Ulrika and I watch a line of asylum seekers fleeing a drow civil war. We flank the three-body-wide lane on each side. If someone gets rowdy, we tell them to be silent, according to Rhyndac''s command. If the crowd gets physical with anybody, including us, we are ordered to pacify. Rhyndac has to methodically check all records to make sure no criminals or unwanted individuals run wild through Nebulas.


    "Kaioson, Ulrika, how''s it going out there?" Rhyndac says in my head. Ulrika stops patrolling and touches the side of her head after Rhyndac stops speaking.


    "Did I just hear that?" Ulrika says without moving her mouth. She looks at me and I nod to tell her she''s correct. "Uh... everyone is so far acting cordial. How''s everything going in there?"


    "Working as fast as I can," she says after sighing.


    Ulrika and I continue to keep the peace. Slowly, the line begins to get shorter. I can see the end of it beyond the main doors. It looks like the last drows in line are a couple and their two children. I stand near the door and wait for them to get it before closing it. They walk in, and after a minute passes, I lock the door behind them.


    "Rhyndac, can you hear me?" I say out loud.


    "Mhmm. Is there something wrong?" Rhyndac says.


    "I''m behind the last few. I didn''t see anyone waiting outside."


    "Wonderful."


    Since everyone is behaving calmly, I relax a bit from being on high alert. Ulrika doesn''t look like she''s letting her guard down. She''s constantly watching the rest of the drows. Her palm is always soothing the pommel of her sword. I can''t tell if she''s on edge or taking her job seriously. Either way, I find it funny. I curl my finger to make her come and stand with me.


    "Yes?" She says, then turns around to face her eyes on the line.


    "You''re taking your job seriously," I say, massaging her shoulders. "Too seriously."


    "Look at where we are." I check my surroundings while she continues talking. "I''m in unknown territory watching for threats." She momentarily points at the door with her thumb. "There''s a civil war out there and the enemy is winning," she says softly before whispering in my sensitive ear. It flexes towards where her mouth is without me controlling it. "And, look at me. I''m a fucking dark-looking elf."


    "Drow," I whisper through my teeth with my mouth inches from her ear to correct her out-of-ear shot from the drows. Her ear smacks my nose. She leans back, cupping her ear with her hand. Her eyes bulge open, yet her flexed brows are keeping them open fully.


    "Uh... It moved on its own."


    "Strange, isn''t it?"


    "Gods, I hope I don''t have to stay like this for too long." Before I can get a word out and ask her why she doesn''t want to keep wearing the disguise, she expresses a particular concern that makes us blush. "I think I''ll be able to kiss you."


    "Ulrika," I chuckle. "I''m still me."


    "I know, but I didn''t fall in love with a... drow." Her loyalty to my original appearance is unshakable. It''s cute to know how much she''s truly into me, that if I were of a different race, she''d be hesitant to show me minimal love. "Gods," she shivers and sticks her tongue out for a second. "I just had a terrible thought," she chuckles.


    "What was it?"


    "It was—" She suddenly stops when the front door flies open. Dreca and three sword-wielding armored drows step inside, panting like dogs after running outside during a hot day.


    "Rhyndac isn''t done?" Dreca says. "I could use her help right about now."


    "What''s going on?" I say.


    "Zadione''s followers are attacking the outer cities. This place will become a battleground soon."


    "How soon?"


    It doesn''t take long for me to hear the faint sounds of warcries and mass hysteria in the distance. These ears are extremely sensitive. It sounds close, yet they''re extremely far away. I can hear clamorings of metal-to-metal contact, heavy boots with clanking armor, and something that sounds heavier in tone.


    "What is that?" I say.


    "What''s what?" Dreca says.


    "Those low sounds." He turns around and pushes his ears forward to listen.


    "Sheilds. Full body ones." If that''s true, it will make combat complicated. Those types of shields are usually thick and unpenetrable. They''re heavy, but if the user is skillful in manipulating the weight, their defense will be hard to break. The best solution is to avoid one-on-one engagement. Two or more attackers will have to work together. One distracts while the other flanks from behind.


