After traveling for several months, and in spite of living in Aetas Origo for several years, Luke had forgotten what cities were really like. People flowed down walkways and spilled out onto newly-paved roads for still-uncommon automobiles like ocean currents. Some strode quickly, backs straight. Others stepped slow, but they did not trudge as if they did not wish to go where they were going; perhaps they were enjoying the fresh air as much as Luke. Most passersby seemed happy, others so happy it was as if a feather of Nesoenas herself had been placed in their caps, all of which was a stark contrast to the Terra Daevan city he had been living in, where people were neutral or worse, eager to get to where they could be miserable next and shoved each other aside or forward if their paths were obstructed. Here there were the throngs and flowing currents, but there was no pushing or shoving. There were men and women on horseback, of course. That method of travel was timeless, Luke thought, unlike this automobile fad. Some were teams of two or four leading carriages of people or trading goods, others simply a rider or two atop a single horse. It was an odd sort of tranquil chaos.

The people of Ulciscor wore predominantly dark colors, most often brown or green or blue of simple but reliable swirlsheep fabric. Some of these types tended to be carrying something, bundles of paper or vegetables to market, a hammer and toolbox or some other assortment of tools to a construction or carpentry job. Others carried containers of prepared—usually hot— food for home delivery. Likely, this food had to be ordered by way of radio booths just small enough to fit a man scattered through the city. They were an older invention compared to the automobile, but the resources needed for their creation and maintenance seemed to hinder progress, and so Luke had not seen any outside of Aetas Origo on his way here. A thing of the cities, really. A smaller town, and you may as well walk to a restaurant. Only in large bustling places such as Ulciscor did it become an issue.

Richer folk wore finer outfits of black and silver-trimmed spiralsilk, mostly merchants, Luke guessed. Among the black and silver he spotted several with the familiar Ulciscor Guard’s uniform, patrols to maintain order among the organized chaos of the busy streets. The Guard came in pairs, two men or women at a time, always a pair he could see in the corner of his eye.

Mainly, Luke kept his gaze fixed on the golden mantle now just ahead of him. He had closed most of the distance in the beginning, but kept himself comfortably behind Daniels and Cade so as not to be noticed. He passed through narrow streets— some paved, others rocky— between buildings of dark orange and mild brown, which he guessed were like the Daniels residence and held paler walls of similar color inside. They were simple of shape, big boxes mostly, bearing few windows. In fact, on many, he notices arrowslits in place of windows. This place was born of war, and knew it well. Ulciscor was not a city before the emperor was forced out of the country after his great victory in the capital, merely a large town with no walls to speak of. Vander Wolf changed all that, and the people of Ulciscor accepted and respected him. In nine years, it had transformed into all of this. Sadly, those unused walls would be put to the test for the first time, very soon. War was returning to Mirastelle. It was all but inevitable now, with two Elites so close. What would Ulciscor look afterward? Would it stand or fall?

Major Cade turned suddenly, and Luke struggled to follow where. He caught sight again of the mantle fluttering on the front steps of an unremarkable building on a mostly mercantile street of farriers and fletchers and blacksmiths, between a cobbler’s shop and a sizable food storefront with rows of neatly arranged stands of fish for sale, freshly caught. He walked between the cobbler’s shop and the unremarkable building as easily as if he belonged there and circled around to the back. There were back steps, which he quietly climbed, taking care not to let the wood creak. A narrow walkway creeped down the side to a side door with a window facing the side of the cobbler’s shop. Luke wondered if the shop had been a recent construction, else why the window? In fact, all of the buildings with windows might be from the original town, before it was run down by one army and rebuilt by a second army.

Sound carried through the house, thankfully. The walls were thin from a more peaceful age.

“Good,” a smooth voice said. Not as deep as his face and reputation might suggest. Vander Wolf. “Major, captain, welcome. Sit, please.”

“It’s an honor, general,” Daniels said respectfully. “And you, sir.”

“Yes, Daniels.” Now that was a deep male voice. The owner was unfamiliar to Luke. “We have much to discuss. You’ve been allowed into a meeting of majors. I still don’t agree with your reasoning, general.”

“He has proven himself, Vasran,” Wolf said warningly. It appeared they had had this conversation before. “He fought Cathartes. There are witnesses. You doubt this kind of trustworthiness?”

