General Rivia, Supreme Commander of the Angels, stepped out of his office the next morning, an hour after the sun began to rise over the segment of City N that was now under his army’s control. He had stayed up late into the night, having had matters to attend to relating the fight.

  And despite his best efforts to avoid another send-off, there was one person who had stayed up late himself, refusing to leave the waiting area of the hallway outside his office. Rivia sighed when he saw him.

  “Xavier,” Rivia said as his old friend got to his feet and stood at attention. “You should’ve gotten some sleep. It’s deserved after yesterday.”

  “Sir, I can’t let you go—”

  “My mind is made up, Mr. Holden. Any effort to wake up Evirtide’s students to what is happening to them is worth it.”

  “No, I agree. I was going to say, I can’t let you go alone.”

  “I am perfectly capable of handling this on my own.”

  “Sir, please. Let me be your bodyguard again. If anything were to happen to you, and I wasn’t there to at least try to protect you…”

  “You don’t need to serve me like that anymore, Xavier. You have your own squad of soldiers to lead now. That’s where you should be.”

  “They’re all getting some rest today. Like you said, deserved.”

  Rivia considered Xavier’s proposal. He already knew where he was going, of course, and there was a chance Mr. Holden would find a way to follow him to the school even if told not to. But perhaps there was a part he could play in the plan, after all.

  “Very well,” Rivia said. “But you need to follow my every order.”

  Xavier nodded enthusiastically, and reached down for his rifle.

  “Leave it,” Rivia told him. “We can’t go in armed and appear too threatening. It’s an alchemagi school, anyway—if they decide to attack us, only our own talents will give us a chance to survive.”

  “Yes, but shouldn’t we…” Xavier read Rivia’s eyes. “Of course.”

  “Come on, then. We need to go outside to power the demirriage.”

  “Right behind you. Sir.”

  In the courtyard, which was heavily fortified and guarded by Angel soldiers, several of the troops were out for a morning jog around the grounds as a way to start off their day. While Rivia and Xavier headed down the short stairs, Izae, Sieger, and Bryant all stopped briefly to turn and salute two of their superior officers.

  “Good morning, General,” Izae said. “You’re off to M, right?”

  Rivia nodded, replying, “I am indeed. The sergeant here insisted that he accompany me. I hope you four didn’t celebrate too hard last night.”

  “Just another victory in our eyes, sir,” Sieger said. “We’ll celebrate, truly, when the war is finally over. A few drinks while sharing the day’s highlights is all Mr. Holden ever wants to get out of us.”

  “Good luck at Evirtide, sir,” Bryant added. “The more I read about Quinlin last night, the more I started to believe he may very well listen to you. It’s a shame, though… He once garnered so much respect before bowing to the Guard. I hope you can remind him of that.”

  “I aim to,” Rivia told the soldiers.

  Once they all said their farewells and returned to their jogs, Rivia unrolled his demirriage scroll and watched as the carriage charged up in the early morning light. He looked at Xavier, eagerly waiting at his side.

  “You lead a good team of soldiers and friends,” Rivia remarked.

  “Oh. Yes, well… I never expected to be any sort of leader. In the early days of the war, even after the incident at the citadel, I was still fairly cowardly, sir. But, at some point, for better or worse, I think I just ‘broke.’ I lost much of my fear and simply tried to get through each day.”

  “War numbs the weak and the strong alike.”

  “I never asked.” Xavier looked at Rivia. “Did you ever serve in any Earth wars? You certainly seem like you have experience.”

  “Several in classical times, but they aren’t worth mentioning, and I barely remember them by this point. Hm, I was an officer in the War of 1812, though. That was my most recent one on Earth.”

  “Ah. I won’t inquire as to which side you fought on.”

  Grateful for that, Rivia grabbed his scroll and stepped into the carriage, Xavier following. He pressed down on the pedestal, and relying on some of his best memories of Evirtide, brought the two of them to the top of the front steps of the magnificent school.

  On this part of the planet, it was still early morning, and only the faintest blues of dawn’s light were in the sky. Six Guardsmen were posted at the main entrance, under the eternally-burning torches that lined the front of the school. The moment the two arrived, four rifles and two spears were pointed in their direction. Once Rivia stepped out of the carriage and they saw who he was, several of the Guardsmen took a few steps backward.

  They noticed the three fingers Rivia had out at his side, and dared not make a move as he and his bodyguard approached.

  “I’m here to see the headmaster,” Rivia said calmly. “I believe that he’d be interested in meeting with me, if you let him know.”

  “Easy, Corporal…” one of the older Guardsmen officers told the young man nervously pointing his rifle towards Rivia with shaking hands. “This man could level the entire foyer if he wanted to.”

  “But I don’t want to,” Rivia replied. “So, if you would please contact Quinlin. Wake him, if you have to.”

  “That won’t be necessary,” the senior officer said and brought up his radio. “Headmaster. General Rivia is… here to see you.”

  After several tense seconds, the voice on the other end answered, “Interesting. Send him to my office.”

  “Should we give him an escort, sir?”

  “That won’t be necessary. Your men wouldn’t make a difference.”

  “Copy…” The sergeant looked at Rivia, and reluctantly asked, “Do you need directions to—”

  “I remember the way.”

  With that, Rivia entered through the doors of the enormous school, designed like a traditional Japanese castle. He and Xavier passed through the grand foyer, the old polished floorboards creaking underfoot. Four staircases to classrooms and dorms flanked the room, while wall-sized paintings offered glimpses at the school’s most famous graduates over the centuries, meeting together for anachronistic discussions.

  “Relax, Xavier,” Rivia said upon noticing his eyes looking off in all directions, on the watch for an ambush. “They wouldn’t attack us here.”

  “Is this room normally full of students?”

  “Of course. But most of them are still asleep at this hour.”

  “Will Quinlin really just let you leave the school after you meet with him? He could already be summoning all of M’s Guard as we speak.”

  “I doubt that. He’s the kind of man that would rather keep the glory all to himself, if he were actually considering attacking us.”

