As Gideon had said, they reached the edge of the forest after only a few hours of walking. Gideon signaled a halt, and then beckoned Dan forwards, where he and the others crouched.

“What can you see?” Gideon whispered when Dan arrived.

Dan crouched down behind a thin bush and looked in the direction Gideon indicated, his night vision rendering everything visible. In the darkness, Dan had only been able to make out a black mass against the star-strewn sky, but with the night vision, he could easily see that it was a large outcropping of rock, jagged, rising from the ground suddenly, as if it had been pushed up from beneath. It was dark against the green-lit sky, but Dan could still make out the gaping hole in the front of it, completely black, even to the night vision. It was the entrance of a cave.

“Any guards?” Gideon asked.

Dan quickly scanned the rock-face. He couldn’t tell if it was all jagged rock, or if there might be a person hidden somewhere. He flipped a switch on his helmet, switching to thermal. Instantly, two faintly warm blobs appeared, motionless, sitting about halfway up the rock face.

Dan switched back to night vision. He could see nothing. Unless… that must be it. The only hint Dan had that a person was perched on a ledge of the outcropping was the faint motion of long white hair in a slight breeze. He quickly spotted the second guard the same way. They were sitting on a thin ledge of the outcropping, wearing some sort of jagged armor which blended perfectly with the rock. Dan pointed them out to Gideon.

“Kaori,” Gideon said, nodding to the ninja. Kaori nodded, and a moment later vanished from sight. Dan blinked, and then saw her and two of her ninjas crawling through the tall grass separating the edge of the forest and the cave entrance.

Gideon saw Dan looking at where Kaori had disappeared.

“Never get on a ninja’s bad side,” he whispered, grinning. “They’ll slit your throat before you even know they moved.”

Watching Kaori and her two ninjas snake through the grass, Dan thoroughly believed it.

He kept an eye on the two sentinels, which he guessed must be drow, but they didn’t move. Silently, the three ninjas reached the edge of the rock-face, and then began to scale it. Dan watched through his night vision. They didn’t even seem to need handholds. It was as if they gripped the flat rock itself and simply moved upwards. He watched them spread out, one going for each sentinel and one in the middle, presumably to lend aid to whichever should need it. Dan couldn’t tell who was who, as all three had drawn black cloth masks over their faces.

All Dan caught was a faint flash of steel from the ninjas on either side. The sentinels rolled forwards cleanly, now plainly visible since they were moving, and dropped, silently, off of the outcropping. Silently, the three ninjas dropped to the ground after them, snaked back through the grass, and then popped up next to Gideon as suddenly as they had disappeared.

“Drow,” Kaori confirmed, pulling her mask from her face. “Two of them. Males. This must be the weak link.”

Gideon nodded. “Right,” he said. “Our strategy will be to hit it hard and fast. Catch them by surprise. Kaori, you take a few of Francois’ knights and as many ninjas as you need, and set up a perimeter around the cave. I don’t want anyone escaping.”

Kaori nodded and slithered away, back to where Francois and his knights waited.

“Mages and healers hang back,” Gideon said, turning to Ana and the others. “Go in only after everyone else. Me and Laelia and the knights will go in front. Dan, you’re in front too. Tell us if we’re about to run into anything.”

“It’s going to be pitch black in there,” Dan said. “How will you all see?”

“We don’t want to lose the advantage of surprise,” Gideon said. “Tell us when we’re right on top of them. Then Trela, Jaseff, and Ana will provide all the light we need. Ready?”

Everyone nodded.

“Then let’s move out. Keep it quiet.”

It was only a short ways across the grass to the cave entrance, but to Dan, it seemed to take at least an hour. He, Gideon, and Laelia went first, followed by Francois and his knights. Glancing back, Dan saw Ana and the others take up the rear, crouching low as they moved across the field.

They moved past Kaori’s perimeter of ninjas, the black-clad figures lying flat on the ground, motionless and silent. Dan himself was crawling on his stomach, along with most everyone else, using his knees and elbows to pull himself along. Eventually they arrived, the shadow of the giant outcropping of rock hiding the starlight as they moved into it. Gideon sat up against the rock-face.

“All good?” he asked.

Everyone nodded. Dan’s mouth was dry.

Gideon turned, crouched, and moved into the cave without a word. Laelia closely followed him, and Dan followed her, switching on his night vision as he did so.

They were in a narrow tunnel. Dan doubted there would be enough room for them to stand up if they had wanted to. The tunnel was roughly circular in shape, and twisted and turned, all the while going down. It doubled back on itself, made one final sharp turn, and then Dan saw that it widened out up ahead, and the far wall was gone. A room.

He put a hand on Gideon’s shoulder. Everyone instantly stopped.

“Room up ahead,” Dan breathed.

“Give it a glance,” Gideon whispered back. “Tell us what’s in there.”

Dan nodded and squeezed past Gideon, hugging the left wall. He felt a change in air pressure as he approached the room; it was definitely a good size. He switched to thermal, and instantly at least twenty dull signatures sprang to life inside the room. They were nowhere near as warm as Dan and the others were, but they were still easily distinguishable from the dark of the cave wall.

Dan switched back to night vision and scanned the far wall. As far as he could tell, this was it. There were no other exits, no additional tunnels. Just one giant room. He crawled back up the tunnel and reported what he had seen to Gideon.

“Then it’s time,” Gideon said. “Dan, hang back and stay at a safe distance. You don’t have the experience the knights do.”

Dan nodded. That was perfectly fine with him.

“Find the mages. Tell them we’ll charge when they light our way.”

Moving cautiously, Dan pulled himself back up the tunnel, passing the long line of knights. He finally found Ana, Trela, Jaseff, and Sharwin at the very back of the line.

“They’ll move on your signal,” he said to Trela. “It’s just one big room down there, no extra tunnels that I can see.”

“That’s good,” Trela whispered. “Stand back, Dan. On the count of three.”

The four mages all closed their eyes. Dan expected some sort of chanting or hand waving, but nothing happened. They remained completely silent. And then, without warning, a brilliant white light flooded the bottom of the tunnel.

As one, the knights yelled and surged forwards, getting a firmer grip on their swords and shields. Screams and shrill cries of anguish echoed up from the burning light.

“Come on!” Trela called to Dan as the knights moved forwards as fast as they could in a crouched position.

Dan had no desire to get close to the battle, but he followed the mages, knowing that they would stay in the back, where it would be much safer. Gideon was right: Dan didn’t have the experience the knights did.

It was an odd experience, following the tunnel slowly downwards, not being able to run as the sounds of battle echoed up from below. They inched along behind the knights, half-standing up, forced to stay low against the rough rock ceiling of the tunnel. Soon they rounded the bend, and only two knights remained, hanging back at the entrance of the room. Dan guessed they were there to guard the mages.

They all entered the room, just far enough to stand up. Then Trela, Ana, and Sharwin stood shoulder to shoulder, Dan behind them, his gun at the ready, and did… nothing. For a few long seconds, they simply stood there. And then Ana raised a hand, and instantly there was a corresponding flash of light in the middle of the room, followed by a deafening report of sound. The ground shook, and Dan braced himself against the wall. Sharwin raised her hand, and a similar explosion occurred to the left of Ana’s. Several drow were flung to the ground, where they did not stir.

In fact, drow were hitting the ground all over the room. Two balls of light illuminated the large cave, each just a slightly different shade of white – one the palest of reds, and one glowing with a blazing shade of blue. They easily illuminated the whole of the cave, and their light alone seemed to have stunned the drow.

Several, black skinned with pure white hair, were writhing on the ground beneath the balls of light, covering their eyes with their dark hands. One was even kneeling on the ground, his face similarly covered, his mouth locked open in an unending cry of pain. At least seven drow were already dead, their black blood pooling beneath their strewn bodies on the cave floor. But the rest – Dan guessed there were nine in total – were still fighting.

He had never seen combat like he saw it now. The drow were pushed up against the wall, each dueling two or three knights. As far as Dan could see, they were evenly matched. If anything, the drow were winning. This was not the case with the drow which Gideon was fighting.

Shoulder to shoulder with Laelia, Gideon had his sword out, the long dark blade oddly flickering blue. The sword went in and out, over and under, moving so fast that Dan was amazed Gideon could keep a hold of it. What was even more amazing was that he didn’t hit Laelia, who was right next to him.

She was using a shield and a short sword, but her skill was nowhere near that of Gideon. He twirled his blade from side to side, attacking first one side of the drow and then the other. Dan counted four strikes in one second, two on each side. The drow, her face a mask of snarling concentration, could only manage to fend off his attacks and Laelia’s, leaving no time to strike any of her own.

Dan glanced at the mages. Sharwin, her face locked on the nearest drow in concentration, was muttering something under her breath, though Dan couldn’t hear what. Sparks leapt from her fingers. Trela, her feet apart in a wide stance, had both arms held slightly out. Dan couldn’t tell what she was doing.

Ana, on the other hand, was full of action. Her red hair whipped about her face as she pointed at individual drow. Nothing seemed to happen, which made the motion look a bit odd, as she pointed from one to another, as if about to pronounce doom on them. But then Dan noticed that the ones she pointed to seemed to sag under the blows they received, and their swords seemed to slow. Nearly all of them received an injury, if they didn’t go down to the ground outright under the continued assault of the knights.

A few drow, seeing the mages, raised their own hands. Orbs of dark mist shot from their palms, but the magic passed harmlessly through Dan and the mages. Glancing behind him, Dan saw the orbs drawn to Ana, only to dissipate into the air the instant they touched her. It was as if she were sucking the energy right out of them. She turned burning eyes on the drow who had attacked, and soon they were writhing on the ground.

Meanwhile, the single drow who Dan had seen crying out in pain at the light had, by this time, gotten to his feet and drawn his sword. The two knights protecting the mages were already battling him, but the remaining three – all female – were slowly staggering to their feet as well.

Dan quickly raised his gun, sighted down the short barrel as he had been taught, found the head of the nearest drow, and pulled the trigger. A jolt instantly went down both of his arms, reverberating unpleasantly in his gloves. A blast of light shot out from the gun and smote the drow cleanly on the forehead, leaving a black hole where a moment before had been only black skin and pure white hair. The drow dropped to the ground instantly, twitching slightly.

Dan watched the drow, the only sensation he felt a morbid sense of curiosity. He had never seen anyone die before, not outside SR anyway. And he had certainly never killed anyone. How should he feel? Revolted? Elated? In control? Should he panic? Should he be calm and collected? Dan didn’t know. He simply turned to the next closest drow, and pulled the trigger again. She too dropped to the floor, dead.

However, that was all the time Dan had. The third and final drow had arrived, and now the knights were outmatched. Dan had only his gun, and the mages certainly had nothing longer than a dagger. They couldn’t help. They backed into the tunnel as the knights tried to hold the drow off.

Or at least, most of them did. Sharwin stayed behind, seemingly looking for an opening in the fight. Dan wondered what she could be doing, until she darted forward, and grabbed the male drow by the shoulder.

At first the drow simply looked at her in surprise. Then his expression turned to one of shock. Dan saw a spark fly from Sharwin’s hand. The drow seemed to convulse, and then dropped to the floor instantly, twitching where he lay, a trail of blood leaking from his mouth. Sharwin stepped back.

Dan was just thinking that they would kill all of the drow with no losses, when three cloaked and hooded figures dropped from the ceiling. Why hadn’t he checked the ceiling? Now that Dan looked, he could see a small hole in the middle of the rough ceiling, just big enough for one man to drop through at a time.

The three figures made straight for the nearest fight. The two in front leapt into action, white hair flying out from under their hoods, long blades snaking towards the knights. One knight went down before he even knew what had happened. The other had just long enough to look behind himself, before he too was felled. The liberated drow joined the others, and leapt to the next fight. However, the third hooded figure remained standing, observing the whole scene. And then he lowered his hood.

The figure wasn’t a drow. It was a man, his skin pale, his hair almost all white. His face was young, and Dan knew instantly that this must be Caius. Any doubt was instantly driven from his mind when Laelia looked up and saw the man.

