Today was the 87th Day of Air, several days after the near-disastrous skirmish between the Knights of Faron’s Crossing and the coalition forces of Haveena and Kadrac. Heron Synka Muryh stood on the wall’s battlements, looking over the south field.

The butcher’s field.

He hadn’t been there when it happened, but he saw the change in her afterwards. Yuriko had always been a bit more easygoing and lenient when it came to battles. At least against other humans. She was nearly merciless against the Wyldlings and Chaos Lords but she eased up a bit due to Ashley Gin…Songstress of Heartfelt Desire. Against the Federation, while she hadn’t held back, she didn’t go all out either. That changed.

The day after Marron got injured, Heron had been on the walls during the morning challenge. Yuriko had done the same but instead of jumping down the field to fight, she conjured several golden javelins and flung them at the Haveenians. They had little choice but to run against her barrage, and when they quit the field, she turned her sights on the encampment.

That time, instead of the quick conjuration, she spent several minutes, close to a quarter of an hour, creating an orb of Radiant light. The orb grew as wide as her outstretched arms before she made it shrink back to a ball the size of her clenched fist. She did that seven times and on the last condensing, she held it out in front of her, and the orb burst.

A line of golden fire erupted from her hand, and even after several minutes afterwards, an afterimage remained. The line slammed into the encampment’s palisade and she swept it side to side, effectively carving the wall and halving its height. The beam penetrated past the wall, of course, and who knew how many she hit at that time. Certainly, there was an outcry.

After that blast, she swayed on her feet for a few moments and Heron helped steady her with an arm across her shoulders. Even angry, with red lights streaking around her aura, he couldn’t help but think how beautiful she was.

She pushed his arm off wordlessly as soon as she steadied herself, then proceeded to do the same thing. Only this time, her targets were the tents and buildings exposed by the halved palisade.

At that point, a return bombardment had come from the enemy’s Steam Cannons, but the shells were blocked by the town’s Protective Dome. As Yuriko’s Radiant blast swept across the field, it struck unimpeded across the camp. The central buildings burned, but those directly struck turned to ashes almost immediately.

But from the looks of it, the Haveenians and Kadracki had pulled back before she struck. It took her a bit longer the second time around after all, and that gave them enough time to retreat. Still, the loss of supplies and fortifications hurt them.

However, Heron hadn’t been looking across the field. He kept a worried eye on her, and once her attack finished, she collapsed. Only his quick intervention prevented her from dropping bonelessly on the battlements. He carried her off the walls and cradled her in his arms while she protested faintly before losing consciousness.

She…was actually a bit lighter than he expected. The walls had access points every ten paces or so, and he wasn’t like Yuriko who could leap up and down from five paces high with impunity. The barracks were close by and he headed to an infirmary there to lay her down on a bed.

Sorely tempted as he was to stay by her side, he still had his duty and so had left her there as soon as he saw a healer check her. Just exhaustion, apparently.

That had been a couple of days ago. Afterwards, when she recovered from her Sorcerous exertions, she returned to the walls and was about to continue her bombardment, but Heron heard that Spellweaver Merill had stopped her. He wasn’t privy to their conversation, but that was one of the few times he saw her pout and nearly throw a tantrum. Still, she went back to the town centre with no further protest.

Anyway, Heron knew attacking the encampment wouldn’t do any good. It looked like the Federation Army had pulled back and built their fortifications behind a few hills, which they should have done in the first place, Heron thought. It was the height of arrogance to build their camp so close. Just because Faron’s Crossing didn’t have any Plasma Carronades…

He and his entire squad were supposed to report to the Watchtower a few days ago, but the siege happened. He was sure that the Federation had also sent troops to tie up the Watchtower too, and the numbers would be greater than those besieging Faron’s Crossing. From on top of the walls, he could just see the black spot that was the Watchtower’s roof. The intervening distance and the hills and groves in between blocked the view. If he climbed up the observation tower, the view would have been clearer.

That was also how they communicated at the moment, via coded flashes of light. Heron’s lessons in Agaza hadn’t covered how to interpret the code, but the older residents in town knew it. The messages all meant a variation of one thing though: stay put, enemy siege, all good.

They didn’t tell the town how many were besieging them, but then again, the Watchtower was made to be a trap, for both Wyldlings and other humanoid enemies.

Also, the last he heard was that the Imperial Prince was stuck there. That was good, at least he wasn’t here to…

Heron shook his head. He told himself he wouldn’t antagonise anyone else who was attracted to her, but here he was, still going back to his old habits.

“What’re you staring off to Chaos to?” A sultry voice whispered in his ear. Asami.

Heron glanced back and saw the green-haired girl climbing up the stairs a dozen paces away. He nodded to her but returned his gaze out to the field. It’s been quiet for a few days. The Federation just bombarded them with the Steam Cannons rather than trying to taunt them to force a pitched battle. Yuriko’s attacks must have frightened them silly. He heard that she destroyed a couple of bunkers that day, and wiped out half of the cannons. The frequency of the bombardment seemed to confirm that too.

“Heron?”

“Oh. Sorry,” he answered absently. “Just lost in thought.”

“Ah. About Davar?”

Heron gave her a sidelong glance but didn’t answer.

“You don’t have to hide it,” Asami sighed. “I know you care for her. I care for you.”

