《their world.》 Unwelcome

Cold. Under a thick woolen blanket, the collar of his drab green camouflage uniform stuck out. His black hair, though straight and short, remained messy, with a coat of grey all over it. Rolling around, his tanned skin faced up into the air. When his eyes first opened, he sat up slowly, groggy, rubbing his eyes. His eyes remained half-closed as he looked around. ...and his eyes slowly widened. The quaint little reddish-vermont coloured room around him led to his face¡¯s quizzical expression. On a bed in the corner of the room, he was in a torn, rather charming little bed underneath a pale brown sheet. To his right was a small, bare table with a jagged yet rectangular yellow sheet with writing on top. Little bursts of white appeared whenever he breathed. The instant cool feeling that had reached his skin only began to intensify, the hairs on his skin standing up. ¡°Where¡­?¡± He looked around, slowly, his eyes darting from side to side. Silence reigned; the godrays passing through the window, patterned out on the floor as in the window¡¯s unique and elaborate dragon carving, making for the only light inside the room. Wood lined the floor in an even pattern, planks locked together in place. There was a thin sheet of cotton placed at the door, worn and tattered; a musty smell wafting through the air. No dust, but there was a static, almost empty feeling. At that moment, the door slid open. ¡°Aaaa- sotto kara miteshiyo¡­¡± A young woman stood in the bright doorway, scratching her mustard yellow head of hair. Her brown irises trended to orange as her eyes widened, and she quickly shook her torn but sturdy cloth shoes off her feet and stepped into the room. Behind her a gentle stream of white was falling upon the outside. Quickly turning around and yanking the door back shut, she put the small room back into the dark; dirtied grey water lining the floor around the entrance. He stared at her, and opened his mouth, before being interrupted. ¡°Kitaro.¡± She said, raising her hand while walking towards the corner of the room; then jumping up and slapping down on something in the high corner of the room. A metallic ringing occurred and a small orange orb popped up, lighting up the room warmly; giving a similar glow to everything in the room. Scratching her long, pointed ears, she turned back to him. ¡°Ne¡­ karata niwe katan shiru deno?¡± His eyes briefly wandered around, his mouth somewhat agape, an odd, awkward feeling wafting through the air. Giving an impatient frown, her eyes narrowed, her long bangs not enough to hide the disappointed expression on her face. ¡°Ah, um¡­ hello?¡± He asked. She responded by pointing at her ear and shrugging. Then, her eyes lit up. ¡°-o. Na¡­¡± The girl quickly raised up her right hand to his, and using her left, pointed at his right hand, before whisking the direction of her index finger back to her right hand, tapping on it. ¡°Put my hand here?¡± He said, while pointing at her hand. She nodded. Slowly, he extended his hand, and allowed it to hover over hers. Glancing away, he closed his eyes and slapped it down on hers. Holding his wrist for a moment, a sudden electric jolt fired through him. *gulp* He recoiled and fell back into the bed. ¡°Wha¡­ what the¡­¡± He muttered, staring up at the ceiling above, a tone of utter disbelief in his voice. ¡°Is it really that bad?¡± The same voice now said, but in English, with an accent reminiscent of a light New York accent. ¡°Didn¡¯t know it¡¯s that painful.¡± A tone of complete indifference leaked through. One of her eyes closed and the other open, she stood back up, crossing her arms. ¡°Uh, um¡­ yes? Can you understand me?¡± Stuttering and stumbling, his bewildered expression lent much to the similarly terrified words bumbling out of his mouth. ¡°Well- yeah. Magic.¡± She shrugged, standing up and leaning back on the wall relaxedly. ¡°What?¡± ¡°You know. This?¡± She said, reflexively opening up her palm; a small metal bar suddenly flying into her hand and locking in place. ¡°Jeez, don¡¯t tell me you lost your memories or something - because that, now that is some bullshit.¡± He stared, his mouth ajar, and his eyes wide. ¡°Uh¡­ what¡¯s magic¡­?¡± He uttered, softly and slowly. Now she looked at him with a judging expression, ¡°You joking?¡± She stopped. ¡°¡®Cause I have to tell you that is a pretty bad joke.¡± ¡°Ah, well¡­ no¡­¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s just great innit? First the shipment doesn¡¯t show up, then ¡®Kiro tells me that he found someone with green clothes, then that guy announces to me that he has no idea what magic is. How can this day get any worse?¡± She bemoaned, facepalming. The man winced. He said nothing, still, but stared at her with a judgemental look. At the same time, she put down her hand and snickered. ¡°I mean, I could get murdered, so there¡¯s that.¡± There was a nonchalant tone in that voice, and she smirked right after. ¡°So¡­ what¡¯s with the creative rendition of a forest that you¡¯re wearing?¡± ¡°The colour¡¯s a camo.¡± He said, pinching his uniform and pointed at various colours on it, ¡°Uh, here¡¯s green, and brown, I think this is black?¡± ¡°Brownish tint, likely just another brown. What¡¯s it made of?¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ cellulose fibre.¡± ¡°How do you get that?¡± ¡°Bought it.¡± ¡°Wow. Nice¡­¡± Her voice trailed off; giving his clothing another glance before going, ¡°Shirin Kodai.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Shirin Kodai. That¡¯s my name, yours?¡± ¡°Oh, uh- Tan Wei Ming.¡± Wei gave a thin smile and expediently extended his hand. Shirin watched his palm for a while before staring at him with narrowed eyes, asking with some amount of apathy, ¡°...what¡¯s this?¡± ¡°Uh, it¡¯s a greeting. Ah, hold each other¡¯s right hands and shake. You don¡¯t have that here?¡± ¡°Not really. Like this?¡± She pulled over his right hand and squeezed it, shaking it. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Cool.¡± She then yanked him off the bed, tossing him onto the floor and hitting the planks face-first. Rubbing his sore head as he planted his right hand on the wooden floor, raising himself up, he scowled at the girl in front of him. ¡°Not that hard¡­¡± ¡°Agreed, I¡¯m surprised that you actually fell.¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t told that a striker was hitting.¡± Wei muttered, rubbing off his shoulders and dusting off his sleeves. ¡°What? Man, are you actually as tight as you look or did somebody discover a way to make old people look younger?¡± ¡°Surely you¡¯re the most popular person here.¡± He groaned, standing back up. ¡°Hey¡­¡± She rolled her eyes, her tone becoming defensive. ¡°-the dislike¡¯s mutual.¡± He looked at her for a moment, before commenting, ¡°Wow. You really do have a lot of problems, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°More than you care to imagine. Anyways, ¡®Kiro dropped your stuff over in the corner. He got it all back for you.¡± After saying that, Shirin slid the door open; an intense white light suddenly and immediately gazing in. ¡°I¡¯ll wait outside. Besides, the old man wants to see you. Hurry up!¡± She said, before slipping out of view, leaving only the hail and snow outside to his vision. He stared after her, with narrowed eyes. A cold shiver went down his back; perhaps the cold, perhaps the prospect of an unknown stranger hailing him, but just one thought went through his brain: Get the gun. Wei fixed his gaze on the sack of things stacked up in the corner of the room. Amidst the dark red background, a large rucksack, seven curved iron grey magazines and a long, menacing scratched-up automatic rifle were propped up against the wall. Next to it was a large, unbuckled, loosened ballistic vest and a pair of black gloves. A pale black holster with the grip of a grey holster sticking out lay beside it. Before even doing anything with them he picked up each item one by one and checked them. The insides of his gloves, his holster, and the magazines; over time he continued to search to no result. ¡°Hey! You taking your time in there or something?¡± Shirin¡¯s voice steamed in from the outside. He hesitated for a moment before screaming, ¡°Gimme a sec!¡± It came back to him in instants. Slipping down the gloves, tightening the loosened vest around his own body, slapping the magazine into his weapon. The metallic ka-chik of the box-like magazine snapping into place below the gun rang through the air while he dragged the holster up his upper leg and tied it in place.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Slinging the rifle over his back, he used his newly-free hand to pick up his helmet and hold it tight to his chest. Stepping into his boots, and tying the typical ribbon, he took his first steps into the white world outside. Then the snow. Hail. Freezing temperatures. His entire body shivered. Taking a look to the left, he saw Shirin leaning against the wall, comfortable amidst the blizzard of tiny white particles. ¡°Where the hell are we?¡± ¡°Kurasho.¡± She noted, gesturing towards their front. In that direction there lay the edge of the surface on which they were standing. The chipped rocks and the mounds of snow disappeared from view and a vast white roar blasted through the distant landscape. She leaned back into the hut and the orange hue of the room immediately faded. ¡°Don¡¯t want to waste energy.¡± Long lines of blocks stood out in the snow, even if just barely, on either side of perhaps a few footstep trails. The blocks¡¯ colour was faded, some chipped along the edges and a few small plants growing out of the snow; a man running down the path with sweat on his face, wearing long-sleeved winter clothing that seemed to break and tatter in places, running in the direction that pointed behind them, descending. Taking a cursory look at the man, Shirin¡¯s eyes narrowed before she pointed in the direction from which the man had come, saying, ¡°Over there.¡± Led towards the cliff, he quietly followed the girl traversing the long and winding path etched into the mountain¡¯s side. Some passed by, staring, others sprinting in the same direction as that unknown man. ¡°Sagate, Shirin! Ino jirashi node?¡± A passing girl gestured to Shirin. ¡°Yeah, class is still on. Iro arriving late with the shipment doesn¡¯t change that.¡± ¡°Ne¡­ dotara i-tene?¡± ¡°Dotara? Don¡¯t ask me, they¡¯ve been looking for him for hours now.¡± Nodding, the conversation ended as the girl went on her way, and Wei continued to follow Shirin down the path. Walking up to a wooden bridge only wide enough for two and practically disappearing into a dot on the other end, the two stood aside as a blue-skinned man walked by, eliciting a reaction seen in the lines forming between his eyebrows. Wei stopped in his tracks and watched the man walk off, his mouth so slightly agape. ¡°Hey, you coming?¡± Shirin, already on the bridge, pulled on the ropes that made up its handrails while shouting over. He quickly scampered onto the wooden bridge, the planks under his feet creaking as he sprinted across. Underneath a vast valley lay, a thick, rolling fog below the arched bridge giving rise to a silent humming sound. Wind blew through with a roar, and the invisibility of the ground from the height at which they were travelling emphasised the altitude at which they were while he peeked down, trying his best not to look. ¡°H-hey, move a bit¡­ faster¡­?¡± Wei stuttered, wide-eyed. In response, Shirin quietly slowed down by a drastic amount. She blocked him from getting over the narrow bridge, while he shakily stood behind her, a panicked expression painted on his face. Grinning, she began walking again. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°You little¡­¡± ¡°Ahahaha. Really? Really? That¡¯s so cute.¡± Skipping over and onto land once again, he protested to the girl ahead of him, words that fell on deaf ears. Walking into the vicinity of a large group of people - children, teenagers, adults, and the elderly - he observed the children following around one or two adults, a circle of adults and elderly arguing, and numerous passersby; again, dozens sprinting in various directions under the bright light; which suddenly turned dark. He looked up and watched a series of logs floating through the air, a man on top hanging onto them via a set of ropes which seemingly bunched them all together. Men underneath held up their hands towards the logs, not even in contact with but seemingly controlling its movement; a blurry wave emanating from their hands towards the messy structure. Turning a corner, they came upon a rather secluded corner of a large plaza carved into the crest of the mountain. Here, dozens of people waited around long tables, some wooden knives and two-pronged forks lying on them. At the very centre was a group of elderly men and women in long robes with stern faces discussing in a loud, perhaps heated manner. ¡°What¡¯s with this¡­¡± ¡°They¡¯re waiting to get food. Jeez, can¡¯t they go do something else while waiting? Also, that¡¯s who you¡¯re talking to over there. OI, TOBUKIRO!¡± One of the men in the centre looked towards her for a brief moment, then turned back to the others and bowed. He then steadily marched over. With a haggard expression and thick eyebrows, he stared at the two; hunching over ever so slightly. The wrinkles that uniformly littered his face drooped and lifted with the movement of his eyes. Walking over to Wei, the old man¡¯s steely gaze pierced right through him. He grabbed Wei¡¯s hand, before a shock coursed through his palm, and quickly the pain subsided. Wei looked at his hand, stealing annoyed glances at the elderly man in front of him. ¡°The attitude of you children these days¡­ insufferable. I¡¯m currently discussing the matter of Iro being quite so very late, and a significant amount of the guards not turning up for their evening patrol, could it hurt you to wait?¡± He scoffed in a deep tone, staring at Shirin. ¡°Brought your present.¡± She replied, pointing her left thumb towards Wei. ¡°Oh, dear¡­ do forgive me for a moment, young man. Shirin, shouting was not the connotation!¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so sorry. I¡¯ll make sure to holler at the top of my lungs next time.¡± Sighing, the tan-skinned old man grimaced as he turned away from Shirin. ¡°Now¡­ what might be your name?¡± He asked Wei, his tone turning gentler and far less hostile. ¡°Tan Wei Ming. Ah, yours?¡± ¡°Seikan Tobukiro¡­ I would appreciate it if you refer to me as Tobukiro. How should I refer to you?¡± ¡°Wei. Wei¡¯s fine.¡± The two of them greeted one another cordially. Wei extended his hand for a slight moment, before pulling it back in quickly to avoid another awkward incident. Tobukiro noticed, and stretched out his own. ¡°I¡¯ve known the greeting for a long time. Go on.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ thanks.¡± Shaking hands, he shakily chuckled at the thought. ¡°You don¡¯t look the most comfortable.¡± Slapping the young man on the back, he smiled and pushed him in another direction. Shirin followed, her arms behind her head, resting it. ¡°So, how¡¯s your body? All in working order?¡± ¡°Fine, thanks.¡± ¡°Thank goodness... I had to carry you out of a blizzard! What in the blazes were you doing down there?¡± Tobukiro insisted, gesturing towards the large valley below. Wei glanced down, watching the immense clouds roll by slowly. Seeing a rock chip off the cliff and descend into the thundering mass under the bridge, he recoiled with a fixated gaze on the greyish storm. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll have to hear your answer another time. Shirin, get him to the cafeteria and I want to hear an apology for your behaviour sometime.¡± A stern, but wide grin briefly appeared on his face. ¡°Ooh, risky bet, ¡®Kiro. See ya later.¡± The smile she gave was surprisingly sincere. Wei looked over at the exchange. ¡°So, we¡¯re going to a cafeteria¡­?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°You know, you¡¯re way too calm about this. He said you were stranded, right?¡± ¡°...it¡¯s an improvement.¡± He said, his voice noticeably softer and much drier. Eyeing him, Shirin barely gave a response and just nodded. ¡°What about him? The old man?¡± ¡°¡®Kiro? He¡¯s cool. Really boring,¡± Her tone faltered for a moment. ¡°Really strong. He¡¯s my stepdad. What about him?¡± ¡°The ears?¡± He asked, pointing at her long, pointed ears. ¡°Stepdad, remember? Mom and dad were elven.¡± ¡°I see.¡± She stood still for a second, before pointing towards a large stone entrance in the mountain face. ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go.¡± The atmosphere seemingly dampened as they walked in the direction of the tunnel. Its entrance was neat, with stone blocks lining its edges in a neat, organised manner; a large stone head sticking out at the top. Scaled, pointed, and with sharp jaws, it appeared to be that of what some would consider a dragon. Unlike the room Wei had woken up in the tunnel was properly lit and much warmer; the walls lined with dozens and dozens of the same dark metal lanterns that had been attached to the wall in the small hut. The light, a clearer and more sterile white, got blocked every few metres when others passed by and cast their shadows. The two crowded through the increasingly massive crowds as the tunnel ever so subtly descended; Wei pushing aside a man with the same long ears as Shirin and going around a group of teenagers with blue skin and silver hair, Shirin nudging aside a collection of brownish-orange skinned people with large, floppy ears and barging her way through a clique of differing-haired middle-aged persons. ¡°Is this a convention or something¡­?¡± ¡°Convention? Most of them live here. Can¡¯t find anywhere else.¡± Chatter filled the air as the two walked by. Shirin patted him on the back, pointing towards a corridor to the right; they proceeded down the path. Here the lighting shifted to a colder hue of cyan, before she led him into what appeared to be a massive gymnasium-like room. No markings on the floor, no pitches or courts, but there were balls and students on one half of the room. The other half was barricaded from the walkway in the middle, with no one standing in the barricaded section. Moving closer, Wei observed a dozen wooden boards floating about within the barricaded section, with a duo standing at the barrier. Shirin glanced over before tapping him on the back and noting, ¡°Gimme a sec.¡± Neatly parted dark blue hair and pale skin defined the teenage boy¡¯s composture. With rounded glasses lying on the bridge of his nose, his navy blue-cyan irises jittering about nervously, the young man looked around but never directly at the girl in front of him. Wearing a baggy shirt with a hooded sailor¡¯s collar, he scratched around what appeared to be an emblem on his left chest. On the other hand, the blushing girl ahead of him sported short, bunched dark brown hair with braids that separated her bangs from the back of her hair. Grey skin, darkened, and eyes with the whites replaced by a light shade of obsidian; her irises white - their centres especially bright. Putting on her hoodie, she hid and shied away from the boy in front of her. Wei walked over, curious. Shirin patted the girl on the back, a warmer, more friendly smile appearing; then a straight-faced look of indifference when conversing with the boy. ¡°Let¡¯s just establish this here - I do not appreciate you being anywhere near Rie, and just, stay away.¡± She said, indignant in tone and direct in address. ¡°Ikan sanghi kir josain.¡± ¡°Yup. Totally. Especially you.¡± ¡°K-kito, kito! Shino, hatsume satenoshirane.¡± ¡°Aw, c¡¯mon, Rie, I¡¯m just helping you out with this bastard.¡± He heard only Shirin¡¯s words in a language he could recognise; Rie¡¯s in the native language that he found himself unable to understand. Rie looked over at Wei before scurrying behind Shirin, hiding behind her back. She took minor, occasional glances, gripping Shirin¡¯s waist, refusing to move away. ¡°-really? Really? You¡¯re scared of this guy?¡± ¡°She¡¯s what?¡± He asked in an incredulous tone. ¡°Scared of you. It¡¯s your fault, apologise.¡± ¡°I- I don¡¯t even know what I did wrong-¡± ¡°-existing.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t blame me for that!¡± ¡°Categorically, you could have ended it, therefore it¡¯s your fault.¡± Scratching his head, Wei stood back. Looking at Rie shivering behind Shirin, he relented. ¡°Fine. Look, I¡¯m sorry, okay?¡± He said in a more polite tone, a friendliness seeping through. Rie¡¯s eyes widened, then she fully hid behind Shirin, hugging her tightly from behind. ¡°Man, I¡¯ve never seen sis being so scared.¡± Shirin chuckled. ¡° ¡®sis¡¯?¡± ¡°She¡¯s my sister. Younger.¡± ¡°You do not look alike at all.¡± ¡°Thank you, Mr. Obvious.¡± She noted, her wide smirk planted all over her face. Pointing at the boy, Shirin said, ¡®This is Tooru, king of flies.¡± She chuckled to herself, grinning as she glanced over at the boy who seemed wholly indifferent to this treatment. ¡°Try what?¡± ¡°Ah. Glasses boy, show him.¡± ¡°Ika Tooru¡­¡± The bespectacled boy muttered. Gauging the distance between himself and a target, he suddenly clenched his hand forcefully. Raising his hand, a small rock correspondingly rose from the table in front of him; he snapped his fingers, his hand darting forwards, and the rock flashed away, hitting a target. ¡°What- magic target practice?¡± ¡°If you wanna call it that, sur-¡± Interrupted by someone brushing her aside, she took a look over at the squad that had rushed by her. She quickly stepped aside to make way for another group rushing by with spears. ¡°-sure? Hold on, something¡¯s not right.¡± Her expression turned darker. ¡°Huh?¡± *rattle* Dust fell. Wei looked up, and noticed one or two cracks in the ceiling. ¡°Do you have a weapon or something?¡± Shirin asked, now cautiously glancing around her, holding out a small metal rod. Holding down on its centre, a small light flashed before the rod shot out both ends and became a baton with two pointed edges. ¡°Um - yeah, why?¡± Her eyes were narrowed, suspicious, concentrated. ¡°Something¡¯s up. Get it ready.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± He responded, tone unsure. *rattle* ¡°Just get it out now.¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± He said, flipping the safety latch on his gun. *rattle* ¡°What the hell is that noi-¡± *BOOM* Smoke billowed. Dust gushed through the air. The silhouettes of a dozen or so men dashed through the clouds formed, holding long, sharp-tipped spears. Shouts chaotically filled the room. Screams were every bit as common. As he got to his feet, he gripped his weapon and shakily raised it- *DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA* ¡°KURYAAAAAAA~!¡± Whacked to the ground, a searing pain flew through his head. Then a metallic feeling piercing through his stomach, an intense burning feeling; the pain insurmountable. His vision blurred as he watched figures move around and fight in his view, indistinctly; more faint screams in the background. It was all black right after; so cold. Authority? Sweat. Sweat. Sweat. The droplets kept coming without end, the heat excruciatingly dragging out every last bit of salty water it could from their skin. The sun¡¯s excessive dedication to emanating solar radiation seemingly attempted to turn their skin charcoal as fast as possible. Identical green uniforms worn, all standing side by side in the same stilted formation, hands behind their backs. Boots grounded into the dirt below their feet, and they stood still, upright, tall. So occasionally they winced or shook but never did they move. Not while he was standing in front of them. His presence was not inspiring, not comforting, not towering. The grousing middle-aged man standing ahead of them pacing around eyed them over and over again; shooting looks on a constant basis. ¡°Gentlemen!¡± Twitch. ¡°Are you gentlemen or not, really? I don¡¯t see any gentlemen, I see corpses! I see a series of weak boys! I don¡¯t see soldiers! Is that right gentlemen!¡± ¡°NO, SIR, NO!¡± They all shouted. Some continued to shake, some moved a little, but all continued to stay in place. ¡°Sibei jialat! I can¡¯t even get any of you to deny it is it? You sound like little girls! Is that RIGHT gentlemen!¡± ¡°NO, SIR, NO!¡± It got even louder; more hoarse. ¡°Ei, what is this ah! I thought I was leading a platoon, not a collection of maggots! Is that right Tan!¡± A gasp. His eyes widened and he shouted, ¡°NO, NO SIR NO!¡± His breath turned dry, and his heart beat faster and faster. The sweat coming down his skin was joined by some colder droplets. ¡°Is that so, Tan! You seem like a maggot. Very fast on your feet, right? Very easy to do anything you want to do! Father taught you a lot right!¡± Gulping again, he remained silent and looked forward, quietly shaking. ¡°ANSWER ME!¡± Wei continued to stare forward into the void, his lips locked and shut. ¡°Very easy to complain is it? IS IT?¡± The officer stared for a dozen seconds, before placing his palm on his face; with gritted teeth and narrowed eyes, his leg flew upwards and whacked Wei in the abdomen. Wei recoiled, breaking formation and falling on his knees before immediately standing back up again, panting and breathing erratically. ¡°All of you are like that! No wonder they put you on list, we need to know how useless people like you are! Look at me and answer me like a man!¡± He winced. The officer grunted before walking up to him and slapping him square in the face, turning Wei¡¯s face to the right and leaving a bright red mark. ¡°Cannot think ah? They paid your family too much to think ah? Answer!¡± He slowly stuttered. ¡°Y-yes sir¡­¡± ¡°Oh, now can speak is it! Lazy is it! You think military can just do anything you want like your useless parents ah? Cannot even tahan a slap already want to cry, you even a man ah? Even woman stronger than you!¡± He stood up and no longer responded in any way, his eyes looking down. The officer observed that and sighed, before walking off. ¡°Gentlemen, wheels up at 1430 hours! Report at 1350, full combat gear! I don¡¯t want to see anyone late! Is that clear!¡± ¡°SIR YES SIR!¡± ¡°Dismissed!¡± Wei stomped on the ground as the others did and ran off. The pain was still searing, and the weight of the anger in him manifested in his bitten lip; yet, he said nothing and continued to sprint towards the mass of tents, bearing the brunt of the wounds with him. On his chest, the large black square pinned below his shirt pocket flopped around, the emblazoned ¡®Lazy¡¯ neat and yet messily taped on. The square was not unique to him, either; the men around him were all wearing them. Others would not. Instead of entering any one of the dozens of tents, they ran around them; trudging through the uneven terrain of dirt and rock and avoiding the barracks. The ground they walked on was flattened, though the prints of the bottom of boots seemed to have done it, and as they ran they passed by a sign. ¡®Troublemakers¡¯ platoon needs special permission¡¯.
Cold sweat drenched his body, his entire body shaking. Suddenly and quickly he sat up, only to find abject darkness. Light was nearly completely removed from the room, a thin stream emerging from a rectangular outline above the ground. The wooden logs that made up a menacing, straight wall stacked horizontally up to the ceiling, sneering at those on the rocky floor. *huff* Dazed, he slowly and lazily looked around at the damp air that enveloped him. He shivered, hugging himself as a freezing breeze bristled by, coming over a strange round object sticking out of his lower chest. ...sticking out of his lower chest. *huff* With his right hand, he gripped it. It glowed a fluorescent blue, an odd hum emerging from it, and his body was absolutely aching. A brown stain went all the way down from below the orb to his abdomen, as an abnormal web of bluish veins emerged from the sphere outwards. Blink. His narrowed eyes glared at the bright object with three centimetres of solid protruding outwards. *huff* Gripping it again, he pushed it inwards, but no reaction. His widened, freaked-out eyes gave no indication to stop and he thus twisted it in an anti-clockwise direction. ¡°Ow!¡± *psssssssssss* A smoke billowed out of the leftward end of the orb and a painful bubbling came up from the veins. ¡°...¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that if I were you.¡± A deep voice with clarity yet obvious disinterest came from the wooden wall. Thud. The boots of a short-haired figure slammed on the floor before the figure slowly grew larger from his perspective; and before him a blue light appeared.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The aquamarine blue-skinned woman before him pinched the collar of her pale brown trenchcoat, her cyan eyes narrowed under a head of silver-white hair locked with several metal pins creating thick strands on both sides of her face. ¡°...what is this?¡± He said, soft and hesitant. ¡°That, is a verdansk sokov, an object brought from the Mann Korun of the South. They say it grants humans the ability of magic¡­ or at least, if the humans are healthy enough to resist it.¡± Walking over to the wall, she floated a bright, spherical light into a small metal plate held from the rock and dropped it in. It burned up into a fiery flame, a crack every few seconds emerging out of the plate. Thud. Another two men, both in metal plates strapped together over long sleeves came to him. ¡°Of course, welcome, killer. I am Miru, commander of this fortress.¡± ¡°K-killer?¡± ¡°Why, yes, you killed three elven. I would regard that as killing.¡± The translator noted before nodding to the men. The two men grabbed him by the shoulder and forced him forward, with which he wearily complied. He took his first heavy steps forward as they continually pushed and shoved him towards the wooden wall, his worn boots scraping against the floor. One of them pulled his hands behind his back and tied them together, a tight, painful feeling itching from his wrists. Shoved forward once again, he slowly turned around as the men stepped next to him, as did Miru. She flicked her fingers up, and the ground rumbled; suddenly and quickly the stone underneath their feet floated up to the large hole on the wooden wall. Wei shook, bending slightly down to see the floor below before being jabbed in the chest out of the dark room and into a brighter, still intensely wet and dingy hallway, hitting the floor headfirst. ¡°Ahh¡­¡± He muttered under his breath. Elbowed by the soldiers, one of them gave him an angered look with a scowl. Getting on his knees, then his feet, they gripped both his arms and held him down. ¡°Bring him to the range.¡± She commanded; the other two nodded, nudging Wei forward once more. Stumbling, Wei quietly walked on as he glanced around him. The wooden walls all featured the same square holes with curtains from which he had been kicked into the open, the ceiling barely half his height away from his head. Still, small metallic lanterns hung from the grey rectangle that expanded all the way down to a door on the far end of the hallway. Dragged to the exit, the next hallway dimmed, with only a pale marine light emitted from lanterns on the side of the wall. The jagged edges of the walls blended into the spikes and cast shadows that faded into the dark spots between light sources, small streams of water rolling down the walls around them. He wobbled and wobbled, hunching over as he found himself still held by his arms. Thrust forward from time to time, a searing pain began to form in his upper arm, a tired expression with his mouth slightly agape on his face. Passing by a stronger, much more defined red light, his dreary expression turned to an alert, horrified one, his eyes enlarged as he took a gulp. Under the harsh, blinding light, there were two figures; one in the same garb of the men constantly shoving him forward and another in ragged, tattered scraps entrapped within a uniform network of metal chains. The guard held a large fork with a smoking, bright red rock stuck on its pikes, quickly and effortlessly shoving the burning thing into the other¡¯s mouth. The muffled scream that emerged reached Wei¡¯s ears and he looked away just as fast, trying to block out the sound, the voice fading away as he continued to be pulled. But turning the corner his face turned green as before his eyes a similar sight emerged; dozens of people all facing various tortures. A sickly woman to his right displayed a pale blue skin, chained to the wall with several men and women alike. A man threw up a vermont-green mixture onto the ground and was promptly lashed by the armoured elf in front of him right on his back, a grim red line being left behind. Entire containers of the same piked forks lay before his eyes, and the burning orange colour of one or two of them was denoted with droplets of blood on their exposed handles. The stink of rotting meat swirled throughout the room, several persons somewhat devoid of life propped up against the wall; one or two particularly emotionless women stood jerkily in front of a guard who while having the same long ears as the man ahead of them, were near-white and their skin caving in on their skulls. His eyes lay wide. Walking upright before him was that very same woman who calmly strolled to the entrance of a room, slid open the door and pointed inside with her thumb. Once more he was tossed upon the ground, and he groaned as he stood up. A long stone barrier separated him from a wide expanse with targets similar to the place where he had first been captured and impaled in the stomach. Staring over to the various wooden boards shaped in the vague silhouette of a person, his already weary and half-closed eyes narrowed further. ¡°Use your powers.¡± Miru demanded, in the same obsolescent tone of disinterest. Wei remained silent, staring at her whilst quivering. Her eyes narrowed. ¡°Is it that difficult to be of use to your masters?¡± She asked, a cold chill creeping down his neck. ¡°-uh, I-I don¡¯t know what-¡± ¡°Magic. Even the most hideous creature can use it in some way - even the Akari. Are you insinuating that you are beneath a subhuman?¡± ¡°W-what is-¡± ¡°Useless.¡± Pointing at the targets, she stretched out her hand towards them. As she clenched her fist a dozen stones lifted up into the air, and as she opened her palm once more the stones whisked off towards the targets, hitting them. She let him loose and gestured to the two guards, after which they went up and untied his hands, allowing him to step forward. ¡°Use your powers to throw them at the target.¡± Miru said, placing several long, sharp stone darts on the top of the barrier. He stared at her, before staring at the darts. His weary eyes were accompanied by the lines forming between them, while he raised his hand. This is how they did it, right? He thought, before holding out his hand as if holding an imaginary dart, then slowly moving it up. It didn¡¯t move. He tried again, this time with his fist completely closed. It didn¡¯t move. His already jittery hands began to shake even stronger as he tried, and tried, and tried, each failure followed by his eyes growing wider, him biting his lip as the delicate process degenerated into him flicking his hand. ¡°Tch- c¡¯mon!¡± Throwing an imaginary ball? No result. Flinging an imaginary frisbee? Failure. Tossing an imaginary piece of wastepaper? Nope. Panting, he stared. Miru¡¯s already disinterested expression turned to total and complete abandonment and a scowl appeared. One of the guards went up to her, rubbing his chin, pointing at Wei and speaking in the same language he had no way of understanding. Sweat tapered down his cheeks before Miru stepped forward and slapped down on both his shoulders. ¡°I take it that it is impossible?¡± ¡°No, no, no- just gimme a sec-¡± ¡°That is fine. A suggestion has been presented and I believe that it is fitting.