After giving a brief tour of the barracks and Scarlet Aerie, Officer Shelik led his new Privates down to the beach once more. Helen's Playground was hidden below ground today, so the sprawling beachfront was empty, normally crowded with soldiers, but empty today. On their "tour" of the grounds, the Officer said very little, only occasionally pointing and grunting out the name and purpose of important locations over his shoulder as his group passed by. Zayne skipped mentioning any spots that he didn't think were important enough to mention, but he made sure to point out the Infirmary and the Library on the northwest edge of the Red Grove. Upon reaching the sandy barracks' beach at the end of the tour, Officer Shelik groaned.

  "And this is the Corvan Bay. And that concludes our tour." He turned around to face the group with a yawn. "Any questions?"

  Victoria was first to raise a hand. "Was that it? I mean, what about all the statues and fountains; the shops; the paintings in the palace halls; or-"

  "I have neither the time nor patience for all that." Zayne cut in. "Any other questions?"

  Faron was next, speaking before raising a hand as Victoria had done. "I thought it was a swell tour, Sir! Short and to the point."

  Sachi rolled his eyes and mumbled under his breath, "Swell, huh? Kiss-ass."

  "What'd you say?" Faron was quick to puff out his chest and march toward Sachi with balled fists.

  The young half-Elv stared up at his teammate with crossed arms. "Stop being so fake. It's embarrassing watching you try to impress Officer Shelik."

  "Sachi!" Victoria gently pulled back her squad-mate by one of his ears to force his attention. "Stop picking fights, we're a team!"

  "No, no," growled Faron. "Why don't ya let him say it again?"

  Officer Shelik buried his face in a hand and fell into another one of his depressive episodes. He spoke under his breath at a volume that was still audible to everyone around. "Why must the Gods bury me in their world's trash... This is why I hate kids..."

  The squabble seemed silly when faced up against the crisis in motivation that their Training Officer was going through. It instantly cut the morale of the Privates around him, along with their fighting spirits.

  Faron turned to comfort his Officer. "Umm, Sir? Is-Is everything alright? We were just... Are you... Okay?"

  Zayne sighed deeply and raised his head. "Doesn't matter." He turned back to the beach and pointed to the shore. "Go stretch out. You're all training for the next hour."

  After the team was done warming up, Shelik stood before them again, pacing back and forth sluggishly in the sand. "This exercise is simple: just use your Light's Radiance for as long as you can. I know it's a pain to do, but trust me on this one; it was General Holo's favorite way to train."

  "General Holo?" gasped Victoria with newfound motivation in her smokey eyes. "What do we have to do?"

  "Huff." Zayne found Victoria's enthusiasm tiring, even in short bursts. "What is your Radiance?"

  "I breathe fire, Sir!" She saluted him without being prompted to do so.

  "And have you honed any Radiant Arts yet?"

  Victoria frowned. "Not yet, Sir. Just as much as I can hold in a single breath."

  "Okay. Just look out over there." Zayne pointed limply at the shore beside them. "Go take a deep breath and expel your flames for as long as you can. When you get tired, take a short break and then try to beat your last time. This might sound simple, but this is the foundation of building your Lightwell."

  Victoria rubbed her belly and frowned at the idea. "I'm not sure how long I'll last, Sir. My Radiance really rips my throat apart when I spit it out. I was thinking maybe I could do some shooting drills, or maybe a knife-"

  "Light is everything here." Shelik's lack of enthusiasm brought even more truth to his words. "Do whatever you want, but if you can't use your Radiance in a pinch, you'll never be promoted." He turned to Faron. "How about you?"

  Faron's grin screamed this was his time to shine. "Like I said, Sir, I'm your big gun. My fists hit harder than an ox." He clenched his right fist, and a tangerine-shaded blaze erupted around it. The flames around Faron's hand had grown more refined over the last few months and developed a far more pronounced color. The once violent flames had grown tamer as well, making Sachi fear his old bully had been training just as hard as him and Mira over the past six months.

  Victoria peered over at the flames of her new squad-mate, impressed despite her best efforts. Such Light control was advanced, resembling that of a Human Officer who had tempered his flames in the forge of many missions under the C.R.M.'s command. But Faron was a hick from the middle of nowhere, just like Sachi and his remarkable brother. Victoria thought to herself: What do they feed these kids out in the Green Edge?

  "Good." Officer Shelik pointed a few yards down the shore. "Go over there and let your Radiance burn at its full strength until it goes out naturally. Then repeat." He turned to Sachi. "You. Go."

  "Um, I heal, Sir."

  "Okay, then heal on your squad-mates when they run out of Light until you can't heal anymore."

  "Oh," Sachi called out, slightly embarrassed. "Sorry, but I can't heal other people, just me. And it works best after I get hurt."

  Zayne looked confused by Sachi's ability. "Well, fuck me. That completely throws the formations I was planning out the window. Do you have any offensive talents?"