“CAIUS!” She screamed, trying to shove the drow she was fighting out of the way to get to him. The drow nearly sliced her from head to foot for her loss of concentration; only a quick block from Gideon saved her.

Dan moved to the side, trying to get a clear shot at Caius, and stumbled into something on the floor. Looking down, he saw that it was Jaseff, crouching low to the ground, hands over his head.

“Jaseff!” Dan shouted over the din of swords clashing. “Are you hurt?”

Jaseff didn’t look up. He flinched at every nearby sword strike, and only moved further back, trying to keep in the shadows. Dan didn’t have time to wonder what he was doing. He moved around him, but Caius had moved. He was now fighting Laelia.

Laelia had apparently left the drow she was fighting to Gideon, who, skilled as he was, was hard-pressed on his own. Now Laelia was fighting Caius, fury written all across her face, her blows wide and arcing, not focused and precise like Gideon’s. Dan realized she was fighting without focus or control. He knew enough from his training to realize that if Caius even remotely knew how to fight, he could wound her in an instant.

Caius was apparently content to block Laelia’s blows. He ducked, sidestepped, and dodged her, blocking only when he needed to. Dan could see that his unwillingness to fight back was infuriating Laelia even further, making her make more mistakes, opening herself up further. A wicked smile was on Caius’ face, and it was growing with every second.

Ana pointed at the drow Gideon was fighting, holding the position for a few precious seconds. The drow failed to block one blow, and Gideon quickly followed up with a crashing downwards slice from the other side. The drow dropped to the ground, screaming in agony, dark blood coating her entire side. Gideon didn’t bother finishing her off. Instead he leapt over her and raced to where Laelia and Caius were dueling, now in the center of the cave.

Caius saw him coming. In a split second, he threw Laelia’s attack aside with his short sword and delivered a back-hand blow to the side of her head with his free fist. She dropped to the ground like a sack of stones, stunned.

Gideon leapt to the attack, a cry of rage escaping him, his dark blade flickering with a blue energy. Caius side stepped, allowing Gideon to pass him, and then leapt to the attack. Short sword met long in a flurry of sparks, and Caius’ smile instantly vanished. As if by an invisible punch, he was flung back from the deadlock. Dan saw a painful smile creep onto Gideon’s face. Caius snarled in anger, and leapt back to Gideon, now dodging his every blow.

Dan knew the difference: Caius was fighting now. He had merely been toying with Laelia, not bothering to return her blows, but he was trying to kill Gideon. And Gideon seemed to know it. He also appeared to know that he was losing.

Caius never once touched blades with him, instead ducking and swerving around Gideon’s long sword with an agility which almost convinced Dan he must have no spinal cord. Gideon managed to block Caius’ every blow, but only just. Finally, one got through. Caius’ blade snaked across Gideon’s armor, finding the edge and plunging deep into Gideon’s side.

Gideon let out a gasp of pain, but flicked his sword downwards, attempting to bring it down on Caius’ shoulder. Caius leaned to the side, avoiding the blow, and whipped his short sword around, slicing towards Gideon’s other side.

The blade was met by another amid a shower of sparks. Laelia had rejoined the conflict. Gideon twisted away from the sword, and Laelia leapt to the attack. Caius spun away, blocking Laelia’s blows and dodging Gideon’s, but now he had met his match.

During this whole time, Dan had been searching for a way to land a clean shot on Caius, but none was to be had. He was moving too fast, and he was too close to Gideon and Laelia. Dan could easily hit one of them by accident. Having no other weapons, he stood by helplessly and watched.

Caius knew he was outmatched. He ducked under a blow and delivered a quick punch to Laelia’s stomach. She doubled up and staggered backwards, but quickly rejoined the fight. However, in that time, Caius had spun around, under Gideon’s sword, and swung his elbow clean into Gideon’s face.

Dan saw blood fly from Gideon’s mouth as he was knocked backwards. He fell, stumbling at the force of the blow, and his sword left his hands, clattering to the ground, the blade now dark. Caius turned burning eyes on Laelia as she re-engaged him.

Now Caius was fighting to kill. He easily blocked Laelia’s blows, and delivered another punch to her stomach. She doubled up again. He faked low, and slammed the hilt of his sword into the side of her head. She staggered sideways, but somehow managed to stay on her feet. However, she was now completely off balance, her sword held loosely at her side. Dan saw Caius grip his sword with both hands, and swing at Laelia’s head, a fiery gleam in his eyes.

There was a yell, a flash of blue, and Gideon’s sword, flaming blue, punched through Caius’ back. Gideon had stabbed Caius straight through the chest, armor and all. Gideon stood, lifting Caius with him. Caius gasped, blood flying from his mouth as his eyes circled wildly in their sockets. His blade fell to the ground, and then he followed, as Gideon threw him off of his sword and onto the hard stone.

Glancing at the rest of the cave, Dan saw that Gideon’s success was being repeated. Four of the drow were now dead, slain against the hard rock wall, and the freed knights were quickly finishing off those which remained.

Gideon pulled Laelia to her feet as the last of the drow fell, and the knights let out a hoarse cheer at their victory. Dan and the mages quickly moved forward.

Laelia was completely silent, but her eyes were fixed on Caius’ body, his lifeless eyes still wide with shock and terror, the gaping hole running through him leaking red blood in copious amounts. She said nothing, simply stared at his lifeless body.

“He’s dead now,” Gideon said reassuringly to her.

“You killed him,” Laelia said blankly.

“Yes,” Gideon said gently. “I killed him, because he was about to kill you.”

Laelia didn’t reply, but let Gideon lead her away, back up the tunnel. One by one, the knights followed, leaving only Dan and the mages left in the cave.

“Jaseff!” It was Trela. “Get up!”

Jaseff got shakily to his feet, still standing where Dan had last seen him. “I’m sorry, Trela,” he said. “I tried, I really did, but then the fighting started, and I—”

Trela turned him towards the tunnel – gently – and led him up it. Ana and Sharwin quickly followed. The mage-lights slowly grew dim.

Dan looked around at the cave as the light dwindled. So that was it? Bodies littered the place, black blood was splashed across the walls and pooled on the ground. In the middle of the room lay Caius, in a growing pool of his own blood, bright red against the black of the drow.

Dan wasn’t sure what he had expected. The battle had seemed to end so… suddenly. Dan glanced at the gun he still held. He had fired two shots, and killed two drow. He was sure he should feel something; but all he felt was a strange emptiness.

Without a word, he put his gun back in its holster, and followed the mages back up the tunnel.

Gideon kept them walking the whole night, with only one short break for a quick meal of rations. Soon Dan tired of seeing nothing but trees, endless bushes, and the eyes of small forest creatures, shining brightly in his night vision. He wanted to see something new. Gideon assured him the forest would end tomorrow, but for Dan, it couldn’t come soon enough.

Once the forest was noticeably lighter and Dan had to switch off his night vision (everything suddenly seemed dark and gray by comparison), Gideon called for a halt.

“We’ll spend the day here,” he said. “Fan out and find a comfortable spot. This forest is rarely crossed at this point, but I still want everyone reasonably hidden from sight. Use the dead branches to make canopies and cover them with leaves. Kaori, Francois: form a perimeter and distribute guard duty as you see fit.”

They spread out, Dan finding a bare spot by a tree, perfectly hidden by a large bush. It was far from anything he had ever slept on before, but after walking the whole night, it didn’t take him long to fall asleep.

It was dusk when he was gently shaken awake by one of Francois’ men. “C’est l’heure de se lever,” he said quietly before moving on to the next sleeper. Dan supposed that was some form of ‘good morning.’

It was still in the forest. The crickets chirped quietly all about them, as if merely warming up for the night’s chorus. A few late birds twittered sleepily in the trees. It was already quite dark, only the top-most leaves lit by the slanting rays of the slowly sinking sun.

Dan stood. For the first time since leaving Hyleran, a quiet excitement was within him, not at where he was, or what he might see, but in what he was doing. He might be backed into a corner by Vydar, but despite his best efforts, he was beginning to become involved in the war. He realized that he was part of a very crucial mission, far more crucial than Gideon or any of the others realized.

Dan glanced around. The others were slowly getting up, yawning, stretching, shaking the sleep from their eyes. Dan spotted Gideon nearby, lying next to a tree. He saw Laelia nearby, lying close to him.

Francois, fastening on his armor as he walked, went to Gideon. “The sun is nearly set,” he said. “It’s time we moved out.”

“I know,” Gideon replied, not opening his eyes. “Just savoring the moment.”

Francois moved off to rouse some of his knights.

Everywhere Dan looked, people were putting armor on or brushing leaves out of their hair. They were ready to go. What was Gideon waiting for? Dan crossed over to him.

Laelia opened her eyes as he approached and sat up, brushing the loose dirt from her armor. She carefully avoided looking at him. Gideon opened his eyes a crack, saw Dan, and stretched, yawning widely as he did so. “This is the only way to wake up,” he said half to himself, a satisfied smile on his face.

Dan glanced around. The ground didn’t look particularly comfortable. “What do you mean?”

Gideon sat up. “Out here I’m free. Surrounded by trees, the open sky above me, the woman I love by my side” — Laelia glanced up briefly, but then went back to pulling twigs from her hair — “There can be no better life to wake up to, Dan.”

The words struck a chord in Dan. No better life.

“Still,” said Gideon, getting up and brushing himself off, “we’ve got to fight for it.” He offered Laelia a hand – which she refused, although with a smile – and then went to check on the others.

“You stuck there?” Laelia asked.

Dan had remained where he was, looking at the spot Gideon had left. “What?” he said. “Oh, no. Just thinking.”

Laelia followed Gideon.

No better life. Dan had just realized something about Gideon: he had his horizon. He was there. He had what Dan had been searching for ever since the night Darren freed him.

Dan turned and watched Gideon rousing the others. Was there a difference? Was there some visible clue that Gideon had everything he wanted, and he, Dan, did not? He noticed Laelia by Gideon’s side. She was a part of it. She was a part of Gideon’s horizon, just as Heleer was a part of Dan’s.

Dan might find Laelia distasteful, even hostile, but Gideon clearly loved her. And even though she wasn’t very open about it, Dan could tell she loved him too. There was a difference in the way she looked at him and talked to him and acted around him. Dan had seen enough similar patterns in SR to know what it meant. They loved each other.

Dan watched the two of them a moment longer, and then without warning, felt such a powerful wave of longing that he actually had to put out a hand to steady himself against a nearby tree. Longing for Heleer. Longing for contentment, for peace, for having her with him.

Dan closed his eyes against the sudden rush of feeling. The things he would say. The things he would do. Why, why couldn’t he have appreciated what he had? Why couldn’t Heleer have been enough? After all, what was more important in the end: Heleer or some vaguely imagined horizon?

Dan opened his eyes. Just how important was it to him that he achieve his horizon, whatever that might be? Was it more important than Heleer? Dan couldn’t say it was. But then, neither could he say that Heleer was more important than his horizon. They were both equally important, both equally things Dan needed, things he couldn’t live without.

“Move out,” Gideon called, pulling Dan from his thoughts. “We should reach Valkrill’s perimeter of caves at about midnight. Stay alert.”

Dan felt a sudden sense of dread. What if something happened? What if he was killed? Then he would have neither Heleer nor his horizon. He supposed he wouldn’t care, being dead, but the thought still held a measure of fear. He couldn’t die. He had to get back to Heleer. He had to find his horizon.

He had to.

Dusk found Dan and the others gathered in front of the main gate of Hyleran, waiting for Gideon’s signal to move out. Dan hadn’t slept much; the things Bern had told him still circled in his head, excited thought chasing excited thought.

Gideon had gotten them up half an hour before sunset for another quick meal, and then rushed them to the gate, where they were currently waiting while he and Francois tracked down the rest of the knights. Kaori’s ninjas, fourteen in total, were already present, lined up and watching silently against one wall.

The endless streams of people clogging Hyleran’s streets had lessened somewhat, though no street was completely empty. Everywhere Dan looked, there was still at least one column of soldiers moving purposefully between the houses.