¡± Her voice remained cold and monotone as she pushed him away and to a doorway on the left. He shakily scampered over on his own as Miru gestured to the guards to stay at the entrance, personally tying his hands back together with a rope as he shivered, not resisting at all. The room she dragged him into was lined with shelves, into which grooves and hangers were installed. Swords, bows, clubs, and rounded shields kept in a clean, orderly manner - in fact the entire room had a much more sterile atmosphere than the rest of the complex. And on a table lay a gun. That same pale lime green, the same length, the magazines- It was his gun. He glanced at it, his mouth agape, then turned to Miru. ¡°Don¡¯t think of taking your weapon back¡­¡± She said, walking over and picking up the gun by its barrel, holding it in a regal manner. ¡°...but it is a marvelous weapon, is it not? Dispatching three men in a moment. Perhaps dozens in instants, nations in a day.¡± ¡°I- I- I, uh, I don¡¯t under-¡° ¡°Make this weapon. Once more. Teach these men how to use this weapon and make it possible for this organisation to make it. Then, we shall set you free.¡± Miru looked at him with the same stoic expression, only now there lay a certain determination behind her eyes. Wei remained silent, simply staring at her, quietly, slowly, tensing up. His body shivered, before Miru inched one tiny bit closer. His eyes widened and he recoiled, blurting out, ¡®-I refuse.¡± Instantaneously he covered his mouth, shaking his head and stepping back ever so slowly. His breaths became erratic and he could practically hear his heart drumming away. ¡°No - I meant that I, I accept- really ah! I didn¡¯t mean to-¡± She barely frowned, instead closing her fist; his hands moving on their own, clamping together. She grabbed him by the shoulder and began pushing him out of the room, his feet screeching against the floor. The guards immediately stepped out of the way, themselves quivering ever so slightly. ¡°Hey! HEY! HEY! I take it back! I TAKE IT BACK, PLEASE DON¡¯T DO ANYTHING TO ME!¡± Wei screamed. Miru did not respond. Hurled against the wall, he watched as she gestured to another few guards who then tied his limbs to clamps on the wall. He shivered and shivered until she came back, with a red-hot iron in hand. ¡°Hey, no no no no no, come on, come on!¡± Not looking, Miru lowered the iron, and he heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°...there¡­¡± she muttered, raising a blazing red iron bar attached to the end of the iron. ¡°Fuck. Fuck, oh FUCK!¡± My stand [1.3] Bitter. She gritted her teeth and threw her strength into the massive, jagged, pointed pickaxe that lodged into the chipped rock surface. Pebbles flew out, and she slowly pulled the pickaxe out of the rock before throwing it down once more. Again and again the tool was let loose upon the rock, her strength seemingly inexhaustible. Faster and faster she picked away at the stone in front of her. The stone creaked, and she held out her palm towards it. Crack, crack, crack, and a large block fell out onto the floor next to her. She rolled it over towards the three behind her, saying ¡°You guys take it apart. I¡¯ll figure the next one.¡± Her tone was confident, aggravated, perhaps; but always strong. Shirin turned back around and proceeded with what she had been doing so far: mining the tunnel. Amidst the darkness of the tunnel, she went on regardless. Ever so slowly she wore away the rock ahead of her and threw back large rocks for the others around her to clear. Her arms began to wobble, and the dust was building all over her straining body, but again and again she picked away at the stone. Looking at her with bewildered eyes, one of the men asked, ¡°Say¡­ do they feed you better than us or somethin¡¯?¡± ¡°Nah. Just running on fumes.¡± ¡°Keep yerself okay, young¡¯in. You never know when ¡®ey¡¯ll choose to pull you out either.¡± He said, bruised, slowly, with a croaking voice. Shirin looked at him, her eyes wide open, at attention. She frowned. ¡°Please don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve been here as long as I think.¡± ¡°If you mean long enough that I would¡¯n¡¯ be able to count, yah. Long, long time. You new?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been here long enough to know everyone that¡¯s here?¡± ¡°Nae. But they balded you, didn¡¯t they? Very young, very boisterous.¡± He remarked, tapping on her forehead. ¡°Don¡¯t get yourself too ahead, they eventually make youngins like you into their perfect vase-thingys.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep it in mind, but just saying, I do intend to get out of here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what they all say.¡± He again remarked with a heavy tone, lifting up a boulder and walking off in the other direction; disappearing behind the corner. She scratched her head, if only to find her fingers rubbing her now-bald forehead. It was unusually cool to have the wind blowing over her now, the wind directly flying past the skin on her forehead; the rest of her head joining her ears in being unprotected from the elements. All that was left was a light coat of hair stumps. Still, that didn¡¯t sting. That wasn¡¯t bitter. The massive brand on the back of her head was. A wide, ornate circular emblem lay burnt into her skin, a dark brown mark with a gigantic dragon-like creature emblazoned in the centre. The characters below it, reminiscent of some kind of Sino-Tibetan writing, simple, straight; numerical. Behind her footsteps marched towards her. She turned curtly and expediently and stared with disinterested eyes at the guard that now stood in front of her. ¡°How¡¯s the job hanging, fuckface?¡± ¡°The woman wants you.¡± ¡°Funny, I thought I wasn¡¯t wanted.¡± She turned around, raising her hands behind her. The guard, whose long-eared silhouette remained barely visible, grabbed them and tied a prickly rope around her wrists, before nudging her. Without prodding she trotted off, making her way slowly but surely through the winding tunnel. The walls slowly smoothened as she walked into dim, but clear, light, and the stares stacked up bit by bit. She didn¡¯t need to see it herself to know; those pairs of eyes were already on her. An indignant, almost confrontationally snide expression habitually sat on her face. The smirk that appeared when she felt she knew someone was giving her a bad look was near-constant and almost systematic, the aura of snark emanating from her affecting anyone given the briefest notice of her presence. ¡°My adoring audience.¡± She muttered, snickering to herself. Led on, the walls had turned straight and aligned but not exactly clean; some mess of dirt and grime was splattered across them, with an occasional bloodstain. The lamps lining the walls gave off a bright yellow light, toning the figures moving through. Armoured guards, gaunt prisoners, slaves. She had joined the latter and yet didn¡¯t act like it. Walking on, she eyed the rooms around her. At the very least each iron door and each sign was given a glance, and every junction she sniffed the air. The musty smell mixed together with the disgusting stink of sewage and the iron-rich smell of¡­ more blood. It was not ignorable. Blood was squelched all over the floor she walked over. Every few of her newfound comrades had wounds, bruises and abrasions, open or somewhat healed, but noticeable red marks regardless. The women all had the same brand on the back of their heads. The men all had the same brand on their necks. She had the same brand on- -she was one of them? -yeah, right. Take another look, this is just temporary. I¡¯ll just split the moment somebody turns around, get this rope off, and just you wait I am going to win. Her eyes continued to dart around before the soldier behind her jabbed her in the back, pointing to the left. She briskly moved onwards over the stone floor and in the direction of a wooden door. ¡°Hey, you sure this is the right door? Looks like the exit,¡± She smirked. ¡°Not that I¡¯d be complaining.¡± The guard rolled his eyes, then yanked her along by the hem of her shirt; sliding the door open and shoving Shirin to the ground in the room. ¡°Commander, the prisoner.¡± ¡°Keep a watch outside, deny entry to all except vice-commander Enako.¡± Inside, a large nondescript table stood with a chair on either side. The floor remained as musty as the outside, the walls, far cleaner, but there was a dark brown mark on the table and the smell of some stagnant, pungent rot. As she stood up, grabbing onto the chair on her side to support herself, she realised that on one of the chairs sat Miru, dressed in a rather ornamental uniform with several badges, bronze buttons and a small cap. Her lips pursed, she motioned for Shirin to sit. ¡°You seem real fuckin¡¯ delighted to be here.¡± Miru sighed, ¡°As far as my priorities were ordered, this meeting was first.¡± ¡°Yeah? Honoured. Whaddya want out of me?¡± She said, not even looking at Miru in the eyes. ¡°Obviously, your cooperation would be ideal. Then we can begin the process of reunifying your settlement into the nation.¡± The tone Miru carried remained emotionless and professional. ¡°Yeah, have fun with that. I ain¡¯t helping.¡± Shirin glanced over and tapped on her hairless head, shrugging. ¡°It was not a request, it was a demand.¡± ¡°Then make me do it. Except I won¡¯t. I won¡¯t, ever.¡± Her tone remained direct, straight-forward¡­ angry. She leaned back, using her arms as a headrest while looking up at the ceiling. *slap* A red mark remained on Shirin¡¯s face as Miru shrank back into her chair. She crossed her arms and leaned in once more. ¡°What was your profession in the settlement?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I said, what was your profession in the settlement?¡± *sigh* ¡°Assistant instructor...¡± Her voice trailed off, apparently mumbling. ¡°What subject?¡± ¡°Magic. The works. Just studying the effects, usage, applications¡­ Y¡¯know.¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Miru stopped and looked at her for a moment. Under the white light of the lantern above them her wide-eyed expression remained clear. ¡°A magic scholar?¡± ¡°I prefer researcher.¡± ¡°And you have enough time to train while at it?¡± ¡°I find the time.¡± ¡°Interesting¡­¡± She mentioned, narrowing her eyes and pulling out a small book. The ragged cloth that made up its cover marked ¡®reports¡¯, it opened to reveal a long series of meticulous notes and remarks scribbled in uneven ink. She pulled out a large, bulky pen, with a large cylindrical container behind the grip, then opened the side of the container and peered inside. Miru then closed it once more and started writing on one of the pages. Shirin stared and had a muted chuckle to herself. ¡°Is that amusing to you?¡± ¡°No ma¡¯am, I¡¯m sure that¡¯s an upgrade from an inkwell.¡± The incredulous look on Miru¡¯s face disappeared after moments as she wrote a few more lines from top to bottom. ¡°Were there extensive amounts of Akari in the settlement?¡± ¡°Why the hell do you think I¡¯ll tell you that?¡± ¡°It was a demand.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t sell out my worst enemy to you.¡± She stated confidently, ¡°Mainly because I don¡¯t even think a cult would be able to get me a good price anyways.¡± *slap* This time both her cheeks were red. Miru stood up and went to the door; opening it, she gestured for the guard outside to come in. ¡°Against the wall. Now.¡± She directed, as the guard grabbed Shirin by the shoulders. Shirin scowled at him as she held onto the guard¡¯s face and tugged at his arm, before slapping the guard with one hand and slamming him away with the other. She leapt away, before she realised- -her legs couldn¡¯t move. Well, they could shake, but they couldn¡¯t move. She turned to see Miru blankly holding her hand out, using her powers to hold her legs back. She pouted. The guard slowly staggered to his feet and immediately slammed Shirin into the wall, a wave of energy quickly and speedily running through the stone and rock making up the surface. Even Miru felt it, if just a little bit. ¡°I find that this position is highly effective at extracting information. Go on, tell me how many there were in the camp.¡± ¡°Fine, you win. There were two.¡± ¡°Impossible.¡± ¡°Naw, I even know their names! They¡¯re called fuck off and take a fuckin¡¯ hint!¡± The guard jabbed her in her back, and her nose hit the wall once again. It stung, feeling as if it had been burnt on some hot iron, and she chuckled. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I want! Go ahead and prove my point, bitch! I¡¯ll have you know just fuckin¡¯ fine that I will take one of your dumb brainwashed lackeys any day in a battle! Tell me the disadvant- urgh-¡± Her tone had turned louder and louder until being interrupted by a jab on her neck. Her breathing turned erratic. Her voice had turned hoarse. But Shirin¡¯s laughter was¡­ maniacal. The cracked, somewhat off-kilter laughter streamed out of her ever so slowly gave both the guard and Miru somewhat incredulous looks. ¡°Yeah, yeah, come on! What the hell are you waiting for, DO IT!¡± Miru, staring intently, her mouth agape, motioned for the guard to turn Shirin around. As he slowly dragged Shirin¡¯s face into the forefront, there was, on her face, only a scowl with the ends of her lips turned down as far as she could, and her eyes seemingly attempting to pierce through everything she observed. Below her head of silver-white hair the neurons in Miru¡¯s mind raced to make sense of it all. There were no words for this. Shirin, on the other hand, had reverted to a neutral, blank expression. She glanced sideways, never looking directly at Miru, or the guard. ¡°How many Akari?¡± ¡°Still not tellin¡¯. You gotta get better at this entire convincing job.¡± Miru pulled out a small steel blade from one of her pockets and held it against Shirin¡¯s neck. The glint of its shine appeared in Shirin¡¯s eyes, and the sweat came pouring down. ¡°How many?¡± ¡°Yeah, go on. Kill me. Get yourself some fuckin¡¯ information then.¡± The whites of her teeth showed in her wide grin. Miru stepped back, her mouth wide open, silent. She pulled a small pocket watch from her shirt pocket, glanced at it, then dropped it back in in a matter of seconds. She immediately turned around and flipped open the book; the ink leaving the pen at a ridiculously fast rate. Miru slapped the pages together, dumped the book on the table and told the guard, ¡°Take her back to the tunnels. Arrange for another interrogation after Lieutenant Sekyo¡¯s inspection.¡± The guard nodded, and immediately dragged Shirin away, the sound of her feet scraping away as Miru rushed out the door herself in the opposite direction. ¡°See ya, cult leader!¡± Miru briefly glanced back at Shirin as she vanished past the corner, before immediately turning around and dashing off, the sound of her footsteps ringing through the tunnel. Little rattling shook the corridor as she dashed past, dozens and dozens of rag-wearing dust-covered men passing her by; a few women of a similar stature. Dodging battering rams, tools, wooden planks and what not, she held onto her hat and continued to sprint past them all. Dirty puddles appeared. The walls began to freeze. Up the stairs the blizzard stormed in once again and she marched into a sea of white. Greeting her were dozens of wooden structures swarming the entrance to the tunnels. As she emerged a large stone barrier came into view from all her four directions, and here the soldiers wore large woolen jackets, holding various weapons - spears, longswords and archers - with bits of metal sticking out underneath their coats. ¡°Is the Lieutenant¡¯s party here yet?¡± ¡°No, ma¡¯am. But they¡¯re currently making their way over to the elevator.¡± ¡°Are all the men already ready to receive him?¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± Miru nodded, moving onwards step by step, lifting her boots in and out of the snow ever so slowly. She turned her head to the left and right, men in two lines standing without moving, holding their spears and swords pointed down into the snow. As she trudged through and glanced over all of them, their coats removed and them standing in the snow with just silver-grey armour plating. Ever so slightly, they seemed to be shaking. Her eyes never wavered. Walking to a large gap in the stone wall, she stopped and looked towards the front. The distant echo splashed into her ears. She began to walk again, slowly, steadily, as the sound rose and rose and came closer. Snow shook and rattled; some of it flying up and down and chattering away. As she moved in closer a sudden darkness appeared in the ground, a depression - the snow falling in ever so slowly. The darkness gave way, and a large stone layer began to arise from underneath the ground, as did a dozen men. There were ten men wearing the same winter coats and holding identical longswords, not moving, standing around the two at the centre. Both at the centre wore the same brown uniforms with the same bronze buttons and caps that Miru wore. Her hand moved like the wind; finding itself quickly placed against her forehead, and it remaining there until one of the uniformed men waved for her to stop saluting. ¡°Very good to see you, Miru.¡± ¡°It is a great honor, Lieutenant Sekyo.¡± She said, her voice clear and formal. ¡°At ease. Show me the plans.¡± Sekyo said in a voice reminiscent of a toaster warming bread, the wrinkles on his face clearly moving around as he spoke. Miru nodded curtly. She didn¡¯t turn, to face him directly, rather choosing to trace her footsteps back towards the tunnel entrance; the men all stood there to their sides as they proceeded through. Sekyo slowed down somewhat and walked over to the right line, slowly moving his gaze over one of the men. The solder gulped. He shook. He blinked. To him it felt as if lasers ran over his body, visible to all, even Miru, watching several more metres away. His long ears twitched. Then Sekyo walked off, the hair on his balding head flailing around in the wind. To Miru¡¯s side, he remarked, ¡°Excellent discipline.¡± ¡°They are steeled daily.¡± ¡°If only the Solha or Akari would be as cooperative.¡± He muttered, a tone of abject irritation seeping through. ¡°Useless subhumans.¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± Miru noted, a flippant nature to her comment. Her footsteps took slower strides, and she silently watched as the wobbly, wrinkled man bit by bit lifted his feet up and down into the snow. She walked up to him and said, ¡°would you require assistance?¡± ¡°No need.¡± Eventually both of them walked past the stone entrance and into the tunnel, puddles of water being left behind. Down the stairs every soldier they passed by saluted, every slave they passed by at the very least nodding if holding massive wooden logs. They passed by a particularly gaunt and white young elven woman, while being dragged along by two soldiers, staggering along the floor, who collapsed to the floor and strainingly uttered ¡®your Honor¡¯; the soldiers saluting before bowing and saying ¡®our Apologies, sir¡¯. As the woman and her pale skin left their sight, the sound of her feet still pattering in a freakish, off-kilter pace, Sekyo remarked, ¡°So that is what is required to teach them respect. Very good, Miru. Very good. I want more.¡± Miru nodded, still quiet. ¡°Regardless, how have the plans proceeded? I have not seen any men of the San¡¯in Battalion.¡± ¡°The men have been building up the tunnels, sir. The Battalion was given early rest by Lieutenant Korzich.¡± Sekyo frowned. ¡°That will put our plans behind time. What about the special mages?¡± ¡°They are ready, as ever. The battering rams and energy-sacks have been prepared and are ready; we did lose some communicators to disease. A reduction of roughly 20.¡± ¡°Tolerable.¡± ¡°My apologies for not advising Lieutenant Korzich, sir.¡± Still walking, he took a short glance at her. ¡°If only you were elven. I hardly imagine any of my peers wouldn¡¯t be trying to take you for their own forces, perhaps; but they are only focused on their pursuit of wives. You are our key to victory.¡± ¡°Thank you very much, sir.¡± ¡°Just as much I would have hoped you could have been a man. But the great god chooses unwisely in his times of tiredness. I am sure that he would have changed it much a long time ago.¡± Miru looked down, not replying. ¡°Miru?¡± ¡°Nothing, sir.¡± ¡°I see. Do recognise, your place here is just a privilege. I hope you use it well.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be off to converse with Lieutenant Korzich, then. Off you go, steel the men.¡± He said, turning around and walking off. Miru remained quiet; the ends of her lips ever so slightly turning downwards. She pressed against her chest, felt nothing, and sighed. She took her notebook, opened it up and in it wrote: FAILED AGAIN Choice Clang. Clang. Clang. A sledgehammer fell upon the iron again and again. Sometimes it hit the left hilt and sometimes it hit the right hilt. It was never clear what the focus was; striking some points on the metal a half dozen times and others just once. Sometimes he lifted it up as high as it could go, sometimes he just let it chatter on the plate. Under Wei¡¯s eyes there remained just thick black lines. Two brown rectangles occupied his cheeks, stinging whenever sweat slid down onto them; he wiped his forehead but never touched the rectangles. There were little red spots on them and he kept biting his lip, his skin starting to cave in on his bones. Hair had started to grow below his nose and on his chin, little hairs starting to extend past his ears. Spots and cuts covered his body. Clang. Clang. Clang. The metallic ringing continued to reverberate through the air. Clang. Clang. Ding. His sledgehammer hit the anvil. The metal was on both sides of his sledgehammer, but no longer underneath it; little bits of metal scattered across. A pithy grin on his face turned to a scowl. He dropped the sledgehammer on the floor and shouted, ¡°FUCK!¡± The smell of charcoal burnt throughout the room as Wei leaned back for a moment, looking around at the dark, hot workshop. Iron bars lay on the floor next to the large stone block he had sat himself down upon, with soot strewn across the floor and the lanterns still unlit. ¡°Hey, are you sure we can¡¯t get this light on ah?¡± He whined to the armoured man behind him, standing at the door. The guard didn¡¯t react. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Wah si, I can¡¯t just create a gun in the dark mah.¡± He muttered, staring down on the anvil; coughing and scratching his head. Still wearing his drab green uniform, only now stained with a dozen spots and little strings flailing about the ends, he stretched over to the sledgehammer¡¯s grip and raised it once more; allowing it to rest on the anvil. ¡°What time is it?¡± Wei asked, a sense of breathlessness in his voice. ¡°Dial sez¡¯ that we¡¯re almost to the high hour.¡± ¡°...which is?¡± ¡°Lunch.¡± ¡°Fuck, I actually did wake up at 1 a.m.¡± He muttered, pulling up his sleeve to look at his watch, ticking away with the hour hand nearly at 12 once more. Little beads slid down to his wrist, and he quickly gave it a lick. ¡°Not even a blast furnace.¡± ¡°Blast furnace? What the hell is that?¡± Wei stopped for a moment with his paggered eyes; rubbing them slowly, he eventually muttered, ¡°Of course there isn¡¯t a furnace in a world of fucking magic.¡± The guard, wiping his face off with his collar, narrowed his eyes; stating, ¡°We do have a furnace.¡± ¡°Does it have a Cowper stove and is it really tall?¡± ¡°What¡¯s a Cooper stove and why woulda furnace need to be tall?¡± His voice reeking of uncertainty, a gruffness in it. ¡°Cowper stoves. You constantly heat a liquid to extreme temperature and feed it right below the furnace to gas which is being blown into the main furnace, while the liquid keeps it wa-¡± ¡°Stop. I don¡¯ wanna hear your big pile a¡¯ shit.¡± ¡°If you want a gun tell your boss that this is the only way I can get her one.¡± Wei muttered, staring at the guard, who had begun to roll his eyes. ¡°She ain¡¯t our boss.¡± ¡°Oh, she isn¡¯t ah?¡± ¡°Naw, god said that no woman cun¡¯ be our boss. She musta lied her way to the top, I know it.¡± He muttered under his breath, a certain confidence in his words. ¡°You very full of yourself is it?¡± The pale-skinned man scowled. ¡°I¡¯m notta good leader but I sure as hell would beat out that bitch. Lets my buddies get slaughtered so she can get herself promoted.¡± Wei groaned, pulling on the two straps going over his shoulders. He turned around to the guard to reveal the massive, shining blue orb sticking out of his chest, now with a rather large metal ring surrounding it and long brown straps going from it to the other side of his body, locked together with a stone contraption. A blank look occupied his face, his eyes narrowed as well. While he stared at the guard, he asked, ¡°You getting paid for this?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°So what is it? You care about this because you get the money or because of some pride thing ah?¡± The guard grinned. ¡°It¡¯s not about pride, it¡¯s about protecting my kids and wives. Man like you wouldn¡¯t get it.¡± ¡°You did just say wives, right? Right?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with it?¡± Wei rolled his eyes and stood up shakily, stumbling over to a table in the corner of the room. Little clouds of dust puffed up with each step and he continued to cough, leaning forwards as the orb shook around and rattled the metal supports; sending stinging pain through his chest. Grabbing a large sheet of extremely parched, yellowed and torn paper, he carried the rigid sheet back to the anvil and stood over it, waving it in front of the bright fire in front of him that was his only light. The writing on it was blotched, messy, but the diagrams were distinct, clear, if rather disjointed. ¡°Oy, come over here.¡± He said in an increasingly weak voice, motioning to the guard. The guard winced, rolled his eyes, before stepping forward to look at the curious drawings. What appeared to be boxes stacked on top of one another in some seemingly haphazard format in the corner with odd writing - ¡®Ag¡¯, ¡®Zn¡¯, ¡®Mg¡¯ he observed - elsewhere he saw a massive conical structure with some kind of inlet at the bottom. ¡°What the hell is this?¡± ¡°That,¡± he said, pointing to the boxes, ¡°is the Periodic Table. There¡¯s Kurchatovium and all that, and then there¡¯s Carbon, there''s Iron¡­ elements in steel.¡± ¡°How the fuck does this matter at all to what you¡¯re doing?¡± The guard said, exasperation seeping through the tone of his voice. ¡°Well, you see, I can¡¯t get you a rigid structure for the barrel if you give me this pig iron that is all iron and just real brittle. I need at least mild steel-¡± ¡°Get back to doing what you need to do, don¡¯t tell me any more of this bullshit.¡± ¡°Soldier!¡± The guard turned around to see the face of a stout young man with a straight line plastered on his face, staring directly into his eyes. Again, long ears and blonde hair, but the guard immediately widened his eyes and took a step back. ¡°Sir!¡±, he said, bowing. ¡°Allow me to talk to the prisoner. Inform the new shifts that there¡¯s been a change in the arrangement.¡± The man said, pointing outside. ¡°There¡¯ll be a new prisoner and all shifts are expected to have three men instead.¡± ¡°Sir, yes, sir!¡± he bellowed, immediately scampering out the door. The young man walked in leisurely, a much more astute uniform gracing him. Cloaked in brown, indeed, with bronze buttons, he removed his hat as he entered the room. With a stern frown on his face, he addressed, ¡°Prisoner I2. I am Enako, your handler.¡± Wei didn¡¯t respond. He stared, yes, but the same blank expression remained on his face. ¡°Answer to your superiors with respect.¡± The same clear voice boomed in the room. ¡°...hullo. Sir.¡± He mumbled.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Enako¡¯s eyes twitched. ¡°Respect.¡± ¡°Sir¡­ yessir.¡± ¡°RESPECT.¡± Wei slammed his hand against his forehead and shouted, ¡°Sir yes sir!¡± ¡°Much better. You¡¯ll be working with these ones from now on. The commander wants to see your progress within the day, I2, and we¡¯ve brought prisoners SI0018 and SI0221 to join you on this project.¡± As two figures walked into the room, their features slowly came into view. One with that same dark grey skin, dark eyes and white irises¡­ the other with the distinct navy blue hair and glasses. Though scratches, cuts and bruises now covered their bodies, dust, wear and tear taking their toll on their clothing, Wei could tell. It was those two who he had met for such a brief moment, Tooru and Rie. His mouth remained ajar, his eyes widening. ¡°Wah si... they really did a number on you two ah?¡± He quietly remarked as Rie, seemingly dazed, stumbled into the room. Tooru moved in, step by step, staring at him all the way. Wei continued to stare at them before turning back to Enako, still standing there. ¡°Kids? You brought fucking kids to build a weapon? Is there something wrong with you?¡± He said, in an increasingly accusatory tone. ¡°Evidently you come from a weak culture. Children must learn obedience and respect from a young age, it¡¯s all that defines their future.¡± Something snapped. ¡°These are WEAPONS which fight WARS!¡± Wei shouted, standing up right in Enako¡¯s face. ¡°The performance of soldiers are the measure of loyalty.¡± ¡°The weapon you want me to make killed 40 million people in four years! You don¡¯t understand anything is it? Children shouldn¡¯t be here - children shouldn¡¯t be ANYWHERE near this shit. Wah lao, you people so jialat is it?!¡± His teeth gritted, Enako stood back, his mouth slightly agape. Instantly, his foot let loose and hit Wei square in the abdomen; Wei fell and struck the anvil at its base as Enako began repeatedly stepping on Wei. ¡°Useless-useless-useless-degenerate!¡± He repeated over and over again as his boot jabbed Wei all over his body. The pain seared. Wei shouted. But he didn¡¯t stop. Eventually, Enako lifted his foot off Wei for the final time and marched out the room. Wei, dazed and groaning, slowly got to his feet once more and looked straight over to the two teenagers. His eyebrows ticked upwards, and a sad expression appeared on his face. The two were cowering in the corner, staring at the door, shaking, hiding. He sat on the stone block once more. He scratched his head. He looked down. Then he stood up again, and walked over to the two, and quietly murmured, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Tooru looked at him. Cuts were everywhere on his body as well. Rie didn¡¯t look up at all. ¡°I¡¯m, I¡¯m¡­ sorry, sorry. When the blue woman comes just stay behind me. Okay? Please.¡± He trembled. ¡°This is my fault, okay? It¡¯s not yours. You¡¯re both good kids. Okay? Okay?¡± His eyes widened. Rie took a very minor glance at him; Tooru was already blank-faced. His vision blurred. ¡°I¡¯ll do whatever I can. Please.¡±
¡°Pa-pa, why is it you go outside?¡± The elderly man gave a wily look. He placed his hand against his lips and closed his eyes for a moment. ¡°You see ah, Wei Ming, pa-pa have to go outside and work.¡± He smiled. ¡°But pa-pa, you do it all the way until I sleep already then come back. Can you come back earlier pa-pa¡­¡± The young child pouted. ¡°Pa-pa will try ah, Wei Ming. Pa-pa will try.¡± He rubbed his son¡¯s head as his son embraced him. Not fully; his son¡¯s arms barely reached each other as he hugged his father, remarking in a rather cheerful tone, ¡°I love you pa-pa.¡± He grinned. ¡°Now, Wei Ming, go and sleep can?¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The young Wei scampered off into his room, disappearing behind the wooden door. He closed the lights, leaving all but the dinner room in darkness. His father smiled to himself, before taking a sip of his coffee; contained within a ceramic mug marked ¡®We Won¡¯, emblazoned with stars and stripes. It was particularly worn, and just one of many other ceramic mugs. But then again the room was rather cluttered. Past the plastic folding table and the plastic folding chairs, the steel grating window allowed for the wind to blow in. Outside there was an orange tint, but darkness reigned. The occasional shout could be heard, some figment of ¡®open¡¯, but nothing else. Still sitting at the table, a woman walked up to the chair opposite him at the table and sat down. Herself aged somewhat, she asked, ¡°Did he go to sleep ah?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Good.¡± She smiled as well. ¡°Seng, did you read the newspaper this morni-¡± ¡°I know. Swine flu.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be up 5am tomorrow, get a lot of instant noodle from NTUC. Should I get anything for you ah?¡± She asked. ¡°Nothing, thank you.¡± He sipped his coffee again. Steam still emanating from it, he only lapped up what he could get from the sides. For a moment, there was silence between the two. He and she both wore a ring on their fingers; but the silence was ever-present. Ever so slightly they could both hear the chants of ¡®now! We want change now!¡¯ in the distance. The clock, with the intricate numerals emblazoned on it, ticked ever so slowly to midnight. ¡°Wah. Still got time to be outside chanting ah.¡± He didn¡¯t look. ¡°No lah¡­ they just have to. Very desperate youngsters.¡± She looked at him in the stained t-shirt with little strings hanging out. ¡°Seng, please don¡¯t go. You¡¯ll get fired lah.¡± ¡°Either way we don¡¯t have enough to survive the next month mah¡­ got no choice already. NTUC already go close all of the food bank, and all the churches also empty empty.¡± ¡°At least you stay at your job we still can buy food mah.¡± ¡°Not enough ah¡­ you want him die is it?¡± She flipped open the newspaper on the table. ¡°You still got that degree from Harvard mah. Can ask for raise.¡± ¡°Aiyoh, you think enough ah? Still not easy.¡± He looked up to see the Roman lettering of The Straits Times on her newspaper. ¡°Ei, don¡¯t read ST mah, never show anything. The siow zah boh in charge of Straits Times only write good good thing, never want write anything else.¡± He groaned, poking at the front page of the newspaper, with a headline ¡®DPM Goh: Singapore unaffected by Swine Fever¡¯ below the logotype. ¡°Wah lao, Lianhe Wanbao cannot read, ST also cannot read ah? Soon you tell me cannot even read Utusan Malaysia.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been reading Utusan Malaysia?!¡± She rolled her eyes. Wei¡¯s mother scratched her skin as a small black dot flashed across the dining room; the buzzing of the insect going unnoticed by both. The air was cool; the fan in the corner of the room blowing at them still whirring away, and the voices outside still chanting on. ¡°Don¡¯t panic so quickly.¡± She muttered. ¡°Ei, Li, you know we don¡¯t have much money left. Not since January.¡± ¡°I keep telling you ah, we can¡¯t go to Malaysia!¡± ¡°Go Wuzhou also work mah! My peh also got fight for the army there, he got really big pension, can ask!¡± She interjected, ¡°You want our son become Chinese is it?¡± ¡°I want our son to live!¡± For a while, only the whirring of the fan could be heard. She grimaced again. ¡°So what? You going to go outside help them march ah? Wah seh eh, tomorrow is Monday ah, he need go school!¡± ¡°I still send him, I will still send him lah.¡± He mentioned, standing up with his mug in hand, and dropping it in the sink. Using the sponge to wipe over the mug, bubbles forming on the sides, he immediately dropped the mug into the basin full of water next to it, splashing water all over the place. ¡°Si bei kiat, you never got wash things before is it?¡± Li walked over to the basin and picked out the mug, scrubbing it all over once more before washing it off. ¡°Tch,¡± he muttered. ¡°Come on, Seng. I¡¯ll drop off Wei Ming tomorrow at school, you go straight to work.¡± Hearing that, he looked down on the floor, scratching his head. She patted him on the back. As his wife walked towards their shared bedroom, Seng didn¡¯t look up from the floor. Then he looked towards the door.
