I closed my eyes as the first rays of dawn began to light the sky. Every muscle in my body felt heavy and weak. Controlling so many undead at once had pushed my talents to their limits. My head throbbed as if getting struck by a hammer repeatedly. Even the crunch of gravel underfoot echoed in my ears like beating drums. I held my head as my mom approached the edge of the cliff where I sat. She sat down next to me and held out a steaming cup. I took the cup with a smile and savored the gentle smell of the tea.

“How did the night go?” Mom asked curiously.

“Not bad,” I replied after taking a sip of the tea, “If I had a week or two without interruptions, I could probably route the entire army.”

“Really?” Mom said in shock.

I gave a small nod as I looked out over the sprawling landscape that stretched into the distance. “Fear and exhaustion are powerful weapons. I did not kill that many soldiers compared to the grand scale of their army but the ones I did kill were important figures, people that thought themselves safe. General Arthur will send raiding parties to keep anyone from sleeping during the day. As fatigue starts to set in, many will begin to doubt their leadership and fear for their own lives more than fighting for a cause they do not agree with. If not for the three domain warriors maintaining order, there might already have been a revolt among the soldiers.”

“They have three domain warriors? I did not know the Ciel empire was so powerful.”

“More like one and two halves,” I answered dismissively, “The general of the army is an old man with a relatively decent domain but the other two have no idea what they are doing. Their domains are even less stable than yours. My guess is that they were not awakened naturally. The Ciel Empire probably accepted a few corrupted seeds from the Demons without understanding their side effects.” I glanced over at my mom and saw her confusion. Continuing, I explained. “Just as I can use my domain to condense my innate talent into a crystal, a strong Demon can condense the corruptive air they produce. We call the result corrupted seeds. They give a large boost of power to anyone that eats them but it also corrupts the host and turns them into a Demonkin. The process usually takes a few weeks so Demons often use these seeds to trick unsuspecting victims.”

Mom’s eyes widened as she looked out at the Ciel army encampment. “I have seen you create dozens of those blue crystals in a single day. If these corrupted seeds are created the same way, does that mean there could be hundreds of them in the Ciel army?”

I nodded. “Not all will awaken a domain of course, but many will. The Ciel were probably cautious about a gift from the Demons before but after my attack last night, I would not be surprised if dozens of pseudo-domain warriors popped up in their ranks tonight.”

“Isn’t that a problem? We barely fought off the last Demon assault. If dozens of domain warriors join the fight against us, how are we going to hold them off?”

“They might have a domain but they are not really a threat,” I replied with a shrug, “A domain awakened through a corrupted seed is pathetically weak. Since they did not awaken the domain through the proper process, they will have no idea how to control their new power. They will not be able to fly or condense domain armor. While still far stronger than an average soldier, they will be weaker than the mature Demonkin we are already preparing for. You and Dad can kill any one of them with ease.”

“I see,” Mom said thoughtfully, “Still, we should prepare in case there are more of them than we expect.”

I agreed with a nod. I had always expected the corrupted seeds to appear. It was not really a surprise. General Arthur also knew of their existence when I warned him last night. New pseudo-domain users were a threat to the army but not something impossible for regular soldiers to fight. A few detachments of archers would be able to drain the energy of those unstable domains easily enough. Short of all two hundred thousand soldiers of the Ciel army eating a corrupted seed, it would not be a significant factor in the war.

I was far more worried about what I could not see. The wall of the blood mist crept further every minute. It corrupted everything it touched, creating more and more Demonkin. I had no idea what the Demons were planning behind that wall of crimson but it could not be good. I was not even able to get any scouts into the mist. Every undead I sent was caught by the wall of watchful Demonkin before I could learn anything of value. Not even an insect could make it past without being detected.

“You should get some rest while you can, Wren” Mom said as she looked at me with concern, “You may have experienced many wars in your past lives but your body is still that of a child. It is not good for you to be up all night without rest.”

“I can sleep when the war is over,” I replied. I downed the cup of tea quickly and stood up. “I said I would weaken the Ciel army before the next assault and that is exactly what I plan to do.”

I handed the empty cup back to my mom and turned towards the center of camp. I needed to create more undead before my next attack tonight. It was exhausting work but it had to be done.

“That does not mean you have to do it alone,” Mom said, stopping me, “There are a couple of groups of people that have volunteered to help you. At least meet with them. Maybe they can lighten your burden.”

