"What do you mean the war has started? I thought they were only going to enter the valley today? There are sixty kilometers worth of farmland between the Trellian Pass and our walls," Han said.

It would take a day for the Gazaarians to cover the distance. The reports said that they were using transporting platforms- one mage could move a platform of around thirty people at great speeds. They could only use it over even ground though, so they would have to march through the pass on foot. Laravan mages were probably not trained in transporting platforms, so the combined army was sure to have logistical problems. Nevertheless, the Council had agreed the Gazaarians would start by sending their vanguard ahead to camp and scout.

"They're still at the Pass," Hui assured. "Actually, we are the ones attacking. I think this was the plan that Kaito was going to talk about before Hikari stopped him."

"I'm confused," Han said. "Why are we going outside the safety of our walls?"

"The way Arthur explained it to us," Amaar said, "It is to our advantage to ambush them and whittle away at their numbers a little bit. If we use all the small fortifications in the valley, we can attack them and retreat without, hopefully, losing anyone at all. A few companies were sent through before the main gates were closed."

Han blinked. "Is my aunt gone? he asked.

The other two looked at each other and shook their heads. "We don't know," Hui said.

"Anyway, we have a mission too," Amaar said. "The Gazaarians sent a few detachments here and there for scouting. We have to hit as many as we can in the Gehia Region."

That was south of the road between the Pass and the city, Han remembered.

"All right," Han said, "I will have to go talk to Hikari about the giants, see my aunt and uncle, we can leave after, yeah?"

Hui and Amaar's faces stilled.

"Oh, Amaar, how dare you forget to ask?" Hui said. "Excuse Amaar, o Envoy to the Giants, he can be an atrocious idiot sometimes. I'll ask in his stead. What happened? Will they help?"

"I'll explain on the way to the council, come on," Han replied with a small smile.

"Also, Han," Amaar said, "We won't be going alone. There will be a cohort of fifty special troops, along with Arthur and Seklei'tre, and they are waiting for us. You can meet your aunt and uncle later, right?"

"I promised," Han replied, and neither of them argued.

---

Han explained what he could in the few minutes it took for them to reach the Council. The security had increased, and Han saw many soldiers transporting weapons and munitions though none were allowed near the Council itself. Hui studied one of the scrolls about the warding schemes, trying to understand the text, even as Han talked.

Hui specialized in Travian magic, the most common magic system, but the most developed as well. Amaar didn't read the scrolls because he had decided to specialize in something entirely different. While most other magic systems aimed to connect with the Flow and impose their will on it, Langin magic destroyed physical laws temporarily by systematically damaging the Flow the right way. Due to its nature, Langin was considered one of the "evil" forms of magic, and one of Amaar's goals was to help destigmatize it.

"Serpents, hmm," Amaar murmured after Han finished, just before they entered the Council room.

"I'll take these to Akari if I can find her," Hui said pointing to the scrolls, "She'll probably understand this better than me." She wandered off without a word after, deep in thought.

There was no session going on, but it was full of people frantically moving around, carrying messages, and giving orders. While all Councilors had their offices, many of them seemed to have set up shop in the room in the main room for convenience.

"Han, come here," spymaster Chidhina shouted from the other end of the room as soon as he entered, "I need a report with all the relevant information now."

"Where is Councillor Hikari?" he asked her.

"She's upstairs getting some air. I'll pass along what's important if you come and tell-"

"I need to talk to her," Han interrupted with a meaningful glance at Amaar, "I have told Amaar everything, so he'll tell you everything."

"No-" the spymaster started irritatingly, but Han ignored her. He was already outside the door and up the stairs again before she finished. He had hidden a few details from Hui and Amaar, too, but had a feeling that Hikari might know a thing or two.

He found the Councillor alone on the terrace, staring at the sky. She turned when he entered, then looked back up.

"Will they help?" she asked.

"No," he said directly. He continued after a pause. "Although, Sev gave me a dozen scrolls filled with powerful warding schemes for the walls."

Hikari frowned, "That may be useful, but I was hoping for more."

"As it happens," Han said as he came to stand next to her, "They have a war of their own in the south. The Serpents have attacked them."

Hikari's face blanked, and she finally turned to face him completely.

"That is very interesting," she said, "and explains a lot. Anything else?"

"Lar appeared and gave them advice," he said, looking at Hikari for reactions carefully, "There was also something about Gods playing games."

Hikari's eyes widened in fear before they collapsed back into a blank mask. So she did know about this, Han thought. Han was sure that there was more going on than meets the eye, and the only one in the Council who had given any hint of knowing something was Hikari.

"This, I know," Hikari said. "These gods? They are beyond us, Han. We can't touch them. The best we can do is to save as much as possible and keep an eye out for surprises. There is much I can't tell you right now. You are going with Arthur today, yes? Can you tell him everything while you're at it, and ask him to come to discuss this with me after? He knows much more about these things than I do."

"I will," Han said and stood silently for a while. There was something else he wanted to ask. Han didn't want all of this to amount to nothing. Comparing forces so far, he understood that their chances were tiny, indeed.