The houses had changed though. Most were small, built out of simple materials, but in the dusk and shadow settling over Hyleran, they had taken on a completely new look. Warm light spilled from their windows and under their doors, either dancing as the flames of a fire, or constant as the light of a soulborg lamp. Soft yellows, warm oranges, and muted reds combined to bathe Hyleran’s streets in a light which Dan could only describe with one word: home.

Dan sighed. Heleer, Hyleran; the two seemed to go together. Dan knew Heleer would much prefer this side of the city to the busy scene it had been a few short hours ago. No matter. There was something for both of them. And if he was honest with himself, Dan liked the peace and quiet. It was a change.

He leaned against the rough wall of Hyleran, smiling in the darkness, watching the warm light from the houses flicker across the thinning lines of soldiers. Heleer would be here, watching this with him, soon enough.

Too soon, Dan was ousted from his reverie by Gideon. The knights had joined them, and they soon were lined up and filing out of Hyleran’s main gate, into the black night beyond. The knights went out first led by Francois, and Kaori and her ninjas brought up the rear. Dan and the others kept between the two.

Gideon had said they would be traveling on foot, because Ghidan were apparently easily frightened, and could easily give them away if wolves were nearby. Dan was fine with that. He moved to the side of the group, where he could easily see every tree they passed.

There had been trees by Llynar, but Dan had been unable to reach them, since he was confined within the walls. Here he could see the trees clearly. He could walk right up to them and feel their rough bark. If he paused long enough, he could see insects roving along their surfaces. Their roots seemed to hide endless holes, doubtless the homes of small forest creatures. The trees even had a smell which was new to Dan, something soft and solid at the same time, oddly sharp, but overwhelmingly earthy. It was the complete opposite of the scents of metal and smoke Dan had grown up smelling. He moved from tree to tree, completely absorbed in how different they were from each other. Just as the faces he had seen, no two trees were the same.

Behind Dan, Hyleran quickly descended into shadow, the warm lights of the homes cut off by dark walls. But Dan did not look back. Not once did he pause and turn, remembering how he had imagined Heleer by his side. She was with him now in his imagination, but she was exploring the trees by his side, touching their bark with her soft hands, and laughing at their feel and smell. As the forest swallowed Dan and the others, Hyleran was blotted from his memory.

“Dan.”

Dan jumped at the sudden voice behind him. It was Gideon.

“Are you keeping an eye out?”

Dan had forgotten he was the scout. He hastily put on his helmet, placing the goggles over his eyes. Their edges stuck to his skin, but he supposed they were designed that way. He found the night vision switch on the helmet, and flipped it on.

Everything instantly went green. It was still dark, but now Dan could make out the shapes of trees and bushes, and even the glittering eyes of some small forest creature, which dashed away as they approached. He gave Gideon the thumbs up.

Gideon nodded and moved off towards Ana, who was talking with Trela as they walked.

Dan looked around. He still couldn’t make out the details of the trees very well, so that would have to wait until morning. But at least now he could see. He glanced over his shoulder and got another shock: Laelia had appeared out of nowhere.

She had the posture of someone trying to avoid company. Dan was sure she had drifted close to him by accident, for her eyes were fixed on Ana, who was now talking quietly to Gideon. Through the green surrounding him, Dan could see her expression quite clearly. It went beyond dislike. He would have almost called it hatred and disgust rolled into one.

Partially because there wasn’t much else to do, and partially because he found Laelia’s murderous gaze behind him disturbing, Dan finally decided to find out what was between the two. He slowed his pace slightly and drew level with Laelia without her noticing.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

Laelia startled as he spoke, and scowled when she saw him. “What do you mean?” she asked harshly.

“Between you and Ana,” Dan said, completely unphased by her tone (one benefit from SR). “You’ve looked like you want to murder her ever since we met.”

Laelia rolled her eyes in disgust. “It’s none of your business,” she said.

“We’re in this together,” Dan said. “Like Kaori said: we can’t afford to have secrets if we’re going to succeed.” Unbidden, the memory of the secret he was carrying surfaced, but Dan forced it to the back of his mind. That was different.

Laelia was silent.

Dan waited.

“I really hate people like you,” she said finally, although some of the venom had gone from her voice. “The priers. The curious. You always have to know everything. And you don’t let up, either. Fine, I’ll tell you, just to shut you up.”

Dan waited calmly.

“I met Ana a few times when I was younger, and thought of her as a friend. Recently though, I found out something about her. She isn’t what she pretends to be. She’s a Mordril.”

Dan looked at her blankly. “What’s a Mordril?” he asked.

“A traitor,” Laelia said, her face darkening for a moment. “On Toril, they are an elf or human who forsakes their own kind for the darkness of the drow. They are hated on Toril, and rightly so. They’re the worst kind of traitors, betraying not just one person or one country, but an entire race, and everything they stand for. And Ana Karithon was born as one.”

Dan watched Ana. She was talking with Trela again, laughing at something, and looking very much at home.

“She doesn’t look like a traitor,” Dan observed. “And she is helping us fight the drow, after all.”

“She can pretend,” Laelia said. “She might even lie to herself about who she is, but that changes nothing. Once a Mordril, always a Mordril.”

Dan watched Ana a moment longer. In the green light of his night vision, her long red hair looked pale, fanned out down her back, and her skin looked pure white. “I can’t see her betraying a whole race,” he said to Laelia. “She’s too…”

“Small?” supplied Laelia. “She doesn’t look like she has it in her. But then neither did Caius. He’s not from Toril, but he’s a Mordril all the same. He betrayed Einar for the drow, and Ana’s the same way. I hate them both equally.”

Dan looked back at Ana. Just looking at her made him doubt Laelia’s words. She was small, with pale skin and a smiling face. Since he had met her, he couldn’t recall her speaking more than twice. How could she be a drow sympathizer? Then again, he knew virtually nothing about her. Maybe it was a deception, as Laelia suggested. Maybe Ana was even deceiving herself. Dan couldn’t pass judgement on her though, not yet. He resolved to get to know her better, and then form his own opinion.

“How did you find out she was Mordril?” he asked Laelia.

Laelia scowled. “That really isn’t your business,” she said. “Enough questions.” She moved away from Dan, cutting through the column of knights to the other side.

“Making friends?” someone asked, a hint of sarcasm in their voice.

Dan turned. Gideon was back.

“More likely enemies,” Dan replied drily.

“Give her time,” Gideon said. “Laelia’s… an acquired taste.”

“Has she told you what she thinks of Ana?”

Gideon nodded unconcernedly. “She has. But I’m not worried. She’s very loyal to Einar, and Einar trusts Ana. Laelia can be harsh in her judgements, but she knows what’s at stake here. She’s not about to do anything rash, if that’s what you’re concerned about.”

‘The thought had crossed my mind,’ Dan thought to himself.

They continued on in silence for a time. The trees only grew thicker as they went. Soon the crickets went silent, leaving only the faint rustling of small animals and the occasional hooting of an owl. Soon, Gideon said that they had crossed the border. They were now in Valkrill’s lands.

Nothing much changed, except that the dirt path they had been on all but disappeared. Now they were forced to pick their way across giant roots, leap over small brooks, and try to find their footing on uneven ground hidden by leaves and small bushes.

Gideon said there was very little chance of scouts or wolves being in the woods, so they still spoke, albeit in quieter voices. As the night wore on, Dan decided to learn more about the Valkyrie who had forced him onto this mission. He asked Gideon what he thought of Vydar.

“How do I see him?” Gideon echoed, thinking. “I guess ‘misunderstood’ might be a good word. Most of the alliance sees him as cold and hard-hearted, but he’s really the complete opposite. He’s said many times that he owes the people of Anund a debt he can never repay, and he protects them accordingly. Not that anyone has the slightest idea what that debt might be, mind you. It’s one of the many mysteries surrounding him.”

“Doesn’t it bother you?” Dan asked. “Serving someone whose past you know nothing about? How can you know who he really is?”

“His actions are enough for me,” Gideon said simply. “He holds to his promises and shows every indication of putting his subjects before all else. He’s never changed once during the war, so his past matters little to me. I mean, sure, I’d like to know, but… I’m fine with not knowing. I trust him. It’s as simple as that.”

“Not all of his subjects trust him,” Dan noted.

“You mean those Kelad fools?” Gideon said. “That’s to be expected. Every leader has his enemies, no matter who he is or what he does.”

“I met one,” Dan said. “She told me some things Vydar did.” He mainly wanted to see what Gideon’s reaction would be.

“What things?” Gideon laughed. “He’s done plenty; almost all of it can be taken the wrong way.”

“She did mention that he planned on killing hundreds of prisoners at one point,” Dan said.

“They’re still talking about that one?” Gideon said, shaking his head. “Well, that was one of Vydar’s darker moments, I’ll give them that. Vydar’s a strange case. He’ll do anything to protect his people, but at the same time, it’s like he doesn’t care how many lives it takes to do it. If there’s one thing about him I disagree with, it’s that. But, at the same time, every costly choice he’s ever made has been when he has literally no other option. If it’s a simple choice between his people and someone else’s, he’ll choose us. Some see it as harsh. Others see it as necessary.”

“So that’s what happened with the prisoners?” Dan guessed. “It was either them or Vydar’s people?”

“Essentially,” Gideon said. “It was way back when Vydar was still on Utgar’s side. Tensions had always been high between Vydar and Ullar – still are, come to think of it – and they were reaching a peak. The alliance – which at that time was just Ullar and Jandar – were moving on Vydar fast, conquering his territories one by one. His army was still small, and Utgar’s marro horde refused to help – probably because Utgar wanted Vydar weakened so that he could get the wellspring for himself.

“Anyway, Vydar was in dire straits. He was losing ground and men, food and supplies were going down fast, and morale was dropping. He needed to do something to stop Ullar’s advance, so that he could regroup, rebuild, and strike back. Every attack he made was defeated though, so he turned to the only avenue he had left.

“He had captured a whole regiment of Ullar’s soldiers at a previous battle. There were a good number of important leaders among them; their loss would have been a big blow to Ullar’s army. Vydar knew outright executing them would just make his situation worse, so he decided to use them as a bargaining chip. He decided to send word to Ullar that he would execute every last one of the prisoners if he didn’t withdraw immediately.

“He almost did it,” Gideon said. “He had given the message to a courier and everything. Certainly a lot of his subjects thought he would go through with the threat. He never did, though, and good thing too, because otherwise we’d likely still be at war with the alliance, instead of on their side.”

“What changed his mind?” Dan asked.

“Have you heard of the one they call Aer Ilisyna?” Gideon asked.

Dan nodded. He remembered the recruits talking about her back in Llynar, the strange kyrie woman who had been seen with Vydar, but never identified.

“It was her,” Gideon said. “Or so the rumor goes. It’s said that she stopped him from sending the message to Ullar, and changed his mind. Talked him out of it completely. Next thing we knew, he had let the prisoners go, and escorted them straight to the border. Every last one of them.”

“He just… let them go?” Dan repeated.

Gideon nodded. “That’s the part Vydar’s enemies like to forget,” he added. “We’ll never really know what happened, but Ullar stopped his advance. Just sat across from Vydar’s border, his whole army spread out in pitched tents. Vydar got Anund stabilized, food and supplies distributed, and a few months later, he turned on Utgar and joined the alliance. People still say that if it wasn’t for Aer Ilisyna, that never would have happened. Ullar would have marched right into Anund, crushed our armies, taken the wellspring, and divided Anund up with Jandar.”

Dan thought a moment. “Why didn’t he just surrender?” he asked. “Vydar, I mean. When he was cornered, why didn’t he just try to work out some sort of deal with Ullar?”

Gideon shook his head. “That’s one thing he won’t do,” he said. “In fact, it was Ullar who tried to strike a deal. He even said Vydar could stay in charge of Anund if he surrendered the wellspring. But he wanted Anund to become part of Ekstrom. He wanted its people to become his subjects, and Vydar one of his governors. That’s what Vydar can’t stand. He can’t answer to anyone, or let anyone control who he is. I’ve learned that much about him. Some say it’s because he’s proud, and maybe he is, but I always felt like there was something else at work. Some reason why he has to be free.” Gideon paused, thinking.

