The northern coast of the former-nation of Kitez was rocky and expansive, and the border-mountains that once divided it from Sargon sloped down towards the water, eventually leaving only the tops visible before disappearing beneath the waves.  The rocks and boulders gave way to a sandy beach, with evergreen-type trees clinging precariously to large stones on the eroded shore.


    At the edge of an alcove, the mantle of the First Wing manifested, feet lightly perched atop the sand just inches beyond the furthest edge of the tide.  He looked around carefully, but within seconds, he heard the unmistakable sound of a skiff inbound, and he turned his eyes out over the water.  It landed - a large, well-equipped man hopped out - and the vessel took off again.


    “Lord Rylen.” The man started as he approached, and pulled off the wraps from his well-protected face.  He gave a polite bow with an arm across his chest.


    “J’ard, I appreciate your timely arrival.” The Eidolon commented on that quiet landscape, “Did you receive it?”


    J’ard withdrew a small cylindrical vial from his clothes, then put it back, “Yessir.”


    “That will be your only supply of nanotech as you venture in.  It’ll only serve to help guide you on your whereabouts, and allow you to make annotations about your findings.  You will be entirely on your own, and help will be hours away if you get into trouble.”


    “I understand, sir.” J’ard nodded, “What exactly is my mission, sir?”


    Rylen turned towards the rocky outcrops from the edge of those mountains, “Lord Gabriel is incapable of giving me the least bit of wiggle-room on the Exclusion Zone from the Emperor.  But, more than ever, I’m convinced there’s something in there that we need to know about.  Something that will explain why the afflicted who exile themselves here come back more powerful than they ought to be…” His words trailed, and he shook his head, “Something important.  Something worth laying down one’s life and allegiances to protect or hide.  The Fafnir have never ventured more than a few miles in, and none of them has ever reported back anything unusual about the landscape or surrounds…but this isn’t a mission that the Fafnir can handle, I think.  This will take a little more…finesse.”


    “Any restrictions, sir?”


    “No combat.  Defend yourself if you must but, otherwise, this is entirely under the guise of an investigation, not an apprehension.” The First answered, stepping a bit further up the beach.  He paused though, and reached his hand forward, watching his fingers and forearm dissolve as it tried to press through the border barrier, “If and when you find something of interest, report back immediately.  I can’t come to you, but I’ll keep a close eye on your network.  And…”


    “And, sir?”


    “Map what you can about the communities out here.  The number of people, where they’re located, the paths they may commonly travel, the kind and quantity of afflicted in their midst…anything else of note that you can think of.  If you find anyone on my list, especially, highlight it and I’ll forward it to Captain Rydell.”


    “Time limit?”


    “Six weeks.  I’ve notated on your map where you should go for the extraction, and you’ll get more detailed information about what this mission is asking from there as well.  No sense being haphazard about it; we’ll cover this territory methodically.”


    “Yessir.”


    “I won’t delay you further.  Good luck out there, Hunter.” Rylen finished, and backed into the border barrier to disperse his mantle entirely.


    J’ard looked up at the edge of that wild, untamed land, and stepped through the invisible barrier as he pulled his balaclava back on.


    .


    The awkward terror of the unexpected visit had left both Kourin and Phexides restless and paranoid, sitting up awake on the worry that Tallus might come back.  By the time Phex’s morning alarm went off – and scared the absolute Hell out of the both of them when it did – they were both red-eyed from the lack of sleep.


    “…I have to go to work like this…” Phex complained in a dreary tone, “…You should try to get some sleep before you go…?”


    “…I…really don’t want to do this…” Kourin answered, covered head-to-toe in a thin blanket, only her face visible as she pulled her knees up to wrap her arms around, “It was easier when I didn’t know any of them…”


    “Yeah…” He agreed, and pet the woman’s head as he went by, “I know the place is pretty poorly lived in, but if there’s anything you want, feel free…  There’re some shitty protein drinks in the fridge.  I’m gonna shower.”


    “Thanks, Phex…”


    The little apartment was barely the size of a mid-level hotel room, with the main living area serving as bedroom and mini-kitchen, too.  The only thing that had a separate room for itself was the bathroom, and with Phexides already in there, Kourin found herself alone…in that small open space, and in her thoughts.