"What is the plan? Are we going to lose? " he asked finally, "I need to know we aren't fighting an impossible fight."

Hikari replied after a moment. "There is a story a Strian told me many years ago. In the times before the Dawn, the Terake, or the Ancient Terrors, and the Elder Gods still lived. The Terake were great monsters, more powerful than anything that lives today, and all the Lizards that were born in the wake of their destruction were just pale imitations. The Elder Gods were much more powerful than the Gods that walk today are and were a match for the Terake. The Terake and the Elder Gods warred for thousands of years. The Elder Gods aimed to protect mortals from the Terake and often won their battles.

"But the Elder Gods could not be at all places, so when the Terake attacked mortals to feed on their terror, death often followed. Once, such a monster named Kako attacked a big Strian settlement. The Terake were powerful, but such power had a disadvantage- it could be felt. Long before Kako reached, the shamans of the settlement observed the disturbance in the Flow and warned the leader, Sher'trev. Sher'trev, she was tired of asking the people to scatter across the plains and pray to human gods every other month, and so she thought of a plan to end this.

"She took her most loyal shamans and warriors and hid in an ancient cave in a mountain. They dug deep to the center and waited. Kako sensed them inside and decided to terrorize the weak mortals inside, for it was a monster. So it sent blow after blow, taking its time to destroy the mountain for it was a huge mountain indeed. When it was nearly destroyed, Sher'trev instructed her people to follow the cave into another mountain. They did this again, and again, surviving for months on nothing but water.

"And finally, Kako gave up. Kako had lost much power in its lust for terror and had gotten nothing in return. So it decided that the mortals were terrified enough and flew away. A while later, we are told, an Elder God easily slew it because Kako was tired.

Hikari turned to Han and there was cold determination in her eyes.

"There are many walls and fortresses throughout the Valley, Han, and we will make every single of them a mountain. They will cry, and they will try, and they will die, trying to get to us. And in the end? However dark the cave, we will be standing."

Han looked at her for a while with something like awe in his eyes. Neither of them said another word, and Han left the Councilor to her thoughts.

---

"You think there are Omegas in there?" Han asked

The stars were twinkling in the sky above and in the slow river below. Han peered over from one of its banks, crouched behind a few bushes. On the other end was an old fortification, clearly decaying. Inside Gazaarian soldiers were working quietly.

"My gut says no," captain Asa said. "We should wait to check if we can spot any."

Han and the short captain were sent ahead to scout the fort they were going to attack soon. The captain had experience scouting while Han didn't, so Han decided to trust the man's instincts. Han had been brought along for the usefulness of his pocket dimension- he could store many weapons and anything else they managed to steal without getting bogged down. He was also not a mage, so he could get close without being sensed in the Flow the way an Omega would be.

"What do you think they're doing?" Han whispered.

"They are not rebuilding the fort for sure. Maybe searching for something? They are up to no good in any case. Look around and see if you can find a soldier wandering around, there's usually at least one of them."

"But Arthur asked us to return if we see anyone without further-"

There was a sudden spike of pain in the back of Han's head as it was hit, and the world went black.

----

Han opened his eyes and struggled with his arms before realizing he was tied up. Where was he? The last thing he remembered was his aunt and uncle were both not at home, and then he had come with a party of around fifty to ambush a- oh, the fort. The memories rushed back quickly. The Gazaarians had, somehow, sneaked upon them.

"This one is up," a soldier said.

Han forced himself to focus and look around. He was sitting on a wooden chair, his arms and legs tied up. He was clearly inside the fort- it was the same dusty bricks and scent. There were five soldiers inside the room, but Asa was not visible. One of them had better armor than the others and spoke up.

"I am going to ask questions, boy, and you will answer. Do we understand each other?" she said.

"Where am I?" said Han.

"You are inside the very fort you were spying on. Now answer my questions. Who are you, and why were you looking?" the officer replied.

Han panicked- they were probably going to kill him, he needed a way out.

"I mean no harm," he said, "I was just curious."

"Lie," another soldier said.

"No, I swear-"

"Fadila here has studied people for long," the officer said, pointing to the woman who had just spoken. "So best don't lie again. Why don't you calm down a little and think before talking? What is your name, and what are you doing here?"

Han forced him to take a deep breath. He blinked and realized he was not helpless. He always wanted to be a hero and this was his chance.

"All right," he said, "My name is Han. And for the second question,- "

He summoned a small dagger from his pocket dimension and cut the ropes tying his hands with two quick cuts. The dagger went back in, but all the soldiers had their swords out and were moving towards him. Han's feet were still tied.

Han knew he wouldn't be able to defend against five people alone with a sword, but he had a more potent tool- surprise. As soon as he summoned Omegabane and got up, four of them stopped. The other was already in the arc of stabbing him from the right, but Han was already moving. A quick push to move the opponent's sword away and then a quick counterattack. He fully expected the other to parry, but Omegabane bit deep into the flesh. Not everyone was as good as his aunt, he reminded himself. The soldier collapsed, and Han told himself he would be healed and forced his mind to concentrate on the others.