  "Well, I'm pretty good with a knife, and I spent the last six months working on muscle and bone enhancement techniques—I think they're pretty good now. My brother made sure to-"

  Zayne cut Sachi off with a retreating wave of both hands. "I'm really not here for your life story. How do you usually improve your Radiance?"

  "Well..." He looked over to Faron with a worried frown, who was busy concentrating on his keeping his fist burning. "By getting really hurt."

  "Hmmm..." Zayne tapped his chin, weighing his options. "Well, it'd be cruel to have your own squad-mates beat you just to trigger your Radiance... but it would be effective." He continued searching for an answer. "Are you open to maiming yourself?"

  "No!" Sachi didn't mean to sound rude, but the thought of self-mutilation made his stomach churn.

  Officer Shelik rolled his eyes and waved his hand once more to silence the young Elv. "I'm just fishing for answers—no need to take it personally, Private." He went back to racking his brain for a solution. Nothing was coming, so Zayne slumped over into a depressed slouch. "I hate this job already. Why didn't Revin plan for any of this before calling me in?"

  Victoria raised a hand. "I got an idea." She looked nervous, but a desire for her squad to grow together was clear from the tone of her voice. "I can set Sachi on fire. If he can grow back an arm, I'm sure he could recover from a few burns."

  "Torchy! How could you?" Sachi was shocked his friend would suggest something so painful. "How could you?"

  "What? He already said this training is good for us. Besides, you'll have to get used to fighting fire at some point." She jabbed her eyes towards Faron, hoping Sachi would take the hint.

  It was true. Sachi had learned how to heal from a beating quite well over the course of his life, but the burns that Faron's punches left were far more difficult to recover from on the fly. If Sachi was ever going to defeat the mountain that was Faron Ali in a fist fight, he would have to improve his tolerance for fire.

  Victoria flipped her blood-tipped hair over her shoulder as she turned her back to Sachi, ready to get to work. "Or you can sit back and watch us rank up without you."

  Sachi was torn. He had every intention of getting stronger, but he didn't enlist to be tortured. He had also seen Victoria's flames at the exams and knew they were nothing to poke fun at. Being on the receiving end of such explosive power would rip him apart, but Sachi knew there was no requirement in this exercise to dive in headfirst or take the full brunt of one of Private Ramses' blasts. He could easily start with a finger, a hand, or even an entire arm again once he got used to it. He sighed in reluctance, knowing exactly how much Officer Shelik's version of training was going to hurt. "Fine... I'll do it."

  "Finally!" Zayne Shelik cracked a smile for the first time all day. "Head on over to the shoreline and get crispy."

  Surprisingly, Victoria had a harder time in this training than the young Elv she was setting ablaze. She had always avoided training with her Radiance due to pain it caused in her throat and abdominals, but her Training Officer was right. If she was ever going to be promoted, she'd need to back up her skills with advanced control over her Light. It wasn't good enough to be a gunslinger or knife-thrower in an army with Division Captains and Vice-Wing Commanders powerful enough to burn down a city if they had the mind to do so.

  A sickly stench from burnt flesh polluted the picturesque beachfront behind the Corvus family's royal home. Green flames surrounded the burns on Sachi's left arm as he clenched and unclenched his fist to get the new blood vessels flowing. Green flames soothing the blisters and charred skin back to its naturally dark shade. He looked down to his slumped over squad-mate with a smirk. "Need a few minutes to catch your breath?"

  "Shut... Huff... Up... Huff... Sachi!" Sweat dripped mercilessly from a bun Victoria had tied atop her head to keep her hair out of the way. Her voice was hoarse from a pain that only firebreathers could know. She rose from a kneel clutching at her side tightly, ready for another blast.

  Sachi offered his other arm to be scorched, finding the training surprisingly easy compared to the senseless beatings Mira put him through in Posidon. The flames hurt, obviously, but healing from the burns had been easier than Sachi first assumed. His green flames jumped out at every chance to mend abrasions and blisters, always returning a rich brown within moments. He braced himself for the next blast from Victoria, clenching his jaw and turning away from the sacrificial limb.

  Victoria inhaled deeply through her nostrils, heaving her body weight onto her back foot as she let her Light swell within her gut. She released everything in her belly in a single ball of flames. A cannonball made of the Duchess's Radiance flew across the beach to consume Sachi's arm—half-eviscerating it upon the impact’s flash.

  The shot was a success, but again, sweat leaked from her forehead until it blurred her vision, her stomach tightening into a painful knot as she pushed harder and harder. She felt pathetic after that weak attempt, her record of the day being twelve seconds on her third blast. Every passing second was agony inside her organs. Victoria had always trained to release short powerful breaths of fire to limit the strain on her body, so this repetitive long-term training left her more drained of Light than ever before. But Private Ramses was a competitor, and she wasn't about to give up just because of some little stomach cramp.

