The trip to Lindorn was short. It was a mere ride on the railway that lasted for less than half an hour. It was the trip back that was in question, Yuriko realised, as the theatre of moving pictures would play well into the evening and the railways didn’t operate that late. The solution was rather simple, and had been presented by Douglas Hart, who had inserted himself into the foray, along with Darren Worrington, who was still pretending to be a man.

“Why don’t we rent a hotel room for the night? Well, two rooms, at least, can’t have everyone sleeping in one! Oh, we probably won’t fit in two either, huh?” Douglas blabbered on, but Yuriko paid it no mind, long used to his rambling.

So it was that they exited Lindorn’s Central Railway Station and ambled down the wide boulevards. The theatre wouldn’t be open until another couple of hours, so they just took in the sights.

Yuriko’s gaze wandered towards the bustling sidewalks and shops. There were dozens of posters plastered on the walls, and she took a few moments to decipher the Karcellian messages.

“War bonds?” she murmured. “What are those?”

“Ah, the government is asking the public for funds to support the war effort!” Douglas said brightly. “I’ve bought a few with my savings, too.”

Darren snorted, “You’re a student! How much would your savings actually amount to?” She looked stiff and formal in her clothes, and she looked a bit hot under her collar.

Yuriko and the others were dressed a bit more sensibly, with her current dress a simple variation in green. She went unarmed, of course, leaving her belt knife and Arclight Sword in Sheamus’ care. Very few civilians actually walked around carrying weapons, though she saw constables with side-arms and batons patrolling or resting at their posts.

There was a worried look on most people’s faces though, and she really couldn’t blame them. The past week had seen daily aircraft raids, though they were mostly targeted at airfields north and south of the city. She only knew from reading the daily gazette, which delivered yesterday's news just after dawn. She’d come across the delivery boy every morning as she did her daily training.

She’d all but completed converting her Animus reserve and regeneration runescript weaving, as well as her compressors. She had a hundred lumens worth of liquified Animus stored within her body as she found out that holding them in her outer Anima took far more effort and focus than inside. Each droplet could expand to its original density and produce nearly eight hundred lumens’ worth, though the process was perilous if done with a full reserve. It wasn’t instantaneous either, and the best way she could use it was if she wanted to Free Shape. Ah, only applicable here in Irvalla, since elsewhere, the ambient Chaos was ample enough to suit any Shaping needs.

Her practice of the Four Phases of the Sword had progressed nicely. Unexpectedly, actually. What little ambient Chaos in the air was hard to attract with the Phases’ resonance, but that also made it much easier to know which movements she was weaker at. It also helped Gwendith’s and Heron’s practice. Ah, Braden and Orrin, as well as Asami, started practising, too. Only the first two could cause resonance though, and for Heron, it was Sweeping Gale. For Gwendith, surprisingly, it was with Jade Mountain.

Since the show wouldn’t start for another couple of hours, Douglas proposed that they have dinner first.

“Er, I’m not sure which restaurant still serves food, with the rationing and all… Ah! How about the Reinland Hotel? I’m sure they have a few rooms, and the Oldoran Theatre is just a couple of minutes walk away.”

“As you please,” Yuriko answered, and off they went. Reinland was on an avenue just off the main boulevard and was a five-minute walk from where they were. She watched the landcraft… cars, passing by. Most were painted black and puttered along at a fast clip. The wheels were painted white, however, and they contrasted sharply with the black roads and the car’s body. The streets were shared by horse-drawn carriages, which formed a small majority of the vehicles.

Once they arrived, she let Douglas and Asami talk with the receptionists, for both dinner and rooms for the night, while she admired the varied artworks on display. A brass sculpture in the middle of a fountain drew her eye and she stood before it while tracing the edges. Eh? There’s only one edge? How? Ah! One part of the strip had been twisted a hundred and eighty degrees before being joined with the rest. Hmmm, the weld isn’t perfect though, as her perception could see the misaligned particles…

“Miss Davar?” Darren sidled up to her and whispered.

“Yes, Miss Worrington?”

“I just want to ask…eh? You…you knew?” Darren gasped.

“Hmmm, ah, it's not hard to notice. But I don't think your classmates know. I don’t really mind either way.”

“I…I see. I envy you,” Darren whispered. She shook herself and grit her teeth. “I just wanted to ask how long it took for you to attain such power. I…”

“Hmmm, oh, I was given my Atavism Ritual three years ago now.” Yuriko sighed, “Though that wasn’t the main impetus to my strength.”

“Three years!” Darren gasped. “I…can we…can I attain such power too?”

Yuriko arched an eyebrow. “Perhaps. But maybe not here. The ambient Chaos in this place is too thin to support growth. And my path has not been without risk.” She laughed. “No, it was with far more risk than I ever expected to run into.”

“I see. Thank you for your honesty.”

Douglas approached them from the counter, a gleeful look on his face. “They can accommodate us!” he practically yelled. “We have four rooms. And we can have dinner now. We’ll have enough time before the theatre opens. They're showing an old picture though, but it's good.”