    The best I can hope for now is to get the information from Seth without him finding out what I want it for… She considered dubiously.  I have to find a way to convince him to find those black-sites…  Even if he can’t figure out where Scyren actually is, if we know where she might be, then…that would be enough…


    She buried her face against her knees…and when she looked up, she was outside and on her way to that unfortunate meeting.  Her eyes felt heavy and she could only keep them half-open; every blink made it seem like she’d lost time, and she had to reacquaint herself with the here and now all over again.  Spotting Seth felt surreal, like he was nothing more than a mirage in the growing crowd.  She wasn’t even completely sure if he’d actually brought the bouquet of daisies she thought she saw…at least not until she lifted out of where she’d nearly fallen asleep into them, and awoke again with a start.


    “…Are you okay?” Seth wondered apprehensively, “You’re really out of it.”


    She just lifted a hand to her face, “I’m really sorry…  I don’t think I slept at all…”


    “I can tell.  What happened?  You were fine when I left you yesterday.”


    Kourin was dead on her feet, and swayed slightly.


    Worriedly, Seth stepped in to make sure she didn’t drop right there on the sidewalk.  Simply pulling her into a hug at first, he glanced around cluelessly, and for complete lack of knowing what else to do, he hoisted the women up off her feet entirely.  If she was faking it just for the fun of testing him, or actually out cold, he couldn’t tell, but with her head carefully set to his shoulder and her sundress tucked against his arm, he made his way over to the park entrance and went in early.


    An enormous outdoor stage was still being set up at that point in the early afternoon, but there were hundreds of other people already there to pick their preferred real-estate.  Seth just joined the process, and found a spot a moderate distance away, but up on a slight bulge of a hill, with a huge tree set on the top of it.  He did his best to lean so he could free up one hand, and finagled with his overlay to manufacture a blanket-like sheet of nanotech to set over the ground before he sat down.


    And thus passed the next two and a half hours.  The crowd grew, the stage-assembly finished, the sun passed across the sky, and Seth marveled in confusion at whatever had just happened.  He didn’t dare try to wake the woman up though, he just sat still, with his back against the base of the tree and Kourin’s head against his chest.  When she did finally stir again, he waited for her to do so in her own time and manner.


    With the weather as nice as it was, and the sun passing through the leaves of the tree to dapple the grassy hill, it couldn’t have been a more pleasant rousing.  Kourin rubbed her eyes, and set one hand against the ground to push up to sit.  She blinked hard and yawned…and suddenly realized, “Oh my god, I am so sorry.” She stammered, and quickly pulled away to perch on her knees so she could bow her head at the teen, “That was so rude of me…!”


    Seth just looked at her in surprise, and only-then noticed the drool-puddle on his shirt.  Kourin looked up at him funny when he just laughed and sat up a bit straighter, “Well, if anything, I must not be throwing any red flags if you feel safe enough to do that.”


    “I’m so embarrassed…” She shook her head, and tried to comb her fingers through her bangs to straighten them out again beside her face, “How long did I trap you like this…?”


    “Trap?” He puffed, “I mean…it was unexpected, but I didn’t mind.  You looked like you needed it.  Are you good?  You were out for nearly three hours.”


    “Three HOURS!?” She yelped in surprise, and got a bunch of curious looks from passing spectators.  Kourin quickly hid her face with both hands, but sighed and gave a nod from behind them, “I think so…  Power naps, right?”


    “Happy to be a pillow anytime.”


    Her face went red, “…I don’t even remember meeting-up with you…  Did I say anything stupid…?”


    “No.  That was my job.” Seth answered with a nervous laugh, and reached his arms way up to stretch.  He quickly realized how sore his back and backside were from not moving, and he stretched himself out to lay down instead, “Oof…”


    By then, Kourin at least let herself slide slightly to her side, rather than sitting down formally and straight on her knees.  She slouched slightly as the Rydell nudged his shoes off and reached down to rub his sides, “I…damn…  What could you have possibly said that was stupid?  Compared to me earlier, an ant would be a genius.”