  “I don’t like this at all, sir…”

  Rivia simply smiled at him reassuringly, and led him through the next set of doors and then up some stone stairs. Several of the building’s upkeep staff passed them as they went in the opposite direction, and their murmurs were soon echoing through the old stairwell. After passing by five floors of doorways, they arrived at the top, where the administration offices were located. At the end of a short hallway, and permanently guarded by two posted school security officers, was a blue crystal doorway. Marked on it in gold lettering was the word “Headmaster”.

  Quinlin opened the door from the other side as Rivia and Xavier approached, looking as welcoming as he could. Past him was his large office, lined with books on Aurrian history and the study of alchemagi.

  “Jonan Rivia…” Quinlin said, his hands clasped under his robe’s sleeves, and his gray hair even thinner since when last the two had met. “This visit would not be a surprise during peacetime, but now…”

  “Headmaster,” Rivia greeted him. “I’ve come for a talk. A sensible discussion between two leaders. You understand that I couldn’t schedule this in advance, considering the times.”

  “Yes. You’re lucky that I’m an early riser. And your friend is…?”

  “Xavier Holden. My bodyguard.”

  “Ah. He’s free to wait outside, by the door.”

  “He’s staying with me,” Rivia insisted.

  Quinlin stared at Xavier, and then Rivia, and he said with a sigh, “Very well. But I hope you keep your word about a sensible discussion, and aren’t here just to scold me about anything you might’ve heard.”

  “I’ll try to keep that at a minimum, Quinlin. But the stories of you sending captured Angels into duels to the death do concern me.”

  Quinlin raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, instead simply stepping aside to let the two into his office. Once they had stepped inside, the headmaster shut the door tightly and locked it, just as the rest of the school was starting to wake up.

  A teenage boy named Gerone Pique still felt half asleep by the time he had reached the dining hall for breakfast with the rest of the students. His black robe bore the insignia of fire on the back of it; he was one of the few in the school who could create flames out of thin air. And because of that, it wasn’t uncommon for other students to try and play matchmaker, hoping to pair him up with a certain star pupil of the academy.

  “Gerone,” one of his only friends at the school whispered to him from across the table, a boy with curly hair and freckles. “What do you think she’s talking about over there?” he asked, pointing to a gossip group.

  Gerone looked over at the end of the table to see three of the girls from junior year having a serious conversation with Risar Camryde, right by one of the stain-glassed windows that depicted the elemental alignments.

  “Come on, Nazz,” Gerone grumbled. “Don’t you start trying to hook me up with her, too. I keep telling everyone, she’s just a snob.”

  “Huh? No, no, no. Nothing like that. I’m just wondering if she knows what’s up. You ever see Risar looking so… concerned?”

  Gerone lazily bit into his toast, replying, “What do you mean?”

  “Wait, haven’t you heard the rumors this morning?”

  Gerone shrugged. “You know I don’t pay attention to that crap.”

  Nazz leaned in closer over the table and murmured, “Apparently the school has some visiting VIP right now, and it’s why the headmaster has been locked away in his office for hours.”

  “So? We get those all the time. It’s probably just Fordein again.”

  “No. Rumor is that it’s some Angel officer in there with him.”

  Gerone dropped his spoon into his oatmeal and looked Nazz in the eye. “Why? Wouldn’t they just get taken into custody right away?”

  “That’s what I figured. Unless… they were really high up on the chain of command. Even in a war, if you’re important enough, you get a bit of immunity from your enemies. Been around long enough to know that.”

  Risar and her friends started walking across the hall, down the length of the tables, garnering the glances of curious students on the way. As they passed by Gerone, he overheard Risar say something confidently.

  “Today should be very interesting…”

  “Camrydes…” Nazz groaned once Risar was out of earshot. “I can’t stand those sisters. Except maybe Andrine—I heard she’s okay.”

  “Um, Nazz?” Gerone prodded him, trying to get him to turn his gaze towards the entrance to the dining hall. “L-look…”

  Nazz did so. His eyes grew wide, and he murmured, “Holy…”

  In seconds, all of the other students having their breakfasts quieted down into dull whispers as they all turned to see the school’s visitors.

  With a swaggering gait, Risar went up to greet her sisters and alumni, Phisa and Andrine—standing at the sides of Lenox Crawn. The girls were in plain clothes, but as always, Mr. Crawn displayed his armor.

  “What is going on?” Gerone wondered aloud.

  Risar spoke with her sisters for a few moments, before leaving with them down the corridor outside the dining hall. The student conversations picked up again, but now they could all only talk about the Lenox sighting.

  “I don’t like the look of that,” Gerone grumbled.

  “Something to do with the war, I bet,” Nazz replied.

  “Yeah, as in maybe we’re all about to be sent onto the field.”

  “Quinlin wouldn’t do that to us…” Nazz frowned. “Right?”

  “I… I don’t know. I feel like anything’s possible now. He’s already sending graduates off into battle, making us watch those damn duels…”

  “I kind of like the duels. Even if there’s an unfair advantage for our side. I mean, I always enjoyed a good alchemagi fight, like the stadiums had before the war. Now, it’s just with higher stakes.”

  “Nazz, those are glorified executions, that they make us watch.”

  “Sure… but the Angels are our enemies. They caused all this chaos.”

  Sighing, Gerone got back to eating, despite the pit in his stomach.

  Rivia’s talk with Quinlin had gone on for two hours, and it had seemingly surpassed his expectations. Despite now serving on opposite sides, they both spoke cordially and with respect for one another. As he listened to the arguments, Xavier felt newfound respect for Rivia’s ideas on how to restore peace and order to Aurra, even if the Guard had to fall.

  “… And the first step for all of this, would be to end the glorified capital punishment in this ancient, venerable school,” Rivia concluded a lengthy proclamation. “Reason with me, Quinlin. Aurra has had conflicts before, but its academies should always remain impartial, hallowed halls.”