¡°...you request another partner?¡± ¡°Kids don¡¯t make blast furnaces. Kids shouldn¡¯t be making blast furnaces.¡± Miru placed her hand against her lips, looking away for a moment. Back to wearing her trenchcoat, she paced the room. ¡°Is this device even necessary?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t make the gun, I can, and I need the equipment.¡± ¡°Surely you could use them as manual la-¡± ¡°I need precision work. They shoul- they can¡¯t give me that.¡± Wei interjected. Tooru and Rie stood behind him, standing still, their eyes darting away from the woman standing ahead of them. Wei looked at her straight in the eyes, not looking away, although twitching slightly. She didn¡¯t look at him as she continued to ponder. A cold sweat went down Wei¡¯s neck. ¡°I don¡¯t see the problem with it, then. I¡¯ll have I1 sent to assist you.¡± ¡°I1?¡± ¡°Yellow-haired, elf. She¡¯s been shaved, though, so if any of you knew her before you might need to get to know her again. Genuine progress is certainly demanded soon.¡± ¡°...yes, ma¡¯am.¡± A tone of relief went through his voice. ¡°Oh, and do keep those younger prisoners with you. Perhaps they may be of use.¡± Miru took out her notebook and pen, scribbling out something, before remarking to a guard next to her, ¡°Bring I1 over now.¡± The guard scurried off down the hallway as the trio watched on. He disappeared into the side of the wall for a moment, then reappeared, dragging along a woman with him. As the woman, in a scrappy set of rags which appeared to be more akin to strings than actual clothing, came closer, Rie¡¯s eyes widened. The woman, with a thin coat of yellow hairs on her head and slowly stumbling over, seemed to be yanking the guard back over and over again. Then she saw her sister. Shirin stopped resisting and instead began sprinting towards the trio, limping her way over. She immediately embraced Rie, gripping her sister tightly. Rie reciprocated, and as far as Wei could see both of them were grinning from side to side. ¡°Oy.¡± Miru demanded, before grabbing Rie and pushing her off. ¡°Hey, bitch, give me a sec.¡± Shirin muttered, still holding onto her sister. ¡°You have work to do, I1.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­¡± She said, still hugging Rie, resting her head on her sister¡¯s shoulder. *slap* Rie recoiled, falling on the ground and staring up at Miru, whose face remained emotionless. ¡°Oh, fuck off.¡± Shirin stated, staring at Miru. ¡°That is a line you do not fucking cross.¡± ¡°The man in front of you will establish what you have to do.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Shirin glared at Wei. ¡°You cooperating with them now?¡± ¡°I need all of you to go and begin your work now.¡± Miru mentioned, motioning to the guards; ¡°Take them to the workshop.¡± The guards jabbed Wei in the back and forced him forwards, while the others followed; even Shirin, still staring at Wei with narrowed eyes. Plans The room, wide and brightly-lit, choked with the smell of smoke and filled with grey soot billowing everywhere. Metal plates and sheets lined the floor, bars of iron and planks of wood lying stacked in the corners. And the two continued on with the ginormous black cylindrical structure a dozen times their size; the small slit in the side of the wall allowing for eyes to peer through at their progress. ¡°Are you done yet?!¡± She shouted, tonally dismissive and a permanent frown on her face. On her hands Shirin still carried the massive steel pipe. ¡°Calm down, ang moh, cannot just make things happen mah!¡± Wei hollered, his hands fixed on a lever. ¡°Fuck off! Tell me when you¡¯re ready!¡± ¡°Alright! 3¡­¡± ¡°2¡­¡± ¡°1¡­¡± ¡°Nngh!¡± He exclaimed, slamming the lever down with a ringing noise and jumping back on the ground. Shirin dropped the pipe, the sound of its descent whirring through the air before at her behest it stalled mid-way; jamming into a small circular hole with grooves in the massive stone structure next to them. Sparks flew out, the crackling noise of metal scraping against metal screeching through the air. Wei wiped off the sweat raining down his face and raised a thumbs-up to Shirin, who still hovered at the ceiling of the room. She herself slowly but surely came down upon the dirty, messy floor. ¡°Right, that¡¯s done. Told you my method works.¡± ¡°Still could have been easier if we just built scaffolding up.¡± ¡°Like I said, get that thinking out of your head. No point in building scaffolding if you got magic to work with.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have magic!¡± ¡°Sucks for you.¡± She smirked, the gentle sound of her feet reaching the ground once again soft and practically inaudible. Just like Wei her skin was similarly pale, and she most certainly was rather gaunt, but the rings on her eyes might as well have been an elaborate joke. Her movements remained stout and sharp. Wei, on the other hand, was blankly looking at a blueprint, narrowed eyes surrounded by a great dark ring. The parched, scratchy paper tore off at bits and cut at its rather blunt and uneven edges, and the diagram was seemingly wrong. ¡°Oy, is there something wrong with this?¡± ¡°Upside down, old man.¡± He squinted. ¡°Ah¡­ wait, I¡¯m 26.¡± ¡°Bullshit, I¡¯m 26. You¡¯ve got to be older. Nobody talks to a commander and asks for conditions unless they¡¯re crazy or they¡¯re real old.¡± Shirin muttered, grabbing the sheet from him. ¡°What¡¯re you talking about? I¡¯m not doing that again. I swear to god that I¡¯m not doing it again ah...¡± Wei groaned, subtly shaking. ¡°That woman is fucking terrifying.¡± Even with the torrent of sweat running down his skin, a slight increase in the droplets coming down could be noticed. ¡°Huh.¡± She uttered, not even looking at him. ¡°What was that word for¡­¡± She stopped. She then motioned to him, flicking her hands outwards repeatedly from a single point. ¡°Ah.¡± Taking the pen from Shirin, he slowly wrote on the parchment with the ink slowly blotting out behind it; it fell halfway through. ¡°Hate this pen¡­¡± He muttered, before continuing the very much English wording which read ¡®explosion¡¯. ¡°There you go. Thassit.¡± ¡°Good. Good¡­¡± She grinned, her teeth showing in the widest and most gleeful expression. Wei retained a somewhat agape mouth, his eyes still half-closed; for his youth he may as well have been wrinkled. ¡°Pass me that, will ya?¡± ¡°By the way, how do you even hold that shit? The container is fucking massive ah! Ultimate kiasu creator I tell you...¡± ¡°You gotta use magic. Can you actually not use it?¡± ¡°Of fucking course not! Not even with this gigantic¡­ I think it¡¯s a magnet?¡± He muttered, pointing at the orb in his chest. ¡°Fucking hurts.¡± He unbuttoned his shirt right around the glowing ball, holding onto fabric stitched back together with some very different string; revealing a shadowed but definitively bulging red-blue veins emerging from the orb. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about touching it, you fucking goondu.¡± ¡°Are you switching languages intentionally to trick the translation method or are you actually switching between two languages - no, it¡¯s the former. You¡¯re just that stupid. Does it happen to change colours every once in a while?¡± Sitting on the soot-covered stone block with metal sheets and rocks at his feet, he was still intently staring at the blueprints laid out on the wooden table. Tools to his left, tools to his right, and between it all little bits of rock littered everywhere. ¡°Oi.¡± He sulked. ¡°What¡­¡± ¡°Does the orb happen to change colours every once in a while?¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ blue-ish, to red to blue¡­?¡± ¡°That settles it; it¡¯s not a verdansk sokov, it¡¯s a verdask nikov. Slight differences but the colour change is a giveaway.¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Okay, the main thing is, this thing is in here and it really fucking hurts.¡± ¡°No, the main thing is, you¡¯ll get powers real soon. Nikovs are the cheap stuff they make - they pepper the actual stuff with a load of luminescent bullshit so people don¡¯t realise. The actual core eventually breaks through and turns it into a sub-standard sokov and then people slowly get the ability to use magic.¡± Wei rolled his eyes. The jargon had taken a long string through his ear and out another; and he went back to attempting to write, taking the lopsided-sized pen from the corner of the table where Shirin had left it. ¡°You¡¯re not listening. Of course.¡± ¡°Does it matter?¡± She snickered. ¡°Yes it does, for starters, because the only way to use that pen is to have magic.¡± ¡°Oh, that explains a fucking lot! You people use this kind of shit like that a lot is it?¡± ¡°Used to. This model¡¯s been outdated for a few years now, you poor fuckin¡¯ sod.¡± She proceeded to laugh away in the background. ¡°But here.¡± She picked up the pen and wrote on the parchment, ¡®Here¡¯s my plan to escape¡¯ in English. ¡°So that¡¯s why you asked to learn¡­¡± Under the dim lights of the lanterns in the corners of the large room, switched over from the previous one used; Shirin began slowly writing. Her g¡¯s were blotchy and resembled an 8, her h¡¯s resembled an n, but Wei could read it. ¡°By the way, fragile is spelled¡­¡± He uttered softly, taking over the pen and correcting it. ¡°Ah. Thanks.¡± ¡®The cave¡¯s real fragile. It¡¯s a new base.¡¯ She wrote. ¡®Can you blow this up?¡¯ ¡®No, and if I did, the force of the explosion would take down the entire structure, especially if it¡¯s in a mountain.¡¯ Shirin grimaced. ¡°What¡¯s this one say?¡± She asked, noticeably quieter, pointing at one of the words. ¡°Force.¡± She remained practically silent. ¡°Ah, right. Definitely knew that¡­¡± ¡®We can get out. C¡¯mon, you know as well as I do that they¡¯ll instantly kill you or they¡¯ll put you through the wringer until you suck up their way.¡¯ ¡°I have a plan too.¡± ¡°Yeah, but mine¡¯s better.¡± ¡°Go on¡­¡± ¡®We get them to inspect the thing, and then we blow it. Pretty sure just the bottom is enough.¡¯ Wei stared at her with narrowed eyes. His mouth remained just slightly ajar as per usual, his eyelids seemingly glazing over like a dead fish. ¡°Don¡¯t give me that look, you got any better ideas?¡± ¡°One.¡± She sneered. ¡°Go ahead, it¡¯ll suck.¡± ¡°They want me to build a gun. They will test the gun.¡± He stopped, snatching over the pen from Shirin, and shakily wrote, ¡®They will literally give me anything I need to build this. I say we convince them to get us saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal, make gunpowder with a powder mill, fill the gun with gunpowder, and when they inevitably test it because they clearly don¡¯t trust me to use it, we rig it to blow up and instantly kill the user, disorient everyone, and then we can grab a spear or sword or something.¡¯ ¡°Sound good?¡± He shrugged. ¡°How do you know all this?¡± There was a kind of uncertainty in her voice, a brazen resentment. He sighed. ¡°17 years of education before getting kicked out and forced off to the army.¡± Her eyes widened. ¡°Bullshit. Not that exact. Nobody could remember anything that perfectly.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. That is, until you meet someone with perfect memory...¡± He muttered, tapping on his forehead. ¡°You kiddin¡¯ me?¡± She stopped, and scratched her head for a moment. ¡°...fine, then. Let¡¯s¡­ let¡¯s go with your way.¡± Sitting down on one of the wooden planks, she stretched out her arms and yawned, looking around blankly. She remained silent, tapping her fingers on her soot-covered legs and glancing towards nothing. Wei continued to look at the blueprints, bending over like a hunchback over the parchment, holding it close to his eyes, squinting. His vision blurred, and his chest acted like some kind of a petulant child continually stabbing a toothpick into him. Slowly his head came to rest on the table itself, and his eyes slowly closed. Behind, Shirin stood up and touched her head. Her hair was coming back; a thick layer of short yellow hairs emerging past her hairline. Her entire face was pocked with black spots and tiny little cuts, none of which seemed to bother her. She stood up, and walked over to the small opening in the wall to the right. ¡°Rie.¡± She mentioned. She stared over into the comparatively dark room, with only a small fire in the corner for light as compared to the lantern inside the furnace room; her sister sitting right in front of the fire, curled into a ball, not even looking at her. Tooru was sleeping in the other corner. Shirin sighed. She walked up to Rie, muttering, ¡°Should get them to install a Kirie here as well, huh? Too damn dark.¡± She patted her sister¡¯s back, kneeling down. ¡°Rie.¡± She smiled, a sincereness to it. Rie turned her head ever so slowly to look at her big sister. Her white irises moved up, moved down, and then looked elsewhere; but didn¡¯t look at Shirin directly in the eyes. Her lips trembled. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Shirin asked quietly, sitting down next to her sister. ¡°Glasses rack pestering you again?¡± Rie¡¯s eyes darted left, darted right, staring anywhere. The marks on her legs, on her elbows, perhaps, not her older sister. Then she slowly spoke, ¡°...no.¡± Her voice was practically silent. ¡°What is it then? C¡¯mon. I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll hear ya out.¡± She put her arm over Rie¡¯s shoulder, her voice a radical, far more soothing change from the tone she¡¯d used with others. A quiet feeling touched against Shirin¡¯s right shoulder. Rie leaned in on her sister. Shirin lightly chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ll wait, but I don¡¯t think the Avisen outside will.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Her soft, quiet voice stopped. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ scared.¡± Shirin scratched her head, glancing away. ¡°Yeah. Me too, Rie. Me too.¡± Rie immediately turned over to look at her sister with wide eyes as Shirin winked, smiling. ¡°No¡­ no¡­¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°I¡¯m scared¡­ I¡¯m scared I¡¯ll get you killed.¡± Silence. Shirin looked down on the ground, her eyes wide, her mouth agape. She scarcely even looked at her younger sister, quietly staring at the stone making up the floor. She trembled. ¡°...big sis?¡± Rie asked, looking at her. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s nothing.¡± Shirin muttered. Then, she placed her hands on Rie¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare be scared now. Okay? I¡¯ll do it. I¡¯ll keep you safe. Promise. Reason we¡¯re in here? My fault. I wasn¡¯t strong enough. But I¡¯ll be that soon. Okay? Promise?¡± She said, forcefully tugging on Rie¡¯s collar. ¡°...okay.¡± Rie smiled, and embraced her big sister readily. Shirin patted her on the back; although the expression on her face remained¡­ unsure. Forces Boots marched across the floor, kicking up dust and pebbles. The ground rattled; the leather footwear trampling over concrete, stamping over stone. In the soldiers¡¯ hands there were long, chipped swords, unsheathed and shining. The swords, pointed downwards, all moved along orderly and unifiedly. Row upon row, column upon column; they marched in unison. By their side eyes glared. Just one pair; but that single pair was like a laser, burning through them. None winced, or at least none visibly winced, as their commander stared at them, her eyes rolling, a lackadaisical expression on her face. Miru¡¯s aquamarine blue eyes twitched from man to man, observing their armour, their weapons. ¡°Oy. What kind of weapon is that?¡± Pointing at one of the men, she dragged him out of formation and grabbed his sword from him. Its blade was utterly wrecked, cut and jagged; and its tip was blunted; its user stared at her with incredulous eyes, sporting the same yellow hair most of the rest of the men did. ¡°From two battles ago, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve carried this all the way from Likov? Go get a new one; and arrange with the quartermaster to have yours preserved.¡± The man¡¯s eyes briefly widened, before hurriedly bowing and scurrying off in the opposite direction of the rest of the men; his footsteps still audible for a moment. Miru wore the same ceremonial uniform that she had in the presence of the Lieutenant, rather loose on the sleeves and with a baggy top. The bottoms of her pants remained rather scratchy and torn, with little cuts biting into it. She bent down and felt them, quietly groaning, ¡°Cutting it with a knife was a poor choice on your part, wasn¡¯t it¡­¡± She proceeded next to the platoons of men, a silver-haired woman with blue skin next to a series of white-skinned blonde-haired men; standing out quite considerably. She eyed their posture, their armour. Lots were scratched, others ramshackle creations with few pikes holding them together. Taking out her notebook, she wrote: ¡®Their armour wears and tears. I fear that in this battle our breakneck advance will be ended by their armour¡¯s impromptu disassembly.¡¯ It was then she noticed a particularly odd phenomenon of men with no noticeable nails or adhesive factor keeping their armour together - and their fists clenched, wobbling. Miru scowled. ¡°Everyone whose armour is being held together by magic, to the quartermaster, now! If you come back with the same armour, I will send you back again!¡± She shouted, pointing behind. Some men shook and others immediately took off in the opposite direction. Others quickly moved forward to fill the gaps left in between; some gaps as long as five or six men. She sighed. Her eyes darted left and right, looking around. Behind her, footsteps misaligned with the rest of the marchers became more and more audible; before she turned to face a subordinate who immediately saluted. She responded in kind, and the subordinate, again sporting long ears and blonde hair, made his report: ¡°The special project workers are requesting more materials, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t they enough to work with already?¡± She muttered, her expression clearly unimpressed. ¡°No, ma¡¯am, they request something called salt-peter.¡± ¡°Have some of the magic scholars hear them out.¡± Miru replied, staring into the pages, making more notes in the little worn book in her hand. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡± He replied curtly, immediately turning around and scurrying off. She sighed, before walking onwards. The slope upwards remained gentle, and the floor slowly morphed from simply rock and stone into rock and stone and long lines of brown & black. The dirt and pebbles left on the ground were trampled once again, more dirt and more pebbles added to them with every step. Water ran down the small wooden pipes above, tied to the ceiling with rope and boards. Ever so often it would shake and water would spill out of the half-cut pipes, the sound of crackling on the other side of the walls within hearing distance. The walls cracked and rattled while hearing men shout in the rooms opposite the wall. An uneasy look came upon her face, leaning somewhat towards the wall to hear the faint screaming of grown men. Miru chuckled ever so softly, before grabbing one of the men marching and remarking, ¡°Go and verify whether or not they¡¯re using chanted magic, would you?¡± The soldier, with narrowed eyes and an otherwise blank expression on his face, nodded before scampering off behind, the seemingly endless lines of men marching on still trailing back to the very beginning. It was some distance later that the ceiling raised itself, and the lines became a mass. Crowded, the room itself seemingly went for half a mile, the ceiling perhaps a sixteenth mile tall, and here the presence of soldiers was overwhelming. Long, towering piers stuck out from two elevated walkways attached to the wall on her right; boxes and barrels scattered everywhere, and-The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. *ROOOOOOOOOAR* -and dragons. A few dozen dragons, four-legged, smooth-skinned and with giant, angled wings. Straps and handles were attached to their entire bodies, and some swayed their massive heads around, flailing about, while their tails swung up and down. Some men held them in place with magic, some others strapping boxes and packages to the handles lining the dragons. Large fabric muzzles had been tied to the dragons¡¯ snouts, and they continued to screech and yell as more was loaded on them. Men swarmed the floor, crowded; the platoons, attempting to stand in formation, pushing around various workers and slaves walking around. Seemingly the soldiers and workers alike, all with the same long ears, remained indifferent to the groaning and unfettered grunting of the slaves, shaking as they moved boxes. Miru herself, despite possessing none of their features, passed an old woman, her skin hanging on her bones, and took no notice. Amidst the chaotic orders of the day, people rushing about the room, she noticed one other person in the ceremonial uniform she wore, motioning to their own subordinates of various things. Tilting her head somewhat, she walked up to that person and spoke to the back of their head, ¡°And may I ask who you might be?¡± Pointed tips coming out of blonde hair already told her everything she needed to know. That person turned around to reveal an elven woman with the same pale ivory skin all of Miru¡¯s soldiers sported, her mouth open, not speaking. She immediately saluted, swiftly placing her hand to her head; Miru, her eyes briefly widening, quickly saluted as well. ¡°Ah. You are¡­ ...Miru?¡± The woman paused, eyeing Miru up and down. ¡°Yes¡­¡± Her voice trailed off as she looked over the badges on the woman¡¯s chest, seeing a small bronze crest before, muttering, ¡°...Second Lieutenant.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good to see one that finally remembered the post.¡± ¡°Ma¡¯am, the crest is barely different from the Lieutenant¡¯s. Don¡¯t blame the men for not being able to recognise it.¡± ¡°Kari. Sen¡¯in Kari.¡± The woman said, bowing to Miru. Miru stepped back for a moment, lines forming between her eyebrows. ¡°Do excuse me, but what¡¯s that¡­?¡± Miru uttered, slowly and silently. ¡°A bow. It¡¯s the custom of a good lady, do you not know it?¡± Kari gave an unimpressed expression. ¡°N-no¡­¡± ¡°Do it. Just as I did.¡± Miru slowly and uneasily bent down, before immediately springing back up to her feet. She scratched her neck, with her eyes trained on Kari and a frown on her face. ¡°So a Korun can command but can¡¯t converse? Lovely.¡± Kari smiled, before breaking into a fit of laughter; Miru¡¯s blank expression remained that way. ¡°I¡¯ll be working with you for the duration of the Lieutenant¡¯s operation. Good to meet you, Miru.¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± Miru stuttered, bowing again. ¡°That was unnecessary. A lady needn¡¯t do it when the conversation¡¯s ended unless it¡¯s to a man.¡± Kari remarked nonchalantly, patting on Miru¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I take it no one¡¯s taught you the customs of the Imperial Court?¡± ¡°I understand formalities and greetings, yes¡­¡± ¡°Taught by the Imperial Court?¡± ¡°Taken from the Convention in I¡¯sho.¡± Miru noted, essentially silent now. ¡°That¡¯s terrible. During the recesses given between duties I shall teach you.¡± The ends of her lips turning up, Kari again insisted in a matter-of-factly tone that Miru shirked from. ¡°Isn¡¯t the Convention perfectly respectable in its customs, Second Lieutenant?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s a series of local plebians who use all those papers and receipts to subvert imperial authority. I tell you, if you¡¯d stayed with them you¡¯d be as boorish and stupid as the entire lot. Now they even want to free the Akari. Idiots¡­¡± Tapping her fist against her lips lightly, Miru scarcely made any reaction to Kari¡¯s remarks. Two grey-skinned men clothed in scraps passed by them amidst the entire conversation, carrying the front of a battering ram; the two women only moved out of the way, taking no heed to those two Akari who hunched over, lugging the massive logs along, their expressions sickly and their bodies bruised. ¡°Regardless, pleased to meet you.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ good to meet you, Second Lieutenant.¡± Miru saluted. Kari nodded and walked off in the other direction; while Miru stared on. She immediately marched into a side room in the wall, seemingly emotionless, slid the door shut, looked around, saw nothing and collapsed onto the floor. The dark room, full of crates and other supplies, was filled with the stink of rotting flour. Clutching her chest, she felt it beating faster. She blushed, a dark blue flushing her entire face; and she gulped. Biting her lip, she smacked herself in the face. Frowning, her eyes wide, she muttered, ¡°No¡­ not again.¡± She looked up, before getting back to her feet; scratching her head, she swallowed down her doubts before dusting off the white particles covering the lower parts of her uniform, and sliding the door back open. Stepping back into the bright lights of the massive hangar, she glanced around slowly and carefully. Although her eyes informed her that no other gaze had set itself upon her, she shivered. Miru scampered off, dodging contact with anyone else in the room as she moved on. ¡°Excuse me?¡± She stopped ever so suddenly, before hesitantly turning back to face the soldier. ¡°...yes?¡± ¡°With regards to the men training just now, ma¡¯am, a few of them were using chants.¡± Miru quickly nodded, before stammering, ¡°Ah- um- yes. Force them to do it chantless.¡± ¡°What if they refuse?¡± The soldier asked, unaware or at least uncaring about whatever his superior had on her mind. ¡°Practicality beats tradition - of course, I don¡¯t want any of them, especially if they¡¯re scouts, to be chanting whenever they¡¯re in the field.¡± She seemingly recovered rather quickly. ¡°Go on, do it now.¡± The soldier nodded his head, turned around and headed off, disappearing into the crowds of soldiers and workers and slaves alike. Miru, for her part, stood there for a moment more, her gaze clouding. Regret Back in the former target-hall-turned-workshop space, Wei bit a piece off the bare, plain longbread; already half-gone and quickly disappearing. The crust was hard, the innards tough, and as another piece passed into his mouth he winced. ¡°Oy, you finished?¡± Shirin shouted from the other end of the room, pulling on a rope and dragging it all the way down to the floor, her muscles tensing up as she latched onto the rough, coarse strings. ¡°Gimme a sec¡­¡± He muttered, before shoving the rest of the bread into his mouth and rushing over to the other end of the medium-sized machine, his footsteps ringing through the room. Past the massive blast furnace towering to his left, its bottom stained black, he grabbed a large stone block at its base. ¡°Lift it, you fuckin¡¯ idiot!¡± She shouted, her hands turning red. Wei, lifting the stone block up while grunting, shouted ¡°Got it! Got it!¡± His hands shook and flushed red, while he panted faster and faster, lifting the block higher and higher until it shifted on its own, shifting forwards and crashing onto the contraption. He stood up and wiped off the sweat accumulating on his face. With a clouding gaze, he asked, ¡°Is it ready yet?¡± ¡°It¡¯s clear! It¡¯s clear!¡± As he walked over to the other side of the machine, he observed the spinning tube in the middle drill a long metal pole into a small, sharp pike. A whirring sound continued to emanate from the drill and little silvery bits twirling out of it; and Shirin, her hair growing down to her ears, with cuts and bruises all over her body, continued to hold onto the rope, heaving a sigh of relief. ¡°How fast does your hair grow? It¡¯s been at most like three weeks¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask me, never bothered to do tests on it¡­¡± He grabbed the rope as Shirin let go, tying it down to the series of slabs stacked upon one another before sitting down on the floor, grinning. ¡°Bloody hell, that was exhausting¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, you doing okay?¡± He asked, letting go of the rope. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± She muttered, scratching her arm. The sound of scraping metal still burned into the air, accompanying the subsequent silence. Wei grimaced. ¡°Why do you always do this ah? When you get a break talk to the people around you.¡± ¡°Not exactly the most comfortable with someone who goes up and talks to an Avisen member seemingly so easily.¡± Not even turning to look at him, Shirin continued to scratch herself. Wei sighed. ¡°You¡¯re still on that? Grow up lah, it¡¯s life, you have to deal with some people that you don¡¯t approve of.¡± ¡°Need I remind you that ¡®some people you don¡¯t approve of¡¯ are literal murderers who kill people basically at random?¡± ¡°I get it, I get it, but we have to make compromises to do things.¡± Shirin glanced over with half-closed eyes. ¡°Eh. Never compromise with someone you know you can¡¯t deal with, is my motto.¡± Wei rolled his eyes. He himself stopped looking in her direction and started scribbling with the pen on the blueprint; it still swaying wildly as he did. ¡°Also, you take a break. You replaced my last shift anyways, no point in doing another one.¡± He remarked. ¡°I am completely, one hundred percent, fine.¡± She curtly replied, before saying in a significantly softer voice, ¡°but I¡¯m also entirely sapped and I am going for a bite and a break.¡± Shirin gave him a thumbs-up before slowly limping past the foot of the blast furnace and quietly taking one of the hard breads on the small table they¡¯d lain closer to the entrance of the room. She threw it into her mouth and chewed on it, still sticking out of her mouth, as she passed the dozens and dozens of tools and materials strewn across the room before disappearing into the open door. Wei could only respond with a sigh. Hee took a glance over before bending to the foot of the machine, looking over a series of containers in a long line. All the containers were filled with metal weights attached to strings, with small knots at the ends of the weights. He tapped on each one from left to right, muttering, ¡°...three, four¡­¡± before picking up one of the weights and pushing it upwards, disappearing into the machine. *whirr* The noise ran through the machine before *clink* and *cling* rang out and the weight fell out on the other side of the machine¡¯s base, in another line of containers with significantly more weights stacked upon one another. ¡°That should do it¡­¡± He muttered. ¡°...how did that girl come up with an entire system to control levels and what not off the top of her head?¡± He scratched his chin. Hairs grew out of it once more, and once more little hairs took to occupying the area around the side of his face. The two rectangular marks on his face had turned entirely brown and were now just elaborate scabs. ¡°Kiss me goodbye and write me while I¡¯m gone~¡± Wei hummed.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°Goodbye my sweetheart, hello Siberia¡­¡± Walking over to another of the contraptions behind him, he came upon a small metal plate sticking out under a large roller and flat stamp, feeding into a curved groove which curved perpendicular to the direction of the plate¡¯s entry. Attached to it was a large crank. Pushing down on a lever, the metal plate suddenly slid further into the groove, before he bent down below the machine itself. Picking up two wooden sticks, he rubbed them both together quickly and swiftly, a spark and then orange flame engulfing the tips of both sticks. He dropped them into the pile of wood below the machine, then pushing the walls of the wood¡¯s container up and tying it together. He sat down and watched the orange flame slowly but surely balloon into a massive blaze, crackling away. Peering into the small gap between the stamp and the metal plate, before his eyes the plate began to slump; quickly he latched onto the crank and yanked it down; the sound of metal falling upon metal as well as a simmering noise firing out of the machine. Amidst the noise he continued to hum, ¡°-a hill to take, a battle to be won~¡± *pssssssssssss* ¡°-kiss me goodbye and write me while I¡¯m gone~¡± Wei let go of the crank, which quickly flew back up into place; he pushed it down the other way, lifting the stamp and roller above the groove. He silently smiled; the plate had indeed been bent properly, and smoke billowed out. ¡°-I hope and pray the world will learn-¡± He picked up a small, ragged cloth from the floor. ¡°-that fires we don¡¯t put out will bigger burn-¡± He waited. ¡°-we must save freedom now at any cost¡­¡± ¡°Nan-shiru noka?¡± The slightly higher-pitched and groggy voice arrived from behind him. Wei turned to see the messy-haired Tooru staring back at him, his stained and torn brown shirt; the sailor¡¯s collar of his emblazoned with markings and emblems peeling off by the second. ¡°Oh¡­¡± He stood there with a blank expression, nervously glancing everywhere but Tooru. ¡°Hey¡­¡± *pssss* The noise softened. Wei turned around and grabbed the bent plate from the machine, the cloth between his hand and the simmering metal. Slowly lowering it onto a table, he watched Tooru¡¯s eyes glaze over, and Wei couldn¡¯t help but take small peeks at the boy. Then, Tooru stepped forward. Wei turned around, the sight of Tooru hovering his hand over the plate immediately striking his eyes. His eyes widened, and he scrambled over, pushing Tooru away from the table and shouting, ¡°What the hell are you doing?!¡± ¡°Ka-kaze ni mate¡­¡± ¡°Look, I don¡¯t even know what you¡¯re saying but¡­¡± He pointed to the metal plate and then crossed his arms. ¡°No. don¡¯t do it. No.¡± Tooru stood still, tilting his head slightly. The black lines under his eyes and his paling skin showed especially clearly in the bright lighting of the workshop, and Wei groaned as he saw it. ¡°Want some food?¡± Wei muttered, walking down to the table at the other end of the room and grabbing one of the several pieces of bread and a small water canteen; going back to the younger, dazed boy and presenting them to him. ¡°C¡¯mon¡­¡± Under his head of navy blue hair, Tooru stared at the food. Wei raised it to him once again, sighing, and Tooru finally took the bread. Wei, rolling his eyes, placed the canteen on the floor next to him before turning around again and moving towards one of the stacks of materials in the corner. Tug. The tugging feeling on his sleeve was undeniable. Looking back he saw Tooru pulling on his sleeve, before grabbing onto his arm and- *bzzzzz* ¡°AGGGGGGH!¡± Wei screamed, jumping back. Electricity had once again jumped through his veins and the incessant sting of this time burned. ¡°What the fuck¡­¡± ¡°Sorry.¡± The same young voice said, with a clearly apologetic tone. Wei turned to look at Tooru. ¡°You used some kind of - magic translation - is it? I don¡¯t know¡­¡± ¡°Sorry¡­ I¡¯m not very good at that.¡± He sulked. Wei blinked, then let out a wry grin. ¡°No, no¡­ it - it¡¯s fine. It¡¯s fine. After you¡¯re done with the bread drink that water okay? You need to drink.¡± ¡°Thank you¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine.¡± Smiling, Wei went back to the lathe, still whirring away. The little shiny shavings littered everywhere beneath the mechanism continued to pile up - he glanced over the pole-turned-pipe, and watched a hole slowly hollowing. Going back to the weighted controls, he moved a few weights; then proceeded back to the blast furnace. Below the towering structure he pulled a lever and began to heave as many iron ores as he could, dropping them into a large sack and climbing up a rickety ladder attached to the side of the furnace. The weight etched itself on his shoulder, slowly scaling the ladder one-handed, before he began to dump the ores into the furnace. He dropped the sack before climbing back down. ¡°Why?¡± He heard Tooru ask as he picked the sack back up. ¡°Why what?¡± ¡°Ms. Kodai said you didn¡¯t need to make this. Why did you do it then?¡± He said, referring to Shirin. ¡°...time, I guess.¡± ¡°Time?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t think of anything. So I made up a really long excuse to the woman that I needed a larger space and stuff for a blast furnace when in reality we didn¡¯t need this. Basic oxygen furnace, yes, we did, and we have that smaller one over there,¡± He remarked, pointing over to a large circular container in the corner suspended with multiple inlets and outlets. ¡°That, and I was really tired, ahaha¡­¡± Wei said, sitting down. ¡°Nngh¡­¡± *thump* Wei looked over to see a large plank on the floor, and Tooru staring at his hands. ¡°Did you¡­ did you try to lift it?¡± ¡°...yes¡­¡± Tooru looked down on the floor, the frown on his face part of a disappointed expression. ¡°Good attempt lah. You tried your best.¡± He patted Tooru on the back with a kindly smile. Tooru still looked at him with a sullen face; his eyebrows ticked up. ¡°I¡¯m not good at this¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine. In fact, that¡¯s normal. We don¡¯t start out good, that¡¯s just how it is.¡± Wei reassured him. ¡°...but I should be better¡­¡± ¡°You do what you can and that¡¯s good enough. That¡¯s all anyone can ask of you. Then you try as hard as you can and you slowly get better¡­ and always get someone to be there to make sure you don¡¯t trip on the way.¡± Tooru looked up at Wei with wide eyes; then broke into a gentle smile. ¡°Thank you.¡± Wei didn¡¯t respond immediately; looking into the distance with glazed eyes. He tapped Wei¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Mister?¡± ¡°Oh - oh yeah - it¡¯s fine. It¡¯s fine¡­ everything¡¯s fine¡­¡± His voice trailed off; his mind elsewhere. His words had not fallen on deaf ears, but it most certainly seemed like he''d not have heard them himself. Disaster ¡°Fuck off!¡± She shouted, holding on to the half-eaten loaf of bread. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m still holding this here, really, c¡¯mon!¡± Wei replied, his hands twitching as they tensed up; holding onto a metal plate with just a thin cloth between his brightening fingers and the very much red iron. She clicked her tongue before sprinting over to his side and grabbing a thicker towel from the soot-filled floor; her already blackened hands stained again as she held up the other side. ¡°You do not take up a metal plate one-handed.¡± ¡°Sorry. Figured the wound on my hand wouldn¡¯t sting.¡± ¡°No bets, you idiot. Gotta be sure.¡± Shirin remarked, scampering over scattered tools and blocks everywhere before slowing down and letting the metal piece rest on the table, the smoke billowing away. She hopped on the table and sat right next to the plate, scooching away from the blueprints on her right and the tools on her left. Wei groaned. ¡°Do you need to be this way?¡± ¡°Shut it.¡± She quietly shut him down, seemingly keeping a fixed gaze on the wall. He patted off his arms, slowly clearing out the lines and pockets of dust accumulated all over his skin; taking up a roll of cloth tape and wrapping it around his arm again. The pale beige fabric coiled around his arm in a rankling, unpleasant manner, the rough and sandpaper-esque texture certainly unconducive to comfort. ¡°How much do we have left?¡± ¡°Do you still want to recreate the Pitann- Pitacinni- Pitacinny rail? Don¡¯t seem very necessary.¡± She remarked, tinkering with a small contraption in her hand. ¡°We could just tell them that this is the purest form or some kinda nonsense.¡± ¡°I mean¡­ I guess I agree¡­¡± ¡°Yeah. So that¡¯s the plan then.¡± Wei narrowed his eyes at her curt attitude; the frown on his face accentuated by the rings below his eyes. He pawed through wooden planks and shavings littered everywhere on the table, sighing once he grabbed onto the canteen. The water disappeared down his throat as soon as the mouth of the canister touched his parched lips. Shirin twirled her hair as per usual. Participating in that habit of hers on one hand, she raised up a blueprint with the other; her eyes tracking each and every character on the parchment. Her irises shifted and moved around rapidly, staring it all down. She jumped back onto the floor before casually pointing up her index finger. Little silvery particles from the piles swept into other parts of the room began to leave their deposits and swirl around her; the swirl turning into a massive, floating rectangle ahead of her about the thickness of a sheet of printer paper. She snapped. Instantly the rectangle became a large amount of graphs, numbers, and characters; previously infinitesimally small diagrams now about the size of a human head, and writing that on paper had been only Kurai or English now displayed in both languages. Shirin sat back down, her eyes still darting around. ¡°Gimme a sec ah, I¡¯ll be finishing off this drink.¡± ¡°Yeah, whatever. You got it.¡± She didn¡¯t even turn to look at Wei as those words left her mouth. When her fist closed entire diagrams dissipated into a small cube below all the other diagrams and writing; if she flicked right her writing changed or perhaps merged into other writing. When her raised fingers counted three diagrams stopped being diagrams lifted into the air but instead revolving, moving three-dimensional objects. The diagrams slowly fizzled out, the particles joining the cube below; the writing slowly left, and the cube only continued to grow and grow. Eventually the cube¡¯s volume stopped increasing and Shirin was left with a single diagram in front of her. From a receiver a barrel stuck out, a grip, magazine, and sight above, with a stock attached behind; a gun, however crude the oversized cuboid that seemingly represented the receiver or a tiny grip underneath might have been, floated before her. ¡°How much time do you think we got left on this entire thing?¡± ¡°Time ah¡­ I¡¯ll give it like maybe a week at minimum.¡± ¡°Eh¡­¡± Her voice trailed off, glancing around. ¡°I think I¡¯ll fire up the blast furnace for another go. How much more pig iron do we need again?¡± ¡°3.2 kg, I think? Aiyah, just play it safe, make 4. Didn¡¯t expect we¡¯d completely destroy the last barrel.¡± He croaked, before gulping down more water, shaking the canteen before muttering, ¡°...shit. Finished.¡± ¡°You drink that shit faster than a fucking dragon, I swear.¡± He rolled his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s like 400ml at most lah, give me a break!¡± ¡°You two are honestly droll.¡± The booming voice came from to the side of both of them; a long-eared man strolling into the room from the open door. His clean, practically shining uniform with a pale green othala armband immediately stained as he stepped into the dusty, soot-filled floors; shining particles lining his boots. ¡°Ah, Mr. Enako¡­¡± Wei muttered. ¡°That¡¯s sir to you. And woman, I thought I¡¯d be afforded a bow?¡± He frowned. ¡°Fuck off, you pompous little prick. Even your voice sounds like a dragon shat into it before slapping your face twice with the tail.¡± Enako grimaced. ¡°Great god indeed, you are surely in dire need of training¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, I do. I need to learn a way to better interpret incoherent low-life thought.¡± Shirin grinned as she walked over to the blast furnace, still tinkering with the contraption. ¡°Clearly an example of the female¡¯s best intelligence.¡± He remarked with a flat voice, scratching his collar. ¡°Where are the other prisoners?¡± ¡°Um¡­ you mean Tooru and¡­ Rie?¡± Wei asked, putting down the canteen as he began to wrap his left arm in the same tape his right was covered in. ¡°The child prisoners. Surely you know their numbers? You¡¯re only allowed to call them by their number.¡± Wei scratched his head. ¡°Uh¡­ I11, I17.¡± ¡°Excellent. At least you seem to learning some modicum of respect, I2. Do they perform any duties whatsoever?¡± Enako requested. ¡°Ah¡­ kind, of¡­?¡± Wei paused, staring at Enako. ¡°Like, sometimes To- I11 moves around planks and stuff? Very nice kid.¡± With his eyes narrowed, Enako dragged a chair over from the corner before rubbing off the dust on the seat and sitting down. He motioned over to Wei; Wei jolting back for a moment, but watching Enako tapping his boot on the floor while staring at him, he slowly but sure walked towards the officer. Stopping in front of him, his hands by his side, Wei remained entirely still. ¡°My apologies.¡± Wei didn¡¯t react. ¡°I might have been a bit too¡­ bit too harsh during our first meeting.¡± Wei blinked. ¡°So, in the best interest of¡­ both of us, tell me quite truthfully before my temper inevitably gets the better of me and I trample your degenerate being into oblivion, have they been doing anything useful?¡± ¡°Hey, shithead! Keep a better lid on your threats!¡± Shirin shouted from across the room. Enako twitched. ¡°Your choice.¡± Wei glanced to the side for a moment before replying, ¡°I, um¡­ it¡¯s the truth. He¡¯s been carrying a few planks. Doing really good for someone his age.¡± ¡°Non-useful, I see. Thank you for your time.¡± Enako quickly turned to the soldiers behind him. ¡°Take I11 and I17 and transfer them to the common room. New designations.¡± His eyes wide, Wei¡¯s mouth had only just opened as a holler went, ¡°Oy! What¡¯s the meaning of this!¡± Shirin marched right towards Enako, narrowed eyes piercing right through his very being. Her gaze firmly fixed upon him, her scowl so strong he recoiled, she stood tall in front of him, her irises laser-focused. ¡°Don¡¯t. You. Dare. Put. A hand. On her.¡± ¡°I have no choice. She seems to be doing nothing, and certainly the other boy¡¯s doing nothing either, they¡¯re wastes of resources!¡± ¡°Oh, they are?