***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***

***Magnus***

“We have to do what!? I am barely healed and now this!” I called out upon skimming over the letter. It had been delivered by unexpected visitors and contained instructions from Mary.

Having suffered through her educational lessons, I shouldn't have been surprised. She was prone to giving out homework and these orders felt no different.

How unfortunate. Thinking of us right before running off to save Gurney's sorry ass.

And here I thought I could sit down on the couch in our living room and just do nothing for at least a day. Instead, we got sent on another diplomatic mission – though this time it looked like a messenger run.

“I have yet to hardwire Jeng’s supercomputer,” I tried to come up with an excuse to ditch the mission. “Besides, does Mary even have the authority to give us commands? Being an 'ancient' is nice and all, but last I knew she played the strata's administrator.”

“Taking a look at the computer is going to take you a day at most,” Thalia pointed out. “We already have trained people at Aerie and Hochberg who can take over schooling Jeng’s staff. And lastly, Teresa signed the letter, so there is no doubt about its validity. It's essentially coming from high command.”

I looked around the room, making eye contact with everyone present in a desperate bid for them to take my side.

Nobody spoke up, so I flung the letter onto the coffee table, not even trying to hide how upset I was.

On some level it came as a surprise when Mark showed up, linking arms with a preening Thalia who looked like a cat with a new toy. The growing wings on Mark's back made the situation between them clear.

When they arrived at our doorstep I considered making fun of Mark’s appearance by pointing out that he looked like a little devilish cupid. I had saved the line for exactly such an event, but ultimately I abandoned the idea because it probably wouldn’t have gone over well. Mark had already been conscious about getting wings and I didn’t need to add tension since Thalia seemed so happy while he was more moody.

Unfortunately, as it turned out, Thalia and Mark hadn't visited us just to inform us of their sealed partnership, something I had anticipated to happen ever since he told me of her interest in him.

No. They had brought bad news with them and two more visitors. A drafted pair of warriors who had been ordered to accompany us.

“It says we should go to some long-forgotten settlement in the Mycelium to search for one of her 'ancient' friends,” Astra supplied thoughtfully. She had read the letter with me, leaning on the sofa while looking over my shoulder.

At the same time, Astra was using her filaments to play with Isaac who was entangled in what I could only call a Gordian knot. The goal of the game was apparently for Isaac to unravel the knot.

“Please correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't the Mycelium this mushroom forest you warned me of entering?” I asked Astra. “The one where you inhale spores which turn you into a mushroom's puppet zombie while it grows out of your ears and eats your brain?”

I shuddered at the thought of something digging its roots through my precious grey tissue!

“Yes,” Astra nodded. “Though, I remember describing it less vividly.”

“For an amateur, it is a pretty accurate recount of medical literature,” Thalia pointed out. “The parasitic mushroom which infests the coastal region effectively prevented people from settling down. Only the hardiest of folk attempt to make a living there. Mostly outsiders with mutations which protect them.”

“Nope,” I said with all the conviction I could muster and crossed my arms in an X in front of my chest. “Been in the library to read up on the topic after I heard about it. Shit gives me the creeps!”

“What do you mean, 'nope'?” Astra asked. “I know you have aversions when it comes to such things, but I am afraid going there is unavoidable.”

“Nope is nope! I am not going there!” I said firmly. “The rest of the planet is already a single biohazard! Why should we go to a place with brain-eating parasites? Sounds like a bad horror movie! Parasites which float through the air, ready to be inhaled by idiots without breathing masks, no less. No, thanks.”

“Because it was an order,” Thalia pointed out unhelpfully. “And besides, everyone who was selected for this mission should be fine. I was tasked with selecting people who are likely to be immune to infection and I am confident in my choices.”

I threw up my hands. “You aren't selling this very well by using the word 'likely'!”

Thalia ignored my complaints and pointed at us. “We have two people with extremely resistant immune systems. Additionally, you both can withstand the most dangerous poison we know of. Just swallow a cup of fungicide and you will be fine.”

Going full doctor mode, she continued with Mark and herself. “The same goes for us two. Thanks to Mark's mutation our blood is now literally poison. And my bloodvine mutation would be able to root out parasites anyway. I can even help you out if something goes wrong on your end.”

She gestured towards the two new people. “Lastly, we have the Cohens. Let me introduce you to Thiago and Ginevra. They are among the most potent regenerators I could find. Their mutation renders them immune to anything as long as they get the time to heal and aren't killed immediately. Think starfish mutation times a thousand.”

The woman bowed to us, followed by her partner. “We will be honoured to help you on this mission any way we can.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. Ginevra looked unremarkably human – I would have never thought I would think of someone looking like a baseline human as plain. But here they were.

Anyway, Ginevra had brown hair and blue eyes which were pretty enough. I wasn't checking her out, but she reminded me of something and I just couldn't put my finger on it.