  “You understand, of course…” Quinlin leaned forward in his chair. “That it’s only come out of a necessity that I have no ability to change at this point. If the Guard wants to send my students to war, then I have to oblige. If I want to give them a chance to survive and serve, then I have to prepare them, perhaps desensitize them to some degree.”

  “But you can resist. That’s within your ability.”

  “Hm. If only it were so simple. Both sides set the new standards, Mr. Rivia. Your Angels employ soldiers far younger than mine.”

  “Only in commanding positions, behind the battlefield.”

  “Where they oversee the deaths of thousands.”

  “Quinlin, you know it isn’t the same…”

  “I want to see this war end as much as you do. And we each know, that there comes a point when more lives are saved by finding the best way to end it sooner, even if it means more violence in a shorter time.”

  Xavier saw the look of resignation on Rivia’s face. While the very fact that Quinlin had agreed to see him felt like progress, even a sign of hope, it didn’t look like either side would be convinced to draw back any of their efforts and plans today. Despite that, Quinlin still extended a hand for Rivia to grasp and shake once both of them were standing again.

  “Thank you for meeting with me, just the same,” Rivia said.

  “Of course. I do not see the two of us enemies; merely good people who found themselves on opposing sides this lifetime.”

  “We always play the long game,” Rivia sighed. “There is every chance that in our next life on Aurra, we could become the best of friends.”

  “Yes… Yes, indeed. Rivia, I don’t want you to feel like you wasted a trip to the school. Would you like a chance to address the students, as a former graduate? I wouldn’t want you to try and recruit any of them or deride any intention to serve, of course, but Evirtide has always valued perspective; a chance to hear an opposing side giver their views.”

  Rivia looked at Xavier, in a way like he was conveying surrender in his eyes. But he said nothing through telepathy.

  “Of course,” Rivia said, his answer taking Xavier by surprise.

  “Very good. As a graduate and rather famous student, I will… grant you the honor of having a full hour to speak. I’d offer more, but I’m sure that you have a very busy schedule. Come along, then.”

  Xavier stuck especially close to Rivia’s side as the two were led out by Quinlin, who brought them down the stairs to the ground floor.

  “General, is this really a good idea?” Xavier asked telepathically. “To let yourself be surrounded by students… Any of which could…”

  “They don’t have Guard implants,” Rivia whispered back. “It’s not the students I’d be concerned about. Jeers, I can tolerate.”

  Xavier wasn’t even aware of it, but Rivia slipped the demirriage scroll into his side satchel as the two went down the decorated ground floor hall. On the way, they passed by a small painted portrait of the general as a young honorary graduate of the school, though neither noticed.

  Quinlin guided them down a lengthy stone corridor, towards a pair of doors that Rivia recognized. Past them was the school amphitheater, a large chamber where many guest speakers came to enlighten young minds. Xavier, who was starting to fear the worst despite the general’s unshaken confidence, nervously followed him into the next room.

  The entire student body was present. Pupils of many ages, talents, specialties, and alchemagic alignments watched as the three entered, and eyes widened among the murmurs filling all of the seating levels.

  “Students of Evirtide,” Quinlin shouted upwards, as there were no microphones nearby to amplify his voice on the round dais at the bottom. “Today, General Rivia of the Angels has joined us for an insightful discussion! About war, and his reasons for bringing it to Aurra.”

  Some students dared to openly boo Rivia as he stood at Quinlin’s side, but he hardly reacted at all. He was more focused on their faces, to try and make a tally of those who looked angry and ready to go out to the battlefield, against those who might have still believed peace was possible, or simply quietly pleaded to return to some degree of normalcy.

  Higher above, on the fifth ring of seats, Gerone and Nazz had watched side by side as Rivia emerged, with Risar not too far from them.

  “Oh, God…” Gerone whispered to his friend. “It’s Rivia…”

  “You sound like you know him personally or something,” Nazz said with a smirk and crossed his arms.

  Gerone hesitated before replying, “I… I don’t, but… It’s just…”

  “Odds are he’s not here just to talk to us.”

  “There’s no way he’d come here by choice. He must know—all of the Angels must know by now what happens in this chamber.”

  “Maybe he just thinks he can take us all on and walk out?”

  “He’s a living legend, but not even he’s that strong.”

  Quinlin stepped off a little to the side; it actually looked like he was willing to give Rivia a chance to speak, which rather surprised Gerone and many other students. Most of them quieted down out of curiosity.

  “Students, teachers, and faculty of Evirtide,” Rivia said as his bodyguard stood by, his eyes darting all throughout the chamber. “This school is one of my most beloved places in Aurra. Today, I had hoped to come here to discuss a mutual interest of peace with your headmaster.”

  Rivia paused to let the next wave of murmurs pass.

  “Peace?” Nazz huffed. “Come on… He can’t be serious.”

  “Unfortunately,” Rivia continued, “he instead chose to entertain my reasonable requests just long enough to set up his bloody coliseum that he calls a ‘combat training exercise stage.’ But I won’t be hobbled.”

  Suddenly, the wall of the arena was lined with a glowing vector halo. Quinlin, despite his age, was still able to travel elementally short distances, and he turned into a puff of vapor and reappeared in the seating box above the door opposite the one he and Rivia had arrived from.

  The halo contracted, far faster than an average vector attack. Rivia was still agile as well, and he effortlessly created earthen pillars below himself and Xavier, raising them into the air. Vector rays sliced apart the rock, but couldn’t get to their targets before they returned to the ground.

  “So, Jenera is here, too,” Rivia grunted as her lines fizzled out.

  Gerone glanced around and noticed the three cloaked figures in the crowd, who must’ve just arrived. The one in a black cloak lowered her hood with a mechanical arm, and then leapt down onto the stone stage below.

  “That’s Lady Trinqit…” Nazz murmured, and noticed Gerone’s frozen expression that showed signs of terror. “Gere’? You okay?”