    “Something along the lines of ‘oh wow, you wore a dress, I would do anything you asked right now’ or something similar.” He teased at himself, and pulled his arms back up to cross behind his head, one knee rising to bend upward, “Probably for the best that you don’t remember that part though.”


    She just smiled, “Yeah, probably.  Who knows what I would’ve asked you to do.”  She finally noticed the flowers – again – and this time raised them to her nose just to smell, not to pass-out into, “These are really sweet.  You went all-out.”


    “Hopefully it’s not over the top?” He answered, and twisted to lay on his side, propped up on one elbow, “I considered the rose-route but I figured that would be too on the nose…”


    Kourin snickered into the bouquet, but then finally turned and sat next to the teen, looking out over the growing audience.  She set the flowers across her crossed legs, “There’s so many more people here now than before.  You’d think some main-line band was coming or something…”


    “Sounds like you don’t come to the city that often.”


    “Oh, is this common?”


    “At this time of year, yeah absolutely, at least once a week.  They do massive light-shows and put on these huge choreographed displays.  Did you bring your glasses?”


    Kourin reached back to tap on the little bag she’d managed to remember, “It’s probably the only thing I did this morning that was smart.”


    Seth gave her a curious look, “Why didn’t you sleep?  You sounded like you were looking forward to meeting-up for this.  Showing up like you did…”


    She felt guilty all over again, “Sorry, it’s just…  No, I couldn’t…”


    “What is it?” Seth pressed, and lifted up to lean against his hand instead.


    “I don’t want to throw Phex under a bus, but…he got a bit too into his feelings last night that you wouldn’t help.  I spent all night consoling him.”


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    Seth grimaced, “I…okay.  I didn’t realize?”


    “It’s fine.  You had known him for all of 30 seconds before he threw his biggest rocks at you.  It’s probably more my fault for ever agreeing to introduce you, so…sorry again about that.” She explained, “And you barely know me as it is.”


    That earned a nervous laugh, “Yeah, I’ve been a little…er, a lot curious…about why you chose the nickname that you have?” He finally braved to ask, “Of all the names…and his, too…  If anything’s a bit on the nose, it’s probably that, right?”


    Kourin blinked in surprise, but then just lifted a hand to her cheek, “Ehh…well…  You remember when I said I’m officially Mikkela Hennison?”


    “Sure.”


    “That’s…cuz that’s my nickname.  It’s my Myrmidon alias.  Kourin is my real name.”


    “You’re kidding.  But his is definitely Wyatt for real, like you said…?”


    She feigned a shrug, “No, not kidding…and yeah, for sure.  Bit of a smartass move, right?”


    “Right…”


    “Don’t think too hard about it.  ‘Kourin’ is a cute name, I think.  Lots of other people probably used it over the years anyway.  Can’t tell people what to name their kids just cuz of some pesky association from a thousand-million years ago.” She mused, but then leaned against her own hand, and teased to rest a bit closer to him, “What would you even do if I was the Kourin Harrow anyway?”


    “I wouldn’t even know where to start.  ‘How are you still alive after all this time,’ would probably be at the top.”


    “Well, the Eidolon are still the same people, right?” She proposed, and gestured out over the crowd – and the wider cityscape beyond the park’s treetops, “They watched all this rise from the rocks, and they don’t know how they kept on living all this time.”


    “They don’t?”


    “Do they?  I thought no one knew.  Given half the people in Kitez and Sargon think the Eidolon are just an A.I. with their digitized personalities…and the Eidolon themselves have never gone out of their way to dissuade them from the concept…”


    Seth puffed, “Oh, they’re definitely not artificial people.  They’re very much who they claim to be.  I guess you’re right though…no one’s ever explained how or why they’re effectively immortal.”


    “Have you ever wondered?” Kourin asked carefully, “With the Tuonela parked on Ground Zero, it must be a common question from them, at the very least.  Telling those people that, not only have 350 years passed while they were asleep, but their fleet command is still alive after all this time and they’ve chosen to take funny-looking avatars?  Lord Rylen’s especially…”


    Seth scoffed, “You think Lord Rylen’s is especially weird while knowing what Lady Etienne chose to look like?”


    “I’ve never actually seen her, so I can’t say.  Same with Lord Arbelos.”