    "Ulrika, watch over them. Then tell Rhyndac that Dreca needs her help," I say. I''m going to help out as much as I can."


    "Be careful," Ulrika says, hugging me for dear life. Don''t go doing something stupid that''ll give me a heart attack, you hear?"


    "Yes ma''am," I say before getting cut off halfway in my sentence by her pressing her palm over my mouth. "I still can''t say it?" I say with a muffled voice.


    "No, not ever," she says, smirking. "As soon as I''m done, I will come with the whirlwind."


    "I''ll see you soon."


    I follow Dreca and his team to a two-level inner city market several feet from the Paladin asylum. We''re on the second floor overlooking a manmade waterfall from each side that pours into a pond made of smooth stone. There are drows with matching black and purple robes with light to medium armor slaughtering what I''m assuming are Fassharaian townspeople. The people don''t look unified in their appearance. Everyone is armed, but they''re not wearing any white markings to the tribe they represent.


    "Where is the city''s army?" I say.


    "You''re looking at them," Dreca says, then says something to the two men in their native language. They split off, running down the left and right walkways to aid the people. "We are going to lose this town. I need Rhyndac to repel them out of here."


    "Do you think she can do such a feat?"


    "Gods, I hope so," he sighs. "This city is about to fall."


    "Let''s try to delay it as long as we can."


    "We''re going to absolutely die," he laughs, shaking his head with his hand over his eyes.


    The thrashing thud of a heavy shield catches our attention. A Zadione follower swings his shield like it weighs nothing. He takes out three people before using his mace on three more unsuspecting people fighting in the pond. I throw my sword at him to prevent him from swinging his mace at a woman. He sees it coming halfway before it reaches him and deflects it into the pond.


    "That was odd," I say.


    "Great, now you don''t have a weapon," Dreca says. "You''re such an idiot." The man with the shield drives it into the pond to make it stand up while he reaches for my sword. I give him access to pick it up. He examines it from the blade to the pommel, then rubs the edge of the blade with his thumb. I conjure it slightly to nick his finger. He nearly drops it from reacting too hard.


    "Damn it," he says with his thumb in his mouth. Suddenly, he throws it back my way with such accuracy, with the tip of my blade aiming at my face. Dreca dives out of the way. I stand my ground and redirect my sword to turn the opposite way. The handle slaps into my hand. The stinging pain arouses me to want to fight him.


    "Whoa!" Dreca says. "Rhyndac mentioned you could do incredible things with your sword."


    "Oh? What else did she tell you?" I say with my eyes on the shield man who''s gesturing to me with his hand to come down.


    "You''re powerful and skilled swordsmen."


    "Well," I say, then jump into the pond with the assistance of my sword. "Let''s hope that''ll be enough," I say in my head. "How''s your hand?" I say out loud.


    "That''s an interesting sword," the shield man says. "Is it elven? I hear they can make weapons that have a mind of their own." I display a show of force by performing twirls and slow swings to show I''m not in the mood for conversation. "Brother," he chuckles. "We don''t have to fight. Lay your weapon down and you will be spared in her name."


    "Zadione?"


    "Yes, brother. Someone like you will be a useful addition to her army."


    "Yeah?" I say as I think of a strategy for the quickest possible tactic to take him out. I''m such a fool. I might need help. My eagerness to duel has left me at a disadvantage. Maybe if I continue to chat, I can bring the guy''s defenses down for a quick strike. "You haven''t seen me fight. How can you know for sure?"


    "I know a warrior when I see one," he chuckles.


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    "Warrior?" I scoff. "You don''t know me at all."


    "Oh, but I do!" He shouts, then throws his shield at me. The shield nearly crushes my fingers before I''m able to blast away. "Ha! You wield magic!" He says, walking up to me. I get into a defensive stance with my sword pointed at his stomach. He continues walking like he has no fear. I go for a forward thrust to gauge how nimble he is. He deflects it with ease as expected, but what I don''t like about it is how fast he moves. The impact of his mace hitting my sword feels heavy, yet it moves as if it is acting like a light weapon.


