deserve?'

I sighed within my helmet.

'You must be wondering where you'd be sorted if you were Judge Magister yourself', she suddenly said.

'Not really.'

'Well, regardless of your current thoughts, let me advise you to not aim for the Magister position. Not like you'd have a chance today… but before our operation, I have to warn you.'

Becoming Magister never crossed my mind. I didn't even aim to become a Judge, as it was the same logic: not giving too much to the country that destroyed my dear ones. However, I had already arrived at dömavän level. What was missing for the Judge Magister one? In my case, strength. A lot of strength. But the issue was not there. I wanted to dedicate a significant portion of my time to my mother. I wanted to freely wander in the streets. I wanted to be able to, in three years or nine, look into Vicky's eyes and tell her I'm proud of her. A Judge Magister was not allowed any of these.

'Why is that, Your Honor?'

'Oh, the reason is simple. All of us – without a single exception – have known the purest, the vilest, and the most toxic horror. If you haven't suffered something dreadful, that eats your guts at every step you take and doesn't let you sleep at night… then you don't have what it takes to become Judge Magister. And I am not only speaking of deeds you have been victim of; you must have tasted blood yourself to convince House Solidor you'll do anything for them. And most importantly, due to your responsibilities, the horrors continue after you take your charge. They just never deplete. I wouldn't wish that burden on anyone, even Drace's dömavän. Here we are!'

She waved at Judge Zecht, who didn't react at all. The head of Judge Magisters was a dark-skinned man of about my height, his two katanas quietly standing on his back. By what I had seen of it, he bore the Bò former citizens resemblance, just like his loud dömavän. The latter shouted to my direction:

'So you have come!'

Judge Zecht opened indignant indigo eyes and replied:

'Aye, Chau-Anh. He came, as Lord Vayne has ordered. Now we have lost time and will be carrying a useless burden. Forward, march!', he yelled before putting his helmet on.

"Thanks, Your Honor", I thought while trying to follow the group.

Not far from me, the Zodiac Sisters were arguing.

'The Ninth only sent one battalion, and we are two generals. Therefore, only one of us will take command of it, and the fittest for this role is me.'

'No, Irm! That is utterly wrong! Your authority is a broken glass, just like Judge Gabranth's!'

Would there be one person who believed in me during that operation? Just one… please.