  Sachi, on the other hand, was on the receiving end of Victoria's determination. The orange and white flames melted his flesh down to the muscle fibers, but his own flames were quick to react. As soon as Sachi felt the searing pain of his comrade's flames, he was comforted by the warmth of his own. The healing flames stitched back his muscle tissues through the blaze, extinguishing it to restore his skin more efficiently.

  "Let's call that one two seconds. You should probably take a break now."

  Victoria collapsed again to one knee and gripped at her side with a pained expression. Sachi started marching toward her, but Victoria was quick to wave him back.

  "I'm... fine..." She managed to eke out between gritted teeth. "Focus... on... healing..." Sachi pointed to his arm which looked perfectly healthy.

  "I'm all good. Seriously, take a longer break this time. You'll hurt yourself if you push too hard."

  "No... I'll..." She tried to stand up again, but her body had already given up for the day. She fell back softly onto her bottom and laid back with labored breaths. "Fine... Maybe... I'll rest..."

  With no one to help him train, Sachi peered around the beach wanting to casually check in on his competition. Faron had taken his shirt off due to the heat, but he was still hard at work. He held his fist in front of his face, a focused look on his face determined to keep his orange blaze going. Sachi had seen Faron take a few short breaks during the training session, but at no point did he show the same fatigue as Victoria.

  After a long bout with his dwindling flames, Faron's Radiance went out again. He leaned over to catch his breath but caught Sachi peeping.

  "What are you looking at, Long Ears? Shouldn't you be cutting yourself?"

  Sachi turned away from Faron with his nose up. "Yeah, yeah. You get back to work too, Private Fist."

  "Callin' me cute names again, huh?" Faron stood up straight and started marching toward Sachi with strained breaths. "Guess you got bold after leavin' the Green Edge—or maybe yer just tryin' to give the noble gal a show."

  Sachi took Faron's march as a challenge and walked at him head on. "You couldn't let me be, could you? I move all the way to Gilgamere, and you follow me here."

  "For fuck's sake, the world doesn't revolve around you. I didn't wanna see ya here either, so don't flatter yourself, Elf. Drop the attitude and deal with it."

  The two boys reached arm's length from one another, glaring like two scavengers who had stumbled upon the same rotting carcass.

  A loud yawn from Officer Shelik cut the feud. "Haaaaah! Alright, that's time." He walked away from his squad sluggishly, not giving so much as a nod or eye contact to any of them. "Our sixty minutes are up—I'm heading home. I'll pick you up in front of the Mess Hall tomorrow at seven in the morning." He was gone before anyone could ask a follow-up question, walking briskly to the barracks with hands in pockets and disappointment in his gait.

  The Privates were confused by the briefness of their orientation into the Royal Military, but given their fatigued states they thought it best not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Sachi turned from Faron, aiming to assist Victoria back to her feet, but the boy with the big mohawk still had the energy to run his mouth.

  "Runnin' as soon as the Officer leaves? Classic Sachi. That tough guy act don't suit ya right when the short one ain't around, huh?"

  Sachi turned back to Faron with refreshed resolve to fight. "I'm not acting. I'm just done letting you get under my skin."

  Victoria noticed the two boys closing the distance between one another and got up to stand between them. She still lacked the energy to stop them from fighting with a cramp at her side persisting, but she stumbled to find her footing all the same. "Knock it off, you two. I didn't come here just to keep you boys from nipping at each other's throats. The day's over so just walk away."

  Neither budged. Instead, Sachi poked the bear again. "Well, I suppose I could learn to fight alongside him—I'm not the one who hates people just for being Elvish."

  "Oh, woe is me." Faron mocked in an insultingly high pitch, "People want to talk about how my Clan owned everyone. Life is sooo tough." Faron ceased his mockery and returned to glaring down at Sachi. "I won't be protecting some Elf that can't understand what his people have done to our Kingdom—to all Humans. So, don't stand there with a smirk like yer better than everyone, yer not."

  "I'm 'better than everyone' now?" The very idea that Sachi would have such a mindset offended him. "You, your goons, and everyone we knew treated me like garbage for years. All I did was exist. How could I possibly think that?"

  "I've seen the way ya stare at us, like we're all some bunch of dumb farm animals. You walk around all proud with your head high and your ears low, goin' on in such a proper manner too like yer Pa was some noble Duke."

  Sachi rolled his eyes at the absurdity of the statement. "We forged silver from landfill scrap. It doesn't get much grimier than that, Faron."

  "Ah, there ya go again, boastin' like ya suffered so much more than the rest of us. The Ali's are a family of sheep-shears, have been for generations and always will be. A far more humble profession than some la-ti-da smith. We're real East Meadow folk. Not like you, and your saggy-eared Pa. Fuckin' outsiders—with all yer fancy words and big plot o' land by the hills." He spat in the sand with spite in his tone, "Makes me sick to see it."

