The village of Misttyre at the foot of the Zarek Mountains, on the eastern side of the Imperial Pass, had suddenly been upgraded to a township. It should have been a city, but the new leadership would prefer reclaiming Rumiga City and its Chaos Channel over creating a new capital.

What was once a charming village filled with red brick cottages was now several times larger than before, and protected by a tall wall and several towers that created a powerful Protective Dome. The core of the village had been moved away from the mountain and was hastily built using earthmelding techniques.

The old village of Misttyre was nothing more than the outermost district and the new town centre was some to a gaggle of nobles and their private guards. A ways off that central district was the new headquarters of the Legion Agminis. Several longhouses served as barracks, while a three-storey house served as the administrative building, which was crowded with hundreds of legionnaires trying to get inside. The clerks within were still in the process of setting up their records, the crystal screens useless without being tethered to a Gemheart, and paper records were scant. Leading the havoc inside was Agminis Tribunus Agatha Caspar, who, instead of focusing on getting things running up to speed, was busy trying to placate the new Esras Duke, Mori.

“I insist to speak with Legate Brygos,” Mori Esras said, voice louder than acceptable indoors voice, but he didn’t seem to care that Agatha’s ears were hurting and that she’d barely slept a wink since the fall of Rumiga City.

No, not fall. Self-destruction. It was the Legate who destroyed the Gemheart, which had been corrupted by a Chaos Duke, and in the process, collapsed the entire three-tiered city. If it weren’t for the fact that the Chaos Channel was still blockaded…

“Legate Brygos is not here, Your Grace,” Agatha said wearily, taking no care to modulate her own voice. “You’ll have to wait until she returns.”

“Well, where is she?” Mori asked crossly with his fists on his hips.

“...out,” Agatha answered. “I’m not sure where exactly.”

“Then I will tell you my concerns. Our concerns.”

“If you must.”

“We need to cross over to Western Rumiga. House Kinnock is already there. They are much safer there than here. Not two leagues away is the Ivalan force. We must either beat them back or retreat. Staying in this upstart village is a death sentence.”

Agatha growled right back, “This is only temporary, as you well know Mister Esras.” She scowled at the mad who huffed right back. “The legion will leave only when the Legate commands it. In the meantime, I suggest you keep your troops ready to fight.”

“Hmph!” The man just snorted right back and stomped away, leaving Agatha to massage her temples. Why did this happen during her tour of duty? Homeguard legions were all about stability. But then, when everything came down, they were the ones to hold up the sky. She just never figured that she’d be in this kind of situation. Then again, this was still a frontier plane.

Dang! Dang! Dang!

The alarm bell. Agatha growled and reached for her Plasma Caster. Those swarm fodder Ivalans were raiding again. Can’t they just leave the Empire alone? And where was the Legate?!

Agatha shook her head and headed to the walls. Maybe if she blasted those rotters she’d feel better.

__________

With fresh eyes, the Watchtower was a remarkable piece of architecture and pre-Shattering Animatech. The last time Yuriko had been here was three years ago, right after her Avatism Ritual. The tower had seemed a simple monument at first glance, and she remembered many scenes from her childhood when Da manned the top of the tower to destroy the Wyldling Wave’s Will.

But during her training camp, the Watchtower had served as their base camp, and she remembered the bad food, the game rooms, and the wonderful views. The outside was a monolithic black, however, so she wondered how the windows were disguised. Or were they projections instead? After all, glass windows on a fortress were a point of weakness.

Those memories clashed with what she was seeing now. The tower shaft swayed east to west, but thankfully, nothing was cracking…or rather…

She took a closer look, enhancing her vision, and noticed that there was damage on the stone walls. But the cracks healed over almost as soon as they appeared, leaving the illusion of invulnerability behind.

She mostly ignored the conversation between her Mum and Duchess Kinnock as she activated Chaos Sight. The tower wasn’t the only one shaking, and though nobody was panicking, she noticed pale faces, pressed lips, and white-knuckled hands gripping coats. The ground shook, but Yuriko stabilised herself using her Animakinesis. At the same time, she looked at the trees within the walled compound, the Veil, and even outside the walls by propelling herself above the wall. The forest more than a league south and the woods at the north were affected too.

Flocks of birds flew over the Shillogu Woods, swirling around while waiting for the quake to subside. Same with the forests and groves south, but there were no beasts or birds bursting out of cover. Presumably, since the Haveenian army had already overhunted the area.

The earthquake subsided after a few minutes and she looked around to see what was affected. Her gaze was arrested when she caught sight of the Zarek Mountains. The Imperial Pass, which was the lowest gap within a hundred leagues north and south, was no longer that. A cloud of brown and grey lingered over the pass, but bits of what was behind it showed through. Jagged stones, boulders, and mud. It looked like the easy route to the east was gone. The mountain peaks towered over the pass by at least a couple of longstrides, and though Yuriko could fly over it, few others could.

“Kato…” she muttered, remembering that her second elder brother had been stationed in Rumiga City. Then her ears twitched as she overheard the Duchess.

“...City destroyed when the Gemheart blew up. Legate enforced an evacuation, but that was weeks before I was told to reinforce the Watchtower.”

