Maiz walked into the Temple mess hall the next day with Hugan before the crack of dawn. As always, there was simple rice and water laid out, and they sat stiffly at one of the many unoccupied sections. They were joined a few minutes later by Lila, whose skin seemed blotchy and raw--Maiz could see new bruises forming all over her body, and she walked as she might fall at any moment.

Maiz felt a flash of anger, triggered by a memory of a grinning man with a whip, of blood and pain and tears. He knew that this wasn’t the same thing, and that Lila wasn’t complaining about her punishment, but he couldn’t help but feel his dislike for her mother edge towards hatred.

He and Hugan both stood up, silently offering their hands to help her, but one look was enough to send them back to their seats. She sat, nearly stumbling over herself as she did. Maiz frowned.

“Are you… I mean, will you be good to--”

“--m’fine. Jus’ take a few minutes for the heal t’seddle.”

Maiz raised an eyebrow. “You know, you sound like a grain porter back in Caelos.”

He was ready for the punch, but Lila was fast and smart enough to feint with a jab before catching him on the shoulder. He rubbed it, hiding a smile.

Hugan was laughing. “You know Lila, Maiz got a sense of humor while he was out here. It’s a little weird.”

Lila gave a mock grimace. “Anything’s better than what passes for jokes here. There’s a reason I left, you know.”

Her speech had already cleared up, and she seemed more alert. A quick look with Mana Sense revealed that, indeed, there was a regeneration spell that had just finished working around her head and was fading away into the surroundings. They got to eating, Hugan and Lila making fun of the Warrior Monks in the Temple while Maiz looked around uncomfortably. Luckily, there didn’t seem to be many there, and no one that Maiz knew.

When they were halfway through the meal, Juya came running through the mess hall door, looking excited and holding a sack of what looked like hay.

“Everyone, there is a dragon flying near the East end!”

There were perhaps a dozen Warrior Monks eating at the moment, a single solitary Cleric, and Maiz’s group. All of them looked up at her words. The Cleric almost immediately went back to his meal, and a few of the older Warrior Monks did so as well. The rest stood, however, looking just as excited as Juya, and made for the exit, chattering excitedly. Hugan grabbed Maiz’s arm.

“Hey, let’s go see!”

Maiz stared at him.

“You want to go see the dragon?”

“Yeah! I mean, it’s not like it’s gonna be a Master is it?”

Lila nodded. “Most of them are Journeymen, just like humans. We should go see.”

Maiz considered. He supposed that it wouldn’t be too dangerous, if everyone was doing it, and if it wasn’t a Master or something else ridiculous, there wouldn’t be an issue.

“Okay, let’s go.”

**********

“How many abyssal Master dragons are there?” Lila whispered to Maiz.

Maiz was about ready to head back into the Temple, but he was held by a sort of sick fascination. There was a crowd of several dozen people in the white clothing of the Temple, some young like Maiz, Lila, and Hugan, and a few older. They were all staring at the massive golden monster in the air above them, its scales catching and refracting the pink light of the dawn with mesmerizing beauty.

It was raining devastation down on the desert.

Blinding golden, almost white, light erupted from the creature’s mouth, warping and spreading out in sheets that covered the desert sands. Maiz could feel hints of the pure heat emanating to his position, though the dragon had to be a kilometer away at the least. It was flying in almost aimless circles, and Maiz wasn’t clear on why it felt the need to torch the bare sands. He wouldn’t have cared, except that it seemed to be flying towards them.

“Uh, Lila? Shouldn’t all of us be, I don’t know, going back in?”

She shook her head mutely.

“Watch.”

Indeed, magic raining down below it, the golden dragon--a Master if Maiz had ever seen one--subtly changed its gliding course. By the time it came level with the Temple, though Maiz could feel the heat of its attack more strongly, it was so far to the left that they were in no danger.

Maiz was impressed, but he really shouldn’t have been surprised. His predecessor really was ridiculously powerful, and this paled in comparison to the wonders of the Path.

“And that’s why my map led to Dungeons, and not the Temple itself. Anyone who doesn’t have the exact location--and no one does--can’t find it.”

“Huh. But then,” Hugan asked with a confused look on his face, “why are they so worried about this army thing coming for the Temple?”

Lila scowled. “Part of it’s just that they’re taking out all of our Dungeons, and threatening our supplies. That’s why I wanted to come back and warn my mother, mostly. I was afraid the Nest,” she gestured to the dragon, now flying even further away, “were doing something that would damage our Dungeons, and those are our only real water sources. Didn’t really know why I felt that way until I came here though, of course.” She looked a bit embarrassed.

Huh. The way Lila spoke showed much more insight than he would have expected. She’d always been focused on training with them, never talking about anything resembling politics. Had that been because of the Temple’s mental enchantment?

“Oh. So what’s the other part?”

Lila scowled, and turned, tugging Maiz and Hugan behind her by the arms. When they were inside the Temple, around a curve and into a side passage, Lila cast Maiz a sharp look. He frowned.

“Uh, what? Oh-- “

Hurriedly, he activated Mana Sense, looking around. There were pervasive magical auras and mana patterns throughout the Temple--nothing discernible, unfortunately--that obscured his sight slightly, but he could still tell that there wasn’t anyone too close. As long as they didn’t have an ability to hide themselves, of course.

“Clear. I guess.”

Lila nodded, looking startlingly… competent, somehow.

“Mother told me, after the Cleric left. The army’s been sending outriders at different distances along their route. Yesterday, one group got close enough that she had to kill them. They know where we are. And they’re coming.”