¡± The smile that plastered onto her face shivered. Wei stared himself, standing on the sidelines, his mouth ajar. Enako frowned. ¡°Yes, they are, woman! Guards, order her off - get her to give a report to the woman-in-charge - and get some others to take the children away!¡± The two soldiers behind him nodded, before marching over to Shirin. She jumped back, shoved one of them to the ground with a thud and ran into the side room - immediately pulling Rie out. ¡°She¡¯s doing work. Just not very good at it - isn¡¯t that right, Rie?¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Rie stared at her with groggy eyes, her head still shaking, tilted. Shirin leaned in. ¡°C¡¯mon. Rie. Please.¡± Rie looked up for a moment, then immediately bowed to Enako. ¡°I¡¯m doing work, sir!¡± Enako stared at them with a bewildered look on his face, as the soldiers began to pull at Rie and Shirin alike; a hand grabbed and yanked out a piece of Rie¡¯s hair, slapping her square in the face, Shirin kicked another in the groin. ¡°Dam-dam-dammit.¡± She muttered, swiftly leaning to the side as a telegraphed punch flew past her. ¡°Hey, look, I¡¯ll get her to work, okay?¡± ¡°You will?¡± Enako uttered, staring at Shirin jabbing one in the eye. Slapping the other, she affirmed, ¡°Yes I will - not even a question - she won¡¯t just carry planks, she¡¯ll help us with the rest of the stuff!¡± ¡°A-and so will To- I11. I¡¯ll make sure.¡± Wei interjected at the end, stealing glances at the fight breaking out to his right. Enako scratched his head for a moment. ¡°Dammit, guards, is it that hard for you to subdue two people?!¡± ¡°We¡¯re trying, sir-¡± ¡°But- oof -she keeps hittin¡¯ us in all the nasty spots and I¡¯m tellin¡¯ ya sir, it doesn¡¯t feel right!¡± The whites of Enako¡¯s teeth showed as he stormed over and threw a punch in; as Shirin¡¯s punch left his face he could see one of those whites flying away. He fell on the ground, holding his mouth, blushing. He glared up at Shirin and the soldiers, who had suddenly stopped, the soldiers rushing over to him. ¡°Oh, good god. Fine!¡± Enako shouted. ¡°Fine! Two days! If they¡¯re not working in two days, they¡¯re as good as dead. I¡¯ll send them straight to the savages¡¯ section and they¡¯ll work their days out all the same as the rest of you insufferable little slaves.¡± He glared at the soldiers, his scowl turning on them instead. ¡°You two are utter disappointments! Still have her make the damn report, and after that you two are assigned to cleaning duty for a month!¡± The guards groaned, before one of them took out a rope from his pocket; still keeping his black eye closed. The two slowly tied Shirin¡¯s hands together, wobbling, scowling, and muttering to themselves. ¡°HURRY UP, YOU INCOMPETENT FOOLS!¡± They hastened, before pushing Shirin forward and towards the door. ¡°Hey, Tan!¡± She shouted as they jabbed her away. ¡°Yeah, Kodai!¡± Wei replied, eyes wide open. She stared back, beads forming at the corners of her eyes, before shouting, ¡°G-give Rie and glasses kid a job! Please!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get to it!¡± remained the last words she heard from him in that conversation. ¡°Wow¡­¡± Looking around her, she observed the dragons and soldiers everywhere. The wall to her distant right lifted up and down as dragons disappeared outwards, soldiers marching in formation to her right; crates moved ahead and behind her. Walking ahead she watched as slaves walked along in chains, led along by soldiers. ¡°Where next, Senai?¡± She muttered. ¡°We¡¯ll be headed there sometime. Can¡¯t wait to burn down Yune¡¯yo.¡± One of the soldiers remarked. ¡°And damn, Houta, they say they have a lot of gold there.¡± ¡°All with those Sol¡¯ha bankers, I assume?¡± ¡°Oh yeah. With all of them. Y¡¯know, I feel like having a game of cutting off heads.¡± ¡°Hell yeah man, when we rock up there it¡¯s gonna be a great time.¡± Shirin rolled her eyes at their remarks. Grunting, she moved out of the way out of a few slaves passing by with large wooden crates in hand; she stared at them with a sullen expression. Jab. She stumbled forward once again, one of the soldiers behind her grinning. Making her way through the litter of soldiers and supplies, her hands tied, bumping past soldiers who shoved her out of the way. All their ears pointed up and yet she trudged along in chains; smelling the stink. A pungent, intoxicating smell of manure filled the air. In the crowd she saw flashes of a head of silver hair. Moving on she slowly saw Miru¡¯s blue-skinned face in the crowd, her mouth moving. The noise of footsteps and clattering everywhere obscured whatever she was saying, looking elsewhere. As the image of her comparatively clean and refined trenchcoat came closer Shirin noticed Miru talking to another yellow-haired elven; Kari. ¡°I¡¯m telling you, don¡¯t be so casual about your duties¡­¡± Kari shrugged. Miru tilted her head. ¡°I was just mentioning the nature of my duties under the Lieutenant.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t want to hear about that. Keep up on other news, would you? There¡¯s greater purpose to life than just fighting, even the men know that.¡± Shirin chuckled, barely holding back her laughter. Looking over at Kari, with a peeved expression sitting on her face, she remarked, ¡°You two are fucking hilarious.¡± Kari turned to her left. ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± ¡°Someone better than your Imperial-lookin¡¯ ass.¡± Shirin pointed at Kari¡¯s regal uniform, in proper pale green with an othala armband, while Miru in front of her still stood in a brown trenchcoat; although now wearing a tight-fitting skirt like Kari was. Shirin narrowed her eyes. ¡°Oy, Korun, those fashion choices are nay-ground for you. Choose somethin¡¯ else.¡± ¡°Tch. Miru, is this one of your prisoners?¡± ¡°Ah- she¡¯s a slave- sorry.¡± Miru stuttered, biting her lip. ¡°Another unrefined woman¡­¡± ¡°Unrefined? Way I see it, I¡¯m a 26-year-old scholar, and you are an imperial twat created by some industrial settlement. They produce wives now?¡± Shirin smirked. Kari¡¯s frown only widened; swiftly slapping Shirin in the face. ¡°Ow¡­¡± She exaggerated, her pitch increasing and decreasing erratically. ¡°That was so terrible! That felt like if a tiny piece of parchment rubbed my face. Mind doing it again? It was real fuckin¡¯ comfortable.¡± Rolling her eyes, Kari turned back to Miru. ¡°You have to keep them under control; imagine being with nobility. They¡¯d leave instantly.¡± Her finger pointed towards Shirin. ¡°Oh- right- sorry.¡± Shirin stared at Miru, a small, delighted smile sitting on her face; her eyebrows ticking upwards. Her eyes wide, she leaned in slightly, watching the conversation unfold. Miru¡¯s eyes darted left and right, stealing glances at the floor, ceiling and any moving objects in their vicinity. ¡°I¡¯m telling you, Miru, it¡¯s a matter of order. You and I are standing here on the hierarchy and if we keep enough people down below us we stay up.¡± ¡°Kari¡­ we¡¯re all trying our best. Even if they¡¯re slaves.¡± Kari scoffed. ¡°We do what we want to do. You and me. As far as I¡¯m concerned, they¡¯ll be carrying crates and being fed to dragons as long as I live.¡± Miru hesitated. ¡°...I suppose so.¡± ¡°I suppose? Miru, you¡¯re a very good woman. We¡¯re both up there, above all of this mess; the army, as noble as it is, doesn¡¯t suit you.¡± ¡°I-¡± ¡°Excuse me.¡± A soldier mentioned. Miru instantly turned around; her perturbed face turning to a stricter expression. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Lieutenant Sekano wants a timeline of the upcoming invasion in the operations room.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get to it. How many men have moved to staging positions?¡± ¡°The Third Battalion is scheduled to arrive at their position tomorrow night. All other divisions have already begun preparations at staging positions, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Inform the Third Battalion that we need them there yesterday. If necessary get some of them to arrive early as reconnaissance and the rest arriving later, we¡¯re quite behind on schedule.¡± Miru spoke quickly and clearly; the soldier silently nodded and ran off into the crowd of other men and crates. She turned around to face Kari once more. ¡°-yes it does.¡± Kari, wide-eyed, sighed. ¡°Perhaps it does, then. Even so you¡¯ve got to make your appearance and etiquette better.¡± She remarked, patting Miru on both shoulders. Miru winced, looking away. Shirin, still staring at the conversation, remained eyes-wide. Her silence denoted her incredulity at the woman whose fourth reaction to mild sarcasm had been to push her against a wall and flash a knife at her throat. She swore she could even see Miru blushing somewhat. ¡°What time do you have to go, ma¡¯am?¡± Kari checked her small bronze watch attached to her necklace, remarking with wide eyes, ¡°Indeed¡­ I should be going¡­¡± She bowed to Miru, who hurriedly responded in kind, before disappearing into the crowd of people. Miru stared off into the distance in her direction, before turning to Shirin. ¡°Ah¡­ the report, I believe? I don¡¯t have time for it today, what¡¯s the status so far?¡± ¡°Almost done, you¡¯ll have it in a week.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Shirin continued to inspect her from afar. ¡°...what rank are ya again?¡± She muttered. ¡°Warrant Officer.¡± Shirin blinked. ¡°You¡¯re a warrant officer at¡­ I¡¯ll say 35 but you Korun never age.¡± ¡°I earned it in the pacification campaign.¡± Miru replied, pointing at the othala badge on her chest, significantly more polished than the rest of her outfit. ¡°Man you love being part of the Avisen don¡¯t you?¡± Miru smiled. ¡°Pride is a good feeling.¡± Shirin blinked, before responding, ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Send her off. Report in two days!¡± The two soldiers moved forward once more and grabbed Shirin by the shoulders; she turned around at their direction and moved off elsewhere, back to the workshop. Her last sight of Miru was the Korun rushing off, sprinting towards the wall of inventory rooms and storage spaces. Curious. Shirin¡¯s lips parted ever so slightly, her gaze clouding as her mind trailed off elsewhere. She remained silent as she walked, lost deep in thought. A loud noise passed into her ears and out. Then she smelled the smoke. She perked up. Some soldiers had gathered outside, peeping into the slit at them. The guards, engrossed in conversation, untied her and watched her disappear into the workshop where she was immediately greeted with smoke going up into the ceiling. The blast furnace creaked and warped before her eyes; a split-second away from falling apart. Wei turned. ¡°Oi! Help out here, would you! And get the guys outside to help!¡± Shirin¡¯s feet moved faster than her thoughts did; her hands raised faster than her mind processed, and she shot forward her powers. Wei nodded, grabbing a metal sheet and rolling over to the foot of the furnace, slamming the sheet into a pipe attached to the side. ¡°Tooru, get one of the soldiers ah!¡± He shouted, pointing over at the blue haired boy rooted to the ground in the corner. ¡°No, I got this!¡± She screamed. The grimace on her face underlined the gravity of the bending furnace; its top keeling over. ¡°Fuck, blow the hot air vent open! Girl, get the hell out of here, move into the other room!¡± Rie patted on Tooru¡¯s back, before the two vanished into the other room. *crack* The pipes blasted off, steam and smoke both billowing out; Shirin gritted her teeth as she continued to hold the blast furnace in place, her entire body quivering. Wei ran to the table and immediately pulled away the unfinished pieces of the gun before screaming, ¡°Kodai! Get the hell away, it¡¯s about to fall!¡± ¡°Right!¡± She let go, before jumping back and hitting the floor with a loud thud. The furnace keeled and its upper section flailed wildly before collapsing into the lower section; a massive cloud of smoke burning out of the wreck. Wei and Shirin, both prone on the ground, could feel a sudden rush of heat down their backs; soldiers opened the door only to duck or fall back. As she stood back up, she muttered, ¡°Is everything clear?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ look.¡± Wei pointed to the shuttered contraption, creaking; blueprints and parchment everywhere stained black. A soldier peeked in, his white skin turned ashen grey. ¡°Was¡­ was Rie and that other kid responsible?¡± She uttered. Wei looked over at Shirin. ¡°...they accidentally dropped a bit of gunpowder into the thing.¡± She stared, wide-eyed. She had no words. Haunting 20 YEARS AGO His eyes were greeted with the sight of filth. Rotten produce; slumping over in his hands with a terrible stink welcoming itself into his nostrils. He groaned. Sen threw the vegetable into a basket to his right; grimacing. Two baskets lay by his side, one with brown, rounded vegetables shaped not to dissimilar to eggs, the other with¡­ liquidified produce. Misshaped and a poor stink the entire basket only gave him a wince. He already wore a long cloth around his mouth, shielding him from the smell, but Sen closed his eyes each and every single time his hand yanked one out of the white soil, heaving a sigh of relief each and every single time the vegetable was round. ¡°Oi! Sen!¡± Turning to the right, he saw a figure in the distance with another cloth around their mouth, holding a basket in hand. ¡°What is it, Hat!¡± The voice hesitated. ¡°How many rotten hiefers did ya get?¡± ¡°At least half of my entire harvest this season! You?¡± ¡°I lost it all, Set! It¡¯s all gone! Everything¡¯s this fuckin¡¯ slouchy mess!¡± Hat neared, tossing his basket on the ground. ¡°EVERYTHING!¡± ¡°Fuck, you gotta be kiddin¡¯ me¡­¡± Set dropped the hiefer elsewhere, dashing to Hat¡¯s side. The stink of the pile of malformed heifers on the ground could be smelled from miles away; the eerie yellowed pile stacked on the snowed-in field off-putting to all. ¡°Shit, Hat, you got nothin¡¯ for this year?¡± ¡°Nothin¡¯. Nothin¡¯... ever since those imperial fucks came ridin¡¯ down from whatever island they live up in I haven¡¯t been able to sell no damn heifers.¡± ¡°Damn.¡± The snow continued to fall against the men¡¯s clothes, piling up at their feet amidst the white field. The edge of the terrace behind him rose slightly with the line of bricks denoting the end of that level; a dozen more below. Little holes in the snow followed footprints vanishing as snowflakes fell around them, Set patted Hat on the back. ¡°Come over sometime. I think the few Korun down over at the fork can help out as well.¡± ¡°Fuck, Set. Fuck¡­ your kids tryin¡¯ to go to the church as well?¡± ¡°Yeah, Hat. Doesn¡¯t really change much, outside of Tarod, not a single one¡¯s a guy. Just had three¡­¡± ¡°Hey, at least your boy isn¡¯t trying his fuckin¡¯ best to drive his old man into the ground. I swear, he should be staying here helping out with the farm and he just wants to go off and leave me in the damn snow here. You hear about the imperial fuckers showing up down at the mouth?¡± ¡°You¡¯re kidding me.¡± ¡°Happened a week ago. Dragons and everythin¡¯. They¡¯re saying they¡¯re running to I¡¯sho.¡± ¡°Damn¡­¡± Set muttered, looking back at the heifers lying on the ground. ¡°...whaddya want to do with those?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really care. Mind keepin¡¯ em? You can have the fertilizer.¡± Hat groused, floating the produce up and dumping it on the side of the field already littered with lines of footsteps. ¡°Sorry about tossing ¡®em down here.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­ it¡¯s okay¡­¡± Set clarified, patting Hat on the back. ¡°You stay safe.¡± ¡°Will do. You too.¡± Just like that the two elven separated; Hat disappearing down one of the dozens of unwieldy uneven staircases separating parts of the terraces. Set bent down again, pulling out more, the stink again overwhelming his nose. Once in a while he¡¯d pull his hood back over his ears, a small string tying it to his head. The baskets of rotten produce only continued to increase and a good heifer was a dime a dozen as he went on. The snow stacked up, his gloved hands unprotected; the tips of his fingers shooting out of broken woolen gloves. They reddened every single time he smashed his hands into the snow and the dirt below, yanking out yet another slumping, poor-smelling vegetable. Even as the sun set behind the mountains he simply lit up a lantern with magic and carried it along. Sweat, freezing on his skin, turned his skin into a coating of ice; his cheeks red and his fingers throbbing. He began to pull out hiefers with magic, the imaginary hands doing the work of pulling out more disappointing rotten results. Finally he stopped. Trotting up the stairs he came upon a multitude of baskets, half-covered in snow. Two groups, one distinctly smaller, the other smelly and unpleasant. He groaned, covering the baskets with cloth and tying them all onto a rope he carried all the way back. His back strained and stang; the magic only shouldered the burden on the baskets. The lantern still floating along to his side, his weary eyes slowly saw a few dim lights in the distance. Trudging along, his feet lifted over increasingly thick and heavy snow, the lights came closer; at the door, he dropped the baskets outside and draped a large cloth over them. Set sighed and slid the door open. ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± What little warmth there was touched his skin, the grey rooms all lit by a single lantern each. A large fire burned in the large lantern hanging from the ceiling. ¡°...excuse me, father?¡± The soft, high-pitched voice asked. The wind blowing against his face, the thick sweater and jacket he was covered with flailing about as he closed the door, the skin-drooping man turned to face the girl in front of him. His yellow hair stained with dirt and mud, her yellow hair clean if unkempt; he silently nodded. ¡°What is it.¡± He responded, scratching his neck. ¡°What¡¯s this¡­ what¡¯s this text about?¡± He picked up the book from his daughter¡¯s hands, dusting it off to find the crosshairs symbol of the local church. ¡°Which page of it?¡± ¡°140.¡± He flipped open the thick but worn book and found the page. ¡°Which part? The Kai¡¯s story?¡± His daughter nodded. ¡°Well, Shirin¡­ ¡®his great god punishes those who defy his great truth that marriage is the only period during which a man and woman can be intimate¡¯?¡± ¡°Um¡­ the one after that, I think.¡± ¡°¡®His great god let down the dragons upon the earth to punish the loose Yun, the loose girl who associated too widely for her position¡¯?¡± ¡°Yeah, yes¡­¡± Shirin looked up. Set scratched his head, racking his brain for the answer. ¡°Ah¡­ the girl liked both men and women.¡±If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Set gave the black-cover book back to Shirin; trotting over the fur-covered floor towards the kitchen, the smell of the simple outdoors oven and the iron basin sitting on the floor smoky. The bare table in the centre of the room still had a single plate on it with two bare heifers on the plate; a bit of steam coming off it. ¡°Oy, Anya!¡± He shouted, sitting down at the table, looking around. ¡°What is it, Set!¡± The voice came in from the other room. ¡°Did - did Tarod break the utensils again?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t get utensils, Set! Remember? The scammer?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah¡­¡± He muttered, holding up the vegetable and giving it a long stare. His gaze blurred, seemingly staring off into nowhere, tapping his fingers on the table, his eyes slowly wandering from the heifer to the grey wall in front of him. ¡°You okay, Set?¡± Anya stumbled into the room in worn, pale-brown clothes, the pants she wore baggy and ill-fitting. She had the same long ears everyone in the house did, her braided hair swinging around as she sat opposite Set. ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­¡± Anya looked over at Set¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Tell me to come and help you sometimes, at least with the baskets. The lord above would understand.¡± He glanced towards his wife. ¡°I¡¯m fine. All the other men do it.¡± He hesitated. ¡°The heifers, Anya. Half are dead.¡± ¡°Dead?¡± ¡°I¡­ they¡¯re rotting. Slouching¡­ they smell like manure. No one can possibly eat it.¡± She stared at him with incredulous eyes. ¡°Has anyone tried?¡± ¡°Narenda tried. He¡¯s vomiting and belching like¡­ they say he¡¯s going to die. We might as well have been cursed.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that. The lord doesn¡¯t curse anyone needlessly.¡± ¡°Oh, damn sake¡¯s Anya! The lord¡¯s our god but right now I need you down here with ME! Prayers aren¡¯t going to help us survive!¡± ¡°You take that back.¡± A moment of silence ensued; both staring at each other. ¡°...sorry, Anya.¡± ¡°...sorry, Set.¡± She sighed, patting him on the back. ¡°How many do we have in the shed?¡± She ran the numbers with her fingers. ¡°Maybe enough for a month - two months, if it¡¯s just one heifer a day.¡± ¡°So a month and a half at best¡­ I¡¯ve only gotten half the usual harvest so far. Is there anything we could do about it?¡± Anya walked over to Set¡¯s side of the table. ¡°The church, Setra. The church. They can give food.¡± She insisted, grabbing Set¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Right¡­ right. The church. That works¡­¡± He stopped. ¡°...any other, options?¡± Anya rolled her eyes. ¡°The church is incredibly generous. There¡¯s no need to be so apprehensive about their power.¡± Set paused. ¡°...I was born a kaisriech, and am still one.¡± A mild smirk came on his face. ¡°You don¡¯t even pray in the morning for an entire hour like the rest of them do - do you really believe?¡± She grinned. He laughed. ¡°You don¡¯t pay a thousand coins to give some old man in royal clothes every few weeks, do you really believe?¡± The two kissed. Both with slight wrinkles under their eyes, the ring on their ears a symbol of their marriage. ¡°I¡¯ll go and get you some water.¡± Anya said, taking the side door of the kitchen outside. Set looked longingly towards the open door. ¡°...wonder what¡¯s gonna happen¡­¡±
Shirin bit her lip. ¡°Gah¡­¡± Wei muttered, staring at the gravel, coal and iron deposits lining the ground, his hands barely supporting him off the stone floor. ¡°Y¡¯know, would not recommend that, the weirdo¡¯s lookin¡¯.¡± Shirin remarked, pointing at the tiny slit in the wall. Ever so slightly they could both see the eyes staring through. ¡°And just between you and me, all of them seem to be in a terrible mood about their boss. Not very conducive to a normal conversation.¡± Wei stared up at the slit himself from the floor, filled with little pebbles and shards everywhere. His hand stung with the feeling of tiny rocks piercing into his palm, but he didn¡¯t react in any capacity whatsoever. Shirin, scratching her ear with a peeved expression on her face, peered down on the stained, scratchy and messy blueprint. In her native Kurai and his native English, markings plastered across dozens of diagrams, English terms constantly scratched out while the Kurai was entirely intact. She pushed one of the sheets out of the way, picking up another, scrutinising the contents, before dropping it and looking for another. Eventually she reached a sheet with only English writing on it and started reading from a bulletpoint list in the corner; before crossing out one of the many entries, titled ¡®blow up furnace.¡¯ Looking over at the peep-hole slit, Shirin rolled her eyes. ¡°Do they ever do anything, honestly?¡± Wei groused, ¡°...probably we¡¯re too important to have people coming in and beating us every few hours¡­¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t complaining, but boy if that is a weak way to show us that they¡¯re on top.¡± ¡°Would you really want them to though¡­¡± Shirin replied, ¡°Hell yeah. I can take them.¡± Grinning, she went back to looking up and down the list, briefly glancing at the blast furnace; the collapsed structure lying on the floor, smashed through the lathe and another table. The debris had been swept close to the fallen part of the furnace. ¡°There goes doing anything with that massive waste of time and resources¡­¡± She muttered, crossing out the blast furnace on the list, with uneven lettering and unclear words; letters blotting into one another and a liberal lack of capitalisation. Shortened and misspelled words were everywhere, with ¡®you¡¯ turned into ¡®u¡¯ and ¡®furnace¡¯ turned into ¡®frnace¡¯. Running down the endless list, her finger passed ¡®drill a tunnel out to de mountain face¡¯, scratched out by ¡®needs more people¡¯, ¡®human shield usage¡¯ scratched out by ¡®can u rly carry dem though?¡¯ and ¡®fight your way out¡¯ crossed out by ¡®are u really this much of a fckin idiot¡¯. Shirin rolled her eyes again. Sighing, an uneasy atmosphere hanging around her, she ran her finger down to a second list; ¡®dangerous¡¯. Picking up the pen she drew a line over proposal after proposal written down, her hand shaking; her skin flaking and her eyes half-closed, struggling to stay open. Her lips parched, she licked them slowly as she continued to look down the entire list. ¡°Oi, are you even listening to me?¡± She heard him say. ¡°Maybe!¡± An audible sigh was followed by ¡°Wah lao¡­ you go do that report thing the woman wants. Haven¡¯t gotten sleep for like a day ah¡­¡± Instinctively twirling her dirtied yellow hair, she saw Wei disappear out of the corner of her eye. Still she continued to go down the list, her frown growing progressively stronger and larger with each line drawn. Tapping her fingers, she crossed off ¡®explosives and run away¡¯, ¡®stealf run¡¯, and several others. Tugging on her hair, she scowled, her feet kicking at the wooden logs laid on the floor. Slowly she put down the pen and slammed her fists on the table. Shirin¡¯s eyes wandered as they often did, muttering, ¡°-maybe the stealth run isn¡¯t actually impossible¡­ no, no, practically impossible if I want to get Rie out as well¡­¡± She turned to her left, sitting cross-legged. Her eyes eventually came to her torn pants, which broke at about her upper legs and exposed a whole heap of metal contact burns and bruises, and looked up at the four lanterns on the walls of the large, expansive room; a massive, crumbling emblem of the Aviere Shiresen carved into the ceiling. The grand othala gracing the ceiling seemed to slur slightly into the wrong places and partly cut off at the walls, something which Shirin chuckled at. Still thinking about it all she stood up and began to pace the room. Closer to the walls she could hear loud, scattered footsteps outside, men screaming orders at other men. She started to grind her feet on a point on the gravelly floor, peering out the other side of the little slit in the wall and shouting at the men, ¡°Anyone¡¯s regretting their choices in life right now?¡± No response. She was still out of ideas. ¡°F¡­¡± Her voice trailed off. ¡°...maybe promise those slaves freedom and then incite a massive revolt? But that¡¯ll take way too long for this timeframe and at this rate they¡¯ll¡­ gah¡­¡± She muttered. The air continued to stink of manure and wood pulp and behind her on one of the two tables tightly nestled between numerous contraptions and a dripping, stinking bowl in the corner a long barrel sat. A rectangular box with a wooden grip attached to its bottom in a crude, uneven configuration lay assembled behind it, making the beginnings of what could pass for a child¡¯s recreation of a gun. All alone in the room filled with metal parts and tools, her ramblings continued. ¡°...god, really, c¡¯mon¡­ no options¡­ sure, maybe they have a stock of sokovs somewhere but I¡¯d have to haul a massive spear to break even one open and it¡¯d instantly kill Rie...¡± She continued. ¡°And really, though, exhausted? That guy says he¡¯s exhausted? Fuck off, it¡¯s not easy trying to be a genius¡­ sorry, being a genius¡­ and now he wants me to do the repor-¡± Her eyes instantly widened. A lightbulb burst in her head. ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± A determined expression on her face, she went back to the parchment and began writing away. The Worst Detective *DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA* Smoke flashed. Sekyo recoiled. ¡°Good lord¡­¡± He muttered, staring at the man holding the weapon. The small group stood within a wide, long room with some targets in the distance behind a log separating the two different parts of the room; magic positions and magic range. Sekyo, wrinkled as he was, stood behind an elven soldier holding up a gun. In iron armour and with cloth wrapped around his arms and hands, he held up a gun marked ¡®MINDEF¡¯ in English; all of them, Kurai speakers as they were, paid no heed to the unfamiliar language. ¡°And¡­ and you say that man had one of them? A - a common soldier?¡± ¡°That is what we would ascertain, yes; Lieutenant.¡± ¡°What army¡­¡± His eyes remained wide. ¡°What army does he come from? Human, yes?¡± Miru nodded. ¡°Human, indeed, but he looks and speaks as if he comes from another dimension, Lieutenant.¡± ¡°Another dimension¡­?¡± She handed several parchments to Sekyo, still enarmoured with the gun with the lime green finish. He continued to fire glances over towards the weapon. ¡°The documents¡­ the documents may contain unfamiliar terms. Given his usage of them we believe he¡¯s referring to some kind of mage-machinery.¡± ¡°...¡¯ay-tee-vee¡¯?¡± ¡°Amroured Transport Vehicle, he claimed. Interrogation gave us quite so many disorganised terms.¡± ¡°Fuelled by¡­¡± He read on. ¡°...oil? Oil? That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s old¡­ it¡¯s been decades since they discovered how to make lasting heating with magic¡­¡± ¡°They did, sir?¡± ¡°Not a single elven west of the Sadre river has used oil in decades¡­ it predates the Empire, even. Why would any civilisation use anything so inefficient¡­ where did you place the capabilities of this¡­ craft?¡± He muttered, stroking his fingers over the documents. Miru took one of the papers from Sekyo¡¯s hands before pointing it out. ¡°Here, sir.¡± ¡°Thank you¡­ very helpful, you are¡­¡± His voice trailed off as his mouth fell ajar. ¡°This¡­ this is nonsense, isn¡¯t it? I thought this is to be relegated to the unconfirmed section?¡± ¡°No, sir, it isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Was that a call on your part, Miru, or do you have¡­ proof? That you¡¯ve discovered?¡± She nodded. ¡°It was a call on my part, sir.¡± ¡°May I ask why? This is incredulous, a craft that can travel at thirty krai an hour? That¡¯s a fifth of the perimeter of the Sea of Phosfori. A journey you and I know¡­¡± Sekyo raised his hand indignantly, motioning to her to give him an answer. ¡°...takes, 11 days on foot, sir. Assuming the standards of imperial forces.¡± ¡°Indeed. What was your reasoning?¡± ¡°A gamble, sir. He comes from a place where they build weapons capable of ripping targets apart, taking down dozens of men in seconds, and you can hold them with ease? There¡¯s a levity to his words given by such a contraption, sir, and we have to take the opportunity.¡± Sekyo sighed, his brows furrowed. ¡°Of course you¡¯d talk about opportunity¡­¡± ¡°And, don¡¯t forget sir, the aircraft we found last month. Surely some nation, some civilisation, had to create it?¡± She remarked. Sekyo scratched his forehead before replying, ¡°That¡­ that is true¡­ and that is why you¡¯ve put those four slaves to work replicating it?¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± He pursed his lips, looking again at the documents. Flipping through the white parchment he stared back at Miru. ¡°This could change the course of history itself.¡± Patting her on the back, he smiled. ¡°Keep these derelictions of duty up... and I¡¯ll have to put a good word in for you with the the committee to have you promoted. You¡¯re not elven but you are a good commander - at least better than those poor sods making their way through officer¡¯s school up north.¡± Miru gave a slight smile as well. ¡°I will, sir.¡± He nodded, before motioning to the guards in the corner. ¡°I¡¯ll be off then. Good lord¡­ Second Lieutenant, you have full authority to manage this programme, providing you give expedient report via dragon every two weeks.¡± ¡°Sir, yes, sir.¡± She saluted; Sekyo responded in kind as the guards followed him out of the room. She smiled. She was on her way up. ¡°Ma¡¯am?¡± Turning to see a soldier behind her, Miru¡¯s smile quickly thinned out. ¡°The main infantry force is ready to set out. Sekyo requested you give a speech to them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get to it. What of the reconaissance forces?¡± ¡°On the very edge of the border. We have a full preliminary report you need to check before the sun hangs over the neighbouring mountain.¡± She nodded to the soldier, before heading down the hallway. Men still marched in lines but they thinned out far more than they had previously; their comrades elsewhere preparing for battle. The floors lay stained with footprints everywhere, bloodstains accompanying them. A young slave collapsed in front of her but she simply walked around the ailing boy; the sound of kicking and yelping emerging from her back. Arriving in front of a large platoon of men standing in formation she saluted Enako, who had already begun a speech. ¡°...I¡¯m proud,¡± He remarked, ¡°To address you as soldiers.¡± ¡°In the name of god I pledge that if you never return to your families you will enter the great graces of god and if you return you will have the greatest honors anyone in the Empire could be offered. Bringing civilisation to the barbarians in Otisk is a great triumph.¡± Enako raised his fist into the air. ¡°To the lord!¡± ¡°To the lord!¡± The men bellowed. Miru, watching from the side, saluted with a sense of pride.
The halls stood silent; the rotting smell on the dreary grey walls particularly pungent as they passed through, with only other slaves carrying the stink along as they groaned, hunching over, carrying sacks and boxes and swords with their scabbards covered in cloth. Still the guard pushed Shirin on. Her hands tied, and a gag tied around her mouth, she groaned every single time the guard nudged her forward. ¡°Hey, have a little discretion will ya?¡± ¡°Sorry, bitch, I can¡¯t hear you over the sound of your whining.¡± The guard remarked, slouching. Hearing a silent chuckle his fist jabbed Shirin in the back again. ¡°Just a reminder that we burned that emblem on your back, we coulda done it again.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure you could do it, and if your boss wasn¡¯t reliant on me to get her weapon on track, I¡¯m sure as hell you would already have.¡± Jabbing her in the waist, the guard snickered. The thin hairs on his chin twisted as his pearly - or rather, yellowed and missing whites - showed for the brief moment she turned around before he pushed her forward again.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°Don¡¯t be so full of yourself, you¡¯re still a slave.¡± Water dripped from the ceiling, a drop flying by her face as she slowly passed by. She remained non-belligerent, her stare focused on some imaginary object far in the distance; the guard himself not bothering to continue forcing her forward unless to make her change direction. He remained essentially silent; seemingly entirely disinterested. As they approached the interrogation room, a pungent smell of iron penetrated the air; Shirin slightly sniffing it in. The guard groaned, muttering, ¡°I swear to great god if that woman forces me onta cleaning duty for this entire ordeal¡­¡± ¡°Pff. What¡¯d she just do, beat someone half to death for a - you fuckers would definitely do that, wouldn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°One of those slaves taken from that stupid settlement of yours, I¡¯m guessin¡¯. Damn I hope it was an old man, it¡¯s hard to clean up the parts of a woman or a child.¡± He muttered, before stepping through the door. ¡°MA¡¯AM!¡± A hoarse voice asked, ¡°Jomud? Who is it currently?¡± ¡°The report from, uh¡­ the four slaves. The ones working on your weapon, I think.¡± ¡°...send him in.¡± Shirin could hear an audible sigh. ¡°It¡¯s not the man, it¡¯s the elven woman.¡± ¡°Her? Really?... ...send her in.¡± The guard stepped back out of the doorframe, untying Shirin¡¯s gag and shoving her into the room. Immediately she noticed the massive bloodstain on the wall to her right, a chair collapsed on its side with one of its legs splintered on the floor; to her left, Miru leaning on her chair with half-closed eyes and blood splatter across her face. ¡°...sit¡­¡± ¡°Wow. Um. I¡¯ll leave you and your dead buddy alone for a bit, heh.¡± She remarked, strolling over to the table. ¡°Can I sit or will I be instinctively murdered by your gaze?¡± ¡°Sit.¡± Shirin raised the chair back up onto its feet and sitting down; it tilted towards the right, the leg right under her right thigh stumped. The back of the chair had a watery, almost slimy texture to it, latching to her skin and clothes; the incredibly thick smell an affront to her nose. ¡°Wow, um¡­ some temper you got today?¡± ¡°Report.¡± ¡°Damn you are tired.¡± ¡°I said report¡­¡± Miru¡¯s voice trailed off as she slumped over, resting on her hands; she slowly pulled out a small dagger from her trenchcoat and held it in her palm, flashing it. Shirin gulped. ¡°-whaddya want from the report?¡± Miru¡¯s cyan blue eyes looked up slightly. ¡°...start with the state of the weapon? Have you completed the¡­ ...the receiver?¡± ¡°Oh. Yeah. He insisted on finishing¡­ ...internal mechanisms, but it¡¯ll be done within the week.¡± Shirin paused. ¡°How¡¯s life?¡± ¡°What?¡± Miru blinked under the hazy white light emitted by the lantern; dim as it was, it shone light on her face and cast a shadow over Shirin¡¯s. ¡°C¡¯mon, how¡¯s life?¡± She looked down at the floor, but her eyes themselves darted. Shifty. ¡°...when can you expect to have it finished?¡± Miru, with bags underneath her half-closed eyes, leaned back in her chair. Shirin didn¡¯t move, her eyes firmly fixed on the Korun sitting down before her. A sweat droplet slid down her neck. ¡°Bad day?¡± Miru smiled, wiping a bit of blood off her face. ¡°Bad day? No, it¡¯s been¡­ it¡¯s been a beautiful day.¡± She rested her head on her arms; an uncharacteristically lackadaisical expression on her face. ¡°Long day, then.¡± ¡°...I don¡¯t exactly see the point of this.¡± ¡°Everybody needs a break.¡± Shirin sat up, leaning in on the table. She looked up and down the room, a wry smile on her face. ¡°And you¡­ ma¡¯am¡­ seem to need it a lot.¡± Miru stared intently at Shirin for a moment. ¡°Did you learn respect or¡­¡± ¡°...figured it was high time I gave you a bit of credit.¡± Shirin groaned. ¡°This day only gets better¡­¡± Miru muttered. ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s been quite a long day. Very - eventful - day.¡± Shirin glanced away. ¡°How¡¯s¡­ how¡¯s everyone around you? Your - vice-commander - and that new arrival?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t ask for a better group of comrades.¡± ¡°Hm.¡± Shirin continued to stare to the side, seemingly lost in thought. ¡°That new arrival, really - doesn¡¯t she get on your nerves?¡± ¡°Kari? No, not really. She¡¯s a¡­ she¡¯s a particularly good¡­ friend.¡± ¡°Friend.¡± Shirin repeated. ¡°Not just a comrade?¡± ¡°She¡­ she¡¯s rather curt, but she¡¯s an invaluable friend. Teaches me etiquette.¡± A light lit up in Shirin¡¯s eyes. ¡°Etiquette? What¡¯s so valuable about etiquette in¡­ the military?¡± ¡°Well, I suppose it¡¯d be excellent for interacting with other officers¡­ and senior officers, of course.¡± ¡°Maybe that relationship¡¯s... something more?¡± Shirin leaned in on the table, getting ever so closer to Miru, who slowly retreated into her seat. ¡°I¡¯ll bet she thinks better of you?¡± ¡°I¡¯d hope - uhm-¡± Grabbing Miru¡¯s wrist, Shirin stared at her with a perfect smile so cold it became¡­ fake. At once Miru pushed off Shirin¡¯s hand and placed both her hands on her legs. ¡°W-what are you trying to insinuate?¡± Shirin¡¯s smile turned to a wide-toothed grin. Sweatdrops began to come down the sides of her face. ¡°What I¡¯m trying to insinuate here¡­ is quite, simple¡­¡± Shirin stood up and began to pace the room. Her footsteps, however quiet, rang out loud as Miru¡¯s eyes intently followed Shirin. Tap, she heard; Tap. Doom encroached. Her heart beat faster and faster. ¡°I believe¡­¡± She paused, strolling into the corner and leaning on the wall, ¡°...that there¡¯s a¡­ maybe a secret, in the room¡­?¡± Miru remained silent - stoic, even; she stood up and interposed, ¡°I-I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking but I-¡± ¡°Why are you blushing?¡± She blinked. Her face had no expression, but Miru immediately leapt back. Her eyes, wide, she slowly backed into the wall on the other side of the room from Shirin. Her face was white. Shirin slowly took steps towards her. Miru scooched a little towards the corner before Shirin stopped a metre in front of her, sweat flying down her skin. Miru didn¡¯t notice, her heart pounding. ¡°Hmmmmmm.¡± Silence. Shirin inched closer. On both of their faces sweat dripped down like streams. ¡°I know your secret.¡± She whispered. Miru jolted. Within seconds Shirin lay on the ground, the cloud of dust still settling. She could smell the bloodstains surrounding her. Miru pulled out a dagger, inspecting it as she looked down on Shirin, sweat still falling down her face droplet by droplet. ¡°Then I can¡¯t let you tell anyone.¡± She raised the blade. ¡°And how¡¯re your men gonna react?¡± She raised it slightly further. ¡°How¡¯re you ever gonna reconcile... ...that, with how much you love the Avisen?¡± She dropped it. ¡°Ma¡¯am? Is there something going on inside?¡± The male voice from the outside streamed in. The blade lying next to Shirin¡¯s shoulder, her clutching a bloodied cut on her arm, Miru stayed quiet for a moment before shouting ¡°It¡¯s nothing!¡± Shirin, shaking, slowly got to her feet, leaning on Miru¡¯s desk as she limped towards her seat. She collapsed onto the wooden base, a wide, menacing smirk printed across her face. Her face was a waterfall, her eyes darting everywhere. ¡°Come on¡­ let¡¯s¡­ ...talk.¡± She cackled, waving to Miru to come over. Miru slowly sat in her seat. ¡°Really, don¡¯t tell me you haven¡¯t considered? Kill me now, what¡¯re you going to explain to your men? Who - by the way - probably want to kill you more than anyone else?¡± Silence. Shirin¡¯s smirk faded quickly, gulping. Miru covered her face with her hand, collapsing into her chair. Shirin inspected Miru¡¯s expressions as she ran possibilities through her head. Miru¡¯s eyes glazed over, seemingly lifeless as she leaned on the desk. The shadow covering her face turned ever-more menacing; Miru unable to tell what face she was making. She whispered. ¡°Don¡¯t tell them.¡± Shirin leaned slightly back. ¡°Two conditions.¡± ¡°...what.¡± Miru gulped. ¡°First¡­ say it. I want to hear it from your own mouth. What is it?¡± Miru gulped again, shaking as a final bead of sweat came down her neck, before leaning in. ¡°I¡­ have a sexual attraction¡­ to women.¡± She fell back in her chair, remaining silent, unmoving. Shirin fidgeted; remaining silent as she tapped on the desk, what Miru could see of the ends of her lips curling up. ¡°A-as, I¡­ expected¡­¡± She stuttered, her smile vanishing entirely. ¡°Second: Get me and Rie out of here. Do that, and I won¡¯t say a word. Ever.¡± Miru glanced away, her eyes narrowed. The frown on her face only widened as she bit her lip and quietly enunciated, ¡°...after you¡¯re finished with the weapon.¡± ¡°You can have the other guy. I don¡¯t give a shit ¡®bout him.¡± She stood up. ¡°But if Rie gets hurt¡­¡± ¡°You mean I1-¡± Shirin raised her finger in opposition. ¡°She¡¯s a person. A good person. Not somebody who kow-tows her way to the nearest Imperial banner. New condition: call her Rie.¡± ¡°...yes¡­¡± Miru muttered. ¡°And uh, just in case you break that; reminder that the Avisen proclamation literally says, verse 3-¡± ¡°-the protection of the union of man and woman, in the glory of the great family under one god who protects all¡­¡± ¡°-uh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Uh¡­ you got me?¡± Shirin stuttered. ¡°...yes¡­¡± ¡°Cool. Um¡­ will be finished with the thing in like two days. Uh, ya can send me back now.¡± Every ounce of determination within her had vanished. Miru hesitantly walked towards the door, sliding it open; the men came into the room, tied Shirin¡¯s hands and led her out of the room. Miru went back to her desk and collapsed on the tabletop. She slammed the wood again and again and again. Outside, Shirin looked down as she proceeded back to building the weapon, dejected. She remained willingly silent. The Day Approaches Standing in the range, Miru paced around. Her footsteps rang through the air, so constant the ringing noises they triggered overlapped. Glancing around she placed a large stone block on a table in the middle of the room, gauging the distance between herself and the table. ¡°There¡¯ll be men here¡­¡± Miru muttered. She continued to look around, her eyes wide, focused. She stepped back a bit more before eyeing the distance once again. ¡°Alright,¡± She remarked, ¡°let¡¯s see.¡± Using her powers she raised the block up into the air above the table, allowing it to hover there. Staring at the lines of powder she had laid upon the floor in a horizontal fashion she clenched her fist, then¡­ *crack* Split. Miru checked the debris; most of the block having been hurled in the direction of the side opposite the range, where the user would stand. A lethal strike if any person stood there. She gulped.