    “…Eh?” He stared in confusion, “You’ve never seen Lady Etienne?”


    Kourin shook her head, “Is that weird?”


    “I mean…I guess not, but still?  Not even some pictures on the Cloud?  Lord Rylen and her were practically tied at the hip for the first 6 months after the Nightlong War, coordinating the recovery-effort here and in Kitez, and bringing the Tuonela over the strait.”


    She just smiled again, “Sorry…  I don’t always pay attention to the chatter online.  I was really busy for that time period.”


    Seth quirked a brow, “…That would’ve been right around the time you joined the First.”


    Kourin nodded, but tilted her head, “Why did your tone take a suspicious note at the end?”


    “Ah!  Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way.  When Lord Rylen mentioned that you were a Myrmidon 1^st Class, but had only been in the First for a year, he sounded a bit skeptical, so maybe it stuck with me.  He didn’t say or do anything about it though, so I brushed it off.  I may or may not have a blind-spot when it comes to the whole division…”


    The petite woman just chuckled quietly, “You’re a funny guy, Seth.  That irrational phobia of the Inquisitors’ masks is gonna get you one of these days.”


    Seth sighed loudly at himself, “Sadly, it already has…  Lord Rylen wanted me to join their ranks last year, and I was such a massive chicken about it that I had to turn him down.”


    “Sheehs…  Were you terrorized by an Inquisitor as a kid or something?”


    “I’m not even really sure.  I don’t remember ever interacting with them directly in a bad way…  Guess it makes sense to call it an irrational phobia.”


    “Did he tell you where the Inquisitor bases were back then?” Kourin wondered – she felt a twinge at the back of her head, and her eye twitched slightly, “…Like, where you might be working if you agreed?”


    “Nah…never got that involved with the process, so it never came up.” He answered, “You know way more about all that than I do.”


    “…Oddly enough, I actually don’t.” She noted sheepishly, “The only thing I do know is that there are two different corps within the division…one that goes about their business from the fleet’s ships, and one that works out of the black-sites.  Only the really high-ranking folks overlap there.”


    Seth gave her a quizzical look, “Doesn’t your rank count as high?”


    “As a Myrmidon?  No way!” She laughed, “Being marked as 1^st class only means my affliction has been assessed into that category.”


    “…What does it mean?”


    “Oh…I thought you would’ve know that scale.  The Fafnir ought to?”


    “I think the Fafnir have their own grading system for the afflicted…”


    “Ah…okay, well…  In the Myrmidon corps, 3^rd class is considered benign; being able to make yourself glow in the dark or float, turn your skin hard like rock…stuff that doesn’t really make a big difference practically-speaking.  The 2^nd class folks are those who can influence the areas around them, like being able to create fire and ice, strike with abnormal strength, electrify the air…that kind of thing.”


    “I get it…like internal effects and external.  So, what’s 1^st class then?”


    “High-danger.” She proffered that sweet smile again like it was no big deal, “Those with the potential to do serious damage to the Council if they turned.  Telepathy, telekinesis…being able to turn invisible.  Things that mess with peoples’ heads.”


    Seth was stunned, “Wow…  Yeah, the Fafnir scale is very different from that…  I didn’t even realize the afflicted could be classed differently.  Yours sounds like a scale of intra-organizational threat-level, while the Fafnir grade based on battlefield potential.  Being able to turn invisible would be annoying for them to deal with, but…they could just carpet-blast the area with their range weapons, and…”


    “Spooky.” Kourin teased, “Yeah…splat.”


    “Kinda weird to think that you’re considered a high-threat level…” Seth rubbed his head with his free hand, “But I guess you really could cause a lot of problems if you weren’t on our side.  Makes total sense that Lord Rylen would assess your rank and then not be that bothered by why you’re at a Rift.  How come you only just joined a year ago though?”


    Kourin hesitated to answer for a moment, but then couldn’t help but burst out laughing.  Seth looked at her incredulously, not getting why she thought it was such a funny question.  She reached forward to pet his arm though, “Gods…  I joined cuz the Council blew-up everything I knew.  I had no where else to go.  Being a Kitezan bumpkin does that to you.”


    Seth was immediately upright, “You’re Kitezan?”