“Cathartes? What have I missed?” Vasran asked incredulously. There was a silence, then he continued, “Well, now that he’s here, I see no point in arguing further.” Very deep.

“Are you finished?” a female voice said impatiently. It was not Major Cade’s, but another. It sounded unfamiliar, as well. If it were only majors in the room, that would make her…

“Well hello there,” a voice whispered. A woman’s face framed by short-cut white hair was peering out the window. Luke jerked back to flee, but stopped as she added, “Luke Nixus.”

It was the Ahraran woman he had met earlier, Aisha. He didn’t feel fear, but his face burned from the shame of being caught. How had she come so close without making a sound?

“Why don’t you come in?” Aisha said lazily. Her orange eyes were cool, as if finding an intruder to a meeting of Vander Wolf and his majors were of no concern. Even her smile seemed aloof. “Might as well.”

Luke sighed as she opened the door. This was not going how he had planned it at all.

———

“What in the name of all Twelve Flocks Above is this, Wolf?” Vasran snapped.

It had been a few minutes since Luke had sat down cross-legged at the low table in the center of the room. All of the seats were occupied, Wolf, Vasran, and Daniels sat in plain wooden chairs, Cade and Linden— the other major he had heard speaking— lounged on a cushioned sofa, and Aisha stood at parade rest beside the general. Who was she, anyway? He knew a lot about the Ulciscor Guard, but she was a mystery to him. She still did not wear a uniform— instead clothed in that shoulder-strapped shirt and buckled trousers. Aisha had been whispering with Wolf for several minutes. The call for silence had ended only a second before Vasran’s outburst.

Luke knew all of the Guard’s majors, and Major George Vasran was no exception. Vasran was a square-jawed man with close-cropped blond hair and a similarly cut beard. His figure was enormous, and seemingly all muscle, given his taut silver and black military uniform. The strong blood of Pruinans, to be sure. His blue eyes were hot with fury, and his sun-tanned face had turned red as Cardinalis. A massive bronze hammer, bearing a head as large as Luke’s own head, rested in the corner of the room, and he knew the owner was Vasran. The man was famous for, if nothing else, lugging that thing around all day.

“How are we to discuss anything?” Vasran asked.

“Speak freely, major,” Wolf said.

“Freely?” he sputtered. “In front of a civilian? Are you mad?”

Vander Wolf fixed that intimidating man with a stare, and the room grew still. Vasran’s enraged expression melted away like a candle out of wax. The general’s decision was not to be questioned, and he did not need words to make it so.

“Luke Nixus doesn’t want to be a civilian,” Wolf said. His eyes studied Luke intently. “Do you?”

“No,” Luke said calmly, heart racing. “I want to enlist in the Guard.”

“Are you of age?” Major Linden asked sternly. She folded her arms to match legs crossed underneath her ankle-length skirt of silver and black. It was a contrast from Cade’s trousers. Unlike her, this woman was not known as a fighter, but her skill in coordinating and directing large groups for complicated operations.

“Yes, Major Linden,” he lied. Clip him if he’d let a few weeks get in the way of a chance like this. If they found out the truth later, so be it.

“Do you have any proof of that?” Linden asked. She waved a hand at him. “You are decidedly lacking in facial hair, boy.”

“No.” The old man did teach me to groom myself. If I had my bag… I have a razor, you know. Then again, losing the document saying I’m not quite sixteen might be a good thing right now.

“Why is that?” she frowned, furrowing her brow. Her hair was light brown with a faint redness to it, and she seemed to have a bit of muscle herself. For a regular Asundrian, anyway— she was not a hulking Pruinan like Vasran.

Luke looked to the general. He seemed to understand and nodded. “Everyone in this room can be trusted,” Wolf said.

Luke turned back to Major Linden and answered, “Everything I had is in Castitas. You all know what happened there, right?”

Most of the majors— and Captain Daniels— tensed at the mention of the Empire-occupied village just outside the city. Only Cade, Aisha and General Wolf maintained their composure.

“I don’t,” Cade said. “It relates to the southern gate this morning?”

“What’s this?” Vasran asked. “What happened at the gate?”

Linden also turned to Cade, curious. Wolf held up a hand. The room fell still once more.

“I cannot let you enlist,” Wolf said.

His heart sank.

“I am, however, interested in taking you on as a temporary assistant,” Wolf said, lacing his fingers and leaning forward. “You tailed Cade and Daniels, correct? They were the last to arrive.”