A fire crackled in front of the two sisters, the warm glow illuminating their faces. The thin smell of smoke trickled in from the other room as they sat next to each other, water canteens in each other¡¯s hands. ¡°...sis, you doing okay?¡± Rie¡¯s voice trembled, croaking as she patted her older sister¡¯s back. Shirin barely smiled. ¡°Yeah. We¡¯ll be out of here tomorrow. Then I¡¯ll pick up a few thousand coins and get you a good dinner in Old Yokura or wherever the hell the nearest town is.¡± She wrapped her arm around Rie. ¡°Can I do¡­ anything?¡± ¡°Not at all Rie, just listen to me tomorrow. Okay? Listen, follow, and don¡¯t say a word.¡± She put up a grin, but it faltered quickly; she went back to gulping down water from her canteen. Rie narrowed her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re not okay.¡± She muttered. Shirin stopped. ¡°Sorry?¡± Rie frowned. ¡°You¡¯re not okay, sis. At all.¡± ¡°Rie¡­¡± ¡°I know you¡¯re doing this for me, and I¡¯m really thankful, but come on. You¡¯re not okay.¡± She insisted, tugging on her sister¡¯s sleeve. Shirin looked at her with a blank expression on her face. ¡°I am fine. Please, Rie¡­ just gimme this.¡± ¡°Give you what? You¡¯re collapsing, look at you. It was my fault I mixed the gunpowder in¡­ I didn¡¯t notice-¡± ¡°Y-yeah, it is, but that¡¯s fine. Okay? That¡¯s in the past.¡± Rie looked down on the floor. ¡°I almost caused an accident which could have killed you.¡± Shirin sighed. ¡°No, it didn¡¯t. I get involved, I¡¯m responsible for whatever the hell I do.¡± ¡°In an accident I caused, sis!¡± ¡°Rie - gimme a break, please-¡± Shirin muttered, glancing away and covering her face with her hands. ¡°-take care of yourself, c¡¯mon!¡± ¡°Rie - shut up!¡± She shouted, beads forming at the corners of her eyes. ¡°You don¡¯t think I get that the fuckin¡¯ most out of anyone here?¡±The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Rie stopped, remaining silent. She quietly took a sip from her own canteen, an expression on her face which compared only to the expression of a parent watching their own child fall apart before them. ¡°Look.¡± Shirin put her hands down on both of Rie¡¯s shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes. ¡°If you mess up, that¡¯s on you.¡± She pointed at Rie. ¡°If I mess up, that¡¯s on me.¡± She pointed at herself. ¡°And if you die¡­¡± Her finger continued to point in her own direction, unchanged; shaking, even. A long trail of tears followed her cheeks from her eyes. ¡°Let me do this, Rie. Please. Listen to me and when this is all done, I¡¯ll¡­¡± She hugged Rie, embracing her tightly as if she was to be hugging an inanimate toy. ¡°...I¡¯ll¡­¡± She stopped, simply holding onto Rie for the moment. Rie glanced over at her, little beads forming in her own eyes, before she patted her older sister on the back. Slowly, one light, unseeming pat after another; she herself wasn¡¯t sure her sister could feel them. ¡°...can I talk to you about it for a bit before you sleep?¡± Shirin¡¯s voice was softer this time. ¡°Sure.¡± Rie¡¯s smile gave Shirin a brief light to her face. The two let go and sat back on their individual stone blocks. Shirin peered behind her at the sleeping face of Tooru before turning back. ¡°I hurt someone. Real bad.¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°That Korun. Miru.¡± Rie stared at her with wide eyes. ¡°Oh¡­ what did you do?¡± ¡°I uh¡­ I threatened her. I logicked my way into figuring out she had something really big to hide and then I find out¡­¡± Her voice trailed off as she closed her eyes and breathed in. ¡°And then I find out she¡¯s into girls. That¡¯s it. That¡¯s the entire fucking secret.¡± Rie chuckled. ¡°Oh, like you then?¡± Shirin twitched. ¡°Aw, c¡¯mon... Rie. Man and a woman, either one¡¯s fine for me.¡± ¡°You say that, but I haven¡¯t seen you like a guy since Tobukiro-kan brought us to Kurasho.¡± Shirin frowned and flicked Rie on the arm. ¡°Ow!¡± Rie jumped back, staring at Shirin, whose face was now expressly emblazoned with a wide grin. ¡°That hurt.¡± ¡°Can we get back to topic? I feel really fucking bad.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t she put that massive mark on your back?¡± ¡°Even then it feels really fucking bad to do that shit to someone else. Wouldn¡¯t snitch on ¡®em if they didn¡¯t like it, not in a million years. That¡¯s on me if she ever actually gets found out; I¡¯m not snitching. She goes her own ways, we go some other way, I am not gonna make like an Imperial Church and sell her out for myself.¡± Rie looked at her kindly, although a light groan came out of her mouth. ¡°I¡¯ll let her get found out her own way. Fuck ¡®er.¡± She uttered. Any trace of happiness on her face had all but vanished, leaving a deep frown. Rie stared at her, her eyebrows ticked upwards. ¡°I¡¯m just gonna go check on the gun. You go sleep. Okay?¡± ¡°Mm.¡± Rie replied, hugging Shirin once more. ¡°Please stay safe, sis.¡± Shirin looked down on her sister and winced. ¡°Yeah.¡± With that, Shirin walked out of the room, passing through the doorway to the still brightly-lit workshop. As her eyes slowly adjusted, she saw a man in a stained, torn uniform looking around a metal contraption. Wei stared down the barrel of the gun, holding up the cylindrical metal piece to his eye. ¡°Oy. You think it¡¯s done? I think it¡¯s done.¡± He remarked. Silence ensued. ¡°Oy.¡± Shirin, having come to sit in the corner, arms crossed and gaze clouding, didn¡¯t respond again. She stared into the void, apparently indifferent. Wei frowned. He limped over, a stagger in his step, before walking up to her and jabbing her in the shoulder. Shirin jolted and immediately turned to face him, remarking, ¡°Fuck off.¡± ¡°It¡¯s. It¡¯s done.¡± He muttered. ¡°Okay, sure. That¡¯s great.¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­¡± His voice trailed off as he rubbed his eyes, his eyebags clearly defined by black lines so thick they appeared to have been written on via permanent marker. His stomach growled. ¡°I¡¯m gonna eat before I knock out for the night, you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just go.¡± Shirin¡¯s quiet words left Wei scratching his head. She departed for the other room, unresponsive¡­ ...silent. The beard beginning to grow all over his face moved ever so slightly to register his mouth ajar as he glanced towards the sight of Shirin leaving in such a manner. Nevertheless he stepped past the decimated tables and chairs before falling upon the one intact chair left in the corner of the room. He laid down. ¡°It¡¯s done¡­¡± Wei muttered. He had no smiles for it. Stumbling over to a table set up in the corner he picked up a piece of bread lying on the tabletop, amidst dozens of tiny crumbs lying everywhere. Scarfing down the bread, it vanished into his mouth within seconds; moments later he¡¯d taken another. After he was done five loaves had turned to two. Sitting back down in the chair he slowly fell asleep. Tomorrow someone would go free. Splitting ¡°So I¡¯m telling you, Kains, there¡¯s a lot of a market out there for magicians once you¡¯re done with the soldier life. The war¡¯ll be over soon.¡± ¡°Not sure, Yan, family troubles back home. Wife converted to fucking hanzai.¡± The guard groused. ¡°Are you kidding me? Fucking whore.¡± The air remained clear; stagnant, even. Dirt and pebbles pressed onto the floor meshed together with the imprints of boots, but only a few poorly-clothed slaves passed them by, the hallways of the prison largely deserted. The pungent odour had not vanished. ¡°Yeah, I got a letter from my son the other day, saying they¡¯re going to send her to the church for a punishment. I swear, the woman¡¯s getting too ahead of herself. Last I saw here she was complaining about him going to be a soldier. Filthy fucking bitch, I tell you.¡± ¡°Why d¡¯ya even let her talk back? Good smack should do it.¡± Shirin and Wei both walked on, leading Rie and Tooru along; the sound of their feet tapping along the grimy floor only audible when the men stopped speaking.. As she was led along by two guards Shirin¡¯s eyes continued to glaze over, moving along slowly but surely, always staring at the floor. Dimly-lit hallways continued to grace the group¡¯s eyes as 8 elven guards led them along the corridors, passing by a few other guards once in a while. They wore no helmets, only holding up what appeared to be wooden bats and light chainmail armour wrinkling around the sides, all wearing the same othala armbands. Wei¡¯s eyes lay fixed on the metal contraption two guards in front of them were holding, him glancing up and down at the men. *splish* Water. Shirin looked up at the ceiling and noticed a pipe burst; a tiny stream gushing out onto the floor, forming a tiny puddle. She glanced back behind her at her own sister; Rie following closely behind her, as far as the guard dragging her along would allow. Jab. Shirin narrowed her eyes as the guard smacked Rie forward, snickering. ¡°Oy. You.¡± He pointed at Shirin. ¡°This thing¡¯s your sister? Gotta tell you, your sister isn¡¯t meant to be sold off tomorrow!¡± The guards at the back laughed, a chorus of giggles and snickers as Shirin turned back to the front and looked around the walls. The stained walls¡¯ paint tapered off, the stone revealed chipped and damaged in various ways. Turning a corner they passed by a large open room with a massive pile of luminescent blue orbs strapped into the centre, Shirin¡¯s eyes briefly widened at the sight. ¡°Sokovs¡­?¡± ¡°The hell¡¯s that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s either that thing inside your chest,¡± She pointed at the glowing point on Wei¡¯s body, ¡°Or the most effective explosive devices ever developed.¡± ¡°Hey, you two. Shut the fuck up.¡± One of the guards at the back remarked with a hoarse voice. Wei and Shirin both stopped. Tooru, behind them both, remained silent as not a single conversation was started with him. He stared over at Rie, his eyes half-closed, his lips shut. No one gave him a glare or a look throughout the entire journey. ¡°You got any idea why the woman wants to do anythin¡¯ here?¡± ¡°Something about the weapon you an¡¯ I are holding. Just between you and me I think it¡¯s hokey. She sent a bunch of a shit newbies out to go and do the suppression job and she trust the shit they make up?¡± ¡°Somethin¡¯ tells me she ain¡¯t got much of a capacity for thinking.¡± Finally a bright, positively brimming light shone out from a doorway in front of them. The two guards carrying the gun scampered into the room as the other guards stayed outside, keeping the group under control. The guards moved away, however, separating into their own little cliques and holding their own conversations. Shirin glared at them, before scooching over to Rie and leaning in. ¡°You okay?¡± She whispered, patting her on the back. ¡°This is gonna be over¡­ soon.¡± Rie nodded. The cold walls rubbed hard against the back of her head. ¡°Don¡¯t say a word. She¡¯ll let us out, and then that¡¯s it.¡± ¡°Hey! Get in here!¡± A guard leaned out of the doorway, flicking his hands towards him. The group clamoured into the room, passing out of the darkness and into a spotlight so strong their shadows were as sharp as possible. Miru stood around, talking to the various guards in a corner of the room as one of them untied the ropes on Shirin¡¯s and Wei¡¯s hands. Shirin, freed, strolled over to the wall while leaning on it. She looked around. A long range stretching¡­ thirty, fourty metres, a ceiling roughly the height of three people. A large block stood right behind the log denoting the range, with two lines on either side leading all the way back to the wall. Shirin continued to look towards Miru on the left. It¡¯d all be over if her plan worked. Wei, standing around, looked at Tooru and sat down next to him in the corner of the room. He pointed towards him, motioning towards his head and then a thumbs-up and thumbs-down. ¡°What¡¯re you trying to say¡­¡± Tooru uttered. Wei sighed. He leaned in. ¡°Y¡¯know the plan?¡± ¡°...yeah.¡± ¡°Good. Listen, I may not be able to help you out ah, so¡­¡± Tooru shrugged. ¡°I get it. Die or don¡¯t die doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Wei stared at him with wide eyes for a moment. ¡°No, that¡¯s not the point. You either follow me or you follow her. Your choice. You¡¯re not dying. Who?¡± ¡°...you.¡± ¡°Gotcha.¡± He stood back up. Miru¡¯s conversation with the guards ended and the group separated, before coming upon Shirin¡¯s presence and furtively walking over. Her trenchcoat had water dripping from the bottom, her eyes drooping. ¡°...whoa there, you¡¯re looking mighty¡­¡± Shirin¡¯s voice trailed off. ¡°I got nothing.¡± Shirin pointed towards the corner. ¡°Let¡¯s talk.¡± Miru¡¯s lips remained glued shut, unmoving; she moved in the opposite direction. ¡°You are making this extremely fucking hard-¡± Shirin whispered into Miru¡¯s ear. ¡°-I want out now. Get the other guy to do your testing, me and Rie are outta here.¡± The guards, engrossed in their own conversation, scarcely paid attention to the goings-on between the two women. Miru muttered, ¡°Do a test first.¡± Shirin shrugged. She¡¯d considered the decoy bullet that the two had added to the weapon beforehand. They¡¯d just be passing it on to someone else and the consequences passed elsewhere. ¡°Fine.¡± Then, a tap on Miru¡¯s shoulder. Wei. ¡°I¡¯ll do the testing first?¡± He asked, loud and clear. ¡°No, it¡¯s not necessary. She¡¯ll do it first.¡± ¡°Oh. Okay¡­¡± He muttered, walking to the side. Rie and Tooru had already sat down in the corner. Shirin, on the other hand, began to sweat bullets. She looked at the lines on the floor. She¡¯d be standing there if she did the testing. Miru being so insistent on her testing. Splitting the gun with magic wouldn¡¯t be too hard for a trained soldier in this environment. And then she stopped- -and noticed a few stone pieces on the floor. She¡¯d be dead if she tested. Shirin¡¯s eyes widened. Her pupils dilated. She began to retreat, backing away. She looked at Wei. ¡°Oi, um... could you do the test?¡± She remarked, a trembling in her voice. Wei shrugged. ¡°She said you do it first.¡± ¡°Nah, nah. Uh. You do it.¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°What the hell? You want me to do the first shot so much you go ask her!¡± He crossed his arms, rolling his eyes. A sweatdrop went down his face. It closed in. She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder; turning around to see one of the guards grabbing her over at Miru¡¯s direction. With narrowed eyes her instinctive reaction was to send the elven a roundhouse to the face, knocking the guard down and turning many pairs of eyes. Shirin shook. Shooting glances all around her she could see the guards all peering at her, Wei in the corner with an incredulous expression, Rie having stood up. She looked back at Miru. ¡°Y¡¯know, I could say it right now motherfucker so you might not want me dead.¡± ¡°I-I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about,¡± Miru uttered, before looking at her own soldiers. ¡°Go, and do, the first test. Or did you trap it?¡± ¡°Heh. Maybe?¡± Shirin blurted. ¡°What the fuck, Kodai!¡± Wei shouted. His eyes lay wide open as he slowly backed into the corner. ¡°Hey. This is the plan. This is all, part of¡­ I dunno. Rie!¡± ¡°S-sis?¡± ¡°We-¡± She headbutted one of the guards in the head, ¡°-are-¡± rolled over to the door, ¡°-LEAVING!¡± She kicked one of the guards in the crotch before finishing her yelling. Rie scrambled over, seemingly falling over on her older sister as the two scampered out of the room. The guards, falling on each other, only began to follow seconds after. Wei, staring at the doorway, was left alone with Tooru and three guards fell on both of them, instantly holding them down on the floor as one of them screamed ¡°Where the hell¡¯s the rope! Give me the rope!¡± The other guards sprinted out of the room and Miru had vanished like there was no tomorrow. He was held down on the floor now, the guards tying him up. ¡°I¡¯m gonna fucking kill that bitch.¡± He stared up at his captors as they held down his arms and legs. ¡°Now, you fucking animal, you stay here and be a good fucking dog can you?¡± Wei shuddered. ¡°That¡¯s right, good animal¡­ very good little dog¡­ You fucking DOG! Ren mu gou yang ah! Something came back to him, from the very back of his mind. The image. Of a man, trampled over a dozen times, a dozen sticks beating him. The adrenaline rush was unavoidable. A tooth went flying. The guard next to the one holding Wei down turned to see his comrade punched against the wall and Wei standing up. Wei¡¯s fist acted faster than his mind did. It was as if he simply watched something play out, pushing the other guard to the ground. And he picked up the bat. Tooru¡¯s eyes widened as the blood flew. The elven¡¯s face caved in. By the time Wei had come to his senses a minute later, two bloody corpses lay at his feet with a bat leaking with a crimson red similarly splattered across his face. He stared at the blue-haired boy next to him hiding in the corner. ¡°Hey.¡± He motioned to Tooru, before leisurely strolling over to the gun lying on the ground and picking it up. ¡°You coming?¡± The hallways rang with footsteps, echoing over and over. ¡°GET BACK HERE!¡± A scream. Shirin continued to rush down the path with Rie in hand, her heat beating like the fire of a machine gun. Rie¡¯s grey skin glistened with sweat as she followed closely behind, panting; the two continued to sprint as if - well, their lives indeed did depend on it. ¡°Rie, in here!¡± She said, suddenly lifting Rie off her feet and shoving her into a storage room in the side of the wall. The two watched as the guards rushed by, unnoticing of the open door. ¡°You, split there! We¡¯re going there!¡± The voice came in from the distance. Shirin wiped off her sweat before pulling a thick piece of parchment from under her sleeve, unfolding it to reveal an unfinished map of the prison, scrawled across the entire piece. *cough* She wheezed as she followed the pathways and pulled out a pen, adjusting the map; dropping her pen from time to time as she scribbled down a few changes. Running her finger down the corridors and rooms she slammed on one room she¡¯d just drawn on. ¡°This is it.¡± Tapping on Rie, she stood back up and glanced out at the corridors. The distant sound of footsteps getting louder. She nodded, and motioned to Rie to follow her; Rie nodding in response. Scampering across the junction, she hugged the cold, rough-edged walls tip-toeing her way to their next destination. Shirin bit her lip as two guards sprinted past and turned - in the other direction; sweat flooding down her face. Rie remained entirely silent, although her mouth lay ajar. ¡°This way.¡± She muttered, pointing towards a corridor with water leaking all over the floor. Scampering around a box left in the way they came back upon a flooded hallway, water gushing in from a leaking pipe above they¡¯d passed earlier. ¡°Shit¡­ there¡¯s a way around, then-¡± ¡°THEY HAVE TO BE AROUND HERE!¡± ¡°Fuck.¡± Shirin looked over; a junction in the distance past the dozens of doors. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Rie.¡± The two ran down the water-flooded room, the sound of their feet sprinting through the water loud enough that- ¡°-Oy! Squad 2B?¡± Both of them saw the silhouette of a guard coming by the wall and immediately ducked into the doorways, splashing torrents of fluid; both to one opposite the other. The oncoming guards stared at the waves of water moving in their direction. ¡°2B?¡± One of the four elven asked. The others stopped as well. ¡°...get into a line. Check every cell.¡± Shirin¡¯s heart beat as if a drum was pattering for the final of a rock song. As the first guard came into view she looked up at the bent pipe and- *crack-crack-crack* Using magic she spooled the pipe and struck a guard in the forehead; water hitting the guard behind him face-first. The flushing noise of water going down the guard¡¯s face rang through the air as he closed his eyes while his comrade fell on his face, a domino effect knocking down all of the guards. Shirin jumped out, grabbing a bat from the floor before stepping on the first guard¡¯s face. ¡°Augh!¡± He yelped, as Rie followed and ran across the guard¡¯s body. Shirin then sprinted across the second guard¡¯s chest and rammed the wooden bat against the last two guards¡¯ faces; blood mixing into the water as she yelled, ¡°C¡¯mon!¡± Rie panickedly replied ¡°Right!¡± as the two ran off, the guards incapacitated. Shirin knew just exactly where to go. Panting. Wei and Tooru found themselves ahead of a wide doorway, two sliding doors partially opened. ¡°They¡­ left the door open?¡± As they walked into the red and yellow-lit room, they found dozens of weapons lining the walls; anvils accompanying tables and bows in boxes. Arrows and their holders, stacked to the brim in chests; and then Shirin and Rie. ¡°...how did you get in here?¡± ¡°Well, wait for someone to come out and things work out surprisingly well.¡± She replied, pointing at a bloodied soldier on the ground with his ear bent out of shape, profusely bleeding from the side of his head. ¡°Fucker¡¯s never going to be using that ear again.¡± ¡°If he lives.¡± Wei muttered. ¡°Did you find-¡± Before he could finish, Shirin threw over a weapon - his gun. The blood splattered across his face, he released the magazine, the sight of brass greeting his eyes once again. Checking the little holes in the side of the magazine, he counted down the shots left. ¡°23.¡± He muttered. ¡°Did you find the others?¡± ¡°I was supposed to find what?¡± Wei groused. ¡°The rest of my magazines. C¡¯mon, we rehearsed this plan like five times.¡± Shirin sighed. ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t exactly expect I¡¯d actually have to do this plan.¡± She looked at his face. ¡°What the fuck did you do anyways? Did you beat the blood out of someone¡¯s head?¡± ¡°...was pretty excessive¡­¡± ¡°Naw, that was a fucking splendid job. You showed ¡®em.¡± Shirin looked over at Rie. ¡°Just remember, stay behind me, and use that thing if things go south.¡± Rie, holding a small dagger, stared over at her sister, trembling. Meanwhile Wei walked by the swords and sheaves to a small side-room with large black words scrawled on it. ¡°What¡¯s it say?¡± He shouted. ¡°¡®Only high command, use crest.¡¯¡± ¡°You checked all the other rooms?¡± He muttered. ¡°Shit.¡± Wei raised the bat, aiming it up, before whacking the door handle; the bat splintered instead, and a red mark was left on the bronze handle. ¡°What the fuck?¡± ¡°Did you even check the rest of the rooms first? Your stuff might be there - I mean, hell, they didn¡¯t even keep your gun in there.¡± ¡°Gotcha¡­¡± His voice trailed off as he glanced over at the other doorways, passing the bows and several lances as he did. The bare red hue on his skin reflected off the spears and swords in the centre; a few rectangular shields propped up against the wall as he passed. Eventually he came upon his ballistic vest; a large, gaping hole in the middle with the compartments shoved out of the way. He grimaced looking at it, sighing as he stared at the chains tied all over it, locking it to the wall. Wei turned around, went out to the armoury to pull out a dagger before slowly filing away at the chains. ¡°What the fuck is taking you so long?¡± ¡°It¡¯s my vest - it¡¯s chained.¡± Shirin turned around, groaning. ¡°Can¡¯t you just shoot it?¡± ¡°If the bullet ricochets, no.¡± ¡°Here, lemme¡­¡± She ran over and held out the chain by magic, pulling it away from the vest. ¡°You try now.¡± ¡°Fuck.¡± *DA* A small smokestack emerged from the floor. Wei began to untie the various chains on his vest while checking the various compartments. It remained unchanged; the magazines still in their own pouches, his walkie-talkie still in its own pocket. Unravelling the metal draped across it it revealed the Singaporean flag; a black square underneath. He stalled for a moment. Then, he used his dagger to cut off the red-and-white flag, the crescent and five stars lying at his feet as he slipped back into the vest, the hole roughly fitting the orb implanted into his chest. His helmet remained missing; he figured he didn¡¯t need it. Slipping the strap of his gun over his shoulder and his holster up his pants he slightly ached, but once again, Wei had weapons. The blood spread across his bearded, branded, scarred face only jarred with his exhausted expression. ¡°You ready?¡± ¡°I still have this.¡± Shirin remarked, presenting the contraption the group had built earlier. Wei narrowed his eyes. ¡°Why? It¡¯s a bomb. We don¡¯t need it.¡± ¡°We need a distraction... ¡° ¡°Then, we set off the trigger and run the fuck away. ¡°Not enough people die that way. What was the fuse?¡± ¡°Thirty seconds.¡± ¡°Then I know exactly where to dump this fucking mess. You take glasses, I¡¯ll take Rie.¡± He raised his eyebrows. ¡°Danger close.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t trust you with her.¡± She remarked. ¡°Rendezvous at the exit?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Wei muttered. ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving without you if you don¡¯t show up in a few minutes, I can¡¯t fight them off with this forever.¡± The two looked at Tooru and Rie; both of them standing there silently, holding blunt weapons as large if not larger than their hands. ¡°-let¡¯s do this.¡± The Paths Split (ACT I, END) The corridors turned darker. Already dim, the lights fizzled out; lantern after lantern going out. Shirin looked around, gritting her teeth, water rushing by her feet. ¡°How the hell is it spilling so much¡­¡± She muttered under her breath, peering out into the blackened hallway. On one hand she carried their homemade bomb; on the other hand she latched onto her younger sister. She¡¯d strapped a spear to her back and Rie continued to hold onto the dagger she¡¯d been given shakily but tightly. Aside from the voices of guards roaming the halls only silence reigned; silence so overwhelming that a pin drop could be heard. The smell sickened. A rotting stink coming from all around her; she ignored the smell as she waded slowly through the shallow water flooding the corridors, still checking for lights. Bright. She stood back and slowly laid down face-first into the water; Rie doing the same; the water almost completely submerging their bodies as litter and other rubbish continued to float down past them, coalescing around them. Then - splish. Splish. Splish. Shirin¡¯s eyes remained closed underwater as her ears wobbled; feet stopping in front of her. Her heart pounded. The boots stayed in front. With more water-displacing noises the boots slowly marched away. Rie lifted her head up first, panting as water continued to roll down her face; her hair drenched. Moments later Shirin lifted her head as well, breathing in and out as she wiped the water off her face; eyes darting around as she glanced to see what was going on. She looked back at Rie, raising a thumbs-up and a thumbs-down; Rie responded with the former. Shirin grinned at her younger sister¡¯s response. ¡°We¡¯ve got just a bit left.¡± She whispered. ¡°And then it¡¯s time to turn back.¡± The two slowly slithered down the corridor, silence remaining of their utmost concern.
*DA-DA-DA* A guard fell upon the floor face-first. ¡°What the fuck is that?!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask, mate, move! Move! It¡¯s a fucking super-weapon!¡± His comrade sprinted away, the corpse of his own fallen comrade staring back at him with two holes in his chest. The guard, abandoned; turned back to feel a cold metal touch to his head and a sudden warmth between it. His eyes had barely widened before a flash of white and red blinded him and he was pummelled against the floor by a bullet, a little pool of red flooding out of the wound as the assailant moved past. Wei stared over at the escaping hostiles and quickly released the magazine to check the rest of his ammo. Six holes in the mag; only 3 had bronze looking back at him. He shoved the magazine back into the gun and stared around. ¡°You see anyone, Tooru?¡± Under his head of blue hair Tooru slowly stared around in a muted fashion. ¡°Um¡­ no one alive, no.¡± ¡°Either one works, let¡¯s go.¡± Wei raised his weapon again and held the butt of the gun against his shoulder; aiming down sights, finger on the trigger. He carefully and cautiously continued forward, moving as if only danger surrounded the two. Tooru looked up at Wei, his eyes narrowed. ¡°Umm¡­ why can¡¯t you move faster?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll run into more people faster and run out of ammo faster.¡± ¡°It¡¯s limited¡­?¡± ¡°Yeah. I got like¡­ maybe a hundred ten shots left?¡± ¡°YAAAAAR!¡± The sudden scream pierced his ears as he turned to see the blur of three guards charging towards him, increasing in size as they sprinted closer. He let loose before the circular iron sights reached his eyes, the blaze of bullets illuminating his face in a marvelous orange as smoke billowed from the muzzle of his gun. Flipping the weapon over; he saw only one hole with brass meeting his eyes. He sighed; releasing the magazine and dropping it into one of the empty pouches on his chest, before picking out another and ramming it into the mag well, cocking the weapon again. His bullpup gun seemed to absorb bullets all too fast. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± He stacked up against the wall, before leaning over and checking. He nodded, before the two turned the corner into another corridor.
The sisters stopped. Their faces, one grey and one ivory white, both displayed a bright blue hue. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°What the fuck is taking so long? Secure it!¡± One of the oncoming guards stressed, pointing over at the others as he arrived. ¡°It¡¯s not that fucking easy! You gotta help!¡± ¡°Gotcha¡­¡± The dozen guards or so in the wide room slowly moved around the large open-air box of glowing blue orbs. All strapped down with a series of ropes and leather pieces, the guards began to wrap the stack of sokovs with large tape-like bandages; others looking around the place, checking for intruders. Shirin peered over the crate she was hiding behind, intently staring at the sokovs. She peered over to the other end of the corridor. Taking the spear on her back off the strap, she stepped back before slowly letting it loose in the water; floating around and joining the cacophony of incoherent water-splashing noises ringing through the air. Stretching out her hand she began to slowly move it through the water-inundated corridors unnoticed, the guards looking up, not down. ¡°Hui! Did you get the base of the bandages done yet?¡± ¡°Are you fucking crazy?! We didn¡¯t expect emergency protocol after the fucking advance team left!¡± Shirin snickered to herself as she slowly manipulated the spear over to the other end of the corridor, just beneath all of their feet. Watching the weapon float through the water she ducked down and flicked up her hand; the spear jumped out of the water and splashed against the floor once again. ¡°What the hell?¡± The guards turned to look over; some walking over to where the spear had landed. She pulled her hand back. The spear lunged towards one of the guards and impaled him square in the stomach; he collapsed forwards, face-first into the water, blood mixing into the water as the guards began to run towards him. ¡°Rie. Give it to me.¡± Shirin held out her hand; Rie handed the dagger over to her. Shirin briefly put the dagger down, before aiming the crude barrel of the bomb-gun up and pressing down the trigger. *thunk* *pssss* ¡°Yes!¡± She exclaimed, before throwing the bomb over the crate and next to the pile of sokovs. The guards turned, but she pulled out the dagger and hurled it over. In instants blood splatter filled the air, and another guard fell on the floor. ¡°See ya, ya fucking suckers!¡± She screamed, dragging Rie along as she kindled a spark with magic to lead them out of the prison.
