With General Izmos’s surrender, the fighting inside Bastya Fortress came to an end. General Arthur led his troops through the gates uncontested as the Avari soldiers laid down their weapons. General Hull secured the lower levels of the fortress before finding a large office and declaring it as his.

The three generals and I sat around a large table in the new office. General Hull and General Arthur both had big smiles on their face while General Izmos sat with slumped shoulders. He stared at the wood grain of the table silently. None of that powerful man that tossed Naga around so easily was present now. General Izmos looked like he would crack and crumble under the slightest pressure. He was truly a defeated man.

General Arthur handed A piece of paper to General Izmos as he spoke. “The poison we used on your men was fairly diluted. It will take a couple days before it is fatal, plenty of time for ye to create this antidote and treat them all. Once everyone is treated ye and all your men can return to the Avari.”

The smile disappeared from General Hull’s face when he heard this. “What do you mean free to go, Arthur? We have twenty thousand troops and a general here. The ransom we could get from the Avari is more than either of us make with a decade of achievements.”

General Arthur shook his head. “No.

While we may be enemies today, tomorrow we will be allies against a much greater threat. A bit of coin is not worth losin’ a potential ally.”

“But…”

All the levity was gone from General Arthur’s voice as he spoke with a low growl, “This is my operation. I allowed ye to assist and share the credit, but I am still in charge. Do not forget that.”

General Hull’s face turned red with fury, but he remained silent as he glared at General Arthur. General Izmos took the piece of paper detailing the antidote with shaking hands.

“I will admit, this is more kindness than I expected from my enemies. I do not know if I would have done the same if I was in your place.”

General Arthur waved his hand dismissively. “What ye would have done does not matter to me. My actions are my own.”

General Izmos glanced at me as he gripped the piece of paper tightly. “Are they really?”

“Yes.” General Arthur replied with a firm nod.

General Izmos stood up from the table and saluted General Arthur. “Thank you, general, for your mercy. I will not forget this debt. I need to hurry and begin administering this antidote. If you will excuse me.” General Izmos then turned to leave the room, but before he did, he looked at me and spoke, “Tell your master, I stand ready to fight Envy when he arrives. I will prepare the rest of the Avari nation as well. By the time he appears, we will be a fortress that will never be breached.”

I nodded as the general left the room. General Arthur let out a long breath of relief as he leaned back in his chair.

“I never expected the Avari had a second domain level expert. I thought it was only their king with that kind of power. We are lucky he surrendered, or we might have lost many more troops than I was prepared to sacrifice.”

General Hull’s face went pale as his words were caught in his mouth. “D- domain? That old man? How can you tell?”

“Ye should train more general. Once ye are strong enough, ye will be able to sense something like that naturally,” General Arthur replied, closing his eyes.

“Even more reason we should have ransomed him instead of setting him free. Do you know how much money a captured domain expert could be worth!”

General Arthur shook his head. “Ye really think General Izmos would let himself be ransomed? Ye want to guard him? There is no way we would be able to imprison a man that powerful long enough to get any money from the Avari. So, stop bringing it up. If you are really worried about money, you should try and figure out a way to connect Bastya Fortress with roads from Novus. This place is already a trade nexus. The fees you can collect in one month from the travelers that pass through here would be worth more than your entire territories taxes after a year.”

“You mean…”

“Yes, I am leaving ye in charge of Bastya Fortress,” General Arthur replied, “However, I am not givin’ this to ye for free. I expect you to use your new influence against Irene Ultio. Controlling this fortress will give ye enough pull to cause her some serious problems.”

General Hull nodded energetically as he pounded on the table. “Yes! I have not forgotten how she tried to get me killed. I will not forgive that!”

“Good, then I will leave everything to ye. Let me know if ye need any assistance.”

General Arthur stood, and I followed suit as the two of us walked out of the office together.

“Do you really think he will be able to do anything to Irene with this new command?” I asked curiously.

“No, even with him controllin’ Bastya, General Hull will still be powerless to do anythin’ to her. However, he should make a nice distraction for my own plans. ‘Till then, we have to be patient.”

I nodded as I followed general Arthur through the twisting hallways of the fortress and out the giant doors. Outside, the Novus army was celebrating the victory with loud cheers. The barrels of alcohol that had not been poisoned were taken from the fortress and given to the men, creating an atmosphere of pure madness as more than twenty thousand troops laughed, shouted, and danced.

I shook my head, knowing festivities like this would last the rest of the day, and moved towards a corner of the fortress wall. There, Wren’s parents and Charly were helping Donte as he was getting his injuries treated by Doctor Volnus. As much as everyone did not like the Doctor, I had to admit, I was envious of his talent. Within less than a minute Donte was completely healed as though he had never been injured at all.