  With Xavier taking a defensive step back at his side, Rivia looked at Trinqit, then up at Quinlin and scoffed. “Who else is here to do your dirty business for you, Headmaster? Someone’s been trying to mentally suppress me since I first walked into this chamber.”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Quinlin sighed and gestured subtly to another cloaked figure in the audience, opposite Trinqit. He lowered his dark purple robe’s hood, and revealed himself to be Vermer, the newest pretorian who was just recently installed via rushed emergency vote in the senate.

  “Impressive mental defenses, General,” he said with a toothy grin. “But I’ll break you yet. I always enjoy a challenge.”

  The last hooded figure didn’t wait to be called out. She dropped her red robe, propelled herself down onto the stage with a burst of flame that nearly singed several students, and stuck a solid landing.

  “Mr. Rivia,” she said and reached back for her scythe. “Hello.”

  Flanked by two powerful pretorians, Rivia held his ground even as Xavier was looking for an escape route and thinking up an exit strategy.

  “Couldn’t get William to join in?” Rivia shouted up to Quinlin. “It’s unusual to even see just two pretorians team up. I’m honored.”

  “You knew very well what would end up happening if you ever came to this school,” Quinlin yelled back. “Don’t feign surprise, General.”

  “Yes, but I had held out just a little bit of hope for you. I’m sad to see that you really have sold your soul to the Guard.”

  There were yet two more guests that had arrived to see the coming spectacle. A smaller door behind Quinlin opened up, and Lenox came walking out with Andrine at his side, who looked more like she was just obeying an order, instead of attending on her own volition.

  Lenox was acting as Quinlin’s bodyguard, there to make sure Rivia didn’t attempt any easy shots at the headmaster. He looked like he had no intention of joining the fight—although Rivia was certain that if by some miracle he took out the other three pretorians, he would not hesitate to enter the fray next, to easily take out a weakened opponent.

  “Drides has more important places to be,” Trinqit said. “So do we. We’re just here to take quick advantage of an opportunity; we don’t expect to be here for long. I do, however, expect the competition to be fierce.”

  “I would never give you the honor of the final blow, Jenera,” Rivia muttered. “In fact, I would rather spar with the only true warrior I see in this room. Mr. Crawn—certainly you’d like to go toe to toe?”

  The League of Flame chief just grunted and tapped his two-handed blade. Phisa and Trinqit both scowled, which Rivia found amusing.

  “General,” Xavier whispered to him. “I don’t know what the plan is, but you need to let me in on it. How do we get out of here?”

  “I’m afraid we’re in for a fight,” he said quietly.

  “But, sir… All three—or four of them?”

  “Phisa!” Risar shouted and jolted out of her seat. “Kill him! Our family name will never be forgotten! You’ll be a legend!”

  “Shut up!” shouted a nearby student. “Don’t cheer this on, it’s sheer brutality! Headmaster, please! No more duels!”

  Gerone glanced over at Risar, who was hoping for bloodshed. For one brief moment, back in their first year together and when she was a far kinder girl, he almost worked up the nerve to ask her out. So much had changed in such a short time. Now she always looked forward to the fights.

  Xavier, who felt helpless without his rifle and sidearm, raised three fingers but fully expected to die within the next minute, knowing that his alchemagi was no match against those that surrounded them.

  “Kill Sergeant Holden first,” Trinqit said. “He’s in the way.”

  “Fine, but I still have my sights on the general!” Phisa, in a rather bloodthirsty mood today, shouted back and lit her scythe’s rocket.

  While fighting off Vermer’s ongoing effort to weaken his mental capability and reaction time, Rivia kept an eye on Phisa, waiting for her to make the first move as Trinqit kept him in place simply with the threat of vector lines. Phisa gave them a sneer, lowered her mask to cover her face, and ran around the circular side of the arena, fire following her scythe.

  “Time to…” she suddenly launched herself off the wall, her scythe ready to strike as her digitized voice blared, “… go to Hold, Mr. Holden!”

  Xavier produced a paltry wall of ice in front of him that she broke through effortlessly, and her weapon’s blade closed in on his neck.

  Rivia then generated a tremendous blast of air around himself and Xavier, knocking Phisa back and flinging her through the air. He sustained the powerful gusts, which kept both Trinqit and Phisa from getting close. Xavier looked down, and saw that the general had also wrapped each of their feet with morphed stone from the floor to keep them anchored. The wind current picked up and began to swirl around closely, forming a small version of the powerful maelstrom technique.

  Despite his age, he could still prove that he was one of Aurra’s most powerful silvers. Xavier thought that maybe they still had a shot.

  Rivia turned and looked at him as he maintained the localized storm, and offered a feeble smile. “Mr. Holden, I’m afraid I must relieve you of your services. I need you to head home.”

  “Wait, General Rivia—I can still help. You can’t—”

  “I already gave you the scroll.”

  Once Xavier reflexively checked his bag, Rivia let his storm dissipate, and without touching the ground, he began to create a tunnel, “drilling” upwards from down below to keep it hidden.

  “Rivia… I can’t just abandon you.”

  “You won’t, my old friend. And I won’t abandon you, either.”

  Xavier looked down to see the stone stage opening up just feet away, and expanding quickly. He would fall into the hole in seconds.

  “General!” Xavier called out, reaching towards his former mentor.

  “Tell them what happened,” Rivia said as his maelstrom quieted.

  “You aren’t going anywhere!” Phisa shouted, swinging her scythe.

  “No, Rivia! I have to—” Xavier yelled as he felt gravity’s pull.

  He dropped, and saw the alchemagi-controlled stone around him, and a sharp scythe sweeping across the air he had just occupied. It was a short fall into the illuminated cellar beneath the room, but he nevertheless crashed down and felt pain tremor through his body. He looked up to see Rivia gazing down, silently thanking him for his many years of partnership.

  Phisa stared at Rivia from across the gap he had created, not about to jump down after Xavier out of fear of being crushed by the ground if it were to seal back up. She half-expected Rivia to jump in as well, but it really did seem like he had a death wish once he closed the sinkhole he had made.

  “Very well, then,” Rivia exhaled and removed his outerwear. “Let’s give these students a lesson in alchemagi.”

  “Phisa, go after Holden!” Trinqit ordered.