  "Don't ever speak of my father." Sachi's tone was harsh, and he squared his shoulders as he met Faron's gaze. He had rejected it, but deep down he wanted this fight all day. "He's dead."

  Faron just stared down at him. "Boo. Hoo." Faron's cruelty was unyielding. He cared little for the details of Sachi's Father's death, not even knowing the Van'Heatah's had moved to Posidon after their house burnt down. However, it was well known through the Green Edge that Wilhelm Van'Heatah had passed. Many neighbors stopped at the sight of the burned-down wreckage after that night, going as far to sift through the remains for any survivors. None were found, but the grave of Wilhelm had been discovered out back in their woods' clearing. It was a shock to all, but they had few options when it came to solving the mystery. The Royal Military was rarely of help to citizens of the Green Edge, and those who were not fully Human had no ability to learn the truth of the Van'Heatah boys' survival in Posidon. After all, Green Edge folks couldn't leave without permission to begin with.

  Victoria finally got between the two, still panting at every word. "Come on, guys. Just walk away for now, y'know. We can take the rest of the day off and-"

  Faron cut off Victoria, "That's right Sachi. You can take the rest of the day off. It's like the girl said—just walk away."

  "Hey! Don't interrupt Victoria." Sachi was looking for any excuse now to let loose at Faron. "She's our squad-mate. Show some damn respect."

  "Then how 'bout ya take yer noble girlfriend home and get lost—do our Kingdom a favor and disappear again."

  "I'm not going anywhere, Faron." snarled Sachi. "I'm here to fight."

  Victoria felt like the odd man out, so to speak. It was obvious the two Green Edge boys had some deep-seated rivalry to work out. If they needed to speak with their fists, who was she to judge. Victoria backed off with a sigh, giving Sachi a disappointed look as she walked past him. Sachi took too long to examine his new friend's sunken expression as she passed, and by the time he turned back to Faron, a tangerine-shaded fist caught the left side of his face before he was ready. The next sensation the half-Elv felt was sand on his tongue as his full body slapped against the beachfront.

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  "Hey!" Victoria yelled out to Faron. "That was a cheap shot, and you know it!"

  "Whatever." Faron shrugged off Victoria's scoldings and stepped towards his prey. "He wanted this, remember that!"

  In Sachi's mind, this fight would break down into an endurance competition. After all his intense training with Mira, Sachi's healing Radiance would surely tire out Faron until he could deliver a knock-out punch, especially in their fatigued states. But Faron, ever the slacker in school, was never a slouch when it came to boxing.

  Sachi stumbled to his feet, dashing at Faron. He was met with another of Faron's signature flaming punches to the chin immediately, but this time it wasn't a problem. Sachi's flames emerged to heal the damage, and Sachi rolled with the impact to strike again from another angle. This time he aimed for Faron's legs, attempting to throw him off with an unexpected takedown.

  By some force of the Gods, it worked. Sachi managed to catch onto one of Faron's legs and yank it upwards. The large boy fell to his back and Sachi dove onto him, looking to get in a few easy punches before they hit the ground. Again, Faron proved his wealth of experience, landing a heavy blow onto Sachi's face while rolling off his back. The Elv was stunned at the counter, he whipped his head back down to make a second attempt at pinning Faron, but it was no use. The oversized teen sat up and put all the weight he could muster into his next shot, colliding with the center of Sachi's forehead. Faron's flames were as intense as ever, but Sachi's own Radiance promptly came out to mend any physical damage upon his flesh and within his cracked skull. If only Sachi's flames could prevent pain.

  Sachi clutched at his face with a loud gasp, reeling back from his high-ground advantage. He tried to heal quickly, but Faron gripped the boy's shirt and tossed him into the sand before the Elv's vision was able to focus fully. Abruptly, Sachi felt a pain in his chest and back; something was holding him down. Faron was sitting atop his opponent's back, pinning Sachi down into the sand with a weight the thinner boy could never hope to move at this angle.

  Sachi screamed wildly with all his might as he flailed in the sand.

  "GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME, FARON!!!" Sachi kicked as best as he could, but there was no point. Faron's weight wasn't as immovable as Mira's, but he was far heavier than anything the Elv could lift with the current state of his Lightwell.

  Victoria watched with an even deeper look of disappointment as her new friend struggled. On some level she wanted nothing more than to push the rude son of a sheep-shear off the half-Elv, but Sachi had made this choice. The young Duchess knew her partner would have to suffer the consequences.

  It didn't have to be like this... she thought to herself. We could have all talked about it... but now you're eating sand.

  Sachi continued to yell obscenities and fight in the sand under Faron, but no one came to his rescue. "GET OFF!!!" He grew desperate. He tried to reach behind his back to grab at Faron's clothes, but he didn't have the flexibility for such a task. Next, he tried throwing sand up at Faron, but this childish attempt yielded no response from the young Human sitting on his back. He gritted his teeth and yelled from the pit of his soul. "I'LL KILL YOU!!!"