Her voice had already irked me when we invited our guests in, but a single greeting wasn't enough to pin down the reason why I felt like I knew her.

Now I was sure it wasn't just my imagination. “Why do I feel like I know you? The voice and the eyes are familiar, but I don't recognize the face.”

Ginevra grimaced. “We do know each other. I have yet to express my deepest thanks for saving my life.”

Astra snapped her fingers with recognition lighting up her face. “The poor poacher who we pulled out of the changeling broodmother's guts!”

I nodded, my slow brain finally remembering with Astra's help. “Now that you say it, it is definitely her voice. Sorry for not recognizing you, Ginevra. Last time we saw each other you looked like a peeled frankforter.”

“I am not sure whether it is good or bad that you haven't forgotten me,” Ginevra muttered somewhat downcast and shuddered. “Please don't mention that event ever again.”

“Exactly.” Thiago bowed again. “Let me express my sincerest thanks for saving my partner. If you ever find yourself in need, just ask and I will help if it is within my power. I thought her lost to her greed when the stupid woman accepted yet another risky job and didn’t return.”

Ginevra fisted Thiago’s shoulder, but her partner didn’t even flinch.

“I am only saying the truth,” he stated drily after shrugging off the punch.

“Seems like Ginevra got off the hook in the end,” I commented. “I wasn't sure whether we were doing her a favour by bringing her back to face judgement.”

Ginevra shook her head. “If you can call involuntary military service 'off the hook', then be my guest.”

Thiago looked at his partner. “You can hardly complain given the alternative.”

Ginevra crossed her arms, looking downcast. “There's no wealth to be gained in war.”

“Hmm. Right,” I admitted. “Though, the way it looks, this war won't be a small thing. I am afraid the able-bodied won't be able to avoid getting caught up in things at one point or another.”

Thiago shrugged. “We heard of the refugees. I admit it looks like we have a second Clan War at our hands. One involving all the clans – large to small. The very reason why I had a dispute with my wife was her willingness to risk her life for monetary gain alone – something I couldn’t condone. But if I was informed correctly, then this mission affects the whole clan and our home's safety. Which makes it an entirely different matter. I know, our strata doesn’t have the best of reputation, but you have my full backing in this matter.”

“Huh…” Astra pursed her lips while regarding the pair. “Thanks for being upfront on this.”

Thalia clapped her hands together. “Great! Now that introductions are out of the way, can we talk about our schedule? When do we have to be where? What's our timetable and intended travel time? Equipment? I want to get this done so Mark and I can go back to our lovenest and fuck.”

Mark coughed. “Don't be so crass!”

“I am just telling the truth...”

“Thalia,” Astra used her filaments to cover Isaac's ears. “Please consider some age restrictions or use the chat!”

***Tirnanog, Thich City***

***Zacharias***

“See to it that the recruits get partnered with suitable candidates to maximize our combat potential,” I ordered, wondering why I even had to voice such instructions for my subordinates. It was too late at night to bother with administration. But given people’s tendency to slack off, it was best to have a watchful eye on matters.

The chief magistrate in charge of human resources rifled through his booklet. “There is also the matter of the influential families. They have their eyes on some of the recruits. Giving in to their demands might decrease the academy’s output of combatants, but it would secure the continued support of the ruling caste.”

I tapped my fingers on the armrest of my chair. “Just do it. We can’t afford an uprising right now. But if they intend to funnel off recruits, make sure to include those self-proclaimed bluebloods in the conscriptions. I don’t expect much of those mollycoddled ingrates, but we might be able to use them as additional cannon fodder.”

“Yes…” the magistrate answered, sounding doubtful about the success of such an endeavour.

“If any of them protest just send them to me,” I clarified. “I will deal with the matter.”

He nodded, now a lot more enthused knowing he wouldn’t have to deal with the families in person.

Something twinged in the back of my mind and I turned the bulk of my attention to another one of my clones, located on an airship which was on its way back to the capital.

“We are under attack!” a soldier had woken me from my sleep – screaming into my bedroom before running off to return to his post.

I got up and quickly threw on trousers and a shirt before I rushed out of the captain’s cabin and onto the bridge where I found the lieutenant and the steersman manning the observation platform while the sensors on duty called out their findings.

“What is going on?” I demanded.

The lieutenant saluted to me. “Drake riders, sir. A lot of them. They came out of nowhere from right above us. We are trying to get our riders on their animals, but many of the owlbats were scared off when the drakes attacked.”

I watched as a laser beam lit up the night, igniting random dust particles in the air as it searched for a target. It briefly passed over something, but the crew operating the weapon had trouble locking onto a target so close to their ship.

An explosion followed and the beam sputtered out.

Yet, it was just one of many and others found their victims, lighting up silhouettes in the darkness.

The reflections of random hits quickly showed that we were being swarmed.