Yuriko dove right down and landed a couple of paces from Mum. “Rumiga City has been destroyed?” she asked angrily. “What of the people?”

Duchess Kinnock’s blue eyes narrowed as she met hers. “You…”

“My daughter,” Mum said coldly.

“Ah, of course.” Duchess Kinnock frowned as she stared at Yuriko for a long moment, then a spark of recognition flared up in her eyes, “Ah, I think we’ve met before. In Rumiga City. But weren’t you…no, you’re here now. I’m sorry, I don’t have the latest news on what happened. Our last communication from Rumiga City, through the Gemheart here is to hold fast and keep the artefact safe.”

“I see. Thank you,” Yuriko marched up to her Da and said, “Kato was in Rumiga City.”

Virgil nodded. “He might have moved back to Faron’s Crossing. Marron and Rami?”

“At home.” Yuriko swallowed. “Probably.”

Virgil met her eyes for a long moment, then said, “Can you go get them?”

“Yeah.” No sooner had Yuriko said that, had she burst up from the ground using her Animakinesis. She gripped the air around her firmly then pushed as hard as she could towards Faron’s Crossing. She felt the air before her resist her passage, but she ploughed through it.

Faron’s Crossing was just a bit over a league from the Watchtower, though it was behind a few hills. Her altitude allowed her to spy the town and noted that the Protective Dome was active. As she careened through the air, and as she closed in, several Plasma Carronades swivelled towards her directed and disgorged their fiery load, much to her surprise and consternation.

The carronade bolt was fast and reached her in less than a blink of an eye. She slapped it away with her palm, which tingled upon contact with the superheated plasma. The bluish bolt slammed into a hillside and dug a deep furrow before spilling its heat, turning the dirt into molten lava, which should eventually cool down to obsidian.

Yuriko glared at the Plasma Carronade, and specifically, at the person who shot at her. A moment later, she was right next to the wall, still outside the dome.

“Why’d you shoot me?” she growled. The man was unfamiliar to her, and he only stood gaping for a long moment, before someone else came running from the barracks. She recognised Armsmaster Byrne.

“You fool!” he yelled at the operator, “Shooting at allies!”

“S-sorry!” the man yelped and fell on his hands and knees.

Still scowling, Armsmaster turned to Yuriko and said, “And you shouldn't have approached that quickly! We thought a Chaos Lord bypassed the Watchtower!”

Yuriko shook her head. “I need to get home. Marron…Kato?”

Byrne, even while recriminating with her, activated a keystone and opened a narrow entrance for Yuriko. “Your mission, it failed?”

Yuriko slipped inside and landed on the battlements. “I suppose. But the source of the nameless had not been within the plane, as far as we knew. We intercepted a prisoner convoy that was to be brought to the Chaos Sea. Now, excuse me.”

“Hey, wait!” Byrne yelled but Yuriko had already sped away.

She arrived at the Davar household in less than a minute and she landed on the walkway to the front door. From above, she noticed that no one was in the garden out back, but the vegetables being grown there were exceptionally verdant. Her Anima perception swept through the house before she even touched the knob, but she froze when she realised that the house was empty. Her heart thudded nervously as she turned towards the town centre and flew just a couple of paces above the road.

She ignored the gasps and stares coming from the neighbours, pedestrians, and watchmen as she arrived next to the town hall. She scanned the area, didn’t find Marron or Niamh, then moved to the other side of the town centre and finally found the couple inside the Moonlit Night Cafe.

She felt tears welling in the corner of her eyes when she saw that Marron’s wounds and scars had practically disappeared, and the two were happily sharing a meal. Should she disturb them? But where was Rami? On a hunch, she moved towards the park cum vegetable gardens, and there he was. He was glowing with green Animus as he used some kind of technique to bathe the baby cabbages and carrots. They visibly sprouted even as she watched, and Rami spun around and around as he walked down the rows.

Yuriko landed at the edge and patiently waited for her baby brother to finish. And when Rami did, he gasped when he caught sight of her, ran up and tackle-hugged her.

“Biiiigg Siiiiiiiissssss!” he yelled as he hugged her hard. He was only a couple of inches shorter than she was, having grown that many inches from the last time they saw each other. She enfolded him in a squeeze right back, at least until he squeaked.

“I’m back.” Yuriko grinned. “Annnd! I’ve found Da and the others!”

“Ah! Where’re they?”

“In the Watchtower. I went ahead.” Yuriko stared down at Rami’s hazel brown eyes. “Kato?”

Her younger brother shook his head. “No news.” He whimpered, “Aside from the fall of Rumiga City. The refugees…”

“Oh.” Yuriko sighed. “Let’s go. Da told me to take you and Maru to the Watchtower.”

“Alright!” Rami grinned. “Let me go pack uuuuup!” He yelped when Yuriko carried him with her kinesis then made her way back to the Moonlit Night Cafe.

There, she hovered outside of the balcony and yelled, “Maru! Da wants you to come with me to the Watchtower!”

He and Niamh started at the sight of her, then her brother yelled, “Don’t call me Maru! Eh, what?”

Yuriko grabbed both of them with her kinesis, dropped a few Sovies to pay for the meal, and flew back to the Watchtower, ignoring Marron’s yelled imprecations all the while. Her grinned only widened when she heard Niamh giggling at her antics.