¡°This is it!¡± He exclaimed. Wei sprinted forward, a bright white light at the end of the doorway. A sudden burst of cold air enveloped him; his skin turned to goosebumps, and fresh air greeted him once again. Freezing as it was, it was freedom. He turned around. Tooru sprinted to his side, feet in the snow. *rattle* The ground shook underneath them; snow falling off ledges and the pebbles flying up into the air. The tents in front of them flopped to the ground as men spilled out of them; five, six guards glancing around before noticing Wei and Tooru¡¯s presence. ¡°Hey! Get them!¡± *DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA* His finger moved before his mind did. Three men fell on their backs; two more collapsing forward, and one stopped in his tracks. He stared at Wei. ¡°A-a-aaaaah¡­¡± The lone guard stuttered. He fell to his feet; Wei pulled out a bat. Blood flew once again. As a corpse dropped into the snow Wei turned back. The entrance to the prison remained open. ¡°You had better be showing up¡­¡±
Black. She opened her eyes. More black. Sweat drenched her hair, her face. The smoky smell of dust filled the air around her. Shirin stared around, before shakily raising up her hand, forcing a glowing light into the air. Her arm, completely caked in dust and black lines running across them; pebbles ingrained into it. She dusted it off; red marks bursting with little pocks of blood. She stopped. ¡°Rie.¡± She muttered. ¡°Oi! Rie!¡± She shouted. She stood straight up, eyes darting around; she fell to the side, limping on the wall. ¡°RIE!¡± Shirin¡¯s eyes widened, her mouth ajar. She hacked before stumbling over forwards, wheezing as she slowly supported herself on the wall. Wiping off the dust covering her face she realised it stung. The left side of her face burned, as if the sun itself had made contact with it, but she limped onwards regardless. ¡°FUCKING HELL, RIE! WHERE ARE YOU!¡± She screamed at the top of her lungs. Slowly she stepped on. She barely made eye contact with a dusty corpse on the ground; mangled under dust and stone and concrete splintered everywhere. Turning the corner she saw a head of black hair under the rubble. She tripped over herself while sprinting to the side of her sister. ¡°Rie!¡± She pulled the fallen plank off Rie, throwing rocks and stones away. Her brown clothes, torn, her skin, dusty and bloody, her eyes, shut. ¡°RIE!¡± Shirin shook her sister by the shoulder. She leaned over and bent her ear over to Rie¡¯s chest. A palpable silence. An uncertainty. Then a thump. Thump. Thump. Shirin smiled and began to pull the rest of the rocks and stones littering her younger sister¡¯s body off her. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes as she threw one after another and the dim yellow light illuminating gave way to a single thing. A deep gash in Rie¡¯s left leg. She peered in. Her bones exposed underneath, the red flesh and blood flooding out filled with little bits of grey and white. The bone¡­ the bone itself appeared slashed. Shirin¡¯s mouth was left ajar before she started looking around, slowly limping back to the corpse she¡¯d seen before. Finding parchment slightly submerged in the dirty water she collected it in her arms; then briefly a sword shined. She picked it up and steadily went back to her own sister, leaving the orb to float in the air behind her she shakily raised the sword above the wound. ¡°...¡± She put it down. Moving Rie¡¯s right leg out of the way, she then raised it once again, leaving it hovering above the chasm. She trembled. ¡°I¡­¡± A tear shed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Rie.¡± She dropped the sword down on the wound; separating the lower half of Rie¡¯s left leg from the rest of her body before steadily papering over the amputated region; blood flowing out like a steady, constant stream. Shirin¡¯s heart continued to pound on her as she continued to cover the wound with makeshift bandages. She lifted her sister up, one hand under her back and the other under her bottom. Slowly but surely, she quietly proceeded down the dark corridor. Vanishing, into the great unknown. ACT II START - Clean-up [Miru] The mix of green and red berries ahead of the doctor had his eyes transfixed upon them. A few birds chirping in the background elicited no attention from him as his cyan-blue irises peered through the bush, at the trellis; the leaves and little thorns on the brown stems everywhere. ¡°Just¡­ a little more red will do just fine¡­¡¯ He glanced over to the side, finding a cherry-red berry near the top of the bush. He compared it to the other berry in his hand, left and right, before nodding and plucking the fruit and dropping it into the basket on hand. He stood up. ¡°Gai! How many did I say again?¡± ¡°I think you said 100?¡± Gai replied, her tied hair turning over as she faced her husband picking through the trellises. Mang keeled over as he placed another berry into his basket. The sun burned hot, running through his blue skin as he continued to sort through the bushes and trellises, the intense light of the sun gazing down upon him. Peace and quiet ringed true as he slowly and meticulously sorted through each and every fruit ahead of him, picking out those he wanted. The rays of the sun broke. He stared up. A shadow with ginormous wings loomed over him, speeding by; another two shadows ballooning into the air. The images cast on the ground left him in darkness as the fabric parachutes came into view; the great black othala imprinted against a pine green background clear and obvious. A little drop scurried down his face. ¡°Gai!¡± He shouted at his wife once more. ¡°Tell the village! The X.J are here!¡± Mang stopped at once, rushing to stand up and pulling his basket away with him, tossing it against the wall as the soldiers landed on the ground, their parachutes covering his trellises, stuck in the bushes. They scowled; then pulled out knives, cutting away at the bushes as leaves fell to their feet and the plants¡¯ stems found themselves destroyed. He grimaced. He gulped, before proceeding towards the men, his hands behind his back, eyes firmly fixed upon the blonde-haired long-eared soldiers ahead of him. Their armbands, the same othala symbol on them; their cloth uniforms tight-fitting, with thick coats. Soldiers in the Kura territories. ¡°Ah- sirs. You - you may want to take off your coats in this part of the count - colonies.¡± ¡°Any way out of this fucking bush?¡± One of them groaned, still cutting away at the plant. Mang scurried over, before bending down to the soldier¡¯s feet. ¡°Sir - uh - may I?¡± The soldier shrugged before Mang pulled the stems of the plant out of the soldier¡¯s clothing by magic; the thorns shrivelling out of the way and the bush curving out of the soldier¡¯s possessions. The soldier stepped away while Mang floated his parachute over to the ground. ¡°There you go - sir.¡± ¡°The Sergeant wants to meet you.¡± ¡°Sergeant - um, sergeant who?¡± ¡°He¡¯s there.¡± The soldier remarked, pointing over at the dragon landing some distance away in a clearing towards the mountains, the person on top slowly spinning around and jumping off. ¡°You know, The Menace.¡± Mang stared at the soldier, who seemed to be grinning from ear to ear. His eyes widened. He opened his mouth but no words came out. The figure in the distance only grew in size; other dragons landing behind the one stopped in the plain. A small cap on his head with a silver othala on top. Mang¡¯s eyes only widened, trembling as the man came nearer. The features of the elven that stood upon his soil, seemingly strutting over across his land, came into view. Fair, pale ivory skin, as per usual, the same long ears, yellowed hair, a stout posture as he walked over, hands in pockets. The uniform with bronze buttons, medals, and rank insignia; with a small pipe between his lips, the puffs of smoke flying out, he suddenly raised his hands. ¡°Good lord!¡± He remarked, staring at the soldiers next to the hacked bushes with a smirk. ¡°You could¡¯ve landed just a bit later.¡± Turning to Mang, petrified, his pearly whites showed. ¡°Do excuse them, my good sir - may I ask for your apologies?¡± Mang tapped on the ground with his boot, while letting out a grey breath after taking out his pipe. ¡°May I?¡± ¡°Ah - yes, yes, it¡¯s - it¡¯s okay.¡± The Menace smiled. ¡°Wonderful! May I invite myself into your - splendid home?¡± ¡°Uhm - yes.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Kon, by the way. Urichsteza Hansile Kon. Call me whatever you want, I daresay I¡¯m in your courtesy.¡± The smug look on the Sergeant¡¯s face continued to give Mang increasingly uncomfortable expressions. ¡°Er, um-¡± ¡°Actually, I¡¯d prefer if you just call me Kon.¡± ¡°Okay...¡¯ Mang led Kon - or did Kon lead Mang? Into his large wooden plank-exterior home, the triangular shape of his attic covered in tiles carved out of stone, and the windows all with decorative wooden patterns adorning the windowsills. As they proceeded on Kon hung his hand around Mang¡¯s shoulder as if he was a close friend before leaning in and remarking, ¡°When did you build this home? Quaint.¡± ¡°Ah - before the w-war, sir.¡± ¡°And it survived? You are quite the hardworking man.¡± He strung Mang around like some kind of hanger-on. ¡°T-thank you.¡± Mang¡¯s words turned more and more quiet as they got closer to the house, trembling inside. And then, Stop. Kon held Mang to a stop and then coughed, ¡°The door isn¡¯t open, for an esteemed guest? Is that the customs of¡­ the Five Colonies?¡± ¡°Um - er. GAI!¡± He hollered. ¡°Open the door, we¡¯ve got - we¡¯ve got a guest!¡± Silence. He shakily turned to Kon, whose expression hadn¡¯t changed. He snickered. ¡°Don¡¯t be so uptight, my friend, we¡¯re all on the same side here.¡± Kon put the pipe back in his mouth, and took a puff. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°Unless you tell me you¡¯re sheltering Akari in this village, that¡¯s another ques- what the hell is that?¡± He stopped again, grabbing Mang, turning him to the side and pointing at a figure in the distance. ¡°Akari? Really? What was it doing, littering the floor?¡± Mang didn¡¯t respond, staring at Kon with wide eyes. ¡°Come on, you can say. We¡¯re in charge now. The right emperor¡¯s in charge. Tell me what¡¯s really going on. Is it robbing you? Is it trying to deface your beautiful home? Come on.¡± ¡°Nothing¡­ Kon.¡± Just then, the door opened. ¡°Oh! Valenze!¡± He greeted the blue-skinned woman at the door. ¡°Great god, your wife. She looks beautiful.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I see¡­¡± ¡°You should be proud of that! Not every man gets one that beautiful.¡± He remarked, playfully jabbing him in the back. Mang continued to give a wide-eyed, mouth ajar - an utterly and completely horrified expression. ¡°Tch. Not very talkative are you? What do you work as?¡± ¡°I¡­ I am a doctor.¡± ¡°A doctor, you say? One of my men got bitten by a lo¡¯ganpo, could you help him? Herbs and such?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see¡­ what I can do.¡± He muttered as the two passed from natural light into lantern light. The wooden floors were adorned with a light fabric flooring, a lantern strung above from the ceiling. A flowery smell brought out the very distinct scent of sweet fauna and Kon stretched out his arms, a marvelous grin coming upon his face. ¡°BRILLIANT!¡± He exclaimed. Looking at Gai, who stood still as she shot suspicious glances at the Sergeant prancing through their home, Kon suddenly stopped. ¡°My lady,¡± He remarked, lowering his head somewhat, ¡°would you mind giving me a glass of¡­ water?¡± Gai shook her head and scurried off. ¡°Beautiful. Utterly beautiful.¡± He remarked. ¡°As for you, doctor. Show me to your¡­ work-quarters, should we say?¡± ¡°I¡­ I see¡­¡± ¡°By the way? Do you have any children?¡± ¡°Yes. Um¡­ one daughter, one son. Both, babies...¡± ¡°Marvelous.¡± The two proceeded to the end of the hallway and into a little room with a large entrance in the side; a small desk in the corner with some wooden files stacked next to it, the chair behind yanked open. The intense herbal mixture that greeted the noses of both men emnated from the large holding-shelf of drugs and medicine on the side of the room, a large stone block in the middle with little bits of equipment placed on a smaller table to the side. ¡°Show me your register.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I said what I meant. Show me your register.¡± ¡°No. No, sir, no. This is village-only. We don¡¯t give this to outsiders.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Kon stopped and placed the pipe into his mouth again; Mang sitting on his chair and staring up at the sergeant. The silence cut at him. Another bead of sweat slid down his face. A little puff of smoke. Kon put it away, and repeated, ¡°Give me the register, doctor!¡± ¡°No.¡± The dagger moved faster than words. The doctor stumbled backwards into the darkness. He stared at the massive pool of red flushing out of his stomach while one of the soldiers swiped the fallen register from the ground. Croaking against the wall, leaning against the wooden desk from which parchment fell down by the dozen, his vision faded out. ¡°Sir-¡± A soldier said, scrambling down the hallway to meet Kon. ¡°Do whatever the hell you want with him. I¡¯d personally say noggin him, but your choice.¡± Through Mang¡¯s head the spear went before the soldier pulled it out. The festering corpse on the ground stared up, eyes still wide open, back at the sergeant. ¡°Take the male children¡­ take the women if you so please. One settlement won¡¯t make much of a fucking difference. Oh, and take his girl baby and kill her, would you?¡± He grinned. He stepped out into the hallway before going right up to Gai, holding a small wooden cup of water. ¡°Lovely,¡± he remarked, swiping the cup out of her hands and downing the contents. ¡°Where are your children, miss?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± She pointed at the door behind him. ¡°I¡¯ll take a look then, is that fine with you?¡± ¡°...yes¡­¡± ¡°Lovely. Cooperation!¡± He screamed, before kicking down the door and walking into the dark room; two small beds to his right on the floor. ¡°If you¡¯d excuse me¡­¡± He scooped up one of the babies sleeping, waking them up as he turned back to Gai, trembling. The child in his hands wailed. ¡°Come off it, what¡¯s this boy¡¯s name?¡± He remarked to her in the dark room. Gai stalled, before replying, ¡°Mi-mi¡­ Miru¡­¡±
18 YEARS LATER THREE HOURS AFTER SHIRIN AND WEI HAVE BOTH LEFT THE PRISON ¡°Ma¡¯am!¡± The sound of a hurried soldier drowned in the sea of voices all ringing out around Miru. Her silver hair entirely stained black, her skin still blotched black, she continued to pace the room, accepting feedback from men surrounding her. The sea of elven around her all clamoured, screaming: ¡°We have three guys down in protection division!¡± ¡°We need more reinforcements down in Section C! The prisoners are getting rowdy!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even have a fucking platoon leader anymore, ma¡¯am!¡± ¡°EVERYBODY SHUT THE FUCK UP AND TELL ME EVERYTHING ONE AT A TIME!¡± Miru hollered, the noise slowly fizzling out as she went up and looked around, flooding through the crowd of soldiers around her. ¡°All Class ranks, get over here, FALL IN!¡± A few men pushed through the crowd. More specifically, just three men and Kari, who stepped in front of her and stood still. ¡°Four¡­ we have FOUR of nine left¡­¡± She groaned. Looking at them, she ran down the list. Miru pointed at the man on the farthest left, with a balding head and of a shorter stature. ¡°Hen, you¡¯re on Protection, right?¡± He grunted, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve just been given a field promotion.¡± She stopped, and he stared at her quietly. ¡°Until this nonsense is all under control you are in charge of the entire Protection wing, I know you¡¯ll do the job. Get me a report by sundown of the damages to our defences. ¡°Poik.¡± She gestured to the man on the right, combed hair like the rest of the elven soldiers and fresh bruises on his face. ¡°Before you get injury treatment get down on the ground floor with the others and begin cleanup. Get what¡¯s left of the slaves and the prisoners to clean up the lower floors, they¡¯re all flooded now.¡± ¡°Affirmative, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Kari, and Salim.¡± She turned to the last two. ¡°You¡¯re on compilation detail with me. Get what¡¯s left of our communications equipment - dragons, signals, everything - and get it working by the end of today. Might sound hard but it¡¯s going to be necessary. There are twenty thousand men marching down the plateau into Otisk and their reinforcements and supplies need to be maintained.¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Gotcha, Miru.¡± The latter response, given by Kari, raised eyebrows in some of the soldiers and Hen, who glared at her. ¡°Oy, you lot, I don¡¯t want you messing around. Go, go, go, fall out! We¡¯re done here, you sort out the men!¡± She stood firm. Miru stormed off through the darkened halls, holding a small lantern in hand. Her tattered trenchcoat waved behind her as she slowly took it off, leaving only the tight-fitting long-sleeved shirt underneath, black marks cloaking it like a shroud. Down the corridor she passed the storage rooms and then the armoury and then the barracks; past the quartermaster¡¯s rooms and past the action room - and instead into the officers¡¯ lounge, dark and dingy. Flicker. A single light came on, the orange tint lighting up Miru¡¯s blue skin with a glowing hue. The lounge remained bare, with simply a single rectangular leather seat ahead of a flat desk, a large harp in the corner; dust collecting across the entire room. Then, the barrel. She picked up the lone cup on the desk before yanking the lid of the barrel off and scooping the violet-purple liquid inside into the wooden cup, the pungent smell of wine meeting her nose. She fastened the barrel¡¯s lid again, before lying back on the rest of the seat and downing the entire cup at one go. ¡°Fuck.¡± She muttered. Miru glanced back at the barrel once more. The cup, in the blink of an eye, filled again with alcohol. In a flash it had returned to being largely empty. ¡°Fuuuuuuck¡­¡± She moaned. ¡°Why do I have to do fucking everything around here?¡± She pulled at her hair. ¡°FUCK.¡± She paused for a moment, before muttering, ¡°She knows.¡± ¡°And I can¡¯t kill her.¡± Miru stopped. She glanced back at the barrel again. Wounds [Shirin] The trees rattled, the wind breezing through the coniferous pines that scattered around the lone dirt road passing through the bare, weed-filled ground; the warm rays of the sun passing over the steep, rocky terrain of the mountains, the dark shadows engendered upon the path passing onto the two sisters as well. Shirin wheezed. The strings covering led to a small cotton seat tied to her back, Rie sleeping as she clutched onto her older sister¡¯s shoulders; her remaining leg swinging about somewhat as her older sister trudged on, two small sacks on an equally small wheelbarrow she pushed forward. A month had passed since the escape. Wei and Tooru¡¯d left without her and her sister, which squared all the same to her; she pulled out a sword, some supplies and a cart which had degraded to becoming the wheelbarrow she pushed along. A few carving tools and wooden planks lay in the corner of the brown cart, stuffed to the brim with sacks of food. ¡°Rise and shine, Rie¡­ Rise and shine.¡± The snoring behind her back continued. Shirin groaned, before slowly pushing her sister back into a more stable position and moving onwards. ¡°Rie.¡± She repeated softly. ¡°I need to change out the bandage soon.¡± Rie¡¯s eyes remained closed. Shirin sighed; turning the cart towards the left before putting down the rickety vehicle, sitting down on the dirt before untying the binds holding the small cushion her sister was on to her back. A small dust cloud emerged as Rie hacked out the puffs of grey that had gotten into her mouth and stared at Shirin. ¡°Sis¡­¡± ¡°...you¡­ doing okay?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s still really painful¡­¡± She muttered, reaching to touch the stump that had previously been connected to a leg. Instinctively Shirin slapped her hand away. Shirin narrowed her eyes, holding her hand up to Rie. ¡°Don¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ sorry¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. You¡¯ll learn.¡± She muttered. ¡°Let¡¯s get that changed.¡± Precarious. Her hands moved gently and slowly while unwrapping the bandages surrounding the stump that had previously connected to Rie¡¯s right leg, the smell of blood emerging from the rounding wound. Rie gulped, wobbling yet remaining otherwise silent, keeping a shaken, but straight face throughout the process. Shirin applied another round of ointment before pulling out a small surgical knife, looking across her sister¡¯s leg before lightly piercing a vein and squeezing the contents of a container into it ever so slowly; immediately then covering it with a smaller bandage. Re-wrapping the amputated area she smiled at her sister. ¡°Nice. You know, you survived a helluva lot?¡± She paused, hugging Rie for a moment. ¡°I¡¯m proud of you.¡± ¡°Thank you¡­¡± Rie¡¯s voice trailed off, her expression unchanging, before showing just the slightest hint of sadness. ¡°No need to thank me.¡± Shirin stood up, and turned around to the blueing sky. The brighter shade of blue occupying the atmosphere above filled with clouds ever so close, and a small grey trail leading to the top. ¡°A village¡­ unmarked? We¡¯ll see¡­¡± Pulling out a long stick from the cart, pointed at one end with a round dish covering the other, she stumbled back to Rie. ¡°This,¡± She said, while flicking out a few of the small trapdoors on the dish, ¡°is what you¡¯re going to be using from now on, Rie. When we meet those people I want you to be walking on your own two feet. Show them what you¡¯re made of.¡± Light gazed out of the trapdoors, the beams forming a small flash directly above the dish. The small Kan that Shirin had pulled from the smouldering wreck of the prison¡¯s rooms, with the othala on the side scratched off, had become fully operational. ¡°Let¡¯s get this on you, Rie. Sit up, would ya?¡± Rie peered into her older sister¡¯s eyes, her figure blurry as she trembled. Biting her lip, she suddenly nodded her head just once. ¡°Alright. That¡¯s my girl¡­¡± The dish end of the Kan facing towards Rie¡¯s amputated leg, Shirin moved it towards the bandages wrapping around the leg, the lights transfixing themselves around the wound before the stick fixed itself underneath the wound. Despite not being in direct contact Rie raised her left thigh and the Kan lifted up as well. ¡°That¡¯s the spirit! You¡¯ll get the hang of it in no time.¡± She remarked, grinning, her stained yellow teeth showing. ¡°C¡¯mon. You can hold onto me while we get to the next village.¡± Shirin extended a hand to her sister; who in turn extended her hand but for a moment. Left hanging, Shirin watched as her bruised, dirted sister stood up on her own two feet. Her eyes widened for a brief moment, before she puffed up, hands on her waists as Rie slowly and shakily supported herself up, hands balancing outwards as she wobbled from side to side. ¡°I¡­ I can do it.¡± Rie smiled. ¡°I can do it, sis.¡± ¡°You¡­ little.. rascal¡­¡± Shirin¡¯s smiled. Even with a massive burn on the left side of her face the expression she gave her little sister shone brilliantly. Rie, however, seemed to be looking precisely at that part of her face. ¡°Sis¡­¡± ¡°Yeah? What is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s got to hurt.¡± She pointed at the red lines and bumps on Shirin¡¯s left cheek, followed by the pock-mark hodge-podge of wounds below it that trailed all the way to her left ear. ¡°You gave me all the bandages.¡± ¡°Nah. It¡¯s completely fine.¡± ¡°It was an explosion¡­¡± ¡°I, am, fine.¡± Shirin patted Rie on the shoulders, before pointing towards the smokestack. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
Uninspiring. The best word to describe the village that greeted her eyes would be ¡®uninspiring¡¯. A large stone complex with three wells out front and a flattened plaza in the middle collapsed onto itself, the little bits of grass growing out of the shattered roof and stone and pebbles everywhere. Stone homes surrounded the complex, some still displaying the flag of Old Kura, the blue and yellow colours swaying about in the breeze. ¡°An old rest point?¡± She muttered to herself. The flag still flying on a bent brown flagpole tore in places, with obvious holes in the fabric. ¡°Aye. We love ourselves some of those wells they gave us back in the day.¡± A balding man with wrinkles all over his face walked over, his skin a pale peach but his years a round seen in humans. ¡°Don¡¯t tell the fuckers, aye? Can¡¯t stand the Hiryu bastards showing up and using the wells every single time they¡¯re on campaign.¡± Shirin snickered. ¡°How many years are you pushing, old man?¡± ¡°Enough to have seen the last oil lamps, the revolution, the occupation, the ideologues.¡± He paused, before pointing to the building. ¡°You recognised it?¡± ¡°Used to be a scholar at a magic school. I¡¯d know.¡± She remarked, with Rie holding onto her back. ¡°Anyone coming with you?¡± He leaned over, looking behind the two sisters, before pulling out a bat from his back. ¡°Sorry about this, but we got a load of soldiers two weeks ago. Better safe than sorry.¡± ¡°You really think the Avisen would send a woman who lost half of her face blowing up a prison and an Akari?¡± Shirin sneered, shrugging. ¡°Not very old, then?¡± ¡°Ah, you¡¯re a feisty one I see,¡± The old man smirked, keeping the bat up. He stared over at Rie, who let go of Shirin¡¯s shoulder and stood on her own feet. ¡°It your slave, or are you one of those¡­ ¡®liberties¡¯?¡± ¡°¡®Liberties¡¯?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what an old Solha from Senai told me they are. ¡®Liberties¡¯. Or is it ¡®Liberals¡¯? I don¡¯t know¡­¡± His raspy voice trailed off. ¡°Regardless, your answer?¡± ¡°She¡¯s my sister.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ with the church, are you? It¡¯s been a while¡­¡± ¡°Hell no I¡¯m not with the church. Fuck ¡®em.¡± ¡°So you are a liberruh¡­ I¡¯ll stick to ¡®Liberties¡¯. You¡¯re a liberty. Sounds better. I¡¯ll change it if a pedantic comes to this place again¡­¡± Furrowing his brows the old man grinned, his disorganised teeth showing. He put the bat down. ¡°What do you want, you?¡± ¡°We need food, for a start. You¡¯ve got to have some meat, preserved shit tastes awful¡­ and you gotta tell me about the world down there. Been hiding around for weeks.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have much meat up here. Can¡¯t tell you much about I¡¯sho or Yokura, nobody except the Xiojinkan have passed by for months now.¡± He paused. ¡°Before we even begin talking me helping you out, what¡¯s in it for us?¡± Shirin turned to the cart, before stopping and turning right back around. ¡°No coins, I assume.¡± ¡°Those things have been useless since they introduced the jagged edges. Can¡¯t file them off anymore.¡± ¡°Right¡­ how about this?¡± She picked up one of the Kans, and a spear. ¡°Looks good to you?¡± The old man¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Blimey, girlie, you actually blew up a prison?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t believe before.¡± ¡°Nae, haven¡¯t seen that many women fighters since Sekyo took over all those years ago. At least, not one outside the village. You¡¯re the first for quite a while.¡± He paused. ¡°They still talking about all of that ¡®women must stay in the house¡¯ nonsense, of course.¡± ¡°I got branded for it.¡± Shirin chuckled. He scratched his head for a moment. ¡°Never figured why they wanted to make it so hard for us to farm¡­ come on over. You¡¯re not staying, are you? Wouldn¡¯t be able to hold you anyways, the inn¡¯s been dead for years now.¡± The three proceeded past the ruins and closer to the blocky stone houses packed into the thin strip of flat land; a tall smokestack emerging from an open fireplace some distance to the side of the collapsed building. The houses all featured interlocking stone blocks with no visible cementation, the rooves also made of rock and open windows. Only two bucked the largely small nature of the structures; one long stone building behind the former rest stop and a temple in the centre of the nucleated settlement. ¡°That,¡± he said, pointing at the cuboid-like building, ¡°was our old inn. Not enough people to run it anymore¡­¡± ¡°How many?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve scarcely two dozen people around here. We all agreed back in the day, our sons and daughters go to Yokura and form a community there. No future here¡­¡± He smiled. Shirin narrowed her eyes slightly as he watched on. ¡°Ah, ya didn¡¯t expect that answer did ya?¡± Shirin didn¡¯t respond. "Don''t worry too much. It was aftah the massacre." She looked back at Rie, who slowly trudged on one step at a time as she stuck the stick that replaced her foot into the ground, before uprooting it, again and again. ¡°Right. I assume you haven¡¯t heard of the laws, then?¡± ¡°Laws?¡± ¡°This is all I can tell you about the outside world, so listen up.¡± He paused, turning around to look at Rie as well. ¡°It- she wanna listen?¡± ¡°Rie! Come over.¡± Shirin shouted over. Rie frantically nodded before hopping over, throwing up small piles of pebbles and rock in her blurry wake. Within seconds she was at Shirin¡¯s side. ¡°Right, what is it?¡± ¡°So - I¡¯m just guessin¡¯ - you know the rebels? The ones led from Renai?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°So, I¡¯m spitballing, but they caused a helluva stir down over in Otisk. Right outside the border, maybe. I¡¯m not sure. But whatever it was, it made that moron Sekyo and his deputy Kon decide to pass new ¡®laws¡¯. The, ¡®Laws to protect the chastity and grandeur of the Five Colonies¡¯.¡± Shirin kicked up a small mound of dust. ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t like the sound of this already.¡± ¡°Basically, there¡¯s like - I dunno, like five big laws, but they all say this shit. Get this, they want us all to stop ¡®participating in idolatry¡¯, eh? All men must immediately register themselves for ¡®service¡¯, and-¡± ¡°-the woman must submit herself to the service of their spouse, or find one; their position is that of eternal servitude?¡± She groaned. ¡°Wow, you think that highly of them? They gave us a piece a parchment about it, left it in the inn.¡± As they approached the building, the shadow cast over them slowly fading as the sun emerged over the village; Shirin¡¯s expression had soured immensely. ¡°And laws about Rie?¡± He groused. ¡°You mean, that Akari ...sister of yours? The fifth one.¡± ¡°Oh... shit, don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± ¡°¡®The great truth that the Akari is proclaimed by god to be in servitude to the Elven and Human races¡¯¡­¡± His voice trailed off. ¡°Sorry to tell you that.¡± A distinct lack of interest came on the second remark. ¡°Well, fuck, fuck, fuck fuck fuck¡­ there aren¡¯t even free Akari anymore?¡± ¡°My guess is that somebody be buying them at an auction after they get scooped up.¡± He stopped, staring back at Rie, her eyes wide and her collapsed on the ground. ¡°Gimme a sec, lemme get you this¡­¡± As the old man vanished behind the doors of the old inn Shirin began pacing around. Her mind wandered. ¡°But where to, where¡­ of course, Senai, but how without getting caught crossing the Hunda River¡­¡± She looked back at Rie. ¡°Wait. That¡¯s it.¡± Marching towards Rie she stood tall in front of her before remarking: ¡°Okay, new plan. Let¡¯s get in contact with the rebels. We¡¯re getting out of Kura.¡± Survive [Wei] The parchment in the centre of the table, marked ''Laws to Protect the Chastity of the Five Colonies'', continued to stoke massive interest. ¡°Who the fuck wrote this shit?!¡± The hollering clamoured throughout the noisy, cluttered room, the fires inside men and women in the tavern clearly raging. The dozens of people inside the establishment crowded into a kind of bar-space in the middle and a dozen individual rooms left and right; chairs and pillows alike available for anyone¡¯s fancy. Many of the men wore thin, cotton clothes with wingtip collars, their thick jackets all folded up and placed at their tables; the women all wearing trousers like the men. Another voice shouted out, ¡°I dunno, you tell me! It¡¯s like they want they want a fucking rebellion again!¡± A chorus of laughter sounded through the room, the echos deafening. Wei stared around and took the opportunity to walk up to the table where they had been reading the bit of parchment on which the five laws were written; his eyes widening as he ran each word through a translation. ¡°And¡­ returned¡­ or¡­¡± He muttered, a cold sweat flooding down his neck. His mouth ajar, he staggered back for a moment before tapping on one of the women and asking, ¡°Sorry, does this part- does this part want all Ak¡­ Aka¡­¡± ¡°Akari.¡± ¡°Right, those, to return or ¡®remain in slavery¡¯?¡± ¡°Yeah. What, you can¡¯t read?¡± She remarked. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s nothing new, I¡¯m surprised they didn¡¯t make those filthy charcoal things all slaves earlier.¡± As the woman turned back to her group amidst all the commotion Wei¡¯s mind churned. Biting his lip, he stumbled away from the conversation and made his way through the dozens of people left and right to the counter at which a couple served up bottles and bottles of alcohol. ¡°Excuse me.¡± ¡°Be right with you.¡± The man said, before reaching behind him and pouring a drink into a cup to Wei¡¯s right. ¡°You there, Enik right? Your tab¡¯s way too fucking long, coins ain¡¯t gonna be enough.¡± ¡°Gotcha, gotcha¡­ I¡¯ll send two a¡¯ my boys over to the distillery, run with ya for about¡­ whaddya want? Two months?¡± ¡°Knock it down to one and a half, blacksmithing be taking a hit with this entire thing. Wouldn¡¯t want to bother you too much.¡± Wei¡¯s eyes perked up. He tapped on Enik¡¯s shoulder, the grizzled woman that greeted him tilting her head as she wobbled around. ¡°Excuse me. You¡¯re a blacksmith?¡± ¡°All day, every day. You a customer?¡± He nodded. ¡°Potentially ah¡­ Do you have moulds?¡± ¡°Moulds? What kinda moulds? Axehead, spearhead? You gotta tell me.¡± ¡°Just confirming. I need something special.¡± ¡°Fuck off, I¡¯m not producing special medallions for some rich man. You fuckers never pay.¡± Enik remarked, turning back to her drink and downing the entire thing. Wei turned away, groaning; he turned back to the bar, facing the downward-pointing bottles all strapped together by the wooden grid lining the wall. He pulled out a small sack of coins and plopped it on the table, before turning back to Enik. ¡°This enough?¡± ¡°Meh. Go find someone else to do your work.¡± He sighed, standing up with the sack of coins in hand and disappearing back into the crowd. As he slipped it back into his pocket someone nudged him and said ¡°Ay! Young¡¯in! You up for a game of haus?¡± ¡°Oh, I-I¡¯m-¡± ¡°Hey, come on. We need one more player for the game and I¡¯m sure you¡¯d do just fine. Coins on the line!¡± The blue-skinned man dragged him over into one of the small side rooms against his rapidly diminishing protests and pointed towards one of the two empty seats at the table. ¡°Got one.¡± ¡°Speed it up! I need to be back after midnight!¡± One of the women shouted, while man screamed ¡°Fuck yeah! Come on, get in your seat!¡± Wei scampered into that seat, surrounded by people with no cards, no tokens and no symbols. All of them with a few gold and silver pieces lying in front of them he gingerly sat back and watched. ¡°Right. Kesthau begins.¡± ¡°Right... right.¡± The man two seats to the right of him groused, ¡°we playing old rules or new rules?¡± ¡°Of course old. New sucks.¡± ¡°Right. Right. I wager¡­ two coins, gold. Calling on a¡­ lie of finances. Mang.¡± The long-eared man opposite him shrugged, before leaning in and gesturing. ¡°Okay. I got only fifteen silvers for a harvest of heifers¡­ in the fall. After preservation. And then the man got robbed and died so I took back the heifers and got a few golds as well from his house.¡± ¡°What the hell? I¡¯m calling truth, Mang. Easy two golds.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a lie, I got three golds for the harvest.¡± He laughed, before tapping on the blue-skinned man who had just called him out. ¡°Gimme those fuckin coins.¡± ¡°Sonnofabitch¡­¡± He muttered, flicking over two dimly-glimmering coins over to him. ¡°Alright, Mang, who you calling on next?¡± ¡°Our newbie here. You¡¯re not gonna lie, right?¡± Wei, who was still scratching his head, quickly nodded. ¡°Order¡­ order says next after finances is¡­ tragedy, right?¡± ¡°Tragedy, yeah. You¡¯re up, kid.¡± ¡°Um¡­ okay, so I¡¯m just gonna say that uh, I just have to raise a tragedy, right?¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The tan-skinned woman to his left remarked, ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t matter what, you just gotta be telling us the truth. It¡¯s a cycle. Lie, truth, lie, truth.¡± ¡°Right, then¡­¡± Wei paused, before sitting upright and glancing at the looks of everyone around him. ¡°In 1962 - 58 years before I was born, 68 million died in a span of two hours due to a nuclear exchange which triggered a world war that lasted another 17 years.¡± Silence. Then chuckling. Laughter. ¡°Fuck, kid, you want out, huh? Calling a lie.¡± Wei¡¯s face continued to harbour a deadpan expression. ¡°Nope. It¡¯s the truth.¡± ¡°Fuck off kid, we ain¡¯t gonna be scammed.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a scam, it¡¯s real.¡± The man who¡¯d dragged him there snorted. ¡°Aw, sheesh. Anyone wants to call forfeit rules on this moron?¡± ¡°Fuck yeah¡­ I need to make good on those two gold coins¡­¡± ¡°All in favour, raise your hands.¡± Unison. Total unison, every other hand that wasn¡¯t his raised immediately. Wei quickly shot his up too. ¡°Alright kid, you¡¯re gonna have to prove it.¡± ¡°Fine by me - what happens if I prove it?¡± ¡°We pay out half of everything we got to you. Which is never gonna fuckin¡¯ happen.¡± The grins around him only coincided with the drops of sweat running down his neck. Still, he stood firm, nodded, before pulling over the weapon strapped over his back and waving to the lot; some looking at him with narrowed eyes. Chuckling. Chuckling, everywhere. As he proceeded out into the hallway the commotion turned on him. The players followed him out of the room and he could hear the murmuring of ¡°Yeah, somebody¡¯s actually playing the forfeit rule unironically¡± and ¡°Damn he¡¯s stupid¡±. Rolling his eyes he dragged the door open before stepping into the sunset gaze, a torrent of people flooding out into the road with him as he cocked his gun. Pairs of eyes set upon the look of his weapon and his tattered brown clothes while he gestured over to Tooru, sitting outside the building and intently watching him. The lights of the town flickered on, men running down the street past him lighting lanterns as one of the players shouted ¡°Alright, what¡¯s your proof!¡± at him. ¡°Well you see, you didn¡¯t believe that 78 million people could die in two hours. Allow me to prove you wrong.¡± The muzzle of his gun raised into the air; he adjusted his aim while continuous muttering emerged from the small crowd and suddenly, *DA* Silence and yells. The small grey whirl emerging from the muzzle blew away in the wind while Wei went back to the players and remarked, ¡°You didn¡¯t believe me?¡± ¡°T-that could just be a bom-¡± *DA-DA-DA-DA-DA* Wei¡¯s shoulder hurt at this point, the continuous fire jabbing it and his arms sore from swiftly transitioning to aimed-down sights twice. ¡°Coins. Now. Please.¡± The players scrambled back into the building as Wei raised a thumbs-up to Tooru, the crowd mostly still watching or spreading out over where he¡¯d shot into the air, seemingly hoping to catch a glance of where or whatever he¡¯d shot. He himself proceeded back to the counter, eyes fixed all over him, before he turned around and shot a glance at Enik, sitting there with a blank expression. ¡°You¡¯re a mercenary.¡± ¡°Apparently I am now. You taking up my offer ah?¡± ¡°Not before I hear at least something about what the fuck it is, this weapon you¡¯re using. And for good measure who you are and what you are. I like honesty with customers¡­¡± ¡°Tan Wei Ming¡­¡±