  “And let you take all the glory? Ha, screw you!”

  Vermer shouted, “Ms. Camryde! I still haven’t slowed him down!”

  “He’s old! He’s slow enough already!” Phisa said with a shrill laugh as she charged at Rivia.

  She fired her rocket, and the scythe came down at Rivia within a split second. Or rather, it came close—he had just barely sidestepped her by using a burst of air to push himself away. With her blade planted firmly in the stone for a moment, he created a blade of pure iron in an instant and aimed at her neck. Phisa put her armored glove in front of it in time, caught the blade and held it firmly, and then turned it molten to melt it.

  “You’ll get yourself killed!” Trinqit said angrily and wove a multi-layered mandala. “God damn it, of all the people to underestimate…”

  Rivia saw the intricate pattern being formed in front of Trinqit, who was ready to propel it forward with no regard for the safety of the students beyond the battlefield. He blasted himself upward with an airburst, flipped around in mid-air, and summoned multiple spears of rock out from the stage in an attempt to impale her.

  Jenera quickly ran out of room to dodge them as they cut off her every exit, and was forced to either release her mandala or fire it. She chose the latter, launching it without adjusting its trajectory. Rivia pushed himself backward after landing, ended up only get nicked by the atomic lines on his knees, and then watched as the lines continued on. A group of students by the edge of the arena saw the lines coming and fearfully covered their faces with their arms, unable to create a defensive spell in the heat of the moment that might’ve slowed the deadly wayward spell.

  Even with Phisa back on him and trying to land a hit with her blade, Rivia elegantly dodged every attack and created a multi-faceted wall of ice in front of the students. The mandala carved into it, but the angles of the reflective ice diffused and scattered the energized lines, dissipating the attack. In his next move, he pulled the wall of ice forward and broke it apart into collapsing chunks that threatened to crush Phisa.

  She saw them coming down in the reflection of her blade, rolled out of the way of one block of ice, then called up her flames to melt the rest, turning them into steam that filled the room before they could hit her.

  Having already drained himself of much of his already waning power, Rivia’s alchemagi dedicated to his mental defenses began to wear away, and he felt a sudden blast from Vermer that caused an instant migraine and mild delirium. He knew he had no chance against the man in a straight duel of the minds, but he did use Vermer’s momentary lapse in his own defenses to return fire. With a direct gaze into his crooked little eyes, Rivia sent a telepathic shock his way, strong enough to knock him out for just a second or two and break his psychic link.

  “Agh!” Vermer cried out, covered his eyes, and stumbled back.

  Phisa changed her scythe’s configuration with the flick of a switch while Rivia wasn’t looking, shifting the upper part of the blade to open up a small rail-driver on its bottom half. She came after Rivia in a different combat form, slamming her weapon into the stone, each rumbling impact the result of a heavy blow. Rivia found himself losing ground to both her and Trinqit, who was harassing him with a torrent of small vector lines.

  “The world’s best silver indeed,” Phisa said mockingly between her breaths. “Had you been born a paradigm, we’d all be dead already.”

  “You have far too much pride,” Rivia told her.

  Phisa hit the ground at least a dozen times as she forced Rivia into dodging her blows in a tight circular pattern. He wasn’t sure what she was playing at, but knew he had to make his move before whatever maneuver she was setting up gave her a sudden advantage.

  Rivia hit the stage with his palm, cracking the ground in Trinqit’s direction. A portion of the stone was uprooted and torn apart, launching the vector pretorian several feet into the air. He then created a thin but sharply pointed needle and shot it at her, aiming for her neck.

  Trinqit raised her mechanical arm to block the projectile, although it pierced right through it before stopping halfway, severing wires and stopping several gears and pistons from moving freely.

  He created another long needle, held it firmly in his hand, and after ducking under a scythe swipe, aimed upward, knocked Phisa’s mask up, and sliced into her cheek. She felt sharp pain, and fearing the injury was worse, backed off to check her face in the reflection of her blade. The needle had been so thin that it was nearly invisible, rendering it too difficult to parry.

  “Phisa!” Andrine and Risar both called out.

  She grimaced at the sight of her new scar, lowered her mask, and shook her hand to fling away the drops of blood on her armored glove.

  “This is what war looks like!” Rivia shouted out to the students. “You should all think twice before willingly serving the Guard!”

  “Shut up already…” Phisa snarled, and signaled Trinqit.

  Seeing her gesture, Trinqit muttered, “Fine. We’ll do it your way.”

  She created a large barrier of vector lines around Rivia, moving them about and steadily compacting them in order to get the general to move into a specific spot on the battlefield. Phisa waited for him to get into just the right position—until Trinqit saw her chance for an easy kill and jumped the gun by suddenly imploding her hexagonal vector barrier.

  “No!” Phisa yelled at her. “Don’t—”

  Seeing the lines about to crush in and slice him apart, Rivia used mind alchemagi to slow down his perception of time a little, just enough to find an opening. At the right moment, he leapt into the air, rolled, and slipped right in between two horizontal lines. The cage then collapsed on itself, breaking apart and bringing Trinqit close to her limit.

  “Damn it!” she huffed and started working on another mandala with her remaining alchemagi reserves.

  Phisa, equally furious at her superior and concerned for her own safety as Rivia moved towards her with a determined glint in his eye, took a step back. He, too, was obviously nearly exhausted, but if he could only kill one pretorian today, it was going to be her. He had created a sharp blade of pure iron, grasping it tightly in his hand and ready to bring it down.

  “Vermer!” Phisa cried out and raised her scythe defensively.

  Over the next second, he came closer, and closer…

  Then he came to a full stop, right where Phisa wanted him all along, holding his head in agony. Vermer was grinning; he had just broken through the general’s defenses and hit him with a powerful mind burn.

  Phisa smiled through her fear, and as Rivia watched, she raised a single finger to cast a simple spell, which she sent off with a snap. Every one of the multiple rocket fuel pellets she had injected into the ground around the battlefield caught fire, and a moment later detonated into seismic explosions that sprayed stone shrapnel all around her foe.