Dan wasn’t sure what he thought of Gideon’s words. Gideon obviously trusted Vydar, as did many others, but to Dan, Vydar still seemed extreme. Dan couldn’t decide if he was a good leader who was misunderstood, or an extremist who had somehow tricked his subjects into trusting him. Could he be both at once?

“Anyway,” Gideon said, coming out of his thoughts, “I’m glad he didn’t take the offer, otherwise we’d all be serving with elves.”

Dan glanced at him.

“It would be downright horrible,” Gideon whispered in a tone of confidentiality, although a grin was on his face. “Trust me.”

As they ate, Dan had a clear view of the street outside and the wall beyond through the window he sat next to. It wasn’t long before he found himself, food finished, staring out of the window, only dimly aware of Gideon and the others talking around him.

He became so absorbed in the soldiers passing by just outside the window, the people moving back and forth across the street, and the occasional squadrons of kyrie flying across the sky, that he didn’t notice when Sharwin got up and left. Trela and Jaseff soon followed, accompanied by Ana. Soon, Dan was left sitting by himself at the table, completely unaware that he was alone.

“Steve?”

Dan reluctantly turned his gaze from the window. The voice had come from nearby, inside the building.

“Steve?”

Dan quickly spotted the owner of the voice. It was a man, possibly a few years older than Dan, the dark stubble of an unintentional beard clouding his otherwise tanned face. He wore the same armor as Dan, although he seemed to carry a rifle slung across his back in addition to a pistol.

“Steve? That you?” The man was looking at him.

Dan glanced around, but there was no one else nearby. He realized everyone else had left.

“I’m not Steve,” Dan said, facing the man again.

The man leaned closer, scrutinizing Dan’s face.

“Ah, sorry,” he said. “You were in the shadow. It’s your arms. I have a friend called Steve who has arms exactly like those. For a moment there, I thought…” He let his voice trail off.

“You’re Mariedian?” Dan asked.

The man nodded. “Isadoran, actually. Never been to the mother planet; too dangerous. My name’s Bern. You?”

“Mariedian,” Dan said, a hint of excitement rushing through him. He turned in his chair to fully face the man. “Vydar summoned me right out of a soulborg prison block. I’ve only seen the surface of Isadora once.”

“Really?” Bern said, leaning forwards. “Were you captured and sent there?”

Dan shook his head. “Born there,” he replied. “I got out once though. The Senry attacked and blasted a hole right in the roof of my cell.”

“Did they now?” Bern said, his voice echoing some of Dan’s excitement. “Did you escape?”

“I was too young to realize what was going on,” Dan said, “but two Mariedians came through the hole and got me out. The soulborgs recaptured me pretty quickly though… I don’t know what happened to the Mariedians.”

“I’m sure they were fine,” Bern said, waving his hand dismissively. “We know how to hide from soulborg scanners. That’s a pretty bold move though, raiding a soulborg complex directly. There aren’t too many divisions which could pull that off. You wouldn’t happen to know which one it was?”

Dan shook his head. “I didn’t have a chance to learn much of anything,” he said. “I was only out for about ten minutes.”

“Hmm. Oh,” Bern said, realizing something, “what did it look like? When you got out, I mean. Were you on the coast?”

“No,” Dan said. “There was sand everywhere. Lots and lots of sand dunes.”

“Ha!” Bern shouted, making a nearby trio of kyrie jump. They scowled at him and returned to their meal.

“That’s my division,” Bern said. “There’s only three divisions which would have the resources to do that, and only one is in a desert. Hey, I wonder if I know the guys who got you out. Did you ever hear their names?”

“One of them,” Dan said. “He was called Darren.”

“Darren…” Bern let the name roll off his tongue, thinking. “Know two or three… wait a minute. I went with a Darren on a raid once. It was a long time ago, mind you; back when I was young. Come to think of it, we blasted a hole in a prison complex, just as you described. Got a fair few prisoners out, too. At least seven before the soulborgs shut us down. I wonder if it’s the same one. What’s your name?”

“Dan,” Dan said, getting truly excited now. Darren was the one who had shown him the horizon in the first place, the one who had started everything. “I don’t think he ever asked me what my name was, though,” Dan said. “All I know is that I got out, and Darren put me on some sort of flying machine. We took off, were shot down, he told me to run… the soulborgs must have caught up with me at that point, because I never could remember what had happened after that.”

Bern sat up straighter. “That is Darren,” he said. “I was on that raid. Darren got in a craft with the first kid we got out, but was shot down. He’s fine, by the way,” he added. “Made it back to the extraction point in one piece. Said they got the kid though… that must have been you.”

Dan could hardly believe his good luck. He had never dreamed that here, on Valhalla, he would meet someone so close to his past. It almost made him feel closer to Heleer. “Tell me more,” he said. “The others; did they get out?”

“Some of them,” Bern nodded. “Most of them. The last three got nabbed by the soulborgs as we were getting them out. Pulled them right back in through the hole we had blasted. Don’t know why the soulborgs bothered though. They were already halfway out. They had seen us. They had seen Isadora.”

“Why would that matter?” Dan asked, confused.

“Right,” Bern said, “Sorry. I forgot you’d been born there.”

“I’d like to know,” Dan said. He had no intention of letting what Bern knew go to waste: he had to learn everything.

“What do you know about the soulborgs?” Bern asked.

“Not much,” Dan admitted. “I don’t even know why they imprisoned me,” he added, suddenly realizing that fact. Why hadn’t he asked NT9 about that? He supposed he had still thought he was in SR at that point…

“Well the problem with the soulborgs,” Bern said, “is that they’re unnatural. They’re a Mariedian’s mind and thoughts and emotions, plugged into a metal machine. The machine can be repaired and replaced indefinitely, but the mind cannot. Mariedians were never meant to exist forever; the soulborgs start going mad after a few hundred years.

“They tried to fix it with programming, you know, replace the brain with a computer, become machine entirely. Never worked. They couldn’t replicate the mind. They couldn’t replicate free will or creativity. They could mimic it, but never on the scale of an actual brain. So that’s why they have prison blocks.”

Dan was still confused.

“There’s hundreds of cells in each block,” Bern explained, “and anywhere from one to six Mariedians in each cell. Every single one of those Mariedians spends every day of their waking lives in a SR Unit.”

“You know about the SR Units?” Dan asked.

“Of course we do,” Bern replied. “We know of them, that is. Not how they work. All we know is that the Khyta soulborgs send their prisoners through countless simulations in those machines, and measure how they respond. They analyze their thought processes, their emotional reactions, everything. Their logic is that if they can document enough reactions, enough free-willed choices, then they can cover every possible creative spark a brain can come up with, and duplicate it. They can make their own brain. Then they won’t need Mariedians any more. They’ll be immortal, unkillable, their collective minds hidden away somewhere in some vast computer network. You’d be able to destroy their bodies, but they would just download another version of themselves into a new body and keep going like nothing ever happened.

“Like I said: soulborgs are unnatural.”

“But…” Dan paused a moment, trying to keep up with what Bern had told him. He didn’t know what half the terms meant, like ‘computer network’ and ‘download’. “They can’t do that, right? Become… immortal?”

“Nah,” Bern said. “In my opinion they’ll never be able to, but that doesn’t stop them from trying. They’re close, mind you. They’ve pushed the boundaries of science far beyond anything we ever imagined. Just the fact that they can keep the project running at all is incredible.”

“What do you mean?”

“They’re trying to analyze the minds of hundreds of thousands of Mariedians,” Bern said. “Not just in the SR Units, but outside, also. They have to account for what the prisoners are thinking and feeling when they go in the units, otherwise their data would be all wrong. That’s hard enough, but just considering the logistics of keeping all those prisoners healthy and happy is staggering. The food they use alone could probably keep the whole resistance fed for a year.”

“Happy?” Dan repeated. “Why would they need to keep us happy?”

Bern shrugged. “Probably so that you don’t want to escape,” he said. “We can only guess, but that’s the best reason I know of. We do know it’s a manipulation game with them: keeping the prisoners right where they want them emotionally, so that they can get the results they want in the SR Unit. We’ve freed a few prisoners who say they lived in constant fear or pain; I can only assume the soulborgs did that to see how the results differed from a normal person. Most of the prisoners we free are happy with their lives though. They don’t even know they’re in a prison.”

Dan thought a moment. That made sense. If the soulborgs were measuring their mental and emotional responses to different situations, then it made sense that they would need a few Mariedians with different circumstances than the others, to make sure they got the full spectrum of possible reactions. Dan was instantly grateful he had been one of the normal ones. It also made sense why Dan had experienced scenarios which made him afraid, sad, or angry: the soulborgs were simply testing his responses.

Dan looked down at his gloves. Something didn’t add up. “What about these?” he asked, holding them up. “I could escape with these. Why would the soulborgs give them to me, if their whole goal is to keep us in our cells and in SR?”

“I assume you got those arms when you went up against the Barrier?” Bern guessed. Dan nodded. “It was the same way with Steve. They had captured him when he was just a kid, so he could still remember bits and pieces of the world outside. Not enough to really understand, but enough to know there was something out there. They had wiped the rest.”

“They wiped his memory?” Dan said. When he was young, parts of his memory had been erased, so he knew the soulborgs could do it. However, that created a question which for some reason, Dan had never thought of before: if the soulborgs could wipe memories, why didn’t they remove Dan’s memory of being rescued? He would have continued his life as a happy prisoner, unaware of reality. “Why didn’t they wipe all of his memory?” Dan asked. “You know – erase everything about Isadora?”

“They can’t,” Bern said. “They couldn’t wipe the whole thing, just bits and pieces. The Senry tells us that after a certain age, you can’t wipe a mind. Not permanently anyway. I suspect that’s why he could remember some things.

“Anyway, Steve knew enough to know that he wanted to get out. He tried using his gloves many times. He said he used them to break the SR Unit, pulling cords from it and stuff. He even tried to get through the wall to where the Shaft was. Dented the wall a fair bit, but never broke through. He found out his gloves could go through the Barrier pretty quickly, but that didn’t do him any good. He couldn’t reach anything, and the rest of his arm could never go past the Barrier.”

Bern sat back, observing Dan’s arms. “So why did the soulborgs give you those? Probably because they didn’t give you as much advantage as you thought they did. The most you can do is break the SR Unit, and after doing that a few times, Steve got a new one where everything was behind the wall, where he couldn’t get at it.”

Dan didn’t say anything. He glanced at his gloves, the powerful metal glinting dully in the light from the window. Maybe regular gloves would give him no advantage, but with what NT9 had done, Dan knew otherwise. He knew he could tear down the walls themselves if he wanted to. He almost wanted to go back to Isadora, just to try, just to escape. Almost.

“So you were that little kid,” Bern mused, shifting his gaze to the ceiling. “The first one we got out. Yeah, I remember you… preoccupied with the sand, weren’t you?”

Dan nodded. “That was me,” he said, a bit blankly. Bern had really been there. He was really talking to one of the people who had helped him escape. It was still a little hard to believe.

“You said they captured you again? The soulborgs?” Bern leaned forward.

Dan nodded. “Darren and I were shot down,” he said. “I woke up later back in my cell.”

“Did you ever break out again? We bombed that place plenty after that; I’m sure we got the power generator more than once.”

“You did,” Dan assured him. “The Barrier kept going on and off. That’s actually why I was summoned: I got out and RR found me.”

“RR?”

“She’s the soulborg who was there. I always called her RR. I don’t know what her real name is.”

“Probably a string of meaningless numbers and letters,” Bern muttered. “So,” he said, “you got out. Were you able to find out what level you were on?”

“The bottom level,” Dan answered quickly. “I kept running until I hit a wall, and the ceiling was gone above me. The hole just kept going up and up… but I was definitely at the bottom.”