¡°...studied at N.U.S with honors in the Metallurgy course, sir. ¡° 7 YEARS AGO REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE The sterile environment of the office did not go unnoticed by Wei; his nose sniffing at the all-too-strong lavender smell emanating from a small pot on the table of the man he was talking to. ¡°And you want to work with our firm as a junior consultant on¡­ metallurgy.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± ¡°Tell me, what redeeming qualities would you consider yourself to have? Anything that our firm could use?¡± ¡°I¡¯m hardworking, resourceful¡­ know my way around research. Perfect memory. I¡¯m also proficient with math and physics, which, I think could help the firm to a great extent?¡± A droplet of sweat ran down his cheek. In a full suit, jacket, tie, belt; Wei peered intently into the eyes of an elderly, balding man whose gaze never seemed to meet his. That man continued to file through the beige file on his desk marked ¡®Resume - Tan Wei Ming¡¯, and he nodded every so often. Then, he read one page at the back. ¡°Well, Mr. Tan, I believe that you are a great and hard worker, but you¡¯re just not what our firm is looking for at this current moment.¡± He remarked curtly, shutting the beige file up and tossing it over to him. ¡°We wish you luck on your future endeavours.¡± ¡°I-I see¡­¡± Wei nodded, but his head continued to look downwards. Yet again. ¡°Please, if you¡¯d leave faster¡­ there are other candidates. Do call the next one in, please.¡± ¡°Oh - yes¡­¡± He plopped the file inside his briefcase before shutting it up and scampering out the nondescript white door, shutting it behind him before tapping on the shoulder of the young man sitting next to the entrance and whispering, ¡°You¡¯re next ah.¡± One. More. Failure. The air smelled just that little bit uncomfortable that day. Perhaps it was the thin undercurrent of sweetness that made it so peculiar; perhaps it was the cardboard-box flavour wafting through the annals of the hallways. As he passed by a sign reading ¡°CHEONG WEE PTE LTD. INTERVIEWS LEFT¡±, he sighed once more and resigned himself to waiting for the lift outside. The noise of the lift slowly but surely approaching deafened despite its softness. ¡®Ding¡¯ - the metal doors shuffled open, releasing its cargo of suited businessmen and one businesswoman as Wei waited by the side for them to leave, then swallowing him whole as he pressed the button marked ¡®G¡¯. Blare, the little screen in the corner of the lift did. ¡°This morning PM Chua announced a new plan to reinvigorate the economy with what is being called ¡®Stimulus packages¡¯ of about $1,000 dollars per person¡­¡± The white noise emerging from its audio systems mentally filtered through Wei¡¯s mind and came out the other side entirely intact and unabsorbed. The first thing he saw on that small screen in his hands was ¡®Ministry announces new restrictions on terror organisers¡¯, and he instantly powered it off as he broke free from the monotonous grip of the elevator, only to walk into the grey and dreary world beyond; the streets of Downtown Singapore drowning in the noise of traffic and music. Passing by the Taiwanese Embassy tucked into a corner next to Parliament he descended into the network of underground railways with a weapon in hand; a small wad of cash. Tapping through the card gates always left him with a somewhat more peeved expression. Where another man in front of him paid a meagre thirty cents with that blue card he possessed only a flimsy bent card he shoved into the small slit that processed everyone through the gates of the system. ¡°Goodbye my heart and hello Siberia~¡± His ringtone rang. He held his thumb on the keys of his pager, reading the message. ¡®Blcklist expanding again.¡¯ Wei grimaced. ¡®Srsly? Couldn¡¯t even get a job tdy¡¯ ¡®Srsly ah? Didn¡¯t you move the page to the back¡¯ ¡®Aiyah they just check that page first thing and then shoot me out. Telling u ah, i should have gotten a job in m¡¯sia¡¯ ¡®Told you mah.¡¯ Still typing, he sat down on the one seat he could find on the reserved carriages at the back of the train and opened up his briefcase; looking through his file again. No matter what his hands filed back to that one page he¡¯d stuffed at the very back of the beige file. And that one acronym. ¡°U.T¡± He lied back on the wall of the train as he groaned. Stress [Miru] Rattling. Dust fell from the ceilings as another wooden board found itself nailed to the top; a soldier rapidly hammering away at the plank he¡¯d just rammed up in the gap. The hallways lit only with a single lantern the soldier peered into the orange hue and screamed, ¡°WHERE THE FUCK ARE THE NAILS!¡± ¡°Shut the hell up, soldier! You¡¯ll have your nails within the hour!¡± The soldier¡¯s ears twinged before he instinctively shouted back, ¡°SIR, YES, SIR! APOLOGIES, SIR!¡± Sweat went down the back of his head. ¡°Good!¡± The crackling, hoarse voice remarking that belonging to Hen, who solemnly marched down the hallways looking at each and every single soldier. His eyes only narrowed as he proceeded along, discovering that some places had inherited what amounted to crumbling rubble and towering stacks of dust. He passed a room where three men lifted rubble from a large pile inside, tossing it out onto the hallway; one of the rocks almost striking him square on the chest. He stopped. ¡°Oy, soldier! Where the hell are your supplies?¡± One of them turned around before his eyes suddenly widened and stuttered, ¡°Oh- Officer Hen - my mistake, sir, uh- sir - injuries division, sir- I¡¯m sorry, but we¡¯re still pulling people out of the rubble, sir-¡± ¡°HOW MUCH MORE TIME ARE YOU GOING TO SPEND ON PEOPLE WHO ARE DEAD?¡± ¡°Sir - personal order by officer Poik, sir - we¡¯re just following orders-¡± ¡°Oh. I see. Carry on¡­¡± His voice suddenly taking a radically softer turn, he marched off without even making a single passing remark. The soldier wiped off the sweat collecting on his face before lifting up another rock and throwing it out again. ¡°Hey, Poik didn¡¯t give us that order.¡± One of his comrades remarked as he flung a smaller stone out the doorframe. ¡°FUCK it, man. I¡¯m telling you, Hen¡¯s going to fucking murder us. He probably doesn¡¯t even check, he just runs down the fucking hallways and orders us around. What fucking moron decided to give him command?!¡± ¡°That Korun bitch in charge, obviously.¡± He grunted. ¡°Oh, oh, oh¡­ I hate that woman. Hate her so much. No judgement, who even put a fockin woman in charge of all of us? They had fucking Salim and they don¡¯t put him in charge?!¡± ¡°No kidding, Stak. No kidding.¡± The main opposite Stak groaned, before carting an entire tumbleweed of stone out the room and revealing a man underneath. ¡°WE NEED MEDICAL! COME ON!¡± ¡°Coming!¡± A voice came from the outside, as Stak pulled the elven man away and patted him on the shoulder. He pressed the long tip of his ear down on the man¡¯s heart, a small thump-thump greeting his ears. ¡°He¡¯s definitely alive.¡± He remarked, before whispering towards the unconscious elven¡¯s ears, ¡°You¡¯re going to be okay, brother. Just fine.¡± With a tapping three men rushed into the room with two empty toboggans in hand, the fabric that would turn the toboggans into stretchers carried by the last man. ¡°You!¡± One of them pointed at Stak, ¡°Help me out here!¡± The three lifted the rubble up for a moment with magic while Stak pulled the man out and began to hold him by the shoulders; the others dropped the stones and rocks on the floor before holding the man up by the rest of his body and lifting him up into the stretcher. ¡°Any more? We can get one more!¡± Kains - the man who¡¯d been conversing with Stak - filed through the rubble before coming upon black hair. ¡°Hold on! We might have one more!¡± As he tossed the rocks away he discovered a grey hand and dumped the rock in his hand on the floor. ¡°Nevermind! Slave! Take him away - no one else here!¡± The medical crew that¡¯d just arrived nodded before carting the unconscious elven away; the three looked over in relief as they stood up, leaning against the wall while wiping off the sweat accumulating on their dirtied ivory skin. ¡°Nice job, Stak.¡± Mondai remarked. ¡°Let¡¯s keep checking through for more.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be any more¡­ Not enough space for more. Let¡¯s go search somewhere else.¡± ¡°Right¡­ yeah.¡± Mondai replied, peering back at the rubble from which a grey hand continued to jut out underneath the pile. He stared at it for a moment before running out of the room for a moment, the pile collapsing in on itself and flattening over the lone hand sticking out. The hallways remained a mess. Left and right soldiers charged down the hallways, some whacking into each other; wounds from being slammed by a plank or rocks scarring their legs could be seen upon every man running by. Proud steel armour - however scratched and makeshift - had been replaced by simple cloth uniforms with medics wearing a brighter shade of brown, their othala armband also marked with a grand ¡®x¡¯. Swarming down the corridor the trio came upon the old take-off stations with the dragons; now scattered with five long columns of futons and old sacks converted to pillows. Medical equipment lined the floor - first aid kits, packets of blood and bandage rolls everywhere. Several kans already lay in the corner next to four severed legs wrapped with fabric. In the middle Poik tended to a wounded man; the trio passed by him repeating to the injured soldier, ¡°You¡¯re going to be fine. On my word you¡¯re going to be okay.¡± ¡°I like that man,¡± Stak remarked to Mondai as the trio separated into Stak and Mondai; Kains walking elsewhere. ¡°I¡¯d take him over that bitch Miru.¡± ¡°Seriously speaking, what¡¯s your big gripe with the commander? She¡¯s not a bad one.¡± Stak immediately glared at Mondai. ¡°Not a bad one ooooooooh nice man are you? SIXTEEN and she¡¯s already made it to being an officer. SIXTEEN. One of those fucking children that the older ranks of the Avisen that they ran away with and now they feel really fucking bad so they give them lots and lots of nice shit. Nice shit that WE don¡¯t get.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°I just arrived two weeks before this shit, man, gimme a break¡­¡± Mondai¡¯s voice trailed off as he applied some herbs to a soldier¡¯s wound. ¡°Gotta say though, these guys are crazy. Surviving like two days straight under rubble.¡± ¡°Yeah, they won¡¯t be alive too long if you keep talking. Gimme that herb for a bit.¡± Taking the ointment from Mondai, Stak then ran it across the slash pierced into the man¡¯s chest. Mondai stuck glue to the corner of the bandage before slowly pushing it across the man¡¯s wound, remarking, ¡°You¡¯re going to be alright.¡± Stak leaned in and whispered, ¡°Why? You don¡¯t say that.¡± ¡°What? Why the hell not?¡± ¡°Two out of three times he¡¯d be dead within the week. Don¡¯t give him false hope.¡± ¡°Poik!¡± A woman¡¯s voice hollered from their back. Stak briefly glanced over to see the blue-skinned Miru, sweat running down her face, talking to Poik. He groused. ¡°How many casualties do we have total? No estimations at this point, I want a good number.¡± ¡°143¡­ injuries, 71 severe. Approximately 32 dead, we¡¯re still pulling more people out of the rubble.¡± ¡°Slaves?¡± ¡°Seems like most of them were taken with the explosion. Nobody¡¯s giving me enough numbers but I could count the surviving ones on four hands.¡± ¡°Dammit. And it seemed so convenient to put them in the lower floors then¡­¡± Her voice trailed off. ¡°How fast could the non-severe injures get back to service?¡± ¡°At least a week.¡± ¡°Five days. I trust you to be able to do it.¡± She stopped, before turning around and remarking, ¡°Also, I want a full report at the end of the day. If all goes well we can return to normal lights-out by tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± She turned around and sprinted off. She dodged soldiers and supplies as she stumbled her way over through the corridors, black lines running under her eyes. Leaping over two planks she clicked her way up the stairs and up into the raging blizzard above the base. Dozens of men rushed about, screaming coordinates while trudging through thinned snow uneven and footstep-pocked. The cold brushed against her skin while she pushed her way into the main tent; a large table placed in the middle with a large map on scrawled across the tabletop. Soldiers clamoured through the crowd, before Miru shouted, ¡°Oy! What happened to organisation?!¡± The crowd barely turned around. Miru groaned, before floating up a compass and swacking it against someone¡¯s face. ¡°OY!¡± She screamed, pushing aside men and then pointing at the man on the furthest left, ¡°Supply information from the rear?¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± ¡°All of your soldiers go to you, right?¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± ¡°WHY are they all here?¡± ¡°Overloaded, ma¡¯am!¡± She sighed again. ¡°That¡¯s fine, but we need better organisation. Assign one person to give me emergency, immediate details. That goes for all of you! All of you, otherwise, get back to your posts!¡± The crowd quickly dissipated, with a few others remaining and going up to Miru, Kari, Salim and the three other compilationsmen in the room. A banner hung by the great large map hanging on the side, with little labels marked all over; the commotion flying across the largely empty room with otherwise just the table, some insignia and some chairs. ¡°Kari, have we gotten a report from the Fourth Army yet?¡± ¡°Not in twelve hours, no, that¡¯s - I believe - four hours past now.¡± ¡°Keep watching. Salim!¡± ¡°Already ready, commander. Third Dragons called in, they¡¯re saying they¡¯re getting torn up. Reinforcements need to come fast.¡± ¡°Relay to command without delay. What do we have on the overall situation? C-men report.¡± One woman, and two men, made up the entire base¡¯s staff of surviving compilationmen. With a few charts in hand and moving around some markers on the grand map of Otisk laid out before them, the three stood ready as Miru leaned over on the map, taking a deep breath. ¡°Now, please.¡± ¡°Yes. Commander, if you¡¯d turn your attention to here¡­¡±
¡°Commander.¡± ¡°...what the hell are you doing here, Hen?¡± Miru remarked, peering into the room. ¡°You were absent.¡± ¡°I just popped in for inspections.¡± ¡°You smell of booze. Don¡¯t lie.¡± Kari pointed to his sleeve, ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s an alcohol stain.¡± ¡°Fuck you, woman!¡± He laughed as he waltzed away, marching off down the corridor; leaving the door to the officers¡¯ lounge open. The haughty giggling Miru and Kari could both hear led to Miru rolling her eyes as she slowly shuffled into the room, collapsing on the back of her seat. ¡°Why did you put him on Protection? Honestly, Miru, I¡­¡± ¡°Officers only can be put in charge of divisions. It¡¯s one of the rules that Sir Sekyo applied.¡± She paused, staring at the half-filled mug on the table. ¡°I can¡¯t defy it even if I wish.¡± ¡°But you could have promoted someone else to be an officer.¡± ¡°As much as I love the Xiojinkan, you know as well as I do that women aren¡¯t authorised to give full promotions.¡± ¡°Yeesh, I don¡¯t even give a shit about the Imperial Court anymore.¡± Kari remarked as she laid back in the thick chair. ¡°It¡¯s hokey.¡± ¡°Foul mouth for someone who just recently was informing me how to be a woman¡­¡± Miru chuckled, picking up her usual cup and slouching over towards the barrel. ¡°What changed?¡± ¡°You did.¡± Miru stopped, slowly turning around, the blush on her face mild but noticeable. ¡°Honestly speaking, I¡¯m surprised I believed in any of that to begin with. You¡¯re a good leader - to an extent.¡± She grinned, glancing away for a second. ¡°Not so much with that - utter shite - around here.¡± ¡°All I can say for Hen is that he¡¯s convincing enough to pass the basic requirements for his job. I¡¯d pass off actual defence to Salim and myself.¡± Miru paused, sipping from the cup. ¡°Don¡¯t tell him that, his ego is easy to decimate.¡± ¡°What happened to respecting your soldiers?¡± Kari laughed, slowly getting up to walk to the barrel. ¡°Soldiers? He¡¯s a transferee that higher command brought in on me. He¡¯s the one decision they¡¯ve made that I severely question.¡± Miru downed the entire cup at one go, heaving a sigh of relief before standing right back up and marching right towards the barrel once more. ¡°Thank the lord the other officers are gone... ...I haven¡¯t drank this heavily since getting rejected from dragonriders¡¯ class.¡± Kari raised her eyebrows. ¡°You tried dragonriding?¡± ¡°At the time.¡± ¡°Honest question, Miru; why are you so in on this?¡± Kari paused as the slow sound of liquid stacking up continued in the background. ¡°Why do you love being in the Xiojinkan so much? Especially here of all places?¡± ¡°Been here my whole life, Kari.¡¯ She smiled, the water spilling into her cup. ¡°It¡¯s the only place I know, and the only place I¡¯d want to know. What would a warrior do in a city? Especially a woman?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Seriously. I don¡¯t know why they gave me a chance. But they did. And I¡¯ll take that chance and honour it as best I can for my entire life.¡± Kari took a sip from her cup as she peered over at Miru, downing another mug of alcohol; the smell penetrating the entire room. She pinched her nose, before chuckling to herself and sitting down on the chair; taking another sip. ¡°Well¡­ time to go.¡± Miru stood up. ¡°They aren¡¯t gonna manage themselves - did you get enough?¡± ¡°Are you kidding me?¡± Kari stared at Miru with wide eyes. Miru glared at her for a moment, before breaking into a laugh. ¡°No - you¡¯ve got another ten minutes, let¡¯s drink down another few glasses.¡± She sat down, and picked up the cup once again. The Resistance [Shirin] ¡°Alright, you¡¯re fine here?¡± ¡°...sis, I think I know as well as anyone else how to shower.¡± Rie chuckled to herself, nodding to her sister before vanishing behind the sliding door. The light going out, Shirin pressed her ear against the wooden door for a moment before leaping to her feet; sprinting down the corridor. ¡°Ma¡¯am! Please don¡¯t run in the hallways!¡± A woman at the front desk, noting down two entries on a large board, screamed at her. ¡°My mistake! Sorry!¡± She replied as her feet stepped out onto the stone pavement; the bright sun outside blazing a great strong gaze upon the land below. The streets of the town markedly packed, the large one-storey homes lining the pavement with several roofed stores at the single intersection along the two-road settlement; she raced along through the few people walking through. The homes remained brown, disused; the light green tiling and angel-white walls tapering away to reveal interlocking wooden plankettes. Doors remained open, tracks leading out of windows and smashed window patterns lying swept against the foot of homes. As she ran by old yellow banners could be clearly seen stashed within little piles of trash against the abandoned houses. Stare. She blinked for a moment; but the stares seemed omnipotent. The burnt part of her left face appeared a bright red, the lines running across it uncaring for the impact of their existence. Her yellow hair on one end remained completely intact, the other with the lock ahead of her ear completely burnt off. Stare. Shirin stopped. She looked around and saw two men passing by, staring at her. ...at her wound. She rolled her eyes, remarking, ¡°Oy! What you staring at, the one who¡¯s gonna beat you to high hell and back?¡± ¡°No, uh - I-¡± ¡°You stay the hell away from me and nobody gets hurt.¡± She muttered, walking off. The stone underneath her cracking up and slowly transitioning to gravel and dirt; she saw the small sign at the town¡¯s border, marked ¡®Rewon¡¯. Underneath its name two inscriptions lay in conflict - ¡®A proud city¡¯ and a poor scrawling on the corner ¡®for the Empire¡¯. The line of houses did not end ahead of her. It continued on through the entire valley, the vast field of dark green arising from ruins. The mountains behind her rose into the sky like some kind of imposition. She glanced back for a moment before turning back to face the trees. Thick enough that ferns grew on the old porches of homes she scratched her head at the site before her; taking out a small map from her waist-pocket. She¡¯d adopted a rugged brown sleeveless shirt with pouches all along the belt running across her waistline; the skirt underneath only about as long as her thighs crucially far enough from a long leather sheathe on her lower leg. ¡°Right¡­¡± Parchment rankled in her hands while she cross-referenced between the map and the environment around her; stepping out of the way for a wave of grey that passed by her - a slave caravan. As the torrents of chained men and women crossed by her she slowly grimaced, the small sacks in their hands for money flimsy and unfilled. While the caravan continued on she put down the map for a moment and shoved a few coins into one of their bags, nodding before turning around and picking it back up once more. The woman holding that bag glanced back for a moment as the caravan continued away. Touching the tip of her tongue and pressing the saliva onto the corner of the brown piece. It turned black instantly. ¡°Hang on. This¡­ this is a map from before Rewon was abandoned¡­¡± Her voice trailed off. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then let¡¯s just¡­¡± She pulled out a pen before crossing out various large buildings marked on the parchment, the isometric drawing obscuring many major roads and instead overemphasising great structures now obscured by a sea of pine trees. Shirin stood up on the gravel path, peering back at the slaves in the distance before wincing just for a moment. She turned forward to the forest and trotted down the path, winding along the flattest terrain; a towering stack of roofs tilted in the distance, amidst the ruins scattered everywhere. Pulling out a smaller piece of parchment, flimsy and crumpled, her eyes darted across the concise top-down map. Blink. An inlet on the corner of the road she¡¯d arrived at. ¡°Cave¡­ there shouldn¡¯t be a cave anymore.¡± She muttered, briefly peering through the ruins and abandoned homes to see nothing except thick vegetation. ¡°...but that¡¯s way too suspicious. It isn¡¯t that thick anywhere else.¡± She turned to her left and right, observing no one before escaping into the small alleyway between the two stone buildings, moss collecting all over the rubble as she moved under a collapsed plank to see a pile amidst the vegetation. Old banners, flags¡­ books. Charred fabric and stone decomposing in the green. ¡°Alright. Should be this, just gotta find an inlet somewhere - probably underneath the larger rocks¡­¡± Her voice trailed off as she stood up and placed her hand against her chin. ¡°No. Why? Why this place? Nobody¡¯d choose this - STAR!¡± Ruffle. The grass - she turned, and saw a figure in the bush. ¡°Star,¡± She repeated, ¡°And seriously, the Avisen ain¡¯t trotting around with a woman whose face looks like this.¡± ¡°Sound logic, but uh- anything¡¯s possible!¡± The distant man¡¯s voice shouted. ¡°Marauder!¡± ¡°Countersign over!¡± She remarked. A brief pause ensued. ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there, take the straight route out the next bend and we¡¯ll meet you there!¡± The bush rattled once more, the sound of dirt being trampled slowly getting softer. ¡°Don¡¯t bring anyone else!¡±
¡°You Kodai?¡± The scarred woman with short, chin-long hair that met her stared at her wound as well, both yellow-haired women exchanging glances. ¡°Honest to god you are apparently everything we¡¯d expect out of someone suddenly asking to use the trail.¡±Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°She a scholar, an abolitionist, and one helluva detective, apparently.¡± The blue-skinned man with a small moustache and shaved hair next to her remarked. ¡°How¡¯s the wound? Never answered my first question.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. Stings like hell but nothing serious.¡± Shirin stopped. ¡°Now, where are we headed?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get you on a baseline first.¡± The man remarked before tapping on Shirin¡¯s shoulder, staring at her square in the eyes. ¡°I¡¯m Sho. She¡¯s Yanna, and let¡¯s face things: you understand that if you wanna use our services you gotta be trustworthy ¡®nough to join on.¡± Shirin grimaced. ¡°That¡¯s not the doctrine I remember.¡± ¡°Ever since that declaration, nothing people remember¡¯s worth a damn.¡± Yanna uttered, crossing her arms. ¡°You and I need to band together if it means we survive this crisis and we ride out the storm together. If we¡¯re fighting for everyone in Kura, that means we need everyone in Kura.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like you do have that,¡± Shirin remarked, looking around them in the trees. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you have maybe two or three people hidden around inside the vegetation waiting to pounce on me in case I suddenly try to off you. Don¡¯t. Think. About. It.¡± The two remained silent for a moment. ¡°...I like this one,¡± Sho grinned. ¡°I like ya. Got the fire in your eyes, not too sure where your allegiances be lying though?¡± ¡°My allegiances as far as you lot are concerned? Don¡¯t fuck me. Don¡¯t fuck my sister. And I won¡¯t fuck over you.¡± She shrugged, glancing over at the plain-clothed people standing in front of her with a thin chainmail vest cloaked over their bodies and several pouches on their belts. ¡°But I suppose you folks would know that.¡± ¡°Damn, you abolitionist types are insufferable¡­¡± Sho muttered, pointing away. ¡°Grant!¡± Three others emerged from the abandoned homes, coming into the centre of the battered road and greeting them; as they cautiously approached, Shirin shouted, ¡°C¡¯mon! My sis doesn¡¯t have all day!¡± ¡°Your sister? You a naka-¡± ¡°Fuck. Off.¡± She stopped, before grousing, ¡°I¡¯m not participating in none of your prayers and your bullshit, no matter how religious you resistance lot are.¡± Yanna looked down on the ground while Sho rolled his eyes. ¡°She got a point. We do need to get moving.¡± He stopped, before pointing at the cave to the left. ¡°Temporary shelter as we discuss how we¡¯re getting the Akari across the border.¡± Shirin nodded. ¡°Sounds good to me, let¡¯s get this done quickly.¡± The group of soldiers surrounded her as they entered a small tunnel in the side of the mountain; stone bricks covering the entrance crumbling away with moss covering the plaque inscribed at the top. The bright lights of the afternoon sun vanished into a thick darkness, choked with dust. Sho flickered a light from his hand, waving to one of the soldiers. ¡°Check the other end.¡± "You don''t have an oil lamp." Shirin remarked. "Why wouldn''t you have an oil lamp? I thought the resistance was hardcore on this?" "That''s how it is around here nowadays, nobody be drilling for the black stuff, nobody be getting the black stuff." The wrinkled man muttered under his breath. "It''s all nikov-powered lanterns these days, as much as I hate the fucking smell." "I can tell. And no weapons, either? The hell''s that you''re using?" She demanded, pointing at the crossbow one of the soldiers held in hand; arrow-holders strapped on his back. "That ain''t got the range or the maneuvrability that the old guided arrows did." "It''s the least worst option, a crossbow." He remarked. "Plus, always hits at beyond fifty metres. Does the job we need. Besides, all the Xiojinkan and Avisen we kill are hoarding them. Could use a hand-cannon but honestly nobody''s skilled enough anymore to handle the recoil. Not since all the scholars ran across the border into Senai." "Hoarding them? Figured that they''d hate it of all people." "You''d think, but it''s a matter of pulling, racking, and dropping a new one in. Fuckers can even use lead-tipped arrows, so they''re still as deadly as ever despite bringing out worse and worse troops by the year." Shirin scoffed for a moment. ¡°You¡¯re on the ropes, aren¡¯t you? Don¡¯t even sound like a resistance member.¡± Yanna tilted her head, pressing on the scar running down her right eye. ¡°What makes you think that?¡± ¡°Old resistance - abolitionists. As far as I know none of them were up for slaves in any capacity.¡± ¡°When those Hiryu bastards are out we¡¯re going to need a plan for what happens after. Slaves make up the work,¡± He paused to take a drink from his canteen. ¡°And I don¡¯t want to hear no high-faultin¡¯ excuses from you people.¡± ¡°No wonder you guys have failed to get support from Senai forever.¡± She chuckled. ¡°Things were better when you fuckers weren¡¯t the ones we had to work with to take back our homeland. Now look where we stand.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not too sure you were the ones fighting thirty-two years ago when the Avisen came. I¡¯m pretty sure you were the kind of guy to celebrate them arriving, fucking slave-owner.¡± Shirin muttered under her own breath. ¡°Traitor.¡± ¡°Fuck you.¡± Sho insisted, leaning in. ¡°Hey, you two, stop it!¡± Yanna insisted, before looking at Shirin. ¡°We can¡¯t help you if you don¡¯t even respect us on a nominal level, you know? We¡¯ll get your sister to Senai, but we need you in the group.¡± ¡°Of course I¡¯m in, I¡¯m just wondering what the hell comes after with bastards like you!¡± Shirin pointed at Sho, shrugging as she stood up. ¡°My dad fought in the first campaign, my mother was a medic before she joined the church. You weren¡¯t there when they got fucked.¡± Sho groused, leaning over on the wall. ¡°If only you¡¯d also become one of those holy women¡­¡± ¡°Oh, you wanna bet asshole?¡± ¡°SHUT UP!¡± Yanna screamed at them both, slapping Shirin and Sho on the cheeks. ¡°We¡¯re not here to fight. It¡¯s to negotiate. I know you both don¡¯t like whatever the other is saying but we don¡¯t get through this fighting each other. We¡¯ve got bigger fish to fry, right, Kodai?¡± ¡°...can you guarantee her safety? She¡¯s one-legged, using a Kan.¡± ¡°A Kan? Damn, what happened?¡± ¡°We broke out of a prison. Blew the thing to smithereens and then ran off.¡± ¡°A prison? What prison? Any idea?¡± Sho suddenly spoke up, his voice deepening and quickening. ¡°Name was Halbe¡­ somewhere close to the Sai river, give or take a day¡¯s walking. Launch-point for troops, dragon-hangar.¡± Yanna¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Dragon-hangar? Shit, any idea where it is on a map?¡± ¡°Sorry mate. No clue - if you have a few landmarks I might be able to tell.¡± Shirin stopped, before sitting down once again. ¡°How fast can you get her to Senai?¡± ¡°How old?¡± ¡°Two years younger than me.¡± ¡°Blood sisters or no?¡± ¡°As far as I¡¯m concerned, yeah. Blood sisters.¡± Shirin retorted Sho¡¯s question; taking another swig from her canteen. ¡°How¡¯s she at walking and being stealthy? Can she outrun a soldier or no?¡± ¡°She can follow orders hella well. Still adjusting to the Kan though, so I¡¯m going to put it as a no - she can¡¯t outrun a soldier right now.¡± Shirin uttered, glancing out of the tunnel; the old banners stashed against the entrance still visible. ¡°Still, she¡¯s strong.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Yanna remarked, placing her hand against her chin. Silence. The soldier from earlier returned from the darker end of the tunnel and signalled a lack of intelligent activity whatsoever. ¡°...so people do become Akari when they die¡­¡± Sho¡¯s voice trailed off. ¡°That¡¯s actually kinda sad, not gonna lie.¡± Shirin stared at him for a moment before rolling her eyes; sighing, she turned back to Yanna. ¡°Can you get her to safety?¡± Yanna smiled and replied, ¡°Yes we can.¡± ¡°That¡¯s settled then.¡± Shirin bit her lip and leaned in towards Yanna. ¡°I¡¯m in.¡± Gun-for-hire [Wei] 2003 Republic of Singapore Ang Mo Kio ¡°Oy, go home lam gaou!¡± The yell piercing through the air barreled all the way towards the transparent shields at the end of the asphalt road. ¡°Lang kau ngiauh-kh¨¬! Lang kau ngiauh-kh¨¬!¡± The chanting continued. Chattering rain fell upon the people on the road; their shorts and T-shirts drenched in the water descending from the sky. As the great crowd continued to move through the street, cars stopped in the sidewalk and a wall of riot shields greeting them at the mouth of the road; the tall apartment blocks to their left and right standing tall, the protestors swarming through with umbrellas over their heads. The officers stared. One peered over the wall of riot shields, raising a thumbs-up towards the men behind him. ¡°Baseplate, how do we continue, over?¡± He muttered into his radio, the rain battering his helmet as he walked around, staring at the mass of people ahead of him, slightly bewildered. Nothing emerged from his radio as he walked up towards some of the men holding shotguns behind the shieldwall, one very clearly having his finger on the trigger. ¡°Ei, Wang, what the fuck ah? We not going to do anything about these people ah?¡± ¡°What the fuck you want us to do ah, siow za boh want us to kill all of them ah?¡± The muttering travelling throughout the officers continued as the policemen stood firm, their positions remaining static as the crowd continued on. ¡°Lang kau ngiauh-kh¨¬!¡± They declared once more, as a passing Caucasian man and a small news crew followed, the camera focused on the events unfolding ahead of them. ¡°¡®Scuse me ma¡¯am, Australian Broadcasting Corporation.¡± He asked a woman sitting at one of the benches near the protest. ¡°What are they chanting?¡± ¡°Go die, blue dogs. Go die, blue dogs.¡± The woman recited, glancing back at him, nodding away. ¡°Tell you ah, feel like they should focus on the promises broken, not just the popo lah¡­¡± Passing through Ah Seng continued to sweat bullets, the running feeling of water flowing down his face and drenching his suit weighing down on him, the briefcase in his hand dripping wet. He walked up to a makeshift stall on the side of the road with several volunteers covering bags, plastic bags and other containers with plastic sheets. ¡°Oy! You got space for more ah?¡± One of them, still in a school uniform, shouted back, ¡°Yah! Move it ah, we¡¯re already covering all of it!¡± He ran over before slapping a small sticky note on the side, scrawling Tan A-Chen - in suit and tie before passing it to the student. ¡°Ei, Mr. Tan, you don¡¯t need help us here today. We got people in Toa Payoh need a quick ride home at about five p.m, can help ah?¡± ¡°Can, can. Didn¡¯t bring the clothes today though, so get me on the register with that can?¡± ¡°Can! Thank you Mr. Tan!¡± Ah Seng nodded and turned around, vanishing into the crowd. Within seconds one could hear his hoarse, croaking voice also chanting, ¡°Lang kau ngiauh-kh¨¬!¡± The rain only continued on.
