It was dawn, and Keith was sore from sitting on the floor all night. Natani was still asleep on him, curled up with her head on his lap. Throughout the night, she cried in her sleep, the pain too much for even the world of dreams to keep at bay. He didn't move, letting her sleep just a bit longer. Inside the room, he could still hear the doctor and Madelyn, though they sounded tired and slow. Carefully and slowly, he lifted Natani off of him, and stood up, his joints popping and cracking as he did. Thankfully, Natani lay down on the floor, still sleeping. Gently walking past her, he glanced into the room. Zen's entire body was pale and sickening to look at. The doctor was not holding the tweezers or surgical knives, but a scissors and heavy gauze, and was wrapping the wound up. "Will he live?" Keith asked. He could not keep his voice breaking.

Madelyn glanced over, her eyes heavy from working all night. The doctor continued to work in silence, so Keith walked over and sat down next to the bed. "I have removed all of the clay from the wound, but he will bear this scar for the rest of his life, if he even lives. His arm will never be the same, and I would not be surprised if he loses feeling in it, or even has to have it removed entirely. It will cause him pain for the rest of his life, but he will grow used to it. I have seen many wounded soldiers, but never have I seen a wound like this. Whoever did this to him, I hope they get the death they deserve. To use a serrated weapon against a living being is an atrocity unlike anything imaginable. As for if he will live, I have done all I can. The rest is up to him."

Keith looked down at Zen. The bed was stained with blood, as was his fur. He could barely hear Zen's unsteady breathing. "Zen's strong." Madelyn said, putting her hand on Keith.

"I know. It's Natani that I'm worried about. She can't help but feel responsible. She kept muttering through the night, wishing she could have done more. If they still had the link, maybe she could have taken some of the pain for him, but I think that it would have destroyed them both."

"Well, splitting the pain would have been useless." the doctor said, snipping the cloth and sitting up. "As much as it might have made her feel better, it would not have helped to remove all the pieces that were in him." He reached over, and grabbed a metal tray that was covered in blood and a large pile of fragments of clay. "I don't know how there was even this much in him, especially after you removed the largest pieces."

"Thank the masks no one else got injured like him."

"Zen?" Natani poked her head in, and stumbled over to join Keith beside her brother. "How is he?" Her voice was as shaky as her legs.

"Not good, I'm afraid." The doctor shook his head. "If he can fight off the infection, he will live, but there's nothing more I can do for him, and his arm will never be the same. Even if I were to somehow use magic, the damage will never be completely repaired. If you will excuse me, I must go lay down. I will be back once I have risen, and will check on him." With that, the doctor and Madelyn left, leaving the two with Zen in silence. Trace and Flora walked in next, and sat down next to them, their hearts breaking as their friend lay broken before them. Throughout the day, visitors came and went, Kathrine several times came to check on Zen's fever. Even Eric and Richard came to offer kind words, but they fell on deaf ears, as the four stared down, sorrowful.

…

Keiren sat at his desk, reading a book he had borrowed from Trace called 'The Greatest Tragedy of our Time: A Brief History of Nemurnal, Mount Tanji, and the End of the Age of Silver: What does it Mean Today? Exploring the Calamity that Ended the Ishtaer and an Exposition on the Fall of Civilization, by Alexander Vael and Olfren Norid, and edited by Naomi of the Arctic Foxes'. A very lengthy title, but the book at least was thorough. Maps of the mountain, the old city, the surrounding area, and even several diagrams that showed theories about how the attack was done gave him a better idea of just how bad it was. Genocide was a word that came up often, and he found several eye-witness accounts from the days just after the attack. Interesting as it was, he still had a city to care for, a war to stay involved in by staying out of, and an external force of soldiers he had to continue getting supplies for. Sighing, he put the book down, and turned his attention to the many papers in front of him. Bureaucratic duty was the one thing he didn't like about the job, all the papers and forms he had to fill out felt like a fortress, but instead of being able to tell an army to attack, all he could do was endlessly read, write, and sign on the dotted line. He was distracted by a small knock on the door. Looking up, he saw Utkr, who was holding a few banners. "Sorry for the interruption. There are several groups of people who have requested a small change to our city banner. They have created several design proposals, and would like to know if you would consider changing our current flag. I know that you've got a lot on your mind, with the unfortunate events yesterday, but-"

Keiren smiled. "It's no trouble at all. I could use a break from the endless paperwork and the worry that plagues me. Show me what you've got."