“Hmm.” Bern leaned back again. “I ask because there was this plan a few years back. Never executed, because it never worked like it was supposed to. The idea was that we could launch a cyber attack against a prison block and shut down all the Barriers. Let the prisoners out and start some sort of prison break. The Khyta soulborgs have so much programming embedded in everything that it would actually be fairly easy for them to overlook a single tiny virus. Until things stopped working, obviously.

“It was a good idea, but the soulborgs had defenses on everything, and the coding was so far advanced beyond what we were capable, that we were never able to shut down so much as a camera. The most we could do was get the generators to send spikes of energy to specific Barriers. It made them flicker, but that’s about it. In the end it was the bombs which took them down.

“We still use that virus though, for the exact reason that people like you exist.”

Dan looked up, interested.

“The soulborgs have captured plenty of people who know about the outside world and want to escape. So we decided to leave them a trail. Every prison block has service tunnels connecting every level. They’re narrow, hot, and full of electrical wires, but they’re the only way out if you’re escaping. The soulborgs have no cameras in them, and won’t be able to track you. The only trouble is that the entrances are impossible to find… unless you know where to look.”

A slow smile began to creep across Dan’s face.

“We set patterns of flickering Barriers, sequences pointing to the service entrances. If you follow those and look at the base of the walls, you’ll eventually see a small metal panel which pulls away easily. Worm your way in, and keep going up. If you hit a dead-end, backtrack and take the first branch, then start going up again. Eventually you’ll hit a giant vent set in the ground. Push that away, and you’re out. As long as you don’t interrupt any systems, the soulborgs won’t know where you are. We regularly make high-altitude passes over the prisoner blocks, hoping to see anyone who’s made it out. Stick close to the wall where the cameras can’t see you, and we’ll drop in and grab you. Then you’re out.”

Excitement was beginning to rush through Dan’s veins again. “So there’s a way,” he said, almost to himself, “there’s actually a way to get out.”

“Well,” Bern said.

Dan looked up.

“I mean, none of the prisoners know about it. We can’t exactly communicate with them. The most we can hope for is that by keeping the generator down, some of them get out, and out of those, some are curious enough to see where the trail of flickering Barriers leads.”

“Have any gotten out that way?”

Bern shook his head. “Not that I know of,” he grimaced. “It’s the most we can do though.”

“What if you let the soulborgs capture one of you, and then break out? Couldn’t you spread the word that way?”

Bern shook his head again. “We tried that,” he said. “The soulborgs are too smart. They’re careful with the rebels they capture. They know that if we have so much as a second with another Mariedian, we could tell them enough to ‘damage them beyond repair’ as the soulborgs put it. They keep us in an isolated block, so even if we do break out, we can’t get to the other prisoners.

Damaged beyond repair. That was what RR had said to Dan. That must have been what she had meant: that he had learned too much, and that his desire to escape was interfering with the data from SR. But had she really been about to kill him? Would she do that?

“Dan!” Gideon appeared in the doorway. “What are you doing? We need sleep, now.”

Dan got up quickly. “I’d like to know more,” he said, as Bern got up too. “About Isadora, about the resistance, about what’s really going on.”

“Looks like you have a job to do right now,” Bern said, nodding towards Gideon, “but when you get back, ask if you can be sent wherever I’m stationed. I move around a lot, but it shouldn’t be too hard to track me down. I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

“Thanks,” Dan said, moving for the doorway.

Bern waved, and then Dan lost sight of him as he stepped out of the building and Gideon shut the door.

Gideon led them out of the small building they had been in. The door was only big enough to allow one to leave at a time, meaning that by the time Dan finally got out, most of the others had already made for a low square building, which Dan assumed served food. He turned to follow, but then stopped, catching sight of something above him on the wall.

Gideon and Kaori were standing on the wall, looking outwards, and discussing plans in quiet voices. Dan glanced at the wall. He could see nothing beyond it, nothing but pure blue sky and wispy clouds. Were they in the middle of a rolling plain? On the side of a mountain? Overlooking a lake? Dan’s curiosity got the better of him, and he took a step towards the wall.

Gideon glanced up. “Get some food, Dan,” he said. “Kaori and I will be along shortly.”

Dan nodded and turned his steps towards the low building. He would see what was beyond the wall soon enough. Instead, he occupied himself with watching the stream of faces moving past him.

In the SR Unit, once Dan had seen Heleer, it was easy to pick out the errors in the SR faces. They were all different, but they had all shared the same mistakes: lifeless eyes, a not-quite-right skin color, and strange actions which, until Heleer had come, Dan had assumed were completely normal. Not so now. Every face Dan saw was perfectly real, and completely different from the last.

Dan slowed, simply taking in the barrage of endless faces. Again, he found himself smiling. He could stay here forever, simply watching the faces. He imagined Heleer by his side, watching them with him. She would like that, once she got used to it.

He glanced around. Maybe they would one day be here, watching the stream of faces. Maybe from one of the nearby houses. One on Dan’s right had a window looking right out onto the street. Dan didn’t have to try hard to see himself at that window, Heleer by his side, both of them happy and content, both—

Dan walked right into the samurai without meaning to. He had been looking sideways, watching the people parading past him, and not realized that he had inadvertently crossed the path of a particularly large samurai, wearing full armor and hurrying down the street.

The samurai lost his balance. He teetered on one foot for a brief moment as Dan staggered from the impact, and then fell backwards. Dan saw, as he managed to regain his balance, the samurai shove a knife away from his side as he fell. The knife was secured across the samurai’s chest by a leather strap, but was – why, Dan knew not – unsheathed. A split second later the samurai landed, sprawled flat on his back in the dust. Had he not managed to shove the knife away from his side, it could have very easily gone right between his ribs.

The samurai clearly wasn’t too pleased. He leapt to his feet, shouting a phrase in a language Dan couldn’t understand. Dan took a step back as the samurai continued to yell at him, anger evident on his face.

“I – I’m sorry,” Dan stammered, taking another step back as the samurai advanced.

“Baka,” the samurai spat. He glared at Dan, and then said something else in the strange language, speaking quickly. He gave Dan a look which plainly said he expected him to say something.

“I – I don’t know what you want,” Dan said. “I said I’m sorry.”

The samurai glared at him, his face growing darker by the second. Dan saw him clench his fists.

“Matte!” Jaseff, appearing from nowhere, ran between Dan and the samurai, holding up his hands. “Matte,” he said again. “Sore wa jiko datta.”

The samurai turned his glare to Jaseff, and said something hotly, but then he shrugged his armor back into place and, after giving Dan one last angry glare, shoved past him.

“Come on,” Jaseff said, beckoning Dan forwards. “Stay on the side of the road. Leave the middle for the troops.”

Dan quickly moved to the edge of the street. Now that he took the time to look at it, he saw that the columns of soldiers constantly moving back and forth did in fact stay in the middle of the road, while everyone else parted around them. He must have wandered into the middle without realizing it.

“What was he saying?” he asked, catching up to Jaseff, who was already halfway to the low building.

“He was just angry,” Jaseff said.

“What was he speaking though?”

“What? The language? Japanese. All the samurai speak it. I don’t speak much, but Trela and I have been with Einar’s forces so long that I’m beginning to pick it up.”

“What did he want?” Dan asked.

“An apology, I think,” Jaseff said, arriving at the door of the low building. “I told him it was just an accident.”

“Thanks,” Dan said, remembering that it was what Heleer would have said.

“Don’t mention it,” Jaseff said. “And if you thought he was bad, just wait until you meet the commander of this place. He’s an old samurai, and the only reason he’ll listen to is his own. He’s inside. We’ll try to avoid him.” Jaseff opened the door.

The low building was, as Dan had suspected, full of people eating. Windows let in the daylight, and in the shadowy corners, torches had been put on the walls, or candles hung from the ceiling in metal brackets. Dan immediately spotted the rest of his group: they were all clustered in the middle of the one giant room which made up the building, close enough for Dan to hear them. They seemed to be speaking to an old man who stood in their midst, wearing heavily embroidered clothing.

“How goes the war, Gideon?” the old man was saying. “Have you managed to fill up Vydar’s prisons yet?”

“What do you mean?” Gideon asked tensely.

“We all know what he means,” Laelia cut in. “He thinks you’re a traitor, Gideon. Brave words coming from him, when we know he’s the real traitor.”

The old man smiled against Laelia’s biting tone. “Now Laelia,” he said calmly, “you don’t really want to say that, do you? Einar would be most displeased.”

The old man’s tone of voice alone was enough to make Dan dislike him. He glanced at Jaseff. Jaseff caught his look and nodded. “That’s him,” he said. “Commander of Hyleran.” He emphasized ‘commander’, lacing it with sarcasm.

“You might be Einar’s representative here,” Laelia said, “but I’ll always know you as a traitor, Takuya.”

Takuya. The name was familiar to Dan. After a moment he remembered. “Isn’t he the one who betrayed Kelad?” he asked Jaseff.

“Yep,” Jaseff said. “That’s him. Takuya Imai. Never passes up an opportunity to pad his own pockets, and Kelad dropped one right in his lap.”

Gideon had put a hand on Laelia’s shoulder, but she seemed to be ignoring it. She flared up at something Takuya said, too softly for Dan to hear.

“You joined Caius simply because his friends were bigger than mine!” she spat.

If anything, Takuya seemed to be enjoying his goading of Laelia. A twisted smile was on his face, and his calm voice was maddening, even to one removed from the conversation, such as Dan. “As I’ve told you and Einar himself,” Takuya said placidly, “I never joined them. I was—”

“Spying, I know,” Laelia interrupted. “And I don’t believe a word of it.” She managed to shake Gideon’s warning hand off of her and stepped right up to Takuya, glaring up at him with no hint of fear.

“You know what I think?” she said, her voice suddenly quiet. “I think when you saw my father’s friends, you decided Caius was done for, and left him. You’re a rat, Takuya. You abandon every sinking ship you’re on.”

“Still wrong, Laelia,” Takuya said, “though I will say it’s a useful practice. There’s no glory to be had in staying on a sinking ship. Just shame and suffering.” For some reason, Dan saw him glance pointedly at Trela. Trela glared at him. Dan hadn’t thought she could force so much hatred into her face. When he had met her before, she had been the complete opposite: open and friendly.

“Don’t pretend that you know about glory, Takuya,” Francois said. Dan noticed him for the first time. He had removed his helmet, allowing Dan to see that he had long dark brown hair and a weather-beaten face. “You’ve never been within a mile of the front lines. If you ever want us to believe you, you’ll eventually have to get your hands dirty like the rest of us.”

Takuya turned to him, the same twisted smile in place. Dan could tell he was enjoying this, needling them from behind Einar’s protection. “Wars aren’t won by brute force, Francois,” he said. “They are won by intellect. I’m far more useful here, where Einar needs me.”

“Useful?” Francois echoed, a false laugh escaping him. “I have my doubts about that. Your intellect is about as useful as that of an orc, and I think Einar’s smart enough to know it. I think you’re scared, Takuya. Too scared to put your life on the line like the rest of us.”

Takuya seemed unaffected by Francois’s jab. “Scared?” he said. “No, not scared. Perhaps a bit wiser.”

Francois let out a real laugh this time. Ana, who had been standing on the edge of the group, moved away in disgust, actually shoving Takuya with her shoulder as she passed. One by one, the others followed her, Laelia being the last to leave, giving Takuya one last look of loathing.

Dan and Jaseff went to join them, giving Takuya a wide berth. They all sat down at a long table. Takuya’s actions were enough to make Dan dislike him, but he felt that the old samurai at least had a point. There wasn’t anything to be gained in staying on a sinking ship, as the others seemed to suggest. Maybe there was no honor or glory in it, but what were those when compared to what you could lose if you stayed? Usually nothing. He might be maddening, but Takuya had a measure of logic Dan found compelling.

“Do you really think he joined Caius?” Trela asked Laelia as they sat down. “I hadn’t heard that.”

“Of course he did,” Laelia said. “Caius was his idea of a hero: confident, commanding, plenty of big allies to back him up. He was part of his band of thieves long before Caius was driven away, and he joined right in when Caius came back leading a drow raid. Only when Caius started losing to Retiarius and the others did he slink away to the shadows and pop back up in the city, sporting his ‘wound’ and acting like he had been spying the whole time. The coward,” she added under her breath.