  Faron laughed at the gruesome remark from atop his perch. He was growing comfortable on his new seat, even taking the time to brush off the sand Sachi had tossed onto his shirt. "Woo-ha-ha-ha! You can try, but yer chances ain't lookin' good right now." He reached down and grabbed ahold of Sachi's spiky red hair and shoved his face down into the sand. "Ya gotta tell me, Long Ears, who won this fight?"

  Sachi struggled but Faron's was just too heavy for him to do anything about the humiliation. He felt even weaker as he thought back to their most recent fight under the Ol'Phanx.

  Mira would've handled this in a second. Sachi struggled less and less as thoughts of self-doubt crept into his head. I'll always need someone to save me... so fucking pathetic. Without any options left, Sachi gripped into the sand and squeaked out his reply to Faron's taunts.

  "I'LL NEVER LET YOU W-"

  Faron took this last-ditch effort from Sachi to save his own pride as a personal insult. He wanted the half-Elv to admit defeat—no—he needed it. He raised his free hand again and pushed his fiery Radiance back into it. The once brilliant tangerine flames at the start of the day's training looked more like hot embers after depleting most of his Lightwell, but Faron wasn't about to give up just because he was low on fuel. He shouted down at Sachi, enraged by the boy's unwillingness to yield. "Shut up and heal from this!"

  As Faron cocked back his fist to cave in the back of Sachi's head, he was struck in the ribs by the boot of Private Ramses. Damn it! Thought Victoria to herself. Why couldn't my team just be normal?! As deserved as it would have been to see Sachi learn a lesson about his temper, Faron's cruelty had reached a level that Victoria could no longer sit back and watch.

  "This isn't normal!" Victoria screamed at her so-called squad-mates. "We're supposed to be a team! This isn't right!"

  Faron rolled over and shot up to his feet after the surprise attack, the left side of his face now covered in sand. His nostrils flared wildly like some raging bull. "So much for watchin'!" He stood from his sandy humiliation and began approaching Victoria with fury in his eyes. He clenched his fists tight once more, and even though the fires wouldn't bloom fully, he remained ready to strike. Victoria readied herself as well. Her legs were shaky, and her stomach still ached, but she wasn't about to let Faron continue pushing Sachi around; even if her partner was asking for it.

  Faron advanced with his hand at the ready, and Victoria took in a deep breath. However, the two Privates would never exchange flames, for they were interrupted by the loud sound of a stranger's voice.

  "The fuck are you kids doing?!"

  The Privates swung around to see a middle-aged soldier calling out to them from several dozen yards closer to the barracks, adorned in a full suit of Silver-grade plates; trimmed on his shoulders and waist with a bold shade of midnight blue matching his capelet. Even in the midday gloom, Sachi could tell that man's skin was a nearly identical color to Victoria and her Duke father's—with long hair of a light-brown shade.

  "What are you, Privates?" The man's voice grew from an alarmed call of concern into a gruff pitch of disappointment. "One day? Really? One damn day and you brats are already scorching each other?" He peered down to Sachi's battered face, the man's silver eyes filled with nothing but disgust. "See? Your Elv is already broken."

  Sachi raised a hand to protest and show his willingness to fight on, but Victoria's response disarmed him before words could properly form in his mouth.

  "Lieutenant Ashfall!" A salute met her brow upon sight of the figure's armor. A captivated look of embarrassment consumed her once raged-filled gaze.

  Shit! thought Sachi to himself. He's another famous one.

  Victoria continued with her apologies for the infighting among members of her squad, her salute never moving so much as a fraction of an inch. "We're so sorry for any-"

  "You're all dismissed!" barked the high-ranking soldier, knowing his words alone were enough to scatter the new Privates. "Just get off the beach. You've already embarrassed yourselves enough for a first day, Duchess Ramses." Those silver eyes didn't budge from their fixated stare into Victoria's smoky shame.

  Her heels turned back to Faron as soon as the serious nature of their disrespect was clear. After all, hardly a day had passed since General Holo's funeral service in the Deslit. Now here they were, new soldiers bickering at one another over some petty dispute. Sachi felt ashamed as he watched his new friend's hopeful smile shift to one of shattered disappointment. Victoria tried her best to sound confident when turning back to address the boys, but after the exams Sachi could tell that she felt disgraced for being seen with the two squabbling farm boys.

  "Hey, you two..." She cleared her throat and made an attempt to take on a commanding tone in some vain attempt to cover up her embarrassment. "It's over. Okay? You both heard the Lieutenant, so let's all just go home for the day. Y'know?"

  Faron huffed out a deep grunt before unclenching his fist, ignoring his new teammate's words to fixate on his superior's flashy armor. When it became clear that the large teen was outclassed, he looked past the bold girl demanding for him to stand down, instead focusing on his rival's emerald eyes. "Ya always get saved, don't ya?" He rolled his eyes away from Sachi and Victoria to hobble away. It was only now that Sachi realized the limp in Faron's steps as he struggled back towards the barracks.