  Gerone jolted to his feet for a second time, joining several dozen other students in the auditorium who were waiting to see Rivia’s fate for themselves. Even Quinlin took a step forward and raised an eyebrow.

  As the smoke and dust cleared, the block of ice that Rivia had encased himself inside was revealed. He had flash-frozen the moisture in the air around him, and the ice was riddled with impacts from the explosions. It had shielded—but also immobilized him.

  “Ha!” Phisa shouted and swung her scythe with all her strength.

  Her blade met strong resistance against the compacted ice, but it did go through. Halfway in, it stopped, and was stuck for a moment until she warmed it up and began melting the surrounding ice. The audience fell quiet as a few drops of blood rolled down her weapon’s edge. And before the ice melted to free her weapon entirely, Rivia released his control.

  The instant Rivia’s ice dissipated into a cloud of vapor, he grabbed Phisa’s blade firmly with his bare hand and kept it from going in deeper.

  “Do you think he…” Nazz murmured at Gerone’s side as his friend clenched his teeth. “Is that it? Did Phisa get him?”

  Trinqit approached to see the damage for herself, keeping a finger out and ready to summon a quick vector line for an easy kill if she had to.

  “Heh… Hehe…” Phisa panted. “Got you, General…”

  “I want him alive, Ms. Camryde!” Quinlin shouted in front of his many students and teachers. “Slice off his arms and legs and cauterize the wounds if you must, but we need Vermer to dig through that mind of his!”

  “S-so…” Rivia choked and spat out some blood. “That was always the goal…” He looked at Phisa in the eye as she took off her mask. “That was why you both held back, just a bit… I bet… I bet you hate that…”

  Phisa grimaced and put all her willpower into restraining herself from simply sliding the blade in a little farther.

  “All of that vim, not reaching its full potential…” Rivia chuckled.

  “Quiet, old man,” Phisa growled. “There can always be more pain.”

  “Do you see what they’ll do to anyone who so much as doubts?” Rivia yelled out to the audience. “I came here to negotiate peace! Terms to end this bloody war! See how they respond? They don’t want an end.”

  “Liar!” Phisa shouted. “Students, don’t you listen to a word!”

  “Phisa, enough!” Trinqit snapped at her. “Remove your blade!”

  Her attention solely focused on the old man in front of her, Phisa said with a growl, “You… The Guard gave me everything. It’s one thing to hate them, but to betray them? You turned your back on your oath.”

  He looked up at her. “You’re wrong, young lady. I’ve been planning all of this for centuries. I never truly served them.”

  She pressed the blade in another inch. “You… You…”

  “Ms. Camryde!” Quinlin called out. “Control yourself!”

  It took every ounce of her willpower to obey her orders. After a few more seconds, she tugged at her blade, freeing Rivia. He nearly fell forward, but managed to keep standing as light gasps filled the chamber.

  “Very good…” Quinlin sighed. “Now, Trinqit, if you would kindly remove his limbs. He won’t be needing them anymore this life.”

  Cruel but loyal, Trinqit nodded and began forming a vertical vector pentagon near the general. Wheezing, he looked at the lines and let out the faintest laugh at the thought of being nothing more than a head and torso.

  “Perhaps…” he said above a whisper. “I shall live long enough to see the Angels put your father on trial, and your family lose everything.”

  Her hands already trembling as she held her powerful scythe, Phisa glared at Rivia and felt her hatred for the man reach a crescendo.

  She refused to hold back anymore. She couldn’t. Her need to have power over others was too great. With a flick of a switch, as Rivia mumbled a few more words, her scythe’s rocket fired up again and burned brightly.

  “Phisa, don’t—” Quinlin’s panicked voice failed to reach her.

  Without even really realizing it, she recited several words in her head and set Rivia ablaze, the fire hot and quickly consuming his Angels officer uniform. But he didn’t let his expression admit any pain. He just kept grinning at her, endlessly tempting her to do what he had wanted.

  She let out a cry and plunged her blade into his chest, at such a speed that the movement was a singular blur of motion. The damage was so great that Jonan Rivia had within a second turned into a plume of orange that intertwined with the gray smoke of his burning clothes. They collapsed into a heap in the center of the stage as a scythe hung above them.

  “Don’t you ever! No one… ever…” Phisa breathed out as she realized what she had done and loud gasps swept through the chamber.

  She looked up at the viewing box, where Lenox simply stayed still, Quinlin stared back with shock eyes, and Andrine covered her open mouth.

  “What… What did you do?” Quinlin suddenly burst. “Phisa!”

  “It was vital that we take him alive!” Trinqit added.

  Phisa’s combative nature quickly returned, and she argued back loudly, “Oh, yeah? Is that why you lured him into a damn coliseum? How did you expect this to end? You see many Angels walking out of here?”

  “He was beaten, and you let him goad you into killing him!”

  “Give it a rest, Jenera! We… I just dealt the Angels a major blow!”

  Phisa looked around at the shocked faces until she found Vermer in the audience, who was stoic and waiting to see what would happen next. She then looked at Lenox, whose hand had moved to his sword; he was ready to defend her, even if her superior attempted an act of discipline.

  “You have no idea what you’ve just done…” Trinqit said, and then watched in disbelief as Phisa grinned at her. “Smile all you want. You’ve undone a great deal of planning that centered around capturing Rivia alive. Neither Drides nor the queen will be happy about this.”

  “I think I can make it up to them,” Phisa said with a nervous laugh. “Watch me bag another big Angel when someone comes here for revenge.”

  “Unbelievable…” Trinqit groaned and left the battlefield.

  Up above, Gerone looked down at Phisa with furious indignation, his fists both clenched. Several dozen more of his classmates in the room had similar reactions. Nazz, sitting at his side, couldn’t understand why.

  “That was ugly,” Nazz grumbled. “But at least one of the biggest criminals in Aurrian history is outta the way. Maybe the war will end soon.”

  “Rivia…” Gerone pushed out as a single tear escaped. “… Why?”