Utkr set the banners down gently, and held up one. "This is our current design." The banner showed a dragon, upright while in flight. Simple, yet elegant.

"I see no issues with it."

"There aren't any, but there are those who, now that we are independent, wish for a new design to show how much we have changed." Setting the old one aside, he reached for the next: A blue banner, the same color as Keiren's cloak, but instead of the dragon being alone, it was an emblem on a shield, with a sword behind it.

"No. If we're going to change our banner, it should be more than just this."

"Very well. This one?" The next was a bright yellow banner. On it, there was a tower in the middle, with pikes on either side, and a star above it. "It shows how we are strong like the towers, but are ready to defend ourselves, and the star shows that we are a beacon of hope in these trying times."

"I suppose, but it doesn't speak to me. Next?"

Utkr looked through the banners he had, and then smiled. "Perhaps… this one?" Keiren's face lit up. The bright orange banner seemed to glow, and it showed silver emblem of a human with a sword held high, a wolf holding a shield on his left, and a Basitin saluting on his right. Behind, an Ishtaer stood, hand outstretched to the right, shown to be gleaming with magic, and the dragon that is currently used was on the other side, facing left. "Unification of all of the major races. No one stands above the rest, and all are ready to fight, to give their all."

"It's… perfect. Who came up with this design?"

Utkr blushed a bit. "I did. Well, most of it. The idea to add an Ishtaer was given to me by Maeve. It seems she likes the lizards."

"I like it." Keiren said, holding the banner. "We'll put it to a vote in a few days before some of the city council."

Utkr smiled, but then his smile vanished. "I… I heard about what happened yesterday. The wolf who was injured, will he live?"

Keiren grew equally somber. "I don't know. It was bad when I left last night, but they had a surgeon working on him. Why?"

"It was Zen of the Forest Wolves. I've heard about him. He used to be an assassin, but turned against the guild. There's been a lot of folks following his lead, turning their backs on the old ways, running from the fighting, and trying to rebuild new lives. I'm one of them. He may not know it, but he's become something of a legend ever since then. If there is anything that I can do to help, please, let me know."

"Of course. Though I appreciate the sentiment, I'm not sure what you could do. Unless you know how to heal wounds done by a serrated blade, but even then it might not be enough. It… it was bad." Keiren leaned heavily on his desk, and Utkr moved the banners aside to sit on a chair.

"That book, does it mention anything about the Sentinels?"

"Not much more than what I already learned from Trace. Four hundred pounds of hardened clay, magical abilities to conjure beams of energy, equipped with a pike, all things I already knew. Why? Do you know anything about them?"

"I'm afraid not. I was a merchant, not a scholar. I've heard whispers of them, rumors about them stealing folks in the night, carrying them off to never be seen again, but didn't believe it. It's like a legend of old come to life, and it's terrifying. What if they went after me? Or after children? Zen lived this time, but he knows how to fight! They're terrifying."

"I never knew that there were stories about them kidnapping people."

"Tales told to children to make them behave. Or so I thought. 'Don't run into the woods, there's stone beasts out there!' and 'Never wander far from home, or they will see you, those men of stone, to take you away, never to be seen on another day.' I admit that one rhymes better in Keidran… but I thought they were just old wives tales."

"There's always some truth in every myth." Keiren looked at the banner he held. "Tell the council that I would like to meet to change our banner. It should give them something to talk about other than the Templar attack and the ambush yesterday." As Utkr took the banners and left, Keiren couldn't shake the feeling that the world was about to change again.