  At least he can't walk away so proudly this time.

  With the disruption settled, the Lieutenant began marching back to his original destination without turning back to the Privates.

  "S-sorry... Sir." was the best Victoria could muster given the current circumstances. She stood motionless, clearly lost in some far away dream that had just been killed.

  Sachi pushed against the sands as best he could to get up, but after Victoria's burns and his bout with Faron, it seemed he didn't have any Light left in his tank.

  "That was lucky. Could you give me hand, Torchy?" He reached up from his kneel for a hand.

  Victoria turned away from her dream and met the half-Elv with a glare far harsher than that she had used on the children who bothered their exam team the day before.

  "My name is Victoria." There was so much sadness hidden within that smoke-stained stare, but at least ninety percent of it was coming from a primal rage that eclipsed Faron's intimidation tenfold. "You didn't need me two minutes ago, Sachi. What changed?"

  Sachi was stunned at the change in demeanor. "I... I didn't-"

  "Yeah," she cut in abruptly. "You didn't..." Victoria turned away from her squad-mate and took a moment to compose herself once more. "Do you even know who that was?" Sachi's silence answered for him, so she continued with a disappointed tone. "That was Quinlan Ashfall..." She turned back to Sachi to stare down at him. "Did you hear me? His name is Ashfall, okay? He's the First Lieutenant of Division Five—which is the Special Forces Unit, since you probably don't know that either!" Her voice grew more spiteful with every word.

  Sachi managed to work his way onto his bottom and tried his best to repent. "But I didn't-"

  "No, no." cut in Victoria again, raising a single finger to guarantee her squad-mate's silence. "Now's not the time for you to make excuses. Names mean something here, Sachi. People matter here! I'm sorry no one taught you that in the Green Edge, but that's how it works in the capital." Her tone was starting to cut deep. "That man is one of six people holding the title of First Lieutenant, it means he'll be a Captain if anything happens to the leader of Division Five—since I bet you didn't know that either!" She was barking every word by now, exhausted from the day's training yet still finding the strength to find more reasons to be upset with the red-haired maniac. "Guess what, Sachi? That man now thinks that we are all idiots, so getting promoted just became a bit more difficult, to put it lightly!" Clarity emerged from her rage, and Victoria managed to pull back from her previous volume. She rubbed at her tired eyes and finished her point in a manner that led Sachi to believe she was speaking to herself more than him. "I can't wait twenty years to become a Captain. My record... must be perfect."

  Sachi felt it hard to close his jaw under the pressure of his new friend's rage. He just stared on, absorbing every critique of his lack of behavior. "I..." His voice faded as he realized there was nothing he could truly say to defend himself. She was right. He was uneducated on manners of the capital. Worse than that, his temper had done serious damage to their reputation within the Royal Military.

  As Sachi's voice faded in defeat, Victoria turned to get away from him. "Save it."

  The young Elv watched as his new friend grew smaller in his sight, until eventually her figure disappeared behind the massive timbers of the Red Grove. Once his tunnel vision for Victoria had fully cleared, he realized that Lieutenant Ashfall had not been the only soldier to witness his dispute with Faron. Although the beachfront may have been empty when their squad arrived, more seasoned members of the C.R.M. had slowly begun to drift in as his squad's training had gone on. At first glance there were over four dozen eyes on him as he sat helplessly in the sands, dismay clear on his face for any onlookers to see.

  Useless.

  No matter how hard Sachi may have trained, Faron had bested him again. And to top off the defeat, Victoria and some random high-ranking soldier had to save him. As the eyes of his superiors burned their judgement into him, the crushing reality of his situation hit all too hard.

  I'm still so weak.

  Sachi found the strength to put his feet underneath him, and he found only one option given his humiliating circumstance: run.

  Pathetic.

  He was nowhere near as fast as someone with a lightning-natured Radiance like Mira, but Sachi had grown swift as a racehorse after years of playing catch-up with the blue-haired buffoon. Any damage in his muscles from the overextended strides were healed as quickly as they came by green flames burning just beneath the half-Elv's skin. He fled until the castle and shore were nothing more than a distant blur of shadow behind him, chased by horrid self-loathing. Eventually, the sand became dirt, then gravel, then pavement. Sachi had sprinted to the eastern edge of the capital. At that point, time had become unclear in Sachi's mind. For all he knew, he had been running all day, but the position of Holy Sola said he had only been dashing in panic for an hour.

  Upon reaching the safe embrace of Gilgamere's paved streets, Sachi stopped running. He hunched over and huffed and puffed to regain his breath, left with soreness in his legs that wouldn't fully heal until he had time to sleep and refill his Lightwell. After collecting himself for a few minutes, the Private continued to wander aimlessly into an unfamiliar part of the city, fearing what waited for him back in the barracks.

  He glared at his feet as he marched along, head held as low as he could.