“Oh, what’s it about?” Yuriko asked.

“A few skits, comedy bits, and history,” he answered. “Ah, there’s also war footage from the frontlines. It’s a glimpse of what’s really happening down there.”

“I look forward to it,” Yuriko said.

Dinner was simple, relatively. There was roasted beef, mashed potatoes and assorted vegetables, served with red wine. The wine was sweet, unexpectedly, and quite delicious. She was tempted to ask for a bottle, and she did mention it to the servingmen. He responded by presenting the entire thing to her, and she had them deliver it to their rooms so she could enjoy it after the showing.

Afterwards, they headed towards the theatre. She layered a shawl over her dress, as she was told it was customary to dress formally. She also let down her hair, allowing it to fall in Radiant waves down her back. The long time it spent contained in a ponytail had imparted slight curls to it, which she liked.

There were ostensibly five men to their three women in the group, and Heron and the twins were already jostling for who would sit where. Yuriko sighed, then said, “Gwen, Asami, let’s sit together.”

“Ah, sure,” Asami said hesitantly, her eyes drifting to Heron for a moment. Gwendith simply nodded.

Yuriko ignored the three boys’ disappointed looks and chuckled at Douglas’ confused one. Darren shifted her gaze between the six of them and nodded knowingly.

The theatre opened to the public and the line of viewers slowly entered. Yuriko and the others, who were near the end of the line, found separate seats. Luckily, there were three next to each other by one of the wings, while the remaining five had to scatter.

The chandelier above them was resplendent. The crystalline bulbs and their mirrored reflectors bathed the chamber in warm yellow light. The stage was covered by luxurious red curtains, and after a few minutes, the lights dimmed and a man walked up to the middle of the stage. He held a metal device, and when he spoke to it, his voice came out of the four corners of the room.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Oldoran Theatre. Amidst these trying times, we do our best to maintain morale amongst the populace. We will be presenting varied clips of the ongoing war efforts, as well as…”

The man named several production titles, which she’d never heard of before, of course. The man soon left, and the curtains rose, exposing a large silvered canvas behind it. The lights went out, and a beam came from behind them. Yuriko turned to look and spotted a small window in the wall at the end. When she looked forward, she couldn’t help but gasp.

Imperial Animatech also had methods to preserve memories and display them, but such wasn’t used for mere entertainment. After the novelty wore off, Yuriko admired the ingenuity of the Irvallans and wondered how such things were brought to existence in the first place. The clips of the war front were empty platitudes, she knew. Showing scenes carefully curated to inspire confidence. She knew that if the populace were shown scenes of defeat or retreat, then it could very well break them.

As for the follow-up skits, well, they were entertaining. She had to weaken her visual acuity though, otherwise, she could see the pictures being replaced. It had been disconcerting at the start, but once she got used to it, she just relaxed and enjoyed it.

An hour later…

Booom!

For a moment, she thought that had been part of the show, but then, there was another explosive sound followed by the earth rumbling. The lights flickered on, and the restless susurration of the crowds gave way to panicked cries and the lights cut off, following another explosion.

Yuriko spread her Anima in an effort to light the way, but before she could do anything, the crowd panicked and began to push for the exits.

“Yuri!” Gwendith grabbed her hand.

“I know. Let’s get out of here,” she said grimly.

She got up to move towards the aisle but stopped when she realised everyone else was doing the same. Her spread Anima caught sight of Douglas and Darren, but Heron and the twins weren’t in range. That wasn’t to say she didn’t know where they were. She could feel them about twenty paces to the left. Her connection with them was tenuous because of the low ambient Chaos, but she could still feel where they were. She could feel where everyone in her party was, including the marines. She had built enough rapport with them over the intervening weeks. Most of them were in the northwest, presumably the town of Fordja. Except for a couple of marines, Horace and Seran, who were within the city.

She pulsed her Mien at the boys, imparting the need to stay put and rendezvous with her. As for her two students, she picked them up with her Animakinesis and plopped them right beside her. The shaking and explosions continued. Dust drifted down from the ceiling. Once the aisles were a bit clearer, she pulled the others along to meet up with the boys.

“What’s going on?” Braden asked as soon as they came within easy earshot.

“Who knows,” Yuriko muttered.

Douglas and Darren stared at them with confused expressions since they had spoken in Verdanian. Yuriko repeated Braden’s question in Karcellian.

“I don’t…”

It was then that a piercing sound penetrated through the noise.

Blam!

Something fell through the roof, and Yuriko’s perception had less than a second to notice and identify it. It was a tapered cylindrical object with stabilizer fins. A whistle was attached to the tip, but it had bent and warped after going through the slate and wood.

It landed not five paces from them, and a moment later, exploded into a fiery inferno, accompanied by several Jins of shrapnel.

“Adamant Guardian Seal!”

Her mandala of Animus spread out in front of her and blocked both kinetic force, metal shards, and heat. It repelled away from her, but that only meant that those who weren’t protected by the mandala took the brunt. The seats immediately burst to flame, and even worse, she could hear whistles coming down from above.