“Volunteered?” I asked in surprise, “The Kala are busy fortifying the mouth of the plateau. Who besides them would volunteer to help me?”

Mom smiled brightly. “I think you will be surprised just how many.”

Impulsively, I wanted to refuse but the constant pounding of my headache made me pause. Perhaps, I really could use a few extra helping hands.

Curious, I followed Mom around the edge of the allied forces. I knew from my time with General Arthur that no army had claimed this region of the plateau. Despite this, hundreds of men and women had gathered here into three distinguishable groups. There was no sigil of any country on their clothes. They were not here representing any country. Instead, there was a single flag planted at the center of the group.

The flag was clearly not professionally crafted. It was obviously painted with a lack of supplies but that did not stop the people from gathering around it proudly. Frayed black cloth fluttered in the wind. A bright green flame was emblazoned on the fabric along with a pair of eyes that almost glowed against the backdrop.

“The flag was not my idea,” Mom said with a bit of embarrassment, “They insisted.”

“Who insisted?” I asked curiously, “Who are these people?”

“I insisted,” boomed a gruff voice from the crowd. A man stepped forward, He was covered in muscles and scars, weathered by age. A peppering of light grey hair mixed with what was once jet black.

“Luther?” I blinked in surprise at seeing the man. Back when I first revived and was kidnapped by the Empress Cult, Steel Skin Luther had sworn his allegiance to me. I had asked the man to look after the young men and women the cult had kidnapped. I did not expect to see him here after all this time and looking at some of the people behind him, I noticed many with bright glowing green eyes.

“I told you she did not have two green eyes anymore,” said a second man, wearing blue-tinted heavy armor, “We should have painted one of them blue.” As the man spoke, he lifted the visor of his helmet and I was able to see his face. He was Kadmos, captain of the guard in Aktaio. While trying to find the source of Lot twenty-three turning people into Demonkin, Kadmos had been forced to work for me by my parents. I could not understand why he was here now. In his group, I saw many half-mutated people. For many, one of their arms or legs was twisted into Demonic talons or claws but they were alive and seemed to be living well.

“The green eyes are more iconic. Everyone knows that as the sign of Aurielle’s undead. Adding blue would just confuse people.” Luther shot back at the former guard captain.

“Why are you here?” I asked the two men, interrupting the brewing argument before it became heated.

“We are here to help of course,” Luther stated as a matter of fact, “The Empress’s Cult was created to serve you. Regardless of the less than honorable actions some of its members have taken in the past, we are men and women that have been loyal to you since before your empire fell. We will not stand back and do nothing now that you need us the most.”

“Don’t group me in with you fanatics,” Kadmos said with a roll of his eyes, “When the people of Aktaio learned who it was that saved them from turning into Demonkin, many volunteered to join this fight. While the… mutations they suffer from make ordinary life difficult, it also makes them great warriors. The men and women here owe you their lives. Now they are here to repay the favor.”

A suave man stepped out from the third of the groups that had gathered around the flag. He gave me a polite bow before speaking. “You probably do not remember me, but I am the former mayor of Téves. When the blood mist swallowed the Romlas Kingdom, you and your family saved my people from a fate worse than death. Our kingdom may be gone but a few of our bravest remain. You saved our families and led them out of the blood mist. Now it is our turn to help you.”

My mom gently placed her hand on my arm and smiled. “Everywhere you go, you have touched the people there. You have saved lives and helped make the world a safer place. These people are here because of you and your actions. I know you are confident in your abilities and do not like to rely on others but they have decided to fight for you with or without your approval. You do not have to shoulder everything by yourself. Let them help you.”

My eyes roamed across the three groups of people and felt a strange sense of pride well up in my chest. These men and women were not incredibly powerful. Their numbers were not enough to tip the scales of the war in our favor. Some of them were obviously not even skilled fighters. They knew they might die but when I called for aid, they came anyway.

When I first became empress, I had so many friends just like these. It felt so very long ago now. As time marched on, I left those people behind and carved my own path into the endless war. As those friends that truly remembered me passed away, I became more and more of a legend and more and more hated within this realm. I stopped concerning myself with the people and focused only on the larger picture. Perhaps if I had done things a little differently, I could have seen what was important sooner.

I smiled brightly at the group before me and stretched my arms out wide. “If you are going to follow me, we need a fitting name. From this day forth, all of you here shall be known as the Immortal Guard.”