They both stared at her for a minute, Maiz wondering how to respond. His first instinct, shamefully, was to say that they should just leave. But Lila’s family was here, and somehow Maiz doubted her mother would abandon the Temple any time soon. Eventually, Lila broke the silence.

“Come on. We’ve got to meet Adrian and Juya in a half hour. Let’s finish eating.”

**************

“Well, that was the biggest waste of time since the last time I had to listen to role-call at those training grounds.”

Lila sounded annoyed, but also slightly strung out. It was a feeling Maiz could sympathize with. Waiting for a report of a party raiding an Apprentice or Journeyman Dungeon for hours on end was… more stressful than Maiz would have thought. There was a certain element of uncertainty to the whole thing--yes, Maiz had abilities that put him solidly into the power ranges of most Journeymen, and his friends had levels of talent to match him, but it was still fighting against people who could possibly do him real harm. If he’d been able to just go and do it, it would have been fine. The waiting had been the real trial, though sparring with Hugan and Lila again helped. Adrian and Juya had joined in, and Maiz had been surprised to see that both Hugan and Lila seemed able to hold their own against the two. He himself was at somewhat of a disadvantage, as most of his abilities were far too lethal, but he could from his own bout that neither fighter was especially talented. They were good, but they didn’t have Hugan’s effortless skill, or Lila’s perfect, razor-sharp technique. Maiz thought he might have taken down Juya if not for her attributes--in a fight where he could use even just his Spellsword abilities, the odds would have been in his favor.

“Oh, sparring was fun though!” Even Hugan sounded a little tired, though he still had his customary smile on his face. “Besides, now Ziya’ll be awake, right?”

Maiz started. He’d almost forgotten, though they’d made plans in the morning to see her. “We should head over now.”

Lila nodded. “Alright. Let’s go.”

Ziya was still in her pallet when they got to her room, sitting up and being tended to by a young Cleric in green robes.

“Hi Ziya! How are you feeling?” Hugan waved as they entered, his cheer returned.

Ziya gave them a rare smile, though it seemed a bit sickly to Maiz. “Better. I will need to recover more, I think.”

Maiz frowned. It was easy to forget that not everyone had Constitution in the upper twenties like he did. Most combatants reached a relatively high number through training, if not by ranking up, but Clerics didn’t undergo that sort of training, and they focused in different attributes. “I’m sorry. Is there, uh, anything we can do?” He hated feeling useless in situations like these. He reached for his regeneration bracelet, but Ziya shook her head.

“I will be fine soon. The damage has all been healed, I only need to recover my constitution.”

Maiz nodded along with the others.

“So anyways, we have to tell you about this place! Lila, tell her about the Way!”

“It’s called the Path, Hugan. Ziya, I can get you some books from my mother’s library. Is there anything you were looking for?”

That was right--Ziya did often have a book with her at the training grounds, though the selection there had been severely limited to Maiz’s eyes. He’d read a few histories, but there was precious little on mana manipulation or techniques, and he’d become too busy with training to do anything else.

Ziya and Lila spoke for a few minutes about books, then about lessons and work with the other Clerics in the Temple, while Hugan waited impatiently. Finally, he burst out.

“All right, I’ll tell her! ZIya, there’s this big stone door, and then you push it, and there’s a huge pit! I was a little worried, but if you mess up anywhere, it teleports you! And then there are the golems, just like the ones…”

It went on for a while, Maiz only occasionally offering input--he and Ziya shared more of a quiet understanding than anything, and he didn’t think either of them felt the need to say much. Eventually, after Ziya was given a meal of light broth and an Adept Cleric stopped in to check on her, they left, promising to visit the next day. Hugan had suggested they run the Path together, but to Maiz’s relief, Lila argued that they should have some individual practice as well. He excused himself to the restroom while they began, mostly to give them a head start. He didn’t want them to see where he was going.

Almost an hour later, Maiz punched a wall, releasing a puff of his silver mana and closing his eyes. When he opened them, he was in a little room that glowed with purple light. The only furniture was a small altar to an, if not dark, then questionable god. The floor was comfortable enough though, and Maiz sat himself in front of a very, very old book. He summoned mana that was like pure feeling, bringing every emotion in sharper focus, and wove it according to the pattern he’d learned. It spread in sheets, folding upon itself within his body before oozing outwards, trapping sensation within it.

Hm. I can do better.

Summoning two more mana types from his pool, Maiz began twisting the pattern and incorporating new elements. Soon, he was standing, engaging the power of his body along with his mind. He experimented for over an hour, then left and returned again, testing combinations and patterns, making notes of what he would have to research in his dwindling spare time. His mind was clear. His next step forward was Journeyman, and no obstacle would stand in his way.

Eventually he had to leave, mind brimming with ideas and possibilities. He let himself fail quickly in the Path, not wanting to see the Jin’Teslin if he didn’t have to, and went to eat dinner. Now that people were paying attention to him, he couldn’t afford to use Enlightenment and be found out.

The mess hall was full near to bursting. Maiz hadn’t ever seen this many Warrior Monks together at once--it took him a full minute to spot his friends, sitting with Adrian, Juya, and some of the other younger Warrior Monks. Some of them were stone silent, others were whispering to each other heatedly.

“What’s happened?”

Hugan and Lila looked up at him together. The others ignored him completely. They moved over, and a look at Lila’s face said that he should keep silent. Awkwardly, he took a bit of rice, but quickly stopped when he saw no one was eating, not even Hugan. Finally, when some of the other Monks left, Lila leaned over to his ear.

“The Jin’Tira, the guardian of the Novice Dungeons--he’s dead.”