  On the other side of Aurra, Xavier reappeared in the courtyard of N’s military offices. His legs still trembling after he had escaped from M in the demirriage just seconds earlier, he stumbled out and onto the ground, where he lost all control of his nerves and emptied his breakfast on the grass. It wasn’t that he hadn’t seen his share of horrors of seven years of war; but today, he felt solely responsible for abandoning the Angels’ leader.

  “Sergeant Holden?” Izae exclaimed and ran up to him.

  He looked up to see her extending a hand to help him get to his feet. Several other officers were on the grounds, on their way to another briefing about the fronts elsewhere in the City. Among them were the Nolland twins and their father. Upon seeing Xavier, most everyone turned their attention to him and rushed over.

  “Xavier…?” Milla spoke up as dozens of eyes tried to locate Rivia. “What… what happened in M? Where’s the general?”

  “I…” Xavier choked. “He… Q-Quinlin, h-he…”

  The pace of his breathes increasing, Garder narrowed his one eye and squeezed tightly on his sword’s hilt as realization set in.

  “Mr. Holden?” Leovyn said calmly. “Tell us everything.”

  Commander Savienth often spent what few days of R&R she had away from the royal City, instead opting for nearby B, where many more entertainment venues operated. One of her frequent stops was the old, smoky mah-jong parlor near the urban core of the canal-filled metropolis.

  She blended in with a hundred other players in the red and gold parlor, who paid the military commander little mind. Today, playing at her table were Kae and two other high-ranking officers. As usual, she had won the most games so far, her skills to seemingly bend chance to her will quite renown. A cigarette in her mechanical hand, she revealed her tiles to her subordinates and scored her ninth win of the day so far.

  “I don’t know how you do it,” Kae said with a sigh as she dumped her tiles into the middle of the table. “Every game, you manage to surprise.”

  “It’s all about having the will to change a hand each and every turn,” Savienth said and added another smoke to her ashtray. “Risk a loss, sacrifice good tiles. And keep your eyes on your opponents, of course.”

  Savienth noticed Charles at the parlor entrance, standing between his two bodyguards as he looked around for her. She pardoned herself from the table, Kae staying at her side. Mr. Renek looked rather concerned.

  “Charles, what brings you here?” Savienth asked him.

  His eyes darted and he replied, “I assume you haven’t heard yet.”

  “What’s happened?” Kae questioned him.

  “It’s Rivia. Phisa, Vermer, Lenox, Trinqit, and Quinlin… They…”

  Savienth asked hopefully, “They captured him?”

  “N-no. They lured him into M’s ‘arena’ and… They killed him. The school’s keeping details vague, but I heard Phisa delivered the fatal blow.”

  Kae and Savienth glanced at each other, perplexed by the news.

  “You’re… Certain of this?” Kae replied and rubbed her chin.

  “It’s seeming more and more likely, yes.”

  “Does Fordein know this?” Savienth wondered.

  “I don’t see how. I certainly haven’t told him, since I don’t trust him. This is more proof that the other pretorians are conspiring together. How do you want to handle this? They’re all probably still at the school.”

  “God… damn it…” Savienth muttered.

  “We have to take our chance to confront them, before the queen finds out and things get chaotic,” Kae said. “I say we tell Phisa that she needs to report to her tribunal right away. Once we have her imprisoned somewhere, we’ll go from there. She can’t run wild a moment longer.”

  “Agreed,” Savienth replied. “Who knows what else they have planned. First N, now this… What a disaster that girl has been, leaving a damn mess in her wake. The Angels will not hesitate anymore after this, at least not for the next few months. Very well. I’ll come with you.”

  “I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Commander,” Charles cautioned. “This is a pretorian issue. Let the two of us confront her.”

  “Don’t tell me what not to do, Mr. Renek.”

  “… All right, we can’t wait,” Kae said. “We need to find out if those three will even listen to us at this point, or if they’ve gone rogue.”

  Charles, his bodyguards, and Kae and Savienth headed into the nearest Guard fibrocator station, armed themselves with several standard weapons, and took it straight to the terminal in M, in the northeast.

  Evirtide had changed in the few short hours since the school’s latest guests had been shown the headmaster’s hospitality. As the five approached the school from the nearby station, several students came running out of the doors frantically, and headed towards the City, not even noticing the three Guard higher-ups they passed on the way.

  Once they were all closer to the doors, they could hear the sounds of open rebellion. Guardsmen were shouting orders, and students fired back in unison their demands and calls for disobedience.

  In the grand hall, Kae, Charles, and Savienth found themselves shocked to see several dozen students face-down on the floor, their hands cuffed and fingers bound as Guardsmen kept them immobilized.

  An officer noticed the arrivals, rushed over, and exclaimed, “Commander Savienth! Glad you made it so fast—and brought the other pretorians with you. Excellent. We should have this quelled shortly.”

  She responded in her gritty voice, “What the hell is happening?”

  “Did… they not forward our message? We only just asked A for backup maybe ten minutes ago. Are you here for a different reason?”

  “Just tell what’s going on,” Kae demanded.

  “A large number of the students suddenly turned a protest into a riot. It must’ve had something to do with another one of those ‘duels’ in the conference chamber. I think the students can’t stand them anymore.”

  “Where is Quinlin? Bring us to him, immediately.”

  “I… I’m afraid I can’t, ma’am. He’s busy quelling this spot of trouble at the moment.”

  “I’m sure he can fit in a meeting with us,” Savienth replied.

  “Honestly, he isn’t even in the school right now. He’s out at M’s Guardian Headquarters, organizing a long-term response to all this.”

  “For a ‘spot of trouble?’” Charles muttered back. “It’s starting to sound like this protest may actually be closer to a full-scale uprising.”

  The officer looked away for a moment, then gave his next-best offer, “The other pretorians are still here. I can take you to them.”

  Sighing, Kae replied, “That will have to do.”

  The officer gestured over to some soldiers who became their escorts, and brought the three visitors into the second-floor faculty office, a windowless stone room protected by over a dozen Guardian knights.