  Faron ruined everything... No... I ruined everything.

  Sachi thought this was supposed to be his moment, his chance to escape from a past as a misfit; to become a warrior worthy of respect and share his father's dream with the world. Yet somehow this was the reward for all his hard work. He was not a hero—just another child needing stronger people to save him.

  Why?

  The facts were all before him, but he didn't want to face them.

  Number one: He lost to Faron... again.

  Number two: He lost in front of Victoria.

  Number three: He acted like a sore loser and behaved like a deranged lunatic in the process.

  Number four: His training had improved his fighting skills, but they were still subpar against an opponent twice his size.

  And number five: He wasn't going to win much respect by screeching until his voice cracked in front of his superiors.

  The last fact stung the hardest. In Sachi's daydreams he was invincible; an iron wall protecting the Corvus Kingdom and standing as a living example the Elvish people's heroism within the current Age. Yet here he saw himself clearly as nothing more than another brat trying to scream until he got his way, a too clear mirror he never wanted to see. But Sachi was far from abandoning Wilhelm's dream at that point. He may not have been naturally gifted like Mira, but by the Banished God, Sachi was going to work until his bones bled to reach Wilhelm’s dream of peace. A desire stood at the front of his young mind, one that he was ready to fight for no matter what sick foe stood in the way. It all started here. His first task would be to prove himself to Victoria, Officer Shelik, and—as much as it pained him to admit—Faron.

  After another hour of roaming the streets of Gilgamere without noticing any familiar landmarks, Sachi conceded that he was lost. To his surprise, most of the streets on the city's east side were abandoned, full of nothing but weather-damaged shop signs hanging over long-forgotten shops without patrons or employees. He wanted to ask for directions to get out of this ghost town, but there wasn't a soul to be found. There was only one place he wanted to find, the Red Charles. As he continued his walk through the lifeless district for another hour, Sachi found more than enough time to reflect on his actions. He knew Victoria was only trying to help and felt like an ass for embarrassing her.

  She's my partner... I need to apologize.

  At one point, Sachi thought he saw a pedestrian and attempted to run toward them to learn where he was, but it turned out to be nothing more than a tall street sign with an old bedsheet caught on it. Private Van'Heatah ripped the sheet down in frustration after asking it whether he’d been walking in circles this whole time. All these unloved buildings looked the same in his already disgruntled eyes. He rubbed at his face deeply in frustration, both eager and nervous to find Victoria's home and apologize. He rounded another street corner as he picked his head up, only to see something magnificent.

  Floating carelessly above the streets was the golden-haired Hero of their Kingdom. Helen was tapping at her lower lip and studying the sea of empty buildings, as if she was hunting for something among the grime-stained windows. Her flawless silver armor sparkled in the sunlight as brightly as her blonde hair.

  Sachi froze when he recognized Helen. He stood starstruck on that corner, gazing up in disbelief at the woman who had saved their Kingdom from doom; not to mention Mira and himself. She didn't seem real while floating fifty feet above him. Something about her posture just seemed practiced or possibly manufactured to imitate perfection. Yet this unease at the Hero's aura was masked by the hope she was able to radiate by simply existing. She was a warrior-maiden who lived for the protection of the weak, how could he not be in awe? After a few nervous attempts at catching Helen's attention with a wave, Sachi spoke out.

  "Uh, excuse me..."

  Helen had been lost in thought and didn't notice Sachi wandering below her. Elves were naturally light on their feet, but Helen reprimanded herself mentally all the same for not noticing the young man's presence before he called out. Frankly, no one would have expected to see someone in an abandoned district. Sachi had only stumbled into the far end of town by mistake, but Captain ?thena quit her search all the same to address the situation. She floated onto her back and strained her neck back to look down on the streets. She caught Sachi's eyes and ears once she was upside down, recognizing him with a happy smile.

  "Oh." She called down. "You." Helen turned right-side up again and descended to the streets gracefully to greet the boy. "What are you doing sneaking about in this district?"

  "I'm not sneaking, Captain." Sachi said weakly, hands up to show he wasn't up to any mischief. "It's just... some bad stuff happened with my squad today. I needed to get away. I wound up-"

  "Let me guess, the ears aren't helping you make friends, are they?" Helen pointed to her own ears. They weren't as long as Sachi's on the tops, but they pointed in the same way, and she wore the same Qia'Dāv as him. "My advice: get over it. They'll settle down once you show them up, and soon enough it'll be something you all laugh about." Her feet never touched the ground by the end of her descent. Instead, Helen floated about a foot from the pavement, leaving more than a head between their eye levels.

  "Yeah, well... that's easier said than done..." Forgetting himself momentarily, he was quick to add, "Captain." Sachi slouched and let his gaze hit the ground again, finding Helen's jade stare too intimidating to peer directly into for more than a moment or two at a time.