2020 Kura Territories Outskirts of Fort Sekyo ¡°Explain your plan to me.¡± ¡°Mercenaries. Basically all I know about this time period in history, although it¡¯s not the same ah¡­ basically, I¡¯m going to be a mercenary. A really efficient and fast mercenary.¡± ¡°And what you¡¯re offerin¡¯ is that if I produce your¡­ ¡®bullets¡¯, don¡¯t tell, you gimme coins.¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct. I wanna survive lah. Get a steady income, I¡¯m not too into the business of trying to survive in the woods for ten years and wait for gahment to come get me.¡± Wei remarked, cleaning out the muzzle of his gun. ¡°You could have just told me this earlier rather than all of that technical bullshit.¡± Enik groused, turning to the large wall of tools behind her for a moment. ¡°You do realise I can¡¯t do this one-man, right?¡± ¡°Of course you can¡¯t. But try to involve as few people as possible.¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°The partnership¡¯s off if you ask that.¡± He pointed, wobbling whilst waving around his gun. ¡°And I¡¯ll kill you if you refuse.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Enik rolled her eyes. ¡°Lots of people have threatened me in my day. Lots of blacksmiths get threatened like that. If we¡¯re gonna have a working relationship, it¡¯s gotta have trust.¡± She stood up and walked through the smoky room, well-lit by two large fires and some candles placed upon lanterns. Strewn across the floor were metal powders; although otherwise the stone ground remained empty, the two anvils and large boxes and tables she walked by, before pulling from one of the boxes a mould. Wei continued to tremble as he held a bullet in his hand. Pulling a small metal plate over her face, she muttered, ¡°You do realise I ain¡¯t got no mould that could produce something with that precision?¡± ¡°Exactly, so I¡¯m going to bring over several innovations from where I come from in the hopes that magic is going to make the difference.¡± He muttered, placing down the gun. ¡°What do you say?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re lying, I¡¯m going to run out of materials to last till the next harvest.¡± She stopped, looking through the moulds all neatly lined up inside the stone container. ¡°You showed me power - now can I trust that power?¡± ¡°You can trust me¡­¡± Wei¡¯s voice trailed off as he scratched his increasingly bushy beard. ¡°...shit. Come on, let¡¯s just work together here.¡± ¡°You just threatened to kill me inside my own workshop after giving you shelter for two straight days. You realise that?¡± Enik muttered under her breath before she took out a small club and wiggled it around. ¡°Around these parts, you have no idea how much I have invested into trying to make this relationship more productive. So, fer the love of the lord, please give me something more useful here than just your useless suggestions.¡± He held his palm against his face and leaned back in his chair. ¡°I¡¯m trying my best here¡­¡± He remarked, groaning under his breath. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Sorry. Can I go over this again?¡± ¡°You¡¯re so convincing¡­¡± She replied, bunching up her shortened hair as she pulled a few coals from the stone container that had been wheeled into the middle of the room, dumping them inside the fire. ¡°...how, how much money did you spend?¡± ¡°About 7 golds, 12 silvers. You got enough from when you threatened the hell out of those gents back at the bar, but you sure you got enough to make this my while?¡± ¡°I have to, y¡¯know. Gotta survive around here ah¡­¡± Wei stopped before scratching his head. ¡°Take the cash you need, I¡¯m going to go get some more money. How the hell do you have people hire you for mercenary work?¡± The sun disappearing behind the hills, Wei turned around and remarked to Enik, ¡°Hey - we got the right place?¡± ¡°...the people who you¡¯d be trying to find wouldn¡¯t exactly host themselves wide in the open would they?¡± She remarked, the wind rushing by carrying a torrent of leaves through the settlement. ¡°Just in case, I¡¯ll be takin¡¯ me leave now. Don¡¯t want nothing screwing up with the kiln¡­¡± Waving, her figure vanished into alleyway as Wei peered up at the three-storey black brick wall; the shadows dark, looming over him like some kind of monster. A cold, bitter breeze fettered through as he continued on through the network of alleyways and passageways and tunnels that merged into the hilly, mountainous terrain. The choking scent of charcoal kicked his nostrils in the moment he unfolded the door and entered the room, giving him a cough with the garish yellow light illuminating the place. Surrounded on all sides by various characters. Not a single woman - but lots of elven men, and some Korun; the three Korun that immediately caught his attention wearing green military uniforms with othala armbands on. The Elven swarming the place all wore some matter of regal clothing - frivolously gold lining and green robes seemingly made fully of cotton. He slowly stumbled through into this mess of people, the othala banner on the wall waving about with the breeze coming in through the windows above. Most of them wore large oversized masks which covered the top parts of their faces; moustaches underneath evident enough - all except him. Wei stared. ¡°What¡¯s with the masks?¡± ¡°The Meet policy. We¡¯re all friends here, as long as you don¡¯t know who the other person is. You a rookie?¡± A man standing behind the counter remarked, waving around a small piece of parchment in his hand. ¡°Maybe. Just want to get some money.¡± He pointed to the left wall. ¡°Board¡¯s over there, active requests down by my side. You gotta sign on if you want to see the board.¡± ¡°Active requests... okay. Anyone wants me to go out and kill a bunch of animals?¡± ¡°Hunting? You a precision shooter?¡± ¡°Whatever. Point is, any of them pay well?¡± ¡°Not tellin¡¯ a rookie that. We have a few small-coin options here,¡± The counterman said as he ran through a list on the wall behind him. ¡°You could take those. You want the big ones, you finish those, and you prove to me you can do ¡®em cleanly. I never entered this business so you bumfucks can get babysit by me.¡± ¡°Right, right¡­ I¡¯ll register. What do I say?¡± He groaned. ¡°Are you prepared for this at all? We got a code, and you need to tell me what you want them to know you as. ...not that you seem to have a problem with that, showin¡¯ up here without a mask.¡± Pulling out a piece of parchment, he then looked up at Wei with drooping, wrinkled eyes. ¡°Codephrase?¡± ¡°Tango.¡± ¡°Countersign?¡± ¡°Go fuck yourself¡­¡± Wei¡¯s voice trailed off as he took a swig from his canteen. ¡°That¡¯s it. Use it.¡± ¡°Whatever pleases you.¡± He scrawled it down on the parchment, the pen bleeding all over the brown piece. ¡°What name?¡± ¡°Eh¡­ Mr. Tombstone.¡± ¡°The fuck¡¯s that name?¡± ¡°Whatever. Can I go get some cash already?¡± ¡°You wanna be so damn impatient you make me think I¡¯m talkin¡¯ to that whore of a wife.¡± He scowled, pulling out the list of active requests and slapping it on Wei¡¯s side of the counter. ¡°Around here, you call me Midas, just for your con-ve-ni-ence.¡± ¡°This one,¡± Wei remarked, pointing at one in the middle. ¡°This works ah?¡± ¡°The hell¡¯s your accent? Otisk?¡± Midas paused for a moment before checking it up. ¡°Just so you know, we will screw you over if you even try to piss on this request. You either finish it or you don¡¯t come back.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll finish, I¡¯ll finish lah¡­¡± Wei muttered, pushing away the list. ¡°I¡¯ll be done with this animal in a day.¡± ¡°A day? You kidding me?¡± ¡°Why, is it that hard to get a clean shot?¡± ¡°Damn straight. Kukry literally whine their asses to death after you fire a single arrow at ¡®em, y¡¯know? God, where the hell are you from that you don¡¯t know basic shit like this?!¡± Wei turned around and inspected his weapon for a moment. ¡°Somewhere just as insane as this.¡± Uncertainty [Miru] At the height of Avisen influence in the Kurai territories 10 YEARS AGO ¡°Oy. Out of the way.¡± The long-eared man remarked, pushing Rais out of the way. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°Damn straight you should be sorry.¡± The elven remarked as he left beyond hearing distance; leaving behind the two korun on the very much open grassland; ample opportunity for him to have simply passed by them without hassle. Jiro stared over, his drooping eyebags further accentuating his narrowed eyes; staring at the rude man. ¡°Some ¡®honorary elven¡¯ we are, apparently.¡± ¡°Eh, I¡¯ll settle for not getting murdered. Ay, it¡¯s starting.¡± *bang* A large red light filled the sky above them before it descended down to earth; the sound of running and trotting kicking up dust at the start of the course. Underneath the blazing sun the grass wilted. The fields of green broken up by long lines of brown and black stacked upon one another, the empty dark chocolate running across the field trampled upon by dozens and dozens of boys, all sprinting over various wooden obstacles and getting across artificial ditches with magic. The pit ahead of them crowded half a dozen on one side, all jabbing one another, pushing and shoving. The logs lying at the bottom of the pit all rolled and flew up once in a while as the trainees jostled for control of them; one of the long-eared boys fell in, dropping a full metre onto splinters and rocks. The youths scrambled to get across as more and more of them fell down; the vast majority of the participants Elven boys. One or two Korun, yes, yet it seemed a sea of peach skin and yellow hair. Another blue flash broke through the crowd, pulling one of the logs away before she sprinted across the wobbling floater to the other side. Miru continued to sprint towards the end of the course; dictating the wind as she went. ¡°Lookit her go¡­¡± Jiro remarked, his wrinkled finger pointing towards the muddy training run. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen someone like that in a while.¡± ¡°No kidding. How long¡¯s it been since the old Republic, twenty, thirty... damn.¡± Rais, his blue-skinned colleague noted with trembling hands, long metal prods running across his arms to keep them stable, ¡°That girl¡¯s what you brought me out here for?¡± ¡°Yeah. Crazy, innit? Kon brought her in few years back, thought she was a boy. Couldn¡¯t bear to see one of our own get murdered, so I pulled a few strings and kept her in.¡± He groused, his wrinkles making his half-closed eyes even droopier as he fiddled with the conical bronze contraption in his hand. ¡°-got another pipe? Mine¡¯s broke¡­¡± ¡°Yep. Here you go.¡± Both of them Korun, they watched the course from the sidelines, with their othala armbands kept in their pockets. ¡°Nice girl, but she¡¯s absolutely screwed if she thinks she¡¯s going to get anywhere in this army - best case scenario I¡¯m giving her is if she gets directed to the secretaries¡¯ department.¡± Lighting up a pipe, Jiro chuckled. ¡°Not if we interfere.¡± He slotted it in his lips, letting out one great big puff; the muffled noise emerging from his mouth a mutter of ¡°Damn, this is good¡­¡± ¡°I want another Korun alive as much as you do, but I¡¯m not risking my skin to save one girl.¡± Rais remarked, crossing his arms while peering into the pipe Jiro had given him, his eye narrowing as he scrutinised the smashed internal components. ¡°I¡¯ve a wife and kids to go back to.¡± Jiro laughed. ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong. That girl, can save us.¡± ¡°When did you become religious?¡± Rais stalled, shifting slightly; ¡°Also, how did you smash the core bit of the exhaler¡­?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not what you think. Look, you know how all those fucking Hiryu bastards have an obsession with ¡®the traditional family¡¯?¡± ¡°Could get an answer on that last one as well¡­¡± Rais groaned, rolling his eyes as he turned towards Jiro, tapping his foot on the dirt. ¡°Go on?¡± ¡°That girl is running the gauntlet faster than literally anyone else here. And she¡¯s a girl. Imagine how much they¡¯d hate it if a girl - a Korun girl at that - beats the hell out of their other recruits.¡± Rais scoffed. ¡°They¡¯d just kill her and be done with it.¡± ¡°Not Sekyo. He¡¯s got too fat a head to allow it to happen. All that, ¡®honour¡¯ and shite, y¡¯know?¡± Jiro laughed, watching the recruits ahead of him slowly crawl out of the pit and run over. The walls and fireballs ahead of them continued to stand tall, ready to trip them all up. ¡°Plus, she¡¯s one of those orphan soldiers. Nobody for us to answer to, we can work her to the bloody limit.¡± ¡°Then what?¡± Rais turned to face Jiro, eyes narrowed, arms crossed; unimpressed. Jiro shook his head before grabbing Rais by both of the shoulders and leaning in. ¡°Then they¡¯ll have to talk to us. Not give us some shitty orders and tell us that we have to do it to be ¡®honorary elven¡¯. I want them to listen when we tell them that harvests can¡¯t be forced, or that their current ¡®coins¡¯ thing is nonsense, or when I¡¯m gone, my son and daughter can talk to them. Speak to them. Even lecture them without ¡®em getting angry.¡± Only the sound of the trainees running and scrambling across their course could be heard. Rais ¡°Ever the politician, aye?¡± ¡°Still want slavery gone.¡± He snickered, blowing a plume of smoke out of the pipe; his wrinkles only growing on him. ¡°Even if they brought back the Republic tomorrow that blot is still going to be there.¡± Rais furrowed his brow, sitting on the grass as the trainees at the front end of the course thinned out in number. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯re gonna see anything you want before we become fertiliser.¡±Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Jiro sighed. ¡°If not for us, then the kids tomorrow. Nothing lasts forever¡­¡±
NOW NORO ADVANCE BASE & PRISON Creeping. The isolation slowly caught up to her; the blank grey walls eerily detailed that morning. Miru gulped down the contents of her canteen as the borders of the room seemingly closed in; her reddened eyes blinking and closing for stretches as she struggled to put another word down on parchment. *thump* She jolted. What the hell is that noise? She thought, slowly reaching into a pocket underneath her trenchcoat, her hand beginning to touch the little dagger she kept at all times. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± *thump* She wasn¡¯t sure what was louder - the beating of her heart drumming along like some kind of rattle or the noises from outside. They found out? Her mind raced. *thump* ¡°Oy!¡± She shouted, her hand fully wrapped around the dagger¡¯s grip. *chak* ¡°Hey, Second Lieutenant, the door¡¯s looked¡­¡± The nondescript voice immediately let her sigh. She let go of the dagger before walking up to the door, calmly releasing the emblem lock and sliding the door to the side. The soldier that greeted her eyes let her fists relax; whilst she heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Ma¡¯am, the reports this morning.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Miru weakly nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll take them. Anything else?¡± ¡°Nothing, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°I see. Uh, do whatever you need to do after this.¡± She remarked, taking the parchment from the soldier before waving him off with a salute. She slowly limped back to her desk as she looked up. ¡°...what am I supposed to do¡­¡± They know. Those two words repeated through her head as she paced around the room, staring up at the topographic map to which contours and so many other lines were drawn; glancing towards the parchments left on her table. Her eyes darted from object to object, eventually focusing on the crack in the wall. The trembling didn¡¯t stop as the door opened again, this time with three people at the door: Kari, Salim and Poik. ¡°Ah.¡± ¡°Reporting, ma¡¯am.¡± Poik said, bowing briefly as the three entered the room one by one; Kari last. ¡°Yes, yes¡­ sorry for not going to check with you myself, sorting out all the lost parchments and documents everywhere.¡± Miru commented, the water running down her face. She still kept the long, thick trenchcoat draped over her body on whilst the others stood in front of her desk. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s¡­ let¡¯s get started.¡± ¡°...shouldn¡¯t you take off your trenchcoat?¡± Kari questioned, hands clapsed together with two pieces of parchment in hand. Miru wearily shook her head. ¡°No. No, I don¡¯t think I need to.¡± The baking heat of the room drew sweat from every person within it, the two flags behind the desk having been taken down and kept inside a small ice box to prevent damage. The walls, carved into the stone of a mountain millenia in the making, continued to flake off thin layers of dye, revealing unvarnished and jittery rocks behind. Four people stood in the room, better described as human-shaped ice cubes; all standing still while watching Miru slowly glance around at the lot. There were supposed to be five people. ¡°...did Hen run off again?¡± ¡°He said he¡¯s doing his duty, ma¡¯am, and uh, he refused to come.¡± Poik remarked, staring down at the ground as he flipped through the two pieces of parchment on hand. ¡°Should I make my report first?¡± ¡°No, you¡­ drag him back here, immediately.¡± Miru waved him off, before collapsing further back into his seat as Poik scurried out of the room, leaving just Miru, Salim and Kari, the last of which quietly went to go close the door silently. ¡°In the meantime, you two, can you do your respective reports? Or did you consolidate it?¡± Salim stepped up, the two crosses on his cheeks belying his fresh-faced demeanor. ¡°Two reports, ma¡¯am. Separate jurisdictions.¡± ¡°It¡¯s in your court then. Tell me everything as summarised as you can, I¡¯m going to be helping out with the reconstruction in a half hour or so.¡± Miru stopped, nodding to the two. Salim looked at Kari and raised his thumb, gesturing to ask her if she¡¯d do it first; Kari shook her head and pointed back at him. ¡°Well then. Everything¡¯s breaking down, ma¡¯am. We have, uh¡­ may I use this map?¡± Miru shrugged. ¡°Why¡¯re you asking me permission for that? Go ahead.¡± Salim placed the map on the desk, featuring a top-down view of the overall prison; large bits of it denoted with crossed-out and scratched-out hallways and rooms. ¡°So, if you¡¯ll see here, towards the signal lights¡­ I do recall we said we could salvage them. We did. Most of them are back to being operational, but we actually don¡¯t have enough men left to man them.¡± ¡°Not enough? What¡¯s the current operation you¡¯re considering?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the old way, ma¡¯am. I tried to get some guys on protection detail to shift over here and start running between signal lights every hour¡­ didn¡¯t work.¡± ¡°Can we operate half-detail? Have only half of them manned? I recall you had more than enough men right after the headcount, did they all catch illness?¡± ¡°We assumed it was the flu. Took out a dozen guys with chest wounds, and that was already a third - a lot more are currently on medical, out of action.¡± ¡°...fuck.¡± She grasped her face with her hand. ¡°What solutions do we have to keep operating on even a nominal basis?¡± Salim shifted for a moment, and hung his head in shame. ¡°...can¡¯t believe I¡¯m saying this, but at this rate we¡¯re going to need to stop performing night communications just to be able to keep it all running.¡± ¡°Grab every single person you can from the protection detail that was trained on comms and report back to me by the end of the day.¡± The immediate answer left her mouth like instinct as she waved him off, Salim saluting and sprinting off. ¡°...thank the lord he¡¯s in charge there with you¡­ Kari, let¡¯s get this done?¡± Kari remained silent, before leaning in and whispering, ¡°...demote Hen and put him in a cell.¡± Miru hung her head and groaned, ¡°No. Please, just¡­ just gimme your report, I¡­¡± ¡°Why are you even wearing your trenchcoat here? And what¡¯s inside it that you keep clutching?¡± ¡°-what?¡± ¡°Your hand. It¡¯s been in there the entire time.¡± Kari pointed, and Miru only now realised her left hand still lay rooted on the dagger¡¯s grip, the ironclad link between the two things atrociously strong. ¡°...ah. Sorry¡­¡± Miru muttered, then placed both of her hands on the desktop. ¡°So, let¡¯s just get back to business¡­¡± Kari winced and leaned in, hands rooted on the table. ¡°You can explain to the higher-ups later, I¡¯m sure Sir Sekyo¡¯d be fine with it.¡± She stood up. ¡°I¡¯m not going to break the code just to get rid of one infinitesimally annoying subordinate that¡¯ll be gone the moment this campaign is over. The amount of insubordination and I still need higher approval for this¡­¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ it¡¯s stupid, and you look like you¡¯ve aged a thousand years because of it. This is me telling you this completely honestly: get a rest.¡± ¡°I - I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m fine. Just gimme the report.¡± ¡°Bu-¡± Miru slammed her hand down on the desk, the stubby legs of the structure shaking. ¡°No buts. Please. Just the report.¡± Kari gave a rather sad expression - almost as if she was watching someone collapse in front of her eyes - before nodding. ¡°Yes. ...ma¡¯am.¡± Breaking Visions [Shirin] The dimmed lights loomed over them like a kind of shroud, a few flies swarming the torch placed in the corner of the room. The wooden planks that made up the walls filtered into the grassy, overly dense vegetation surrounding them; an endless sea of green broken up by metal glinting. ¡°You¡¯re fucking kidding me.¡± The quartermaster said, staring down at the two girls in front of him. The widened eyes and his contracted irises only added to the conversely angry look on Shirin¡¯s face; Rie standing there, quietly trembling. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, motherfucker, ain¡¯t seen an Akari before?¡± ¡°Naw. Just hopin¡¯ they wouldn¡¯t assign more of them to my fuckin¡¯ division of all places.¡± He groused. ¡°I ain¡¯t passing it shit.¡± ¡°She¡¯s my sister.¡± ¡°It used to be what washed my bum.¡± He chuckled, nonchalantly reaching down into the small cabinet inside the tight shelves of broken swords and spears; his long ears wiggling about, large as they were. Rie clutched her chest, both sisters wearing the same drab blue polo uniforms with shirt pockets and outward light chainmail plating, before Shirin opened her mouth. ¡°We¡¯re taking auxiliary, so¡­ if you would, two daggers and bows, please.¡± Rie¡¯s voice, not Shirin¡¯s voice; Shirin glanced over so very briefly at her sister for a moment. Both of them were roughly the same height, if one looked at it properly; the difference possibly five or six centimetres at most. Perhaps it had been her hesitance to assert all along that gave the illusion of shortness. The left end of Shirin¡¯s face was partially covered with a large bandage, but mostly covered in a flat brown plaster taped down on her skin with plant-based glue; the red streaks emerging regardless moving ever so slightly as she said, ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°The hell? I¡¯m taking orders from a slave now?¡± The quartermaster turned around and stamped on the table. ¡°Now, gotta say to you, lady, bless that hideous thing on your face, but if you think I¡¯m listenin¡¯ to a blackie you are out of your mi-¡± ¡°Two daggers. Two bows. Now.¡± Shirin cut him off, glaring at him. ¡°I didn¡¯t join this group just to see her get insulted by a bunch of fucking loonies.¡± ¡°Hey, you¡¯re the fuckin¡¯ loonie if you think that blackie¡¯s your fucking sister.¡± A passing elven woman commented, a pasty smile plastered across her face as well. ¡°They fucking lost us the fucking war.¡± ¡°Strange, I frankly remember the cause of you fellows losing the war to be slavers like you lot handing over the convention government over to the Avisen because they promised you land, but what the fuck do I know compared to you lot?¡± Shirin spoke faster and faster as she leaned in towards the quartermaster. ¡°NOW.¡± ¡°Hey, no need to get all pissy about it.¡± He muttered, looking around. ¡°How was your grade on the training run?¡± ¡°I got third degree, she was second.¡± ¡°High performers now are we?¡± Shirin groaned. ¡°Whatever. What do I call ya?¡± Pulling out a bow from one of the racks, he called back, ¡°Go by Merke, around these parts. You?¡± ¡°Kodai. She¡¯s Jo.¡± ¡°¡®Bravery¡¯ in Uptansta? You sure you wanna give such a good name to it?¡± ¡°Her.¡± ¡°Fuck, bitch, you gonna be so uptight about it, alright! ¡®Her¡¯.¡± Merke grimaced, placing a worn brown bow on the table between them. Its grip tapering off with a small bandage wrapped around it in place of an actual leather handle, the ends bending and the string a bit loose, Shirin eyed it with nothing good to say. ¡°This¡¯ll settle? Could haul out one of the crossbows, only second degree up gets to use the fast-loaders.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°I¡¯ll take a traditional crossbow.¡± ¡°Um¡­ I¡¯ll take that bow.¡± Rie uttered, reaching out to take the weapon lying on the table ever so slowly; then grabbing it and taking it for herself. Merke, his youthful face marred with a single scar running down his cheek, groaned as she did; the little necklace hanging on flinging about a little arrowhead. ¡°Well. Old crossbow, aye? Gimme a sec, just gonna check if I have anything around here¡­¡± Merke remarked, disappearing behind the wall to look. Shirin patted Rie on the back, nodding at her briefly; the moist, wet environment surrounding them battered with the pitter-patter of rain. The cool breeze that blew through the tarps in the mess of bushes and ferns rankled against Rie¡¯s neck, the same arrowhead necklace visible on her own chest. ¡°Here ya go.¡± The crossbow. With blocky components locking each other in place and carvings allowing for a network of strings and hooks to pass it through, the wood still glistened slightly from a recent waxing; the othala etched into it scratched out and replaced with a small wolf. Shirin picked it up, finger on the trigger until Merke shook his head and had her stop it. ¡°I think this¡¯ll do. Thanks.¡± ¡°You sure you¡¯re going to be going out with that burn on your face? It makes you look like a fucking monster.¡± ¡°You¡¯re making me wear a uniform. You want them to identify us. Psychological torture, right? I¡¯m big on that.¡± She turned around, Rie following. ¡°I¡¯m going to scare the living shit out of them.¡± Her words were deafened quickly by the rain, but even through the crowded base Merke stalled, popping a pipe into his mouth as he stared after the two sisters who had just come by.
¡°Sis.¡± Rie said, pressing her fingers together as the two sat in the corner of the base, the roof not sheltering them as raindrops fell upon them from above, the bush brushing by her face smelling of fungi. Shirin, fiddling with her crossbow, only gave a ¡°Mm?¡± ¡°Let me talk for myself¡­ please.¡± Shirin stopped. A bird¡¯s chirping could be heard. Shirin twirled her mustard-yellow hair, looking away. ¡°They won¡¯t accept you.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Rie drooped her head. ¡°They¡¯d hand you off in a battle if it meant their lives got out fine.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Her voice turned softer. ¡°Why? Why¡¯d you choose to stay here and fight with me? You could¡¯ve been well on your way, on the path to a job with some amount of security where you¡¯re not going to be murdered for who you are.¡± ¡°It¡¯s - it¡¯s not relevant to the topic at hand-¡± Shirin turned to face Rie, a solemn look on her face. ¡°But it is, isn¡¯t it? Remember what I said? What you and I agreed all those years ago? You get hurt, it¡¯s on me. They won¡¯t listen, they¡¯ll charge you off into a suicide battle and then run off and-¡± ¡°Why doesn¡¯t it go both ways?¡± Drip. Drip. Drip. Silence. The water accumulating, filling up. Drip. Drip. Drip. ¡°Sis¡­?¡± Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. Rie poked her sister on the shoulder, bringing her glazed-over eyes back to reality. A gust of wind blew between them, as Shirin slowly uttered, ¡°It doesn¡¯t?¡± Rie stared at her sister, wide-eyed. ¡°It doesn¡¯t¡­ it hasn¡¯t. Not in a long time. Not since we were in Kurasho¡­ ...and we don¡¯t even know if anyone from there is still around¡­¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°And¡­ and you never let me speak for myself in front of others, it¡¯s always you, and¡­ I¡¯m sorry that I didn¡¯t say this earlier, that I didn¡¯t step up, and¡­¡± Shirin took another quick glance at Rie. Her mouth lay open, but her lips remained unmoving. ¡°I wanna stand for myself. For both of us. I want it to go both ways.¡± Rie finished, looking at Shirin, staring up towards where her eyes were supposed to be; but Shirin¡¯s face was staring elsewhere, the ground apparently more preferable than looking her sister in the eyes. ¡°Please?¡± Down the Middle - [Shirin] 20 YEARS AGO The town plaza gleamed in the morning night, the sun¡¯s rays turning the small gilded homes into beacons of orange; the shadows cast upon figures running through the layered streets, stacked on top of each other along the terrace walls like some drastically detailed cake. The bushes flailed in the wind, the stone pavement a sprinkling of gravel and rock; the light coating of snow upon the homes falling off as the single lone lights-on building in the centre attracted a crowd like moths to a fire. Red, with a wooden exterior that covered the outermost walls; lanterns on the outside for the perusal of the average villager. The glazed windows stayed shuttered as the commotion followed the korun man carrying a sack of heifers out. The other villagers moved in on him, eyeing the produce in his hands. ¡°Oy, stop, stop! This is the last sack I can sell, after that I¡¯m closing, I¡¯m closing!¡± ¡°You can¡¯t do that!¡± ¡°Fuck you I can¡¯t do that! I¡¯m running a loss here, get the fuck away!¡± He screamed, jabbing another two elven out of the way. Screaming. Screaming everywhere. Chaos, even, as two of the villagers smashed the window and pried their eyes inside to check for food, the store-owner turning around with wide eyes and sprinting at them. Amidst it all a tiny little girl found herself brushing up against trousers and blouses, her ears flicked away by a dozen people. Shirin balked. A world of adults surrounded her, the frantic noise piercing her ears. She quietly made her way through the crowd, bumping up against someone here and someone there; she wasn¡¯t tall enough to see who. She pouted, squirming through the mess, biting her lip as she finally pushed her way out, ejected from the crowd as it began to swarm into the shop. The noise of a man¡¯s muffled screaming billowed out behind her as she looked around, her small blouse shuffling against her as she clutched onto the small pendant on her neck. ¡°Oh, Shirin! What¡¯re you doing here?¡± Hearing this, Shirin turned to her left; her immediate sight focusing on a stout, albeit wrinkle-eyed, the lines running along the woman¡¯s eyes particularly gaunt as she lifted Shirin up into the air, smiling. ¡°This isn¡¯t a good place for you to be - what¡¯re you doing today?¡± ¡°This.¡± Shirin raised a small basket with heifers stacked to the brim, the fabric covering it barely keeping it inside. The sister widened her eyes. ¡°Oh dear¡­ why¡­ why¡¯re you holding this around?¡± She caressed the blue cover, biting her lip as she stared at the fresh, surviving produce inside. ¡°Don¡¯t we do this weekly¡­? It¡¯s not like the lord stops being generous because someone¡¯s arguing.¡± Shirin remarked, as the sister looked on. The sister shook her head, frowning, and picked her up once more, carrying her off beyond the commotion. ¡°Not here, Shirin. Not now.¡± Behind them both, a crackling flame blew open in the shop. The raging blaze corroborated the torrent of words and yelling; and then the tiles began to cave in. The sister, cloaked in a plain brown like the other churchworkers, covered Shirin¡¯s eyes as she carried the little girl away, before promptly letting her loose two terraces above. ¡°Sister Shauna, what was that for¡­¡± ¡°Just, just helping you out. Now, may I¡­¡± Her voice trailed off as she collected a few of the heifers from the basket. ¡°Don¡¯t mind me?¡± Shirin tilted her head. ¡°Are you giving them out?¡± She looked away, putting her hands behind her back and crossing her fingers.¡°Yes! Yes¡­ yes, definitely. Giving them out. Where¡¯s your mother?¡± ¡°Oh, mama¡¯s¡­ she¡¯s on the field, plowing, I think.¡± ¡°I see, I see¡­¡± She pocketed a single more heifer before nodding to her. ¡°Go home with those for now. The lord¡¯d be fine if you, uh, delay it until tomorrow.¡± ¡°...but, aren¡¯t we supposed to help them out?¡± ¡°Help yourself before you help others. Go on, go find your mother!¡± Shauna patted Shirin on the back, before watching the six-year-old girl nod and scurry off. She chuckled to herself, looking at the heifers in her own bag. ¡°...sorry for lying,¡± She muttered, smiling, watching the figure disappear into the distance; before turning around and hearing the crackling. The brownblouse¡¯s eyes widened as her legs moved faster than her mind, sprinting to the edge of the terrace and seeing the blaze enveloping the entire house, the korun owner rolling on the ground as orange billowed out of his arms. The mob dissipated as the smoke puffed into the air; the roof falling into the walls. Shauna grimaced before sprinting towards the spire towering over the town plaza, pitter-pattering down the steps as others slammed into her escaping the charred, out-of-control fire. Sweat. The feeling on both sides of warm sweatdrops sliding down her neck as freezing wind breezed past her, her ears wiggling about. She scarcely ducked when a flash of grey bolted across her eyes; a hammer striking a woman squarely on the face. ¡°You leave my food alone!¡± ¡°Fuck no it ain¡¯t, we planted it and we been planting them in that land since my great-granddaddy was alive! Move it!¡± The screaming continued as she burst through the wide brown doors of the church and found other sisters desperately chugging at the well built into the concierge, the cobbled stone floor soaked wet with buckets rolling about everywhere. Clothes of modest brown turned shades darker from drenching. Her eyes narrowed for a moment before scampering to the side of the priest. ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡± ¡°Well¡¯s clogged¡­ we¡¯re going to pull it out.¡± The priest replied, gesturing to the other sisters to get ready. ¡°Can you help?¡± Raising a thumbs-up, she got to the side of the well, peered in and stepped back. Holding out her hands like the others, the women gripped their fists; the torrent of blue forming at the bottom of the well slowly seeping through before the ground rattled and shook and a grand mound of soot and dirt flew up and crashed against the floor behind them, a cloud of dust smoking the whole room. The sisters groaned as the priest quietly stumbled out through the wooden doors, coughing away, before wobbling her way back into the church and beginning to pull out water by the bucket. All the sisters did. The sister, pulling up a hefty fill herself, rushed outside with bucket in hand as the burning structure collapsed in on itself, the stilts on which it was built falling to the ground with half the ground floor. Water crashed upon the fires, starving them of their desired oxygen, what few others not preoccupied with fighting over the food also tossing liquid on the flames. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen a fire like this since the war!¡± One of them exclaimed, dumping a bucket before running back. ¡°Which war?¡± ¡°The last one!¡± Noise only escalated as the fires slowly fizzled out, the brownblouses still attempting to put out the blaze; but the infernal screaming did not dissipate. One of them turned around, staring over the ridge, a othala-emblazoned dark green banner slowly nearing in the distance.
NOW Shirin, scratching the bandaged half of her face, narrowed her eyes. ¡°Damn¡­ Shauna, you have any idea how far you left me out in the lurch back then?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, y¡¯know? They kicked me out of the church, made me marry early. Wasn¡¯t even the old arrangement my ma and his ma agreed on.¡± Shauna commented, blowing into the pipe again as her parched lips flaked off. ¡°What happened to you after Tobukiro got you out?¡± She tapped on her knife. ¡°Scholar. He said I was real good with studies so he prepped me for being an instructor until, well¡­ y¡¯know.¡± Shauna patted Shirin on the back. ¡°We lose too much, huh?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± The older woman peered through her periscope again, before putting it down and taking another smoke. ¡°Sorry about Set, Anya¡­ your brother and your sister.¡± The wrinkles on her face seemingly grew as she said that. ¡°Rie¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Rie.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t keep this charade up forever, y¡¯know?¡± ¡°Shhh¡­¡± Shirin pointed down below them, the singular path underneath with a large convoy passing, all carrying the othala-emblazoned banner whilst carting containers and crates through the valley towards the fort on the plain horizon. ¡°Looking for the prize, are we¡­¡± ¡°Usually they keep the important crates unmarked, but¡­ interrogating so close to Fort Sekyo¡¯s going to let them bring reinforcements. People are going to die for no reason for this.¡± ¡°Relax, I got this.¡± Shirin tied up her hair back into a bun before biting onto a canister, using her hand to pop open a side; before dumping the contents into an arrowhead and slotting it on the crossbow. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t¡­ there¡¯s more people here than just you.¡± Shauna grabbed the tunic of Shirin¡¯s blue uniform, shaking her head. ¡°Wait on the signal.¡± Shirin shrugged it off. ¡°Prime opportunity I¡¯m looking at right now.¡± ¡°Please¡­ cell commanders execute people for this kind of thing, you know? I don¡¯t want to see you die just days after finally getting to meet that little girl I knew so long ago again.¡± ¡°Like I said; relax.¡± Standing straight up out of the bush they¡¯d both been hiding in, she waved a red cloth in her hand twice before aiming her crossbow; Shauna pulled her back down, dragging her to the dirt in a chokehold while staring at her intently. ¡°Good lord¡­! Has being in a prison made you loony as well?¡± ¡°No, but it has taught me to get out of things like this.¡± She hit Shauna in the stomach, knocking her over before peeping out of the bush, staring towards the other ridge with periscope in hand. Two waves of a white cloth - hesitation, awaiting further orders; Shirin shrugged once more before placing her finger on the trigger.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Shirin, don¡¯t - please, don¡¯t.¡± She pushed it back. Loading another arrow as a blast of red emerged at the bottom of the valley, she shot again, guiding the arrow with general precision as the dust cloud enveloped the front of the extensive convoy, turning the previous organisation of the entire affair into a chaotic disorganised split of two lines. ¡°Shauna! We¡¯re live, let¡¯s go!¡± The old brownblouse was cloaked in the same blue uniform of the resistance yet holding onto a single necklace of her past; she croaked slightly before stumbling over and pulling out a toboggan, dropping it on the edge whilst staring at Shirin, who jumped in and yanked her into the back. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re doing this.¡± Shauna muttered under her breath as she assembled a large firmament around the toboggan; plates flying out from the bushes to surround the makeshift raft and forming a great barrier, a large block up in front to shield the impact of groundward collision. Shirin groaned to the woman two dozen years older than her; ¡°Better believe it, we¡¯re going down!¡± And a thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk noise turned to the order of the day. More arrows descended from the other side upon the convoy, soldiers forming positions assailed by a barrage of the guided things. Domes of metal began to form over the broken lot top-first, the hundred or so elven men splitting up into disparate groups defending against explosion after explosion. Shirin and Shauna rode the steep and jagged cliffface down the valley, the dust cloud behind them kicking higher and higher with every second. ¡°Where¡¯s the flaremen?¡± Shirin shouted, shakily reloading her crossbow as the toboggan shook and rattled its way down to the bottom. Shauna, putting on a pair of glasses, shouted in return, ¡°If they¡¯re not shielded, they¡¯re the flaremen!¡± Another shot. A dust cloud kicked into the air and a signaller fell to the ground. Other members of the cell had already shot their rounds and landed next to the convoy, swords flying as they cut down some soldiers; cargo and other boxes dropped on the ground while akari slaves fled, running away from the battle with chains still strapped to their hands and feet. Still the contingent persevered, a wall of shields forming at the bottom of the domes while soldiers poked out crossbows, firing off volleys at the blueshirts that had descended upon them. ¡°There¡¯s more of us than them,¡± One shouted, ¡°Keep steady and everything¡¯ll be fine!¡± Sho buckled, propelling with magic several crates he saw by the wayside at the domes, leaving dents that quickly bent right back into shape; turning over to see Shirin and Shauna and circling above his head. A call for a rendezvous. The two obliged, rushing through the chaotic lines of battle, the other three dozen fighters creating a loose encirclement around the broken-up convoy with a single line between the two main domes breaking up the force. Upon arrival, Sho groaned. ¡°I didn¡¯t give a fucking order.¡± ¡°You¡¯d have given it too late. Got this.¡± Shirin raised a small cylinder with a ¡®do not touch¡¯ written on. ¡°Fuck¡­ fuck. Someone toss it in the back shield, we¡¯ll close in after that. We don¡¯t have enough people to take out a convoy of this size¡­ didn¡¯t even think they¡¯d be scaling up minor convoys like these.¡± Sho¡¯s voice growled in its own right as he sped off. ¡°Shauna, keep your fucking protege under control!¡± Yanna grabbed the primitive grenade from Shirin before throwing it upwards, guiding it with her powers towards the top of the grey shield; an arrow flew to the wayside, hitting a blueshirt in the shoulder. Striking the dome¡¯s outer side it burrowed itself into the metal before shooting off its back end, suddenly rocketing through the dome and letting off a smoke bomb inside, the fumes pouring out unable to be enclosed by a shield which quickly fell apart, disappearing into the massive cloud which emerged. ¡°Get ¡®em!¡± The blueshirts which had been standing around the back dome latched on masks and charged right into the smoke. Shirin looked around to see Rie in a blue uniform of her own, holding up a great round shield with a pike built into the centre and jabbing a soldier beating at the wooden defensive weapon before pulling back. The blueshirts ahead of the frontal shield slowly backed away from the very front of where the convoy would have been before one shouted, ¡°Hey, I think your friends are fucked!¡± The dome moved an inch away as the ruckus in the back dissolved, the cloud disappearing to see several dozen maimed corpses lying upon the ground. Still fighting occurred, blueshirts and greencoats clashing - sword against dagger, hand-to-hand. Two of the greencoats quietly dropped their weapons, both men collapsing to the ground and keeping their hands on the floor. ¡°No prisoners, right?¡± One of the blueshirts asked, clutching onto a chest wound while holding a sword over the surrenderees. Sho shrugged. ¡°Nae, we don¡¯t have the time.¡± ¡°Gotcha.¡± She struck both surrendered men in the back, blood spurting out of the stab wounds as they turned over, rolling, shaking; writhing in pain. No eyebrows were raised, the one or two akari blueshirts seemingly looking on in approval; giving a curt nod in the distance, Rie rammed forward and stabbed another soldier in the front. A wind. Wiping off the sudden red line scraping by the side of her face, Rie narrowed her eyes, pulling a knife from a sheathe tied around her prosthetic leg and tossing it at a soldier; bouncing off his armour and sticking itself firmly into the dirt. Swinging around she swept the man to the ground with her shield before jabbing him with the pike, moving further in. All around the frontal dome began to splinter and vanish, some breaking through the thinned lines. Although the blue lying on the bloodied ground could not compare to the absolute sea of green, Yanna winced, counting down the men in the back while staring through the crude wooden plates and carvings that made up the crossbow¡¯s iron sights. Shirin held out a spear, looking to the blueshirt next to her. ¡°You ready?¡± ¡°Every day, Kodai.¡± The blueshirt responded, holding out his shield while crouched, holding out a thumbs-up. ¡°When you¡¯re ready!¡± Nodding, she leapt onto the shield and jumped into the air, throwing two grenades which lodged themselves in the dome before her feet crashed through the thinning metal sheet and sent her barreling into the middle of the greencoats holding out. As a dagger descended upon her she rolled over, plumes of grey breaking out around her and obscuring their vision. Coughing surrounded her - herself not immune, she briefly stumbled to the ground before impaling another soldier with her spear, the point instead finding itself stuck inside a man who stumbled over on the ground, pushing the spear even further through him as he fell square on his back. Her leg swept under a soldier while she grabbed her bandages, tearing them all off and firing an array of pain over the entire left side of her face. ¡°Ah¡­ ah¡­¡± The soldier muttered to himself, his mouth firing off barrages of spit and dust as he reached for his bloodied sword. Only the sword had disappeared; and the woman standing in front of him held it in her hand, the glint of its blade staring down at him. ¡°Hey, fuckface.¡± Shirin picked the soldier up by the collar as his vision crystallised into seeing a face of two sides: an elven girl and a charred woman. His eyes wobbling, he threw his fist squarely into her waist only to be greeted by an iron wall. As if hurling the strength of an ant, nothing came of the entire affair, and she in comparison catapulted the greencoat right into the shield wall surrounding them - itself quickly disintegrating into a dozen individual soldiers as the fighting capitulated to chaos, a unified battle turning to little brawls with big crossovers. Dirt and dust kicked into the air but as the smoke dissipated, more - even if just a few more - greencoats laid on the ground than blueshirts. Just two greencoats still stood, their hands raised. Yanna stepped down and began talking to both, while the other blueshirts began to tear apart the containers, loading them up into smaller rucksacks and boxes they¡¯d trucked along for the ambush. ¡°The situation on the front is bad?¡± ¡°The situation on the front is terrible! Command keeps sending people into suicide charges and they¡¯ve set up trenches!¡± The elven man blurted out, leading his other greencoat colleague to stare. ¡°Please, oh lord, don¡¯t make me go back to base, please.¡± Sho narrowed his eyes. ¡°What¡¯s so wrong with going back to base? We ain¡¯t exactly sticklers for keeping fellows like you alive.¡± ¡°S-s-Sekyo has been killing anyone that retreats or comes back without their units¡­¡± ¡°He¡¯s been killing deserters or retreaters?¡± The world emerged from his mouth quickly and like a lightning bolt, before the soldier stuttered and stopped. ¡°Um¡­¡± ¡°Answer!¡± ¡°Uh, um, yes!¡± ¡°Which is it?¡± ¡°He¡¯s killing deserters and retreaters!¡± Sho raised his eyebrows. Staring at the man, he could make out the wrinkles on his face, at least old enough to have remembered what he did. ¡°You were there for when that bastard took over, aye? I¡¯m not going to take kindly to someone like you fucking with me-¡± ¡°I¡¯m not trying to fuck with you! He kills anyone who goes back and puts their heads on a pike! It¡¯s like Yokura all over again!¡± The soldier latched onto Sho with both hands. ¡°Please, oh my lord, please don¡¯t make me and Hanzo there go back¡­ put us - put us in a jail or something, I don¡¯t know, j-j-just don¡¯t make us fucking go back!¡± Yanna grimaced. Sho groaned before turning to her and muttering, ¡°Do we have the space for just two prisoners?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s¡­ let¡¯s take them alo-¡± ¡°GAH!¡± Charring noise. They turned around to see Shirin and several other blueshirts pulling the man to the ground, holding a large brand over his face; Shauna lying on the ground, unconscious. Sho was aghast. ¡°What the FUCK are you doing! Don¡¯t waste time and get the containers in order!¡± Burning. As the brand was lowered Yanna and Sho both dragged and pushed away the blueshirts engaging in the act while Shirin pressed it in, the quiet chattering turning to a small plume emerging from the man¡¯s face, his lips kept shut as a glowing orange pierced through the skin immediately next to it. ¡°Stop it, stop it!¡± ¡°You wanted a god damn message, you get a god damn message.¡± Shirin muttered under her breath before throwing off the brand, revealing a bright red emblem - a shattered Othala split in half - etched into the soldier¡¯s face. An unforgettable threat. She picked the soldier up by the collar and remarked, ¡°Now you go running back over to your fort and tell them exactly what happened here.¡± The soldier shakily opened his mouth. ¡°I¡¯ll die¡­¡± ¡°Only one way to find out.¡± With that she released his cuffs and some of the nearby blueshirts unsheathed their weapons; before the soldier glanced around and sprinted away into the distance. One of the same armed blueshirts turned to give Shirin a tight shake on the hand. ¡°Nice job, rookie, what¡¯re you gonna do next?¡± ¡°Suppose we¡¯ll do this again and again and again until we¡¯re done.¡± ¡°The fuck is wrong with you?¡± Sho spat. Staring at the group in front of him he went up to Shirin and shot a glance at her. ¡°Are you asking to get fucked? Or do you just have a lot of experience with idiocy? Did you die and the colour change hasn¡¯t set in yet?¡± ¡°Only fucking person you¡¯re insulting is my sister, so shut the fuck up or I¡¯ll scalp you myself.¡± She retorted. Sho stared as the other blueshirts went back to collecting various supplies and Shirin stepped away to join them in that task. Getting back on her feet, Shauna¡¯s eyes slowly but surely drew back into vision a clear sight of the world around her. A bruise forming on her forehead, she quietly watched Shirin walk by, getting along fine with the younger blueshirts; blinking while rubbing her eyes. Silence was her personal order of the day. Then, she saw Rie. ¡°Ah¡­ Nin, Ninjindira?¡± She asked, rushing over to help with the grey-skinned girl¡¯s looting. ¡°Is that you¡­ what happened to your leg?¡± Rie blinked. ¡°Is¡­ ...sister Shauna?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me! Oh my lord, how have¡­ how are you?¡± She scratched her head. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ well, I guess it¡¯s not the best, eheh. Got locked up by the Avisen, and uh¡­ when we were breaking out, severe wound on the lower leg. ...sis amputated it.¡± ¡°¡®Sis¡¯? Am I missing something here?¡± Shauna asked, collecting several sokovs into a bag. ¡°Didn¡¯t you both disavow the church?¡± Rie sighed. ¡°We¡­ I guess it was kind of a spur of the moment thing, you know? We just kind of decided back then, that we¡¯d back each other up. ...I don¡¯t really hold up my end of the bargain, but¡­¡± Shauna stopped. ¡°Why didn¡¯t she talk about you?¡± A moment of quietness ensued as the two continued on, Sho in the background screaming at them to finish it all faster. ¡°She¡­ she calls me Rie.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°...I don¡¯t think she really can accept what happened to the real Rie all those years ago. So I just let her call me that. I wouldn¡¯t know how to tell her otherwise now¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s really admirable on your part, but¡­ are you sure you¡¯re comfortable being in such a relationship with her?¡± Shauna remarked, performing rites over a dead greencoat¡¯s body. ¡°It can¡¯t be healthy for either of you¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s, it¡¯s my end of what we agreed on, I like to think.¡± ¡°Is it really mutual agreement when she¡¯s the one calling the shots on everything?¡± Shauna continued, before stopping again. ¡°...I guess I can¡¯t judge after not seeing you two for so long. But come to me if you ever need to talk, aye?¡± Then, Shauna pulled in Rie for a hug. As she embraced the young girl, she smiled and remarked, ¡°I¡¯m just so glad you both are fine.¡± Rie - Nin - whatever they called her - remained silent. She then quietly reciprocated.