    This has got to be enchanted, right?


    We clash a few more times. His speed is nearly matched by mine. This drow is good, and it scares me to think he might be a more formidable foe than the rest of the enemies I have faced. He hasn''t done anything magical. I don''t sense any mana or demonic magic seeping through. It''s like he''s using raw strength to match me.


    "Brother, lay down your weapon. Can''t you see you''ve already lost?" He says. If I''m being honest with myself, I do see the truth. This city is on the verge of being lost. They''re taking over in force. Everywhere I look, I find the militia in dire need of a fighting chance. If I surrender to him, we all lose. If I decide to fight him, there is still a high chance we will lose, but I can take down their shielded warrior.


    "If there is still one fighter still fighting," I say then get into another defensive stance. "Then we haven''t lost."


    "If that''s how you see it," he snarls. "Then I, Tildoc Faego of the Yonet clan, will smite you in the name of one true goddess."


    "Zadione!" The followers shout. Their shouting startles me to the point I jump.


    Tildoc attacks without holding back. I feel like I pushed some buttons around his ego. His strikes are precise, heavy, and deadly if I don''t parry them perfectly. He''s tough but not strong enough to overpower me. I can read his attacks better than the magical foes from my previous battles. If I can get lucky, I won''t have to use magic or cast a spell to ensure victory. But then again, why not use everything to my advantage?


    I leap back to avoid a swing and get into a low stance with my sword high above my right shoulder. I plan to swing low, aiming for his legs, and blast him high if he dodges. Tildoc charges with his shield directly in front of him. The arm holding his weapon is hidden behind it. I can see part of his elbow sticking out, so I''m confident it is across his stomach. He''s going for a backswing once his shield is clear. It''s the only logical choice unless he plans to do something different.


    Tildoc lifts his shield away to give space for him to swing his mace. I parry it then free my right hand to blast him in his gut, but he does a move I don''t see coming. While I''m reaching out to close the distance to make close contact with my attacker, he brings his shield forward. I blast the right half of his body. It makes him twirl to the right. He uses the momentum to attempt another backhand swing. My hand is still up when his mace makes contact with my forearm. I fall to my knees, nearly faceplanting the shallow pool. I''m sure that the bones are broken. The sharp pain is crippling all of my senses. I want to scream, but nothing is coming out. I fumble away to get on my feet like a scared man fleeing from certain death.


    "Shit," I grunt through my teeth. When I examine the damage, I see dark purple blood dripping down my hand. My bracer is intact but dented. I can squeeze my hand and move all of my fingers.


    "Oof, that must sting," Tildoc says. "Are you ready to surrender now?"


    "No!"


    "Do I need to break your other arm?" He aims for my left upper arm near my shoulder. I block it and use a conjure command to make my sword act like a wall of steel. His weapon slips out of his hand. "What the?!" My sword stays in the air when I take my hands off it. I blast his right knee to make him fall to me. I nick his cheek when I go to his neck. He falls on his ass but quickly recovers to his feet. "Elven magic," he scoffs while touching the cut on his cheek. "You could prove troublesome."


    "You have no idea."


    "In that case." He looks at some followers to my left on the second floor and points at them to come to attack me. One leaps into the pool behind me. The second he jumps at me. His fatal mistake causes his guts to flow freely from his stomach. I don''t give the first guy a chance to attack. I throw my sword straight into his gut and conjure it up through his body without having to look at the devastation. "Damn," Tildoc chuckles through his nose. "You are troublesome." The blood from the bodies flows through the pool. I can see it creep on him as I stare him down. His eyes are purely focused on me. They don''t move, blink, or jitter until he breaks eye contact by speaking again. "Where were you when this war started? We would have fought long ago."


    "Fighting devils like you."


    "Is that so?" He grins before snickering. "You must''ve been beyond the mountains, right?" I don''t answer, but I think my smirk gives it away. "You fought for nothing, it seems. That world will soon be hers, so you better get ready to face that reality."