    “Yeah.  Where’d you think I was from?”


    He looked on, baffled all the more, “…I don’t know, I didn’t really think about it.  I guess I just assumed no one from Kitez would ever join-up with the Council, given we…well, we blew everything up on the way to Oceanside.  And what we didn’t blow up, the Duchess did…”


    “Not all of us cared either way about the Luminaries…but, that’s why I don’t have implants, at least.” She moved that hand further up and touched to the subtle nub behind Seth’s left ear, “Just haven’t gotten around to it yet, I guess.  Does it bother you?”


    “No…?  I mean, no.  No, it doesn’t.  Not at all.” He stammered, and moved his own hand up to carefully loop his fingers around her thin wrist.  He pulled her hand forward, and just looked at those petite digits as he rubbed slowly across them with his thumb, “Maybe I’m more surprised that you’d not be bothered.  I mean…being at Lord Rylen’s side kind of makes me the poster-child for everything that the Council did in Kitez.  It…makes me a conqueror, and sometimes I’m not even sure if we could call ourselves the benevolent sort.”


    “Why not?”


    “We annihilated a dynasty.” He answered simply, and let her have her hand back, “…Maybe you don’t care about that either though.  Where were you when it all happened?”


    “Oh, far away.  I didn’t even know the war had happened until a day or two later.  Funny that, though…I used to live in Stoneface Bluffs, which apparently got scuffed by one of the Duchess’ attacks.  Close call, right?”


    Seth blinked at her vacantly, but the feeling of a cold-water rush went through him anyway, and he couldn’t help but lay prone on his back, fingers clasped across his chest as he stared up into the tree, “…Wow…”


    “What’s the matter?” She mused, and leaned right over top of him, bangs near enough to tickle his face, “Like I said, I was way far away at the time.”


    “…But what if you hadn’t left?  Or, what if the Duchess hadn’t waited until the Dawn to attack, after you’d already gone?” He wondered, cheeks feeling tingly all over to see her loom like that.


    Kourin shrugged those bare shoulders, “Who knows?” She then pulled a hand back and poked at his chest, “Oh, look…my drool-puddle is gone.  You can’t even tell anymore.”


    Seth lifted up to sit again, and rubbed the spot as well, “Oh…”


    “You sound so sad about it...” She mused, and twisted in her spot as noise from the stage caught her attention, “Looks like they might be starting a pre-pre-pre-show soon.”


    “…Yeah…” He agreed tepidly.  Seth could only look on at her with that same morose expression on his face, She was so close to being killed because of us…  And in spite of it all, she doesn’t even hold a grudge…?  Not the slightest hint of malice or disgust at what we did…?  Not even Iresha came out of that war thinking we were entirely justified in how we did things…and one could argue he came out on top of it all.  He pulled his knees up and wrapped his arms around them.


    Even as the show began, and the small local bands evolved into more well-known performances, Seth couldn’t shake that odd near-miss feeling.  The sun gradually set, and more elaborate displays came into view in the waning light – nanotech storm-clouds and waves, whale-pods swimming by through the sky, full reconstructions of the singers, and, of course, the laser-light shows that could only be seen with peoples’ overlays.


    Kourin wasn’t oblivious to his awkward melancholy though, and a thought occurred to her, “…You wanna see something cool?”


    “…What is it?”


    She pulled her glasses off, and let her eyes start to glow.  Despite the public setting, and the real possibility there may be people in the crowd who wouldn’t be thrilled to see such power on display, she let the auroras of golden light flutter out into the air.  They expanded out until the whole tree was engulfed, making it something of a beacon in the dark on that hill.  She quickly cut the glimmer from herself though, and just let the waves of light hover for a little while, moving subtly like a tide, “Too few afflicted ever bother to learn what they can really do, so most don’t know the neat little tricks they can pull off…”


    “Wow…” Seth watched the golden color gradually fade; the way the crowd reacted, it was as though they believed it was just a nanotech effect.  Once it was gone though, he turned his attention back to the woman who’d made it, and she looked at him in turn.


    “There’s…one other thing that I could show you.” She commented as the music thumped in the background, “I don’t think anyone knows about it.”