Seeing Donte smile as he flexed his fingers, I felt a twinge in my chest and frowned. After everything he suffered in that dungeon, I did not understand how he could smile. How could he still laugh like that after the way they treated him? I shook away the dark thoughts of my own past as I approached the family and forced a smile to match everyone else’s.

Renald waved me over as I approached. “I can’t believe you actually made them surrender! We actually captured Bastya! I never thought this day would come.”

“It is an impressive fortress. I hope it will serve us well when Envy invades,” I said.

“I know it will,” Renald replied, pounding his fist on his chest confidently.

While Renald started boasting about the defensive strengths of the fortress, General Arthur walked over to Charly. He was listening to Doctor Volnus's lecture as he finished healing Donte’s injuries.

General Arthur had a big smile on his face as he patted Charly on the back while Doctor Volnus hurried off to treat his next patient. The doctor almost seemed scared of the general as he hurried away as fast as he could. General Arthur ignored him as he leaned close to Charly. “What did ye think of your first real battle? Ye get that fire inside ye yet? Want to join the army as my squire?”

Charly grimaced as he pulled away from the general. “What is there to be impressed with? Have you even taken the time to see how many people were injured or died during our attack? I did! Doctor Volnus and I have been treating them all day. I do not understand why everyone is celebrating. This was horrible!”

General Arthur sighed as the smile disappeared from his face. “It is because so many have died that we celebrate. We celebrate our lives and the lives of our fallen comrades. Most of all, we celebrate that the fighting is over. We achieved a great victory here today, but not a single one of those cheering men do not mourn their fallen brothers. This is simply their way to soothe the pain in their hearts.”

Charly fell silent as he looked out at the cheering men and women downing cup after cup of alcohol. Through the din of the crowd, there was a group nearby drinking and cheering as they told the story of a valiant friend that fell in the battle. The story of how he bravely rushed forward without fear and led the charge. The surrounding men toasted to their fallen friend and downed another drink.

“I think I understand,” Charly said quietly, “but did it really have to be this way? Did we have to fight?”

“Yes,” I said with a firm determination, “Do you really think the Avari would have handed Donte over without a fight? They thought this fortress was impenetrable. They would never give in to our demands without this battle. A few lives might have been lost, but the ends justify the means. To accomplish what you think is right, sometimes blood must be spilled.”

“And how has that worked so far?” Charly replied as he stared me in the eye with clenched fists, “How many lives have been sacrificed for these so-called victories. I know the church records. The Demons are no closer to being defeated than they were a thousand years ago. Why is war your first instinct? There is always another way. We could have at least tried to negotiate and avoid all this blood, but you…”

“Charly that is enough,” Tia said as she placed a hand on Charly’s shoulder.

Charly turned his eyes down to the ground, hiding the tears I saw forming there. I frowned, not quite understanding what he was so upset about. Us having a few deaths was always expected. We captured the fortress with minimal casualties. The fighting lasted less than half an hour. It could not have been done better.

I felt a twinge of heaviness in my chest as Charly turned away from me and marched silently back to the family wagon. I ignored the small voice in my head screaming at me to go after him and sat down on a stone outcropping on the side of the wall. I stared up at the clouds in the bright blue sky and sighed.

“I will go talk to him,” my mom said, shaking her head.

Donte sat down next to me, looking up at the sky as well. “I can’t remember if I said this or not already, but thank you for saving me. I am not sure how much longer I could have lasted in that place.”

I leaned my head on his shoulder and Donte nearly jumped in surprise. He looked over at me in surprise as he spoke, “Your eye… Wren? You are awake?”

“I have been for quite some time actually. I just… did not want to get in the way. I did not know if I would be able to do what was necessary to save you. So, I forced myself to close my eyes and not look… I was so scared and angry when you were taken… I think... I think I wanted Aurielle to hurt them.”

Donte placed an arm around my shoulder as he leaned in closer. “It is ok. I understand.”

My dad cleared his throat as he crossed his arms and glared at Donte. As if shocked by electricity, Donte immediately removed his arm from my shoulder and jumped up.

I sighed as I leaned back against the wall. “Dad, do you have to hover over me like that?”

“Yes, Yes I do,” my dad replied gruffly, “I am happy you are finally awake, but that does not mean I am going to allow you to act inappropriately.”

I stood up and brushed off my clothes. “In that case, I am going to go see if I can steal one of those cups of alcohol. Aurielle’s memories are full of delicious drinks and I want to try a bunch tonight.”

“Absolutely not!” my dad roared as he reached out to grab me.

I ducked under my dad’s arm and stuck my tongue out at him before dashing into the crowd.