The others, he noted, had all retreated to the entrance. One of them disappeared, maybe to call for reinforcements, and the other three got into position, swords facing him.

"- What are you doing here?" he asked, slicing the ropes tying his legs with one fluid motion.

"Who are you?" the officer asked.

"I already told you that?" Han pointed out and moved towards them. He decided how to divert a few of them and take them one by one at a time. However, instead of attacking him, they turned around and ran. Han grunted and followed them outside the room before pausing. What did he have to do now? No, following them seemed the wrong idea. He needed to send a signal to the ambush party or escape to find them.

There might be a gap in the walls, Han thought as he turned around and saw a blurry motion. He raised his blade by instinct and heard a clanking sound a second later. He blinked in surprise when he observed his attackers. There were two small beings, barely a meter tall. They had brownish-black skin and retreated soundlessly with amazing speed.

"Mlins," Han said.

What were they doing here? The Mlins did not participate in other species' wars, happily safe behind their mountains. Han put aside the thought to consider later when one of them said something in a tongue he didn't understand. He did hear the word "Omega', though. A moment later, they started running away, the same way the other soldiers had gone. Han considered what to do now when two thoughts came to his mind successively. He had been standing in the same place for a long time, and that was bad- being indecisive was death, his aunt had taught him. Secondly, he had completely forgotten captain Asa.

Han quickly sent the knives the Mlins had dropped into his pocket dimension and started running along the hallway in the opposite direction to where the soldiers went- they might have set up a trap. He turned around a corner and found a few guards and- oh, shit- a mage behind them. They were all next to a door, and Han heard muffled shouts from inside. He started running towards the enemy because giving mages distance and time was suicide. The mage had started chanting, so Han summoned the dagger in his hand and threw it at her.

As he had hoped, she quickly released the spell she was chanting, a fireball if the black smoke was a sign, and started chanting another when the dagger harmlessly bounced off a soldier's armor. The mage started chanting another spell once more, but Han was already on them. The soldiers had formed a wall, covering the narrow passage, with their swords in front. Han slapped one of the blades away with blue streaks in the air following his cuts. Omegabane added strength to his own, and he lunged at the shield with the opening he created. With a regular sword that would have done nothing, but here the soldier was thrown back on the floor because of the force. Omegabane's blue arteries dipped, but the soldiers didn't notice. Their formation broke, and they took a few steps back.

"That's an Omega," one of the soldiers said, and they all turned around and started running. Han stood there for a second. What was with all these people and running away? He then looked inside the room and found captain Asa. Han quickly cut the ropes and gag holding the captain.

"Those were Mlins that caught us," Asa said. "I remember the scent. Do you have a route for escape? How many are coming towards us?"

"None, actually. Every single one of them ran away. They also think I'm an Omega."

Asa grinned. "Now that is interesting and should make things easier. You see, the Gazaarian army has instructions to retreat if an Omega is found. They do not engage one unless prepared for it, and call for other Omegas instead"

Oh, Han thought, now their running made a lot of sense. Han and Asa turned from the corridor into a wide courtyard in the middle.

They were not alone. Around a hundred soldiers were moving around- only around ten of them Mlins and the other human. Most of them seemed ready to fight, sword pointing towards Han, while the others were boarding several carts with weapons and gold.

"Stop and Surrender, Omega." a man said, his voice shaking," or we will have to kill you and your friend."

Han was confident that he would lose a fight against them. Even a few of them. He was no Omega and one fireball could kill him- he was not even wearing armor. His previous successes had emboldened him, though, and if they thought he was an Omega, he would use that. Han took a step sword and raised his blade. His hands moved Omegabane in a slashing motion against the wall, and a whole section of the decaying wall collapsed. The blue arteries dipped again, and Han judged he had one more powerful strike.

"Fear the Sword of Amonis," he shouted as loudly as he could. Once again, the soldiers started retreating, scared by the dust and the blue arcs of magic and the theatrics. Boy, his luck was good today, Han thought.

The Gazaarian soldiers looked up behind Han, and he heard a whooshing sound. Han threw himself to the side, expecting a missile. Instead, he found a huge slab of metal, moving extremely fast, missing him by a hair's breadth. The wind that followed, along with Han's poor footing, made him fall and Han immediately raised his sword in case another attack was coming.

Han looked around and realized there wasn't. There was a woman carrying a huge hammer in the middle of the courtyard, her momentum having caused her to skid nearly twenty meters.

Her hands had thick yellow strings of power spiraling around them, and she held a hammer that must weigh a few tons at least effortlessly. The Gazaarians started cheering and Han recalled the name the Omega went by from the list he had been given- the Warrior of Nais.

The woman slowly turned around, a grin forming on her face.

"The Sword of Amonis, huh?" the Warrior said. "Why don't you try someone your own size?"

Han decided that his luck being good was a slight exaggeration.