“Yes.”

“You didn’t notice?” Vasran frowned at Cade.

“Her mantle was easy to pick out in a crowd,” Luke explained.

“That’s not the point,” Linden said, shaking her head. “Cade, you didn’t notice him at all?”

“I did not,” she said.

“So the kid kept his distance,” Vasran grunted. “You have tailed people before?”

“I have,” Luke answered. “I lived on the streets when I was younger. You learn fast or die fast.”

“So that’s it,” Wolf said. “I see. As it so happens, we could use someone like you, Luke Nixus.”

“You’re sending him back with the scouting party?” Aisha asked.

“No,” Wolf said. “I think we should bring him with us.”

“You aren’t serious,” Linden scoffed. Vasran looked as though he were going to explode again, but he held his temper. For the moment.

“I am.”

Linden crossed her arms disapprovingly. Vasran, oddly, nodded to himself, as if it were completely normal to bring a fresh recruit on… whatever it was. When the major noticed, she gaped at him. Cade grimaced, eyes fixed on Vasran. It seemed that she didn’t approve of Luke’s presence, but she said nothing. Aisha said nothing, either, and there was no trace of emotion on her face. Her orange eyes did catch him for a brief moment. He glanced down at the Ahraran marking underneath her left eye. Why was an Ahraran serving in the Mirastelle military, anyway? What a mysterious woman. Then again, Terra Daeva had employed assassins from Ahrar. Maybe it wasn’t so odd? But he’d never heard of an Ahraran major in the Ulciscor Guard. Mysterious.

“No. No, Linden,” Vasran said reluctantly. “Wolf is making a bit of sense here. A bit. Trust is in short supply as of late.”

“Short supply?” Daniels asked. Every eye in the room suddenly fell upon him. The captain looked uneasy, surrounded by so many of his superiors. “The Walls do not spread secrets,” he quoted.

“Nor do the men of the Walls,” Wolf finished. He smiled sadly. The emotion looked strange on his frown-set mouth and sunken, shadowed eyes. “How I wish it were still true.”

“A captain is one thing,” Linden said dryly, “But you will explain this to a boy, Vander Wolf?”

“The lad says he’s a man,” Wolf said, equally dry. “I’ll take his word for it.” He eyed Luke, a flat stare as if to say he didn’t quite believe him. Clip them, he did have a razor!

General Wolf raked fingers through his hair, and Luke noticed for the first time that the aging man looked very… worn. Not simply a mean old grizzled military commander. No, his face was pure stone, weathered away by the elements. And history.

“Ulciscor has a problem,” Wolf said. “A spy problem. I’ll spare you the numbers— simply know that they are competitive with the days when I had first become a turncoat. These spies inhabit all three sections of the Wall, as well as the interior and rear battalions. Many are those who have served in the Guard for as long as a year or two. Fortunately, many are also rank and file with little power. I find it very troubling, as do my majors.” Vasran nodded again to that. “Investigations have shown that there is no pattern to their hiring origin, place of residence, or their… activities. Carrying messages to strange men in the night who seem to vanish from the city without a trace, observing patrol patterns from afar, and so on.” That smooth voice sharpened like a blade. “I suspect they are looking for weaknesses in the Guard. They will be hard-pressed to find many.”

“You have dealt with these spies?” Daniels frowned. “I haven’t noticed anything amiss in South.”

“We maintain a list, but we have taken no action.” Softer, he added, “Not yet.” He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. “Letting Empire spies know what we’re about is something I want to avoid. Understand?”

Luke and Captain Daniels both nodded. Linden clicked her tongue, but said nothing.

Wolf opened his eyes. “The Empire has started the mass production of thunderflutes. We have been tracking a shipment for some time. It is heading up through Ursa right now. I think all of us can see what they plan to use them for.”

The general looked to Luke and did not continue until he nodded.

Ursa was a massive sprawling nation directly to the west of Mirastelle, now Empire-occupied like most of Asundria. It was a stronghold, in fact, staring down both Pruina and Mirastelle. Currently, it was under the supervision of a man named Boreag, the Fifth Ace. Rumor said he was a hard-line man who gave no quarter or compromise. The Ursa royal family had been wiped out completely for opposing the emperor. Boreag had overseen that, as well. Outside of this common knowledge, Luke did not know much at all of the place.

