'Everything will be okay, Calixa. Just keep it together. Get with Kharon to see what can be done. In the meantime, just deal with the situation at hand. I took a deep breath and stared at the massive man who knelt before me. His hand was crossed over his heart, and his face averted towards the ground.

"Need you ask?" The words left my mouth, and mentally I was taken aback by the words that left my mouth. A part of me felt like I was losing control of my life and body, and I wasn't okay with it.

"I failed you, I failed your father, and above all else, I failed Asteria." His voice boomed in my ear like thunder as he hung his head even lower. The shame of actions that were never even true hung heavy on his form, pressing him onto the ground.

I stared at him as I tried to steady my mind. Judging from what I knew of him, it would insult him if I told him that everything would be okay, so instead, I needed to take a different approach. "Things didn't go as planned. However, I have awakened you once more, for I find myself in dire need of your skills. Consider it a chance to redeem yourself." The words sat on my tongue like a bar of lead as I spoke. They were cold, but something gnawed at my mind that this would be the right way to go.

He stared at the ground, and for a few tense heartbeats, we spared no words between us. "I understand, Empress. What do you require of me?" He stood up, and the heaviness that pressed down on him seemed to melt away and be replaced by fiery passion.

"Asteria is in disarray, my legions are fractured, and above all else, we are in unfamiliar territory. I require your assistance in sifting through the ash of my fallen empire and restoring it back to what it once was." I crossed my legs and stared up at the hulking mass of a man, who overshadowed me with ease, mustering all the strength I could to project any sense of power towards the man.

His gray eyes lit anew as if a flame had been sparked once more. "I understand. How many troops do we have at our disposal?" His voice boomed once more, but this time with a sense of purpose. Good, I'm glad he chose to drop this, for now at least.

"The first legion, and my guard, is all I can spare at the moment, plus whatever reinforcement that I can muster." In all reality, it wasn't that bad. I could summon however many troops that I needed, but he didn't need to know that sort of information. We all had a role to play, and I wanted to keep it as such.

"What about the current territorial expanse? Fortress? Towns?" He asked once more as he seemed to greedily drink all the information I gave him.

"We are down to only one stronghold on the outskirts of White Ridge. Town wise, we have nothing." I rattled off my response, and for once, I felt how small my domain was. I was still in the midst of an expansion after all, yet I couldn't help but feel a little cramped in here.

He bobbed his head as his eyes flickered with the etheric flames. "There is much work to be done then. Do you have an overview of our current territory?"

"I do. I have a copy here and another in the stronghold. However, I have recently been negotiating with some of the new countries that have moved in. So at the moment, I want to keep any advancements of our military quiet. The less we give them to worry about, the more we can sway things into our favor." I bobbed my foot slightly as I spoke to Octavian. A lot of the panic that I had felt earlier had faded, yet I still had a nagging thought over it, yet with each passing second, it only seemed to grow more and more muted.

"That would be wise. I will still need to see for myself the current state of the legions to make a proper assessment." The giant mused quietly to himself, though his words were still as loud as ever.

"I agree. If you would accompany me to the stronghold, then we can make a plan further." I stood up, brushed off my cloak, and grabbed the sword that I had sitting by my desk.

"What of Lady Alessia? Does she still live?" Octavian asked as I strapped on my sword.

Ah, yes, she will more than likely be very irate if I left by myself with only the Warmaster to accompany me. "She is taking care of the princess at the moment." I should probably take a few of the honor guards to help reduce her irritation at me leaving. Usually, I would drag her along, but she is taking care of Nyx. I walked over to the office doors, pushed them out gently, and peeked outside.

Standing next to the doors were two spirits. The one on my right looked to be a male with a soft face; in a way, I would describe him as angelic. Though he was still a bit obscured. The other was a medium build female and had a sharp, stern face, but just like the other, her face was still a bit hidden.

Both had a pair of spears attached to their back, along with a single sword that rested on their hip. Much to my shock, they both seemed a lot more solid than the other spirits here. These must be the palatine guard Alessia mentioned earlier. These two would do since there wasn't really a point in taking out the entire praetorian guard for a small excursion.

"Ah yes, the princess. How does she fare?" My Warmaster's voice boomed behind me as I gestured for the two guards to join me in my office.

"She is well. A bit of a handful at times. She can be rather strong-willed." I replied as I did one last equipment check to ensure that I had everything I may need. Let's see. I have my sports bag, pens, notebook, and everything else.

"I would expect nothing else. It all runs in the family."

I eyed Octavian curiously as I flung my bag across my shoulder. It made me curious how much of it all was imagined or if what he said was actually true or not.

The world around me morphed and shifted as my teleportation skill finished. I landed softly on the ground, as did the two palatine guards accompanying me. On the other hand, Octavian hit the ground hard enough that I swore it trembled as he landed. He indeed was a monster of a man.

He stood up and straightened himself out, and then glanced around the stronghold. His fiery eyes dimmed slightly, and sadness seemed to wrap around him like a cloak. "How far we have fallen. Were your father still alive, he would have my head."

No, my father may be an ass, but I doubt he would do that. Though we may be on two different wavelengths here. I reached up and tried to give him a pat on the shoulder, but alas, he was far too tall for that. I stepped away, glanced around the compound, and saw that it was as busy as usual, with troops running drills and patrols coming in and out.

To me, it looked alright, yet from his words alone, I gathered he was disappointed. I knew it wasn't good enough, but to me, I was pretty proud of it. I worked hard to make sure that everything was as efficient as possible. Though I knew that I also had to practice some humility. We would only get through all of this to ensure that everyone got along. If I was gonna be a bitch about things, then nothing would progress. So I was careful to choose my words. "There is much work to be done, Octavian. Come, let me show you to the stronghold." I gestured towards the massive building that served as the center of operations.

The Palatines kept close to me, with one in front of me, and the other fell a few steps behind me, keeping as close as possible as we walked through the courtyard. The various undead that spotted us all around me slowly began dropping to their knees, placing their hands over their chests above their hearts. I pushed on, ignoring the displays of fealty. After all of this time, I was still very uncomfortable with it. Being seen as someone worthy of taking a knee was something I wasn't quite fond of, but I would allow it to persist, if anything, for morale.

The praetorian in front of me rushed forward and wholly ignored the two guards that stood at their post and pushed open the door for me, which, thankfully, the two undead that stood there didn't seem all that annoyed by the action. Though even if they could say anything, I doubt they would.

However, as I strode up the stairs, I noticed a strange feeling that seemed to make it's home deep within me. It was a feeling of confidence and strength that seemed to eat away at my doubts and fears, little by little. It was as if nothing truly mattered. Then the task at hand. Even the fear I felt earlier seemed to pale compared to the confidence that was possessing me, and honestly, I think I was starting to not care about anything else.