The tension was finally getting to Kalia. It was the feeling that came before a Maelstrom storm, the calm that came before the first clash of swords on the practice field. She had spent the day trying to stay alert, wary of a threat tangible enough to warrant extra security yet vague enough that she had only been given a location to guard. Now as dusk fell she found her attention flagging.

It didn't help that Llain was actively trying to distract her, but she also didn't have the heart to send him back home. He had shown up on their doorstep a year ago like a lost puppy, and he seemed either unwilling or unable to make friends beyond the smithy. Their eyes met as she completed another circuit of the block and he choked down a mouthful of food as she approached.

"What are you eating now?" she asked. "And how hasn't your stomach burst from all the junk you've been cramming in it all day."

He choked out a reply around the food lodged in his throat. "Fried dough and sugar. It's supposed to be shaped like a Lantean behemoth, but—" he shrugged and held up the large ball of sugary bread. It didn't resemble anything but a stomach ache to Kalia. Llain's brow furrowed as he glanced around furtively. "Did you find anything— suspicious yet?"

Kalia looked up and down the street again. Strange mechanical contraptions were being assembled by the guild of alchemists, but so far everything had seemed to be in order. A small burst of flames erupted from a crowd of the alchemists, but the rush of adrenaline faded as those nearby began chuckling. One of the men walked away with singed eyebrows, but it seemed like an accident rather than sabotage.

"Unfortunately no," Kalia answered with a sigh. She plunked down onto a crate next to Llain and stared upward at the quickly fading sunlight. "Perhaps it was just a test of my ability to follow orders," she mused. "Or maybe my presence was enough of a deterrent to stop the trouble. Llain, if you were going to attack somewhere during the festival, where would you go?"

"Food stalls, no question." He took another bite of the dough ball to reinforce his point. "You take away food from a festival and what's even the point?" He winked at Kalia as a groan escaped her lips. "But if this is some test, then are you allowed to ask me for help?" Llain stuck his tongue out as she resumed pacing.

The alchemists had finished their preparations nearby, forming neat lines as they awaited the Master Alchemist who would start the show. She could see the man in the distance, torch held in his hand as he left the alchemist's guild hall to make the short walk. Kalia supposed that if the fireworks went off properly she could consider it a mission accomplished, but she maintained her focus. She couldn't fail this close to the finish.

"I'm going to take one more lap before they start," Kalia said. "Yell if you see anything."

Kalia grabbed her halberd, but before she could pass Llain he let out a strangled noise. His hands flew to his neck, and Kalia could see the lump of food stuck there. Llain's face turned red as he struggled to breathe and she quickly pulled him into her arms as she squeezed his sternum. "Didn't you learn to chew your food wherever you grew up?"

"No it's— Kalia, the alchemists!" He squeaked out in between gasps of air. His hand pointed down the street and she turned to see chaos had erupted in the split moment her attention had been diverted.

"Damn it all," she muttered. Her feet had already started moving, and she struggled to absorb the situation as her large steps swallowed the distance in big gulps.

The Master Alchemist had stumbled into one of the machines, the torch in his hands landing in a clutter of spilled boxes that lay scattered across the street. Already sparks of flame were jumping skyward, and only a few of the alchemists worked to stop their spread. Kalia scoffed at the lack of organization, but a burst of flame proved the wisdom in their cowardice as a burning body was launched through the air with a whoosh of flame.

Kalia reached the Master, a circle of alchemists around him refusing to draw close, but protecting him from the showers of sparks that lit the street in the encroaching darkness. The man was muttering wildly as his limbs convulsed, but his face drew Kalia's eyes even as she struggled to hold him down. Silvery pools of light had filled his eye sockets, spreading through a web of veins to cover his body in tiny sigils of magic.

Llain caught up just as she knelt down next to the Master Alchemist. "Kalia, don't touch him! It could be contagious!" Kalia glanced up and could see Llain trembling at the sight. "Just— let's run for help. The temple's not too far away, or maybe we could find a mage in the market."

"He might not have time for that, Llain. I can't just do nothing. Besides, I've studied healing theory for years at the temple." Kalia said. She grimaced and clutched at her neck, pulling at the silver chain that lay under her gambeson. Ripping the medallion free of its chain, Kalia clutched it in one hand as she placed the other on the man's chest. His heart thundered under her palm. Kalia almost recoiled as the magic spread onto her hand, but instead she leaned into it and embraced her power. "Besides, I have all the help I need right here."

Her fingers felt the deep grooves on the amulet as she closed her eyes. Imprinted there was the Sword of Izael, goddess of righteous valor and defender of the weak. Kalia's lips moved in prayer and she felt the divine power flow outward from her chest to fill her limbs with strength.

Kalia was glad her eyes were closed as she was instantly assaulted by a tumult of images that sent her mind reeling. She gasped as dozens of copies of the man spread out around her like a gossamer spiderweb. Each man displayed an alternate series of events. They were things that could have happened, but didn't.

The theory behind healing was too mathematical for Kalia to comprehend fully, but all she had to do was find an image of the man that wasn't dying. Which she had assumed would be easy. Instead different images of the man's death spiraled around her. The man's head exploded in a burst of light, a charred corpse leered at her from its death pyre, she even saw herself decapitating the man and had to resist the urge to pull her hand free.

The rush of magic in her was the only thing keeping her conscious amid the miasma of death, but already it was fading. The web began to shatter, edges splintering away into the abyss as she lost focus. So Kalia lunged outward with all her strength, finally finding a copy that would live. She cared for little else, and hoped there were no hidden injures on the man, but it was too late to second guess herself.

"What did you do?" came Llain's voice from far away. "He stopped shaking, but you look like hell."

Kalia's vision cleared and she found herself lying on her back next to the alchemist. She attempted to move, but her limbs refused to answer her.

"Kalia, the fire's spreading! We have to get somewhere safe." Llain said more urgently. He threw one of her arms over his shoulder, but her body was too heavy for him to budge.

"Llain, the stars," Kalia whispered. He shook his head in confusion, and leaned in close for her to repeat herself. "The stars are gone, Llain. I think I failed the test."

He dropped her arm as his gaze drifted skyward, mouth hanging open in shock. Kalia closed her eyes, shutting out the blank sky and her own failure to embrace the soft silence of sleep.