“Don’t let him get to you,” Gideon said to Laelia. “He thrives off of goading us, knowing we can’t touch him. Ignore him, and he’ll leave us alone. People like him are always a nuisance we have to deal with, especially in war. They’re always there, and they never change. There’s no point in acknowledging them.”

“I can’t believe that,” Jaseff said. Dan looked at him, surprised. So did everyone else.

“But you know him,” Trela said. “You know what he’s like.”

“I know him,” Jaseff said. “But people can change. I’ve seen it before.”

“Not Takuya,” Laelia said. “Not him, or those like him. All they care about is themselves. Nothing will ever change that.”

“Of course they can change,” Jaseff said, looking around the table. “I mean…” He seemed to be floundering. “Ana, back me up. You think Takuya could change, don’t you?” All eyes turned to Ana.

Ana looked very much like she didn’t like being put on the spot, but after a moment said in a quiet voice, “I think he could change, yes, but only if he wanted to.”

“That’s fair,” Gideon said. “Maybe he could change, but he’s happy where he is.”

Laelia nodded. “I despise him,” she said. “I hope he stays true to himself and betrays Einar again at some point. That way I can kill him along with Caius.”

“Quiet,” Gideon hissed, though he couldn’t keep a smile from briefly flitting across his face. “Wait until we’re out of Hyleran to start plotting Takuya’s demise.”

Laelia looked like she wanted to smile, but couldn’t through her frown of dislike for Takuya. She wound up grimacing.

“I don’t want to stay here,” Trela said after a moment. “Not with him in command.”

“We’re leaving at dusk,” Gideon pointed out.

“I want to leave now,” Trela replied. “I don’t want to be in a city commanded by a traitor.”

“None of us do,” Gideon said, “but we’re staying until it’s dark. If Utgar’s scouts catch us leaving during the day, they’ll warn Valkrill.”

“But—”

“We’re staying,” Gideon said firmly. “And now if we’re finished with our rant on the state of Hyleran’s governance, you will notice that the food has arrived.”

It had indeed arrived, as kyrie were winding their way towards them through the maze of tables and chairs, bearing large trays of food. Dan suddenly realized how hungry he was. The last thought he had before his mind descended to the food before him was that he was glad they were leaving that night. Takuya might be logical, but Dan didn’t like the idea of him commanding a city.

They were joined an hour later by the final member of their group, a representative from Ullar. She looked human to Dan (aside from a slight taper to her ears), but he was informed she was in fact an ‘eladrin’. She had fair skin and light blonde hair, and wore a strange robe-like coat with orange and brown. Her name was Sharwin Wildborn.

Once they were all present, including Kaori and Francois, Gideon led them to a small building at the edge of Hyleran, right up against the wall. It had no windows, only one door, and its walls blocked all sound, the noise from the street beyond instantly going silent the moment the door was closed.

There was only one room, but it was plenty big enough for them all to sit down on the chairs ringing the wall. There was nothing else in the room aside from a bare table. The room was well lit from a strangely-shimmering panel suspended from the ceiling and centered above the table. Dan assumed it must be enchanted.

“Now that we’re all here,” Gideon said, “I want to go over the plan in more detail. All of you know the general idea of what we’re doing, but no one has had the full picture except for me and Vydar. This mission is too important.

“First off, Aquilla was supposed to send a detachment of dwarves with us, but all communication with her has been lost. We’re assuming it’s the marro again.”

Dan remembered what Aviir had told him about marro: strange creatures which looked humanoid but acted like insects. She had shuddered as she talked about them, and looking about the room, Dan saw similar expressions: Ana and Sharwin in particular showed concern. Jaseff, on the other hand, looked almost fearful.  

“Nothing Aquilla can’t handle, I’m sure,” Gideon said. “However, it means the dwarves won’t be joining us.”

“They might meet up with us later,” Trela said. “I’ve met their commander before. Gormal wouldn’t let a little thing like a marro invasion keep him from his duty.”

Gideon smiled. “Maybe not, but nonetheless we’re going ahead assuming they won’t join us. Pity too. We could have used their crossbows.

“You all know what we’re after on this mission: Valkrill’s amulet. If we can get it, we’ll cause Utgar a lot of problems. Without his wellspring, Valkrill will want to use Utgar’s, and nothing good can come of that for either of them. Plus we’ll be one step closer to winning this war.

“Vydar’s scouts have pinpointed the exact location of Valkrill’s wellspring. It’s a small cave complex directly south of Hyleran. We’ll approach on foot, get the amulet, and then meet up with some of Jandar’s kyrie who will be waiting for us, and get flown out. With any luck, we’ll be out of there before Valkrill knows what’s happened. In case Valkrill gets alerted to our presence, some of Jandar’s mages have set up a fallback point near the cave entrance. Once we have the amulet, we’ll go there and wait for any search party to give up. There’s plenty of enchantments over the area; we won’t be found.”

“And you’re sure about the location of the wellspring?” Jaseff asked. “You’re sure your intelligence is right? I don’t want to walk into a trap.”

“It won’t matter if we do,” Laelia said before Gideon could answer. “With the knights and ninjas we have more than enough to fight our way out of anything.” Glancing at her, Dan had the sudden distinct impression that Laelia very much wanted there to be a fight. Why? He saw Sharwin out of the corner of his eye, and noted that she looked to be wondering the same thing.

“The intelligence is very good,” Gideon assured Jaseff. “Kumiko herself made the initial findings, and Vydar confirmed them with some sort of magical scans. The wellspring is definitely there, and the cave is small and not linked to anything else.

“As Laelia said, we’ll be able to fight our way in and get the amulet. In addition, we shouldn’t have much fighting to do, because a few days after we leave, Jandar is going to launch an invasion into Valkrill’s eastern holdings in Braunglayde. By the time we arrive, most of Valkrill’s soldiers should be gone, pulled to deal with that. The distraction will also clear our way to the wellspring, and we’ll be traveling at night, just in case any kyrie scouts happen to fly over our position.”

Dan saw Laelia glance at Ana. It was a strange look, full of contempt and something else. Triumph, perhaps? Dan glanced at Ana, but she was watching Gideon steadily. Her face showed nothing.

“The only thing we’ll have to watch out for will be the occasional Drow scout, and the packs of wolves Utgar sends out, for the precise reason of making sure we aren’t doing exactly what we’re discussing. We should be able to handle them easily, as long as none escape.”

“And how likely is that?” Jaseff asked. “Running into them, I mean.”  

“Not very,” Trela said. “With Jandar’s invasion, Utgar’s forces will be spread thin, and Valkrill’s will be virtually nonexistent.”

Jaseff didn’t look very reassured.

“That will be Dan’s job,” Gideon said. “He’s here as a scout. You’ll need to watch for wolves, drow, and kyrie,” he said, glancing at Dan. “Always keep one eye on the horizon.”

‘No problem there,’ Dan thought.

“How long have you been with Vydar?” Laelia asked Dan.

“I was just summoned three months ago,” Dan said, guessing the reason for the question.

“Three months?” Laelia repeated, her brown eyes widening in disbelief. “This is no place for new recruits.”

“We have precious few scouts,” Ana said, making everyone look at her. “Precious few good scouts, anyway.”

“Has he even been in combat though?” Laelia asked. Dan opened his mouth to reply, but she pressed on, still looking at Ana. “We need the best on this mission, not whoever is available.”

“We should give him a chance,” Trela said firmly. Laelia glanced at her, an edge in her look.

“With the gear I have,” Dan said, “I’ll be able to spot anything long before it reaches us. We’ll be fine.” He was a bit annoyed at Laelia’s words: she sounded like she assumed he would be useless.

Laelia cast a doubtful look towards Gideon.

“Vydar appointed him himself,” Gideon said. “I assume he knew what he was doing.”

Dan saw Sharwin watching him, and glanced at her. She turned away, but not before he had seen the look of doubt on her face. He shrugged it off. Vydar did have a point: he had lived his life surrounded by the same metal walls. If anyone would spot something others might overlook, it would be him.

“Moving on,” Gideon said pointedly. Everyone looked back at him. “There’s a perimeter of small caves forming a ring fifty miles out from Valkrill’s wellspring. They aren’t connected to the Underdark; they’re essentially just bunkers. Each is manned by a small force of drow, nothing to worry about. We will have to get past one to get at the wellspring however.

“Einar’s scouts have identified the weak link: it’s a small cave just a shade east of our path. It’s commander is a defector from Lindesfarme, the son of a Roman Legionnaire. We’re guessing the drow won’t follow his commands as readily as one of their own, which gives us the advantage. It shouldn’t be hard to take the cave; we just have to make sure none of the drow escape.”

“How?” Trela asked. “Is there a plan to catch any who run?”

“Some of the knights and ninjas will hang back,” Gideon said. “Don’t worry; the cave entrance is small. There’s only one way out.”

Trela nodded, apparently satisfied.

“The commander’s name is Caius Marius,” Gideon continued. “Laelia has had dealings with him, and she’ll know what to expect. That’s why she’s on this mission.”

“What kind of dealings?” Francois asked. Dan was curious as well. What would Laelia have to do with a traitor?

Gideon glanced at Laelia, but she said nothing, staring directly in front of her. Her face was impossible to read. There was a moment of silence.

“We should know,” Kaori said. “We need to do this with everything out in the open. We don’t want to wait until it’s too late to learn something important.

Laelia glanced at her. “He grew up in the same city I did,” she said, her voice guarded. “He betrayed us, destroyed my life, and killed my father.”

There was more to it. Dan knew that much. Laelia was trying to mask her face, but he could tell there was something she wasn’t telling them. He had seen deception too many times in the SR Unit to miss it.

“There’s more,” he said. Laelia shot him a glance. “If there’s some sort of history between you two, I agree with Kaori. Everything should be out in the open.”

Laelia gave Dan a withering glare and turned away. She didn’t speak.  

“There isn’t much else to it,” Gideon said, after a quick glance at Laelia. She didn’t face him. “Laelia’s father was Crixus. Over the course of the war he had been in armies attacking a lot of Utgar’s outlying cities, and he had grown rich off of the spoils. Caius was a common thief in the city where Crixus lived, and decided he wanted a portion of the spoils for himself. He tried to recruit Laelia when she was young. That didn’t work, and a few years later Caius returned, this time with new friends in the form of drow. They raided the city, and left Laelia’s family with virtually nothing. Crixus died a year later from wounds sustained during the battle.”

Dan was silent for a moment. “Then why did Einar send her?” he asked.

Gideon looked at him questioningly.

“She hardly knew him,” Dan said. “You said Einar sent her here because she’ll know what to expect from Caius, but how could she know that if all he did was try to recruit her?”

“Because he was my friend.” All eyes switched to Laelia. She turned to face Dan and continued, a fire in her eyes. “He got close to me on purpose, deceived me, and then betrayed me when he thought the time was right.” Dan detected a tremor in her voice. Her already-tan face flushed darker with anger. “I trusted him,” she said, “and he used me. When he killed my father, I swore I would kill him, and I will fulfill that promise. I will be the one to drive my sword through his heart. No one else can.”

There was a moment of silence. “Any other questions?” Gideon asked, his tone plainly suggesting there shouldn’t be. No one spoke. “Okay then. I will be leading the expedition. Kaori will be commanding her ninjas, Francois will be in charge of his knights. Laelia takes point on Caius and his drow. Ana takes point in Valkrill’s tunnels, since she has the most experience fighting drow. Sharwin is Ullar’s representative; she’ll stay in the back and lend her magic when we need it. Ana, Trela, and Jaseff are our healers, they’ll stay in the middle of the group. Keep them protected.”

On Ana’s name, Laelia’s eyes had again flicked to her. It was the same expression Dan had seen before: triumph and contempt. What could it mean? Ana saw it this time, but after a moment all she did was look away, shaking her head.

“If there are no more questions,” Gideon said, “I suggest we all get something to eat, since most of us haven’t had anything yet. After that, we should get some sleep. We’ll be walking during the nights and sleeping during the days, so we might as well start getting used to it now.”