“We’ve only known each other for a year,” Heron answered stiffly, “and I know you’re attracted to my…” He didn’t continue when she glared up at him.

“There’s some truth to that,” she said slowly. “But all attraction begins with something tangible.”

“Huh.”

“Knight Davar is incredibly beautiful,” Asami continued, “I can see why you’re attracted to her. But, did you know that everyone, every male around her, feels the same? She’s also attracted the attention of a Pia’Vasi. What chance do you have?” she asked quietly.

Heron gritted his teeth. He didn’t have much of a chance, probably less than a percent of a percent. But he couldn’t just give up. Not now. Not when he felt their connection. He still had a chance.

He opened his mouth to say that he wouldn’t just give up when he caught sight of something.

“Am I seeing that right?” he muttered instead. Asami frowned and looked down the field, and her gasp pretty much told him that he wasn’t mistaken.

A small group of Federation warriors were at the edge of the field, waving a white parley flag.

____________

“Please take care in your actions,” Alderman Rivos said to Yuriko. “Under a flag of parley, no hostile act will be allowed on either side as long as all the formalities are held.”

Yuriko nodded, though her emotions were still raw and mixed. Yesterday, Marron finally woke up from his coma, and he panicked when he couldn’t see out of his right eye. At least, that’s what big sis Niamh said. She managed to get Marron calmed down and called for Yuriko and Rami. At that time, their older brother had been calm and even cracked a few jokes, but Yuriko could see the pain and despair lingering behind his remaining eye. He also couldn’t stay upright for long, owing to the fact that frostbite had gotten to his right lung and the scarring had inhibited his breathing.

“Recovery won’t help with this,” Marron sighed. “The damage had already been healed. If I’d been able to direct the technique…” He shook his head, “But no, I think I would have died otherwise.” He glanced up at Yuriko and patted her arm. “It’s not your fault.”

Yuriko had already cried herself out the night before, but she could feel tears welling up in the corner of her eyes.

“It’s not your fault. I was careless.”

“I’ll bring you to Realmheart. We can find a higher-level healer there.”

“Oh, if you want to,” Marron sighed, then grinned. “I think waiting for Mum would be fine, too.”

“It’s already near the Refraction and she still isn’t here.”

Marron raised his eyebrow. “She visited last year. Her next one is at the end of the coming year.”

“That’s too far away,” Yuriko said. “I’ll bring you to Realmheart.”

“We’re still at war. It’s impossible. I can wait, little sis.”

From the determination on his face, she knew then that convincing him to leave would be difficult, to say the least. Besides, with the Chaos Channel still blocked, the only way to reach Realmheart was by crossing the Chaos Sea on the opposite side. He’d need to regain his strength first.

The resignation on his face, on his and Niamh’s, made Yuriko feel angrier. This war had been provoked by the Federation and his maiming was entirely their fault. Yes, she’d already killed the one who actually did it, but that person had been under another’s command.

And now, she, Alderman Rivos, and Constable Andersen would meet that same commander under a parley flag.

“What do they want anyway?” Yuriko muttered.

“Probably to seek an armistice for the week around the Celestial Refraction.” Alderman Rivos answered.

“Eh? Why?”

“Bad luck,” Constable Andersen continued. “It’s been well documented that fighting during the Celestial Refraction provokes bad luck and calamity. It won’t come from them either but from the Threads of Fate. There was one story of an army that ambushed their enemy after agreeing to a truce during the Refraction. They killed the others, but after the Refraction, they disappeared. Only bones and blood remained.”

“Who did it?” Yuriko asked, morbidly curious.

“No one knows. It happened not just here in the Empire, but also in other nations. The Xylarchy, ah, a nation bordering the Empire through several frontier planes, honours the same tradition. No fighting during the Celestial Refraction.”

They walked out on the field. The Federation Commander, and another middle-aged man who had the same rank insignias, waited under a pavilion. It was drizzling slightly, but nothing Yuriko’s aura couldn’t handle. The other two held umbrellas over their heads though.

As for why she was included in the armistice discussion, well, the Federation commander asked for her to attend. The Golden Terror, they referred to her, and much to her chagrin, some of the people on her side adopted the sobriquet.

An honour guard was present for each side, each a small squad of twenty. She saw Heron, Krystal, and Mikel on the squad on her side, as well as a group of senior militia. On the opposite side, the armoured troops shifted around nervously. Ah, they all stood under the rain.

Once they were underneath the pavilion, the Federation Commander, the one Yuriko didn’t know, stepped up. “I am Commander Frederik Holster. I represent Haveena City and the joint coalition forces during this parley.”

Alderman Rivos stepped up, “I am Alderman Ferell Rivos. I represent Faron’s Crossing and the Empire during this parley.”

Yuriko and Andersen didn’t introduce themselves, and neither did Holster’s companions. The two began to discuss, and after a certain point argued.

After a gruelling three-hour discussion, the talks ended and both sides retreated. The other commander glared at Yuriko the entire time, and she returned the hostility with a cold look. There was some talk about a ransom of captives, but it didn’t go beyond that single mention. The important details were that hostilities would cease from today until the 2nd Day of Water.

As they walked back, Yuriko couldn’t help but ask, “Does that mean the Dome rotation would stop?”

Tara Andersen gave her a wry look, “No. We respect traditions, but we aren’t fools.”

Roughly six days of peace. She’d probably spend that time training. So that when the next year comes…