    As I''m about to tell Tildoc that I''m going to end his life, the wind picks up from behind me. It nearly knocks me forward, but it also pushes me back upright, keeping my balance. Everyone around me is bracing. The wind doesn''t discriminate against the militia or the followers. I''m the only one I can see that''s stationary. I turn around to find Ulirka floating in the air.


    "Another mage?" Tildon whines.


    A female drow with short black hair appears on the ledge of the waterfall under Ulrika and then vanishes when she walks off it. She reappears by my side and says in my head, "It''s me, Kaioson. Rhyndac. I had to use another disguise." Her lips are a bit bigger, and her jawline is more defined. I can kind of make out that she''s Rhyndac, but I''m unsure if she''s telling the truth.


    "What name does Ulrika hate you calling me?" I say in my head.


    "Kaio," she answers with a smile and rolling eyes.


    "Why are you wearing a disguise?"


    "So no one can recognize me," she says in my head while looking down at my arm. She holds my hand with her fingers and grips my forearm at the end of my bracer tightly. I flash of light appears under my bracer. The pain in my forearm stops throbbing. "Did you try blocking with your arm?" She says out loud while evaporating the blood of my hand by rubbing her finger in it. "A bone must''ve punctured through the skin."


    "Don''t tell Ulrika," I say. She slides her finger over her mouth to safeguard my wish.


    "Hey," Tildoc shouts. "What is the meaning of this? Stand aside so we can continue fighting."


    "Who''s got the bigger balls, hm?" Rhyndac whispers in my ear and then steps out of the pool to stand next to it. "Don''t disappoint us." Ulrika floats down to stand next to her. She nods her head like she''s giving me approval or the go-ahead to win this fight.


    "I''m ready when you are," I say. I display a show of force but conjure my sword to twirl, spin, and then come to my hand. Ulrika awes with excited breath.


    "Indeed," she chuckles.


    "Are they your fans or something?" Tilcoc says and then charges me before I can give him an honest answer. "They''ll be disappointed!"


    My world comes to a crawl. Before I make any move, I glance at Ulrika. She shakes her head slowly while snarling her mouth at Tildoc. Her head swings slowly, including when she blinks. When her eyes look my way, I can hear his stomps splashing the water as if he''s right in my face. We violently duke it out. Sword to mace. Shield to sword. Near misses and loud clashes of enchanted metal. The only voices present are our own grunts, yells, and whatever weird sounds we make as we try to kill each other.


    "Ugh! This is annoying! Why can''t I get anywhere with you?" Tildoc says. "Just die, damn it!" He pulls off one of the most common mistakes any person makes when they are angry with the results of a long fight. They get careless. He wants to hit me so badly that he overexerts himself. The recovery time for each swing and block gets longer than the one before. If I get the timing right, I can usher in a clean fatal blow.


    Tildoc tosses his shield behind him so he can wield his mace double-handed. It doesn''t make sense to him to do that, considering how short it is. He''ll have to swing close, and that is exactly what he does. One high-to-low swing leaves him open for my fist to ram into his right ear. He drops his mace as he falls over, yelling and clutching his ear with both of his hands. I go for a killing blow before he can realize I''m on top of him. The moment the tip of my sword punctures the unprotected spaces between his armor, a woman screams at me to stop from a low-hanging cloud from above. Her voice is thunderous, as if a crowd of thousands were all yelling in unison. I can''t see her face due to the light emitting by the cloud surrounding her body.


    "My children, this has gone too far!" She says. "Step away, child! You''ve clearly won this fight."


    "Who are you?" I say, keeping the pressure of my sword on Tildoc''s chest.


    "You don''t recognize me?" The cloud begins to fade away the closer she gets. Her pure white hair comes into view before I can see the dreadful face of the one the world fears. "Son," she calls me as she gently moves my sword off Tilcoc''s chest.


    "Sheathe your weapon," she says. She gently pushes her soft fingers on the top of my hand to move my sword. I do what she says out of fear for my life. "Thank you."


    "Son? This man and his people are traitors, my lord!" Tildoc says. "They deserve death!"