“I have a different plan,” Wolf said heatedly. “We’re going to steal them.”

Luke expected one or more of the majors to sputter in disbelief again, but they did not. Their faces were hard, serious. They knew about this plan already, and were on board with it. Only Daniels widened his eyes, but he held his silence. This plan could lead to war. But if war was already inevitable…

“You’re going to turn the flutes against them when they attack Ulciscor.” Luke said. “That’s why you don’t have time to find trustworthy people. They could sabotage this.”

Linden raised an eyebrow. He couldn’t tell if it meant she was impressed at the deduction or surprised that he had said something so obvious. Perhaps she was simply annoyed he had interrupted Wolf, though the man himself did not seem phased.

“Yes,” Wolf said. “Truth be told, I’d like to mass produce them myself. Amon’s research team had given me a flute in the old days, but the Cardinal ordered it dismantled and the weapon sworn to secrecy with the few who knew of it shortly after I switched sides and the Agreement was written. I wasn’t about to protest— I felt it wouldn’t be very wise to betray those I had betrayed for. I believe Cardinal Ranboc may reconsider soon.”

Luke wasn’t sure if he agreed with the sentiment. Mus Ranboc may have been in the right to order that awful creation destroyed. What would warfare look like if every infantryman carried a thunderflute? He felt sick at the thought. Young though he was, he had experienced war firsthand. Dazed and confused, just a child. But he had been there.

But the general surely knew who the man with the icy blue eyes was. For the sake of exacting his revenge, he would gather as many flutes as there were in the world for Vander Wolf.

“A small team,” Wolf explained, “will leave tomorrow for a sizable city to the west called Filose. It is a trading hub and highly likely to be the final destination before the shipment of thunderflutes is taken to Castitas.”

“Castitas?” Cade asked. “That village to the south?”

Wolf nodded. “I believe the Terra Daevan army is staging there. Luke Nixus here escaped them by a hair. This morning, at the South Wall, Captain Daniels fought off Cathartes assassins in pursuit.”

Vasran— shocked— glanced at Cade, who met his eyes and shook her head. It seemed this was the first the golden-mantled spearwoman had learned of who exactly she had fought earlier in the day.

“It’s a dangerous job, but someone has to do it. Someone has to stand up to Munitio and his sycophants. Someone has to take the first step.” The general eyed each of them in turn. “The operation team will consist of myself, Aisha, Major Cade, Captain Daniels, and Luke Nixus. If things appear unfeasible, we’ll return to Ulciscor and risk a raid with our own forces on the shipment while it is en route to Castitas. I don’t believe it will be heavily guarded, though. The Empire knows we have spies of our own, and bolstering defenses on a seemingly innocuous shipment of goods would paint a large target for investigation. Recall that we are not meant to know of Castitas at this time. Major Linden, I need you to direct the efforts of the scouting party. Send one out in the morning. Find out a rough count of how many soldiers are occupying the village and the surrounding area.”

“Understood, General Wolf,” she said immediately, tapping fist to chest in salute. The others, Luke included, nodded sharply.

“Use Fauke,” Wolf told Linden, “We’ll need that man’s skill to outwit Cathartes. They are likely to be crawling all over the Pines between the Walls and the army. Choose one or two more to accompany him. Vasran, you are to remain on high alert. I want you personally rotating between all three Walls and communicating with the interior and the rear. Those spies may act up, and the Empire may try to go around us. Don’t let them. Am I clear?”

“Clear as crystal, general,” Vasran said.

“Good,” Wolf said firmly. He scanned the room. “Are there any questions?”

“When do we leave for Filose?” Daniels asked after a moment.

“Tomorrow evening. The reports indicate the shipment will arrive in the night. Supplies must be gathered and loaded into an automobile before then. Aisha and I will handle this.”

“Is Cyrus trustworthy?” Luke asked.

“I don’t see why not,” Wolf said, “But he cannot join us, and I must ask you to keep the mission secret until it’s done at the very least. The lad is native to Castitas, an honest villager. He can offer no help.”

“That’s just it,” Luke said. “He’s from Castitas. Maybe he can’t help us, but what about the scouting party?”

“I see what you mean,” the general said, “Linden, have Fauke talk to the lad tonight. See if he can get anything out of him.”

“Yes, general.”

“Any other questions?” Silence held. “Then you are all dismissed.”