I narrowed my eyes, wondering how they had found us. There was no doubt their goal was Gurney. Though, it hardly mattered at this point. I already extracted all the information I needed weeks ago. The only question was whether I should kill the old man just in case.

After pondering over the matter, I decided against it. Except for his knowledge I needed nothing from him and I held no particular animosity towards the man who could be called my creator. Yes, maybe he could help my enemies in one way or another if he was freed, but since this world lacked the medical equipment necessary to make use of his skills I doubted it would have a large effect on this war.

At least in the short term.

The whole conflict would be over before anything Gurney could contribute would matter. My goal lay beyond this cursed world.

My attention returned to the battle when a new star was seemingly born in the night sky above us. It shone brightly and spread wings of countless filaments, each glowing with their own inner light. A shower of embers drifted down from it. Like a butterfly shedding scales from its wings. It was a human-sized flare lighting up the riders and the ships.

It was beautiful – and oh so deadly.

Several of the gun crews targeted the new enemy with their lasers before I could say anything.

“Tell the laser crews not to shoot at the bitch!” I ordered. “You are just making her stronger!”

The lieutenant relayed the order, but it was already far too late as several lasers dumped their energy into the nuclear fire Mary had become since eating from the worm. It had been a move of desperation on her part. One which should have spelt her end.

Instead, it made her an unstoppable monster.

Welcoming the additional heat, she bathed in the laser's light. Then the butterfly beat its wings as it descended, turning into a meteor which punched right through one of my ships. The filaments followed, sheering the entire vessel in half like cheese cutter wires.

“Tell them to switch to kinetic weapons!” The lieutenant screamed while throwing a nervous glance at me. “Stop using the lasers!”

The ship Mary hit spewed out fire and the front half began a rapid descent because it didn’t have enough lift to stay in the air. Given the fires, the remaining half would follow soon.

“The Verdant’s bridge was taken out by one of those bombs, sir!” a sensor answered. “We can’t relay any orders to them. The gun crews are operating on their initiative.”

I waved a hand at the lieutenant who was trying to rescue his little fleet. “There is no point. We have nobody here who can stop her. Tell the ships to disperse. That might save one or two of them.”

Mary swooped over the ground below before she returned in a lazy arc and hit the airship ahead of us, entering it from the bottom. As the radiant star vanished inside the ship’s hull, the darkness of night returned briefly.

I could only wonder what the crew might think when a burning angel of death broke through their hull, catching people and asking them questions while they charred in her grasp.

A spot on the ship’s hull began to glow. First red, then a bright white before Mary burst forth.

I grinned when she headed right for the bridge of my ship. No wonder those bastards from Earth didn’t dare to return to this world. Who would have dared to start another war with monsters like her around? Having a nuclear reactor coming after you was horrifying on the best of days.

Too bad she hadn’t seen things the same way as me. We could have been the ones in charge. Kings and queens of our own world with nobody to tell us what to do.

But no.

Instead, she had to go and start her little domestic experiment. A society based on intellectual enlightenment? Laughable! She might put on a mask of civilisation, but right now she was showing everyone that deep down she was a beast like any other.

Mary hit our bridge like a comet. Half shattering, half melting her way through the extra thick glass panels which were supposed to stop Tirnanog’s aerial beasts.

She was beautiful. A radiant golem burning with an inner blue light now that she got rolling.

Instead of attacking, the crew shrank away from her, their skin blistering just from being in her vicinity.

The woman strode in like a queen in her personal throne room, going directly for me while she ignored the scrambling plebeians who fled the bridge.

“Zacharias!”

I bowed mockingly, drawing an imaginary hat. “Mary, we meet again.”

“Where is Gurney?” she asked with fury in her eyes.

Instead of looking away like the others, I met those orbs of radiance she called eyes head-on as they lit up everything in her field of view. Facing her gaze, I couldn't stop the tears in my eyes, even though I felt far from crying.

“Down in the hold,” I answered, seeing no reason to draw this out. The sooner she got Gurney, the sooner she might stop destroying my ships and retreat. “I already have everything I needed from him.”

Mary approached and grabbed me by the throat, lifting me with ease. “There is one thing left to do before I go and get him.”

“You do like chopping me up,” I replied with a smile while my clothes burned and my skin blistered. “This clone of mine is done for, but you won’t win no matter what you do. You might be powerful, but you are only one person, bound to be in one place at a time. And no lone person can win a war.”

I reached out and touched her cheek, my fingers charring rapidly from the heat. Then I leaned forward as far as she allowed me to. “But I… I am legion!”

The bridge was empty of people by now. The sane ones had fled, while those who stayed died as Mary’s filaments took care of them.

She didn’t chop me up this time.

Instead, I burned.

I blinked and returned my attention to the magistrate who was still kneeling in front of me. “There is a group of Aerie drake riders within our territory. I need you to send word to the Raiders. I want the Aerie driven out if they don’t retreat on their own.”

The magistrate grovelled even deeper. “It shall be done.”