Sound returned a split second later. Dan, blinking, saw that nothing had changed, but slowly the light in the middle of the floor was dimming, and the speed of whatever was circling them was slowing. He glanced at Gideon and Otonashi in the half-light; both were perfectly calm.

Soon the light dimmed to its former muted glow, and the rumbling overhead stopped. Gideon went to the door, turned the wheel and opened it, and rapped lightly on the second door. There was a moment of scraping, and it opened.

Daylight flooded into the room. A kyrie with brown wings appeared, and motioned them out. Dan followed Gideon out of the building, Otonashi close behind, and then stopped, stunned.

When they had left, it had still been dark, and the shadow of Montfre Citadel had dominated everything. Here, the rays of a brilliant sunrise were striking them, and Montfre had been replaced by what looked like a town too big for the stone walls confining it. If Dan remembered the map he had seen correctly, and this was Hyleran, they had traveled two hundred fifty miles in a matter of seconds.

“Time slippage,” Gideon said, noting Dan’s reaction. “That’s why the sun is rising, even though we’re west of Montfre. To us, the journey takes a few seconds, but we were actually gone for more around two hours.

Dan didn’t hear him. He was too busy trying to see everything at once. Hyleran was full of people, mostly soldiers, but some clearly civilians. It wasn’t like Llynar, where the people were mostly returning families. Here nearly everyone wore armor or carried a weapon. There were no children in the streets, though many of the soldiers passing by – all wearing the emblem of Einar – seemed quite young.

Dan looked up, and saw walls ringing the city, topped with what he instantly recognized as soulborg guns. He had seen identical ones when Darren showed him the soulborg prison block he had been in. These were pointed outwards and were motionless, although Dan was sure they would spring to life the instant an enemy was spotted.

Beyond the wall stretched a full blue sky, scattered with wisps of clouds, hanging motionless impossibly high up, far above anywhere Dan could imagine being. A few birds flew across the sky, twittering for no apparent reason other than the ability to do so.

Dan looked back down at Gideon and Otonashi. Now that the sun was bathing everything in light, he could see them properly. Otonashi was wreathed in black, the dark gray armor of Vydar hidden beneath a black cloth robe. A short sword hung at her hip, partially concealed by the robe, but Dan could see no other weapons. Gideon wore the same tactical pants which Dan had been issued, complete with the metal knee pads. In fact, the only difference between Dan’s gear and that of Gideon was that Dan was wearing an armored vest over a simple shirt, and Gideon had on a thick-looking gambeson in the dark gray of Vydar, over which he wore a vest of chainmail, the links stained dark.

Gideon had long hair, most of which was pulled back and tied behind his head, though a few strands had escaped and outlined his face. He had deep-set green eyes and thick eyebrows, which combined to give him a fierce appearance, even though his voice was quite calm. His skin was quite a bit lighter than his father’s, though it was still a rich brown.

Otonashi’s skin was pale in comparison to Gideon’s, and she looked small, with her black hair drawn back tightly into a long ponytail. Based on her clothing and choice of weapon, Dan guessed she must be a ninja. Aviir had told him of them.

“Gideon!” a voice called nearby.

All three of them looked at the source of the voice.

“Laelia!” Gideon replied, striding forwards quickly.

A young woman, Dan’s age or younger, approached. She smiled as Gideon strode towards her. Her skin was tan, either from birth or sun, Dan couldn’t tell. Her face was small, a bit sunken in places, but nonetheless striking. Her eyebrows were dark and sharply defined against her face, making her light brown eyes all the more alive. Black untamed hair whipped about her face in the light breeze which, until then, Dan had not noticed.

“Gideon,” Laelia said as they met. “Einar’s force is mostly here, the others—”

Gideon interrupted her by wrapping her in a hug. Laelia resisted for a moment, but then gave in with a smile, and hugged him back.

As they embraced, Dan noted that Laelia didn’t seem to fit with the other soldiers passing by. She was too clean. Her armor, the same brown and gold of the kyrie, was spotless and shone in the sunlight. There was no speck of dirt on her face. Her hands looked soft, the skin smooth and clean. Next to the soldiers passing them by, many spattered with mud and sporting calloused hands and greasy hair, she looked like a creature from a different land.

They pulled apart, and Laelia brushed some stray dirt from her uniform.

“How are you?” Gideon asked.

“I’m fine,” Laelia said. “Honestly, I’m ready to get started. I think Einar’s been holding me back on purpose, trying to keep me out of harm’s way for my mother’s sake. He couldn’t keep me from this though. Knowing that I’m going on this mission … It’s all I’ve been able to think about for weeks.”  

“What about your mother though?” Gideon asked. “Einar was right to keep you from the war; she needs you.”

Laelia fixed Gideon with a look. “She’s not infirmed, Gideon,” she said. “She can take care of herself. She has plenty of friends to look after her. Besides, it’s time that I did my part in this war.”

Gideon looked like he was about to reply, but they were interrupted by another voice:

“You’re late,” it said.  

Dan turned, and saw what he guessed was another ninja approaching them. She wore black armor not unlike their own, but the gold symbol of Einar was clearly visible on her shoulder.

“Sorry,” Gideon said, “a few people wanted a word back at Montfre. Are the others here yet?”

“No,” the ninja said. “Just my group. Einar’s supposed to be sending Jandar’s division from Liesic – they arrived there last month. They’re expected to show up any moment, but you know how Liesic is – it’s always busy.”

“The capitals always are,” Gideon said. “Where are we staying?” he asked.

“I’ll show you,” the ninja said, beckoning for them to follow.

As they followed the ninja into the depths of Hyleran, Otonashi brushed past Dan.

“I don’t believe I know you,” she said, coming up beside the ninja leading them.

“Kaori,” the ninja said, pausing in her step and bowing slightly to Otonashi. Otonashi returned the motion. “A hundred years before you, I’m afraid.”

“No matter,” Otonashi said. “Pleased to meet you.”

Kaori led them through the narrow and packed streets of Hyleran, past blacksmith shops and small homes, until they came to a row of long familiar-looking barracks. “This one has been set aside for your group tonight,” Kaori said, placing a hand on the nearest bunker. “We can’t be late in moving out, either. A big detachment of minutemen are supposed to come through here early tomorrow.”

“Are all your troops here?” Gideon asked.

Kaori nodded. “They arrived with me earlier this morning. We’re still waiting for Jandar’s knights though, plus the healers from Einar.”

As Gideon asked Kaori further questions, Dan turned on the spot, taking in Hyleran again, and the sky and sun. Was Valhalla always like this? Always sunny, just the right temperature, with a brilliant blue sky overhead? How could he have ever wanted to return to Isadora, to the gray walls and lifeless cameras? Heleer would probably want to go back too, at first, when Vydar summoned her, but after a few days in Valhalla she would change her mind. How could she not?

Dan quickly stepped to the side of the road as a column of men passed by, filling the center of the street. They wore strange plated armor, and seemed to be adorned in an unnecessary amount of red. Dan didn’t remember Aviir mentioning them.

He quickly forgot about what they were, however. As he watched, their faces paraded past him, and for a moment, he was oblivious to all else. Only in the hall at Vydar’s Citadel had he seen such difference in quick succession. He barely had time to take in one face, before it moved on and a completely new one took its place. And no face was identical to another. They were all different. As he watched them, Dan found himself smiling.

Dan was temporarily distracted as several kyrie flew low over the city in a tight formation, the wind from their wings slamming down onto Dan and blowing his hair back. Gideon looked up too.

“Scouts,” Kaori said. “Making sure your way is clear to the south.”

There was a sudden rumbling sound from where they had come. It grew in volume, shaking the very ground on which they stood, and then quickly lessened.

“That’ll be Jandar’s knights,” Kaori said. “They’re here sooner than I expected.”

Otonashi glanced at Gideon. “I’m sure you and Laelia have a lot you want to catch up on,” she said. “We’ll meet the knights.”

Gideon nodded his thanks.

“Come on,” Otonashi said, beckoning to Kaori and Dan. Leaving Gideon behind with Laelia, the three of them moved back into the busy street.

They went back the way they had come, squeezing past rows of soldiers as they went. When they turned a corner and Dan saw the transporter, the door was open again, and men were filing out of it, all wearing highly polished metal suits of armor. They each had a sword at their hip and a blue shield on their back, with the crest of Jandar emblazoned on it.

They filed out of the transporter and lined up in front of it, the sunlight glinting off of their armor and flashing off of their helmets. ‘They had better wear something else if we’re supposed to go unnoticed,’ Dan thought to himself.

Following the twenty or so knights came three unarmored figures, a man and two women. Once they had exited the transporter, a kyrie closed the door.

Kaori hurried over to them, but Dan stayed behind, taking in the whole scene. His attention was caught by two of the unarmored figures, who were talking to each other.

“You wanted to come here,” one of the women was saying to the man. Her voice was gentle. “Stop fretting about the mission. In and out. Easy as that. Nothing to worry about.”

“I didn’t want to come here,” the man said. “I had to.”

“You could have stayed put,” the woman suggested gently.

“And be sent to the front with the other healers? No. I had about two seconds to decide; I could see the captains headed my way, and Drake was standing right there: the only way out.”

“But it’s no less dangerous here than on the front.”

The man shrugged. “At least here I’m with you.”

The woman smiled, but Dan saw her sigh as she turned away.

“Dan,” Kaori called, beckoning him over. Dan made his way to the end of the line of knights, where Kaori stood.

“This is Francois, Dan,” Kaori said, gesturing towards a knight who could only be the captain. “These are his men. Jandar has lent them to our cause.”

Dan shook Francois’ metal gauntlet.

“And these are the healers Einar sent,” Kaori continued, motioning towards the three unarmored individuals. “Jaseff and Trela Imber,” – the two who had been speaking to each other nodded to Dan – “and the one hiding behind them is Ana Karithon.”

“I’m not hiding,” said the woman, coming forward. She looked younger than Dan, small and thin with pale skin, though her light green eyes were those of a much older woman. She had long red hair which she had braided away from her face, and she smiled as she held out a hand to Dan. Dan shook it, noting how small it felt in his own.

Jaseff and Trela were dressed similarly, both with tactical pants almost identical to Dan’s, though they wore dark robes rather than armor. Both looked to be older than Dan by a few years. However, despite the similarities in clothing, the two could not have been more different from each other.

Trela had brown hair which she wore tied back, but Jaseff’s hair shrouded his face, partially obscuring it on the sides. Where Trela stood tall and looked straight ahead of her, Jaseff seemed to walk with a slight crouch, and his eyes were constantly darting from side to side. Dan also noticed that, plainly visible on the right side of Trela’s neck, there was a mark, some sort of brand, where the flesh had been burned in the shape of a foreign symbol. He wondered what it could mean, and why Trela was making no attempt to hide it with her hair (which she could easily have done, for it was quite long). He wisely decided not to mention it. He wasn’t in SR any more.

“Are you all from Toril?” Kaori asked the three of them. Toril? What was Toril? A place? A person?

“Yes,” Trela said. “Rife with drow, Toril. I suspect that’s why Einar sent so many of us on this mission – we’ll be fighting a lot of them.”

Drow? What were drow? Dan suddenly had many questions.

“This is Dan,” Kaori said to them. “Vydar sent him with us as a scout.”

“We’re glad to have you, Dan,” Trela said. “We can’t have enough scouts on this mission.”

“You’re all healers?” Dan asked, remembering Kaori’s words.

Ana nodded. “Don’t worry,” she said, noting Dan’s look. “Just because there are three of us doesn’t mean you’ll need three of us. Einar was just being overly cautious. It’s an important mission, after all.”

“Speaking of which,” Kaori said, drawing their attention, “Gideon is waiting for us all at the bunker. I’m sure he’ll want to speak with you.”

“Lead the way,” Trela said.

Kaori turned and began weaving her way across the street.

Francois turned to his knights. “Rang!” he shouted. The knights immediately snapped to attention. “Envoyer!” As one the knights marched forwards, the crowded street parting for them like a river before a stone. Dan and the three healers followed in their wake, and together, they returned to the bunker.