    "My boy," she says almost like she''s about to weep. She helps him up to his feet by using telekinetic magic. "Their sins are abolished from this point forward."


    "What? Why?"


    "It''s my fault," she says with her hand over her heart, speaking to the drows all around her. "I caused this tension between my children because of my absence." Her eyes lock on the two bodies in the pool when she glances at the drows. "Today, all of that stops."


    A purple lightning strikes beside Zadione, splashing all of the water into the air around whatever is standing there. I flee from the pond to avoid getting wet and the possibility of another lightning strike. The water never touches her as it swirls into a cyclone. Every other second, I feel the mana seep out like a slow-beating heart, and then it suddenly stops. The cyclone explodes, but the droplets of water vaporize in the air, revealing a man covered from head to toe in shining silver-plated armor. Fog flows upward from the T-shaped slit in his helmet. He stands maybe two feet higher than her but isn''t massive in size.


    "This is Sir Solomon Serf," Zadione introduces. "He will be your Burgomaster for the time to establish order."


    The drows immediately begin conversing among themselves. I can barely pick out what they''re saying, but the ones I do hear are not liking the fact she''s putting trust in an unknown man of her people. Ulrika pulls me into the crowd with Rhyndac and Dreca standing together.


    "Who is that guy?" Dreca asks, Rhyndac.


    "I don''t know. My guess is he''s a Paragon," Rhyndac says in my head.


    "A what?!" He says in my head also.


    "They''re powerful magic wielders like us," Ulrika answers, pointing at me and herself. "We fought two of them."


    "Damn! All is lost! They''ve won! Rhyndac, we need to flee these lands!"


    "That might be impossible with her and the followers around," Rhyndac says.


    "Portal rings!" I say.


    "Fuck! I don''t have any!" Rhyndac says out loud.


    "Don''t have any what?" Zadione says, appearing out of nowhere. She rests her hand on my shoulder while staring at Zadione with a soft smile. I feel Ulrika''s hand slowly grip the left side of my waist while her right hand grabs my stomach.


    "Bread," she stutters. "I... need some."


    "Here." She morphs a burlap sack of freshly made loaves of wheat bread. "Will this be enough?" Rhyndac nods her head and hands Dreca the sack. He clutches tight against his chest and forces out an awkward smile. "Hey," she says, looking directly at me. Her index finger points at my left eye for a second before saying, "Come with me."


    "Why?" I say.


    "You have to answer for what you did." The second she reaches for my hand, Ulrika yanks me into her.


    "No!" Ulrika says. "You stay away from him." Zadione retracts her hand like she''s scared or hesitant to touch me. "You said he was forgiven."


    "I did," she grins with a single chuckle. "Now, hand him over to me." Ulrika refuses by tightening her grip around me and taking a step back. "You are very protective of him. More than these two. Who is he to you, I wonder?" She walks up to her, slowly leaning close to her face with an uncanny, uncomfortable smirk. Ulrika takes her hand off my waist to unbuckle something on her. Judging by the sound, I think it''s her dagger. I can hear the metal rubbing inside the scabbard. "Calm down," she says, then holds my hand in her hands while lightly tapping the top of it. "I was only going to give him a slap on the wrist and tell him to never do what he did ever again." To prove her point, she lightly slaps my wrist almost playfully and tells me not to hurt my brothers or sisters. "See?" She chuckles before dropping her smile. "Now sheathe that weapon." Ulrika drops her dagger into the scabbard but doesn''t buckle it. "Thank you. I''m not your enemy, daughter." Ulrika lightly blows air out of her nose. She resumes holding me tight but pulls me closer to the point I''m leaning back on my heels.


    "Uh?" I say unsure of what to do. This is an intense situation for me. Ulrika isn''t doing a great job of being friendly to Zadione. I need to get her calm somehow. "Take it easy."


    "No," Ulrika snaps softly.


    "My my," Zadione chuckles, then takes a step back. "I can see the mana increasing within her. You two can wield magic?"


    "Yes," I say after almost hesitating not to answer.


    "Good. I''m going to need someone like you two in my ranks."