  Inside, security staff were coordinating via radio with various teams of Guardsmen in their efforts to suppress the several hundred kids that were running amok through a school that was easy to get lost in—which made it easy for the students to organize in hard-to-reach, secure places.

  Phisa, Vermer, and Trinqit were supervising a counter-insurgency, that had only recently sprouted up to try and contain a response that was a long time coming. Rivia had clearly set off the spark on a powder keg.

  Phisa, hovering over several of the security officers as her sister looked bored while sitting on a nearby desk, quickly noticed the visitors—the glare from all three of them piercing and intimidating, at first.

  “Ms. Camryde, you’ve really done it this time,” Savienth said with a grunt. “I do believe it’s time for you to report to A, and surrender to authorities. We’ll try and move your tribunal up in the schedule.”

  The young pretorian took a deep breath, gave her thumping heart a moment to cool down, then grinned and replied, “Can’t you see I’m busy?”

  “What?”

  “Admittedly, I’m helping to clean up a mess I may have helped create, but I believe I’m needed here for the time-being.”

  “This isn’t a request, Phisa!” Charles exclaimed.

  “Hmph. Trinqit, Vermer, what do you think?”

  “Heh… Lenox says she’s being very helpful,” Vermer said with a sneer. “Maybe we should bring him in, and you can take it up with him.”

  “We don’t answer to Mr. Crawn, and neither do you,” Kae fired back. “I don’t know what you’re all planning, but it’s ending, now.”

  “You sound so commanding!” Phisa said glibly. “That’s the side of you I used to respect! If only you showed that resolve in N recently, instead of surrendering it to the Angels.”

  “Watch your tongue, young lady,” Savienth chided her.

  “So I accidentally killed the commander of Aurra’s worst traitors. I know. You’re not ‘supposed’ to go out and kill an enemy’s highest officers. Rules of engagement, negotiations, disrupting your countermoves, sowing chaos, blah, blah… But history will see this as a good day for the Guard.”

  “The reprisals will be bad for all Aurra. What’s happening at Evirtide will only be the start. If J’s populace rebels next…”

  “Maybe you’re just overthinking it. In the end, doesn’t morale win the war? When word gets around about Rivia, our side will get the boost.”

  “This is insubordination—all three of you, complete defiance,” Kae said, and then glared at Risar after the young girl let out a snicker. “The senate will soon see the mistake of handing Drides another open spot—”

  “The senate?” Trinqit replied with a laugh. “They’re on our side.”

  “Jenera’s correct,” Phisa added. “I’m certain that after today, I’ll have an impressive track record with the senators. Even more so with the security council. I won’t need to rely on my father’s backing anymore.”

  “You…” Charles let out a growl.

  “Please, Mr. Renek, Ms. Anneise, Ms. Savienth… I’m very busy right now,” Phisa said facetiously. “Bring this up with Pristil if you have to. I just hope the debate doesn’t keep the government from tending to more pressing matters. I say, let’s keep working together instead.”

  Kae raised a hand, ready to slap Phisa across the face for the show of disrespect. But she took a deep breath, backed away, and then left the room with Charles. Savienth stood there a moment longer, thinking of the right words as Phisa patiently waited for her to leave.

  “Given your alignment, I know you won’t take this seriously,” the commander said in a gruff tone. “But you’ve played with fire. And we won’t have your back when you get burned.” She looked at Vermer and Trinqit once Phisa had given her a rude smirk, adding, “I don’t know what you and Lenox are planning, but it won’t succeed. The queen won’t be undermined.”

  “If she didn’t want to be, she should’ve ended this war last year,” Trinqit stated. “We’ll give Aurrians what she has been unable to provide.”

  Feeling powerless, Savienth squeezed her robotic hand into a fist, then turned and left—passing by more detained students on the way.

  When Rivia stepped into Hold, the first large group he came across were recent fallen Angels from all over Aurra. Upon realizing who had just joined their ranks, there were gasps and tears. Some bowed to him, others prayed. All of them parted to let him walk through.

  He wasn’t keen on being treated like a messiah, but nevertheless, he held out his hands and made light contact with those nearest to him as he walked by. Some of his men, regardless if they had met him in life or not, feared that this was certainly the end of the war. Others would wait for his return in the next Aurrian cycle, and promised that the rebellion could rise again, and then again, no matter how many tries it would take.

  “The war will still end soon, my friends,” he promised them repeatedly. “When you next come to Aurra, it will be a new world. You’ll see. Don’t despair. We have many capable leaders. The fight continues.”

  His admirers slowed his pace, and it took him hours to make it through the segregated crowd. Once he departed it and saw the void ahead of him, he realized what Hold’s staff was doing. He understood what the war had done to Aurra’s people. Even in the transitional world, they had to be divided. Behind him were Angels, in front of him in the distance, there seemed to be everyday citizens. Many of them would be angry with him, too, but he was grateful that he wouldn’t have to traverse through a group of a thousand Guardsmen and suffer their jeers and hatred.

  He remembered what he had been told long ago, about the place he needed to go. Unsure if he could access it, he walked out into the middle of the two crowds, then sat down and meditated.

  “I know you won’t understand…” he whispered, trying to reach the Nolland twins and so many others. “But I had my reasons.”

  He stayed out there by his lonesome for hours, and then days. He slowly walked in tempo with the steady shuffling of the two nomadic groups, trying to maintain a wide berth from either of them.

  Eventually, finally, it seemed like even the Angels had forgotten about him—all of whom showed their respect by keeping their distance. When it seemed certain that no one was watching him, whether Hold staff or those going to Earth, he slipped away into the white void.

  He walked and walked, in a singular direction. More hours passed. Just as he was starting to lose faith, he hit the wall that enclosed the abyssal world. Remembering the instructions, he got down on his knees, placed his hand face up on the floor, and moved his fingers up and down, searching for an invisible latch. After some time, he unlocked something unseen.

  A door opened, and Rivia stepped into the solid black on the other side, disappearing from Hold and postponing his journey to rebirth.