  "Of course, it is." Her smile grew warmer. "I never said it would be fun, but you have to do it. Sorry if I'm the first one to break it to you, but no one cares if you're sad in this world." Her smile made it seem like she was actually very happy to be the one to tell him this pertinent information.

  Sachi knew the legendary Captain was right. Pitching a fit whenever he felt insecure wasn't going to win him any allies. There was a small sense of relief at hearing the Hero's perspective on things. She was being a realist, and that made her even more heroic to the young half-Elv in that moment. "I- uh... I wanted to thank you for saving us that night." He bowed his head, speaking from the heart. "Not just for that, but for everything else you did for us. I was really upset when my father died. Honestly, I'm still working through it—but I really wanted to thank you in person for everything you've given my family since that day. I'm also sorry that I didn't take the time to do this properly back then."

  Helen touched down on the ground with the metallic click of her boots against the stones. "You're welcome." The Hero's smile was smaller this time around, yet somehow had a more genuine feel to it.

  Sachi smiled back up to her. The woes of his unexpected morning with Faron seemed to subside as he looked at the woman who had saved him. "Well... I'm glad I ran into you, Captain ?thena. Sorry to disturb you out here! I mean, who would have thought I'd be lucky enough to run into the Hero on my first day." He laughed nervously but stopped when he didn't hear Helen join in. "Is... uh... is my older brother, Mira, okay?"

  At that, Helen chuckled. "Ke-he-he! He had a bit of swimming practice this morning. Don't worry, he's fine right now—just a bit wet."

  "I'm glad to hear it..." He scratched his head nervously, looking for any excuse to get to what was really eating at him. "Do you happen to have any more information on the investigation into those Elvs who attacked us?"

  Helen sighed grimly, knowing the information she was given wouldn't provide any closure to the orphaned child. "Yes... I found something."

  "You did? W-why wouldn't anyone tell us?"

  "Because it doesn't look like anyone will be able to bring these Elvs in. They have... connections..." Helen's expression became more stern.

  "Connections?!" Sachi started to feel his face get hot with frustration. "Those Elvs killed me! They attacked us in our home! They..." Sachi started to run out of breath, he had started yelling before thinking of his situation again. At that moment, halfway through his tantrum, he remembered who he was yelling at, and Helen's icy stare made him shut his mouth altogether.

  Helen dropped her battle-hardened stare once the young man silenced, feeling sympathetic toward the frustrated child. "They're Knights of the Round Table—at least the big one used to be. I'm still trying to find out who the smaller one was."

  Once again, Sachi felt like a fool for not knowing these terms that people around Gilgamere kept throwing around. "I don't know what being a Knight has to do with anything, nor anything about tables, but my father deserves justice. Those men-"

  "They're Elvs from Camelot." She cut in. "High-ranked too." For a moment Sachi was able to catch disappointment in her stare, but it was quickly replaced by a mix of anger and confidence. "To kill a Knight of the Round Table is to declare war against all of Camelot; against the Game Master Samael himself. I'm sorry, I know this isn't what you wanted to hear, but this Kingdom isn't going to war over your father."

  Sachi couldn't believe what he was hearing. The last six months he had felt some solace knowing the Hero of Corvus was hard at work solving his Father's murder. Is this what justice looks like?

  Sachi responded to Helen with a furrowed brow, Hel-bent on knowing the truth for himself. "What's his name?"

  "You sure you need to know that?" Her stare never wavered, knowing this boy was shaking a dangerous tree.

  "Of course. If it wasn't for him, my family would still be together. My life in-"

  "Learning things can be a dangerous game, Tyr B'ach..."

  Sachi paused when he heard the High-Etherial slip from Helen's lips. He recognized the phrase as the Romani equivalent of "baby brother," though the phrasing felt out of place given they had only met once before.

  The Hero went on, "Sometimes our cravings to know things end up leading us down roads that change us forever. Right now, the man you seek is a nameless figure you can blame for everything wrong in your life—now and in all the years to come. It's not too late for you to turn around and stumble through that haze of grief on your own terms. However, if you learn his name, I can promise you will never be able to go back to what once was." She studied the boy's scowling face. "I know your type: quick to rage; eager to know everything. You won't stop at a name. You'll hunt for him if you learn it."

  The Hero's wisdom rang true. Sachi wasn't dumb, he knew great dangers awaited beyond their borders and he was merely a victim of happenstance. No good would come from picking at this scab. Yet, the young Elv was acutely aware his nature was to pick at it anyway.

  "You're right," said Sachi. "That man took everything from me, and I won't be able to move on until I know everything about why he came to our house that night." He bowed his head once more. "Please, Captain! Now that I'm so close to the truth, I'd never sleep right again if I walked away." He raised his head, hoping his Kingdom's Hero would give her blessings for such a selfish request.

  Captain ?thena sighed deeply, knowing this confused boy would come to regret his choice. Then, she proceeded to give him exactly what he asked for.

  "He's known as—the Knight of Commiseration..."

  (To Be Continued...)

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