Dan was taken to a grid of barracks and given a less-than-comfortable cot to sleep on for the night. All of Montfre was buzzing with the news of Vydar’s departure. No one had told them where he was going, but half the population had seen him and two guards streaking northwards through the air. In the short distance to the barracks, Dan had heard all manner of rumors, nearly all as far from the truth as Dan was from Heleer.

Vydar’s departure didn’t interest Dan as much as he knew it should. His recent conversation with the Valkyrie had left him longing for Heleer, and she was foremost in his thoughts as he lay down on his cot. Only one thought concerning Vydar entered his mind before sleep found him: his actions had matched up with what Aviir had said. Felda had painted Vydar as one who didn’t care about the lives of others, and Vydar’s decision had proven her wrong. He did care about his people. He did protect them above all else.

Dan was woken far too early by someone gently shaking him. It was pitch black in the bunker. For a moment, Dan thought he was back on Isadora, being shaken awake in the darkness by Heleer. The illusion didn’t last long.

“Time to get up, soldier,” a male voice said nearby. “The expedition is moving out.”

Groggy with sleep, Dan staggered to his feet and pulled on his uniform, boots, and new gear. Then he stumbled through the dark bunker until he reached the doorway, illuminated only by starlight.

“How early is it?” he asked blearily.

The kyrie who had been leading him, silhouetted in the moonlight, turned around. “Four in the morning by human measurement,” he said.

This meant nothing to Dan. All he knew was that the sun hadn’t even begun to come up yet.

“This way,” the kyrie said, “your commander is waiting for you.”

That woke Dan up. Who would be commanding them? Surely it would be one of Vydar’s most capable and tested generals. Perhaps Carr himself. But then Dan remembered Carr was leaving. Curious, he followed the dark shape of the kyrie through the grid of barracks, through a small gate, down several side streets, through another gate, and into a large open field, scattered with several low buildings.

Dan had been expecting a large group of grisly warriors, but there were only two people in the field. Both were dark, their shapes only illuminated by faint starlight.

“Gideon,” the kyrie called, his voice soft in the darkness, “this is the soldier?”

One of the two glanced up. “Yes,” he replied, his voice deeper than Dan had been expecting. “Thank you, Hasar.”

The kyrie motioned Dan towards the two people, and then turned and went back the way they had come.

“Dan is it?” the one called Gideon said, approaching, a cloak distorting his shape.

Dan nodded. He could see a few features of Gideon’s face up close, including dark skin, strands of long hair framing the face, and a straight nose, but most were still hidden by darkness.

“Vydar seemed to think you could help us on our expedition,” Gideon said. “I hope he’s right.”

“Me too,” Dan said, not really meaning the words. He was feeling further and further from Heleer by the minute.

“This is Otonashi,” Gideon said, gesturing towards the other figure, who approached as well. “Another last minute addition. I’m glad Vydar added her to our party. She’s been in and out of more sticky situations than the rest of Vydar’s army combined”

“Hardly,” said Otonashi, stopping before them. Her face was completely hidden in shadow; Dan couldn’t see a thing. “A ‘sticky’ situation would imply things were difficult.”

Gideon chuckled. “Please,” he said, “your humility is too much.”

Dan couldn’t tell what Otonashi’s reaction was. He heard nothing. After a moment however, she said, “Let’s not waste time, Gideon.”

“Right,” said Gideon. “Follow me, Dan. We’re meeting the rest of the party in Hyleran.”

From the map he had seen yesterday, Dan knew that Hyleran was a fortified city of Einar’s, on the border and directly north of Valkrill’s wellspring. It was as close as they could get without crossing into enemy territory. One of the generals had mentioned that he would be ‘transported’ there, but Dan wasn’t sure what that meant. Transported how? Were they going to walk all the way there? It would take at least a month.

Gideon led them across the open field, his cloak flapping about his legs as he walked. Dan could hear some sort of armor moving and shifting, and caught the soft thumps of a sword strapped to Gideon’s waist beneath the cloak. He couldn’t tell what weapons Otonashi might have.

“Gideon.” The call came from the right, from one of the low buildings. It was a hoarse call, half whispered in the darkness. Gideon turned and walked to the building.

“You’re off then?” said the voice. It sounded familiar to Dan.

“Yes,” Gideon said. “This’ll be an easy mission; I’ll be back soon.”

“This will not be an easy mission,” the voice corrected. Dan recognized it now: it was Carr. “Don’t think this will be simple, because it won’t.”

“With the numbers we have? We’ll be in and out of there in three days tops.”

Carr chuckled. “You’re joking. I should have known. I can’t see in this darkness.”

“Don’t tell me not to joke,” Gideon said. “I’d probably die of boredom.”

Carr chuckled again and pulled Gideon into a hug. “Come back safe,” he said, letting go. “Your mother and I will be waiting for you in Lindesfarme.”

That’s where Dan had heard Gideon’s name before: he was Carr’s son. Vydar had mentioned him.

“Vydar’s given his word,” Carr continued. “You’ll be sent back to us once you return.”

“I don’t want to go,” Gideon said, his voice suddenly serious. “I told you that.”

“Your mother wants you there.”

“There’s still more I can do in this war.”

“You can do it under Einar,” Carr said.

“I’m loyal to Vydar,” Gideon said. “Like you taught me, father. I’ll serve no other.”

“Then do what he says,” Carr said sternly. “I’ll be waiting for you in Lindesfarme when you return.”

Silence.

“Take it up with Vydar when you get back, if you must, but he’ll tell you the same thing. Your place is with your family.”

“My place is in the war,” Gideon said. “You’ve told me that before, and I believe it.”

“Gideon,” said Otonashi softly, putting a hand on his shoulder. “We need to go.”

“She’s right,” Carr sighed. “Once this is over, we’ll talk about this. At least come to see us, even if you are determined to stay here.”

“You know I’ll come,” Gideon said. He began to walk away. “And tell mother not to worry. I’ll see her when the mission is over.”

“I’ll tell her,” Carr called after them.

Gideon waved, and then they set off again, crossing the rest of the dark field.

By this time a faint gray streak had appeared in the eastern sky, and the darkness was beginning to lift slightly. Dan saw that they were headed for a massive structure, which looked for all the world like a gigantic SR Unit, on its side and half buried in the ground, big enough to hold fifty men.

Before Dan had a chance to ask what the structure was, however, another voice called out to them.

“Gideon!” the voice called.

Gideon stopped, and Dan heard him sigh. “Here we go,” he muttered.

“James,” he said through closed teeth, turning around.

A strange individual approached them, about Dan’s size. In the semi-darkness, Dan could see his outline, distorted by a wide-brimmed hat and a long coat which reached to his knees. Several lumps in the coat betrayed the presence of weapons.

“Gideon,” the man said, stopping in front of them. He spoke with an odd accent. “You sure yer up for this mission?” His voice didn’t carry the slightest hint of concern.

“Vydar’s healers have done their work, if that’s what you mean,” Gideon said. His voice had the tone of one trying their hardest to stay in control.

“I wasn’t referrin’ to that,” the man said. “I was talkin’ more about how ya got it.”

Gideon was silent.

“You know that prisoner?” the man said. “The one you failed to kill? We got ‘im, after he nicked ya. Know who he was?”

Gideon didn’t reply.

“He was a carrier, a kamikaze sent by Utgar. He was tryin’ to get captured, so that he could infect all of Montfre. Yer stupidity almost cost us a lot.”

“What’s your point, James?”

“My point,” said James, stepping closer to Gideon, “is that ya take too many prisoners. You can’t take any on this mission. None.”

“I know that,” Gideon spat.

“Do you?” James shot back. “Do you really? You said that at Durgeth. And again at The Table. Why is this any different? How do we know ya aren’t goin’ to mess this mission up by refusin’ to kill the enemy when they deserve it? If you ask me, ya shouldn’t be leadin’ this. You shouldn’t even be on it. We need leaders who’ll do what needs to be done. Leaders who kill when their Valkyrie commands it.”

“Are you questioning my loyalty to Vydar?” Gideon’s voice suddenly took on a dangerous edge. Dan took an instinctive step back from him, surprised by the threat inherent in the tone.

“Oh, not at all,” said James, throwing up his hands in mock-defense. “Just that ya seem to care an awful lot about not killin’ Utgar’s soldiers. Some might even say you care more about them than ya do about yer own men.”

Gideon flinched, and Dan saw his shoulder move back, but Otonashi put a quick hand on his arm. Gideon took a breath and glared at James in the half-light.

“Vydar chose me for a reason, James. You were needed elsewhere, and I wasn’t. I volunteered.”

James spat on the ground. “You and I both know full well that ya just want to prove yerself. You don’t care ‘bout this war or ‘bout us. Just how far up the ranks you can get. You knew I was more qualified. You knew I—”

“Attend to your post, James,” Otonashi said quietly.

James turned his head to look at Otonashi. “’Course, miss,” he said, giving her a mock-bow. He started to back away, walking slowly.

“If anythin’ goes wrong with this mission,” he called out as he left, “I’m blamin’ you, Gideon. Vydar could do better than someone who fills his prisons with enemies who eat his food and sicken his citizens. Think about what you’re costing yer beloved Valkyrie.”

Gideon took a step after James, but Otonashi, who had kept her hand on his shoulder, tightened her grip.

“Leave it,” she said quietly. “He’s just bitter that he didn’t get the assignment.”

Gideon shrugged off her hand, breathing heavily. “If he wants to come along, let him,” he said angrily. “He wouldn’t last two seconds in the Underdark, and he knows it.”

“And so does everyone else,” Otonashi said. “Now leave it. We’re late.” She gave Gideon a gentle push towards the SR-like building before them. Shrugging his cloak back over his shoulder, Gideon stomped towards it.

“Gideon,” said a kyrie sitting beside the building, nodding as they approached. He seemed to be sitting next to a thick metal door, set in the side of the curved wall.

“Meras,” Gideon said, nodding to the kyrie. “Three for Hyleran.”

“Vydar told me before he left,” Meras said, getting up. “There’s nothing inbound for an hour; go on in. I’ll get you cleared in a minute.”

Gideon nodded his thanks and led them through the small doorway. There were two doors, one inside and one outside, each embedded in a separate wall. Dan glanced up and realized that there was a second building, nested perfectly inside the first. Between the two there seemed to be nothing but air. Both doors were open, and Gideon led them into the building, which was dark.

The only light came from the very middle of the building. It was a dim orange glow, but it was enough for Dan to see that the building was one giant room, its walls slanting steadily into the ceiling. It was egg-shaped, the ends tapering into rounded caps. The light in the middle seemed to come from a small egg-shaped piece of metal, about as big as Dan’s torso.

“What is this?” Dan asked, turning on the spot.

“Transporter,” Gideon answered, walking to the small light in the middle and crouching down. “We used to have to ride everywhere, or have the kyrie fly us. Took way too long. The soulborgs came up with this machine. It’s connected to the wellsprings somehow… all I know is that there are a lot of them, and you can teleport between them. There’s an identical transporter in Hyleran, so that’s where we’re going. Close the door, would you?”

Dan turned and saw that instead of a handle, a metal wheel was attached to the inside of the second door. He pulled it, swinging the heavy door shut.

“Turn it to the left,” Gideon directed, standing up.

Dan did, and heard an echoing clang as something heavy slid into place.

“We’ll be there in a second,” Gideon said, going to join them. The three of them stood there silently, waiting for Dan knew not what. Then the transporter turned on.

There was a deep clank as some part above their heads slid into place. Then the sound of a generator starting up. There was a low rumbling, and Dan had the immediate impression that something massive was moving over the ceiling of the room. He could hear it shuddering down a metal track. First it was above them. Then it was travelling down. Now on their left. Now deep below them. Now coming back up on their right. It made one full circle and then another. And another, gaining speed. It rotated faster and faster, and Dan noticed that the small light in the middle of the room was shining brighter too. There was a momentary flash of light, blinding Dan, and then all sound ceased.