    “…Really?”


    Kourin turned where she sat and faced him, “You have to promise not to freak out.”


    “Why would I?”


    “It can be a bit intense the first time.  …I’ve never done it with someone who isn’t afflicted before, but…maybe it will do something.” She laughed, “Hopefully, anyway.  I’d feel a little silly to make a big deal out of it and then you don’t feel anything.”


    Seth leaned back down onto an elbow again, “On my honor as a Knight of the First.” He said, trying to tease, and held a hand over his heart.


    Kourin looked around mischievously, but then scooted closer, and let her eyes glow again, “Afflicted can blend their power together.  Depending on how synergistic their powers are, the combined effects can be really strong…or maybe just goofy.  If I blended with the Emperor’s fire, for example, we could probably make a flame that can’t be seen, but which burns just as hot as the real thing.  A real nightmare for firefighters!” She laughed.


    Seth was mesmerized by that golden flare, “…What do you think will happen to someone like me though?  I have nothing to blend with it.”


    “We’re about to find out.” She said, feeling giddy at the prospect, and moved one hand to help guide the aura closer.


    Seth watched carefully as those little waves of light made their way nearer, until his own sights were suddenly washed with gold.  He felt a strange weight on his chest, and a subtle sting at the back of his eyes, but he kept his peace so she wouldn’t quit prematurely.


    “Okay, here it goes…” She forewarned, “Don’t scream.”


    Seth swallowed a nervous lump in his throat, “O-okay.”


    The feeling of the weight on his chest suddenly felt like a kick, and the sting in his eyes burned.  He grit his teeth and winced slightly, and pushed up a little higher to lean against his arm.  He drew in a quick breath, and with that inhale…it was like something snapped in his mind; a dry twig that broke, or a thin thread that had been cut…it was so subtle, it was nearly lost beneath the tidal-wave of pressure that followed.  The feeling of gnawing guilt and despair sank its teeth into him, but it, too, was lost under the unrelenting deluge.  What followed was a blanket of calm – the pressure and burning-sting faded into obscurity – and Seth could see again.


    It wasn’t normal sight though; ahead of him, Kourin seemed to have a certain glow about her, like he could see the radiance gleaming off her soul.  It was a faded blue-silver color, with a streak of red moving through it, and the whole thing shimmered slightly like bright oil; the nervous look on her face faded to one of equal surprise.


    “…Seth?”


    “…What are you seeing…?”


    She had no answer, “…You’re…so warm…” She said instead, “I just…want…to fall into it…”


    There was a whisper echoing quietly from that glow around her, and Seth could feel as if he had strings attached to his limbs, encouraging him to move.  The flutter in his chest was more than he knew what to do with – it was like the pressure of two peoples’ hearts yearning instead of only his own.  His hands then started to move ahead of him, acting out what he wanted before he was even consciously aware.  Fingers moved under those pale bangs, and he felt the warmth of her cheek in his palm.


    He had no idea a kiss could feel that way; like he’d melted into her, and was cradling the very essence of her in his hand.  He felt a palm press to his chest, but then slide up over his shoulder, followed by the other arm as Kourin leaned into him.  It was pure bliss, energies blending together, thin fingers combing into his hair as the kiss turned and started anew…only to be cut short by what seemed like a hard yank on a chain that had been wrapped all around him, and Kourin pulled back.


    Seth felt a sharp pain in his head, and watched as Kourin made her eye-lights fade, clutching at her own head like she’d felt it, too.  He felt his breath catch in his chest, and he clasped at it just as she did her own, “…Are you okay…?  What was that…?”


    The look in her eyes was devastating, “…I…I have to go…”


    “Kourin?”


    “I’m sorry.” She said hurriedly, and without a second thought, she vanished from sight, even before Seth could see her eyes light-up again.


    “K-Kourin!?” He called out, looking around in a panic.  The music and crowd were so loud, no one noticed.  He yelled her name louder, but she was gone.  The only thing left was the faint silver-blue smoky trail that hurried down the hill.  That, too, faded quickly though, like mist in the morning sunlight.  Seth was left there, baffled, feeling that sickening pain start to creep in…and then he saw her glasses, abandoned on the blanket.